A map of where people refer to soft drinks as Soda, Pop or Coke has been making the rounds in my office. It'll always be soda to me, despite me now living in a "pop" state: http://popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html
I grew up in Virginia, and when my first son was about 3 months old, I was back visiting and took my son to the grocery store. At the checkout, the cashier said, “Precious.” I said, “Thank you,” just beaming with pride at my newborn. Again, she said, “Precious,” and, again, I thanked her.
Finally, she pointed at the credit card swipe machine and said slowly, “PRESS YES.”
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Saturday, March 26, 2005
A Decade
10 years ago today, my wife and I had our first date. The previous weekend back in 1995 I had taken her to see a Boston Bruins game while my sister and her friends were in town for St. Patrick's Day. That didn't really count as a date since it was a group thing, so March 25, 1995 was our first real alone time together.
We had worked together for almost a year before this point, so I think we both figured going on a date would be a stress free event. We were both wrong.
I took her to see Pulp Fiction, since I had learned her favorite movie was Reservoir Dogs. Well, it was the second weekend of Pulp Fiction's release, and the whole world was trying to see it. We parked on a side street because the movie theater parking lot was full, and made our way to the ticket window. Pulp Fiction Sold Out. Damn! What the heck were we going to do? We walked back to my car only to find it had been ticketed in those short five minutes, and then decided to go to a bar.
On the way there, I wasn't paying attention to the road. If you're familiar with Boston and its neighborhoods, you'll know T (transit/train/subway) tracks usually split coming & going traffic. Well, I made a left turn onto one of those said streets, and cut it too close. I drove up on the small waiting platform at a T stop. Kind of like a sidewalk. Well, my left front and back tires crashed down off of that platform back onto the road, and I was so out of sorts, I didn't utter a word. Neither did Colleen. Only weeks later did we talk about how uncomfortable that moment was.
We finally get to the bar we both were fond of, and I still am not sure what it was about that Friday night, but the bar in Brookline was practically empty. Perhaps everyone was out watching John Travolta and Uma Thurman do the batman dance. Suffice it to say, this date was going nowhere, so we both sipped our drinks and made excuses about how tired we were from that day's work.
At that point, I think we were both regretting trying to take our relationship beyond friendship. We had both been given advice that before you begin dating someone at work, you have to be SURE about it. After that date, we were both unsure.
We persevered though, and about a month later when we were in her apartment near Harvard Square, and we saw the sun streaming through the blinds, she said, "Looks like a great day for a Red Sox game." Hell yeah, baby! I jumped into my car and sped down to Fenway Park and purchased two tickets right behind home plate. See, that was the season after the baseball strike, and the Red Sox were "apologizing" to their fans by pricing every ticket in the ballpark at $10 during the first home stand. Because we were right behind home plate, the sun was blocked most of the day, and because it was mid-April in Boston, our breath was steaming. Of course, I had to spill my beer all over Colleen in that 40 degree, sunless section of Fenway Park. When she took that gaffe in stride, and stayed at Fenway Park covered in cold beer until the last pitch was thrown, I knew then I was SURE.
Since then, we have moved across the country to Portland, OR, have owned two different homes, have said goodbye to two dogs and have two great children.
All hail to awkward first dates!
We had worked together for almost a year before this point, so I think we both figured going on a date would be a stress free event. We were both wrong.
I took her to see Pulp Fiction, since I had learned her favorite movie was Reservoir Dogs. Well, it was the second weekend of Pulp Fiction's release, and the whole world was trying to see it. We parked on a side street because the movie theater parking lot was full, and made our way to the ticket window. Pulp Fiction Sold Out. Damn! What the heck were we going to do? We walked back to my car only to find it had been ticketed in those short five minutes, and then decided to go to a bar.
On the way there, I wasn't paying attention to the road. If you're familiar with Boston and its neighborhoods, you'll know T (transit/train/subway) tracks usually split coming & going traffic. Well, I made a left turn onto one of those said streets, and cut it too close. I drove up on the small waiting platform at a T stop. Kind of like a sidewalk. Well, my left front and back tires crashed down off of that platform back onto the road, and I was so out of sorts, I didn't utter a word. Neither did Colleen. Only weeks later did we talk about how uncomfortable that moment was.
We finally get to the bar we both were fond of, and I still am not sure what it was about that Friday night, but the bar in Brookline was practically empty. Perhaps everyone was out watching John Travolta and Uma Thurman do the batman dance. Suffice it to say, this date was going nowhere, so we both sipped our drinks and made excuses about how tired we were from that day's work.
At that point, I think we were both regretting trying to take our relationship beyond friendship. We had both been given advice that before you begin dating someone at work, you have to be SURE about it. After that date, we were both unsure.
We persevered though, and about a month later when we were in her apartment near Harvard Square, and we saw the sun streaming through the blinds, she said, "Looks like a great day for a Red Sox game." Hell yeah, baby! I jumped into my car and sped down to Fenway Park and purchased two tickets right behind home plate. See, that was the season after the baseball strike, and the Red Sox were "apologizing" to their fans by pricing every ticket in the ballpark at $10 during the first home stand. Because we were right behind home plate, the sun was blocked most of the day, and because it was mid-April in Boston, our breath was steaming. Of course, I had to spill my beer all over Colleen in that 40 degree, sunless section of Fenway Park. When she took that gaffe in stride, and stayed at Fenway Park covered in cold beer until the last pitch was thrown, I knew then I was SURE.
Since then, we have moved across the country to Portland, OR, have owned two different homes, have said goodbye to two dogs and have two great children.
All hail to awkward first dates!
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Deadline Day
As mentioned in my 3/2 blog, I had until today to find a position in my company, or I was going to be unemployed. Someone is taking care of me. Thank you God. Yesterday, the company we had presented to last week told us we got their business, and I'm leading up that team. So, I'm on to something new and energizing, and my employment is rock solid. Phew.
And, because of the threat of leaving my company, I had developed some interesting ideas on how to make money. A couple are viable even with full time employment, so I'm looking forward to doing some of that in my spare time to see where it takes me. Or, better, what it brings me (in terms of $). I shouldn't be greedy though, since my wife and I are compensated very fairly for our work. But, the things I had started are really fun, so it's more a labor of love than a money making scheme.
Unrelated...
My son, Grady (4 1/2 years old) is really into exploring heavy topics. His longest-running topic is death. I try to steer him away from that, but it just fascinates him, and, besides, it teaches him about heaven. Today in the car, he asked out of the blue,
And, because of the threat of leaving my company, I had developed some interesting ideas on how to make money. A couple are viable even with full time employment, so I'm looking forward to doing some of that in my spare time to see where it takes me. Or, better, what it brings me (in terms of $). I shouldn't be greedy though, since my wife and I are compensated very fairly for our work. But, the things I had started are really fun, so it's more a labor of love than a money making scheme.
Unrelated...
My son, Grady (4 1/2 years old) is really into exploring heavy topics. His longest-running topic is death. I try to steer him away from that, but it just fascinates him, and, besides, it teaches him about heaven. Today in the car, he asked out of the blue,
"Dad, do worms go to worm heaven?"
I answered after a long pause, "Yes, Grady, every living creature is able to go to
heaven." This was partly defensive, because if I had said there was no
worm heaven, he would have extrapolated it to asking why Coltrane, our old
dog who now lives with my sister, wouldn't get to go to heaven.
"What does the Worm God do for them, Dad?"Another long pause. "The Worm God gives them never ending rich,
dark soil to live in."
That seemed to satisfy him, and he thankfully skidded off to another topic. He narrated with crazy accurate details an injury I sustained during a softball playoff game at which he was present in August 2003. This kid has an unbelievable memory. I mean, he was not even 3 at the time, and here he is 19 months later remembering every last detail of it. I wish he'd apply that memory to some of his school lessons.
Just realized that last statement was totally my dad. Whenever my sister or I would recite a commerical jingle or some other pop trivia, my dad was liable to pipe in with, "I wish you'd remember your math as well."
Friday, March 18, 2005
Minor Update
Can't believe it's been a full week since my last posting. It's been busy here. Not much of it was blog-worthy, in that it's about work or private family matters. So, here's a scatter shot update:
- Crazy spring/summer weather finally broke mid-week and we've been in the 40s/low 50s with overcast skies. It even rained for a bit on Wednesday, hopefully enacting the weed-killing crystals I put down on our gravel.
- I traveled to the east coast to pitch some new business for my company. Meetings went well and we're confident we'll sign that company up. Should hear very soon.
- Our company had a fun off-site downtown yesterday, which put me in a good spot at 5:00 for some St. Patrick's Day fun. I went to a cool new bar, Doug Fir. It's a converted old Travel Inn motel, done up much like you'd find a bar in the movie, Swingers. Retro with a touch of modernitity. The cocktail waitresses were all biker/goth. Ripped fishnet stockings, big boots, torn t-shirts, heavy eye make-up, severe black hair, with sinewy arms. I'll be back.
- I learned a colleague's 6 year-old daughter is reading at a ninth-grade level. Gulp. We have a lot of work to do with our 4.5 year-old Grady. The other day I asked him, "What letter does the word 'tree' start with?" He answered, "Car."
- The painting we own by Phil Fake, Dualities, is on loan to him for his art show at a local cafe, just steps from where the painting was done.
- For the first time in more than a decade, I've not bet money on the NCAA tourney, but I am participating in Chelsie's friendly, no-stakes contest.
- I saw BillZ, fresh from Australia and New Zealand yesterday and today. Today he started a 6-day cross-country drive back to D.C. in his Mini Cooper, which he's stored here in Portland for the last six months. I predict he will move to Sydney before this time next year.
- Learned from Bill that if you don't use your windshield wipers for at least six months, they disintegrate when used again.
- Liam did the most disgusting thing this morning. He licked the entire length of the underside of the edge of our bathroom double-vanity. I was brushing my teeth this morning, and he was milling around, and I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but didn't focus on what he was doing until he was at the opposite end of the vanity. Yuck.
- I switched to Vonage, and I'd give it a C+. It's crystal clear and is packed with features, but our broadband connection at home is a bit spotty, and everytime it goes out, the phone needs to reset itself. This isn't a problem if the computer is turned on, but the phones sit dead if the computer is off. And, we have it off most of the time because we keep our 40+ bottles of wine in the office, and the computer raises the temperature in teh small office about 10-15 degrees overnight. So, Vonage itself is great, but Comcast cable broadband is barely satisfactory.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, March 11, 2005
My Nacho is My Hero
Read My Nacho's two March 10 postings and I dare you to not envy my friend, Bill, just a little bit.
Existence
I forget how it came up on the ride home today, but Grady was asking about Colleen's and my honeymoon. I told him we went to Hawaii and had a good time snorkeling, eating at good restaurants and playing on the beach. He asked if he had been born or "was I in mom's tummy?"
I told him, "Neither. You didn't exist yet." "But, Dad, who was taking care of me?" "Grady, you weren't born yet, and you weren't in Mom's tummy yet. You just didn't exist." Whoa, that concept was just too hard to grasp for Grady, as you can imagine.
Speaking of existing, I don't anymore. Not according to Yahoo. They must have taken offense with my American Idol experiment, as my site doesn't show up on any searches there anymore. Perhaps someone complained. Oh well, I don't need a bunch of strangers reading this stuff anyway. Who am I kidding? I'm vain, so I re-submitted my site.
If you're want to hear some funny stuff, log onto DaneCook.com and turn your speakers up. He's a reallly funny comedian and he streams about 10 jokes automatically when you log on. His drowning joke, Speak and Spell, fast food drive through, and Slip 'n Slide jokes got me laughing really hard. Thanks to my favorite blogger, Chelsie, for turning me on to him. He's doing a 30 college campus bus tour this spring, and he's cool enough to be stopping at my alma matter, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.
The last three days, I've worked 12, 16 and 12 hours, respectively. This is how I feel (how we found Liam in his room Tuesday night):
I told him, "Neither. You didn't exist yet." "But, Dad, who was taking care of me?" "Grady, you weren't born yet, and you weren't in Mom's tummy yet. You just didn't exist." Whoa, that concept was just too hard to grasp for Grady, as you can imagine.
Speaking of existing, I don't anymore. Not according to Yahoo. They must have taken offense with my American Idol experiment, as my site doesn't show up on any searches there anymore. Perhaps someone complained. Oh well, I don't need a bunch of strangers reading this stuff anyway. Who am I kidding? I'm vain, so I re-submitted my site.
If you're want to hear some funny stuff, log onto DaneCook.com and turn your speakers up. He's a reallly funny comedian and he streams about 10 jokes automatically when you log on. His drowning joke, Speak and Spell, fast food drive through, and Slip 'n Slide jokes got me laughing really hard. Thanks to my favorite blogger, Chelsie, for turning me on to him. He's doing a 30 college campus bus tour this spring, and he's cool enough to be stopping at my alma matter, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.
The last three days, I've worked 12, 16 and 12 hours, respectively. This is how I feel (how we found Liam in his room Tuesday night):
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Go Bo, Go Bo, Go, Go, Go!
Bo Bice is the runaway favorite of Yahoo web searchers, and, not to mention, Simon Cowell. Simon told him last night the American Idol competition was his to lose. My site stats back that up. Here is a breakdown from the last 60 hours:
Contestant.............................Total Hits................."Nude Hits:"
Bo Bice....................................24..............................0
Celena Rae.............................5................................1 (20%)
Anwar Robinson....................3................................0
Constantine Maroulis...........3.................................1 (33%)
Lindsay Cardinale.................1.................................1 (100%)
Carrie Underwood................2.................................2 (100%)
Anthony Federov..................2................................1 (50%)
Mario Vasquez.......................1................................0
So, talent winner is Bo Bice. Most desired female is Carrie Underwood. Most desired males (based on percentage) is Anthony Federov.
And, if you really want to hear MP3s of the American Idol performances, go to this blog's March 3 posting. It's actually a good way to test how much you really like the contestants' voices.
Contestant.............................Total Hits................."Nude Hits:"
Bo Bice....................................24..............................0
Celena Rae.............................5................................1 (20%)
Anwar Robinson....................3................................0
Constantine Maroulis...........3.................................1 (33%)
Lindsay Cardinale.................1.................................1 (100%)
Carrie Underwood................2.................................2 (100%)
Anthony Federov..................2................................1 (50%)
Mario Vasquez.......................1................................0
So, talent winner is Bo Bice. Most desired female is Carrie Underwood. Most desired males (based on percentage) is Anthony Federov.
And, if you really want to hear MP3s of the American Idol performances, go to this blog's March 3 posting. It's actually a good way to test how much you really like the contestants' voices.
Steer Clear If You Don't Like Cute
Posted some new videos of my youngins. If you're not into watching home movies of cute kids dancing, playing fireman or mimicking William Wegman's dogs, then don't click here.
Thursday, March 3, 2005
American Idol Traffic
Boy, if you want a lot of people to visit your blog via search engines, just talk about American Idol contestants. A bunch of hits came via "Bo Bice video" and "Aloha Mischeaux." Speaking of Aloha, I sure was wrong about her being runner up. She was voted off last night, rather unfairly. And, if you go by what brought strangers to my blog, you'd have to guess that Bo Bice will take the crown.
I'm going to do a little experiment, and my regular blog readers, please forgive me. I'm going to mention every contestant name with some bait and see what kind of traffic that lures in. I'll post the results, so you know who is the most popular Idol contestant and who is most desired. You can stop reading now.
If you who clicked into the site because of this exhaustive American Idol information, thank you for participating in my experiment.
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Aloha Mischeaux
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Amanda Avila
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Anthony Fedorov
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Anwar Robinson
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Carrie Underwood
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Celena Rae
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Bo Bice
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Constantine Maroulis
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Janay Castine
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Jessica Siera
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: David Brown
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Jared Yates
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Lindsey Cardinale
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Melinda Lira
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Joseph Murena
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Judd Harris
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Mikalah Gordon
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Nadia Turner
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Mario Vasquez
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Nikko Smith
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Sarah Mather
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Vonzell Solomon
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Scott Savol
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Travis Tucker
I'm going to do a little experiment, and my regular blog readers, please forgive me. I'm going to mention every contestant name with some bait and see what kind of traffic that lures in. I'll post the results, so you know who is the most popular Idol contestant and who is most desired. You can stop reading now.
If you who clicked into the site because of this exhaustive American Idol information, thank you for participating in my experiment.
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Aloha Mischeaux
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Amanda Avila
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Anthony Fedorov
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Anwar Robinson
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Carrie Underwood
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Celena Rae
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Bo Bice
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Constantine Maroulis
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Janay Castine
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Jessica Siera
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: David Brown
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Jared Yates
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Lindsey Cardinale
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Melinda Lira
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Joseph Murena
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Judd Harris
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Mikalah Gordon
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Nadia Turner
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Mario Vasquez
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Nikko Smith
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Sarah Mather
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Vonzell Solomon
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Scott Savol
.MP3, video, movie, .wav, picture, nude pictures, free download of: Travis Tucker
Pop Quiz
Go here to take a fun test to see if you have a good command of the english language, with a focus on commonly misused words. Post your score in my comment section.
I did pretty well:
I did pretty well:
Advanced
You scored 93% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 66% Expert!
You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly.
You got an extremely respectable score.
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
60!
Happy Birthday to my dad! He turns today. You'd never know it from his youthful attitude and looks!
Change of Scenery
At work last week I resigned my spot on the team I'd been with since I got back from my sabbatical last summer. I had slowly come to the realization that the team just wasn't a good spot for me professionally or personally. A combination of factors contributed to the difficult decision (that I don't care to share publicly) to leave a position without another one at the ready. So, I have until March 23 to find another position at the company, or I'll be unemployed. Having worked here more than 8 years makes the thought of leaving scary.
I'm doing some exciting project work that is keeping me busy and is a nice change, but it's not a permanent gig. My goal is to stay with the company, but at my level, it's hard to quickly find a position, so I'm being realistic.
I've built up a lot seniority and experience here that starting over somewhere else would be difficult, especially when I think of the pay & benefits I get now. But, it just may be the kick in the pants I need. It would mean a change of lifestyle, but not too drastically, and it might even be fun (he says with great anxiety). It would be fun, it would be fun, it would be....sigh.
I'm doing some exciting project work that is keeping me busy and is a nice change, but it's not a permanent gig. My goal is to stay with the company, but at my level, it's hard to quickly find a position, so I'm being realistic.
I've built up a lot seniority and experience here that starting over somewhere else would be difficult, especially when I think of the pay & benefits I get now. But, it just may be the kick in the pants I need. It would mean a change of lifestyle, but not too drastically, and it might even be fun (he says with great anxiety). It would be fun, it would be fun, it would be....sigh.
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