Happy New Year's - umm - Eve !!

Here we are folks, the holiday's are over and there is only one last thing to do - Ring in the New Year! Christmas 2009 was great! We had company from out of town - a first for us during xmas. Had a good time. Still seems like I'm in recovery mode from those busy times. Hope yours was a good one too.

So how am I ringing in the new year? All day cooking feast.

The main course (main dish above) was Rice Pilaf, Yellow Split Pea Vegetable, and Indian Zucchini. Also on the menu was Carrot Salad.

Onion Chutney.

Chapati.

And to wash it all down - Gruet Demi-Sac Champagne.

Yeah I know, I'm suppose to wait until Midnight. Sorry. I failed. Note here, all items are of Indian cuisine (as in the country of India).

So how about a little story folks?
- Twas the night before New Years when all through the house, plenty of creatures where stirring about when all of a sudden there came such a clatter that I threw myself to the floor to see what was the matter. When I came to my senses and my mind clarified what was the matter, I realized it was not but a few morons shooting bullets to ring in the new year. Oh how we all know that what goes up must eventually makes its way down. Oh how I prayed that those metal object would make their way safely down.

Dicks!!

Anyways, hope your New Year rings a bright tone and might we all grow a bit in our own way.
-Cheers.

No sleep.

I. Am. Beat. But, like a dummy, I'm going to see a movie tonight. Surrogates is the plan. It'll be my own fault if I feel like crap tomorrow. There. I admit it.

General

Yep, I'm still on planet earth. Still here yes-sir-ree-bob. Hanging out watching Dollhouse on Fox TV. Got plans for the holiday's? Sure do. Relative coming in from LA, California area. Have not seen her in a couple of years. Looking forward to it. Still working to get ready for Christmas. I don't think I'm alone though. Regarding this week, it has been Friday since Wednesday. One of those weeks I guess.

Well, since my Alltel phone is now officially switched over to Verizon, boy have I noticed the commercials. They must have one heck of a budget for advertising. How's the service. Good.

On the latest collection front - recording stuff on the VCR I have not watched yet. The tapes are piling up.

Anger

Things that are pissing me off lately:

1) When dealing with an older generation of folks, they try to be hip with the tongue and body motions. Common already. I'm versatile! A simple handshake and pleasant conversation do me just fine. I can work both sides of the age gap.

2) Those that fuck with me with their dishonesty and deceit. Don't think that I don't see it.

3) You know at work when you make a trip down the long hall to get something and come back without it!

4) I'm speaking to an attractive member of the opposite sex and I am like speechless! Say something dammit!

5) I've just busted a ten hour day at work and have little to show for it.

6) The Black Friday shoppers who gobble up three or more of the same damn thing while playing tag team with family members at other stores to get the same item with the argument that they are too poor to buy at regular price so this is their opportunity to get what they have always wanted. Well shit, if your too poor, then why is your bank account now healthy enough to afford enough HDTV's at a total price that is three to five times the cost of one at regular price. I'm sleeping in thank you very much.

HIgh School Football

Howdy. While I've been going to these Monday night football events, I decided to go to a high school varsity football game last night. Ended up being a really good game between the Rio Rancho Rams and the Cibola Cougars. Final score: Rams took the Cougars 43 to 39 in OT. Turns out it was a district championship game as well which is why it was probably a better game because top teams where playing. There is a game today that I'm planning to see. Starts at 1:30. Then later tonight, I think I'll go see the University of New Mexico Men's Soccer Team play. Will be the last home game of the regular season.

Well I've been letting my hair grow a bit. Done been through a number of sessions for what the ladies might refer to as a "bad hair day." Actually, I might call it a "bad hair week." Seems as if, at certain lengths, my hair just will not cooperate until it gets a little longer. Then the process starts over. Anyways, here is a rather recent pic.

I've got no notion of how long I'll let it get. We'll see. Anyways I suppose I should eat a little something and get ready to go to the football game. -Cheers All.

What ah Weekend!

Today is Sunday, right? OK, that means yesterday was Saturday - I think. The day started off by taking a few electronic items to an electronic recycling event. Great! Finally got that crap out of the apartment. While there, a community arts/crafts fair with vegetable stands and entertainment was just across the street. Right up my alley. So I parked the car and checked it out for a while. Then it was time to get my ass over to the hospital to get some blood drawn for testing. I was getting pretty hungry as I needed to be on a fast for the test. Well, there is the main hospital branch just down the street. How convenient. Not. I was sent running the halls for thirty minutes all to find out that branches blood testing unit was closed on Saturday. Time line: 11:50, leave parking lot aggravated. 12:02, arrive in parking lot of branch I knew would be open (a long ways off, but also just off the freeway). 12:14, in car leaving the place after successfully giving blood. So much for my effort to save time and gas by going the closest place. Then it was off to eat - man was I hungry. Got home, loaded the car with stuff to take to Goodwill. Get in car. Car no start. Shit. Bottom line: ninety bucks in a new battery and misc. supplies. Long day. Went to bed at 8:30. Didn't look back.

Today is Sunday - Right? OK, wake, late breakfast (OK, 9:30), shower, drive to folks home, lunch, leave about 2:15, Classical Music Concert (good show - string quartet), groceries, laundry, grab-bad leftovers dinner, wash several day's of dishes, log financial data, march through 90 something crap emails, blog, bed (OK, not quite there yet).

Classical music concerts are very different from rock concerts. Only there are the musicians allowed to tune their instruments while on stage. Not so in a rock concert - once you hit the stage, the show is expected to start. In instrumental, you have an intermission - wind down, get some coffee -n- pastries, buy CD's, BS, etc. Rock show - play dammit, intermission is the brief break before the encore. Instrumental - good chance you will meet the artist in a controlled fashion. Rock show - only if you got a back stage pass, otherwise, you might see their bus leave.

Now mind you, my comparison is that of a big rock show. Conditions are better at the bar scene.

Recent Likes

Things I've liked recently:

1) The Quest Dex (telephone yellow pages) commercials where some family member is belting out incoherent short sentence fragments related to some topic. How absurd, but fascinating.

2) Last nights David Letterman segment, "Things better to do than read the Sarah Palin Memoirs." Walking into traffic finds this guy being hit by one car, then while flying forward, gets hit by the on coming car. How funny!

3) The show "Mercy" on NBC.

4) Monday night Football. Now not normally a sports guy, I've been attending this Monday Night Football Meetup(.com) at a local club. Have actually enjoyed the last several games. Cheap supper plus a few drinks equals a good time.

5) The gym. As of late, no matter how tired I am or low in the dumps I'm feeling, have felt great at the end of a workout.

Hello Out There

one day this last week. Let's festival, moonlight corn maze, gym, apartment purging, Well, I suppose one should post some sort of aimless blog entry once in a while to let the world know that one has not vanished off the face of the earth. This one in particular, is still alive and well. Taking this free time that one has outside of the work environment to enjoy a number of activities. Some involve looking for a date, some involve hanging out with the family, while others involve doing things just by own lonesome self. Bottom line, pretty busy. Was home a whoppingseeeeeee, babes for football event, Greek Festival (twice), harvestugh. It's enough to make ya go crazy! But I think I'll survive.

Zombies Galore

Had an opportunity to see a sneak peak of the new movie Zombie Land tonight. Very funny at times, also some seriousness as well. Good time overall. Most of the comedy points come when they "insert" text onto the screen to depict an action or concept. It is light hearted zombie fair. A good time.

Got to get up a little earlier than usual tomorrow. Oh boo, I know.

Gym

I got my ass in the gym tonight for the first time in about five weeks. Feel Great!!! It's all down hill from here.

Busy

Dear Folks,

This week has been somewhat busy. Saturday was a trip to the Grants, NM area to look for camping spots. Found a couple based on the map, but did not care too much for either. One was at a lake, another at a monument. Turned out to be a long day.

Sunday was chore day followed by a Randy Travis concert in the evening. See, local country radio station KRST was celebrating thirty years of radio, so they put on a concert of four country acts with Randy Travis as the head liner. Mr. Travis put on a really good show. Too bad the crowd was light. A shame.

Monday was back to work, but followed by a Singles Meetup at the local triple A baseball club, the Albuquerque Isotopes. Half of me wanted to go with the prospect of meeting someone and the R&R opportunity while the other half just wanted to go home. I surmised that I'm not going to meet anyone if I lock myself in at home. Nothing materialized though.

Tuesday was a pretty standard day. Work, cook evening meal, wash dishes, and feel distressed over all the things I'd like to do, but at the same time, take no action on it.

For today, I left work for a dentist appointment at 3:30. Turns out I have cavities. Yes, those dreaded cavities. Will go back in at the beginning of October to take care of two and then polish off the other two at my next six month general checkup / cleaning. Then it was off to visit mom since, relatively speaking, she was just down the street. She lives in Rio Rancho, NM which is where my long time dentist practices. We went out for supper. Mexican food. Ate too much as usual. A little bit miserable. Just finished up cooking a dish to hold me over several days and finally nailed that black widow I spoke of in a recent post.

On an odd note, I've got this sudden urge to start taking math classes again at the local community college. Start at the beginning - 2 plus 2 anyone? Don't ask me where this is coming from.

Take care folks,
Regards
Mighty

Garden Falls

Here's a garden update for you. Lets start with the butternut squash. Putting on a few flowers, but no fruit yet.

Another squash.



The black beans. The dead leaves are not from the plant. I picked them up from around to use as mulch.

The small red beans.

I've added more to the garden last weekend (really about 9 day's ago) in the section of the failed rice. I planted some radishes, green leaf lettuce, snap peas, and bell pepper. All have come up except the bell pepper.

And look at this on my patio!

This is a big fucker. I've had black widows on my patio for many years. I got a new wood fence a couple of years ago and they haven't been around. Last year, one I think. But this summer, they are back with a vengeance.

Now on to a little peace and tranquility. Visited the Jemez Falls this last weekend. Here's a pool side pic.

Very serene.

And at last, the Jemez Falls.

life -n- death

"Yet I, for one, believe that there is a complement to everything. With youth, comes age. With time, there is space. And with birth, there is death. There are constants that impact our lives that a pill cannot change. Aging remains a subtle, no doubt vital, part of our progression to this mortality. We spend all of our time trying to avoid death when, truth be told, we don't even know when death happens."

Ben Jones in the opinions column commenting on the apparent desire of most folks to live longer, if not forever young. (Source: The Daily Lobo, University of New Mexico, "Longer life - but do we want it?", volume 113, issue 162, (July 27-Aug 16,2009), page 4)

By Request

The Butterfly Pavilion at the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens:









No butterfly's here, but still pleasing the eyes.

Safe Journey

Had lunch today with my friend from India. Spirits where both high and low during our time together. He is working to crate (wood box) his most prized positions for friends here to ship to him when he gets settled in back in India. He plans on leaving next week Sunday or Monday on a train trip to California to see his parents for a week. They have U.S. citizenship. He'll also visit old college friends as well. Then it is off to India. He says that once he leaves, INS will not allow him back into the USA, even for a visit/vacation. That brings extra sadness to him. If he could return for vacations, his departure would be more upbeat.

As I said before, not much I can do for him but wish him well. I was really at a loss for words most of the time.

Recall that I said in my other email that he had not obtained an educational front? Well, I was incorrect. I recall a conversation a month or so ago with him in which he indicated that he did secure an educational position toward a PhD with a professor where I work, but the time span to renew for a change of status was running short. Did not know if there would be enough time for the application to go through and for that matter, for INS to approve it. Well, we know the answer now.

I spoke to a mutual friend about two weeks ago who said [his] friends from India are indicating that there will be heavy pressure for him to find a wife. I guess it must be part of Indian culture. Mind you, as long as I've known him, he has never shown an interest in finding a companion. His interest have mainly centered around math and physics. And he's got the brain for it. Really knows his stuff.

Here's to you RP. Hope peace finds you at the end of your journey.

Well, in lighter happenings, after lunch, I took a trip to the Botanical Gardens to check out the Butterfly Pavilion. Photo's next time. I also made pit stops to several bicycle shops and an automotive parts store. Projects to follow.

Projects on tap:
1) Continue cleaning up the pig pin.
2) Fix and shine two bicycles for donation.
3) Do some basic automotive maintenance on my car.
4) Get a handle on the finances.

Number 4 basically means starting a ledger tracking my expenses. The thought of looking to buy a home has been crossing my mind as of late, so I guess I'll need to know where I'm blowing my money. If I still feel the same in six months to a year, then I'll have the data to show if I can handle it financially.

Top - Down View

I'm hooked on Google Earth tonight. Looking up - local golf courses. In the desert mind you. Don't ask.

Unfortunate

I've found out unfortunate news today. A friend of mine from India will have to leave for India in the next two or three weeks. He very much wanted to stay here, but was unable to obtain qualified reasons to stay. That being work related, continued education, or marriage. Unfortunate. His specialty is science and physics and he says that there is little of that work in India. I'll be meeting with him this Saturday.

8 Mile Accent

Hiked the La Luz trail today with my brother and two friends. Started rise and shine. The neighbor and I left at 6am to pickup the other friend and then we met my brother at a point along the drive to the trail head. The trail starts at the base of the Sandia mountains and ends at the Sandia Peak Tram. The worlds longest tram. The trail is eight miles in length with around 3100 feet of elevation change. The plan was to hike the trail up and then take the tram back down. Although there is a three mile trail from the base of the tram to the La Luz trail head, we opted to park one car at the tram base and then car pool to the trail head. Since this was our first time hiking it, we did not know how rigorous the trail would be. We hit the trail head about 7:20am.

So along the trail . . . Look out, here comes the sun.

This tree does not look too happy.

What a view!

Needle Point.

Aren't we there yet! 2.8 miles to go :( The trail was really rocky and rough for about the next 1.5 miles. Made the trail to this point look pretty good.

Sheer cliffs.

Here comes our prospective ride. Viewed a short distance from the end of trail.

Made it. Ready to take a break viewing the scenery and then take the return trip down the tram.

Verdict? Tough trail. We did fairly well for our first time hiking the La Luz trail. Six hours total to hike it with breaks to chat, photo ops, snack, and flat out rest. Feeling pretty good right now, but that could change in the morning. Luckily, we are all fairly active people; not couch potato's, but not marathon runners either. I think we will all end up a little sore, but will recover fairly quickly.

Mr. Clean

L.S.T.S. - ponder that acronym while I discuss the following - Goodwill Stores.

Yes, Goodwill Stores. The place where you donate the stuff you do not want anymore. Well in an effort to start cleaning up the apartment, I collected a small box of stuff and took it down there for donation. While there, I decided to go in the "clearance" section of the store. Large bin after large bin of shit lined the room. Does Goodwill get this much crap? Apparently so. I allowed myself 20 minutes to dig through the bins. No wait, make that one hour 10 minutes. Ran away with a few items which is a direct reflection of the above acronym. Have you solved it yet?

L.S.T.S. - Leave Shit, Take Shit. Goes hand in hand doesn't it?

The reason for wanting to jettison stuff is a desire to clean up my place. It has really started to get to me over the last few months for some reason. Is it true that a clean environment equals a clean mind? Perhaps. Also, I got a new bed frame for my futon. All oak. Very nice. Needless to say, the place has gotten even worse over the last few day's. Check it out . . .

Couch with the old futon frame. Would have given it to Goodwill, but I couldn't get it in the car.





The only bright spot in the apartment. Complete with new covered bed frame. Feng Shui I tell you.

But alas, just out of view.


Calgone - Take me awayyyyyyyyy!

Anyways, feeling overwhelmed and depressed with the desire to cleanup the place first before I start many of the projects I'd like to do. Feeling lonely too. Oh well. Nothing new in that department.

Well, my mom was over earlier this afternoon to remind me of now my one bright spot (see above photo) should be a model for the rest of the place. She's got a garage - enough said. She likes country, so I put it on one of the local radio stations. I'm still listening to if for some reason. A lovie-dovie song they played a moment ago is setting the mood:

Sissy's Song by Alan Jackson

Why did she have to go
So young I just don't know why
Things happen half the time
Without reason without rhyme
Lovely, sweet young woman
Daughter, wife and mother
Makes no sense to me
I just have to believe

She flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels
By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees
And she walks with Jesus and her loved ones waiting
And I know she's smiling saying
Don't worry 'bout me

Loved ones she left behind
Just trying to survive
And understand the why
Feeling so lost inside
Anger shot straight at God
Then asking for His love
Empty with disbelief
Just hoping that maybe

She flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels
By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees
And she walks with Jesus and her loved ones waiting
And I know she's smiling saying
Don't worry 'bout me

It's hard to say goodbye
Her picture in my mind
Will always be of times I'll cherish
And I won't cry 'cause

She flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels
By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees
And she walks with jesus and her loved ones waiting
And I know she's smiling saying
Don't worry 'bout me
Don't worry 'bout me
Don`t worry 'bout me

I mentioned in my last blog I went camping. Photo's and stories to come another night. Time to rest though a bit before bed. I'll do some reading so I won't see the mess.

Good night.

Change of Plans

Well, after doing my good deed working late tonight to see the movie Moon, I had a change of plans once I hit the movie house. Turns out I misread the play dates for the movie. It runs from this Friday through next week Thursday.

Well, on the way home, I stopped for traffic at a light. Right behind a police officer. While waiting, I was rear ended. Cop heard it. Guy behind me backed up and pulled into a nearby parking lot. Me and the police officer followed. In the few seconds before the police officer pulled into the lot, me and the other guy had pretty much agreed to call truce. The police officer arrived and said OK, but before letting us part, he asked for our drivers license. Turns out the other guy did not have one. That's grounds for an automatic accident report. Turns out he also did not have his vehicle registration. The officers released me after they got me a case number to reference. I'm unsure what happened to the other guy. I can only assume he had is car towed, but don't know for sure.

Wednesday

Here we are, July 7, 2009. It is a Wednesday. It is around 11:30pm. Nothing new except it is a little late for me. Use to be that 11:30 was still early not more than perhaps a year ago. Now look at me - wimp.

I am tired but for some reason have kept myself up tracking the few blogs that I enjoy. These people are prolific "posters." I could not keep up even if I wanted to. I commend them though, for it is those folks who provide a glimpse into another persona and show, in some way, that their life is as ordinary as yours. Not surprisingly, all the blogs I track are with women authors. Go figure.

A that note, here is a personal note on the date scene. I meet this gal at a cupid speed dating event a month or so ago. We have had two meetings. The last meeting was Sunday of last week. I emailed her the next day. A short hello. I've not heard back. I sent her a text on the 4th wishing her a great day. No word. Blah. Over the last month, she has emailed sporadically. So I'm unsure if this is a sign or if she's waiting to be in the proper mood to reply.

Oh well. Tomorrow, I'm planning to see the movie Moon playing at the local art house. Sounds interesting. During the day though, I have to prance around the workplace waiting for a cargo pickup from our facility. Problem is, we do not have a formal shipping and receiving department. On top of that, the material I'm shipping has required a lot of paperwork and effort to schedule. I did a similar shipment two weeks ago and it was miracle the driver and I hooked up. Shall we tip-toe?

Thinking of some good times, I'm headed camping for almost a week! Will head out Saturday, returning Thursday. I'm ready for some down time.

It's 11:50pm. On a Wednesday night. Go figure.

Pressure

"If you let pressure get to you, it can be paralyzing, so I just groove to my own rhythm."

Joss Whedon on dealing with the pressure leading up to the premier of Dollhouse on FOX television this last season. (source: Maxim Magazine, February 2009, p. 21)

Male Testosterone Fix

It has been a long while since I've done the nightlife thing. And tonight has reminded me exactly why it does not happen often with me:

1) Dear God, will you please lay before my eyes a rather large number of untouchable ladies between the ages of 21 and 26.

2) Dear God, will better than 80% of those ladies be slim and chest endowed. Wearing low-cut, loose clothing or "form fitting" clothing.

3) Dear God, will you allow a number of these ladies to be displayed as trophies by their male companions who strut with their chest held high.

4) Dear God, will you allow a number of these ladies to partake in dances with random ladies as to entice the male audience.

5) Dear God, will you allow these ladies to be scantly clad.

6) Dear God, why does my head spin?

7) Dear God, will water help?

8) Dear God, as I drive home, will thy allow safe passage?

Went to a Meetup event tonight at the Zoo. A concert of sorts. Then went downtown on bar benge afterwards. Remind me not to go so often. Pleeeeeaasee.

Michael

Before Michael's Death:
"Oh God, Michael?. What is this pervert up to now."

After Michael's Death:
"Oh what a great loss. Oh, here's one of Michael's songs on the radio! I love this song."

Short + Random = whatever

Odds -n- Ends . . .

Corn field in Corrales. Small town with a country look and feel near the big city.

Concrete mold for old fence post support in the patio of my apartment. I was cleaning the dirt area when my metal rake hit an unknown object. The Mission began.

Went on a trip out to Grants, New Mexico this last weekend. Ran into these lovely rain clouds.

A small veterans memorial in a nearby city to Grants, Fort Wingate. They have done a fine job.

Red Rock State Park.

The apartment complex has some contractors repairing the stucco. Please go back to the darker brown you were years ago - please?


Will be out camping this weekend. Have Monday and Tuesday off. Will head down to Rockhound State Park for some camping. I'm really looking forward to the break.

Paying the price

Oh man, did I over do it this weekend. Too much activity and not enough rest. I woke up early Saturday morning (about 6:30) and decided speer of the moment to attend the National Trails Day event. This event is nationwide on the same day. In short, volunteers help do maintenance on park trails and recreation areas. I had known about it for some time but was undecided due to other activities I was hoping to do this weekend. So anyways, a decision is made and I jump up to sign up on the Meetup.com group that was going to attend. It is 6:50 AM and deadline to register is 7:00. PERFECT! Get dressed, slam some cold stuff out of the fridge for breakfast, then race out the door to be there by 8. Now for me, this set a time record for getting out the door. Most of the time, it is a lazy eye finish between myself and snails in the morning. The project I jointed up with was tasked with painting signs. Afterwards, free lunch and raffle prizes where awarded to volunteers at 1pm. I think I finally got out of there at about 2:20.

Still needing to go to the junkyard for parts to fix my brothers car door, I stopped by home to unload a few things and throw the toolbox in the trunk. I don't know why, but I had this stick up my butt that I just had to do the junkyard on Saturday, not Sunday mind you, but Saturday. Got down there about 3:30 and went right to work to secure needed parts. Also looked around for fun afterwards and found the car that I have, but the year earlier. Studied it. Got home around 5:30.

Shower.

Crash.

Here comes Sunday. Again wake up early (6:45). Proceed to make a quality breakfast this time. Get laundry going, and play in the dirt working on the garden. Finished digging out the larger area where I'm going to plant the rice. Sifted the desert sand with a wire mesh that I made. Mixed half-n-half sand and compost. It is now about 12:30. Come in, clean up a bit and eat lunch. I'm tired but have been wanting to visit the general store at the local Natural History Museum. So decide now is my chance since I'll be headed over to mom's place later in the day. Get home round 4:00 with a few treasures, then go to mom's place.

Chat with a mom a bit while we wait for my brother to come home from work. Chat about new news, odds and ends, talk about her garden while she waters in the backyard. Brother gets home and supper ensues. Then it is off to finish the car work. We finish around 9pm. A little more chit-chat, then I'm out the door home bound around 9:30.

Home greets me about 10:10. Time to cook that brown rice I've had soaking in water since lunch. Now if your not aware, brown rice takes around 45 minutes to cook. Unlike white rice which clocks in at about 20 minutes. No problem because I still need to get some bills ready to go out Monday, put away the clean laundry from earlier in the day, among other piddly things.

11:35 - bed bound.

Monday morning is typical. The day is rather average until just about the lunch hour. There are several things that need to be taken care of before a scheduled visit from an out of state vendor to repair some equipment of ours. Short, unrestfull lunch ensues. The reps flight arrives and we are greeted about 1:30pm. About 3pm, fatigue really sets in rather abruptly. Sitting down for a few moments helps, but standing only brings it on again. It is 4:45 and I decide to blow the joint. Make a visit to the rep with a game plan for tomorrow and jet.

5:20 to 6:40 - nap.

Grab some chow, water the garden, wash the weekends dishes, and here we are. I really wanted to go to the gym, but in my condition, I knew that rest was in my better interest. So now it is back to bed whether I stare into the void or actually sleep due to my earlier nap. Rest, gotta have it.

Well, just how do you spend a Friday night in Albuquerque, NM anyways. For starters, you grab some chow and then wash up a few day's of dishes. Then you sit down to watch a little television. In this case, Ghost Whisper. Why Ghost Whisper? Well because it looked like the only dam thing on this Friday night since Dollhouse is over for the season. How dare those television people give these shows a break. They are suppose to air every week, fifty-two weeks a year dammit! Oh well, can't win em all.

Then how about jumping onto the web for some aimless blog surfing. Couple that with a little ice cream and some Scotch and you've got it made.

Tomorrow's mission - junkyard. Got to get more parts to finish fixing my brothers car door. I thought I had it licked with the drivers side door latch. Now discover that the inside door door opener handle is broken. So I'll pick that up and grab and the front passenger side lamp housing if they are available. Hopefully the weather will be nice in the morning. When I went to get the door latch last weekend, the morning weather was GREAT! The afternoon weather sucked. I was out by 1:30.

In other news, the children have been born! Here are some adorable pics:


A few of the beans that I planted a couple of weeks ago. It took them about ten day's to first come up. Was kind of worried. But things are looking good. I planted ten black beans and 10 red beans. So far, seven and five of each, respectively. Got more compost today on the way home from work for another section. I'll try planting rice there. Hey Hey Hey! Rice? OK I fell like being different. Most folks say rice is difficult, but I'm going for gold here. I also planted an acorn seed and a butternut squash seed tonight. I'm waiting for a red globe grape seed to germinate as well. Planted it about two weeks got too, but no luck yet.

Well, sleepy head is getting the better of me, so a couple more web checks then it's off for an eyelid inspection.

Good night.

Down / Happy / Toast

Ever had a moment in which you felt inferior to those around you. That is how I feel now. The guy I work with is soooooooooo much better at doing the kind of troubleshooting to fix equipment than I am. I know I'm better than I think I am, but man, I tell you, this guy is good. Really makes me feel like I'm in the wrong career.

On a happier note, I've gotten into this So You Think You Can Dance show on Fox. I watched the last hour of it last night just to give it a shot (not to mention there was nothing else on that looked better). Got hooked. What grabbed me is several of the dancers did this sort of emotional dancing that is part ballet, part contemporary with some sort of emotional dramatic music in the background. I'm sure there is a name for this style of dance. I saw a style like it several years ago at a dance show here in town. Really liked it then, really like it now.

Well, here's a Scotch toast to my better than me co-worker (he really is a great guy), to this odd sort of dancing above, and to you. Johnnie Walker Swing Scotch. Nothing but the best. $70 bucks a bottle. Good stuff.

Theatrical

Now that I have one month of free use of Cupid.com after doing the speed dating thing, I have just received an "eye contact" from a person. She is 599 miles from me. Here is a portion of her opening paragraph:

Thanks for having interest in me ,i will like to tell you more about myself....
I come from hills where the morning is born, where the time with the sun grows and I have felt the caress of the wind in my face... between mountains and valleys I have been born, I came from the Earth. My name is Eve smith,i was born in 7 July 1970.And i was born in Us but grew up in Spain
because my dad his from USA so after he met my mum in Spain In malaga.they both went back to California to settled.

Hmmmm. Where might this go. One shall never know.

Helping the Economy

I helped the economy this week:

Tuesday: Speed dating event, $37
Wednesday: Lunch with gang, $8
Wednesday: Dinner, (w/tip) $15
Thursday: Lunch with gang, $9
Thursday: Baseball game and eats, $20
Friday: Ditch the economy and go home.

Total: $89
All in a weeks work.

Another day

Here's a belated birthday wish to ME!

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday dear Mighty,
Happy birthday to ME!

As of yesterday, here's to 39 years of life. May there be many more to come.

Went to a friends college graduation party last night. I ate way too much food and woke up early this morning feeling uncomfortable in the tummy. Watched a little television and then decided to drive out to watch the sun rise.





I Surely do not do this often enough.

On the way home, ran into this surprise . A small hot air balloon rally.

Unhappy computer UPS system.

New battery that goes into said UPS system.

Bottom cover of UPS system that really does not fit with new battery because new battery is just a tad bigger than old / original battery.

My frustration with getting this to work.

(insert imagination here)

Well that battery does not quite fit, but I can get the cover to squeeze in enough to hold. Plug it in and wait a day for the battery to charge. But alas, the computer will not turn ON. Wait another day. Same story after four day's. Other devices plugged into the UPS work fine. If I plug the computer into another standard outlet with an extension cord, it powers up just fine. Go figure. Pull battery today and call place I bought it to see if they can offer suggestion. No luck. Bring battery home and put it back in for fun. HERE we are folks! Weird.

Had a nice rain the other day and here is the aftermath as viewed from my mom's place. A pleasant surprise.

And we took a trip to the Cochita Lake and camped a couple of day's. More please.

The fiasco with the UPS killed about 10 day's so I'm sure my personal email is overflowing with joy. Time to check it out.