Careful, Mr. Ricardo

You guys know where this is? It's Havana. As in Cuba. Where they make these:



That's a cigar, by the way. My Dad got it in Haiti and brought it back, and he gave it to me. I've been saving it, but I'm going to smoke that cigar tonight.

Why?

Because I passed the credit check and I got the job :-) The starting pay is a little low, but it's better than what I was making at the bar and it's full time, plus I have room to move up eventually, and I can qualify for benefits in a few months. Toni is going to keep working at our current gig, which will help tremendously. AND - San Diego put in another big order yesterday, which is great. I'm gonna enjoy today and be thankful to the God that takes care of us.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work. Have a cat :-)



407

I'm getting an early start on Monday's blog because I don't plan on spending much time online tomorrow. Plus I have pictures I'm excited to share and I didn't want to wait. So here we go....

On Friday after CR we went up to the Horseman Club to collect my fog machine and turn in my t-shirts, which I got to keep anyway. Toni and I hung out with some of our favorite co-workers and stayed until closing. We also got to see Paula Nelson (Willie Nelson's daughter - who, in my opinion, is quite a terrible, awful, untalented singer) and Ray Wylie Hubbard, who puts on a good show and might be crazy. I ended up breaking up three fights and dragging one guy out the door, and I wasn't even working. (I'm not complaining, though!) And - here's the best part - after six months of working there, I finally got to dance with my wife; last song, last night. Not bad. And I have to admit - I got a little misty when we walked out. As much as I griped about that job, I liked the people that I worked with, and I did have a lot of fun there. Here's few pics.....

Me, Heather (our favorite bartender) & Sue (our manager)


Me & Jim, the bathroom attendant. I'm gonna miss him. He'd whack drunks across the back of the knees with his cane if they got froggy.


Ray Wylie Hubbard - he had a cool steel guitar, but he's not playing here.


And my baby and I


On Saturday, it was cold outside. We cleaned the house a bit and lazed around the house. We watched "Sudden Impact", which is a pretty good Clint Eastwood movie. I think I owe Toni a chick flick, but I did rub her feet a little before we went to bed.

And, oh, man - was Sunday great.

The weather was perfect. Toni made pancakes for breakfast. We went to church, which was great. Afterwards I made a delicious chicken-fried steak lunch (We were needing a good, home-cooked meal)and then we went for a 10-mile bike ride. How cool is that, man? We rode the Flower Mound bike trails from our house to Sonic and back. We got to ride off the paved trail a time or two and got to use the unpaved trails a bit, which was fun. I haven't ridden those trails since I was about 14. We stuck to the paved trails on the way home. Here's the pics from our bike ride.

It sure was fun getting to go out and ride. I like my bike, and I sure made use of those lower gears going up the hills. I saw a lot of my wife ahead of me on this ride!


Another pic of me & my beautiful wife at Sonic


After we got back I napped on the couch for a bit before dinner. When I woke up, I went to the restroom and stepped on the cat, who was hiding in the dark hallway. That's when this happened:


I think there's enough hair to make another cat. I felt really bad about stepping on him, but he either needs to learn to not sleep in a dark hallway or to move out of the way. He seems to have recovered fully, though.

Anyway, that's about it, other that Oscar thought he'd bow up on a huge husky-looking dog in the alley, hopping sideways across the yard with his hackles raised and his tail all bottle-brushy. He has no idea, I don't think, but I shooed the dog away while he hid under Dad's Honda, so everything's fine. I'd talk about how we cleaned out the fridge and gave BunnyCat some turkey, but that's a sure sign I've run out of stuff to write about, other than to say one more time how awesome and fun and perfect-for-me my wife is, and how I love her a little more every day, and how she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm not writing that because she's mad or anything, either. Oh - and no news on the job, either.

See you guys tomorrow.

406

a late blog

The interview went really, really well. The manager and I clicked pretty well, sharing common interests & professional standards. I'm qualified for the job, and a good match for the organization. I've been tentatively offered the job, pending the background checks, which is where I think I'm screwed.

Oh, criminally I'm clean as a whistle. Unfortunately, they also require a credit check, and that's where I think I'm going to lose it. Damn, man.

Of course, the irony is that I'm trying to better my financial situation, and my financial situation may be keeping me from bettering it. I'll know in a few days, but tonight I'm not hopeful, or at least I'm not counting on this gig at all. I'm pushing forward at my current gig like I never got the interview in the first place. I hate waiting - that's the hardest part.

And today I got the news that the bar I was bouncing at is closing permanently, so I lose that income as well. I'm going to miss a few of my co-workers and a couple of customers to be sure, but I'm not too shaken up about not fighting drunks three nights a week. My luck was bound to run out eventually, and I'm glad I'm getting out before it did. I do have to go up there and get my smoke machine back, but that'll be the last time I go up there. They can mail me my check.

We had a great night with our daughter & got her home on time. We also shipped out six orders today, and nearly a grand in invoices. All our supplies arrived today as well, and we can get started on the next round. I think by the end of next week we can be fully caught up and start stocking inventory. We're going to work over the weekend too, I think.

I think that's it for today. Toni and watched the 1992 version of Dracula tonight. It was weird, and I didn't like tonight, either. I think it's bedtime.

402

Cast of Cats - Part II: Evil Gray

Brandon named him Evil Gray a long time ago. I'm not 100% sure if this is the same cat he was talking about, but I think it is. I don't think he's really 100% evil, though. Just mischievous. Harum-scarum, so to speak. He let me pet him once, but just the once. he still runs away when I get too close, but here he is, in all of his food-stealing glory. Ladies and Gentlemen: Evil Gray.


My first real picture of Evil Gray. I had to come around the far side of the house and sneak up on him to get it, though I think one I was creeping across the yard with no cover or concealment it wasn't much of a surprise and he was just trying to figure out what on earth I was doing. I'll bet I took 30 pictures to get this one. Thank goodness for digital photography, huh?


He really is a pretty cat.


Yesterday, Oscar discovered Evil Gray and gave pursuit.


EG and Oscar talking it over. I don't think there was any animosity between them; Oscar just wanted to play.


Anyway, that's him. He's far and above the most frequent visitor. Dread Pirate Roberts is running a close second with Flash Gordon, but the Dread Pirate Roberts is hard to get a good pic of. So far all I have is what looks like a collection of blurry surveillance photos, which is entertaining in it's own right but lacks the quality I want in a good cat pic.

Good Lord - this has become an odd hobby. At least it's cheaper than paintball, though. OK...... on to my blog for today :-)

Well, here I am again.

I dropped Mom off at the airport about an hour ago. Toni is at aerobics & Bible study. The house is silent, save for the cats galloping through it, and I again alone with my thoughts, which is often a scary place to be. Not today, though - I'm not thinking anything scary.

I got no complaints about yesterday. I got my meds refilled, took one, and promptly lost the bottle someplace in the house. But I got 'em, and I know they're here. Somewhere.

I got a lead on a new job yesterday and I followed up on it. I dropped off my resume and scored a "suit and tie" interview on Thursday. I feel pretty good about it; I think it could be a great financial move for us. I'll keep you guys posted.

I think I'm gonna make myself a spear next. I'll post pics once it's done, but don't hold your breath. I have yet to ascertain it's usefulness against zombie hordes, though it might have some practical applications for poking them in the head from a safe distance. I think I'd have to heat-treat the spearhead so that the metal is a little harder and holds its edge better, too. That would be fun to do.

Timone has started chasing me from the kitchen into the living room. I know he's playing, but he's so much faster than me, and he leaps up onto the couch and it only about a foot away from my face before I see him. If he were ever to decide to bite me I'd be in trouble. I'm not actually afraid of any my cats, but if I were he'd be the one I wouldn't turn my back on.

So, like I said, I dropped my Mom off at the airport. She's going to meet up with dad (in Florida) this afternoon and they're going to fly back to Haiti. She took a bit of food with her; some tortillas and some cheese. I originally thought that she was taking about three loaves of white bread (Wonder Bread, in fact) back to Haiti (make your own racial joke there) with her, but she left them in the freezer. When I saw the three loaves of frozen white Wonder bread in the freezer yesterday I felt a little sad at the thought of my Mom and Dad living in a place where if they wanted to eat Wonder bread they would have to freeze it for transport and bring it from home in Texas. I had a mental image of them sitting in Haiti (actually, it was more like them sitting in the corner on the floor and wrapped in tattered blankets for some reason) eating their Wonder bread, savoring it like they're in Oliver Twist or something. Anyway, that image made me feel sad, and the thought of them living in Haiti and eating goat (which my Mom refuses to eat, except in dire circumstances, apparently) with all of it's inconveniences and inherent risks causes me a reasonable amount of concern from time to time. I guess that's normal for a missionary "kid" (am I still allowed to think of myself that way?), especially when I'm not there in person to lend a hand if needed. I guess I wish my folks could enjoy all the things they like about Texas while they're in Haiti, but that's not the way things work.

And it turns out that they three loaves of frozen Wonder bread in the freezer were just ones they took out of the deep-freeze that was in the garage (they took it back to Haiti with 'em), so all of this pitiful bread angst was for nothing, though it makes me Wonder (ha ha ha) why my Mom freezes bread so much. I know it keeps it, and you can thaw it out and have soft bread, etc - but why go to all that trouble when you can just go to the store and buy more bread when you run out? Maybe it's a generational thing. Anyway, I hope they have a safe trip.

I think I might get a passport in the next few weeks or months. I've never had one, and I've only left the country three times, all to go to Mexico on mission trips. I wonder if they'll go this year, what with all the drug cartel violence in Juarez.

Toni and I have been eating more and more ice cream as of late. I can't (well....don't want to stop) stop eating it - it's so good. "It's an old man's vice - ice cream." (name that book, Nate.) I have to cut back, hough - I'm getting....uh....doughy. Even my Mom said so. She poked me in the belly when she said it, too, so tonight I'm gonna go for a bike ride if it doesn't rain. My current job is pretty sedentary.

I haven't worked at the bar in three weeks. I'm hoping I can get this new gig so I can just quit for good. I know the bar will understand.

Well, that's it for today. I'm gonna go eat a chocolate Zinger and get a Dr. Pepper.

Stop laughing.

401

Cast of Cats - Part I: Oscar

Today I'm gonna show some Oscar.

Oscar trying to get a better angle on a bird outside. Sing it with me - "SpiderCat, Spider Cat, does whatever a SpiderCat does....."


Oscar and Timone. Sometimes Oscar gets rowdy and chases the two brothers around, but he usually manages to make his amends with them later on. He usually cuddles up with Pumba for some reason (maybe because Pumba is fatter and fluffier, and therefore softer) but a few days ago he was napping with Timone.


And this is how Oscar deals with the stresses of his day. He takes is all very personally, I'm afraid. Oh, wait - no he doesn't.


OK - thank you for indulging me. Tomorrow I'll have another cat.

Has this gotten weird?

OK - and now for today's "real" blog.

Weather forecasts should come with a disclaimer. Perhaps, in large, bold letters, it should read "MAY NOT ACTUALLY HAPPEN" on the bottom of the screen. I got all psyched up for some rain today, man. Thunderstorms. Wind. Hail. Tornadoes. I was ready. A "rain event" was all but assured. Severe weather. The news was all abuzz. Today, it's sunnier, calmer & warmer than it was been for the past two days. It's beautiful outside, yet I'm somehow disappointed. Hah - weather forecasters. Why not just read tea leaves, people?

(I know it's hard to make a career out of speculation & educated guesses, though, so I'm not without sympathy.)

Mom is bustling & fluttering around the house getting ready to go back to Haiti. Toni is snoozing on the couch, but has advised me that she wants Taco Cabana in about 30 minutes. She doesn't ask me for much, so I shall merrily comply. I'm blogging before I get to work, as I didn't make a single test yesterday and I need to make up for it today.

- AND -

I have a new hobby. I've been photographing neighborhood cats (and my cats, too) when they drop by. Toni says it's funny to watch me creep across the yard with the camera up to my face trying to get a good picture. I suspect it is. I'll post a few of them here in a few minutes.

- AND -

I got this today:

Do you want to be right or do you want to have peace in your home? Do you want to have your way or do you want to have healthy relationships? Many times we can't have both. In all of our relationships especially in marriage, it is vital that we not keep score of offenses.

"A fool show his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult." ~ Proverbs 12:16

Oooooo - you Pathways folks - sound familiar?
Oooooo - you CR folks - sound familiar?

Man - this reminded me of how many times I've done this, and how many times it's been done to me. I love that verse - it keeps me in check in a big way.

OK - I'm gonna wrap this up so i can post pictures I took of some cats.

That might be the weirdest way to end a blog I've done in a while.

400

-> Ian dances with glee

It's oh - so quiet....shhhh, shhhhhhh

If you can name that song I'm proud of you - any takers? (My guess is Zach & Lindsay are the first to nail it)

So - it's Monday. Code Name Diamond is back at school, and the house is very quiet. Toni is at aerobics. Dad just left to drive their van (the got Uncle J's old utility van to take to Haiti with 'em) to Florida. Mom's frying an egg 'cause that's how she rolls. I am having my morning Dr. Pepper. The wind is blowing gustily outside and it's in the 60's. The sky is gray and cloudy and apparently the weather might go to hell in a handcart tomorrow, but I'm not worried about that.

This was somewhat of a rough weekend, recovery-wise. I haven't been blindsided (and triggered) in several weeks, if not several months. I didn't fall off the wagon; it was just unpleasant for a while. I opted to spend the time praying instead of trying to resist on my own, and letting God fight it for me worked again, as always. I'm OK today and I feel back on track, though I need to get my antidepressants refilled. When I run out I start going through withdrawal, with leaves me feeling dizzy and with ringing ears. Have you ever fainted? You know that feeling you get right before you lose consciousness? It's like that, but it's all the time and I don't actually fall down. It's weird, but I think I should be able to get them refilled today.

I'm blogging now because I don't want to start working without Toni, so I'm stalling. I think she's probably the only thing that makes the tedious work tolerable. I also need her to do some damage control today as well, and try to salvage a client that we burned when we were imploding (as a company) a few months ago.

Dad gave me two Cuban cigars this morning before he left, which I shall smoke very slowly in the backyard. (Ask me what happens if you smoke one quickly sometime.) I shouldn't worry about him driving to Florida by himself, but I do a little. I know it's not hard, I know he's probably the most competent person I know of to do it, and I know he knows what he's doing, but I'm still a little worried anyway. I guess that's normal to worry. And truth of the matter is he'll probably enjoy the solitude, enjoy the quiet, and enjoy being on the lookout for the opportunity to shoot somebody if they try to rob him. He'll like that.

Code Name Diamond.....

I'm getting really tired of typing that. I mean, really - is it any real secret what my daughter's real name is, or who she is, or where she lives? What difference will using her real name make? Her stepdad is a former Marine, and her mom has a ferocious mama-bear streak and can shoot almost as well as I can, her stepmom is an integral part of the zombie contingency plan and an excellent combat shooter (not to mention her experience working alongside convicted murderers in a jail) and I'm - well, you guys know me. I think she's reasonably protected, and I haven't even gotten to the tri-family uncle/grandfather contingency yet. Still, though...copy and paste is easy, and I might as well keep doing what I'm doing, if for no other reason to keep her Moms happy.

OK - Code Name Diamond made most excellent progress riding her bike this weekend. I think she's got 95% of it down as long as she has a lot of room to maneuver. We shot a bit of video of it, which is great, even if one ends in a somewhat bitter defeat (and life lesson) with her first real bike crash, which is a terrifying experience the first time you have it happen to you. She was doing GREAT up until then, and she ended up with just a scraped knee and some wounded pride. We're planning to get her a bigger bike as soon as we can. If you guys want to see the video shoot me an e-mail and I'll mail you the link to it :-)

Have you guys ever tried Hawaiian BBQ? We found a place in Lewisville that sells it - it was our first expedition in our new Try New Foods game we're starting this week. Each week, we're going to try to eat something new, as I'm in a culinary rut as of late. It's pretty good, man.

AND - I just found out there's a DOLLAR MOVIES in Lewisville. How great is this, man? I love Dollar Movies. I used to work at one with Brandon & Nate, and we had a lot of fun. Maybe I can get a second job there and quit the bar - it's not like I'd really lose a lot of money, and the odds of being attacked by a drunk go way down.

Well, he said, starting a sentence with a preposition, it's time to wrap it up for today and get some work done. I'll see you guys tomorrow.

399

Believe your beliefs - doubt your doubts.

I believe I love my wife, and always will.

I'm gonna do what I always do....

....whenever I get blindsided in some way I don't like. I'm gonna fight and not give in and blog. because this is where I get myself all psyched up to not give in and look for trouble, which I almost did. I was this close, man. I felt that old "tug" (or maybe a powerful yank would be a better choice of words) to go looking for trouble, which means look up an old girlfriend on Facebook. I didn't, and I'm not gonna. I don't have to, no matter what my ID (or, as some of you folks know it, my inner dummy) tells me. I'm gonna sit here and let it wash over me like a wave and allow those feelings to dissipate on their own. I'm gonna acknowledge those feelings, give them their due recognition, and let them die of starvation on their own. Screw 'em.

I'm gonna go look at my wedding pictures and think about what really makes me happy and not dwell on some aspect of the tattered remnants of a wildly dysfunctional relationship that sucked the life out of me and caused me more stress that getting shot at. I walked away from that addiction - it can go screw itself, and screw isn't the word I want to use.

396, mutha.

Well, it's a beautiful day outside. I'm gonna go fetch Code Name Diamond for the weekend here in a few minutes, and then I'm gonna get back to work. I'm on "vacation" from the bar until they get their license back, so I have the weekend off again, which I'm happy about. I'd like to go to the gun range & run some rounds through my AK & my shotgun, but that can wait a while. Other than that, I got nothin', guys. Have a cat :-)



395

9

It's way too late to blog, but I said I'd tell this story today so here we go.

Back in 1992 I was involved in a minor fender-bender that occurred in the parking lot of where M.E. Moses (a small general store) used to be. I was backing out of a parking spot and I couldn't see very well, as I was parked between two cargo vans. Anyway, as luck would have it, I managed to back into another car as it drove passed the spot I was backing out of and I scuffed the fender, and I may have dented it, too. Anyway, as it happened on private property, there was nothing the police could do except tell us to settle it ourselves. In the end, I had to pay the driver of the other car $300, and I wasn't happy about it, as I felt it was a no-fault accident, and the other party wasn't too nice about the whole thing.

So I paid it in crumpled one dollar bills, wrapped in a manila envelope sealed with almost and entire roll of duct tape. Had the idea occurred to me, I would have paid it in loose pennies, or perhaps pesos. In retrospect, I could have handled it better.

Fast-forward nearly seventeen years.

I'm sitting in Panda Express with my wife when the driver of the other car walks in with two of her co-workers, and lo and behold - I suddenly have a chance to offer an amends for an act of spite I committed when I was 19. Step 9: Make amends for harm I’ve done to others when possible, except when to do so would harm them or others.

So....I had the choice to make. Do I make my amends and say I'm sorry for doing such an immature and jerk thing or do I sit still, finish my lunch and slink out, hoping they've forgotten about me? I have to admit - a large part of me wanted to sit there, dig in and forget about all 12 steps. At the end of the day, though, I couldn't do it, and I got up and walked over.

I guess it went OK. She looked like she was a little embarrassed and annoyed that I had approached their table, and I got the impression that she would be glad when it was over. But yes - she remembered what happened. She said they laughed about it, and were just happy that I paid them, regardless of how obnoxiously I did it. I said my peace, said I was sorry, took responsibility, and offered to make any amends I could for what I had done. She seemed pretty surprised and said that she was surprised that I remembered it at all, and that everything was OK and I didn't need to do anything. the truth of the matter is the event was burned into my mind because of how angry I was, and how much measure I took to inflict the maximum amount of discomfort I could without getting myself in trouble. In fact, I had even planned to go back years later (when there would be an absence of any real motive) and get my revenge, like shooting a 12 gauge slug into the engine block or something similar - no lie, man. I've never forgotten it, any of it, but maybe now I can.

393


PS - if any of you guys believes I owe you an amends, please let me know. I don't want to keep it from you, and you can't get them all at once. Sometimes you have to wait until you have the chance to make them, even if the opportunity occurs 17 years later.

Pitchers are for Sharing

I'll get to that in a minute. I'll try to hold off on disappointing my mother for a little bit longer. I'll start with Friday and work my way forward.

I think I've got the Jesus back, so to speak. I had the weekend off from the bar, and so I was free to serve at church this weekend. And guess what? I stacked chairs and directed traffic. Bri had it right, and I had it backwards - serving comes from already having that joy, that Jesus in yer heart. I think once you have the Jesus you can't help but serve, and you experience that joy no matter what you're doing. I do need to remember not to volunteer my wife without consulting with her first, though. She was happy to do it, though, and she did a great job controlling cars despite feeling crummy.

It was nice to serve out of the joy in my heart rather than spend the day trying to figure out what I was "supposed to be doing".

On Saturday Toni and I watched a movie on TV called "Five People You Meet in Heaven", or something to that effect. Apparently it's a really popular book I'm supposed to have read by now. Toni read it a while back, so she filled in some things as we went. It was really good, and it raised some pretty good points. And, of course, I cried like a little French girl, like I always do in sad/heartwarming movies. I think what I took away the most from it is this: I hope that when I get to heaven, God will let me see all the good I did while I was here on earth, however much it was, even if it's just a little bit. I have no idea how that's really going to work, exactly, but I think that would be really cool.

On Sunday (after church) we ate lunch (chili dogs and BBQ chicken) until were were stuffed and fell asleep watching "The Empire Strikes Back" on TV. When we woke up it was time to go on our date, so we went and ate and then went bowling, at which point the date began to take a slow downhill slide.

See, on Sundays you can go bowling for pretty cheap, as was evidenced by a pile of college kids there (a few of whom were showing off what they had, which tends to fluster me nowadays) and it's also spring break so that might have meant more kids than usual. Anyway, not only can you bowl for cheap, you can rent shoes for cheap and you can drink beer for really cheap, too. This was to be my downfall.

Now, most all of you guys know that I have almost zero tolerance when it comes to alcohol, and it only takes me about two drinks to get pretty silly. For some reason, though, it seemed like the best value to me was to get a pitcher of beer and drink on that. I really didn't plan on drinking all that much - I really didn't. And I realize I'm 36, and I'm not 21, and I should be older, wiser, and more mature, but I thought it might be fun to have a beer or two while I was bowling with my wife on our date, and the beer was really cold and I was really thirsty by the time we got to our lane, and I made sure I was responsible and gave my keys to my lovely wife just in case. And I haven't had a drop of alcohol in months, man. But somewhere towards the end of the first pitcher, I thought a second pitcher might be a good idea, and this would be the decision that I would come to repent.

My only effort to minimize my own foolishness will be this: I drink a lot. Not booze per se, but I drink a lot of liquid. I can go through soda, tea, milk and especially water like a camel. This beer, unfortunately, went down at the same rate as iced tea or water would, and that wasn't a very good decision on my part, but I didn't really put it together at the time or think about how you generally don't drink beer like it's water on a hot day. I mean - that's just how I drink anything, really. I tend to gulp it down in huge swallows, much as I tend to bolt down my food. By the end of our third game, though - which didn't take too long - I had blown my way through two full pitchers of beer by myself and was starting to really feel it. I just can't handle much booze at all, guys.

Now, I thought that my bowling skills were fairly unimpaired by the beer, but Toni advised me that I was indeed wrong. I only fell once (that's not unusual when I bowl, but this time instead of a sliding descent I just crumpled into a heap acros the foul line, setting off the buzzer in the process) and I didn't notice my tendency to either drop the ball prematurely on my side of the foul line or launch it a third of the way down the lane before it came in contact with the floor. I was, however, having a grandiose time cheering for my wife, and I may have done at least one pelvic thrust toward the pins in an effort to knock them down. I scored over 100 on my first game, and I scored a heartbreaking 99 on my third game. I couldn't tell you what I bowled the second game if you put a gun to my head, but the two of us were having a wonderful time.

Until I got home.

When I got home, I became every pitiful drunk I've ever thrown out of the bar. I couldn't walk very well. Standing still had become a challenge, as had removing my clothes and sitting upright. I couldn't say exactly what words I wanted to say in the order I wanted to say them, and I eventually threw up most of the beer. I haven't puked from booze since my bachelor party in 1999. I remember thinking that I would be disappointed if I threw up the excellent dinner we had had, but at that point I was helpless to stop it. I felt like I had ruined Date Night by making Toni take care of me, but she did it with the aplomb only a paramedic who spent two years working in a jail can do. I knew I had turned into a blithering idiot, but she was nice enough not to make me feel guilty - I had enough of that on my own, and she was very generous and kind to assist her husband, who was, up to this point, smarter than beer. I eventually fell asleep after giggling wildly at the cats crashing into the air intake vent in the hallway.

I woke up this morning with no hangover, but was a little wobbly on my feet until got some lunch in me. We ate lunch at 10:30 or so, after which I started feeling good enough to work. I'm certainly not proud of my actions after date night, but I hope I was able to share some of the comedic elements contained therein.

Now, while I was at lunch today, I got the chance to make an amends for a kind of jerky thing I did back when I was 19. Well, a-hole is more like it. But this has gone on too long so you guys have to wait until I get some free time on Tuesday to read about that one, as I squandered Monday's blog on a largely embarrassing and pointless story.

More tomorrow, guys.

Oh - and we don't have Toni's truck back, either. Maybe tomorrow?

392

A little on down the road.....

And on a completely different note....

I'm debating building my own AR-15 (that's a gun) from the ground up, as I can get an upper (the top half) and a lower (the bottom half) for less money, and I'd like to score one before the gun ban reasserts itself - and don't say Obama isn't going to do it, either. It'll be a lot like buying the complete rifle in installments.

For Example: Complete M4 Rifle: $900 - $1300 +

Upper: $425 - $700
Lower: $260 - $360

So, this:


....plus this:


....ought to get me what I want. For the zombies.

I'm a lot more likely to be able to afford a few hundred here and there before I can scrape up a grand or so, and there's a LOT of info out there to help me along.

And I know I'm in terrible debt, etc, and I'll be continuing to pay everything back, as much as I can as fast as I can, like I have been doing, and I wouldn't dare do any of this while I still owe people for work they've done for me. But I get to plan and dream and have a teeny bit of fun (and have a life along the way) too, right?

The cats have been roughhousing with each other for a while. Pumba looks frazzled.

CR was good tonight, and I'm glad I finally got to go.

I got the weekend off from the bar, as they're strictly BYOB until they get their TABC permit ironed out. I don't expect they'll be busy until they get it back.

I'm ready to get back to work now. Nothing new to report, other than I really want a new gun. I haven't bought a gun for myself (not counting the one I got last year- that was too good a deal to pass up) since 2001, and I'm starting to itch a bit.

Some of you guys understand. For you gals out there.....it's like buying shoes, I think.

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A loop....

....is what I've been thrown for.

I get to the bar tonight all ready to work and it's closed. my night is now all messed up, as I'm full of sugar and caffiene so I could stay awake. I just hope we're open tomorrow, man. I'm not driving 45 minutes (one way, mind you) to find out we're closed again. I'm calling & confirming first.

Blah.

No news on another second gig. Hmph.

Got two BIG orders in this week. God is (always) good. As usual.

And my brother has a lot of Mormons on his blog today. It's interesting, I guess, but they're not really saying anything other than "we're Christian's too", I don't think.

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Nothing going on today, evidently.

When you're a Jet.....

Updates....

Toni's truck is under warranty, which is good because the problem wasn't a wheel bearing at all - the rear differential was falling apart, which is bad. There was also a small leak in the power steering line, which they're fixing also, and we had to replace the battery, which we were going to have to do at some point anyway. God bless warranties, man.

Mom & Dad's Saturn has once more turned against us, and is choosing to remain on the dark side. The dealership will have to exorcise whatever evil spirits have inhabited it. In the meantime, they have a rental.

Dad went into the hospital this morning to get a breathing treatment. He's OK now, largely because he went before he got really bad.

Toni got her taxes done this morning. We have no complaints.

No new word on a new job, but I'm still trying to pursue it without being pushy. It's a fine line to walk sometimes.

It's cold and rainy here. I'll bet Brent is digging it. Me - not so much, but it's nicer to be cold than hot & muggy. And we got the new air filter installed today. The old one was nasty.

Seriously - this is all I have going on? I'm talking about how nasty my air filter was? I shouldn't complain, man. This beats the tar out of all those times I was in such turmoil that I couldn't shut up about it. All in all, I have almost nothing to complain about, which makes blogging a tad more bland on occasion.

Oh - Toni and I are starting to plan a vacation of sorts to take when we get back on our feet again. Any suggestions? We need the most bang for the buck we can get, and we may can score free airline travel.

And I found Dad's machete in the garage. It's got a longer blade and a sharper edge than mine has, even after all that work. I'm in no way surprised, really. His is more like a butcher knife with a 36" blade on it, which ought to work nicely for beheading zombies. It might not be as good as a samurai sword, but we can't always get what we want.

Oooo - speaking of what I want, my Mom finally agreed to bring me back a voodoo doll from Haiti in the event she ever finds one for sale. They steadfastly refused to bring me one for years, man. Years. I'm sure that it would be an excellent zombie weapon, as the zombie legend comes from Haiti. The way I see it, I can get one and dress it up like a zombie if I see one coming, and pull it's head off if it gets too close.

And tonight I'm going to photograph all our guns and record the serial numbers in case of theft, for insurance reasons. 'Cause I'm a bit paranoid. Aren't you just shocked?

There. I feel like I said something worthwhile now.

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Hey - I'm getting pretty close to 400 days. I never thought about that before.

Sorry I missed you guys yesterday

Toni & I worked about a 14 hour day yesterday trying to put a functioning office back together so we can get back to work. Toni actually put in a 21 hour day yesterday, because I'm going to count aerobics, running errands, cooking, cleaning and helping me with several dozen pleas for assistance as work. Today I shall scrub the toilets in return, and for once she get to sleep in a bit while I am up puttering around. And I have a quiet house, to boot.

When it's quiet you can hear the ceiling fan blow the air and you can hear the birds chirping and singing outside. It's nice, it being all quiet. The loudest thing I hear is the tapping of the keyboard. I think I'm gonna try to stretch this quietness out as long as I can.

All the furniture we posted for sale is gone. We used most of the money to help pay back payroll and for food, and are keeping a little for clothes and for Toni to get her hair done, which she deserves to get, especially since she cuts mine and does such a great job.

I think we've started praying more together, and what I mean by that is that we pray together every night before we go to sleep, and our prayers have become more deep (does that make sense?) and I feel like that my attitude has improved a bit, and that I'm more thankful & cognizant of the things that I need to be thankful for, like food and shelter and my wife and daughter. When we said grace before dinner (which was salad, BBQ sausage, ranch beans & sweet corn on the cob dripping with butter & salt - all prepared by my wife, by the way) I wasn't able to stop at thanking God for just the food, ya know? Afterwards, I jokingly said that I'm starting to sound like my brother - not that that's a bad thing.

We only have three rooms left that I feel like are out of control, and Toni's going to knock two of those out today while I get the remainder of our shop/lab set back up. I don't anticipate another 14 hour day, but I didn't anticipate one yesterday, either. I am slowly reaching the conclusion that I have little or no ability to judge how long anything is going to take. If you had asked me how long it would take for me to get my own little personal office set up, I would have told you seven hours. I think I can do the rest of the lab/shop in two hour, so I'm hoping to be done in four, and I know I'm going to have to leave some stuff undone, which I usually don't like but am OK with today, as my folks are coming back into town tonight and I'm sure they'd like a ride home, especially after we said we'd pick them up. It'll be slightly more crowded for a few weeks, but I think it'll be OK.

And finally - it's supposed to be cold & rainy tonight, and tomorrow we'll have highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's. Today it'll be in the 80's, as it has been for several days now. It's been glorious, but this weather makes no sense to me whatsoever. I was hoping it'd be nice for my folks when they got back, but since they're here for two weeks it might still, and after coming back from Haiti they might like a little bit of chill and crisp in the air, as Haiti is about like Houston that way. Or so I've heard and decided to compare, anyway. Hot & Humid.

OK - somebody is running a power saw outside. My quiet reverie is over.

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Did you get hit?

This was the question my wife asked me this morning when I woke up, because I woke up with a black eye. Apparently the eyebrow piercing had turned on me in the night. And after I took special care to wear a band aid over my eyebrow the whole time I was at work last night so some drunk didn't try to take it home as a souvenir, too.

Anyway, as you may have read on yesterday's blog, I had about a 20 hour day. When I finally got home at 4 Am, showered and unwound, it was about 5 AM, and I was exhausted. We had a rough night at the bar as well. One girl had to leave in an ambulance because of either drugs or alcohol poisoning, I personally threw out no fewer than four people, and we had a problem customer try to stomp on this little guy like a cockroach. It was hot, it was muggy, and the bar was trashed by the time the night was over, leaving us a lot to clean. On a good note, I found $13 over the course of the night, in crumpled bills that were left on the floor the were to be swept up with the trash. Bonus. Anyway, by the time I got home, I was tired. All week I've been taking great care to only sleep on my back and on my left side so as not to damage or aggravate the piercing, though (unfortunately) when I sleep on my back I tend to snore more often, especially when I'm tired. I sleep very soundly on my right side (which is a whole 'nother story I don't have time to go into tonight), but I'd been denied sleeping on my right side all week.

Apparently, though, when you're tired enough, your body ceases caring about new vanities and your mind just forgets. At some point, I rolled over onto my right side, burrowed under the covers, and buried my face in the pillow. I'm sure it was wonderful.

And I went from this:


...to this:


It looks awful, but it doesn't hurt. Toni pulled it out as soon as we had figured out what had happened. Code Name Diamond was glad to see it go, as I'm sure most of you guys are. You can admit it - it's OK. I got my money's worth out of it, and a few days of feeling cool, which was all I needed. And my wife gave me an awesome haircut today, so I feel cool again.

And now my body can start healing from being cool. It'll take a bit longer than usual, because I'm 36 now, and maybe a teeny bit smarter. Maybe.

Obliblog - when you blog out of obligation.

I've blogged precisely twice this week. Today I'm only doing it because I'm actually up at a decent hour, the house is quiet (my wife is at aerobics) and I have to spend a few hours in front of this box anyway doing work stuff. So, without further ado, this is where I am today.

I officially hate working at the bar now. It messes up my weekends with Code Name Diamond, as I have to sleep until noon after not getting to bed until around 5 AM the night before. The pay is lousy, the commute is terrible, and I'm just plain tired of it. As soon as I can find anything else, I'm out.

On that note, nothing new on the job front. There's nothing worse than finding out that you might be eligible for another job that you really want, and that you know you'd be good at, and having to wait for somebody to call you in. It's....difficult, and I don't like to wait. I'm impatient anyway - this just makes it worse.

The piercing is healing up pretty well. I could see a look of disdain in my ex-wife's eye last night, but she didn't say anything. Code Name Diamond doesn't like it either. Tonight I'm going to wear a band-aid over it at the bar so a drunk doesn't rip it out. If I get an interview for the management position I'm hunting for I'm going to pull it before I go in. *I* still like it, but it has been a little troublesome so far in a few regards.

My folks are coming home on Tuesday, I think. There's almost no way I can have the house entirely ready by then. The house is a disaster - there's furniture in nearly every room that doesn't need to be there, as we're selling off nearly everything we own. So far we've sold our bed, our daughter's bed, and we're selling a desk, our dining room table, all our chairs, and Toni's bedroom set next. We had to clear out absolutely everything we own from the garage so that we can move our work stuff back into it. I've spent the past two days getting it all set up, and I need at least two more to finish it satisfactorily, which I don't have.

That's what gets to me - I don't have enough time. Something else always has to get pushed back, and it's always something important, because something else always has to come first. Even Toni feels a little neglected, and so I have to force myself to stop and re-evaluate where my priorities lie almost daily, if not hourly sometimes. Lately my solution for my financial problems seems to be to just work harder, and I've unquestionably done that. I've worked myself nearly into the ground this week, and I'm sick again. I blame allergies & all the dust from the furniture we've been selling, plus it's nearly springtime and then my allergies are really gong to hammer me. And I desperately need to replace the air filter in this house and I can't find it anywhere. Is is in the attic?

And I've been aggravated at our cars, too. On the way home from the impound lot, Toni's truck blew a bearing in the right rear wheel, and I haven't had the time (or the money) to get it replaced, and Toni hasn't had the time to call CarMax and see if it's still under warranty. My parent's car (a Saturn) developed all sorts of very strange electrical & instrumentation problems this week, but after disconnecting the battery overnight it seems to have reset itself. I think it's the result of accidentally trying to start it with a Honda key one night, but that's just speculation on my part. Either way, you can now shift the car from park to reverse to drive without using the manual override switch beneath the shifter, the AC works again, all the lights work again, all the gauges work again and that damned incessant chime has finally silenced itself. It pinged constantly, at all times, for no reason. That might have been the most infuriating part, until my flashlight broke while we were trying to light up the speedometer so we could drive at night. We almost screamed. We spent $7 at Sheridan's Frozen Custard instead though - we thought that we could a little stress release from the week we've had.

So, Mom and Dad - when you get home.....we're working on it, and it's a lot better than it was.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna to take half of an anti-anxiety pill, get a Dr. Pepper and work for the next 20 hours :-)

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-> interesting title here

It's chilly out tonight. it has been all day. And I wore shorts today, which was a mistake, especially when we went to the store to get milk in the refrigerated section. I get crabby when I'm cold, too. I'm ready for summer already.

I worked on my Haitian machete for over an hour while my beautiful wife napped on the couch. I put a better edge on my tomahawk, which was dulled from smashing a glass door a while back. I filled out three applications today - we'll see where I end up. There's some potential there, I think, and I mean good potential, but I don't want to jinx it. I'll keep you guys posted.

Mom & Dad were not at all happy at all with the eyebrow piercing, man. I think we have it sorted out now, though. I blame a generational gap. I'm sure my kid will do some incomprehensible stuff I'll never understand. For example, there's a commercial with football players & dancing lizards that I don't get, and it creeps me out. There are some shows on TV that I don't already. There's two of 'em that come immediately to mind - something called "Look Around You" and another one called "Tim & Eric Awesome Show". I've seen the previews and I don't even understand anything. They don't look funny. They look weird for the sake of being weird in an attempt to be funny, or avant garde, though I haven't figured which, if either. It's like a kid who has nothing to say, so he makes fart noises, says uncomfortable words and stares a lot without saying anything. I think (or thought, I guess) I'm still "with it", but apparently I'm very, very wrong. I'm well on my way to becoming this guy:



I don't want to bore you guys with what I'm going to do tomorrow, so I'll wrap it up, I guess. It's kind of weird, in a way. It seems like when my life isn't full of some kind of drama, turmoil or chaos I feel like I start running out of things to write about. I am hoping to get done in time to go back to church & work security again, though. I guess I could talk about how the real reason I'm getting my machete so sharp & clean is to use it against the zombies. I could talk about how I installed two crossbar barriers at my mother-in-law's house (hey - that's the first time I've typed that in a looooong time).

I'm am dreading going to the bar this weekend. I hope I get an offer for something else quick. I used to like it, but I think I've gotten burned out. The worst part is how it costs me time with my daughter, which I can't get back. I hate that I have to sleep when she's here and she's awake.

I think the bearing has gone out on the right rear tire of Toni's truck, which sucks. I'm going to have to get that fixed really quick. I hope it's an easy fix, and a cheap one, too. I want to have a mechanic look at it to be sure that's the problem, though. I can get pretty out of my league with cars pretty quickly, and while I'm pretty certain that I could fix it, between the time, stress and cost involved it might be better to have a professional do it if at all possible.

Timone seems to have fully recovered. Pumba has already accepted him back. Oscar is slightly less wary, but still a little pissy.

And I bought a lottery ticket.

OK - that's it. That scraping sound you hear is the bottom of my writing barrel for tonight.

379, skeet skeet.

"Skeet skeet" is part of a line from a (quite terrible, yet really catchy) song I hate to admit liking. I guess everybody has terrible songs that you like anyway.

REM is a much better band, and it's cool to like them. I like REM.

So I'm still cool, right?

379, Driver 8. Take a break.

Oh - and I want one of these now. For the Zombies.

The picture was just too awful.

My wife said the first picture was creepy & that she didn't like it

Sadly, I have to agree. I didn't like it too much when I took it.

I look like a sex offender trolling myspace in that one. I have thusly replaced it with one she took, in which I look much less.......

......unsettling.

A lot of stuff for a Monday

Man - where do I start?

First off, I'm going to go look for another second job. I figure between the 90 minute round-trip commute, the low pay, the idiot bouncer that the management refuses to fire, and the new everybody-stays-until-everybody's-done rule (which puts us home after 4 AM), I can do better. And on Saturday I cleaned up drunken vomit twice. I don't get paid enough for that.

And I was thinking - you know what job I really liked? The movie theater.

Shoveling popcorn. Sweeping floors. Tearing tickets. It wasn't rocket science, but it sure was fun. And odds are I'll be making the same amount - especially once you factor in that I have to spend the first hour at the bar recouping my fuel costs. Oh - and I don't have to fight drunks.

So - we'll see how that goes. I'm not quitting until I have another job solidly lined up; one that will work around my schedule and pay me enough, but I'm dropping off several applications tomorrow. The sad thing is that I won't take much of a pay cut, if at all.

We took Timone to the vet today. He's recovering nicely. The other two cats, of course, are hissing like crazy, but they'll have calmed down in a few days and everybody will be happy again.

They're coming to pick up my car in about an hour. I'll be sad to see it go, but it'll be OK. I do love that car. And we did get Toni's truck back today, though on the way home it's developed some kind of malady - we think it's a bushing that gave out, a CV or a universal joint on the right rear tire. it oughta be an easy fix, and both Toni and I have worked on cars before.

While we were in Denton today, Toni got her nose re-pierced. It looks really cute.

And......

-> creepy picture removed <-

I've wanted to do that for two years, man. When we were at the tattoo parlor getting Toni's nose done they made us a deal we couldn't refuse, and I took the leap and got it done. Yes - it hurt a little, but I'm glad I did it. It'll be interesting to see how Audrey reacts to it. I paid off a lot of debt today, and started making some headway on my child support. I was able to give at church on Sunday, and I even have a few dollars left over in the bank with nothing pending. Supplies have been ordered and paid for. I think I've earned a little present for myself.

But it's not all sunshine & roses, people. Unfortunately, Toni's mom's house was broken into today, which sucks. They got her computer, her brother's PS2, all his games & some inexpensive but sentimental jewelry. Point of entry was the back door, where they broke the windowpane & unlocked the door. Time of entry was between 10:45 AM and 1:00 PM. My guess is amateur (and kid) thieves, as they ignored cash & checks, were unable to identify the appropriate jewelry, and were sloppy making entry. Additionally, the crime occurred during school hours, and they did take a PS2. Bastards.

I spent a good chunk of tonight replacing the back-door window with two sheets of plywood. I left some screws sticking out on the other side, too, like little spikes. I also replaced the door lock and installed a chain & padlock on the gate. Tomorrow we're going to install a crossbar that will end the door's ability to be forced open without breaching rounds.

My friend Brent isn't blogging for a month; I pout.

Anyway, I'm going to work on my machete. I've got a Haitian machete that needs some TLC, and I'm restoring & reconditioning it to it's zombie-killing glory. After all, Haiti is the point of origin for the zombie myth.

OOoooooooo....scary. I'll be glad to have my folks home pretty soon. It'll be interesting to see how my dad reacts to the eyebrow piercing. That'll be interesting.

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