Friday, December 29, 2006

A Million Little Pieces....

There is a very simple rule when it comes to getting presents for my kids. It must not be noisy, or we will keep it at your house. Over time, some amendments have had to be made (playdohs are not really recommended either. Sara was pounding it into the carpet the other day with her Whack-a-Mole hammer), and I think it is time for yet another friendly reminder. My daughters are older now and can handle smaller toys without worrying about them being choking hazards. But this rite of passage does not simply mean that they are moving from the toddler-friendly Duplo to real Legos, with smaller toys some smaller parts. Smaller parts have a ways of being everywhere, from couch cushions to pockets to (too often) the bottom of my foot (ouch!). My kids are not (like I imagine many other kids their age) exactly the neat types so five minutes of playing Battleship turns into 2 hours of getting them to take the pegs out of my shoe (ouch again!). So please, it may seem like a good idea to get the girls the Totally Real Barbie playhouse (with real toilet flushing sounds!), but 50 little pieces later, that do NOT have some storage place to return to, just will not last very long in my house. I'm as glad as anyone that Barbie has a dining room set complete with flowers in a vase, but take a good look now. I doubt that all of these pieces will remain for very long.

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BTW, thanks Jason for the present! The girls love it!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

mERry christmas

Merry Christmas, all! I hope that all seven of you that reads this blog had a good Christmas. Personally, I have decided this year that I am finally over getting too much stuff. Sure I enjoyed getting a new game to play with on my Wii (no Wii jokes today, but I foresee a Wii-ful 2007), or a good book to read (both of which I got. Thanks everyone). But I also noticed I get a lot of "stuff" that I just don't need nor particularly want cluttering my house. Probably due to the fact that my house is now smaller with new tenants squeezing in, but I am so not about random boxes of winter peppermints or cute little penguins in santa hats singing Jingle Bell all over my house. Thoughtfulness is still the most important thing to me. A little something that you actually set aside 2 minutes to think about what I would like is all I need. That even applies to gift cards. I used to think that gift cards were the height of apathy in gift giving. Today, however, I think it would be great if someone knows that I would occasionally enjoy a Coldbuster from Jamba Juice or would like to download the latest Norah Jones cd from iTunes. Now if you give me a Petsmart gift card, then please, allow me to share some snowmen marshmallow chews with you....

Incidentally, I am happy to report that Santa does indeed know where you are in case you were not home with those sugar plums dancing in head (or pink elephants, depending on how much "help" you need to get through being with your family). Britt started having some lower abdominal pains while we were at her cousin's house on Christmas Eve. She tried to tough it out but it got worse while we were back at our house for a gift exchange with just her immediate family. So we rushed through some of the present openings (no problem for my kids) and were off to the emergency room at Kaiser at around 10pm Christmas Eve. In keeping with the industry average, after an IV with some morphine, a pelvic exam, a CT scan with a delicious barium beverage, and a lot of waiting, we were out of there in six hours. There is nothing like driving around at 4am Christmas morning. A peace that is hard to find at any other time of year...especially on 23rd St. in Richmond...So that was Christmas...well, after a few hours of sleep, we retrieved the kids from my parents and the orgy of presents continued. Britt is slowly recovering. They believed it was a cyst that had ruptured. She sends her greeting...

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(She will probably be none too pleased if she knows that I posted that picture....but since it's technically a festive occasion, I might use it as our Christmas card next year....)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Too sick to play with my Wii

A trip to Stockton, some big football games to watch, a Wii to wait in line for....and I did almost none of it. I've had what was later termed, a "viral respiratory infection compounded by dehydration". I can tell you what it was to me: bad ouchies. So I watched some football in two hour increments, missed enough work to put in a day and a half work week for Thanksgiving, and have now drank enough liquids to knock down a levee or two. Missing out on that Wii though...well...

...so the day of the Wii launch comes and I was getting all caught up in the hype. I heard that a Toy's R Us in San Mateo was having a special midnight opening for the occasion so I thought that would be a good place to try and get one because:

a) the special event (only 18 Toys'R'Us in the country were doing it) maybe meant that they would have more instock then your typical Gamestop.
b) a midnight opening means not having to sit outside in the middle of the night.


The the whole "too sick to get out of bed" thing came and I was bummed. I was glad that Britt was around to take care of me, but she decided to do one better. She offered to go out and wait in line anyway so I would maybe still get one. Now I suppose having someone around to get stuff for you is nice, but really, how many of you have a significant other that is willing to wait in line out in the cold for hours so you can wave a remote around and potentially ignore her as a thank you? Well she took her brother out at around 7 or so and found a long line already there. They figured they made the trip so they would wait around. Time came to pass out the tickets and she ended up with ticket numer 111 of 150.

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I'm sure there were all sorts of fascinating stories of her being in line, meeting people, etc. But I wasn't there so I can't tell you any of them. In short, she got me Wii and the Zelda game to boot.

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I still haven't been able to play it a whole lot with Thanksgiving weekend keeping me busy, but what I have played is pretty cool. My wife have been called the coolest, and others want to know if she has a sister (she doesn't). I just know that I am lucky. And you are all welcome to come play with my Wii anytime -- when my wife isn't playing with it.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Tricking and Treating

I've came down from my sugar high to give a quick round up of Halloween at the Kwong household. Fortunately my kids are still at that age where really, I don't let them eat most of the candy they beg out of strangers on Halloween...before I shake your head at my exploitations of my flesh and blood, remember that I walked the neighborhood too! I can't help it if I am not as cute as the little lion or the sparkly Tinkerbell. Consider my cut the service fees....

I always like the houses that give something different. Besides the razor blade apples and Bibles, the girls got some pretty neat stuff. There is almost always one house that gives a matchbox car, which I am beginning to suspect is from the collector who buys cases of cars and once a year gives out the crappy ones he doesn't want. Then there was the house that gave this big fancy German chocolate bar (see? my kids would never be able to appreciate that one)....my favorite was when we were almost home and a police car pulled over and offered us candy from a bowl they had in the car (wonder if they had confiscated the candy earlier from some bad kids). My least favorite was when we were three blocks from home and the kids from one house told my kids to come in and pick some candy from their bounty strewn out on the living room floor. Who taught these kids to re-gift already? Not to mention the whole luring of young kids into their house....crazy....

I really wanted to bring the girls over to Jason's for the festive movie, but we walked around way more than I had originally planned and Hannah fell into a sugar induced coma quickly after returning home.....oh, a picture. I guess you all would rather see that...

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Maybe I should be a scalper...

Thanks to the fine folks of Oregon St., I decided to take an early look at what it would cost me for tickets to the Rose Bowl this year. It would be pretty swell to see the Blue and Gold on New Year's Day in person. The few outlets that I found where someone was selling tickets, the lowest price I saw was $498.....for one ticket. I'll let that sink in for a moment.....

So I guess I'll have to make plans for a Rose Bowl party at my house. Or know someone who knows someone who can sneak me into the halftime show or something....egads.


On a not really related ticket note, I also see that the latest Canadian children import, the Doodlebops, will be in the Bay area in February. If you don't know who they are, you probably don't have kids nor have babysat recently. I am also taking donations to pay for those tickets for my kids. If you are having trouble deciding which fund to contribute to......please, send me to LA.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

City Pride

Psh, and people shudder and make jokes when they hear that I live in Richmond. According to the latest research, we aren't even in the top 10 of the worst! Number 11, baby! Woot!

Friday, September 22, 2006

Stuff It

gross

It was bound to happen.

Really, how can you say you have raised kids unless one (or both) of them has stuffed something they shouldn't up their nose/ear? Sara has been sticking things out of her nose lately (usually her finger, which then goes in her mouth. Mmmmm...). She was playing with the pussy willow plant at my parents house when she started to complaint about her nose hurting. I thought she might have scratched her nose on the inside so I told her to stop and left it at that. The next day it occurred to Britt that whatever she was messing with might STILL be up her nose. So she took a flashlight and there it was. A quick trip to the doctor, a sturdy pair of tweezers, and out came...that thing. Sara didn't complaint. Apparently it was all lube up so it was easy to pop out.
We now return you to whatever meal that you were thinking about having. Good luck with that.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Fall Seasoning

I think I have found my new favorite tv show.

Since this is looking like the last season of Scrubs, I started to check out some new shows this season to see if my Tivo is going to get much of a workout this fall. I fell for the hype and watched Studio 60 on Sunset Strip and was really impressed. I have always been meaning to check out an Aaron Sorkin creation. I had one of the "always meant to watch it but never did" things with Sports Night and The West Wing, so if I wasn't going to get in now I won't watch this either. For those of you who have experience the Sorkin style of writing, this is like comfort food. For a novice like me, I was blown away from the quality of dialogue and just the smart wit. Now, people don't really talk like that in real life, but at the same time I like to think it encourages people to talk more intelligently. It's the witty dialogue that gets me to watch Gilmour Girls with Brittany every week. (there, I've admitted it. I watch Gilmour Girls)

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Day Time TV

I am battling an illness and spent the afternoon at home flipping through daytime television when I happened upon a show on TLC called Take Home Chef. Basically, this good looking young British chef picks someone (almost always a woman) at a grocery store, tells her that he will go home with her and cook a dinner for her and surprise her husband/boyfriend/friends.... Just what I need, some pretty boy bloak to pick up on my wife while she's trying to get some shopping done and impress her with some good cooking... I only saw two of these shows but both woman he picked were pretty much blabbering idiots around this guy even though one of them was married.... My wife has strict orders that if she is approached by a guy with an accent and a camera crew, she is to use the pepper spray....liberally.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Anyone know what Bob Saget is up to nowadays?

Has it already been six weeks since I have returned from Minnesota? I still have quality content to mine from that...but I'll save that for another time...Let's try some advanced technology and try a video clip...Now I think I can probably win $10,000 from one of those, "Country's Most Hilarious Home Video" shows, but I will share it with you for free. (Maybe if you get a chuckle out of it you can send me a dollar. It might add up)

My friends Jason and Mel got married last weekend and it went off great. A beautiful wedding followed by a big traditional Chinese banquet. Dancing followed dinner and that's where my daughters decided to show off their moves. There, clip is set up. As they say on those late night talk shows: "Roll Clip!"



Congratulations, Jason and Mel!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Take me out...to lots of baseball games

The second most important thing about coming to Minnesota was to be able to catch a lot of baseball games. For my brother in laws, this was their chance to see their beloved Twins as much as they can. But more importantly, as baseball fans in general, we are up for spending as much time as possible at the park as possible. So I included this special post for all the baseball that went on this week....

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It started simply on Tuesday night with a game with the local amateur baseball team in Prior Lake. Amateur baseball is big around here and they take it seriously. The park was beautiful for a local baseball field and the play was pretty good. It definitely gave me that "For the Love of the Game" feeling. To top it off, our presence inspired the team to their first win of the year!

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On Wednesday we decided that we could wait no more and attended the Twins-Indians matinee at the Metrodome. We were totally excited to be there and even splurged on some good seats about 20 rows behind home plate.

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The place definitely had a cavernous feeling, but I thought it was pretty cool. The air conditioning was especially welcomed on a humid day and I saw a sight I have never seen at a baseball game (having never seen a game outside of California)....a beer man! Guys walking up and down the aisles carrying heavy trays of beer and ice so you don't have to get up? It was amazing! I wanted to shake their hand, but wanted to buy what they were offering more....

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We had such a good time (a relative concept, of course. The Twins were thumped 11-0 by Vallejo native C.C. "Cheeseburger" Sabathia and the Indians) that we went back on Friday with the whole family, as well as the family with whom we have been staying with. This turned out to be even more special as they picked that night to celebrate the recent passing of Legislature to build a new ball park for the Twins. The governor was there to sign the bill, past Twins legends were on hand (my favorites - Jack Morris, Dan Gladden, Rod Carew, and in my favorite Twin of all time (no disrespect to Kirby), Harmon Killebrew), and every fan received a free hot dog and soda. Plus it was a match up of the future of baseball as Francisco Liriano of the Twins faced Felix Hernandez of the Mariners...the night pretty much went according to script, leading to a 3-1 victory for the Twinkies. Our crowd went wild with the victory....

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Perhaps the best experience of all, however, came Saturday night, as we visited the greatest spectacle of Minor League baseball -- The St. Paul Saints. The independent league with really no one to answer to carried the wacky minor league promotions torch with pride with the logo "Fun is Good."

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Where to begin the craziness? The pig mascot "Mudonna" roaming the field? The real live pig that brings the umpire new baseballs between inning named Bud Squealig? The fan harness onto a billboard in left field and told that if he caught a ball while stuck up there all game, he would win $10,000? ... No, I think it has to be the fact that we attended the game where they celebrated the 30th anniversary of The Love Boat. Pictures of the B-actors that made guest appearances on the show were plastered all over the stadium. Games in between innings (included one involving Mrs. Brittany Kwong herself) had a Love Boat flavor to it....and did I mention the giveaway? A rubber toy boat colored purple and gold, reminding us of a certain local football team and their experiences on a "Love Boat". The giveaway was worth the 4 dollars general admission itself. A whole night of entertainment as well made it one of the best time I have had at a baseball park. Go Saints!

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Hitting the Road Again....

After passing the half way point of our trip, it was on the road again for us. We started back in Albert Lea where we met with Britt's mom's uncle (help me out again...great uncle? am I close?) who has a farm outside of town. Being way out in the country was nice, especially the railroad tracks that ran directly next to their house. We had to have a quick Stand by Me moment....

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We then went back into town and meet with an old friend of Britt's dad. They were a great family and we spent the whole evening sharing stories over pizza. Even with some passing showers earlier in the day, the kids could not resist playing on the trampoline in the backyard (also extremely common in people's yards here, along with that swing set)

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After a quick stop at Dairy Queen, it was time to head back to Prior Lake. We got in pretty late, but we had another full day ahead of us, so we got up reasonably early and was at it again. Friday was a visit to where Britt spent the most time before moving out to California. We drove around to see their old house, as well as the houses of people they knew. Then a stop with some more old friend of her dad's and then it was onto Wisconsin, where some dear friends of Britt's family has a farm. Britt has been wanting me to meet them ever since I've known her and now I can see why. They are great people with the best sense of humor and just fun to hang around. They raise these Scottish Highland cattle that has long hair and looks pretty weird....

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They also raised sheep (who really needed some shearing since it was another hot day out) and some chickens, so the kids had a blast seeing all of the animals.

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Ah heck, some of us big people thought it was cool too....

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We had a bbq lunch (hamburgers from the above cattle, I might add) and it was too soon time to go. This was one stop that I was sad to leave so soon. It would have been fun to hang around a bit longer. We had to rush back to the Minneapolis to make the baseball game though, which brings me to the next post....

Towns visited: Albert Lea, MN (again), Hastings, MN, Elmwood, WI

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Mid-week bonanza

The past two days has slowed down a bit and we have had a chance to relax and catch up on some rest. We even made a second trip to the MOA to make sure we saw all of the Twins and Gophers memorabilia. Tuesday mornings are slow there, as all the employees were just standing around socializing....

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Anyways, we were only there for about an hour and ended up meeting up Britt's cousin for lunch at Clearly Lake Park. It was a nice place with a playground and (what else?) a lake. The kids couldn't resist and decided to get their feet wet at the "beach" (if there is sand, it's a beach....I guess)

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As you can see, we weren't getting into trouble at all.....

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They were playing fine when a funny thing happened: a photographer with the local picture came by and asked to take pictures of the kids for a story they were writing about people living happily in the suburbs. So sure enough, the next day, a picture not so different than the one above, appeared on the front page of the local section of the paper. I have several copies, and will have to scan in one to show you, as internet versions of newspapers never include the pictures. Incidentally, according to the paper, we are from Redmond, CA. Maybe the editors realized that an article about nice living in the suburbs shouldn't be associated with the Murder capital of the west....

Some other odds and ends:

- You remember in Dumb and Dumber that part where they pee in a bottle in the car? Well the Dumb and Dumber I'm riding with have took it to another level and started a booger bottle.... no pictures will be included.....ever.

- I didn't get to mention that when we were in Marshall, we also visited Britt's dad's granny (which would make her my daughters great great grandmother). She's 95 and has Alzheimer's but she is still energetic and bright. She lived in the "dementia ward" of a convalescent home, which was locked from the rest of the place and it was a little sad seeing all of the people living there. When all 12 of us who were visiting were being left out, one of the seniors living there tried to blend in and walk out with us. It was really funny...and sad....at the same time.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Shop 'til you Puke

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While I came to Minnesota to meet family, it was also time to have some touristy fun. Really, you can't be any more touristy while in the Twin Cities than visiting the Mall of America. I, like many people back home, generally hate malls. The MOA (to use local vernacular) is really just a big, industrial mall. All of your mall staples are represented (some more than once. More on that later), there just happens to be this big amusement park in the middle that greets you as you walk in.

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But back to the stores for a moment...If anyone ever wonders if there is such a thing a TOO big of a mall, the answer is most certainly, yes. When your mall is so big that you have to put the same store not once, note twice, but three times in different areas, you have too much room. I'm not talking about Starbucks either (I actually only saw one of those), there are 4 Lids stores in the mall. Why do you need the same hat store 4 times??? Then there are MOA gift stores all over the place too, also cheating. Throw in a few Cinnabons, I figure there are probably only about 12 stores in the whole place...give or take 50 or so.

We didn't really have time to do a lot of shopping. We hit a lot of sporting goods stores so that my brother-in-laws can stock up on Twins and Gopher merchandises. I got a few Gophers stuff too but will probably wait until I get to the Twins game to get me a hat or something. Plus riding the rides take up most of your time. The girls had a blast and wanted to go on everything. Now that Hannah is tall enough for more adult rides she went on her first roller coaster. Britt and I were nervous but it turned out that the roller coaster there was probably perfect for a first timer. Just intense enough for a good time. Sara played the younger sibling perfectly and cried a lot because she wasn't tall enough for many of the rides. The ones she did get on, she had a blast....

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One last cool thing...the mall was built on the site of the old Metropolitan stadium where the Twins used to play before the beloved Metrodome was erected (heh heh, he said erect...). They left two pieces of the old stadium as part of the mall, including home plate....for Twins diehards like my in-laws, this was like a pilgrimage to Mecca. For Britt and I, we just get a chance for more goofy pictures.....

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Cities visited: Mall of America, MN (it's big enough to be its own city...ok, technically it's in Bloomington, MN)

Monday, May 22, 2006

On the road again....and again...and again...

So I would have updated sooner, but the internet access that I am stealing is a little shaky, especially during the hours when I think the neighbors is using their connection (of course they can say the same..."Why is Internet so slow lately?"). That and the fact that I've basically spend the last two days permanently imprinting my ass on the backseat of the rental car. Two things that I have learned about life in Minnesota:

- If you don't like the weather, wait a 10 minutes and it will change.

- Anywhere you go is pretty much a 2 hour car ride.

The last rule, stems a bit from the fact that I am on the Friesen reality tour this week, they have just lived in so many parts of the state. Driving through Minnesota isn't so foreign compared to home. The flatness is smartly hidden behind unnecessary curves in the road (everything is flat, what are we meandering around?) and a LOT of trees. Combine with the farmlands, it isn't so different than driving through the Central Valley in California, or even going through Davis....for 4 hours. The sky seems bigger though, making the it seem more vast. Maybe it's like the Truman show and they just built me a new set in a bigger studio while I was on the fake "plane".

In any case, I ended up in some pretty small towns in the middle of nowhere. In fact, we attended a 50th wedding anniversary of Britt's grandmother's sister (what does that make her to us? I have no idea...) at the smallest, oldest church that I think I have ever attended. And as promised, visual aids.....

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And the middle of nowhere part, as demonstrated by my lovely wife standing on the street right out front....

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Small town charm, you gotta love it....

Towns visited: Marshall, MN; Clarkfield, MN

Friday, May 19, 2006

Welcome to Minnesota!

So after the reddest of eye flights this morning (still looking for the answer to the proverbial question, "Is it a red-eye flight if your eyes are red BEFORE you board?") We touched down at Herbery Humphrey Aiport at 5:45 am local time. So starts my trip with Britt's family back home to Minnesota. We come with somewhat somber hearts, as the biggest reason was to bring Britt's mom's ashes back to be buried with her family, but we are looking at the bright side and are thankful to her for her last gift to us and allowing us to all be back here. There are supposedly a lot of people that I am to meet over the next ten days (who am I kidding? it's the girls that are the star attraction with these people), so I really better take a nap straighten out my body clock. Some first impressions though....

- Flying in a dawn allowed for some wonderful views of the area....Land of 10,000 lakes indeed. I thought it was a bunch of puddles down there. And I think I've seen my last "hill" for a while. I'm exploring the rumor that early Minnesota settlers were spaniards who were looking for comfort after Columbus came back. (I know, it's a reach at humor. Just stick with it and you'll chuckle a week from now).

- For those of you at home. Gas price if $2.89 or so around here. I'll try and send some back for you guys.

- We are staying with Britt's cousin in Prior Lake just out side of Minneapolis. Britt and I are having a hard time adjusting to the suburban life in the midwest. Kids walk to the park without adult supervision. They walk in the middle of the street because cars actually watch out for people. Unless you have a dog, no one's house has a fence and you basically have one big comuunal backyard. It's like walking into the Twilight Zone Housing Association. We'll see if I can make Britt into a Stepford Wife....

-And finally, thanks to whoever neighbor here has the unsecure wireless access. I really appreciate you letting me "borrow" some bandwidth this week....

I'll try and keep this going throughout the week. I need a nap or something. Visual aids will be incorporated as well...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Can you hear me now?

In today's high tech world, we can communicate with each other like never before. We all have cell phones, e-mails, blackberries to check our e-mails, and even silly little blogs like this one, just to make us feel like someone is listening to our mundane thoughts. We must value this basic need because people get really angry when our precious lines of communication gets cut off. Have the Internet connection at your house ever gone out? You feel like you might as well have been in an air raid during World War II. The isolation you felt because you can't get to that spam sitting in your inbox driving you nuts.

I think the fact that technology is not 100% reliable just makes just more angry with each other. I mean, you can never really get mad at a machine and feel satisfied, so you transfer that anger to the next available person...You ever talk to someone on the cell phone, and they start breaking up and they can't understand you? You know it's not their fault that you can't hear them, but you grow more and more frustrated that you have to repeat yourself, and you start yelling at the person, like loud volume is what's going to clear up the cellular transmission. Then you start fighting with the person about how Molly Ringwald WASN'T in St. Elmo's Fire and friendships gets destroyed, countries start to bicker, war breaks out....maybe Bin Laden just wants to get out of his cave to see if he has any new messages on Myspace.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Say ahhhh....

I've been going to the dentist a lot lately to correct a lot of problems with my teeth from years of general neglect. I'm not going to lie, there really isn't anything pleasant about going to the dentist. It's not pleasant having to go pretty much every three weeks for the past 3 months. It's not pleasant that I am getting my teeth drilled at 7 AM so I can make it to work at a decent hour. It's not pleasant that I use up my dental insurance for the year before Easter, and still get a bill for 250 dollars. I'm almost used to it though. It's almost like going to work now. I'm never on time, I keep up with the personal lives of everyone that works there, and I am in pain the whole time. Today's "last" cavity drilling was actually worse....

I walked into the office and was greeted by not one but two dental assistants. It seems that there is a new assistant working there and she is training with the usual assistant. Yikes, I thought, this can not be good for me.

I know it's a very assisting thing to do, but why do they get to handle the LONG narrow suction tube? I know I have a sensitive gag reflex but how is keeping my tonsil dry helping with my teeth? My dentist was getting pissed because my tongue kept getting in his way. Well tell Miss Carnival Side Show I am not the sword swallowing guy!! Then she topped it by doing the thing I hate of using that death wand to pinch my lips on my teeth. (Anyone know what I am talking about? They rest the suction thing by the corner of the your mouth but pinch your lips on your teeth while you mouth is open? Anyone?)

I know people can go to beauty school to get free hair cuts from students. Is there some back alley dentist that these people can start off at before they are allowed to brutalize my mouth for 90 minutes? Does anything else think this might be a good idea?

Greatest part of all is that I am done with my cavities and bi-weekly visits to the dentist...just in time for my regular hygiene appointment next month....I hope my dentist appreciates the new boat that I am financing for him....

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Spring already?

Like a grumpy bear, I come out of my winter hibernation to update you on things going on. What was so great that it brings me out of hiding, Jack Bauer style, you ask? A little tirade about a little gift called a parking ticket.

Britt went down to Southern California for the weekend to accompany her brother for an audition to possibly attend Long Beach state and visit some relative. Like a good husband, I not only pulled kids duty all weekend, but I also took Monday off because Britt got home at like 3 in the morning Sunday night. So here I was, Monday morning, dropped off Hannah at school, watched the Doodlebops with Sara, read the paper, when I went out to retrieve the trash and recycling bin. And what awaited me when I walked outside? That little slip of paper flapping in the windshield of my car.

I didn't even know there WAS street cleaning on my street, let alone when they are. I looked up and down the street for a sign and found that the nearing sign is three houses away -- in each direction. That's right, I live exactly in the middle of two signs. I didn't even know they were there. (Incidentally, I still don't know when street cleaning day is. It was too far to walk either direction) So the ONE day I stay home was probably the only day of the month that I can't park in front of my own house....Nothing spoils a day off from work than the thought that the first hour or two of work the next day is being spent paying off the stupid parking ticket you got the day before. I'm such a loser....

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Surfing the Dial....

I've been a cubicle monkey for a little more than a year now, and even though I still appreciate my quiet desk as oppose to the stupid people known as the general public, sometimes I still have to find some way to help time move along. My co-worker has an XM player that he lets me tap into with a headphone splitter and we go through the various stations looking for new stuff to listen to. Today, we listened to the first round of the Buick Invitational...yes that's right, I listened to golf on the radio. You know, it's worse than you think. I imagined golf on tv, but without the pictures... I don't even get that. Bunch of guys talking golf, the leaderboard every 10 minutes, and occasionally a guy on the course telling you Mickelson just pulled one into the rough. At least the leaderboard updates let me keep up with my fantasy golf team...yes, I play fantasy golf...but that's another post.....

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

A Mind like a Dali Painting....

Sorry about the lack of post lately. I've been having a lot of Memento moments lately. I would think of something kind of interesting to blog about, but when I sit down at the computer, I wouldn't be able to remember it. (wait, since I already forgot about them, edit the previous part to say, "the most intelligent, profound thoughts to share for the betterment of the world")

If you do not hear from me again though, blame this site I ran across as the last straw to my head exploding....I don't know what it worse, the content or the Ditka endorsement.... I guess we all have rent to pay....

Monday, January 02, 2006

Christmas Bounty II

The other great present I got (I actually got some really nice presents this year) was a new shower head. It's nothing fancy, but what it did for us was to get us to take the showerhead we have now and seeing why we get such crappy water pressure in there. (Britt likes to compare it to having someone spit on you while you soap) So new showerhead was install WITHOUT the low flow regulator (whoever invented that thing needs to be shot....or spat on while soaping) and the first morning I used it, I almost fell over from the new found water pressure. Now if only we can raise that showerhead up a foot (our house was apparently previously inhabited by Oompa Loompas)....