I'm so excited....

I can barley contain myself.

It's 5:40 am local, and this could very well be my last blog for a solid week.

Suse has expressed an intrest in guest blogging, so I'm going to let her.

We're spending tonight at my son's house on the Central Coast of California, and will arrive in the happiest place on Earth bright and early Monday morning.

I know that you will all miss me desperatly, and that you're all so jealous that you can hardly see straight.

---

I may keep a paper journal to use as blogs when I get back. I'm still undecided on that though. There's so little time when we're down there.

We do get fireworks this year. That's cool.

Ok, time to gather up the last of the stuff, and hit the road.

You all be good, and if you can't be good, be careful.

Gato el muerte,

T.

I suck...I know I suck.

I could make excuses, I guess, but what's the point? The only thing you really need to know, is I leave for vacation on Sunday, and all I have to do from now until then is laundry.

Oh, and packing. I definately have to pack.

I asked before, and noone jumped, but I'm recruiting some guest bloggers, in case I can't find a place to get online near the hotel/Downtown Disney.

If anyone is interested, email me here.

I also have 6 gmail invites, if anyone wants one.

I've borrowed a digi for the trip. It's only 2 meg, and I need to buy a card, but look for some pics soon.

Both requests, and Dland, of course.

Carnitas el gato,

T.

And now, something I swore I'd never do.....

The lyrics of a song. The whole song. I realized that some of my blogs are as long, if not longer than the space that lyrics would take up.

So, here it is for you. It's a Rush song, and it's on the album 'Test for Echo.'



Half the World


Half the world hates
What half the world does everyday
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway

Half the world lives
Half the makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes

Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks
While the other half does

Half the world talks
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks
With half a mind to run away

Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies
As half the world turns

Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half

Half of us divided
Like a torn-up photograph, a torn-up photograph
Half of us are trying
To reach the other half, to reach the other half

Half the world dares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
While half the world is stealing away

Half the world lives
Half the makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes

Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half

To be the other half


On tap for today, more wood cutting, and a perusal of the want ads.

God, I fucking hate looking for a job. It's ass.

Gato el muerte,

T.

My roommate Andy was a paranoid schizophrenic.

That's not just me using my High School Psych class to diagnose either.

Well, in all honesty, it is. I have to say though, I was right. Let me set this up for you a bit.

The Central Coast. For those of you not in the know, that's California. Think San Luis Obisbo. I was living in the roaring metropolis of Arroyo Grande, about 15 miles south of SLO.

That's what they call it, you know. SLO-Town. They're proud of being slow.

But, I digress.

The house I was living in can best be described as a 'rooming house.' The people that owned it lived there, but in a separate 'wing' of the house.* There were 5, maybe 6 rooms that they rented out, and I had one of them.

A couple of the guys, Pat, and Mike were pretty cool. Andy, however, was a genuine piece of work. Quiet guy, kind of a clean freak. Viet Nam Vet. But a nice guy a 'good fella', if you will. When first I met him, he seemed mostly normal. Slowly, tho, things began to change.

There are many things I could relate, many stories I could delve up, but none of them could sum it up like the following incident, and I swear it's true. I was woken out of a dead sleep one night, by Andy yelling. I'm not sure what he was saying before I woke up, but I remember what I heard after.

It still makes me shake my head. It's like 2, 3 in the morning, and I hear him scream at the top of his lungs "I need to come in for an EMERGENCY stool sample."

I shit you not (pun intended). You see, he was convinced that 'They' had come into his room and "put something up his ass."

I can only hope that whomever he was shouting at:

1. Was already up at that hour, and


2. Was prepared to deal with people talking about any stool sample, let alone an emergency one

Shortly after that, Andy moved out. Can you imagine why? I found out then that he was, in fact a paranoid schizophrenic, and also suffered from PTSD. Apparantly, if he stays on his meds, he's fine. I kinda liked him, and never really had any problems with him.

Anyhow, not sure why you'd want to know that, or that you care at all. Guess I'm out.

Gato el muerte,

T.

p.s. the above use of 'quotation marks' is to denote sarcasm, and I apologize for it's overuse, but I kinda like it. t.

Well, I've always been a joiner, so why not....

In the great tradition of Kat and my good friend L, I think I'll go ahead and get laid off from work.

What the hell. I think I'll make the 28th of October my last day, since that's the day that the offical 'letter of laying off' marks as the day from which my services will no longer be needed.

Great news to get a scant 9 days before vacation, no?

"Hey, have a great trip, oh, and by the way, you no longer have a job here!!"

Anyone wanna do the day math and figure out what day that is?

Yeah, a fucking Thursday. No wonder they were being so nice to me. They were holding out, trying to build up for a good juggular strike.

Pissed.

Don't be surprised if there's no post later.

T.

What's your point.

Ok, so my lengthy Wednesday afternoon post has turned into a lengthy Thursday morning post.

My back started acting up yesterday, so I spent my afternoon/evening sprawled on the floor with my legs up on the couch trying to ease it up.

It's 5:40 as I write this (yes, i'm naked...perverts) and I just got out of the shower. I've got my coffee in hand....well, on my desk anyhow, and I'm ready to talk.

---

As you know, Tuesday was my mom's birthday, and we elected to take her out to Casino Fandango for dinner. Imagine our surprise when we got there to find out that there is no buffet on Monday or Tuesday.

Arrrrrgh. So, we decided to go to the Nugget instead. The food's not nearly as good, and the selection pales in comparison, but it was only $8.50 per person, and I still ate way too much.

---

Have any of you seen 'Mean Girls'? I know that I'm a guy, and I shouldn't be watching blatantly chick flicks like this, but I'm a movie freak too, and I watch just about anything.

There are some notable exceptions. I don't watch movies with "pro" wrestlers in them, nor do I watch movies with pro basketball figures in them. There are prolly a couple of other guidelines, but I can't be bothered to think of them atm. I'm on a deadline here.

Anyhoo....back to 'Mean Girls.' All I have to say is "Watch it!!" I had to pause the movie several times, as I was laughing so hard, I didn't want to miss any of it. There are some sappy 'revelation' moments, of course, but that's to be expected. I LOVE this movie. I'll be buying a copy, I'm sure.

---

It has now been raining pretty steadily since about 9 Sunday morning. It hasn't snowed down here yet, but the hills are covered. I'm so disgusted. It's like winter got here all in a day. It's getting colder, too. Between 28 and 34 degrees by the thermometer in the park that I pass everyday on my way to work.

---

And now, in other news:

I'm culling together the questions, and will be answering them soon. Perhaps this afternoon, perhaps Saturday. If there's anything you want to know, now's your chance to ask. The pics, as I mentioned will be a little slower, as I have to get the film developed (read: money) and then scan them.

There are only 10 shopping days until I leave for Dland. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the blog while I'm gone. I don't seem to remember there being a place to get online in Downtown Disney, but if there is, I'll update from there.

I'm also considering the 'guest blogger' thing to cover my absence. If any of you are interested, drop me an email, and let me know.

Well, I can tell from the clock on the wall that my time with you is over for now. I wish all of you the best this day, and in the future.

Pantalones del gato,

T.

The mean fifteen.

I'm on my first break at work, and hijacking one of the puters in the library again.

Like for a lengthy post later. The topics to be covered will include:

• The buffet fiasco.


• Mean Girls


• The fucking weather

And who knows what else. Just depends on how the rest of the day goes.

Siesta con huevos,

T.

Today is my Mom's birthday

We're taking her to Casino Fandango. You may remember that the last time I was there, I gorged myself into near insensibility.

I plan to do the same tonight, of course.

I'm also taking a day off, as I'm having a problem with my eyes.

I just can't see myself going in today.

I'm in the middle of switching rooms with Pop, so my puter's kinda ghetto setup atm, and I hooked it up solely so I could talk to you, my gentle readers. I may finish getting everyting set up today, I may not.

I'm culling together all your excellent pic requests/questions, but you have to be patient. I'm not like the rest of you cool people. I'm going to have to take the pics with my 35 mm camera, and then scan them. Unless I miraculously come into some petty cash, or one of you has a old digi that you are getting ready to throw away (yeah, right).

Ok, guess that's it for now.

Pantolones del gato,

T.

p.s. i almost forgot to mention, it's also tammy's bd. wierd, huh?

Running late

So you don't get much this time.

I'm not sure if I'll get a ride home at lunch....I never know until I get to work, but if I don't, I'll blog from work.

Kerry Collins should be beaten. Severely. He only threw 1 int yesterday, but he still sucked. Raiders now 2-3. Gonna be a long year.

Bye for now.

T.

So, I have to know...

How is it that if I don't post for a couple days, I get butloads of comments, but if I actually ask you to respond, like the pic/question request, I get like 3 relating to my request.

Are you people trying to drive me nuts? I mean, if you are, it's all good and all, but just let me know, so I can slip into the madness and appreciate it.

I mean, I'm as willing as the next man to go full goose bozo, but I'd like it to be my choice, and not something that comes upon me unawares.

There was no drunken post last night, as I didn't even get one beer at the casino.

Talk about lousy luck. I don't even want to talk about today.

I'll get back with you tomorrow.

Pantolnes del gato,

T.

Random thoughts for a Friday

As you may be able to tell, J is carless today. Thus, tho I will suffer by not eating, you all get some new crap to read.

---

That which we call a rose...

Much like ASB I'm a freak for music. While working, I almost always have my headphones on. In an attempt to seem semi-social, and as one of my secondary jobs is to answer the phone if noone else can, I usually keep the volume at a low to moderate level.

There are some songs, however, that require volume. Notable titles include 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns and Roses, 'Simply Irresistible' by Robert Palmer, and side one of '2112' by Rush. There are more, plenty more, and I'm sure you all have your faves.

The problem I run into is this. Almost without fail, when one of these comes on, either by design, or just in the randomness of the day, and I roll the little wheel to ear-bleed setting, someone decides to come talk to me.

Sometimes it's my boss, sometimes another employee. It doesn't matter. I have to turn down the volume, pause the song, and deal with....something. I will then restart the song, and re-crank the volume...and usu get interrupted again.

Geez, people. I've been sitting here all fucking morning, and you wait until I'm right in the middle of a good tune to come bug me.

---

A picture is worth a thousand words...

The photo requests are coming in, and that's a good thing. A couple of you have doubled up on requests tho.

Kat: Naked already asked for my hands, so you get another one if you want.

Suse: Naked also asked for my hair, so you can pick another, too.

Also, she's the only one that asked questions. If none of you have any to ask me, that's fine too, but you may not get another chance....(grin)

---

Lord, what fools these mortals be

It's Friday, of course, and I'll be out drinking and gambling. I've had pretty atrocious luck lately though, so I'm not expecting much. You can never tell when you're luck's going to change tho, so we'll see.

I have to do wood this weekend. I'm also in the process of swapping rooms with Pops. I have way too much stuff for the small room now. Soon, I'll have a kicky new computer desk set up. If I can ever find the fucking time to get anything done, that is.

---

To sleep, perchance to dream

I don't know. I've had Shakespeare quotes bouncing through my brain all week. I'm getting ready to sign off, as I'm at the library, and there are people waiting for 'puters. Damn, but I'm a nice guy.

Fucking makes me sick.

Look for drunkeness later.

Pantalones del gato,

T.

They say time heals all wounds...

I say that's a load of horse shit.

I don't know what got me started thinking about it, but I'm going to bore you with a tale of my reckless youth. It's going to be long, I warn you now. I'm going to ramble as well. If you don't feel up for the long haul, you may want to come back when you're a bit stronger. I call this:

My First Girlfriend.

I was 15 the first year I went deer hunting with my Dad. It was cool on many levels. I started to swear in front of my Dad. I started to drink in front of him too. Just beer, mind. And only at night, after the day's hunting had been done.

I can't tell you what it did for my Pops and I. Lots of stuff happened. It brings a smile to my mouth, even now, as I think about it. The upshot of it was, my Pops and I bonded in a way that we had sorely needed. My relationship with him has gotten better ever since.

Now, you may not understand what that has to do with my 'first girlfriend', but I'm getting to that.

Imagine it if you will:

My Pops and I have come down off the mountain. After a week, I've managed to get a shower. We have a dead deer at our house, and we need to get it across town.

Oh, yeah. The trick was, we had no vehicle capable of transporting a deer carcass. No worries. We're going to borrow (and this kills me) Gerry Lewis's Bronco to move the meat. He has a small favor to ask in return, though.

Now, that in itself seems a resonable request for the loan of a vehicle, and under most circumstances, I'd have to agree.

But then, you don't know about Kelli.

See, we had do drop Gerry of at his g/f's house. Her name was Sue, and I knew her from the grocery store where my Pop worked. We get there, we go in. Sue offers me a beer. Flushed with my newfound freedom, I gladly accept. Across the room, sits Kelli, Sue's daughter. She's shorter than me, red hair. Cute as hell. Obviously not expecting company, as she's loafing around the house in sweats.

I try not to stare. Remember, I'm sweet-almost-sixteen-and-(honestly)-never-been-kissed. I told you a long time ago I was a late bloomer. Sue introduced us, of course, and I did my best to seem cool about drinking around my Dad. Couple days later my Pops and I are driving down Silver Sage Lane, and he says to me that Kelli was 'very impressed' with me.

Knowing what was going to happen, eyes wide the fuck open I say 'Really? Wow, that's the first time anyone I ever thought was cute thought I was cute too.'

Oh, the optimism of youth. I won't bore you with all the sordid details, but after a few dates, I found myself in an unbeliveable situation. Picture this: Myself, Kelli, my litte sis, and her's. The little girls are in the room, doing whatever it is young girls do, and Kelli and I are out in the living room.

*phgagh*

The passion I felt that night. Kissing, writhing, touching. Comforter on the floor, couple pillows. When she ran her hand under my shirt, and caressed my bare stomach...

GOD, what a thrill.

Now, this is the part where the suave, worldly, super spy type would make the sexual innuendo, throw back his martini, and get down to business. Well, yours truly got kinda flustered. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. We kept making out, and it was hot as hell, but I think I paniced (sic) into inaction.

Anyhow, it was fucking hot. So, I'm thinking things are going good. I mean, for me, they're going great. Flash forward 3 or so months. Gerry turns up missing, and Sue enlists my and Pop's help to find him. After checking a few of his usual watering holes, we decide to cruise by the infamous house, and see if he's returned.

Seeing an unfamiliar car in the driveway, I ask. Sue tells me it's Kelli's friend Kellie's (how wierd is that? but she really did have a friend Kellie...that I knew before I knew Kelli) car. Needless to say, I found out later that night, from my Dad, might I add, that the car in fact, belonged to Kelli's boyfriend.

So, what does that have to do with the title? I told you It was going to be long.

One fine day, let's call it ten years later, I'm working at the 7-ELEVEn in Morro Bay, CA, and in walks this redhead. I glance at her, and the evil, wicked part of my brain says 'That's Kelli.' I respond with 'Get the fuck outta here', in classic Eddie Murphy style. She walks up, items in hand, and I hit her with 'This is going to sound strange, but did you ever live in Carson City?'

She looks at me and says 'I know you. You're Rich's son.' Fucking bitch didn't even remember my name (when she met me I was going by john. how the fuck to you forget john for fuck's sake).

I just smiled and blew it off. My only consolation? She looked bad. I mean, she was haggard. Even that didn't help. All the pain, all the frustration. It all came flooding back. I was so pissed off I could hardly see.

If I saw her today, I can't say it'd be any different. So, when 'they', whoever the fuck 'they' are, tell you that time heals all wounds, you can tell them T.J said to kiss his pucker.

Ok. I'm done, and you know a little more about why I don't trust women. I'm going to have one more beer, and lay it down for the night.

Keep those pic requests and questions coming.

El queso grande,

T.

p.s. if any of you are looking for my thursday post, it's over here Da Goddess

Fuck.

There's no coffee, and Poppa neglected to tell me. That means no warm wake up drink for me. We ran out of coffee at work too, and seeing as how I've been having to sock all my cash away for vacay, I don't know if I can find enough to get any.

I hate not having coffee. My sis is working late at the coffee joint today, so I'll prolly walk down there and get a quad later. Oh, btw, she made $65.00 in tips yesterday. The girl working with her made $60.00. Is that disgusting or what?

Oh, yeah. She was off by noonish. She worked like 6.5 hrs, so roughly 10 bucks an hour in tips. And she gets to drink all the coffee she wants.

Sigh. Wish I worked in a coffee joint.

Got about 1/3 of the wood cut up. Some of that still needs to be split, but no biggie. I have many things going on after work today, so I may not get a chance to blog until later.

So far, only Naked has posted questions/pic requests. Guess the rest of you just don't care....*-sniff-*

Ok, going to try and find some cash for coffee.

Be well.

T.

And they're off....

It's 4:30, and I'm home.

Time to cuts me some wood. I may post afterwards, but I may be too burnt out to. One never knows, does one?

I hope I still have a pair of earplugs hanging around. Those damn saws can get loud.

2/5th's of the week's over. Woo Hoo!!

Ok, guess I've stalled enough.

Sigh.

T.

Yeah, Tuesday's are gonna suck....

I'm fucking tired already, and I just got up. Damn them, damn them all to hell.

The t.v. writers, that is. Those inconsiderate bastards that make me stay up so late.

Read this post, and give me some ideas people. I'm starting to feel unloved.....

Got the chain for my chainsaw, so I've, if you'll pardon the expression....Got my work cut out for me when I get home today. Some of the wood can be eaisly cut into usable lengths. Some will have to be notched with the saw, and split by hand. Joy.

Ok. Guess I'm out for now.

T.

Give me Liberty, or give me rest.

I can see that Monday's are going to become long days.....

As it's 11:30 already.

There's football, Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00, Two and a half Men at 9:30, and then CSI: Miami. That makes it 11:00. Throw in a random web check before bed, and there you have it.


Not much longer for this world tho.

I can hear my pillow whispering to me. That could just be all the beer tho. Kidding. I've only had 2 tonight.

Anyhow, hope everyone made it through Monday alive and well.

T.

Are you ready for some football?

I mean, it's only the Packers and the Titans, but it's football, at least.

A ride home made the day a bit nicer than I had anticipated. I've been sitting here reading blogs, and decided to finally post.

I've got an internet radio station playing (80's rock, since you asked) and wallowing in memories. Just heard 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot', and 'Sweet Child o' Mine' is on now.

My sister's supposed to come get me so I can go get a chain for the saw. I was hoping to go earlier, but, oh well. The sun's going down here now, and I prolly won't get any cutting done tonight.

Makes for a busy Tuesday, I guess.

Well, R just showed up, so I'm out. Maybe more later.

T.

I blame all of you...

It used to be that I never had any time to do anything, and I couldn't figure out why. Now, as you all know, I read lots of blogs, and that seems to be cutting into my non-life.

Case in point: I got up an hour early today, as I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured that gave me plenty of time to read, comment, and post my own entry. Such was not the case. You all need to stop writing so well, and stop having so many adventures.

I get so swept up in all of your lives, I run out of time to update you on mine.

I have one request: Get boring, people, and give me my life back.

But seriously, I fell asleep on the couch last night, thus no second post. It's Monday, and J doesn't have a car, so it's power blog, and Jack in the Box for lunch (semi-yuck).

I'm going to try to get a new chain for the saw today. It's just a matter of finding a ride really, but that can be a neat trick sometimes.

Oh yeah, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. It's the whole 'post 3 pictures' thing I'm speaking of, of course. Here's your chance. Request 3 photos, and I'll even borrow from Nakedlady, and let you ask 3 questions too.

Ok, I'm off to revolt myself, and possibly give myself food poisoning. Hope you all have a tolerable Monday.

El poquito grande,

T.

Weekend Update.....

I've been fucking busy.

That about sums it up. I got my cord of wood today, and I'm sad to report, most of the wood will need to be split, or at least cut again before we can fit it in the stove. It was still a bargain tho. $35.00, and we prolly netted a cord and a quarter, maybe a cord and a half.

I found out that I need a new chain for the chain saw tho. I was going to get started on it, but instead of cutting the wood, it was burning a slot in it, and I decided not to push my luck.

It's quick, and it's dirty, but that's my Sunday post.

I'll have more later,

T.

P.S. fuck you kerry collins. you can suck my dick. 3 ints, one ran back for a td. he only fumbled once this week tho. cocksucker. t.

Where oh where has my Underdog gone...

I don't know why that popped into my head, but there you have it. It dates me in a big way, but I know that at least one or two of you remember watching Underdog on t.v. as a kid.

So, my humpless hump day turned into a postless one as well.

My son called, and I think that had something to do with it. He called about the time I'd have come back upstairs to blog...

Then H & R came by for some video game fun.

So the thunder god's day has come once again, and I'm ready to meet it headfirst. Yeah, right.

My son got his liscense. God, does that make me feel old. Well, looks like it's time to put some clothes on and head to work.

Oh, btw Michelle, thanks for the 'attractive' gift that you sent me. Was that bought in Londontown, or locally in S.A.?

Later,

T.

Later still

Almost 10 p.m. here, and I'm pretty tired. My neck and back feel soooo much better.

A friend of mine, H, stopped by, and we've been playing Driv3r. It's pretty phat. We're getting near the end, and some of the driving you have to do is just sick shit. I mean, really!!

I have a couple options at this point:

Catching up on all of your blogs.

Playing some Soul Calibur 2 (game fucking rocks) so that I can get better with Talim.

Going to sleep early, and waking up about 3 hours too early.

Think I'll take my chances with the sleep thing.

Hope you all are well, and if I haven't said it lately, I appreciate that you all take the time to come say hi.

T.

I love Chiropractice....

The promised 'later' post.

After I got to work, the act that my back/neck/shoulders was putting on became a full-fledged stage show. I made it until noon, a grating, groaning 5 hours, and then I bailed.

I had to walk to my Chiro, but as it wasn't my lower back bothering me, no great shakes. I was laying there in his office, the heat blanket draped over my neck and shoulders, just drifting....

I either dozed off, or was just on the verge when Dr Mark popped in. If I haven't mentioned, I've known Dr. Mark for somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 years now. Long before he was a chiro. A typical visit to his office goes like this, today included:

1. I walk, unannounced, into his office, and sign the sheet.

2. I wait anywhere from 5-15 minutes, and I'm led into a room. The heat blanket shortly follows.

3. Dr. Mark comes in, asks me about Pops (they used to work together, thus the method by which I know him), and adjusts me.

4. I walk out the door, adjusted, happy, and no shorter on cash than I walked in.

So, there I am, nearly comatose, and in he pops. We chat a bit, I regale him with my coming vacation (i'm so looking forward to it), and we agree to get together for some golf soon.

I walked out of his office with a spring in my step, and a smile on my face. I still can't turn my head all the way to my right, but almost. And the shoulder pain is totally gone.

I feel bad when I go tho, and I guess that's why I don't go as often as I should. I mean, he's never charged me, and he's like a uncle to me, but I've always felt like I'm taking advantage of him on some level.

I'm prolly just to sensitive about it.

I'm going to leave you with this though tho:

Somewhere out there, is the world's worst doctor. Bottom marks in every class, just barely made the grade....The scary thing?

Someone has an appointment to see him tomorrow.....

Casa del cerveza,

T.

I think I've finally got this cold on the run....

It hasn't quite turned over the reins yet, but I think I'm wearing down it's resistance.

It's obvious that I haven't been posting, so I'll just gloss over my absence.

Not a lot's been going on, but here are some highlights:

The good:

The state offers wood cheap, and I got a cord of wood for the winter at the rock bottom price of 35 bucks. Yeah, that's right, 35 dollars, American. It's all cut and stacked, and all I have to do is go pick it up. What a deal.

My sis found a much better deal on a rent-a-car than we were expecting, and now we've got like an extra $150.00 for the Dland safari.

The bad:

Kerry Collins, qb for the Raiders, and starter with Gannon injured fucking pissed me off on Sunday. He threw for 3 fucking int's, and sucked major ass all day. O yeah. He fumbled twice too. What an asswipe. If I were coaching, Tui'd get the ball on Sunday.

My cold comes and goes in waves. Today it's not so bad, but my back's acting up. I just can't win.

Ok...I'm about out of time.

I'll be better, I promise. Look for more later.

T.