Spent Friday evening eating dinner at AB's with the Burns. Unfortunately, Mr. Leatherman was in the vicinity which was the only thing to interrupt a pleasant dining experience. While the food was suprisingly good, our waiter was slow. It's just hard to get a good combination of positive factors going in any of the local restaurants around here. Simp's is pretty good in that respect but that's even skewed because I know people there. I still think they would do a better job of serving customers there though.
The grand plan for Saturday was to head to Nashville. That fizzled out mainly because the Burn's had to be back for the trunk or treat thing at church. Having to be back by a certain time kinda puts a damper on enjoying being out of town. Looks like that trip might be happening next week at any rate so that's cool. Ended up going to Huntsville instead. Had a GREAT lunch at Macaroni Grill. Hands down that is some of the best Italian food to be had around here. MUCH better than Olive Garden IMO. Service was excellent as well as the food quality. Very consistent over there. I don't recall having anything remotely resembling a bad experience there.
Checked out the hhGregg store. It's a good place to go if you're in the market for large appliances but it's not the electronics variety store like Best Buy. Headed to BB next where I picked up a CD player for my living room. My old Denon player was so old that it didn't have an optical output on it so I though it might be time to get something newer. I had been using the old one back in my drum room as a practice tool when I hook my in-ears up to it.
Spent the evening hooking things up in the entertainment cabinet and watching part of the Master and Commander DVD I borrowed. Conked out after that.
Church went well. I got no feedback on the sound so I can only assume it was "as usual". Eric's kid Heidi was playing the bongos and congas. I'm pretty sure her hands are sore from doing that. That's rough for even me. She could have benefitted from a mic and IEM's though so she could hear herself. Scott, did you bring home your IEM receiver again? ;-) I felt kinda bad for her because I know how loud the drums are.
Lunch was at Firehouse Subs. Tasty stuff. We're going to have to add them on the dining rotation for sure. Good food reasonably priced.
Next stop was Home Depot to stock up on batteries (aziz). Picked up 2 packs of 9v for my IEM receiver and a 24 pack of AA's for remote controls and such. Also got some yard chemicals to winterize my... dirt. I should have better luck on the yard next year with more sunshine being able to reach it now that I have 5 less trees covering the place.
Took a short nap and woke up confused as it was dark outside... I thought it was Monday morning, Sunday night, or somewhere in between. Nice. Sat up and found a pounding headache strapped to my head. Where did THAT come from? Made some dinner and watched some tube. I felt much better after eating. Finished up Master and Commander. That was a good flick. I'd give it a 7.
Time for bed. Busy week ahead.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
One's bigger than the other I think...
The above comment came as a result of one of my co-workers getting bit on the @ss by a red wasp hiding in her robe. That's a rude awakening right there let me tell ya. She's apparently pretty allergic to them and had some swelling. Unfortunately for her, I got wind of her situation before she told me so as usual, I took advantage of the situation. "Um, is your right cheek bigger than your left one for some reason?" Yes, it was as funny as you could imagine it.
I too had a rough morning. Woke up dizzy, almost nauseus. It wasn't a sick to my stomach thing but more of an inner-ear type deal. That sucked. I was just going to lay in bed and go into work later but I thought I'd at least eat some breakfast and try getting ready for work to see if that improved things. Well, now I was all ready to go and it would be too much of a hassle to get back into bed so I went on to work. I felt crappy up until about lunchtime and then things went back to normal. Sup wif dat?
Spent the day working on I.T. stuff but still found time to do some client work as well. They're not used to any kind of network security at the office so there's a lot of bitching going on when people have to log in to use certain resources and they also get all twisted up when they can't get to other people's files like they used to. A little network security is a good thing as we go forward. They'll be some kicking and screaming for sure but we'll all make it through once I explain everything. I've still got lots to learn about OSX (the OS running on the server) so it's a learning curve for all of us.
Band practice went well. Everyone had a good time for the most part. Sound board was jacked up again (as is the norm) and Kev had to make corrections for the vocals. The drums actually looked less jacked up than normal as they weren't sitting on zero as is the custom of our people. Kev's buddy Andrew joined up with us for some eats at Ruby's. Apparently, they're friends from school. Seemed like a good guy. Dude could hide some groceries though. Man, if I ate like him, I'd look like a grown-up by now.
Looks like there's gonna be another poker night next Friday. I wonder if I'll be making a donation to Wes again like last time? I'm going to have to review the various poker hands so I can tell if I've got something other than the easy stuff... 2, 3, 4 of a kind, 2 or 3 pairs, flushes and stuff like that. Helps to know the rules for sure.
Think I'm gonna go crash now.
I too had a rough morning. Woke up dizzy, almost nauseus. It wasn't a sick to my stomach thing but more of an inner-ear type deal. That sucked. I was just going to lay in bed and go into work later but I thought I'd at least eat some breakfast and try getting ready for work to see if that improved things. Well, now I was all ready to go and it would be too much of a hassle to get back into bed so I went on to work. I felt crappy up until about lunchtime and then things went back to normal. Sup wif dat?
Spent the day working on I.T. stuff but still found time to do some client work as well. They're not used to any kind of network security at the office so there's a lot of bitching going on when people have to log in to use certain resources and they also get all twisted up when they can't get to other people's files like they used to. A little network security is a good thing as we go forward. They'll be some kicking and screaming for sure but we'll all make it through once I explain everything. I've still got lots to learn about OSX (the OS running on the server) so it's a learning curve for all of us.
Band practice went well. Everyone had a good time for the most part. Sound board was jacked up again (as is the norm) and Kev had to make corrections for the vocals. The drums actually looked less jacked up than normal as they weren't sitting on zero as is the custom of our people. Kev's buddy Andrew joined up with us for some eats at Ruby's. Apparently, they're friends from school. Seemed like a good guy. Dude could hide some groceries though. Man, if I ate like him, I'd look like a grown-up by now.
Looks like there's gonna be another poker night next Friday. I wonder if I'll be making a donation to Wes again like last time? I'm going to have to review the various poker hands so I can tell if I've got something other than the easy stuff... 2, 3, 4 of a kind, 2 or 3 pairs, flushes and stuff like that. Helps to know the rules for sure.
Think I'm gonna go crash now.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Where'd that rain come from?
Another busy day at the office. My server looks to be running as it should. I also had a chance to poke around the GUI a little more and found the server monitoring tools I was looking for. Still, I hope I can find something I can use on the Windows platform to view it instead of needing something running the Mac OSX. Had a few meetings this morning in Huntsville. At lunch, ate at a new place called Sazio's over in 5 points. It's kind of like a smaller Macaroni Grill. It's a cool environment. The bar area looks VERY nice from what I saw of it. Might have to get the brewski crew to head over there for a few one night soon and take it all in.
Had to run a few errands after work. Talked to Rochelle for awhile as she wasn't feeling too good due to some sort of sinus malfunction. Poor thing. I know what that crap feels like.
Not too much else to report. Gonna hop on the drums for awhile then do some more reading.
Had to run a few errands after work. Talked to Rochelle for awhile as she wasn't feeling too good due to some sort of sinus malfunction. Poor thing. I know what that crap feels like.
Not too much else to report. Gonna hop on the drums for awhile then do some more reading.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
"Hey! I'm finished looking at it."
Had to use that line at lunch today on Rochelle. She joined up with Kay and I at Logan's. After she sat down beside me, she was chompin on peanuts and was turned so that she could drop the shells on the floor next to the booth. The way she was sitting, her hindquarters were positioned in way that would someone who was saying "look at my butt tattoo" would sit. Anyway, I said the above and the told her "Look sista, once you've sold it, you don't have to keep sellin it". We were all rollin with laughter. After several more inappropriate comments, we found ourselves eating free desserts provided to us by a buddy in management over there. A fun way to spend lunch I'll tell ya. Oh, ran in to Jack S. there as well. Looks like a trip to the shooting range may be out of the question for him this weekend. On the other hand, he IS excited about the opportunity to play at the VBCC gig.
I was suprisingly busy today trying to handle meetings and addressing a few IT issues that cropped up. I did have some server weirdness as the XServer somehow "lost" it's connection (via firewire) to the tape backup system. I rebooted the server and tape drive and all seemed to go back to normal. I'll have to look through the server logs in detail tomorrow to see if I can find anything that would indicate what caused this.
Static IP's are of the devil. Just thought I'd get that out of my system.
Oh, Lesa told me all about her new bike she picked up Saturday. Talk about nice... it's a full-suspension Cannondale. She, Lynn and Luke are trying to convince me to get a bike so I can join them. Dang... that's all I need. Another expensive hobby. You know me, I won't be on some Huffy Wal-Mart special... I'll have a Cannondale, Specialized or a Trek bike. Winter's coming up though so I probably won't get one this season. I would however be open to picking up a good used bike. Those will probably be more reasonable than a new one I'm sure.
My next door neighbor suprised me with a visit. This is the neighbor whose cat Kelsey did a Cuisinart on last year. (In case you missed that, short version: neighbors cat goes into my fenced back yard and leaves in a box courtesy of my dog) Apparently, his car and the car of a neighbor on the other side of him got broken into last night. It looks like they left their doors unlocked and someone simply opened them and went through the stuff on the inside. Some small items were taken but nothing valuable. Hmmm... I usually bring in all my stuff... iPod mainly, when I'm in for the night AND I lock my doors. Kelsey will probably wake me up if anyone comes near my car espcially since she sleeps on the porch a few feet away. I think I might leave the doors unlocked but arm my alarm tonight and see what fun ensues.
It does concern me that this sort of thing has happend right here where I live. You'd think people would just leave other people's stuff alone. Sigh.
I was suprisingly busy today trying to handle meetings and addressing a few IT issues that cropped up. I did have some server weirdness as the XServer somehow "lost" it's connection (via firewire) to the tape backup system. I rebooted the server and tape drive and all seemed to go back to normal. I'll have to look through the server logs in detail tomorrow to see if I can find anything that would indicate what caused this.
Static IP's are of the devil. Just thought I'd get that out of my system.
Oh, Lesa told me all about her new bike she picked up Saturday. Talk about nice... it's a full-suspension Cannondale. She, Lynn and Luke are trying to convince me to get a bike so I can join them. Dang... that's all I need. Another expensive hobby. You know me, I won't be on some Huffy Wal-Mart special... I'll have a Cannondale, Specialized or a Trek bike. Winter's coming up though so I probably won't get one this season. I would however be open to picking up a good used bike. Those will probably be more reasonable than a new one I'm sure.
My next door neighbor suprised me with a visit. This is the neighbor whose cat Kelsey did a Cuisinart on last year. (In case you missed that, short version: neighbors cat goes into my fenced back yard and leaves in a box courtesy of my dog) Apparently, his car and the car of a neighbor on the other side of him got broken into last night. It looks like they left their doors unlocked and someone simply opened them and went through the stuff on the inside. Some small items were taken but nothing valuable. Hmmm... I usually bring in all my stuff... iPod mainly, when I'm in for the night AND I lock my doors. Kelsey will probably wake me up if anyone comes near my car espcially since she sleeps on the porch a few feet away. I think I might leave the doors unlocked but arm my alarm tonight and see what fun ensues.
It does concern me that this sort of thing has happend right here where I live. You'd think people would just leave other people's stuff alone. Sigh.
"Hey! I'm finished looking at it."
Had to use that line at lunch today on Rochelle. She joined up with Kay and I at Logan's. After she sat down beside me, she was chompin on peanuts and was turned so that she could drop the shells on the floor next to the booth. The way she was sitting, her hindquarters were positioned in way that would someone who was saying "look at my butt tattoo" would sit. Anyway, I said the above and the told her "Look sista, once you've sold it, you don't have to keep sellin it". We were all rollin with laughter. After several more inappropriate comments, we fould ourselves eating free desserts provided to us by a buddy in management over there. A fun way to spend lunch I'll tell ya. Oh, ran in to Jack S. there as well. Looks like a trip to the shooting range may be out of the question for him this weekend. On the other hand, he IS excited about the opportunity to play at the VBCC gig.
I was suprisingly busy today trying to handle meetings and addressing a few IT issues that cropped up. I did have some server weirdness as the XServer somehow "lost" it's connection (via firewire) to the tape backup system. I rebooted the server and tape drive and all seemed to go back to normal. I'll have to look through the server logs in detail tomorrow to see if I can find anything that would indicate what caused this.
Static IP's are of the devil. Just thought I'd get that out of my system.
Oh, Lesa told me all about her new bike she picked up Saturday. Talk about nice... it's a full-suspension Cannondale. She, Lynn and Luke are trying to convince me to get a bike so I can join them. Dang... that's all I need. Another expensive hobby. You know me, I won't be on some Huffy Wal-Mart special... I'll have a Cannondale, Specialized or a Trek bike. Winter's coming up though so I probably won't get one this season. I would however be open to picking up a good used bike. Those will probably be more reasonable than a new one I'm sure.
My next door neighbor suprised me with a visit. This is the neighbor whose cat Kelsey did a Cuisinart on last year. (In case you missed that, short version: neighbors cat goes into my fenced back yard and leaves in a box courtesy of my dog) Apparently, his car and the car of a neighbor on the other side of him got broken into last night. It looks like they left their doors unlocked and someone simply opened them and went through the stuff on the inside. Some small items were taken but nothing valuable. Hmmm... I usually bring in all my stuff... iPod mainly, when I'm in for the night AND I lock my doors. Kelsey will probably wake me up if anyone comes near my car espcially since she sleeps on the porch a few feet away. I think I might leave the doors unlocked but arm my alarm tonight and see what fun ensues.
It does concern me that this sort of thing has happend right here where I live. You'd think people would just leave other people's stuff alone. Sigh.
I was suprisingly busy today trying to handle meetings and addressing a few IT issues that cropped up. I did have some server weirdness as the XServer somehow "lost" it's connection (via firewire) to the tape backup system. I rebooted the server and tape drive and all seemed to go back to normal. I'll have to look through the server logs in detail tomorrow to see if I can find anything that would indicate what caused this.
Static IP's are of the devil. Just thought I'd get that out of my system.
Oh, Lesa told me all about her new bike she picked up Saturday. Talk about nice... it's a full-suspension Cannondale. She, Lynn and Luke are trying to convince me to get a bike so I can join them. Dang... that's all I need. Another expensive hobby. You know me, I won't be on some Huffy Wal-Mart special... I'll have a Cannondale, Specialized or a Trek bike. Winter's coming up though so I probably won't get one this season. I would however be open to picking up a good used bike. Those will probably be more reasonable than a new one I'm sure.
My next door neighbor suprised me with a visit. This is the neighbor whose cat Kelsey did a Cuisinart on last year. (In case you missed that, short version: neighbors cat goes into my fenced back yard and leaves in a box courtesy of my dog) Apparently, his car and the car of a neighbor on the other side of him got broken into last night. It looks like they left their doors unlocked and someone simply opened them and went through the stuff on the inside. Some small items were taken but nothing valuable. Hmmm... I usually bring in all my stuff... iPod mainly, when I'm in for the night AND I lock my doors. Kelsey will probably wake me up if anyone comes near my car espcially since she sleeps on the porch a few feet away. I think I might leave the doors unlocked but arm my alarm tonight and see what fun ensues.
It does concern me that this sort of thing has happend right here where I live. You'd think people would just leave other people's stuff alone. Sigh.
Monday, October 25, 2004
New technology to play with.
Met up with my buddy Cameron for lunch today. He brought along his new Motorola RAZR V3 cell with him so I could check it out. MAN! That's one sweet piece of technology. Back in the day when Motorola's StarTAC's were the cat's meow, I think I had 3 different iterations of it as new features were added in each generation. Since then, Motorola's designs have taken a dive and other companies like Nokia, Samsung and Sony came out with more appealing products. I think they're back on track with the V3. It's a little too "spendy" for me but dang it's pretty.
Cam checked out my BlackBerry which, unusually, he hadn't seen yet. I had been wanting to try out the Bluetooth functionality of it but didn't have anything to try it with. He brought along the BT headset he had been using up until he got his V3 to let me try it. Figured out how to "pair" my BB and the headset together and got things working. THAT my friends, is the poo. If I only had voice dialing on my BB, I'd be able to both MAKE and receive calls without needing to get my phone out. The overall functionality of the BB really shines when it comes to email though. It works like a champ for both my office and personal email.
Okay, I'll take my geek hat off now.
Tonight was a slim night on the Guad front. Back to the core group again of me, The Burns and Eli. Walked the mall a little and checked things out. Nothing special going on. Talked to Erica over at T-Mobile and filled her in on all the festivities last week. She's gonna try and hook me up with a deal on a BT headset. I was about to head into American Eagle to pick up a gift card for Jordan when lo and behold, her and Dave were walking towards me. I got her to pick out something she wanted so my gift shopping was greatly simplified. Found out she had gotten bit by a dog last night. Hope that turns out okay. That stinks.
Yup, gonna put an end to the margaritas on Monday nights. I have much more productive evenings without them. Corona's have been good to me. They cut the lime wedges a little too big tonight so it was a bit of a struggle to get them down into the bottle. Life's tough I'm tellin ya.
Oooo... Kev told me that one of the kids pushed a speaker over onto the side of the plasma... I'd have to be medicated if that was my plasma. So would someone else when I told them "Yeah, I hate to tell you this but you're gonna have to cough up a few thousand $$$ to replace that." That's not being mean, that's just how it works. You too can hear me say something like that if something gets dropped or otherwise damages the kick drum on my bling set... "That'll be $1900 to replace that..." In Kevin's case, luckily nothing was damaged that he mentioned. I'll bet the speaker cabinet has a ding in it now though.
Speaking of kids. Eh... never mind. ;-)
Cam checked out my BlackBerry which, unusually, he hadn't seen yet. I had been wanting to try out the Bluetooth functionality of it but didn't have anything to try it with. He brought along the BT headset he had been using up until he got his V3 to let me try it. Figured out how to "pair" my BB and the headset together and got things working. THAT my friends, is the poo. If I only had voice dialing on my BB, I'd be able to both MAKE and receive calls without needing to get my phone out. The overall functionality of the BB really shines when it comes to email though. It works like a champ for both my office and personal email.
Okay, I'll take my geek hat off now.
Tonight was a slim night on the Guad front. Back to the core group again of me, The Burns and Eli. Walked the mall a little and checked things out. Nothing special going on. Talked to Erica over at T-Mobile and filled her in on all the festivities last week. She's gonna try and hook me up with a deal on a BT headset. I was about to head into American Eagle to pick up a gift card for Jordan when lo and behold, her and Dave were walking towards me. I got her to pick out something she wanted so my gift shopping was greatly simplified. Found out she had gotten bit by a dog last night. Hope that turns out okay. That stinks.
Yup, gonna put an end to the margaritas on Monday nights. I have much more productive evenings without them. Corona's have been good to me. They cut the lime wedges a little too big tonight so it was a bit of a struggle to get them down into the bottle. Life's tough I'm tellin ya.
Oooo... Kev told me that one of the kids pushed a speaker over onto the side of the plasma... I'd have to be medicated if that was my plasma. So would someone else when I told them "Yeah, I hate to tell you this but you're gonna have to cough up a few thousand $$$ to replace that." That's not being mean, that's just how it works. You too can hear me say something like that if something gets dropped or otherwise damages the kick drum on my bling set... "That'll be $1900 to replace that..." In Kevin's case, luckily nothing was damaged that he mentioned. I'll bet the speaker cabinet has a ding in it now though.
Speaking of kids. Eh... never mind. ;-)
Sunday, October 24, 2004
"I'm all in..."
No, that's not a comment I've had to use with a girl... but I did use it at last night's poker game at Scott's place. Saturday was good to me. Met up with the Burns at Arby's for lunch. The Dabster showed up late because she was untangling Raven's thong or something like that. Anyway... Next was a dreaded trip to WalMart to pick up some supplies. First on my list was some Brasso to try and get rid of some of the scratches on my iPod. I also got some other stuff but nothing else was particularly significant. Band practice was in a few hours so Dabs just hung out at my place looking at catalogs while making some high-pitched noises that interfered with my enjoyment of the Formula 1 program on the satellite. It was qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix which was also the last race of the season. Naturally, I would not have honored requests to change the channel in this situation. Finally, the noise subsided but not after she asked me about some of the catalogs I had. Sheesh. (heh)
I went into the kitchen to try the Brasso out on the iPod. It worked like a charm! I had read on some iPod forums that Brasso was the ticket to getting scratches out. I was careful not to get any of the cleaner into the seams or on the click wheel so as not to screw things up. I was doing all this so that I could stick it in the case I received for it on Friday as a gift from the folks I got my server at work from. I actually scored me and Lesa some stuff so now we both have some iPod bling.
Band practice went well. We were done in an hour. Took a look at the sound board and it was all eff'd up as usual. Such is life. Not my problem. Scott was steering the boat this week to give Kevin a break.
At around 8, a bunch of us got together at Scott's for our first organized poker night. Me, John, Stacey, Dabney, Eric, Wes and Scott started off the group. Jo, Patrick and some other girl stopped in for a bit later on. It was just the guys at the table though doing the card thing while the girls watched movies. At one point, Scott was trying to convince the girls to... never mind. I felt kind of bad for John as it seemed he was clueless on how to play. Hopefully, he's got a better handle on it now so he won't just be making a donation next time. There was some good playing going on though. In the end, it came down to me and Wes. Ultimately, Wes won. Congrats!
Morning came early Sunday. Got to church, warmed up then was ready to go. Music went well despite some things that could have seriously have train wrecked some songs happening. Suprisingly though, we ALL took it in stride and kept things going. I doubt the audience even knew anything was wrong. I'm sure Wes had fun keeping the lyrics on the screen though.
Rushed home when all was done so I would watch my F1 race. It was exciting. Man, I love that stuff. I can't wait till I head to Indy again next year. Oh, on a sad note, I saw the news report where Hendrick racing suffered the loss of 10 people in a plane crash on their way to the Martinsville race today. That's sad. Hendrick owns several racing teams in Nascar.
Time to get to bed. Gotta go to work tomorrow.
I went into the kitchen to try the Brasso out on the iPod. It worked like a charm! I had read on some iPod forums that Brasso was the ticket to getting scratches out. I was careful not to get any of the cleaner into the seams or on the click wheel so as not to screw things up. I was doing all this so that I could stick it in the case I received for it on Friday as a gift from the folks I got my server at work from. I actually scored me and Lesa some stuff so now we both have some iPod bling.
Band practice went well. We were done in an hour. Took a look at the sound board and it was all eff'd up as usual. Such is life. Not my problem. Scott was steering the boat this week to give Kevin a break.
At around 8, a bunch of us got together at Scott's for our first organized poker night. Me, John, Stacey, Dabney, Eric, Wes and Scott started off the group. Jo, Patrick and some other girl stopped in for a bit later on. It was just the guys at the table though doing the card thing while the girls watched movies. At one point, Scott was trying to convince the girls to... never mind. I felt kind of bad for John as it seemed he was clueless on how to play. Hopefully, he's got a better handle on it now so he won't just be making a donation next time. There was some good playing going on though. In the end, it came down to me and Wes. Ultimately, Wes won. Congrats!
Morning came early Sunday. Got to church, warmed up then was ready to go. Music went well despite some things that could have seriously have train wrecked some songs happening. Suprisingly though, we ALL took it in stride and kept things going. I doubt the audience even knew anything was wrong. I'm sure Wes had fun keeping the lyrics on the screen though.
Rushed home when all was done so I would watch my F1 race. It was exciting. Man, I love that stuff. I can't wait till I head to Indy again next year. Oh, on a sad note, I saw the news report where Hendrick racing suffered the loss of 10 people in a plane crash on their way to the Martinsville race today. That's sad. Hendrick owns several racing teams in Nascar.
Time to get to bed. Gotta go to work tomorrow.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Wrappin up the week.
Finally got my BlackBerry cluster worked out. When I last blogged about it, the situation was that I supposedly couldn't get the deal in the store that I saw online. That was Monday. On Tuesday, I went to order the phone and my service online but realized there's nowhere to indicate that this is an UPGRADE and not a whole new contract. Sheesh. What a pain in the ass. So I call them. My plan gets changed over properly and I order the phone. I also opt for the "Express Overnight Shipping" for an additional $16. Guess what? Come Thursday morning (TWO nights later) I still have no phone. I call and find out it's on backorder? WTF?!? They had them at the store on Monday. I finally get hold of a guy named "Kevin" who normally works at the T-Mo store next to Winn-Dixie but he was covering the mall store temporarily. Evidently Kevin is someone that knows how to do his job. I explained my whole ordeal to him. "Hmmmm, that doesn't sound right. You shouldn't have had to go through all that." When I was done, he asked for a few minutes to figure out the next move to make. He calls a bit later and tells me to come pick up the phone in the store and instructs me to refuse shipment of the other phone that is supposedly "on backorder". He also takes the time to apologize for all the hassle and that I really SHOULD have been able to walk out of the store on my Monday visit with everything I wanted. Additionally, he prints out extra receipts and a rebate form for me instead of telling me to make my own copies and going to the website to print my own rebate form. Nice. So... if any of ya'll are T-Mo customers and need assistance from someone that knows what's going on, look up Kevin.
FedEx ruled the roost again when I placed another international order. France to the US in less than 2 days. That's amazing. Had to get a present for someone.
Friday, me and most of the office headed to Edo's for sushi. We all had fun except for one person who I knew wouldn't like it but she insisted on coming. When she started bitching, I reminded her that I specifically didn't invite her because I knew how she was. I also let her know I was there to enjoy my lunch and wasn't asking her opinion of it. In other words, STFU.
Kudos to Lesa! On the new menu at Simp's, there's an entree named after her. Dean, the chef there, made a roasted pork loin dish as an experiment several weeks ago and brought some out for Lesa to try. Lesa got me to try it too. Yummy. Anyway, there's a "Lesa's Roasted Pork Loin" on the menu now. How cool is that? I was supposed to go try it out after work but I had been to Simp's Thursday night and really didn't want to spend a load of cash on a meal especially after my sushi lunch. Scott and Eric called me up to go to HSV with them and find some brewery. We never found the brewery and they weren't answering their phone so methinks this brewery isn't a "regular" business. Ended up at Bennigans for dinner where we enjoyed draft beer, me with my Fosters and the other guys with their Guiness and Newcastle. Got carded too which is always nice. Apparently, the beer snob thing to do is look down on ppl who drink beer you can see through... like the Fosters and Corona that I drink. "Kiss my @zz... at least it's not Zima." Heh.
Oh, Scott took one for the team and got a thousand poker chips for our new gambling ministry. While he got a good deal on them, they weren't cheap by any means. I need to find a good place to get quality cards. I'd like to contribute at least something to the game. Hmm... maybe a table or some felt. Dunno.
Looks like Kevin got hit with a funk bomb according to his blog. I know how that feels sometimes. If I ever want to depress myself, this is what I think of:
1. Is that as big as it gets?
2. Just kidding about #1.
3. Will I find the right girl to marry?
4. Will she sign a pre-nup? LOL
5. Will I have kids?
6. How old will I be when the kid(s) show up?
7. How will I pay for their college? Braces? Cars? Hobbies? Sports? Bail?
8. Will I be a good dad?
9. When I retire, will I have enough income? (actually, got a good plan going here going on 10+ years)
10. Will I have to work all the way to retirement age or can I retire early?
11. Buying a new car.
Wow. That's about it.
FedEx ruled the roost again when I placed another international order. France to the US in less than 2 days. That's amazing. Had to get a present for someone.
Friday, me and most of the office headed to Edo's for sushi. We all had fun except for one person who I knew wouldn't like it but she insisted on coming. When she started bitching, I reminded her that I specifically didn't invite her because I knew how she was. I also let her know I was there to enjoy my lunch and wasn't asking her opinion of it. In other words, STFU.
Kudos to Lesa! On the new menu at Simp's, there's an entree named after her. Dean, the chef there, made a roasted pork loin dish as an experiment several weeks ago and brought some out for Lesa to try. Lesa got me to try it too. Yummy. Anyway, there's a "Lesa's Roasted Pork Loin" on the menu now. How cool is that? I was supposed to go try it out after work but I had been to Simp's Thursday night and really didn't want to spend a load of cash on a meal especially after my sushi lunch. Scott and Eric called me up to go to HSV with them and find some brewery. We never found the brewery and they weren't answering their phone so methinks this brewery isn't a "regular" business. Ended up at Bennigans for dinner where we enjoyed draft beer, me with my Fosters and the other guys with their Guiness and Newcastle. Got carded too which is always nice. Apparently, the beer snob thing to do is look down on ppl who drink beer you can see through... like the Fosters and Corona that I drink. "Kiss my @zz... at least it's not Zima." Heh.
Oh, Scott took one for the team and got a thousand poker chips for our new gambling ministry. While he got a good deal on them, they weren't cheap by any means. I need to find a good place to get quality cards. I'd like to contribute at least something to the game. Hmm... maybe a table or some felt. Dunno.
Looks like Kevin got hit with a funk bomb according to his blog. I know how that feels sometimes. If I ever want to depress myself, this is what I think of:
1. Is that as big as it gets?
2. Just kidding about #1.
3. Will I find the right girl to marry?
4. Will she sign a pre-nup? LOL
5. Will I have kids?
6. How old will I be when the kid(s) show up?
7. How will I pay for their college? Braces? Cars? Hobbies? Sports? Bail?
8. Will I be a good dad?
9. When I retire, will I have enough income? (actually, got a good plan going here going on 10+ years)
10. Will I have to work all the way to retirement age or can I retire early?
11. Buying a new car.
Wow. That's about it.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Uh... Why am I up at 3 AM?
I'm not sure but I better be able to go back to sleep in a few minutes or the day's gonna be a bit rough. Grrrr....
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
What be the haps?
Wow. Busy couple of days for me! Tuesday went well... capped it off with dinner at Macaroni Grill with a co-worker of mine. The salmon was amzing as usual. I've had that dish twice lately so it's time to change it up again on the next trip. Wisely, I opted to not have dessert as I would have been "uncomfortable" seeing as how I was already stuffed to the gills. Did a Best Buy walk thru where I picked up Van Helsing on DVD.
Work was different today as the server I ordered a few weeks ago arrived for delivery. It's a sweet machine for sure. I've got to finish setting users up on it tomorrow as well as familiarizing myself with the new backup software. I'm really pleased with it the little I've been exposed to it so far. Stayed late at the office getting as much done on it as possible.
Oh, had a nearly city-wide power outage today. THAT was special. What's funny is that our owner thought we had something to do with it as we were in the middle of getting the server in place. Oh, the big honkin UPS I got for the server takes a special kind of power outlet. Luckily for us, our building owner is an electrician. How convenient is that? An hour later we had the right outlet in place. Turns out the cause of the blackout was a squirrel at a main electrical station shorted something out. I was telling Lesa that I'm sure the squirrel went out with a bang. She commented that she thought feathers went everywhere. I told her "I don't know where you went to school, but when I was in biology class, squirrels had fur..." Good times.
Went over to Ashley's next to watch how a rifle comes together from parts. That was interesting. I'm getting a better idea of how I want mine built so I'm a little closer to getting my order together.
Work was different today as the server I ordered a few weeks ago arrived for delivery. It's a sweet machine for sure. I've got to finish setting users up on it tomorrow as well as familiarizing myself with the new backup software. I'm really pleased with it the little I've been exposed to it so far. Stayed late at the office getting as much done on it as possible.
Oh, had a nearly city-wide power outage today. THAT was special. What's funny is that our owner thought we had something to do with it as we were in the middle of getting the server in place. Oh, the big honkin UPS I got for the server takes a special kind of power outlet. Luckily for us, our building owner is an electrician. How convenient is that? An hour later we had the right outlet in place. Turns out the cause of the blackout was a squirrel at a main electrical station shorted something out. I was telling Lesa that I'm sure the squirrel went out with a bang. She commented that she thought feathers went everywhere. I told her "I don't know where you went to school, but when I was in biology class, squirrels had fur..." Good times.
Went over to Ashley's next to watch how a rifle comes together from parts. That was interesting. I'm getting a better idea of how I want mine built so I'm a little closer to getting my order together.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Survived Monday!
***Reminder - if you link to my blog, please change your links to point to this site instead of the old one. The exits in the forward section of the theater have been checked and are clear exits in the event of an emergency. Only you can prevent forest fires.
Wow, read the blogs of my Atlanta trip mates... I guess I must have been oblivious to stuff they were going through because I couldn't tell anything was on their minds. Of course, I'm pretty much all about me so as long as I'm happy... I'm happy. Do I think I'm selfish? Possibly, but my attitude comes more from a self-protection mechanism I think. I've somehow been able to not to rely on other people for happiness. If it happens, great! If not, then oh well. Hopefully, all will de-funkify soon and things will be back to equilibrium in the universe (or Decatur).
Anyway.
Ran across a great crime against humanity tonight at the mall. I was at the T-Mobile store to get a Blackberry (This is about me now remember, so if you have no use for one, that's not what this story is about. Please stick to my original thought. Thank you.). It's got some new functionality that would benefit me and what I do. Got the phone in hand and am trying to pick the service plan that fits my needs. The price they're quoting me is $99 a month for a service I see on their website for $59. It turns out that the $59 price is an EXCLUSIVE INTERNET-ONLY price!?!?! wtf?! I thought the T-Mobile store and t-mobile.com were the same thing? Why the heck do they even have a store in the mall if in my case I can spend $480 LESS PER YEAR by getting it from them online?!?! (Notice I used the correct terminology... "spend $480 less" instead of "save $480" because I'm not saving money, I'm spending it) So, to sum it up, you can't walk into a T-Mobile store and get the same deal you see on their website. That's messed up.
After that disappointing revelation, I met up with the Guad squad. Changed up from the margarita to a Corona as the margarita's usually leave me feeling drained and I didn't want to piss the rest of the evening away feeling lethargic. Told them all my T-Mobile story and the unanimous opinion was the same as mine.
Walked down the mall to the music store and ran into Sarah. Rachel was also there. I gave her a heads up about dinner plans for the following evening so maybe she'll get a chance to join us. I usually don't buy stuff at this place because their prices are high. However, I ran across the DVD "Sing Blue Silver", a documentary on the Duran Duran concert tour from back in '84. I remembered seeing this air on MTV or something a LONG time ago and really enjoyed it. Yep, I'm not proud. I was a DD fan back in the day. It was a bit pricey so I called up Jordan to do a quick Amazon price check. I could have done it on my Blackberry... IF I HAD ONE. Focus grasshoppa. Ah, it was $5 cheaper online but after you figure in shipping and such, the difference would be negligible so I got it. I'm happy. And if I'm happy...
Wow, read the blogs of my Atlanta trip mates... I guess I must have been oblivious to stuff they were going through because I couldn't tell anything was on their minds. Of course, I'm pretty much all about me so as long as I'm happy... I'm happy. Do I think I'm selfish? Possibly, but my attitude comes more from a self-protection mechanism I think. I've somehow been able to not to rely on other people for happiness. If it happens, great! If not, then oh well. Hopefully, all will de-funkify soon and things will be back to equilibrium in the universe (or Decatur).
Anyway.
Ran across a great crime against humanity tonight at the mall. I was at the T-Mobile store to get a Blackberry (This is about me now remember, so if you have no use for one, that's not what this story is about. Please stick to my original thought. Thank you.). It's got some new functionality that would benefit me and what I do. Got the phone in hand and am trying to pick the service plan that fits my needs. The price they're quoting me is $99 a month for a service I see on their website for $59. It turns out that the $59 price is an EXCLUSIVE INTERNET-ONLY price!?!?! wtf?! I thought the T-Mobile store and t-mobile.com were the same thing? Why the heck do they even have a store in the mall if in my case I can spend $480 LESS PER YEAR by getting it from them online?!?! (Notice I used the correct terminology... "spend $480 less" instead of "save $480" because I'm not saving money, I'm spending it) So, to sum it up, you can't walk into a T-Mobile store and get the same deal you see on their website. That's messed up.
After that disappointing revelation, I met up with the Guad squad. Changed up from the margarita to a Corona as the margarita's usually leave me feeling drained and I didn't want to piss the rest of the evening away feeling lethargic. Told them all my T-Mobile story and the unanimous opinion was the same as mine.
Walked down the mall to the music store and ran into Sarah. Rachel was also there. I gave her a heads up about dinner plans for the following evening so maybe she'll get a chance to join us. I usually don't buy stuff at this place because their prices are high. However, I ran across the DVD "Sing Blue Silver", a documentary on the Duran Duran concert tour from back in '84. I remembered seeing this air on MTV or something a LONG time ago and really enjoyed it. Yep, I'm not proud. I was a DD fan back in the day. It was a bit pricey so I called up Jordan to do a quick Amazon price check. I could have done it on my Blackberry... IF I HAD ONE. Focus grasshoppa. Ah, it was $5 cheaper online but after you figure in shipping and such, the difference would be negligible so I got it. I'm happy. And if I'm happy...
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Back in town after a weekend in the A.T.L. Headed east a little before lunchtime on Friday. Stopped off at Jim N' Nick's for some grub. I did order some of the much-hyped chicken tenders but as it turns out, I didn't think they were anything special. They were okay, but I think I'll try something else next time. Dana, our waitress, was lots of fun. We talked about breast cancer awareness. Yeah, there was some breast cancer awareness campaign going on so we all had fun with the topic. I also had a new idea about mammograms that don't involve machines. Anyway... Scott scored a pink activist ribbon on one of the urinals in the men's room and sported that the rest of the day. It was a big hit later on at a Stuckey's near the Talladega race track.
A big thanks to Tara and John for opening their house up to us. They've got a nice pad just south of Atlanta. While they did have high-speed net access (in a rural area too Bernie...) they didn't have any wireless connectivity or even a router so Scott and I didn't use our laptops much. Played poker that first night before passing out. Actually used real money too...
We headed into town on Saturday after a brief stop at a cigar shop we had seen the day before. While I don't smoke, I did pick up a pack of Kahlua cigars for their sweet aroma AND taste as I found out later. Once we got to Buckhead, we found a "Sushi Rock" right next to the Roxy. How convenient! Sushi was good. Afterwards, walked through a small but nice gallery nearby checking out some photos some artsy chick took. Lenox Square was the next destination. I wish I had more time to look around and pick some things up as there's stuff you can get there that you can't find back home. I did find a wallet I liked and got it. Tara and John helped me make my final decision on that. My shopping tastes differs from most of my friends as was evident when I talked about some of the items I was considering. This is why I brought up the title of the latest Smashmouth album... "Fush You Mang".
The Roxy is small. It's pretty much the same size as the Princess Theater we're all familiar with. Sat up in the balcony on the front row so our vantage point was perfect. The first band sucked, musically and probably lyrically but I couldn't understand what they were singing. Submerged and Crossfade were decent. Alterbridge really did a great job. Their lead singer, Myles Kennedy did a fantastic job with the vocals. He was spot-on with all the notes and inflections that I remember from the CD. It was also my first time to see the rest of the Creed lineup in person. I especially enjoyed Scott's drumming. Whoa, check this - beer was $6 and mixed drinks were $9. "Fush You Mang" for sure.
The concert got out late and we we're hungry. Ended up eatting at a Waffle House and enjoying the surroundings, a carload of teenagers with an overheated car and some dude barfing behind his buddy's car. Nice. Got back to Tara's late and crashed.
Beautiful weather for the trip home on Sunday. Ate lunch at a place in Coweta that was located on an old square around a what looked to be a former courthouse for the area. Took several pictures there as it was a nice place. That wrapped it up pretty much. Headed back home on the Morgan high-speed express. Big thanks to Eric for driving. Big thanks to Scott for sharing his shaving "story" with us. Big thanks to Wendy for "sharing" something with us and rolling the windows up too soon.
A big thanks to Tara and John for opening their house up to us. They've got a nice pad just south of Atlanta. While they did have high-speed net access (in a rural area too Bernie...) they didn't have any wireless connectivity or even a router so Scott and I didn't use our laptops much. Played poker that first night before passing out. Actually used real money too...
We headed into town on Saturday after a brief stop at a cigar shop we had seen the day before. While I don't smoke, I did pick up a pack of Kahlua cigars for their sweet aroma AND taste as I found out later. Once we got to Buckhead, we found a "Sushi Rock" right next to the Roxy. How convenient! Sushi was good. Afterwards, walked through a small but nice gallery nearby checking out some photos some artsy chick took. Lenox Square was the next destination. I wish I had more time to look around and pick some things up as there's stuff you can get there that you can't find back home. I did find a wallet I liked and got it. Tara and John helped me make my final decision on that. My shopping tastes differs from most of my friends as was evident when I talked about some of the items I was considering. This is why I brought up the title of the latest Smashmouth album... "Fush You Mang".
The Roxy is small. It's pretty much the same size as the Princess Theater we're all familiar with. Sat up in the balcony on the front row so our vantage point was perfect. The first band sucked, musically and probably lyrically but I couldn't understand what they were singing. Submerged and Crossfade were decent. Alterbridge really did a great job. Their lead singer, Myles Kennedy did a fantastic job with the vocals. He was spot-on with all the notes and inflections that I remember from the CD. It was also my first time to see the rest of the Creed lineup in person. I especially enjoyed Scott's drumming. Whoa, check this - beer was $6 and mixed drinks were $9. "Fush You Mang" for sure.
The concert got out late and we we're hungry. Ended up eatting at a Waffle House and enjoying the surroundings, a carload of teenagers with an overheated car and some dude barfing behind his buddy's car. Nice. Got back to Tara's late and crashed.
Beautiful weather for the trip home on Sunday. Ate lunch at a place in Coweta that was located on an old square around a what looked to be a former courthouse for the area. Took several pictures there as it was a nice place. That wrapped it up pretty much. Headed back home on the Morgan high-speed express. Big thanks to Eric for driving. Big thanks to Scott for sharing his shaving "story" with us. Big thanks to Wendy for "sharing" something with us and rolling the windows up too soon.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Bizzy.
Work's been hoppin' this week. Lot's of good stuff happening there! Let's see... did the Guad squad Monday with all the regulars. Nothing out of the ordinary went on, just our standard fun. Met an attractive young lady at Parisian's though. She wasn't cute enough to talk me into a lime green shirt however. Oh, she did point out to me what kind of shirt a girl her age considers "old" looking. Interesting.
(Oh, unless I say otherwise, just assume work is going well... no complaints from me!)
Tuesday night:
Kevin (on phone): Dude, what's for dinner?
Me: You pick.
K: On a budget?
Me: Of course not.
K: Red Lobster?
Me: See you there in 20 minutes.
I slept well that night.
Wednesday was a little more eventful. Headed over to Kay's place to pick her up. She wasn't ready yet so I hung around while she got her "wig under control" (her words). Next to Logan's for drinks and a bite to eat. Saw first hand how Kay meets total strangers. It was truly entertaining. Got done there then headed to Lesa's where we joined up with her, Lorri and Maria. We all piled into Lesa's car then took off for Humphrey's. Been there 3 minutes and Kay was sitting down with a table full of police officers. Ate some dinner here while Kay and Maria pissed our waiter off. Oh, Mike (another co-worker of mine) joined up with us there. Drinking, dancing, grinding, etc. happend over the next few hours. I think I saw Nisha there but I didn't think of her name in time to holler at her. Next stop, Hopper's at the Holiday Inn. Big mistake. Kay's police buddies were there though. All old folks there and CRAPPY music. Back to Decatur. Kay and I bailed while the rest headed to the Brick. Took Kay home then cruised back to the crib where I immediately crashed. Suprisingly, I suffered no ill effects today. I even got to work a few minutes early!?!?
Swung by the church to check out band practice. Things were sounding good after Eric made some "adjustments" to the sound board. No worries though, it'll be messed up by Sunday morning as usual. I did bump the kick drum up again as it was at about 5% (damn). "We'll turn the kick up J-Mo"... Suuuuuure you will. Riiiiight. We just need to put up a sign that says "Sorry about the sound... not our fault". Heh. On another note, big props to Kerry for filling in for me on the drums.
Leaving for the ATL this weekend to catch the AlterBridge concert at the Roxy. Woohoo! Gotta get my crap packed and ready to go. I'm going to work for a bit tomorrow morning then hook up with The Morgans and The Democrat (heh!). It'll be a good time for sure.
(Oh, unless I say otherwise, just assume work is going well... no complaints from me!)
Tuesday night:
Kevin (on phone): Dude, what's for dinner?
Me: You pick.
K: On a budget?
Me: Of course not.
K: Red Lobster?
Me: See you there in 20 minutes.
I slept well that night.
Wednesday was a little more eventful. Headed over to Kay's place to pick her up. She wasn't ready yet so I hung around while she got her "wig under control" (her words). Next to Logan's for drinks and a bite to eat. Saw first hand how Kay meets total strangers. It was truly entertaining. Got done there then headed to Lesa's where we joined up with her, Lorri and Maria. We all piled into Lesa's car then took off for Humphrey's. Been there 3 minutes and Kay was sitting down with a table full of police officers. Ate some dinner here while Kay and Maria pissed our waiter off. Oh, Mike (another co-worker of mine) joined up with us there. Drinking, dancing, grinding, etc. happend over the next few hours. I think I saw Nisha there but I didn't think of her name in time to holler at her. Next stop, Hopper's at the Holiday Inn. Big mistake. Kay's police buddies were there though. All old folks there and CRAPPY music. Back to Decatur. Kay and I bailed while the rest headed to the Brick. Took Kay home then cruised back to the crib where I immediately crashed. Suprisingly, I suffered no ill effects today. I even got to work a few minutes early!?!?
Swung by the church to check out band practice. Things were sounding good after Eric made some "adjustments" to the sound board. No worries though, it'll be messed up by Sunday morning as usual. I did bump the kick drum up again as it was at about 5% (damn). "We'll turn the kick up J-Mo"... Suuuuuure you will. Riiiiight. We just need to put up a sign that says "Sorry about the sound... not our fault". Heh. On another note, big props to Kerry for filling in for me on the drums.
Leaving for the ATL this weekend to catch the AlterBridge concert at the Roxy. Woohoo! Gotta get my crap packed and ready to go. I'm going to work for a bit tomorrow morning then hook up with The Morgans and The Democrat (heh!). It'll be a good time for sure.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
New URL...
The location of my blog has changed. You were automatically redirected to this site but in case the old location of my blog goes down or has some sort of problem you may not be able to get here. So... please bookmark this new location and delete your old link. My fellow bloggers will need to update their links pointing to me please.
http://www.jonathanmoral.com/web/weblog/blogger.html
http://www.jonathanmoral.com/web/weblog/blogger.html
Sunday, October 10, 2004
OVER?!?! Already?!?
Man, these weekends seem to just FLY by these days. Dinked around most of the day Saturday and got plenty of rest. I did go over to a friend's house to check out some gunsmithing projects he had going on. Also got a chance to check out this surplus military truck he picked up. That was pretty sweet. I'm gonna have to go for a ride in that sometime. It's HUGE, it's camouflage, and it's diesel. (Insert Tim Allen grunts here...)
Spent the evening keeping it on the down-low as I wanted to be sure I was completely over sinus-gate. Wasn't motivated to cook so I let SteakOut bring me something. Got a pleasant surprise when on my steak and shrimp order arrived with double the number of shrimp I was supposed to get! Dinner made me happy to say the least.
The F1 race was in Suzuka Japan this weekend. For the first time ever, a typhoon hosed up qualifying which is supposed to happen on Saturday. The schedule NORMALLY is practice on Friday, qualify on Saturday then race on Sunday. This weekend, they qualified and raced on the same day... only a few hours apart between sessions. Because of the time difference, I was able to watch the qualifying, then stayed up till 2:00am to watch as much as I could before I passed out. Ended up finishing up what I missed when they had the rebroadcast Sunday night. Only one more race to go for this year and that's in Brazil.
Church went well today. Plenty of visitors! Music went well for the most part. Let's just say this, I wasn't responsible for any mishaps. Heh. On a somewhat disappointing note, it was decided to again put the drum shield back up. As a result, the drums sound like they're in a can again. Oh well, it's a battle to take it down, it's an irritation to put it back up. Since I try to be a team player, I didn't raise too much of a stink. All I thought was "whatever". I give up.
[RANT]
Ok, I guess it IS time for a rant. Everyone else has gotten one thing or another off their chest in their blog so it's my turn. You know, with all the equipment our band has, we should sound GREAT. We aren't playing on bargain basement, marked down, unclimed baggage, thrift store Salvation Army hand-me-downs mind you. We've got "the stuff" for sure. Here's what's lacking...
More channels on the sound board to accomodate all the mic inputs individually.
More aux channels to send more discreet IEM mixes to the band.
Subwoofer.
Amp and crossover for the sub.
And most importantly, consulting with someone that knows sound to set up and adjust the gear for our room.
Most of the big stuff is already taken care of. We're SO close to having all the pieces of the puzzle and have been for quite sometime. Of course there's no plan that I'm aware of to address these issues. The people/person that needs to stay on top of it should... I don't know. I'm just the drummer. Someone who's responsible to do something needs to make a plan and execute it or just admit, that "hey it sucks and it's gonna stay that way coz I'm not doing anything about it."
[/RANT]
I feel better now. There's more where that came from though. Just ask if you want another dose.
The chili get together was a huge success. BIG crowd there this evening. A big thanks to all who prepared food. It was delicious. Lot's of new folks there! It was encouraging to see all who made it out. Ended up playing No-limit hold'em poker with some of the fellas. Just with chips and not actual money for those of you that would get your drawers all wadded up over playing a card game at "church".
Looks like Kerry is gonna fill my drum throne next week as I go out of town. Cool. It's good to know that it'll be in capable hands. There's a whole new band playing next week so it should be interesting.
Time for bed.
Spent the evening keeping it on the down-low as I wanted to be sure I was completely over sinus-gate. Wasn't motivated to cook so I let SteakOut bring me something. Got a pleasant surprise when on my steak and shrimp order arrived with double the number of shrimp I was supposed to get! Dinner made me happy to say the least.
The F1 race was in Suzuka Japan this weekend. For the first time ever, a typhoon hosed up qualifying which is supposed to happen on Saturday. The schedule NORMALLY is practice on Friday, qualify on Saturday then race on Sunday. This weekend, they qualified and raced on the same day... only a few hours apart between sessions. Because of the time difference, I was able to watch the qualifying, then stayed up till 2:00am to watch as much as I could before I passed out. Ended up finishing up what I missed when they had the rebroadcast Sunday night. Only one more race to go for this year and that's in Brazil.
Church went well today. Plenty of visitors! Music went well for the most part. Let's just say this, I wasn't responsible for any mishaps. Heh. On a somewhat disappointing note, it was decided to again put the drum shield back up. As a result, the drums sound like they're in a can again. Oh well, it's a battle to take it down, it's an irritation to put it back up. Since I try to be a team player, I didn't raise too much of a stink. All I thought was "whatever". I give up.
[RANT]
Ok, I guess it IS time for a rant. Everyone else has gotten one thing or another off their chest in their blog so it's my turn. You know, with all the equipment our band has, we should sound GREAT. We aren't playing on bargain basement, marked down, unclimed baggage, thrift store Salvation Army hand-me-downs mind you. We've got "the stuff" for sure. Here's what's lacking...
More channels on the sound board to accomodate all the mic inputs individually.
More aux channels to send more discreet IEM mixes to the band.
Subwoofer.
Amp and crossover for the sub.
And most importantly, consulting with someone that knows sound to set up and adjust the gear for our room.
Most of the big stuff is already taken care of. We're SO close to having all the pieces of the puzzle and have been for quite sometime. Of course there's no plan that I'm aware of to address these issues. The people/person that needs to stay on top of it should... I don't know. I'm just the drummer. Someone who's responsible to do something needs to make a plan and execute it or just admit, that "hey it sucks and it's gonna stay that way coz I'm not doing anything about it."
[/RANT]
I feel better now. There's more where that came from though. Just ask if you want another dose.
The chili get together was a huge success. BIG crowd there this evening. A big thanks to all who prepared food. It was delicious. Lot's of new folks there! It was encouraging to see all who made it out. Ended up playing No-limit hold'em poker with some of the fellas. Just with chips and not actual money for those of you that would get your drawers all wadded up over playing a card game at "church".
Looks like Kerry is gonna fill my drum throne next week as I go out of town. Cool. It's good to know that it'll be in capable hands. There's a whole new band playing next week so it should be interesting.
Time for bed.
Friday, October 08, 2004
"We're at 95% captain..."
Okey dokey. Doing MUCH better today. I'm glad that's over with.
Work went well today. Ate lunch with a crew from the office then ran over to the optical place so Lesa could compare some frames she was considering picking up. When we decided on what looked best, we headed back. Things got a little sleepy after the big meal so Kay was wondering if I had any "jam" on my iPod. I hooked it up to my speakers and busted out some tunes as my co-workers danced, shook, jiggled, etc. around. Friday was here no doubt!
When 5:00 hit, Lesa and I went over to Simp's where Lorri joined up with us. Kathy (bartender) was trying to up my Corona count but I didn't let her. Everyone ended up telling each other corny jokes and then trying out stupid bar tricks.
Not sure what I'm gonna do this weekend yet. Looks like it might be rainy so I'll be inside. Probably try to catch up on my drumming and doing things around the house. Might hook up with Ashley tomorrow and check out some of his gun collection. Lesa had mentioned me taking her to go shooting sometime. That'll be kinda cool.
Oh, just for you Sarah... "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight..." ;-)
Work went well today. Ate lunch with a crew from the office then ran over to the optical place so Lesa could compare some frames she was considering picking up. When we decided on what looked best, we headed back. Things got a little sleepy after the big meal so Kay was wondering if I had any "jam" on my iPod. I hooked it up to my speakers and busted out some tunes as my co-workers danced, shook, jiggled, etc. around. Friday was here no doubt!
When 5:00 hit, Lesa and I went over to Simp's where Lorri joined up with us. Kathy (bartender) was trying to up my Corona count but I didn't let her. Everyone ended up telling each other corny jokes and then trying out stupid bar tricks.
Not sure what I'm gonna do this weekend yet. Looks like it might be rainy so I'll be inside. Probably try to catch up on my drumming and doing things around the house. Might hook up with Ashley tomorrow and check out some of his gun collection. Lesa had mentioned me taking her to go shooting sometime. That'll be kinda cool.
Oh, just for you Sarah... "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight..." ;-)
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Oh to be healthy again...
Made it through another day seemingly on the way to feeling better. I'm at about 70% now up from 65% before lunch so I feel "slightly" better. I'll tell you one thing that's amazing, I'm taking this Claritin-D 24 hour stuff and let me tell you, that 23rd hour you KNOW it's fizzling out. After being able to breathe freely for a whole day, BAM!!! All stopped up. To help things along, I am staying pretty hydrated with water and juice. Still, I've been wearing my glasses the past few days because the drying effect of the antihistamines plays hell with my contacts.
Enough with the sick talk.
How about politics? I'll throw my .02 out there. With all the controversy and hype of the upcoming election and the main candidates, any political discussion can quickly escalate into something people take personally as is evidenced by reading some of my friend's blogs. To me, the problem stems from the fact that each of us have a different idea of what we feel the important issues are. Therefore, we are apt to go along with the candidate whose ideas line up with the issues that are particularly important to us. For example, one thing that is very important to me is legislation relating to guns. I am very pro-gun so I keep an eye on that stuff. Gay marriage legislation? Don't care. Not interested. Not important to me. What it boils down to is that I don't feel the need in politics to convince others to go the same way as me. No one candidate has all the right answers. I'm just going along with the one who is most likely to think the same as I do on the issues that are important to ME.
How's that for short and sweet?
On another note, watched some of The Bachelor tonight. Wow. Someone nominate me to be on that show. I'd make ya'll proud.
Enough with the sick talk.
How about politics? I'll throw my .02 out there. With all the controversy and hype of the upcoming election and the main candidates, any political discussion can quickly escalate into something people take personally as is evidenced by reading some of my friend's blogs. To me, the problem stems from the fact that each of us have a different idea of what we feel the important issues are. Therefore, we are apt to go along with the candidate whose ideas line up with the issues that are particularly important to us. For example, one thing that is very important to me is legislation relating to guns. I am very pro-gun so I keep an eye on that stuff. Gay marriage legislation? Don't care. Not interested. Not important to me. What it boils down to is that I don't feel the need in politics to convince others to go the same way as me. No one candidate has all the right answers. I'm just going along with the one who is most likely to think the same as I do on the issues that are important to ME.
How's that for short and sweet?
On another note, watched some of The Bachelor tonight. Wow. Someone nominate me to be on that show. I'd make ya'll proud.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
FedEx rules without a doubt.
I mentioned that I had ordered something from France last week. I ordered it on Wednesday morning. Look at the tracking information below. It reads from newest at the top to oldest on bottom.
Delivery attempt/DECATUR AL
10/01/2004 09:31
Customer not available or Business closed
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/MADISON AL
10/01/2004 08:07
Arrived at FedEx Destination Location/MADISON AL
10/01/2004 07:55
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 02:45
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 04:39
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 02:05
Arrived at Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
09/30/2004 23:42
Package status/PARIS FR
09/30/2004 23:15
In transit
Check THAT out! It shipped out of France on Thursday and was out for delivery to my house Friday morning!!! You can't get some companies to get a box across TOWN in that amount of time. Oh, shipping cost me a little under $20.
Just had to post about my good FedEx experience.
Delivery attempt/DECATUR AL
10/01/2004 09:31
Customer not available or Business closed
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/MADISON AL
10/01/2004 08:07
Arrived at FedEx Destination Location/MADISON AL
10/01/2004 07:55
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 02:45
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 04:39
Left FedEx Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
10/01/2004 02:05
Arrived at Sort Facility/MEMPHIS TN
09/30/2004 23:42
Package status/PARIS FR
09/30/2004 23:15
In transit
Check THAT out! It shipped out of France on Thursday and was out for delivery to my house Friday morning!!! You can't get some companies to get a box across TOWN in that amount of time. Oh, shipping cost me a little under $20.
Just had to post about my good FedEx experience.
Um... "What???"
I was in a bit of a daze today at the office. I woke up feeling better than I did yesterday thanks in part to "Robitussin". I didn't have a fever, which is a good thing. Went ahead and ate breakfast and got cleaned up to give work a whirl today. I called in and said I was planning to be there and the respose I got was so... human. "I know it takes longer to get ready when you're not feeling too good so we'll just see ya when we see ya!" Okay, I love my job and my co-workers. It is truly like a family over there.
Got to work and got things cookin although as I mentioned before, I was a little out of it. Suprisingly, I got a good bit of work accomplished. Lesa mentioned she wanted something good to eat for lunch so I suggested Red Lobster. Turns out that's what she was thinking too. She had a pasta dish while I had the crab stuffed flounder. Deee-licious. Also stopped in at Dabney's old place of employment (Laginapp's) so Lesa could get a latte'. I ended up getting a strawberry smoothie even though I was full from lunch. Worked a bit more at the office till my co-workers agreed that I should just go home and rest. That's EXACTLY what I did.
Got to work and got things cookin although as I mentioned before, I was a little out of it. Suprisingly, I got a good bit of work accomplished. Lesa mentioned she wanted something good to eat for lunch so I suggested Red Lobster. Turns out that's what she was thinking too. She had a pasta dish while I had the crab stuffed flounder. Deee-licious. Also stopped in at Dabney's old place of employment (Laginapp's) so Lesa could get a latte'. I ended up getting a strawberry smoothie even though I was full from lunch. Worked a bit more at the office till my co-workers agreed that I should just go home and rest. That's EXACTLY what I did.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Set puny=1
Yes, my puny bit is set to 1. I was hoping that this cold I have or whatever it is would pass without drama. When I woke up this morning, I realized that it was not to be. I felt horrible. Called the office with the fun news then went back to bed. Big thanks to my sis for picking me up something to eat for lunch and then for swinging by Wal-Mart to pick up more things for me in addition to some drugs. Drugs are my friend. Spent the afternoon alternately sleeping and watching Return of the Jedi. My head was pounding towards the late afternoon when I realized that I had not yet had a Mt. Dew and that my headache may in part be caused my my "dew deficiency". So I'm having one now.
Kevin called me early in the day - apparently, there may be a couple of us that have the same thing. Mine might just be a little farther along than theirs so Kev was wanting to get an idea of what to expect next. So Kev, it's more congestion, headache, fever and hopefully nothing else. I really didn't want to be sick especially with the new job and all... I called into the office late in the day to kinda see how things went and to tell them I would be in tomorrow (I was going to whether I was well or not) and was told... no, you need to stay home till you're all the way better. They even offered to run any errands for me or bring me anything I needed. HOW FREAKIN GREAT IS THAT?!?!?! This just continues to reinforce the reason I like my new employer so much. For this I am very thankful.
I hate that I'll be missing out on the Guad tonight but I really can't be risking getting any worse. I'm going to continue to lay low and try to recover as quickly as possible.
Kevin called me early in the day - apparently, there may be a couple of us that have the same thing. Mine might just be a little farther along than theirs so Kev was wanting to get an idea of what to expect next. So Kev, it's more congestion, headache, fever and hopefully nothing else. I really didn't want to be sick especially with the new job and all... I called into the office late in the day to kinda see how things went and to tell them I would be in tomorrow (I was going to whether I was well or not) and was told... no, you need to stay home till you're all the way better. They even offered to run any errands for me or bring me anything I needed. HOW FREAKIN GREAT IS THAT?!?!?! This just continues to reinforce the reason I like my new employer so much. For this I am very thankful.
I hate that I'll be missing out on the Guad tonight but I really can't be risking getting any worse. I'm going to continue to lay low and try to recover as quickly as possible.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Gazelles and gardening.
To Michelle Spooner on what some of my criteria on "the ideal woman" for me... I'm all about the gazelles. LOL!
Thank God I was feeling well enough to drum this morning. At least I had enough energy to fake it. It all went well though. To me, playing is becoming a lot easier now as I don't have to think so much about "how" to play, it's just feeling the groove at this point. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it yourself but trust me, it's nice. Playing now is enjoyable, relaxing even.
Ate lunch with a good group over at Logan's. Tiffany came up and said hey. We all exchanged contact info so I can see her getting added to the group soon. The more the merrier! My food was okay but somewhat of a letdown after my P.F. Chang's the other night. Took a nap when I got home to keep rested up. I ended up skipping out on the small group meeting at Kevin's as I really wasn't feeling that great and I figured it would benefit me more just to stay in. Chicken noodle soup was my dinner of choice.
You read Eric's blog entry about his sack o' peanuts? I hope everything turns out okay and nothing bad comes of it. Ya know, when you have a problem like that, you can't just say to your buddy, "yo dude, can you look at this and tell me what you think?". Better ease up on the wild monkey stuff and go back conventional for a little while and give "the boys" a break.
Thank God I was feeling well enough to drum this morning. At least I had enough energy to fake it. It all went well though. To me, playing is becoming a lot easier now as I don't have to think so much about "how" to play, it's just feeling the groove at this point. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it yourself but trust me, it's nice. Playing now is enjoyable, relaxing even.
Ate lunch with a good group over at Logan's. Tiffany came up and said hey. We all exchanged contact info so I can see her getting added to the group soon. The more the merrier! My food was okay but somewhat of a letdown after my P.F. Chang's the other night. Took a nap when I got home to keep rested up. I ended up skipping out on the small group meeting at Kevin's as I really wasn't feeling that great and I figured it would benefit me more just to stay in. Chicken noodle soup was my dinner of choice.
You read Eric's blog entry about his sack o' peanuts? I hope everything turns out okay and nothing bad comes of it. Ya know, when you have a problem like that, you can't just say to your buddy, "yo dude, can you look at this and tell me what you think?". Better ease up on the wild monkey stuff and go back conventional for a little while and give "the boys" a break.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Sniffle sniffle sniffle...
Well, this "thing" I've been trying to keep at bay for the last few days seems to have made some progress as now my throat's a little scratchy and my sinuses are getting a little stuffy. See? This is the one thing I dread during the season changes. I usually get sick for no apparent reason other than the temperature change. Frustrating for sure, but hopefully this will pass quickly without becoming a major ordeal.
Friday was a short day in the office for me as I was to be in Birmingham for a photo shoot after lunch. I got a couple of things taken care of before Lesa and I headed south armed with her Canon digital SLR and me with a Nikon one from the office. We got all our photos taken then took the time to drop Lesa's mtn. bike off at a shop there to get repaired. She had craked her frame at some point. While I was there, I checked out some of the bikes. Interesting stuff for sure.
Next, we headed over to The Summit to do some shopping around. At Saks, I looked at some of the new men's stuff at the Louis Vuitton counter. My LV wallet's a couple of years old and I was considering replacing it. I found a couple I liked but decided I didn't want to spend that kind of money on it right now. Also checked out some new threads while I was there but found nothing that really knocked my socks off. We bopped around to a few other stores and finally found several items we both liked at Bananna Republic. We continued on to Parisian where Lesa found some things to go along with some clothes she had also recently purchased.
All this walking and looking around worked up an appetite so we cruised over to P.F. Chang's for dinner. Lesa had some spicey beef dish while I had the duck. Mmmm mmmm good. No room for dessert though. We were both full. Thank goodness she was driving. It was nice just to ride along. She used to live in Birmingham anyway so it was easier for her to get around without having to tell me where to turn and such. On the way home, she tripped out over some of the 80's tunes I had on my iPod. Oh, it was sometime Friday when I realized that this cold or whatever I had was starting to overtake me.
I had plans to go shooting at the crack of dawn Saturday morning with Heavy E and Jack S. Called E and found out that he couldn't make it. I still got up in time to meet up with Jack at 6:30AM and head to Swan Creek though. After we got there, Ronnie and Michael joined us. Ronnie brought a good bit of his arsenal along, a few of which I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. There was bull-barrel Ruger 10/22 that I used to punch the bullseyes out of several targets. That was one sweet shooting gun. Then I tried Michael's Bushmaster .223... that was AWESOME! That's one fun weapon to shoot. At any rate, I got back to my pistols which both Jack and I shot. I also tried his .357 Magnum and .40 S&W. I can't express how pleased I am with my Sigs so far. Nary a hiccup after several hundred rounds. The new grips worked out great too!
After all the shooting was over, Jack and I headed to Huntsville to Larry's as he had never been there before. Jack's eyes lit up when we went in and he saw all they had to offer there. I met some more folks that work there so now I know John, Warren, Vince, Ben and Jim. The bad thing is that now they try and sell me something every time. LOL! I looked at a few things I was interested in that I'll know more about on Monday. Heh. I think Jack's trying to figure out how to fit this hobby in the budget.
Came home after that as I was feeling pretty crappy. Stayed home the rest of the day and did some laundry and watched TV. I played drums a little but I again felt lousy and went back to the TV. I hope I feel better at least for tomorrow morning. If I can make it through church okay, I can spend the remainder of the day resting, which won't be too bad.
Oh, congrats to the Burns on 2 big ones... sold their crack house in B'ham and picked up a new car.
Friday was a short day in the office for me as I was to be in Birmingham for a photo shoot after lunch. I got a couple of things taken care of before Lesa and I headed south armed with her Canon digital SLR and me with a Nikon one from the office. We got all our photos taken then took the time to drop Lesa's mtn. bike off at a shop there to get repaired. She had craked her frame at some point. While I was there, I checked out some of the bikes. Interesting stuff for sure.
Next, we headed over to The Summit to do some shopping around. At Saks, I looked at some of the new men's stuff at the Louis Vuitton counter. My LV wallet's a couple of years old and I was considering replacing it. I found a couple I liked but decided I didn't want to spend that kind of money on it right now. Also checked out some new threads while I was there but found nothing that really knocked my socks off. We bopped around to a few other stores and finally found several items we both liked at Bananna Republic. We continued on to Parisian where Lesa found some things to go along with some clothes she had also recently purchased.
All this walking and looking around worked up an appetite so we cruised over to P.F. Chang's for dinner. Lesa had some spicey beef dish while I had the duck. Mmmm mmmm good. No room for dessert though. We were both full. Thank goodness she was driving. It was nice just to ride along. She used to live in Birmingham anyway so it was easier for her to get around without having to tell me where to turn and such. On the way home, she tripped out over some of the 80's tunes I had on my iPod. Oh, it was sometime Friday when I realized that this cold or whatever I had was starting to overtake me.
I had plans to go shooting at the crack of dawn Saturday morning with Heavy E and Jack S. Called E and found out that he couldn't make it. I still got up in time to meet up with Jack at 6:30AM and head to Swan Creek though. After we got there, Ronnie and Michael joined us. Ronnie brought a good bit of his arsenal along, a few of which I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. There was bull-barrel Ruger 10/22 that I used to punch the bullseyes out of several targets. That was one sweet shooting gun. Then I tried Michael's Bushmaster .223... that was AWESOME! That's one fun weapon to shoot. At any rate, I got back to my pistols which both Jack and I shot. I also tried his .357 Magnum and .40 S&W. I can't express how pleased I am with my Sigs so far. Nary a hiccup after several hundred rounds. The new grips worked out great too!
After all the shooting was over, Jack and I headed to Huntsville to Larry's as he had never been there before. Jack's eyes lit up when we went in and he saw all they had to offer there. I met some more folks that work there so now I know John, Warren, Vince, Ben and Jim. The bad thing is that now they try and sell me something every time. LOL! I looked at a few things I was interested in that I'll know more about on Monday. Heh. I think Jack's trying to figure out how to fit this hobby in the budget.
Came home after that as I was feeling pretty crappy. Stayed home the rest of the day and did some laundry and watched TV. I played drums a little but I again felt lousy and went back to the TV. I hope I feel better at least for tomorrow morning. If I can make it through church okay, I can spend the remainder of the day resting, which won't be too bad.
Oh, congrats to the Burns on 2 big ones... sold their crack house in B'ham and picked up a new car.
