Here's a picture of a lunch at IKEA. The reason I took this picture was to remind myself of how proud I was of this meal. Before I got in line, I knew I only had a five dollar bill and a one. But my coworker was with me, so I figured if it ran over, I could borrow. I picked out a dessert (the loganberry cheesecake), got the ten meatballs and mashed potatoes. When my coworker was at the register and I was standing behind, I made a point of talking loud enough for the clerk to hear. I made mention to the effect, "Oh dear, I only have six dollars, I won't have enough, I'm gonna have to borrow." I knew mine would be more than six, since my coworker's food was over six and she didn't get the dessert. When I got to the clerk, I gave her my best puppy dog eyes, she started ringing me up, then said, "I won't charge you for the drink". And much to my surprise, but not enough to rattle my cool, the total came out to five and some change. Score! I told the waitress that she was an All-star and we spent a moment together in time after bringing smiles to each other's faces. My coworker probably just shook her head, rolled her eyes and walked away mumbling, but I don't know since my eyes were glazed over from the small victory.

Oh, dear. How could someone! Ok, I put the message next to the dead bird. But, can you blame me? It had been laying on the ground for almost a week! Maybe now someone will take it.

Great Idea!

In case you can't read the traffic sign in the picture, it says "Left on red permitted, after stop". This is at an intersection that I drive through ever day on my way home from work, while here in Indiana. I think every intersection should be like this, since, if drivers can be trusted to make a left onto a street in which the cross traffic doesn't have to stop, then drivers should be trusted to be able to make a left at an intersection after stopping at the light. Genius!

FOUR!!!!

I saw this pack of crackers laying on a desk at the office I'm temporarily working in. I have never seen a 4-pack of crackers before. What's that all about? Everything is becoming super-sized. While it seems that we're in a day and age that companies try to put less and smaller portions in things you buy, I find this package that contains double the amount of product that is usually there. I do find this to be a nice enlargement though. When I eat soup or a salad and want to add crackers, it never seems that a single pack is enough. Three cheers for Krispy! I wouldn't be surprised though, if when buying the box of these cracker packs, there are fewer total packages and at a higher cost so as to actually save the company money. Like the story I read about a toilet paper brand bragging about still giving 1000 sheets per roll, while actually shinking the size of each sheet to actually give the consumer less. Those stinkers!

No favorites

I know I'm weird sometimes (or most of the time), but am I the only one who doesn't want to play favorites with his appendages? Whenever I take off a sock or glove, or am putting a pair on, I try to do it the same for both the left and the right. If one gets wiped or aired out or something, I make sure that the other gets the same attention. Equality for all.

I got a rock!

Of course I had to make a Halloween post. It won't be a big one, but it is a post. Even though I was out of town, I found a way to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on Halloween. I brought the dvd and watched it while at work! Still as good as ever, full of twists and turns, numerous surprises. And that poor Charlie still only gets a bag full of rocks. He needs to stay at the pumpkin patch one of these years and keep Linus company.

So, I decided to use my day off to visit the zoo and have lunch somewhere. I wanted to see the zoo since it was listed as a tourist spot in all the local guides (actually tagged as the largest zoo in Indiana if I remember correctly). I wanted to eat at a restaurant for two reasons. One, I had been eating packaged meals and soup/chili all week. And two, I had seen many billboards on the way from Louisville for "Homestyle, Real Amish cooking" restaurants.

The zoo was ok. Ok, who am I kidding. It was actually kind of depressing. The animals all looked bored beyond belief and it seemed to be contagious. I walked from cage to cage and noted how all the exhibits seemed to be on the small size and lacking much of what one would think was the animal's natural habitat. I guess I had been spoiled by going to all the zoo's in my past. From Los Angeles to San Diego to Pittsburgh, even the Santa Ana zoo seemed more festive, for lack of a better word. There is probably more animals in the Santa Ana zoo, but in a smaller total area. To top off the visit to the zoo, it seemed that it was field trip day at the zoo. There were tens of groups of elementary age kids with an adult chaperone. They all had a list of questions regarding animals that they were insistent on completing. This multiplied their total disregard for other guests (which seemed to be only me) and led to them sprinting from animal to animal, only reading the wooden placard in front of the cage in search of their all important answers. I felt that if you even asked most of them what color the animal was in the cage they just left, they would have had no idea. Oh well, I bet I would have been sprinting ahead of all of them if I were that age again. Or had gotten a question sheet that day.

The restaurant was another experience. I saw the coupon above in a tourist map/guide. It was so enticing with its cute headline of "take that itty bitty drive" and claim of "homemade Amish cooking" below a picture of a horse drawn carriage. Ok, I'll cut to the chaise, the coupon for 10% off sold me. I really wanted to go to an Amish place after seeing all the billboards, but the final decision of which was made after finding the coupon. So I embarked on the "itty bitty" drive. It was a good description, as the drive turned out to be not too far, but not really close. As I pulled in the parking lot, I already was having sinking feelings. It looked like a normal Denny's or similar restaurant building. I was expecting something like a barn or hand built house with no electricty. I parked and went in, and instantly realized I had been bamboozled. Off to the right was the gift shop with your candles, windchimes and wall decorations. There was also all kinds of jams, jellies and sauces. Mixed in were a few "handmade" crafts from "real" Amish communities. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but all the crafts looked mighty professionally and mass produced. Then I peered into the dining area and might as well have looked into the Senior Living cafeteria. Well, I was here, so I went ahead, got seated, then took my plate to the rows of fried foods and carb loaded sides. I guess this could be "real" Amish cooking, as they could have just taken the recipe for boiling water from a Amish woman, then used it to boil all their food. The buffet was really lacking in variety and taste. I guess that might be the Amish part. The only thing I really enjoyed was the fried pork chops. I actually had three of those, as they were on the small side. Well, lesson learned. Actually not. I feel like if I see another billboard, I'll have the desire to try another "real Amish" cooking restaurant. I've always been a sucker for advertising. I think it stems from my love of reading. I read everything I see, which in this day and age, is usually ads. Oh, and by the way, I didn't even use the coupon, because I was picturing these poor Amish people without any electricity or modern conviences, slaving away in a hot kitchen and I couldn't even bring myself to bring the coupon in. Like I said, I got bamboozled.

I learned a new, valuable trick today. The bathrooms in the building where I'm working have auto flush sensors. The sensors have hair triggers and flush way too easily. Whenever I would put a paper seat cover down, by the time I would turn around, it would start flushing and pull the cover in. Then, if I tried to put another one on quick, the moving water would pull that one in too. So, I was left with trying to hold the seat cover up to my rear-end, turning around quickly and sitting all in one motion. This technique would work half the time, and even when it did, would end up with the seat cover being crooked or half off the seat altogether. Well, the solution just came to me tonight. I pulled out about five or six sheets of toilet paper, laid it over the pipe and sensor structure so it was covered, and went about my business with all the time in the world. It worked perfectly. It's the small victories that are the best.

Corny post

Mmmm...CORN!!!

Here's my beautiful wife reacting to a dish of one of her favorite foods...corn. I'm sure she will hate the posting of this pic (which was with my cellphone in a darkish room-hence the quality), protesting that the pic is not a very good one of her, but she always looks great to me. Cue awwwww.




A Grim Reaping
The universe has been around for a long time. Millions of stories have been lived, told and read. This is just one of those.

Sara Finley felt great. Whenever she left from a visit with her father, she felt like she just woke up from ten hours of deep sleep on a Saturday morning with no responsibilities to fulfill and nothing on her schedule. Her mind was free of distractions and almost felt like a little girl again, knowing that everything in her life would be taken care of by her daddy, leaving her to care-free fun and play. She thought about how lucky she was...every one of her friends had some sort of problem with their parents. They all were so quick to dismiss their relationships as "dysfunctional" and equating that to "normal". But she knew that any and every one of them would trade places with her in an instant if they knew the joy of a true, loving parent.

Eventually she started to sober away from her emotionally induced high, expedited by the occasional siren or pump of brakes by the car in front of her. She lazily rode the dreamy state as long as she could, not wanting to arrive back in the real world just yet.

Scot Finley felt proud. The time he spent with his daughter was always better than any trip he could imagine to a Floridian well discovered by de Leon. He felt as young and energetic as the moment he looked through a hospital window and saw his hazel eyes staring back at him from a tiny angel swaddled in a nurse's arms. He would never forget how instantaneously his overwhelming fatigue evaporated that night when he saw Sara for the very first time.

His pride did not last long on this night. Like a feeling of someone walking in the room then right up behind him, an almost tangible feeling a dread crept through his body leaving a wake of goosebumps in its wake. Something had happened to Sara.

Enjoy the silence

As the Depeche Mode song goes.

Smart computer

Ok, in case you can't see what the above pic says "Keyboard failure.....Strike the F1 key to continue". This beauty popped up on my work computer a few days ago. Hmmm. It would be like a talking car telling you "Engine failure....drive to a mechanic to get it fixed".

Met with my wife's friends last night....went to dinner and then to a pool hall. Got to the hall Friday and didn't get on a table until Saturday...literally. It was really busy there. When I end up playing pool, I enjoy it, not my favorite game, but I enjoy it. But for some reason, if you ask my before playing, I never look forward to playing and I almost dread it. I'm not sure why that is. I guess since it's one of those games that I don't feel like I'm very good at, so I know I'm not going to do well, so what's to enjoy. Oh well. I need to go play some football or softball.

NFL 2006 Kickoff

Here's the kickoff of the opening game of the 2006 NFL season. It's the Steelers defending their Super Bowl title against the Miami Dolphins. I truly enjoyed the game, as it was what I would want out of a game. The Steelers played well, then trailed fairly late in the game, only to come out in the 4th quarter to dominate the 'Fins. I feel good about this season already. And this was with the Steelers backup quarterback playing.

Here's a pic of my little "sis" I guess, since I'm an only child. My mom's dog, Teddi. I'm glad no one in my family is a real "pet parent". Those people that name their animal a human name, dress them up in clothes all the time, have birthday parties or just generally treat an animal like a person. It's funny to see a dog in a costume sometimes, but as long as you understand it's just for fun. But all this isn't to say that animals don't have their own personalities. Teddi definitely is different from a dog we owned "Chief". I enjoy Teddi's antics when I go to visit, she's a little character.

Does anyone else remember "Buddy Lee", from the Lee jeans advertising campaign? I used to love those commercials. I know that I'm a sucker for advertising, since my buddy Tuan reminds me ever chance he gets. But when I see a campaign that I feel has a great use of intelligent humor, I really respect that product. I'll touch on various ads that I've loved over the years, in later entries.

Get Motivated!

I know you can't tell, but that's a stage on the floor of the Arrowhead Pond. And that's former Secretary of State Colin Powell sitting in the middle of it. He had a cast on his right foot, after hurting it. Well, I felt that he was the best speaker of the day. And it was a very distinguished line-up, with all the names I mentioned yesterday, plus a few more. Only two didn't really do anything for me...Dr. Robert Shueller and the show organizer Peter Lowe. Peter Lowe's talk turned into a literal sermon by the end of it and his whole talk seemed forced and over rehearsed. But, as I said, I had a good time and would recommend it to people in the right field of work.

Crikey!

I was never a huge Crocodile Hunter fan, but you have to admit that he was a huge influence. I defy you to find some one that wouldn't recognize him. I know he'll be missed.

My quarterback, Big Ben, went in for an emergency appendix removal on Sunday morning, and he'll miss the first two games of the season. Charlie Batch is more that adequate as a back-up, but I guess we now have an excuse if we lose either of those games.

I'm going to a big motivational seminar tomorrow at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. It has some really big name speakers....Joe Montana, Colin Powell, Rudy Guilianni(sp?), Zig Ziglar. I'm looking forward to it. I always feel like I can conquer the world after attending something like this. So look out world, on Tuesday night.

Favorite Napkin

On my stop by Starbucks this morning...(I usually on get Starbucks on the weekend, but it seems as if I've had it everyday lately) I got this napkin. I can't believe Starbucks still prints this one. It must be at least ten years old by now, but it still makes my shake my head when I see it..."growing...let me touch it...on my face...I feel the sun". Is it just me?

So, I'm driving home from dropping my mother-in-law at the airport, then going to Walmart and I see this car. I don't think you can see it in the pic, but this Mercedes has a vanity plate of "LLLLLEY". I'm glad someone is paying extra money for nothing, to the DMV to help the state fill potholes.

While at Walmart, they already had the Halloween stuff out. I hate when people whine about seasonal items coming out so early, then I find myself thinking the same thing....what the heck?!? Halloween stuff already! Oh well, I'm just glad that Starbucks rolled out the pumpkin spice already.

Speaking of Walmart, I needed a small unique battery for a garage door opener. I looked around a little, but to no avail. I'm of the opinion that Walmart has retarded monkeys designing the layout of their stores, since everytime I go there, things are never where you would expect them. For instance, if you need a flashlight, you would have to go to the toy section, because boys love to play with flashlights. Well, I asked a middle aged woman employee, and she instantly knew what I was asking for and actually walked me to the place the were stocked, took a package down and handed it to me. Talk about your one-in-a-million events. I bet that'll never happen again. At least I know in the future, what type of employee to ask if I need something.

People are Bad

So, while I was getting gas this morning, there was a woman sitting in her car at the pump across from me. She had an older car, looked kind of tore-up and had stuff piled up to the ceiling in the back seat, along with what looked like a pet carrier back there. She got out of her car and looked over toward me and asked if I had a dollar she could have. I immediately said I don't have any cash on me. I was surprised and proud of myself that I blurted that out so quickly, even though I had three $5 bills in my pocket, after indulging in a $4.30 venti Starbucks pumpkin spice latte before stopping for gas. Anyway, she gets back in her car and started to drive away when I notice that her car has a vanity plate that said something like "HEAVEN4". What the heck is that? I can pay for a vanity plate, can stop at Chevron the most expensive gas station, but do you have a dollar I can have? Whatever. I don't ever give any money to beggars. I'm too cynical when it comes to them. I'll write more on that someday.

While driving, I heard the commercial for "The Wicker Man" movie starring Nick Cage. It sounded so good, listening to the deep voice of the narator, hearing the tension, fear, desperation and all the emotion in the actors voices as they spoke their lines, the moving background music. I felt like pulling over and listening all morning. However, I know that the movie probably won't be as good as that commercial/trailer/teaser. It's exactly the same in the theater. I look forward to watching the trailers before the movies, because they are almost all so good. It can make the worst movie like "Be Cool" actually look like the best movie ever made, that you need to see at all costs. I wish they could make all the movies about 45 minutes long, with the narator talking throughout and just jumping from important scene to action and back. Then every movie would be good. Of course, there are some movies that move along slow and I do love. If they are done well, with great cinematography, then I could watch forever. Like, "2001" "Kill Bill" "Shawshank Redemption", those keep my interest.

I also heard a commercial talking about a car lot giving a 0% apr on newly purchased cars from them, regardless of your credit. I know that usually they only give those great promotional low apr's to people with outstanding credit scores. I never understood that. I guess they are rewarding the people that have been good about paying their bills and are low risk with nice and low interest rates. However, the people that have messed up their credit, and probably need the lower interest rates more, end up getting the higher rates. It's like having a race and asking everyone who's the fastest. "You are the fastest? Ok, we'll put you up front here, ahead of everyone. You are the slowest? Ok, let's put you way back here in the back, oh and also you have to carry a jug of milk in both hands. Alright, is everyone happy, does this seem fair?" I guess there's a reason for all this, but no one's explained it to me.

The Starting Line

Well, here goes nothing.

I used to hate flying, but recently have found it to not be so bad. I used to fly a lot when I was younger, flying every summer to visit my Dad in Pittsburgh. I never really thought about flying then, I guess I was more concerned about leaving my Mom for a length of time and being with relatives that I only knew for a month at a time. I can't really remember the first time I got scared of flying, but I know I can recall being really anxious on a flight home one time when I was in my teens. I can remember having a stomach ache and hoping that I would get sick, so I wouldn't have to fly. What was I thinking? I would be sick forever and never have to go home? I told my Dad about it while we where having a lunch at a restuarant before I left, and he told me to walk down the block to a drug store and get some Tums or Rolaids. Needless to say, I don't think they helped. Then there was the time I actually went to the doctor and got a prescription for a couple Valium. That didn't help either. It got so bad that I actually went across the country a couple times on a train (that'll be an entry for another day). But, recently, I've had to fly more often for work, and it hasn't bothered me as much. My wife asked why, and I replied that maybe it was because I had to fly for work to keep my job (which I love, more later). While all these other flights were elective trips that could be begged off one way or another.


I just got a text message on my phone, while folding laundry, that the Steelers lost their final preseason game. Oh well. In past seasons I would have been a little scared that a winless preseason might mean bad things for the regular season. But not this year. After winning the Super Bowl last year, I feel very confident about this season, and can't wait for the season to start next Thursday.

While I was folding laundry, I noticed I had many types of underwear. I had some regular cotton boxers from Gap, some t-shirt type cotton boxers (what's that material called, I also have some sheets made of it), some boxer briefs from Hanes and the old standby tighty whiteys. It's funny that I wear them with different clothes, some for working out, some for my tight pants, some when I don't want a pattern showing through light pants. I actually think about when I'm in the bathroom at work in the public stall, and my pants are around my ankles and wonder if anyone can see my boxers. Some of the boxers from Gap have weird patterns on them, and I try to tuck them in my pants out of sight while I sit there. I guess I'm thinking of what I would think if I saw someone else's boxers and they were a bright color or had a girly pattern on them, and I would be thinking "what a fruitcake".