New Baby Alert!

My friends Joey & Lisa just welcomed home a new baby boy. He's so adorable. And strangely enough, everytime I look at him I think he looks exactly like my friend Charlie. But don't worry, Charlie and Lisa don't know each other at all so there's nothing fishy going on. Just so happens that Charlie looks like a chubby-cheeked baby.

P.S. - Isn't his little outfit dangerously cute? He even has little baseball shoes on. I could just eat him up.

I'm Doing The Happy Dance !!

But only for a few minutes. See, I am finally getting a chance to change shifts at work. But, my new shift is almost as crappy as my old one. So, I'm only slightly happy. My current shift has me working overnight from 09:30pm - 08:00am on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I obviously don't get any weekend nights to go hang out. But, I do have time to go running around during the day constantly. And I have Sunday off which means I get to go to Sunday Dinner at Grandma's house which we have all been attending for YEARS! Sunday Dinner is THE BOMB! My g'ma makes the best desserts. And the best mashed potatoes. And a pretty mean meatloaf. I just love Sunday Dinner.

But my new shift will be Sunday 07:00am - 05:30pm, and then on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 10:30am - 09:00pm. So, as you can see - NO MORE SUNDAY DINNERS! That sucks. Really. Muchly. Sucks.

But, I have spent 15 months having to leave everything at 08:00pm so I can go get ready and leave for work. I have not seen a movie in so long, I don't even remember what the last one was. I have had to leave my friends at bar-b-ques right as they're getting ready to turn up the radio and crack open a beer. No drinking for me. I have to go to work. Blah! Working the weekends has sucked ass. So, I decided to make the switch when they offered it.

Because when your days off are Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the rest of the working world doesn't care that you want to go to the movies or go out and have drinks. They all have to get their kids home, get in bed and be prepared to be at work in the morning. So, I'm really gonna miss Sunday Dinner. And on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday I won't have anytime in the morning or the evening (those hours suck). But, I got my weekends back! Well, as soon as they get someone hired and completely trained to take my spot. But, 10 weeks from now or so - I got my weekends back!

No Thank You!

I think I'll just stick to the old-fashioned way:

Doctors Try New Surgery for Gallbladder Removal

By DENISE GRADY
Published: April 20, 2007

"Doctors in New York have removed a woman’s gallbladder with instruments passed through her vagina, a technique they hope will cause less pain and scarring than the usual operation, and allow a quicker recovery. The technique can eliminate the need to cut through abdominal muscles, a major source of pain after surgery."

Rest of story HERE from the NY Times.

How To Get To Paris, France

According to Google Maps, if you want to get to Paris, France from New York City it's pretty simple. Just follow the directions below. Although you may want to carefully read # 23 before you pack your bags.

1. Head southwest on Broadway toward Warren St 0.2 mi 1 min
2. Turn left at Park Row 0.1 mi 1 min
3. Slight right at Frankfort St 0.3 mi 1 min
4. Turn left at Pearl St 56 ft
5. Turn right onto the F.D.R. Dr N ramp 0.4 mi 1 min
6. Merge onto FDR Dr N 7.7 mi 12 mins
7. Take exit 17 on the left for Triboro Bridge/Grand Central Pkwy toward I-278/Bruckner Expy 0.4 mi 2 mins
8. Merge onto Triborough Bridge Partial toll road 0.4 mi 1 min
9. Merge onto I-278 E via the ramp to I-87 N/Bronx/Upstate N Y/New England 0.6 mi 1 min
10. Take exit 47 to merge onto Bruckner Expy/I-278 E toward New Haven 1.9 mi 2 mins
11. Take the I-278 E exit toward New Haven 0.3 mi
12. Merge onto Bruckner Expy 5.0 mi 6 mins
13. Continue on I-95 N Partial toll road Entering Connecticut 62.1 mi 1 hour 12 mins
14. Take exit 48 on the left to merge onto I-91 N toward Hartford 36.8 mi 37 mins
15. Take exit 29 for US-5 N/CT-15 toward I-84/E Hartford/Boston 0.4 mi
16. Merge onto CT-15 N 1.7 mi 2 mins
17. Merge onto I-84 E Partial toll road Entering Massachusetts 40.7 mi 38 mins
18. Take the exit onto I-90 E/Mass Pike/Massachusetts Turnpike toward N.H.-Maine/Boston Partial toll road 56.0 mi 56 mins
19. Take exit 24 A-B-C on the left toward I-93 N/Concord NH/S Station/I-93 S/Quincy 0.4 mi 1 min
20. Merge onto Atlantic Ave 0.8 mi 3 mins
21. Turn right at Central St 0.1 mi
22. Turn right at Long Wharf 0.1 mi
23. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 3,462 mi - 29 days 0 hours
24. Slight right at E05 0.5 mi 2 mins
25. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto E05/Pont Vauban 0.1 mi
26. Turn right at E05 Partial toll road 17.3 mi 22 mins
27. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto A131/E05 heading to A131/Rouen/Paris/Evreux Partial toll road 9.1 mi 8 mins
28. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie Partial toll road 20.3 mi 17 mins
29. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie Partial toll road 56.5 mi 47 mins
30. Take the exit on the left onto A14 toward Nanterre/La Défense Partial toll road 12.5 mi 16 mins
31. Slight right at N13 1.4 mi 3 mins
32. Turn right at Avenue de Neuilly/N13 269 ft
33. At the traffic circle, take the 4th exit onto Avenue de la Grande Armée 0.7 mi 3 mins
34. At Place Charles de Gaulle, take the 5th exit onto Avenue des Champs-Elysées 1.3 mi 3 mins
35. Slight right at Voie Georges Pompidou 1.4 mi 3 mins
36. Slight left to stay on Voie Georges Pompidou 440 ft
37. Slight right at Quai de la Mégisserie 377 ft
38. Continue on Quai de Gesvres 0.2 mi 1 min
39. Turn left at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville 194 ft

This post brought to you courtesy of Bate's Klog which is where I stole it from.

Wacky Weather

It's Official! Springfield, MO has the most varied weather in the United States. And here's a map to prove it. (white representing the area with the most variety)


Check out the rankings of how cities measure up weather-wise on this page to see that "we're number 1" (and that's not a good thing).

Hillary Rodham Clinton - Picture from College

I'm not sure what I like more - the pants or the sandals?

Mute Math - Typical

The band, Mute Math, spent weeks learning to play and sing this song backwards before shooting this video. Once they had it down, the cameras never stopped rolling. The entire video was shot in one take, then reversed. It's AWESOME!



Mute Math, as a band, hails from New Orleans. But take the time to learn a little more about the members and you will find that the drummer, Darren King, is a native Springfieldian. That's right - the way this band is gaining popularity, Springfield, MO is going to have yet another claim to fame.

Meth Moths?

Student wins science fair award with new meth-finding tool
by Chad Plein, KY3 News

KAISER, Mo. -- A high school senior has piqued the curiosity of law enforcement officers by showing them a new tool in the war against illegal methamphetamines. The discovery came out of Lei’La’ Bryant’s science fair project and law enforcement officers say it works.

Bryant says, when looking for a project for the state science symposium, she started thinking about students and infants who she's seen affected by meth. Her project, How to Find Meth Labs, won a best-in-the-state award.

“I wanted to do something to change things,” said Bryant.

The evils of meth concerned Bryant so much that she hatched a plan to help law enforcement.

“It’s innovative to take something small and lead to chemicals,” said Camden County Sheriff John Page.

“Meth in Missouri has its own world ranking,” said Bryant.

Seven meth busts in her neighborhood over the last two years bugged Bryant. She had to find an answer.

“Yeah, I train moths,” she said.

That’s right: moths. The experiment is based on Pavlov's dog. She exposed moths to a meth chemical shortly before feeding them.

Rest of story HERE

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Nov. 11, 1922 - April 11, 2007

Kurt Vonnegut was not an author that was beloved by all. Most of his works were considered controversial and hard to follow. In fact, I only read "SlaughterHouse-Five" because I wanted to see what the big deal was with it. And after I read it, I liked it despite the obvious reasons most people don't.

My first experience with Mr. Vonnegut's writings was back in either junior high or high school (I can't remember which because it was so long ago)when our reading book included his short story "Harrison Bergeron". I knew then I liked the guy because that was such a great story. Unfortunately, the 2 works I mentioned here are the only things I've ever read of his. Maybe now I should find time to read some more of Vonnegut's works. I hear "Cat's Cradle" is a good one.

Random Thoughts For The Day

Thank God, the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals finally won a game this season.

I probably should have slept sometime between getting off work @ 7:00 am this morning and being back at work @ 09:30 pm today. I'm starting to feel a liiiitttle bit tired.

Cadbury eggs are the bomb!

Josh and I had a good day reliving our favorite songs from 80's hair bands.

Today, I got to eat some of grandma's world-famous sugar cookies that she is making for Easter. I got to sneak some 2 days early because I'm her favorite. Nananana booboo.

Okay, Josh got some cookies today too. And so did Sabrina. And so did the kids. But, she wanted me to get the first ones. I'm sure of it.

I'm going to Disney World baby!

I drank 1 wine cooler 3 1/2 hours before coming to work - don't tell my boss.

Have I mentioned that I'm tired?

Happy Hoppy Bunny Weekend!!!!

Daycare Easter Party

My little cousin, Keaton and Bobbie's neice, Lexi both attend the same daycare and today was the day they did their Easter Party. Bobbie and I were both available, so we went over to witness the little kids have their fun. They both got quite a few eggs and Lexi even found one of the special prize eggs *cough* Cordell accidentally helped her *cough*. I didn't get as many good pictures as I wanted because they were both running very quickly in random directions, and as soon as they stopped all 600 kids that were there piled in on top of each other and began dissecting eggs in search of candy. But here is one of each of them during the thrill of the hunt.

Random Picture

I love photography, but I have a 6.0 mp Nikon Coolpix L1 instead of a digital SLR so a lot of times my pictures are simply snapshots. But that doesn't stop me from one day dreaming of owning a Nikon D70 and it also doesn't stop me from trying to take fancy little artsy pictures with my simple little camera.

As a result, I end up with hundreds of pictures a week that I don't want to delete or store, but I digress. I also occasionally end up with a decent shot.

Here's one I took Saturday morning as I was leaving work and heading out to the parking lot. This is a shot of the new construction at St. John's Hospital. The weather was kind of cloudy and stormy, but there was still a hint of possible spring sunshine in the air and I just loved the way the newly installed glass panels were reflecting the sky.

Now It's Officially Spring

Do you know why it is suddenly official that spring is here? It's because last night I attended my first "hot dog-roasting" bonfire of the year. Yeah! We even had smores! Now my warm-weather hyperness has kicked into full swing.

We went to Chris' house where he and his friend Grisham built us a small fire:




The fire was awesome, but was not quite suited for roasting hot dogs - you couldn't get too close without your face melting off:



But, we finally managed to burn a few beyond repair and enjoy some good food and company:




After sunset, the fire was perfect for keeping us warm:




All in all, it was a beautiful spring night. Great times, great friends, and I guess I better say great family or else several of them might be offended.

Pink Floyd & The Wizard Of Oz

Some of you have probably heard of this, some of you have probably not. But I've done it and I must say it is FREAKY!

Of course I'm referring to the fact that the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side Of The Moon" playing on repeat will sync up with the action and emotions on the film The Wizard Of Oz. In fact, the CD will play 2 1/2 times, which means certain songs are actually heard 3 times. And all 3 times either the lyrics or the music will sync up to what is happening on the movie in some way.

Whether or not this was planned by Pink Floyd, I don't know. I can easily doubt it because of the fact that it would just take way too long and there's no real reason for it. Not to mention at the time the album was made there weren't any CD's or CD players with repeat buttons. You would have had to use a vinyl record, which would have songs on both sides and there's no way someone could flip over the record that many times and keep up with the sync.

But it is such a strange coincidence it's hard to imagine it being accidental. Anyway, Rolling Stone has posted a few small clips showing some of the syncs between the songs and the film. They posted a few good ones, but there are some that are even better. And in the last clip they posted involving the tin man, you can't really hear that at the very end when Dorothy and Scarecrow are listening to the Tin Man talk about wanting a heart, the song fades out into a heartbeat. But, here's the link to the clips.

Shrine Mosque

This post is to remind me I may be interested in:
Switchfoot
Monday April16,2007
Date Monday April 16,2007
Ticket Price $25.00
Doors 7:00 PM
Show Time Opener 8:00 PM
Seating All General Admission

And to inform Bobbie of this:
TNA WRESTLING
Date FRIDAY APRIL 13,2007
Ticket Price FLOOR FRONT ROW RINGSIDE $50.00
BALANCE OF FLOOR $30.00

Appearing live and in person will be Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, Abyss, “The War Machine” Rhino, “The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles, Voodoo Kin Mafia, “Cowboy” James Storm, “Wildcat” Chris Harris, Miss Jackie, Gail Kim, The Naturals, Alex Shelley, “Showtime” Eric Young, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Senshi and more!

Check It Out!

Can you guess what is in the picture? It's a robot built out of lego bricks. That's cool, right?

Can you guess what it is doing? It is holding a Wii remote. And it just bowled a perfect game of Wii Bowling. Check out the story and video HERE.

A Return To Normal

Well, it appears I have been given my third chance. Life has returned to mostly normal (minus my negative attitude). I don't really know much more than that at this point because there have been no "in-depth" discussions of exactly what Z's current feelings are. And that may just be something that never happens, I'm not going to push any issues. Instead I will concentrate on being a better me and let everything else fall in line.

To those of you who were concerned, I appreciate it. To those of you who were bored and/or annoyed by my whining - tough cookies. LOL!

Hindsight 20/20

My last breath is fading fast and I can barely see any light above the water. My lungs are burning and I really don't think I'm going to make it. Interestingly enough, the further down I go the clearer my vision has become of exactly how I got into this position.

Now, I don't want to concern anyone. All of these drowning metaphors are referring to a specific part of my life involving a specific relationship to the best person I've ever been priviledged to know. You remember "Z" from the last post. That's the person. But, I don't want anyone who reads this to think I'm in any danger on a physical level. If I can't recover from this then life will suck and I will carry the guilt and hurt with me forever. But, I will carry on. So don't let these posts scare you.

As I was saying, I've finally discovered what is meant by the phrase "hindsight is 20/20". For the past 3 months, as things have been going bad, I knew my behavior was causing problems, but I honestly thought my behavior was a reaction to things that were happening to me. And I knew that other people aside from Z were aware my attitude was going downhill, but I honestly never knew that it was actually affecting their feelings and opinions of me. Now that it's probably the end, I can see where me thinking it was about 80% my fault and 20% Z's fault was not quite accurate. For the past 3 days every different angle I look back at shows up as 100% my fault. I wish I had known that sooner, I would have stopped it before I got here.

I don't know what to do now. How can you convince someone that you've absolutely learned everything you needed to learn and that even though you blew your second chance you can gaurantee it will never happen again? Most people don't even get second chances, so why in the hell would I deserve a third? I don't. I don't deserve a third chance. Apparently I didn't deserve the second chance, because I blew it. But I know I want to continue my relationship with Z more than I want anything else.

And I'm not just saying that because I feel guilty for what I've done to her(yes, Z switched genders - got to keep you guessing). Obviously I do feel guilty. But I can honestly say I want to continue my friendship with Z more than I want anything else because it's the absolute truth. I've done nothing for the past 3 days but think about what I did, what I want, what she deserves, how it happened, etc. I can't sleep because my brain won't shut down. I can't eat because I'm sick with grief over the fact that I just killed a friendship and hurt Z's heart.

I know what I did wrong. I know that I was the only person who did anything wrong. I know I did this to myself. I know I don't deserve her friendship. I honestly believe the horrible thing I did to get me to this point was caused by some divine intervention just to get me to this point so I would finally freaking get it. And I do get it, but it may have cost me more than I ever wanted to pay. I don't know what to do. I don't want this to happen. But it's not up to me anymore. I don't deserve to be included in the decision about our friendship, because I'm the one who tore it apart. I don't know what to do. The worst part is that this all started because I hate my work schedule and I let myself become jealous of Z's freedom. Why? What made me think it would be okay to take my frustrations out on her? There was no reason why being frustrated at work should lead me to losing Z. Especially since I haven't changed anything at work, I still work the same stupid shift that I hate. My shift is beyond my control unless I quit jobs. But, I'm not even upset about my shift anymore. That quickly paled in comparison to the mess I've gotten myself into. If I could go back in time, I would thank my friends every day for working around my stupid schedule and fitting me in to their lives during my time off instead of being jealous of the time off they had together.

Again, I know what I did wrong. I know that I was the only person who did anything wrong. I know I did this to myself. And I don't know what to do now. I mean, at the time I guess I thought we were strong enough to handle it and she would realize that the problem was about work and wasn't actually about her. But why should she have realized that, I was making it about her. I understand she did not deserve to face constant negativity from me, especially at a time in her life when she's got so many positive things happening to her. I don't know how it happened. But I know how to keep it from ever happening again, if I get the chance. But, I don't think I'm going to. And that's my fault.

Update On Me:

For those of you who read my recent posts about treading water and Gray's Anatomy I thought I would provide an update for you.

When I last discussed how things were going for me I talked about making the decision to get out of the water before I drowned. And I did. Unfortunately, I had been dry about 2 1/2 weeks when I stumbled and my feet got wet. I managed to stay there for a few days, then yesterday I fell over and went completely under. Now I am not even treading water, I'm drowning. On my last breath. My only hope is that the person closest to me holds out a hand and lets me try to climb back out. And I'm really not sure if that person is going to hold out a hand. Let's call this person "Z". Now, Z is tired and has sore hands thanks to all the times I bumped into him and clawed at him while I was treading water. And if Z does decide to hold out a hand and let me climb out, should I stay on the beach with the rest of the party and risk drowning again? Or should I leave the beach and find a totally new place to party with totally new people?

I know what I want to do. I want to stay on the beach and party with my people. I know that if I make it out of the water this time I will never let myself get too close to the edge again. But, since I have fallen in twice will anyone believe me that it won't happen again? Why should they? I haven't proved that I can be trusted not to teeter over the edge. I've got 2 strikes against me. And they have both occurred in only the last 3 months.

I don't want to find a new party, but I can't help but wonder if that wouldn't be the best thing for the party on the beach. I want those people to enjoy their party. I care about them all so much. I don't want to dampen their fun by making them worry that if they accidentally create a breeze playing frisbee it will knock me backwards into the water. I want them to be able to do what they want/need to do to have the most fun they can have.

I'm torn. I'm hoping that the person closest to me holds out a hand AND asks me to rejoin the party. But should I accept because that's what I want or should I decline because in the long run Z would be happier without me at the party? I know I can rejoin and pull it off and prove myself. But, with my prior track record why in the hell would Z think I can do it? So, would Z be relaxed and party like normal, or would Z be constantly looking over his shoulder wondering what I'm doing and thinking about how I wounded him the first 2 times I was drowning. It doesn't matter how much I believe that I won't do it again, he has to believe it or he won't be happy. It's a tough decision. I want to be happy and party, but I know I won't be happy if I think someone is unhappy because of me.

I've been at this party for 7 years, I don't know how I can leave it. But, I may have to. If I even get pulled from the water.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well, as usual the St. Patrick's Day Parade was cold and windy. But, as usual, it was also a total blast. This is either my 3rd or 4th year attending and I am never disappointed (except for the weather - can't we start doing this parade in May?). I called my mother and had her drag my neice Jessica and my nephew Charlie up here with her to stand outside and freeze alongside me. Their cousin Cassandra joined them.

After the parade, we went and chowed down on some Long John Silver's and then I took them for a drive around town since they don't get up here much. I showed them Pythian Castle, then went down to Sequiota Park and let them crawl around the caves. They thought the caves were awesome and now they are all highly impressed with how cool Springfield is. While at Sequiota, I somehow managed to reluctantly get interviewed by KSPR 33. They were doing a news story on what the ice storm damage will mean to the park system.

So if you watched the 10:00pm news tonight on channel 33, then you probably saw me. I feel bad that I didn't ask the reporter's name, but anyway she finally talked me into it by promising I would only be on camera for like 8 seconds. Then when I said yes I swear they filmed me for 4 minutes and asked multiple questions. So, I'm scared to see what they showed. Luckily, since I only moved here last year and I work alone at night, I hardly know anyone and I doubt anyone I do know caught the story. I didn't even get to see it because I came to work before it aired. I did, however, record it and will be checking it out in the morning to see how awful it is.

THE BEST PICTURE EVER !!!

Over the weekend, my cousin Sabrina & her kids, my Aunt Paula, my best friend Bobbie and her son and myself spent the night at the Grand Country Inn in Branson. We had a great time playing at Splash Country Indoors. But the best part of the weekend was the fact that I took the funniest picture ever of my cousin Sabrina.

Here's the setup: she had just gotten off of the big waterslide so she was completely dripping with water and she was talking to her young son Austin trying to get him excited about the slide. I'm just glad I was in her face with my camera.
Below the awesome pic of her are a few various other pics of our weekend.

Sabrina



(from left to right) Aunt Paula, Sabrina and Bobbie as the big bucket dumps and water rushes towards them......they did not give me permission to post any pics of them in their swimsuits, so I drew them a beach towel to share.




And here's Sabrina at the end of the waterslide

Stuff I Haven't Mentioned Yet...

Here's a list of some of the things that have happened recently which I did not have time to post about yet:

For the first time ever I saw a truck that was actually hauling caskets -



Grandma Beeson turned 80 -



Keaton turned 2 -




I went to Chuck E. Cheese - (Cordell and Alana playing a video game)




Grandma had some trees cut down -





Bobbie, Cordell and I checked out the Pea Ridge National Military Park in Pea Ridge, Arkansas -





Bobbie took her neice, Lexi, to Roaring River to feed the fish -





I guess that's enough excitement for now!

Need More Internet!

I've been fairly busy recently and have taken a lot of pictures and gone on adventures that I would love to post here. Unfortunately, since I no longer have internet at my "weekend home", I am falling behind on my blogging. So, I'm kind of stumped about what to do about it. I don't really want to post 3 or 4 blogs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday because posts get more attention when they can just sit at the top of your page for at least 24 hours. But, I want to talk about what I've been up to.

I think maybe the best solution will be to post one entry that includes several different topics and pictures in it. I'm going to try it once or twice to see if it will work or if it will make my page look too busy. Let me know if any of you have an opinion about it or have another option for me. Other than the obvious option of getting the internet reinstated at my weekend home.

The Picture Post

As promised, I took a picture of the original Disney sketch I commandeered for myself the other day. It measures roughly 24 x 17, so if anyone knows where I can find a reasonably priced frame with mat fairly inexpensively, I would appreciate it.

Hey Ya (Acoustic)

Don't get excited, this is nothing new. This video blew up on the internet around September of '06 and has been posted on thousands of blogs. However, I still absolutely love it and since it has died down quite a bit, I thought I would try to revive it a little.

Oddly enough, as wildly popular as this video was I did not learn about it until a few months later. And then I only found it because I was purposely searching for an acoustic version of the song. See, I had gone to a school music program that my neice was participating in and in between all of the various grades doing their songs, they let a group of 3 high school musicians/singers perform their own little song. Those 3 boys stunned me by wailing an absolutely beautiful acoustic version of Hey Ya. It was the first time I had heard an acoustic version and although these boys were very talented, I knew immediately it had to be something they had copied from someone else. As soon as I got home that night, I googled "Hey Ya acoustic" and BAM! - up popped thousands of links to the Matt Weddle version I have posted here. I have listened to it hundreds of times since then and I never grow tired of it. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.

First Friday Art Walk

Well, tonight I experienced another "first" for me since living in Springfield. I attended my first First Friday Art Walk. Yeah! I had heard about these last summer, but the two people I know in town have no interest in them whatsoever and I just never bothered to go check it out.

However, one of my on-line friends from a forum I frequent is a fanatical historian of Heer's Department Store. And he has been mentioning for a week now that he would be hosting an exhibit of Heer's memorabilia. So, I figured that was as good an excuse as any to finally check out an Art Walk. I knew that a few other people from my favorite website were also going down to support Willard (his online name), so I headed to the Gillioz Theatre and got one of my first tastes of downtown on a Friday night.

The Heer's exhibit was pretty cool. While there, I met up with a few people I knew and after we had checked out the Gillioz we walked up to Walnut street and checked out another Art Walk spot. Then we headed over to South Avenue Pizza for dinner. I had never eaten there before and the pizza was awesome. We finished our food just in time for me to head to work so it worked out pretty well.

Hinder Concert

Last night a group of friends/cousins and I attended the Hinder concert at the Shrine Mosque and it was awesome! The opening band was Black Stone Cherry and they did a decent job, but their songs sound 80% better on the CD than they did live. The second band to perform was Finger 11 and they rocked their asses off. They played a great set, I just hadn't heard very many of the songs they played because they haven't had a whole lot of radio time. Except for their new song "Paralyzer" (which I absolutely love) and, of course, their song "One Thing" from their debut self-titled album.

But Hinder definitely stole the show. The whole band had a tremendous amount of energy and the lead singer knew how to pump up the crowd. Plus, he has a really cool voice and they sounded great live. I have been listening to their CD, "Extreme Behavior" for weeks in preparation and I was able to scream along with every song.

The really crappy pictures are of Hinder and were taken with my cell phone. I'm quite a bit older than the average age of the crowd that was there and back in my day, cameras were rarely (never!) allowed into concerts. So, I didn't even think about grabbing mine out of the car. However, once inside I noticed that there were cameras everywhere. I'm guessing that in today's world, where everyone has a cell phone with a camera, there's no way to prevent pictures from being taken so they don't bother trying to stop it. Which means that next time I go to a concert, I'm sticking my camera in my pocket regardless. And hopefully I will be going to more concerts. I seem to average about 1 a year, but I enjoyed myself so much on Tuesday that I really want to make an effort to see several this year.

.....................................Hinder on stage...................................



..................................Hinder during "Lips Of An Angel".........................



You'll notice in that last picture there are two people who are obstructing half of my view of the stage. They stood there through 95% of the entire concert, including during the opening act when things weren't that exciting. There were 3 people in my group who were not able to enjoy the show as much as we could have because of this. However, even though it was infuriating, none of us said anything to them because they paid for their seats and it was their right not to use them. What I don't understand is why they were standing in our way the entire time when they simply could have stood on the floor and not been in anyone's way. If you are someone who likes to stand at concerts, please be considerate of the people behind you.

It's Official!

Today was the day Bobbie and I randomly decided to head to a travel agent and make reservations for our Disney World trip. We decided to use Great Southern Travel just because they are "authorized Disney vacation planners", they're well-respected and there are so many convenient locations here in Springfield.

We went to the S. Glenstone office first and were told that Saturday's were by appointment only at that location. They very politely referred us to the Great Southern Vacation Center on S. National. So, we headed over there. The parking lot was actually quite full but I really didn't think much of it. I don't spend a lot of time hanging out at travel agencies, so I have no idea how much business is normal for a Saturday. However, when we walked in we realized that today was no ordinary day.

First, I noticed a sketch artist set-up near the entrance doing the most amazing pencil drawings of Disney characters every few minutes. Then I saw there were balloons everywhere, pictures of Mickey Mouse all over the place, people walking around eating popcorn, kids running wild - today was Disney Days! It was perfect timing on our part. We sat down with an agent, decided on the resort we wanted to stay in, added the dining package to our park hopper passes, set the dates, put down a deposit and now it is official.
I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD, BABY!

As an added bonus, everyone who booked a Disney vacation today got a free sketch from the sketch artist. I talked Bobbie out of it, because I'm mean like that, so I got a really awesome drawing of Lady from Lady & The Tramp (only one available). I'm planning on getting it framed and hanging it in my office because the artist who drew it this morning is an official Disney sketch artist who works at DisneyLand in California. In a few days I will try to get a good picture of it and post it here so I can brag about it again.

In the meantime, I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD, BABY!

Grey's Anatomy

I'm really not much of a TV person. Not because I don't approve of it, simply because I am a fairly busy person and I don't really devote a whole lot of time to watching it. But, over the past 5 weeks or so I have started watching this show and have quickly became addicted to it. Maybe because every single week something happens that leaves me bawling like a baby and with me being so emotional lately it allows me some release.

This week's episode was no exception - I cried. The episode dealt with the fact that the main character, Meredith Grey, had fallen into the bay while helping victims of a ferry accident. When she was rescued, she had been in the water long enough to develop hypothermia and was not breathing. At the hospital, all the best surgeons and doctors worked on her endlessly for hours trying to warm up her body enough to get her heart beating again. During that time, we got to see what Meredith was dealing with as she lay on the table dead.

Basically what it boiled down to was that while she was accidentally pushed into the water, she only fought to stay afloat for a few minutes and then she made a conscious choice to give up the fight. She had been depressed about a few things and was having issues with various parts of her life, so she quit trying to tread water and let herself sink. It was only after "spirit-world" Meredith admitted this to herself that she knew she had made a mistake. She realized all the things she would be missing just because she was too tired to fight. She suddenly didn't care as much about her issues. She wanted to live. And, since it is TV and she is the title character, she did live.

As I watched, I thought about the last post I made and how odd it was that I had just talked about treading water and the feeling of sinking. Pure coincidence, but still a bit disturbing. I don't want to wait until I've stopped breathing to realize I should have struggled less and simply gotten out of the water. I'm getting out of the water now.

Treading Water

For weeks now, I have been treading water - emotionally speaking, of course. Suddenly, I'm learning that you can't keep yourself "barely afloat" for an extended amount of time. For some damn reason, eventually you either have to sink or swim. And I assure you, I am sinking very fast. Not only am I sinking, but I am pulling myself down.

Now I have to figure out how to get back to the surface and break free of the waves. Unfortunately, everytime I think I see a shimmer of sunlight above me, I quickly open my mouth and intake more water. How does a cycle like this come to an end? Why am I using so many stupid water references? Is it weird that I suddenly have to pee?

Anyway, I seriously am my own worst enemy these days and it has gone from making things bad to possibly ending a great friendship that neither myself or my friend wants to end. And the more strained our relationship becomes, the more stressed out and psychotic I get. Which in turn leads to my stress causing even more problems in the friendship. I think one of the issues that is having the biggest impact is that I'm a natural-born "wise-cracking" smartass with a dry sense of humor. Have you ever seen those Maxine cartoons? Yep, that's the type of smartass comments I always make. Combine that with the fact that when I feel stress I decide to make a joke out of everything and you can see how that would not make another person feel good.

What I can't figure out is how to relieve my stress. The shift I have to work at my job is what started my spiraling downhill, but I can't change that. My living arrangements currently suck but there's no easy or immediate way to change those. The rest of it all revolves around my best friends and favorite people in the world and there's NO WAY I'm going to change them. Yet, therein lies the problem. Because if I don't change something and figure out how to be my old, normal self instead of a moody, weeping, sometimes raging, always cynical lunatic then my friends are going to decide they don't need to see me anymore.

One thing that might help the entire situation is for me to hire some big, ugly goon to follow me around everywhere and beat me about the neck and shoulders everytime I open my mouth to speak. I say that because I really think that if I would just smile and nod instead of spouting off my "funny" garbage that no one else is amused by, then my friendship wouldn't be as close to the breaking point as you can get. However, I have asked all of the big, ugly goons that I know and they don't like my work schedule either, so they have all refused the job.

So, I guess all that's left to do is to seek professional help. Which is something I swore I'd never do and actually still don't want to do. But, it has been suggested to me strongly several times and what I WILL do is ANYTHING that may fix this before it's too late. If that means I need to do something that I have no desire in the world to EVER do - then I will do it. GLADLY. And I hope that it's not too late.

New Addition

This is a picture of my new, precious baby cousin. Well, actually she's my cousin's baby so she would be my 2nd cousin. She was born on January 21, 2007 and weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz. We are certainly glad to have her.

Seriously? Britney Spears?

I used to consider myself an intelligent person, but after realizing that I just spent a good 3 minutes writing up a post about Britney Spears, I'm not so sure anymore. Wow, what has become of me?

When I was younger, if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would tell you that I was gonna write stories that made people happy. At about 9 or 10 I had decided that I was going to travel the world and write articles for National Geographic. As I became a teenager I still wanted to write stories, but had discovered (and fell in love with) Stephen King's books. So I was determined to write horror novels. In my early twenties I started spewing out poetry really quickly and concentrated mostly on that. Now, in my thirties I can't even maintain an entertaining blog. Not only that, but my un-entertaining posts aren't even written that well. Damn that sucks! Guess it's a good thing I got a computer degree instead of waiting for money to come in from my first novel.

I would love to start working on fixing what's gone wrong with my writing. I really did used to be able to mold words into fathomable sentences and ideas. Unfortunately, I don't really know why it's gone bad. So, I don't really know where to begin to fix it. I do know that I still have my ability to take something written by someone else, such as a history report for school, and make it absolutely amazing. And I'm wondering if that doesn't indicate that my problem is more of an imagination/creativity issue rather than a word issue. Hmmm...I will have to think about that.

Anyway, sorry about the Britney Spears thing.

Britney Spears Is In The News...Again

Yesterday, former/current/wannabe pop star Britney Spears attracted quite a crowd as she stopped by a tattoo parlour in LA. But it wasn't the tattoo of lips that she got on her wrists that was causing people to stare. It was the fact that she arrived completely bald. That's right, she's gone from no panties to no hair. Will she ever not be in the news?

Useless Facts About Walt Disney World

If you haven't figured it out yet, let me warn you now. I am REALLY excited about my summer vacation plans. And between now and July you are going to get sick of hearing about Disney World. So, get used to it.






USELESS FACTS:
Covering 47 square miles, Walt Disney World Resort is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands. Of the more than 30,000 acres, less than one-fourth has been developed, with another quarter designated as a wilderness preserve.

Mickey Mouse himself has 175 different sets of duds ranging from a scuba suit to a tuxedo. Minnie Mouse's wardrobe contains some 200 outfits including everything from a cheerleader ensemble to evening gowns.

Did you know that vomit is called a protein spill in disney world! If a guest or cast member vomits, a cast member is supposed to call a custodian to clean up a Protien Spill. Just one of the ways Disney preserves the show!!!!

More than 50 million Cokes are consumed each year at Walt Disney World Resort. Guests also gobble 10 million hamburgers, 7 million hot dogs, 9 million pounds of french fries and more than 300,000 pounds of popcorn.

There are enough of the famous "Mouse Ear" hats sold each year to cover the head of every man, woman and child in Pittsburgh and enough Disney character T-shirts to put Mickey Mouse's smiling face on the chest of every Chicagoan.

Wolves On The Loose!

Wolves escape from animal park west of Branson
by Marie Saavedra, KY3 News

BRANSON WEST, Mo. -- Two wolves escaped from a wild animal park on Thursday night. The staff at Predator World believes the wolves would try to avoid humans but is looking for helping in finding them.

One wolf is a silver gray pregnant female weighing about 130 pounds. The other is a dark chocolate male weighing about 100 pounds.

The wolves escaped just hours after they were shipped to the facility. Head curator Breck Wakefield says the female is trying to find a comfortable place to have her cubs.

The animals are on the federal endangered species list. Wakefield says the wolves won't attack people and believes they're still close to the attraction. He says professionals with tranquilizer guns have been searching the area, and are being careful not to push the wolves toward highways.

Wakefield believes the wolves will stay together. Anybody who sees them can call Predator World at (417) 272-0411 or the Stone County Sheriff’s Department at (417) 357-6116.

Predator World is near the intersection of Missouri 13 at Highway DD on the south side of Branson West.

Cold, Cold, Cold

I'm not someone who normally minds winter. In fact, I'm usually always hot so I enjoy the fact that winter means I am not dripping sweat from every part of my body. But I gotta tell ya - I'm officially sick of the cold. Of course, it probably doesn't help that this is my first winter "in the city". The wind can really funnel down the street and bounce off all the buildings creating a constant whirlpool of bitterly cold wind that means no matter which way you are walking, you're walking into the wind.

I work at St. John's hospital on National and the wind seems to blow down that street more than most others. Maybe part of it's due to the fact that there is so much traffic speeding by. Either way, it's not like employees get to park anywhere near any buildings. I have quite a hike down the sidewalk from the parking lot which is enough to make your eyes water and then freeze them that way. It totally sucks and I am done with it. Done, I say. I command springtime temperatures to make their way into the region.
I COMMAND IT!!!

Reese's, I Heart Your Hearts......???

What I mean is - I love anything Reese's, but I especially love the theme-shaped versions of their peanut butter cups that come out around the holidays. This time of year it happens to be Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts, but throughout the remainder of the year I will be able to enjoy Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, Pumpkins and Trees. Awesome! Of course, I would love to see Hershey's develop Reese's Peanut Butter Shamrocks, Firecrackers and Turkeys - but I won't hold my breath.

My Phone's Inbox

Just in case anyone was curious about how my daily conversations may go, here are 10 random text messages that were sent to my phone this week (typed exactly how I received them):

1. Stop laughing at my baby!
2. Oh no no it is up to you!
3. Sounds like the list i had going. Great minds think alike.
4. Then buy me diamonds!
5. For you im free, but not for anyone else! I heart you, too.
6. I'm having pitch withdrawals.
7. Goodnight (that was in a soft whisper so you wont hear me and i could get the last word. Ha ha)
8. I get 2 go to the concert!
9. U r totally taking all of the seriousness out of this!
10. Someone is going 2 die!

Walt Disney World Or Bust!

The plan:
1. To spend a week of vacation in Orlando this July enjoying multiple Disney World Theme Parks.
2. To stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge during said vacation
3. To save money by driving to Florida instead of flying (2 adults, 1 teenager, 1 child)

The problem:
1. July is a very busy month for Orlando, discounts are not offered for that particular time of year.
2. So much crap to be organized and paid for, I'm not sure where to begin.
3. The money I was going to use to make an advanced payment on lodging, tickets and dining now has to be used for something that came up unexpectedly.

The possible solutions:
1. Win the lottery.
2. Ask my friends and family to donate the change out of their pockets everytime they see me.
3. Move to Florida so I can take advantage of the "resident discount".

The more realistic solutions:
1. Beg people to recommend a travel agent who can help with the planning.
2. Spend the next several months living off of peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles.
3. Let the other adult who is going worry about all of the planning and organizing so that I can concentrate on paying for my portion.

Are You Ready For Some ... Commercials?

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to watch football...when the KC Chiefs play. Other than that, I can take it or leave it. So why do I love to watch the SuperBowl every year? It's certainly not to see the Chiefs!

Instead, it's a matter of tradition. An excuse for a party that comes along every year. A day devoted to all manner of junk food and snacks that can be eaten without feeling guilty. A time to hang out on the couch all day, surrounded by family and friends, dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts and being allowed to jump up and down, yelling and screaming while eating in the living room. It's awesome to have that kind of casual, no-worries freedom.

But, for me (and a lot of other people out there) it's a night of SUPER COMMERCIALS! The football game itself is exciting. I love to root against the Patriot's, Cowboy's or Bronco's. I always want the underdog to win. But when I need to get up and refill my drink or go to the bathroom, I will go during a 4th down play on the 1 yard line just to avoid missing a commercial.

There have been some classic commercials. One of my favorites is the McDonalds ad called "the showdown" where Michael Jordan and Larry Bird shoot baskets "over the 2nd rafter, off the floor, nothing but net." And that's just one of many. Pepsi, Coke and Nike are always among the best of the best. But if I had to pick one company who consistently has the best SuperBowl ads, it would definitely be Budweiser. I totally love the "horses playing football" spots that they have came out with for years now. If you are interested in seeing some commercials from previous years, go HERE and click on the different years available on the top right side of the page.

If you want to recap the funniest ones from this year, you can check them out and vote for them beginning Monday by going HERE

I am ready for some commercials. And I also want to mention that I am rooting for both Rex Grossman and Payton Manning, so I guess it doesn't matter who wins the game.

Connect 4, Baby!

Who the heck doesn't love Connect 4? I remember my brother and I spending several hours a week arguing over who was cheating and who got to go first. Now you can recreate the joy of the game without having anyone to argue with because Milton Bradley has a great online flash edition of the game available HERE.

Now there's a whole new way to spend your work day. Enjoy!

Groundhog Day 2007!

Normally I don't pay much attention to whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow. But this year I am waaay tired of winter already, so I was a little curious about what his "professional" prediction might be. Turns out, he did not see his shadow this year and has predicted that spring is on it's way. WOO HOO! It's times like these when I suddenly begin believing in superstitions, because I desperately want this one to be true.

Branson Giving Eagle Watch Tours

In case you weren't aware of it, the over-abundance of lakes and rivers in the Ozarks area are quite an attraction for the American Bald Eagle during winter months. And Branson, being all about the tourists, has taken advantage of this fact to provide bird lovers everywhere with guided Eagle Watch tours now through the end of February. Tours are available daily beginning at 09:00am for individuals or groups and last approximately 2 hours. You do need to make a reservation at least 1 day in advance.

To schedule a tour, call: 1-417-538-2744
and for more information, visit: Branson Eagle Watching Tours

Table Rock Lake seems to have the highest concentration of Eagles in the area, but there are plenty of places where Eagles can be viewed. In addition to the American Bald Eagle, Golden Eagles can be spotted as well as various other "Birds of Prey" including hawks, falcons, owls and vultures. I have not yet had a chance to take one of these tours (because it's too cold for me....brrr!) but I have been fortunate enough to spot some of these magnificent birds in the area over the past 2 months and I can definitely tell you they are worth getting a look at.

More Photos

I seem to be slowly turning my rambling blog into a photo blog. Hopefully nobody minds too much.

Here's a picture of my cousin Josh and his son Keaton who was recently featured in the "Keaton Rides His Toy Tractor" video I posted. I wanted to get a good picture of him up here because he has the prettiest eyelashes and when he's a teenager, we can make fun of him for being such a pretty little boy.



And here's a picture of Alana, Cordell & Ashton playing in the ice. Ashton thinks he's being funny by making faces. Normally he's pretty cute.

Fantastic Caverns Thanks Utility Workers

Utility workers, families offered free cave tours
© 2006, Springfield News-Leader

Fantastic Caverns in Springfield will offer complimentary cave tour admissions to regional utility workers and their families, said spokesman Kirk Hansen.

The free tours are extended to employees of Ozark Electric Cooperative, City Utilities of Springfield, Empire District Electric, Southwest Electric Cooperative and Webster Electric Cooperative. Additionally, all tree-trimming, line crews and assisting co-ops contracted by the regional utilities to work with the ice disaster are invited to visit the cave with their family.

Power was restored to the Springfield attraction Monday evening and the cave opened for business on Wednesday.

“Many of the power poles between the caverns and the power source were either broken or bent over,” Steve Thompson, general manager, said in a press release. “Given the scope of the destruction and the overwhelming response that would be needed, we were surprised and thankful that our power was restored as quickly as it was.”

To receive their free cave tour tickets, the utility employee or contractor must present valid photo and employee Identification. The cave staff will issue complimentary cave tour tickets to the employee/contractor and their immediate family anytime during 2007.

Keaton Rides His Toy Tractor

This is an adorable video of my cousin Josh's adorable son Keaton, who is determined to ride his toy tractor. Unfortunately, the tractor is a bit small.

Some Random Ice Storm Pictures

I Had Visitors

In a very rare event, my parents came up to Springfield and brought my neice Jessica and my nephew Charlie with them to do some shopping at Bass Pro. I think in the year I have lived here, my mom has been here 4 times, my dad never and Charlie & Jessica twice. So, it was nice getting to see them. BTW...this is a cell phone picture, so don't mouth me about the quality.

Stupid Weather

This whole freaking ice storm could not have come at a worse time for me. I'm sure mother nature isn't out to get me on a personal level, but right now it seems like it. I have so much personal stuff going on and the last thing I needed was to be iced in an hour away from my family and friends. Especially since they've all made plans to get iced in together and spend the next few days playing cards and keeping each other company. I will be alone.

Blah, Blah, Blog

So far, 2007 has been very uneventfull. I am struggling to find anything to post about because I have no personal stories (at least not that I can share) and everything else just seems boring. So, my little blog is going through another one of it's slow periods. I don't really like it, but I just have nothing to say.

Also, for those of you who remember I live 4 days in Springfield and 3 days in small-town Missouri about an hour and a half south of here, I no longer have internet at my 3 day-a-week home. So, even if something exciting were to come along over the next 3 days - you wouldn't know about it anyway.

Bummer.

Jerry Jacobs Signs Off

Tonight will be Jerry's final broadcast before leaving KY3 to begin a 5 year committment to the U.S. Army. He is scheduled to begin basic training on Wednesday, January 10 at Fort Benning, Georgia. It may sound like a strange move, but those who know him are not surprised by his decision to change careers at his age.

Still, you have to wonder why someone his age would put themselves in a position which may lead to Iraq. When Jacob's was 36, the impact of 9/11 made him wish he could enlist, but at the time he was over the age limit. Now, the age limit has been raised to 42 and Jerry signed up 13 days before he was too old.

We'll miss you Jerry. But we're proud of you and wouldn't want to keep you from going. Thank you for spending time with us every week and being the special, caring person that only you can be. We all wish you well and hope to see you soon.

How The Hell Did That Happen?

Sunday was an amazing day for KC Chiefs fans. A freaky day filled with a whole series of games that should not have gone the way they did. But, the stars aligned and Lady Luck showered us with her blessings - the Chiefs made the playoffs!

Not only did I have to stress out over the nerve-wracking game that was played in Arrowhead (final score 35-30), I also had to worry about the fact that both the Tennessee Titans and the Cincinnati Bengals had to lose their games. They were both going up against really strong teams so I was pretty optimistic about those losses and indeed both teams did end up losing. But in order for the Chiefs to slide into post-season play, a third team had to lose. The San Francisco 49er's had to beat the Denver Bronco's in Denver at Mile High Stadium. I wasn't expecting that to happen at all. The Niner's haven't exactly had a great year and usually have trouble winning on the road. I figured the Bronco's would trample them pretty easily. But the game was very exciting to watch and even ended up in overtime where San Fran finally kicked a field goal to win 26-23. By the end of it all, I had absolutely no fingernails left.

Normally seeing Denver lose to anybody during any point of the season just tickles me to death, but although I did enjoy the fact that they lost the game, I was devastated to hear that they lost a player later that night. Cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting hours after the game. He will be missed, he was a great player and seemed to be an outstanding young man.

The Griffin iTrip Auto Rocks My World

For Christmas, my Dad gave me the perfect gift - a check. Usually any money I get for my birthday or Christmas goes towards gas for my car or a late utility bill, but this year I was determined to spend it on stuff. And I knew right away exactly what kind of stuff I wanted to buy. I needed to be able to listen to my 60GB video iPod in my car.

So, the day after Christmas and it was off to Best Buy for me. I looked over all of the FM transmitters and I decided I wanted to get one of the ones that also charges my iPod. That way I can never be caught without my music. There were several different brand names (and prices) to choose from. But I have a unique problem with my car. The cigarette lighter is in the floorboard between the front seats. Most of these transmitter/chargers will also provide a dock for your iPod, but if mine were docked on the floorboard between the seats it would not be convenient to reach, much less see the screen to choose new songs.

And then I saw it, the perfect product to solve all my problems. The Griffin iTrip Auto was the answer. It is an FM transmitter that also charges my iPod and it's corded instead of docked so that I am free to pick it up and change songs anytime I need to. Not to mention the fact that there is a 10-30 foot range on the transmitter. I have been jamming in my car ever since. If any of you need a way to play your mp3 player in the car, you should check out the Griffin line of products. They not only support iPods, but also make accessories for Zune and Sansa.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, cause now it's back to the grind.