Archive
Sunday, January 19, 2006
It appears that I had been neglecting to upload the archives and I have lost everything through October. In the grand scheme of things that's likely only about 3 entries - but I am still ashamed of my faulty record keeping.
I went to a cat show this weekend that Tamryn had her cat Koi Pie competing in. When I left she had actually won a few ribbons. I also saw my next two cats: the lovely Cornish Rex with its pointy bits and wavy coat and the Sphinx with it's wrinkles, warm suedey skin (and pointy bits).
My dishwasher is broken and on Friday the appliance guy from the home warranty referral came to fix it. He said he couldn't fix or replace it because he couldn't get it out because my kitchen floor was too high and blocking it in. Moron. Today Bryan came over and we had fully liberated the dishwasher in under 10 minutes...and half of that was figuring out what needed to be unscrewed. This company sucks.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Hello all.... yes, I know it's been a while. It's interesting though, when I don't update I get to find out how many people actually read this site....
For a while I have wanted to do this more like a real blog and less like a 'diary' and I am told that we can add the necessary software to the server for me to give that a shot. So if you notice any big changes you will know why....but don't expect anything too soon. Regardless I will do my best to update this more.
I started a new 'old' job today. I am back at Crispin here in Raleigh as their Inside Sales Manager. Exactly what that entails remains to be seen but so far it looks like some operations management is involved which is certainly an interesting and exciting change. I have grown weary of being on the outside of sales where you talk and no one really listens. I hope that back at Crispin I can take what I have learned in outside sales and help them to bridge the gap between sales/service and support. I am pretty excited and it's nice to be back in an office interacting with people I can see for a change.
There is nothing much of interest in the 'odd news' today so instead just plain news. Or at least some politics (New Orleans Mayor channels Billy Graham), food, a double entendre' and the funniest man on the planet....Enjoy.
Friday, September 30, 2005
The pictures from the UK are up and you can find them in the toolbar to the right or on the pictures page. Enjoy. My coworker, Steve, also took some pictures and gave us all CD's and I need to take a look at those. Maybe I will end up adding some to the album. *actually, just took a look at them. They are really nice. I think I will make a separate album of Steve's pictures.
Yesterday after the pictures went up I had two comments of note regarding the red double decker bus. My friend Pamela assures me that people do get crashed into by the double decker busses since pedestrians don't have the right of way. In addition, both of us had the same experience of looking the wrong way as we started to cross the street and walking into the path of oncoming traffic. My sister pointed out that if this particular double decker bus was to hit you, there would be 30% extra pain relief.
Anyway, weekend commences. Busy one too. Tomorrow is a gathering for Jim Chadwick's 35th birthday. That is in the afternoon. Tomorrow night Jim and Amy Soffa are coming for sushi and it's Jim Soffa's birthday on the 4th so we will need to do something to celebrate that too.
I ordered the carpet and tile last night. I am pretty excited about getting it changed. I have committed to the hassle of doing it. Ambiorix will be painting the ceilings and the hall before the carpet gets replaced. I want to paint my master bath too, I have noticed how yellowish the paint is and with the new tile it will be more noticeable. It will be great to get rid of the stinky carpet even though I will have to have my office set up in a corner of the dining room for a few days. I don't envy them for the job of moving the furniture. I do need to remember to get Bryan to help me remove the mirror from the back of the dresser. No way they can move it with that on it and it's kind of old. I will likely just replace it with a nice 'wall mount' mirror. The tile is in stock so they can start on that pretty quickly. The carpet will be a few weeks to order so that will give us time to get the painting done.
Ty cat still hates the other cats. We all need to be able to get along so I can get her out of the bedroom. Things do seem to be settling down somewhat.
Finally, the quote of the day as I search for ginger salad dressing recipes for my Sushi party on Saturday. This was one of the reviews of the dressing I will try to make: "An incredible mix of flavors. We really liked this. Though have never been to a Japanese restaurant I imagine this taste to be very similar to what would be on their menu. Thanks." I wonder what they are basing this assessment on then?
Thursday, September 29, 2005
I am back. England was nice and I just posted the pictures.
So onto the saga of the house. This years project: indoor remodeling. The poorly painted ceilings will be painted, the old wooden blinds will be replaced, carpet will be replaced and new tile will be laid in the bathrooms and laundry room. All these things hopefully actually adding value to my house instead of just 'maintaining' it.
While in the Lowe's parking lot the other day after returning some carpet samples, I was talking to a customer on the phone. Out comes an older man (at least in his 70's) to his bright yellow truck parked on my passenger side. He opens the door and it comes crashing into the side of my car. He looks at me. In the eye. I am one the phone...I give him a look and throw up my hands...He quickly gets in his car and drives away. I sigh. After the phone call is over I go and look at the paint he has dug off my door. Some people. Looks me in the eye and runs away. I honestly expected more of someone from his generation. Fleeing the scene...
The invite for the Halloween party went out on Tuesday. Saturday, October 29th. Already have 10 positive responses. Hopefully this will be a good year. Martha wants to build a sarcophagus and I have enlisted Bryan to help with the building. If I had all the money in the world I would have the coolest Halloween house ever!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
So, something new yesterday. A friend of mine from I guess really middle school of all things has contacted me. His name is Vinnie. Turns out he is lucky enough to be in Afghanistan. In this picture he is standing with Tracy. Another middle school friend. Tracy and I were in some classes together, history I think. I can't remember exactly but I have a picture of her from when we were kids and we are wearing some weird outfits and with two other kids who I doubt I have seen since then. Vinnie used to sit next to me in home room where I was always running late. He gave me a pretty hard time as I recall.
In other news I have obtained a new cat. Bryan calls her 'cat 5'. She might end up being 'Typhoon' to go with my whole natural disaster theme (my other two girls are Dervish and Tsunami). And since she is siamese, I have been calling her 'Thai Cat'. If her full name was 'Typhoon' she could be 'Ty Cat' and it would sound the same.
On Tuesday I leave for the UK. I got a new phone for the trip so I would have triband. A Treo 650 that I am trying to get Cingular to unlock. I told the girl at the store that I needed it unlocked so I could put a new SIM card in it in the UK and she says "is that Canada". Sigh. I guess that's why she's working at Cingular. I hate cell phone companies.
The trip is for training and sales meetings with my company. So we will all be together so likely no time for individual fun. I will consider it a scouting trip where I determine if England is somewhere I would like to go back to. We will be staying outside of London in Reading, but there was some discussion of going to Wales over the weekend. That would be nice but we will see if it actually happens.
With the leaving there is stuff to do, house needs some cleaning and I need to figure out what I am taking. I think I am going to break down and take the huge suitcase so I can bring whatever I want. I should check the weather again. It might be a bit cooler there. Bryan and I were supposed to put up a fence at his house today for the girls ...so they could stay there while I am gone and it would be easier for Martha to house sit. Instead, as usual, he is working on the weekend to get a project done.
He found a link where they are looking for foster homes for animals rescued from the Hurricane. We have talked about trying to take a few between us. I could handle one more if the girls agreed - sometimes Sadie isn't so keen on new dogs though. Tucker seems to be quite agreeable though. Her little stump just wiggles. I think it would be good for them.
This is likely my last update before I leave so take care and I will post again when I get back after the 21st. Bye.
Monday, August 22, 2005
It has been a month since we last spoke. In that time I have:
1. Turned 31 years old
2. Been to Carolina Beach for a weekend with Bryan and Jim and Amy Soffa.
3. Made some really well done drapes for Bryan's house.
4. Helped Bryan prepare his house for his parents' first visit.
5. Had my first car accident in the Home Depot parking lot and have a dent in the back of my car that is going to cost my deductible and somehow I need to give up my car for 3 days to get it done. Before you ask, it was considered no one's fault. We backed in to each other simultaneously.
6. Taken Bryan's family to Greensboro to visit UNCG. We also went to NC State.
7. Received a speeding ticket on a stretch of road I know quite well is a speed trap because I wasn't paying attention.
8. Retained Lawyer for said speeding ticket at a cost of only $70 more than the ticket.
9. Traveled to Virginia Beach with Bryan to visit his parents. We had a sand sculpture contest where the girls made an octopus and the boys made a T-rex. The girls won.
10. Been informed that my company is going to the UK. I will be there September 13-21.
11. Purchased a number of Matt and Nat handbags I don't really need but do really love. Click here to see my Matt and Nat Page.
12. Given up on my sad looking tomatoes.
13. Started planning my Halloween party and another party that I suppose I shouldn't mention even though he doesn't read my site.
14. Planned a weekend trip to Myrtle Beach for Bryan and me in the middle of October. We are using hotel points. Woo hoo.
15. Saw a beautiful male Luna Moth in my front yard and a male Imperial Moth on my front door.
I am pretty sure there are some other things but that's just what comes to mind. I have been so busy my house really is a mess and could use some serious TLC. I have also discovered some dead links in the recipe area of this site, I just don't have the motivation to fix them right now.
Yesterday was Bryan's birthday, he is 34. Today is my father's birthday, he is 64.
In other travel news, I will have enough points after the UK trip to maintain my Silver status on Delta. In addition, I will also have enough points to schedule my next international trip using airline miles. I sure hope Delta doesn't go under. Where do I want to go?
Friday, July 22, 2005
I just checked the old date and was shocked to see the last date was Monday, June something or other. I thought 'wow, I have been slack', but noticed that I talked about Alex being born and the party pictures were up...so clearly I have done a posting in July. I just didn't change the date. A little investigation and I can fix that.
I spent last week in Shreveport, LA and drove to Little Rock, AR. One nice thing about being in LA is that you can always find good food - even in what really seems like the middle of nowhere. Anyway, flying home (or trying to) yesterday, I spent a great deal of time in the airport bar and met a number of interesting people as my inhibitions were lowered. There were a couple of guys that had been in Little Rock for 6 months as they trained to work for the IRS. One of them said it was for the IRS, the other more clever one said 'Treasury Department'. I mentioned to the first guy that 'IRS' really is a party killer.
Next there was Chad and Joe. Chad was from Washington (the state, not the district) and I believe Joe was from Oregon. They were a lot of fun to chat with but what really takes the cake on this one is Chad who I shall remember as the guy that was actually sent to a Mexican Prison. I mean, we have all made the jokes and heard the stories but it turns out to be more than just a tall tale and I have actually had a drink with a man that spent 48 hours in a Mexican prison for public drunkenness. His tale is as follows:
Chad and 3 friends had crossed the border into Tijuana at the tender age of 19 since the drinking age in Tijuana is only 18. After becoming well acquainted with 'Jose' and possibly his friend 'Pepe' (depending on whether they were well or premium) they decided to return home. It appears that Chad was feeling quite well as they crossed the border and took it upon himself to kiss a 'federale' on the way across the border. Although he swears it was a cheek kiss, the officer was angered by his forwardness? Or perhaps the lack of follow through? - Public drunkenness is punishable by a $400 fine or 48 hours in jail. It seems that all 4 were arrested and $1600 wasn't available so they had to opt for hard time. His friends were pretty ticked. But you know, 17 ish years later they have the glory badge of being arrested in Mexico and spending 48 hours in a Mexican prison. That's a story to tell the kids...
My 6:30 flight was delayed until 7:30 and then until 7:55. I met a Mike and a Jeff and a man at least my fathers age and obviously a professional argued with Jeff about how much he loved Jamaica because he could buy 'ganja' from the hotel guards. The man used the word ganja.
When the flight finally got to Atlanta I only made my connecting flight because the Raleigh gate was next to the gate we came in on. I also got my first class upgrade - which was great until I found that the guy next to me hum's while listening to country music.
My luggage (big surprise) didn't make it. Even worse is that when I called about an hour ago the recorded message said that if I hadn't heard anything in the next 12 HOURS to call again. That seems excessive. They really had better not have lost anything. My two favorite suits are in that bag as are my skeleton pajama pants. It would be terrible to lose those things.
Crummy airlines.
Monday, June 11, 2005
I must confess that every time I come back to update I am surprised by how long it has been since I actually did an update. So much has happened, but I suppose it has just been a busy Summer.
Claire and Jim (actually, Claire did all the work) had Alex on the 4th of July. So I guess Jim got his wish and Alex will always have fireworks on his birthday. Claire may have gotten her wish to not be 9 months pregnant for 20 more days in July.
On Saturday, July 2nd I had a party and the pictures are posted here or you can choose a link to your right. I think Bryan and I counted the attendance at 32 people. Luckily it didn't rain, and it did finally cool off slightly so that everyone could make their way outside.
Lloyd and Amber's ducks were delivered last week and Pamela, Ambiorix and I went there for dinner on Saturday and met them. Very cute, very poopy. You can see the ducks on Lloyd's site by clicking here. His pictures are rather large, so be prepared.
Yesterday Jim and Amy Soffa and Bryan and I went to Wrightsville Beach. Overall a nice day. I got a bit more sun on my face than I would have liked, but Bryan really didn't do so well. He is suffering. Jim got to see a 6ft hammerhead shark off the pier where he was fishing when it followed someone's really large catch in. Jim got a bit red in the face, as did I. Amy is the only one that seems able to handle the sun.
Next Saturday I am heading to Seagrove with my friend Jeff. Seagrove is the pottery center of NC, which I have heard of and read about but never actually been to. Then later that night I will be attending Ambiorix's citizenship celebration. I am making him a gift that I need to get working on. I will post pictures of it when I am done.
Anyway, it might be a while before I post again, so everyone have a good few weeks. DC this week and then Louisiana and Arkansas the next week. Things are staying busy.
Take care.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
It's Thursday and I am on Skype with my mom as she works on her webpage. Since I need to have Dreamweaver open to reference while I speak to her I figured I should work on mine too.
One of the things I can share with you today is this commercial that my father sent me last week. I thought it was quite funny. Certainly a way to sell the product.
This Saturday is Claire's baby shower and I had a good time putting together the gift. Also performed as Pamela's personal shopper since Baby's 'r' Us is over near me and she is pretty busy this week. Best of all I got a great dinner when I dropped off the goods. Mmm.
I did finally get my first sale at Quartz, albeit a very, very small one. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a virtual landslide of orders that will start to roll in.
Unfortunately nothing interesting in the Odd news so the news clips will be staying the same. I promise to keep an eye out.
I fancy some potato chips. That would really nail my diet though.
Until next time...
Monday, June 13, 2005
It has been a while since I have updated. I spent the last three weeks traveling and the last two in Florida, and worked in a visit to my parents. I started my mom on Dreamweaver so she could get her own website up and she has been building photo albums of their trip to Greece.
Last night I went to the Pixies concert with Amy Soffa. It was an enjoyable and interesting evening. I ran into an old friend from Winston-Salem that I suppose I haven't seen in 7 years. Jeff used to work at the Humane Society with me and I used to hang out with his wife, Alicia, every now and then. Seems they have recently had a baby named Henry and also have a Boxer/Bulldog mix like Sadie.
I also noticed that a surprisingly large number of very young people were at the Pixies show. This is unusual considering that the Pixies broke up a number of these kids were still in diapers, 1993 it seems. Doing a search on Google to determine when it actually was that the Pixies broke up I found quotes like " Yeah i was only like 4 when the pixies broke up... i'd kill to see them live". Seems there is a belief that some of these kids started as Frank Black fans. Hmm. At least they aren't at home listening to Brittany.
Anyway, at the show I saw a guy in a shirt that read 'YOUR RETARDED". Now, my question here is: Is the bad grammar part of the joke about the shirt? Did he know that when he bought it? It has kind of an 80's font feel - did he make it himself and just can't spell? I suspect that the shirt really tells us that he's retarded and didn't realize that it should have said "YOU'RE RETARDED"...but I suppose I will never know.
So anyway, a night filled with cheap beer and loud music and me (again) without my earplugs. I sure wish I knew about the earplug thing when I was younger. Maybe I would be in the habit today.
I am having a party on July 2nd to celebrate my Porch and get Claire out one last time before she pops. I hope the weather is nice, I realize it's several weeks away yet, but I am already planning the menu. Mmmm.
Have a great week.
Monday, May 23, 2005
I get started on a few weeks of heavy traveling tomorrow. Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta, next week I will be in Jacksonville, FL, Orlando the following week and finally DC. The good news about Jacksonville is I will get to see Jim Berry and possibly Marty from Florical. Then the weekend between Jacksonville and Orlando I will spend at my parents and also get to see my friend Nina and her tiny offspring.
Dervish went to RadCats today in Carrboro. About 10 days ago I discovered through some blood work that she is hyperthyroid (which explains why she has been acting like she is on speed). I took her to the vet because she seemed to not be feeling well and I thought she might have another bladder infection. The litter pan had giant pee balls and I thought she wasn't able to concentrate her urine well.
RadCats is one of a few hospitals nationwide that treat cats with hyperthyroid with radioactive iodine. It's non-surgical and is only a subcutaneous injection and has no side effects. I am told that the treatment, although expensive, is a cure. I feel terrible for her right now, she has to stay at the hospital for at least 3 days (I am hoping Martha will be able to pick her up Wednesday). She doesn't get much human contact in that time, but it will be a vast improvement from the week that my mom's cat Jasper had to stay at the hospital. And they are going to give her some nice fancy feast.
The last note is that Saturday was a anniversary of sorts for me. I include this picture for those that might know. In what I assume was an effort to keep my mind off of things, Pamela and Ambiorix took me latin dancing and helped me to get a hangover. It was fun, but there was this one pushy guy.....at least I think I burned the calories I drank.
Think good thoughts for my pretty Dervish (I need to get some better pictures of her) and have a good week.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Today is Martha's birthday. I believe she is 29 today. I have also been working on two new albums, Hooker Trading Cards and NAB 2005 which is pictures from my Las Vegas trip.
'Hooker trading cards' for those of you who don't know, are cards that are passed out in Las Vegas by guys on the street. You find them on your car after the convention each day and I have been told they are also in the bathrooms on top of the urinals. My parents helped me collect these so that those who haven't been could appreciate a side of Las Vegas you don't see in the commercials. If you are a guy, someone will try to slip them into your pockets. I should point out that these girls only come and dance and strip for you. Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas itself. Pamela noticed this odd pricing technique on some of the cards: 1 girl for $35, 2 girls for $80 and 3 girls for $99. Martha picked up on a spelling error and Lloyd noticed that there seems to be a two girl minimum on a number of them. Any other input is welcomed, enjoy.
My parents leave for Greece tomorrow AM, I hope they enjoy their trip. I really enjoyed it.
Hope all as well and enjoy the new albums.