It Comes in Threes

They always say that deaths come in threes. Has anyone taken a moment to think about the three many people are experiencing right now?

Gerald Ford
Our 38th President.


James Brown
Legendary SC man and singer.


Saddam Hussein
Crazy dictator man.


I just sort of think they make for an interesting treo. Only food for thought.

Product of the Day: JetBoil

Seems like I have been talking to a lot of people interested in camping and the outdoors. I've learned about all sorts of things, JetBoil being one of them. It seems pretty neat. If I were a hard core camper/outdoors person I would have one. But, I am not.

My favorite part of camping is the fire & stars. Nothing better than sitting under the stars on a clear night, when it is sort of chilly and you need a fire to keep warm. Add smores to that scenario and it gets even better! :-)

So - product of the day: JetBoil

Enjoy.

Creative

OK, I generally hate forwards. But, I often humor Mom and ready them. Today she sent 2 decent ones. And I fully admit I am more of an NFL fan than a college ball fan, but I could not resist poking fun. And besides - whoever wrote this was pretty creative.

So jab-jab Clemson fans. I hope you don't take offense. ;-)

-----

T'was the month before Christmas, and all through the town,

Not a Tiger fan was stirring, no one could be found. Christmas was coming, but no one could care. The stench of defeat still hung in the air. Coach Bowden was tossing, sleepless in bed, While visions of Gamecocks still danced in his head. He was wearing his cap, which read, "go Crimson Tide!" and trying to forget how his season had died.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, He sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. He stood at the window, his lower lip quivered. The lesson was hard the Ol' Ball Coach delivered. The moon on the breast of the Death Valley grass, showed Gamecock footprints from the game that had passed.

When what did he see while adjusting his hat, But a great Cock-a boose, pulled by ragged, orange cats. With a cool-handed driver, not a seat did he break, Bowden knew in a moment, it must be St. Blake. The cats were so tired, they pulled with a strain, so Blake beat them and shouted and called them by name.

Now Proctor! Now, CJ! Now Reggie and James! On, Stuckey! On Adams! On , Gaddis and Duane! We'll ride through the Valley again 'fore I'm done, And rub that old rock one more time, just for fun. As the footballs within the wild "Cock and Fire" fly, Dumbfounding the DB's as they watch them go by, Around and around, the poor Tigers flew, With a Cock-a-boose full of Gamecocks and Blake Mitchell too!

Then the Gamecocks stood guard o'er the Tigers out back, As they painted poor Tommy's house garnet and black. As Bowden drew in his hand, and was turning around, The Ghost of Steve Spurrier was seen floating down. He was dressed all in fur from his toes to his chin, He had made a new coat from some old Tiger skins. Several more Tigers, he had flung on his back, Jacoby, Jad Dean and Davis, in fact. His eyes - how they twinkled! His countenance-how merry! He was thinking of the team his young Gamecocks had buried.

Then suddenly above the Great Spectre appeared, The names of all the coaches he had whipped through the years. The victory torches still smoldered beneath, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath, But Tommy stood blank-faced, his stomach still queasy, He knew that next year wasn't going to be easy.

He was sad and disgruntled, a mere shell of a man, And Steve laughed when he saw him, and though of HIS FANS! They stood face to face, Bowden wanted to run, He could hear the theme song from 2001. The Ghost spoke not a word, but went straight to his plan, Leaving Tanneyhill bobble heads for all those at hand.

And raising his visor in salute as on cue, He said, "See ya next year!" and he faded from view. Blake sprang to the Cock-a-boose, to the cats said, "Let's go!", The Tigers all cried saying, "no, Blake, please no!" But I heard him exclaim, as he drove through the gate, "Merry Christmas to all, 31-28!"

For Thought...

My Mom, a teacher, forwarded this to me.

Teaching 'sport'

A state Senator says public schoolteachers should be paid on a scale equal to that of the Gamecocks or Tiger football coaches. The Sun News editors agree only if teachers are required to do their jobs under the same conditions as the coaches and only if teachers expect to be fired if their students don't perform beyond a certain expectation.

I am a public schoolteacher in Horry County, and I accept the challenge. Pay me their salary. If my students don't perform as well as either the Gamecocks or Tigers this year, then fire me.

Of course, I also reserve the right to have students try out for my class. If they don't measure up, then I have the right to refuse to teach them. I will only accept highly motivated, talented students. If any student fails to perform as I hoped he would, I have the right to cut him from the class.

I will also need a budget that will provide everything the students need to learn. I want full media coverage. I also want the school packed with cheering fans to make the students feel that what they are doing is worthwhile. I will have a full staff of assistant teachers, trainers and equipment managers to help me.

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to my next paycheck! I had better close this letter now so that I can prepare for my weekly TV show.

-- Some teacher in that area.

Christmas

Eve
It was nice. I got to catch up with some of my cousins. I really would like to find a time where we could all get together and spend some time. No kids - no parents. Just us. Problem is there are too many, and we are all spread out. I would settle for being selective though. You know, just the ones that are of age. I would have to end up 5 years down the road and none of us know what the others are doing. Family is more important than that. Just because our parents might go off and do silly things doesn't mean we still can't keep in touch - and we should not rely on our grandma to be our only connection.

Day
I probably slept the latest I ever had on Christmas. 8:30am maybe. And even after Mom and I were up (which was about the same time) we messed around a bit before opening presents or anything. It was nice to not feel all that crazy anxiety. I guess I have finally grown up. That - or I am just emotionally drained. Probably some of both. I really am a kid inside still. But everyone should be young at heart. :-)

I have been asked several times what all I got for Christmas. The highlights were... Money (thanks gramma!), 2 handbags, iHome Alarm Clock docking station for iPod, tools, light bulb changer (which I left in Florence - oops), treo case (still in transit), rosemary plant, socks :-), snowman ornaments :-D, Guitar Hero II >:-P, and I am sure there are other things too - I just can't remember.

Best Wishes
So, I hope you and yours had a nice holiday! And may you have a wonderful New Years!

Now & Upcoming
I'm back at work today. BORING! No one is here. Hence why I am killing a few minutes and doing a blog post. There is actually some stuff I will have a chance to get done, which is nice. :-)

Last night I went out to Rust in the Vista. It was nice. I had not been there before. Had a good time too. Today is laundry day though. I will probably also watch one of my netflix films.

Tomorrow having dinner with Wendy, getting nails done, and meeting a friend for a drink. Friday is sort of up in the air - I may be having dinner with some friends in Florence, but I may stick around and not head to Florence until Saturday morning. It all depends on what comes up. New Years is still blank on my calendar. :-( But, I still have a few days to get something lined up. I guess worse case I can sit and watch football. Maybe I will even be able to dig someone out of the woodwork to watch it with.

But = gonna get some work done.

So Long!

In Florence

Been relaxing with the fam. It has been nice. Rolled into town on Thursday evening, and got to see some good friends that evening.

Friday mom & I went shopping, and yesterday I had lunch with an old high school buddy - JJ, did some shopping, Mom & I visited Jamie's family, went for a movie/drinks with another high school buddy - Brian. We ended the night rocking out to Guitar Hero.

Today I plan to stay in PJs as long as possible. The extended family is suppose to arrive for Christmas festivities around 6. And looks like we might go ahead an open presents this evening. Who knows.

The atmosphere is definitely different this year. No Uncle Chuck, no Justin. But - the company is good, and everyone is happy. I am pleased to see that the presents have not gone overboard this year. It is quite sinful what we do for each other each year. But, I say that and still do not know what Dad may have stowed away places. He always has some surprises stuck under his sleeve. That is what makes him cool though. :-)

So, Merry Christmas Eve to all, and to all a good rest this evening - especially if you have kids!

Big Mistake

I have a somewhat inappropriate coping technique, but occasionally it leads to situations where people recommend someone I should consider talking to - when I am ready to start talking to people. This afternoon was one of those times when Becca at work suggested I consider talking to her brother-in-law - Lance. She even called him to get his MySpace.com info.

Now, I detest the idea of MySpace. I dont know what it is, but I just don't like it. But, for shits-n-giggles I figured I would go check it out. Although I really need to be cleaning the house.

Well, it only opened a can of worms. I ended up searching on West Florence High School graduates and finally have been able to pull myself away from looking at what old friends are up to. I can see how the site can become addictive.

But, dinner is ready. Gotta grab it.

***Post edited for content 12-24-06***

Thanks Mom.

She left me a nice e-mail a little after midnight. Part of it read.

I always found that cleaning helped when I got mad. Clean the hell out of something! Get on the tractor and mow down something, etc. (but be careful if you decide to try that!)

Made me smile. :-)

Seventy-Five

This is crazy. When the alarm went off this morning I popped on the local NBC news just like always, and the first thing I heard was the forecast.

75 degrees today. Seventy-five. Dang. That seems nuts. Christmas is a week from today. The offical start of winter is Thursday I think. At least the high for Wednesday is 57. But still. It is too hot out. I am even considering the thought of wearing a skirt today.

But, gots to get ready.

Country Girl

There is no other phrase than "god er dun." Yesterday Mom & Dad - ok - really DAD & mom were a huge help around here. Expect some pics tomorrow that showcase the work. But to run down a list real quick...

We (or Dad):
- Disassembed an armoire
- Hoisted an armoire into the loft
- Reassembled an armoire
- Affixed the headboard to the bed
- Hung corner shelves
- Made & Attached some kitchen shelved
- Washed wine glasses (go Mom!)
- Cleared off storage desk
- Removed storage desk
- Hung window grids
- Got stuff from JMs house (3 big wardrobe pieces, grill, elliptical machine, etc.)
- Hung shelves in laundry room
- Hung pot rack
- Changed light bulbs
- Loaded pump house with stuff
- Vacuumed house
- Put stuff from JMs house in the storage/excersise/laundry room
- Hung clothes rod in laundry closet
- Put bedskirt on bed
- Measured for cubbord/chest to go at foot of bed
- Partially arranged living furniture
- Brought in & hooked up new TV definately without having a moment where we thought the TV did not have speakers
- Hooked up PS2 to new TV
- Successfully avoided playing Guitar Hero
- And other stuff.

But, the thing that makes this "Country Girl"

- We loaded the temporary power pole onto Dad's trailor.

Why is that country?

I had to drive the tractor, and I did it all by myself. :-) Hot damn.

Today has not been as productive. I decorated the Christmas tree, which felt silly because I am the only one here. Set out Christmas decorations, which felt even more silly. Ate a bag of popcorn, drank a 2 liter Sundrop, and watched way too much FoodTV. Went by SJs to pick up a package, bought a flat iron, got a few things at lowes, got some groceries, and made tasty shrimp taco things with perfectly ripe avacado!

I also had a crazy emotional spell where I felt worthless, usless, pointless, ridiculous, and generally crappy. The tangent also included some intense crying while in the car, and an angry hate-burst that was not warranted. Sometimes crying feels good, today it did. But for some reason I feel like picking a fight would feel really good. I want someone to piss me off royally, me to yell at them severly, and for me to be right, and for them to admit it. (Please note, that is a rhetorical request. I ask that no one reading this post actually do that. I may have a breakdown.) And which the Christmas stuff felt dumb today I did smile, and feel much happier because my snowmen are out. Getting the ornaments out was nice because it was like lots of little presents and memories wrapped in the box.

Sarah Jane went to a wedding yesterday. She commented on how the high school kids there were acting all dumb and dancing around like fools. She also mentioned that it is kind of sad how as adults we are reduced to drinking alcohol in order to act that free.

There are a lot of other things I would like to write about this evening. But tomorrow may be a bit of a hair challenge, so I have to get up extra early. As a result. I am heading to bed.

Night.

New Hair

Got my hair cut this evening. Liking it. Sleepy though. Much to do tomorrow.

It Could Be Worse

Security System
It was suppose to get installed on Wednesday, but the dude was called into jury duty and they could not get a back-up out here, so they are coming next Wendnesday.

Glass Repair
The estimate came in and was reasonable, fortunatley they will be able to get it fixed on next Wednesday as well! :-)

Life
Is busy and there is so much complexity and stress going on. But today a friend told me about how her sister, that is 30 is in the process of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Hopefully they will find out it is just a fatty mass or cyst or something. The lady's annual was yesterday, so all this is happening right now. Not like it has been going on. So I feel a little petty being so caught up in what is going on, not that is not severe stuff, but it could be worse.

To the one awaiting test results, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

To the rest of you - happy holidays. Cherish the moments you will have with loved ones over the holidays, and take the time to celebrate life.

I'm off.

Skinny Day

I am happy today.

Why?

Because I put on a pair of jeans I used to not be able to fit into and they fit. :-D Yipee!I even clearly remember buying these jeans back in the day, and they were snug, but I got them anyhow cause I was planning to lose a few lbs. I reckon it just took longer than I expected. Also able to wear a shirt with them that I would have NEVER thought about wearing with jeans before.

Something like 20 down 30 to go I think. Need to get my hands on a scale to check.

Not so Miserable

Today did not turn out so bad. I took a dose of Bayer Back & Body about 4:30 when I got up to use the bathroom, but since then there has only been a tiny bit of soreness. :-)

The window people never showed. I was ticked. I called them around 10 just to make sure I was still on for an appointment, then at noon when they still had not shown I called again. The guy was running late - duh! They also admitted to me then that I really did not need to be there, because all they had to do was measure. Did not get a call this afternoon. So I am going to call in the morning to see what the deal is. I am not expecting much.

Exchanged some items with Justin this evening. I got the mattress pad for the queen bed. MUCH nicer than before. It is one of those memory foam ones. Quite squishy! :-) Also got the microwave and a few DVDs.

SJ & Hannah came over for dinner and we had a little fire. It was nice. We drank a few beers and had hot chocolate. Mmmm. They then helped me move a piece of furniture, and SJ was kind enough to finish up the TV stand - all that was left was putting in the shelves. I put picks on my flickr.

I'm ready for bed though.

So Long.

Note the time

Its like 11:25am. Still no window people. These ranges of arrival time are BS! Watch them pull up at 11:59. ARGH!!!

Tomorrow will be Miserable

I have worked my ass off this afternoon/evening. I guess it kind of started with rocking out heavily on the way home to the Say Anything album "Is A Real Boy..." - which I love. Then when I got to the house I unloaded some stuff and then felt like an energizer bunny. I have unpacked about 10 boxes, gathered stuff for Justin, cleaned out most of the car, done laundry, spent 30 min trying to get the new TV stand out of the trunk of the Jetta, and started assembling the thing.

The box for this stand was WAY too heavy for me to carry, so it took nearly 30 min standing on my head with a pair of scissors trying to cut the box open to slide the pieces out. After getting them out then I had the chore of assembly. Tools are slim pickin' around here these days, so my hammer was the back end of a hatchet. Dad gave me a cordless tool set, and the drill was doing a good job until the battery died. I was not about to wait for it to charge, so I did it the old fashioned way. The trick to that was finding a screwdriver.

I think I have about 90% of the thing put togehter. My back is killing me, and it feels SO good to lie here in the bed and just type. All that has to move is my fingers! :-) Sleeping will be nice, although I dread waking in the morning because I know I will be stiff and sore. Hopefully I will be able to put my hands on a bottle of pain killers pretty easily.

Tomorrow I am homebound for the first part of the day. The people are coming to give me an estimate on re-doing the glass in the broken window. I love those time ranges where they are like, "someone will be there between 8am and noon." Thanks people. But, it needs to get replaced. So I am at their mercy.

So, the expected pain of tomorrow + the wait on the window people is going to leave me with a great day. Yippee! Hopefully after lunch will be productive and happy because well - I hope it is.

(Post updated 12-12-06 3:09pm to reflect album name correction. Thanks Justin)

Finished Book

I finished "The Hottest State" last night. There was a moment where I hated it, but the end rebounded. I am going to read it again before I send it back to Matt. Or I should just get my own copy, but that would cost money.

Currently taking recommendations on other books to read.

As you can see I posted my Christmas list. It is not as fancy as it has been in the past, but it will work. I should have been more responsible and put things like a Keroscene heater and generator on there. Oh well.

I can't believe Christmas is only like 14 days away. I have only bought 1 Christmas present, and it is not even really for someone that I need to get a present for. Spent more on it that I really wanted to spend on that person too. But, I know it will be enjoyed though, at least I hope it will.

I have at least started the shopping list. So that is progress. There are a few things I need to order online. So, maybe I will take initiative and get that taken care of this evening.

I shall head out though.

Lata!

Christmas List

Bathroom Scale
Or Similar

Money
As much as you can afford to give. :-)

Socks
Black and Tan/Brown

Pens
Multi-Colored Fine Point Felt Tip Pens

Treo Case
Actually really need this.

Thermometer Thing
Times 2, please!

iPod Alarm Clock
In black

Full Length Mirror
Not exactly this one, but one made like it. :-)

Moleskine Journals
Several, I fill them quickly.

Logan Raye Gift Card
Their services are great.

Headboard & Chest for foot of bed
Per design ideas discussed.

New TV + Fortune

I had the desire to play Guitar Hero the other day, but without a TV downstairs anymore I was not able to do so. So, I searched around for some same-as-cash deals at the major retailers. Circuit City is running 18 months same as cash - expiring tonite. So, last night Mom, Dad, and I hopped in the car and went shopping. I had discovered this piece of information early yesterday morning and spent a good bit of the day pinging people on their TV thoughts. I did some research online, and well. Ultimately ended up with aSamsung 42" Plasma, and a TV Stand. Gonna take the stand with me back to Columbia, but Dad is going to bring me the TV next weekend. It will not fit in the Jetta. :-(

A good point has been made though, I ought not to bring the new TV in the house until the security system gets installed. Which, I found out is going to happen on Wednesday morning.

Took a half day at work yesterday. And on my way out to go get on the interstate I met Troy, Chris, Lee, Mellissa, Roxanne, and Dianne in the elevator bay. They convinced me to go to MCafe with them. I had the chicken kabobs. It was tasty. I also got a fortune that read...

"You would do well in the field of computer technology."

Kind of a retroactive fortune I think, or maybe it is telling me to go back into that field. Who knows. Either way it is much better than my fortune last night that read something like "At 20 your will resigns, at 30 your wit, and 40 your judgement." Wha-da-heck?

Dinner last night was uber tasty though. We had takeout from Little China. I LOVE their sesame Chicken. :-) In addition we had some wontons, Pork Chow Fun, Egg Rolls, and boneless spare ribs. Yum-O!

The plan was going to be to have the stuffed rolled chicken last night, but my TV shopping desires put a stop to that. So we will have it this evening.

I need to wrap up though - time to go get dressed :-( - Mom and I are going to go furniture shopping. I had all intentions of staying in my PJs ALL FRIKIN DAY, but i guess that just wont be the case. Maybe one day soon I will get to do that. Maybe not.

Farewell for now!

Security System

Last Thursday, when I got home after doing my nails I noticed that the back porch light was not on. Hmmm. As I rounded the bend to park the reflection of my brights was amplified by a shattered window. "Shit. Justin was right." He had been commenting of safely stuff a lot lately, and I was fearing the "I told you so" speech.

He was the first person I had called, to see if he had been by yet - not that I thought he had done it. And he had not been by, so I called 911. Then I called my parents. After that I made 2 more quick calls to let others know - I was suppose to be leaving for Virginia the next morning. This was not suppose to happen. Krikey.

So I stay in the car - as far as I know they could be in the house still. Was Vegeta OK? Argh - it really sucked. I drove slowly around the house and felt pretty confident no one was inside. I could see that there were muddy footprints where they kicked the back door, but none of the other windows were broken, or doors open. So - I felt like that was a good sign.

The Sherrif's Deputy got there. She was nice - about my age. Fortunately the broken window was only the outside pane, and not all the way through. :-) They had not made it in, but the front and back doorjams had been beaten up where they tried to get in. I think they may have just been lazy though, because if they really wanted to get in - they could have.

The back porch light bulb had only been unscrewed, so that was good. Vegeta was fine, and the deputy stayed until Justin arrived. To shorten the story - Justin and I talked then I gathered my things and went to stay with Jamie that night. We headed out the Virginia the next morning.

In the way to VA I called insurance (I knew Assurant did not open until 10:30 EST and there would be no way an adjuster would be out over the weekend - so I did not feel bad about going to VA. I didnt want to stay in the house with a broken window anyhow. Finally heard from a claims adjuster on Tuesday morning. All I have to do is send him some photos.

Glass people are coming Monday to estimate fixing the windows, and last night I signed up for a security system. It was convenient in fact because I got a telemarketing call from Bellsouth on Tuesday for security systems. The guy met me around 6:00 yesterday and I was like sure - go for it. Not at all interested in shopping around.

So, I will have all 3 doors monitored, monitors on the two standard windows on the front of the house, a glass shatter detector for the 2 big windows, a keypad upstairs, and a remote key-fab for turning it on and off when coming and going.

The dude is suppose to call today to get the installation scheduled. :-) He kind of creeped me out though. We were discussing times that the installation would work with my schedule and I said that if one of those three options did not work then we could talk about the next week. At which point he replied, "Or we could just talk." Eeek! This was not the type of dude I wanted to be talking to.

I need to get to work though.

Lata Tata!

Sore

The Marketing & Communications Dept. Christmas Party was last night at The Millstone @ Adam's Pond. It was fantastic. Sarah Jane was my date. I was worried about her feeling out of place, heck - I was worried about me feeling out of place - but we were great. In fact, I am no longer a karaoke virgin. SJ, Becca, Carley, and I sang The Foundations - "Build Me Up Buttercup" and later in the evening Becca, Carley, and I sang The Commodores - "Easy." About 1/2 way through we were joined by Lee. It was a great evening. Got home about 12:30 - 12:45 though - so while great, it was late. All the dancing and laughing I did left me feeling sore though. Melissa, one of our creative's sent this to me today...



That guy is Lee. I was about to head to the bar and was asking if he wanted a drink. Lee is also one of our creatives. It is easy to get thirsty if you are dancing your ass off. Problem is that Kendall Jackson Riesling is not exactly a hydrating beverage. By the time I made it home I was crazy parched, but just sort of took of some of my clothes and fell into bed. Getting up this morning was not a joy. Especially because I had an 8am breakfast appointment with Chad Dowdy from Northwestern Mutual. (If you need a $$$ man, let me know and I will hook you to up - he is fantastic!)

I upgraded today to the Blogger Beta version. So far not seeing too many differences, but I am looking forward to exploring the new things. :-) Initially I just login with my standard google account, so clearly they have merged authentication/authorization utilities. Smart move. Google is some company. I just dont get how they really make their money. I mean - I know it is all generated through the advertizing program, but dang. Impressive.

Heading to the rents house this weekend. Mom is being nice and letting me help put up the Christmas tree. :-) Excited about that.

Farewell!

The Hottest State

When up in Virginia we went by the Affinity4 office. On Matt's desk I saw the book "The Hottest State" by Ethan Hawke. He had recommended that I read it. So, I borrowed it. Didn't really ask - just told him I was.

Today I am at Midlands Tech doing SharePoint training for work, and during lunch I started reading the book. It is really, REALLY cool when you pick up a book and by the end of the first page have totally fallen in love with everything that it is about. Chapter 1 ended on page 13 and I considered stopping there, but did not. When lunch was over I did not want to put it down. Feel like I will most likely need my own copy. This is going to be one I will want to read over and over.

The movie version of the book is already on the radar. Kind of disappointed Matt though because he wanted to be the one to make the movie. Sucks for him. ;-)

I already recommend this title. Get it now, or heck - some of you may get it from me for Christmas.