just got back from a dinner at "logan roadhouse." that's right. ate peanuts and threw the shells on the ground (i used to think this was something profound and wonderful. now i don't really get too moved by the whole experience). a few thoughts while i digest my steak and sweet potatoes:
+ heidi loves to cook and bake. i mean she just loves it. right now she is making bread pudding. she's never made bread pudding, but we just got home and there is a loaf of day old bread, and her mind thinks "hey, i'll make bread pudding." i've never even had bread pudding, and can honestly say i have never thought of it. not my wife. and i'm sure it's going to be really good. last night she made some baked apple thing for dessert that was pretty great. baked apples? i never would have thought of putting an apple in the oven (on second thought, i guess apple pie fits in here). she's amazing. and like i said, she is passionate about this stuff. ask anybody who knows her - she's famous for her cooking. do you know what i'm famous for? being tall. that's right. she has some great skill and love that benefits mankind. when you think of me, don't tell me the first thing that comes to your mind isn't "tall." this is just great.
+ fleet foxes new album (self titled) is grand. i don't know who these guys are where they came from, but their music makes me really happy (thanks to nate downey for the recommendation in the first place). also been feasting on bon iver (for emma, forever ago)
+ lakers over celtics in 6. i know it's the safe pick, but it's what i'm feeling. the lakers are really good.
+ one of these days i am going to open up a diner and it's going to be awesome. heidi will be responsibel mostly for the food, but i will make some mean breakfasts, and grill some meat. i grilled some kabobs last night, and you wouldn't believe the quality of these things. i have skills too. it isn't just heidi.
+ mystery vacation for the wife and i this weekend. tell you about it next week, as i am sure our destination will provide plenty to comment on.
+ i played 20 rounds of tic-tac-toe with a client today. he beat me 8-6. he's 13. i feel embarrassed about this. i thought every game of tic-tac-toe ended in a "cat's game" (whatever 'cat's game' means)
+ yesterday i lost a chess match to a 13 year old. things aren't going to well for me. i will honestly tell the readership of this blog that i have never won a game of chess. i don't do well with strategy and thinking ahead. i start to plan my moves 3-4 moves out, and come up with some brilliant plan, but forget the first move i was going to make, so i get frustrated and try to kill people with my queen, which usually ends pretty quickly for me. yesterday i thought i was going to win, but then i made two ridiculously bone-headed moves in a row to totally throw the game. would you think less of me if i told you that i was getting really excited, and then was immediately really pissed off because i thought i was going to finally win a game of chess? this was a 13 year old mind you. at one point in my life i swore i would never play chess again. this was because my friend duane beat me approximately 74 times in a row in graduate school. i hate chess. the ban is back on. i'm never playing again.
+ tic-tac-toe for that matter as well. never again.
+ (...this is getting ridiculous...) i just remembered that i got destroyed by a 15 year old in a best of 7 series of gin rummy yesterday. he beat me 4-2 and it wasn't even that close. gin rummy: you're done.
+ tomorrow is the day for my redemption. i am going to challenge some nine year olds to games of uno and war, and we will see who's the game master.
+ no more games for justin. you just go back to being tall, because, after all, that is what you're the best at.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
hey buddy!
cliff was a really good man. for the past 16 months that i have called florence, kentucky my home, i have been fortunate to call cliff my neighbor. neighbors are a strange thing these days. on the street that i grew up on, i knew every single person and spent the night at almost every single house (there was this one trailor that was inhabited by a large family of "let's just say not the cleanest kids" that i was forbidden from entering by my parents). then i went to college and spent the next seven or eight years hopping around apartment to apartment to house to house and so on, up and down the coast of california. never really knew my neighbors. never really cared.
cliff lived on the end of our driveway. just him and chad, his 20-something son who has always been polite and cordial in our meetings. but cliff was something else. when the weather is mild (not too cold, not too hot) you can't walk or drive by without hearing a booming and energetic "hey buddy!" i'd look over, and there is cliff... sitting on one of those vinyl camping chairs, with a cooler and the AM radio tuned to the reds game. conversations hardly lasted more than 3 or 4 minutes... but if it were up to him, i am sure they would be longer. he was a carrier for several years, and had a bunch of stories to tell. he liked to listen to john mcarthur sermons, and would apologize when he let a cuss word slip, always making sure that i knew he wasn't trying to be rude or crass, but that he just has a loose tongue. he loved the reds. and thought the bengals needed to "clean up their act." he didn't go to cincinnati much anymore "too much traffic," he would say, "everything i need is right here in florence." a few months back, cliff sold heidi and me his old truck. this 93 chevy s10. has some rust, and drives like a tank, but it's a good truck, mechanically sound. cliff guaranteed me that. told me if anything went wrong with the motor or anything, that i could just "stop on by" and he'd help me out with it. he was sad to see his truck go, he just didn't need it. but he was really content, seeing it go to "good people" as he identified us. he'd smile and ask everytime we'd drive by "how's that truck running? that tail light is out, stop on by, i might have a new one in the garage somewhere."
yesterday, as heidi and i were coming home from sunday errands, it became immediately clear that something wasn't right. cop car at the end of the driveway. big crowd of people. chad looked like he had just got home from work, and he was quick to get people out of the way so we could pass through in the car. i asked him, with hesitation, with a sure sense of what the answer would be, "is everything ok?" that look he gave. trying to hold back the tears. trying to be strong. it might have been the first time he said the words aloud since he called 911 just a few minutes ago: "my dad's... he's dead." i pulled the parking break, and stalled the car as i jumped out to comfort this mere acquantaince. i gave him a big hug. what do you do in that situation? asked him if we could help, knowing full well that he would say "no."
as heidi and i sat on the step leading to our front door, just staring at the fence, knowing that there was true loss and sadness just on the other side of that weathered wood, she asked me, "what do you think cliff's doing right now?" without a moment of hesitation, i replied, "i think he's up in heaven. it's a perfect spring day, and he's sitting back on a perfect little porch. Jesus and Peter are walking by, and he's yelling out 'hey buddy!' everybody knows that he's there."
i don't do well with death. i haven't been around it too much. both of my grandparents died in the span of 3 months a couple years ago. that was tough. those were the first, second, and so far, only funerals that i have gone to for people that i knew and loved. i just don't know what to say or do. i'm really going to miss cliff. he was somebody very special, and he was so kind to heidi and i. i have my regrets - should have spent more time with him. should've got that tail light fixed. should've invested more time to get to know chad, because he could really use hope and comfort right now. but this isn't about me. i always try to make it about me. i try to make everything about me. that's a fatal flaw. this is about cliff - a very good man. a man that i will miss very much.
cliff lived on the end of our driveway. just him and chad, his 20-something son who has always been polite and cordial in our meetings. but cliff was something else. when the weather is mild (not too cold, not too hot) you can't walk or drive by without hearing a booming and energetic "hey buddy!" i'd look over, and there is cliff... sitting on one of those vinyl camping chairs, with a cooler and the AM radio tuned to the reds game. conversations hardly lasted more than 3 or 4 minutes... but if it were up to him, i am sure they would be longer. he was a carrier for several years, and had a bunch of stories to tell. he liked to listen to john mcarthur sermons, and would apologize when he let a cuss word slip, always making sure that i knew he wasn't trying to be rude or crass, but that he just has a loose tongue. he loved the reds. and thought the bengals needed to "clean up their act." he didn't go to cincinnati much anymore "too much traffic," he would say, "everything i need is right here in florence." a few months back, cliff sold heidi and me his old truck. this 93 chevy s10. has some rust, and drives like a tank, but it's a good truck, mechanically sound. cliff guaranteed me that. told me if anything went wrong with the motor or anything, that i could just "stop on by" and he'd help me out with it. he was sad to see his truck go, he just didn't need it. but he was really content, seeing it go to "good people" as he identified us. he'd smile and ask everytime we'd drive by "how's that truck running? that tail light is out, stop on by, i might have a new one in the garage somewhere."
yesterday, as heidi and i were coming home from sunday errands, it became immediately clear that something wasn't right. cop car at the end of the driveway. big crowd of people. chad looked like he had just got home from work, and he was quick to get people out of the way so we could pass through in the car. i asked him, with hesitation, with a sure sense of what the answer would be, "is everything ok?" that look he gave. trying to hold back the tears. trying to be strong. it might have been the first time he said the words aloud since he called 911 just a few minutes ago: "my dad's... he's dead." i pulled the parking break, and stalled the car as i jumped out to comfort this mere acquantaince. i gave him a big hug. what do you do in that situation? asked him if we could help, knowing full well that he would say "no."
as heidi and i sat on the step leading to our front door, just staring at the fence, knowing that there was true loss and sadness just on the other side of that weathered wood, she asked me, "what do you think cliff's doing right now?" without a moment of hesitation, i replied, "i think he's up in heaven. it's a perfect spring day, and he's sitting back on a perfect little porch. Jesus and Peter are walking by, and he's yelling out 'hey buddy!' everybody knows that he's there."
i don't do well with death. i haven't been around it too much. both of my grandparents died in the span of 3 months a couple years ago. that was tough. those were the first, second, and so far, only funerals that i have gone to for people that i knew and loved. i just don't know what to say or do. i'm really going to miss cliff. he was somebody very special, and he was so kind to heidi and i. i have my regrets - should have spent more time with him. should've got that tail light fixed. should've invested more time to get to know chad, because he could really use hope and comfort right now. but this isn't about me. i always try to make it about me. i try to make everything about me. that's a fatal flaw. this is about cliff - a very good man. a man that i will miss very much.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Indiana Jones running diary
back by popular demand, it's another running diary! indiana jones marathon on USA on a sunday afternoon? count me in.
1:10 pm temple of doom. dude just got his heart ripped out and burned alive in some multon lava. pretty gruesome stuff. in discussing the merits of the indiana jones trilogy just yesterday, it was agreed upon in an overwhelming majority (3-0) that ttemple of doom is the worst of the three (debate rages on as to whether last crusade or raiders of the last ark is the best. wiser men than myself have pointed out that both feature nazis, and therefore are great movies. so for those of you scoring at home, nazis = good movie). the thing about temple of doom is this: as a kid, you probably thought that it was the best movie. human sacrifices, eating monkey brain and eyeball soup, that cute asian kid from goonies, and an overall over the top presentation. but think about it, can you remember anything about this movie outside these overly-fantastic moments of ridiculousness? i don't think so.
1:22 pm harrison ford is pretty great. han solo and indiana jones are the exact same character, but damnnit if i don't love him. harrison ford's way with women in these two great trilogies is something to be admired, and if possible, emulated. for anybody out there looking for "what women want" and "how to get chicks," might i recommend that you look to the master (do yourself a favor and ignore the latter work of ford, including "regarding henry," "patriot games and clear and present danger" (politicians don't know anything about women, even women politicians don't know anything about women - i'm looking at you hillary), "random hearts" "sabrina" or "what lies beneath").
1:29 pm i guess i'm supposed to buy into this "indiana jones becomes the husband/father figure" to this blonde broad and this asian kid in the yankees cap. it's not working for me.
1:31 pm the slaves are free! way to go indy. they seem to be a bit confused as to what to do with their new-found freedom. but i guess if you were trapped in a volcano mine for years, you'd be a bit overwhelmed too upon seeing the light of day for the first time. on a seriously depressing and devastating note, i suppose that there are some people in austria right now who are experiencing something similar. how does this happen? how does a man kidnap his own daughter, lock her up in the basement for 24 years, rape her and have six kids with her, while his wife mops the floor and cooks shepherd's pie upstairs in the kitchen completely oblivious to the evil that lies beneath? pure evil. to quote aerosmith, "something's wrong with the world today... WE'RE LIVING ON THE EDGE! (faint background vocals: "you can't help yourself from falling."
1:36 pm USA is advertising a show called "in plain sight" and "burn notice." i will never watch either.
1:48 pm captain carl just came over (my father-in-law). steak, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes and beer for dinner tonight. that sounds alright! the ladies are out of town, so the men are left to fend for ourselves. so far, so good. but here's the thing, heidi's gone for 5 days, and that's much longer than we've ever been apart since marriage. i know it sounds sappy and overly-romantic, but too bad - i miss her a lot, and i just don't feel "complete" when she's not around. i really love that girl. i bet you didn't know that heidi plays an amazing "air bass." it's something to see.
1:52 pm i'm thinking arby's. can't say i have eaten at arby's for something like 8 years, but i'm pretty hungry, all that is in the house is cheese, tortillas and milk, and i haven't yet eaten lunch. in the words of putty, "feels like an arby's night." i say this, knowing full well that if i did make that trip to arby's, i would definitely have serious regrets. have you ever eaten fast food and felt "good" about your decision? i can honestly say that i haven't enjoyed fast food since i was 11, when i thought that chicken nuggets from mcdonalds were the greatest food ever invented. erronious on all accounts.
1:55 pm if i remember correctly, indy has to make the decision in the last crusade whether to save the girl or the holy grail and he chooses to save the girl (the nazi who deceived him and tried to kill him) and here he is again, having to make a decision what to do with these stones while suspended on a rope bridge, high over a river... which is infested with alligators! i forgot about this.watching alligators (or is it crocodiles? never learned the difference) is one of the great and unexpected pleasures in this life. i'm completely satisfied (as are the crocs to be sure.)
1:59 pm the stones are gone, and the bad guy is getting torn apart by crocodiles. jones is climbing up the side of this rock while being assailed by a plethora of arrows from the opposite bank of the river. surprisingly, none of them pierced our hero.
2:03 pm lady yelling at indiana, and as she runs from him, all hot and bothered, our hero wrangles her back by means of his trusty whip. and as they are in the midst of the obligatory cinematic kiss, our good friend data (i don't know his name in this movie) sits atop an elephant, who, on command, sprays the lovers with water from its trunk. you can't make this stuff up. i guess that's not true, since it is, of course, completely made up.
2:05 pm raiders of the lost ark! apparently USA thought running the movies 1-2-3 doesn't make nearly us much sense as running them in the reverse order (3-2-1). who makes that decision? "hey guys, i have a great idea, when we show the indiana jones trilogy for 4 days in a row, why don't we show them in reverse order? wouldn't that be cool?" can someone explain this to me? on second thought, i don't care - i've got a few hours of good one-on-one with a young harrison ford, and i couldn't be happier about it. while the last crusade is the best of the three, raiders of the lost ark is extremely entertaining, and i haven't seen it for quite some time.
2:10 pm rain. i can only assume that i would be doing something much more productive and useful if were not for this inclimate weather, but when life gives you lemons... (that's a terrible colloqialism btw. here's a beter one: "when life gives you apples, make an apple pie... or just eat the apple," because apples are delicious! and according to what i've been told, eating one a day will keep those pesky doctors away - as if doctors are swarming about like mosqutos, waiting to feast on your blood).
2:15 pm i defy you to suggest anything greater than watching a man run for his life from a giant, smoothed rock. the indiana jones ride at disneyland captures this experience flawlessly. i seriously feared for my life, all 14 times i rode the ride. i miss roller coasters.
2:19 pm that talking dog on the bush's baked beans commercials is absolutely priceless. remember when the dog didn't talk? baked beans sound really good right now. i need to eat.
2:23 pm law and order is like cheap chinese food. it's not that good, but it's not that bad either. i'm not going out of my way to get it, but when i do partake, i'm typically at least satieted. but like chinese food, watching an episode of law and order "moves right through you." i can watch the same episode four times and still not remember how it ended. half an hour after i eat chinese, i'm hungry again.
2:28 pm do you think archeology is nearly as cool as it seems to me right now? can i become an archeologist? something tells me that it wouldn't live up to my "indiana jones-sized expectations." the same goes for firefighters (backdraft), teacher (dangerous minds, stand and deliver, kindergarten cop etc) (lethal weapon, robo cop, etc), pilot (top gun) exterminator (arachniphobia) or cyborg sent to destroy, then save the world (terminator I and II (no credence given to part III)). (apparently i haven't seen any movie made past 1994).
2:33 pm domino's is souding good to me right now. i need to eat.
2:35 1/2 pm nevermind, i lost my appetite. pregnancy test commercial that promises their product to be "the most sophisticated thing you will ever pee on." shouldn't the word "pee" be included in words that can't be said on television? i feel uncomfortable.
2:36 i can't take this anymore. i got to eat. let's wrap this thing up. lesson learned from today? harrison ford could and should run for president. would you really take obama, clinton or mccain, if you had the option of voting for ford? nevermind. i hate politics. i really do. if politics could be more like sports, then i might find some value, but until some sort of win-loss column is developed and stats are kept, then i have a serious lack on interest.
2:28 pm semi-pretty girl doing shots in a bar with a bunch of heathens. you think this could be a love interest for our boy indy? what are the chances that her and indy trade angry and passionate dialogue throughout the movie? something tells me this hate (she just punched him straight in the jaw) will develop into a beautiful romance. i can't wait.
2:41 pm that's it. i'm out for real. sorry for the typos and spelling errors. thanks for your loyal readership.
1:10 pm temple of doom. dude just got his heart ripped out and burned alive in some multon lava. pretty gruesome stuff. in discussing the merits of the indiana jones trilogy just yesterday, it was agreed upon in an overwhelming majority (3-0) that ttemple of doom is the worst of the three (debate rages on as to whether last crusade or raiders of the last ark is the best. wiser men than myself have pointed out that both feature nazis, and therefore are great movies. so for those of you scoring at home, nazis = good movie). the thing about temple of doom is this: as a kid, you probably thought that it was the best movie. human sacrifices, eating monkey brain and eyeball soup, that cute asian kid from goonies, and an overall over the top presentation. but think about it, can you remember anything about this movie outside these overly-fantastic moments of ridiculousness? i don't think so.
1:22 pm harrison ford is pretty great. han solo and indiana jones are the exact same character, but damnnit if i don't love him. harrison ford's way with women in these two great trilogies is something to be admired, and if possible, emulated. for anybody out there looking for "what women want" and "how to get chicks," might i recommend that you look to the master (do yourself a favor and ignore the latter work of ford, including "regarding henry," "patriot games and clear and present danger" (politicians don't know anything about women, even women politicians don't know anything about women - i'm looking at you hillary), "random hearts" "sabrina" or "what lies beneath").
1:29 pm i guess i'm supposed to buy into this "indiana jones becomes the husband/father figure" to this blonde broad and this asian kid in the yankees cap. it's not working for me.
1:31 pm the slaves are free! way to go indy. they seem to be a bit confused as to what to do with their new-found freedom. but i guess if you were trapped in a volcano mine for years, you'd be a bit overwhelmed too upon seeing the light of day for the first time. on a seriously depressing and devastating note, i suppose that there are some people in austria right now who are experiencing something similar. how does this happen? how does a man kidnap his own daughter, lock her up in the basement for 24 years, rape her and have six kids with her, while his wife mops the floor and cooks shepherd's pie upstairs in the kitchen completely oblivious to the evil that lies beneath? pure evil. to quote aerosmith, "something's wrong with the world today... WE'RE LIVING ON THE EDGE! (faint background vocals: "you can't help yourself from falling."
1:36 pm USA is advertising a show called "in plain sight" and "burn notice." i will never watch either.
1:48 pm captain carl just came over (my father-in-law). steak, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes and beer for dinner tonight. that sounds alright! the ladies are out of town, so the men are left to fend for ourselves. so far, so good. but here's the thing, heidi's gone for 5 days, and that's much longer than we've ever been apart since marriage. i know it sounds sappy and overly-romantic, but too bad - i miss her a lot, and i just don't feel "complete" when she's not around. i really love that girl. i bet you didn't know that heidi plays an amazing "air bass." it's something to see.
1:52 pm i'm thinking arby's. can't say i have eaten at arby's for something like 8 years, but i'm pretty hungry, all that is in the house is cheese, tortillas and milk, and i haven't yet eaten lunch. in the words of putty, "feels like an arby's night." i say this, knowing full well that if i did make that trip to arby's, i would definitely have serious regrets. have you ever eaten fast food and felt "good" about your decision? i can honestly say that i haven't enjoyed fast food since i was 11, when i thought that chicken nuggets from mcdonalds were the greatest food ever invented. erronious on all accounts.
1:55 pm if i remember correctly, indy has to make the decision in the last crusade whether to save the girl or the holy grail and he chooses to save the girl (the nazi who deceived him and tried to kill him) and here he is again, having to make a decision what to do with these stones while suspended on a rope bridge, high over a river... which is infested with alligators! i forgot about this.watching alligators (or is it crocodiles? never learned the difference) is one of the great and unexpected pleasures in this life. i'm completely satisfied (as are the crocs to be sure.)
1:59 pm the stones are gone, and the bad guy is getting torn apart by crocodiles. jones is climbing up the side of this rock while being assailed by a plethora of arrows from the opposite bank of the river. surprisingly, none of them pierced our hero.
2:03 pm lady yelling at indiana, and as she runs from him, all hot and bothered, our hero wrangles her back by means of his trusty whip. and as they are in the midst of the obligatory cinematic kiss, our good friend data (i don't know his name in this movie) sits atop an elephant, who, on command, sprays the lovers with water from its trunk. you can't make this stuff up. i guess that's not true, since it is, of course, completely made up.
2:05 pm raiders of the lost ark! apparently USA thought running the movies 1-2-3 doesn't make nearly us much sense as running them in the reverse order (3-2-1). who makes that decision? "hey guys, i have a great idea, when we show the indiana jones trilogy for 4 days in a row, why don't we show them in reverse order? wouldn't that be cool?" can someone explain this to me? on second thought, i don't care - i've got a few hours of good one-on-one with a young harrison ford, and i couldn't be happier about it. while the last crusade is the best of the three, raiders of the lost ark is extremely entertaining, and i haven't seen it for quite some time.
2:10 pm rain. i can only assume that i would be doing something much more productive and useful if were not for this inclimate weather, but when life gives you lemons... (that's a terrible colloqialism btw. here's a beter one: "when life gives you apples, make an apple pie... or just eat the apple," because apples are delicious! and according to what i've been told, eating one a day will keep those pesky doctors away - as if doctors are swarming about like mosqutos, waiting to feast on your blood).
2:15 pm i defy you to suggest anything greater than watching a man run for his life from a giant, smoothed rock. the indiana jones ride at disneyland captures this experience flawlessly. i seriously feared for my life, all 14 times i rode the ride. i miss roller coasters.
2:19 pm that talking dog on the bush's baked beans commercials is absolutely priceless. remember when the dog didn't talk? baked beans sound really good right now. i need to eat.
2:23 pm law and order is like cheap chinese food. it's not that good, but it's not that bad either. i'm not going out of my way to get it, but when i do partake, i'm typically at least satieted. but like chinese food, watching an episode of law and order "moves right through you." i can watch the same episode four times and still not remember how it ended. half an hour after i eat chinese, i'm hungry again.
2:28 pm do you think archeology is nearly as cool as it seems to me right now? can i become an archeologist? something tells me that it wouldn't live up to my "indiana jones-sized expectations." the same goes for firefighters (backdraft), teacher (dangerous minds, stand and deliver, kindergarten cop etc) (lethal weapon, robo cop, etc), pilot (top gun) exterminator (arachniphobia) or cyborg sent to destroy, then save the world (terminator I and II (no credence given to part III)). (apparently i haven't seen any movie made past 1994).
2:33 pm domino's is souding good to me right now. i need to eat.
2:35 1/2 pm nevermind, i lost my appetite. pregnancy test commercial that promises their product to be "the most sophisticated thing you will ever pee on." shouldn't the word "pee" be included in words that can't be said on television? i feel uncomfortable.
2:36 i can't take this anymore. i got to eat. let's wrap this thing up. lesson learned from today? harrison ford could and should run for president. would you really take obama, clinton or mccain, if you had the option of voting for ford? nevermind. i hate politics. i really do. if politics could be more like sports, then i might find some value, but until some sort of win-loss column is developed and stats are kept, then i have a serious lack on interest.
2:28 pm semi-pretty girl doing shots in a bar with a bunch of heathens. you think this could be a love interest for our boy indy? what are the chances that her and indy trade angry and passionate dialogue throughout the movie? something tells me this hate (she just punched him straight in the jaw) will develop into a beautiful romance. i can't wait.
2:41 pm that's it. i'm out for real. sorry for the typos and spelling errors. thanks for your loyal readership.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
grocery list
this has got to be quick. my computer was dead all last week cause the power chord caught on fire while it was on my lap. good times. but i'm back. here's a list of things that i have thought of writing about over the past week:
> last tuesday was my birthday. i think birthdays are pretty silly and i don't make too big a deal about them... but when it is your birthday, i find this desire to let people know... just so i can get that attention. but on the flip side it feels pretty dumb to say to your coworkers "you know, it is my brithday."
> speaking of birthdays, i got 50 bucks in itunes money from the folks. but i'm not sure what to spend it on. give me some suggestions (i guess that means you kevin and nate, not sure if anyone else reads this junk)
> saw the movie "expelled," which is ben stien's documentary about darwinist evolution's stranglehold over the scientific community and the refusal to allow theories, such as intelligent design to even be discussed. it was a pretty compelling film. i recommend it.
> i'm reading this little book called "from pride to humility." let's just say that i got some work to do in this area.
> weather has been pretty glorious. last week i took a client of mine out to play some baseball down at the local park. he brought his bat, and we were taking turns hitting and such. i got a hold of one and ripped it over the right centerfield fence. i don't care who you are, how old you are, what the circumstances are, there is nothing better than watching that ball sail over the fence. i ran the bases. that's right. i couldn't help it. the only negative from the whole experience - couldn't get the kid's ball back, so now i have to buy him a new one.
> roger clemmens - what else can be said? i got nothing.
> nba playoffs: pretty good. baseball season: not so much. if not for fantasy, i'm not paying too much attention. the reds fail.
> next two weekends kevin's in town. bring it on.
> last tuesday was my birthday. i think birthdays are pretty silly and i don't make too big a deal about them... but when it is your birthday, i find this desire to let people know... just so i can get that attention. but on the flip side it feels pretty dumb to say to your coworkers "you know, it is my brithday."
> speaking of birthdays, i got 50 bucks in itunes money from the folks. but i'm not sure what to spend it on. give me some suggestions (i guess that means you kevin and nate, not sure if anyone else reads this junk)
> saw the movie "expelled," which is ben stien's documentary about darwinist evolution's stranglehold over the scientific community and the refusal to allow theories, such as intelligent design to even be discussed. it was a pretty compelling film. i recommend it.
> i'm reading this little book called "from pride to humility." let's just say that i got some work to do in this area.
> weather has been pretty glorious. last week i took a client of mine out to play some baseball down at the local park. he brought his bat, and we were taking turns hitting and such. i got a hold of one and ripped it over the right centerfield fence. i don't care who you are, how old you are, what the circumstances are, there is nothing better than watching that ball sail over the fence. i ran the bases. that's right. i couldn't help it. the only negative from the whole experience - couldn't get the kid's ball back, so now i have to buy him a new one.
> roger clemmens - what else can be said? i got nothing.
> nba playoffs: pretty good. baseball season: not so much. if not for fantasy, i'm not paying too much attention. the reds fail.
> next two weekends kevin's in town. bring it on.
Friday, April 25, 2008
three unrelated and utterly useless throughts.
it's friday. some thoughts:
1. talked to kevin on the phone yesterday for a half hour. i know this doesn't sound like much, but i don't rattle off half-hour phone conversations too much (i later talked to my friend nate downey for another half hour that night - i ran out of words after these two conversations and heidi was left with a useless conversation partner. i just stared blankly at her admired how pretty she is, but couldn't bring myself to say those words. my mom used to say that men have 10,000 words per day, and when they used up those words, they were done. 10,000 sounds a little high to me. i think i got about 7k in me - after that you're lucky to get a grunt or a nod.) the greatest part of this half hour conversation with kevin was that from start to finish we discussed nothing but sports. you don't know how much this pleases me. this is why guys can get along so much easier than girls. we have sports. always. never fail. girls talk about celebrity gossip and trade recipes and share hair and skin secrets. girls comment on eachother's belts and boots. (you can tell that i really don't have a clue when it comes to women. it's amazing that i am married). but one half hour of reds, bengals, draft, fantasy talk... that's pretty damn good.
2. heidi and i went on a picnic date the other night. we drank some wine and talked about our respective childhoods and the things that make us who we are. (one of the reasons i absolutely adore heidi, and fell in love with her in the first place, is because, when it comes to conversation, the rules from point number one don't apply. heidi is an exquisite conversationalist. i could talk to her for hours. which is good, because i'm pretty sure we got hours to burn). childhood is a funny thing. all these memories. all these proverbial forks in the road. life is a bunch of forks in the road, and to retrace your steps, and think about the times that you went left when you could have, or seemingly should have went right is mind-blowing to me. the fact that i am here, living in kentucky - a state that i wasn't even sure existed a couple of years ago, is due to the fact that several years ago, i chose one grad school over another (because i got dumped) and ended up meeting my friend duane, moving to san diego, and meeting heidi, who also went one way on the road of life, and happened to pass through san diego on a road trip just as i was moving there. you can't make this stuff up. you can't plan it. this is the kind of stuff that i attribute to God. it's inexplicable. it's retarded how stuff works out. and i feel rather confident that the God of this universe has something to do with where we go and what we do in our everyday life. this gives me a comfort and a hope that i lean upon each day of my life.
3. i just spent the last hour in my front yard washing the car, playing with the dogs, and talking/throwing the football with this 12-year old kid named benji who lives down the street. he just wandered up the driveway and asked if we had any chores for him to do because he is trying to save money so he can join karate again. he is a blue belt with a green stripe. i don't know what that means, but he says that it is almost half way to a black belt. i challenged him to spar, but he declined, so i guess a green belt isn't too impressive (that or the fact that i am at least twice his size was the deterrent). but this kid just wandered over to my house and would not leave. at first i was annoyed. i don't like to be bothered for the most part. but then i got to thinking. this kid is just looking for a friend. maybe this kid just wants somebody to look up to. maybe that could be me. maybe i could put my own selfish motives out of my mind for a bit, and spend some time with this kid. we talked music (he likes guns n' roses and metallica, which is most definitely the influence of an older brother), his favorite sport is basketball (mine too) and he plays the saxophone (a terrible instrument in my mind, but what are you going to do?) he asked me questions about heidi (where is she? when is she coming home? where does she work? does she go running every day?), to the point where i started to worry that he was just hanging out with me to get to my wife. after awhile, his mom called him home and he took off. that kid is alright.
1. talked to kevin on the phone yesterday for a half hour. i know this doesn't sound like much, but i don't rattle off half-hour phone conversations too much (i later talked to my friend nate downey for another half hour that night - i ran out of words after these two conversations and heidi was left with a useless conversation partner. i just stared blankly at her admired how pretty she is, but couldn't bring myself to say those words. my mom used to say that men have 10,000 words per day, and when they used up those words, they were done. 10,000 sounds a little high to me. i think i got about 7k in me - after that you're lucky to get a grunt or a nod.) the greatest part of this half hour conversation with kevin was that from start to finish we discussed nothing but sports. you don't know how much this pleases me. this is why guys can get along so much easier than girls. we have sports. always. never fail. girls talk about celebrity gossip and trade recipes and share hair and skin secrets. girls comment on eachother's belts and boots. (you can tell that i really don't have a clue when it comes to women. it's amazing that i am married). but one half hour of reds, bengals, draft, fantasy talk... that's pretty damn good.
2. heidi and i went on a picnic date the other night. we drank some wine and talked about our respective childhoods and the things that make us who we are. (one of the reasons i absolutely adore heidi, and fell in love with her in the first place, is because, when it comes to conversation, the rules from point number one don't apply. heidi is an exquisite conversationalist. i could talk to her for hours. which is good, because i'm pretty sure we got hours to burn). childhood is a funny thing. all these memories. all these proverbial forks in the road. life is a bunch of forks in the road, and to retrace your steps, and think about the times that you went left when you could have, or seemingly should have went right is mind-blowing to me. the fact that i am here, living in kentucky - a state that i wasn't even sure existed a couple of years ago, is due to the fact that several years ago, i chose one grad school over another (because i got dumped) and ended up meeting my friend duane, moving to san diego, and meeting heidi, who also went one way on the road of life, and happened to pass through san diego on a road trip just as i was moving there. you can't make this stuff up. you can't plan it. this is the kind of stuff that i attribute to God. it's inexplicable. it's retarded how stuff works out. and i feel rather confident that the God of this universe has something to do with where we go and what we do in our everyday life. this gives me a comfort and a hope that i lean upon each day of my life.
3. i just spent the last hour in my front yard washing the car, playing with the dogs, and talking/throwing the football with this 12-year old kid named benji who lives down the street. he just wandered up the driveway and asked if we had any chores for him to do because he is trying to save money so he can join karate again. he is a blue belt with a green stripe. i don't know what that means, but he says that it is almost half way to a black belt. i challenged him to spar, but he declined, so i guess a green belt isn't too impressive (that or the fact that i am at least twice his size was the deterrent). but this kid just wandered over to my house and would not leave. at first i was annoyed. i don't like to be bothered for the most part. but then i got to thinking. this kid is just looking for a friend. maybe this kid just wants somebody to look up to. maybe that could be me. maybe i could put my own selfish motives out of my mind for a bit, and spend some time with this kid. we talked music (he likes guns n' roses and metallica, which is most definitely the influence of an older brother), his favorite sport is basketball (mine too) and he plays the saxophone (a terrible instrument in my mind, but what are you going to do?) he asked me questions about heidi (where is she? when is she coming home? where does she work? does she go running every day?), to the point where i started to worry that he was just hanging out with me to get to my wife. after awhile, his mom called him home and he took off. that kid is alright.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
LOTR 30 minute running diary
i wish i would have thought of this earlier. the time now is 3:17. for the past four hours or so, i have been casually watching the lord of the rings trilogy on tnt (we know drama). this is my saturday. if i could go back in time, i would have started a running diary and committed to watch the entire 10 hours of middle earth drama, but i am a bit late to the game, and i have only marginally been paying attention. (on a side note, if i could go back in time, i'm pretty sure i would do something way cooler than watching the entire LOTR trilogy on cable... maybe not)
3:19 - frodo is a whiner. does he ever say anything without the whine in his voice? this battle scene that's going on is out of control. when it comes to warfare... count me out. i don't think i could do it. i used to have this dream that i was in my front yard and i had to get from the porch to the other side of the yard. it was vietnam or something in my dream. but for some reason i only had a bow and arrow. i don't know how to shoot a bow and arrow, and in my dream i knew this. so i hid under the porch and watched the feet of brave soldiers run by for what seemed like days. this was my dream. i was a coward. i can only assume it would be worse in real life.
3:25 - everybody in this movie has long shaggy hair and perfectly trimmed facial hair. my friend nate carter could have been in this movie. my friend kevin could not... unless he was an elf. but then his hair would have to be blond and straight. that's a sight i would like to see.
3:28 - commercials.
- apparently pizza hut is making pasta, and papa johns is making authentic italian pizza. i have my doubts.
- kia drivers can't remember what side of the car their fuel tank is on. i forget this all the time, and i have to fill up my car about twice a week. i'm not impressed.
- why do car dealerships get "overstocked" what does that even mean? they always say that this translates to huge savings for the consumer. i've never bought a car from a dealer. i'm not buying it.
3:32 - back to the film. this running diary idea is terrible. who wouild ever want to read this. calvin (our newly acquired puppy, named after everyone's favorite 16th century french theologian) is waking up. time to take him out to go "potty." i hate that i even know that word, and say it in my instructions to the dog to take care of his business. but i'm a big fan of this little dog. he's pretty great. apologies in advance to everyone that has to hear us talk about him and show pictures of the little black blob.
3:34 - gandolf just showed up all blazing in white brilliance with a bunch of dudes and they are charging down the hill to kick some orc ass. the trees are getting into the swing of things as well. thigs are looking up for the good guys. they might just pull this one off. of course, i guess it was never in doubt, what with the thrid installment of the trillogy yet to come.
3:44 - back from laundry folding. why doesn't gollum/smeigel get as much bad press as jar jar binks got for star wars episode I? can anyone tell me he is not as annoying? it's that way with pop culture. our minds are made up for us who we are supposed to like and who we are not. we are told that we are supposed to love brett favre (read skip's blog for a wonderful discussion on brett favre), for no particular reason. we used to love britney, and hate christina, but that surely has reversed, simply because christina hasn't gone absolutely crazy and had her kids taken from her after several run ins with the law and just plain silly behavior. that might be a bad example.
3:45 - stay tuned, the final act of LOTR is coming up next. this running diary thing was a terrible idea. how does bill simmons do it so well? sorry to anybody who suffered through this one... but i've put too much time into typing, and i can't just erase it.
3:19 - frodo is a whiner. does he ever say anything without the whine in his voice? this battle scene that's going on is out of control. when it comes to warfare... count me out. i don't think i could do it. i used to have this dream that i was in my front yard and i had to get from the porch to the other side of the yard. it was vietnam or something in my dream. but for some reason i only had a bow and arrow. i don't know how to shoot a bow and arrow, and in my dream i knew this. so i hid under the porch and watched the feet of brave soldiers run by for what seemed like days. this was my dream. i was a coward. i can only assume it would be worse in real life.
3:25 - everybody in this movie has long shaggy hair and perfectly trimmed facial hair. my friend nate carter could have been in this movie. my friend kevin could not... unless he was an elf. but then his hair would have to be blond and straight. that's a sight i would like to see.
3:28 - commercials.
- apparently pizza hut is making pasta, and papa johns is making authentic italian pizza. i have my doubts.
- kia drivers can't remember what side of the car their fuel tank is on. i forget this all the time, and i have to fill up my car about twice a week. i'm not impressed.
- why do car dealerships get "overstocked" what does that even mean? they always say that this translates to huge savings for the consumer. i've never bought a car from a dealer. i'm not buying it.
3:32 - back to the film. this running diary idea is terrible. who wouild ever want to read this. calvin (our newly acquired puppy, named after everyone's favorite 16th century french theologian) is waking up. time to take him out to go "potty." i hate that i even know that word, and say it in my instructions to the dog to take care of his business. but i'm a big fan of this little dog. he's pretty great. apologies in advance to everyone that has to hear us talk about him and show pictures of the little black blob.
3:34 - gandolf just showed up all blazing in white brilliance with a bunch of dudes and they are charging down the hill to kick some orc ass. the trees are getting into the swing of things as well. thigs are looking up for the good guys. they might just pull this one off. of course, i guess it was never in doubt, what with the thrid installment of the trillogy yet to come.
3:44 - back from laundry folding. why doesn't gollum/smeigel get as much bad press as jar jar binks got for star wars episode I? can anyone tell me he is not as annoying? it's that way with pop culture. our minds are made up for us who we are supposed to like and who we are not. we are told that we are supposed to love brett favre (read skip's blog for a wonderful discussion on brett favre), for no particular reason. we used to love britney, and hate christina, but that surely has reversed, simply because christina hasn't gone absolutely crazy and had her kids taken from her after several run ins with the law and just plain silly behavior. that might be a bad example.
3:45 - stay tuned, the final act of LOTR is coming up next. this running diary thing was a terrible idea. how does bill simmons do it so well? sorry to anybody who suffered through this one... but i've put too much time into typing, and i can't just erase it.
Monday, April 7, 2008
sunday morning respect.
did you know that BET (black entertainment television) airs joel osteen every sunday morning? if you don't know who joel osteen is, wikipedia it or something. whatever. i'm not too concerned about joel osteen at this moment. he's a turd. i'm not concerned with his teachings or his doctrine right now. i'm concerned with his white face on my black entertainment television.
while watching the wire (only one disc to go before having to wait an eternity for the fifth season) an episode focused on a hit (assassination) that was ordered by one drug gang against a rebel drug power (omar - sort of robin hood who robs from the rich drug dealers, but doesn't really give to the poor). anyway, this westside drug crew puts a bounty of omar's head, but omar is impossible to ever track down. when they find omar, he is picking his sweet old mama up for church getting into a cab with her. gun shots are fired, omar has to push his mom in the cab and her big fancy hat (called a crown, which i find delightful) is knocked off.
that's the scene. you don't care. whatever. what i love about this, is these guys are breaking a HUGE rule of the game. you don't come after somebody on sunday. seriously. this is some hard-core drugs and guns and violence going on here... but sunday is the day of peace. the Lord's day. the sabbath. you can't make this stuff up.
and i thought this was mildly interesting until i was watching BET yesterday morning before church and saw big white-tooth joel osteen preaching to his congregation of 28,000 (no joke). BET airs sermons every sunday morning (could you ever see mtv doing this? no way in hell). and not just any church service. but Black Entertainment Television is broadcasting the great white hype himself. you don't get much whiter than joel osteen. this is incredible to me.
and as i watched joel osteen preaching on BET, i thought about the rules of the game on the wire that probibit rival drug gangs from going after each other on this one day a week. and i started to think about church. and about Jesus, who is said to be the head of the Church. and i think that even though these efforts are misguided, i appreciate the respect.
it's in everybody. you know you're not supposed to cuss in a church. you act differently around ministers and reverends, you say, "i don't go to church, but that's cool that you do." what is it about this respect for church in this country? in parts of this world you get cut in half for going to church. but here, you get a tip of the hat and a "how do you do?"
everybody's got respect for jesus and his followers (except the "intellectual" elite - another topic for another day), and i just don't know what to do with that.
while watching the wire (only one disc to go before having to wait an eternity for the fifth season) an episode focused on a hit (assassination) that was ordered by one drug gang against a rebel drug power (omar - sort of robin hood who robs from the rich drug dealers, but doesn't really give to the poor). anyway, this westside drug crew puts a bounty of omar's head, but omar is impossible to ever track down. when they find omar, he is picking his sweet old mama up for church getting into a cab with her. gun shots are fired, omar has to push his mom in the cab and her big fancy hat (called a crown, which i find delightful) is knocked off.
that's the scene. you don't care. whatever. what i love about this, is these guys are breaking a HUGE rule of the game. you don't come after somebody on sunday. seriously. this is some hard-core drugs and guns and violence going on here... but sunday is the day of peace. the Lord's day. the sabbath. you can't make this stuff up.
and i thought this was mildly interesting until i was watching BET yesterday morning before church and saw big white-tooth joel osteen preaching to his congregation of 28,000 (no joke). BET airs sermons every sunday morning (could you ever see mtv doing this? no way in hell). and not just any church service. but Black Entertainment Television is broadcasting the great white hype himself. you don't get much whiter than joel osteen. this is incredible to me.
and as i watched joel osteen preaching on BET, i thought about the rules of the game on the wire that probibit rival drug gangs from going after each other on this one day a week. and i started to think about church. and about Jesus, who is said to be the head of the Church. and i think that even though these efforts are misguided, i appreciate the respect.
it's in everybody. you know you're not supposed to cuss in a church. you act differently around ministers and reverends, you say, "i don't go to church, but that's cool that you do." what is it about this respect for church in this country? in parts of this world you get cut in half for going to church. but here, you get a tip of the hat and a "how do you do?"
everybody's got respect for jesus and his followers (except the "intellectual" elite - another topic for another day), and i just don't know what to do with that.
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