Click here for my blog discussion on the end of the WGA strike, with a link to an article talking about the future of many shows.
Some will be back as soon as March or April; others may never return.
It'll be interesting to look back in February, 2010 and see what the long-term effects of the strike REALLY were. I think network TV hasn't just shot itself in the foot, it's blown a leg off.
Now you can watch a web exclusive show on a site like MySpaceTV, then surf over to CBS.com and watch the new episode of CSI whenever you want. And this will hurt LOCAL TV advertisers big time. CBS may be able to throw in a few of their spots into the webcast, but your local affiliate cannot.
One behavorial change can spark a behavorial revolution. One wonders if that's taken place in the past 100 days. Time will tell.
P.S.---BOOKMARK MY NEW BLOG AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS IN BUSINESS AND MEDIA TO BOOKMARK IT, TOO, AND DISCOVER HOW THEY ACTUALLY CAN RECEIVE FRESH AND EXCITING COMMERCIAL COPY AFFORDABLY! :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
FLASH: Dolly Parton's tour on hold, is currently a "bust".
Well, there's one thing you can say about Dolly Parton, she doesn't pull any punches. When it was announced her spring tour was being postponed due to back ailments, she told you exactly why.
The headline for this article says it all.
The headline for this article says it all.
Obama crosses the Potomac, stakes claim to all territory.....
Well, the Virginia primary that actually mattered is done and Barack Obama not only won, but apparently made some inroads into Hillary Clinton country in terms of the support he received with certain population segments.
Nearly nine of ten black voters went to Obama, while he won among white voters by 14 in an ABC News exit poll. 60 percent of white women went for Hillary, but that's down from past primaries and is her strongest voter base. Obama cuts into that even by several percent as he has apparently begun to do, and Clinton is in huge trouble.
There are plenty of "reasons" (excuses?) why Clinton has lost eight in a row. Read here as part of this article breaks down how Obama won where....well, you let the story say what the Clinton campaign said, then judge for yourself.
Next up is Wisconsin and Hawaii, next Tuesday. Brett Favre and the late Don Ho. Clinton has already conceded them, showing her campaign strategy is to live in Texas and Ohio until March 4th.
But there was another "inevitable" candidate for 2008 who did something similar to this, waiting for Florida to be his coming out party. But it ended up being "waterloo" for Rudy Guliani.
Does Hillary really want all the headlines for the next three weeks to talk about how she's "pinning her hopes" by setting up a "firewall"? Doesn't sound like optimism or momentum to me.
Nearly nine of ten black voters went to Obama, while he won among white voters by 14 in an ABC News exit poll. 60 percent of white women went for Hillary, but that's down from past primaries and is her strongest voter base. Obama cuts into that even by several percent as he has apparently begun to do, and Clinton is in huge trouble.
There are plenty of "reasons" (excuses?) why Clinton has lost eight in a row. Read here as part of this article breaks down how Obama won where....well, you let the story say what the Clinton campaign said, then judge for yourself.
Next up is Wisconsin and Hawaii, next Tuesday. Brett Favre and the late Don Ho. Clinton has already conceded them, showing her campaign strategy is to live in Texas and Ohio until March 4th.
But there was another "inevitable" candidate for 2008 who did something similar to this, waiting for Florida to be his coming out party. But it ended up being "waterloo" for Rudy Guliani.
Does Hillary really want all the headlines for the next three weeks to talk about how she's "pinning her hopes" by setting up a "firewall"? Doesn't sound like optimism or momentum to me.
"24" News: Joel Surnow Leaves, NEW date set for Season 7?
Yep. Looks like the writers really did a number on "24", friends.
In this article, we learn of co-creator Joel Surnow's departure, AND WORSE, we see in print that Season Seven is now slated to begin NEXT January, 2009.
Bummer city!! There will definitely be pressure now on Kiefer and Company to make Season Seven one to remember, with this time delay now in play.
Hang on "24" fans!!!
In this article, we learn of co-creator Joel Surnow's departure, AND WORSE, we see in print that Season Seven is now slated to begin NEXT January, 2009.
Bummer city!! There will definitely be pressure now on Kiefer and Company to make Season Seven one to remember, with this time delay now in play.
Hang on "24" fans!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
CHARLIE!!!
Watch Charlie's delayed reaction to his brother. Did he know exactly what he was doing? Already got one over older brother, eh? Ha, ha!!!!
Monday, February 11, 2008
IT'S VIRGINIA!! NOT POTOMAC, NOT CHESAPEAKE!!!!!!!
One of the most irrelevant phrases in 20th Century Virginia political history was:
"The Virginia Presidential Primary"
Its needlessness continued into 2004, but......WHAT? COULD IT BE???
The Virginia Presidential Primary will actually MATTER when we go to the polls tomorrow! WE FINALLY MATTER!! HEY VIRGINIANS! GROUP HUG!!!!
So, what do I hear beginning late last Tuesday night as Super Tuesday finally came to a close??
"Next week is the Potomac Primary!"
WHAT??!!?? THE WHAT??!!??
So, suddenly, the name "Virginia" had been replaced with a nearby body of water. Later on, we are renamed the Chespeake Primary.
Potomac. Chesapeake.
I know some PR lackey in a backroom at some network or blog thought he/she was BRILLIANT coming up with this "title". Except for one little problem.....
I can't speak for those in D.C. and Maryland, but I am INSULTED by having my commonwealth's FINALLY MEANINGFUL Presidential primary be called by something other than the word "Virginia".
So, a message I sent to Anderson Cooper on his blog tonight now goes to the whole media, as if they care about me. :)
"POTOMAC TUESDAY". That's a cool title! Then you have to tell everyone where the primaries are located! For God's sake, you guys assume everyone in Nebraska, Indiana, Wyoming, and San Francisco already know what "Potomac" or "Chespeake" even means in this context!!!
"POTOMAC TUESDAY". Is it too late to change the graphics for tomorrow's coverage?
"The Virginia Presidential Primary"
Its needlessness continued into 2004, but......WHAT? COULD IT BE???
The Virginia Presidential Primary will actually MATTER when we go to the polls tomorrow! WE FINALLY MATTER!! HEY VIRGINIANS! GROUP HUG!!!!
So, what do I hear beginning late last Tuesday night as Super Tuesday finally came to a close??
"Next week is the Potomac Primary!"
WHAT??!!?? THE WHAT??!!??
So, suddenly, the name "Virginia" had been replaced with a nearby body of water. Later on, we are renamed the Chespeake Primary.
Potomac. Chesapeake.
I know some PR lackey in a backroom at some network or blog thought he/she was BRILLIANT coming up with this "title". Except for one little problem.....
I can't speak for those in D.C. and Maryland, but I am INSULTED by having my commonwealth's FINALLY MEANINGFUL Presidential primary be called by something other than the word "Virginia".
So, a message I sent to Anderson Cooper on his blog tonight now goes to the whole media, as if they care about me. :)
"POTOMAC TUESDAY". That's a cool title! Then you have to tell everyone where the primaries are located! For God's sake, you guys assume everyone in Nebraska, Indiana, Wyoming, and San Francisco already know what "Potomac" or "Chespeake" even means in this context!!!
"POTOMAC TUESDAY". Is it too late to change the graphics for tomorrow's coverage?
Friday, February 08, 2008
A "Friday Fill-In" List!
From new blog find Becky68.....I blatantly ripped off this idea! :)
1. I’m looking forward to the NFL Draft.
2. Sanity is a place I always wanted to visit and haven’t made it there yet.
3. I’ve fallen in love with increased levels of serotonin.
4. Six of one, is worth two in the bush.
5. Addiction can be very alluring, unless it's cigarette smoke. GAG!
6. The way Rachel has developed an evil laugh like Dr. Phibes cracks me up!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I watched hockey, tomorrow my plans include playing taxi for the kids and re-watching the Super Bowl, and Sunday, I want to go to work, but I STILL DO NOT HAVE A JOB!!!
Now, next Friday, you fill in the bold places on your blog!
1. I’m looking forward to the NFL Draft.
2. Sanity is a place I always wanted to visit and haven’t made it there yet.
3. I’ve fallen in love with increased levels of serotonin.
4. Six of one, is worth two in the bush.
5. Addiction can be very alluring, unless it's cigarette smoke. GAG!
6. The way Rachel has developed an evil laugh like Dr. Phibes cracks me up!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I watched hockey, tomorrow my plans include playing taxi for the kids and re-watching the Super Bowl, and Sunday, I want to go to work, but I STILL DO NOT HAVE A JOB!!!
Now, next Friday, you fill in the bold places on your blog!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
January's Winning Numbers
....1, 13, 22 and 31. Poor start. Below the 2007 average. This is getting disheartening. I gotta find better winning numbers.
Death of the Old Media I: Your morning paper......
I delivered the Richmond Times-Dispatch for 14 years.
During that time, we saw the parent company, Media General, cease publishing its afternoon equivalent, The Richmond News Leader, in 1992.
As the 2000s dawned, the Internet was booming along, and, as you could get news faster and faster, and all media outlets felt the need to have a web presence, newspapers had to do the same.
But as opposed to radio or television, the newspaper industry was the first major member of what is called today the "Old Media" to stare down the Internet, and shake in its collective boots. Why? Simple. Read THIS STORY, then continue this post....
A generation is about to arrive that asks the question:
"Why pay for and wait for the newspaper to show up on my driveway when I can read it online, and, be assured it'll never be delivered wet?"
We left the paper route at the end of 2002. There had not been much of a drop in circulation at the time, but the discussion concerning the "inevitable showdown" between the newspaper and its web site was already underway.
Some papers attempted to make people pay to read the online content, such as the New York Times. That was a complete disaster. Why?
1) New Yorkers could get their news on a number of other websites for free. I mean, how many other newspapers are in NYC, not just radio, television, et al??
2) National and world news was easily accessible from anyone from CNN.com, MSNBC.com, to "portals" such as Drudgereport.com.
----------------------------------------------------
The circulation drop, and subsequent cutting of many newspaper jobs, began in earnest last year, with 2008 looking grim; not just because of the internet issue, but, as with all media, but because of forecasts of stalled or lower overall ad revenue due to recession fears.
So, the "newspapers" with the better chance of surviving have done this:
1) Embrace the web as an active part of the printed newspaper. Drive your readers to the website for additional information (saves on paper!), teach your older readers how to be web savvy, etc.
2) SELL, SELL, SELL!!! Web advertising, whether packaged with the actual paper, or otherwise, has made a difference.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Newspaper carriers don't have to fear for their jobs for at least a few more years, in my view. The baby boomer generation, I think, pretty much still likes to have that newspaper in hand, to take to work with them, or, on Sunday morning, to peruse with their first and second cups of joe.
My generation (30-45) is also used to the paper; we'll respect both the print and the web versions, especially as smart newspapers use one to augment the other.
It's everyone born after, say, 1980 or 1981, that, one day, especially in this age of environmental awareness, will collectively ask, "Why are we still printing these dinosaurs?"
Ten years from now, maybe sooner, if you want your morning paper on, well, paper, you'll need to press "print".
New Media 1, Old Media 0. And more media forms that we thought "would never die" are about to come face to face with either their inevitable "extreme makeover", or, their demise.
During that time, we saw the parent company, Media General, cease publishing its afternoon equivalent, The Richmond News Leader, in 1992.
As the 2000s dawned, the Internet was booming along, and, as you could get news faster and faster, and all media outlets felt the need to have a web presence, newspapers had to do the same.
But as opposed to radio or television, the newspaper industry was the first major member of what is called today the "Old Media" to stare down the Internet, and shake in its collective boots. Why? Simple. Read THIS STORY, then continue this post....
A generation is about to arrive that asks the question:
"Why pay for and wait for the newspaper to show up on my driveway when I can read it online, and, be assured it'll never be delivered wet?"
We left the paper route at the end of 2002. There had not been much of a drop in circulation at the time, but the discussion concerning the "inevitable showdown" between the newspaper and its web site was already underway.
Some papers attempted to make people pay to read the online content, such as the New York Times. That was a complete disaster. Why?
1) New Yorkers could get their news on a number of other websites for free. I mean, how many other newspapers are in NYC, not just radio, television, et al??
2) National and world news was easily accessible from anyone from CNN.com, MSNBC.com, to "portals" such as Drudgereport.com.
----------------------------------------------------
The circulation drop, and subsequent cutting of many newspaper jobs, began in earnest last year, with 2008 looking grim; not just because of the internet issue, but, as with all media, but because of forecasts of stalled or lower overall ad revenue due to recession fears.
So, the "newspapers" with the better chance of surviving have done this:
1) Embrace the web as an active part of the printed newspaper. Drive your readers to the website for additional information (saves on paper!), teach your older readers how to be web savvy, etc.
2) SELL, SELL, SELL!!! Web advertising, whether packaged with the actual paper, or otherwise, has made a difference.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Newspaper carriers don't have to fear for their jobs for at least a few more years, in my view. The baby boomer generation, I think, pretty much still likes to have that newspaper in hand, to take to work with them, or, on Sunday morning, to peruse with their first and second cups of joe.
My generation (30-45) is also used to the paper; we'll respect both the print and the web versions, especially as smart newspapers use one to augment the other.
It's everyone born after, say, 1980 or 1981, that, one day, especially in this age of environmental awareness, will collectively ask, "Why are we still printing these dinosaurs?"
Ten years from now, maybe sooner, if you want your morning paper on, well, paper, you'll need to press "print".
New Media 1, Old Media 0. And more media forms that we thought "would never die" are about to come face to face with either their inevitable "extreme makeover", or, their demise.
Archbishop of Canterbury: "Ah, screw it, let 'em have their way....."
The 104th Archbishop of Canterbury has, I'm sure, made multiple graves roll over in complete disdain yesterday.
He's decided that life in Britain should be governed by present law.....AND Sharia law from Islam.
I don't need to offer commentary on this one. Just read the article.
Then ask yourself......would America live with the Constitution AND the Ten Commandments?? Yeah.
To the tune of "Chicken of the Sea", sing along now......
Ask anyone with brains and you'll see, two sets of laws equal anarchy!
He's decided that life in Britain should be governed by present law.....AND Sharia law from Islam.
I don't need to offer commentary on this one. Just read the article.
Then ask yourself......would America live with the Constitution AND the Ten Commandments?? Yeah.
To the tune of "Chicken of the Sea", sing along now......
Ask anyone with brains and you'll see, two sets of laws equal anarchy!
See the Giants win.....again!!
NFL Network is showing a 90-minute version of Super Bowl XLII this week. Interspersed with actual televised game footage from Fox are comments from players and a few NFL Films shots.
If you didn't/couldn't record the actual game Sunday night, this is the next best thing.
Click here for times. The replay airs on SATURDAY 2/9 at 4:30 and 9p, eastern time!
If you didn't/couldn't record the actual game Sunday night, this is the next best thing.
Click here for times. The replay airs on SATURDAY 2/9 at 4:30 and 9p, eastern time!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Super Tuesday-----for all the wrong reasons.......
Pray for the people in the Mid-South tonight as they're under a huge breakout of tornadoes. Memphis alone is bracing for a third line of severe weather today. Already an area mall has suffered significant damage.
For more on Memphis, click here.
Nashville is in the crosshairs at this hour; for details now and any aftermath, click here.
For my friends here in Richmond, Virginia, not to scare but to advise....my wife and I were on vacation in Nashville in August, 1993 when a horrible line of storms came through one evening, cancelling plans as we decided to head straight home the next day.
That "next day" was August 6, 1993, when the tornado outbreak hit Petersburg and Colonial Heights, destroying homes, parts of Historic Petersburg, and tore through the heart of the then Wal-Mart in Colonial Heights.
We have severe weather possible tomorrow. Keep your eyes on radar and the skies tomorrow!!!!
For more on Memphis, click here.
Nashville is in the crosshairs at this hour; for details now and any aftermath, click here.
For my friends here in Richmond, Virginia, not to scare but to advise....my wife and I were on vacation in Nashville in August, 1993 when a horrible line of storms came through one evening, cancelling plans as we decided to head straight home the next day.
That "next day" was August 6, 1993, when the tornado outbreak hit Petersburg and Colonial Heights, destroying homes, parts of Historic Petersburg, and tore through the heart of the then Wal-Mart in Colonial Heights.
We have severe weather possible tomorrow. Keep your eyes on radar and the skies tomorrow!!!!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Follow-up to Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez report.......
.....if you did not see my February 1st post with a link to a video from the CBS Evening News, just scroll down past the Giants postings.
My first blog love, Ala, came across the story and posted it, too at her site:
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com
Click HERE to see more information she provided concerning the Feres Doctrine, the repulsing law from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950. You need to read it, then you need to email/call your Senators and Congressman!
I know I will be; this must change. How can those who offer their lives for our freedom be treated like this?????
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK AND READ!! THANK YOU!!!
My first blog love, Ala, came across the story and posted it, too at her site:
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com
Click HERE to see more information she provided concerning the Feres Doctrine, the repulsing law from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950. You need to read it, then you need to email/call your Senators and Congressman!
I know I will be; this must change. How can those who offer their lives for our freedom be treated like this?????
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK AND READ!! THANK YOU!!!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
YES!! I KNEW THE G-MEN COULD!!!!!! WHOOOO!!!!
1) David Tyree's catch on the Eli Manning catch after he eluded a certain sack has to be called the GREATEST catch in Super Bowl history. Tyree doesn't catch it? Giants lose.
2) Eli Manning is the King of New York; and he deserves it! And I apologize to him for not being behind him, even after Green Bay!
3) Plaxico was RIGHT!!!! They did NOT score 14 points!
4) EASILY the greatest defensive team performance in Super Bowl history, too. The all-time point scoring team in NFL history held to 14 points.
5) Whew! Tynes kicked 'em all.......
6) Tom Coughlin, I believe you!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!
MOVE OVER SUPER BOWL III!!!! YOU'VE JUST WITNESSED THE BIGGEST UPSET IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY; THE BIGGEST UPSET IN NFL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY!!!!!!
In the great words of the late Jack Buck (father of Fox announcer Joe Buck) calling a game-winning HR by Ozzie Smith in the 1985 NL Championship Baseball Series...
"GO CRAZY FOLKS! GO CRAZY!!!"
And we saw it ALL LIVE in New Bern, North Carolina!!!!!
2) Eli Manning is the King of New York; and he deserves it! And I apologize to him for not being behind him, even after Green Bay!
3) Plaxico was RIGHT!!!! They did NOT score 14 points!
4) EASILY the greatest defensive team performance in Super Bowl history, too. The all-time point scoring team in NFL history held to 14 points.
5) Whew! Tynes kicked 'em all.......
6) Tom Coughlin, I believe you!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!
MOVE OVER SUPER BOWL III!!!! YOU'VE JUST WITNESSED THE BIGGEST UPSET IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY; THE BIGGEST UPSET IN NFL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY!!!!!!
In the great words of the late Jack Buck (father of Fox announcer Joe Buck) calling a game-winning HR by Ozzie Smith in the 1985 NL Championship Baseball Series...
"GO CRAZY FOLKS! GO CRAZY!!!"
And we saw it ALL LIVE in New Bern, North Carolina!!!!!
WHAT A DRIVE!!!!!!!!!
I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS NERVOUS WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL IN 17 YEARS!!!
11:05 TO GO! GO GET 'EM, GIANTS!!!
11:05 TO GO! GO GET 'EM, GIANTS!!!
We are LIVE in New Bern, NC for the Giants victory!!!
I never, ever surprise my brother.
Until today. :)
He had no idea I was coming down until he opened the door!
More to come; time now for the coin toss, followed by the biggest upset in NFL history!!! :)
GO G-MEN!!
Until today. :)
He had no idea I was coming down until he opened the door!
More to come; time now for the coin toss, followed by the biggest upset in NFL history!!! :)
GO G-MEN!!
Friday, February 01, 2008
A must-see story.....how could this happen?
This aired on last night's CBS Evening News. No family, no soldier should ever be placed in this position. Neither should anyone not in the military as well.
WARNING: One portion of the report early on shows disturbing video of the victim on his death bed. Be advised.
WARNING: One portion of the report early on shows disturbing video of the victim on his death bed. Be advised.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday's Much More Important Headline.....Just In From Tehran....
From the voice that brought you:
"Holocaust? What Holocaust?"
....and the ever-popular....
"Ain't No Gays Where I Play!"
...comes Iran's President "I'm--a--nim--arod", forecasting doom for Israel.
"Imminent Collapse".
Past records show messing with Israel hasn't exactly provided long-term positive results. But if he ignores the above history, certainly the Israeli history lesson would fall end deaf ears. And beady eyes. And bad leisure suit.
And to think, when I saw the photo, I thought he was announcing a negotiated settlement in the Writers Strike! Oh, well.
"Holocaust? What Holocaust?"
....and the ever-popular....
"Ain't No Gays Where I Play!"
...comes Iran's President "I'm--a--nim--arod", forecasting doom for Israel.
"Imminent Collapse".
Past records show messing with Israel hasn't exactly provided long-term positive results. But if he ignores the above history, certainly the Israeli history lesson would fall end deaf ears. And beady eyes. And bad leisure suit.
And to think, when I saw the photo, I thought he was announcing a negotiated settlement in the Writers Strike! Oh, well.
Twenty years ago TONIGHT!!!
Wifey and I spent our last evening together as "pre-married". Is that a term? :)
I took her home around 11pm, drove from Richmond to Williamsburg, worked my overnight air shift on WQSF-FM (Soft 96) from 12 to 6, drove the hour home, went to bed at seven, got up at ten.......
....and I'll save the rest for tomorrow. :)
I took her home around 11pm, drove from Richmond to Williamsburg, worked my overnight air shift on WQSF-FM (Soft 96) from 12 to 6, drove the hour home, went to bed at seven, got up at ten.......
....and I'll save the rest for tomorrow. :)
Wednesday News Headline That Doesn't Matter Much or Surprise....
....gee, it's kinda like what'll happen in Richmond in 2009.
When the R-Braves aren't at the Diamond in April, May, then June.....will the casual fan really be torn as to what to do with all that "spare evening time" in July that in previous years was spent in Section 108?
So I ask, do you REALLY think everyone from the "TV Cattle Call" audience is going to come blindly back to watch their favorite shows once the Writers Strike ends?
Heck, when's it gonna end???
Click here for an article over in the UK. I suspected this would happen all along, especially with the generation behind me. No new shows on CBS? No problem, let's create our own show and put it on You Tube!
P.S.---One commenter disagrees with me and says the return of "Lost" on ABC tomorrow night will debunk the theory that "some viewers will never come back".
They may get good numbers, but remember, the once golden-boy of TV, American Idol, with absolutely NO original competition, STILL LOST four million viewers in its first week in 2008 versus 2007. About 15 percent of the audience. Not far from that 21 percent mentioned on the link above.
When the R-Braves aren't at the Diamond in April, May, then June.....will the casual fan really be torn as to what to do with all that "spare evening time" in July that in previous years was spent in Section 108?
So I ask, do you REALLY think everyone from the "TV Cattle Call" audience is going to come blindly back to watch their favorite shows once the Writers Strike ends?
Heck, when's it gonna end???
Click here for an article over in the UK. I suspected this would happen all along, especially with the generation behind me. No new shows on CBS? No problem, let's create our own show and put it on You Tube!
P.S.---One commenter disagrees with me and says the return of "Lost" on ABC tomorrow night will debunk the theory that "some viewers will never come back".
They may get good numbers, but remember, the once golden-boy of TV, American Idol, with absolutely NO original competition, STILL LOST four million viewers in its first week in 2008 versus 2007. About 15 percent of the audience. Not far from that 21 percent mentioned on the link above.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I'm sorry, I can't help myself.....
....I just wanted to make sure you knew that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now officially understands many of us in the "middle class" (whatever "middle class" officially is...)
From CNN.com:
"Many Americans in the middle class are living paycheck to paycheck," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after the vote.
Strike her off the list of "clueless". :)
From CNN.com:
"Many Americans in the middle class are living paycheck to paycheck," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after the vote.
Strike her off the list of "clueless". :)
One Kennedy yes, the other....????
I think Caroline Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama in the op-ed section of Sunday's New York Times is one of the most important endorsements of any Presidential candidate in a long time. She's not a politician, does not like "fame", doesn't spend time in public.....
...so for her to write what she did, I'm standing up and taking notice.
Meanwhile, Ted Kennedy?
Not so much.......it was funny to see Obama and Kennedy talking and smiling during the President's entry tonight for the SOTU address.
Then, even funnier a few minutes later, was the camera shot of Hillary Clinton, who, if looks could kill, we'd all be dead.
P.S.----Didn't watch much of Bush's speech; he's a lame duck. He could ask for everything and know it can't happen but he looks good.
...so for her to write what she did, I'm standing up and taking notice.
Meanwhile, Ted Kennedy?
Not so much.......it was funny to see Obama and Kennedy talking and smiling during the President's entry tonight for the SOTU address.
Then, even funnier a few minutes later, was the camera shot of Hillary Clinton, who, if looks could kill, we'd all be dead.
P.S.----Didn't watch much of Bush's speech; he's a lame duck. He could ask for everything and know it can't happen but he looks good.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Maybe there's hope for Circuit City after all....
....grab a cup of Joe, a Mountain Dew, and a snack.
Though this is a long read, it is definitely worth it.
In this age of "46 stores sell the same item" retailing, you would think Best Buy would have just backed off.
Instead they're down a customer for stupid reasons.
Click here.
P.S.----I will never make you buy "Saw IV" to read my blog. :)
Though this is a long read, it is definitely worth it.
In this age of "46 stores sell the same item" retailing, you would think Best Buy would have just backed off.
Instead they're down a customer for stupid reasons.
Click here.
P.S.----I will never make you buy "Saw IV" to read my blog. :)
Obama theory......
Go back in American history and you will find only a handful of Presidential elections; indeed only a handful of Presidential candidates, who are able to create two pieces of critical energy:
1) Attracting the new generation of voters into actively being a part of the political process....
2) Creating a coalition not pigeon-holed into the most populous or powerful wing of either major political party.
Think for a moment as I opine (simply my two cents' worth here):
1960: Kennedy v. Nixon. The 1950s are looked back upon as THE decade of growth and change in American life. The baby-boomer factory was in full swing, lookalike houses sprouted up in new "subdivisions" in new "suburbs". Middle America could now look forward to such heretofore thought-of luxuries as indoor plumbing, refrigeration, and television being in their homes.
So, after eight years of the Eisenhower administration, why did the country (though by a razor-thin margain) decide on the "unproven" Senator from the rich family in Massachusetts rather than the sure deal, the sitting Vice President?
After all, if you heard their debate on radio, it was clear that Nixon came across as better qualified to be our leader; experienced and a statesman.
But hold up....those who watched the debate on that new TV set thought Kennedy won. Ideas notwithstanding, the bottom line was, Nixon sounded better, Kennedy looked better.
So, a new generation arrives in Washington along with a new decade.
1980: RONALD REAGAN. This seed change had nothing to do with the election against sitting President Carter. This was about the conservative revolution coming of age with its best possible spokesman at the helm. Americans were tired, belittled, and were beginning to believe there was no hope. Inflation, gas shortages, and that pest of a nation Iran holding our people hostage.
Along comes a man with a vision to restore hope to Americans and America's rightful place in the world as the leader for freedom. There were plenty of disagreements over policy, bills, and the like. At day's end, though, the American people heard hope, voted for hope, and saw Washington respond in kind. Certainly better than they have been in the past 20 years.
WHICH BRINGS US TO.......
Barack Obama. He's the next "one", no question. Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bush 41, Bill Clinton, Bush 43, George McGovern, Jesse Jackson, Scoop Jackson, Mo Udall, Walter Mondale, Mario Cuomo, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, John Kerry, Gerald Ford......ANY of these capable speakers......put them behind the podium with the same speech that Obama gave tonight, and few if any go "gah-gah" over "change".
Obama has "it".
If the Democratic Party fails to nominate Barack Obama, the party endangers itself of becoming even more irrelevant in the next 20 years than it has been in the past 30.
Think about it:
----Record primary turnouts
----Obama captures Iowa, which is about as white as America gets
----He crushes his opponents in South Carolina
----He brings out new, young, fresh faces to the polls and to volunteer positions.
----He's got independents, young Republicans, even conservative Republicans taking note of him....very seriously.
Unless some gaffe of major proportions comes from his campaign, he's a lock for the White House.
BUT:
If Hillary and the "Establishment" win the nomination, do you think her "fiery speeches of hope and change" win excite the new? The disenfranchised? The independents? Republicans of any age?
Hillary gets nominated, and already 45% of the electorate is against her.
Obama equals coalition. Hillary equals turn-off. If the DNC doesn't see this, they are the stupidest group of politicians in the history of the United States.
Oh, and all the people whose cry for change will have gone unheard? If the Republicans can find an "Obama" in 2012......you get the idea.
Conservative Republican Ronald Reagan built a coalition that changed America. Another Republican could do the same in 2012 if the Democrats fumble this political football, and the GOP is wise enough to pick it up, and lucky enough to have "the" man or woman to lead the charge.
Because the people 18-39 will be heard from politically. The question is, whose smart enough to listen.
1) Attracting the new generation of voters into actively being a part of the political process....
2) Creating a coalition not pigeon-holed into the most populous or powerful wing of either major political party.
Think for a moment as I opine (simply my two cents' worth here):
1960: Kennedy v. Nixon. The 1950s are looked back upon as THE decade of growth and change in American life. The baby-boomer factory was in full swing, lookalike houses sprouted up in new "subdivisions" in new "suburbs". Middle America could now look forward to such heretofore thought-of luxuries as indoor plumbing, refrigeration, and television being in their homes.
So, after eight years of the Eisenhower administration, why did the country (though by a razor-thin margain) decide on the "unproven" Senator from the rich family in Massachusetts rather than the sure deal, the sitting Vice President?
After all, if you heard their debate on radio, it was clear that Nixon came across as better qualified to be our leader; experienced and a statesman.
But hold up....those who watched the debate on that new TV set thought Kennedy won. Ideas notwithstanding, the bottom line was, Nixon sounded better, Kennedy looked better.
So, a new generation arrives in Washington along with a new decade.
1980: RONALD REAGAN. This seed change had nothing to do with the election against sitting President Carter. This was about the conservative revolution coming of age with its best possible spokesman at the helm. Americans were tired, belittled, and were beginning to believe there was no hope. Inflation, gas shortages, and that pest of a nation Iran holding our people hostage.
Along comes a man with a vision to restore hope to Americans and America's rightful place in the world as the leader for freedom. There were plenty of disagreements over policy, bills, and the like. At day's end, though, the American people heard hope, voted for hope, and saw Washington respond in kind. Certainly better than they have been in the past 20 years.
WHICH BRINGS US TO.......
Barack Obama. He's the next "one", no question. Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bush 41, Bill Clinton, Bush 43, George McGovern, Jesse Jackson, Scoop Jackson, Mo Udall, Walter Mondale, Mario Cuomo, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, John Kerry, Gerald Ford......ANY of these capable speakers......put them behind the podium with the same speech that Obama gave tonight, and few if any go "gah-gah" over "change".
Obama has "it".
If the Democratic Party fails to nominate Barack Obama, the party endangers itself of becoming even more irrelevant in the next 20 years than it has been in the past 30.
Think about it:
----Record primary turnouts
----Obama captures Iowa, which is about as white as America gets
----He crushes his opponents in South Carolina
----He brings out new, young, fresh faces to the polls and to volunteer positions.
----He's got independents, young Republicans, even conservative Republicans taking note of him....very seriously.
Unless some gaffe of major proportions comes from his campaign, he's a lock for the White House.
BUT:
If Hillary and the "Establishment" win the nomination, do you think her "fiery speeches of hope and change" win excite the new? The disenfranchised? The independents? Republicans of any age?
Hillary gets nominated, and already 45% of the electorate is against her.
Obama equals coalition. Hillary equals turn-off. If the DNC doesn't see this, they are the stupidest group of politicians in the history of the United States.
Oh, and all the people whose cry for change will have gone unheard? If the Republicans can find an "Obama" in 2012......you get the idea.
Conservative Republican Ronald Reagan built a coalition that changed America. Another Republican could do the same in 2012 if the Democrats fumble this political football, and the GOP is wise enough to pick it up, and lucky enough to have "the" man or woman to lead the charge.
Because the people 18-39 will be heard from politically. The question is, whose smart enough to listen.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Obama tonight----at his best, friends.
Tonight, Barack Obama looked more Presidential than he has at any time.
Did you happen to see the two African-American young guys behind Obama to the camera's right? The two who people would have assumed would have been at the club or something on a Saturday night?
Instead, they're celebrating a political win for a candidate they believe in?
Whoa.
Obama is bringing together an impressive coalition. And he absolutely destroyed Hillary (AND BILL) Clinton in his speech, never had to name a name, and the crowd was going crazy.
I was born after JFK, was in diapers the year we lost MLK and RFK. I remember the hope and coalition Reagan presented in 1980.
If the Democratic Party doesn't nominate this guy, they'll risk losing the White House for another 20 to 40 years.
My commentary on that, next time.
Did you happen to see the two African-American young guys behind Obama to the camera's right? The two who people would have assumed would have been at the club or something on a Saturday night?
Instead, they're celebrating a political win for a candidate they believe in?
Whoa.
Obama is bringing together an impressive coalition. And he absolutely destroyed Hillary (AND BILL) Clinton in his speech, never had to name a name, and the crowd was going crazy.
I was born after JFK, was in diapers the year we lost MLK and RFK. I remember the hope and coalition Reagan presented in 1980.
If the Democratic Party doesn't nominate this guy, they'll risk losing the White House for another 20 to 40 years.
My commentary on that, next time.
Friday, January 25, 2008
27 years ago today.....
....Super Bowl XV.
Jim Plunkett, Kenny King, Rod Martin, and the rest of the crew.
Three road wins to get there.
Then a 27-10 win in New Orleans over Philadelphia.
THANK YOU OAKLAND RAIDERS!!!!
Jim Plunkett, Kenny King, Rod Martin, and the rest of the crew.
Three road wins to get there.
Then a 27-10 win in New Orleans over Philadelphia.
THANK YOU OAKLAND RAIDERS!!!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
I should be the guy on the right.......
He's my age. I wanted to be anchor of the CBS Evening News when I was five.
Sorry, Anderson. Move out. You're in my space!! Especially now that Erica's there! She's so cool!
Monday, January 21, 2008
HD, The 44th President and other thoughts.....
One year from today will be the first full day of the four-year term of the 44th President of the United States. We just don't know his/her identity yet.
If you were forced to choose today, who would you say?
As much as I don't want to.....right now I see yet another "Clinton Administration".
-----------------------------------------------
I'm still trying to grasp the fact that my Giants are in Super Bowl XLII. You may think I'm nuts, but after they played the Pats so well in the regular season finale, then you add in the awakening of Eli Manning, the two battering rams of backs (Bradshaw and Jacobs), and, most importantly, the Giants couldn't be any happier to be playing on the road.....and I think the G-Men can do it.
Can you believe winning 10 in a row on the road?? That's an NFL record! So, don't just assume 18-0 being the only "streak" on the line. As I posted last night, I don't care what they say, the Patriots will face some incredible pressure trying to win and finish perfect.
The Giants have NOTHING to lose and know they can play with the Patriots. I think it's gonna be a great game.
The difference maker in my mind right now for New England? If Lawrence Malroney has a good game, my boys will be in trouble.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm trying to figure out how to install equipment so I can start dreaming in HD. If you have any thoughts, let me know. :)
If you were forced to choose today, who would you say?
As much as I don't want to.....right now I see yet another "Clinton Administration".
-----------------------------------------------
I'm still trying to grasp the fact that my Giants are in Super Bowl XLII. You may think I'm nuts, but after they played the Pats so well in the regular season finale, then you add in the awakening of Eli Manning, the two battering rams of backs (Bradshaw and Jacobs), and, most importantly, the Giants couldn't be any happier to be playing on the road.....and I think the G-Men can do it.
Can you believe winning 10 in a row on the road?? That's an NFL record! So, don't just assume 18-0 being the only "streak" on the line. As I posted last night, I don't care what they say, the Patriots will face some incredible pressure trying to win and finish perfect.
The Giants have NOTHING to lose and know they can play with the Patriots. I think it's gonna be a great game.
The difference maker in my mind right now for New England? If Lawrence Malroney has a good game, my boys will be in trouble.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm trying to figure out how to install equipment so I can start dreaming in HD. If you have any thoughts, let me know. :)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
BREAKING NEWS!!!! GIANTS WIN!!!!!
My brother can't stand Lawrence Tynes.
But I think all is forgiven, for now that is.
GIANTS 23, PACKERS 20 IN OVERTIME!!!!!!
They have just made a believer out of me. I expected nothing out of them this season, with Tiki gone and Coughlin staying. Instead, Eli has come out of nowhere, Brandon and Ahmad has made Tiki irrelevant and Coughlin coaches a team to the Super Bowl.
I was so proud of their performance against New England in the regular season finale. They could have won that game save just a couple of mistakes.
I feel good about their chances; I really do. 10-1 on the road with New England not having their cold, home-field advantage. We've got a second chance to deny history.
And make it, too. GO GGGGGGG-MEN!!!!!!!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
I usually don't get this personal.......
....but I'm glad to announce that wifey is in bed with me tonight!!
You don't understand. And NO it's not about THAT (at least, not this time anyway)...
I can't sleep when wifey's not here. I don't mean those nights she tanks on the recliner watching whatever.....I mean those nights when she's not here because of, well, the fact that she's not within the vinyl siding around this abode.
On the cruise in '06, all three of us hated it. Last July when the girls were in Vegas canvassing for delegates (heh?), Robbie and I did much better, but I still don't sleep as well (not that "Apnea Man" sleeps very well to begin with).....
....but it's worse when she's at the Gall Bladder Hotel. So, it's nice to have her back.
Although this means I lose control of the television again. :)
------------------------------------------------------
Quick political note: give John McCain big kudos for his speech tonight in South Carolina after winning the state's Republican primary. I'll try to find it on video or at least a transcript and try to post it tomorrow.
Oh, and I LOVED the story on CNN where one caucus group for the Democrats in Nevada in Vegas finished tied, so they pulled out a deck of cards to break the tie and assign the delegates!!
The Obama card-picker got a 10 of something.
The Clinton card-picker got a queen (maybe of hearts).
I'm sorry, but that just sounds so American. That was cool!!
P.S.---Apparently there were two other ties around the state and Obama won the card draws there.....
You don't understand. And NO it's not about THAT (at least, not this time anyway)...
I can't sleep when wifey's not here. I don't mean those nights she tanks on the recliner watching whatever.....I mean those nights when she's not here because of, well, the fact that she's not within the vinyl siding around this abode.
On the cruise in '06, all three of us hated it. Last July when the girls were in Vegas canvassing for delegates (heh?), Robbie and I did much better, but I still don't sleep as well (not that "Apnea Man" sleeps very well to begin with).....
....but it's worse when she's at the Gall Bladder Hotel. So, it's nice to have her back.
Although this means I lose control of the television again. :)
------------------------------------------------------
Quick political note: give John McCain big kudos for his speech tonight in South Carolina after winning the state's Republican primary. I'll try to find it on video or at least a transcript and try to post it tomorrow.
Oh, and I LOVED the story on CNN where one caucus group for the Democrats in Nevada in Vegas finished tied, so they pulled out a deck of cards to break the tie and assign the delegates!!
The Obama card-picker got a 10 of something.
The Clinton card-picker got a queen (maybe of hearts).
I'm sorry, but that just sounds so American. That was cool!!
P.S.---Apparently there were two other ties around the state and Obama won the card draws there.....
Friday, January 18, 2008
She's home!! Whoo hoo!!
Thanks to pain and LOTS of meds (and the fact we got to the E.R. at just after midnight), wifey pretty much lost complete track of time during her 39 1/2 hours at the Gall Bladder Hotel. My same period of time? Kinda just felt like the clock was "suspended" momentarily.
Give me just a moment. Hum amongst yourselves.......
la, la, la, la......
.....okay. I made six trips between home and hospital in the 39 1/2 hours. By trip four I was taking variant routes for variety's sake, I guess. :)
Went back last night and found out she got into surgery late, so, instead of seeing her at 9:30 or 10, it was 11:40. :(
Oh, well. I enriched my life by reading the newspaper and listening/watching to the sensational very psuedo-journalistic shows of "Headline Prime". Do you remember when "Headline News" was, well, "Headline News"?? Prime time meant Lynne Russell, all the news you need, every 30 minutes.
Now? We got to hear Nancy Grace interview like, eight different guests at once about the poor pregnant Marine story.....the part we got to hear about, though, was how, apparently, the Marine on the run had a BBQ on Christmas Day with his buddies and......I just realized I was repeating psuedo-journalism.
Sorry.
Then, bring on Britney shopping at Rite Aid in Hollywood at 1am and "Gasp!", she was seen by them picturetakers in the same aisle as pregnancy tests!!! Well, here come more "expert" guests to discuss this latest event.....when we could be exposing governmental fault or be getting an update on the devastation in Darfur, but never mind that inconsequential stuff.......
Anyway, I fully expected wifey to be "looped out" again, and was shocked to walk in and she's wide awake, talking to her "roomy" (they got along REALLY well!!), watching Letterman. Awesome! Sanity on television!!!
Hung out for about 25 minutes, then home.
When Robbie woke me up at 6:57am, and Rachel was still out, you don't know how close I came to telling them, "how about we tank school today"? It was good I didn't. It was good for them to be at school per normal, because instead of noon, wifey didn't get home and attacked by Harry J until 4pm. That's why I had trip six! I came home, got Rachel off the bus, and back we went. :) :)
You should see the wall next to mommy's recliner. Two big signs saying, "Welcome home Mommy; we love you" and cards and a placard, all made by Rachel! Her best friend at school even wanted to sign a card!
Another friend asked Rachel, "Does this mean your mom can't pee??"
Dad also got one, saying thanks for helping mom, in triple fold, no less. She needs to go ahead and apply at Hallmark for 2013 Christmas season. That is, if she's still not working at PetSmart or Petco.
So, we're all home tonight, the kids are in Robbie's room watching Smackdown!, and wifey had chicken and her 1/2 fat Edy's Ice Cream, just like any other night.
Ah, most any other night.
The moral of our story? Our family now has less gall. But I doubt we offend fewer people. :)
Give me just a moment. Hum amongst yourselves.......
la, la, la, la......
.....okay. I made six trips between home and hospital in the 39 1/2 hours. By trip four I was taking variant routes for variety's sake, I guess. :)
Went back last night and found out she got into surgery late, so, instead of seeing her at 9:30 or 10, it was 11:40. :(
Oh, well. I enriched my life by reading the newspaper and listening/watching to the sensational very psuedo-journalistic shows of "Headline Prime". Do you remember when "Headline News" was, well, "Headline News"?? Prime time meant Lynne Russell, all the news you need, every 30 minutes.
Now? We got to hear Nancy Grace interview like, eight different guests at once about the poor pregnant Marine story.....the part we got to hear about, though, was how, apparently, the Marine on the run had a BBQ on Christmas Day with his buddies and......I just realized I was repeating psuedo-journalism.
Sorry.
Then, bring on Britney shopping at Rite Aid in Hollywood at 1am and "Gasp!", she was seen by them picturetakers in the same aisle as pregnancy tests!!! Well, here come more "expert" guests to discuss this latest event.....when we could be exposing governmental fault or be getting an update on the devastation in Darfur, but never mind that inconsequential stuff.......
Anyway, I fully expected wifey to be "looped out" again, and was shocked to walk in and she's wide awake, talking to her "roomy" (they got along REALLY well!!), watching Letterman. Awesome! Sanity on television!!!
Hung out for about 25 minutes, then home.
When Robbie woke me up at 6:57am, and Rachel was still out, you don't know how close I came to telling them, "how about we tank school today"? It was good I didn't. It was good for them to be at school per normal, because instead of noon, wifey didn't get home and attacked by Harry J until 4pm. That's why I had trip six! I came home, got Rachel off the bus, and back we went. :) :)
You should see the wall next to mommy's recliner. Two big signs saying, "Welcome home Mommy; we love you" and cards and a placard, all made by Rachel! Her best friend at school even wanted to sign a card!
Another friend asked Rachel, "Does this mean your mom can't pee??"
Dad also got one, saying thanks for helping mom, in triple fold, no less. She needs to go ahead and apply at Hallmark for 2013 Christmas season. That is, if she's still not working at PetSmart or Petco.
So, we're all home tonight, the kids are in Robbie's room watching Smackdown!, and wifey had chicken and her 1/2 fat Edy's Ice Cream, just like any other night.
Ah, most any other night.
The moral of our story? Our family now has less gall. But I doubt we offend fewer people. :)
Maybe the best goal I've ever seen in NHL play.....
....in a waiting area at the hospital today, I see this Rick Nash goal, and could not believe it. As the announcer says, "It doesn't get any better than this!". And for once, the trite phrase is really true!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Oh, the unmitigated gall!! Bladder!!
Whoa.
So, wifey's pains the past several evenings were not LapBand related after all. We (well, she) found out the hard way last night when abdominal pains significantly worsened and throwing up commenced with no end in sight.
Throwing up having the LapBand is a scary proposition, not wanting anything to shift and/or break.
It started at 11pm, we left for ER at midnight; they (being Bon Secours St. Marys) were wonderful; having her registered and back for x-ray in 45 minutes, which, for anyone who's been in an ER setting lately in Richmond, especially late night, is pretty Providential!
To Room 12 we go for the rest of the night; wifey gets medicine for pain and nausea and neither work. I learn this evening in talking to her she remembers little about the night, so in retrospect at least the first round of drugs induced memory loss.
"You don't want to remember last night.", I told her.
Ultrasound reveals the culprit: gallstones, and the doctor's decision is, best to get the gall bladder out.
Another round of "more powerful" meds, and she finally overcomes nausea, severe pain, and the nightly routine of her legs aching and goes night-night around 4am.
I step out to check on the dreaded forecast to see if we were going to get four or five snowflakes. Back to the room, discussions with nurse and doc on call, and I head for home at 5:45, so wifey's aunt can go home (bless her heart, she came out at midnight to come sleep here while the kids slept).
Both kids (highly unusual) were already awake at 6:10 and I get to explain to them where mom and dad spent the night (sadly, it was NOT at the Hilton in a jacuzzi!)
We watched TV while getting ready, making sure school was a go, and it was. First trip, Rachel; second trip, Robbie, then right back to St. Mary's, where wifey's youngest sister was there! She and I stayed 'til 9:30, then she had to work and I came home to nap, since wifey was, well, in some serious "la-la-land".
I was most jealous, because I barely slept; by 130 I gave up, got up, washed clothes, et al, et al, saw Rachel get home and go over to a friend's house while I headed back to the hospital for round 3.
She was (yay!) in a room shortly after I left in the morning (10a or so), so I met her there and she was quite lucid! "I just got this way", she said. :)
So, we talked, she pee'd, we talked, her phone rang (lots of "Sweet Home Alabama" ringtone), she got a roommate, then they came to get her for surgery at 6pm.
It's 8pm now; came home to feed the kids and make sure the dogs and cats were still living together.
Now, it's back to St. Mary's for Round 4. Post-op, make sure there are no complications, kisses from the kids, and come home for some sleep.
Then, it's kids back to school and wifey home, hopefully by noon tomorrow. Yay!!!!
I told her this was a heck of a way to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary!
Again, I opine----
OH, THE UNMITIGATED GALL.....BLADDER!!!
So, wifey's pains the past several evenings were not LapBand related after all. We (well, she) found out the hard way last night when abdominal pains significantly worsened and throwing up commenced with no end in sight.
Throwing up having the LapBand is a scary proposition, not wanting anything to shift and/or break.
It started at 11pm, we left for ER at midnight; they (being Bon Secours St. Marys) were wonderful; having her registered and back for x-ray in 45 minutes, which, for anyone who's been in an ER setting lately in Richmond, especially late night, is pretty Providential!
To Room 12 we go for the rest of the night; wifey gets medicine for pain and nausea and neither work. I learn this evening in talking to her she remembers little about the night, so in retrospect at least the first round of drugs induced memory loss.
"You don't want to remember last night.", I told her.
Ultrasound reveals the culprit: gallstones, and the doctor's decision is, best to get the gall bladder out.
Another round of "more powerful" meds, and she finally overcomes nausea, severe pain, and the nightly routine of her legs aching and goes night-night around 4am.
I step out to check on the dreaded forecast to see if we were going to get four or five snowflakes. Back to the room, discussions with nurse and doc on call, and I head for home at 5:45, so wifey's aunt can go home (bless her heart, she came out at midnight to come sleep here while the kids slept).
Both kids (highly unusual) were already awake at 6:10 and I get to explain to them where mom and dad spent the night (sadly, it was NOT at the Hilton in a jacuzzi!)
We watched TV while getting ready, making sure school was a go, and it was. First trip, Rachel; second trip, Robbie, then right back to St. Mary's, where wifey's youngest sister was there! She and I stayed 'til 9:30, then she had to work and I came home to nap, since wifey was, well, in some serious "la-la-land".
I was most jealous, because I barely slept; by 130 I gave up, got up, washed clothes, et al, et al, saw Rachel get home and go over to a friend's house while I headed back to the hospital for round 3.
She was (yay!) in a room shortly after I left in the morning (10a or so), so I met her there and she was quite lucid! "I just got this way", she said. :)
So, we talked, she pee'd, we talked, her phone rang (lots of "Sweet Home Alabama" ringtone), she got a roommate, then they came to get her for surgery at 6pm.
It's 8pm now; came home to feed the kids and make sure the dogs and cats were still living together.
Now, it's back to St. Mary's for Round 4. Post-op, make sure there are no complications, kisses from the kids, and come home for some sleep.
Then, it's kids back to school and wifey home, hopefully by noon tomorrow. Yay!!!!
I told her this was a heck of a way to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary!
Again, I opine----
OH, THE UNMITIGATED GALL.....BLADDER!!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
OH, MY GOD!!!!! IT MAY FALL!!!! SOMETHING MAY FALL!!!!
We warned our new co-worker Angela, who moved from Buffalo, that this day would come. I only wish I were still working there to watch her reaction.
TOP STORY!!!! Weather!!!! Got your snow blowers, generators, and canned goods out?
Good Lord!! Enough of this already.
Simple rule: Be careful when you go out. EVERY day!
Back to you in the studio.
TOP STORY!!!! Weather!!!! Got your snow blowers, generators, and canned goods out?
Good Lord!! Enough of this already.
Simple rule: Be careful when you go out. EVERY day!
Back to you in the studio.
Michelle is right.......
IPods, mp3s, email, blogs, the 'Net, digital cable........
Hmmmmm.....for me who is now 40? It was......
....well, let me let Michelle at "Yeah, Whatever" spell out the facts.
If you're 40, and for instance, had to say goodbye to a boy/girlfriend when you left for college in, say 1985, and you couldn't call because long distance calls were expensive and it would take three days to get a letter......
....I've wondered a few times if we had had emails, IM, video cam on the Web, etc. back then whether I'd be married to wifey and would thousands of other guys and gals may have ended up weathering the "college" separation, or the "military" separation, which, in the 80s of course, compared to today, was a piece of cake for most personnel.
Guess we'll never know, eh? Not much time to wonder anyway, if you think about it. I got three new chain letters in snail mail today that I need to deal with......
....hee hee.....
If you'll excuse me now, I'm going to walk uphill, both ways. :)
Hmmmmm.....for me who is now 40? It was......
....well, let me let Michelle at "Yeah, Whatever" spell out the facts.
If you're 40, and for instance, had to say goodbye to a boy/girlfriend when you left for college in, say 1985, and you couldn't call because long distance calls were expensive and it would take three days to get a letter......
....I've wondered a few times if we had had emails, IM, video cam on the Web, etc. back then whether I'd be married to wifey and would thousands of other guys and gals may have ended up weathering the "college" separation, or the "military" separation, which, in the 80s of course, compared to today, was a piece of cake for most personnel.
Guess we'll never know, eh? Not much time to wonder anyway, if you think about it. I got three new chain letters in snail mail today that I need to deal with......
....hee hee.....
If you'll excuse me now, I'm going to walk uphill, both ways. :)
So I'm sitting here.....
....almost three hours after going to bed; STILL with this headache I acquired late this afternoon.....
....I know it's sinus, proven by the fact that the pain over the left eye is gone, but the pain over the right eye is still throbbing, some 16 pills later (just kidding, much LESS than 16 pills).
Wifey is in her recliner fast asleep, except when Cody decides to try to curl up on her lap. Some nights that's acceptable, but not tonight. How ironic, some nights and DAYS, I sleep 18, 20, 22 hours (waking up 15-20 times now, mind you), yet here I am tonight, knowing the only way I'm shaking this headache is by falling asleep, and I can't.
So, what exactly is there to do at 12:12am while dealing with this?
Hmmm, I think I'll apply for some jobs! Eventually a blind squirrel finds a nut, maybe a dumb Rob can actually find a place to work!
....I know it's sinus, proven by the fact that the pain over the left eye is gone, but the pain over the right eye is still throbbing, some 16 pills later (just kidding, much LESS than 16 pills).
Wifey is in her recliner fast asleep, except when Cody decides to try to curl up on her lap. Some nights that's acceptable, but not tonight. How ironic, some nights and DAYS, I sleep 18, 20, 22 hours (waking up 15-20 times now, mind you), yet here I am tonight, knowing the only way I'm shaking this headache is by falling asleep, and I can't.
So, what exactly is there to do at 12:12am while dealing with this?
Hmmm, I think I'll apply for some jobs! Eventually a blind squirrel finds a nut, maybe a dumb Rob can actually find a place to work!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
From the home office on the Boulevard......
....Top Ten Reasons Why The Richmond Braves Are Going to Gwinnett:
10) Only Angels, Blue Jays and Devil Rays helmets at the kids' ice cream stand.
9) Losing the W.G. Cosby billboard where the frog's eyes lit up with each hit a batter had during the game.
8) Manager tried using centerfield sign machine to read batting order but couldn't figure out player names with 632 light bulbs missing.
7) Extensive coverage of team in newspaper on page E-27.
6) Oh, that's right, the sport section never has 27 pages.
5) Team that Atlanta fielded in Richmond in the year 2000 had a combined batting average of .012.
4) R-Braves players complained that rats in the clubhouse were only half the size of rats in New York City.
3) During many losing seasons, many fans considered returning to the Diamond for games if it could be mathematically proven the team would never lose by more than three runs.
2) R-Braves marketing plan: the sign out front! What more do you need?
and the Number One reason why the Richmond Braves are moving to Gwinnett.....
1) Parker Field!
10) Only Angels, Blue Jays and Devil Rays helmets at the kids' ice cream stand.
9) Losing the W.G. Cosby billboard where the frog's eyes lit up with each hit a batter had during the game.
8) Manager tried using centerfield sign machine to read batting order but couldn't figure out player names with 632 light bulbs missing.
7) Extensive coverage of team in newspaper on page E-27.
6) Oh, that's right, the sport section never has 27 pages.
5) Team that Atlanta fielded in Richmond in the year 2000 had a combined batting average of .012.
4) R-Braves players complained that rats in the clubhouse were only half the size of rats in New York City.
3) During many losing seasons, many fans considered returning to the Diamond for games if it could be mathematically proven the team would never lose by more than three runs.
2) R-Braves marketing plan: the sign out front! What more do you need?
and the Number One reason why the Richmond Braves are moving to Gwinnett.....
1) Parker Field!
Monday, January 14, 2008
BREAKING NEWS SHOCKER!!!!----Richmond to lose Braves
Well.....I guess this is what happens when you (pardon my French) fart around as a city and a region as a whole!
All the talk about a new stadium and all the talk about downtown and all the talk about more regional cooperation and now that there is actually SOME entertainment development on the Boulevard (multiplex cinema) that doesn't charge 25 cents a peep:
The Braves have had enough. Click HERE for the initial reports.
Between all the stadium bickering, the fall of waterlog, forcing the R-Braves to play home playoff games on the road, and the less than stellar attendance recently (though that point is EVERYONE'S fault), the Braves sat down in Atlanta over lunch, and decided, "We're the only major league team that owns their Triple-A franchise. Why put up with this anymore? Let's move them close to us, bring baseball more economically to some suburbs and market it as their "stars of tomorrow" who can catch a cab to the big leagues!
Everyone in Atlanta is a winner!
Then there's Richmond. Enough said.
All the talk about a new stadium and all the talk about downtown and all the talk about more regional cooperation and now that there is actually SOME entertainment development on the Boulevard (multiplex cinema) that doesn't charge 25 cents a peep:
The Braves have had enough. Click HERE for the initial reports.
Between all the stadium bickering, the fall of waterlog, forcing the R-Braves to play home playoff games on the road, and the less than stellar attendance recently (though that point is EVERYONE'S fault), the Braves sat down in Atlanta over lunch, and decided, "We're the only major league team that owns their Triple-A franchise. Why put up with this anymore? Let's move them close to us, bring baseball more economically to some suburbs and market it as their "stars of tomorrow" who can catch a cab to the big leagues!
Everyone in Atlanta is a winner!
Then there's Richmond. Enough said.
:(
I did not go to my original destination today. "Bipolar homesickness" strikes again.
I keep believing this will not be an issue when a job offer comes. And I'm trusting God that the last sentence becomes not just a belief, but a reality.
I keep believing this will not be an issue when a job offer comes. And I'm trusting God that the last sentence becomes not just a belief, but a reality.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I won't be home tomorrow???
I actually have something to do for awhile tomorrow.
Can't tell you what. Or where. Or when.
WWHJD? What will Harry J do???
P.S.------GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!
Can't tell you what. Or where. Or when.
WWHJD? What will Harry J do???
P.S.------GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Zzzzzzzzzzzz.................
I'm trying to remember the last day I was completely zonked.
I don't want to be awake. Nothing I think of doing excites me. I want to go to sleep.
I don't care about football; don't care if the Patriots lose tonight and I don't watch it then I will miss history. I'll be HAPPY if they lose, but I can wait to hear about it until tomorrow.
And it's not like I've got nothing to look forward to. Today would have been best off just in bed, but a few things had to be done.
I hate these days. I wish they would just go away.
I don't want to be awake. Nothing I think of doing excites me. I want to go to sleep.
I don't care about football; don't care if the Patriots lose tonight and I don't watch it then I will miss history. I'll be HAPPY if they lose, but I can wait to hear about it until tomorrow.
And it's not like I've got nothing to look forward to. Today would have been best off just in bed, but a few things had to be done.
I hate these days. I wish they would just go away.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The one and only Jack Benny......quote......
I don't deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either.
Jack Benny, US comedian (1894 - 1974)
Jack Benny, US comedian (1894 - 1974)
Thunderstorm? Today?
It's not too often we have a chance of thunderstorms around here in January. But due to the front that's been causing all that damage in the Midwest, it now poses a threat of storms to us today.
I promised Rachel that Harry and I would be in the van, ready to get her off the bus in case of bad weather. She HATES thunderstorms.
Super--Harry J to the rescue!!!!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A new generation of bloggers!!! HOW CUTE!!!
You MUST click on HERE to see "Southern Mom" in Louisiana give her children the opportunity to begin honing their skills so that they, too, may blog their thoughts and hopes in the future!
I bet their blogs will be better than Daily Kos, Instapundit, and Huffington Post.....combined!!!!!!
I bet their blogs will be better than Daily Kos, Instapundit, and Huffington Post.....combined!!!!!!
Let's talk Virginia politics for a minute......
......as I complete 30 minutes of being on hold with a state government agency. At least they don't play "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's like a former co-worker had on their hold system for their cell phone. AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Does anyone, and I mean ANYONE really think Jim Gilmore (and I'm not even considering the other guy who just announced his candidacy) has a prayer of defeating Mark Warner for the U.S. Senate?
He hasn't been in elected office since early 2001. I don't think many Virginians know his background working in Washington on homeland security post 9/11, so that's not gonna help him much. John Warner certainly won't endorse him and there are some people still ticked with him over the car tax issue that propelled him to victory in 1997. Conversely, there are people that still are grateful to him for that move, too.
Meanwhile, Mark Warner was smart enough to realize his time had not come to be in the Presidential sweepstakes, and once John announced his retirement, it became a no-brainer that Mark go to D.C. as a Senator, then start plotting a White House bid, depending upon the outcome of this November, in either 2012, but more likely, 2016.
Let's say Hillary wins in November, and by re-election time in 2012, she has less than stellar approval ratings and there's a group of people who think "we REALLY need Obama this time". If they re-fought it out in '12, by 2016 Hillary would certainly be gone and Osama would be the "tired re-tread".
Mark Warner serves eight years in the Senate by then.....makes sense to me. Age would also be on his side.
-----As an aside, I cannot believe NO ONE is talking about John McCain's age. No GOP candidate will touch that potential landmine, and I think the reason why the MSM isn't mentioning it yet is because---
A) He is not a clear front-runner
B) When Reagan ran at age 69, he ran against a very unpopular sitting President, so one way to put "doubt" into the voter's minds was, "Is Reagan too old?"
C) 28 years later, the Dems will have a strong candidate, whether it's Hillary or Barack.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Enough politics for now. Let's talk about something fun, like the Jetsons episode when George's boss, Mr. Spacely, thought he had FINALLY gotten something on his longtime nemesis, Mr. Cogswell.
But, I'm finally on the phone with said gov't folks, so I must run for now. Just remind me to talk about six inches and a property line. :)
Does anyone, and I mean ANYONE really think Jim Gilmore (and I'm not even considering the other guy who just announced his candidacy) has a prayer of defeating Mark Warner for the U.S. Senate?
He hasn't been in elected office since early 2001. I don't think many Virginians know his background working in Washington on homeland security post 9/11, so that's not gonna help him much. John Warner certainly won't endorse him and there are some people still ticked with him over the car tax issue that propelled him to victory in 1997. Conversely, there are people that still are grateful to him for that move, too.
Meanwhile, Mark Warner was smart enough to realize his time had not come to be in the Presidential sweepstakes, and once John announced his retirement, it became a no-brainer that Mark go to D.C. as a Senator, then start plotting a White House bid, depending upon the outcome of this November, in either 2012, but more likely, 2016.
Let's say Hillary wins in November, and by re-election time in 2012, she has less than stellar approval ratings and there's a group of people who think "we REALLY need Obama this time". If they re-fought it out in '12, by 2016 Hillary would certainly be gone and Osama would be the "tired re-tread".
Mark Warner serves eight years in the Senate by then.....makes sense to me. Age would also be on his side.
-----As an aside, I cannot believe NO ONE is talking about John McCain's age. No GOP candidate will touch that potential landmine, and I think the reason why the MSM isn't mentioning it yet is because---
A) He is not a clear front-runner
B) When Reagan ran at age 69, he ran against a very unpopular sitting President, so one way to put "doubt" into the voter's minds was, "Is Reagan too old?"
C) 28 years later, the Dems will have a strong candidate, whether it's Hillary or Barack.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Enough politics for now. Let's talk about something fun, like the Jetsons episode when George's boss, Mr. Spacely, thought he had FINALLY gotten something on his longtime nemesis, Mr. Cogswell.
But, I'm finally on the phone with said gov't folks, so I must run for now. Just remind me to talk about six inches and a property line. :)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Just under the wire!!!
Gotta get a post in before midnight!
Slept this day away, hoping that I will be able to go full bourne tomorrow and beyond.
Didn't sound like much happened politically today, except the aftermath of New Hampshire.
One comment, though.....the media's definition of these primary candidates being in "for the long haul"; it's only gonna be through February 5th. The Dems will be most likely be set by then, maybe the GOP will have some sorting out to do post "Super Tuesday".
That's only a month, though, a far cry from the primary seasons of the '60s, for example.
P.S.---Tom Brokaw, STOP using the term "Tsunami Tuesday" for Super Tuesday. Reminds me of the day hundreds of thousands of people died, and is a needless adjective to use.
Slept this day away, hoping that I will be able to go full bourne tomorrow and beyond.
Didn't sound like much happened politically today, except the aftermath of New Hampshire.
One comment, though.....the media's definition of these primary candidates being in "for the long haul"; it's only gonna be through February 5th. The Dems will be most likely be set by then, maybe the GOP will have some sorting out to do post "Super Tuesday".
That's only a month, though, a far cry from the primary seasons of the '60s, for example.
P.S.---Tom Brokaw, STOP using the term "Tsunami Tuesday" for Super Tuesday. Reminds me of the day hundreds of thousands of people died, and is a needless adjective to use.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Winning Number for 2007
"55".
Down just over ten percent from 2006. We're considering bringing in new advisors to shake up our campaign for 2008.
Down just over ten percent from 2006. We're considering bringing in new advisors to shake up our campaign for 2008.
December's Winning Numbers
....sorry for the delay!
10, 16 and 23. Kinda downhill at the end of 2007.
10, 16 and 23. Kinda downhill at the end of 2007.
If this lead holds up......
.....we'll really have no choice but to call Hillary "The Comeback Kid". WOW!
John McCain is definitely one, but he was quick to point out that at his age, he can't be called a kid with any adjective, but he sure showed what a comeback was. Good line.
His campaign was left for dead last summer. Another WOW!
Will Clinton hold on? We'll know for sure soon! The moral of the story is, don't tell New Hampshire what to do! :)
John McCain is definitely one, but he was quick to point out that at his age, he can't be called a kid with any adjective, but he sure showed what a comeback was. Good line.
His campaign was left for dead last summer. Another WOW!
Will Clinton hold on? We'll know for sure soon! The moral of the story is, don't tell New Hampshire what to do! :)
Hillary dissed Iowans, Bill disses New Hampshire....in New Hampshire!
Yeah, he did. Read here.
Do you think he ever would have said this if Hillary were where everyone just knew she would be on this night? Which was an overwhelming favorite to win?
NFL teams don't blame their schedule for missing the playoffs. They know the rules and how the schedules pan out. It's based on their performance from the previous season.
Bill knew Iowa was immediately followed by New Hampshire.
Deal with it, Bill.
I know it looks like I'm piling on the Clintons (I can't stand them for sure, but that's another story); but they are the ones handing out the best blogging material from the Granite State.
What's next about South Carolina that they can blame South Carolinians about?? Good Lord.
Do you think he ever would have said this if Hillary were where everyone just knew she would be on this night? Which was an overwhelming favorite to win?
NFL teams don't blame their schedule for missing the playoffs. They know the rules and how the schedules pan out. It's based on their performance from the previous season.
Bill knew Iowa was immediately followed by New Hampshire.
Deal with it, Bill.
I know it looks like I'm piling on the Clintons (I can't stand them for sure, but that's another story); but they are the ones handing out the best blogging material from the Granite State.
What's next about South Carolina that they can blame South Carolinians about?? Good Lord.
New Hampshire prediction.......
Democrats: Obama 40%, Clinton 31%, Edwards 17%
Republicans: McCain 37%, Romney 26%, Huckabee 13%, Guilani 9%, Paul 8%
here at 730pm......
Republicans: McCain 37%, Romney 26%, Huckabee 13%, Guilani 9%, Paul 8%
here at 730pm......
"Ut--"O"?"
As in "zero"??? Really??
I couldn't believe the results from Dixville Notch, the first of the first to vote in this year's primaries. 17 residents; 100 percent turnout. From the Concord Monitor, the results:
Obama, McCain carry Dixville Notch
Submitted by Primary Monitor on Tue, 2008-01-08 00:10.
Dixville Notch got the voting under way. The results:
John McCain 4 votes
Mitt Romney 2 votes
Rudy Giuliani 1 vote
Barack Obama 7 votes
John Edwards 2 votes
Bill Richardson 1 vote
When they didn't call Hillary Clinton's name, I immediately shouted, "WHOA!". Good thing wifey didn't wake up!
GOOD NEWS FOR HILLARY THOUGH-----Dixville Notch has a not-so-stellar record of their victors going onward to big victory.
I had to get up and post quickly before going to sleep; I couldn't believe my ears or my eyes.
I couldn't believe the results from Dixville Notch, the first of the first to vote in this year's primaries. 17 residents; 100 percent turnout. From the Concord Monitor, the results:
Obama, McCain carry Dixville Notch
Submitted by Primary Monitor on Tue, 2008-01-08 00:10.
Dixville Notch got the voting under way. The results:
John McCain 4 votes
Mitt Romney 2 votes
Rudy Giuliani 1 vote
Barack Obama 7 votes
John Edwards 2 votes
Bill Richardson 1 vote
When they didn't call Hillary Clinton's name, I immediately shouted, "WHOA!". Good thing wifey didn't wake up!
GOOD NEWS FOR HILLARY THOUGH-----Dixville Notch has a not-so-stellar record of their victors going onward to big victory.
I had to get up and post quickly before going to sleep; I couldn't believe my ears or my eyes.
Monday, January 07, 2008
I knew it!!!
6:30 tonight equals tears!!
Before 6:32pm on NBC, ABC and CBS, each showed the Hillary "tear event". First.
Obama is opening up anywhere from a seven to ten point lead, and who leads? Yep, Hillary.
I saw her tear up on all three channels! And poor Andrea Mitchell of NBC, reporting on the Clinton campaign daily on NBC, looked and sounded like she was gonna cry.
Maybe we should re-think that "liberal media" label, and start to wonder if it's not just the "Clinton media". As of this moment, I don't see any Republican who could stop Obama in November. You would think Democrats would be brimming with anticipatory joy over his popularity and strong campaign to this point.
Got me. Best line during the 6:30 half hour was actually on Fox News, where, while discussing "the tears", Brit Hume said he was a White House correspondent during the first Clinton administration, and said, "Bill could cry on cue."
Tomorrow's gonna be a wild day.
Before 6:32pm on NBC, ABC and CBS, each showed the Hillary "tear event". First.
Obama is opening up anywhere from a seven to ten point lead, and who leads? Yep, Hillary.
I saw her tear up on all three channels! And poor Andrea Mitchell of NBC, reporting on the Clinton campaign daily on NBC, looked and sounded like she was gonna cry.
Maybe we should re-think that "liberal media" label, and start to wonder if it's not just the "Clinton media". As of this moment, I don't see any Republican who could stop Obama in November. You would think Democrats would be brimming with anticipatory joy over his popularity and strong campaign to this point.
Got me. Best line during the 6:30 half hour was actually on Fox News, where, while discussing "the tears", Brit Hume said he was a White House correspondent during the first Clinton administration, and said, "Bill could cry on cue."
Tomorrow's gonna be a wild day.
Lookalikes?
The other day I'm on a new favorite blog, "A Pantyless Preacher's Wife", and I note a picture of the latest issue of Christian Women Online magazine, featuring author and former Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel.
And I did a double take. Because I thought, "...she sure looks like my old friend, Tracy Lynn, who works at NBC12 here in town." Tracy and I have known each other for 100 years now (well, not quite THAT long) and she went to high school with wifey.
What do you think?
I can't help it....but if.......
.....Hillary Clinton was a man, and this happened today, wouldn't it be considered a sign of breaking down??
Click here to see the "comparison" between Edmund Muskie's "moment" in 1972, and Hillary's today. Note the final full paragraph (this could work to her advantage), but I have a sneaking feeling the final sentence of the article may be true, too.
Click here to see the "comparison" between Edmund Muskie's "moment" in 1972, and Hillary's today. Note the final full paragraph (this could work to her advantage), but I have a sneaking feeling the final sentence of the article may be true, too.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
2007, one more time......with some insight!
From new blog find Blonde Ambition, one more look at 2007.....
1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Walk away from a job because I was told to. Good ol' budget cuts!!
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do New Year's resolutions. At this point in my life, a good resolution is to be able to stay up New Year's Eve!!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth or adopt?
Unbelievably, no.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grannie in North Carolina. Age 88. I could deal with living 88 years.
5. What countries did you visit?
Heh...I got out of Virginia for the first time in four years, let's take it a step at a time, ok?
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
The resurgence of a career containing a job that matters, and a paycheck that is an increase over 2007....is that too much to ask? Ya think? :)
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 24th, I finally traveled out of Virginia (goodbye anxiety attacks!) February 26th, my daughter turned 10 (gasp!) and my dad turned 75.
April 29th, my son turned 15 (gulp!!!)
June 23rd, I turned 40. That's cool; I'm alive, right? :)
August 5th, the Moody Blues concert. Enough said! Whoo hoo!!!
November 5th, the day I got axed and lost daily contact with my best friends.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I went to North Carolina; enjoyed it so much I went four times!!
9. What was your biggest failure?
Gee, where do I start? Still depressed, I still look seven months pregnant, I did NOT handle losing my job well emotionaly (because of friends, NOT the job), need I go on?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My shoulder, injured badly in 2004, is barking for the first time (arthritis, anyone?)
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A ticket to see the Moody Blues, of course!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
MY WIFE!!! 71 pounds down in the first year of the LapBand era. She's INCREDIBLE.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Beside me? I'll keep this to myself.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills, tragically enough. (I stole this answer word for word from Blonde Ambition).
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Taking my daughter to see Rascal Flatts in concert for her 10th birthday and she had NO IDEA it was happening until we got to the venue.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
"I See Your Smile"---Gloria Estefan
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same, but a little more optimistic!
b) thinner or fatter? Heh. Fatter. Or, as I put it, more pregnant-lookin'.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer....but it could be worse!!
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Hanging with friends, but with social phobias, each attempt to do so lately is an adventure....
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being in bed. Not sleeping, and sadly, not that other bed thing, either.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Quietly with the gleesome threesome. And my wife and kids! (The gleesome are the two cats and the dog.) Hee....
21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Nah, that was a LONG time ago.
22. How many one-night stands?
I couldn't stand all night if my life depended on it. That was the question, right?
23. What was your favorite TV program?
"24", though season six was much weaker than seasons four and five.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Almost. But God's making sure the hate leaves me before the bitterness sets in.
25. What was the best book you read?
None. I read newspapers, some magazines, and lots on the Internet. Even my own blog.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
No one will believe this...."Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. The CLEANEST version I can find, mind you. For you 80s music lovers like me, I refer to this song as "Mickey" on steroids. Toni Basil 2.0 kicks, well, you know......
27. What did you want and get?
Time with family, a dog, time with my best friend.
28. What did you want and not get?
....to sit at my cubicle longer than November 5th.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
None.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
40, whoo hoo!! I slept most of the day away.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More time with best friends. And FINALLY having a church home. (Reverse the order of those....)
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Shorts. What else??
33. What kept you sane?
Family, best friends, Mountain Dew, and the Moody Blues.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Are you kidding?? I'm sick of the celebrity-fixation of this country. But the lady with the short blonde hair on "Women's Murder Club" catches the eye....hee....
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Why have we already started the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign??
36. Who did you miss?
Mama, my Grannie and Granddaddy, my Grannie Witham (now that Rachel is crocheting, Grannie knitted with the BEST of them, they'd get along so well) and being with my work friends.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
My newest co-worker before my untimely demise....she's a Giants fan (football, that is), so she already rated high on the cool factor before she set up her cubicle!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Be prepared for anything! Get closer to God so the next time my knees are cut out from under me, it doesn't take long for me to have knee replacement surgery. And enjoy EVERY minute you spend with your friends. Never take any time for granted.
Oh, and always try to find six-packs of 24-ounce bottles of Mountain Dew for under three dollars if humanly possible.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Nah, nah nah, nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey Jude."
1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Walk away from a job because I was told to. Good ol' budget cuts!!
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do New Year's resolutions. At this point in my life, a good resolution is to be able to stay up New Year's Eve!!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth or adopt?
Unbelievably, no.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grannie in North Carolina. Age 88. I could deal with living 88 years.
5. What countries did you visit?
Heh...I got out of Virginia for the first time in four years, let's take it a step at a time, ok?
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
The resurgence of a career containing a job that matters, and a paycheck that is an increase over 2007....is that too much to ask? Ya think? :)
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 24th, I finally traveled out of Virginia (goodbye anxiety attacks!) February 26th, my daughter turned 10 (gasp!) and my dad turned 75.
April 29th, my son turned 15 (gulp!!!)
June 23rd, I turned 40. That's cool; I'm alive, right? :)
August 5th, the Moody Blues concert. Enough said! Whoo hoo!!!
November 5th, the day I got axed and lost daily contact with my best friends.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I went to North Carolina; enjoyed it so much I went four times!!
9. What was your biggest failure?
Gee, where do I start? Still depressed, I still look seven months pregnant, I did NOT handle losing my job well emotionaly (because of friends, NOT the job), need I go on?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My shoulder, injured badly in 2004, is barking for the first time (arthritis, anyone?)
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A ticket to see the Moody Blues, of course!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
MY WIFE!!! 71 pounds down in the first year of the LapBand era. She's INCREDIBLE.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Beside me? I'll keep this to myself.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills, tragically enough. (I stole this answer word for word from Blonde Ambition).
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Taking my daughter to see Rascal Flatts in concert for her 10th birthday and she had NO IDEA it was happening until we got to the venue.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
"I See Your Smile"---Gloria Estefan
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same, but a little more optimistic!
b) thinner or fatter? Heh. Fatter. Or, as I put it, more pregnant-lookin'.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer....but it could be worse!!
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Hanging with friends, but with social phobias, each attempt to do so lately is an adventure....
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being in bed. Not sleeping, and sadly, not that other bed thing, either.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Quietly with the gleesome threesome. And my wife and kids! (The gleesome are the two cats and the dog.) Hee....
21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Nah, that was a LONG time ago.
22. How many one-night stands?
I couldn't stand all night if my life depended on it. That was the question, right?
23. What was your favorite TV program?
"24", though season six was much weaker than seasons four and five.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Almost. But God's making sure the hate leaves me before the bitterness sets in.
25. What was the best book you read?
None. I read newspapers, some magazines, and lots on the Internet. Even my own blog.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
No one will believe this...."Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. The CLEANEST version I can find, mind you. For you 80s music lovers like me, I refer to this song as "Mickey" on steroids. Toni Basil 2.0 kicks, well, you know......
27. What did you want and get?
Time with family, a dog, time with my best friend.
28. What did you want and not get?
....to sit at my cubicle longer than November 5th.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
None.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
40, whoo hoo!! I slept most of the day away.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More time with best friends. And FINALLY having a church home. (Reverse the order of those....)
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Shorts. What else??
33. What kept you sane?
Family, best friends, Mountain Dew, and the Moody Blues.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Are you kidding?? I'm sick of the celebrity-fixation of this country. But the lady with the short blonde hair on "Women's Murder Club" catches the eye....hee....
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Why have we already started the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign??
36. Who did you miss?
Mama, my Grannie and Granddaddy, my Grannie Witham (now that Rachel is crocheting, Grannie knitted with the BEST of them, they'd get along so well) and being with my work friends.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
My newest co-worker before my untimely demise....she's a Giants fan (football, that is), so she already rated high on the cool factor before she set up her cubicle!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Be prepared for anything! Get closer to God so the next time my knees are cut out from under me, it doesn't take long for me to have knee replacement surgery. And enjoy EVERY minute you spend with your friends. Never take any time for granted.
Oh, and always try to find six-packs of 24-ounce bottles of Mountain Dew for under three dollars if humanly possible.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Nah, nah nah, nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey Jude."
This is really.....
.....for a political junkie like me, a very interesting season.
I found myself watching current Presidential political ads being aired back to back on C-SPAN tonight.
What in the world is going to happen? I offer a very humble opinion. Nothing more than a 40 year old blowhard typing, so don't take any stock in this.
DEMOCRATS:
---Hillary Clinton: The good news for her, she is nowhere near out of the race. The bad news is, she showed more of "herself" last night during the ABC debate than, in my view, I've seen in public before. There was some hateful eye cuts, let me tell ya.
***---The question regarding Al-Qaeda and going into Pakistan if there is "actionable intelligence"....she was the last to be able to offer her view, but the first part of her answer, if people really listened, did her no good.
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think it's important to get back to your question, because obviously that's the most direct threat to the United States. We did take action similar to what has been described about 10 years ago based on what was thought to be actionable intelligence, sending in missiles to try to target bin Laden and his top leadership, who were thought to be at a certain meeting place. They were not taken out at the time. So we have to be very conscious of all the consequences.
First off, to her credit, the bin Laden team knew putting a playground on site would lead us to halt the attack, as not to attack innocent children. But the missles they did send did nothing. Note, though, her phrase...."...based on what was thought to be actionable intelligence....".
Sounds like Iraq???
Now to when John Edwards dropped the bomb on her, forcing that "look", or series of "looks"....
....earlier in the debate, Mrs. Clinton, noting the "change" theme that everyone is touting, discussing the frailty of Social Security and Medicare.....
"But I don't think you make change by, you know, calling for it or by demanding it. I think it is a result of very hard work, bringing people together, stating clearly what your goals are, what your principles are, and then achieving them."
After the Edwards' "shot over the bow", mentioning he finished second in Iowa and as he put it regarding status quo (i.e. Clinton), saying, "I didn't hear these kinds of attacks from Senator Clinton when she was ahead"....her frantic response was...
"Wait a minute now, wait a minute. I'm going to respond to this because obviously -- making change is not about what you believe. It's not about a speech you make. It is about working hard."
"Making chance is not about what you believe"......WHAT??? WHAT???
---------------------------------------------------------
---John Edwards: With Obama winning the "change" game, and sporting that razor-thin second place finish in Iowa, really had no choice but try to nuke her. The backlash was "he started it" (a la 5th grade fight). And he backed up on the "negative sound of politicians bickering" part in his next response. But that was his card, and I give him kudos for at least having the guts to go there.
---Barack Obama: He was shaky to begin with, got stronger as time went on, but did not come across as the most authortative. In his defense, none of them won that contest.
OH, and Bill Richardson.....has been a Clinton crony forever. We know he's dropping out late Tuesday night. Lots of Richardson supporters in Iowa, once their numbers of supporters dropped below the "threshold" to stay in the caucus, flooded to the Obama camp, MUCH to the shegrin of the Clinton folks.
So I have a feeling there was a reconciliation deal between Richardson and Clinton, i.e.----if they gang up on you on the "change" issue, I'll ask why "experience" has become a leper.
---------------------------------------------
Frankly, my head is still scratching regarding the Republicans. I will say this:
---Ron Paul needs a reality check and I look forward to his exit.
---Rudy Guliani has a strange strategy.
---Fred Thompson seems like this is a hobby.
---Mike Huckabee becoming the nominee would be a disaster (sorry to my evangelical friends). I think he would become a lightning rod, not to the extent of Hillary, but watch the anti-religion voters come in droves).
---Mitt Romney is a robot.
---At this point, John McCain, I think, is the most electable Republican. I cannot believe no one has mentioned age (i.e.--President Reagan).
MUCH more to come. It's gonna be a LONG year.
I found myself watching current Presidential political ads being aired back to back on C-SPAN tonight.
What in the world is going to happen? I offer a very humble opinion. Nothing more than a 40 year old blowhard typing, so don't take any stock in this.
DEMOCRATS:
---Hillary Clinton: The good news for her, she is nowhere near out of the race. The bad news is, she showed more of "herself" last night during the ABC debate than, in my view, I've seen in public before. There was some hateful eye cuts, let me tell ya.
***---The question regarding Al-Qaeda and going into Pakistan if there is "actionable intelligence"....she was the last to be able to offer her view, but the first part of her answer, if people really listened, did her no good.
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think it's important to get back to your question, because obviously that's the most direct threat to the United States. We did take action similar to what has been described about 10 years ago based on what was thought to be actionable intelligence, sending in missiles to try to target bin Laden and his top leadership, who were thought to be at a certain meeting place. They were not taken out at the time. So we have to be very conscious of all the consequences.
First off, to her credit, the bin Laden team knew putting a playground on site would lead us to halt the attack, as not to attack innocent children. But the missles they did send did nothing. Note, though, her phrase...."...based on what was thought to be actionable intelligence....".
Sounds like Iraq???
Now to when John Edwards dropped the bomb on her, forcing that "look", or series of "looks"....
....earlier in the debate, Mrs. Clinton, noting the "change" theme that everyone is touting, discussing the frailty of Social Security and Medicare.....
"But I don't think you make change by, you know, calling for it or by demanding it. I think it is a result of very hard work, bringing people together, stating clearly what your goals are, what your principles are, and then achieving them."
After the Edwards' "shot over the bow", mentioning he finished second in Iowa and as he put it regarding status quo (i.e. Clinton), saying, "I didn't hear these kinds of attacks from Senator Clinton when she was ahead"....her frantic response was...
"Wait a minute now, wait a minute. I'm going to respond to this because obviously -- making change is not about what you believe. It's not about a speech you make. It is about working hard."
"Making chance is not about what you believe"......WHAT??? WHAT???
---------------------------------------------------------
---John Edwards: With Obama winning the "change" game, and sporting that razor-thin second place finish in Iowa, really had no choice but try to nuke her. The backlash was "he started it" (a la 5th grade fight). And he backed up on the "negative sound of politicians bickering" part in his next response. But that was his card, and I give him kudos for at least having the guts to go there.
---Barack Obama: He was shaky to begin with, got stronger as time went on, but did not come across as the most authortative. In his defense, none of them won that contest.
OH, and Bill Richardson.....has been a Clinton crony forever. We know he's dropping out late Tuesday night. Lots of Richardson supporters in Iowa, once their numbers of supporters dropped below the "threshold" to stay in the caucus, flooded to the Obama camp, MUCH to the shegrin of the Clinton folks.
So I have a feeling there was a reconciliation deal between Richardson and Clinton, i.e.----if they gang up on you on the "change" issue, I'll ask why "experience" has become a leper.
---------------------------------------------
Frankly, my head is still scratching regarding the Republicans. I will say this:
---Ron Paul needs a reality check and I look forward to his exit.
---Rudy Guliani has a strange strategy.
---Fred Thompson seems like this is a hobby.
---Mike Huckabee becoming the nominee would be a disaster (sorry to my evangelical friends). I think he would become a lightning rod, not to the extent of Hillary, but watch the anti-religion voters come in droves).
---Mitt Romney is a robot.
---At this point, John McCain, I think, is the most electable Republican. I cannot believe no one has mentioned age (i.e.--President Reagan).
MUCH more to come. It's gonna be a LONG year.
Cop Under Fire!
From my MySpace friend LadyDDancer....a GREAT exchange in an American courtroom.
COP UNDER FIRE
If you ever testified in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this Cop. A defense attorney was cross-examining a police officer during a felony trial - it went like this:
Q. Officer, did you see my client fleeing the scene?
A. No sir, but I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender running several blocks away.
Q. Officer, who provided this description?
A. The officer who responded to the scene.
Q. A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?
A. Yes sir, with my life.
Q. With your life? Let me ask you this then officer, do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?
A. Yes sir, we do.
Q. And do you have a locker in that room?
A. Yes sir, I do.
Q. And do you have a lock on your locker?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, that you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with those same officers?
A. You see sir, we share the building with the entire court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room."
With that, the courtroom erupted in laughter, and a prompt recess was called. The officer on the stand has been nominated for this year's best comeback line and we think he'll win.
COP UNDER FIRE
If you ever testified in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this Cop. A defense attorney was cross-examining a police officer during a felony trial - it went like this:
Q. Officer, did you see my client fleeing the scene?
A. No sir, but I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender running several blocks away.
Q. Officer, who provided this description?
A. The officer who responded to the scene.
Q. A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?
A. Yes sir, with my life.
Q. With your life? Let me ask you this then officer, do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?
A. Yes sir, we do.
Q. And do you have a locker in that room?
A. Yes sir, I do.
Q. And do you have a lock on your locker?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, that you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with those same officers?
A. You see sir, we share the building with the entire court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room."
With that, the courtroom erupted in laughter, and a prompt recess was called. The officer on the stand has been nominated for this year's best comeback line and we think he'll win.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Hey Iowa! Love ya! Mean it!-----NOT!!!
What is this?????
Hillary Clinton finishes a (very close) third in Iowa, and now proceeds to tear apart her dancing partner for the past several months (specifically, the Iowa voters) in the hopes of enjoying a "new day" in a "new state".
Read the article HERE. Then someone, anyone, PLEASE explain to me exactly what are the core convictions of this woman?
Hillary Clinton finishes a (very close) third in Iowa, and now proceeds to tear apart her dancing partner for the past several months (specifically, the Iowa voters) in the hopes of enjoying a "new day" in a "new state".
Read the article HERE. Then someone, anyone, PLEASE explain to me exactly what are the core convictions of this woman?
Friday, January 04, 2008
Will these men speak at podiums Election Night in November?
What do you think? Wins that will fall into the "They won Iowa, but they didn't get their party's nomination"?
Or will we see them on the ballot when November comes?
I will say this---if change is really the impetus of 2008, Hillary's dream will not be realized. No one can present themselves as "change" with a former polarizing President standing on the podium with her.
Though, I must say, I never dreamed Clinton's replacement could be even more polarizing, but President Bush sure has done it.
If Clinton wins in November, you do realize that the United States would be led in the White House by either a Bush or a Clinton for 24 years.
That's change?
Unfortunately for her, it looks like this election may not allow a candidate to trumpet both experience and the ability to change. You're either in Washington, or you're not.
BUT WAIT! Obama, Clinton and Edwards are all close to the same experience-wise in the Senate! True, but I forget who said this on TV tonight, but the person recognized that tonight, two Senators with over 50 years experience on Capitol Hill combined, and a former Governor who also was Ambassador to the U.N. (loads of experience to tout) were all basically swept aside.
The "big three" don't have that much "gravitas". Remember how important that was when Bush 43 became the nominee in 2000?
Remember when being "just" Governor of Arkansas was not a stumbling block to becoming President, but people now are bringing up the point that a Governor of Arkansas "lacks the foreign policy experience" to be President? Huh?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.....
Which is why I see a true "torch change" (generation change) coming. Who is the least "Washington" of the three Democrats still viable?
Who can not only bring policy change, perspective change, and direction change, but HISTORIC change?
Look up top. Mike Huckabee looks like a great guy who I'd love to have as a neighbor, my pastor, my Sunday School teacher.
Barack Obama (AND his wife, Michelle, who I see as a huge asset).....that picture looks like it says "Future First Couple".
---------------------------------------
On a personal note, I am conservative (though less conservative than, say, eight to ten years ago), and there is nobody in the race for President that I am jazzed about in any way, shape or form.
The only "bias prism" I have looking at the 2008 campaign is that I pray Hillary Clinton doesn't come even close. I personally think it would be poetic justice that someone who has been proven to be not believable, who answers to the winds around her and not principles, and actually had the gall to run for Senate in New York after living in D.C. for eight years and Arkansas for God knows how long before that.....who has been planning her power rise for decades, ends up the historic symbol of "the end" of a political generation.
And there are so many people like me with Clinton fatigue STILL (and now there's certainly Bush fatigue....more like Bush disgust; why do you think Jeb never gave running a thought) that you would think long-time Democrats from officials and spinmeisters to the working class Joes and Janes in Sioux City, Iowa, will finally realize that this is THE most important Presidental election for the Democratic Party in decades, and that the cry for "change" is so loud from the electorate that another Clinton just won't do.
Barack Hussein Obama. Can't wait to hear Al Jazeera's take on this, and, moreso, if he wins in November, what Osama says on video. I know, I know....doesn't matter what Obama's name is, he's still American so he's still an infidel.
And, just wondering....if I'm an "infidel", what is a "fidel"?
Good night from Virginia (wondering why Iowa deserves all this power every four years....)
Thursday, January 03, 2008
The Wal-Mart Family Cookbook.....ha!
So, I'm sitting here at the desktop yesterday, viewing job listing number 477 (after awhile it's all a combination of blur and frustration), I glance over to my left and look at the bookcase....
....and, again proving how little I was home up until November, I saw the following:
"The Wal-Mart Family Cookbook".
I immediately thought, "I could go a million directions with this one!"
So, here are a few rejected recipes for their cookbook, that would rate five stars if I had authored the cookbook.....
"Employee Shrug Salad"
Ingredients:
-1 part shopper question
-3 parts Wal-Mart employee
1 part "staring into space face"
1 part "fire in the eyes"
1 part "combination of ambiguity and apathy"
-1 part item in secret location no one in the company knows
-3 parts inability to communicate
Take all parts to department of your choice (after stopping in housewares to find whatever pot is available), place into pot, and stir. Mixer not needed, the result is the same no matter how mixed up the parts are.
Place in blue vest and wait until you say "excuse me" for the 7th time.
Serve only to people seriously in need of being completely ignored.
---------------------------------------------
"Never-Moving Conga Line Linguini"
Ingredients:
-Seven people who still shop at Wal-Mart despite the presence of a beautiful Super Target right across the street.
-1 part "peak shopping time" on Saturday
-A Wal-Mart with 32 shopping check-out aisles
-Said Wal-Mart with only four of 32 check-out aisles open
-Two aisles contain blinking number lights, waiting for manager currently on cell phone in restroom working on toilet paper budget with District Supervisor
-One aisle with employee seeming to be working, but number light is off, leaving the question "Open, or Not Open"?
-One aisle open, light on, with employee seemingly mesmerized that someone can buy bagged salad, motor oil, and dungarees at the same store.
DIRECTIONS:
Place seven shoppers in line from nicest to most ornery
Tie them up with linguini
Place at register with light on
Turn on "Conga" from an 80s CD from the music department that sells for $5.99 because all the songs on the CD are redone by "The Music Machine", instead of the original artist.
Have seven shoppers hop up and down in place, signifying complete absence of progress until all seven collapse on the floor.
Serve equally as EMT's arrive.
---------------------------------------
Nothing says "family" like, "Price Check Register 19!"....then she closes register 19 before the manager evens answers the call and walks away.
....and, again proving how little I was home up until November, I saw the following:
"The Wal-Mart Family Cookbook".
I immediately thought, "I could go a million directions with this one!"
So, here are a few rejected recipes for their cookbook, that would rate five stars if I had authored the cookbook.....
"Employee Shrug Salad"
Ingredients:
-1 part shopper question
-3 parts Wal-Mart employee
1 part "staring into space face"
1 part "fire in the eyes"
1 part "combination of ambiguity and apathy"
-1 part item in secret location no one in the company knows
-3 parts inability to communicate
Take all parts to department of your choice (after stopping in housewares to find whatever pot is available), place into pot, and stir. Mixer not needed, the result is the same no matter how mixed up the parts are.
Place in blue vest and wait until you say "excuse me" for the 7th time.
Serve only to people seriously in need of being completely ignored.
---------------------------------------------
"Never-Moving Conga Line Linguini"
Ingredients:
-Seven people who still shop at Wal-Mart despite the presence of a beautiful Super Target right across the street.
-1 part "peak shopping time" on Saturday
-A Wal-Mart with 32 shopping check-out aisles
-Said Wal-Mart with only four of 32 check-out aisles open
-Two aisles contain blinking number lights, waiting for manager currently on cell phone in restroom working on toilet paper budget with District Supervisor
-One aisle with employee seeming to be working, but number light is off, leaving the question "Open, or Not Open"?
-One aisle open, light on, with employee seemingly mesmerized that someone can buy bagged salad, motor oil, and dungarees at the same store.
DIRECTIONS:
Place seven shoppers in line from nicest to most ornery
Tie them up with linguini
Place at register with light on
Turn on "Conga" from an 80s CD from the music department that sells for $5.99 because all the songs on the CD are redone by "The Music Machine", instead of the original artist.
Have seven shoppers hop up and down in place, signifying complete absence of progress until all seven collapse on the floor.
Serve equally as EMT's arrive.
---------------------------------------
Nothing says "family" like, "Price Check Register 19!"....then she closes register 19 before the manager evens answers the call and walks away.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
The 2007 Top Fives......
Top Five Sports Moments:
5) My first IRL race!
4) Boise State!
3) The Colts....finally.
2) Sidney Lowe's red jacket at the ACC Tournament.
1) Kevin Everett walks in the Bills' locker room.
Top Five Entertainment Loves:
5) Numb3rs
4) NCIS
3) Jessica Biel
2) Womens Murder Club
1) "24" (what else??)
Top Five People I Don't Want To Hear About in 2008:
5) (Tie) Anyone involved with Anna Nicole Smith and Barry Bonds
4) Paris Hilton
3) Lindsay Lohan
2) Britney Spears
1) Repeat numbers 2 thru 4
Top Five News Things:
5) Minneapols Bridge Collapse
4) The War on Terror
3) Bhutto Assassination
2) Housing Market
1) The Relatively Useless Federal Government
Top Five News Things to Watch in 2008 NOT Related to the Presidential Election:
5) The push to alert the public that analog TV is going bye-bye.
4) A major shift of advertising dollars going to the 'Net, at the expense of "old media" (terrestrial radio, local and network TV, newspapers).
3) The bottoming-out of the housing market (probably by September)
2) Ah, can we start smokin' out Al Qaeda and the Taliban again?????
1) Who runs Pakistan? Who will control the nukes? Will the leaders hate us or let us go in and find Osama once and for all?
TOP FIVE PEOPLE TO WATCH:
5) Michelle Obama
4) Jack Bauer (as to whether he will appear on TV in 2008)
3) Ben Bernanke
2) Vladimir Putin
1) Osama Bin Laden (he's too forgotten in the American psyche)
----------------------------------------------
And, to close......
THE BOTTOM FIVE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2007:
5) Watching Minneapolis suffer on August 1st and Virginia Tech suffer April 16th and beyond....
4) The death of Grannie Frank
3) OCD and Depression....
2) Losing my income....
1) Losing day-to-day contact with my great friends, including my best one.
THE TOP FIVE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2007:
5) Watching my son leave for Florida
4) Seeing my wife disappear by 26 percent
3) The look on Rachel's face when she found herself AT THE STAGE for Rascal Flatts
and a TIE for first!
The breakthrough into North Carolina, January 24th.
The Moody Blues, by myself, August 5th.
Now, off to snack, surf, watch wifey watch some weird movie (at least Eva Mendes is in it!), then get ready for midnight, when I will DROPKICK 2007 INTO THE PAST!!!
With a smile on my face.....:)
5) My first IRL race!
4) Boise State!
3) The Colts....finally.
2) Sidney Lowe's red jacket at the ACC Tournament.
1) Kevin Everett walks in the Bills' locker room.
Top Five Entertainment Loves:
5) Numb3rs
4) NCIS
3) Jessica Biel
2) Womens Murder Club
1) "24" (what else??)
Top Five People I Don't Want To Hear About in 2008:
5) (Tie) Anyone involved with Anna Nicole Smith and Barry Bonds
4) Paris Hilton
3) Lindsay Lohan
2) Britney Spears
1) Repeat numbers 2 thru 4
Top Five News Things:
5) Minneapols Bridge Collapse
4) The War on Terror
3) Bhutto Assassination
2) Housing Market
1) The Relatively Useless Federal Government
Top Five News Things to Watch in 2008 NOT Related to the Presidential Election:
5) The push to alert the public that analog TV is going bye-bye.
4) A major shift of advertising dollars going to the 'Net, at the expense of "old media" (terrestrial radio, local and network TV, newspapers).
3) The bottoming-out of the housing market (probably by September)
2) Ah, can we start smokin' out Al Qaeda and the Taliban again?????
1) Who runs Pakistan? Who will control the nukes? Will the leaders hate us or let us go in and find Osama once and for all?
TOP FIVE PEOPLE TO WATCH:
5) Michelle Obama
4) Jack Bauer (as to whether he will appear on TV in 2008)
3) Ben Bernanke
2) Vladimir Putin
1) Osama Bin Laden (he's too forgotten in the American psyche)
----------------------------------------------
And, to close......
THE BOTTOM FIVE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2007:
5) Watching Minneapolis suffer on August 1st and Virginia Tech suffer April 16th and beyond....
4) The death of Grannie Frank
3) OCD and Depression....
2) Losing my income....
1) Losing day-to-day contact with my great friends, including my best one.
THE TOP FIVE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN 2007:
5) Watching my son leave for Florida
4) Seeing my wife disappear by 26 percent
3) The look on Rachel's face when she found herself AT THE STAGE for Rascal Flatts
and a TIE for first!
The breakthrough into North Carolina, January 24th.
The Moody Blues, by myself, August 5th.
Now, off to snack, surf, watch wifey watch some weird movie (at least Eva Mendes is in it!), then get ready for midnight, when I will DROPKICK 2007 INTO THE PAST!!!
With a smile on my face.....:)
And for 2008?
What do I pray for?
---A new job, and soon! Early signs of brainrot have set in.
---Continued improve health for the Queen of LapBand, wifey!!
---A quiet, enjoyable 20th wedding anniversary. That means a "kid-sitter". They're not babies anymore....
---The preparation I'll need to watch my baby girl begin MIDDLE SCHOOL.
---A new job! (oh, sorry, repeat. For a moment I thought I was having to type reruns due to the writers' strike.)
---Healing for my friend, Mike.
---To finally connect to a church.
---To sleep NO days away (unless I was up partying all night the night before)
---For wisdom when I encounter new people in my life.
---That I won't lose touch with my friends from the old jobsite.
---That I don't take things for granted like health insurance, our house not burning down, a car that runs daily, and three dollars to buy six bottles of Mountain Dew.
---The ability to blog another year.
---and finally, to keep up this new amount of time spent with the kids. It won't be long until they're gone. :(
---A new job, and soon! Early signs of brainrot have set in.
---Continued improve health for the Queen of LapBand, wifey!!
---A quiet, enjoyable 20th wedding anniversary. That means a "kid-sitter". They're not babies anymore....
---The preparation I'll need to watch my baby girl begin MIDDLE SCHOOL.
---A new job! (oh, sorry, repeat. For a moment I thought I was having to type reruns due to the writers' strike.)
---Healing for my friend, Mike.
---To finally connect to a church.
---To sleep NO days away (unless I was up partying all night the night before)
---For wisdom when I encounter new people in my life.
---That I won't lose touch with my friends from the old jobsite.
---That I don't take things for granted like health insurance, our house not burning down, a car that runs daily, and three dollars to buy six bottles of Mountain Dew.
---The ability to blog another year.
---and finally, to keep up this new amount of time spent with the kids. It won't be long until they're gone. :(
2007's Picture of the Year.....
Click here to return to May and remind yourself of those left behind because of the War on Terror.
2007: The ANTI-GREAT....
---Goodbye, Clear Channel. November 5th, rock bottom, not my choice. Losing touch with friends who once saw every day. It sucks.....losing the FRIENDS hurt the most.
---Cleo Strickland (1918-2007): Have a good rest, Grannie; I'll see ya soon.....
---April 16, 2007 in Blacksburg, Virginia. Virginia Tech's darkest day. Needless, senseless....may we never forget, so that it never happens again.
---the battle with depression goes on.....still sleeping some days away (including my 40th birthday and Christmas Eve!!)
---the battle with OCD rages on, approaching the 30-year mark.
---the fact that the Moody Blues concert had to end at some point.
---R.I.P. to Chloe, Rachel's first hamster. :(
---and the hurt of missing people. Never have I had friends just pulled up from under me like a rug, from the standpoint of being able to see and be with them. It's hard, but I heal just a little bit each and every day. :)
---Cleo Strickland (1918-2007): Have a good rest, Grannie; I'll see ya soon.....
---April 16, 2007 in Blacksburg, Virginia. Virginia Tech's darkest day. Needless, senseless....may we never forget, so that it never happens again.
---the battle with depression goes on.....still sleeping some days away (including my 40th birthday and Christmas Eve!!)
---the battle with OCD rages on, approaching the 30-year mark.
---the fact that the Moody Blues concert had to end at some point.
---R.I.P. to Chloe, Rachel's first hamster. :(
---and the hurt of missing people. Never have I had friends just pulled up from under me like a rug, from the standpoint of being able to see and be with them. It's hard, but I heal just a little bit each and every day. :)
2007------THE GREAT!!!!
---FREEDOM! Finally got out of state on January 24th, to North Carolina for my niece's wedding. Drove four hours down, photographed the wedding, enjoyed the reception, met Daniel and family members, drove four hours home, which was four of the quickest hours in my life; it was fun!!!
---Dad turns 75 and Rachel turns 10---the same day! We celebrate in Carolina on the 25th (birthdays were the next day).
---THE MOODY BLUES!!! August 5th at Wolf Trap. What a night; even better than the 2004 show here in Richmond. They're in Baltimore in April. Maybe??
---I turned 40! Yes, I consider this positive, why not? I made it to 40; there are many who do not.
---Robbie's first big trip without the parents. Chorus trip to Orlando. He had a blast, and was kind to call home alot! :)
---Enjoyable visits from Uncle Frank and Aunt Tammy, especially near year's end; a great source of fun during a ROUGH time for moi.
---A final GREAT ten months with my friends at work (love ya Kim, Dionne, Rodney, Desiree, Gina, and Angela!!)
---The chance to spend significant time with the kids since November 5th (about the ONLY positive that came from THAT day...)
---BONNIE LOST 71 POUNDS IN ONE YEAR!! Go, Lap Band, Go! Go, Bonnie, Go!
---Robbie heads to 10th grade; Rachel is elementary queen (5th grader) and becomes safety guard and TV announcer (the morning announcements!)
---WELCOME, HARRY J!!!!!!!!!!!
---Two trips downtown for wrestling.....
---"24": Season 6. Disappointing, but still good.
---The opening of my campaign to open the first Smithfield BBQ outside North Carolina.
---The continual pathetic play in the Raider Nation. (Good? Yeah, it didn't surprise me.)
---The continual pathetic play of the Orioles. (Good? Yeah, it didn't surprise me.)
---Sidney Lowe's red jacket.
---Women's Murder Club
---Jessica Biel
---Rachel's SURPRISE birthday trip to see Rascal Flatts in Charlottesville!
---Bonnie and Rachel to VEGAS, Dad and Robbie do 'da bachelor thing!
---A playoff year for Patrick Henry Football!!
...and the Withams survived another year at Witham Nation.
As Rodney Woody would say, "It's all good!"
---Dad turns 75 and Rachel turns 10---the same day! We celebrate in Carolina on the 25th (birthdays were the next day).
---THE MOODY BLUES!!! August 5th at Wolf Trap. What a night; even better than the 2004 show here in Richmond. They're in Baltimore in April. Maybe??
---I turned 40! Yes, I consider this positive, why not? I made it to 40; there are many who do not.
---Robbie's first big trip without the parents. Chorus trip to Orlando. He had a blast, and was kind to call home alot! :)
---Enjoyable visits from Uncle Frank and Aunt Tammy, especially near year's end; a great source of fun during a ROUGH time for moi.
---A final GREAT ten months with my friends at work (love ya Kim, Dionne, Rodney, Desiree, Gina, and Angela!!)
---The chance to spend significant time with the kids since November 5th (about the ONLY positive that came from THAT day...)
---BONNIE LOST 71 POUNDS IN ONE YEAR!! Go, Lap Band, Go! Go, Bonnie, Go!
---Robbie heads to 10th grade; Rachel is elementary queen (5th grader) and becomes safety guard and TV announcer (the morning announcements!)
---WELCOME, HARRY J!!!!!!!!!!!
---Two trips downtown for wrestling.....
---"24": Season 6. Disappointing, but still good.
---The opening of my campaign to open the first Smithfield BBQ outside North Carolina.
---The continual pathetic play in the Raider Nation. (Good? Yeah, it didn't surprise me.)
---The continual pathetic play of the Orioles. (Good? Yeah, it didn't surprise me.)
---Sidney Lowe's red jacket.
---Women's Murder Club
---Jessica Biel
---Rachel's SURPRISE birthday trip to see Rascal Flatts in Charlottesville!
---Bonnie and Rachel to VEGAS, Dad and Robbie do 'da bachelor thing!
---A playoff year for Patrick Henry Football!!
...and the Withams survived another year at Witham Nation.
As Rodney Woody would say, "It's all good!"
2007: We Said Goodbye......
First and foremost, these heroes.....
--Melissa Greer
--Darrent Williams (Denver Bronco shot to death at 24)
--Bobby Hamilton
--Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily Munster)
--Jennifer Strange
--Benny Parsons
--Bam Bam Bigelow
--E. Howard Hunt
--Tige Andrews (The Mod Squad)
--Terry McMillan
--Barbara McNair
--Steve Barber
--Lew Burdette
--Hank Bauer
--Robert Adler
--Mike Awesome
--Dennis Johnson (DJ)
--Thomas Eagleton
--Ernest Gallo
--Bad News Brown (Allen Coage)
--John Vukovich
--Brad Delp
--"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd
--Bowie Kuhn
--Calvert DeForest (Larry "Bud" Melman)
--Herb Carneal
--William Becker
--Eddie Robinson
--Darryl Stingley
--Johnny Hart
--Don Ho
--Kitty Carlisle Hart
--Boris Yeltsin
--Warren Avis (he tried harder to the end!)
--Jack Valenti
--Tommy Newsom (what a wardrobe, Johnny!)
--Tom Poston
--Wally Schirra (THE space expert on TV during Apollo when I was young)
--Yahweh ben Yahweh (source of my head shaking in disbelief on local access cable)
--Jerry Falwell
--Charles Nelson Reilly
--Bill France, Jr.
--Ruth Graham
--Sensational Sherri Martel
--Nancy Benoit
--Daniel Benoit
--Chris Benoit
--Claudia Cohen
--Rod Beck
--Bobby Hussey (former Hokie basketball coach)
--Liz Claiborne
--Joel Siegel
--Beverly Sills
--Lady Bird Johnson
--Tammy Faye Messner
--Mike Coolbaugh
--Skip Prosser
--Tom Snyder
--Bill Robinson
--Bill Walsh
--Ingmar Bergman
--Oliver Hill
--Merv Griffin
--Brian "Crush" Adams
--Phil Rizzuto
--Wild Bill Hagy (O-R-I-O-L-E-S...Orioles!!!!)
--D. James Kennedy
--Luciano Pavarotti
--Jane Wyman
--Brett Somers (blank!)
--Alice Ghostley
--Rex Humbard
--Al Oerter
--Jo Ann Davis
--Deborah Kerr (kissing on the beach...)
--Joey Bishop
--Max McGee
--Jim Cummins
--Porter Wagoner
--Robert Goulet
--Paul Tibbets (Enola Gay; he did the right thing, plus it was his orders!)
--Dick Wilson (Mr. Whipple)
--Sean Taylor ("21"---hail to the Redskins)
--Henry Hyde
--Evel Knievel (yes, I had his toy figure and motorcycle)
--Dan Fogelberg
--Don Chevrier
--Jim Beauchamp
--Benazir Bhutto
and finally.....We Are Virginia Tech.
--Melissa Greer
--Darrent Williams (Denver Bronco shot to death at 24)
--Bobby Hamilton
--Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily Munster)
--Jennifer Strange
--Benny Parsons
--Bam Bam Bigelow
--E. Howard Hunt
--Tige Andrews (The Mod Squad)
--Terry McMillan
--Barbara McNair
--Steve Barber
--Lew Burdette
--Hank Bauer
--Robert Adler
--Mike Awesome
--Dennis Johnson (DJ)
--Thomas Eagleton
--Ernest Gallo
--Bad News Brown (Allen Coage)
--John Vukovich
--Brad Delp
--"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd
--Bowie Kuhn
--Calvert DeForest (Larry "Bud" Melman)
--Herb Carneal
--William Becker
--Eddie Robinson
--Darryl Stingley
--Johnny Hart
--Don Ho
--Kitty Carlisle Hart
--Boris Yeltsin
--Warren Avis (he tried harder to the end!)
--Jack Valenti
--Tommy Newsom (what a wardrobe, Johnny!)
--Tom Poston
--Wally Schirra (THE space expert on TV during Apollo when I was young)
--Yahweh ben Yahweh (source of my head shaking in disbelief on local access cable)
--Jerry Falwell
--Charles Nelson Reilly
--Bill France, Jr.
--Ruth Graham
--Sensational Sherri Martel
--Nancy Benoit
--Daniel Benoit
--Chris Benoit
--Claudia Cohen
--Rod Beck
--Bobby Hussey (former Hokie basketball coach)
--Liz Claiborne
--Joel Siegel
--Beverly Sills
--Lady Bird Johnson
--Tammy Faye Messner
--Mike Coolbaugh
--Skip Prosser
--Tom Snyder
--Bill Robinson
--Bill Walsh
--Ingmar Bergman
--Oliver Hill
--Merv Griffin
--Brian "Crush" Adams
--Phil Rizzuto
--Wild Bill Hagy (O-R-I-O-L-E-S...Orioles!!!!)
--D. James Kennedy
--Luciano Pavarotti
--Jane Wyman
--Brett Somers (blank!)
--Alice Ghostley
--Rex Humbard
--Al Oerter
--Jo Ann Davis
--Deborah Kerr (kissing on the beach...)
--Joey Bishop
--Max McGee
--Jim Cummins
--Porter Wagoner
--Robert Goulet
--Paul Tibbets (Enola Gay; he did the right thing, plus it was his orders!)
--Dick Wilson (Mr. Whipple)
--Sean Taylor ("21"---hail to the Redskins)
--Henry Hyde
--Evel Knievel (yes, I had his toy figure and motorcycle)
--Dan Fogelberg
--Don Chevrier
--Jim Beauchamp
--Benazir Bhutto
and finally.....We Are Virginia Tech.
The "Final Days"
Day 17 of 19: I preached anyway. That would be Mama's request.
Day 18 of 19: Greeting friends and viewing the body privately.
Day 19 of 19: Five years ago today, the funeral. I am so glad I spoke there; it has been a source of therapy and comfort throughout these past five years.
Day 18 of 19: Greeting friends and viewing the body privately.
Day 19 of 19: Five years ago today, the funeral. I am so glad I spoke there; it has been a source of therapy and comfort throughout these past five years.
ALL DAY BLOGGING!!!!! Happy New Years Eve!!
I'm home from WWE Smackdown at the Richmond Coliseum Sunday night; I've gotta get some sleep, we've got some bloggin' to do!!
The "final days" of the 19
Best and worst of 2007
2007 in review
2008 thoughts??
And the countdown to the end of this yukky, yukky year. I'll be SO glad when it is over. :)
Good night for now!!
The "final days" of the 19
Best and worst of 2007
2007 in review
2008 thoughts??
And the countdown to the end of this yukky, yukky year. I'll be SO glad when it is over. :)
Good night for now!!
Friday, December 28, 2007
The day of days.....
Day 12 of 19----Christmas Eve. Afternoon spent at bedside; late night spent flying down the road to get to the hospital after church, sleeping all night in a coat and tie
Day 13 of 19----Christmas Day. Left at 6am to see the kids open presents; worked 8 hours to stay ahead, spent the night at the hospital.
Day 14 of 19----The first full day of silent breathing. The laboring was gone.
Day 15 of 19----Silent breathing continued (to our relief)...
-------------------
Today is Day 16 of 19, the first day I was not going to the hospital. Until the BP went to 60/30. I went in the evening.
She passed at 1127pm. Five years ago tonight.
I love you, Mama.
Day 13 of 19----Christmas Day. Left at 6am to see the kids open presents; worked 8 hours to stay ahead, spent the night at the hospital.
Day 14 of 19----The first full day of silent breathing. The laboring was gone.
Day 15 of 19----Silent breathing continued (to our relief)...
-------------------
Today is Day 16 of 19, the first day I was not going to the hospital. Until the BP went to 60/30. I went in the evening.
She passed at 1127pm. Five years ago tonight.
I love you, Mama.
Please welcome our newest blog find.....
....think of your five memories from 2007 and share with Barbara, who presents Random Reflections of a Post-Presbyterian in her blog:
Views from the Road
Click on the title to welcome our newest blog find!
P.S.---ANYONE who uses Mr. Peabody as their picture is cool by me!!!
Views from the Road
Click on the title to welcome our newest blog find!
P.S.---ANYONE who uses Mr. Peabody as their picture is cool by me!!!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Good, The Bad, The Wal-Mart!
So, Christmas morning, Rachel and I are waiting for Robbie and Mom. For some reason, Robbie, who wakes up with roosters every other day, seems to sleep in most every Christmas morning, but that's another post.
She sees that Santa dropped off the WWE video game he's wanted and brought it to me to look at it. I note that it's labeled "Play Station III" down the left side.
Uh oh. We only have PS2. This isn't good. So, Robbie gets up and we eventually start the present open thingy, and he sees the game and understands (for the most part) about the snafu, as Mom apologized profusely.
"I'll get you out to get it exchanged tomorrow."
So, yes, Dad's gonna go to Wal-Mart. Oh, Wal-Mart....the bane of my existence. Although IF I have to go to a Wal-Mart, the one I will go to is in Ashland. So, into the cold rain we go.
The rest is best described by a portion of an email sent to a friend last evening. I give you that portion; almost verbatim. :)
"Robbie got his WWE video game, well, a day later than planned. We bought PS3 version and we just have PS2, so it was off to (ugh!) Wal-Mart this morning to trade. The only Wal-Mart I'll agree to go to did not have the PS2 in stock, but the customer service lady was incredibly helpful and wonderful (the kind you need to call the manager and compliment!); she called another store and found a copy, so off we went to that W-M. Only problem; it's the one I CANNOT STAND!!
Sure enough, the lady at the door would here nothing of the fact we'd already talked to their electronics department; we HAD to go to customer service first, so I just ended up agreeing with her, heading to C.S ., telling the kids, "...let's just do this, and end the conversation." Well, for today's rush, Customer Service was only taking warranty issues. They had four register lines dedicated to returns/exchanges only. Sounds very customer-oriented, doesn't it?
Aisles 17, 18, 20 and 22. 17 was open with a line. 18's light was off with a line (is she getting ready to take a break??). Meanwhile, 20 and 22 aren't even open; no blue vests to be found. Finally, realizing what my kids were trying to tell me ("Dad, they talked to Electronics, let's just go there"), I said, "Let's go".
Line again. With a side order of some disarray. A gentleman helps us; the kids going around the corner to pick up the PS2 version; which the gentleman does and takes to register; which by this time, has some more people in, ah, "line". Looked more like a half-a-football-huddle. Robbie makes the "move" in the line/pack after a customer finished, and aggressively (without realizing it!) got to the register. One might have thought Robbie had "cut in line"; the other people not knowing that those he stood "with" had come post our arrival. Long story short, guy finds manager (dressed in a Redskins jersey), who escorts us to Customer Service.
No, not those register places. The real CS. Somehow, she got the lady there to take care of our exchange, when, technically, the law of the day would have overruled. Maybe Redskins lady was her boss, too??
Anyway, a rainy trip to two Wal-Marts comes to a close, and right now it looks like Robbie's wrestler is beating his opponent with a bat wrapped at the top with barbed-wire. Nothing says I love you like barbed-wire."
------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't called the Ashland store to praise the lady for her great help. The good news is, there's a whole new plethora of cage matches, Hall of Fame wrestlers to unlock and shovels, rakes, and implements of destruction under the ring. (With all due apologies to Arlo Guthrie).
------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I SO MUCH enjoyed my luncheon with my old friends (co-workers) today, seeing three of four for the first time since I was, ah, booted. The fact that Olive Garden had enough patrons to fill a small town kinda threw things awry (it was our original meeting place), so one of us traveled just down the street to see the "immediate seating available" light on in the window at TGI Friday's. So, via cell phones and meetings in the parking lots, we all make it to the round table in non-smoking.
It was great to see them, catch up, check on their Christmases, and to know as I left that a sense of "semi-normalcy" was thankfully invading their cubicles/studios. I did note to myself early on that a conversation regarding a current work situation made me feel, for the first time, "outside" the circle so to speak. But that is to be expected!! Life continues, as should their working, their relationships and, I hope and pray, GOOD times for them!! That's what I want for them, because they mean so much to me. :)
If life doesn't go on, what da heck will we laugh about the next time we dine??? :)
I guess I should have added "and the WONDERFUL!" at the end of the post because of our lunch together today. But I'm way too afraid someone will glance at this post, and leave assuming I used the term "wonderful" to describe Wal-Mart, and my friends, nothing (save at least on of their employees!) could be further from the truth. :)
LOL.....go Target!
She sees that Santa dropped off the WWE video game he's wanted and brought it to me to look at it. I note that it's labeled "Play Station III" down the left side.
Uh oh. We only have PS2. This isn't good. So, Robbie gets up and we eventually start the present open thingy, and he sees the game and understands (for the most part) about the snafu, as Mom apologized profusely.
"I'll get you out to get it exchanged tomorrow."
So, yes, Dad's gonna go to Wal-Mart. Oh, Wal-Mart....the bane of my existence. Although IF I have to go to a Wal-Mart, the one I will go to is in Ashland. So, into the cold rain we go.
The rest is best described by a portion of an email sent to a friend last evening. I give you that portion; almost verbatim. :)
"Robbie got his WWE video game, well, a day later than planned. We bought PS3 version and we just have PS2, so it was off to (ugh!) Wal-Mart this morning to trade. The only Wal-Mart I'll agree to go to did not have the PS2 in stock, but the customer service lady was incredibly helpful and wonderful (the kind you need to call the manager and compliment!); she called another store and found a copy, so off we went to that W-M. Only problem; it's the one I CANNOT STAND!!
Sure enough, the lady at the door would here nothing of the fact we'd already talked to their electronics department; we HAD to go to customer service first, so I just ended up agreeing with her, heading to C.S ., telling the kids, "...let's just do this, and end the conversation." Well, for today's rush, Customer Service was only taking warranty issues. They had four register lines dedicated to returns/exchanges only. Sounds very customer-oriented, doesn't it?
Aisles 17, 18, 20 and 22. 17 was open with a line. 18's light was off with a line (is she getting ready to take a break??). Meanwhile, 20 and 22 aren't even open; no blue vests to be found. Finally, realizing what my kids were trying to tell me ("Dad, they talked to Electronics, let's just go there"), I said, "Let's go".
Line again. With a side order of some disarray. A gentleman helps us; the kids going around the corner to pick up the PS2 version; which the gentleman does and takes to register; which by this time, has some more people in, ah, "line". Looked more like a half-a-football-huddle. Robbie makes the "move" in the line/pack after a customer finished, and aggressively (without realizing it!) got to the register. One might have thought Robbie had "cut in line"; the other people not knowing that those he stood "with" had come post our arrival. Long story short, guy finds manager (dressed in a Redskins jersey), who escorts us to Customer Service.
No, not those register places. The real CS. Somehow, she got the lady there to take care of our exchange, when, technically, the law of the day would have overruled. Maybe Redskins lady was her boss, too??
Anyway, a rainy trip to two Wal-Marts comes to a close, and right now it looks like Robbie's wrestler is beating his opponent with a bat wrapped at the top with barbed-wire. Nothing says I love you like barbed-wire."
------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't called the Ashland store to praise the lady for her great help. The good news is, there's a whole new plethora of cage matches, Hall of Fame wrestlers to unlock and shovels, rakes, and implements of destruction under the ring. (With all due apologies to Arlo Guthrie).
------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I SO MUCH enjoyed my luncheon with my old friends (co-workers) today, seeing three of four for the first time since I was, ah, booted. The fact that Olive Garden had enough patrons to fill a small town kinda threw things awry (it was our original meeting place), so one of us traveled just down the street to see the "immediate seating available" light on in the window at TGI Friday's. So, via cell phones and meetings in the parking lots, we all make it to the round table in non-smoking.
It was great to see them, catch up, check on their Christmases, and to know as I left that a sense of "semi-normalcy" was thankfully invading their cubicles/studios. I did note to myself early on that a conversation regarding a current work situation made me feel, for the first time, "outside" the circle so to speak. But that is to be expected!! Life continues, as should their working, their relationships and, I hope and pray, GOOD times for them!! That's what I want for them, because they mean so much to me. :)
If life doesn't go on, what da heck will we laugh about the next time we dine??? :)
I guess I should have added "and the WONDERFUL!" at the end of the post because of our lunch together today. But I'm way too afraid someone will glance at this post, and leave assuming I used the term "wonderful" to describe Wal-Mart, and my friends, nothing (save at least on of their employees!) could be further from the truth. :)
LOL.....go Target!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Well, at least the year ends Monday!
| You Had a Bad Year |
 Your year was horrible. There's no other way to say it. A lot went wrong for you, and you're still recovering from it. The good news is that things probably won't get worse for you. So look forward to the new year, where things will hopeful be much better! |
I'm so excited!! Patience pays off!!! Hey Ris!!!!
I have a mental list of several old friends whom I have attempted to "find" via the web the last few years.
I can check one off my list!!
"Ris" (her nickname) was the first person ever to train me on a commercial radio station (teaching me how to run the board for a University of Massachusetts football game); she got her start in radio in high school! I did not mind being trained by someone a year younger than I. Who cares!
We came good friends, worked together, even visited her at UMass one time before I had to move back home.
And this morning, after a few years of trying, bingo! Found her blog.
Read it here.
She's awesome (note in her profile she is even polite in traffic....Boston-area traffic!! You have to be awesome to do that, and patient, too!).
Happy Holidays, Ris!!
I can check one off my list!!
"Ris" (her nickname) was the first person ever to train me on a commercial radio station (teaching me how to run the board for a University of Massachusetts football game); she got her start in radio in high school! I did not mind being trained by someone a year younger than I. Who cares!
We came good friends, worked together, even visited her at UMass one time before I had to move back home.
And this morning, after a few years of trying, bingo! Found her blog.
Read it here.
She's awesome (note in her profile she is even polite in traffic....Boston-area traffic!! You have to be awesome to do that, and patient, too!).
Happy Holidays, Ris!!
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