12-02-08

So, been awhile since I have been around. What has happened? I failed at the NaNoWriMo challenge last month, but have a huge chunk of book done. I'm going to let a few people read the finished chunk and see if it's worth following to it's end or not.
Thanksgiving was fabulous. The bird was delicious, Seann brought his girlfriend, Lindsay over and she brought her eight month old daughter, Katara with her. Katara was fascinated with my beard and I lost a few hairs, but I've had kids tig on that thing for so long I'm pretty sure that the nerve endings are shot.
Snow has finally come to Michigan and so the battle with the driveway begins. Bring it on driveway, I can do it.
Yesterday, Martha and I went and got an advance on our taxes from H&R Block to pay for Christmas. Then we went and did waaaay too much shopping. Still plenty of cash and we're trying to find the perfect guitar for Dennis. And we need a drum stool for Delia. Fun, fun, fun.
In the news is Stew and I are going to start our own web comic. I have some ideas that I have been fleshing out at stripgenrator.com and with Stew's art and our macabre senses of humor it should be a lot of fun.
That's it for now. I'll check in again in the near future as it strikes my fancy. Of course then I'll need a bandage because nothing bleeds worse than a struck fancy.
Sheesh!
I gotta go.

11-10-08

So, another weekend has passed. And what a weekend. Martha went to the parade downtown with Dan and I did the parade with Dandelion. We were actually in the parade. She was with the scouts and I was with the Magnet Schools. It seemed to take forever, but it was a lot of fun. After the parade we walked the downtown mall where they had free hot cocoa and soup. I opted for the chili and since Martha brought Sweetie along, I fed her chili to keep her warm. Yeah, it's been nice and balmy for a while and the minute there's an organized event, WHAM! it's cold.
Before the parade we stopped at a coffee shop that I like called The Copy Cup. Seems the owners changed hands recently and I think the prices did too. I got two hot chocolates for the kids and a couple of muffins, a scone and a large coffee. Should that really run 15 bucks? I didn't think so either. Oh well, just know better for next time.
Did I mention that we went to Stew and Amy's new digs? No, well we did and they are mucha cool. The kids seem to like it. I grabbed a six of Stroh's and Stew made some amazing eats.
After the parade we went home, grabbed Seann and Dennis and went to the third annual Metalfest. It was supposed to start at three and have thirteen bands. It had 10 bands and didn't get started until five.
We stayed for five of the bands. I thought it sucked that the really good, high energy bands like Cellsepic and Reinventing Yesterday got stuck in the little room while incredibly sucky bands like Suburban Funeral and Medieval got the big ballroom. At least Amongst Enemies got to use the big room, but their set was so short!
Of the night, Reinventing Yesterday was the best of the bunch. We didn't stay for the rest because we were all tired and starving. We could have gone back, but after feasting on Taco Bell, it seemed like a waste. Especially if there were more sucky bands to endure. Stew showed up for the fun as well and that was uber cool.
Sunday, I made ham and cheese omelets for Sunday School and then we went home and deep cleaned the living room. It was a horrid mess and I am determined to never let that happen again. Dan and I got to hang out while everyone else went to Youth Group. I watched Meat Market and a little of Actress Apocalyspe. Then Dan and I played some Guitar Hero. There was this Slayer song that I could not do and The Cliffs OF Dover song was broken so we're kind of stuck in a certain place until I get better at that damned Slayer song.
I did manage to get the rest of my NaNoWriMo transcribed and set up. Now I need to crank out some serious word count this week to stay on target. Sheesh!
Busy weekend.

11/05/08

Well the smoke has cleared and Obama is president. I did not vote for him so that absolves me of all blame for the next four years.
In other news I got a videograbber so I can edit footage from my camcorder. Yeah, now I need a special cord that no one mentioned. Grrrrr. I'll be getting that soon.
This weekend is MetalFest and Martha and I are taking Dennis and Seann. It will be great fun. I'll be deaf for church, but it will be great fun nonetheless. My biggest issue is that I can't take a dump in that bathroom so I'll be holding it for quite a while. I'll be sure to go before we leave the house. It should be great fun.
Other than that it has been work, home, work, home. Add, rinse, repeat.
Sheesh!

11/03/08

Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't be around much, but I'm actually ahead of the game in the Novel Writing business so, here I am.
Friday night we had many, many kids show up for the youth group's Halloween party. We took the kids trick or treating and they made out like bandits. Then there was stacks of pizza and then I got a ride home with Sam and took the littles home. It was a fun day and I was exhausted.
Saturday we went to get the dryer and now we need a different plug for the wall. Luckily, Hammer aid he would do that for us this week so, that's a good thing. The meeting with the other NaNoWriMo writers was fun. I don't have laptop, but I managed to get ten pages done in longhand. I'm pretty sure that that is over 1667 words for that day and Sunday I managed 1900 words so, good start as long as I can keep up the steam.
So, tomorrow is the election. I think it's funny how people believe that a single person is going to affect change the second he gets into office. Kind of depends on congress, doesn't it? That whole, checks and balances thing that is in place to keep the loonies in control, right? Anyway, tomorrow is the election and this planet of ours will keep spinning regardless. I wish people weren't so hung up on this stuff.
I gotta go!

10/30/08

Kind of busy couple of days. Yesterday we had to take Dan The Man's popcorn in. He sold over three hundred bucks so I was proud of him for that. He gets to get that really cool multi tool he wanted as a prize so, it's a win win situation. After that Martha, Delia and I went to see her perform in a choir concert. It was very much fun and the music was great. The kids did a great job. I forgot to charge the batteries on the camera so I sketched a cartoon of her singing and dated it. It almost counts.
Today I went on my merry way to work and around ten I called MArtha to ask her a question. She wanted me to come home to snuggle.
Not being an idiot, I took an early luch. Yeah for us! Then back to work to get a submission done. Then I came home and we decided to go to Meijer, get some stuff we needed, write the checks over and wing our way to the laundromat. Just got back from that. We got a lot done in a short period of time. It felt good getting that much stuff done. Dennis has been a cleaning whirlwind because his friend Dakota is coming over tomorrow.
Now for an announcement;
I will be attempting the NANoWriMo again this year. What that means is National Novel Writing Month. You spend thirty days trying to get to 50,000 words. It only comes to 1667 a day. I have my idea and should be able to run with it starting Saturday. Because of that I will not be posting her for the next month. I will be back in December to let everyone know how it went. This has been an excellent day.

10/27/08

Kind of a weird, yet fun filled weekend. First up, lots of snuggling with Martha. I mean lots of snuggling. This is always a good thing for any day, but on the weekend it makes those days seem special.
On the way home from church on Sunday we were on Lovell headed home. Lovell is a one way street. So, there we are and a police car pulls up on Rose Street. No problem so far. Then it tried to turn left onto Lovell! Lovell, as I mentioned before, is a one way street! We checked the car a few times and were able to verify that it was, indeed, a Kalamazoo City police car. If this idiot behind the wheel can't remember that Lovell is a one way street, what kind of message does that send to the average joe? Makes me a little concerned.
Church was a blast. I made these two huge potato, egg and cheese casseroles and Tammy Hammond made a metric ton of bacon and sausage. Dennis was on toast detail. When the smoke cleared there was nothing left but a grease spot and crumbs.
The message was a good oen too and one that I will try to better to apply to myself.
We were supposed to go see Stew and Amy's new digs on Saturday, but he cancelled on us. (sniff!) Maybe we can get to see the new hacienda sometime in the near future. We will be in that hood this Halloween so, maybe then.
Last night I turned on the dryer and it started to make a demonic noise. And it heated up waaaaay too quick. I'll be on craigslist today to check out some inexpensive replacements until tax time rolls around. When it rains it pours.
Oh yeah, it also snowed yesterday. Snow before Halloween is never a good thing. Makes for a soggy Halloween.
We got a free organ in the house and everyone is so excited. I spotted it on craigslist and it is a beautiful instrument that is such a throwback to the fifties. All the kids and Martha are constatntly on it. I think that is great. Sure it weighs more than all of my children, my wife, me and all the pets combined, but I don't see moving it, well ever again.
That's it for now, I gotta go.

10/23/08

So, yesterday was the Scout trip to Verhage Farms. They make their own cider there and we got to watch them do it. Pretty amazing stuff. We also got to do a hayride and I made a new friend named Nikki. She's four and was absolutely fascinated with my beard and thought that everything I said was hilarious. Sigh! I wish I was four again sometimes.
We all got fresh picked apples and donuts and it was a good time. One bad part was that we were supposed to meet at the school at 3:30. See 99% of the scouts in the troop go to St. Augustine Catholic School. My son is one of the two who doesn't. So, the pack took off on us early which really cheesed both Martha and myself right off. I have to write to the Pack leader and explain that if you have a plan that you really should stick to it. Especially since the other kid that doesn't get go to that school doesn't get out of class until 3:45.
So, Martha spent all that time cleaning up the van and making it look gorgeous and fixing the television VCR combo so we could take extra kids and ...nothing.
Oh well, it was still a great time and Dan had fun.
After that we hit the store for some Halloween necessities. I got this uber creepy mask that I'm going to wear on my bike for Halloween. There are four or five little kids that walk the bike path to school and this is going to be a blast. I can hardly wait!
That's it for now. I gotta go pretend to work now.
Seeya!

10/21/08

So, that thing I alluded to earlier. That's going well. Still no info on that.
This morning I was biking down the Kalamazoo Mall when I saw the strangest thing. Going down Michigan Avenue is one of those bucket things where the guy can stand i the bucket and then the hydrallics lift him up to do whatever. Not a bad thing and they move of their own accord. You can actually drive the thing, albeit not very fast. That's what this guy was doing. Then I noticed the other guy in the hard hat and yellow, reflective vest chasing after it. Didn't catch if the driver was just another one of the crew or some maniac who thought it would be a good idea to steal one of those.
Later on in the morning I was in the men's room getting some reading done. That's when I heard this splashing, sloshing sound. I thought that was odd until I realized that the urinals were forcibly ejecting water and it was headed for the drain in the floor by my feet. I finished up and got out before the deluge. Also, what if my toliet had decided to do the same thing. This building I work in does some strange things.
That's it for now. If something else weird pops up before the end of the day I'll post it. Otherwise, you'll hear from me when you hear from me.
Ciao!

10/17/08

So, got up to my wife poking me in the back with her new fingernails. They are very sharp. It was time for me to get up, though so that was cool. all week has been Spirit Week at Dennis' school and today was school colors day. I helped him by putting maroon face paint on his face and then he sprayed his hair white for the school colors. It made me a little late for work, but I really didn't care. I had more fun making up Dennis than anything I would do at school.
So, yesterday my daughter, Delia was supposed to wait at school until 3 for Martha to pick her up. Yeah, she got done early and decided to walk home through the scary part of town. Yeah, Martha and I read her the riot act. That won't be happening again.
Tonight Martha and Stew and I and Seann are going to go to see Crawlspace Eviction. That should be big fun.
Gotta go!

10/16/08

Been awhile since I have posted. I have taken the proverbial bull by the horns and am taking steps to opening The Video Cafe. Seems that I need a business plan first so that lending institutions won't think I'm a total idiot and will give me money to realize my dream. I'm pretty sure I know where I want to put it if the price is right. It's that old, Chinese restaurant half way up Westnedge Hill. Nice location for a coffe shop/video store if you ask me. Close enough to campus to get the college students, but not too close so I'm over run with college students! :0)
On other news I have made a spectacular decision. What is it? Can't tell and might never tell. It would ruin it and this is one of those things that I would rather not ruin. Kind of mean of me to even mention it, but this blog is for me primarily so I need to put this down on virtual paper.
Dan has Scouts tonight and we get to do that. Last night Martha, Dan and I went to the store and bought many food things and attending Delia's conferences. Seems that she is a bright girl, which I knew, and could care less about school, which I also knew. Kind of a dilemma, but her English teacher told me that she can write about whatever she wants to write about and is not restricted to the topic she gives the rest of the students.
Busy weekend coming up so I do not plan on being back here anytime soon.
For the lot of you, go check out my other blogs. I'm there all the time.
Seeya! And be good!

10/07/08 Part 2

I love sequels, don't you? Anyway, it just struck me that yestrday one of the youngsters that works here at the print shop was watching Family Guy and in it Peter is obsessed by the song Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen.
Yeah, she thought it was a song that they made up for the show.
It's offical I'm too damned old.

10/7/08

Beginning of a new week, well Tuesday and I will be at work forever. Seems that overtime is in abundance and we can all use the long green. Got to see a movie with Martha and the kids this weekend. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was good. Funny and the actors were all good in it.
We all managed to see the flick, Seann included for seventeen bucks. Not too shabby if I say so myself. Dennis picked up doing the dishes yesterday and I was very happy with that.
Friday Marth and I busted Delia skipping school. She is now in an infinite amount of trouble and the trust issue is out the window. Until she can earn it back, I suppose.
Prison Break was cool last night. See more of that over at Divine Exploitation.
I gotta go get a proof done this morning so, seeya!

10/05/08

Back on the curb for another Life Chain. We more than tripled our numbers from last year and that was super cool. Here are some lovely pics to commerate the event. Be sure to look at all of them. Oh, and we got yelled at and people flipped us off and everything! It was a very fun time.

9/23/08

So, yesterday was the first day of Autumn and it was nearly eighty degrees outside. The lunatics would have you believe this is global warming. I prefer to call it what we called it when I was a kid..Indian Summer. Happens all the time. We live in Michigan, if you don't like the weather, wait for five minutes. It'll change.
So, finished a proof for a job and accidentally paginated a tab so I get to start from where I made the mistake. Did I mention that the mistake was on the first book? Yeah, yippee for me.
Watched Prison Break instead of Heroes last night and was happy for the choice. Even Martha who feels the show jumped the shark two seasons ago was shocked when the hour flew by. I for one think it's one of the more inventive things on television and could watch it for years and years. Of course, FOX is playing it up against Heroes so it might not make it for another season. That would be too bad. If that happens they at least owe us the closing of the storyline. Will that happen? Probably not.
In my day I read a lot of webcomics. A lot of them are quite funny, but I have noticed this disturbing trend. All of them have comments akin to a blog attached with them. Some of them are so opinionated that they actually make me think of dropping the comic. My intelligent half of the brain tells me to just read the comic, laugh and move on, but then I read everything put in front of me so, that's not as easy as it sounds. I'll have to see what I can do about it in the coming weeks.
Everyone was doing there own thing at the house yesterday and I was going to trot upstairs and watch a Jess Franco flick. Seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Then Dandelion asked me where I was going and I told her what I was up to. She asked me in her ten year old voice,
"Wouldn't you rather stay down here with me and watch Drake & Josh?"
Yeah, I ended up watching Drake & Josh. It was funny, I had seen it before, but it was still funny. Plus, I spent some time with Dandelion.
I fell asleep to Michael Legge's LOONS. Great flick.
Oh and I managed to get my qiqong workout in.
That's it for me. I gotta go pretend to work some more on a job that I thought was finished.
Seeya!

9/18/08

So, this is just one of those things that you have to get down on virtual paper so you don't forget it. As many of my faithful readers know, I ride my bike to work and, no, I didn't fall off the damned thing again. Anyway, there is this gate to work that all bicycle riders use. You swipe your badge, the light turns green and you are on your merry way. You do actually have to move the gate yourself, it's not automated or anything like that. So, to get out of the same gate there is this huge, blue button you press and then take about three to five steps to the gate and open it. Pushing the big blue button gives you plenty of time to accomplish this.
Yesterday, I pushed the button, wheeled my bike to the gate and nothing. It wouldn't open. Hmmm, I tried again and the same thing happened. Now, contrary to popular belief, I am not an idiot. This was the way I had opened the gate for years. Why should it change now?
I pressed the button again and listened. It was definitely making a noise that sounded like the magnetic lock was being released, but only for a second. Hmmm again. I decided to approach the situation from a MacGyver standpoint. I parked my bike near the gate, took my bike lock cable off my bike and wrapped it around the gate. Then I pulled it towards the button and realized that even with the extra added footage from the cable, my hand would not reach the button. That's when I decided to ninja kick the button. The gate swung open and all was good in the world. Of course, I probably made the security guards day with that particular piece of footage.
That's it for me.
Gotta go!

9/14/08

So, went to see Motorhead last night. Pretty damned cool if I say so myself. The Orbit Room is a great venue. The first band was a local one since The Misfits cancelled. ASG is their name and I thought they were pretty good. Year Long Disaster sucked and Valient Thorr was awesome and the most fun. Motorhead was legendary and I want to be in as good a shape as Lemmy when I'm his age. The man was awesome!
Today, got up for church. Did stuff with the kids downstairs so I missed the message.
Afterwards it was back to The Waltz Compound to do chores and then Dan and I made a short film. He came up with the whole thing and I just shot it. Now I have to figure out how to edit the darned ting so we can burn it to DVD so he can show it off. The uncut version is still pretty good. Especially after the cat showed up. You can't buy special effects like that!
Martha took the kids to youth group so that left me home with the littles.
I am officially sick of the rain.

09/13/08

So, the previous post. 2009, huh? That's what I get for posting so damned early in the morning. So, anyway it's early on a Saturday. Guess I'll never learn. Seems that we will be having rain and more rain due to good old Hurricane Ike. Remember when Hurricanes knew their business and stayed by the shores where people got what they deserved? Last I heard this damned thing is going to hit Cleveland by Monday. Weird, huh?
Anyway, The Misfits cancelled out of today's show. That sucks. While Motorhead will be huge fun, I was really looking forward to seeing The Misfits. Oh well, I wrote them a shitty email and left it at that. They won't even respond knowing how my luck runs.
Got pizza for the kids last night when Martha and I ran to get gas and pay the rent. Dennis' friend Thomas was over and they played much XBOX and had a lot of fun. Martha made a delicious cherry cheesecake for dessert. All in all a great evening. Got up early to be with Martha and then made some breakfast. Martha's watching a Toshiro Mifune movie that is a riff on Cyrano DeBergerac. Very cool stuff.
Alright, that's it for me for the day. I'll report in on how the concert went when I get back. Probably tomorrow.
I gotta go.

09/09/09

Oooooooo! All nines! What is that? The Upside-Down Anti-Christ?!?! Anyway, yesterday I forgot to mention that Saturday had me and Martha going to Hooter's to watch the UFC fights. Our sensei Chris and his girl, Heather were there along with others from the dojo. The dojo sponsors the fight so it's pretty cool to be there.
Anyway, yesterday went to wrok and then after wrok got to go with Martha up to Grand Rapids to get our tickets for Motorhead. Went to a head shop called Shakedown Street on Leonard. Very cool place and lots of other cool places on Leonard Street. A place called Jukes that does live music that I might actually listen to as well as many other cool looking shops.
Martha decided that she would just bring me home instead of fetching my bike. Since it rained the entire time we were on the road I had no arguement whatsoever. Priosn Break was on and it was fabulous. This might be as good as season one.
I have been keeping up on my exercises that my new chiropractor has me on. They are making my triceps ache, but last night I used the huge ice pack he gave me and it worked wonders.
Got up this morning and got to snuggle with MArtha before work. Always a good thing. I have to make my way to the post office to send off a couple of movies. I wish that more of my inventory would move through Amazon, but it's been kind of slow. Hopefully, the holidays will pick up and people will buy weird flicks for their loved ones. Who knows?
Still early and waiting for my tea water to get ready.
Gotta go!

09/08/08

So, back to work and too early for me! This weekend was fun. Had peeps over for Beer Friday. Got to drink some Fosters, some Negra Modelo and some Kalamazoo Cream Stout. That's always a good thing.
I made those cheddar biscuits you can get from Red Lobster because I used to work at Red Lobster and know the recipe. They went over really well.
Saturday we went to Betty's for a little get together. That was fun as well. Afterwards we went to get some things for Dandelion because it was her birthday. She spent the day with Miss Ivy from church and had a blast. She said she ate the biggest elephant ear she had ever seen.
We got her a new game boy SP and a Yoshi game along with some clothes, and mp3 player and other assorted goodies. Martha and I got her a severed arm that wiggles and crawls along the floor and she loves that thing!
Sunday was church and then we went over to see Robert and get ready for buying tickets to see Motorhead and The Misfits. That's this Saturday and it is going to rock!!
Okay, enough of that, gotta go pretend to work.
I'll be back.

9/3/08

So, four days off and back to work. After the ton of overtime it felt weird to only work until three. I hope the overtime comes back real soon because we can use the cash. Got up early and did my qigong, made french toast for the kids and biked my way to work.
Got to go with Martha and the kids to Judo and give Chris and Heather a bunch of stuff for Bronco Bash. Stopped at Dairy Queen for a Banana Cream Pie Blizzard. Too many cookies, not enough bananas.
Martha and Dandy made banana bread and now I am off to hawk my wares on Amazon. Wish me luck. I'm raising cash to go see Motorhead and The Misfits next week.

9/2/08

First day back to school for the kiddies. Got up early and made a batch of my world famous fried egg sandwiches and coffee for the kids. Yes, my kids drink coffee, so what? Less caffeine than most of those damnable energy drinks out there and I get to moderate the sugar so it's a win-win situation.
Prison Break two hour premiere was on last night and it was pretty good. They killed a few people and there's this new monster of a man who is out to whack everyone on the show. They manage to keep the drama going pretty good. After three seasons I have gotten attached to these characters so, I'm glad it's still around.
Anyway, Dennis' first day of high school was today. Delia's first day of Junior High, although apparently it's referred to as 'middle school' now. Yeah, like that's better.
The two littles got on the bus and made their way to the place of learning. I took the day off so I could see them off and see them when they get back. Very cool stuff. They want Ramen when they get home and I have no intentions of disappointing them.
That's about it for now. Thought I would get this in now while all is quiet. Probably gonna go make another pot of coffee since the children plowed through the first one. Got three chapters done on The Meek last night. It's coming along pretty well. Time to kill someone else in the book I think. Or maybe not I just got a great idea. Gotta go. Will be back whenever.

OKAY, I'M HOOKED

Has it only been three short months since I wrote my last entry in this blog? Apparently, because that's what the calendar tells me. Overrated things those calendars. Always trying to tell you what day it is and whatnot.
Anyway, it appears that I have some faithful readers who just can't get through the day without seeing what I have been up to and if I had tuna fish for lunch. Kind of weird, but who am I to argue??
Now, I will say, upfront, that there is no way that this is going to be a daily blog like before. More like a recap with some special highlights as I make my way across this dirtball of a planet. I tried my hand at a comspiracy theory blog for a whole minute and realized that it was a waste of time. If you think that everything is a conspiracy theory then what's the fun in that?
So, welcome back long time readers. I hope to get more of you in the fold as this goes on. Who knows where it will lead.
For now, this freaky weather where it goes hot then cold and back again is playing havoc with my sinuses and giving me monster headaches in the process.
Yes, I'm still at the print shop and yes, still have the most amazing family on the planet sequestered in The Waltz Compound.
Dennis is going into High School in a few short days.
Crap! I am old. Who would have thunk it?
Oh and I almost forgot; I baked some fish with rice and veggies for dinner last night and it was yummy.
I gotta go.

LAST DAY

You like that? Since I screwed up the numbering thing I decided this would be the best way to go out with a bang. Tomorrow I turn forty-six so this blog is then null and void. It has been a long year and there are a few things I have learned;
First, falling off a bike hurts a lot regardless of your age, but it's good to know Judo so that you don't scrape your face off on the pavement.
I also learned that author Brian Keene is a knee jerk, reactionary dipstick that jumped to so many incorrect assumptions that I wonder how he manages to function. I also realize that his wife was pregnant at the time and that will make any man crazy.
another thing is that time is funny. Some days seem to stretch out for weeks while others speed by in mere minutes. It's good to savor each and every one of them. Like someone said, Today is a gift, that's why they call it a present. I think the really old turtle in Kung Fu Panda is where I heard this last.
Another thing is that your kids really do grow up too damned fast. Get on the floor and play with them before they don't want to anymore. That part sucks.
And if you want a year to actually feel like a year then blog about it every single day and that will make it seem like a much longer period of time.
Today I went to work and did stuff. A lot of the stuff that I always do. Then I didn't work overtime, but went home to spend time with my family. Martha was very tired so she went to bed and slept for a long time. I played Stronghold Crusader with Dan The Man. That game is hard, but I keep plugging away at it.
I watched television with Dandelion and played with her kitty. The two older kids were away at Missy and John's house when I got back so there was no time to be spent with them.
Our bedroom was a blast furnace so Martha and I slept downstairs. That woke me up at about two something and I went to sleep on the more comfortable bed.
It was a a laid back day and I was glad for it.
In closing out this year I would like to thank the people who rad the blog on a regular basis and are upset about its demise. It was an interesting experiment and one that I'm thinking of repeating...when I'm Fifty. Yeah, I think that might be an appropriate length of time. Once every five years.
This one will be compiled it book form in the near future and I'll be back to properly pimp that when it comes out. Who knows? It could be my ticket to fame. People have written about weirder stuff that gets published and becomes a media darling so, until you see me on the Today Show, hopefully with that Ann Curry woman, have a great life.
I'm going to.
Seeya!

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO

Still no idea how I screwed up the numbering, but there ya go. I'll look into it later. My plan is to do this entry and tomorrow being the last one and then just leave it to sit and simmer for a couple of months before I even look at it again. The new, top secret blog is starting before I finished this one. Just had to jot some things down over there so that I wouldn't forget them. I could have saved them as a draft, but that wouldn't have been any fun, would it?
So, Monday. This weekend is the big birthday bash for Dan The Man and yours truly. Quite a few people are coming so it should be a lot of fun. I found the recipe for the Navy Grog that I want to make. It should be delicious in an alcoholy kind of way.
Work was work. I did a lot of little jobs to help clear the queue and reread the entire LEast I Could Do webcomic. Funny stuff there.
I got out of work at five, went home to do stuff and lo and behold! The family had not gone to Judo. To be honest I was a little bummed. I get some quiet time where I can write and watch horrid movies that no one else likes. But, it's alright. I should be happy to have such a huge family that loves me. Dandelion had her first day of summer school. I thought it was odd that most people have such a negative reaction when you tell them your daughter is going to summer school. They make it sound like you've sent her to a leper colony or something.
George CArlin died yesterday. I was a little sad about it, but then I reflected on it and I can't tell you the last time I read or heard or watched Carlin. Not really in my realm of stuff that I do. Besides, he would just call me a sentimental fucker for getting morose about it so, why bother?
So, made dinner for the Clan plus Tiffany. I logged into WWE.COM to try and win some of Vince McMahon's money and did not win. Very strange. Maybe I'll win the lottery instead.
Tired, time for bed. Tomorrow is the last day I have for this blog. I've said it a lot lately and I'll say it two more times. People say that a year goes by very quickly. It doesn't if you write about it every day, let me tell you.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE

Okay, I think I screwed up the numbering of this blog somewhere down the line. It should end, because this was a leap year, with Day Three Hundred and Sixty-Six, but Since this is Sunday and we're only up to Day Three Hundred and Sixty-One there is no way that will happen. What did I expect? I accidentally named the site douglasLANAwaltz instead of douglasALANwaltz. Did I expect this to turn out?
Anyway, I gave up the news of the day thingie because I usually write these the next day. This is no exception so I have abandoned the project of trying to do that.
Here are some tidbits, however;
Gas is currently over four freakin' bucks a gallon.
The state I live in, Michigan, is probably one of the worst states in the entire United States if you are fond of employment.
The presidential election for this year of Our Lord 2008 is the biggest monkey circus I have ever seen. I blame the Internet for this. The Internet should be for useless information, stupid online games and porn. Anything else is superfluous.
Did I mention the gas thing? Yeah, four bucks. More expensive than a comic book, but not by much, and way less fun.
Okay, so it's Sunday and we head off to church. We were having a potluck and I forgot to bring anything so I helped out in the kitchen and we made goodies for everyone. Sunday school was fun because there was no one to teach the youth group so they got to hang with us. We are currently studying Acts. Good book to get the kids involved in. Of course, we also talked about hunting, fishing, Shakespeare and really bad sleight of hand tricks. It's called educating people without them knowing what you're doing. Kind of like a mnemonic device. Works sometimes.
Church was great. The message covered a lot of the same ground we did in Sunday School so I didn't feel to bad about helping out in the kitchen.
Every Sunday I draw a three panel comic on the back of the church bulletin. It's almost always about a member of my family. Sometimes it's about all of us. It's fun, it takes a few minutes and since I don't like to sing it's a great way to sit quietly without disturbing the people able to sing.
This week I did one that covered the entire Waltz Clan and that got passed around a little more than the others did. A lot of people liked it and Martha suggested that I start keeping them. Usually they are trash fodder. Instead she suggested that I keep these as a rough sketch and keep doing them on a regular basis. When I get a handful of them I can make a mini comic to give to people. Sounds like fun. I also think that I might start up a webcomic with this and see how that might fare in the big scary world of the Internet.
I'll have plenty of time after Tuesday since this blog will be officially over.
After church Dan The Man and I stayed home and played Godzilla Unleashed while the others went to youth group. There was a baptism service as well and there was lots of desserts to go around afterward. I already had too much dessert at the potluck and didn't need anymore sugar for the day. Or the week for that matter.
In between the time that we3 got home and everyone else left to go back to church, Margaret, our landlady, came over and we installed a vinyl floor in the dining room. It has a wood look to it and it looks very nice. I tore up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and the stairs because now that I had pretty, shiny vinyl in the dining room I hated seeing that nasty carpet anywhere in the house. There is still some in the living room, but it's so crowded in there that I couldn't get that carpet out if I tried.
Tracie's hubby, Chris, brought a couple of guys to haul away the old Cutlass as well. Kind of sad to see the thing go, but Chris wants to rebuild the thing so it's going to a good home.
I dragged our huge, dead television out to the curb and it was out there less thna an hour before some woman came along and wanted it for salvage. Crazy world out there when a non functioning television gets grabbed up in no time flat.
Whew! This was a busy day. I'll be back tomorrow with more and soon it will be a wrap.
I think I might do this again when I'm fifty. See how time has been to me in five years.
I'll be back tomorrow.
Seeya!

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY

Saturday and we are waiting for my boss Tracie and her husband, Chris to come and look at the old '69 Cutlass. Chris is rebuilding a Jeep and he wants a big engine. I think after he looked at it he might want to rebuild the Cutlass which would be cool. We couldn't get it started so he paid me two hundred and fifty bucks for the wagon and they were coming over tomorrow to pick it up with a tow truck and a new battery. Things are looking good. We took our new found money and were off to buy video games for Dan The Man. Then we had Chinese food and while we were waiting in line, Dennis was in the way so I pulled him over to me and gave him a hug and said, "C'mere little boy." The really hot Chinese girl who was the hostess said he was not a little boy and I repleied that he was my little boy. She said in a slinky kind of way;
'Well, he's not my little boy." I told Dennis and he blushed.
We ate too much Chinese food and they had some great sushi. I think they have a new sushi chef or something.
After that we went to Meijer to pick up some stuff, forgot half the stuff we needed and got a cool new Hot Wheels track for Dan. All in all a busy day and we even managed to get the dining room cleaned out and ready for Margaret to come and lay the new vinyl floor. We get to do that tomorrow.
Yippee!

THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE

It's Friday. It's not Beer Friday, just Friday. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? The day was sort of a blur. I left early because it was Dan The Man's Birthday. Yeah, except they all went to work at the produce stand. The good news was that they brought home quarts of Michigan strawberries. Of course that left me home alone to eat and write buckets of reviews. Fun, fun, fun. We watched Doctor Who and it was pretty good for a two parter that we have to wait until next week. Kind of torture if you really think about it.
Ah well, busy, busy tomorrow.
I thought about doing the news thingie for today, but I'm putting this one in late so I don;t see the point. The blog is kind of winding down. Yippee!

THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT

Thursday and the week is almost over. Tomorrow is Dan The Man's birthday and he will be the big eight! Very cool! work was work. I brought some leftover red beans and rice for lunch and they were yummy. Started feeling a little crappy before I left work. The bike ride was nice, to a point. There were these three kids on the new trail and the biggest, fattest and stupidest one, this was all the same kid by the way, got in my way and I had to stop my bike and go around him. I did call the little fucker a dipshit however and his friends thought that was funny. Nice of the youth of America to ruin something as simple as a bike ride. Well, not the youth of America just this one jackass kid who could use some form of Weight Watchers. So, that left me in a foul mood for the rest of my bike ride. I think if I spot him again I'll just ram the dumb shit.
There,that's better.
Anyway, Dan The Man helped me make dinner and we had cake from yesterday for dessert. Martha made it from scratch and it was quite yummy. She thought it was dry, but I thought it was great.
Dan and I played some Wolfenstein and then he set up his Heroscape board and we played, Dan's rules of course so it was over pretty quick and he won. That's alright. I didn't care. Tomorrow is his birthday for crying out loud!
Anyway, that was it. Felt like crap, went to bed and have to go to work tomorrow. Josh left work early because he was sick so he might not even show tomorrow. Have to wait and see how that goes.
Time for the sleepies.
Ooops! almost forgot the news for the day. Here's what Yahoo has to dish out;

Gas Stations Nix Credit Cards. First, I'm surprised at the usage of the word 'nix'. Doesn't seem like one that pops up all the time. Second, seems that the credit card companies charge a percentage of sales for their fees. we all knew that credit cards were bad and now here is the proof. The good news is that it seems that some gas stations will give a discount for cash paying customers. This time next year you'll need to pay with chickens. Sound unreasonable? I think not.

And from the wide wide world of CNN:

McCain Attacks Obama For Opting Out Of Public Financing. Yeah, so the guy isn't going to use the taxpayers money to try and get himself elected? It seems that this has been in place since the seventies. I really had no idea how it worked. Seems that Obama is getting people to donate cash over the internet and cutting out the big payouts from the special interest groups that are always getting involved in politics. Good for him. Of course McCain will complain about this. He'll also probably still use our money to try and get elected. OF course, if Obama does get elected he'll get shot in less than a year. Not a threat, more of a realization of the narrow mindedness of others. By the way, I know nothing of ;politics so take all this with a grain of salt. Okay?

THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN

I've said it before and I will say it again. Most people say that time flies by, but it feels like I have been doing this blog for quite some time. I have a few fans who are sorry to see it put to bed, but what are you going to do? I set the parameters when I started and I gotta stick with it. I do like the personal flair of the blog so that may extend into one of the other blogs that I write. Who knows? I have a top secret blog that I will be starting right after this one is finished. I can't tell you what it is and it will be nothing like this blog. It's intent is to make people mad. It may not make everyone mad, but it will make some people mad I can guarantee it. I'm also keeping it anonymous for the time being so no one will know that it is me. Sound mysterious? Yeah, that wasn't the intention. I am trying something where I give an honest, straightforward opinion and I don't want it colored by what people know of me. Make sense? Good. I might leave hints to what it is later in the eight more blog entries I have here.
Now then, on with my day.
Bike rides are still awesome. The new trail is great. I will like it even more when they finish the street connectors.
I rode to work and then two hours later was riding back to wait for the house inspector. See, if you rent a house in Kalamazoo, they inspect it twice a year. Don;t know why, just know that it's a pain in the keister. So, the guy shows up after I mowed some lawn, washed some dishes and did a little touch up painting. The whole process gets on my last nerve.
The one true funny part came when Dan The Man came up to me, the inspector and our landlady, Margaret with a plastic bag and a sign that said, 1$ Please, (The spelling is Dan's) I asked him what he needed a dollar for and with his biggest brown eyes and sad voice he said, "For food." Needless to say the inspector gave Dan a buck. Everyone else at The Waltz Compound thought that was awesome. So did I.
After all that fun I decided to burn some vacation time and not go back to work. I can still get overtime for the day if I do it right so, that is cool.
So, the rest of the day was filled with going to Walmart, playing videogames, playing with the new kitten and watching Ratatouille. It was a fun little flick and I thought it was okay. The kids thought that Ratatouille was some made up dish with Rat in it. I explained what it was and Martha thought it sounded yummy. Now I need to get a dutch oven to make some for her. I've had it and it is good so it will be fun to make.
Here's the news report from Yahoo for the day:

South Africa reclassifies Chinese people as 'black'. What?!?! I didn't even read farther than that. It sounds ludicrous at best.

And from CNN:

Rape A Way Of Life For Darfur Women. See, I'm going to admit that I have no idea exactly what is going on with the whole Dafur thing. I see movie stars talking about it and it makes me shut that part of my brain down that listens to things. Movie stars really need to just make movies and shut their cake holes. Sure, more people will listen to them, but it's because the majority of people are freakin' sheep! I did read the rest of the article and that seems like a pretty dire situation over there.

That's all I've got. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Day eight of the countdown.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX

Yup, ten more days of this blog. I had to pick a leap year to do this thing so instead of the normal three hundred and sixty-five days I get the extra one tagged on to the end. I thought I might do something special with the last ten days as some sort of time capsule kind of thing. For that I would like to turn to the news and see what is going on in this big wide world of ours...
Okay I went to Yahoo! and all they had was something about Britney Spears' dad being allowed to sell her house. ?!?!?! Let's try a more reputable news source...
CNN has a lot of coverage on the flooding in the Midwest. We have gotten a lot of rain recently. Upstate here in Michigan one area got eleven inches in one hour. Well, people were complaining about water shortages. God saw fit to take care of that for us. Now we just have to deal with the abundance of his gift. Does make me wish my kids knew how to swim however.
Okay, that's enough for current events for now.
In my little neck of the woods I have fallen in love with this new bike trail. I saw people using it on the way and back home from work and I can't wait for the junctions at the streets to be completed to give a smoother ride. Maybe they will extend the trail even farther for me in the future. How knows?
Dinner time at The Waltz Compound was pasta and meatballs.
We went to Savannah's to get a new kitten for Dandelion. Her name is Coco and she is about eight weeks old. It didn't take long for the little one to get used to the three big dogs and the cat. I can't wait to see what she thinks of the snake! Dandelion is thrilled and they seem to have a lot of fun. It was funny when we introduced her to Pashmina, our other cat, they were both looking intently at each other and when Dennis reached out to pet Coco, the little thing didn't see it coming and attacked Dennis! It was pretty funny, actually.
I went to bed early. We have our house inspection tomorrow and that will be no fun. I get to burn through some vacation time just to make sure that all is kosher at the house. I hate using vacation time for anything that is not vacation. But, it's nice to have for just such an emergency.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE

Back to the crowded salt mines. Busier than Hell and no fun whatsoever. Oh well, that's why they call it work, right? Right.
I did get to use the new bike trail to get to work this morning and it was great. Kind of nice not having to worry about traffic for more than half of my trek into town. Very nice. It also shaves about five minutes off my travel time. To make up for it I pedal faster to get the same kind of workout. That probably shaves some time off as well. Sort of a win win situation.
Mondays are quiet when I get home. Martha and the kids are at Judo. I have my day pretty well planned out.
Yeah, then Dan came bursting through the front door two hours early. Seems the littles were being monsters and Martha didn't want to put up with their crap. Can't say that I blame her. Now if gas didn't cost so much. Ouch! That's about forty minutes of drive time up in smoke.
I made a German Chocolate cake for dessert and we had hamburger helper lasagna style. Very yummy. For some reason I wasn't tired and didn't fall asleep until around eleven. I'll probably pay for that one later. Crap!
Oh well.
Only eleven more days until this blog is over!

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR

Sunday and it's Father's Day. Some of the kids said it, but not all of them. Oh well, what ya gonna do. When we got to church and everybody was making a fuss so they all remembered. Dan The Man made me a wonderful card with a large body count. We headed home to do more cleaning for the house inspection. Then we went to the store and got some goodies to make chili cheese dogs. I got to play Wolfenstein and watch this fun, campy flick called Candy Stripers.
All in all I got to spend the day with the kids and had fun, even when I had to force them to have fun.
Life is good.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE

Got up and we headed out with Dandelion since it was her day to do stuff. We got her a bunch of clothes at NuWay and she loved that. After that we hit Wendy's for food and I think I ate too much. Something disagreed with my stomach that was for sure. Then we went to the church garage sale and got a few things there as well.
Then it was off to watch Kung Fu Panda. What can I say? The movie was excellent and if they wanted to make more of those then I would be all over that.
After that we went to my nephew's graduation party. Not as big a deal as I had seen all these people last week for other graduation parties. It's always good to see people, but three parties in two weeks is kind of overkill.
Then it was home to get some cleaning and repairs done for the inspection that is next week. The one bummer about renting is that the inspectors are in your house twice a year. They just do it for the cash. It's not like we have a slumlord or something.
Oh well, what are ya gonna do. I laid some tile and trimmed it down, cleaned and gotr ready for bed.
Tomorrow is Father's Day.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO

Friday! Beer Friday no less. Dan the Man called me and asked if I was interested in lunch. I said sure so he, Martha and Dandy came and got me for McDonalds. After work I went with Martha to pay the Consumers Energy bill. Then we met Savannah for beers at The Metro. we had nachos that were the best ones in the world and I had some Guinness. Martha and I wanted to go see Crawlspace Evictions last show, but we got their late. There was a street person who did a rap for us for three bucks. Not really the same, but it was still fun. Rich, Savannah's boyfriend showed up and we went back to The Metro. I was a little disappointed that our waitress left and when she left and eight o'clock rolled around, we weren't getting waited on anymore. I guess we weren't gay enough to stay. So, we left. Kind of a bummer. Might have to find another place to go for Beer Friday.
Martha and I went home to watch Doctor Who and we both fell asleep.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE

Today was a totally average day

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY

Man! Three hundred and fifty posts! I would like to say that this year has flown by, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sixteen more posts and then I'm done with this daily chronicle. Part of me will miss it, but the rest of me will be glad to move on to other things. I figure that once it's done I will leave it up for a year or so. I plan on trying to get it published so I might post about those trials and tribulations as some kind of appendix to the journey.
So, work was work. We were supposed to get a new temp and their drug test didn't come back yet so they have to wait. Dan the man had an ice cream party for the end of the year and Martha and I volunteered to help out. Now, Mr. Brown, Dan's teacher never gives these guys sugar. Never. Today he was like, eat what you want, but when you throw up you're done. He also said that the person who ate the most would have the most fun bus ride home. The man is funny. Made me laugh. So, an hour of getting sticky later and I went back to work where I did some stuff, but not a lot of stuff. Got things done that I wanted to with the exception of this one PDF file that I can't get to reduce in size. Kind of making me a little crazy. Funny how the old equipment that everyone was always grumbling about was the stuff that managed to get the job done. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Anyway, after work I went home, mowed some lawn, washed some dishes and thought about what to make for dinner. Played some more Wolfenstein and finally got to these monsters that are uber creepy. We'll see how that goes.
Martha and the kids got home and we ate food and got ready for bed. I put in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for sleep since there was nothing on television to watch. The bedroom was a little hot, but not too bad. It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow, but we'll have to wait and see.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE

So, work was work. I called Martha and asked if she wanted me to go get snake food for Rufus with her and she said sure. We also made a stop at the store and got some necessities of life. After that it was a pitstop at Burger King. This ended up sucking however, because currently you can't get a tomato anywhere. Seems that salmonella reared it's ugly head and in a panic no one has tomatoes. Is there really only one place to get these? That seems slightly retarded. Am I supposed to believe that I have to go to a single tomato place for these things? Sounds fishy. Anyway, my Indiana Jones Whopper was kind of disappointing. Kind of like the new movie. So, we picked Dennis up from school and then took me back to work.
After work I pedaled home and spent the day with Martha and the kids. Not a lot to report. Just kind of hung out, made food and laid back. That was a good thing.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT

Back to work. Weeeeee! Oh well, at least I get to ride my bike which is always a good thing. I've got a couple of time consuming, bigger projects to do so that will take up the majority of my day.
Afterwork I headed home, made a cake and some cheesy hashbrown hamburger helper for when the family got home from Judo. I also managed to do some dishes and mow part of the lawn. The lawn is monstrous so it works best in small chunks. The front lawn has these interesting, small, yellow flowers that it will be a shame to mow over. Maybe I'll see if they transplant at all and get them to grow somewhere else on the lawn. Maybe in one of the areas I let go wild. Have to see later this week.
I played some more Castle Wolfenstein, wrote a little and took it easy. Martha and the kids got home and we feasted. The cake was a diaster because it slid off the plate and I ended up getting burnt. Thankfully, my years of coking in the food service made for no real pain from that.
Then it was time for the sleepies.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN

Sunday and little sleep the night before. I still feel pretty good. A little dragging, but that's okay. We grabbed up all the stuff for Sunday breakfast, got the kids and wife and I through the shower cycle and headed out for church. Breakfast was fun. I made those sausage, egg, cheese and english muffin thingies that everyone likes. It's like being a short order cook without the stresswhich is cool.
After that we did our bible study and I got the older kids to join in because their teacher didn't show. I had them read the bible passages which was cool.
After church we headed for my niece Troie's graduation. Compared to the drunken debauchery of the previous party this one was pretty sedate. It was at the little park/zoo in Three Rivers. We got to play with a big snake and lots of other critters. They have an emu and I don;t know what it is, but I tend to irritate emus. They always look like they are ready to throw down with me. Makes me a little nervous, but I still like to mess with them.
After the party we headed home and drove through a nasty storm. It was kind of cool, though. The school bus races were cancelled that the youth group was going on and that was a bit of a bummer.
The rest of the day was pretty laid back and we took it easy.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX

Saturday and the Friends Of The Library were having their annual book sale. You get a brown paper bag, one of the big ones and you fill it with books for two bucks! I got three bags. There was a lot of stuff there and I managed to get everyone some books which is always nice. It was pretty hot and there wasn't as much pulp fiction as I would have liked, but it was still a pretty good day for book sales.
After that we took Dandelion to get a present for her friends' birthday party, dropped her off to the party after Martha Dan, Dandy and I grabbed some lunch.
Then it was back home for a little while before heading to my nephew, Cody's birthday party.
The party was big and loud, but there was plenty of beer and venison wrapped in bacon so that was fun. I got to see my brother, David, who I haven't seen in years since he moved to Kentucky. It was nice seeing all the family and hang out for a few hours. After that we took the kids home and then went to Mike and Judy's for more beer.
Then we had to make a trip to Meijer to get stuff to make Sunday morning breakfast at church. This was going to mean not a lot of sleep for yours truly. And, of course, there was a downpour on the way out of the store. We have been getting a lot of crappy weather this weekend, but we still haven't lost power so, count my blessings.
I cooked up the sausage I would need for tromorrow's breakfast and then it was off to bed.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE

Friday! Not a payday, so no beer day, but it's still the end of the week. we got some crappy weather and then around 3:30 it got severe. Yeah, so we got stuck in an auditorium for a while because of a stupid tornado warning.
Nothing came of it, but then Savannah wouldn't let me ride my bike home. About halfway there I was kind of glad because the hail started. Pretty loud stuff that hail.
Got home, went to get food with Martha and we watched Doctor Who. Of course the last five minutes got cut off because the cable went out. Big fun that one. It came on again later that night, but I still missed it. Too tired I guess.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR

So, back to work and the bike ride was fabulous. I have been down loading these podcasts by Ken Plume and Dana Snyder over at Quick Stop. They are better than the Smodcasts in my humble opinion so, I will stick with them for the time being.
Work was work, with one exception;
Tracie was off doing something when I was told that our new temp was waiting in the lobby. Ever one to meet and annoy new people I said I would go get her. Yeah, it turned out that it was a temp that we had already fired a while ago. Now, to get the full effetc here you must realize that behind the security desk of Pfizer is a glass wall that has a hallway in it. Anyone walking down this hall way is fully visible to the people in the lobby. I hestitaed for a moment and considered fleeing for my life, but she had already spotted me. Damn! So, I told her that I had to get Tarcie to come and get her.
Yeah, as soon as I was clear of the glass walled hallway I beat feet back to the print shop.
Tracie made the security guard send her packing. Man, that was a weird way to start a day! Seems that she had applied with every temp service and they didn't know she had been previously fired from the position. The rest of work sort of paled in comparison to this wacky start.
My bike ride home was not nearly as hot as I thought it would be. Seems we have a heat wave on the way.
When I got home I disocvered that the girls had already made tracks for their freiends' houses and Dennis was on his way out the door as well. That left me, MArtha and Dan The Man. So, we headed for McDonalds for some dinner and then over to Meijer to pick up some essentials.
We got home and hung out for a little while and then it was time for sleeping. Yeah, except the upstairs was roasting and I was in no mood for it. I grabbed a sheet, some pillows and my alarm clock and headed for the downstairs. As soon as MArtha moves some stuff I will put the downstairs air conditiner in, but we need a little one for the upsatirs as well, I'm afraid. Too muggy and hot for yours truly. And it isn't even August yet!
I also discovered that Dan's ice cream party at school is next Wednesday and that is when my physical at the doctor is. Guess I'll be changing my appointment for that. No big deal.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE

Hump day! Another fabulous day at the shop. Of course, since I'm gainfully employed I might want to shut it. Tried to reduce the size of a pdf all day and nothig came of it. We have certain things in effect that with the changing over of machinery have caused some of those things not to work like before and it is irritating. VERY irritating.
Anyway, who cares? Martha and I did lunch again. This time we went to The Metro so she could get her hot roast beef sandwich and I got their famous pulled pork sandwich. While I was there I learned that there is a gay channel on cable. I had no idea! They have their own channel. Who would have thunk it. The most unsettling aspect of it was an Orbitz commercial where they explain how to get great deals on rooms and whatnot and the end of the commercial has this couple walking hand in hand down the beach. Yeah, a couple of guys! I did not know that companies make special gay commercials. Who would have known?
Anyway, the food was fabulous as always and I went back to work. Bleah!
After work, I got home and had the place to myslef. Couldn't mow the lawn because the whole thing was soaked. I decided to take it easy. Wrote a little, played some Castle Wolfenstein and that was the course of my day. Martha and the kids got home and we had crackers and cheese and then headed for bed. Not as busy a day, but still getting used to the bike ride.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO

Sure, I went to work. And, yes, the bike is fabulous, thanks for asking. But you know what the best part of my long, overtime filled day was? It was when I called Martha and she was doing some cleaning at the dojo after her workout and we got together for lunch. She came and got me and we went to Steak And Shake. I even got a milkshake! I don't do a lot of sweets, but once in a while I just gotta have one. And a real one, too. None of this McDonalds fake crap. Burger King also has fake crap so don't think I'm dissing on McDonalds exclusively.
Anyway, after lunch I had to go back to work. Boooooo! After that I rode the bike home and everyone had eaten except dandelion. They all had salads. Dandy and I ate some monster strawberries. Good stuff.
Then we went to Walmart to get the littles some sandals and picked up a few things. Oh, did I mention that Martha bought me a coffee maker for work? Yeah, the one at work finally went kaput. So, I got a brand new one. Vry nice I might add and a steal for nine bucks.
Anyway, after shopping with the littles we went home and I was still a little hungry. I made some Hamburger Helper, crunchy taco style and added the rest of the former days' taco meat and some extra rice. It was very yummy and everyone ate it. Seems that the salads from earlie in the day had worn off. Go figure.
I made this new kind of veggie slaw with shredded cabbage, carrots and fresh beets. I used low fat Italian dressing instead of mayo and it was quite yummy. I'll be taking some of that to work.
Then it was time for sleeping.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE

So, first day back on the bike. The tires are too narrow and the handlebars are weird, but you know what? It sure beats walking! So, I officially love my new bike! Now, if I could convince the city of Kalamazoo to stop taking concrete cutters to all the roads I use to get to work. It was a definite journey to get there. Tomorrow will be better.
Work was busy. Overtime starts up again and that is good because with the price of gas we can sure use the money.
After work I pedaled home. The route was easier and I made pretty good time. I got home and found my free copy of Sirens Of Cinema waiting for me. Just for pimping the mag on the site I got me a freebie. I love freebies. We put the kids to work because they have definitely been slacking on the chore front. After that Martha and I went to the store and bought many, many things for food and whatnot. It took a while and we still made a huge quantity of tacos when we got home. I love home made tacos with the refried beans and all the yummy vegetables.
Speaking of vegetables I got this idea for this new slaw/salad that I'm going to try tomorrow. Lots of fresh vegetables and yummy goodness. We'll see how that turns out. I think it will be fine because I will eat any type of raw vegetable out there. A lot of them turn to crap when you cook them, but I loves me some raw veggies.
After that it was late. Kung Fu Hustle was on television so I turned that on before conking out for the night.
The bicycle makes me tired and my legs will be screaming at me, but they will get used to it again and I am just glad o have wheels under me again.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY

Sunday! Didn't make it to church. Stayed in bed a little while longer. I got up and made everyone breakfast. Then it was time to head for the beach for Dan's graduation ceremony from Scouts. Yeah, we were late for that so we didn't bother going. We still went to the beach. It was funny because it was the first of June and Martha and I knew that the water at Lake Michigan would be Arctic, but the kids were awfully excited about the beach. Yeah, it was funny to watch them scream when they hit the water. They all still played in it, but they didn't stay in it very long.
Then we walked down to the pier and showed the kids the little lighthouse at the end. They didn't seem all that impressed. Too bad. They did like the huge ship that went down the canal. Looked like a pirate ship.
After all that adventure we headed back to Kalamazoo for Chinese food at King Wok buffet. We were all starving by the time we got there. They had us sit in the back and the cool part was when a bunch of the people who worked there came out with steaming platters of food and sat all around us and had some lunch. I think what they were eating looked better than what we had, but what are ya gonna do? It was a very cool atmosphere to eat in to say the least. And it seems that they have a new sushi chef. The sushi looked different and tasted much better than usual.
Then it was time for home to sit and digest.
I finally got a chance to watch No Country For Old Men. One of the movies that I was really looking forward to and the most disappointed it. It had some spots that I liked, but overall, I didn't see what all the hubbub was about. If you are incapable of giving a film a satisfactory ending then don't bother making it. If I want realism and slice of life situations I will watch the news. I wanted a good movie and I got crap. Just one big disappointment.
After that I went to the park where Martha and the kids were flying kites. Not much luck as the wind had died down, but they had fun anyway. I tried watching Weasels Rip My Flesh, but I was too tired.
I get to ride my bike tomorrow, that will be cool.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE

Saturday and it was time to take Delia out for her adventure. First we went to see Iron Man. Very good movie. I will own that one when it comes out on DVD. Then we went to NuWay for clothes shopping. It was there that my dreams were fulfilled. I found a new bike! Sure, I still plan on pursuing the new wheel for my other bike, because why not, but for twenty bucks I got me a classic bike that works great! This has made me very happy. No more walking to work. Very nice indeed.
Anyway, after we found some clothes for Delia we headed off to the mall. Did some shopping and then it was off to home because Delia didn't feel well. We had her take a warm bath and use the bathroom and then she was good to go. We went to KFC for chicken and then Target and the pet store. Just looked at the Pet Store, but we got a couple of things and I got a cup of coffee which made me happy yet again. Very good day for yours truly.
After that busy day it was time for us to head home and rest.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT

Friday! End of the wekk! Wooooooo! Around one in the afternoon I got to go to my kid's elementary school to watch the Spring music program. Dandelion got to play her violin in the band and they played Queen's Another One Bites The Dust and We Will Rock You. How did it sound? Like you would expect, but you could see that the kids were putting their all into it.
Then Dan got to sing with a plethora of kids. They did about five songs that told of the joy of reading. I have to say I'm always a fan of that. They did this cute little green screen presentation between songs and Dan got to be in that as well. Very cool.
After that I went back to work for a little while and then it was time for Harvey's. Yea! Beer Friday!
And then the ball dropped.
Guess what is no longer on tap at Harvey's? That's right, my precious Guinness is gone! Waaaaaaaaa! I tried the Kalamazoo Stout. Wasn't the same. Tried Guinness in a can. Nope, not the same. Then there was Guinness in a bottle. Disappointing to say the least. So, what was left? I switched to Old Style for the rest of the horrid evening.
After that we headed to get pizza for the kids and then it was tiem for Doctor Who. Very good episode.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN

People will tell you how time flies, but I have to say that it seems forever ago when I started this blog. Now that it's winding down towards the end I think that it has been a good experience to write this stuff down for an entire year. As I mentioned before I plan on putting it all together into book form when it's finished. If for no other reason than something for my family to have. Kind of a slice of personal history kind of thing.
Had a rush job for one of our clients at work which meant that the computer I absolutely needed to work for this didn't. No real surprise there. I truly hate the new shop and it irritates me more with each passing day. Oh well, what are you going to do? That's right, nothing...for now.
Managed to get the rush job done and then I hoofed it home. Have I mentioned how much I miss my bike? well I do. Hopefully I will be able to repair or get a new one in the near future. For now I'm using the two feet that God gave me to get from point A to point B and it sucks as well. I was sweating pretty good by the time I made it home. And I was exhausted. At first I nodded off on the couch and then I went upstairs where I fell asleep until just before eight. I woke up, made some dinner, took care of the dogs and then I was kind of awake. I watched Attack Of The Show with Martha and that was pretty funny as usual. Then I switched it over to adult swim on Cartoon Network. Of course, I fell asleep before Robot Chicken, but that was okay.
Delia missed some school today because she said she felt 'barfy'. Dandelion mentioned feeling a little 'barfy' before bed. I gave her a Tums and sent her off to bed. We'll see if it helps at all. I kinda doubt it will, but we will see. If the girls feel bad in the morning then I old Martha to give them Tums and send them off to school. Tomorrow is the elementary school concert for Spring so that should be fun. I'm going to videotape it.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX

Hump day and things are piling up at the shop. I got a rush job and because it's in color it is not working properly. Plus, it seems that the scanning software is also not working which makes it even more fun. The guy will come to fix it tomorrow, but we'll see.
After work Martha came and got me and we went to Dairy Queen. She got a Snickers Blizzard and I got a Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard. After the day at work I needed me some fake ice cream. What can I say? I never eat the stuff, but once in a while you need a little treat.
Then it was home again where I mowed some lawn and met the neighbors. They seem very nice, but it's too soon to tell. I can foresee some problems, but that may just be my personal paranoia.
Made some dinner, played some Castle Wolfenstein, hung out with Martha and the kids.
All in all a nice, quiet evening after a day of putting up with crap at work. What can I say? I loved it. And falling asleep to the strains of MST3K's Jungle Goddess was the perfect way to end the day.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE

So, Martha gave me a ride to work because I helped work on Delia's memory books that we were doing for her class. I think they turned out all right.
But, that wasn't the fun news. I walked into the new print shop which I happen to loathe, by the way, and there was water everywhere!
Seems that a humidifier went berserk over the holiday weekend and pumped water throughout the lower level of the building. Thankfully, no finished work was ruined and all the machines seem to be functioning properly. I did what any good employee would do in this situation.
That's right, I did nothing all day. I walked around, talked to the clean up crew, looked concerned and accomplished squat. It was kind of fun. really, if they can't managed to keep a multi million dollar facility running properly why should I feel the urge or desire to be productive. Besides, the day after a holiday? Not a chance.
After work Martha came and got me and we dropped off the memory books. I met one of my old buddies at school that used to work with me at Ameritech. Damned if I can remember her name though. I'll brainstorm and it will come to me.
After that we headed home and I made an early supper. Then Martha went off for a nap and Dandy played on the computer while the other kids watched Sweeny Todd for the umpteenth time. After the flick was over I decided to play my Castle Wolfenstein game. Seems I got stuck in one spot and couldn't get out of it so I started at an earlier part of the game. I think I'm doing better so, that's nice.
After that Martha, Dandy and I went to the store for essentials. We got home and had coffee and apple pie.
Then the kids went to sleep and MArtha and I retired to the bedroom for some British Comedy. Funny stuff.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR

Since the previous days were filled with drive-ins and BBQ we had the luxury of not doing one little thing. That being said, I did mow some lawn and did some dishes. Curses! Martha went and did her workout with Heather and I watched Monty Python and caught up on some reviews. I watched a flick called Dark Chamber. Interesting and a little on the Hitchcockian side in a low rent kind of way. Started watching Critters 4 with the littles and then decided that a squirt gun fight would be much more fun. You want a cardio workout that doesn't seem like one? Play wit your children and keep up with them. You'll be panting in no time whatsoever.
It was a lazy day that went by too damned fast. My four day weekend is officially at an end.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE

went to church and it was like a ghost town. Memorial Day weekend and all. We had a guest pastor who's sermon was...let's leave it at the old saying that if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all. (insert silence here).
After that we headed home for a minute before going to the dojo for Chris' birthday BBQ. There was a ton of food and lots of little babies. I loved having the little ones around they were having a blast. Enjoy 'em while they're little. It doesn't last for very long.
After eating ourselves into food comas we headed home and did, well not much. My third day off and I have had to get up early every single day of it. Tomorrow will be different. I will sleep in no matter what.
Except there is a Monty Python's Flying Circus marathon on tomorrow. Dammit!

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO

So, slept a little late because of the drive-in last night. Then we had to get to the store to finish getting what we needed for the BBQ. Stew and his family got there around two as did Seann which is always nice when he comes over. We cooked a ton of chicken along with chips, soda and potato salad. Stew brought a case of beer and I had my fair share of those.
It was definitely big fun all around.
Later, Martha and I went to Hooters to watch the UFC fight that Chris' dojo is sponsoring. I had never been to Hooters before. The waitresses all dress like strippers, but get to keep their tops on. Our waitress, Matilda, was pretty cute. Later she had to clean ranch dressing off of my knee. Not my fault, seriously. The fights were fun to watch but I am incapable of picking a winner. I had this stuff from Leinenkugels called Summer Shanty. I thought it tasted funny beause I had been drinking Coors all day, but I later found out that it was beer mixed with...LEMONADE!!!! Is nothing sacred?? Gave me a headache the next morning which I could have done without.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE

Friday, my first day of vacation, and I had to get up early. Martha and I were volunteering for a field trip for Dan's class. we were going to walk to Bronson Hospital and see the helicopter pad and meet one of the pilots who showed us the helicopter. Pretty long walk and my sun burnt head is wishing I would have had a hat, but I didn't. The kids were pretty good, but some of the route we took was pretty busy and that made me more than a little nervous crossing the street with that many kids.
The rest of the day was pretty laid back and we decided to go to the drive in in Hartford. Man, it was a little chilly! The first feature was the new Indiana Jones movie. Overall, I didn't like it, but there were some things that I did enjoy about the film. It really gave me the feeling that I would rather watch the original three again so, I'll have to grab the new DVDs of the first three films.
The second film, Drillbit Taylor with Owen Wilson was actually more fun to watch. By that time the only ones awake were me, Dennis and Martha.
We got home around three in the morning which meant that I had been awake for approximately twenty-one hours. I never stay up that late so I should be a wreck by the time I wake up tomorrow. And tomorrow we're having a cookout with Stew and his family. Yeah, sleep is gonna be sweet this time.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY

Last day of work before my extended weekend and I did absolutely nothing. well, I did a little here and there at work, but not a whole lot. Didn't care. I was getting four days off and not think of work in the slightest. Made me quite happy for the rest of the day.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE

So, Dan and I went to his last Den meeting of the year and had a lot of fun. They were playing baseball and I was a little worried as Dan hasn't ever played baseball. He's a natural hitter and gets bored like his father when he's out in the field. He said he had enough fun that he wants to get a bat and ball and glove so, I think that can be arranged.
We had hot dogs and other goodies and I yakked it up with the other fathers. I was impressed that Drew knew who The Ghoul was.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT

Decided not to work overtime for the rest of the week. And I'm taking Friday off to have a really long weekend. Other than that not a lot happened. Martha, Dan and Dandy and I went to the store. Got a few things. Unfortunately, the two gallons of milk we bought did not survive. I opened the side door of the van and they fell out. My fault really, but I still managed to blow my top. The whole move ting has got me stressed. I friggin' hate moving and this is no excpetion. I imagine I will get used to it, but for now, not a chance.
The long weekend will be nice and I plan on getting a lot of writing done.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN

Back to work and the place is a mess. We spent the day discovering exactly how much room we don't have to put things and it was no fun at all. My feet hurt a little more than usual and that even added to the fun. Stayed until five since we can have unlimited overtime that will help defer the current cost of gasoline. Kind of sucks that that is where the extra cash is going. I would much rather spend it on fun stuff for the family. But, what are ya gonna do?
After work I ate some stuff, mowed some lawn and washed some dishes. Martha and all the kids were at Judo so I watched some television and nodded off. They got home and I fed the dogs and let them out for the night.
This was a really long day and I was tired for most of it. For some reason I kept waking up throughout the night so, my good sleep was probably nil.
Tonight should be better now that I'm through with the worry of going to the new place for work.
We'll see.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX

Slept late. Martha was exhausted and I liked sleeping in. I don't get to do it very often.
We went to the store and got groceries and gasoline. Then we had to go to the dojo and do the open workout. I played with the kids and did a little floor work with Martha. I ended up with my left shoulder cracking on me again, the middle finger on my right hand hurts like the devil and I have mat burn on my forehead. In other words, I had a lot of fun!
While the bigger kids and Martha were doing more matwork I took Dan and Dandy over to McDonalds because I wanted a coffee. They got ice cream. It was funny when the woman handed the two of them their 'don't you want to give it to me?"
Everyone, customer and employee alike thought that was hilarious and everyone laughed. Dan didn't give her the cone.
After workout we went home and I had the kids do some house work and I made barbecued ribs and chicken along with some stuffing and taco rice and some broccoli normandy. We actually sat at the table and I really liked that. We will have to do that more often.
Then it was laid back time, but I got a phone call from Judy Gillespie. I hadn't talked to Judy in a while so I yakked at her and then she handed the phone to my old friend Christopher. We chatted for a bit and decided to meet up again on Thursday to swap stories. That should be fun. I fell asleep to The Blood OF Fu Manchu. Great flick.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE

Today is comic onvention day. Martha and I got up early and first thing was first, we headed for the gas station to cry. Over a huncred bucks to fill the tank. Later, I was happy that the van only used a little under a half a tank for the entire round trip, including the part where we got lost. Yeah, with me navigating that was bound to happen, but less than half a tank to Novi and back was phenomenal.
Anyway, we got there about an hour before our volunteer time. We hunted down MAtt Feazell, Pam Bliss and Paul Sizer to give thme free stuff. The new Fu Manchu comic was the best received of the bunch of stuff I sent off. I like the comic, but I'm amazed that others like it.
After that Martha and I split up to go about our volunteer duties. First I was on line wrangling for Billy Dee Williams. His line was huge! After that I got to guard his table while he went for lunch. The guy managing Billy Dee got me a free autographed photo so I had him sign it to my buddy Stew. Stew will love it.
After that I snuck off to visit The Ghoul. Now, The Ghoul is the only person I buy stuff from at Motor City Comic Con. This time I got a keychain and a new t-shirt and a glow in the dark bracelet. I got the bracelet so his wife wouldn't have to make change. Then I located Martha and she had the primo job of guarding the back door. Because of that she got to say goodbye to all the stars. Lucky woman!
I got stuck guarding the back door next to my old buddies from Evil GEnius Entertainment. I was a zombie in one of their films and had a blast doing it. Then it was time to go and we drove for a while before hitting a steak house for some dinner. It was definitely a fun time and we are considering doing a table in artists alley next time. We could bring the kids and get a cheap motel room for the weekend. It would be a lot of fun and we could hawk our goods. Well, what goods we have. I'll have to see how that works out for us. Could be a blast. Could be a nightmare. All in all it was a fun time.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR

Friday and the big day hits! Of course, people still sent us jobs like we weren't even moving. Bastards! Around elevene I left to go do things with Martha and Delia's class at school. It was fun and there was the plus of getting some Dairy Queen.
After that I had to come back to work and finish that damned rush job! Martha called me and asked me how long I was going to be. I told her to pick me up at about a quarter afetr four. Yeah, then I got to leave about five minutes after I talked to her and had an hour to kill. It was beer Friday so I drank three pints of Guinness in about forty-five minutes.
Then MArtha and Dandy picked me up and we headed to the dojo to help clean up for Sunday's open house. We even got beer and pizza.
After that we headed home to watch Doctor Who which was the first of a two parter. It was really good.
Then it was time to hit the sack. Tomorrow is the comic convention.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE

Thursday. One more day to the move.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO

Yeah, I am officially caught up on my blog entries. This overtime and all is making me fall behind on a lot of things. The extra cash is nice, though. Martha has been transcribing my rough draft of Nahum so that I can send it through the wringer one more time.
Then it's off to the publishers so they can reject the damn thing. That's right, think positive.
The moving day is only two more days away and they have no idea how we are going to get into the shop. They want us all to have keys and I am sure glad for that because I know that I'm going to lose the damned things.
Anyway, worked until five and then made a pork fired rice that didn't go over too well because everyone likes minute rice and I didn't use minute rice. I thought it turned out fine. I have never made anything with pork necks before and I thought it turned out quite nice. The meat is very tender.
Yesterday I pulled a muscle in my chest of all things. Man it hurts!
Anyway, time to get ready for bed and watch a movie. I can't remember the last time I watched a movie.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE

I am tired of moving the shop at work. Everything is in a mess, I can't find anything and it's making me crazy. Plus, I think the overtime is starting to wear thin already. Hopefully, things will be better once we move and everything is unpacked and we settle in to the new spot. Then I won't mind the overtime so much. As it stands now I get up, walk to work, which takes about forty minutes, work from open until close, go home, make food and then get ready for bed. I am so looking forward to the Motor City Comic Convention this Saturday. Martha and I volunteer at it every year and have a truly great time. In the new van we can just sleep anywhere we want if we don;t want to make the drive home. The only thing about the trip that is going to suck is the current price for gas. Maybe it will drop a little this weekend? Yeah, probably not.
I have no solution to the problem though so I feel bad complaining about it. Really, even if I did have a solution, who is going to listen to me?
I still can't wait to go to the convention.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY

So, Monday comes and I hoof it to work. Thank God for my mp3 player. Although I am getting caught up on Kevin Smith's Smodcasts so I will have to find other podcasts to download for my trek to work.
A little while later Martha comes and gets me and we head for Mall City Motors to get a loaner while they fix our transmission pan. Then it was back to work. Later I got a call from the shop telling me it was done so, Martha came and got me and we went back to get our van. The loaner was a little minivan and it felt weird being in the thing. Too confining.
Other than that it was home for food and some sleep.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN

Mother's Day! I was smart and mailed my mom her present and card waaaay before today and she already got it so, that was good. Martha found out that they were doing some special mother thing and church and didn't want to go. Hey, her day, she gets what she wants. The kids made her cards and little, homemade things. We let her take it easy and brought her food and things. All in all a very laid back day. Tomorrow will be a little busier.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN

Yeah, so working on a Saturday. It's cool because you aren't staying late, but it kills your weekend. Of course we did have coffee and Josh brought Donuts so that was pretty awesome.
After work I hoofed it home and it was a good walk. No real hassles from the locals which is always a plus.
Didn't do a lot at home. Hung out, went to the pak for a little while. Dan tried going to the park initially with Seann and Dennis and wiped out giving himself a nice road rash on the forearm. After a few minutes he was ready to roll again.
We watched Surf's Up which was pretty cool. Even the shorts after the flick were funny. I'll have to burn that one for sure.
Pretty laid back kind of day.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN

So, the new van has a transmission leak. I got under it and checked that it was just coming from the transmission pan. Of course the 30 day warranty had expired, but I took a shot at it anyway. The place I bought it from said they would make good on it. So, Monday we have to take it in and they are even goign to give us a loaner.
We also had to stop at Airway Lanes because Delia dropped Martha's cell phone in Versluis Ballfield and some nice lady found it and said she would be working until 5 and we could stop and pick it up. Very nice of her to go to the problem. I made Delia come in and say thank you. She is also doing slave labor to pay for the gas for the needless twnety minute drive.
we did the running around for the van and then headed home.
I made dinner and then realized that Rufus was out of frozen mice and needed a new light for his tank. We headed for Discount Pet Store on Stadium and they were closed!!! We went to PetSmart and they had a reasonably priced light, but they wanted almost two buck a mouse! The other place charged about ninety cents. Kind of a rip. Martha said he would be alright and I need to chec prices tomorrow to see if we can get them cheaper anywhere else. Kind of makes me wish that they made snake chow or some such thing. Oh well. we got home and watched some television including the new Doctor Who which was pretty good. I have liked all of this season so far.
It reminds me a lot of old school Doctor Who of which I am a big fan.
After that I went to bed. I have to get up and work some ungodly overtime tomorrow. yeah, that should be fun. I do get to walk and since my bike is broken that will be nice. I just hate walking through the neighborhood I need to to get to my house. People are always bothering me. I do have my mp3 player so I can just ignore them so, that will be an advantage.
Time for bed.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN

Thursday. Meh.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN

Another long day at work. Actually got the chance to do some packing of things to send off on their merry way. Seems more like we're actually moving now instead of months ago when it was just talk.
Got home after work and no one was there. Got a little work done around the house and then played some Return To Castle Wolfenstein. That game is addictive which is good. I haven't had fun playign a game in forever. I think it's more fun when Dan watches me play, however. I love to see his reactions when the monsters pop out of nowhere and growl. He thinks that is awesome. Started reading my Russ Meyer biography. Pretty good so far.
Everyone got home around nine and I made toasted egg sandwiches for anyone who wanted one. Quick and easy and fill them up for bedtime.
I had to go back and fix like a weeks worth of posts. For some reason they were all posted with day one hundred and whatever instead of three hundred. Must be wishful thinking on my part.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN

Another day at the salt mines. I left at four today and walked home. It felt good to walk, but I think I pushed it a little too hard and will pay for it tomorrow. Watched The Game Plan with the kids. Martha was busy being grumpy. I made it to bed super early in case I had to walk to work in the morning. I am sick of the gas prices and how it only seems to affect the middle class of Americans. This is ridiculous and really needs to be resolved in one way or another. Do I have an ideas? Sure, but I really don't feel like beating that particularly dead horse at the moment.

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN

Monday, work, too much of it. Boring.
Got a new book after work about Russ Meyer from the same guy who wrote a biography about Andy Milligan. I'll have to attack that pretty soon. Still reading The Devil Doctor.
Everyone got home late from Judo and I made tuna noodle casserole.