- Sara and I were talking at lunch, and realized that there's basically one week until we're in Full-On Christmas mode. Next Saturday is the Christmas party at our place with my sister-in-law's family, and the in-laws. It'll be a fun time, especially with all 6 kids together.
- We're supposed to get our first taste of nasty winter weather starting tomorrow afternoon. Just what exactly we're going to be getting, is still up for debate. It seems like we're always on the border of either getting a mix of rain/snow or just rain. As much as I hate winter, and cold weather, I kind of wish we were getting hit with a bunch of snow. It makes things easier when it happens on the weekend. We'll probably end up with nothing when its all said and done. Sara and I were supposed to go see the Bob Schneider show in town tomorrow night, but the threat of bad weather had us decide against it..so far.
- Sara and I got tickets to see Bruce Springsteen here in Charlottesville at the end of April. I'm not a huge fan, I know a lot of his stuff, but I hear his live shows are legendary. He's one of those people that I've always wanted to see live. It sucks that the show is so far away. I still really want to see Van Halen when they come here in February. Now hopefully Led Zeppelin will decide to tour this summer. The only thing bigger for me than seeing Led Zeppelin, would be to see the Beatles..and well, that's just impossible.
- I had been doing pretty well with the baseball withdrawls so far this year. Having Tucker around, I haven't paid much attention to sports lately. After the big trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis last week however, I'm really getting the itch for baseball season. At least Spring Training is only at most, 2 months away..but who's counting?
- Speaking of baseball, the steroid report came out yesterday. I'm neither all that surprised, nor do I really care. Can't we all just agree that from the late 1980s until the early 2000's should just be called the "Steroid Era" of baseball. I really don't think anyone caught doing the drugs prior to the testing policy that was implemented a few years ago, should be punished. Baseball knew it was going on, and they turned a blind eye to it, because it was bringing back popularity to the sport. At least it gave something for ESPN to O.D. about once again.
- R.I.P. Fleetie (a.k.a. Crackwhore). You were a good, but crazy dog to Kristen.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Pictures
So it's been awhile since I've last posted. I've had a brain fart for the most part, and I've been busy at work, and when I get home I've been hanging out with Tucker and the family. Here's some pictures of Tucker, taken over the past few weeks.
First snowfall:
We had our first snowfall last Wednesday, which turned out to be a light dusting for the most part. When I went home for lunch (a perk of living only 4 minutes from the office), Sara and I took Tucker out to see what he thought of the snow.
Tucker in his snowsuit:
Tucker and Sara outside:
Back in the warmth of the house, laying on his favorite sofa:
On December 1st, we went took Tucker and Blake to Richmond to see Santa. Before we left, Sara put him in a reindeer outfit she got just for this occassion. Unfortunately, Tucker wasn't a big fan of it:
Blake and Tucker with Santa. Tucker was more interested in his thumb:
Blake telling Santa about the iPod he wants. Tucker still interested in his thumb:
Tucker finally deciding to check out Santa, only to see the inside of his hood:
After seeing Santa, shopping at Kohl's, and eating some BBQ in Richmond, we went to look at 2 houses that are all decked out in Christmas lights. Words can't describe how many lights are on these houses. Take a look:
This house has a huge tree in the front yard, which is completely covered in lights:
We went to Virginia Beach this past weekend for a quick get-away and to see the Christmas light display on the boardwalk. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to download the pictures off my camera...yet.
First snowfall:
We had our first snowfall last Wednesday, which turned out to be a light dusting for the most part. When I went home for lunch (a perk of living only 4 minutes from the office), Sara and I took Tucker out to see what he thought of the snow.
Tucker in his snowsuit:
Tucker and Sara outside:
Back in the warmth of the house, laying on his favorite sofa:
On December 1st, we went took Tucker and Blake to Richmond to see Santa. Before we left, Sara put him in a reindeer outfit she got just for this occassion. Unfortunately, Tucker wasn't a big fan of it:
Blake and Tucker with Santa. Tucker was more interested in his thumb:
Blake telling Santa about the iPod he wants. Tucker still interested in his thumb:
Tucker finally deciding to check out Santa, only to see the inside of his hood:
After seeing Santa, shopping at Kohl's, and eating some BBQ in Richmond, we went to look at 2 houses that are all decked out in Christmas lights. Words can't describe how many lights are on these houses. Take a look:
This house has a huge tree in the front yard, which is completely covered in lights:
We went to Virginia Beach this past weekend for a quick get-away and to see the Christmas light display on the boardwalk. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to download the pictures off my camera...yet.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
And then there were four!
So its been exactly a week since Tucker was born. I've been meaning to post something about it, but haven't really had a chance. Overall it has been a very surreal experience. From the time we found out last Tuesday (Nov. 6th) that the doctor wanted to induce Sara the next day, everything was sort of a whirlwind. We were up by 6AM on Wednesday (the 7th), at the hospital by 7:30, and Sara was given the induction medicine by 8:30. Sara's doctor (Dr. Blommel, who ROCKS!) told her that she had to run to her office but would be back by Noon to give her another dose of the medicine, since usually more than one dose is required, and it takes a bit for it to kick in.
By 9:30, Sara was already experiencing strong contractions that were 7 mins apart, and it stayed that way for over an hour, until they started to get closer and closer. By noon, I was down to the nurses station requesting some pain meds for Sara. They gave her an epidural around 1:00, and it was soon after that that she was fully dialated. Around 2:00 the nurse was checking her, and found out that Tucker was on his way. After having Sara push through some of her contractions, the nurse had to make her stop so she could get the doctor back in the room. Things were already moving pretty quickly, and when the doctor and 3 other nurses came in, it then really started moving. Trying to not get in anyones way, I stepped back to let them all do what they needed to do, when the doctor instructed me to stand at the end of the bed, and let Sara put her right leg up on my shoulder. My mother-in-law always told me that she highly recommended to not look while Tucker was coming out, and I really didn't know if I wanted to see it all or not, but now I had no choice. After a few pushes Dr. Blommel stopped everyone, and made everyone appreciate the fact that with all the pushing Sara was doing, and the pain she was in, Sara still hadn't smeared her make-up. Pushing then resumed and a head soon popped out, followed by an arm, and then the rest of Tucker. I was so fascinated by it all (and trying to figure out the logistics of how that fit in there the past 9 months, and then came out of there) that after Tucker was born Dr. Blommel was posing with Tucker, waiting for me to take pictures, but I was just staring in amazement and she had to tell me to get the camera. The doctor and nurses were great with letting me get in and take some pictures. After the quick photo session, I was able to finally check him out in fine detail with Sara. It was amazing to finally get to meet the little guy who had been kicking and moving all around the inside of Sara the past 9 months.
We finally all came home and were able to start our life as a family on Friday afternoon. Its been awesome. Sure, I don't get to sleep through an entire night uninterrupted anymore, and now when we want to make a quick run to the store, it means we have someone else that we have to get ready, but it really hasn't been a problem. I'm sure its easy for me to say that now, as I am off work until after Thanksgiving, and really don't have to live back in "the real world" yet. Its ok, I'll learn to adapt. If I wasn't willing to adapt, make adjustments to my lifestyle, and make the other sacrifices that I don't even realize that I'll have to make yet, I wouldn't have signed up for this thing called "parenthood".
Its been great being off work and staying home with Sara and helping out with everything. It has given me a great opportunity to get to know Tucker, and play with him (when he isn't sleeping). I've had numerous people tell me that once you have a kid, time goes by even quicker than it already does. I'm trying to remember that, and take every minute in. Hopefully Tucker's second week will go by a lot slower than his first one did.
Here's a few pictures of my new buddy:
Taking a nap on his first night.
Uncle Aadam doing the Heisman pose, using Tucker as a prop.
The two of us having a moment.
Posing in his Tigers hat that Uncle Dock got him (you can't start being a fan too early).
I also want to say congratulations to my good friends Joe and Lori, on the birth of their first kid, Quin, who was born early on Monday morning. I've known Joe since the first day of Kindergarten, and we were exactly 2 months apart in age, now we both have sons who are just 5 days apart. Its funny how it works out.
By 9:30, Sara was already experiencing strong contractions that were 7 mins apart, and it stayed that way for over an hour, until they started to get closer and closer. By noon, I was down to the nurses station requesting some pain meds for Sara. They gave her an epidural around 1:00, and it was soon after that that she was fully dialated. Around 2:00 the nurse was checking her, and found out that Tucker was on his way. After having Sara push through some of her contractions, the nurse had to make her stop so she could get the doctor back in the room. Things were already moving pretty quickly, and when the doctor and 3 other nurses came in, it then really started moving. Trying to not get in anyones way, I stepped back to let them all do what they needed to do, when the doctor instructed me to stand at the end of the bed, and let Sara put her right leg up on my shoulder. My mother-in-law always told me that she highly recommended to not look while Tucker was coming out, and I really didn't know if I wanted to see it all or not, but now I had no choice. After a few pushes Dr. Blommel stopped everyone, and made everyone appreciate the fact that with all the pushing Sara was doing, and the pain she was in, Sara still hadn't smeared her make-up. Pushing then resumed and a head soon popped out, followed by an arm, and then the rest of Tucker. I was so fascinated by it all (and trying to figure out the logistics of how that fit in there the past 9 months, and then came out of there) that after Tucker was born Dr. Blommel was posing with Tucker, waiting for me to take pictures, but I was just staring in amazement and she had to tell me to get the camera. The doctor and nurses were great with letting me get in and take some pictures. After the quick photo session, I was able to finally check him out in fine detail with Sara. It was amazing to finally get to meet the little guy who had been kicking and moving all around the inside of Sara the past 9 months.
We finally all came home and were able to start our life as a family on Friday afternoon. Its been awesome. Sure, I don't get to sleep through an entire night uninterrupted anymore, and now when we want to make a quick run to the store, it means we have someone else that we have to get ready, but it really hasn't been a problem. I'm sure its easy for me to say that now, as I am off work until after Thanksgiving, and really don't have to live back in "the real world" yet. Its ok, I'll learn to adapt. If I wasn't willing to adapt, make adjustments to my lifestyle, and make the other sacrifices that I don't even realize that I'll have to make yet, I wouldn't have signed up for this thing called "parenthood".
Its been great being off work and staying home with Sara and helping out with everything. It has given me a great opportunity to get to know Tucker, and play with him (when he isn't sleeping). I've had numerous people tell me that once you have a kid, time goes by even quicker than it already does. I'm trying to remember that, and take every minute in. Hopefully Tucker's second week will go by a lot slower than his first one did.
Here's a few pictures of my new buddy:
Taking a nap on his first night.
Uncle Aadam doing the Heisman pose, using Tucker as a prop.
The two of us having a moment.
Posing in his Tigers hat that Uncle Dock got him (you can't start being a fan too early).
I also want to say congratulations to my good friends Joe and Lori, on the birth of their first kid, Quin, who was born early on Monday morning. I've known Joe since the first day of Kindergarten, and we were exactly 2 months apart in age, now we both have sons who are just 5 days apart. Its funny how it works out.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Randomness
- So today's the day I picked for Tucker to finally get here. So far, there's nothing to report. It would seem like a good pick since the odds are in my favor. There's going to be a full moon tonight, and the barometric pressure has dropped over the past few days - both things that usually seem to cause women to go into labor, according to the people at our doctor's office. I guess there's still time...
- How come whenever there is a gathering of people and ice cream is being served, the gathering is called a "ice cream social"? Why is it that the only types of socials, are ice cream ones? Why aren't pizza parties called "pizza socials", or bagel parties (a common occurance around here) called "bagel socials"? I was going to ask this question last week, as we had an ice cream social at work.
- We've been getting quite a bit of rain around here, which is nice. Now we have a flood warning in effect for the day because rather than just rain here, its been pretty much pouring all day. It seems like the rain this year has either been feast of famine.
- Guitar Hero for the Wii comes out next week, and I want it. Seeing as its $150, I think it'll be awhile before I get it however.
- I can't believe that its now less than 2 months until Christmas. Where did the time go?
- How come whenever there is a gathering of people and ice cream is being served, the gathering is called a "ice cream social"? Why is it that the only types of socials, are ice cream ones? Why aren't pizza parties called "pizza socials", or bagel parties (a common occurance around here) called "bagel socials"? I was going to ask this question last week, as we had an ice cream social at work.
- We've been getting quite a bit of rain around here, which is nice. Now we have a flood warning in effect for the day because rather than just rain here, its been pretty much pouring all day. It seems like the rain this year has either been feast of famine.
- Guitar Hero for the Wii comes out next week, and I want it. Seeing as its $150, I think it'll be awhile before I get it however.
- I can't believe that its now less than 2 months until Christmas. Where did the time go?
Friday, October 19, 2007
Randomness
- Its raining here today. It’s the first time in an extremely long time that we’ve had rain here. As a result of the rain, someone in our building had decided we needed to celebrate with a pizza party. Sounded like a ridiculous reason to me, but I’m always down for free food for lunch.
- We’re exactly 1 week away from the date that I picked way back when, that Tucker would be born on, and 2 weeks until the official due date. With that being said, he probably won’t come for 3 weeks.
- Yes, the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs, and Joe Torre won’t be back next year. Do we really need to have these 2 facts continue to be the “big story” on all sports related programs everyday? The morning after the Indians beat the Yankees in the playoffs, I turned on SportsCenter to see who won, and to check out the highlights (I can't seem to stay awake to watch the ends of games anymore), and 9 of the first 10 stories were all related to the Yankees loss, and no mention of the Indians winning the series. How is that right? Today, I check the news a little bit earlier, and in the “Breaking News” section on MSNBC.com, there’s a link saying “Joe Torre is addressing the media.” Really, MSNBC feels this is 1) a real news story, and 2) a important and breaking one at that?!? As I’m writing this, I find that there is someone else who feels the same way.
- We’re exactly 1 week away from the date that I picked way back when, that Tucker would be born on, and 2 weeks until the official due date. With that being said, he probably won’t come for 3 weeks.
- Yes, the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs, and Joe Torre won’t be back next year. Do we really need to have these 2 facts continue to be the “big story” on all sports related programs everyday? The morning after the Indians beat the Yankees in the playoffs, I turned on SportsCenter to see who won, and to check out the highlights (I can't seem to stay awake to watch the ends of games anymore), and 9 of the first 10 stories were all related to the Yankees loss, and no mention of the Indians winning the series. How is that right? Today, I check the news a little bit earlier, and in the “Breaking News” section on MSNBC.com, there’s a link saying “Joe Torre is addressing the media.” Really, MSNBC feels this is 1) a real news story, and 2) a important and breaking one at that?!? As I’m writing this, I find that there is someone else who feels the same way.
- Speaking of news, and prioritizing things - do we really need to know about all the BS that all these idiotic attention needing whores do every day/every night? It seems like at least 3 days a week I'll be trying to read the news in the morning, catching up on what's going on in the world, and there's always some "breaking news" about something stupid that Britney/Paris/Lindsay/the rest of stupid Hollywood did the night before. Its one thing if this is the big story on some Entertainment "news" outlet, and I can easily avoid it, but really, breaking news in the National/Global news portion? We have certifiable criminals running the country doing things like throwing around words like "World War III", "Invading Iran", "spying on US citizens", and "Vetoing healthcare for children", but all the news can tell us is that some over-paid, no talent hack is going to rehab in order to avoid going to jail. (Don't even get me started on the how lenient the law enforcement system is out there). I've always heard that one of these days a earthquake will hit California, and that the whole state is going to slide off into the ocean. Is it too much to ask that this just happens to Hollywood?
- I’ve been listening to the “Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – Live at Radio City” album quite a bit lately. I think its one of the best albums I’ve gotten this year. The recording is crystal clear, and Dave and Tim’s playing is superb. Listening to the songs stripped down with just acoustic guitars (mainly), have given me an appreciation for Dave’s music once again. I’d really like to see another Dave and Tim show.
- Online grocery shopping might be the coolest thing ever. We have a grocery store near us that lets you order your groceries online. Someone in the store gets your order, goes through the store, and fills it for you, and then all you have to do is drive up to a special spot in the parking lot at a designated time, and the person comes out and loads up your car for you. Since the store is on my way home from work, Sara will place the order, and then I pick it up on the way home. We’ve been using this option for about a month now and are quite pleased with it. We may never have to set foot in a grocery store again. Ok, maybe that was a stretch.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Randomness
- We're down to the final month, until Tucker's arrival.
- I thought fall was finally here, as it had been pretty nice the past couple weeks. Starting last weekend it was warming back up, and we've been in the high 80's/low 90's ever since. I'm ready for it to cool down.
- This weekend is the last weekend of Tigers baseball for the year. Even though they didn't make it to the post-season this year, I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed at all. All of those years of being really bad, are still fresh in my memory, and I can remember just wanting them to play around .500 ball consistantly for a couple of seasons in a row. It's going to take another year or two of being good, but not contending before I start getting frustrated.
- With the Tigers out of it, I think I'll be giving my full support (for what its worth) to the Cubs, should they make into the playoffs. Being quite a fan of the history of baseball, I think its only fair for the Cubs to take their turn at winning it all. I'm also hoping that the Yankees and Red Sox get knocked out in the first round in the AL. I don't know if I'll be able to stand the love-fest that the media will give each team, as long as they are in it.
- Sara and I saw Ryan Adams in concert here a couple of weeks ago, it was an amazing show. After seeing that show, its got me itching to see some more good live music, luckily Bob Schneider is coming to town in December. Hopefully we'll be able to go..as long as we can get a baby-sitter for Blake and Tucker.
-Thank goodness its Friday!
- I thought fall was finally here, as it had been pretty nice the past couple weeks. Starting last weekend it was warming back up, and we've been in the high 80's/low 90's ever since. I'm ready for it to cool down.
- This weekend is the last weekend of Tigers baseball for the year. Even though they didn't make it to the post-season this year, I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed at all. All of those years of being really bad, are still fresh in my memory, and I can remember just wanting them to play around .500 ball consistantly for a couple of seasons in a row. It's going to take another year or two of being good, but not contending before I start getting frustrated.
- With the Tigers out of it, I think I'll be giving my full support (for what its worth) to the Cubs, should they make into the playoffs. Being quite a fan of the history of baseball, I think its only fair for the Cubs to take their turn at winning it all. I'm also hoping that the Yankees and Red Sox get knocked out in the first round in the AL. I don't know if I'll be able to stand the love-fest that the media will give each team, as long as they are in it.
- Sara and I saw Ryan Adams in concert here a couple of weeks ago, it was an amazing show. After seeing that show, its got me itching to see some more good live music, luckily Bob Schneider is coming to town in December. Hopefully we'll be able to go..as long as we can get a baby-sitter for Blake and Tucker.
-Thank goodness its Friday!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Question
If you follow someone through mulitple sets of doors, and they hold the door open for you each time until you reach it, how often do you have to thank them? Can you just say thanks at the first door and that covers the entire process, or do you need to say thanks at each door?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
My Life in Pictures
- I realized today, its been awhile since I've last posted. Its been partly because of laziness..well actually I've been completely lazy in regards to this blog over the last few weeks.
- I recently bought myself a new digital camera that I've had my eye on for quite some time. I finally rationalized the need to make the purchase by saying that I needed something better for when Tucker gets here, and I should get it now, so that I could have some time to play with it, and figure it out. (It all makes sense to me..) So we've been out doing some fun stuff the last few weekends since I bought it, and I've taken it along with us in an attempt to figure it all out, so that when Tucker gets here, I'll be able to take some awesome pictures with it.
- So to get up to speed, here is how I've spent the last few weekends:
Weekend #1, at our community pool:
Blake jumping in the pool
Blake coming up for air
Blake splashing in the pool
Weekend #2, Craft fair and Car show in Salem, Virginia:
The pink Mustang that Sara and her mom both want
The Mustang with the "Hot Wheels" logo that Blake wants
The old VW Beetle Convertible that I want.
Weekend #3, Apple Butter Festival at the Skyland Resort on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park:
The pot they make the Apple Butter in
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Family of 4 bears (or is it bear?) we saw while driving down Skyline Drive (and the highlight of the trip)
A deer walking on the patio at one of the gift shops we stopped at
A view of the mountains
- I recently bought myself a new digital camera that I've had my eye on for quite some time. I finally rationalized the need to make the purchase by saying that I needed something better for when Tucker gets here, and I should get it now, so that I could have some time to play with it, and figure it out. (It all makes sense to me..) So we've been out doing some fun stuff the last few weekends since I bought it, and I've taken it along with us in an attempt to figure it all out, so that when Tucker gets here, I'll be able to take some awesome pictures with it.
- So to get up to speed, here is how I've spent the last few weekends:
Weekend #1, at our community pool:
Blake jumping in the pool
Blake coming up for air
Blake splashing in the pool
Weekend #2, Craft fair and Car show in Salem, Virginia:
The pink Mustang that Sara and her mom both want
The Mustang with the "Hot Wheels" logo that Blake wantsThe old VW Beetle Convertible that I want.
Weekend #3, Apple Butter Festival at the Skyland Resort on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park:
The pot they make the Apple Butter in<
Family of 4 bears (or is it bear?) we saw while driving down Skyline Drive (and the highlight of the trip)A deer walking on the patio at one of the gift shops we stopped atA view of the mountains
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Randomness
- I'm sick of hearing about Michael Vick. It seems like that's all that I hear about. Sports news, regular news, etc. I can't wait for Monday to get here, so he can get his sentencing, and hopefully this will start to go away.
- One question I have about Vick, even though I said I am sick of hearing about him, is why he will get off with such little time in prison? The other big story this summer is about the NBA ref who has plead guilty to gambling. He could get 25 years, while Vick might get 2 years maximum. Sara and I were watching TV one night, when the NBA ref gambling case was being discussed, and Sara asked why he would get so much time in prison for something like gambling? I never really had thought about it before then, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes, especially in the context of the Vick case. The ref conspired to help some people make a few extra bucks, and yes, as a result some people lost money because of his actions as well. Those people were going to bet anyways, so there was going to be some losers and winners on those games...big deal. Vick bankrolled an operation where dogs killed each others, and if some dogs weren't to his liking after he trained them he would kill them in a pretty gruesome way. I'm not a judge, but to me Vick's actions seem a lot more criminal, and should deserve the more severe punishment.
- Today is the first day of the school year for Blake. Its crazy to think how fast the summer went. I remember when I was a kid, the summers seemed to last forever.
- Following the Tigers the past few weeks has been like riding a rollercoaster. They've been up, down, and generally just all over the place. My jinxing is still in effect. I didn't watch the game against the Yankees last Thursday, and they won. I watched them the rest of the weekend (thanks to Polio for the mlb.tv account), and they lost. I didn't watch them last night, and they won. A coincidence? I think not. Sara did wear one of my Tigers shirts last night when they won, so she's been instructed to wear that shirt some more to see if maybe she's a good luck charm. Time will tell....
- Sara had her bi-weekly appointment with the doctor the other day. The doctor gave us instructions on what kind of signs we should look for to know that Tucker is on his way, and when to call her and where to go. It made me realize that we're starting to get real close to the due date now. I'm sure it'll really start to set in once we start taking our classes at the hospital.
- I am having a huge craving for Chipotle.
- A few friends went up to DC recently to see the Dave Matthews Band show. I realized that this is the first year since 1996 (when I started following them) that I probably won't be seeing them. I'm still stuck on 49 shows and counting.
- Sara and I are going to see Ryan Adams here in Charlottesville in a few weeks. I'm pretty excited, as I've been wanting to see him for a few years now, and I've been wanting to see some live music.
- We took an afternoon trip out to the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of weekends ago. Even though we only live a half-hour away, we rarely think of going there whenever we're trying to think of something to do. Blake really liked it. He said that once Sara has the baby, she can stay home and do baby stuff with Tucker, and he and I can go back there and go hiking. Here's some pictures:
- One question I have about Vick, even though I said I am sick of hearing about him, is why he will get off with such little time in prison? The other big story this summer is about the NBA ref who has plead guilty to gambling. He could get 25 years, while Vick might get 2 years maximum. Sara and I were watching TV one night, when the NBA ref gambling case was being discussed, and Sara asked why he would get so much time in prison for something like gambling? I never really had thought about it before then, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes, especially in the context of the Vick case. The ref conspired to help some people make a few extra bucks, and yes, as a result some people lost money because of his actions as well. Those people were going to bet anyways, so there was going to be some losers and winners on those games...big deal. Vick bankrolled an operation where dogs killed each others, and if some dogs weren't to his liking after he trained them he would kill them in a pretty gruesome way. I'm not a judge, but to me Vick's actions seem a lot more criminal, and should deserve the more severe punishment.
- Today is the first day of the school year for Blake. Its crazy to think how fast the summer went. I remember when I was a kid, the summers seemed to last forever.
- Following the Tigers the past few weeks has been like riding a rollercoaster. They've been up, down, and generally just all over the place. My jinxing is still in effect. I didn't watch the game against the Yankees last Thursday, and they won. I watched them the rest of the weekend (thanks to Polio for the mlb.tv account), and they lost. I didn't watch them last night, and they won. A coincidence? I think not. Sara did wear one of my Tigers shirts last night when they won, so she's been instructed to wear that shirt some more to see if maybe she's a good luck charm. Time will tell....
- Sara had her bi-weekly appointment with the doctor the other day. The doctor gave us instructions on what kind of signs we should look for to know that Tucker is on his way, and when to call her and where to go. It made me realize that we're starting to get real close to the due date now. I'm sure it'll really start to set in once we start taking our classes at the hospital.
- I am having a huge craving for Chipotle.
- A few friends went up to DC recently to see the Dave Matthews Band show. I realized that this is the first year since 1996 (when I started following them) that I probably won't be seeing them. I'm still stuck on 49 shows and counting.
- Sara and I are going to see Ryan Adams here in Charlottesville in a few weeks. I'm pretty excited, as I've been wanting to see him for a few years now, and I've been wanting to see some live music.
- We took an afternoon trip out to the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of weekends ago. Even though we only live a half-hour away, we rarely think of going there whenever we're trying to think of something to do. Blake really liked it. He said that once Sara has the baby, she can stay home and do baby stuff with Tucker, and he and I can go back there and go hiking. Here's some pictures:
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Roastin!
- It's been hot here lately. It's been in the 90's for what seems like forever, and yesterday when I got home from work, the local station said it was 100, with a heat index of 110. I don't know if I've ever felt it as hot as it was yesterday. I ran to the grocery store last night, around 8:30, and it was still too hot to ride with the windows down. I can't imagine what Sara is going through, having to deal with being pregnant in this hot weather.
- Sara had a regular check-up the other day. Everything looks like its going along good. We're down to about 13 weeks or so to go. It seems like its still a long way off, but I'm sure it'll fly by quickly. I think we're going to sign up for some crash course parenting classes at the hospital. I am going to need all the help I can get. So far all I know is that the bottle goes in the mouth, and the diaper goes around the butt. How the diaper gets on there...I still need to figure that part out.
- Tigers are still sucking it up. It looks like they'll lose 2 of 4 against Tampa Bay, and things won't be getting easier since they play Cleveland and New York in something like 13 of their next 17 games. Luckily Cleveland hasn't done anything to distance themselves from the Tigers, but the Nazi's (Yankees) have been on a tear of late, and could complicate the chase for the wild card spot (though, to be honest, I really want a division title, and not have to settle for a wild card spot again). Hopefully Rodgers and Zumaya will get back in the rotation soon and pitch the way they're capable of, and Sheffield will get back to full strength. Bonderman also needs to get back on track and pitch, as he's pitched like crap the last couple of outings. I guess if nothing else, it'll make for a exciting August and September.
- Lions have their first preseason game tonight. You can never read too much into pre-season games, but it still will be interesting to see how they come out and play tonight. It will be interesting to see how the potent the offense will be, since they have the weapons to at least make things fun to watch for once.
- So Barry Bonds finally broke the home run record. I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I'm glad its over...I got sick of hearing about it everyday. For the 2 minutes I watched Sportscenter in the morning (mostly to check the Tigers score, if I didn't know it already) it seemed they were always talking about it. On all the morning news programs, they talked about the impending record breaker home run, and all the news and sports websites I read, it seemed it was the #1 topic of discussion. The most exciting part for me, was when he was in San Diego last weekend, I was wondering if my buddy Sean would be at the game where Bonds would tie/break the record (Sean wasn't...he went to the Friday and Sunday games, but not the Saturday game, where Bonds actually tied the record). I think that if I knew that Bonds record was going to be a record that was going to stand for an indefinite amount of time, and no one's career looked like they were on the trajectory to break it, I think I would be hating the fact that Bonds has the record. It looks like that won't be the case though, as there's already a couple people in line (A-Rod, for one) who barring any setbacks, will probably demolish whatever Bonds' mark will end up at. I only wish that Griffey, Jr. couldn't have stayed healthy all his career, and been the one to break Hank Aaron's mark.
- Sara had a regular check-up the other day. Everything looks like its going along good. We're down to about 13 weeks or so to go. It seems like its still a long way off, but I'm sure it'll fly by quickly. I think we're going to sign up for some crash course parenting classes at the hospital. I am going to need all the help I can get. So far all I know is that the bottle goes in the mouth, and the diaper goes around the butt. How the diaper gets on there...I still need to figure that part out.
- Tigers are still sucking it up. It looks like they'll lose 2 of 4 against Tampa Bay, and things won't be getting easier since they play Cleveland and New York in something like 13 of their next 17 games. Luckily Cleveland hasn't done anything to distance themselves from the Tigers, but the Nazi's (Yankees) have been on a tear of late, and could complicate the chase for the wild card spot (though, to be honest, I really want a division title, and not have to settle for a wild card spot again). Hopefully Rodgers and Zumaya will get back in the rotation soon and pitch the way they're capable of, and Sheffield will get back to full strength. Bonderman also needs to get back on track and pitch, as he's pitched like crap the last couple of outings. I guess if nothing else, it'll make for a exciting August and September.
- Lions have their first preseason game tonight. You can never read too much into pre-season games, but it still will be interesting to see how they come out and play tonight. It will be interesting to see how the potent the offense will be, since they have the weapons to at least make things fun to watch for once.
- So Barry Bonds finally broke the home run record. I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I'm glad its over...I got sick of hearing about it everyday. For the 2 minutes I watched Sportscenter in the morning (mostly to check the Tigers score, if I didn't know it already) it seemed they were always talking about it. On all the morning news programs, they talked about the impending record breaker home run, and all the news and sports websites I read, it seemed it was the #1 topic of discussion. The most exciting part for me, was when he was in San Diego last weekend, I was wondering if my buddy Sean would be at the game where Bonds would tie/break the record (Sean wasn't...he went to the Friday and Sunday games, but not the Saturday game, where Bonds actually tied the record). I think that if I knew that Bonds record was going to be a record that was going to stand for an indefinite amount of time, and no one's career looked like they were on the trajectory to break it, I think I would be hating the fact that Bonds has the record. It looks like that won't be the case though, as there's already a couple people in line (A-Rod, for one) who barring any setbacks, will probably demolish whatever Bonds' mark will end up at. I only wish that Griffey, Jr. couldn't have stayed healthy all his career, and been the one to break Hank Aaron's mark.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Randomness
- Sara had her ultrasound this morning. Looks like Tucker is going to turn out a-ok, and it also looks like he's going to be a bit on the chubby side. Its amazing to see what a difference 4 weeks makes. In the new 4-D pictures we got today, you can see that he's starting to accumulate some baby fat. The pictures from 4 weeks ago, he looked to be on the skinny side. Maybe I'll do a side by side comparison on here, if I get a chance to scan the pictures that we got today.
- Some of my friends are starting to take bets as to when Tucker will be born. A co-worker of mine says he'll be born on Halloween. Sean wants him born on the 9th (which is Sean's birthday), Dock wants him born on the 7th (which is Dock's birthday). I for a completely random guess have October 26th as my guess.
- I think I'm starting to jinx the Tigers. It seems whenever I watch them play, they end up losing, and in a big way. I went to the game a weekend ago and they lost 10-2. I tried to watch the game last night, and they lost 13 to something. I stopped watching full-time after the 1st inning. I couldn't handle it, and when I flipped over to check the score, it seemed to just continue to get worse. Maybe I should give my lucky t-shirt another try. Something needs to happen. I was starting to think maybe it was time to start panicing about the recent plight of the Tigers, but my favorite blogger of all things Detroit, Big Al, says not yet, so I'll take his advice. I mean, they are still in first place (for now).
- So its football time again. It seems like every year I'm becoming less and less of a football fan, thanks to the recent plight of the Detroit Lions. I'll never be as big of a fan as I was when I was in high school when we had Barry Sanders to watch, and when Lloyd, Mike and I would drive from Lapeer to Pontiac 3 to 4 times a week to watch training camp. At least back then the Lions were entertaining, and you could expect at least a 8-8 season from them. Even if you didn't have a great feeling about the team, you always knew you had Barry and he would probably do something amazing, to at least keep you watching, or Wayne Fontes would do/say something entertaining as well. Lately is been painful to be a Lions fan. When I say painful I mean, its really painful to watch, but yet you watch, because you want to see what's going to happen. At least while the Tigers had their down years, there was some hope that in the distance things had a chance of changing, since the guy that owned the team had a history of winning in hockey. There's no such feeling for me about the Lions anymore. The owner has a long, extensive history of sucking (what is it, like 50 years now? You could also insert any "Ford cars suck" joke here as well). He has Matt Millen running the team, who has proven over and over that he's in over his head, and the owner (when he actually does talk) continues to praise Millen, saying that his job has not been in jeopardy at anytime during the most recent period of ineptness. Ford-Millen is like the Bush-Cheney of the sports world, both duo's need to be impeached. Living in central Virginia, doesn't help matters any either though. Sundays consist of having to watch either the Redskins, Ravens, and Eagles/Giants (if they are playing at a time when the Redskins aren't). I usually end up watching whatever is on Fox, so I can keep up with the players on my fantasy team, and hope that at some point they'll break into the game I'm watching with highlights (or should I say, lowlights) from the Lions game. I guess since I live so far away, I no longer am able to talk myself intowasting money on buying tickets anymore.
- I can't think of anything else to say right now.
- Some of my friends are starting to take bets as to when Tucker will be born. A co-worker of mine says he'll be born on Halloween. Sean wants him born on the 9th (which is Sean's birthday), Dock wants him born on the 7th (which is Dock's birthday). I for a completely random guess have October 26th as my guess.
- I think I'm starting to jinx the Tigers. It seems whenever I watch them play, they end up losing, and in a big way. I went to the game a weekend ago and they lost 10-2. I tried to watch the game last night, and they lost 13 to something. I stopped watching full-time after the 1st inning. I couldn't handle it, and when I flipped over to check the score, it seemed to just continue to get worse. Maybe I should give my lucky t-shirt another try. Something needs to happen. I was starting to think maybe it was time to start panicing about the recent plight of the Tigers, but my favorite blogger of all things Detroit, Big Al, says not yet, so I'll take his advice. I mean, they are still in first place (for now).
- So its football time again. It seems like every year I'm becoming less and less of a football fan, thanks to the recent plight of the Detroit Lions. I'll never be as big of a fan as I was when I was in high school when we had Barry Sanders to watch, and when Lloyd, Mike and I would drive from Lapeer to Pontiac 3 to 4 times a week to watch training camp. At least back then the Lions were entertaining, and you could expect at least a 8-8 season from them. Even if you didn't have a great feeling about the team, you always knew you had Barry and he would probably do something amazing, to at least keep you watching, or Wayne Fontes would do/say something entertaining as well. Lately is been painful to be a Lions fan. When I say painful I mean, its really painful to watch, but yet you watch, because you want to see what's going to happen. At least while the Tigers had their down years, there was some hope that in the distance things had a chance of changing, since the guy that owned the team had a history of winning in hockey. There's no such feeling for me about the Lions anymore. The owner has a long, extensive history of sucking (what is it, like 50 years now? You could also insert any "Ford cars suck" joke here as well). He has Matt Millen running the team, who has proven over and over that he's in over his head, and the owner (when he actually does talk) continues to praise Millen, saying that his job has not been in jeopardy at anytime during the most recent period of ineptness. Ford-Millen is like the Bush-Cheney of the sports world, both duo's need to be impeached. Living in central Virginia, doesn't help matters any either though. Sundays consist of having to watch either the Redskins, Ravens, and Eagles/Giants (if they are playing at a time when the Redskins aren't). I usually end up watching whatever is on Fox, so I can keep up with the players on my fantasy team, and hope that at some point they'll break into the game I'm watching with highlights (or should I say, lowlights) from the Lions game. I guess since I live so far away, I no longer am able to talk myself into
- I can't think of anything else to say right now.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
A Change of Heart (battery)
So Shooter Cheney is going in for surgery to have the battery in his heart device changed. This stuck me as being quite odd, because I just always assumed that the man didn't have a heart (or a soul). I mean this is the same guy that 1.) once shot his good friend in the face, tried to cover up the fact he did it, then had his friend (who he shot), apologize to him for all the media scrutiny he received over the matter; and 2) was the driving force for the unneccessary deaths of over 3,000 Americans in Iraq. And that's just the top of the list.
If that's not heartless, I don't know what is.
If that's not heartless, I don't know what is.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Last weekend (in pictures)
So this past weekend I went up to Michigan for Mike's wedding, which is my 3rd and final (I hope) wedding of the year. Overall it was a good time. My flight from Detroit to Charlotte was a little crazy as I got really nauseous about half-way through the flight. It was strange as I have never had that happen to me before. To make matters more interesting, after fighting off the strong urge to vomit in the pouch in the seat in front of me during landing, the pilot had to abort the landing at the last second because a plane taxied out on to the runway we were going to be landing on, so I had to fight off the urge for another 10 minutes. I am proud to say that I ended up winning the battle, and managed to leave the plane vomit-free. The strange thing was I wasn't the only one that this happened to. While waiting for my bag, I heard about 8 other people saying they got sick at various times during the flight as well, so I guess it wasn't just me.
On Friday, all the groomsmen and my brother went to the Tigers-Royals game at Comerica Park. It was a great time even though the game sucked (Tigers lost 10-2). We got down to Detroit super early (1:30) so we hung out downtown, and got in to the stadium right as the gates opened at 5:00. I was able to wander around the park and get some pictures:
The view from the right-field bleachers, where we watched BP
Zumaya and Leyland talking, while Verlander is shagging fly balls.
The view from the stands, behind home plate.
The 4 of us groomsmen who crashed at Mike's house after the game Friday night. Myself, Ron, Mike, and Steve. Lloyd had to rushhome to get dressed up in his Harry Potter outfit to Barnes & Nobel after the game so he could try to be first in line keep his sister company in line while she waited for the new Harry Potter book to go on-sale at midnight.
Mike, Myself, Steve, Ron and Lloyd minutes before the wedding.Lloyd is smiling really big because he is happy with the ending of the new Harry Potter book that he finished right before this picture was taken.
On Friday, all the groomsmen and my brother went to the Tigers-Royals game at Comerica Park. It was a great time even though the game sucked (Tigers lost 10-2). We got down to Detroit super early (1:30) so we hung out downtown, and got in to the stadium right as the gates opened at 5:00. I was able to wander around the park and get some pictures:
The view from the right-field bleachers, where we watched BP
Zumaya and Leyland talking, while Verlander is shagging fly balls.
The view from the stands, behind home plate.
Kenny Rogers warming up in the bullpen.
The view from our seats.
Saturday afternoon was the wedding. It was a great time. The weather was nice and cool for the most part, so I didn't roast to death in my suit, although at times I did start to get uncomfortable. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures since I didn't have my camera on me. My brother was supposed to take pictures during the ceremony and reception, and he did, but most turned out pretty blurry. A few managed to turn out alright:
The 4 of us groomsmen who crashed at Mike's house after the game Friday night. Myself, Ron, Mike, and Steve. Lloyd had to rush
Mike, Myself, Steve, Ron and Lloyd minutes before the wedding.
All in all it was a great time. I got to see some friends that I hadn't seen in quite some time. It would have been even better had Sara been able to make the trip with me. Then again maybe its better she didn't. She's never seen what happens when Mike, Steve, Aadam, Lloyd and myself all get together in the same room for longer than 2 minutes.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Catching up
- So last week we finally found out that we're having a boy. Ever since Sara found out that she was pregnant, I just always assumed it would be a girl, so when we found out it was going to be boy, I was pretty surprised. Its nice to now be able to refer to the baby as a "he" and not an "it", and also to be able to call him by his name - Tucker. November can't get here soon enough!
- I found the entire ultrasound procedure pretty spectacular, and probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. After seeing Tucker's man-parts from various angles and at various zoom levels, we were also showed his kidneys, butt, heart, and brain. With me being facinated with computers, and tech stuff like that, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I'm not gonna lie...I was jealous that I couldn't play with any of the stuff. After they showed us everything with the normal ultrasound pictures, they then kicked it into 3D and we got to see Tucker grab his foot with his arm, and pull it towards him and play with it a bit, and we basically got to see what he's going to look like. We get to go back again in a month for another round of ultrasounds, so hopefully we'll get some more cool pictures.
- We did have some troubling news while in the ultrasound. While taking measurements on the brain, the ventricles measured at 10 mm, which is the high end of being considered normal. The Doctor (Dr. Gary Helmbrecht) then started going through a list of worse-case scenarios of what could happen, one of which was that Tucker could be born with water on the brain. After confusing us with medical speak, we were convinced this was the case. Yesterday we had our regular monthly appointment with our usual doctor, and they informed us that the only way this would be worrysome, is if Tucker's head was abnormally large, and based on the measurements they took, Tucker's head is in the 54th percentile, so really there isn't much to worry about. While we are happy to hear that we don't have to worry about that now, I must say that I'm little PO'd that he didn't give us that bit of info. We were then informed that this doctor has a history of freaking out patients on a near-regular basis, and that our doctor occassionally gets calls of patients freaking out and calling her wanting to know what to do. I guess we weren't the only ones that have been freaked out by this "doctor". Its one thing to make the parents aware of something, no matter how slight of a chance it may be, but if they are going to do it, they need to speak to the level of the patients, and not throw around their big words that just confuses everything, and makes it harder for the patients, who are undoubtedly freaking out no matter how slight the chance, to comprehend what is being said. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that the doctor is a certifiable jerk-off.
- 2 weddings down, 1 more to go to this summer. Next week it's back up to Detroit, for the 3rd, and final, wedding of the summer. It should be a good time. Thursday is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, which is a backyard cook-out at Mike's new house. On Friday, Mike, the groomsmen, and my brother are going to the Tigers-Royals game, and maybe do a little pre-game/post-game pigging out at Cheli's Chili across the street from Comerica Park, and/or PizzaPapalis in good 'ol Greektown. Saturday is the big wedding and reception, then its back home on Sunday. After that, I think my summer will finally be settling down.
- I finally got my computer set up at home once again, and got some new music for my iPod. I highly recommend the new Ryan Adams CD "Easy Tiger", and the Maroon 5 CD "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". Good stuff all around.
- I think I've finally found a show to watch this summer - The Singing Bee on NBC. Caught the first episode last night in between watching the All-Star Game, and I'm hooked. Guess I'll check out the same show that is on Fox tonight, and see how that one is as well. Other than that, there's not much that I find that has the status of "must watch". The show I'm hooked on is Last Comic Standing, and we usually watch "America's Got Talent", but other than that its pretty slim pickings as far as TV watching goes this summer. I wish that Boston Legal and The Office were on year-round.
- There was more I was originally going to say, but I can't remember what it was now..
- I found the entire ultrasound procedure pretty spectacular, and probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. After seeing Tucker's man-parts from various angles and at various zoom levels, we were also showed his kidneys, butt, heart, and brain. With me being facinated with computers, and tech stuff like that, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I'm not gonna lie...I was jealous that I couldn't play with any of the stuff. After they showed us everything with the normal ultrasound pictures, they then kicked it into 3D and we got to see Tucker grab his foot with his arm, and pull it towards him and play with it a bit, and we basically got to see what he's going to look like. We get to go back again in a month for another round of ultrasounds, so hopefully we'll get some more cool pictures.
- We did have some troubling news while in the ultrasound. While taking measurements on the brain, the ventricles measured at 10 mm, which is the high end of being considered normal. The Doctor (Dr. Gary Helmbrecht) then started going through a list of worse-case scenarios of what could happen, one of which was that Tucker could be born with water on the brain. After confusing us with medical speak, we were convinced this was the case. Yesterday we had our regular monthly appointment with our usual doctor, and they informed us that the only way this would be worrysome, is if Tucker's head was abnormally large, and based on the measurements they took, Tucker's head is in the 54th percentile, so really there isn't much to worry about. While we are happy to hear that we don't have to worry about that now, I must say that I'm little PO'd that he didn't give us that bit of info. We were then informed that this doctor has a history of freaking out patients on a near-regular basis, and that our doctor occassionally gets calls of patients freaking out and calling her wanting to know what to do. I guess we weren't the only ones that have been freaked out by this "doctor". Its one thing to make the parents aware of something, no matter how slight of a chance it may be, but if they are going to do it, they need to speak to the level of the patients, and not throw around their big words that just confuses everything, and makes it harder for the patients, who are undoubtedly freaking out no matter how slight the chance, to comprehend what is being said. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that the doctor is a certifiable jerk-off.
- 2 weddings down, 1 more to go to this summer. Next week it's back up to Detroit, for the 3rd, and final, wedding of the summer. It should be a good time. Thursday is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, which is a backyard cook-out at Mike's new house. On Friday, Mike, the groomsmen, and my brother are going to the Tigers-Royals game, and maybe do a little pre-game/post-game pigging out at Cheli's Chili across the street from Comerica Park, and/or PizzaPapalis in good 'ol Greektown. Saturday is the big wedding and reception, then its back home on Sunday. After that, I think my summer will finally be settling down.
- I finally got my computer set up at home once again, and got some new music for my iPod. I highly recommend the new Ryan Adams CD "Easy Tiger", and the Maroon 5 CD "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". Good stuff all around.
- I think I've finally found a show to watch this summer - The Singing Bee on NBC. Caught the first episode last night in between watching the All-Star Game, and I'm hooked. Guess I'll check out the same show that is on Fox tonight, and see how that one is as well. Other than that, there's not much that I find that has the status of "must watch". The show I'm hooked on is Last Comic Standing, and we usually watch "America's Got Talent", but other than that its pretty slim pickings as far as TV watching goes this summer. I wish that Boston Legal and The Office were on year-round.
- There was more I was originally going to say, but I can't remember what it was now..
Monday, June 25, 2007
Catching Up
- A week vacation in Myrtle Beach was a great time. It was nice to not have anything that had to be done, or a schedule to follow. It was just sitting on the beach and by the pool doing absolutely nothing during the day, and then go out and do whatever sounded good at night. Being outside in the fresh air, and actually seeing the sun was very refreshing. Unfortunately the week went by way too quickly. I need to find a way to be on a permament vacation...while getting paid.
- One more week until we find out the gender of the baby. I have a feeling that this will be the longest week of my life. What is making me even more anxious, is the fact that Joe and Lori already know what they're having, and they are due (well Lori, actually) about the same time as Sara. If they already know, why can't we?!?
- Thanks to Craigslist, Sara's expert bargain shopping skills, and a co-worker who is getting rid of stuff, we've managed to get almost all the stuff we need for the nursery for about 1/10th the cost if we were to buy it brand new. After getting the stuff, putting it together, and then googline it to see the original cost, I must say that it blows my mind to see the cost of nursery furniture and baby items. It's borderline highway robbery, to put it mildly.
- I finally got a chance to watch the Tigers on ESPN last night. They are looking mighty impressive right now. Barring any major injuries I think this team has a great chance to do something special this year. I'm really looking forward to taking in a game when I'm up in Detroit for Mike's wedding next month. One of the few things I've missed most about not living in Michigan and the Detroit area anymore is that I'm unable to go to a Tigers game whenever I want. There's nothing like watching a baseball game in person. Then again, I've been a bit spoiled as I was lucky enough to go to Tiger Stadium to watch baseball for most of my life.
- I need some new music to listen to. I really want to check out the new Maroon 5, and White Stripes CD's. I also need to get my computer hooked up at home and start adding stuff to my iTunes library. Anyone have a small computer desk I could buy on the cheap? Of all the things we've been buying lately, a suitable computer desk still seems to be impossible to find.
- Coming back to work after vacation, my department was moved to the building across the street, along with one other department. I wasn't really looking forward to the move, since most of my friends along with almost all of the rest of the people who work in this location are in the building across the street, and I did lose my mack-daddy cubicle-with-a-view (of the parking lot). It hasn't been too bad so far though. In this new location, we get free pop (after a vote, Coke came out the winner), and we also get free pastries every Tuesday from a great bakery here in town (according to most of the locals, except for Sara) called Chandler's. We still get our free Bodos bagels, and Spudnuts on alternating Friday's..we just have to make the walk up to the other building to get them now. Sounds like an excuse to start the work day a little later on Friday's from now on.
- One more week until we find out the gender of the baby. I have a feeling that this will be the longest week of my life. What is making me even more anxious, is the fact that Joe and Lori already know what they're having, and they are due (well Lori, actually) about the same time as Sara. If they already know, why can't we?!?
- Thanks to Craigslist, Sara's expert bargain shopping skills, and a co-worker who is getting rid of stuff, we've managed to get almost all the stuff we need for the nursery for about 1/10th the cost if we were to buy it brand new. After getting the stuff, putting it together, and then googline it to see the original cost, I must say that it blows my mind to see the cost of nursery furniture and baby items. It's borderline highway robbery, to put it mildly.
- I finally got a chance to watch the Tigers on ESPN last night. They are looking mighty impressive right now. Barring any major injuries I think this team has a great chance to do something special this year. I'm really looking forward to taking in a game when I'm up in Detroit for Mike's wedding next month. One of the few things I've missed most about not living in Michigan and the Detroit area anymore is that I'm unable to go to a Tigers game whenever I want. There's nothing like watching a baseball game in person. Then again, I've been a bit spoiled as I was lucky enough to go to Tiger Stadium to watch baseball for most of my life.
- I need some new music to listen to. I really want to check out the new Maroon 5, and White Stripes CD's. I also need to get my computer hooked up at home and start adding stuff to my iTunes library. Anyone have a small computer desk I could buy on the cheap? Of all the things we've been buying lately, a suitable computer desk still seems to be impossible to find.
- Coming back to work after vacation, my department was moved to the building across the street, along with one other department. I wasn't really looking forward to the move, since most of my friends along with almost all of the rest of the people who work in this location are in the building across the street, and I did lose my mack-daddy cubicle-with-a-view (of the parking lot). It hasn't been too bad so far though. In this new location, we get free pop (after a vote, Coke came out the winner), and we also get free pastries every Tuesday from a great bakery here in town (according to most of the locals, except for Sara) called Chandler's. We still get our free Bodos bagels, and Spudnuts on alternating Friday's..we just have to make the walk up to the other building to get them now. Sounds like an excuse to start the work day a little later on Friday's from now on.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Out of Reality Notification
Hello - I have currently checked out of reality, and will continue to be checked out until Monday, June 18th. I will be checking email sporadically, and my fantasy baseball teams on a daily basis. If you need to contact me...take a number.
Thanks,
-Aaron
Thanks,
-Aaron
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A Question of Etiquette
There is a question I have been struggling with for awhile, and have tried to see if I can come up with the correct answer myself, but so far I am not having any luck, and was wondering if someone out there either can point me to a definitive answer, or give me suggestions as to what to do. My question that I've been struggling with is:
What is the correct etiquette for conversations in public restrooms?
I don't think there's nothing wrong with having a conversation about something on the way in, and continuing the discussion in the bathroom, or even striking up a conversation with someone (someone you know that is) as long as you're next to each other in the urinal, or as long as there's no one else between you in the urinal. There are a few grey areas for me though.
1.) Is it ok to keep the conversation going, if one goes to the urinal, and the other goes into a stall? Personally, if I see someone start walking towards a stall, I'll end the conversation. If its me going into the stall, I'll try my best to end it. I don't want to talk over the wall..and besides I like my peace and quiet while I'm making a twosie.
2.) What if one is in a urinal, and the other is cleaning up at the sink? For me, it depends on how good of friends I am with the person, and if there's someone else in the bathroom. Its a very close scenario to #1, where you don't actually see the person you're talking to, and you kind of have to talk louder than a normal inside voice, since there's water running and stuff.
3.) If you know the person in the stall next to you, and its just the 2 of you in the bathroom, is it ok to talk to them? I'm thinking that's a no-brainer for a answer of NO. Again, I prefer peace and quiet.
4.) If you are in a scenario where one person walks in and sees you and starts talking to you, just as you are finishing up washing your hands (or vise-versa), how long are you obligated to talk to them if they initiate it? Do you try to end it ASAP and leave as politely as possible, or do you stand at the sink and continue the discussion? If you do continue the discussion, do you turn around and talk at the persons back, go to the door and try to leave ASAP, or do you continue the conversation while the person finishes up, and then washes and dries their hands? I really don't know an answer to this one. There's one guy on our floor, who I only seem to see in or on our way to the restroom. I don't interact with him on a work related basis. However like I said, I seem to only seem him in or near the restroom. Sometimes we'll start the conversation on the way in, but oftentimes, we end up in instance #3. If I'm on the way out, I usually just say a polite hey, so that I won't get stuck just standing there talking to him the whole time. Sometimes when I do say hey, he'll reply and then bring up a highlight from that morning's episode of SportsCenter, and then I'm left there awkwardly drying my hands for a long time while discussing some big story in baseball or basketball. The only other thing I could think of is to act like I don't see him, and try to avoid any conversation altogether.
Thoughts, ideas?!?
What is the correct etiquette for conversations in public restrooms?
I don't think there's nothing wrong with having a conversation about something on the way in, and continuing the discussion in the bathroom, or even striking up a conversation with someone (someone you know that is) as long as you're next to each other in the urinal, or as long as there's no one else between you in the urinal. There are a few grey areas for me though.
1.) Is it ok to keep the conversation going, if one goes to the urinal, and the other goes into a stall? Personally, if I see someone start walking towards a stall, I'll end the conversation. If its me going into the stall, I'll try my best to end it. I don't want to talk over the wall..and besides I like my peace and quiet while I'm making a twosie.
2.) What if one is in a urinal, and the other is cleaning up at the sink? For me, it depends on how good of friends I am with the person, and if there's someone else in the bathroom. Its a very close scenario to #1, where you don't actually see the person you're talking to, and you kind of have to talk louder than a normal inside voice, since there's water running and stuff.
3.) If you know the person in the stall next to you, and its just the 2 of you in the bathroom, is it ok to talk to them? I'm thinking that's a no-brainer for a answer of NO. Again, I prefer peace and quiet.
4.) If you are in a scenario where one person walks in and sees you and starts talking to you, just as you are finishing up washing your hands (or vise-versa), how long are you obligated to talk to them if they initiate it? Do you try to end it ASAP and leave as politely as possible, or do you stand at the sink and continue the discussion? If you do continue the discussion, do you turn around and talk at the persons back, go to the door and try to leave ASAP, or do you continue the conversation while the person finishes up, and then washes and dries their hands? I really don't know an answer to this one. There's one guy on our floor, who I only seem to see in or on our way to the restroom. I don't interact with him on a work related basis. However like I said, I seem to only seem him in or near the restroom. Sometimes we'll start the conversation on the way in, but oftentimes, we end up in instance #3. If I'm on the way out, I usually just say a polite hey, so that I won't get stuck just standing there talking to him the whole time. Sometimes when I do say hey, he'll reply and then bring up a highlight from that morning's episode of SportsCenter, and then I'm left there awkwardly drying my hands for a long time while discussing some big story in baseball or basketball. The only other thing I could think of is to act like I don't see him, and try to avoid any conversation altogether.
Thoughts, ideas?!?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Midweek Randomness
- I think that based on singing alone, after watching the final performances last night, that Jordin should win American Idol. I thought Blake won the first round, and Jordin won the second round by a very close margin, but Jordin clearly won the final round of the night. Having to sing that incredibly cheesy song as the last song of the night, was clearly not Blake's style, and he seemed to realize that as well. It looked like he had all he could do just to get the song over with. I think for Blake's sake, I hope he doesn't win tonight, since he would be stuck having to record that song as his first single. I wonder if he would get a better chance to put his own stamp on it if he does win? I really don't see how even he could save that song though.
- What is up with the gas prices? I paid $48.00 last night ($3.05/gallon) to fill up my Jeep. I thought that was bad, until I talked to Lloyd this morning, and he told me that gas is going for $3.58 in the Metro-Detroit area. I guess its a good thing that I'm flying up there next week for his wedding, and not driving. I'd have to take out a rather hefty loan just to fill up my tank for the round trip.
- Its a great time to be a fan of Detroit sports teams, well most of them anyways. The Pistons are looking like they are well on their way to the NBA Finals, and so far the Tigers are looking just as good as last year, and that's with out 2 of their key pitchers. The Red Wings made it to the conference finals, but really, its hockey so who cares? Now if only the Lions will start turning in the right direction, but that's probably too much to ask as long as Ford owns the team and Matt Millen is running the show.
- I seem to been listening to Van Halen a lot lately. I don't know why that is. I had put them on one morning on my way to work, to give me something loud to listen to in hopes it would help wake me up or something. Ever since then I keep going back. That's not a bad thing I don't think..I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a fan of the band. What it had done is made me wish that they would get back together (I'd be happy with either David Lee Roth, or Sammy Hagar) and tour again. I saw them back in '98 or '99 during the tour where they had their 3rd lead singer, but that doesn't seem like it should count. While musically it was great to see Eddie and Alex tear it up, it made me wish I could have seen them with one of their previous lineups. Maybe one day they'll throw their differences aside and get back together and do what they do best..rock it out.
- After seeing Gwen last week, I've been bitten by the concert bug again. I'd really like to go see some more concerts. I'd really like to see John Mayer in DC in July, as he is probably at the top of my list of people I really would like to see live. We've been talking about seeing Dave Matthews Band this August when they play up in DC. It's not really a summer unless I see DMB, since I've seen them at least once a year since 1996. You can usually count on a great show from them, and if I see them one more time, that will be DMB show #50 for me.
- What is up with the gas prices? I paid $48.00 last night ($3.05/gallon) to fill up my Jeep. I thought that was bad, until I talked to Lloyd this morning, and he told me that gas is going for $3.58 in the Metro-Detroit area. I guess its a good thing that I'm flying up there next week for his wedding, and not driving. I'd have to take out a rather hefty loan just to fill up my tank for the round trip.
- Its a great time to be a fan of Detroit sports teams, well most of them anyways. The Pistons are looking like they are well on their way to the NBA Finals, and so far the Tigers are looking just as good as last year, and that's with out 2 of their key pitchers. The Red Wings made it to the conference finals, but really, its hockey so who cares? Now if only the Lions will start turning in the right direction, but that's probably too much to ask as long as Ford owns the team and Matt Millen is running the show.
- I seem to been listening to Van Halen a lot lately. I don't know why that is. I had put them on one morning on my way to work, to give me something loud to listen to in hopes it would help wake me up or something. Ever since then I keep going back. That's not a bad thing I don't think..I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a fan of the band. What it had done is made me wish that they would get back together (I'd be happy with either David Lee Roth, or Sammy Hagar) and tour again. I saw them back in '98 or '99 during the tour where they had their 3rd lead singer, but that doesn't seem like it should count. While musically it was great to see Eddie and Alex tear it up, it made me wish I could have seen them with one of their previous lineups. Maybe one day they'll throw their differences aside and get back together and do what they do best..rock it out.
- After seeing Gwen last week, I've been bitten by the concert bug again. I'd really like to go see some more concerts. I'd really like to see John Mayer in DC in July, as he is probably at the top of my list of people I really would like to see live. We've been talking about seeing Dave Matthews Band this August when they play up in DC. It's not really a summer unless I see DMB, since I've seen them at least once a year since 1996. You can usually count on a great show from them, and if I see them one more time, that will be DMB show #50 for me.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Front row seats, moving, and sore legs.
So Sara and I went and saw Gwen Stefani this past Thursday up in Northern Virginia. We had great seats (front-row center), and I must say, I left the show pretty impressed. Going in, I wasn't exactly expecting much. The past few times I've seen her perform on TV (like American Idol), I thought she sounded horrible. I also figured that the show would be more focused on entertainment aspect (i.e. dancing with heavy choreography, massive lip-synching and/or a case of where the backup singers carry most of the load), and not the music. I couldn't have been more wrong.
It took the first couple of songs for us to get over the awesomeness of just how close our seats were. I then started looking to see if she was lip synching, but I realized that she didn't need to. For the most part her harajuku girls (spelling?), and back-up breakdancers carried the load as far as entertaining went. Occasionally she would run around and interact with the others, but for the most part she concentrated on the singing. There were quite a few of costume changes, but while that was going on, the band would be playing something, and the backup dancers would keep things rolling. I think one of the coolest parts of the show is when she jumped off the stage, ran to the back of the pavilion, and then performed the next song in the middle of the lawn, along with some of the guys in her band. The only other time I'd seen something like that done, is when I saw INXS at Pine Knob, and Michael Hutchence sang 2 songs from a random seat in the pavilion. Very cool. I would have to say that the funniest part of the night was when Gwen came out after a costume change, wearing a tank top. The first thing Sara says to me is "Look!!! She's got stretch marks!!!" I looked, and sure enough she did. We were so close we could see Gwen's stretch marks.
On Friday we finally made the big move. The movers came and moved all of our big furniture to our new place. Its nice to finally have that done with. We spent the rest of the weekend, with the help of Sara's mom, unpacking and trying to move the rest of our small stuff out of our old apartment in the ghetto. Even though we had professional movers move a lot of our stuff, I'm somehow still very sore. Its probably from climbing the 3 flights of stairs to load up our Jeeps with the smaller stuff from our old place. I think its safe to say that I will never live on a 3rd floor again. I hope I never get to the point where I have to live in an apartment again, let alone one that's not on a ground floor.
I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend to get here. I need a 3-day break. So far we've got a cookout to go to at Sara's aunt's house, which are always a lot of fun. I'm sure we'll end up doing some cooking out of our own at the nice patio at our new place as well.
It took the first couple of songs for us to get over the awesomeness of just how close our seats were. I then started looking to see if she was lip synching, but I realized that she didn't need to. For the most part her harajuku girls (spelling?), and back-up breakdancers carried the load as far as entertaining went. Occasionally she would run around and interact with the others, but for the most part she concentrated on the singing. There were quite a few of costume changes, but while that was going on, the band would be playing something, and the backup dancers would keep things rolling. I think one of the coolest parts of the show is when she jumped off the stage, ran to the back of the pavilion, and then performed the next song in the middle of the lawn, along with some of the guys in her band. The only other time I'd seen something like that done, is when I saw INXS at Pine Knob, and Michael Hutchence sang 2 songs from a random seat in the pavilion. Very cool. I would have to say that the funniest part of the night was when Gwen came out after a costume change, wearing a tank top. The first thing Sara says to me is "Look!!! She's got stretch marks!!!" I looked, and sure enough she did. We were so close we could see Gwen's stretch marks.
On Friday we finally made the big move. The movers came and moved all of our big furniture to our new place. Its nice to finally have that done with. We spent the rest of the weekend, with the help of Sara's mom, unpacking and trying to move the rest of our small stuff out of our old apartment in the ghetto. Even though we had professional movers move a lot of our stuff, I'm somehow still very sore. Its probably from climbing the 3 flights of stairs to load up our Jeeps with the smaller stuff from our old place. I think its safe to say that I will never live on a 3rd floor again. I hope I never get to the point where I have to live in an apartment again, let alone one that's not on a ground floor.
I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend to get here. I need a 3-day break. So far we've got a cookout to go to at Sara's aunt's house, which are always a lot of fun. I'm sure we'll end up doing some cooking out of our own at the nice patio at our new place as well.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Infrequent Friday Randomness
So I was looking at my blog today, and saw that its been a month since I've last posted anything. Whoops. I guess its time for another round of Friday Randomness..
- When we found out that Sara was pregnant, one of our top priorities was to find some place new to live, since we were out of room in our apartment. After a lot of searching, we're finally moving next Friday. I can't wait to get out of the crappy neighborhood we live in. We're renting a nice townhouse in a newer development, just north of town. It'll be so nice to move out the ghetto where we've been living, and move into something nicer and hopefully quieter.
- May/June/July are going to be 3 of the busiest months that I can ever remember. The rest of May has us moving, going to see Gwen Stefani (with front-row center tickets that Sara just "happened" to get), unpacking, Memorial Day, and a trip up to Michigan to Dock's wedding. For June, I'm home a week, then we go to Myrtle Beach for a week for our vacation/anniversary. For July there's 2 more weddings to go to - Sean's up in D.C. and Mike's up in Michigan. My Jeep will be adding a ton of miles. Good thing I like roadtrips.
- It's funny, it seems like weddings and pregnancies happen in spurts. Like I just said - Dock, Sean, and Mike are getting married this summer, along with Mike's brother Steve who is getting married this month as well. Soon after we found out that Sara was pregnant, we also found out that Joe and Lori (well technically Lori) are expecting too. Even cooler, Sara and Lori are due right around the same time. Coincidentally, Joe and I's birthday's are pretty close together (2 months exactly to the day), so it'll be cool that our kids are so close together as well. Sometimes its strange how thing play out. It'll be interesting to see just when both babies arrive.
- Last Saturday we went with my mother-in-law to see Rod Stewart here in town. Thanks to Sara's cool job, we got free tickets to the show. While the show was entertaining, I really think its time for Rod to retire. He was huffing and puffing after the 2nd song, and he looked like he was struggling most of the show. He regularly relied on the band to jam out so he could catch his breath, and when the song hit a high spot, he would stop singing and let the crowd take over for him. Now I don't think its wrong for the singer or a band to stop, and let the crowd take over momentarily, once or twice in a show, but he did it virtually for every song in the 2nd half of the show...It became a bit of an overkill. I'm glad our tickets were free and we didn't have to pay the $55 price that the seats in our section cost.
- While reading on my lunch break today, I found there's a new sport involving Wiffle. It's called Wiffle Hurling. It looks like it might be a cross between Lacrosse and field hockey? (That's a question because I know nothing about either lacrosse or field hockey..that's just my guess) I think I'd be willing to give it a shot, especially if the sombraros are mandatory. I don't think we'd do any worse than we do every summer at the Wiffleball Tournament in Ohio. Anyways, here's a video of it:
- So American Idol is down to the "Final 3" - Blake, Jordin, and Melinda. While Blake is my favorite, I don't want to see him win. I think if he wins, he'll be locked in by the contract the winner gets, along with all the obligations they have to fulfill, and as a result he wouldn't be as free to do what he'd be best at. I think by not winning last year actually helped Chris Daughtry quite a bit, and look how big he is now. Ideally I'd like to see Melinda get kicked off next week, have a Jordin/Blake final, with Jordin winning. I'd like to see Blake have one more awesome performance before the end of the show. Something along the lines of what he did with Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" which might be the coolest performance I've ever seen on AI. Should be an interesting last couple of weeks.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Randomness..Its Been Awhile
- So its been awhile since I've posted on here. What can I say, I've been busy.
- Tomorrow is Sara's first appointment with the doctor. We should find out the due date and all that fun stuff. I'm pretty excited. I really can't wait to find out what it is we'll be having (I mean, a boy or a girl...I know we're having a baby)
- How is it mid-April already? February and March don't even seem like they happened.
- My parents are due into town tomorrow for the weekend. I haven't seen them since October. It'll be good to see them. Hopefully the weather is better than predicted for the weekend, so we won't be stuck inside all the time.
- I'm glad its baseball season again. After the success the Tigers had last year, I really missed following it the past few months. I just wish we could get the baseball package through our cable company, so I could watch the Tigers every night, or at least flip over to the game throughout the night.
- Sanjaya is still around on Idol. I really don't care anymore. I'd like to see him go far now, and totally screw with the format of the show. I'm no longer liking Melinda (aka as Shrek) or LaKisha. They do the same stuff over and over, and I'm bored with it. I really hope Blake wins it all.
- Speaking of Idol, last nights show has to be one of the most boring of all time. Latin night? Why? I understand having different themes every week, to see what the contestants are capable of, but why latin night? Latin hasn't been mainstream since the late 90's/early 00's, when Ricky Martin, JHo Lo, Marc Anthony, and Enrique Inglasis had hit records (records, plural as in when you combine their records together there were multiple hits, but individually, they each had like 1). And why was J Ho Lo the celebrity guru? She's not particularly good at anything that she does, let alone someone who should be giving out "expert" advice.
- If you're looking for something new to listen to, I highly recommend Amy Winehouse. She had a free single of the week on iTunes awhile ago, so I downloaded it and listened to it at work a couple times, and really dug it. She's got a jazz/soul sound, reminescent to old school jazz, but only sounding current. My description isn't doing it justice. Suggested songs to try out are: "Back to Black", "Rehab", and "You Know I'm No Good". You really can't go wrong with the whole album in my opinion.
- Tomorrow is Sara's first appointment with the doctor. We should find out the due date and all that fun stuff. I'm pretty excited. I really can't wait to find out what it is we'll be having (I mean, a boy or a girl...I know we're having a baby)
- How is it mid-April already? February and March don't even seem like they happened.
- My parents are due into town tomorrow for the weekend. I haven't seen them since October. It'll be good to see them. Hopefully the weather is better than predicted for the weekend, so we won't be stuck inside all the time.
- I'm glad its baseball season again. After the success the Tigers had last year, I really missed following it the past few months. I just wish we could get the baseball package through our cable company, so I could watch the Tigers every night, or at least flip over to the game throughout the night.
- Sanjaya is still around on Idol. I really don't care anymore. I'd like to see him go far now, and totally screw with the format of the show. I'm no longer liking Melinda (aka as Shrek) or LaKisha. They do the same stuff over and over, and I'm bored with it. I really hope Blake wins it all.
- Speaking of Idol, last nights show has to be one of the most boring of all time. Latin night? Why? I understand having different themes every week, to see what the contestants are capable of, but why latin night? Latin hasn't been mainstream since the late 90's/early 00's, when Ricky Martin, J
- If you're looking for something new to listen to, I highly recommend Amy Winehouse. She had a free single of the week on iTunes awhile ago, so I downloaded it and listened to it at work a couple times, and really dug it. She's got a jazz/soul sound, reminescent to old school jazz, but only sounding current. My description isn't doing it justice. Suggested songs to try out are: "Back to Black", "Rehab", and "You Know I'm No Good". You really can't go wrong with the whole album in my opinion.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself...
I was reading the Washington Post today at lunch and came across the following blurb on a blog on the website:
Thanks to the producers and Ryan who keep focusing on thiscute girl insanity, I have a feeling he'll be around for yet another week.
..But the Sanjaya Malakar Era needs to come to an end. Tonight. This has become an urgent national priority. His performance last night should have ended with an arrest. Animals have perished with more harmonious death rattles. Chickens who have been captured and beheaded on stumps have showed better dance moves.
Thanks to the producers and Ryan who keep focusing on this
Thursday, March 08, 2007
American Idol Final 16 - The Girls
So after a crappy night by the guys, the girls came back and for the most part, all gave good performances. Then again, after Tuesday's show, it was virtually impossible to get any worse than what the guys did.
Jordin Sparks - sang 'Heartbreaker'. Was a pretty good performance, though she seemed to run out of breath towards the end. I don't know if it was the best song choice for her, but she didn't jeopardize her chances.
Sabrina Sloan - I thought she did a good job at covering En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go'. It was good though, and not great. When they said that she was the next to perform, I couldn't remember which one she was until they showed her. She should make it through, but unless she starts giving some great memorable performances, she'll have a tough time topping some of the other girls. She should stick around for awhile though, since 6 guys will be making it into the finals. I'm sure she's better than 3 of the guys.
Antonella Barba - Did a decent job, and wasn't the trainwreck of a performance that I was hoping for. She sang 'Put Your Records On', which is a song I like quite a bit. She finally found her niche, but its a few weeks too late. Had she sung this when the semi-finals started, and built off that experience, she could have gotten better as the weeks went on, but she waited until this week to sing something in her range. Compared with the other girls, she don't belong on the same stage. I think the 3 judges finally came to grips with the fact that they screwed up by bringing her to this stage, none of them had much good to say about what was her best performance. I think Simon is trying to pursuade the public to get rid of her, by basically saying she didn't have a good singing voice. Something tells me she'll be back next week though.
Haley Scarnato - most bland performance of the night. I don't think much of Faith Hill though, so anyone singing anything by her, automatically loses my interest. I don't think she'll be back, and Simon said it best, when he told her that he didn't "even know her name". She's been mediocre the whole time.
Stefanie Edwards - a performance I didn't get. Sara and I were both waiting for it to be over, it seemed like a lot of screaming and vocal runs (which I can't stand). All the judges liked it though, and said she should make the final 12.
LaKisha Jones - Another solid performance, and probably her 2nd best of the 3 weeks. After she was done, I assumed that she probably delivered the best performance of the night., since she sang Whitney flawlessly, which doesn't happen much on this show. Unless something dramatic happens between now and the finals, I think she'll be in the final 2.
Gina Glocksen - She finally came out and gave the rocking performance that the judges have been waiting for. I liked it because its completely different from the rest of the girls that are left, and since she's different, she really stands out. I hope she sticks around to provide some variety to the finals. I think she should make it to the final 5 or 6...as long as she sticks with the type of stuff she sang last night.
Melinda Doolittle - Best performance of the night, and in my opinion, the 2nd best performance of the season (right after LaKisha's performance in the 1st week). When I first heard the song, I thought maybe it might be a bit old fashioned, but she rocked it out, and brough the Yo (as Randy likes to say). She seemed like she was almost possessed or something. She's definitely safe, and I think will be facing LaKisha in the final episode.
Not a bad night. If we were judging on singing performance alone, then Antonella and Haley should be going home tonight for the girls, but I have a feeling that Antonella will be staying.
According to the reliable website dialidol.com, Stephanie and Haley will be going home for the girls, and Phil and Sundance will be going home for the guys. I guess time will tell.
Jordin Sparks - sang 'Heartbreaker'. Was a pretty good performance, though she seemed to run out of breath towards the end. I don't know if it was the best song choice for her, but she didn't jeopardize her chances.
Sabrina Sloan - I thought she did a good job at covering En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go'. It was good though, and not great. When they said that she was the next to perform, I couldn't remember which one she was until they showed her. She should make it through, but unless she starts giving some great memorable performances, she'll have a tough time topping some of the other girls. She should stick around for awhile though, since 6 guys will be making it into the finals. I'm sure she's better than 3 of the guys.
Antonella Barba - Did a decent job, and wasn't the trainwreck of a performance that I was hoping for. She sang 'Put Your Records On', which is a song I like quite a bit. She finally found her niche, but its a few weeks too late. Had she sung this when the semi-finals started, and built off that experience, she could have gotten better as the weeks went on, but she waited until this week to sing something in her range. Compared with the other girls, she don't belong on the same stage. I think the 3 judges finally came to grips with the fact that they screwed up by bringing her to this stage, none of them had much good to say about what was her best performance. I think Simon is trying to pursuade the public to get rid of her, by basically saying she didn't have a good singing voice. Something tells me she'll be back next week though.
Haley Scarnato - most bland performance of the night. I don't think much of Faith Hill though, so anyone singing anything by her, automatically loses my interest. I don't think she'll be back, and Simon said it best, when he told her that he didn't "even know her name". She's been mediocre the whole time.
Stefanie Edwards - a performance I didn't get. Sara and I were both waiting for it to be over, it seemed like a lot of screaming and vocal runs (which I can't stand). All the judges liked it though, and said she should make the final 12.
LaKisha Jones - Another solid performance, and probably her 2nd best of the 3 weeks. After she was done, I assumed that she probably delivered the best performance of the night., since she sang Whitney flawlessly, which doesn't happen much on this show. Unless something dramatic happens between now and the finals, I think she'll be in the final 2.
Gina Glocksen - She finally came out and gave the rocking performance that the judges have been waiting for. I liked it because its completely different from the rest of the girls that are left, and since she's different, she really stands out. I hope she sticks around to provide some variety to the finals. I think she should make it to the final 5 or 6...as long as she sticks with the type of stuff she sang last night.
Melinda Doolittle - Best performance of the night, and in my opinion, the 2nd best performance of the season (right after LaKisha's performance in the 1st week). When I first heard the song, I thought maybe it might be a bit old fashioned, but she rocked it out, and brough the Yo (as Randy likes to say). She seemed like she was almost possessed or something. She's definitely safe, and I think will be facing LaKisha in the final episode.
Not a bad night. If we were judging on singing performance alone, then Antonella and Haley should be going home tonight for the girls, but I have a feeling that Antonella will be staying.
According to the reliable website dialidol.com, Stephanie and Haley will be going home for the girls, and Phil and Sundance will be going home for the guys. I guess time will tell.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
American Idol Final 16 - The Guys
So after a pretty good week last week, the guys followed up with a major let-down. They crapped the bed, so to speak. I really think they should change the rules of the show. They should simply take the best 24 out of Hollywood week, and not divide it up into 12 guys and 12 girls, and every week in the semifinals, get rid of 4 every week, and not keep an even ratio of guys to girls. If it is deemed that of the final 24, 22 of the best contestants are girls, I'm fine with that. I would rather watch that, than have to sit through weeks of watching guys like this:
Anyways, on to last nights show:
Blake Lewis - As I've said before, one of my favorite contestants. Gave an ok performance overall. I think if you're trying to be something of a more modern performer, you should pick songs that are relevant now. Both the song "All Mixed Up", and the band 311 haven't been relevant since..oh..1997ish. At least it was up-beat, and he did get to use a bit of the beatbox stuff again.
Sanjaya - I'm not going to waste my time with him. He sucks. He's gotta go, but I'm sure he'll stay because there's probably a lot of people out there who think he's cute, feel sorry for him because he's so young, and that he had to watch his sister get kicked out during Hollywood week. Plus I'm a bit bitter because he completely slaughtered a song from one of my favorite musicians. Please for the love of god, don't make us put up with him anymore.
Sundance Head- Another one who I don't think deserves to be here. He sucked during Hollywood week, yet somehow made it through based on his inital audition way back when. I think the 3 judges are sorry they put him through. Absolutely killed a great song. He doesn't really scream "grunge" to me. If he's gonna sing, he should stick to songs that have a more soulful sound to them. Him singing Pearl Jam would be like Taylor Hicks trying to sing Nirvana Also I'd like him gone because I don't want to have to seem him cry all night everytime there's an elimination show.
Chris Richardson - I think his was the best performance last night. I think by nailing a country song like he did, proved that he's probably the most versatile out of everyone there. He even sang with a bit of a twang. Seeing as he can change things up, and not pigeonhole himself into a specific category, I think he could sneak in and be the one guy who stays the longest.
Jarred Cotter - He did ok. I don't think Stevie Wonder is his genre. A few times when he started hitting the high notes, he was very close to losing it, but he kept it under control. I don't think he did much to stand out from the rest of the people though.
Brandon Rogers - Boring. I hate songs that just repeat the same words over and over. Ok, you want to celebrate...I get the idea. Something about him annoys me. I think he could be one of the ones going home.
Phil Stacey - Another one that I think should go home, but he'll get some sympathy votes since he's in the military, and he missed the birth of his kid because he was at the audition. His song started out horrible, but got better. I think he really needs to grow some hair, he looks a bit unhealthy (if you know what I mean). Also I think if you painted his head green, he would look a lot like this guy:
Here's Phil for comparison's sake:
Chris Sligh - I really like him a lot as well, I just wish he would sing some songs that are a bit more mainstream. I mean, last night he sang a song by the band DC Talk. I haven't heard of them since I was a junior in high school at theprison camp private school. I was a bit bored not knowing the song. Overall, I'd say it was the 2nd best performance of the night though.
So the girls go tonight...I hope they give a better show tonight. At least we can be assured that watching Antonella will be like watching a train-wreck. I wonder which song that is out of her league she'll be attempting tonight....
Anyways, on to last nights show:
Blake Lewis - As I've said before, one of my favorite contestants. Gave an ok performance overall. I think if you're trying to be something of a more modern performer, you should pick songs that are relevant now. Both the song "All Mixed Up", and the band 311 haven't been relevant since..oh..1997ish. At least it was up-beat, and he did get to use a bit of the beatbox stuff again.
Sanjaya - I'm not going to waste my time with him. He sucks. He's gotta go, but I'm sure he'll stay because there's probably a lot of people out there who think he's cute, feel sorry for him because he's so young, and that he had to watch his sister get kicked out during Hollywood week. Plus I'm a bit bitter because he completely slaughtered a song from one of my favorite musicians. Please for the love of god, don't make us put up with him anymore.
Sundance Head- Another one who I don't think deserves to be here. He sucked during Hollywood week, yet somehow made it through based on his inital audition way back when. I think the 3 judges are sorry they put him through. Absolutely killed a great song. He doesn't really scream "grunge" to me. If he's gonna sing, he should stick to songs that have a more soulful sound to them. Him singing Pearl Jam would be like Taylor Hicks trying to sing Nirvana Also I'd like him gone because I don't want to have to seem him cry all night everytime there's an elimination show.
Chris Richardson - I think his was the best performance last night. I think by nailing a country song like he did, proved that he's probably the most versatile out of everyone there. He even sang with a bit of a twang. Seeing as he can change things up, and not pigeonhole himself into a specific category, I think he could sneak in and be the one guy who stays the longest.
Jarred Cotter - He did ok. I don't think Stevie Wonder is his genre. A few times when he started hitting the high notes, he was very close to losing it, but he kept it under control. I don't think he did much to stand out from the rest of the people though.
Brandon Rogers - Boring. I hate songs that just repeat the same words over and over. Ok, you want to celebrate...I get the idea. Something about him annoys me. I think he could be one of the ones going home.
Phil Stacey - Another one that I think should go home, but he'll get some sympathy votes since he's in the military, and he missed the birth of his kid because he was at the audition. His song started out horrible, but got better. I think he really needs to grow some hair, he looks a bit unhealthy (if you know what I mean). Also I think if you painted his head green, he would look a lot like this guy:
Here's Phil for comparison's sake:
Chris Sligh - I really like him a lot as well, I just wish he would sing some songs that are a bit more mainstream. I mean, last night he sang a song by the band DC Talk. I haven't heard of them since I was a junior in high school at the
So the girls go tonight...I hope they give a better show tonight. At least we can be assured that watching Antonella will be like watching a train-wreck. I wonder which song that is out of her league she'll be attempting tonight....
Thursday, March 01, 2007
American Idol - The Top 20
So yes, I'm an American Idol junkie, I'm not afraid to admit it. I was originally addicted during the Clay vs. Rueben season. For some reason, I didn't watch the next season when Fantasia won it (and after watching her "peformance" last week, I see I didn't miss much...how did she win? She wouldn't even deserve to be in the Top 24 this year...), but I got addicted again the season after that.
After watching the guys and girls performances from the first week, I thought it was going to be a pretty crappy season. All but 2 or 3 of the guys sucked, and most of the girls were pretty good. Luckily this week the guys stepped it up, and were a bit more memorable, and the girls weren't too shabby again either.
Here's my predictions:
First off, can we just give the Grand Prize to Lakisha?
Other than Melinda, there is no one else who can even come close to Lakisha's talent. Granted she started off a little shaky last night, but she ended up delivering, and considering her peformance the first week blew everyone out of the water (and that includes any performance that Paula ever gave, when she actually performed way back in the day..which is when I was in like 7th grade). While I think Melinda is a great singer as well, there's something about her that bugs me. I don't know if its the fact she's missing a neck or what, and I have a feeling that her musical tastes are a bit too old fashioned for this show.
The 2 females that need to go this week are:
1.)Mr. Ed Antonella Barba
- she's been consistantly horrible, and didn't even deserve to make it this far. When you suck the week before, I don't think that the best thing to do is to come back and try singing a Celine Dion song. Plus it sounds like she's already got a promising career inposing modeling. 
2.) Leslie Hunt - uhh you might want to learn how to scat, before trying it on national TV in front of tens of millions of people.
The 2 men that need to go:
1.) Sanjay Malahnotgonnaworkhereanymore (sorry, I felt the need for an Office Space joke here). Unless he plans on singing Stevie Wonder songs every week (which he actually sounds good doing), he don't have a chance musically. What the heck was that song this week!? He looked like a cheap Michael Jackson wannabe, and I think he tried to sound like MJ as well since he was almost whispering most of the time.
2.) Nick Pedro - Was bored with his song 'Fever', plus I think that's a song that is only fitting for a female to sing. Also don't like his cheap imitation ripoff of "Vote For Pedro". He's not cool enough to pull off a reference like that to one of my all-time favorite movies.
My two favorite guys are Blake Lewis, as I mentioned in a post during audition week, and Chris Singh. Vocally, I think Chris has the edge, but Blake has more personality, and some mad beat-box skills.
After watching the guys and girls performances from the first week, I thought it was going to be a pretty crappy season. All but 2 or 3 of the guys sucked, and most of the girls were pretty good. Luckily this week the guys stepped it up, and were a bit more memorable, and the girls weren't too shabby again either.
Here's my predictions:
First off, can we just give the Grand Prize to Lakisha?
Other than Melinda, there is no one else who can even come close to Lakisha's talent. Granted she started off a little shaky last night, but she ended up delivering, and considering her peformance the first week blew everyone out of the water (and that includes any performance that Paula ever gave, when she actually performed way back in the day..which is when I was in like 7th grade). While I think Melinda is a great singer as well, there's something about her that bugs me. I don't know if its the fact she's missing a neck or what, and I have a feeling that her musical tastes are a bit too old fashioned for this show.
The 2 females that need to go this week are:
1.)
- she's been consistantly horrible, and didn't even deserve to make it this far. When you suck the week before, I don't think that the best thing to do is to come back and try singing a Celine Dion song. Plus it sounds like she's already got a promising career in
2.) Leslie Hunt - uhh you might want to learn how to scat, before trying it on national TV in front of tens of millions of people.
The 2 men that need to go:
1.) Sanjay Malahnotgonnaworkhereanymore (sorry, I felt the need for an Office Space joke here). Unless he plans on singing Stevie Wonder songs every week (which he actually sounds good doing), he don't have a chance musically. What the heck was that song this week!? He looked like a cheap Michael Jackson wannabe, and I think he tried to sound like MJ as well since he was almost whispering most of the time.
2.) Nick Pedro - Was bored with his song 'Fever', plus I think that's a song that is only fitting for a female to sing. Also don't like his cheap imitation ripoff of "Vote For Pedro". He's not cool enough to pull off a reference like that to one of my all-time favorite movies.
My two favorite guys are Blake Lewis, as I mentioned in a post during audition week, and Chris Singh. Vocally, I think Chris has the edge, but Blake has more personality, and some mad beat-box skills.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
That's Gotta Hurt a Little
Who says basketball players don't risk the same type of injuries as other more physical sports? Here are 2 fine examples:
Example #1
Example #2
Example #1
Example #2
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Soundtrack of My Life - My 100 Favorite Songs of All Time
So I've compiled a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. These are what I guess you could call my "deserted island" songs - all of the songs I would want on my iPod, if I were standed on some deserted island, (well if island had a power source so I could constantly recharge my iPod.)
This list is a bit biased for some bands, that is to say, that some of my favorite bands (U2, The Beatles, DMB) had more songs listed than others, but hey they're my favorite, so that's the way it falls. Also, some of the songs are pretty cheesy, but they're on there because at one point or time in my life, the song always seemed to be around me, and now whenever I hear it, I always go back to that time. (Woah! I'm starting to sound like a Kenny Chesney song)
Songs #11-100 on the list are arranged in alphabetical order (no, I didn't alphabatize them myself, I let Excel do that for me), since I didn't want to take the excruciating task of weighing where each song should fall on the list. For the top 10 songs, I did rank them in order of favoritism. Anyways, here's the list..
Songs #11 to #100:
#41 - Dave Matthews Band
A Day in the Life - The Beatles
A Horse With No Name - America
A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
Acrobat - U2
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone - Bill Withers
America - Neil Diamond
Baba O'Riley - The Who
Back in Black - AC/DC
Belief - John Mayer
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
Bobcaygeon - Tragically Hip
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin
Cantaloop - Us3
Cap'n Kirk - Bob Schneider
Come Undone - Duran Duran
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Crush - Dave Matthews Band
The Distance - Cake
Don't Change - INXS
Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis
Down Under - Men at Work
Drive - Incubus
Get Back - The Beatles
Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
Grace, Too - Tragically Hip
Handle With Care - The Travelling Wilburys
Hey, Hey What Can I Do? - Led Zeppelin
Hey Ya - Outkast
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
If I Had $1,000,000 - Barenaked Ladies
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
In The Blood - Better Than Ezra
In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
It's A Hit - Rilo Kiley
I've Just Seen A Face - The Beatles
JTR - Dave Matthews Band
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Laid - James
Losing My Religion - REM
Love Shack - B52's
Loves Me Like a Rock - Paul Simon
Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard - Paul Simon
Merry Christmas (The War Is Over) - John Lennon
Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Nightswimming - REM
Norweigan Wood - The Beatles
One - U2
One Headlight - The Wallflowers
One Man Army - Our Lady Peace
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Right Now - Van Halen
Rock the Cashbah - The Clash
Roll Me Away - Bob Seger
Roll the Bones - Rush
Shotdown - Agents of Good Roots
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
Soulshine - Gov't Mule
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Superman's Dead - Our Lady Peace
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns N' Roses
To Be With You - Mr. Big
Tom Sawyer - Rush
Turn the Page - Bob Seger
Typical Situation - Dave Matthews Band
Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - U2
Unchained - Van Halen
Wake Up - The Arcade Fire
Walk of Life - Dire Straits
The Weight - The Band
When I'm 64 - The Beatles
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
White Room - Cream
With or Without You - U2
Wonderwall - Oasis
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
Your Time Is Gonna Come - Led Zeppelin
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles
Songs #10 to #1:
10.) American Pie - Don McLean
9.) Suspicous Minds - Elvis Presley
8.) It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - REM
7.) Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
6.) What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band
5.) Centerfield - John Fogerty
4.) Yesterday - The Beatles
3.) Bad - U2
2.) All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
And the #1 song on my Top 100 Song list is....
1.) Imagine - John Lennon
Of course, some or all of these could change tomorrow (except the top 10 - those 10 have been favorites for awhile now), but as it stands right now, these are my favorite songs. Feel free to poke fun.
This list is a bit biased for some bands, that is to say, that some of my favorite bands (U2, The Beatles, DMB) had more songs listed than others, but hey they're my favorite, so that's the way it falls. Also, some of the songs are pretty cheesy, but they're on there because at one point or time in my life, the song always seemed to be around me, and now whenever I hear it, I always go back to that time. (Woah! I'm starting to sound like a Kenny Chesney song)
Songs #11-100 on the list are arranged in alphabetical order (no, I didn't alphabatize them myself, I let Excel do that for me), since I didn't want to take the excruciating task of weighing where each song should fall on the list. For the top 10 songs, I did rank them in order of favoritism. Anyways, here's the list..
Songs #11 to #100:
#41 - Dave Matthews Band
A Day in the Life - The Beatles
A Horse With No Name - America
A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
Acrobat - U2
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone - Bill Withers
America - Neil Diamond
Baba O'Riley - The Who
Back in Black - AC/DC
Belief - John Mayer
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
Bobcaygeon - Tragically Hip
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin
Cantaloop - Us3
Cap'n Kirk - Bob Schneider
Come Undone - Duran Duran
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Crush - Dave Matthews Band
The Distance - Cake
Don't Change - INXS
Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis
Down Under - Men at Work
Drive - Incubus
Get Back - The Beatles
Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
Grace, Too - Tragically Hip
Handle With Care - The Travelling Wilburys
Hey, Hey What Can I Do? - Led Zeppelin
Hey Ya - Outkast
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
If I Had $1,000,000 - Barenaked Ladies
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
In The Blood - Better Than Ezra
In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
It's A Hit - Rilo Kiley
I've Just Seen A Face - The Beatles
JTR - Dave Matthews Band
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
Laid - James
Losing My Religion - REM
Love Shack - B52's
Loves Me Like a Rock - Paul Simon
Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard - Paul Simon
Merry Christmas (The War Is Over) - John Lennon
Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Nightswimming - REM
Norweigan Wood - The Beatles
One - U2
One Headlight - The Wallflowers
One Man Army - Our Lady Peace
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Right Now - Van Halen
Rock the Cashbah - The Clash
Roll Me Away - Bob Seger
Roll the Bones - Rush
Shotdown - Agents of Good Roots
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
Soulshine - Gov't Mule
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Superman's Dead - Our Lady Peace
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns N' Roses
To Be With You - Mr. Big
Tom Sawyer - Rush
Turn the Page - Bob Seger
Typical Situation - Dave Matthews Band
Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - U2
Unchained - Van Halen
Wake Up - The Arcade Fire
Walk of Life - Dire Straits
The Weight - The Band
When I'm 64 - The Beatles
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
White Room - Cream
With or Without You - U2
Wonderwall - Oasis
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
Your Time Is Gonna Come - Led Zeppelin
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles
Songs #10 to #1:
10.) American Pie - Don McLean
9.) Suspicous Minds - Elvis Presley
8.) It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - REM
7.) Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
6.) What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band
5.) Centerfield - John Fogerty
4.) Yesterday - The Beatles
3.) Bad - U2
2.) All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
And the #1 song on my Top 100 Song list is....
1.) Imagine - John Lennon
Of course, some or all of these could change tomorrow (except the top 10 - those 10 have been favorites for awhile now), but as it stands right now, these are my favorite songs. Feel free to poke fun.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Sings That Spring Is Right Around the Corner
"Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.
A-roundin’ third, and headed for home, it’s a brown-eyed handsome man; Anyone can understand the way I feel."
-John Fogerty "Centerfield"
Well after another cold week here, where we were hit with a bit of an ice storm on Tuesday night, finally today comes a hint that spring is just around the corner. Spring Training has started!
Friday, February 09, 2007
Funny Video Friday
Ok, so its been awhile since I've last posted. I haven't really been able to think of much to say on here, to be honest. I think its just a case of the winter doldrums finally setting in. And yes, its finally winter here. We got about 2 inches of snow on Wednesday, and its been insanely cold here (well insanely cold for Virginia...I hear its been even colder in the Midwest). The word is, that we're supposed to get some more snow early next week as well. As much as I hate snow, I feel that if we're gonna get some snow, I wish we would just get hammered with a snowstorm, and get something like 12-15 inches, and just shut everything down for a few days. Then it can melt away and Spring can then come.
I've decided that I'm going to try to start posting on a more regular basis. One way I'm going to do that is to start a weekly series called "Funny Video Friday" (creative title, eh?) , where I'll post a video (or two, or three), that I find mildly entertaining. Since I come across some pretty good ones, on the blogs I read, I figure it can't be too difficult to do, right?
So anyways, here's the first installment..
Video #1 - Slingshot
I wish I had thought of this when I had my 4-wheeler growing up. I'm sure our neighbor Paul would have volunteered to be the one in the slingshot.
Video #2 - Trampoline Basketball
I'm surprised this never happened to me or any of my friends actually. All we ever did was play Trampoline Dodgeball on my friends Wayne & Scott's neighbor's trampoline, before they started putting up the safety nets all around them.
Video #3 - Basement Basketball
No, this isn't actually a video of me as a teen. I'll just say I'm glad my parents never had a video camera while I was growing up.
I've decided that I'm going to try to start posting on a more regular basis. One way I'm going to do that is to start a weekly series called "Funny Video Friday" (creative title, eh?) , where I'll post a video (or two, or three), that I find mildly entertaining. Since I come across some pretty good ones, on the blogs I read, I figure it can't be too difficult to do, right?
So anyways, here's the first installment..
Video #1 - Slingshot
I wish I had thought of this when I had my 4-wheeler growing up. I'm sure our neighbor Paul would have volunteered to be the one in the slingshot.
Video #2 - Trampoline Basketball
I'm surprised this never happened to me or any of my friends actually. All we ever did was play Trampoline Dodgeball on my friends Wayne & Scott's neighbor's trampoline, before they started putting up the safety nets all around them.
Video #3 - Basement Basketball
No, this isn't actually a video of me as a teen. I'll just say I'm glad my parents never had a video camera while I was growing up.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Randomness
- We got our first snowfall on Sunday. Actually it more sleet/freezing rain than snow. Either way, winter is finally here, and it can go back to where it came from now.
- Speaking of winter/snow/freezing rain - On Sunday Sara and I went out at 11:30 to go pick up Blake from his dad. We couldn't get out of town. About 2 miles into the trip on Route 29 (the main road here in C'ville) there was a minor fender bender. Once we got past that, traffic soon came to a halt again. After waiting impatiently for about 15-20 minutes, I tried to take a back route to where we were going. I got about 2 miles down that road (a country road), we had to turn around because the road was blocked, due to probably an accident. We tried yet another backway (a dirt road..I felt like I was back in North Branch for a minute), and had to turn around because small cars tried to take the same route, and were going off the road. After about an hour of going absolutely nowhere, Blake's dad called and postponed the transfer until later, due to the roads being bad for him as well. We found out on the news that there were 12 separate accidents on Route 29 around the time we were on the roads. Pretty crazy, I don't think I've experienced anything like that before.
- Right now is my favorite time of year....for TV watching. There's basically something good on every night that we watch TV. Sunday's have "You're the One That I Want" (Sara made a point to watch this, and I'm hooked) and "The Apprentice". Monday's have "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men". Tuesday's have "American Idol"(finally!!!), and Boston Legal (my 2nd favorite TV show). Wednesday's have American Idol, and Thursday's have "The Office" (my #1 favorite TV, thanks to getting hooked on the original British version) and Scrubs. As far as Friday and Saturday goes, we're usually doing something else. And yes, I'm not afraid to admit I like American Idol. I'm can't wait for the actual competition to get started. Right now we already have a favorite. A guy named Blake from Seattle. And maybe we are biased because of his name!
- Thanks to iTunes and some random music blogs I've come across lately, I've found some interesting stuff to listen to. Some of my new finds are: Lily Allen (a UK artist..kinda pop like Jem, only more edgier) and David Vandervelde (from Chicago, has a cool 70's David Bowie-like sound going). If you're interested in finding something new to listen to, you should look them up on iTunes, or Myspace to get a taste of what they sound like.
-Spring Training is less than 1 month away. I can't wait for baseball to get started back up again!
- Speaking of winter/snow/freezing rain - On Sunday Sara and I went out at 11:30 to go pick up Blake from his dad. We couldn't get out of town. About 2 miles into the trip on Route 29 (the main road here in C'ville) there was a minor fender bender. Once we got past that, traffic soon came to a halt again. After waiting impatiently for about 15-20 minutes, I tried to take a back route to where we were going. I got about 2 miles down that road (a country road), we had to turn around because the road was blocked, due to probably an accident. We tried yet another backway (a dirt road..I felt like I was back in North Branch for a minute), and had to turn around because small cars tried to take the same route, and were going off the road. After about an hour of going absolutely nowhere, Blake's dad called and postponed the transfer until later, due to the roads being bad for him as well. We found out on the news that there were 12 separate accidents on Route 29 around the time we were on the roads. Pretty crazy, I don't think I've experienced anything like that before.
- Right now is my favorite time of year....for TV watching. There's basically something good on every night that we watch TV. Sunday's have "You're the One That I Want" (Sara made a point to watch this, and I'm hooked) and "The Apprentice". Monday's have "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men". Tuesday's have "American Idol"(finally!!!), and Boston Legal (my 2nd favorite TV show). Wednesday's have American Idol, and Thursday's have "The Office" (my #1 favorite TV, thanks to getting hooked on the original British version) and Scrubs. As far as Friday and Saturday goes, we're usually doing something else. And yes, I'm not afraid to admit I like American Idol. I'm can't wait for the actual competition to get started. Right now we already have a favorite. A guy named Blake from Seattle. And maybe we are biased because of his name!
- Thanks to iTunes and some random music blogs I've come across lately, I've found some interesting stuff to listen to. Some of my new finds are: Lily Allen (a UK artist..kinda pop like Jem, only more edgier) and David Vandervelde (from Chicago, has a cool 70's David Bowie-like sound going). If you're interested in finding something new to listen to, you should look them up on iTunes, or Myspace to get a taste of what they sound like.
-Spring Training is less than 1 month away. I can't wait for baseball to get started back up again!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
It's a Hit
Any chimp can play human for a day.
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
and run for office on election day.
Fancy himself a real decision maker
and deploy more troops than salt in a shaker.
But it's a jungle when war is made,
and you'll panic and throw your own shit at the enemy.
The camera pulls back to reveal your true identity.
Look, it's a sheep in wolf's clothing.
A smoking gun holding ape.
The lines above are from one of my favorite songs, "It's a Hit" by Rilo Kiley. It also sums up how w. has, and is continuing to handle this war. (Oh wait I guess this isn't a war anymore...didn't we already decide that the war was won when he landed on the aircraft carrier in a jet, and made the proclimation in front of the big "Mission Accomplished" sign?) Tonight he's going to announce a "surge" (note: this will be the first overused catch word of '07) of 20,000ish troops to Iraq to help clean up the mess he made by not apportioning enough troops when this whole debacle started way back when. Apparently this time, there will be benchmarks set which will make the Iraq government/army more accountable themselves, for taking back their country. The only way they'll start being accountable themselves is if we get out of there and make them take control themselves. What incentives do they have for stepping up, when they can just rely on us to do the work for them, and get killed in the process?
Speaking of accountability, how has w and his evil minions (Rove, Rummy, Cheney, etc.) gotten away with running such a shoddy operation. The whole premise of the invasion was because Saddam had "WMD's" and was a threat to world peace. It's been what, 4 years, and no WMD's found, and its a generally accepted fact that no WMD's ever existed. How is there no accountability for that? Oh right, whenever this gets brought up, its inevitable that the words "nine" and "eleven" are uttered at some point in the conversation, and its at that point you are supposed to stop the questioning. If that doesn't make it right for you, then you are 1.) unpatriotic, and 2.) helping the terrorists win.
It blows my mind that one president can get a blow-job and get impeached, while another can wage a war on a faulty premise, where 3,000+ soldiers get killed, (tens of) thousands more mamed and disabled for the rest of their lives, and absolutely nothing happens.
It's beyond belief.
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
and run for office on election day.
Fancy himself a real decision maker
and deploy more troops than salt in a shaker.
But it's a jungle when war is made,
and you'll panic and throw your own shit at the enemy.
The camera pulls back to reveal your true identity.
Look, it's a sheep in wolf's clothing.
A smoking gun holding ape.
The lines above are from one of my favorite songs, "It's a Hit" by Rilo Kiley. It also sums up how w. has, and is continuing to handle this war. (Oh wait I guess this isn't a war anymore...didn't we already decide that the war was won when he landed on the aircraft carrier in a jet, and made the proclimation in front of the big "Mission Accomplished" sign?) Tonight he's going to announce a "surge" (note: this will be the first overused catch word of '07) of 20,000ish troops to Iraq to help clean up the mess he made by not apportioning enough troops when this whole debacle started way back when. Apparently this time, there will be benchmarks set which will make the Iraq government/army more accountable themselves, for taking back their country. The only way they'll start being accountable themselves is if we get out of there and make them take control themselves. What incentives do they have for stepping up, when they can just rely on us to do the work for them, and get killed in the process?
Speaking of accountability, how has w and his evil minions (Rove, Rummy, Cheney, etc.) gotten away with running such a shoddy operation. The whole premise of the invasion was because Saddam had "WMD's" and was a threat to world peace. It's been what, 4 years, and no WMD's found, and its a generally accepted fact that no WMD's ever existed. How is there no accountability for that? Oh right, whenever this gets brought up, its inevitable that the words "nine" and "eleven" are uttered at some point in the conversation, and its at that point you are supposed to stop the questioning. If that doesn't make it right for you, then you are 1.) unpatriotic, and 2.) helping the terrorists win.
It blows my mind that one president can get a blow-job and get impeached, while another can wage a war on a faulty premise, where 3,000+ soldiers get killed, (tens of) thousands more mamed and disabled for the rest of their lives, and absolutely nothing happens.
It's beyond belief.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Crazy Weather
While growing up in Michigan, the months of December and January usually meant the weather was cold and snowy. It was that way most of my life. I honestly can't remember a Christmas or New Years where there wasn't snow on the ground. One of the main reasons (aside from the crappy economy) that I moved out of Michigan right after I graduated from EMU, was to get away from the dreary never-ending winters that we got every year. I love the climate here in Virginia. The summers are hot, and they last longer than 5 weeks. Spring is awesome, and the Fall season is great, with the temperatures staying on the warm to cool side. The Winters are 10,000 times better. The temps are usually chilly, and we usually get one or two decent snowfalls, and when it does snow, its gone within a couple days. The first full winter I lived here (2001-2002), we got something like 6 inches total for the entire season. Awesome!
This year has been completely unlike anything I've ever experienced. It hasn't been all that cold yet. Its a littly chilly in the morning on the way to work, but I've only had to scrap a light layer of frost off my car maybe 3 times so far. This past Saturday it was in the high 70's, and I for a time, contemplated wearing shorts...just because I could. Coming back from Blake's basketball practice, we noticed that trees around his school were budding. While this is completely out of the ordinary, the most bizzare thing that I've seen took place while we were in Virginia Beach over New Years weekend. When we got to our hotel room on the beach on December 30th, we stepped out on the balcony to check out the view and enjoy the sounds of the waves, but we were unable to hear the waves due to the maintenance man mowing the grass below us. He wasn't mowing the lawn just to mow it, the grass was actually needed to be cut.
Of course now that I've bragged about the awesome weather we've been having here, I'm sure that I've completely jinxed myself, and we'll probably be hit by a Nor'Easter this weekend. Because I have awesome luck like that.
This year has been completely unlike anything I've ever experienced. It hasn't been all that cold yet. Its a littly chilly in the morning on the way to work, but I've only had to scrap a light layer of frost off my car maybe 3 times so far. This past Saturday it was in the high 70's, and I for a time, contemplated wearing shorts...just because I could. Coming back from Blake's basketball practice, we noticed that trees around his school were budding. While this is completely out of the ordinary, the most bizzare thing that I've seen took place while we were in Virginia Beach over New Years weekend. When we got to our hotel room on the beach on December 30th, we stepped out on the balcony to check out the view and enjoy the sounds of the waves, but we were unable to hear the waves due to the maintenance man mowing the grass below us. He wasn't mowing the lawn just to mow it, the grass was actually needed to be cut.
Of course now that I've bragged about the awesome weather we've been having here, I'm sure that I've completely jinxed myself, and we'll probably be hit by a Nor'Easter this weekend. Because I have awesome luck like that.
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