Rested.

Ended yesterday not feeling all that great. Woke up this morning not feeling much better so I took the day off to rest - which is exactly what I did. Sometimes I just have to force myself to take it easy and just lay around because I always end up doing SOMETHING.

Here's one of the reasons it's hard to not get sick in this weather, it's forecast to hit 90 degrees tomorrow... on freakin October 19th! Good grief. I went ahead and turned my attic vent back on again since the temperatures went back up. Oh well.

Funny story today about Danica Patrick. She races in the Indy Racing League for the Rahal/Letterman team. Seem she and Jaques Lazier had a wreck and they both rode back in on the same ambulance. Apparently Danica poked him on the temple repeatedly saying "YA GOTTA USE THIS!!!!". LOL! Too funny. You go girl.

In other racing news, my favorite team (Renault) and driver (Fernando Alonso) won both the Constructors and Drivers championships in Formula One. The constructors championship is for the car builders and the drivers is for, well, the driver. Congrats to them. It'll give me more reason to wear my Renault stuff when I get the chance.

This weekend, it looks like me and my sister are going to get together and do some cooking. It's been quite awhile since we've cooked anything from our native country of the Philippines so we're gonna take it upon ourselves to whip up a good meal or two. I'm kinda looking forward to that as she and I don't get a chance to hang out as much these days. With my brother in law down in Louisiana with his tree crew helping with the hurricane clean up, now's a good time for us to catch up. Gotta come up with a list of dishes though so I can be sure to gather up all the ingredients in time. Some stuff ya' gotta track down.

A minor change.

After people have asked me for a link to my blog a bazillion times, I finally got tired of having to explain the old link to them... "www.jonathanmoral.com/web/weblog/blogger.html" not only was that a pain to tell someone about, it's even tougher to remember. Now, blog.jonathanmoral.com does it. MUCH easier.

Now for a small rant. I've been reminded in the past few days as to how many people don't have a clue how a 4-way stop works. Case in-point, this woman in a pickup truck pulls up to the stop first and everyone in-turn pulls up and stops as well. It's her turn to go. She doesn't. She's busy yakkin to someone in the truck. One cycle of people go through the intersection. It's my turn to go - she pulls into the MIDDLE of the intersection and stops. Everyone now is stopped just waiting to see what she's gonna do. Finally she turns. What an idiot.

In other news, I'm still having that "I'm gettin a cold or something" feeling. Instead of going out to eat tonight, I actually stayed in and had some chicken soup... and animal crackers. Mmmmm.

I need to get busy straightening up my place this week in preparation for guests. More on that later.

I'm finally awake.

I woke up this morning uncharacteristically early - 5:30. I was WIDE awake so I decided to get going on a load of laundry and watch the Formula 1 race I taped the previous night. The newspaper showed up around 7 so I got it and read through to see what was going on in town. Draft beer can FINALLY be served here starting Nov. 1st. Geez. After all that fun, climbing back into bed sounded like a good idea - so I did. Woke up a little after noon and missed church. Whoops. I had all kinds of weird dreams during that last sleeping session. Freaky.

Ate lunch then stopped in at EB Games to see what was new. I tried out Virtua Tennis for the PSP. I may have to get that one. Graphics were really nice and gameplay was smooth.

Speaking of gameplay, stopped in at Kevin's where the youth group was getting together for video games. He's got ALL the stuff over there... X-Box, PS2, (sonn XBOX 360), Nintendo 64, plasma TV, etc. Anyway, the funniest part of the night was when I mentioned playing Super Mario Kart and Kevin hopped in to play with 3 other kids.

Kevin: Let's put it on the DK Mountain track.
Teen #1: You sure you wanna do that? (arrogant)
Me: Uh oh, I hear some trash talk...

The unsuspecting teen did not know that Kevin is 30-something and has no job - playing video games IS his job. Kev obliterated the kids with ease while I laughed my hiney off in the foyer. That's just some funny stuff right there.

(Actually, Kevin has a job but it leaves him plenty of time to do other stuff - heh.)

Just passin' through.

Remember my day of not really doing anything? Well, it got busy kinda abruptly. I was enjoying my morning by sleeping in but finally decided to get up and moving around 10. I watched some TV then hopped in the shower. I decided that I'd run up to Tennessee and pick up some Powerball Lotto tickets since the jackpot is up to $300 Million. That's quite a chunk of change. Despite astronomical odds, I figured I stood a better chance of winning if I HAD tickets instead of didn't. Kyle went along also to throw his hat into the ring. On the way to Tennessee, he gets a call from Shane regarding a wedding Shane was supposed to be filming at 2. He's running late and wonders if Kyle can cover for him. Kyle already has to be at another wedding at 3. We keep on going to TN and get our tickets since that was the plan. On the way back (and it's around 1:00 and we're 20 miles from home) Kyle's phone rings again...

Seems that Shane was also supposed to take some photos at the wedding. Kyle reluctantly asks if I could shoot the wedding. Let's see here:

1. I'm 20 miles from home.
2. It's 1:10 and I have to be there at 1:45.
3. I'm in cargo shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops
4. I have to run Kyle by his house

Luckily, I have a few things going for me:

1. I've had a shower
2. All my photo gear is with me - charged and ready

Kyle suffers from some mild dementia as he tells me I can just go like I am. I look like I'm about to pick rice in an Asian rice paddy. I drop Kyle off then rush home and at least get on a pair of jeans and some tennis shoes before I'm out the door. Still, one old woman looked me up and down and rolled her eyes as I walked up. I felt like telling her to kiss both butt cheeks but I thought better of it. I did the best I could given the short notice I had. "Notice" is probably too strong a word in this case.

Next, it was off to Trinity for another wedding. I was helping on the video duties this time. That went off without a hitch suprisingly. Afterwards, the reception was lit by candelight and was extremely dark. The video camera I was using was wortless in the lighting conditions. I was asked if I could take some photos - I politely refused this time.

Lesa and I hangin out at Simps after a long day.

 
 

Long week.

I've had one heck of a week this week. I did get to spend a good bit of time out of the office meeting with clients which I enjoy. The weather was fantastic for the most part so no complaints there. Ended the week with photo shoots. I worked with Ty Cole, a photographer from New York. Great guy. Cool to hang with.

Lesa and I also got to hang out some. That's something we haven't had a chance to do in a while. Had a few drinks over at Simp's Thursday night before I took off elsewhere for dinner.

This morning I stopped at the cleaners and dropped off a load of clothes including a few dress shirts I needed done for a wedding video job I'm helping Kyle on Saturday night. I don't have much call to wear suits very often any more but I do have several to choose from when the occasion arises. That's always nice.

I actually have NO other plans for this weekend which is very liberating! I'm not drumming this weekend, no yard work that's mandatory, and my house is reasonably clean. Other than washing my car and doing the odd load of laundry, I'm completely FREE!!!!

I'm excited.

The cab of the tractor trailer burned.

 
 

Traffic in the mirror.

 
 

Getting closer.

 

As I approached, they had diverted traffic over on to one side of the highway. 

Oooo... deadly wreck yesterday.

 

As I was returning from Huntsville Thursday afternoon, I ran across this. 

POOF! Weekend's over.

I had a SLOW start to Saturday morning. I got up at my usual time around 6 and fiddled around a little, not really getting anything accomplished. I was still sleepy and it was a gray day outside so I crawled back in bed. Around noon, I finally got up. I was on the fence about washing my car as it looked as though it could rain at any time. I DID however get busy trimming the holly bushes in front of my porch. Yet again, I filled up my yard waste bin.

I ended up washing my car after all. It was a bit dingy from all the driving I had been doing the past week or so. I also took the time to check tire pressures - ALL of which were low to some degree. Everything's back to a recommended 32 PSI now though so hopefully, my gas mileage will also improve slightly.

Went over to Jack's place to hang out and jam. He's got a nice multi-level patio in his back yard under a canopy of trees. A nice touch is that there's a fire pit right there next to one of the platforms. Roasted some marshmallows before getting a few instruments out to jam in the cool evening air. It was nice. I had flashbacks to my days as a boy scout in my younger years - sitting by the campfire with friends just talking about stuff and not having a care in the world. Very therapeutic.

Got up at 6 Sunday morning and STILL was late to church for band warm up. Good grief, I live about the closest to the building yet have been getting there late. I gotta work on that. The music went well today from what I could tell. Other than me losing count and coming in too early after a break (but I covered it up so it looked like I meant to do it - heh.), it was uneventful.

Had lunch with friends then afterward, saw that a bird had crapped on my car. Ahhh... can't keep it clean for 24 hours. I did clean that up when I had a chance to. During lunch, Kevin mentioned something about one of my eyes looking, well, different. I thought nothing of it till I looked in the mirror and saw my bottom eyelid swelling just slightly. I looked again a bit later and it was pretty puffy. Just great. Anyway, turns out I had some kind of allergic reaction I think. To what, I'm not sure yet but it's all better now. Geez.

For dinner tonight, I tried out a new steak house opened up by Jody Witt, a friend of Kyle's and my sister. Food was so-so, but they've only been open a few days so maybe it's just some start up hiccups. We'll see when we go back after a few weeks.

Friday Funk

Why I scheduled so many appointments on a Friday is beyond me. Several meetings looked very promising so at least it's not a wasted effort. Got a big photo shoot at the end of next week so I'm needing to get all that arranged to be sure I have locations and talent for the shots. I'll be back in Florence on Monday to re-shoot a photo or two for a client there.

Took Stephanie to lunch today over at Westside Grill. I'm involved in a project for her organization. After eating, I swung by the Joe Muggs for a mocha before going back to the office. One suprising thing is that I was talking about my trip to Indy for the Formula 1 race earlier this year. She asked "Isn't that the one where only 4 cars started?" Whoa. I was amazed she knew that.

Stayed home tonight as I had that "feeling" you get when you're about to be sick with a cold or something. Like I've mentioned before, I don't get sick very often but when I do, it's usually during the season change when temperatures go from hot to cold or vice versa. I'm feeling a little better now so maybe I'll be okay. I sure hope so. All I know is that staying in tonight was better than sitting in a smoke-filled room for a few hours.

I watched qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix tonight. Very rainy session which really makes the starting grid kinda weird. It should make for an interesting race though.

This was the weekend I was supposed to go deep sea fishing with a few friends. Due to the hurricanes, the trip was cancelled. I need to plan on taking some time off soon as I really haven't had a proper vacation this year.

A photo shoot? Today?

I know it's the first week of October but with the high getting up to 88, it might as well still be summer. I wore a linen shirt and slacks today, violating some sort of fashion code. Before Kay could comment, I did let her know I was aware it was fall and I shouldn't be in linen, blah blah blah. She got a good laugh outta that.

I thought that I would just be meeting with a client today for a consultation. I didn't know I was needing to do some photography today. After climbing around on a ladder and moving stuff around then realizing I'd need the studio lights, it quickly became a linen-unfriendly environment. Had to make a run to the house to change into jeans. Eventually got the shoot done. Whew!

This afternoon, I idly rubbed one of my eyes. For the first time ever, one of my contact lenses went on an excursion around my eye. It was gone... up underneath my brain somewhere. I didn't panic at first, but after a few minutes of it not coming back to the visible part of my eye, I started to freak. Mainly, I was thinking "gee, even if I go to the Dr. what are they gonna do to get it out?" Luckily, the lens did show up and things returned back to normal.

My car is dirty again and needs a wash. It's supposed to rain Friday so I think I'll put that off until Saturday morning. It should be cooler then too. My other plan is to also finish up the hedge trimming since the city will be emptying my yard waste bin tomorrow morning. Round here, we have 2 trash bins - one for trash and one for yard waste. I also have a recycling bin.

Completely changing the subject, anyone reading this have an iPod Nano? I saw one in person the other day. Wow that was small. Still, I'm happy with my regular iPod. I still need to find the best solution for connecting it to my car stereo. FM transmitters SUCK. Especially the Griffin iTrip.

Bumpy week.

Last week was one for the books. It's reminded me of why I decided a while back that being single isn't all that bad. Dating can be a frustrating pain in the ass.

Aside from the social issues, my week ended on a good note. Made a guest appearance on the Jeff & Kyle show Friday night. When that was over, I headed on home as I was tired. On Saturday, I *finally* got a chance to try my hedge trimmer out on the holly bushes. I started off with the ones beside my house around the central air unit. My gas meter is located over there as well. I need to keep that area clear coz' the meter reader starts whining if the bushes scratch them up when they make their monthly visit. In no time, I had amassed enough clippings to fill my city-provided yard waste can to overflowing. That signified the end of the bush trimming. I could have bagged additional clippings but the bags I had were the cheap ones mainly for leaves and the holly branches would rip through it and make a mess. That'll give me something to do later on in the week.

I wish the weather would hurry up and cool off more so I can sell my old car. If you'll remember, the A/C in it died (on my birthday no less) so I'd have a better chance of getting a good price on it when the lack of A/C isn't such a deal breaker. It got nice and cool briefly last Thursday. I remember because I ate lunch outdoors at a cafe... and froze my hiney off. I had to turn the seat heater on when I got back in the car to thaw everything out and also to get "stuff" back to their normal dimensions. Geez. We were back in the high 80's for the weekend so Thursday was just a fluke.

I can't believe the weekend's over again already. I ended it by watching most of this week's Desperate Housewives episode. They'll be talking about it at work tomorrow so I might as well have some sort of clue what's going on. Oh, I also caught Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I love that show.

Nice day out.

It was a pleasant day today - glad I get to spend most of it out and about. Started off my day by fixing a printer at work. The lights were flashing with the message "call for factory repair" - not good. I searched a good bit and finally found a copy of the service manual online. That did the trick. I was able to diagnose and fix the problem easily at that point. I've still got the skillz to pay da' billz. :D

Went over to a friend's photo studio over in Madison. Nice setup! HUGE studio with garage door access to photograph cars or other large objects. I also got an interesting lesson on how large-format cameras are used. Very cool stuff.

While I was over there, I stopped over at Edo's to see my old friends there and have some sushi. Ahh... that was nice. On the way back to the office, I realized I was supposed to do a photo shoot for a local politician sometime before Wednesday. Hopped on the phone and set all that up then drove over to the photo locations to scout them out. Looks like I can handle it without needing the studio lights. I hope so at least.

Had band practice tonight. It's usually on Thursdays but some scheduling issues came up and it got moved. One of the other drummers that was supposed to play also had a snafu so I'll be playing this week instead. No worries - it was an easy set. Looking forward to the get-together at Jack's on Saturday night. I think just about everyone that plays an instrument (among our friends) will be there for a jam session. Maybe we'll have some pictures, we'll see.

After practice, Kev and I went enjoyed some good eatin at Dead Lobster. Woot!

Wardrobe malfunction.

My usual routine in the morning is to get up, turn the TV on for news, make and eat breakfast, brush teeth, shower, put on "work" clothes then head out. I got all the way to the clothes stage and did not have any socks to go with the pants I had picked out. You see, I typically wear business casual attire nowdays. And that's only when I plan on seeing clients. Other days I'm fine in jeans. Anyway, I've got several pairs of slacks that aren't true khakis but are have more of a golden tan color to them. I only have one pair of socks that match that color - and they were in the laundry basket. Re-wearing the socks was out of the question without laundering them. That's just nasty. Swapped out the pants for a dark navy pair. I've got socks to go with blue for days. After work, I made a stop at TJ Maxx and got 9 pairs of socks that will go with the pants now. I'm happy.

So much for my sock saga.

Oh - in other fun news, one of my termite people called. They found termites in 3 stations around the perimeter of my house. I think I have 25 stations in all. I've got that Sentricon system going on so now they've changed the substance in the affected stations to bait and installed extra stations right around them to eliminate the colony. I should probably say something to my neighbor on the driveway side because the termites were coming from his direction.

That does it for my bug saga.

My plan was to get my hedge trimmer out tonight and get work done with that. My sock shopping adventure changed that plan as it was getting dark when I finally arrived home. Hedge trimmer in the dark = jacked up hedges and possibly a cut power cord. I'll put that off till later in the week when it's supposed to get getting cooler anyway... highs by the end of the week are in the mid 70's. With the weather changing, I have to be extra careful to try and not get sick because traditionally, I get some kind of sickness on the season change. Being sick sucks. Especially when you have to take care of yourself. Luckily, my sister lives here in town and helps me out sometimes. She's ran to the store for me for stuff and for medicines.

I'm off to bed.

Soggy.

The Remnants of Rita are in the valley and she's making her presence known with some heavy rain. We need it though coz' it's been pretty dry around here the past few weeks. This will also help with that aphid problem I mentioned a couple of posts back - knock 'em out of the trees and keep them from getting that honeydew crap all over everything.

Last Friday night I headed over to Big Spring Jam. Through work I get a pass for the whole weekend and access to the hospitality tent for food and a place to kick back. Despite the heavy traffic, I was able to get a good parking place in a public lot. Made my way over to the stage where Theory of a Deadman was playing and met up with some friends. When they got done, I moved over to the middle of the crowd and scrunched up with some more friends of mine along with a bunch of teeny-boppers to catch the Alterbridge show. I'm glad I had seen them before at the Roxy over in Atlanta and at the VonBraun center in town because the sound where I was standing sucked. I had my earplugs with me so that made it better but despite that, I had a good time anyway.

Saturday morning I had committed to take photos of a friend's family that's a missionary. Called and woke Kyle up because I needed him for lighting help. Got through the first shoot then was on to the next with Wendy. She needed some new shots for her theatrical stuff. Ended up shooting over at the Old State Bank. It was a good backdrop for the kinds of shots we were doing.

I spent the remainder of the day on domestic stuff. I wanted to go back to Big Spring Jam to check out The Black Crows but I was tired and didn't feel like driving to Huntsville and back.

The music at church was good today. I was off duty this week so I got to enjoy things from off the stage for a change. I did bring in my sound meter and MD recorder though. I had been meaning to check on some sound levels for awhile and had time to get my stuff together and "git 'er done" today. On the high end, we hit around 110db a few times in the middle of the room. In the back, there was about a 9db decrease. Took some notes for reference that might help us in the future.

Made a trip to Home Depot after lunch. I was still looking at gas grills. While there, I went ahead and picked up a strong electric hedge trimmer so I could whip the holly bushes around my front porch and around the side of the house into shape. Those things are a BITCH to trim with hand clippers. I also got some dryer ductwork. There's a pretty sharp bend in the existing ductwork that if I get straightened out, I think my dryer will work significantly faster. We'll see.

Oooo.... congrats to Fernando Alonso of Renault for clinching the 2005 F1 World Champion title in todays Brazilian Grand Prix. Exciting race to watch. Speaking of F1, I got my refund check from Michelin for the mess at this year's US Grand Prix. I also found out that I get 2 extra tickets for next year's race! I've already renewed my tickets for next year AND gotten my hotel reservations - I'll have 4 tickets total. Might be able to bring along some F1 newbies!

On another note, I've been eating with a group of people on Thursdays at a local Mexican restaurant. It's just different folks - friends and clients. Remember back last fall when I had a problem with my heating system? The guy that owns the service company that worked on my heating unit is a lunch buddy now. So, if any of of you local folks need good people to call for HVAC service, I've got someone to recommend to you.

Completely random shot of my car's odometer with 100 miles on it. It had 37 miles on it when I picked it up.

Decent shot of Scott Phillip's drum kit.

Here's a shot showing how far I was from the stage.