Saturday, November 11, 2006

Let's see...Where to start...

I guess the only way I can explain my absence is to say that I've been busy.

It's nothing you haven't heard before, and it's just as true now as ever.

One of the things that has kept me away is work, but then you know that.

Another would be life in general. It seems sometimes that my days off are busier than my days on.

Don't think it's all been negative, tho. I've been spending lots more time with a friend of mine, and have had less time to spend boring you all with my daily woes.

On another topic, however, my grandma celebrated her 88th birthday. The surprise of the day was that Michael showed up. My sister was almost in tears. We did the whole Thanksgiving thing, and of course, I forgot my camera.

My cousin Sonya put together a little slide show, like you have nothing better to do.

Anyhow, it's kinda late, I've had a really crappy day at work, and I'm about to have a cup of coffee and climb into bed.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Mark Knopfler is beaming messages to the future...

Well, maybe not. But at the very least, he and his band Dire Straits are a bit psychic.

In 1985, they released the album Brothers in Arms. One song from that album was more than just a song, in my opinion. The song, Walk of Life, was also a prophetic description of events that were to happen nearly 10 years later.

I'm sure you all remember the O.J. Simpson trial. Well, here's where things get strange. Sometime either during, or shortly after the trial, I heard Walk of Life on the radio, and some of the lyrics seemed oddly to fit some of the details of the trial. I'm not going to post all of the lyrics here, but excerpts. If you have a mo, go pick the tune up from iTunes, or your chosen music provider. Now, I'm going to put words from the song up, and then my interpretation of them. See what you think....

"Here come Johnny sing oldies, goldies."

Can there be any doubt that this refers to Johnnie Cochran, and his playing of the race card? Isn't that one of the 'oldest stories in the book?'

Or, how about "Turning all the nighttime into the day," which is turning black to white, yes? Or lies into the truth, perhaps?

"He got the action, he got the motion, oh yeah, the boy can play." Obviously more references to Cochran in court. Actions, motions, these are judge things.

"Here comes Johnny, gonna tell you a story. Hand me down my walkin' shoes." This is a blatant reference to the Bruno Magli's made so famous by the trial. Some of the strangest lyrics are near the beginning of the song, however.

"I got a woman down in the tunnel." Isn't that how they referred to the area where Nicole's body was found? The tunnel or somesuch?

Part of the chorus is: "You do the song about the sweet lovin' woman, you do the song about the knife, and you do the walk, you do the walk of life." I shouldn't have to point out the similarites here.

The last words I'm going to cite are these: "And after all the violence and double talk, it's a song in all the trouble and the strife. You do the walk, you do the walk of life." Obviously, the violence and double talk could refer to many things, many places, but when combined with the other lyrics, it's pretty clear.

Oh, and guess what? O.J. did the Walk of Life. Bastard should be rotting in prison, and instead, he's out 'looking for the real killers.'

Well, just thought you'd enjoy that little theory. I've been saying it since the 90's when I first made the connection.

Hope all is well with all of you.....

T.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Saying good-bye to Justin.

One of the problems with having a large extended family is that very often, you can go for loooooong periods of time without seeing people. Case in point: my cousin Justin. The last time I saw him he was maybe 5 or 6, I don't remember. It really has been that long.

On Friday October the 13th, 2006, I attended his funeral. He was 16.

He lived in Colfax, a small town nestled into the Western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It's a small place, everybody knows everybody.

The day was divided into 2 parts: A Catholic Mass for family, and following that, a get-together for...well, pretty much the whole town from what I could tell....

The Mass was dignified, and very emotional. They usually are. I honestly know little enough of the faith I was raised to believe in to relate any particular details of the service here, except to say that I know they did Communion.

This was his Missal (is that even what they call it):



The second event was at the Community Center, and was much looser. Many of his school friends were about, and relatives I hadn't seen since...well, prolly the last funeral. That seems to be the way it is. Somehow it's always the funerals.

There was a banner for people to sign:



And I guess you'd call it a shrine:



How do you say good-bye to a 16 year old boy? I barely knew Justin. We lived half a state away from each other. They ran a slide show, set to music. Songs that meant a lot to Justin, and songs that he had introduced people to. Some of his friends got up and spoke a few words. A friend of his mother's belted out a rendition of "Amazing Grace" that literaly brought tears to my eyes.

The event was capped by a dove release at sundown:





It's taken me quite a while to post this, as you can see. It's been a pretty emotional week.

Now, I hear some of you asking why Friday the 13th? Well, it would have been Justin's 17th birthday. The video below is a local news story about it. I warn you, it's pretty harsh.

News Story.

The asshole father is luck it wasn't MY kid he did that to. Were that the case, he'd be attending his own funeral.

Well, that's all I have for now.

T.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Ok, fine. I admit it...

I'm the worst blogger.

Ever.

I've been busyblahblahblah...

I had to 'shop the photosblahblahblah...

On a happier note, I'm ready to regale you all with the Tales of the Magic Kingdom.

Tis going to be a loooong one, and there will be many photos. I'm sitting here eating Pixie Stix and Warheads as I write this, (thanks jessi) and remembering again how much I like sour.

So, to the task at hand:




SUNDAY

Shopping

Tho today was not actually the day we left, it was the first day of my vacation. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I got a call from work. While I was at Costco, I might add. We were stocking up on road food. Someone had called in sick...Well, you would have been proud of me.

I actually said no. That's right, for the first time in my history with this company, I said no to being called in. Well, we finished shopping, had lunch (dog and a soda $1.50) and headed home. I was in bed too early, and couldn't sleep. Oh well, it's always like that.

MONDAY

It's easy to tell when you defecate a fish.


We were up early, and despite some initial running around, and car issues, we got out of town. I remember looking at the clock, just after we filled up. It was 10:25. We took the scenic route out of town:


After awhile, we fell back on our favorite road game: Madlibs. We have a great time with these silly little things, and for some reason, they always seem to produce watch phrases for the trip.

The 1st one this year?....

Yeah, it's easy to tell when you defecate a fish. That had us all roaring with laughter.

As you all prolly know, the first leg of our trip is always to the Central coast to pick up my son Michael:


That's him on Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown.

At about the halfway mark, we find ourselves just outside Livermore, and in one of my favorite areas. I could happily spend several days out here taking pictures. These are from a moving car, and suck:




We arrived safely, had a huge bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and fixin's for dinner, and collapsed in a tired heap.

TUESDAY
Nibbling a magic poodle.


That's another Madlib, can you tell?

Can you feel the excitement? Today is the day we get to the park. We actually managed to get up and on the road in record time. We were on the road before the sun had cleared the horizon. We gassed again, and headed south. We were making really good time, and then there was a slow down. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say there was a chunk of steel maybe 5'x 4' x 3' just laying in the middle traffic lane.

Nasty.

Well, we got to the hotel, my mom and Summer arrived, and we were off. There are some rides that are staples, and it's not if, but how many times will we ride them. These include Space Mountain:


Thunder Mountain:


Grizzly Peak, Californa Screamin', and Soarin' over California. Also Splash Mountain, Pirates, and Indiana Jones. I could prolly scrounge up photos of all those, but I ain't gonna. We had a good day, and finished it off with some late night shopping:


WEDNESDAY
What the screaming blue fuck is a clafoutis?


One thing that we usually to is dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. It's character dinner, and it's also a buffet. You can surely get your money's worth ($35.00 a head), and the food's usually pretty good. I ate a ton this year, and headed over to the dessert line, ready to push myself into gastric hell. My sister pointed to this:


And asked me "What's clafoutis?" I had to admit, that I did not know. We asked Pops. 40 years a chef, worked everyting from breakfast houses to gourmet dinner houses. Cooked with Cordon Bleu chefs, world class pastry chefs. Never misses a cooking/food question on Jeopardy.

Yeah, he had nothing. Shit, it looks like an axe wound, and didn't smell much better. So, if you can solve the mystery, please enlighten me.

I was so full after dinner that I went back to the room and just veg'd out. It was about a 50/50 split of crashers and back to parkers.

THURSDAY

It's a pirates life for me


My sister, ever the planner had designated Thursday of our stay as Pirate Day. Everyone had a pirate shirt of some description. Here's pop wearing the one that he, Michael and I were all wearing. This photo was taken by Michael:


Imagine descriptions of all the rides. I've told you all about them before....

FRIDAY

It's a jungle out there.


The highlight of Friday was lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. They have pretty good food, and the store is chock full of all kinds of cool stuff. Not Disney sorveniers to be sure, but all wild animal, nature-themed cool kinds of stuff. They also have this totally cool fishtank:


We also posed for a photo with the brass plug that marks the geographical center of the park:


SATURDAY

Parting is such sweet sorrow


The end came all to quickly, as it always does. Check out was at 11, and we made it with about half an hour to spare. We got on the road, and set our sights on the Central Coast once again.

Another night at Michael's, and off we set for home. We stopped at Garlic World again, and bought some fresh produce. Yum.



So, there you have it. I know the details got kinda sketchy at the end, but I'm tired. That's a lot of typing there, you know.

Well, here's hoping blogger doesn't choke on it,

T.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Home again, home again....Jiggety jig...

Well, actually I got home on Sunday night, but this is the first time I've had a chance to catch my breath since I got home.

I had Monday off too, but spent the whole day doing all the bill paying/check cashing/ runaround that inevitably follows any vacation.

So, first things first:

Kat and Kelly, thank you both soooo much. If you ever need anyone to post for you, or wash your car, or make you some beef jerky, you just let me know.

Second:

Yes. I have a metric fuckton of pictures from the trip. I shot 403. I'm not going to bore you with all of them, but I do have quite a few in mind. I've got to process them down a bit tho, so they'll look nice on the page....

My son shot over 1000. No, I'm not putting all of them on here either, but there will be at least a couple.

So, for now I'll leave you.

Look for pix and a verrrrrryyyy looooooooong post in the near future.

T.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Is that a roll of nickels, or are you just glad to see me?

Hi, it's Kelly again. I've been reading over T's blog to see if there is anything I can riff on that might be of any interest whatsoever to his regular readers.

Let me just interject here real quick before continuing... I just noticed that he mentioned recently that a woman at his job was taking two weeks off for maternity leave. Just WTF she hopes to accomplish in two weeks is beyond me. Silly woman. Either she's got a dozen kids at home and maternity leave is no big whoop to her, or this is her first, and she thinks two weeks is all you need to give birth, heal your hoo-hoo and bond with your baby.

TJ has mentioned that he likes to play the games of chance once in a while over at the PiƱon. I think I've gambled there once or twice. Mainly, though, my gambling is restricted to the 10-20 minutes spent waiting for a table at the cafe inside the Carson Valley Inn, the casino down here in G-ville. The hostess gives you a drink coaster-lookin' thingie that flashes and vibrates when your table is ready, and while ya wait, ya gamble. Duh.

My game of choice is nickel video poker. Yeah, big frickin' spender, me. But don't laugh, I've actually won upwards of $17 or so recently on a lowly nickel machine. When you're playing nickels, you can afford to take the crazy bets. I'm a sucker for drawing to an inside straight. If I was playing a dollar machine, I'd play the straight and narrow, lose small and win small.

I did catch some kind of fever once, at the Horizon Casino in South Lake Tahoe, straight up the mountain from me. I was killing time before a movie, and played some nickel slots. Won a sizable amount, maybe $20 or so. Moved up to quarter slots. When I'm not piddling around with video poker, I like to play the old-school Double Diamond slot machines.



No fuckin' around, no cutesy graphics, no options to slip in 45 coins... you just plug in your two quarters, spin the reels, and you either win or lose. Mostly lose. But this one time, after winning on nickels and stepping up to the quarters... I won. About $75. Time to step it up to dollar machines. Lo and behold... I get up to about $220.

Okay, all casino floors have this quiet little area, away from the hubbub. It's the "high stakes" slots. It's basically where all the $5 and over slots are. The carpets are a bit cleaner, the ashtrays are emptied a little more regularly, and the servers' smiles are a little bigger, if not exactly more genuine.

I was hyped and breathless when I stepped into this sanctuary, believing that the gods were on my side that day, that I could do no wrong. I sat down and started feeding $20 bills into machine after machine. I won NOTHING, not a THING, not even spinning a single cherry for an easy two-fer, before the money was gone. I am ashamed to admit, I was so sure that I had been horribly wronged, that something had gone so awry, that I took out an extra $20 from a nearby ATM to try to set things right. Needless to say, I missed my movie, and felt pretty sick to my stomach.

So I guess for about an hour there, I felt the high and low of a gambling addict, and it scared me. I have an addictive personality in the first place, and I can totally see the attraction. But, from now on, I think I'll reserve my addictions for more affordable pursuits... coffee, cigarettes, Jim Beam. And the occasional rush of drawing to an inside straight... when there's a whopping five nickels at stake.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Greetings from Northern Nevada



Hi, it's Kelly again. Just wanted to post a pic of beautiful Northern Nevada taken today. Hopefully it will make TJ homesick if he's checking this thing remotely.

This is Washoe Lake, off of Hwy 395, between Carson City and Reno. Those are the Sierra mountains in the background. My son and I took a side trip here today to dip our toes in the lake and skip some rocks.

The weather's sublime, T! I don't think we even made it out of the 60s today. A complete 180 from some of the hellacious summer days we had recently.

So... just showin' some blog love. Meanwhile, I've ignored my own blog for days now...

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Hidee Ho Neighbors!!

This is your friendly ...er...friend, Kat!
I did it! I remembered to post!
I don't know that I really have anything interesting to say. Pretty sad, really.
Ah well, C'est la vie, no?

You know, I really love Disneyland. It really is the most Magical Place on earth! I've never been to Disney World, and quite frankly, have no desire to go, either. There's nothing quite like the Original!! I haven't been in YEARS and I really miss it. Soonly, I would like to take the B-man there some day. He's never been. When we still lived in San Diego, he wasn't more than a tater tot, so he wouldn't really have gotten much out of it. I would have, though! Love that D-land.

Anywho... seriously, I think that's about all I have for tonight. Maybe more later!!



I hope he brings me some Tinkerbell shit....
:p

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Grad Night '85: Remembering D-Land

Hi, it's Kelly again. I'm bound and determined to make you all bored with me, and begging for T's return.

Hope he's having a great time at D-Land. I've only been two or three times in my life.

Back in '85, there was Grad Nite. I don't know if they still do that, but back then, it was a yearly event that took place sometime during the last couple of weeks of school. High school seniors pile onto a bus and drive all night (in our case, about 8 hours, from Stockton, Calif.), arrive sometime around midnight, and have run of the park with other seniors from all over the West until the sun comes up.

I remember being drunk and slightly depressed. The girls all had to wear dresses, and the boys all had to wear at least "business casual." I don't even remember who all was in my little clique, but I remember hooking up with some random seniors from another school, and half-heartedly groping with one of them on the Space Mountain ride.

There were actually some pretty cool bands playing all over the park that night, and I think that's how my little group fell apart and went their separate ways until we met up again on the bus ride home. Half of us insisted on seeing the punk band X, but everyone else wanted to see DeBarge playing on the other side of the park. After X, we wandered over and watched Animotion play for a while, then I think we rode the Pirates ride about eight times in a row, same with the Haunted House.

I almost got in a fist-fight with some goober in a white prom-like tux. I don't quite remember how I was sustaining my slightly drunken stupor during this trip, someone must've had booze on them... but it aggravated my slightly depressed state, and at one point I angrily swept a cup cherry soda off of a table where we were sitting, and drenched the innocent bystander's white pant-leg with sugary redness. If I had been him, I would've bitch-slapped me, but cooler heads prevailed, and I got off with a profuse apology.

I also remember not sleeping on the bus ride home, because I have a tendency to snore a bit, and there's nothing more frightening to a high school girl than everyone finding out that you snore.

So that was my most memorable trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. A haze of teen angst and jadedness. I hope to return someday, to experience it "for reals," hopefully with my children in tow, and before they're old enough to cop that "too cool for school" attitude. I hear it's actually a pretty fun place.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Shhhhhh....

Whoot! I feel like I'm rifling around in someone else's house on the sly. And don't worry T, I'm not actually rifling around in your house while you're away.

My name's Kelly, and I live somewhat near our beloved T.J. separated only by about 20 or so miles of high-desert highway and a plethora of box stores and chain restaurants.

That said, I've never met the man in person, although I understand he has a well-conditioned ponytail, so every time I'm in town and spot a ponytail, I think to myself, "Hmmmm, maybe..." I swear I spotted him once at Del Taco, I was in the drive-thru, and he was one of those unfortunate souls who chose a table near the windows facing the drive-thru traffic. But the sun was bright that afternoon, so it may have just been wishful thinking.

I used to be a rather consistent blogger, over at www.letterstojake.blogspot.com, but I've been rather spotty lately, as I am hugely, grossly, indecently pregnant with my second child, and I've been working a lot, and I've developed a love-hate relationship with my computer. Long on hate, short on the loving part. But this is like having a fresh kitty box to scratch around in, and I'm enjoying it!

Thanks for leaving the key under the mat for me, T! I'll make sure to clean up after myself and bring in the newspaper. Later!

Heigh ho, Heigh ho it's off to well....not work we go...

But rather Disneyland.

That's right boys and girls it's finally here. It's 6:40 am local as I write this, and I'm just waiting for Pops to get is ass out of the shower then we're outta here.

This first day sees us driving from Carson City to Grover Beach, where my son lives. We're staying at my ex's house, and then tomorrow morning, we're up at the buttcrack of dawn, and in the park by 11 or so.

Summer and my mom will arrive by plane/shuttle, and then the fun will begin in earnest.

Yeah, and work already tried to call me in yesterday. What the fuck, over? For the first time since I started there, I actually found the strength to say no.

Ok....time to dash.

Guest bloggers, you're up!!!!!

T.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

No, I haven't forgotten how to type....

Smartasses.

I have been very busy tho. There's all that packing to do...(wait i havent packed yet).

Really, I have no excuse, other than my schedule at work has been very wonky lately. You see, I'm not the only person taking time off this month. One of our people left on the 3rd for a month in London (bitch) another is taking 2 weeks off for maternity leave, and right in the middle of all that is MY time off.

Plus, we lost a very senior operator/supervisor. She and hubby moved to OK on the 1st of Sept.




Ok, so here's the plan. Monday morning, I'm outta here. I may have time for a post before we head out, but I may not. I'll try to get at least one more in before I go, but no promises.

Come Monday afternoon, or Tuesday, whichever you're feeling, those of you with posting rights can feel free to drop in and make yourselves known.

Oh, I plan on taking LOTS of photos. This comes not only as a result of being a 'serious amateur' photographer (3 grand in my camera bag) but also because of Best Buy.

You see, they had an SD card on sale, and I figured I'd need one, because the 128 meg card I had would only hold 144 photos. Well, the one on sale was 2.0 gigs, and it was only 44 bucks.

I put the card in expecting a significant jump, but when I saw the number of photos I have available, I nearly soiled myself.

2448.

You read that right...two-thousand-four-hundred-forty-eight. In a package about the size of your average postage stamp.

Geez, ain't technology great?

Toodles,

T.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

I predict an early winter....

Well, at least in my neck of the woods. I have no empirical evidence; no hard numbers: just my instinct. I know that I've mentioned the unique weather/climate pattern that I live in.

In fact, I've prolly rambled on about it too much on this blog.

Despite the nasty heatwave:

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Yes, that's 1:00 AM thank you....

I heard the geese a couple of nights ago. Now, if you don't live on a migratory pattern, that may not mean much to you, but if you do, you can judge the seasons by when the birds start flying.....

So, yeah....we're gonna get fucking hammered. Well, I hope we wont....



Has anyone been watching preseason football? I've seen a bit here and there, and am surprised to find my Raiders 4-0. I hate that Dallas beat the '49ers.

Well, truth be told, I hate just about everything Dallas, as far as football in concerned.



So, yeah...not much else. Although I did run across an antique electronic device.

I've taken some pictures of it, and I'll post em....provided I can make all of it work out.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Well, lets see where this goes....

The party was fun, and I ate waaaay too much. I was so full that I came home and took a nap.

I love being an adult and getting to schedule my own naps. Some days, it's all that gets me through. Of course, not having to take a nap makes the entire nap thing more acceptable.

Anyhoo...on to the photos, I hope.

Isn't she a doll:



Here's another shot of the little princess:



Instead of making a traditional cake, my sister made cupcakes:



And another:



Of course eating the cake is where the fun is:



Heh:



Oh, and have I mentioned lately how much I love the fact that my sister works at Starbucks? Do you know how long it's been since I've had to buy coffee? Here's the latest installment (and doesnt include the 2 lbs we already had):



Well, it looks like the damn site is going to cooperate. Don't blame me for not posting, blame Blogger. This time it's not my fault, I swear.

Time for a large steaming mug of wake up, so have fun you crazy kids.

T.

Blogger has been pissing me off lately....

I've tried three (3) times to post some photos recently. Everytime, blogger has puked on it.

I'm going to try again in the morning....or more accurately, when I wake up. If Blogger does another nosedive, I'm going to host them over at ibucket, so expect some monster images.....

T.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

I've written you a little Haiku

Lines flashing on hold.
Stupidity rules the roost
Must be Saturday.


I don't know if I've told you all this or not, but Saturday is usually the burning bag of dog shit day at work. It never fails. The call count goes through the roof, and sadly, the smarts drop through the floor.

For instance, I had to tell 2 people that today was Saturday. I mean, I'm pretty relaxed about schedules, rules, and the like, but for fuck's sake, how do you not know what fucking day it is?




In other news, tomorrow/today is Ava's 1st birthday. What a rush. I can remember the day she was born very clearly. It sounds cliched to say, but it seems like yesterday. Time really does fly, doesn't it?

Happily I have the day off, and Pops and I will be attending the party. It should be a hoot, and I'll try and get some photos to pop on here.

Well, being as tired as I am, that's all I'm giving you tonight. Look for me tomorrow (Sunday).

Buenos con queso,

T.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Drunk by noon....

That was my goal for yesterday, and I was up to the task. I can't remember the last time I had a Thursday off, and strangely enough, both Pops and I had paychecks to cash.

I got paid on Wednesday, and his SS check got here on the same day. I can't remember the last time that happened either.

I guess I should mention that the Pinon Plaza (my preferred casino hangout for those of you that dont know) was recently sold to a new company. As with any takeover there have been some changes. One of their big things is a conversion to ticket in/ticket out machines.

If you don't live in Nevada, this prolly means nothing to you, so let me elaborate. Usually when you hit the cash/credit button, the air is filled with a metallic clanking sound as your machine spits out a seemingly endless stream of what ever coin your machine uses. The ticket ones, however, print, well tickets.

There is a bar code, and a dollar amount on the ticket. You take the ticket to the change counter, and viola, they hand you your money. Soon to come are the atm-like devices that you just plug your ticket into, and it spits out your cash.

You may wonder why I'm telling you all this, and you're right to wonder. The problem with the conversion is that some of the machines (read the ones that pops and I always play) are not compatible with the new ticket technology. Imagine our chagrin when we arrived yesterday to find that our entire bank of machines (6 total) had been removed.

Not happy barely begins to describe my state of mind at this discovery. We cashed our checks, wondering what we were going to do. Happily, I found a bank of nickle machines with our prefered game (triple trouble keno if you must know) and we started playing.

Pops hit several 4 spots, and I hit a 5 ($40.00) and all the playing was puncuated by the timely arrival of the cocktail waitress. You have to love an industry that tries to get you drunk. Of course, there's an ultierior motive: drunk people tend to have lower inhibitions, and are thus more likely to spend more money than they planned.

Not so us. We walked out winners, and that's all good.

It's been a while since I've posted any photos, but I have a few in the camera that I'm getting ready to show you.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The Crissy Procedure...

The first time I heard that phrase, it was used in humorous fashion by Tammy.

I'm sure you remember Tammy. I've told you a lot about her. Well, Tammy had a friend named Chrissy. She was a wonderful person, full of life, full of love. I only met her a few times, but I liked her immensely.

She had a condition though. I don't know what it was called, but it involved the level of iron in her blood. Apparently, her blood didn't regulate itself correctly, and the iron would accumulate to deadly levels if not taken care of.

Just recently, she was trying a new drug. An experimental one. I don't have all the details, but the upshot is this:

On July 10th of this year, Tammy received news that Chrissy was in the hospital, and not doing very well. Of course she called to talk to her. They've known each other forever.

Well, while Tammy was on hold ( a very lengthy one) Chrissy passed away.

I was in tears as Tammy related this tale of woe to me on Sunday last. In fact I'm tearing up now as I type this.

Please join with me in praying for, and wishing good thoughts for Tammy, Chrissy's mother, and all those whose lives she touched.

I didn't know her as well as some, but I'll miss her forever.

T.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Pete's Liver Store.

Gah...I hate working Saturdays, and today was no exception. We had someone call in sick, so we were a person short most of the day, and tho it wasn't a typical busy as fuck Saturday, we could really have used the 3rd person.

I was doing some thinking today, inspired mostly by some of the rude and stupid people that I have to deal with on a daily basis, and I finally decided to codify a few things.

There are things that happen with alarming frequency, and I've decided to bitch about them here.

Because I can.

They are in no particular order, just how they came to me as I was jotting them down.

I call them:

The Rules



1. When calling to request a phone/fax number, have a piece of paper and a working writing implement of some kind handy. Don't ask me for a number, then ask me to hold on while you get a pen. Get a fucking pen first!!

2 If you are calling a business you know to be closed to leave a message for them to get during business hours, or to have an on call doctor/nurse call you back, know your own FUCKING phone number. And don't use the excuse "heh...I never call myself." Yeah, I don't call my house much either, but I know my fucking number.

3. Do not talk over the person trying to take the message. I know what you are trying to tell me is important, and I promise, if you just let me get some basic information out of the way, I'll take down anything you have to say, trivial as it may be.

4

LISTEN

to me. If I ask for your name, do not, I repeat, do not tell me the patients name. I'll get to that, but whoever I get a hold of for you is going to want to know who to ask for.

5. When you are asked for a contact number, it is NOT necessary for you to tell me if it is your home number, your mobile number, or your brother's best friend's cousin's pager number. I don't give a fuck. Just give me the bloody number.

6 If you have AAA and find yourself in a situation where you need assistance, whether it be for a tow, a jumpstart, or a tire change call AAA. That's why you pay them 49 bucks a year.

7 When I tell you that I don't know anything about a company's policies, practices, or rental properties, please do not take that as an invitation to go ahead and ask a question about same. I really don't know.

8. Don't be rude. I honestly don't care how upset you are at the company or it's employees. I don't work for them, and your yelling at me only decreases what little sympathy I may have for you, and makes it less likely that I'll go the extra mile to try and get your issue resolved.

9. When you ask who's on call for an office and I tell you do not, at that point, ask me if I can get ahold of soandso. I can't. I have to get the person on call. That's what on call fucking means. Deal with it.

10. Make a choice, why don't you. If you call and get me, and I say "well the office is closed, I can fax a message over for them, or you can call back during business hours" don't say "ok" as your response. Give me something to work with.


Ok....That's all I have from today, but I'm sure that there will be more. I'm going to show my notes to the other operators and see if they have anything to add.

In other news, I talked to Tammy today, and I got some very sad news. I'm still trying to process it so it will be a bit before I post about it. Besides, it deserves a post all it's own.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the title of this post is directly related to Rule # 4. We dispatched a tow today, and the driver called back to say that he did not know where 'Pete's Liver Store' was. We called to get clarification of the location, and discovered it to be in front of 'Pete's Liquor Store.'

Now, I don't know if it was the roadside service company, the driver, or my operator that got that wrong, but it all amounts to the same.

Anyhoozle, hope you all had a good Sunday.

T.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Sigh....

Well, the Pinon was the winner today. I was hoping to have a great drunken exposition for you all, but sadly, no.

I managed to get a few beers, and had a bit of fun, but neither Pops nor I could hit a single ticket today.

No love, no love at all.

Pops did make an apple cobbler tho. I haven't had any yet, but it smells divine. We bought some vanilla ice cream to go with it, and I'm happy to say that as a guy, I'm totally secure with the fact that tonight's dinner (which will be eaten at a very late hour) will be cobbler ala mode.

Yes, that's right. I'm having cobbler for dinner. You have a problem with that, you can take it up with my agent.

He's in Cabo right now, trying to get me a good price on a summer home, so it may be a bit tough to reach him. If you find him, please ask him to return my Rolex. He said he needed it to impress the locals, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's using it to get laid.

Anyhoozle, I just thought I'd update, even if it's not the drunken diatribe I was hoping to roll out for you.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Sometimes I hate being me....

Now, don't read anything dark or mysterious into that. I'm not having a crisis of self or anything. I'm not eating a bowl of valium for breakfast, or running my car in a garage.

I'm just sick of being reliable, efficent, and a good worker.

In case you're wondering where this is going, I'll go ahead and clue you in. Today is supposed to be my day off. However, the boss mentioned in a previous post wanted to get an earlier start on the day so she called me.

Last night.

While I was at work and had to take the call.

She asked me to work a short shift for her. 8:00 am to 12:30. Now, it's all ot (as is any day one of us gets called in) but it's also pretty fucking early for me, considering I got home at 11 fucking 30 last night.

It's also payday, and I plan on getting a bit sloppy later, so look for a drunken rant.

FUCK!!!!!

Time to get ready for work

T.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

A quiet Sunday evening....

Well, actually, compared to past Sundays, tonight was fairly busy. And my goodness the tow calls.

Tho, I have to admit that one of those tow calls today was me. Imagine it if you will:

My boss is going out of town on Tuesday. In a fit of altruism, I have offered to house sit for her. I went out there today to get shown around, get a key, and just generally hang out for a bit. All the way, everything was going fine.

Pops had dropped a $20 on me and told me to get some In and Out. Well, I'm creeping forward in the drive through, and I stall my car. No biggie, right?

Well, after getting pushed out to the parking lot, and fiddling with my cables for awhile, D (sis's so) came out with cables, and we tried to jumpstart it. No go. I'm trying to get home, cause I have to shower for work, the food's sitting in the car, and I've got 11 bucks in my pocket. I send D home with the food (mine too cause im not hungry now) and call work. C answers, and we decide which tow company to call.

I tell her my sob story, and about 10 mins later I get a call.

'You know this is gonna cost you, right?'

'Yeah.'

'So what's goin' on?'

I drop the story on him and he says he's on his way. He drives all the way out (far end of town from like....anywhere in town) and pulls up in front of my car. He gets out, we pop the hood. He hooks up the battery, and the car fires. RIGHT UP!!!!. I was mad, but I was glad too. We dedide that the postive cable needs some work, and I set off for home.

I made it home, park, shut the motor down. Decide to make sure....yeah...she's dead again. I call sis and tell her, and D comes over with the part that we need to fix the cable (new terminal end). Takes like 15-20 mins, and now she's staring again.

Best part is, J didn't charge me for the service call, so the grand total cost (less labor) for the day?

$0.75. Yeah, that's right, seventy-five cents. Well, I'm guessing plus tax, but I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure.

Ok....I'm typed out for now.

T.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Foreign correspondants...

Well, I've had a couple takers.

Kat, whom some of you may know, and K, another of my loyal fans have offered to help out in my time of need.

Or my vacation, whatever you want to call it. I'm easy tho. If you (any of you) want to post something here, just ask.


I can see the Universe in a grain of sand



A lot of stuff has been going on lately. Some is work related, some not so much. My operations manager at work (my direct supervisor) has put in her notice. She and her husband have decided to move to Carter OK.

Not sure what exactly this will mean for the work situation, but it will prolly mean the hiring of at least one new operator.

We've got the big push for Dland going. The trip itself is paid off, and now we're just saving for spending cash/travel expenses. It's such a lean time. I'm always working (who isnt tho right) and yet I never have a dime to spend. It's great.

Hopefully my graveyards are all done. We hired an operator (another guy) and he actually wants graveyards. Go figure. I sure hope he works out. He's picked up the process fairly quickly, so I have high hopes, but on the other hand there is a pretty big turnover at my company.

Well, it's 9:00 am and I need to start some laundry.

Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes,

T.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

I've been a baaaaad boy...

I know.

I haven't posted in a while. A long while, actually. Now, I can hear you all. Everyone of you. 'it's not that hard to blog...'

My only defense?

I've worked 3 graveyard shifts in the last 2 weeks, and have yet another wonderful night of fun to look forward to. That, combined with a couple paychecks (mine and popss), shopping, and a couple of very profitable trips to the casino (like 200 bucks up), has made me either unwilling (at work) or unable (passed out).

Today, for instance, will make me have a 6 day week. I mean, it's pure ot, so it's all good, but gawd am I tired.




If you gave me a million years to ponder it...



I would never have guessed that true romance and Detroit would ever go together.

For those of you that don't know, that's a quote from, suprisingly enough, True Romance. I don't know if any of you have seen this or not, but wow. I have to say, I have only recently viewed this treasure for the first time.

Yes, that's right. Me, Mr-Died-In-The-Wool-If-It's-Quention-I-Have-To-See-It. I realize now, the error of my ways. There are some absolutely stellar performances in here.

The whole Dennis Hopper/Christopher Walken scene. Man. That shit is gold. Gary Oldman? Freaky fucker man, he deserved to die. Christian Slater. Say what you will about him, but he's a fuckin' great actor. Patricia Arquette is perfect.

I wish Samuel Adams hadn't died so soon tho, I really like watching him act.




So, I've been reading, if not always commenting all of you, my loyal readers. What, both of you? I still have received no offers to guest blog. I don't know why. It's not like a high pressure job.

Hell, you don't even have to actually post. Just offer. Well, my neck is killing me, and I have yet to eat, so I bid you a fond adieu.

I bid thee goodnight all,

T.

ps i have read this noted the typos and in a bid to be more relaxed have left them in their entirety thank you for playing

Thursday, July 13, 2006

A pocketful of sorrow...

I know we've discussed this before, but I just want to go on record as saying that sometimes, you just need to cry. It's not always easy for me, though. I've had a lot of musical barriers at times, and it's the songs that can make me cry more than anything.

This last time, however, things were much easier. I felt like it was time for a good water show, so I went into my 'monday blues' play list, and grabbed a ton of pain. Then, I even went online and bought a couple of all timers.

Separate Lives by Phil Collins and Marilyn Madison. This one is on the White Nights soundtrack. If you've ever had your heart broken, you should listen to this one.

I also bought The Longest Time by Billy Joel. Say what you want about him, but I love his music. He's got one of those voices that just, I don't know, kills me.


And her voice rings in his ears, like the music of the Spheres



Well, I survived my first two graveyard shifts. I have one more for sure, and maybe 2. Yeeps....I remember graveyards. I don't like graveyards. Well, I like graveyards, I just don't like working the graveyard shift.

We've pretty much paid for the Dland trip, and are now on to spending cash. I'm so excited to see my kids. I just hope I can stay alive until Sept. It's going to be close, though.

In my abscense, I'm again going to ask for some assistance with posting. I'll be blacked out from Sept 12-16 at least. I'd like someone(s) to, if the mood takes you, drop a blog on my spot while I'm gone.

If this sounds like something you might like to do, shoot me a tell, or if you have my number, text me.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play a little everquest.

Buenos con queso,

T.


ps suse you are still capable of posting on my site feel free to do so at any time

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Happy Blogaversery to Me

That's right, exactly 2 yrs ago I started this mess. I've been through a lot in the days since I first posted, and I thank you for going through it with me.

I wish I had something profound to post, but I'm still waking up (just started the coffee) and my brain is not ready to engage yet.

I do have a couple pictures to show you tho.

Oooooooh:




Aaaaaaah:




Sparklers are fun:




And, finally, as my homage to Sprizee, here is the first in a series I like to call my 'Pissycam' series:



So, that's it for now, but I may post again later. After going through my previous posts, I realized that I never posted the 'found object' photos from my nature walk a couple weeks ago. That kinda pisses me off, really. I'll try and get my shit together enough to post them.

T.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Fire season is upon us again....

I really need to get my digital SLR so that I can get better photos. These just don't do justice to the actual event.










I've also been keeping some odd hours as we lost another operator at work. She just walked out the other night. I swear. Due to that, I've now been trained as a back up operator for the shift I lovingly call 3rd watch. Or graveyard, if you prefer. I had 2 nights of training (there's not really much to add to what I know just a couple reports to run) where I worked from 4:30-1:00 am, and tonight, I get to work from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am.

I'm psyched let me tell you. Of course, afterwards we still have breakfast at sis's so I'm sure by the time I get done with that I'll be a quivering pile of uselessness. She actually just called me, and I'm talking to her as I blog. She's at Wal-Mart buying business cards.

I'm hoping to be able to get some sleep later to make it through the shift. Well, we shall see.

Not alot else has been going on. There's the press for Dland, so I haven't had any 'fun money.' We've got the trip paid for, and now we're just saving spending money. If any of you are going to be in the L.A./Anaheim area during September, drop a line, and we'll hang out.

This means you, Sandra.

Also, I have a new mbl number, so if any of you want it let me know.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

World War II is my favorite war....

Now, don't get me wrong. I know war is hell, and until yesterday, I would have called somone insane if they said that they had a 'favorite war.' I mean war is agression. War is death and conflict. War is bad for many reasons. Not only the cost in human life, human culture, and humanity itself.

War causes shortages and rationing. Gas, rubber, metals. All of these have been rationed. For instance, the years 1941, 1942, and 1943 saw a need for nickel that made is necessary to reduce the content of the metal in the American coin of the same name. Copper was also needed for the war effort, so pennies suffered a change as well.

This rationing have given us some rather collectible coins though:

The 'silver nickel':


And the steel penny:



In 1943 there was also a decree from the government of the United States reducing the amount of fabric that could be used to make women's bathing suits, which resulted in Louis Reard making a two piece suit 3 years later. He named it after the islands where the U.S. was testing atomic bombs, and the rest is history.

So, while I can't really condone war, I do like the bikini.....

Later,

T.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Father's Day Redux

Ok....due to blogger being as fickle as a woman, this post (as well as the 1st fathers day post) is being logged on Monday instead of Sunday.

After golf, we dropped D back off at home, and I came home and took a much needed shower. Needless to say, I was quite tired. I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I was awake at 6:00 am on Sunday.

And I was not happy about it. Couple that with the excercise, the sun, and the beer, and you can imagine how bushed I was. The shower helped with that and it felt good to wash the day off.

Dinner involved a bbq at D and Sis's house. Top sirloin, oven baked potato wedges, and grilled zuchinni. It was sooooooo good. I also watched Bruce Almighty while I was there, and after the movie, we had dessert. My neice (who has become quite the little baker) made a German chocolate cake, and we also had some vanilla ice cream to go with it.

By the time I got home, I could do little but crawl into bed and crash. It was a good day all around, but by the time I flopped down to sleep, I felt like I had been beaten up.

I woke up at 6:00 again this morning, and am still unhappy about it. I think I'll have to stay up later tonight and see if I can't get a later wake up call.

Oh, yeah. I had planned to flood the posts with photos from the day, but was saddened to find out that my batteries were dead in the digital. That'll teach me. I checked after we got to the course, and well...what can I say? I'm an idiot.

Ok...off to do some surfing.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Father's Day

Where to start.....

Well, being a Sunday, we of course had breakfast at Sis's place. The waffles were very good today. As was the bacon and the ham. I stuffed myself like a Thanksgiving turkey.

My sister gave me a pound of excellent designer starbucks coffee, and my mom a card to go along with the 3 month NetFlix subscription that she got me. I think I forgot to mention that she did that for me. It's pretty cool so far. In fact, I'm watching The Bourne Identity even as we speak.

After breakfast, Pops, D (sis's S.O.) and I went and played 18 holes of golf.

I expected this to be a fiasco, but was pleasantly surprised. I haven't played in months, and was prepared to have a horrible day of it. Imagine my amazement, therefore, when I shot a 56 on the front 9 (good for me) and actually beat Pops for the first time ever.

We made the turn, and tho I didn't shoot quite as well (58), I was amazed to par the first par 3 on that side. If I were to have an arch enemy, that hole would be it. My usual procedure on that hole is to throw a ball into the water from the tee, and take my penalty and a drop. Today, however, I nearly birdied it.

To quote Maxwell Smart, I missed it by that much.

I'll take the par tho.

I'm writing this in a bit of a hurry as we still have a bbq to go to at sis's. And I'm already knackered, so I'll end for now.

Look for more later.....

T.

P.S. the above was supposed to have been posted on sunday but blogger crashed.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Boy trouble....

That sounds bad, doesn't it?.

Just to clear things up, I'm not having boy trouble, but I seem to be fielding a lot of 'what do guys think' questions lately.

I do my best, but sometimes it's hard to make you ladies believe that guys have no hidden agenda. Most of us don't even have the concentration skills to think about more than one thing at a time, let alone try to build layers into our daily conversation.

Hell, half the time we have trouble stringing coherent sentances together.




Mosquito update:

Well, I took a little nature walk the other day. I strolled over to the holding pond:



Do you see how fucking huge that thing is? It's a mosquito generator if ever I've seen one. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, it grows giant fucking bugs:



Now, a couple other images from my walk.

Snake Hill



An unnamed creek:



Don't fence me in:



A scary tree:



Ok....that's all I'm going to post now, I'm scared that blogger will choke on it. While I was walking, I was also drawn to various 'found objects.' Look for the floaters, a lens, and a curious pink scroll to follow....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Semper Fi, baby!!

This was on one of my EQ boards today.

I guess you really can take a knife to a gun fight.

Semper Fi.

Later,

T.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Ok....it's a little late....

but here are some Memorial Day photos.



and also cute




Mmmmm....



Thirsty?



A shot of me:



Oh, and just so you know, winter had one last hurrah....this is from the same weekend as the barbeque...and yes, it snowed.




Take cool,

T.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

It's going to be a good year for mosquitos.

Or is that a bad year?

Well, either way, I've already gotten 4 confirmed kills this season. There are 2 others that I prolly got, but who really knows. I'm happy to report that I've remained unbitten so far.

I'm not sure where they're coming from to be honest. I think I've told you that I live in a mountain desert. We did have a wet winter tho, and there's this new what, holding pond? I don't know, but it's part of the new freeway project.

I just had an epiphany. It's the fucking huge pond over there. Motha' Fucka'. I'd like to know how they're getting through the screens tho.




Yeah, yeah....I took a ton of photos on Memorial Day. There's a huge folder of art I have to sort through so keep your pants on.

I've got my niece, a couple vurry vurry cute puppy photos. Couple of arty shots as well, and one pretty much garanteed to offend someone.

Anyhoo....bit late, and my eyes are killing me....all dry and crap....I'm dozing off, so I'm off.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Gar.....

As usual, Saturday was a festering hellhole. I was sooooo whipped by the time I got home. It prolly wouldn't have been so bad, but I was running on my second fell-into-bed-around-4-am nights, and I was a shredded mess when I got home.

I've got a couple pix from Sunday breakfast, so look for those and bbq pics tomorrow.



I tried to post that before, but it was a miserable failure. That's in L's living room.

Cool, huh?




In other news, I'm worried about my friend Kat. All of a sudden, her site is lost. Kitty, are you ok?

Let me know what happened....You have my email, yes?




An open question to the masses: What is worse, our monsters from childhood, or the ones we make for ourselves with age?

Buenos con queso,

T.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

The soup's the thing....

I love Top Ramen. I don't eat it every day or anything, but for when I do, it's the best shit evah.

I'm not just your 'open the package and dump it in the pan guy either....

First, you have to have something to put in it, like some teriaki pork or something. Then you have to break the noodles in to 4 equal sized pieces.

After the noodles cook and you've drained off most of the water, add the spice packet, some teriaki sauce, and the meat group, and you have the final result.




In other news, even as I was blogging the above, I received an invite to a bbq on Memorial Day, so look for some more pics then.

Until then, these will have to tide you over.

Shakespeare once said that "a cloud is sometimes dragonish." It's one of my fave quotes from him.

Something about the domino quality of the sign spoke to me.

And here's a storm rolling in.

Well, I can see it's time for the work prep to start....shower and all that crap. Have a good one folks.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Kathy Griffin cracks my shit up.....

I don't know if any of you know who she is, but she is so fucking funny...

I nearly piss myself every time I see her. Drop by here, and vote....a couple times.

I've got some photos, but I know better than to try and link them right now, so I'm going to do that in the morning.

Seems like everytime I try to get pix at the same time I download them, something goes wrong and it's 2 or 3 posts anyhow.

Look for snappy goodness some time around 9 ap pst.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

I punched a totally innocent Hungarian....

It's Saturday, and my Friday.

I can't tell you how much I need the time off. Of course, I'll be just about as busy as if I was working. I've got breakfast tomorrow, and then on Monday, I have another shooting excursion with C.

I don't know if you remember me talking about trying to get her a portfolio together, but that's what it's about. She wants some 'formal dress shots' to round out the book, so there you go.

I'll carry my dig, and see if I can snap some stuff for y'all as well.

Wish I had more excitement, but not really much going on here. Come on September. I can't wait for Dland this year.....

Ok....guess I'm off like a prom dress...

Buenos con queso,

T.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

A tough row to hoe...

I've been trying like mad to post some news for the last couple days, but just couldn't make it work.

I tried putting links to my fomer posts on Carmex in, and it didn't work.

I tried linking pictures, and again, failure.

This is my last attempt.

It saddens me to report that after years of faithful service, my beloved Carmex met it's end.




In other news, I was playing Grand Theft Auto III, and I found a funny billboard. I'm don't know what net access costs there, and I'm not sure I care....

And here's a glimpse of the 'let's-all-take-a-day-off-work-today-protest, Reno style. (note the sly 'im-not-taking-your-picture-but-dig-the-batmanesque-angle' goodness of it all....)

Karma...

arrrgh

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

This started out as a post...

Now I'm not sure what I want to say.

Ever have that happen?

Well, not a lot going on here, tho we did have a nice bit of rain yesterday. It's thunderstorm season. Sadly, however, I was at work and didn't get to see any lightning.

So, yeah.....I got nothin'

Later,

T.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Sometimes Blogger just pisses me off

I was going to post earlier in the week, and blogger wasn't cooperating.

Not a whole lot has been going on that I find really blogworthy, so forgive my long silence. At least the weather has gotten nice.

Finally.

We're in the midst of spring, but I'm not fooled. I know that there's a storm lurking. The weather man is telling lies about the high pressure, the jet stream, and all kinds of other stuff. I know the truth tho. I've lived here long enough to know.

Soon, in a week, or perhaps 2, we will get The Spring Storm. The storm will bring with it a rapid drop in temperature, snow, and the element of surprise. Against all meterological models, it will develop rapidly, drop it's lethal cargo, killing anything that the foolish have planted, and be gone.

That may sound a little cynical, but hey, I'm a cynic.

On another note, I did have another photo trip to L's house in Reno. The print film has yet to be developed, but enjoy some of the digitals. All are hand held, and most from the running car, so please forgive any blurriness. Or just have a couple beers, and it will straighten itself out.

I forget what casino this is:



Outside the Atlantis:




Random squiggles:



Guess where we ate:



Is there anything better on a hot day:



The loony bin...Aka Sierra Mental Institute:



Anything like a birthday suit:



Well that's fun for now. There are some other images but I need to flop/rotate them before I post.

I'm off to change the content of my iPod. The last autofill didn't do enough of the right songs. I feel a depression coming on (blame the full moon) and I want some weepy crap.

Buenos con queso,

T.

(edit: the titles don't match up, but i know you call all figger it out if i was an hmtl guru id fix it but alas)