Thursday, November 30, 2006
Oh, you'll see
We'll get to my gender and race bending daydreams later.
First, it's going to be colder than a witch's tit on Sat. for my autocross. The definition of "cold" is high of 48 and a low of 29, so almost a nice autumn day for some people.
Secondly, check this shit out:
We live in the ghetto. The sewage treatment plant is visible from our backyard. It occasionally smells horrendous but thankfully never inside the house. Our neighbors vary from WASP college students, international students, other college age people and a sprinkling of white trash because this is South Kakalakie after all.
I don't want to label, but this lady uses a rolling backpack (okay for stewardesses and travellers, not okay for college students regardless of age) and is obese if not a couple adverbs above obese. So label her at your discretion.
Never shared this with you but this was our first encounter with her. Let's call her (I really want to call her RollerPig ala There's Something About Mary, but that is slightly too mean, let's use it anyway) RollerPig. So J is waiting on the CATbus to get a ride to school, I think to go workout and meet me there, and RollerPig is either waiting on the bus or is just walking past. She stops and asks J for some help. Very wary, J asks what she needs. She needed someone to tie her shoes. Tie her shoes. Something that most people can do from Kindergarten on (I taught myself how, I couldn't figure out that bunny going around the tree bullshit so I decided that if I just made two loops that I could successfully tie those two loops together and tie my shoes! Ta-da!) but in this case it was not so much a knowledge barrier as it was a "I'm too fat and old to tie my shoes" type of thing. So J begrudgingly bends down and double knots this woman's shoes. How does she normally tie her shoes? Where is her designated shoe tier? All questions that popped into J's head while she was tieing RollerPig's shoelaces.
RollerPig Episode 2:
I'm leaving to go out to the Research Park for a mini-conference (faculty from around the Carolinas talking about their research and free continental breakfast and boxed lunch) when I get to the Stop sign by our apt. I look right and then left like a good "driving on the right side of the road"-er (on yet another side note, I read an editorial in Car & Driver that explained why we drive on the right and the UK and its colonies drive on the left and how driving on the left is actually more natural or something, doubt I can find a copy of that online but I'll check) and then see RollerPig with her arm up like I'm a fucking taxi. Ugh, this is not going to go well, I think to myself.
I stop (like a sucker) and ask WTF, mate?
Are you going near campus?
(Not really, but it isn't far out of my way) Yes.
Could you give me a ride?
Ugh, sure, hop in.
So she hops in and Tercel literally tips over to the right.
Where are you headed?
You can drop me off in front of Sikes.
(Silence)
RollerPig: I wanted to catch the 7 am bus but overslept and now the 7:30 bus is late.
That sucks.
She asks where I work. I tell her.
She says that she has Shakespeare.
I ask no questions and just want her out of my car.
I slow down a little bit and turn my music down a bit, but she invited herself into my car and so I'm unwilling to go completely out of my way to make Tercel inviting.
In her defense, we do pass the CATbus that she was supposed to be on and it was a good 15 minutes late.
We get to Sikes and I stop and she says thanks. She struggles to get out. I don't know if her rolley backpack got in the way or she really is that fat, but I was concerned that a healthy push would be needed. Alas, it was not and I'm not complaining.
I apologized to Tercel and went on my way to find out that, once again, Aramark's definition of "continental breakfast" includes cheese danish, delicious blueberry muffins, chocolate glazed and glazed donuts, a fruit tray with pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, and grapes, coffee and orange juice and NO FUCKING BAGELS! All I really want ever for breakfast is a bagel and some cream cheese. The danish was good and the muffins were dynamite, but nothing can take the place of my beloved bagel.
I think I broke even on giving her a ride, broke even karma-wise. It was nice that I gave her a lift, but this acid-tongued post has cancelled out all good energy.
Incidentally, she was at the bus stop as I came to school today. I did not look in her direction.
First, it's going to be colder than a witch's tit on Sat. for my autocross. The definition of "cold" is high of 48 and a low of 29, so almost a nice autumn day for some people.
Secondly, check this shit out:
We live in the ghetto. The sewage treatment plant is visible from our backyard. It occasionally smells horrendous but thankfully never inside the house. Our neighbors vary from WASP college students, international students, other college age people and a sprinkling of white trash because this is South Kakalakie after all.
I don't want to label, but this lady uses a rolling backpack (okay for stewardesses and travellers, not okay for college students regardless of age) and is obese if not a couple adverbs above obese. So label her at your discretion.
Never shared this with you but this was our first encounter with her. Let's call her (I really want to call her RollerPig ala There's Something About Mary, but that is slightly too mean, let's use it anyway) RollerPig. So J is waiting on the CATbus to get a ride to school, I think to go workout and meet me there, and RollerPig is either waiting on the bus or is just walking past. She stops and asks J for some help. Very wary, J asks what she needs. She needed someone to tie her shoes. Tie her shoes. Something that most people can do from Kindergarten on (I taught myself how, I couldn't figure out that bunny going around the tree bullshit so I decided that if I just made two loops that I could successfully tie those two loops together and tie my shoes! Ta-da!) but in this case it was not so much a knowledge barrier as it was a "I'm too fat and old to tie my shoes" type of thing. So J begrudgingly bends down and double knots this woman's shoes. How does she normally tie her shoes? Where is her designated shoe tier? All questions that popped into J's head while she was tieing RollerPig's shoelaces.
RollerPig Episode 2:
I'm leaving to go out to the Research Park for a mini-conference (faculty from around the Carolinas talking about their research and free continental breakfast and boxed lunch) when I get to the Stop sign by our apt. I look right and then left like a good "driving on the right side of the road"-er (on yet another side note, I read an editorial in Car & Driver that explained why we drive on the right and the UK and its colonies drive on the left and how driving on the left is actually more natural or something, doubt I can find a copy of that online but I'll check) and then see RollerPig with her arm up like I'm a fucking taxi. Ugh, this is not going to go well, I think to myself.
I stop (like a sucker) and ask WTF, mate?
Are you going near campus?
(Not really, but it isn't far out of my way) Yes.
Could you give me a ride?
Ugh, sure, hop in.
So she hops in and Tercel literally tips over to the right.
Where are you headed?
You can drop me off in front of Sikes.
(Silence)
RollerPig: I wanted to catch the 7 am bus but overslept and now the 7:30 bus is late.
That sucks.
She asks where I work. I tell her.
She says that she has Shakespeare.
I ask no questions and just want her out of my car.
I slow down a little bit and turn my music down a bit, but she invited herself into my car and so I'm unwilling to go completely out of my way to make Tercel inviting.
In her defense, we do pass the CATbus that she was supposed to be on and it was a good 15 minutes late.
We get to Sikes and I stop and she says thanks. She struggles to get out. I don't know if her rolley backpack got in the way or she really is that fat, but I was concerned that a healthy push would be needed. Alas, it was not and I'm not complaining.
I apologized to Tercel and went on my way to find out that, once again, Aramark's definition of "continental breakfast" includes cheese danish, delicious blueberry muffins, chocolate glazed and glazed donuts, a fruit tray with pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, and grapes, coffee and orange juice and NO FUCKING BAGELS! All I really want ever for breakfast is a bagel and some cream cheese. The danish was good and the muffins were dynamite, but nothing can take the place of my beloved bagel.
I think I broke even on giving her a ride, broke even karma-wise. It was nice that I gave her a lift, but this acid-tongued post has cancelled out all good energy.
Incidentally, she was at the bus stop as I came to school today. I did not look in her direction.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Bollocks!
I hope that's how you spell that.
Jackie Danicki is an American living in London.
She was riding the "Tube" (subway) on Friday, Nov. 24th. She was verbally assaulted and threatened by this guy and a friend.
If you can identify her assailant, please contact the British Transport Police and help bring this ass to justice.
Here is the link to Jackie's original post about the topic.
Jackie Danicki is an American living in London.
She was riding the "Tube" (subway) on Friday, Nov. 24th. She was verbally assaulted and threatened by this guy and a friend.
If you can identify her assailant, please contact the British Transport Police and help bring this ass to justice.
Here is the link to Jackie's original post about the topic.
You don't get off that easy
I'm still here. I plan on keeping this blog running FOREVER! And hopefully I can keep it public. I will have to clean up the archives a bit (drug use references, drunken debauchery, arrest(s)) once I start the job search, but trust me, I'll post links to those before I take them down. You could go archiving yourself or use the handy dandy google search box down there at the very bottom of the page.
Along the lines of sex changes, I will post tomorrow on why I would want to be a woman and also why I would want to be black, both hypothetical temporary changes just to expand my horizons.
The group went out to a mini conference this morning. There is a consortium of 5 colleges in the Carolinas who do photonics research. They're starting a new committee that will give money to people within these 5 universities to help bring research to market. But the conference was basically representatives from Western Carolina U., Duke, NC State, Clemson, and U of NC Charlotte, who talked about their individual research and research that is going on at their institutions. Good times and free breakfast and lunch. Some very interesting research going on elsewhere and here that I didn't really know about. Did you know that there is interest in glasses of differing compositions? (besides the standard silicon dioxide aka glass, sand) I didn't either.
Our personalized return address labels came in and I picked up stamps just now, so Thank You notes will be going out as soon as our hands can get them all written. I think we've done 6 out of 50 or so. Yikes.
On a personal note, I sent an email to a friend. No it isn't sensitive material but it would take more time to explain the backstory than it would to actually tell the story. But I essentially was typing as I was thinking (seem familiar?) and he replied with
And guess what?!?!?!?! I get to drive Subaru's Subaru WRX this Saturday in an autocross! Hooray! I've been itching to drive his all wheel drive, turbocharged beast in an autocross for a while and it's finally happening! The question is will I beat him in his own car? I didn't beat Protege, can I beat Subaru? And we'll be on Hoosier race tires to boot. I'm looking forward to it even though I have to abandon J and the cats here Fri. night and Saturday. I'll miss you!
Off to work since I haven't done any yet today.
Along the lines of sex changes, I will post tomorrow on why I would want to be a woman and also why I would want to be black, both hypothetical temporary changes just to expand my horizons.
The group went out to a mini conference this morning. There is a consortium of 5 colleges in the Carolinas who do photonics research. They're starting a new committee that will give money to people within these 5 universities to help bring research to market. But the conference was basically representatives from Western Carolina U., Duke, NC State, Clemson, and U of NC Charlotte, who talked about their individual research and research that is going on at their institutions. Good times and free breakfast and lunch. Some very interesting research going on elsewhere and here that I didn't really know about. Did you know that there is interest in glasses of differing compositions? (besides the standard silicon dioxide aka glass, sand) I didn't either.
Our personalized return address labels came in and I picked up stamps just now, so Thank You notes will be going out as soon as our hands can get them all written. I think we've done 6 out of 50 or so. Yikes.
On a personal note, I sent an email to a friend. No it isn't sensitive material but it would take more time to explain the backstory than it would to actually tell the story. But I essentially was typing as I was thinking (seem familiar?) and he replied with
I like the way you can dictate your thought process. Your funny man.Spelling error is his, not mine. It should read "You're funny man". It made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy. The friend was Subaru by the way.
And guess what?!?!?!?! I get to drive Subaru's Subaru WRX this Saturday in an autocross! Hooray! I've been itching to drive his all wheel drive, turbocharged beast in an autocross for a while and it's finally happening! The question is will I beat him in his own car? I didn't beat Protege, can I beat Subaru? And we'll be on Hoosier race tires to boot. I'm looking forward to it even though I have to abandon J and the cats here Fri. night and Saturday. I'll miss you!
Off to work since I haven't done any yet today.
Monday, November 27, 2006
LGBTQ?
I saw that recently. Where did that Q come from? Do the Queens really have enough pull to add yet another constonant onto the already vowel free LGBT? I'm just assuming that's what the Q stood for. I guess it could be queer, but isn't that already covered? For anyone who doesn't know what that acronym stands for wikipedia is your friend.
Wow, apparently there is discussion even on using LGBT
As stated before, I have no gay or lesbian friends. There is one guy but we don't really hang out and he has the added bonus of sharing my name, so I would go above and beyond the call of duty based on that alone. Us Seths have to stick together.
J and I finished the 3rd season of the L Word over Thanksgiving. It's a good show and we are hooked on all the characters. And Eric Roberts made a cameo in the season finale! A newer character is named Max who used to be called Moira who is currently transitioning from a woman into a man. And "All My Children" is adding a transgender to their storyline. Although their character will go from man to woman. I would make a hideous woman for the record. And I love my penis. Love it to death.
I keep seeing a sticker in Hot Topic (I buy the occasional shirt there) that says "We are everywhere" in rainbow colors. I want to buy a sticker to show my support of the LGBT community, but J's point of "then they would think you're gay" is a valid one. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but I think a PFLAG sticker would get the point across and avoid any major misunderstandings. Ooooh, I like this message
But I'll probably just stick with a PFLAG bumper sticker.
No I don't put bumper stickers on my car but I make my own magnets with them. We (the 3 car guys) bought large sheets of magnets so we could make our own numbers. With the left over magnet, I have been using them to make magnetic bumper stickers that ironically won't stick on my bumper because it's plastic. But I sport them on Focus during autocrosses. So far I have a couple Grassroots Motorsports (magazine) stickers and some NASA Rally Sport stickers (we usually race with the competing Sports Car Club of America where NASA is the national auto sport association).
Tomorrow will be a recap of our Thanksgiving meal, our first since the wedding which was less than a month ago. Inspired of course by ESC's post of the same.
Wow, apparently there is discussion even on using LGBT
Many people also believe that a sharp distinction should be drawn between sexual orientation and gender identity.
As stated before, I have no gay or lesbian friends. There is one guy but we don't really hang out and he has the added bonus of sharing my name, so I would go above and beyond the call of duty based on that alone. Us Seths have to stick together.
J and I finished the 3rd season of the L Word over Thanksgiving. It's a good show and we are hooked on all the characters. And Eric Roberts made a cameo in the season finale! A newer character is named Max who used to be called Moira who is currently transitioning from a woman into a man. And "All My Children" is adding a transgender to their storyline. Although their character will go from man to woman. I would make a hideous woman for the record. And I love my penis. Love it to death.
I keep seeing a sticker in Hot Topic (I buy the occasional shirt there) that says "We are everywhere" in rainbow colors. I want to buy a sticker to show my support of the LGBT community, but J's point of "then they would think you're gay" is a valid one. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but I think a PFLAG sticker would get the point across and avoid any major misunderstandings. Ooooh, I like this message
But I'll probably just stick with a PFLAG bumper sticker.
No I don't put bumper stickers on my car but I make my own magnets with them. We (the 3 car guys) bought large sheets of magnets so we could make our own numbers. With the left over magnet, I have been using them to make magnetic bumper stickers that ironically won't stick on my bumper because it's plastic. But I sport them on Focus during autocrosses. So far I have a couple Grassroots Motorsports (magazine) stickers and some NASA Rally Sport stickers (we usually race with the competing Sports Car Club of America where NASA is the national auto sport association).
Tomorrow will be a recap of our Thanksgiving meal, our first since the wedding which was less than a month ago. Inspired of course by ESC's post of the same.
Nose to the grindstone!
Everyone hates the Monday after holidays for myriad obvious reasons.
I have nothing to say at this moment. Weird. I'll be back later and I hope you will too!
I have nothing to say at this moment. Weird. I'll be back later and I hope you will too!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Go Gamecocks!
It is official. Clemson loses to their in-state rival the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. But Clemson lost the game. 2 touchdowns up, lost that lead, and then just needed a 17 yard field goal for the tie. Wide left. 31-28 Cocks.
This is drunken blogging at its finest. Also J got to see the "End of the World" flash skit that spawned WTF, mate? so that was nice. We're going to watch the Michael Richards tirade but I'll be back to finish in a sec. Phew, hard stuff. He really just exploded. If you haven't seen it, hit up youtube.com and search for michael richards.
We've been out here, drinking mostly, and chatting (aka tailgating) since around 10:30 this morning. Sucks we lost but I would've made that field goal. Julio could've made that field goal. Want to know who missed the field goal?
He looks so cute and innocent. Sucks the game was riding on his foot.
And a HUGE congrats to Texas A&M for offing the might University of Texas. Go Aggies!
This is drunken blogging at its finest. Also J got to see the "End of the World" flash skit that spawned WTF, mate? so that was nice. We're going to watch the Michael Richards tirade but I'll be back to finish in a sec. Phew, hard stuff. He really just exploded. If you haven't seen it, hit up youtube.com and search for michael richards.
We've been out here, drinking mostly, and chatting (aka tailgating) since around 10:30 this morning. Sucks we lost but I would've made that field goal. Julio could've made that field goal. Want to know who missed the field goal?
He looks so cute and innocent. Sucks the game was riding on his foot.
And a HUGE congrats to Texas A&M for offing the might University of Texas. Go Aggies!
Friday, November 24, 2006
Happy Black Friday!
If you work in retail, stay strong and be patient. Remember that the psychotic mother who stabbed that other lady for the last Tickle Me Elmo doll is only doing so out of love. And if you can't buy your kids' love, then how are they supposed to know who to love?
I did say I would be around during Turkey Day, but I didn't post too much. J and I still need to do our Thank You notes. Technically we're waiting on the family return address labels that J ordered. I hope they get here before next weekend. I know my grandmother is a bit obsessive when it comes to Thank Yous, so they need to go out very soon. Maybe I'll trick J into doing those tonight.
If you didn't recognize the sarcasm in the last sentence, please seek professional help for you or your spoiled spawn. You should not have to buy your child's love. They should give it to you unconditionally and you should likewise love them unconditionally.
I really wanted to say hellspawn up there but didn't think that would be very Thanksgivingy.
Tucker got bumped to his rightful chronological place. He's down here on Nov. 15th. Tucker the border collie's harrowing saga.
Bleh. I need to find a good pic for the 3 Day Walk link. Maybe a picture of Ruthie in front of a 3 Day banner that is hosted online? Or one that she can send me so I can host it and link it?
J said she was going to blog last night. Let's all check and see if she did. She did! And I'm mentioned! Don't bother clicking on the map of the course link. It doesn't work. We'll look at that later. And I do need some redemption after my last 5K.
Traning starts on Monday!
I did say I would be around during Turkey Day, but I didn't post too much. J and I still need to do our Thank You notes. Technically we're waiting on the family return address labels that J ordered. I hope they get here before next weekend. I know my grandmother is a bit obsessive when it comes to Thank Yous, so they need to go out very soon. Maybe I'll trick J into doing those tonight.
If you didn't recognize the sarcasm in the last sentence, please seek professional help for you or your spoiled spawn. You should not have to buy your child's love. They should give it to you unconditionally and you should likewise love them unconditionally.
I really wanted to say hellspawn up there but didn't think that would be very Thanksgivingy.
Tucker got bumped to his rightful chronological place. He's down here on Nov. 15th. Tucker the border collie's harrowing saga.
Bleh. I need to find a good pic for the 3 Day Walk link. Maybe a picture of Ruthie in front of a 3 Day banner that is hosted online? Or one that she can send me so I can host it and link it?
J said she was going to blog last night. Let's all check and see if she did. She did! And I'm mentioned! Don't bother clicking on the map of the course link. It doesn't work. We'll look at that later. And I do need some redemption after my last 5K.
Traning starts on Monday!
Monday, November 20, 2006
I am the Decider
I have decided that if there is not a new update on Tucker's story before Thanksgiving, then he will be relegated back to this year and lose the top spot. Sorry boy.
Decent weekend. Got to see my parents, they stayed with us Thurs. night and then again last night. They leave this morning to go back to the 'Ham, Birming that is. They also ate dinner with us on Friday. J made a wonderful Italian stew (can't remember the name of it) but it had savoy cabbage, onions, carrots and bread was added at the end. And there was some tomato paste so it was very hearty and delicious.
I might be turning to eBay for my Kitchenaid. Craigslist hasn't been too helpful. But the color I want (onyx black, anyone remember Onyx? Their big hit was "Slam!") goes for alot more than the white. So I might end up getting white and then repainting it. I'll keeps ya posted.
So Mom and Dad ate with us Friday and then they had to leave to go back and visit with the pastor and his wife at whose house they were staying. So once they left, J and I watched TV, fooled around, and then slept. Saturday was much of the same, except Sat. also involved football! The Ohio State/Michigan game lived up to the hype (unless you like defense) and the Iron Bowl - Auburn/Alabama game was also good even though it was on at the exact same time. War Eagle!
I think I'm an Auburn fan. I'm from Alabama so you are forced to pick a side at a very early age. I just remember having some Auburn clothing or a hat and Tigers are cooler than elephants. BUT most of my friends either went to undergrad at Alabama (technically the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa but no one besides my grandfather calls it that) or went to law school at 'Bama or both.
This is all American college football talk. ESPN or someone did a survey and the two biggest rivalries are Ohio State/Michigan and Alabama/Auburn. There are many others (Florida/Florida St., Georgia/Georgia Tech) but none are as big as those two.
Then we went to the store and J finally got her Tetris for our Nintendo DS and I picked up the Game Boy Advanced re-release of the Super Nintendo Zelda game "A Link to the Past". My brother and I played it alot and I can honestly say the graphics are just as good as they were on the Super Nintendo, which is sad and cool at the same time.
I stayed up until about midnight playing Tetris via the DS' wi-fi against people around the world. Then went to sleep only to wake up at 5 am to get ready to head to ATL for some hot autocross action!
I'll be right back.....
Oh good, you're still here.
So I get up and am glad that I got most everything together the night before. I throw some snacks and drinks in a bag and head outside. It is at this time that I am very thankful that I am wearing long johns and many layers. It's windy and cold. Get to Protege's house (I'll be co-driving Protege aka Turboge today) and find that he is already outside warming the car up. Sweet. He has a bed reputation for over-sleeping. Throw my stuff in his car and we go to Subaru's house and meet the rest of our caravan. We get on the road and then exit at 104 off of I-85 for some breakfast and bathroom breaks. I get some gas station cappucino, french vanilla of course. For those not fortunate enough to have experienced gas station "fancy" coffee, it consists of hot water and a very sugary powdery milky powder. Yum.
Back on the road and roll into Turner Field parking lot (the lot directly across the street from the field where Fulton County Stadium once stood) around 7:45-8 am. Change tires, walk the course, etc...
Then we get to race. Damn it's slippery! They just repaved a couple weeks ago and cold race tires make for an oversteering nightmare. My first cautious run is the only one where I don't spin. 1 of 3 clean runs. Bleh, but we get 3 more in the opposite direction this afternoon.
Much better, but had a nasty spin on my last run. That turbo definitely makes some power, but on a cold day slippery day like yesterday, I definitely missed driving Focus.
I'll be trying to track down a nagging exhaust leak on Focus probably on Wed. And we have also decided to stay here once again for Turkey Day! No driving, yay! And is it the Thurs. paper that has all the Black Friday sale info? I'll pick up one of those and see if I can't find myself a deal I can't live without.
Moral of the story: I'll be blogging right through Thanksgiving. Oh right, and another reason we didn't want to go anywhere is the Clemson/South Carolina game on Saturday. That is our rival football game and we're trying to make it 5 straight wins versus the Carolina Gamecocks. Check out the history from a Cock's point of view.
Decent weekend. Got to see my parents, they stayed with us Thurs. night and then again last night. They leave this morning to go back to the 'Ham, Birming that is. They also ate dinner with us on Friday. J made a wonderful Italian stew (can't remember the name of it) but it had savoy cabbage, onions, carrots and bread was added at the end. And there was some tomato paste so it was very hearty and delicious.
I might be turning to eBay for my Kitchenaid. Craigslist hasn't been too helpful. But the color I want (onyx black, anyone remember Onyx? Their big hit was "Slam!") goes for alot more than the white. So I might end up getting white and then repainting it. I'll keeps ya posted.
So Mom and Dad ate with us Friday and then they had to leave to go back and visit with the pastor and his wife at whose house they were staying. So once they left, J and I watched TV, fooled around, and then slept. Saturday was much of the same, except Sat. also involved football! The Ohio State/Michigan game lived up to the hype (unless you like defense) and the Iron Bowl - Auburn/Alabama game was also good even though it was on at the exact same time. War Eagle!
I think I'm an Auburn fan. I'm from Alabama so you are forced to pick a side at a very early age. I just remember having some Auburn clothing or a hat and Tigers are cooler than elephants. BUT most of my friends either went to undergrad at Alabama (technically the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa but no one besides my grandfather calls it that) or went to law school at 'Bama or both.
This is all American college football talk. ESPN or someone did a survey and the two biggest rivalries are Ohio State/Michigan and Alabama/Auburn. There are many others (Florida/Florida St., Georgia/Georgia Tech) but none are as big as those two.
Then we went to the store and J finally got her Tetris for our Nintendo DS and I picked up the Game Boy Advanced re-release of the Super Nintendo Zelda game "A Link to the Past". My brother and I played it alot and I can honestly say the graphics are just as good as they were on the Super Nintendo, which is sad and cool at the same time.
I stayed up until about midnight playing Tetris via the DS' wi-fi against people around the world. Then went to sleep only to wake up at 5 am to get ready to head to ATL for some hot autocross action!
I'll be right back.....
Oh good, you're still here.
So I get up and am glad that I got most everything together the night before. I throw some snacks and drinks in a bag and head outside. It is at this time that I am very thankful that I am wearing long johns and many layers. It's windy and cold. Get to Protege's house (I'll be co-driving Protege aka Turboge today) and find that he is already outside warming the car up. Sweet. He has a bed reputation for over-sleeping. Throw my stuff in his car and we go to Subaru's house and meet the rest of our caravan. We get on the road and then exit at 104 off of I-85 for some breakfast and bathroom breaks. I get some gas station cappucino, french vanilla of course. For those not fortunate enough to have experienced gas station "fancy" coffee, it consists of hot water and a very sugary powdery milky powder. Yum.
Back on the road and roll into Turner Field parking lot (the lot directly across the street from the field where Fulton County Stadium once stood) around 7:45-8 am. Change tires, walk the course, etc...
Then we get to race. Damn it's slippery! They just repaved a couple weeks ago and cold race tires make for an oversteering nightmare. My first cautious run is the only one where I don't spin. 1 of 3 clean runs. Bleh, but we get 3 more in the opposite direction this afternoon.
Much better, but had a nasty spin on my last run. That turbo definitely makes some power, but on a cold day slippery day like yesterday, I definitely missed driving Focus.
I'll be trying to track down a nagging exhaust leak on Focus probably on Wed. And we have also decided to stay here once again for Turkey Day! No driving, yay! And is it the Thurs. paper that has all the Black Friday sale info? I'll pick up one of those and see if I can't find myself a deal I can't live without.
Moral of the story: I'll be blogging right through Thanksgiving. Oh right, and another reason we didn't want to go anywhere is the Clemson/South Carolina game on Saturday. That is our rival football game and we're trying to make it 5 straight wins versus the Carolina Gamecocks. Check out the history from a Cock's point of view.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Crazed fan bites man
Lamest title ever.
My parents are in town this weekend. They spent the night with us last night and will again on Sun. Other than that they will be busy with church stuff. And if they don't want the cold hard truth, I would recommend they don't do any snooping.
J and I watched Thin the other night on the HBO. Maybe Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston should've watched it too. She was a model who died from anorexia.
Yikes. But this is the dark truth behind eating disorders. (Oh, and the Renfrew Center does have a center in Florida, so I'm not crazy.) These girls and guys are willing to die all in the name of vanity and being thin.
I have never known anyone who had an eating disorder (not that I'm aware of anyway), so this was an excellent eye opening experience for me. For some reason these girls have it in their heads that even though they weigh less than 100 lbs., that they are fat and gross. The documentary didn't delve into how these girls developed the condition too much, but it seemed like they mostly started at a very young age, from 8-15 years of age. Maybe they were overweight to begin with, or were just told that they were, but they felt such intense pressure from their parents/friends/society, whether the pressure was real or imagine, that they are now slowly killing themselves.
People who don't have eating disorders generally exercise and watch what they eat to lose weight. And once they reach that "ideal" weight, they might cut back a bit and just maintain that weight. Or if they are rich or lazy, they let plastic surgeons take the weight off, either by lipo or gastric bypass surgery. Both effective but both expensive and cheating in the grand scheme of things.
I don't really have a good solution. And I'm not sure how this went from anorexic/bulimics to encompass all people not within a healthy weight, but it did. I think what would really help these people is to have a Warning weight. An upper and lower threshold that, once their weight hits, they know they have a problem. My upper limit was 220, then got pushed back to 230 once I hit 225 last year sometime. That is definitely overweight for my 5'9" frame and probably nearing obese. I'm at 206 now (thanks wedding) and would like to drop below 200 for the first time in roughly 6-7 years. If not for vanity, or battling the Fat American stereotype, then just for my health what with my family history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
I don't really have a lower limit, but let's just say 130 lbs. If I ever hit 130 lbs. I know that I have a problem and might need some professional help. I really want everyone to think about this. The girls in Thin didn't have a goal. They just wanted "to be thin and skinny", but in their minds I honestly don't think they would ever reach that goal. Maybe if they were able to get rid of all body fat and made most of their muscles travel inside their rib cage and their skin stuck right to their bones, then maybe that would make them feel skinny.
Actually it might be a good idea for someone to develop a computer simulation that could simulate what their bodies would look like at different weights. Rubella, you now weigh 87 lbs. What would you like to weigh? 60 lbs. Whoa, that's messed up but okay. Here is what you Rubella would look like at 60 lbs. Happy? No? Still too fat? Maybe 40 lbs.? No? Oooh, I know, how about 20 lbs.? Nice and slim at 20 lbs.
Oh yeah, that's hot.
I think that is a good idea. And let's say it doesn't go that far. So she thinks 60 lbs. This is what you would look like? Nice? Lovely protruding cheek bones. Clavicle that could poke out an eye. Oh, damn. It looks like you would've died around 75 lbs. Oops.
Or maybe that's too harsh.
The moral of the story is that if you don't eat, eat and then puke it up, or eat constantly and don't exercise (over-eat), you need professional help right now. If you think you might have an eating disorder or a friend does, or you just want some information, please contact the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, ANAD.org.
My parents are in town this weekend. They spent the night with us last night and will again on Sun. Other than that they will be busy with church stuff. And if they don't want the cold hard truth, I would recommend they don't do any snooping.
J and I watched Thin the other night on the HBO. Maybe Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston should've watched it too. She was a model who died from anorexia.
Reston's BMI was just 13.5 while the World Health Organization considers anyone with a BMI below 18.5 underweight. A BMI below 17.5 being one of the criteria for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and a BMI nearing 15 is usually used as an indicator for starvation.
Yikes. But this is the dark truth behind eating disorders. (Oh, and the Renfrew Center does have a center in Florida, so I'm not crazy.) These girls and guys are willing to die all in the name of vanity and being thin.
I have never known anyone who had an eating disorder (not that I'm aware of anyway), so this was an excellent eye opening experience for me. For some reason these girls have it in their heads that even though they weigh less than 100 lbs., that they are fat and gross. The documentary didn't delve into how these girls developed the condition too much, but it seemed like they mostly started at a very young age, from 8-15 years of age. Maybe they were overweight to begin with, or were just told that they were, but they felt such intense pressure from their parents/friends/society, whether the pressure was real or imagine, that they are now slowly killing themselves.
People who don't have eating disorders generally exercise and watch what they eat to lose weight. And once they reach that "ideal" weight, they might cut back a bit and just maintain that weight. Or if they are rich or lazy, they let plastic surgeons take the weight off, either by lipo or gastric bypass surgery. Both effective but both expensive and cheating in the grand scheme of things.
I don't really have a good solution. And I'm not sure how this went from anorexic/bulimics to encompass all people not within a healthy weight, but it did. I think what would really help these people is to have a Warning weight. An upper and lower threshold that, once their weight hits, they know they have a problem. My upper limit was 220, then got pushed back to 230 once I hit 225 last year sometime. That is definitely overweight for my 5'9" frame and probably nearing obese. I'm at 206 now (thanks wedding) and would like to drop below 200 for the first time in roughly 6-7 years. If not for vanity, or battling the Fat American stereotype, then just for my health what with my family history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
I don't really have a lower limit, but let's just say 130 lbs. If I ever hit 130 lbs. I know that I have a problem and might need some professional help. I really want everyone to think about this. The girls in Thin didn't have a goal. They just wanted "to be thin and skinny", but in their minds I honestly don't think they would ever reach that goal. Maybe if they were able to get rid of all body fat and made most of their muscles travel inside their rib cage and their skin stuck right to their bones, then maybe that would make them feel skinny.
Actually it might be a good idea for someone to develop a computer simulation that could simulate what their bodies would look like at different weights. Rubella, you now weigh 87 lbs. What would you like to weigh? 60 lbs. Whoa, that's messed up but okay. Here is what you Rubella would look like at 60 lbs. Happy? No? Still too fat? Maybe 40 lbs.? No? Oooh, I know, how about 20 lbs.? Nice and slim at 20 lbs.
Oh yeah, that's hot.
I think that is a good idea. And let's say it doesn't go that far. So she thinks 60 lbs. This is what you would look like? Nice? Lovely protruding cheek bones. Clavicle that could poke out an eye. Oh, damn. It looks like you would've died around 75 lbs. Oops.
Or maybe that's too harsh.
The moral of the story is that if you don't eat, eat and then puke it up, or eat constantly and don't exercise (over-eat), you need professional help right now. If you think you might have an eating disorder or a friend does, or you just want some information, please contact the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, ANAD.org.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
And the band played on...
My folks (or 'rents) are coming into town tonight. They're travelling down from Knoxville, TN where they were speaking at a church. They're speaking at a church local to Clemson this weekend, so they take some extra time and are going to be staying at our place for a day or so. Our other bed is a twin and I guess Dad will sleep on the couch and fight off the cats. My mom is a huge cat person so I'm sure they'll get along swimmingly.
Won't get to Thin today, but needless to say it was very disturbing. It boggles my mind that someone who weighs 84.5 lbs (38.3 kg) and is literally skin and bones, can think that they are overweight. Some of the girls (they were all women, but men do suffer from eating disorders too) had been battling anorexia (also called "restricting") for decades.
On a related note, Nicole Richie gained 10 pounds! Yay! Thank you Nicole for finally eating a sandwich. You look much better. Unless you have a Skeletor fetish.
We cleaned our whole house (apartment) last night and some this morning. Guest bedroom, both bathrooms, our room, kitchen and I will be doing the living room (which is just kind of cluttered and not dirty) and vacuuming everywhere. And then I'll take the cats our for a walk because Julio has been quite vocal about wanting to go outside. But Julio, it's raining! I WILL call the vet today and inquire about his excessive eye boogers and nearly daily vomiting. Leon even puked a little bit after Julio puked yesterday. I thought only humans puked at the sight, smell and/or sound of someone else puking.
Did you notice how I converted the lbs. to kilos? I'm trying to make this blog more universal and not so "America and our weird English system of measurement" specific. And the least I can do is convert from english to metric. And I need to get you (us) Americans used to seeing metric units also for our inevitable switch to the much more logical metric system. Although I do like Fahrenheit. It's just a much broader scale of temperature so we can have temps that go from -20 F up to 110 F (-28.8 C to 43 C). Or maybe I just hate converting F to C because it deals with fractions. Maybe we'll just all use Kelvin one day.
Won't get to Thin today, but needless to say it was very disturbing. It boggles my mind that someone who weighs 84.5 lbs (38.3 kg) and is literally skin and bones, can think that they are overweight. Some of the girls (they were all women, but men do suffer from eating disorders too) had been battling anorexia (also called "restricting") for decades.
On a related note, Nicole Richie gained 10 pounds! Yay! Thank you Nicole for finally eating a sandwich. You look much better. Unless you have a Skeletor fetish.
We cleaned our whole house (apartment) last night and some this morning. Guest bedroom, both bathrooms, our room, kitchen and I will be doing the living room (which is just kind of cluttered and not dirty) and vacuuming everywhere. And then I'll take the cats our for a walk because Julio has been quite vocal about wanting to go outside. But Julio, it's raining! I WILL call the vet today and inquire about his excessive eye boogers and nearly daily vomiting. Leon even puked a little bit after Julio puked yesterday. I thought only humans puked at the sight, smell and/or sound of someone else puking.
Did you notice how I converted the lbs. to kilos? I'm trying to make this blog more universal and not so "America and our weird English system of measurement" specific. And the least I can do is convert from english to metric. And I need to get you (us) Americans used to seeing metric units also for our inevitable switch to the much more logical metric system. Although I do like Fahrenheit. It's just a much broader scale of temperature so we can have temps that go from -20 F up to 110 F (-28.8 C to 43 C). Or maybe I just hate converting F to C because it deals with fractions. Maybe we'll just all use Kelvin one day.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Please help Tucker come home!
I'm going to keep this post at the top until this situation is resolved. Scroll down for my new posts.
Our friend Waitress was asked by one of her readers to help with her situation. It seems her border collie "Tucker" jumped the fence and took a tour of the neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 13th. Fortunately (and unfortunately) one of her neighbors found Tucker and took him to the Humane Society of Berks County in Reading, PA. This is where the story takes a turn for the worse. Jo contacts the Humane Society on Monday, Oct. 16th, and asks if any border collies were turned in over the weekend. They reply no. On Thursday, Oct. 19th, Jo was talking with some neighbors about Tucker and they led her to the neighbor who in fact took Tucker to the same Humane Society that claimed they did not receive any male border collies. It gets worse. Apparently during that week, Tucker was adopted by another family. Once it comes to the Humane Society's attention that Tucker already has a family and they want him back, they contact the adopting family and ask if they would return Tucker to his rightful home. They decline. And then lawyers are called and now they're turning to the online community for help. I'm not sure what to do, but maybe someone else will.
Tucker's First post
The full recap of Tucker's saga
Half-hearted response from Karel I. Minor, executive director of the Berks County Humane Society
This is Karel I. Minor, protecting his Humane Society of Berks County.
Another response from Karel, basically blaming Tucker's family for him running away
Our friend Waitress was asked by one of her readers to help with her situation. It seems her border collie "Tucker" jumped the fence and took a tour of the neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 13th. Fortunately (and unfortunately) one of her neighbors found Tucker and took him to the Humane Society of Berks County in Reading, PA. This is where the story takes a turn for the worse. Jo contacts the Humane Society on Monday, Oct. 16th, and asks if any border collies were turned in over the weekend. They reply no. On Thursday, Oct. 19th, Jo was talking with some neighbors about Tucker and they led her to the neighbor who in fact took Tucker to the same Humane Society that claimed they did not receive any male border collies. It gets worse. Apparently during that week, Tucker was adopted by another family. Once it comes to the Humane Society's attention that Tucker already has a family and they want him back, they contact the adopting family and ask if they would return Tucker to his rightful home. They decline. And then lawyers are called and now they're turning to the online community for help. I'm not sure what to do, but maybe someone else will.
Tucker's First post
The full recap of Tucker's saga
Half-hearted response from Karel I. Minor, executive director of the Berks County Humane Society
This is Karel I. Minor, protecting his Humane Society of Berks County.
Another response from Karel, basically blaming Tucker's family for him running away
Today is a big day
Not for me, per se, and probably not for you either. See, today is Playstation 3 Eve. That's right my friends, tonight at midnight (for stores open at midnight) or tomorrow whenever Target and Best Buy open, the Playstation 3 will go on sale.
Will the graphics be better than the Xbox 360? Will everyone like the motion sensitive 6 axis controller? Will people miss the rumbling of the controller? We shall soon find out.
For non-gamers, the PS3 is the next generation of the Playstation 2 (obviously). It is also a Blu Ray DVD player. It has a built-in harddrive. It comes in 2 versions. The "econo" model with one controller and a 20 GB harddrive and a pricetag of $500 and the "deluxe" model with the 60 GB harddrive at a cool $600. Which one do you want? Here is the Official Playstation 3 website. So if those teenagers next door who are outside too much and make too much racket suddenly vanish; they probably weren't kidnapped but just received a PS3. They'll be okay.
AND the Nintendo Wii also comes out this week, but on Sunday Nov. 19th. Chances are the same people who slept in front of Best Buy on Wed. night will be there again Sat. night waiting for the Wii (prounounced Weeeeeee!, long e sound) Official Nintendo Wii website. This is also a next gen system but is not quite as hardcore as the PS3. It is actually targeted towards everyone from the hardcore basement dwellers to the very casual gamer. And it is priced to move at only $249! Seems like a deal compared to the PS3 doesn't it? It also features a motion sensitive controller.
The future is bright for gamers this holiday season. And don't worry, you can play all your old Gamecube and PS1 and PS2 games on the new systems. My plan is to buy all the used games being traded in to pay for these fancy new game systems. There are quite a few games that are amazing that I have not played at all. It is one disadvantage of having married friends and friends with lives. No one has any time for some good hardcore gaming anymore.
Ugh, fine. I'll share my Nawlins tale of woe:
So I'm walking around killing time in the morning until my flight leaves. I'm wearing my backpack on looking uber-touristy and this guy stops me and says "Hey I bet you $20 I can tell you where you got those shoes." WTF? Who is this guy and how the hell does he know where I bought these shoes. Stupid rube that I was (am) said "Okay." He makes me shake on it and says you'll honor your word right? Suckering me into thinking this is a wager of honor instead of just a scam. So he says "You got those shoes on Broad Street!" And has a big smile on his face. Then asks for his money. I seriously cannot believe it when my hand goes in my pocket and pulls out a twenty. He says thanks and walks away, leaving me feeling like the biggest sucker in the world and can't waiting to get out of New Orleans fast enough. So if anyone anywhere ever comes up to you and says this just scream and run away. You'll thank me later.
I'll be in ATL this Sunday at the Turner Field Green Lot for an autocross. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hey. It should be a nice day albeit a tad chilly (by Southern standards, it'll be nice and warm to people with actual cold weather).
Preview of tomorrow: My comments and thoughts on the HBO documentary J and I watched last night titled Thin. It was about patients at a eating disorder clinic near Tampa. (I think) (Weird, just checked their website, the Renfrew Center, and it's in Philly. Why did I think it was in FL?)
Will the graphics be better than the Xbox 360? Will everyone like the motion sensitive 6 axis controller? Will people miss the rumbling of the controller? We shall soon find out.
For non-gamers, the PS3 is the next generation of the Playstation 2 (obviously). It is also a Blu Ray DVD player. It has a built-in harddrive. It comes in 2 versions. The "econo" model with one controller and a 20 GB harddrive and a pricetag of $500 and the "deluxe" model with the 60 GB harddrive at a cool $600. Which one do you want? Here is the Official Playstation 3 website. So if those teenagers next door who are outside too much and make too much racket suddenly vanish; they probably weren't kidnapped but just received a PS3. They'll be okay.
AND the Nintendo Wii also comes out this week, but on Sunday Nov. 19th. Chances are the same people who slept in front of Best Buy on Wed. night will be there again Sat. night waiting for the Wii (prounounced Weeeeeee!, long e sound) Official Nintendo Wii website. This is also a next gen system but is not quite as hardcore as the PS3. It is actually targeted towards everyone from the hardcore basement dwellers to the very casual gamer. And it is priced to move at only $249! Seems like a deal compared to the PS3 doesn't it? It also features a motion sensitive controller.
The future is bright for gamers this holiday season. And don't worry, you can play all your old Gamecube and PS1 and PS2 games on the new systems. My plan is to buy all the used games being traded in to pay for these fancy new game systems. There are quite a few games that are amazing that I have not played at all. It is one disadvantage of having married friends and friends with lives. No one has any time for some good hardcore gaming anymore.
Ugh, fine. I'll share my Nawlins tale of woe:
So I'm walking around killing time in the morning until my flight leaves. I'm wearing my backpack on looking uber-touristy and this guy stops me and says "Hey I bet you $20 I can tell you where you got those shoes." WTF? Who is this guy and how the hell does he know where I bought these shoes. Stupid rube that I was (am) said "Okay." He makes me shake on it and says you'll honor your word right? Suckering me into thinking this is a wager of honor instead of just a scam. So he says "You got those shoes on Broad Street!" And has a big smile on his face. Then asks for his money. I seriously cannot believe it when my hand goes in my pocket and pulls out a twenty. He says thanks and walks away, leaving me feeling like the biggest sucker in the world and can't waiting to get out of New Orleans fast enough. So if anyone anywhere ever comes up to you and says this just scream and run away. You'll thank me later.
I'll be in ATL this Sunday at the Turner Field Green Lot for an autocross. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hey. It should be a nice day albeit a tad chilly (by Southern standards, it'll be nice and warm to people with actual cold weather).
Preview of tomorrow: My comments and thoughts on the HBO documentary J and I watched last night titled Thin. It was about patients at a eating disorder clinic near Tampa. (I think) (Weird, just checked their website, the Renfrew Center, and it's in Philly. Why did I think it was in FL?)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Rubes!
I got conned in Nawlins last time I was there. I still feel like such a rube. I'll share the story last night. It's on my lifetime list of regrets. At least it was only a twenty spot.
My parents are coming into town this weekend. First time they'll get to see the cats. Julio has been throwing up daily. At least I think it's Julio. He's also been having excess eye boogers. I think we're gonna call the doc and get his opinion.
I feel ESC's pain about the dirty house. Since the wedding we have all these gifts and nowhere to put them. We're in the process of taking our old stuff to Goodwill (Salvation Army actually) and finding homes for the new items. We need to take a trip to Ikea for some "affordable Swedish crap". Matt Groening said it, not me, okay Swedes.
Heroes sucked last night. I was hooked but can already feel it turning into Lost. The never ending introduction of new characters and story lines with nothing ever being resolved. It didn't completely suck but it was exciting either. See when you introduce new characters, you do so at the expense of your other characters. You only have 44-48 minutes of showtime and all these new characters take away from the others. So the new waitress who recently developed a photographic memory was cute and sweet, but what the hell was the point? To make Hiro use his powers and time travel? You could've cut a good 5-6 minutes off that story line. And what was the deal with Mohinder's story line? So he had a sister, you didn't tell us how she died or why she's important, other than she was "special", so why should we care? None of these other "special" people have done much that is very exciting, except for the female characters who kick ass. Ali Larter's character is a schizo whose other half is some sort of ninja assasin, and Hayden Panetierre's character is a Wolverine-esque cheerleader who can regenerate flesh and bones. At one point she had her chest cavity open (she had a tree in her brain and was kinda dead, but she was better once they took that out) and just flopped her skin closed and voila! All better.
So please Heroes, don't be like Lost. No new characters and actually resolve a few things. We'll tune in next season, I promise.
My parents are coming into town this weekend. First time they'll get to see the cats. Julio has been throwing up daily. At least I think it's Julio. He's also been having excess eye boogers. I think we're gonna call the doc and get his opinion.
I feel ESC's pain about the dirty house. Since the wedding we have all these gifts and nowhere to put them. We're in the process of taking our old stuff to Goodwill (Salvation Army actually) and finding homes for the new items. We need to take a trip to Ikea for some "affordable Swedish crap". Matt Groening said it, not me, okay Swedes.
Heroes sucked last night. I was hooked but can already feel it turning into Lost. The never ending introduction of new characters and story lines with nothing ever being resolved. It didn't completely suck but it was exciting either. See when you introduce new characters, you do so at the expense of your other characters. You only have 44-48 minutes of showtime and all these new characters take away from the others. So the new waitress who recently developed a photographic memory was cute and sweet, but what the hell was the point? To make Hiro use his powers and time travel? You could've cut a good 5-6 minutes off that story line. And what was the deal with Mohinder's story line? So he had a sister, you didn't tell us how she died or why she's important, other than she was "special", so why should we care? None of these other "special" people have done much that is very exciting, except for the female characters who kick ass. Ali Larter's character is a schizo whose other half is some sort of ninja assasin, and Hayden Panetierre's character is a Wolverine-esque cheerleader who can regenerate flesh and bones. At one point she had her chest cavity open (she had a tree in her brain and was kinda dead, but she was better once they took that out) and just flopped her skin closed and voila! All better.
So please Heroes, don't be like Lost. No new characters and actually resolve a few things. We'll tune in next season, I promise.
Monday, November 13, 2006
The new Toyota Hiatus!
No I'm not taking one, but it has been 4 days since my last confession (post). I've just always wanted to say that. I think I would start making stuff up though, just to see if I could get a rise out of the priest. "I bathed in honey, then rolled in peanut butter and had impure thoughts about a menage trois with Roseanne and Rosie O'Donnell." Wow, I almost made myself vomit.
J and I took a jaunt over to Greenville last night. We did a little "Thanks for the giftcards!" shopping. We acquired a couple recipe books from Williams & Sonoma and J got a Smores bundt cake mix, which should be delicious. Then we went to Bed, Bath, etc.. and I got a new pillow! Hooray! I slept on it last night and it works wonderfully. I also bought an inexpensive double boiler. It was $20 as opposed to All-Clad's ceramic $170 double boiler. It's like a training double boiler. Theoretically I will be making various treats for Christmas presents this year. Covered pretzels and cookies and maybe some dried fruit or whatever else pops in my mind that sounds good. I saw choco-covered potato chips at the Rocky Mountain Choco Factory in the mall yesterday, so after seeing that I'm not afraid to try new and strange things covered in chocolate. No bugs. Or vegetables. I promise.
Then we had an appetizer dinner at TGIFs. I had the piñ a-colada wings and J had the triple meat fundido, which is one of those cast iron skillets filled with cheese, sausage, pepperoni, tomato and chives with 5 breadsticks for dipping. It's like dippable pizza. Very good especially for cheese junkies.
Then we went to see Borat. It was very funny. And I'm soooo glad that the drunken redneck frat boys were from South Carolina and not Alabama or any other Southern state. Yeah, these guys. Poor Gamecocks. You guys should watch more HBO. Funny and irreverent. I think my favorite scene is the dining society at the Magnolia Mansion in Nawlins. It is 3 couples of which one is a minister. Borat proceeds to insult the minister's wife by saying his country would go crazy for the 2 wives, but the other one (minister's wife), not so much. The minister's face at this point is freaking priceless. Then he asks to use the restroom and comes back holding what is supposed to be a bag of his feces and is asking where he should dispose of it. Even this merely frazzled his very gracious hosts. But what sent it over the edge is Borat had a "friend" arrive who was a very lovely call girl. It was almost as if the minister knew her. He gets up and says I have to go and bolts out the door, seemingly leaving his wife behind. Then they threaten to call the cops and all semblance of Southern Hospitality flies out the window. Awesome.
Random Movie Club, you are welcome for the link and thank you for the lovely email. He founded the club and runs it and She posts his write-ups and is the blog reader. And she's a chemist! So major bonus points for her.
It's okay Anonymous. I'm sure RMC forgives you. I think we saw one Asian/Caucasian cake topper but it was lame. Vaguely related is J's saying of "Once you go Asian, you never go Caucasian." Those wacky Orientals.
PoP, we were going for the Fall look despite the fact that we were in the Land of No Seasons, so we accomplished this with our colors. And thank you!
Smoove, you would think that someone out there would realize that there are interracial couples who get married and that would be a good business idea. But I guess not. And the bridesmaid in the middle in this pic
is a high school friend of J's who lives in DC. I'll tell J to put in a good word for you.
I personally have never seen either Kentucky Fried Movie.
And J was made at me for including the pic of her eating and wanted me to include this one instead.
And no we didn't smush the cake in each other's face. I think my mom would've killed me for starters and we probably would've taken off some of J's make-up. I did want to do a cute face smash, just dab a little on her nose, but thought my hand would slip or J would freak, so I just took my bite of cake. And an extra swipe of frosting because it was delicious.
Very cute flower girl, niece of one of the bridesmaids. She was not super cooperative, but she was just there to be cute anyways. She's smack dab in the middle of the Terrible 2s.
Awwwww!
See?
The real (read: expensive) photos should arrive either this week or next week. I'll share those once I have them.
All the photos so far have been taken and posted by my father. Thanks Dad!
J and I took a jaunt over to Greenville last night. We did a little "Thanks for the giftcards!" shopping. We acquired a couple recipe books from Williams & Sonoma and J got a Smores bundt cake mix, which should be delicious. Then we went to Bed, Bath, etc.. and I got a new pillow! Hooray! I slept on it last night and it works wonderfully. I also bought an inexpensive double boiler. It was $20 as opposed to All-Clad's ceramic $170 double boiler. It's like a training double boiler. Theoretically I will be making various treats for Christmas presents this year. Covered pretzels and cookies and maybe some dried fruit or whatever else pops in my mind that sounds good. I saw choco-covered potato chips at the Rocky Mountain Choco Factory in the mall yesterday, so after seeing that I'm not afraid to try new and strange things covered in chocolate. No bugs. Or vegetables. I promise.
Then we had an appetizer dinner at TGIFs. I had the piñ a-colada wings and J had the triple meat fundido, which is one of those cast iron skillets filled with cheese, sausage, pepperoni, tomato and chives with 5 breadsticks for dipping. It's like dippable pizza. Very good especially for cheese junkies.
Then we went to see Borat. It was very funny. And I'm soooo glad that the drunken redneck frat boys were from South Carolina and not Alabama or any other Southern state. Yeah, these guys. Poor Gamecocks. You guys should watch more HBO. Funny and irreverent. I think my favorite scene is the dining society at the Magnolia Mansion in Nawlins. It is 3 couples of which one is a minister. Borat proceeds to insult the minister's wife by saying his country would go crazy for the 2 wives, but the other one (minister's wife), not so much. The minister's face at this point is freaking priceless. Then he asks to use the restroom and comes back holding what is supposed to be a bag of his feces and is asking where he should dispose of it. Even this merely frazzled his very gracious hosts. But what sent it over the edge is Borat had a "friend" arrive who was a very lovely call girl. It was almost as if the minister knew her. He gets up and says I have to go and bolts out the door, seemingly leaving his wife behind. Then they threaten to call the cops and all semblance of Southern Hospitality flies out the window. Awesome.
Random Movie Club, you are welcome for the link and thank you for the lovely email. He founded the club and runs it and She posts his write-ups and is the blog reader. And she's a chemist! So major bonus points for her.
It's okay Anonymous. I'm sure RMC forgives you. I think we saw one Asian/Caucasian cake topper but it was lame. Vaguely related is J's saying of "Once you go Asian, you never go Caucasian." Those wacky Orientals.
PoP, we were going for the Fall look despite the fact that we were in the Land of No Seasons, so we accomplished this with our colors. And thank you!
Smoove, you would think that someone out there would realize that there are interracial couples who get married and that would be a good business idea. But I guess not. And the bridesmaid in the middle in this pic
is a high school friend of J's who lives in DC. I'll tell J to put in a good word for you.
I personally have never seen either Kentucky Fried Movie.
And J was made at me for including the pic of her eating and wanted me to include this one instead.
And no we didn't smush the cake in each other's face. I think my mom would've killed me for starters and we probably would've taken off some of J's make-up. I did want to do a cute face smash, just dab a little on her nose, but thought my hand would slip or J would freak, so I just took my bite of cake. And an extra swipe of frosting because it was delicious.
Very cute flower girl, niece of one of the bridesmaids. She was not super cooperative, but she was just there to be cute anyways. She's smack dab in the middle of the Terrible 2s.
Awwwww!
See?
The real (read: expensive) photos should arrive either this week or next week. I'll share those once I have them.
All the photos so far have been taken and posted by my father. Thanks Dad!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I need to get up earlier
I just need to suck it up and start getting up when J leaves at 6:30. It seems like it is worth it to go back to sleep for an hour but it is just that much harder to get up on time. Looks like I'll be the first one in to work for a change. I like getting here early though. It's almost like you have more time in the day. I'll keep you posted.
Hey! It did work! My dad uploaded his pics to Walgreens' shared photo site. This is when we turn around and the minister introduced us as a couple for the first time.
Our Precious Moments cake topper because we couldn't find a white guy with an Asian bride anywhere.
Mmmmmm, waffles with the new in-laws.
Me with the Rev. Please notice the two guys in the background. The one in the white shirt is our DJ. Luckily he did change his shirt before the ceremony started.
I forgot where I was in the wedding story so you'll just have to take these pictures for now.
Edit: I also added a new link to the sidebar. Under "Special Interest Blogs" I've added the Random Movie Club. If you live in LA and want to watch movies and eat pizza and aren't a douchebag, send them an email and attend their next event. If you don't live in LA, but want to read some movie reviews, please enjoy. RMC left a comment (he's a frequent lurker) and now he has a link. See? It pays to comment. But I also like his site and love the RMC idea. He did NOT like Kentucky Fried Movie. (I'm just assuming he's a he. Sorry if you're not.)
Hey! It did work! My dad uploaded his pics to Walgreens' shared photo site. This is when we turn around and the minister introduced us as a couple for the first time.
Our Precious Moments cake topper because we couldn't find a white guy with an Asian bride anywhere.
Mmmmmm, waffles with the new in-laws.
Me with the Rev. Please notice the two guys in the background. The one in the white shirt is our DJ. Luckily he did change his shirt before the ceremony started.
I forgot where I was in the wedding story so you'll just have to take these pictures for now.
Edit: I also added a new link to the sidebar. Under "Special Interest Blogs" I've added the Random Movie Club. If you live in LA and want to watch movies and eat pizza and aren't a douchebag, send them an email and attend their next event. If you don't live in LA, but want to read some movie reviews, please enjoy. RMC left a comment (he's a frequent lurker) and now he has a link. See? It pays to comment. But I also like his site and love the RMC idea. He did NOT like Kentucky Fried Movie. (I'm just assuming he's a he. Sorry if you're not.)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Democracy rulez!
J and I voted yesterday. Electronically as a matter of fact. I voted for some people that I had never heard of (for county council or something) and comptroller general and voted down our incumbent Gov. "SC will always be last in education so why try and make it better" Sanford. But that GOP jerk still won. And my district's congressman was running unopposed AGAIN! But I get to move to wherever my new job will take me, so I'm not going to worry about trying to make this state better. CNN's coverage of the ballot measures is enlightening. Looks like no one wants those durn gays getting hitched in their state. SC's vote was a nail-biter at 815,601 "LGBTs suck" to 229,632 "LGBTs are people too". Not that I was surprised, even a little. They don't call it the Bible Belt for nothing.
In fact I was going over the results both locally and nationally with another group member and mentioned that I was one of the 230k who voted "No" on that amendment to the state constitution and J was too, and then he said that both our votes were cancelled out by his and his wife's. Great.
I'm tired of having progressive views in this state. But I'm not getting discouraged because that's what they want you to do. Give up and stop voting. NEVER! My grandpa's both fought in world wars so that I could vote however the hell I want. If I want to write in "Trashman" for every position, then I can. And J actually wrote-in my name for a few of the positions running unopposed, isn't she sweet?
We were discussing it again at lunch and J and I voted for the Libertarian candidate for the Superintendent of schools (who garnered a whopping 1.82% of the votes) but we really need more 3rd party candidates to run for the larger offices. But they need to be viable and well spoken candidates. Most seem crazy or only care about one issue. But by now there should be enough people who are disenfranchised with this 2 Party Democracy of ours that enough people will "throw away their vote" and make the Reps and the Dems stand up and take notice. Some day.
In fact I was going over the results both locally and nationally with another group member and mentioned that I was one of the 230k who voted "No" on that amendment to the state constitution and J was too, and then he said that both our votes were cancelled out by his and his wife's. Great.
I'm tired of having progressive views in this state. But I'm not getting discouraged because that's what they want you to do. Give up and stop voting. NEVER! My grandpa's both fought in world wars so that I could vote however the hell I want. If I want to write in "Trashman" for every position, then I can. And J actually wrote-in my name for a few of the positions running unopposed, isn't she sweet?
We were discussing it again at lunch and J and I voted for the Libertarian candidate for the Superintendent of schools (who garnered a whopping 1.82% of the votes) but we really need more 3rd party candidates to run for the larger offices. But they need to be viable and well spoken candidates. Most seem crazy or only care about one issue. But by now there should be enough people who are disenfranchised with this 2 Party Democracy of ours that enough people will "throw away their vote" and make the Reps and the Dems stand up and take notice. Some day.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Well, I don't say y'all
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. | |
| The West | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
| The Inland North | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The South | |
| The Northeast | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
Back to the Future
The day after the big day, J and I woke up, packed and left the Westin Grand Bohemia, a very cool hotel in the heart of downtown Orlando. Our window actually overlooked the steps of City Hall. There was artwork everywhere and the lobby was connected to a Starbucks. Mini-fridge with reasonably priced beer (around $5.25) and liquor (around $6.50) assuming you brought your own mixers as the OJ and soda was between $3-$4. They were even charging for the in-room coffee maker packets (from Starbucks, of course). The bathroom had a standing shower with 2 heads (albeit right next to each other instead of one in front and one behind) and a jacuzzi tub. Above the tub were two wooden shutters that opened up into the bedroom. Yes I did jump from the window onto the bed. They provided very nice robes that I have decided are just too hot to wear for an extended period of time. We spent a few hours immediately after the wedding there and the night once we got back from J's parents house after-party.
The post reception reception at J's folks house was great. My new nephew from Omaha is in culinary school and he prepared all the food. Teriyaki meatballs (delicious), an Italian cold cut tray, honey baked ham (might have been store bought), fruit tray, and it was all delicious. Beer, soda, liquor and most everyone who was at the wedding showed up. Even the DJ showed up, but we'll get to his ass later. My friends meshed well although some of my B'ham friends camped out in the living room while Clemson friends were out back on the porch. Maybe there wasn't enough room? Since I had forgotten to give my groomsmen gifts to my groomsmen, I went around and presented them. My 3 drinking groomsmen recieved monogrammed flasks and the other 3 (one doesn't drink too much, one hardly ever, and the other is underage) recieved ?. (Two of my groomsmen weren't at the after-party, and Tom reads this so I can't tell you what he got. Once it's in the mail, I'll tell you.)
J's dad said that most everyone left around 12:30 and they finally went to bed around 1:30. We left after most of our friends had left at about 10 pm.
Our Clemson friends played mini-golf (there hotel was on I Drive aka International Drive, super touristy area near theme parks) were they got to feed 3-4 foot alligators and crocs by dangling hotdogs on fishing poles. They said it was a very fun time. I was jealous that they got to feed hotdogs, but there will be other Orlando trips. And while we're on the topic of reptile themed Orlando theme parks, did you see that Gatorland caught on fire! Crazy! CNN article and Chicago Tribune article
Now to the reception. We missed the finger food time, but luckily the head guy snagged us a plate so we could sample them. They were great! Cheese muffins with ham, raspberry puffs, potato pancakes with apple and onion sauce. Excellent. That's what our guests were doing while we were taking photos. Art did a great job and although I didn't recognize him without his goatee, once he started talking I knew it was him. My first instinct was paparazzi who maybe had the wrong place, but that is just pop culture poisoning my brain again. There were lovely trees and gardens surrounding the ceremony site which make for some great pictures. I can't wait to see them.
I'll dive into the actual reception stories tomorrow. We're slowly making our way to the ceremony, which is the best part anyway. "Best part" for the people being married. All the attendees care about is the reception. Fine, not ALL you care about but it is the most fun for you guys. It's a bit hectic for the bride and groom.
The post reception reception at J's folks house was great. My new nephew from Omaha is in culinary school and he prepared all the food. Teriyaki meatballs (delicious), an Italian cold cut tray, honey baked ham (might have been store bought), fruit tray, and it was all delicious. Beer, soda, liquor and most everyone who was at the wedding showed up. Even the DJ showed up, but we'll get to his ass later. My friends meshed well although some of my B'ham friends camped out in the living room while Clemson friends were out back on the porch. Maybe there wasn't enough room? Since I had forgotten to give my groomsmen gifts to my groomsmen, I went around and presented them. My 3 drinking groomsmen recieved monogrammed flasks and the other 3 (one doesn't drink too much, one hardly ever, and the other is underage) recieved ?. (Two of my groomsmen weren't at the after-party, and Tom reads this so I can't tell you what he got. Once it's in the mail, I'll tell you.)
J's dad said that most everyone left around 12:30 and they finally went to bed around 1:30. We left after most of our friends had left at about 10 pm.
Our Clemson friends played mini-golf (there hotel was on I Drive aka International Drive, super touristy area near theme parks) were they got to feed 3-4 foot alligators and crocs by dangling hotdogs on fishing poles. They said it was a very fun time. I was jealous that they got to feed hotdogs, but there will be other Orlando trips. And while we're on the topic of reptile themed Orlando theme parks, did you see that Gatorland caught on fire! Crazy! CNN article and Chicago Tribune article
Now to the reception. We missed the finger food time, but luckily the head guy snagged us a plate so we could sample them. They were great! Cheese muffins with ham, raspberry puffs, potato pancakes with apple and onion sauce. Excellent. That's what our guests were doing while we were taking photos. Art did a great job and although I didn't recognize him without his goatee, once he started talking I knew it was him. My first instinct was paparazzi who maybe had the wrong place, but that is just pop culture poisoning my brain again. There were lovely trees and gardens surrounding the ceremony site which make for some great pictures. I can't wait to see them.
I'll dive into the actual reception stories tomorrow. We're slowly making our way to the ceremony, which is the best part anyway. "Best part" for the people being married. All the attendees care about is the reception. Fine, not ALL you care about but it is the most fun for you guys. It's a bit hectic for the bride and groom.
Monday, November 06, 2006
And I'm spent
It has come to pass. I am now happily married to my lovely bride. I now have in-laws and will start splitting up holidays and the like.
It's Fall Break in Clemson, so campus is dead. It's nice.
I will most likely post this weekend's events in reverse chronological order because that's how I remember them for some reason.
My favorite parts of the weekend:
The ceremony (J looked incredible! The hair, the dress, the make-up, I couldn't take my eyes off of her)
The brunch reception (waffles with passion fruit butter and pineapples, I want some more!)
Family and friends (all my worlds colliding, high school friends, college friends, grad school friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents and not one fight!)
The rental car (definitely an unnecessary splurge but lots of fun)
I'll only cover one right now, and I pick the car. It wasn't my most favorite, but I liked it alot.
We rented a Cadillac CTS. Awesome brakes, great V8 power, XM radio (I'm hooked and can't wait until I have it), lots of buttons and controls on the steering wheel, the auto-stick that would actually hang on to a gear and even engine brake! Ouch, just looked at Cadi's website and those start at 30k. So I guess if I wanted a touring car and was 40-50ish, I would probably get one of those over a BMW or a Mercedes.
I didn't take one picture this weekend, but others did and we'll have our official pictures in about 2 weeks. More tales tomorrow!
Edit: I was just looking around. According to my butt dyno, the CTS had the 3.6L V6 rated at 255 hp. Not too shabby. But that does mean I still haven't driven a V8.
It's Fall Break in Clemson, so campus is dead. It's nice.
I will most likely post this weekend's events in reverse chronological order because that's how I remember them for some reason.
My favorite parts of the weekend:
The ceremony (J looked incredible! The hair, the dress, the make-up, I couldn't take my eyes off of her)
The brunch reception (waffles with passion fruit butter and pineapples, I want some more!)
Family and friends (all my worlds colliding, high school friends, college friends, grad school friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents and not one fight!)
The rental car (definitely an unnecessary splurge but lots of fun)
I'll only cover one right now, and I pick the car. It wasn't my most favorite, but I liked it alot.
We rented a Cadillac CTS. Awesome brakes, great V8 power, XM radio (I'm hooked and can't wait until I have it), lots of buttons and controls on the steering wheel, the auto-stick that would actually hang on to a gear and even engine brake! Ouch, just looked at Cadi's website and those start at 30k. So I guess if I wanted a touring car and was 40-50ish, I would probably get one of those over a BMW or a Mercedes.
I didn't take one picture this weekend, but others did and we'll have our official pictures in about 2 weeks. More tales tomorrow!
Edit: I was just looking around. According to my butt dyno, the CTS had the 3.6L V6 rated at 255 hp. Not too shabby. But that does mean I still haven't driven a V8.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Chaos Theory
The drive down surprisingly wasn't too bad. I was able to nap for an hour or so before J got home from work and then slept for a few hours while she drove. I stayed awake until we hit 385 and then was out. But before that I got to see us almost destroy a deer. It happened like this.
J driving is merging from 123 onto 153 on the on-ramp. It's roughly 1 am and foggy.
La da da, these are good fries. - J
Deer. - Me
Deer! - Me
DEER! - Me
and by that time the deer is now very close to us and decides to cross the on-ramp. J slams on the brakes, tires squealing (no ABS for Focus), but it was enough for the deer to pass safely in front. Phew, that would've sucked.
Made it into Orlando around morning rush hour, slept for an hour and then went to the wedding/reception site.
I'm not feeling the crush but that is mostly due to the fact that J left me at home and my current job assignments are A) send the DJ the music (working on that currently in another tab) B) go pay for our wedding cake (I'll probably do that by 3 or 4) C) make the wedding programs (I'm working on that next) and then take them to Kinko's and make copies.
We officially have 58 people attending the shindig. My folks are here and are running around shopping and getting my dad's tux. I'll see them tonight.
Sorry this has morphed into "Seth's Wedding Blog" recently, but dammit! It's what is going on in my life and I want to share it!
Flowers will arrive tomorrow and are being shipped from California. That makes me feel fancy.
J driving is merging from 123 onto 153 on the on-ramp. It's roughly 1 am and foggy.
La da da, these are good fries. - J
Deer. - Me
Deer! - Me
DEER! - Me
and by that time the deer is now very close to us and decides to cross the on-ramp. J slams on the brakes, tires squealing (no ABS for Focus), but it was enough for the deer to pass safely in front. Phew, that would've sucked.
Made it into Orlando around morning rush hour, slept for an hour and then went to the wedding/reception site.
I'm not feeling the crush but that is mostly due to the fact that J left me at home and my current job assignments are A) send the DJ the music (working on that currently in another tab) B) go pay for our wedding cake (I'll probably do that by 3 or 4) C) make the wedding programs (I'm working on that next) and then take them to Kinko's and make copies.
We officially have 58 people attending the shindig. My folks are here and are running around shopping and getting my dad's tux. I'll see them tonight.
Sorry this has morphed into "Seth's Wedding Blog" recently, but dammit! It's what is going on in my life and I want to share it!
Flowers will arrive tomorrow and are being shipped from California. That makes me feel fancy.
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