Back in the writers seat

After a long while without a post, I am back. Figured, why not. Why did I stop anyways. First step it to review my old archives and see how much is different... then and now. More to come. Need to wake up early for the Boys LAX clinic at Towson University. Each year a few hundred boys attend this event. I will be helping the sponsors set-up and get things started. I prefer this behind-the-scenes role where I am busy and focused on the tasks needed to be done. Tomorrow is another day, lets see how much I stick with this blog this time around.

Movin' on Up...

I think I am beginning to get back into my groove again. I arrived a bit late for the warm-ups, but after the 4th frame I started to smack those pins down. The first game: 182... got a couple early open frames that hurt the score. Second game: 245. Third game: 225. Total: 652. Old Average 194, new average 195.
Despite the good games, my team was made fools out of... they were really racking up high scores. We only won one of the four (the third game). On the next lane over someone bowled a perfect 300. I think it was her first. Congrats to her.
Going into tonight we were tied for 7th (in a league of 34).. only 3 games out of first place.

Valentine's Day Heart's True Meaning

I read an article, Female Bum Behind Valentine Symbol? It says that the Valentine's Day Heart was modeled after a woman's butt. I don't know if I should be insulted or in ecstasy.

"The Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was beautiful all over, but was unique in that her buttocks were especially beautiful," he explained. "Her shapely rounded hemispheres were so appreciated by the Greeks that they built a special temple Aphrodite Kallipygos, which literally meant, 'Goddess with the Beautiful Buttocks.' This was probably the only religious building in the world that was dedicated to buttock worship."

He admitted that it was possible that the heart symbol represented both male and female glutes (the group that includes the three large muscles of each buttock that control thigh movement), but he said, "I think the Valentine's heart more closely fits the rounded female anatomy rather than the angular, compact and slimmer male butt."

I thought that was interesting. I think that the next "American Pie" movie should hint at that instead of an Apple Pie. I will never look at a Valentine heart the same again... after we are all being mooned in front of the innocent kids. Worse than that, the kids themselves are mooning everyone!

I must admit, I am a bad judge of shape sometimes... I am would not be too sure which ones are a male heart or a female heart. I will be more skeptical from now on whenever I receive one.

Ok, time for bowling.

The Spec Sheet

I was roaming the Information Superhighway and came across the Olympics website. Within, I stumbled upon the "Viaggio della Flamma Plimpica". Sounds like some sort of fancy-schmancy Italian dish, but in actuality it is the Olympic Torch. It is the spec sheet and the performance sheet for the torch people run with all across the world! It was hilarious that there is even one in existence! Did you know that the Resistance to Wind/Speed is 120 km/h maximum? No, and I don't even know what that means.... does that mean if Joe Torch Bearer is running over the speed of 120 km/h, he/she would no longer be wind resistant? I can see it now... an average citizen running at a remarkable speed of 121 km/h then suddenly, the torch flies out of their hand. All of this must be done within the "Burning Duration" of 15 minutes and within the performance specs indicated. For optimal Flame Colour it must be orange-yellow for optimal visibility and better video reproduction. hmm... you could have fooled me....I always thought for the best visibility you would have the torch-bearer get caught on fire to make a bigger flame... oops. There is a "combustion system" that is designed to prevent the flame from reaching the fuel pipe, thus ensuring the safety of the bearer.
But I must admit, on the original link to the Torch site it showed the different Torches from the different winter and summer games. It was interesting to see the different models. I guess I kinda like to see history.

The Deeds

The weekend was a blur... or maybe it was just because I was watching outside too much and the snow blurred my vision. I must admit I was impressed with how quickly the snow crew cleaned up the roads and walkways... with the amount of snow we received, it could be considered a wasted snow storm. There was a time this amount of snow would have closed schools and businesses for a week. Yes, schools were closed today and most likely will be a late arrival tomorrow if there is a lot of ice. But just one day is not enough!
I went walking around the 'hood on Sunday afternoon... wanted to get my exercise and just to see the state of the roads and such. Maybe I was the only one in the world without a camera to take pictures. Eh, I saw all the shots I would have taken already on another's blog or perhaps that other one. Anyways, I was listening to the radio then all the sudden an 80 year old lady walking in the opposite direction gets my attention. She asked me, "Should I be walking on the sidewalk or on the street?" She explained to me that she was new to the area and was walking to the supermarket (maybe 1-2 miles away). Only half the sidewalks were shoveled and the streets are 75% plowed. I posed her with this question, "If you were walking on the sidewalks and they were not plowed, what would happen?" She answered, I would get tired and I might fall. That gave me a sense she was at least thinking. I asked if she knew if the supermarket was even open. She didn't know, so I whipped out the handy-dandy cell phone and called 4-1-1... yes, indeed, the supermarket was open. We talked a little bit longer and she finished by saying, "Thank you very much you did your good deed for today." She was a nice lady.
But my "good deeds" for the day did not stop there... I helped 3 different people dig out their cars. I was jsut glad to get out of the apartment and get some fresh air and exercise. After, I got back to my apartment, what did I do? Vegged out in front of the TV and ate potato chips and chili dogs. Those were dang good chili dogs I must add. They were the first I have had in over a year. It was not until about 6pm I got a text message alert that schools were closed for Monday... even though it does not affect me working, it does affect my programs. I am fine with that.
Also, on Sunday, I finally (and I mean finally) finished the book I was reading. I have been slowly chopping away bits and pieces of it since...umm... November! It was a very book book, but when you are tired , you just don't read as much. Now, I am reading my next book, The Year of Yes.
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Developments

Today was an interesting day at the office. At the staff meeting two enormous projects/ additions were announced. It may not happen, the community needs to behind it, but regardless, it is most likely to change the dynamics of my job. New huge projects, one which I am highly in favor of and have been pushing for since the day I started, the second would be the first in the area, so there will be a lot of scrutiny in how it all works out. I am looking forward to the new developments, but at the same time, I am worried about the unknown and significant additions to the already hectic job description. Carpe Diem... and "bring it on!"

I then had to announce those developments to a different meeting I had tonight and the second of the two projects got mixed reviews. But all in all that monthly meeting always tends to be a source of ulcers, but it was not tonight. Glad it turned out very well.

It turned out to be a very good day with the exception of a tragic loss of a fellow blogger's loved one. My thoughts and sympathies go out to her.

Computer update

Since I have been having trouble with my computer I have been thinking about an upgrade to Windows mfe. Wait a second. I think I already have this!

No Bowling Tonight

Tonight I did not going bowling... there was a community service meeting I needed to attend. That is the nature of my job, day or night, weekday or weekend there may be something going on. I just gotta do what I gotta do. Got another meeting tomorrow and Thursday evening as well.

At work, my computer has been acting up. It is very much outdated computer and gives me the dreaded Blue Screen of Death on a regular basis. I am not surpised because it needs more memory to function more properly. I need to devote some undivided attention to the computer to fix it up and perhaps try reinstalling some programs that may cause it to seize up... I doubt it would solve the prob, but it is worth a shot. At least I have a good window that opens up so I can toss it to make me feel better. So if you are in my area... WATCH OUT BELOW!

The Wrap Up

The Weekend Wrap-up:
Friday: Umm.. Dang, I must be getting old... I can't remember what I did Friday night. All I can remember, I went out to get the board game, Cranium. Anxiously awaiting the next time I play games with the neighbor friends.

Saturday: Woke up at a time that should not exist... 3:30 am... I woke up to a weird dream and just could not go back to sleep. I had to wake up early anyways for a work related special event. Got there in Towson at 7am to help set-up. I was given the role as the "official" photographer. I have never been a photographer for a big event before. I guess I should feel honored, especially if I was given two disposable cameras (with an added bonus of a built in flash!) Gotta feel special. So pretty much the entire event revolved around kids so it was a lot of smiles and cutesy-smutesy stuff... so naturally I had to make some of the photos artsy-fartsy. Can't wait to see the photos. I was also assigned to be the "slave" to the event's biggest sponsor. That is perfectly alright with me... she was a very nice woman to work with. It was a pleasure to serve her.

Sunday: Was going to hang out with someone prior to the Super Bowl, but for whatever the reason may be, it didn't work out. Maybe next time. Ended up running a few errands and bought some hot apple cider at Borders. Watched the Super Bowl. I thought it was fairly dull game... I was hoping the Seahawks would come from behind to take the victory, but I am not going to lose any sleep over it. What I will have nightmares over is the Rolling Stones half-time show. Something just didn't strike me as right with that show. Maybe I am spoiled and used to a lot of lights and action and not a rock star old enough to be my grandfather. Or maybe it was the too small shirt that Jagger wore that didn't fare well with me. I dunno.

Today: Work just went by... found out a third site I work with was struck by some morons driving around on public property. Tire tracks and torn up grass everywhere. I am just glad they have not struck on my "pride and joy" site. Afterwards, decorated my Steelers fan neighbor's door gold and black as a surprise honor to her favorite team. Later, gave blood for the 40th (and 41st) time. Tonight was the first time I gave a double dosage instead of the regular pint. It certainly was an interesting experience. I got hooked up to a machine that separates the blood and gives me a refill as well. It kinda reminded me of the book (and in the movie) Catch-22... where the guy in the body cast had his bodily fluids recycled. It was a weird feeling. Half-way thru, as they start to pump you up with fluids you get to feel like you are drunk (light-headed and seeing pink elephants dancing around, that kind of feeling)... I thought there was no way I would make it out of the donor center alive, and if I did, then I would look like I have aged 50 years all shriveled up. But as quickly as wasabi can clear up those stuffed sinuses, I became "sober" again. The blood trickled out and all was fine. I made it to the canteen without passing out. If I did fall flat on my face, it would be a blood donation first for me. Now I can wear that purple badge of honor around my arm. I have to take it off in the shower in the morning because it helps with the most painful part of the whole experience... the pulling of the arm hairs and they don't use the band-aid types but the ace bandage type! Afterwards, I treated myself to a sushi dinner... expensive, but delicious! Afterwards, finally located and bought the book, "The Year of Yes".

Laws of Nature

Laws of Nature #652: If thy wear new shoes, thy shall step on a wad of stray gum.

It is funny... on Monday I met with an administrator who called me to a meeting about people throwing away their gum outside which causes people step in it which leads to tracking the gum inside, naturally sticking to the hardwood floors. I should have knocked on wood when I had a chance! When I was walking around my office, I felt an abnormal lump on the bottom of my spankin' brand new, fresh out-of-the-box first day worn shoes. Of Course it had to be some blue gum stuck like a fly on flypaper! Does anyone have a CSI DNA testing kit? I want to track down that gum spitter. Gosh, I hate it when things get jinxed! Oh well, that's life!

Time to go to Vegas!

Today was a good day. Woke up and worked out for the third straight day. First two focused on cardiovascular, today had a short back and very brief bicep workout. At work, had a productive and happening day at the office. Although I was disgusted by the fact some idiot made doughnuts all over public fields with their vehicle. What were they thinking (oh I am sorry, they can't... the wizard forgot to give them a brain!)
After work, I bought myself two new pairs of shoes... long overdue. One new pair of sneakers and one pair of brown casual shoes. I needed the new sneakers because I have been feeling the impact on my feet as I have worn them out.
After my shoe shopping spree, I went to play games tonight with my neighbor friends. I was really looking forward to that... they are an interesting and well-traveled group. I guess two of them have to be if they are flight attendents! First we played Scrabble and then we played Spades. I tell ya, I am on a hot streak right now. Somehow, I won the game of Scrabble facing four intellegent people... then while playing spades my teammate and I came from behind after shaking off the rust and won by only a few points. I am going to check out plane schedule because I am going to Vegas... ok, maybe I will just watch the Vegas tv show.

Casey at the Bowling Alley

It was the story of the Mighty Casey at Bat in Mudville tonight,
The tale of the two teams, the tale of true plight.
The story of past versus present,
A chronicle not all pleasant.
Game one and game two,
We won that I knew.
The fight for game three,
Became as intense as thee.
My team of the past,
Pulled ahead too fast.
It was the bottom of the tenth frame,
Only six pins ahead in the game.
I rolled with all my might,
Then rewarded with a big strike.
The foes caught sight of my strike then sneered,
Then bowled a matching strike then cheered.
The mighty Gooberman grabbed his great blue ball,
With dreaming and hoping of a ten-pin fall.
The pins exploded,
But hopes were eroded.
Alone stood pin number nine,
That put us behind.
The foe bowled a strike,
And I took my hike.
A mere two pins,
Kept us from four wins.

We finished with three wins and one loss. My scores for the night, 184, 193, 227… 604 series. Average going into tonight: 193. Average after tonight: 194

My Quote of the Day

Today was a good productive day. I have been writing some literature to give out to people to help educate them about some directives and policies. There was a lot of thought provoking discussion between my secretary an I about some of the points I put on the literature. I showed it to my boss for suggestions and she very much liked the direction I was going with it and wanted me to give it to her so she can take it to her supervisor. That felt good.
Later on a co-worker came by to ask for a ream of paper from out stock and my secretary told her yes before I could say anything. I have absolutely no problem with this, but I like to give her a hard time... just because I can, so I told her:

"Thanks, now I feel as important as a statue is to a pigeon."

I thought that was appropriate and catchy. That is sometimes the nature of my job, no matter how good one may be at it... you are bound to get crapped on every now and then.

Ghost of Birthday Past

My "milestone" 30th birthday has come and gone. Typically I really don't like birthdays... they tend to be highly over-rated and end up just like any other day but with higher "expectations". I don't typically like birthdays because of the "getting older than dirt" factor, but the social stigmas attached to it. In other words, the importance the greeting card companies and the families/ friends place it. In a way, it is no different than Grandma asking "When are you going to get married?" or "When are you going to get that minivan to hurl around the 54345 children you have?" In the birthday case, people always ask, "What did you do the day the 20's was no longer?" Why don't you just ask "What did you do the day your hair turned gray, your back gave out, your memory turned to mush and the nursing homes are banging down your door with their walkers and battle-ram motorized scooter trying to recruit you?"
But what is age anyways? Why it is so important one becomes 21 before you can legally drink (not that it stops many people underage). Does a Maturity Fairy sprinkle some pixie dust on the person overnight and all the sudden they are responsible enough to drink? If that is the case, then the Maturity Fairy must be over 21 herself.... the Fairy must be drunk enough to allow people like me to sip a beer. Personally, I would prefer if they left a beer under my pillow the day I turned 21, but that was not the case... I think they left the open beer all over the middle of the room next to the stool I must have passed out on. Details are still a little be sketchy.
Anyways, yesterday for my birthday I celebrated at the office, at Happy Hour, then that continued at my friends apartment. It was a good time. I was actually surprised I enjoyed myself more than expected.
My boss, her secretary and my secretary bought lunch, gifts and dessert galore (Cake, cookies, brownies and breakfast muffins). It was a good feast. The bathroom scales can prove it! We definitely had leftovers after that, hey, I even had one of those muffins for breakfast this morning. The bathroom scales was missing in action the second I was looking for it. Suspicious! I got a few more candles to add to my collection. Is it possible to have enough candles? I don't think so. I also got a Punch Balloon. Similar to the one shown here... it was a bright orange one (if it had the smurfs on it, then I would have been estatic and might have burst like a balloon!)
Oooo, that is very bad news... I cannot wait till Monday when my coordinator comes to work, because there will be a war! Hey, what can I say? You gotta have fun. I am beginning to suspect that Maturity Fairy didn't visit me 9 years ago.
Anyways, after work, I took a nap (I woke up at 3am for no reason at all... couldn't sleep)... then went to Happy Hour with six others. It was a fun time. Again, there was a lot of food... not a dinner but different appetizers. My bathroom scales left me a letter saying that it has resigned and is looking for employment at the Ms America pageant now.
After happy hour, spent the rest of the evening, and several hours of the wee morning talking some more with them at their apartments downstairs, drinking rum and coke. They can be hilarious at times. So I went to bed at 2:30am only to wake up at 7:00am to go around to a few of my work-sites to open up and check my staff. So, I am a little bit tired right now. Probably should get some sleep now... maybe I will be lucky and the Maturity Fairy will leave a beer under my pillow this time!

Pitiful

Bowling scores tonight... 160, 194, 169.... look out below, my average is crashing hard! Well, the highlight of tonight, in the second game, it was down to the last frame. I was the last bowler and we were down by 20. I got up and hit the home run... three strikes in a row to win the game by 10 pins. My team won 2 and lost 2... we really should have won the third game, but as a team, we were just pitiful that game. The first two we helped each other out and did some damage. Going into tonight, we were tied for 3rd with only two loses. Now we shall see where we land.
DOH! There was a huge rolling of thunder just now. It shook my apartment like a stampede of elephants. Guess that is a good sign for me to get off the computer.

Eventful day

Monday was quite a busy day. Why is it that when one thing happens, everything happens? Not that it was a bad day at all. Here is a brief rundown:

• The past weekend was a big weekend for public property damage. Especially not-so-considerate individuals joy-ride around on nice, soft mushy grounds in wiley circles, Mother Nature toppling trees onto fences and people scruffing up surfaces. Well, it kept me busy at work.
  
  
• A fellow blogger contacted me about wanting to meet up sometime soon. Told her I would be delighted. I admit I am nervous (in a good way) but excited. I am looking forward to it.
  
  
• Went to my neighbor's to play some games... played jenga and trivia pursuit (the original... you know the one with Soviet Union for the all answers and some current events from the early 1980's.) Anyways, my neighbor down below and I ended up winning it all after a long battle, we should have been awarded the Purple Heart (1: which has which figure on it? see answers below) and a prize of getaway to 2: the state with the lowest highest elevation of 65 feet... wasn't always pretty, but it was a fun. We are probably going to try to get together regularly to play different games... we used to get together each week to play spades, but now 3) we evolved from this sub-human primate, which is drastically different from 4) the slug, which has its reproductive organs located where?
  

1) George Washington
2) Delaware
3) Chimpanzee
4) The head

Okay, those were some of the easier questions... I just remembered those compared with some of the more difficult ones.

New World Record!

This morning I took down my Christmas Decorations! This is a new world record for me... normally I will not "get around to it" until June or July. Not only that, did a little tidying up around my apartment. So because of those things, my Sunday has been quite productive... and it is only 10am! My goal today is to go to the gym and have a good leg work-out (at least good in terms of using the cheap equipment that my apartment complex has), go out someplace to watch the football games (and get myself out to potentially meet someone), and possible call the girl.

On Friday I went to see King Kong. I have been wanting to see it for a long time. It was a good movie, but had so much potential to be a monster hit (sorry, again with the puns!) There are two things that stuck out; Jack Black and overdoing the action sequences just because they have the technology. Don't get me wrong, I really like Jack Black, but they needed a more "serious" person to play that role... There were a couple times I was watching it and Jack made his typical funny faces at the camera. This reminded me of a class clown trying to get attention when he has already commanded that attention. He has the potential to pull off a blockbuster hit but he did not rise to his full potential in this movie he was about 75% there. But that was not what really stood out to me... I might have been able to love the movie with Jack in it, if it weren't for the real flaw in the movie; the mentality, "more is better... more fighting, chasing and action makes the movies in Hollywood."
This flaw, in my opinion, made the non-essential scenes drag on. It reminded me of any product you see in the store that has some many bells and whistles on it that it just does not help the product, in fact it may hurt the product because it takes away from what it is supposed to be. The showing of the natives on Skull Island is important to the story, but to spend that much time, it can be overkill. Same is true for the Kong versus the dinosaurs... because the technology is there, they made it super long and they thought a longer and more intense battle would help portray the great lengths Kong would go for his "beautiful" lady. I thought it was an amazing sequence and I love to see all the action, but it too modern day Hollywood and became a bit too much. You see that in a lot of the movies now-a-days which causes the flops. I think that is what happened with the 3 newest Star wars. There were all these action sequences that were just there because they have the technology to do it and they think that most action equals more audience.
Okay, back to King Kong... I thought that movie had so much potential in it because it did capture the emotions between the ape and woman... they did an amazing job of capturing the body language and the facial features of a computer generated beast. I know that people felt that connection, their love and people even felt sorry for Kong when he was in the modern jungle of New York. That is the story of King Kong, not the overdone "Running of the Brontosaurus" or the fight dangling in the tree roots or the tribute to "Starship Troopers" bug squashing massacre.
That is my review.

Technical assistance please! (updated)

Help! I created a header for my blog, but I am not sure how to put in the template. Can anyone help this poor little soul? Also, what do you think... look half-way decent?

The savior has been found... now I must worship: d.challener roe for his technical genius. All hail,Roe, for solving my temporary woe!

The potential is there

It was a good day. After a long, productive day at work, I went to my neighbor's to play cards... one didn't show so we just hung out and talked about those taboo topics you would get the fuzzy eye-ball look if you talk to your parents about... you know, sex, religion, sex, bloody horror movies, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, shaving dogs... you know stuff normal stuff like that. Anyways, my neighbor down below has a friend who went to Kings Dominion with a group of us... she was a very attractive, intelligent (meaning a reading level above the 3rd grade/ actually she is studying for her CPA exam), funny Russian girl who I got along with like peas and carrots (okay, I was having a Forrest Gump flashback, SUE ME!) Anyways, this girl and I shared a lot of strong chemistry even though I was doing my best to her that each of the roller coasters we rode happens to be defective. For example, it is a little known fact that there are a lot of bats inside the Valcano... so there have been some unfortunate times where people on the rides would collide with some poor bats as they take off, so she should be warned. I thought I did a good job of convincing her, too, I even kept a very straight face! Okay, I can be evil at times, SUE ME! Moving right along here... my neighbor gave me her number after it appears she is not interested in him. I don't know why... I mean he is a very decent, intelligent and humorous guy. Well, I have her number now... the ball is in my court. So I guess I need to gather the rest of my balls to give her a call and ask her out. So it is a good day.


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In good company

Okay, maybe I am naive... maybe I am just a gullible, but I like to "buy" into the take-home messages of the movies I watch. For example, I just watched "In Good Company" starring Topher Grace (Carter), Scarlett Johansson and Dennis Quaid... I could relate to the young new boss, Carter. Myself, I am a supervisor to people who are twice my age and those who have traditionally occupied my position are typically more aged than I am. Even my very first full-time job I managed over 100 people (some still in high school, some retired physicians, some right smack in between)... not bad for someone fresh out of college. The take-home message in the movie was to do something that you love and not to grow up too fast. I think I may have grown up too fast. The job needed someone who is professional and mature while doing business as a manager/ supervisor with a lot of responsibility, so that is what I did. Just as in the movie, the responsibility and challenges that associated with the position often come at the expense of the relationship/ social life. He was all work, so his social life faltered. He tried to get to know his employees to hang out with them, but his employees wanted to distant themselves from their "boss" or perhaps he was trying too hard. That is what is on my mind at this moment. That is what I am going to bed thinking about. That is what will be on the back of my mind when I go to the executive board meeting tomorrow with some community leaders.