Time for coffee...
The sun isn't up yet, but I am and have two loads of the imfamous laundry going right now. The kick of the caffeine is about 10 feet away.
I am terrible about keeping in touch with people. I never call people on the phone any more. It's not that I don't care about any of these people, I just always seem to be working on something else that takes up my time. I know it would only take a minute or two, and I wish I was different in that aspect. But I have told all my friends that I talk to on the phone that it's nothing personal and I think they know that, but sometimes I wonder if it makes me a bad person.
Today, I start househunting in earnest. I am just going solo today to "pre-scout" some of the listing that I have found. I would say my realtor has sent me about 125 listings to look at and I have have it narrowed down to about 20 houses. Just gonna scope out the neighborhoods and see what the houses REALLY look like. I know some of the pictures I am looking at are probably deceiving. But. like my brother told me, I'll know the house that I want when I see it.
I have an appointment next Saturday to actually "look" at houses with my realtor. I have had to put this off for the past couple of Saturdays because of work, but we are just about finished with one project and will have some down time until the next one fires up again. We were actually off yesterday, but I did what I needed to do yesterday and slept as late as I wanted and never got dressed all day. I realize that with a home purchase on the horizon, my "free" weekends are going to be a thing of the past. With a house comes constant attention to details and maintainance.
What the hell happened to the mild winter we were having??? It still isn't unbearable, but the snow is a few inches deep and the temp are still around freezing. But its the middle of Feb. so that's good. I was looking at the daily temps. in January and more than half the days were above 40 degrees. Pretty amazing...
Gotta check my MegaMillions numbers from Fridays drawing. I haven't heard anything from any of my coworkers that I went in with on tickets, so I guess thats not a good sign, but I don't need $102 million to be happy. Plus, if I won, I would want to be one of those morons who say stupid things like, "Yup, I'm gonna keep my job and keep working......I would get bored doing anything else"....I swear if I was ever at one of those press conferences, I would strangle anybody who said something like that.
Got three books coming from Amazon. They are about Harry Truman. It's actually his autobiography. A book called "The Toyota Way" about the principles and ways that Toyota outperforms and outmanufactures every other car maker in the world. And the third book, is Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood". It's one of those "classic" books that I have wanted to read for a long time.
Footbal is over.....AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty pissed off right now and getted pissder!!!
I am reading an article in the New York Times about how the Board of Education in Arizona is facing this major battle on how to teach over 150,000 students whose native language is other than English how to speak English. Oh, by the way, about 75% of them are children of illegal immigrants.
DOESN'T THE F****** WORD "ILLEGAL" MEAN ANYTHING IN THIS FRICKING COUNTRY ANYMORE???!!!????
How are these kids even in the school system if their parents are ILLEGALS???????
And the best quote belongs to a Representative Stephen Tully, the majority leader of the Arizona House when he says, "Certainly a lot of these kids are in the country illegally, or their parents are, but that's not the issue," "They're here, and we need them to learn English."
He comes right out and admits that the kids or their parents being in this country illegally IS NOT THE ISSUE!!!!!! Are you kidding me??!!??
I don't now or have I ever believed it was the United States responsibility to teach, give health care to, provide welfare for any citizens of another country who are here ILLEGALLY.
Why is the Mexican government not being held more accountable for the actions of it's own citizens???
I understand that a lot of these foreigners come here just looking to work hard and earn a decent living. I don't have a problem with that. BUT DO IT LEGALLY, FOR CHRIST'S SAKES!!!!!!!!
The other part of that argument is that for every hard-working immigrant that comes here, there are five right behind him who are probably criminals, drug-dealing or some other sort of trouble-maker.
Yes, I know I come off as a racist, but I have seem what unchecked immigration can do to a community. I lived in Orlando, Florida for almost 15 years. That is a city that is experiencing MAJOR problems with immigrants running amok.
The State of Florida is proudly boasting that it created the most jobs of any state in the country last year. What they don't tell you is that a VAST majority of those jobs are menial, minimum-wage jobs that only foreigners with no job skills who speak NO English will do. Yes, there will always be a need for maids and dishwashers and landscapers and day laborers, but you can really exist on minimum wage or barely above it???? Try reading Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" if you wanna know first hand what that type of situation is like.
The State of California instituted a policy in it's public schools a few years ago called Total Immersion. All students were taught in English and only English. The non-English speaking students were NOT given preferential treatment or any extra tutoring. The program met with quite good results. A survey of the students found that they knew that if they didn't learn English, come hell or high water, they were going to be left behind. They had no choice but to learn it and learn it fast. I don't know if that policy is still in place, but I doubt it. I'm quite sure some left-wing, liberal bonehead put a stop to that.
I have a little story about the English/Spanish problem in the State of Florida.
I was down in Miami a few years ago on business and after work a few of my coworkers and I went to a local restaurant for dinner. I ordered am "MGD" which most beer drinkers know stands for Miller Genuine Draft. The waitress did not understand what I meant by MGD, so I told her Miller Genuine Draft. As she brought me my beer, she told me that the problem was that I needed to learn how to speak Spanish. Needless to say, I hit the MFing roof!!!!! I immediately called the manager over and told him what his waitress had said to me. He was Hispanic also, but being a professional was quite shocked and embarrassed by what she had said and comped our entire meal. I wasn't trying to get anybody in trouble(well, maybe a little) but even though Miami is 95% Hispanic, the manager still was aware that we were in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS ENGLISH!!!!!!!
My father came to this country from Canada when he was 18 years old to play professional hockey and didn't speak a word of English. He was quite aware of the language barrier. He used to tell me that he would spend hours reading the New York Times and Readers Digest and working on his English. He became very proud of his English and had one of the largest vocabularies of any person I ever knew. He didn't just want to know the word, he wanted to know what it meant.
When I was younger and I used a word in front of him that he had never heard me use before, he would demand that I spell it and tell him what it meant. he got me in the habit of keeping a dictionary next to me when I read along with a highlighter. When I come across a word I am unsure of, I look it up and then highlight it. Remember, I learned this from a man who came to this country not knowing a word of the English language.
Well, I know I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but I did that to make a point....deal with it!!!
Got pre-approved for a home mortgage this past Wednesday!!! They approved me for $130,000 but I don't think I am going to go that high. I have been putting this off for a long time, but the time has come. My realtor has already sent me about 75 listings to look at and I have narrowed it down to about 15 houses that I want to look at. I need to find out about the neighborhoods these houses are in first.
We are still pretty heavy into the overtime at work, but I might try to set something up with the realtor next Saturday and start looking at some of these prospective houses.
Ugh, football season ends this Sunday......March Madness can't get here fast enough!!!!

Saturday night and here I sit. It's amazing how much my life has changed in the last 10 or 15 years. There was a time when I was going out almost EVERY night. There was free beer at Crickets on Monday night and nickel beer at Phineas Phoggs on Tuesday night and then $1.00 Buds at the Edge on Wednesday night and there was something Sunday nights too, but my mind is sort of foggy about those past events.
Now if I go have a couple of beers with some guys after work, its a big deal. I'm not complaining, just observing myself turn into a piece of coal.
I have an appointment with the finance lady on Wednesday night to get pre-approved for a mortgage. I have no idea I will be approved for, but I have heard great things about this lady and her "creative financing". I have been putting off buying a house for years because I didn't think I was ready for the responsibility, but I am pretty sure I'm ready for it now. And I look at it as the best investment I can make with my money. I contribute five percent to my 401K at work, but I doubt very seriously if I'll be able to retire when I am 62, or whatever the retirement age is now. I just dread being one of those old guys you see bagging groceries or greeting people at Wal-Mart.
Got my taxes done already....pretty nice refund coming my way. Next year, it'll be a bit more complicated with buying a house and all.
It's amazing how many people are starting to view the war in Iraq through my eyes. I have been against it from day one and now the tide is turning towards a withdrawal. Bush and all his cronies are all worried about saving face if we withdraw without "finishing the job", whatever the hell that means. If his Dad had gone to Bahgdad when he had the chance, none of this shit would be taking place. I really don't like Hillary Clinton all that much, but she nailed it on the head when she said that George W. Bush will go down as one of the worst presidents the United States has ever elected.
It was 57 degrees here in NE Ohio on January 28th. Got to finally wash my car off today and get all the salt and dirt and crude that has accumulated over the past few weeks. Looks much better now!!
I have eight magazine subscriptions! I love to read, but even this is a bit too much for me. The current mags are : US News and World Report, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Time, Sporting News, Mens Health, Mens Fitness and Mens Journal. I got most of these through a girl at work that was doing the whole magazine subscription thing as a part time job. Here nickname is "GRQ" which stands for Get Rick Quick. She is obsessed with all these little schemes on how to get rich quick. She has a Bachelors Degree, so she spent four useless years in school because all she wants to do is find the golden ticket instead of working for her money like everyone else. BUT, she doesn't play the lottery pool that we have at work....go figure.
Anyways, she got me the three mens magazines for the price of one, so I figured I would give them a try. Men's Health, Men's Fitness and Men's Journal are almost identical and truly quite worthless. Clothes that are insanely expensive, trips that nobody could ever afford and exercises that nobody in there right mind would ever do. Needless to say, I will NOT be renewing those.
Off to the couch to read and then beddy-bye time!!!!!
Tomorrow morning is Sunday, so you never know what the magical pot of coffee might bring!!!!

ahhhh, another Sunday morning gone by the wayside.
My brother and his wife came home from 12 days in Florida yesterday. As usual, I stayed in the big house(I call it that because it has six bedrooms and about a million square feet), and took care of the dogs.
It's nice to be back home though. It's amazing how much stuff I took over there for 12 days. I was able to do copious amounts of laundry and not have to turn my OWN heat on all that time. I was lugging around my CPAP machine(I have sleep apnea), my dirty laundry, books and magazines, my organizer with all the bills I needed to pay, etc. I got back home last night and started unloading my car and it felt like I had gone on vacation. And I was only about five miles down the road.
I can't really complain about the winter so far. We have had a few bad stretches, but for the most part it has been downright nonwinterlike around here.
The overtime at work is in full swing. That also means that my gym workouts have taken a major hit. I'll try to get back into the swing of things this week, even though I'll probably be working 8a.m-7p.m. We'll see.....I'm not making any promises though.
I need to make a concerted effort to learn downtown Cleveland a bit better. After I picked up my brother and his wife at the airport, I took them to the Cleveland Clinic(where they both have worked for about 20 years) so he could pick up a vehicle. I have no idea where the hell I am going when I am in downtown. When I was younger, we lived in the eastern suburbs and I never really went downtown too much and if I did, obviously someone else was driving. I moved back up here about 3+ years ago, and even though I live in Lake County, I never really go downtown except for Indians games. I know there is a lot to do and see downtown, so I guess I'll move that up on my priority scale.
Saw Wedding Crashers, Skeleton Key and Old School in the past week. I though Old School was actually funnier than W.C's. I was really looking forward to laughing my ass off during WC's, but it wasn't nearly as funny as I thought it would be. Everybody that I know that saw it said it was one of the funniest movies they have ever seen. Yes, there were funny parts, but not in the same category, as, oh, I don't know, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".
I canceled my online membership with Blockbuster because of the overtime. I leave at 7:30 in the morning, I don't get home until 9 or 10 at night and I try to be in bed by 11 p.m. I have also worked the last 4 Saturdays in a row AND my boss asked me if I could work on Sundays!!!! F that!!!!!! I need at least one day off to relax. My paychecks are quite large, but I am already bordering on burn out and this crap might continue through May or longer. God, if I had a life, I would be hating it right about now.
There's a guy at work that eats nothing but junk food, pasta, and candy and NOW he is obsessed with trans fat. He looks at a package label and says, "Oh, can't eat this, has trans fat in it!!" I always tell him the same thing, "Hey, dumbass, you've been eating trans fat your whole f'ing life!!! You think becoming obsessive about it in the last 6 months is gonna undo the past??!!"
You know what cause I might take up?? Fighting child abuse. I hear these stories about little kids being beaten and killed by these deranged adults and it just pisses me off!!! Especially when they show a picture of the child in happier times. It just rips my heart out. I was watching a St. Judes Children's Hospital informercial the other day, and there was a small boy, no older than five who had a tumor in is brain. Cutest little boy I ever saw, and he was so brave going through all the chemotherapy and all that. He was brave because he had this all his life and he didn't know how NOT to be brave. I know child abuse and kids with cancer are two different arenas but kids should be kids and have a happy childhood. They shouldn't be worried about getting beaten or getting sick. People are always asked what their favorite sound is. I discovered what mine is the other day: a child's laughter.
Kids should be kids and have a happy childhood. They shouldn't be worried about getting beaten or getting sick. People are always asked what their favorite sound is. I discovered what mine is the other day: a child's laughter.
Well, time to get my place back in order and get ready for some football this afternoon.

Sunday morning....
The laundry has taken on a life of it's own. I must make an attempt to regain control.
Sort of a sad day.....today is the first day since the beginning of the football season, I will not be going up to the bar(Buffalo Wild Wings) to watch football. Yes, there is playoff football to be watched, but the Browns are not in the playoffs(gee, what a surprise), so I might watch the games here at home.
This is the time of year when it slows down dramatically for a lot of sports fans. Football is almost over, baseball is still a ways away. College football had their championship game this past week. There is hockey, but I think most people aren't quite sure whether to embrace the new product on the ice or not. The one good thing is college basketball, but most people, myself included, don't really start getting rabid until the last few weeks of the season eading up to the Dance, otherwise known as the NCAA tournament.
What is the big deal about the government tapping people's phone lines???? If you have nothing to hide, they why worry. Like Dick Cheney said, "If you calling Aunt Millie in Paris, we probably aren't too concerned". If the government wants to listen to my phone calls, they'll be pretty bored. If the government wants to watch me through my TV or my monitor, they will see a nobody with no life leading a crime-free, dull, boring life. No news here!!!!! Nothing to see here, lets just move it along, folks!!!
Finally started overtime this week. Had to work all day yesterday, which sucked. Plus it was staight time since Monday was a holiday. I'm anticipating about 15 hours a week of overtime for the next month or so. Gotta spend that money wisely. Pay off credit cards and SAVE some also. The last round of overtime, I wasted ALL that money. Just eating and drinking and carousing. If you've never caroused, please note it is quite expensive and dangerous. Please refer to the owners manual before attempting any sort of carouse.
Got my recipe for next week. It's rotisserie sesame chicken. Eight ingredients and it takes about 1 and a half to two hours to make. I'll post on here how it turns out. I've made about three rotisserie chickens in this machine and the last one was by far the best. This is the best f****** chicken I have ever had. It's hard to comprehend how I did without this thing for so long.
Well, time to fold some whites(no, thats not a racial comment....hell, I'm white).

All is quiet....
I am taking my last two vacation days today and tomorrow. Added on to the weekend and our extra day off for New Years Day, I get five days off. Such a deal!!!
Have been using my new George Foreman rotisserie that my brother and his wife got me for Christmas. That thing is awesome!!! I have cooked a couple of five pound chickens in that thing and they are the best chickens I have ever eaten. Seriously!!! It is a little bit of a bitch to clean, but if you get to it before anything has had a chance to harden, it's not too bad. One of the things I wanna get back into in the New Year(not a fricking resolution, so calm down)is cooking, and this rotisserie will be a big part of it. I like to pull one recipe a week from online, get the ingredients and spend Saturday or Sunday working on it.
Just watched the movie, "Four Brothers". Not a bad flick, but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater. I have "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" lined up for tomorrow night. I was going to rent it on Christmas Eve, but thought it might be a little sacreligious.
I am hoping to check my checking account in the morning and see my yearly bonus sitting in there. I have two credit cards I want to pay off and then dump some of it in my savings account. Like I mentioned in a previous post, between my bonus, tax refund, and upcoming overtime, I should get myself into a pretty good financial position.
Tookie Williams. He is dead. And that is the way it should be. I don't give a damn if he was black or white or Hispanic or Asian. The fact is that he MURDERED four people in cold blood by shooting them in the back with a shotgun while they laid defenseless on the floor.
I don't give a rat's ass how many "books"(more like pamphlets) about nonviolence he wrote. I don't give a shit about how much he preached to kids about staying in school and staying out of gangs.
The fact is he WAS a murderer. He committed FIRST DEGREE MURDER!!!! It was premeditated. It was not in self-defense. People who commit crimes like these, in my eyes, forfeit ANY rights afforded to them in the Constitution. There should be NO appeals for animals like this. Upon being found guilty, he should have gone right from the courtroom to the death chamber. No, executing him does not bring back the people he killed. While sad that it has to come to this, it probably gives the families of the victims some sense of justice and revenge. It should send a message to all the twisted fucks out there that use these methods to get what they want instead of getting an education, getting a job and getting a life. Life's a bitch, get over it and get on with it!
It is a very sick and dangerous world we live in nowadays. Every day as I scan the news headlines reinforces my belief in the "eye for an eye" way of justice. The way I see it, and this applies towards almost any aspect of American society, from childrearing to business ethics to criminal justice, YOU MUST MAKE SURE THE GUILTY PARTY LEARNS TO ASSOCIATE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES WITH NEGATIVE ACTIONS. People in this fricking country need to be held accountable for their actions.
In some Middle Eastern countries, they chop off your hand if you are caught stealing. How much stealing do you think goes on in these countries if people contemplating it know that they lose a body part if they are caught????? I think a person might think twice about walking into a 7-11 and shooting a defenseless clerk making $9.00 an hour, if he knew that if he gets caught and convicted, he'll be dead within the hour. It's all about deterrence. The death penalty is not working the way it should because it is not enough of a deterrent.
Don't make it a big media circus. No front page headlines. Scum who commit these types of crimes deserve none of it.
Alright enough of that......
The fitness kick is getting back into form. I find it easier and easier to eat healthy and waork out on a regular basis. I used to be so regimented about going to the gym. If I missed a day, I would beat myself up about it. Now, if I don't feel up to it or just feel blah, I don't go. But I do limit the laziness and blahs to one day. And I actually started bringing carrots and celery sticks to work to snack on instead of chips and pretzels. HOORAY FOR ME!!!
OK....I've ranted and raved enough....time for some computer Yahtzee and then off to bed. Laundry tomorrow!!! UGH!!! Maybe I'll just go and buy all new clothes....

Christmas morning......
Now Playing: certainly not Christmas songs!!!!
There are two radio stations around where I live that have played nothing but Christmas music since the day after Thanksgiving. I mean when is enough, enough???? How many different versions of "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" can there be?????
Anyways, Merry Christmas to all. I'll be going over to my brothers house later for dinner and presents. I don't get into Christmas much being that my family is the most dysfunctional one ever created. I might do a few gift certificates for members of my family. But I am not one of these basketcases that goes nuts for a whole month from Thanksgiving until today worrying if I bought the right present for the right person.
The one thing that bothers me the most about Christmas is how commercialized it has gotten. I'm not a religious person but I do know that Christmas is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. How does giving someone a pair of slippers or a food processor symbolize that???? And don't gimme that shit about it's the thought that counts. A person fights the crowds, waits in long lines and then forks over money they probably can't afford to fork over for a present they HOPE the recipient will like. What thought is there in that? It's more of a feeling of obligation than anything. Most Americans are aware of the ever increasing overall credit card debt that Americans have. So why do they throw caution to the wind during the holiday season and charge themselves further into debt??? So someone will like them or approve of them? Or in the hopes that they might get a nice shiny box in return? Not my idea of what the holidays should be.
I am only getting a couple of giftcards this Christmas for my brother and his wife. It's not so much about my anti-commercialized X-mas stand as the fact that I am saving to buy a house. Hopefully by next Christmas, I'll be in a house. Not easily done on one paycheck, but I think I can get something pretty nice. I am going to pay off a couple of credit cards with my bonus from work, tax refund and the overtime at work that should be starting after the first of the year. Then I'll talk to the mortgage people to see what I can afford. I already have a realtor lined up and told her my plans.
I got myself an MP3 player a few weeks ago. I mainly bought it for when I go to the gym. The music motivates me plus I can drown out the stupid conversations that I hear when I am on the treadmills. It's amazing how many people spend $35-40 a month to go to the gym and TALK. I have actually witnessed women who will stand next to a piece of equipment, with no intention of using it, and just gab their asses off for a whole hour. I bet they can't figure out why their asses never get any smaller and their guts keep getting bigger EVEN though they go to the gym four or five times a week.
Anyways, the MP3 player(not an iPod) is pretty cool. I have about 115 songs on there and it is not half full yet. I just don't have the need for an MP3 player that holds 15,000 songs. Thats about 1,200 albums worth of music!!! Who has 1,200 albums? and how long do you listen to music in any one stretch of time??? Like I said, I listen to mine mainly at the gym, so two hours is good for me.
Remind me to talk about Tookie Williams and the death penalty next time. I am a strong PROPONENT of the death penalty and I have a few things on my mind about the late Mr. Williams. I don't want to get into it now because my time is limited and I haven't has nearly enough coffee yet.
Watched "Cinderella Man" the other night. Truly a great movie. Possibly top five movies I have ever seen. I am not a big Russell Crowe fan, but can't deny that the guy can act. Gladiator, Beautiful Mind and now Cinderella Man make up a decent body of work.
What was the movie he was in, where he went up against the Tabacco companies??? That was the first movie I saw him in and it was good but I can't think of the name of it. Not enough caffiene.
Some other topics that I will mention in future posts: Georgie realizing that the Iraq "war" is a losing proposition.......political correctness....a book called "Million Little Pieces"....illegal immigration, and any other things that may be floating around in my head. So make sure you tune in to the next episode of "What the f*** is on my mind now!!!"

A letter to the rest of the world
from the next U.S President:

Dear World,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We, here in the United States, have many things to be thankful for. A out of control federal budget deficit, terrible education system, crumbling infrastructure, crime, homelessness, drugs, corruption at every level of political and corporate America, poverty and natural disasters are just some of the things we are "thankful" for this year.
Due to this overwhelming list of things to be thankful for, we as a country have decided to let the rest of you fend for yourselves for awhile. At least until we can get our own house in order. I just think it is pretty hypocritical of us to go around the world, preaching the goodness of democracy when our own country is in shambles. If the U.S can't get their country together, how can we, in good faith, tell the rest of the world that this is the way they should run their country???? Do you agree???
Plus there is the whole ungrateful attitude that permeates whatever we do around the world. I have been reading poll after poll from all these countries that say an overwhelming majority of the people in countries where we are trying to help, don't want us there in the first place. I have one word for those people: "BYE".
I think it would be best if we just brought all of our citizens, troops, money, resources home and used them to better our own country.
However, to all those countries who don't want our help(you know who you are.lol), the next time a tsunami hits or an earthquake levels your cities, or a band of murderous thugs overthrows your government and starts killing women and children, don't come knocking on our desk at the U.N.
The reasons behind this attitude are two-fold; 1)apparently you seem to be able to deal with these crises quite well on your own and according to your attitude you don't need our help and 2) I have decided to cancel our membership at the United Nations Health Spa and Fitness Center. The monthly fees are becoming a bit much. Plus, it is taking up too much of my time. The benefits are not worth the effort put forth. Plus, I want to spend more time with the family. I hope you will understand.
Well, thats about it for now. I hope there are no hard feelings on account of this letter. I'll let you know if things in prove on our homefront. In the mean time, don't call me, I'll call you.


Sincerely,

Ivan Hadenough
(the guy who is cleaning up the Bushes)

p.s- Israel.....I really don't like you as much as I've been letting on. It's just that all that oil over there is hard to resist and I know you have connections......we'll talk!!!!

ZZZZZZZZZ..............
Now Playing: Steely Dan-Black Friday
Just looked at the date and realized how long it's been since I puked up on here.
Lately, one day just seems to run into the next with no distinguishing features. Expect that it is definately winter. We got our first real taste of it this past week. About four inches fell on Thursday morning. I think it caught a lot of people off guard since only small flurries were forecast. Wasn't too bad though.
The battle of the bulge continues(and I'm not talking about my groinal area). I used to be in shape and look forward to working out. I used to eat pretty good most of the time. What a difference a few months makes. I have gone completely off the deep end. I know I'm up over 200 lbs. and I just feel like a slug. But, as usual, there is a plan in place. Now once I can figure out how to put it on top of a stack of pancakes or a burger, I'll be in business.
Seriously, I stopped going to the gym more for for a financial reason than anything. But this is no way to live really. I also turned off my cable, but THAT I don't miss very much. I rent enough DVD's to keep me busy.
The overtime should be starting up at work again and will probably last through the first of the year. And then there is bonus time and tax refund time.
I am on vacation this whole coming week, even though it is only a three-day work week. I am probably going to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week sometime. My parents took me back in the 70's for a weekend, but I don't even remember any of it. I'm sure much of it has changed since then. Like mentioned in a previous post, I was going to go to Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I think I will wait until Spring or Summer when it will be a nicer drive.
Well, got a stack of magazines to catch up on, so I better get to lying on that damn couch and reading.....

I'm baaaaaacckkkk!!!!!
Got back from Florida yesterday. Great flight home. Took off on time, no babies on board, no meal to be concerned about and it was probably the smoothest flight I have ever had. Wish I could say all these things about my flight down there.
The flight down there was PACKED. I mean in the cattle-car sense. I could have sworn I heard a muffled "moooo" during the safety briefing. I may have been my ears were messed up from popping at 31,000 feet but I thought the flight attendant asked me if I wanted a turkey sandwich or to just feed from the trough. I took the turkey sandwich just to be on the safe side.
Then there were the lovebirds in the seats next to me. They must have just started dating because they were all lovey-dovey and smoochy-woochy(just go with it) on the flight down there. I think they were medical students, or at least she was. She had a bunch of flash card type things with all sorts of medical terminology all over them.
Anyways, this flight was a flashback to the Seinfeld episode, "Smoopy". They were laying it on so thick, you would have though he just picked her up at the bar in the terminal. I am pretty sure that if the flight had lasted another half an hour, the terms, "smoopy", "honey-bunny" and "angel-bottom" would have been uttered. As the elequent Sir John Gieguld(sp) put it in the movie "Arthur" upon entering Liza Minnelli's apartment: "How revolting".
I was very cool to watch the sunset at 31,000 feet the whole flight down there. There were no clouds at all and I watched it go from bright yellow to a burning red just before we landed in O-town.
I had a odd incident happen while I was having lunch at Pizzeria Uno's, which was right across the street from my hotel.
I ordered a beer and a burger and was watching some college football on Saturday afternoon. The beer was very good and then the burger came. It was one of the best I've had. The bartender/server then asked me, "How's that burger treating ya?"..........now don't get me wrong, I'm all down with the slang and lingo being used in todays cultures. My conversations are liberally sprinkled with, "down wid dat", "whad up, my nigga"? and "raise da roof", but how am I supposed to respond to a question like "How's that burger treating ya"???????? Verbally abusive? This burger refuses to get in touch with it's feminine side???? Anyways, it was a good burger.
Speaking of the bartender, he mentioned that he had gone to college at Michigan and we started talking about how much it costs to go to college nowadays. He estimated that his parents spent about $125,000 to send him to Michigan for five years. I did mention he was a bartender, right? Where is the return on that investment????
It was nice to go back to Orlando and see some old friends that I had lost touch with. I was cruising around hitting all the old spots I used to hang out at. I realized that I do NOT miss Orlando at all. Like I said since I moved, Florida is a nice place to visit, but after 25 years I learned it's not that nice a place to live. Most people who live in the Northern states equate Florida with paradise simply because of the warm weather. Warm weather does not make the traffic go away or improve the schools or lessen the overcrowding or make all the Puerto Ricans speak English.
I am back in the real world and I am glad of it. The fall weather is here and this is my favorite time of year. I might take a trip to upstate NY this weekend or next to catch some fall colors. We'll see. I don't think we'll be going into overtime mode until late November or December. Time to watch a movie.