I was outside looking for meteors last night....

But sadly, I didn't see any.

I read in the paper that there were supposed to be up to 15 an hour last night, so I grabbed my camera and headed out to see what there was to see.

One thing I found out: my condo complex is way light polluted. It was tough to find a spot where it was easy to see the sky, but I finally did. I sat there for a while, eyes on the sky.

Of course, I made a couple exposures while I was waiting.....

I call this one Freeway:



Anyone care for a dip?:




There are purported to be more visible tonight, so I may go out again.

I also took a couple teaser photos of our new tables.







I want you to know that these are off-kilter, and totally supposed to twist your sense of direction and proportion. I promise a post about the tables soon.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky, Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same,

Ok, so I guess I should tell you that I've started watching Weeds. I hate to say it, but it's become a bit of an obsession.

I hesitate to say that I'm in love again, because we all know where that leads.....

The series has had a good run though....I mean they are on their 5th season, so perhaps they're immune. I've never really tested the limits of my show killing power, so we're in a bit of a grey area here....

In any event, Michael brought the series with him, and I've been watching them almost non-stop for 3 days or so now.

Well, less time to go to work and all, but you get the picture.

Let see, the show...

It's witty, it's dark, it's gritty and stark.

It's an exploration of the limits of human endurance, and it's about the depths of a mother's love.

It blurs the lines between right and wrong.

If you can find the time, I highly recommend you give it a look. I'd Netflix the 1st season or 2 before you try and watch anything current tho. I'm only on the 3rd season, and so much has happened that you'd be totally in the dark without some background.....

Ok, enough deep stuff.

On to the funny.

You all know my friend, L. Well, actually, none of you know L....Well, Michael does, and my Mom's met her, but you know what I mean....

Anyhow, she's looking for an air compressor for her S.O. for his upcoming birthday. I priced a couple at work for her, and she's been looking around Reno as well. So, about 10 minutes ago, she calls me and says 'I've got to tell you the funniest story.'

It seems she went into a Metropawn in Reno in search of the aforementioned compressor. The helpful salesman showed her the 3 that they had in stock. She, of course, is trying to get the best deal, and he quotes her '65 bux for any of these.'

Prudently, she asks about return policies and such, and the helpful salesman offers to 'fire it up right here and test it for you.' So, he sets it on the counter, plugs it in and turns it on.

Now, if you've never heard a compressor run, well then, you don't know that they're pretty loud. Even the smaller, affordable ones that she's looking at. So, it's cycling up, making a grand racket, and L notices that there's oil leaking. Well, just about the time she notices, and before she can say anything, there's a loud *BANG* and a piece of the motor flies off.

Apparently, it was like the oil plug or something, because the compressor is now spraying oil all over the fucking place.

Needless to say, she passed on that one, and will prolly be coming down to see me at work. See, she trusts me.

She also knows where I live.....

Anyhow, she shared, and I had to pass it along.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Another movie myth exploded.....

Well, not really a myth, I guess, but more a misrepresentation.

I know I told you about the revolver, and of course, the pearl necklace. Well now, I present you with 'the broken fire hydrant.'

Ok, so it's happened....the car/boulder/whatever has done it. Somehow in the madness just past, the fire hydrant has been severed from it's line, and is spewing comedy gold into the air in a fine spray...

Little column of water....like 12' high....

I've seen one in real life, and it's actually a bit more like this. I'll tell you now, that's not my photo, but the one I saw looked pretty much like this. It was a sight to behold.

Of course I don't have a picture. How silly of you to ask.

See, that day, for the first time in like a month, I decided to leave my camera bag at home.....It's pretty heavy, and my back was hurtin'....you know.

Buenos con queso,

T.

It's way too fucking hot.....

...in my room as I write this.

95.9 degrees by my thermometer/clock.

I'm in Hell....Literally.

Or at least is feels like it.

If you care, work was ok. Lots of stupid email questions, a fair amount of computer troubleshooting, and it was as hot, if not hotter, at work all day.

At least I have a beer to wash the hot away.

Buenos con queso,

T.

10:03 PM Sunday night...

Yes, we had dinner.

Yes, it was good.

Yes I took a picture.

No, I'm not posting it tonight.

Did you really think I would?

Buenos con queso,

T.

So. I guess I had you at a disadvantage.....

See, I knew I wasn't going to be posting for a couple days, and I could totally have mentioned that I was going to be away, but I elected not to.

I'm sure you're all wondering what could have possibly pulled me away from posting for 2 straight days.

I'm happy to say that I got to do something with my days off that I haven't gotten to do in a while. Michael and I went into Reno to hang at my friend L's house.

You've heard me talk about her a lot here.

Ok, so I've got a ton of photos and a really good tale to tell, so this post is going to be monster long.

I hope you're ready for it.....

We went up Thursday afternoon, and just hung out. Had a few beers, watched some tv. Checked out S's (l's bf) bad ass '58 Olds (if you want to see pix of it tell me).

Friday, L had a hair appointment, and Michael and I were thrift store bound. There's a cool one right down the street from her house, so that's where we started. While there, I/we found an absolutely amazing table for $5.00. I'm not putting pix of that up yet, as I want to dedicate and entire post to the table.

Also, there were some other wonders to behold, including:

A top of the line, smokin' hot 56k modem:




A phone:




THE PHONE:



The ubiquitous 110 camera:



An anatomically correct plastic bull:




That's still givin' me the creeps:



Am I the only one that remembers seeing these growing up:




And, really?




Seriously?

Ok, after that we went hunting for a Savers that's on Kietzke Ln. Now, you should know that I don't really know my way around Reno very well, so this was kinda like an unguided safari into hostile territory.

I'm happy to say that we found the thrift store, but not before we drove past a store with a highly suspect name:




Once upon a child? Really? Maybe it's just me, but that sounds like a bad thing.

The Savers store was a bit corporate and overpriced. I did, however, find a copy of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency , which I've been hunting for years now. It was a steal at .69¢.

From there, we headed back to L's to wait for her to be done at the salon. While chillin' at the pad, I picked up a copy of US, cause I'm a shameless whore for celebrity magazines.

Now, I know I brought it upon myself by picking the mag up in the first place, but I still saw possibly the most disturbing print ad I've ever encountered:




Take a closer look:





I mean, do we really need that?

Ok, so L showed up, and the 3 of us took off to hit a couple other thrift stores. The 1st one we headed to was closed, so fuck them.

The second one had, I shit you not, the perfect match to the table we found in the 1st store.

Also priced at $5.00.

We bought that, of course, and I found another book I've been searching for a copy of, namely Enchanter's Endgame. We zipped back to L's and spent the rest of the night just hangin' out.

All in all, it was a great way to spend a couple days off, and I'm glad that you came along.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I took a day off....get over it...

Ok, so I took 2 days off.

Actually, the 1st day I was at the newlywed's house giving them the DVD's/memory card with their wedding photos.

Then Michael fixed their computer, and we sat there and went through the photos.

All 789 of them.

Yes, 789. It took a while, and it was while we were doing that that midnight snuck past me, ensuring that I'd miss another post in July.

After that, Mike and I came home and played more Army of Two. I'm almost ashamed to tell you that we quit for the night at 2:30.

We quit at 2:00 the night before.

Needless to say, I was fucking beat last night, and actually made a conscious decision not to post.

I came home, ate a bit of dinner, and crashed for an hour or so. After waking up, Mike and I finished off AoT, and I have to say, the ending kinda sucked.

Kinda really, in fact.

I don't know if it was 'cause we were playing on easy or what, but the final battle....well, it was more than a little disappointing. I won't reveal it here, just in case Andie hasn't finished it yet, but both Michael and I were put out by the way it ended.

We'll prolly play it through again on 'hardest,' if only to see if the ending is the same.

If it is, I'm going to be really pissed.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Another post that almost wasn't...

It was a close one.

Michael and I were playing Army of Two (because andie said it has good sniper rifles) when he asked me if I'd used any wedding pics in my post.

Which reminded me that I hadn't posted today, which brings us here.

I'm going to make this short, so that I can get it done before midnight (and so we can play some more).

I shot a wedding yesterday.

It was hotter'n Hell, and of course, I was wearing a long-sleeved button up shirt and grey Levi's. Needless to say, I was fucking roasting.

The wedding was cool, and Michael showed up to give me a ride home (long story). Now, I've felt overdressed at weddings, and I've felt under dressed at them, but yesterday was the 1st time I've ever felt under tattooed at a wedding.

I'm not going to post any body art shots, just a few random ones from the 600 or so that I shot.

Enjoy.






Buenos con queso,

T.

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding....We haaave a winnah!!!!!

Ok, so I totally did my best to be as fair and random as I could for the contest.

The first thing I did (after tabulating total entries per person) was to type each entrants name into a document, with a paragraph per entry.

I then used the random goodness over at Random.org to assign a random number to each entry. I pasted them into a Word Open Office document, and sorted them into numerical order:



I then generated a number between 1 and 10 to see how many 'drawings' I should do, and it came up 5. I generated 5 random numbers, and this is what I ended up with:



When compared against the numbered list, the results are clear.....





CONGRATULATIONS HERMAN!!!

So, there you have it. Herm's the big winner this time around.

I'll prolly be doing another giveaway in a month or so, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks for playing along, folks. We both really appreciate it.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Another late post.....

I wish I had more for you, but it's too fucking hot.

As I type this, it's 11:23 pm, and it's 91.6 degrees in my bedroom.

Down from the 92.9 that I saw this afternoon.

So, yeah, it's way too fucking hot to sleep, so I prolly won't be doing that any time soon....

I think I'm to go downstairs and get a bowl of cherries.

If you all behave, maybe I'll post a pic of them tomorrow.

Provided I don't melt, or spontaneoulsy combust tonight.

Buenos con queso,

T.

We made it all the way to the top.....

So, we did our hike today. What we did was drive to the top of Clear Creek Road, here in Carson City, which, in case you didn't know, used to be the highway to Tahoe, before they constructed Highway 50 from Carson up to the lake.

Like a dumbass, I totally forgot to bring my GPS, so I can't tell you how far we walked, nor our elevation change, but I'm going to estimate at least 5 or 6 miles, and at least 1000 vertical feet.

I'll figure out the real numbers next time we hike it.

I did take some pictures, and present them here for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy:












I was gonna be all cool like, and talk about each of those, but I'm absolutely beat, and I'd prolly fall asleep at the keyboard if I tried that.

If you have any questions about them, just ask.

Don't forget about my giveaway!!

Buenos con queso,

T.

Boring tonight, better tommorow.....

So, it's 11:35, and if I don't hit the publish button soon, I'll have missed another day.

Ok, 11:37.

I'm going to have to make this quick.

Michael and I are going hiking tomorrow.

We're starting early.

I mean, like sunrise early. The plan is to get it done before it's 4,000,000 degrees outside. Well, that's the plan, anyhow.....

There was something else I was going to say, but I totally forgot what it was.....

Oh, well, look for photos tomorrow.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Kelwhy made me do it....

Well, not really, as she didn't oficially tag me or anything, but I was over at her place , and she did this cool music related blog, so, for your further edificaion, I bring you:

Random is as Random does

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.

Step 2: Post the first line from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.

Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.

Step 4: Post the song info when someone guesses correctly.

Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!


1. Crazy. I'm crazy for felling so lonely

2. Ah here you are, there's nothing left to say.

3. I want him but he don't want me he wants somebody else that I can't be.

4. I used to hurry a alot, I used to worry a lot.

5. I hear the clock, it's 6 a.m. I feel so far from where I've been

6. Michelle, my belle, these are words that go together well

7. On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.

8. I just don't care anymore I've reached the end of the rope.

9. Heading out this monrning into the sun, riding on the diamond waves, little darling one.

10. I can see you mama, but I can hardly wait.

11. And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start.

12. Do I stress you out? My sweater is on backwards and inside out.

13. Well, I been awake for 8 days straight, well it must have been them pills I took.

14. We're talking away I don't know what I'm to say.

15. I got chills, they're multiplyin', and I'm losin' control.

16. Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly.

17. Hey baby, I'm talkin' to you, stop yourself and listen.

18. I am, he is, you are, he is, you are me, and we are all together.

19. When they turn the pages of history, when these days have passed long ago

20. Leaning in your corner like a candidate for wax.

Ok, so if you want to play along, then play along.

If you don't, well...don't.

Don't forget about my giveaway!!

Buenos con queso,

T.

And some days, I don't even have a valid excuse....

Like yesterday, for example.

As we were coming home from family dinner night, I was composing my post in my head. I was going to head upstairs as soon as we got home and post.

Only I didn't.

I didn't really think about it again until I was actually stretched out in bed, doing my best to drift off to sleep. Once I'm at that point, however, even if there is/was time to get up and post, I'm unlikely to.

So dinner last night was Mexican food. I had soft tacos (one of which ended up being a burrito) made with taco beef (duh), diced avocado, red onion, cilantro, Mexican rice, cheese, and La Victoria medium taco sauce.

Yes, they were fucking awesome. I only ate 2, but I could prolly have had more, cause they were that good. Desert was Eskimo Pies again.

I really love Eskimo Pies.

Ok, as usual, I have a picture, but I'm not going to post it right now, as my camera/card is downstairs.

Don't forget about my giveaway!!

Buenos con queso,

T.

It's Giveaway Time!!!!!

Ok, you know you want this cup:











I know you do too. I can hear you salavating already. Ok, so as you might have surmised, that's the prize for the giveaway.

Now, for the rules:

1. Comment for one entry.

2. Blog about the contest, with links to this post, and to our new etsy store for 5 more entries. If you do post, let me know via email or comment that you did, so I can see your post, and get you your extra entries.

>Edited to add< And if you tweet about it, I'll give you 2 more entries!!

3. This contest will run from today until midnight on July 17th, so get your comments/posts taken care of if you want this cup.

Which we both know you do.

Oh, and if you feel the need, buy something from the store yourself.

Buenos con queso,

T.

The magic begins tomorrow.....

Ok, so the giveaway starts tomorrow.....

I guess I can tell you that the prize will be a piece of Michael's pottery.....

I'm not going to show it to you now, 'cause I don't want to spoil it.

The giveaway is going to go hand in hand with something else exciting that's going to happen tomorrow.

I invite you all to stop by and play along.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I'm not making excuses, but....

It's totally not my fault that I didn't post last night.

See, it happened like this:

I got a call from my mom yesterday. She had planned to take Michael to a Reno Aces game yesterday, but she wasn't feeling well, so I inheirited the tickets.

Or Michael did.

Or Michael and I did....

Whatever.

In any event, it was a night game (7:05 start time) and we didn't get home until late. I may very well have had time to post, but J, my friend from back East called. It may have even been too late before that, as I remember looking at my watch phone on the way home, and it was 11:30.

As you can see:




We had pretty good seats:



At one point during the second inning, the mascot (no pix sorry) came over and asked Michael and I if we wanted to participate in a 'kindness excercise' on the field. We said yes, 'cause why wouldn't we, and that's how we found ourselves down on the field before the 4th inning started paying each other compliments.

I told Michael that his head was perfectly round, that he had the most flesh-colored skin I'd ever seen, and that he was the best white rapper that I knew.

That last bit got a laugh from the whole crowd. The nice lady sitting next to us (peggy i think) took a pic on her cell phone, and we should have a copy of it soon....it's a long story, but she knows the people who's tickets we were using.

For doing that, Austin & Tina (local djs) gave us a 'Karma Card' which is actually an entry into a drawing for a $3000.00 gift card. In return, I gave them each some change.

I mean, that's how I (we) spread karma.

Oh, speaking of change, do any of you need more?

We've got tons...

Buenos con queso,

T.

I'm having a dilemma.....

See I totally don't know what time of day I should post....

I could post in the morning, and tell you all the things I have planned for the day, or I could post in the evening, and tell you how badly my plans fell through.

Morning = less bitching.

Evening, not so much.

Tell me which you'd rather have.

Oh, and just a heads up...I'll be doing a giveaway soon.

Keep your eyes open for it.

Buenos con queso,

T.

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.

Or maybe it isn't.

I don't profess to know the mysteries of my universe, let alone the one at large.

Instead, I'll show you some pictures. I'm not going to post all that I shot, and if you want more, email me, and I'll send you a disc chock full of them.

So, here we go:











Ok, so like I said, I have a ton more. It was a pretty good show again this year, as it was last year, even if they blew the Grand Finale.....

Which I'm pretty sure they did, because like 20 minutes after the show concluded, there was another barrage of explosions. Of course, by that time I was in the house and no longer watching the sky, so I didn't get to see what happened. I'm thinking that there was a wiring problem or something, and it took them some time to figure out where the futz was.

In any event, it was fun.

I'll close now, as I have some (blog) reading to do before I go to work.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Anything but routine.....

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I missed a day already.

The only thing I can say in my defense is.....well, I guess I don't really have anything do say in my defense.

It was a pretty full day, which included my work party (a blast look for photos tomorrow) dinner at sis's (pics to follow tomorrow) and, of course, fireworks.

I shot a ton of photos of the fireworks as well, but I haven't really had time to sort through them yet. As soon as I do, I'll post a couple, and maybe even more on my flickr account.

Oh, and this one's for you Q, since you asked....pottery pics.

Well, one anyhow.

My New Coffee Cup



Buenos con queso,

T.

Marshall, Will, and Holly, on a routine expedition...

I'm pretty tired, cause we've been at it all day.

We had a 7:30 am tee time, which means I was up early (heh like always).

It was perfect weather, and we played a full 18. I've got a couple photos for you:









After golf, I rolled out to work and picked up my check. We headed home for about 10 minutes, and then went to Costco, and then to the casino to cash my check. We did a bit of gambling, but nothing came of it.

My work 4th of July party it tomorrow, and then we're doing a bbq at sis's, and then there's fireworks. I'll try and have some good pix for y'all.

Buenos con queso,

T.

A break in my routine.....

I know I said that Michael was going to be here yesterday, but that kinda fell through. Some things came up, and he didn't get to leave until this morning.

He did, however, arrive alive and well this afternoon.

We've been hangin' and chillin', and already found out that we get to go golf tomorrow.

For free.

*rawk*

He brought a fair amount of pottery, some of which we plan to sell on our etsy site (coming soon).

In addition, it looks like he brought half the state of California with him...




If you look in the upper right-hand corner of that picture, you may see two bags of chips....



And a close-up:



It may seem that I'm harping on this, but what you may fail to realize is that these are the best fucking tortilla chips in the world.

They're called Taco Works, and are really only available on the Central Coast of California. Michael makes a point of bringing a supply for me whenever he comes.

With his car so jam packed with stuff, he only had room to bring me 4 bags....

And I know I'll have to give my sister at least one bag, 'cause if I don't, she'll be all mad at me....

Besides, she gets me my coffee....

Ok, off to eat some more of those lovelies.

Buenos con queso,

T.

The most important routine.....

Of all the routines I go through on a typical day, the one that's usually first, and always the most important is my coffee ritual.....

1. Rinse out the coffee pot.

2. Fill to the '12' line. Yes, I always make a full pot.

3. Pour the water into the coffee maker.

4. Empty/rinse the filter basket.

5. Scoop the beans into the grinder.

6. Grind the beans.

7. Pour the ground coffee into the basket.

8. Place basket back in the coffee maker, close lid, and hit the button.

It's almost Zen in it's simplicity, and it produces the lifeblood for another day.

So, that's one day down.

In other news, Michael should be here today.

That's the rumor, at least.

Buenos con queso,

T.