Blog Number 355

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Man, time flies when you are busy.  We are in serious move mode now.  The couch is gone as is our TV.  The living room looks rather bare and reminds me a little of our first few days in Texas when our little apartment was pretty bare for the first week or so.  I have reserved the U-Haul.  Incredibly a 17' truck is only about $25 more to rent than a 14' one.  Since they both get about 10 mpg I figured I might as well get the bigger one.  We do have a few bookcases and a washer and dryer to move that we did not have on the way down.  We have not packed that many things but then again we do not have that much to pack that we don't use on a weekly basis.  I imagine we will hit the boxes hard this weekend.  My mom arrives next Tuesday afternoon and I can also pick up the moving truck at that time.  I am taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off for the move hoping to fill up the truck on Wednesday and then take 2 days to make the 900 mile back home.  I am not looking forward to the moving but am looking forward to being moved (if that makes sense).

We had an ice storm hit on Tuesday so I worked from home the last 2 days.  It is weird working from home.  There are too many distractions and I feel like I don't get much accomplished.  I will need to head into work tomorrow though as immediately after work my team is having a going away party for me.  I figure I better make the effort to be there (it is the least I can do).  I invited about 30 or so people and I hope that at least some decide to come (my secret fear is that it will just be me and my previous manager who is setting the whole thing up).  I might have to resort to inviting random people in the building to come as a last resort (of course another fear is that next week the real party will occur - the one celebrating me being gone).

Tonight was the kids last night in the AWANA program down here and the kids teachers were sad to see them go.  The daughter even received a personalized blanket that one of her leaders made for her (to keep her warm in cold Indiana).  The will both be missed it seems.  Every time we do something the son announces that it will be the last time we do it while in Texas (he reminded me today that tomorrow will be our last full Thursday here).  I can tell he is excited to get back to the grandma's.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently but...

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 354

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I haven't talked about books that I am reading lately so now seems as good as a time as any.  Some of what I call my "shelf" books still have their bookmarks in the same place as when I last blogged about books.  Mostly the books by comedians that are do not need to be read at any particular pace are in the category.  But as far as books I am actively reading...

• Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy: This is a find at the 1/2 priced bookstore.  I have always like Tolstoy's short stories ever since I read "The Death of Ivan Ilych" in college.  This book is about 700 pages long so one could argue that the word "short" in the title does not really apply but compared to his other works (e.g. War and Peace), these stories are short.  I am only on page 77 (not even through the first "short" story).
• Sundays in America (A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith): This books is a travelogue of a Catholic woman who (after being told as a child she was not allowed in Protestant churches) takes a year of Sundays out of her life and visits 52 different non Catholic churches over the course of a year.  This was on the recent arrival bookshelf at the Frisco Library (one more thing I will miss about Texas).  I am only through the 3rd week (page 25 of this 300 page book) but it is interesting.  So far she has visited a New Mount Zion Baptist Church, a Cowboy Church and a Southern Baptist Church.  She gives just enough of the history of the denominations to give you the necessary background for the various rituals.  Other than a wedding or two, I have not been inside a Catholic church so what she finds interesting / different is what I am used to for the most part but the book is still good.
• Escape: The wife borrowed this from the neighbor.  This book is about a lady (Carrol Jessop) who (eventually) escaped from the FLDS church (with her 8 kids in tow).  It is an interesting look into the world of pluralistic marriage families and what really goes on there.  This is a totally different view than you get on the Big Love series.  I have to be honest, I started reading this book mainly so the wife (who read it first) would quit telling me about it.  I could then use the excuse that she would ruin it for me if she told me about it.  The wife is really bad about this (telling every detail about a book she is reading) so this is a survival skill that I have learned.
• Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems: OK, I am not really reading this book, but the wife is (and as such she tells me everything about it).  Every day she is faithful to tell me more bits of wisdom from Ceasar (The Dog Whisperer).  I beg and I plead for her not to tell me any more but this has no effect.  Here are some excerpts of our conversations over the last week or so.

Wife: Ceasar says that he is amazed that people try to make dogs in to people when they just want to be dogs.
Me: Please, I do not want to hear about dogs.
Wife: No, I am serious.  I think we should change how we react to Nina.
Me: Great, so YOU reading this book is going to make ME have to change.  Any chance that the book is overdue from the library and someone else desperately wants / needs it?
...next day...
Wife: Listen to this.  Ceasar takes his 30 dogs on a run early in the morning to wear them out.
Me: I am not getting up and taking our dog on a run.  Also, we are not going to get 29 more dogs.
Wife: But, Nina would be so much more happy since that is what dogs are used to doing, you know, walk a lot of miles per day.
Me: So let me get this straight.  YOU get the dog and it turns into more work for ME?
Wife: Yes, something like that.
...next day...
Wife: I just read this.  We should be confident and assertive when interacting with our dog.  We should not hit her except with a cupped hand on her rear thereby simulating the nip of the pack leader.
Me: I don't want to be pack leader.  I want to be left alone.
Wife: But she sees you as pack leader.  If you change your habits then Nina will be so much happier.
Me: I am not interested in fostering happiness in your dog.
...next day...
Wife: Listen to this...
Me: What words could I use now to make you understand that I am no longer interested in Ceasar's thoughts?
Wife (ignoring my last comment): Ceasar says that you should...
Me: No seriously, do I need to yell or use a 4 letter word?  How can I convey to you that I do not wish to hear any more dog information?
Wife (further ignoring me except for the rolling of her eyes): You really need to change so the pack...
Me: We are not a pack.  We are humans.  Let me reiterate, is there any phrase or action that I could speak or do at this point in time that could explain my utter hatred of this book and your reading it to me?
Wife (continuing without missing a beat): So anyway, here is what this book says...

I could not use the excuse (like with Escaped) that I would read the book myself because she would know that would be a lie (sigh) so I guess I will just have to wait until she is done with the book.  I have the day off today for Martin Luther King Jr. day so maybe I can make some headway in the books that I want to read.  Here's hopin'.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 353

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I started the year out so well but it has been a week and a half since the last blog.  I really have not been any busier than normal.  I guess I just don't have anything exciting to talk about.  Today was Panera Saturday and as such we headed over to the Half Prices Books store afterwards.  We spent our budgeted $20 there.  I was able to find Jennifer Knapp's "The Way I Am" CD on the clearance rack for $3.  This completes my collection of her studio albums.  She has a Best Of CD along with a Live CD available but I will likely not buy those (or should I say unless I see them on the clearance rack).  I almost bought a couple of Lyle Lovett CDs but they looked pretty scratched up and not worth the risk.  While they do have a Half Priced Books store in Indianapolis, this is one thing I will miss about Texas (so many of these stores near me).  I have been trying to think about things that I will miss about Texas once we move.  I cannot think of many that I will miss about Texas (other than the obvious - Texas friends and Texas weather - it was -10° in Kokomo one day this week).  I can however think of a lot of things that we will not miss (like traffic on SH121) so I still think this is a good time to move back.  It is hard to believe that we will be back in less than 3 weeks.

There have been a lot of cut backs at my employer (like almost every other employer in the US) and I have lost a lot of co-workers in the past few months.  I lost another one this past week.  I can only describe my feelings as those of people returning from tribal council on the TV show Survivor.  You are sad that someone is gone but you are glad that you are still around.  Some of the people that are no longer with me were truly good workers, they were just on the wrong tribe.  It seems that no matter what they did to endear themselves to the company, it was inevitable that they would be let go.  I fear that there are others cutbacks coming down the pipe so this is probably not over yet.

I have absolutely no plans for this 3 day weekend although I do have a few hours work to do before Sunday night for work.  We are stocked up on "I Love Lucy" Season 1 DVDs from the Frisco library so we are set for family entertainment.  Next week should be busy as we are getting with friends for a final get together before we leave.  Well the wife is on her way back from the dog park and it is almost lunch time.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 352

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

It seems like our family is just waiting for January to be over so we can get on to the next phase of our life back in Indiana.  Seems like a perfectly good waste of a fine month (and our last warm January for a long time) but so be it.  We did manage to toss out most of our VHS movies (noting which ones we want to replace with DVDs) and our VCR.  This is the continuing process of deciding what we really want / need and what is just excess baggage in our lives.  The movies that made our "to be replaced with DVDs" list are...

• Runaway Bride
• An Affair to Remember
• Monsters, Inc.
• The Prince of Egypt
• Searching for Bobby Fischer

All but Monsters, Inc. can be replaced for $10 or less (new) but we have no immediate plans to buy the replacement DVDs.  Maybe we will get lucky and find them at our favorite pawn shop back in Kokomo (crosses fingers).

Random Bad Quality Pictures With My (Wife's) New Cell Phone

 

This is supposed to be a map of Greece around the time of Christ.  It was drawn by our ABF teacher this week on the white board in our classroom.  I have added a real map of Greece as a reference.  I will let you be the judge.

The daughter bought this bracelet kit today with some of her leftover Christmas money.  Notice how big the box is compared to the contents.  I have this feeling that sometime later this week or next I will be the proud owner of a new, homemade bracelet that I will be required to wear to work at least one day.  I will have to let you know how it turns out.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 351

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

It is good to get back into the old routine of getting up, getting ready and getting to work.  Except today that did not happen.  The son woke up this morning not feeling well at all.  He did not eat much of a lunch yesterday and we did not have dinner last night (as is typical for us on a Sunday).  After an hour or so of the wife and I attempting to convince him that he was sick due to having nothing on his stomach he finally ate a half piece of toast.  The kids had a dentist appointment scheduled for 10:30 and so I promised the wife I would work from home until they opened and she could call to see if they could reschedule.  If they could not reschedule before we leave for Indiana, then I was going to stay home until she and the daughter got back from their appointment.  Fortunately they could fit them both in next week and so I headed to work.  The car was covered with ice so I had to let it warm up a little.  The roads were not bad at all really and I rolled into work around 9 (ish).  By the time I got home though, the front tree looked like this...

You might have to click on the picture to appreciate the ice hanging off of it.  It was just 2 days ago I was walking home from the neighbors at 10 at night in shorts and a t-shirt for heaven's sake!  Maybe this is just to let us get used to the Indiana weather that we will have to endure after we move.

I managed to shoot a 300 game at Wii bowling last night (and again tonight).  I think I will give the PBA (Professional Bowler's Association) a call.  I am very impressed with how well Nintendo did with the bowling game on the Wii.  Of course it is a lot easier than real bowling but the pin action is very realistic.  I find myself knowing what pin I am going to leave once I "let go" of the ball.  Even on the slow motion replay of your shots, the pin action is very close to what happens in real bowling.  Bravo Nintendo!  Well I only have a little bit of day left before the wife falls asleep on me and she wants to watch a show on the computer.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 350

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well it is just after 9 in the morning and I have accomplished all that I need to accomplish today.  This many days off in a row makes me a little restless.  Our dog decided that we all needed to be up from 2 to 3 this morning so I am feeling a little groggy.  She did let us sleep until 6:30 though but I tend to get a headache when I am in bed past 6 so I got that going too.  Aspirin doesn't help this kind of headache.  The only cure I know is noon.

Only 34 days to go until we arrive back in Indiana.  We only have one big (city provided) trash can so we are limited on how much we can throw away weekly.  I noticed a lot of the neighbor's trash bins were severely overflowing last week (after Christmas).  The trash truck uses this arm like thing to grab the trash containers so if your trash isn't in that container then it does not get taken away.  Because of this we have to plan our throwing away of things precisely.  The cheap beds we bought the kids are not going back with us so yesterday I had some fun taking the son's bed apart (using brute force and hitting it against a brick pillar on our back porch at times).  Parts of that bed were made very well while other parts were not.  The son is now sleeping on his mattress on the floor and now the daughter is upset that she HAS to sleep on her bed and has begged me several times this morning to destroy her bed as well.  If it would fit in our trash bin I would but there isn't any room left.  We have someone who is taking our couch and another person who is going to take our TV (both were purchased down here in TX).  The TV person has mentioned (bragged) before about having never paid for a TV in his life (he is my age) so I am keeping his streak alive I guess.  I threw out a scanner / printer / copier thing that quit working and also threw out my cheap LP player (that was missing a needle).  I am hoping to fit in the same size U-haul truck as when I moved down here so if I don't need something, it is going in the trash or going to someone who will come and take it away.

We are heading down the street to the neighbor's tonight to watch the Colts play the Chargers tonight.  As soon as the Colts scheduled playoff game was known, I quickly went on the lookout for a friend who would let us come over to watch the game.  I had to be careful since the Cowboys missed the playoffs so I called upon my only neighbor who is a Saints fan.  They are used to not making the playoffs so their period of mourning after the regular NFL season is shorter.  If the Colts win this week I might be able to find a Cowboys fan's house to go to to watch next weekend's game.  Maybe it would just be easier to sign up for cable (nah).

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 349

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I am really enjoying my (daughter's) new camera.  It takes 8 MP pictures and since my old one was only a 4 MP, this one makes my pictures look a lot better.  Being the cheap person that I am, I decided to go with the same brand (Kodak) as my old one solely since they accept the same rechargeable battery.  Of course they do not use the same docking station so the only way to charge the battery is to take it out of her camera and put it in my old one and then dock it.  So basically my old camera has been reduced to a battery holder solely for charging but it served me well for the few years that I have had it.

It was a little foggy when I woke up this morning...

I thought the Christmas lights looked pretty cool through the fog (and any excuse to use the new camera will do).  This house belongs to the neighbors across the street.  We did not get to know them that well but we do know that they are from Sweden and have been in Texas about as long as we have.  The son plays with their 13 year old a lot of the time and sometimes the daughter will play with their other son who is 4.  Last year when we first moved in he was a little difficult to understand as when he talked he combined baby talk with English and Swedish.  His mother had to translate usually.

The son took some of his Christmas money and bought a nerf-like gun that shoots little suction cup rockets...

This is a zoomed in photo of our light fixture that is about 12 foot off the ground.  I shot these two darts up there as the son promised me that (eventually) they would come down.  I shot these up there around noon yesterday and had to swat at them this morning while standing on the dining room table.  I suppose they would have fallen down eventually but I had to get them down before the wife noticed (though standing on the table did make her suspicious).

The wife is in full move mode now (though we are still 30+ days away).  She has lots of ideas on where we should live when we get to Kokomo.  She tends to swing from idea to idea very quickly as well.  So far this morning we have gone from living in my mother's house for a few weeks while we look for a home to calling a local builder (that call alone is deserving of a blog really but the wife does not blog and she needs to tell it really).  From there we thought about renting a house that some friends of ours have open until July and then we moved on to talking about calling her architect friend and designing a house.  All this before 11 AM as well!  I just make hand motions like I am riding a roller coaster and wait for the next big idea.  I am sure she might have a few more ideas before the week (or day) is over.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 348

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

The first day of this year started about like any other.  Namely, the dog woke us up very early demanding attention and breakfast (not sure which order she prefers them in though I think she probably has no preference).  She did wait until 6 AM though compared to 5 most mornings.  Since we did not get to bed until around 1 AM, I am thinking we are going to crash and burn early this afternoon.  This is not good as we are supposed to go 2 doors down for New Year's Eve party leftovers and college football.  The wife is going to do lunch around noon with some other friends so our 2009 is starting out very social.  That is one thing the wife and I have really learned during our time in Texas, how to be social.  Back in Indiana we always had family to hang out with or call on if we had a need.  Down here we had to rely on friends (good friends) for all of our support.  We got plugged into a great Sunday School class and have plugged in nicely (thanks mostly to the wife) with our neighbors near the house that we are in now.  I think it will be harder to leave behind all these folks in Texas than it was to leave our Hoosier friends (our lifelong Hoosier friends) a little over 2 years ago.

I don't really have any New Year's resolutions.  I have heard other people say that they only have one resolution and that was not to make any resolutions.  Perhaps I should make a resolution not to make a resolution not to make resolutions.  This will allow me to make a resolution later if I feel the need and allow me to say that I actually made a resolution.  I know that I am not going to make a resolution to blog 100 times in 2009.  When the guys were talking last night, we agreed that we welcomed the passing of 2008 since the economy turned so sour.  One guy though mentioned that we might look back this time next year and hope that 2009 was as good as 2008.

Anyway, here's to you faithful reader and here's hopin' your 2009 will be great and as always...

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon