,,,

The rise and fall of the blog

I know the blog has pretty much said this all on its own for some time now, but I'm officially declaring Nixon's Memoirs "Dead" at the moment.

It may yet return, but I have no such delusions as to being able to tell you when.

Thanks for two years of loyal readership.

Your Life: The Soundtrack
Opening credits:	"It's Too Late"- Carol King
Waking up:	"Oh What a Beautiful Morning"-Rogers and Hammerstein
Average day:	"Beautiful Day"- U2
First date:	"Back in the Saddle Again"- Gene Autry
Falling in love:	"A Kiss to Build a Dream On" -Louis Armstrong
Love scene:	"Erotic"- Madonna
Fight scene:	Fight music from Star Trek.
Breaking up:	"Girl, Don't Go Away Mad, Just Go Away"-Motley Crue
Getting back together:	"Reunited"-Peaches and Herb
Secret love:	"Follow Me"-Uncle Kracker
Life's okay:	"Feeling Good"-Michael Buble'
Mental breakdown:	"On The Fritz"- Steve Taylor.
Driving:	"Theme from Peter Gunn"-Lake and Palmer
Learning a lesson:	"Love over Gold" -Dire Straits
Deep thought:	"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"-U2
Flashback:	"Two Shots of Happy" -Matt Dusk
Partying:	"Miami" -Will Smith
Happy dance:	"Hamster Dance"
Regreting:	"Romeo and Juliet" -Dire Straits
Long night alone:	"In The Air Tonight"- Genesis
Death scene:	"Bitter Sweet Symphony" -Verve Pipe
Closing credits:	"Where Are You Going?" -World Wide Message Tribe
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X-Factor

Ok, I admit it, I've been very lax when it comes to the blog. I've been more interested in tweaking my MySpace site. But meanwhile, I did a survey! Woohoo!

NIGHTCRAWLER!!! Holy crap! You are:

If you had the power to teleport ANYWHERE at ANYTIME, where would YOU go? Actually, you are more rational and spiritual than the average X-Men, Night Crawler is always out to do the right thing. In real life, you're probably the "perfect" man or woman that everyone looks for, but you're too good a friend too see like that. Wow, can't ever get a break, eh?

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 33% on Mutations

Link: The Which X-Man Are You Test written by alexium on OkCupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Pink-Eyed Pirates and growing old.

Well, another 16th of July has come and gone, and I now find myself half-way to being 70.
It was not the grand event of a birthday that we had so gleefully planned earlier in the year, but per usual, money gets in the way. Truthfully, money did not get in the way, in fact, money stayed way clear of our path most of the time.

Therefore, the trip to St. Louis, the visions of Emo's Pizza and Cardinals baseball dancing in my head gave way to dinner at the Dragon Palace, and a trip to the theatre to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, where it felt I aged another year or two.

My darling wife has been in Memphis, bettering her education and learning more about teaching youngsters music. Meanwhile, I've been at home, suffering from conjunctivitus and flu-like symptoms. I saw the Doc on Friday, and felt a little better by the weekend, so when she came home, we were able at least to enjoy the above activities.

Now she's back in the Volunteer State for a second week of studies, and I find myself bored to tears. It's funny, usually all I think about is having more time to watch TV and play online, and now that I have it, I find it's just not a fulfilling as I thought it would be.

Anyway, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, I'm feeling somewhat better, and I guess in the end, that's all anyone can ask for.

Pray for the victory of Israel!

Moving along...

So the wife says to me this evening, "Hey, you should update your blog."

Then it dawned on me that nothing of any major significance has happened since I last posted. I supposed that's a good thing. No disasters, no major gripes, no tragedies, crises, medical emergecies.

The one new member of the household is Lex. Lex is not a person, nor is Lex an animal. Lex is our new Lexmark X4270 All-In-One Scanner/Printer/Fax/Copier/Sandwich Maker which has finally brought our household into the late twentieth century, at least partially, in the realm of connectivity.

Truly, the trips to FedEx/Kinkos were getting quite annoying.

Lex was an absolute pain in the buttocks to install, but its here now, and I'm darn happy about it.

The wife goes away next week to take classes, so I'll be batching it until Saturday. I think I'll survive.

That is all for now. Hopefully, my life will remain this boring, or some really GOOD things will happen.

Bloggin' from the Super 8

Ok, yes, it's been almost a month. I just haven't found the time or the desire to type my life lately. Right now, the wife and I are at a Super 8 in Oklahoma to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. The romantic place where I proposed, at which we also ate on our Wedding day, is now a "Louie's Pub and Grill." Certainly not romantic.

So much had changed out here! New places to eat, new stores, new roads. It's amazing.

We'll be back in Little Rock Saturday night.

Well, thank you loyal readers, if there are any of you left, and I'll be back soon this time.

Riverfest report

The wife and I took the two girls we babysit to Riverfest. We had a wonderful time! The weather was a little warm, but not blazing hot, and for the first time in nine years, I'm told, there was NO RAIN at the event.

We saw Switchfoot and Lifehouse on the concert circuit, the girls enjoyed bungee bouncing whilst I took in the entertaining United Freestyle Team.

With the notable exception of a few smokers and drinkers, everyone was well behaved this year. Plus, I was quite pleased to see that young teen fashion as returned to a more modest level. Gone, thank goodness, are the trends of a couple of years ago of youngsters wearing headbands as shirts and underwear as pants. May they never return.

I was much more selective about the food I ate this year. I'm doing my best to eliminate sugar and white flour from my diet, but to eat anything at Riverfest, that's a near impossible task. I did OK though.

I'm guessing this photo was meant to be scary

You scored as Socially Conservative Republican. Social conservatives share a belief in traditional morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. The government should use its influence in the public square to support traditional family values.

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The worst decision the Bush administration's ever made.

Last night, on National Television, George Bush and his advisors made the worst decision of the administration.

No, it's not sending the National Guard to the border, although if they'd just legalize and deputize the Minutemen, they'd save themselves a lot of trouble.

The bad decision was to announce this new policy at 8pm on a weeknight during SWEEPS WEEK!

DVR and VCR users across the country came home from their busy evenings (we were teaching Bible lessons at our church, which also meets on Monday night) to find that their intended viewing had been uncerimoniously pre-empted, and missed the last 19 minutes of their show.

I insist that the President make available On Demand every show he pre-empted with this mistake!

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

Yeah, been awhile again. Sorry, loyal readers.

On May 1st, my wife and I felt the brutal impact of "a day without immigrants". It has taken us this long just to recover. It's tragic and cruel my friends I know, but they have proved a point and we are ready to cave to their every demand...

On Monday, Senor Tequila's was closed and we had to eat at Bennigan's instead!

Oh the humanity!

Bennigan's, of course, is an Irish themed eatery. You remember the Irish, right? came to the US in droves, were hated by Americans, but got jobs, fought against racial bigotry, and became the backbone of our country?

But the ones who came here illegally were horribly mistreated, abused, and exploited. Thank goodness in 21st Century America that doesn't happen any...more, oh wait. Dang.

Illegal Mexican immigrants are this very day in our great country being mistreated, abused, and exploited by greedy American capitalists, and those of us who want to end this travesty and fight for the right of the LEGAL immigrant, while simultaneously ending these abuses of the exploited illegal are called "heartless."

Funny.

Build the wall, keep out the terrorists, make it easier for those wanting to work or be a citizen to get in.

Hats off!

I wear my hat as I please, indoors or out -Walt Whitman

My beloved workplace (and yes, I say that with all sincerity) has recently decided to pass a "dress code" for both administrative and 'direct care' staff (those of us who actually deal with kids).

I've applauded their efforts, including allowing for two different dress codes that take into account the different aspect of our jobs. Direct care staff are still allowed to wear jeans or "wind suits", which I assume also includes sweat pants, due to the sometimes physically demanding aspect of our job. (ie:physical containments).

The only rule on the entire page which baffles me is the new "no hats indoors" policy.

I have always worn a hat, mostly because I enjoy wearing them. I like how they feel on my head, I enjoy showing support for my favorite team, or a product or business. I have NEVER understood why people are offended by the wearing of a hat indoors, and have always looked upon those who are with morbid fascination. Growing up, if anyone asked me to remove my hat, I just assumed they were doing so in order to make fun of my "hat hair". I actually got in a serious verbal altercation with a friend in college because he refused to sit with me in the cafeteria if I continued to wear my hat.

What is the problem? Is it THAT serious? I mean, are someone's eyeballs going to explode if I don't immediately remove my hat while indoors? Am I spreading a plague by failing to remove my head covering?

I did a little research, and this is what little I came up with...

Amanda Gamble, an "ettiquitte expert" at about.com states the following:

I'll tell you the origin of the
"no hats on men indoors" rule. It began with men of
'lesser rank' removing whatever headress or coronet
(crown) they had on to show that they were not trying
to challenge or be disrespectful to the king or cheiftan
of their country."

OK, Chief, no challenge of authority here, just wearing my hat, because I'm a grown man, and this is America, where I have the right to do so. Of course, I still remove my hat during the Pledge, or the National Anthem, and during prayer. But my church is a "casual" service, and many men wear ball/cowboy hats in church, and I think God knows our hearts, and can see them through the hat. If we mean no disrespect, then there is no disrespect.

That being said, now that my "superiors" at work have asked us not to wear hats indoors, me wearing one would now constitute just that, disrespect, so I'm going to comply.

I've had bad luck with this in the past though as the kids become focused on my increasingly widened bald spot, rather than the instruction or therapy I'm giving them.

The "Chieftan or King" thing is the first semi-practical reasoning I've heard for this rule. But I'd like to hear from others as to their opinions on this, other than the tired "It's just rude".

You can run with this topic on your own blog, too, just be sure to give me a 'hat tip'!

To infinity...and beyond!

Which Era Do You Belong In? (11 Results w Pictures)

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Big dig

Well, as I type this (and yes, I realize it's been a while) there is a giant hole in our backyard, surrounded by yellow caution tape and next to it is the little digging machine that three men have been using all day to make the hole.

Yes, at the bottom of this giant hole is our sewer line, and we've now had a lien put on the house to the tune of $10,000 to get if fixed.

I've been sleeping poorly, tempers are flaring, and I find it difficult to concentrate on anything, which is why this blog has been so spartan in its entries.

It will probably remain so until things start running normally around here again. What is normal anyway?

That's all for now, my brain is fried.

Random thoughts.(Warning, some "V for Vendetta" spoilers)

I saw "V for Vendetta" yesterday in the theatre. Let's see, totalitarian Christian government outlaws art, other religions, homosexuality, and Billie Holiday records. Crispy dude in a mask raises a revolt to the tune of Tchaicovsky. Yeah, boring.

Speaking of repressive religious governments, have you gotten wind of Islamic leaders in Afghanistan? Despite their government releasing the man who converted to Christianity 16 years ago, they are still calling for his death. I take back everything I said about Islam being a religion of peace. You see, we Christians consider those who leave the flock to be "lost" and try to bring them back, through love and understanding, not under threat of death.

I think this "V for Vendetta" movie would have been far more realistic had it been an oppressive Islamic government, banning Danish cartoons and killing people who owned Bibles. (They kill a man in the movie for owning a Koran.)

***
Problems with the sewer line once more. It backed up yesterday while running a load of laundry. We've called the guy who fixed it, but no answer yet. Total bummer.
***
The girls are obviously getting more comfortable with us on the weekends, because they're starting to act out more. One of them really enjoys pouting and crying over the slightest redirection. (IE: "Please stop yelling and kicking my seat.") The older one puts on a shy, mopey routine when she wants something we've said she can't have (IE: Third helping on dinner)

Oh well, they are still wonderful children, and this is really good training for us for the future.

Someday, hopefully, Mrs. C. and I will have some of our own.

March what? Countdown to Opening day!

So Oklahoma lost in the first round, and the US is out of the WBC. Opening day is soon!

Plumb funny

A trusted plumber is in my back yard as I type fixing the sewer pipe, and for a LOT less than the before mentioned amounts!

I've seen other sites list and comment on interesting or odd searches that brought others to their website, and while the majority of my traffic still comes from Germans looking for pictures of LL Cool J, I've got a few that warrant a chuckle:

"casseroles at jesus birth" -Sir or Madam, I'm afraid I really don't have any recipies from this era. If you'd like to go Old Testament, you might want to look into "Manna Helper". I'd stay clear of the "Cheesy potato latka casserole" though. Who knew that the fourth wiseman actually brought Goulash?

"websudoko" -As you may have already discovered, I can't stand, and don't want to understand it. If you came looking for a fellow fan, I apologize.

"Nixon's early life as a child" -Well, we moved a lot, and my mother did most of the raising, and... oh, THAT Nixon. Uhm, try his presidential library site:
www.nixonfoundation.org

"Peter Nixon Dreams" -I'm sure he does, but I have no idea who he is. My search says there is one who is a Linux coder and another who is an artist. I am neither.

"25" -Why thank you, I'm flattered, but I'm actually 34.

Meanwhile, to all my LL Cool J fans out there, Mama said knock you out!


Update: The plumber wrapped it up about 7:30,and boy did he look tired! But, our sewage problem is now solved, and we got out for $808 and change. This wiped our our savings, but hey, that's what it's for!

Pickin', Grinnin' & Politickin'

Attend Concert on Thursday, March 16, 7 p.m., UALR Theatre to Support Andy!

I met Andy Mayberry at the State Fair last year, and was really impressed with his ideas and with him as a human being. I signed up to help with his campaign, so now I'm doing my part!

Central Arkansasans in District 2, come hear some great music to raise money for Andy's campaign! It will feature the Christian/Gospel music of Matt Mosler and Mike Franklin, and the Country music of Bailey Hefley and the band Riverbilly.

More info @: http://andymayberryforcongress.com

Orangeburgh?

Okay, I have to vent somewhere, and for me, this is about the safest place to do it. I am just overwhelmed right now.

At one point this weekend it seemed like there were fifty people in the house (actually, it was about 9) and I was being pulled every which way to do one thing or another, be it play something, clean something, whatever. In and of themselves, all the houseguests would have been quite welcome. They were the two girls we babysit, their older sister, my mom and step-dad, and the neighbor child, along with my wife and I. It just seemed like I had no time to even breathe.

Then, Monday comes.

RAW SEWAGE has backed up into our showers, the washing machine drain backed up and flooded the laundry room. The toilets flush slowly. So, I call "Mr. Rooter" (No relation to Roto) and they come out lickety-split and quote me $208.51 for the job. "Git R Done!" I tell 'em.

Throughout the course of the day, I learn all about some God-forsaken substance known as Orangeburgh, and how it was all the rage in the 50's (when my house was built) but now anyone who has it has found out that it is really just glorified tar paper, and it collapses after a few decades.

My $208.51 quote kept creeping up through the day to $800...$1500...$2000...$7000...$9000...and finally, after a call to City of Little Rock... $20,000!

Please do kiss my entire backside!

Through neighbors and fellow churchmembers, we are trying to work out a cheaper solution. Mr. Rooter is going to be out in the morning once more to "Locate" the stop, but once they do that, I'm going to have them mark it, pay them, and send them on their way.

Meanwhile, no laundry, and no "solid" waste in the Casablanca household.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

The reports of my demise...

Hey folks, just a mini-post to let you know I haven't gone away! Lots of wonderful things happening in Casablanca household! Including two new additions! OK, it's just on the weekends, as we have started babysitting two bi-racial sisters. Their mother works all day Saturday and Sunday, so we started watching them last weekend. FUN!

More later!

Iced in

The glorious trip to All-State was cut short on Friday, as they moved up the concerts, and everyone went scrambling home to beat the weather. We checked out of the Embassy early, and then braved the crazed Wal-Mart to buy our groceries. If we could have gotten by at all without going, we would have, but we had run out of food before leaving for All-State, and it was our regular food-buying time. Meanwhile, people were stocking up for Armageddon.

Three hours later, we were snug in the house, and we've been stuck here ever since. The sand truck actually came down our street, but that doesn't change the fact that our driveway is still covered in a solid sheet of ice. It is supposed to warm to above freezing today, and hopefully all will be clear by the time I have to go back to work Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, I've gotten to spend LOTS of quality time with the wife!

Run!

Who's "Da Bomb?"

I just want to take this opportunity to share with my readers some people who are, in my opinion, "Da Bomb!"


JESUS -He's "Da Bomb!"





















Muhammad Ali - He's "Da Bomb!"




















Boomer Esiason-
Hey, his name is BOOMER, you know he's "Da Bomb!"



















Nixon Casablanca- Yes! I AM "DA BOMB!"



















Seriously, folks, I can't tell you what the Danish cartoonist meant by his cartoon, but I'll tell you what it meant to me. Islam, a faith of peace that I respect and admire has been defiled by terrorists who kill in it's name. Thus, the teachings of the great prophet Mohammed have also been defiled. And now, those who are insulted by it defile him as well.

They claim that to depict him is to condone idolatry, then to be offended by a non-believer's mockery is idolatry too. As a Christian, I was offended when an artist put a model of Jesus in a bottle of urine and called it art, but I did not kill anyone or destroy property because of it. The reason is I don't worship an IMAGE of Christ, I worship CHRIST. His image only serves to remind me of His sacrifice, as does His Word, the Holy Bible.

Thusly, then, I feel Muslims should hold dear the words of Mohammed, The Koran, and leave the non-believers to their mockery, as I do with unbelievers who mock my faith. Stop the violence, repent, and come, let us reason together.

Super Bowl Sunday

Pittsburgh.

There, now that's out of the way.

After teaching Kidz World and going to church this morning, the wife and I are off to "Podunkville". The fictional hamlet where our good friend CrazyBandDirector and her family reside. Crazy will be rooting for Pittsburgh, as will the wife and I. Her husband is rooting for Seattle, and the kids... they're going for Dallas. They just might be on to something there, I bet you could get some good odds in Vegas!

Okay, the Super Bowl officially ends the "Holiday season" right? Or is it Valentine's Day? I ask because I still need to lose my "Holiday weight gain" and I need to know when the excuses run out.

Go Steelers!

As if there was any doubt.

Boomer Sooner! Perfect Score! You are a true

Oklahoma Sooner fan! You know all the great

traditions and are proud to stand behind a

great school and athletic program!


Are you a true OU Sooner Fan?
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The latest goings-on

Not a lot, really.

I will start out by saying this, however. Folks, if you work in a job where your primary responsibility is the safety of others around you, it might be a really good idea to remain, oh, I don't know, AWAKE while you're on the clock.

I work nights, and I know it's not easy. I drink coffee at night and I take sleep-aids during the day, but I get through because I love my job, and I want to keep it. Not to mention the fact that falling asleep in a house full of teenagers, some of whom have homicidal/suicidal ideations, doesn't rank very high at all on my list of "Smart things to do. "

The good news here is that their are some new openings at my workplace.

Things are going well on the church front. One of the new Children's Ministry directors sat in on our Sunday school class this week, and she really enjoyed our teaching. For the most part, the kids are really good at listening and taking suggestions. I wish I could say the same for our worship team. I realize that we are not being broadcast to anyone other than the folks in the "family" worship room (screaming baby room) but since I am on the Tech Team (camera ministry) I do like for my work to look good. So, we've asked the singers, musicians, and ministers to follow one simple suggestion. "Please don't wear the same color as the background." Right now, and for the foreseeable future, our background is black. I would say "Don't wear black", but sure enough as soon as I do, they'd change it to blue, and everyone would start wearing blue.

Sunday, a singer, a guitarist, AND the pastor wore black, creating the dreaded "floating head" effect in our camera shots. Monday, the night I run camera, FOUR singers/musicians, including the opening soloist wore black. Is it that hard? I mean, I know it seems like such a silly little thing to pick at, but a good presentation, IMHO, glorifies God, and I thought that was the whole point of doing this.

I, of course, am not without my own faults. I've gotten bad shots, been out of focus, moved the camera while "on", etc. But I do take some pride in my work, and try my best to correct my mistakes when the occur. I certainly follow advice from others when it is given.

This is not something I'm mad about, it's just one of those things that baffle the soul.

On the diet front, oh my have I been struggling. I can't seem to get on that treadmill lately, and my holiday pounds still remain firmly around my waist. Last night, I had an unexplainable and intense craving for egg rolls and won tons. We ordered them, and they were quite good. I'm going to have to make sure I work out today, and at least three times this week.

It appears I have rambled on quite enough for one post. I'll endeavor to post more frequently.

New link

I'm late in doing this, but I've added a new link. I met Jim Kirk just after Christmas at a party being thrown to honor both he and his sister for their graduation.

Jim is a brilliant artist and a fun guy. There is some language on the site, just to let you know. The background on his site is from one of his paintings.

I've added his link to the right, and it is titled "Who reads this crap?"

Well, I do Jim!

The Ultimate in Gender Discrimination

I sat today watching the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings, waiting and watching for the inevitable question on abortion. It was never specifically mentioned in the testimony I heard, though Senator Joseph Biden did site one abortion case. The anti-Alito ads are running strong here in Little Rock, which is surprising to me, but not totally unexpected.

I tend to remain non-confrontational on a lot of issues here, simply because this is more a forum for family, friends, and curious on-lookers to learn about the goings-on in my daily life. But today, Yahoo! News ran this story that points out a disturbing and growing trend in India. I had heard rumor of this happening in China and some other countries as well where male children are prized over female children. In the case of China, the "one child" rule makes this even more horrific, with some families actually killing daughters after they are born. In India, what is taking place is selective abortion.

"We conservatively estimate that prenatal sex determination and selective abortion accounts for 0.5 million missing girls yearly," said Prabhat Jha of St. Michael's Hospital at the University of Toronto, Canada, on Monday.

What this means is, if a couple has a son first, then a daughter, then the birth ratio of male to female is normal. But, if a daughter is born first, the birth ratio is off by 500,000 yearly. Meaning, over the past 20 years, thanks to pre-natal gender-identification, Indian parents have intentionally terminated TEN MILLION unborn simply because they are female.

I believe that even the vast majority of those who are pro-abortion would find this disturbing. Even those who think abortion for reason of genetic defect is acceptable can't say that being female is a genetic defect.

But what can be done? If both prenatal gender identification and totally unrestricted abortion remain legal in India, then nothing can be legally done to prevent this practice. Where does this end? If through some technology it can be determined how tall your son will be, will parents continue to abort male children until they have a potential NBA prospect? Will parents abort until their child has the right hair and eye color?

The solution could be quite complicated, or it could be simple. Abortion, like any other medical procedure, should be deemed medically necessary before taking place. This of course leaves it up to interpretation of the medical professional involved. The simple solution would be to recognize the unborn child as a human life, and therefore afford that life the respect and dignity he/she deserves.

Then again, this world has a long way to go in affording any human life the respect and dignity we deserve.

As for me and my house...

Another New Year!

So, here it is 2006 already. Before I set forth my resolutions for the new year, I'm going to review my resolutions from last year:

1: Bite me, Coca-Cola! I've been addicted to your battery acid for too freaking long, and despite my recent purchase of a "Diet Coke" had, pledging my undying devotion to your syrupy product, I will no longer drink the vile bile you've been peddling to me since birth. That's not to say you'll be losing any revenue on me, nind you, as I plan on purchasing lots of Dasani drinking water to fill the void. Got any Dasani hats to sell me?
My soda drinking re-emerged sometime around June, after I was done with the "Arkansas' Biggest Loser" show. I will revisit this in 2006, looking at least a reduction. But now that I work ALL night shifts, my reliance on caffeine is fairly set.


2: Premiere Fitness, take "me" away! If only you folks had been open today, you would have sold a $3000 treadmill to me. But, you'll have to wait to cha-ching that one up until the 3rd now. I'm turning my Price-Is-Right addiction into a healthy one by resolving to spend the Hour of Fantastic Prizes on a new treadmill everytime I watch.
The treadmill was a vital part of my weight loss early in 2005. Sadly, over the last two months I have gained about half that weight back. The treadmill is damaged at the moment, and makes demonic noises when I try to use it. Luckily, it is still under full warranty due to its late arrival last year. I've also broken my addiction to Price is Right and am now back on a Jeopardy fix. I still plan on using the treadmill every day this year once it is fixed, no matter what I'm watching on TV.

3: Triple Word "Score!" To keep my brain healthy as well, I've recently purchased both Scrabble Online, and the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary. I hope this will replace other mindless (and possibly blinding) online pursuits.

I'm burned out on Scrabble, mainly due to the fact my best friend keeps beating me everytime we play. I've moved on to crossword puzzles and online poker.

*******************************************************************
That covers 2005, now for 2006. I believe in the principle of 3's, so here we go:

1: Do things without being asked; I can see when the trashcan is full, the sink is full, or the floor is dirty. It's high time the wife and I stop playing "Hamper Jenga". The fact that I work nights does not totally absolve me from household responsibility. This also applies at work, where I work with one co-worker. We have many duties throughout the night, and my partner usually ends up doing most of it because of his personality. I'm already starting to surprise him by being more proactive at work.

2: Communicate my needs more; Both my spouse and I tend to be rather passive aggressive when seeking to get our needs met. Instead of saying "Please do this", we'll say "Would you like to...?" or "Would you mind...?" These, of course, are open-ended questions that can lend themselves to getting the answer we didn't want to hear. Also, when I'm in a situation I don't like, I need to let her know it. I tend to stifle my emotions for a while, and then explode at the wrong time, over something that seems minor.

3: Be thankful; I don't think it is wrong to want things, but I do think it is wrong to be ungrateful for the things I do have. Just because I anticipate wanting a Nintendo Revolution when it become available, doesn't mean I don't still love my Gamecube. I believe that I've already achieved maximum thankfulness for my job, which I've really grown to appreciate and love over the last year. It's not perfect, no, but I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now.

A blessed new year to all my readers!

Family drama/ A break for a bowl game.

Well, I should have known it was too good to be true. A wonderful trip to Oklahoma, with the Brother-In-Law (BIL) in tow. We took him to see several old friends of his he hadn't seen in a while, we put him up in a nice hotel, we got him nice presents, we fed him good food. We laughed, we joked, we actually enjoyed his company for a while.

And then Tuesday night he pilfered our ATM card in the middle of the night and ran up $300 in "Psychic Hot Line" and/or Phone sex charges. He also snagged his own ATM card (we handle his money, long story there)and overdrew his own account.

I've been warding off violent fantasies ever since, and he is now ETERNALLY banned from our household.

On a much brighter note, the MIL is visiting, and has helped us with the BIL situation temporarily, will full expectation that he will pay her back. AND HE WILL.

I'm taking off work tonight so I can enjoy the Oklahoma-Oregon matchup at the Holiday Bowl in its entirety. I'm so glad my own supervisor is on-call this week, because as long as we find our own coverage, he doesn't ask any questions about why we want off. Other supervisors always act suspicious and want to know specifically why we want off, and what we're doing, and why what we're doing is so much more important. One time, while in Oklahoma for a funeral (my step-dad's mother) I called and arranged coverage with a co-worker, then called the on-call supervisor to let him know of the switch. He asked why, and I told him that I was going to help my parents sort through my grandmother's things. His response? "Why? She's dead, her stuff isn't going anywhere." I slammed the phone in his ear.

I feel that as long as I've found my own coverage, I should be able to take off with no questions asked. If that same supervisor ever asks me "Why" again, I'll most likely respond with the following:

"Well,sir, I'm taking a bus to Ecuador to pick up a three-legged goat I won on eBay that can sing Phantom of the Opera. I would have had it sent, but the shipping on that sucker was off the chain! Say, you want me to bring you back some Cubans? You want me to put you down for a reserve copy of my goat's upcoming album?"

I think he'd stop asking me after that.

Please pray for my sanity.