Well, since returning from Philly and today not much has happened.
One thing I forgot to post was the news that I got from a small town in Massachusetts. Chase Robert Crandall joined the grown-up world on March 20th. One of the things in the e-mail mentioned that he was a Pisces just like his dad and Adam. One thing I noticed about that fact is that he's right on the edge of the Pisces influence. Which means that he'll have as much pull from Aries, the next sign over, as he does from Pisces. That should make for some interesting teenage conflicts if you believe in that sort of thing.
We did the obligatory visit to the Easter Bunny. That's a racket. Of course you can take personal photos, just buy a picture. $12.99 for a 5x7. Insane. It took the two little girls in front of us 20 minutes to finish with their pictures, and that's just while we were in line. Who knows how long they were there before we walked up. Their parents got at least 15 pictures from all different angles because the girls were cranky or didn't smile. Gage sat down on the bunny's lap, looked right up at the camera and smiled. I managed to snap 3 pictures I think. A learning experience for sure. We won't be visiting the Easter Bunny during year 2. That is, unless we can find a discount Easter Bunny. Perhaps we could head back to Camden. There weren't any people there, but maybe we could find a big mutated bunny.
We did see one of Terri's co-workers perform at a small coffee shop. She's really good. She covers a variety of genres and artists. We heard everything from self-written material to Alison Krauss and Metallica. It was one of the Alison Krauss songs that started me on my current train of thought which (compounded by the cold) is another reason why I haven't been posting too much. When I catch the "thinking disease" it's always best for me not to write. I'm sure it was something that was gnawing at me anyway, but part of one of her songs stuck in my head so hard it caused physical pain. It all came flooding back again when they had a special on CMT (new home of the Duke boys) with Alison Krauss and Union Station.
Anyway, no one's actually interested in that. Gage decided that he was ready for his bath tonight all on his own. He was sitting on the bed with Terri and four or five times he tried to propel himself off the side. So, she finally set him on the ground and he stood himself up and with Terri's help started to walk. He walked himself right into the bathroom, grabbed hold of the side of the tub and picked up one of his little froggy bath toys. So, we put his tub into the big tub and started filling it with water. He actually tried to boost himself into the tub. Maybe instead of a hockey player he wants to be a champion swimmer.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
Hopefully this will be the start of regular posting again. I took stock of my supply today and found that in the 2+ weeks that I was sick, I consumed approx 65 cups of tea during work hours. That would explain why I don't drink it on a regular basis. I end up od'ing on it when I'm ill and can't stand the taste of it any other time.
Anyway, back to the rest of the trip. Sunday afternoon we once again paid the "get out of New Jersey toll" and headed back into Philly for the Baby Pens/Phantoms game. I think this might have been the first time that I was rooting for the away team. Usually I'm in my home arena (or at least my team's home arena). Once we got settled in and took a few pictures for Gage's scrapbook, we realized that the majority of the Baby Pens fans were in a section on the other side of the arena. There were a few scattered here and there, but they were concentrated down by the North end of the arena. So, not only were we in a strange arena, we were in enemy territory. That helped us learn some covert things about what the competition thinks about our team. A father and son behind us were discussing the Penguins and the Baby Penguins during warm-ups. Specifically they were discussing Marc-Andre Fleury. They were contemplating the future of the Flyers against the Pens and the outlook (according to them, I swear) is bleak. At one point the only option would be to move the Penguins out of the Flyer's division. The man complained that they spent the last 20 years dealing with Brodeur and they'll spend the next 20 dealing with Fleury. I tried to smooth things over by saying it was payback for Ron Hextall. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we always managed to beat up on Hextall.
Anyway, the Baby Pens jumped out to a quick lead and managed to hang on til the middle of the last period when the Phantoms managed to tie it up with only 30 seconds left in the third period. Everyone in the arena (including me) thought we were headed to overtime. The Baby Pens won the face-off at center ice and drove down into the Phantoms zone. With 2.4 seconds left on the clock Shane Endicott put a beautiful goal into the Phantoms net to give the Baby Pens a 4-3 win.
I know I said before we left that the outcome of the game was secondary, but that didn't stop me from screaming myself hoarse during the course of the game. Just like their NHL counterparts, the Baby Pens didn't want to give me a relaxing game either.
After the game, we managed to extricate ourselves from traffic fairly quickly and head back to Tom's place. We packed some stuff up and settled down for our last night in the dead zone. Monday morning we headed out early (and though it was no longer the weekend, we still didn't see anyone on the streets). The drive back across the state was pretty uneventful. We stopped at my old office on the way back through so that everyone could see Gage again. Then it was on to the house and a rest after the long weekend.
So, there you have it. The full travelogue and I'm only a little under a month behind.
Anyway, back to the rest of the trip. Sunday afternoon we once again paid the "get out of New Jersey toll" and headed back into Philly for the Baby Pens/Phantoms game. I think this might have been the first time that I was rooting for the away team. Usually I'm in my home arena (or at least my team's home arena). Once we got settled in and took a few pictures for Gage's scrapbook, we realized that the majority of the Baby Pens fans were in a section on the other side of the arena. There were a few scattered here and there, but they were concentrated down by the North end of the arena. So, not only were we in a strange arena, we were in enemy territory. That helped us learn some covert things about what the competition thinks about our team. A father and son behind us were discussing the Penguins and the Baby Penguins during warm-ups. Specifically they were discussing Marc-Andre Fleury. They were contemplating the future of the Flyers against the Pens and the outlook (according to them, I swear) is bleak. At one point the only option would be to move the Penguins out of the Flyer's division. The man complained that they spent the last 20 years dealing with Brodeur and they'll spend the next 20 dealing with Fleury. I tried to smooth things over by saying it was payback for Ron Hextall. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we always managed to beat up on Hextall.
Anyway, the Baby Pens jumped out to a quick lead and managed to hang on til the middle of the last period when the Phantoms managed to tie it up with only 30 seconds left in the third period. Everyone in the arena (including me) thought we were headed to overtime. The Baby Pens won the face-off at center ice and drove down into the Phantoms zone. With 2.4 seconds left on the clock Shane Endicott put a beautiful goal into the Phantoms net to give the Baby Pens a 4-3 win.
I know I said before we left that the outcome of the game was secondary, but that didn't stop me from screaming myself hoarse during the course of the game. Just like their NHL counterparts, the Baby Pens didn't want to give me a relaxing game either.
After the game, we managed to extricate ourselves from traffic fairly quickly and head back to Tom's place. We packed some stuff up and settled down for our last night in the dead zone. Monday morning we headed out early (and though it was no longer the weekend, we still didn't see anyone on the streets). The drive back across the state was pretty uneventful. We stopped at my old office on the way back through so that everyone could see Gage again. Then it was on to the house and a rest after the long weekend.
So, there you have it. The full travelogue and I'm only a little under a month behind.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
An open letter to Gary Bettman, Bob Goodenow, Bill Daly, Ted Saskin, the NHLPA, and the owner's association.
To whom it may concern:
February 21st was a very dark day. Although the season had officially been cancelled on the 16th, there were rumors of a covert deal that could possibly be inked. Hope soared. But as Stephen King penned, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."
The NHL cancelled the June 2005 entry draft today. Instead of the outrage I thought it would, no should, cause me, I simply felt an immense sadness. Not for the money lost. Not for the fans that will never be recovered. Not for a sport that may not recover. Not even for myself. The sadness I felt was for my son.
Gage was born on May 27th. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames played game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals that night. We watched the game in the recovery room. Game 3 was played on May 29th, the day we came home from the hospital. We watched Calgary take a 2-1 lead in the series. May 31st we watched Tampa even the series at 2-2. June 3rd we watched Calgary win a hard fought overtime game to take the lead 3-2. June 5th, back in front of the television to watch Tampa take the overtime game. That meant a Game 7. The holy grail was to be awarded on June 7th one way or the other. My wife took a picture of my 12 day old son laying in his bouncer next to me at the start of Game 7. His eyes, like mine, are focused on the television.
When October rolled around we also watched the NHL and the NHLPA start the lock-out. So, instead of celebrating my 30th birthday at the Mellon Arena watching the Penguins, we watched the news updating us on the lack of movement towards a solution.
On March 6th, we visited an old family friend near Philadelphia. He got us tickets to watch the AHL's Baby Pens take on the Phantoms. Instead of being scared at the noise and crowds, my now 9 month old son sat intently on my lap watching the players on the ice.
Last night we went to the Mellon Arena to watch the finals in the AA PIHL high school tournament. Again Gage sat intently watching the action on the ice. A woman seated behind us even commented on how he "seemed" to be watching. I almost corrected her. He doesn't just appear to watch. When we watch a game that's being replayed on TV, he is almost, if not more, intent on the game than I am. It makes me proud to instill a love of hockey in my son.
Today that pride gave way to the sadness. My son has never seen the Penguins skate live. Given the current situation combined with his age, my son may never get to see Mario Lemieux skate live. In 2000 when Mario came out of retirement he cited his own son, Austin, as one of the primary reasons. He wanted his son to see him skate and partake of the game that he loves. I wanted my son to be able to see one of the greatest players the sport has ever known.
Unfortunately, due to bad business decisions, greed, loss of focus, lack of cooperation or whatever the situation ultimately stemmed from, my son may never get that chance.
I will return as a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and by extension the NHL, but it will always be with that memory of sadness.
My friend Robyn is pregnant with her second child. She is due on September 1st. Her son Jacob is 4 years old. My favorite picture of Jacob is the one that I took of him, his father Mark, and Mario Lemieux at a Penguins/Devils game. It is my sincere hope that their second child won't know what the word lockout means.
To all involved...swallow your pride...look objectively at the situation...and put the NHL back on ice.
Sincerely,
bill
devout husband, father, and hockey fan
To whom it may concern:
February 21st was a very dark day. Although the season had officially been cancelled on the 16th, there were rumors of a covert deal that could possibly be inked. Hope soared. But as Stephen King penned, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."
The NHL cancelled the June 2005 entry draft today. Instead of the outrage I thought it would, no should, cause me, I simply felt an immense sadness. Not for the money lost. Not for the fans that will never be recovered. Not for a sport that may not recover. Not even for myself. The sadness I felt was for my son.
Gage was born on May 27th. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames played game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals that night. We watched the game in the recovery room. Game 3 was played on May 29th, the day we came home from the hospital. We watched Calgary take a 2-1 lead in the series. May 31st we watched Tampa even the series at 2-2. June 3rd we watched Calgary win a hard fought overtime game to take the lead 3-2. June 5th, back in front of the television to watch Tampa take the overtime game. That meant a Game 7. The holy grail was to be awarded on June 7th one way or the other. My wife took a picture of my 12 day old son laying in his bouncer next to me at the start of Game 7. His eyes, like mine, are focused on the television.
When October rolled around we also watched the NHL and the NHLPA start the lock-out. So, instead of celebrating my 30th birthday at the Mellon Arena watching the Penguins, we watched the news updating us on the lack of movement towards a solution.
On March 6th, we visited an old family friend near Philadelphia. He got us tickets to watch the AHL's Baby Pens take on the Phantoms. Instead of being scared at the noise and crowds, my now 9 month old son sat intently on my lap watching the players on the ice.
Last night we went to the Mellon Arena to watch the finals in the AA PIHL high school tournament. Again Gage sat intently watching the action on the ice. A woman seated behind us even commented on how he "seemed" to be watching. I almost corrected her. He doesn't just appear to watch. When we watch a game that's being replayed on TV, he is almost, if not more, intent on the game than I am. It makes me proud to instill a love of hockey in my son.
Today that pride gave way to the sadness. My son has never seen the Penguins skate live. Given the current situation combined with his age, my son may never get to see Mario Lemieux skate live. In 2000 when Mario came out of retirement he cited his own son, Austin, as one of the primary reasons. He wanted his son to see him skate and partake of the game that he loves. I wanted my son to be able to see one of the greatest players the sport has ever known.
Unfortunately, due to bad business decisions, greed, loss of focus, lack of cooperation or whatever the situation ultimately stemmed from, my son may never get that chance.
I will return as a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and by extension the NHL, but it will always be with that memory of sadness.
My friend Robyn is pregnant with her second child. She is due on September 1st. Her son Jacob is 4 years old. My favorite picture of Jacob is the one that I took of him, his father Mark, and Mario Lemieux at a Penguins/Devils game. It is my sincere hope that their second child won't know what the word lockout means.
To all involved...swallow your pride...look objectively at the situation...and put the NHL back on ice.
Sincerely,
bill
devout husband, father, and hockey fan
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
One thing I forgot to mention about the Friday night excursion is this. If you notice, this title now appears. It was on sale at the Wal-Mart. Of course, I had to leave the wrapper in the parking lot, but it now sits on the shelf next to the sequel (which I still assert that I like).
Anyway, back to the story.
The cheesesteak mob lead us to this place. Since you have to get a steak with, ordering was pretty easy. We sat down and I endured looking at the Flyer's logo hanging on the roof across the street. The sandwiches are excellent, but a little pricey for food on the street basically. I guess it's protection money. The line around the place was pretty long so the drive by shooter would have to be pretty good.
After lunch we headed further into Philadelphia to check out some touristy things. After a strip search we were allowed to actually see the liberty bell. We didn't go into Independence Hall because no one could afford a second mortgage to pay for the parking fees. We'll save that for the next trip out.
After that we headed back into NJ for dinner. We went to a Moroccan restaurant where we had some authentic middle eastern food in a restaurant not much bigger than my living room, couches included. We had some grape leaves and some good la mishway, which is basically a lamb kabob for those who are unfamiliar with that type of food. Gage managed to grab a lemon wedge from the table so we decided to put the cause and effect routine into action. He saw that we weren't going to take it from him, so he decided to put it to the taste test. Needless to say, we got a pretty big laugh out of his facial expression. It was after this that we got our first scare as parents. Gage ran off with a dancer.
Yes, that statement is correct. The restaurant has their own belly dancer (who happens to work for Tom's company). She came in halfway through our meal, breezed by our table saying hi to Tom and headed into the back to change. When she came out in a blue "I Dream of Jeannie" outfit and began dancing Gage just stared. He had been sitting quietly in a high-chair amusing himself while we finished dinner. His little jaw hung open and he leaned forward just staring at her every move. I don't even think he blinked the whole time she was dancing. Once she finished her set, she went into the back to change into a cover-up. When she came back out she stopped at our table and Tom introduced everyone. She asked to hold Gage and we asked if we could take some pictures (although I wished we would have gotten some in her costume). Then some regular restaurant customers came in and she and Gage headed over to say hi. Gage didn't even look back at us. She sat across the restaurant for about 15 minutes while we finished dinner and paid the check. We then had to head over and collect our womanizing son.
That incident provided some pretty good conversation while we drove Adam home and said goodbye.
Sunday was another lazy start for us. By lunch we decided that we should head out and eat before the game. Tom wanted to try an Italian restaurant located in a little suburb. Unfortunately that place didn't open til 3 and we were hungry. So we headed over to the Mexican place across the street. The food there was pretty good as well. Gage got to try some frozen strawberry smoothie at this restaurant. After the mexican restaurant we headed to the Cherry Hill mall to kill a little time before the hockey game. And, that's where I'll leave this segment. I'll finish up the rest of the trip tomorrow hopefully and then get back on track with the almost daily postings.
Anyway, back to the story.
The cheesesteak mob lead us to this place. Since you have to get a steak with, ordering was pretty easy. We sat down and I endured looking at the Flyer's logo hanging on the roof across the street. The sandwiches are excellent, but a little pricey for food on the street basically. I guess it's protection money. The line around the place was pretty long so the drive by shooter would have to be pretty good.
After lunch we headed further into Philadelphia to check out some touristy things. After a strip search we were allowed to actually see the liberty bell. We didn't go into Independence Hall because no one could afford a second mortgage to pay for the parking fees. We'll save that for the next trip out.
After that we headed back into NJ for dinner. We went to a Moroccan restaurant where we had some authentic middle eastern food in a restaurant not much bigger than my living room, couches included. We had some grape leaves and some good la mishway, which is basically a lamb kabob for those who are unfamiliar with that type of food. Gage managed to grab a lemon wedge from the table so we decided to put the cause and effect routine into action. He saw that we weren't going to take it from him, so he decided to put it to the taste test. Needless to say, we got a pretty big laugh out of his facial expression. It was after this that we got our first scare as parents. Gage ran off with a dancer.
Yes, that statement is correct. The restaurant has their own belly dancer (who happens to work for Tom's company). She came in halfway through our meal, breezed by our table saying hi to Tom and headed into the back to change. When she came out in a blue "I Dream of Jeannie" outfit and began dancing Gage just stared. He had been sitting quietly in a high-chair amusing himself while we finished dinner. His little jaw hung open and he leaned forward just staring at her every move. I don't even think he blinked the whole time she was dancing. Once she finished her set, she went into the back to change into a cover-up. When she came back out she stopped at our table and Tom introduced everyone. She asked to hold Gage and we asked if we could take some pictures (although I wished we would have gotten some in her costume). Then some regular restaurant customers came in and she and Gage headed over to say hi. Gage didn't even look back at us. She sat across the restaurant for about 15 minutes while we finished dinner and paid the check. We then had to head over and collect our womanizing son.
That incident provided some pretty good conversation while we drove Adam home and said goodbye.
Sunday was another lazy start for us. By lunch we decided that we should head out and eat before the game. Tom wanted to try an Italian restaurant located in a little suburb. Unfortunately that place didn't open til 3 and we were hungry. So we headed over to the Mexican place across the street. The food there was pretty good as well. Gage got to try some frozen strawberry smoothie at this restaurant. After the mexican restaurant we headed to the Cherry Hill mall to kill a little time before the hockey game. And, that's where I'll leave this segment. I'll finish up the rest of the trip tomorrow hopefully and then get back on track with the almost daily postings.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Alright, I know at least some of you have been waiting for a new post to go up. Let's see, where had I left off. When I last posted, really posted, We were ready to head off on our magical trip to another state.
We got off to a late start on that Friday, but all went well with the trip out anyway. Gage slept a good portion of the way. We stopped a little after the half-way mark to get some food. We had another quick stop to switch places and one last stop to fill up with gas. We got to Tom's place and decided to just decompress for a little while. Terri and Gage were relaxing in Tom's apartment and Tom and I went up on the roof of the apartment building to check out the views. We could see the stadium for The Riversharks, the skyline of Philadelphia and Tom's office building. Yes, only Tom would end up in an apartment building across the parking lot from his office building.
Anyway, for dinner we ended up just eating at the NJ incarnation of TGI Fridays. The parking lot was packed, but there were plenty of tables inside. After dinner we stopped by the Wal-Mart to pick up some food for Gage to last through the weekend. Apparently in New Jersey if you buy something at the Wal-Mart there's some kind of rule that if you get stopped by the random security check on the way out the door, you must discard all the packaging for your items in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
In the span of three parking spaces we saw boxes for a blender, baby stroller, and baby car seat. To top it off, on the way out of the little plaza there was an abandoned car seat. I guess once they bought the new one the old one was no longer needed.
Friday night Tom and I left Gage and Terri to sleep and headed to the lounge to attempt the game that Tom gave me for Christmas. After realizing we couldn't bypass the input on the big screen tv without a remote, we decided to play just using Tom's mini-DVD player. Of course, if we had stopped to read the box for the game we would have realized that the game took 3 or more players. So Tom just ended up losing at the 90's version of Trivial Pursuit.
On Saturday we hung out in Tom's apartment watching Gage do laps around the living room and into the hallway during the morning. Then we risked life and limb driving into Philly to meet up with Adam Davis. I thought I was going to need a flak jacket driving into Camden. Turns out after the nuclear cleansing, Camden was a veritable ghost-town. The same can't be said for Philly, though. That's where I felt like I needed a flak jacket. Or at the very least the appropriate colors. Near Adam's apartment is something called the Italian Market. Apparently the Italian Market is a stepped up version of the Strip District. Except it's ok to turn several driving lanes of traffic into a parking lot. Once we finally made it to Adam the trick was finding a safe place to take cover. Turns out we headed straight to the protection of the mob. The cheese-steak mob. More to follow...
We got off to a late start on that Friday, but all went well with the trip out anyway. Gage slept a good portion of the way. We stopped a little after the half-way mark to get some food. We had another quick stop to switch places and one last stop to fill up with gas. We got to Tom's place and decided to just decompress for a little while. Terri and Gage were relaxing in Tom's apartment and Tom and I went up on the roof of the apartment building to check out the views. We could see the stadium for The Riversharks, the skyline of Philadelphia and Tom's office building. Yes, only Tom would end up in an apartment building across the parking lot from his office building.
Anyway, for dinner we ended up just eating at the NJ incarnation of TGI Fridays. The parking lot was packed, but there were plenty of tables inside. After dinner we stopped by the Wal-Mart to pick up some food for Gage to last through the weekend. Apparently in New Jersey if you buy something at the Wal-Mart there's some kind of rule that if you get stopped by the random security check on the way out the door, you must discard all the packaging for your items in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
In the span of three parking spaces we saw boxes for a blender, baby stroller, and baby car seat. To top it off, on the way out of the little plaza there was an abandoned car seat. I guess once they bought the new one the old one was no longer needed.
Friday night Tom and I left Gage and Terri to sleep and headed to the lounge to attempt the game that Tom gave me for Christmas. After realizing we couldn't bypass the input on the big screen tv without a remote, we decided to play just using Tom's mini-DVD player. Of course, if we had stopped to read the box for the game we would have realized that the game took 3 or more players. So Tom just ended up losing at the 90's version of Trivial Pursuit.
On Saturday we hung out in Tom's apartment watching Gage do laps around the living room and into the hallway during the morning. Then we risked life and limb driving into Philly to meet up with Adam Davis. I thought I was going to need a flak jacket driving into Camden. Turns out after the nuclear cleansing, Camden was a veritable ghost-town. The same can't be said for Philly, though. That's where I felt like I needed a flak jacket. Or at the very least the appropriate colors. Near Adam's apartment is something called the Italian Market. Apparently the Italian Market is a stepped up version of the Strip District. Except it's ok to turn several driving lanes of traffic into a parking lot. Once we finally made it to Adam the trick was finding a safe place to take cover. Turns out we headed straight to the protection of the mob. The cheese-steak mob. More to follow...
Monday, March 14, 2005
I've been on the head-cold express since returning home last weekend. However, I do promise a complete travelogue as well as anecdotes featuring, as requested, Cheesesteaks, Liberty Bells, and Dancing Girl Baby Snatchers. All wonderful stories ending with an incredible hockey game (provided you weren't a Philly fan). So, all this and more coming soon...
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Well, tomorrow we're off. Hopefully Gage will do well on the car trip. I don't know if I'll make it back to posting this weekend. We'll see. I know that Tom has an internet connection, but he hasn't updated since February 23rd so I can't be sure.
The one thing I do know for sure is that I'll be seeing honest-to-God live hockey on ice in an arena the way it was meant to be seen. I'm rooting for the Baby Pens of course, but I'll be so happy just to see the hockey that who wins is secondary.
I was looking at another blog and I ended up clicking on the profile link and as I reading down through the stuff listed on the page, I began to wonder if my profile had all that stuff. Well, all of the boxes are there, I just never filled any of it out apparently. The one thing that really made me laugh was the last part. They pose a random question that you can answer. The one listed for me was, "You're trapped in a well with a goat and a slinky. Describe how you will escape." According to an article that was in our local paper a few days ago, I'd butcher the goat with the slinky, use the goat meat to trade for crack and while I'm high I'll just float out of the well. How much of that was in the article? Just the really crazy stuff. Two or three guys stole a goat, took it back to their house, butchered it, and attempted to trade it for crack. Only in small town America.
Well, that's all for now. Everyone have a good weekend.
The one thing I do know for sure is that I'll be seeing honest-to-God live hockey on ice in an arena the way it was meant to be seen. I'm rooting for the Baby Pens of course, but I'll be so happy just to see the hockey that who wins is secondary.
I was looking at another blog and I ended up clicking on the profile link and as I reading down through the stuff listed on the page, I began to wonder if my profile had all that stuff. Well, all of the boxes are there, I just never filled any of it out apparently. The one thing that really made me laugh was the last part. They pose a random question that you can answer. The one listed for me was, "You're trapped in a well with a goat and a slinky. Describe how you will escape." According to an article that was in our local paper a few days ago, I'd butcher the goat with the slinky, use the goat meat to trade for crack and while I'm high I'll just float out of the well. How much of that was in the article? Just the really crazy stuff. Two or three guys stole a goat, took it back to their house, butchered it, and attempted to trade it for crack. Only in small town America.
Well, that's all for now. Everyone have a good weekend.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Today was a very hectic day at the office. One of our more important clients was visiting for a recording session and I played go-between all day. So, all of the work that I should have gotten done in preparation for my extended weekend to visit Tom is now sitting in my work bag, which is on the floor to my left. Will I actually accomplish any of it this evening? Some, maybe. That's if I'm feeling generous. Although, I did get a free lunch today from the Cheesecake Factory. So, there's something to be said for that.
Tonight after work, we took Susie out to dinner to begin to make up for all the babysitting work she's been doing for us. Gage was actually pretty well-behaved at the restaurant. Although we almost had to cut dinner short. I saw a couple of snowflakes fall out of the sky and everyone started to panic.
Well, tonight and tomorrow will probably be abbreviated posts and who knows if I'll get a chance to post over the weekend.
Tonight after work, we took Susie out to dinner to begin to make up for all the babysitting work she's been doing for us. Gage was actually pretty well-behaved at the restaurant. Although we almost had to cut dinner short. I saw a couple of snowflakes fall out of the sky and everyone started to panic.
Well, tonight and tomorrow will probably be abbreviated posts and who knows if I'll get a chance to post over the weekend.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
I don't know which scares me more... this or this.
I think the thing that scares me the most is that I bought the latter.
This is the first year in a long time that I can remember such panic about snow. Schools posted two hour delays for Monday on the premise of what might happen. Waking up Monday morning and there was no predicted snow. So, all day Monday into Tuesday the news teams tried to downplay all the panic from the day before. Now, headed into Wednesday and they're at it again. So far within a fifty mile radius of Pittsburgh, the most snowfall I've seen online is 8". Unless there was already 8" or an underlying icy condition, 8" rarely bought us a two hour delay when I was in school. They just sent the buses out with chains. I was out this evening going to the mall to pick up a few things and get my hair cut. According to the news, I was driving at the most dangerous time that occurred today. The roads (including off-ramps, side-roads, and parking lots) were barely slushy and only slippery if you were wearing ice covered shoes. I guess I should go back to my normal routine of skipping the news altogether. Of course, that means getting up to get the remote to change the channel when the 10:00 program goes off.
And, although it's already over and done with, I wish a late Good luck to Craig who taped his Super Jeopardy appearance today. Hopefully all went well and we'll see him in the next round.
I think the thing that scares me the most is that I bought the latter.
This is the first year in a long time that I can remember such panic about snow. Schools posted two hour delays for Monday on the premise of what might happen. Waking up Monday morning and there was no predicted snow. So, all day Monday into Tuesday the news teams tried to downplay all the panic from the day before. Now, headed into Wednesday and they're at it again. So far within a fifty mile radius of Pittsburgh, the most snowfall I've seen online is 8". Unless there was already 8" or an underlying icy condition, 8" rarely bought us a two hour delay when I was in school. They just sent the buses out with chains. I was out this evening going to the mall to pick up a few things and get my hair cut. According to the news, I was driving at the most dangerous time that occurred today. The roads (including off-ramps, side-roads, and parking lots) were barely slushy and only slippery if you were wearing ice covered shoes. I guess I should go back to my normal routine of skipping the news altogether. Of course, that means getting up to get the remote to change the channel when the 10:00 program goes off.
And, although it's already over and done with, I wish a late Good luck to Craig who taped his Super Jeopardy appearance today. Hopefully all went well and we'll see him in the next round.
