Tired

Ok, it's been several days since the last post. And, guess what? I don't feel one damn bit better.
Grr...

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I was actually going to leave work early today, go home, and get some sleep to try to shake this thing, but then I realized that a tire on my auto was heading towards Flatsville and so I made a mad dash to reach the nearest Conoco to fill it up with good ol' Oklahoma air. After that, it was off to the tire shop to get it checked out. You do not want to drive on a tire that is heading to Flatsville on Oklahoma roads. The number of shredded tires along the highway is obscene.

I called a co-worker to come pick me up at the tire place and he told me to look in the back of his pickup. Sure enough, he'd been at the tire place earlier that day to pick up a new tire. His wife drove on one that was headed to Flatsville and didn't stop to add air or call him and it cost him $140 vs. the $20 it might have.

Ironically, my wife's car had a tire with a slow leak earlier this weekend and she was headed to the local tire joint today too. Ok, at this point you may be thinking that someone has it in for us. Quite possibly true, I suppose. However, in an attempt to avoid giving into the paranoia completely, as I usually do, you have to realize we recently moved into a new neighborhood where some new construction is occurring. Hopefully, this is the reason why this is happening all of a sudden.

What I'd really like to get on my car is a set of these:

Looks normal, right? Well, notice that you can see through the tires? No air required! How freakin' cool is that?

Here's an up close shot:

I do have to wonder if the ride is as smooth and if the tires will last as long. The bonus would be no more air valves, no having to deal air compressors at gas stations, etc. Also, they would essentially be immune to police stop sticks. Not that, I, well, need that feature too much. Ok, there was that one time, but that doesn't mean it will happen again.

-la

Karma

Ya know, I should know better. In my last post, I made the declaration that I needed to get in better shape, start moving, etc. I'm thinking I must have pissed off someone because the very next day I was struck down with a stomach bug, mild food poisioning, or just the creeping crud. I'm still feeling like dookie today and the only thing I'm looking forward to is getting away from work and back home where I can be lazy in front of the telly. So much for my grand scheme.

Ho-kay...enough with the bitch session.

Will post more later.
-la

I'm Not Crazy 'Cuz I Take the Right Pills Every Day

I've decided to get fit. I need to. I've been doing so much of nothing physical for oh, the past two years or so, that I feel like a mound of mashed potatoes. I think what triggered it was that while a cohort of mine and I were trekking about on some aimless mission for work today and stopped in to Panera Bread to get a sandwich and salad. We were waiting in line and I saw this woman I used to run with when we were training for the OKC Marathon. She looked good and it reminded me of all the fun (and some of the pain) I had when I was running and how good I usually felt afterward (I can't say I always felt good...I came home and puked the first time I ran for four hours straight).

Anyway, I take my vitamins, minerals, oils, try to eat healthy, etc. But, dammit, I don't get enough exercise. My cohort with whom I was lunching is very health concious and has been inspiring me as well. He's running at least three times a week, so I'm feeling guilty that I'm not...ok, maybe that's not the truest definition of inspiration, but whatever blows your skirt up, I guess.

So, it's time to get movin'. The days are getting cooler (only 95 and humid as hell here today) and Fall is just around the corner -- primo running weather. I'm also considering trading in my mountain bike and my wife's mountain bike for a road bike. I don't think I've ever taken the damn mountain bike off road anyway.

What do you do for exercise? Drop a comment and let me know. I'm always lookin' for new things to try. I've been doing WAY too many 12oz curls lately, so let me know how you keep in shape.

-la

Dude, where's my sanity?

Ok, I don't really want to flame work on here, but why, oh why, do managers have you perform the most inane tasks that have no meaning other than for the sheer sake of checking the task off some mental list they keep deep in their brains?

Grr...

Meanwhile, back @ the ranch.

The missus was feeling unwell last night and this morning. She has a cold, I think. The 100 degree fever she had going last night had me concerned enough to force her to call our friend who's her OBs physicians assistant (PA) and get some advice. She probably did it more to sooth my nerves than hers, but that's ok. I did feel better after the PA told her to take some tylenoids. The fever came down, but she woke up this morning feeling even worse. When I called her this afternoon, she was hinting for comfort food of choice: a Braum's Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake made with hot fudge. Yeah, if that don't cure ya, nothin' will.

Anyway, on my way home from picking up mini-me, I'll swing by and get one for her. Sure to make her feel better in no time. Well, at least mentally. And, that's usually half the battle.

-la

Skool Dayz....

I met the ex this morning at my son's new elementary school to see the kiddo off for his first day of third grade. He looked so much older than I remember being in third grade. Of course, he's going to a much nicer public school than I remember going to back then as well.

It was funny, though. I was there with my camera trying to snap pics of him on the official first day and he was doing his best to ignore me and not be embarrassed that his Dad would do SUCH A HORRIBLE THING as take pictures of him on the first day of school.

Because of the wonderful and non-stop inclimate weather we've been having in the Sooner state, all of the kiddos had to meet in the school gym before they were released to their classes. I was sitting next to him asking him if he was nervous, trying to remind him that he had to get on a bus this afternoon to go to the Y for his after school program (something else he's never had to do before), and basically trying to get him to smile and relax, when all of a sudden he said, "Dad, you're embarrassing me..."

"It's my job as your father to do that son, you should know that by now."

I then proceeded to give a big kiss right on his cherubic cheek. He turned an even brighter shade of red. I know he didn't like it, but I'm hopeful that someday when he has kids, he'll remember that and do the same thing to his son or daughter.

-la

Is Pregnancy Contagious?

It sure feels to me like pregnancy is contagious. The lady of the house, being in the "family way" has been a bit, well, scattered, if you will, lately. I've been following suit, I'm hoping, out of sheer empathy. However, it's now starting to manifest itself into my physical realm for which I'm not altogether pleased.

My son's 9th birthday is coming up. For the past few months he's been bugging me to give him guitar lessons. I figured, ok, now is the time to get him his own setup. So, a co-worker of mine just happened to have a mini-Strat that he was no longer using since his son had graduated to a full-size gee-tar. He brought it over and I bought it from him for a little over half what a new one costs. I took it to the local gee-tar shop and they polished it up, changed the strings, gave it the once over twice, etc. Anyway, it looks great, plays great (of course I had to try it out...) and I'm very happy with it.

However, I wanted to pay for the guitar, so this morning I went to look for my checkbook and, of course, couldn't find it. Grr...

Having done a cursory examination of the homestead, auto, and miscellaneous pocketry turned up nothing. The wife said she'd look for it, but she hasn't found it either. The bad part is that I can't, for the life of me, think where the hell I put it. Not a clue. So, you know what I'll be doing tonight. Grr....

-la

The Guitar Shred Show

I was blog reading and came across this on a co-worker's site. It's freakin' awesome...especially if you're a guitar player or ever dreamed of being one... be sure to check it out.

http://www.guitarshredshow.com/

I have to give props to Ray and his blog for this piece of enlightenment. Thanks, Ray!

Revolution Calling

I just got a call from one of my strange friends from my past life. I've had quite a few of these characters in my life, and every once in awhile they pop up and remind me why I moved to the South (or Southwest, depending on who you ask).

Anyway, her name is Denise and she told me, in great detail, about the revolution she started over the 4th of July. Apparently, it turned into quite the coup d'etat at her housing complex where she was merely trying to spread some patriotic holiday cheer. Aw, hell, let's just roll the tape: (click the video link and ignore the car commercial)

http://www.newswatch50.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=C3CF4369-61F3-499D-8A09-D46AB7ED0BCF

Yes, she is missing some teeth. Don't hold it against her. She's really nice and a good cook.
She made cookies for me once and they rocked.

-la

Green Day: Quickie Recap

Ok, I'm not going to do a complete show review b/c it's pretty damn cheesy and unless you were at the show, it would likely be boring and would have no impact on you anyway.

What I will tell you is this: Green Day is the most energetic band I've EVER seen. Billie Joe is hyperkinetic and must need a boatload of Ritalin on his off hours. This show had more crowd participation than I've ever see before at any concert from the very first minute the band arrived on stage. The show also contained the following elements: explosions, fire of various colors, crowd surfing, water spraying, confetti guns, various costumes, and 1 accordion.

The coolest part for me: Billie Joe decided to form a band right in the middle of the show and pulled a kid from the audience who could play drums, one that could play bass, and one that could play guitar. Each Green Day member showed their proteges what they wanted them to play (3 chords and a dream, baby!) and, damn, if they weren't great! Then, Billie asked his new guitar player the kid who came up where he was from and if he liked that guitar he was playing. Of course, the kid said yes, but then Billie told him "Cool, because you get to keep it!" The crowd went crazy, of course. Very freakin' cool. Probably made the kid's year.

Anyway, it was a helluva party. If you have the opportunity, GO! And, smuggle in something better than a damn phone camera and send me pics at lex_armenia@yahoo.com. My pics sucked as you can see below. It would have been cool to have a video cam there. Yeah, that totally would have rocked.

Next up: Trying to get tix for George Carlin.

-la

Another Pic Where You Can't Make Out Anything

Then the lights came on!

Setting up for Green Day

It's amazing how poorly these cameras handle brighter than average lighting.

Jimmy eat world.

Ok, I told you these camera pics suck the big one.

This is right before Jimmy Eat World went on stage.

Hoop Jumping 101

I'm having one of those days that I want to get to the end of so that I can do "fun stuff". The closer I get the more hoops there seem to jump through. Aargh.

The "fun stuff" this evening is the Jimmy Eat World/Green Day concert. I'll be taking pics with the phone camera and sending them to the blog, so stay tuned. Phone cameras generally suck, but I'm hoping to at least make out Billie Joe's punk snarl.

The Patriot

Slept well last night. Jack now follows me everywhere at home. I have no idea what I did to deserve such fealty, but there it is just the same. Last nigh the mrs. came down to my dungeon b/c she heard me playing my gee-tar. She walked into the room and Jack was sitting dutifully a few feet away watching my every move. She's more amazed by this than I, since I used to be one of those "dog people", according to her.

Panama the frog. He's my work buddy.

Purr-fect

Teakers learned a new trick yesterday.

We'd been feeding Mr. D. up on the countertop in an effort to sequester him from the others b/c he's old and needs to gain weight. We feed him the high-caloric canned food while the others get kibble. Well, Teakers figured out how to jump up and get to it as well. I'm sure he just learned it by watching Mr. D. do it a million times. Yes, Teakers is a bit, well, slow. I'm pretty sure he was dropped on his head as a kitten. Sweet as can be, but dumber than a box of rocks. Other names for him include, but are not limited to the following: shortbus, PF Chang, rox, minefield, snurgle, perogi dumpling, and (my personal favorite) Teakers von Squeekers the First Gay Kitty.

Jack was better last night.

I've been sleeping in the guest room since the emergence of Magic Fingers. The three cats in the house made their choices. Jack sleeps with me (of course...b/c he's so damn COOL!) and Mr. D. and Teakers sleep with MF. The other night Jack kept wanting to sleep on my head. As you've already surmised, I'm light sleeper, and Jack didn't pick up on this at first. After being thrown on the floor a few times, he finally figured it out, b/c, like I mentioned, he so damn COOL.

There was a time...

When I could sleep.

It could be the snoring. No, not mine. I could live with that. It's been scientifically proven that women's noses expand with pregnancy. And, with that, comes an increased likelyhood that they will snore more.

I tried beeswax earplugs (http://www.naturalearplugs.co.uk/) while simultaneously putting a pillow over my head. This cut down on the noise, but the vibration! Grr...if she stops, I tend to lay as quiet and as still as possible. I don't want to stir should ol' Magic Fingers start in again.