Tiny's Tantalizing Text

I haven't felt very creative lately, so, sorry about the lack of posting. Could be because it has been warmer here than I like it...pushing 90 every day. Sunday was rough on me, because our central air wasn't working. It was like the condensor or evaporator were clogged and/or iced over. We shut 'er down over night and thankfully it worked fine the next day and since (so far). Sunday could have also had a little bit to do with Saturday night. You see, I have a couple of real good friends that live in the next town over, and one of them has a daughter who graduated from High School this year. Her party was Saturday from 4:00 to 7:00 for an open house (non-alcoholic), but her Dad invited me to come late and stick around for the after party (beer served). Now, I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but since the first of the year, I really haven't been drinking very much. Seems like 3 is pretty much my limit for now, when even 6 months ago, it wasn't even a good start. Anway, back to the party. I showed up at about 6:30 to make sure I had a little food in the belly to offset some of the alcohol. The last teacher left at about 7:15, so that's when the cooler was brought out to the back side of the Shelter House, and those of us that were of age dug in. I think we had 4 rounds there before getting the inside of the shelter house cleaned up and heading up to "dad's" patio. A few rounds later, it has become 11:00 and the other non-family couple that was still there decided to leave, and I decided to make my break for it then as well. Who knows, I might STILL be there drinking if I hadn't left then.

Sorry dear readers, that last sentence reminded me of another story that I just gotta tell you now. This one is about a party I went to about 4 years ago. We had done an in-bar dart league with the same teams playing each other every week for 8 weeks, and decided to have a real blow out bash at the end. One couple on the league had a nice secluded acreage, another couple were just starting a DJ'ing business, and the rest of us were just lookin' for a reason. I should also mention at this time that the couple with the acreage also had a daughter about my age that I was VERY interested in. Anyway, the party plan we came up with was for the dart players and their spouses who didn't play on the league would show up at (I think) 5:30 for a steak fry, and other people were to show up later for drinks and all around fun. Now, since this was 4 years ago, and I hadn't yet learned that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't going to be able to drink Milwaukee dry, at least in one night, I brought a cooler with 2 cases of beer in it, along with a huge jug of Kamikaze's mixed up. The beer was for me, the kamikaze's were for anybody with the courage. I aslo brought my big ol' heavy duty "lawn chair" that I had built a couple of years earlier when I was laid up with a bum hip (not doing that story yet, maybe some time when I don't have anything better). Well, the party's going along fine...getting to be about 8:00 or so, when I decided it was time to adjourn down closer to the barn and the designated music/dance "floor" area. I carried my cooler down first, then came back for my chair. Now this thing weighs close to 50 pounds, and a couple of friends asked if I'd like some help with it, but, since I was already drinking and feeling like Superman, I grasped it by the top rail of the backrest and the front rail of the seat, and hoisted it over my head for the 40 yard walk. Once I got to where I was going to park my butt for a lot of the rest of the night, instead of setting the chair down, I acted like a body builder and did 10 reps of pushing it from just over my head to full arm extension. At this time, the daughter that I was interested in still hadn't shown up, since she was in Southern Kansas with an uncle that wasn't in very good shape...she was coming to the party though. The sun went down and the music cranked up. Those of us that weren't feeling much pain started dancing and stuff. Now, this part is a little gross, so if you must, skip down to the next paragraph. You know how when you're drinking on a full stomach and then you start shakin' it all about, you feel the need to vomit? Well, this feeling hit me about now. However, I'm not your ordinary bear. I decided to sit on my chair and swallow air for a while to try to get rid of this feeling. Now, I don't know why I didn't just walk around behind my chair and hurl, but I hit the point of no return and for some reason even I can't come up with, decided not to let any of it out of my mouth and swallowed it again (definately tasted best the first time, not so bad the second coming up, but downright disgusting the third time going back down).

Okay, now that I have the rest of you back (chickens, lol), I think the daughter finally showed up. And, out comes the box for a really disturbing game that the DJ's came up with. Since the daughter (from here on, my friend) hadn't been into the beer as much as the rest of us yet, she wasn't going to play, but she decided to hang out behind my chair (which had since been moved to the middle of the dance "floor", along with many others). This game involved a bag of clothes being passed around and the DJ starting and stopping the music. I ended up with a bra on my head (wasn't gonna fit my chest area), a "pull up" on my arm (no way in hell it was gonna fit anywhere else), and a few other women's garments strategically located. About 3:00 most of the guests left, but me, my friend, a buddy of mine, and another guy ended up on the deck (yes I still had my 50# chair in tow). Sunrise the 2 other guys left, and about 6:30 my friend decided to go to bed. She tried to convince me to go along up, but I didn't (been kicking myself very hard about that ever since). Instead I went for a little walk around the acreage...down to the fire ring where there were still some warm embers...into the pasture that served as our parking lot...etc. I then got in my truck, drove to where my cooler still was, loaded that up, then drove up to the sidewalk just down from the deck to get what little sleep I was going to get. About 7:00 I heard something and looked up to the deck, where the guy that owned the acreage was sitting. So, what do I do? Drag my ass back up to the deck and have a Pepsi to wake up. One by one, the homeowner's wife and parents come out to the deck for their morning coffee. I think it was around 10:00 or so that we finally decided to do some breakfast and my friend hauled her butt outta bed...complaining she was still drunk. The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon held decent conversation, but people were getting tired. I did actually make the 5 mile drive home to try to get an hour nap, but it was so humid in my living room that I didn't get much sleep. I had been invited back out for Supper, and since I had forgotten my chair and cooler, I was almost obligated to return. This time tho, the beer came back out and much more conversation ensued. I finally returned home for good at about 10:00 PM. I don't remember if I slept good or not. I know I sure should have.

WOW, quite an entry for not knowing what to talk about when I started. Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry if I made you sick earlier. But, hey, you WERE warned. lol.

It was the summer of 1989, and my mother was in the hospital battling cancer. We had been having some different customers in the liquor store that summer, and at the time I was not very interested in carding anybody to see if they were old enough (I was only 19 myself). One late afternoon a guy that I'd sold to several times before came in and got his usual purchase, then Dad and I closed up to go visit Mom in the hospital. I think the date was July 7, but I could be wrong. Anyway, Mom passed away on July 17th of that year and we set about doing the funeral stuff, and slowly start to get our lives back in order. The evening of July 25th, we had closed the store and I was waiting for a buddy to arrive because we were going to go out for pizza just for the hell of it. Well, I look out the window and see 2 deputies walking down the sidewalk and turn to come to our door. I didn't know what to expect, didn't realize I had broken the law, so I just went to the door and opened it before they rang the bell. One of them then asks me to step outside and proceeds to tell me that he has a warrant for my arrest. You can imagine that I'm totally shocked, stunned, and speechless. I'm not disappointed, but I didn't get to wear the iron bracelets or ride behind the screen separating the driver from the arrestee. Well, we pull up to the police station and get out. I get my fingerprints taken, my pictures taken, and then they ask me if I have $230 bail money. Luckily, they took checks then, and I had just that afternoon decided I had enough money in my checking account to make a decent transfer to savings (last time I've ever had extra money laying around). Dad had followed us down to the station, so I didn't have to use my phone call (do you suppose I now have 2 if I get arrested again?).

Remember I was waiting for a buddy to go out for pizza? Well, when we finally returned home, I called his place to see if he was there, and his mom said that no, he was out for the evening with Tim (me). I'm not sure if I explained the situation to her at that point or left it up to him, but I ended up going for a drive to see if I could find him, caught a glimpse of his vehicle on what was going to be his last trip by our house before giving up, and we finally got to go have our pizza. We did, however go to the Pizza Hut in the town to the North of us instead of the originally planned Pizza Hut in the town South of us that also has the police station I'd just spent time in.

It has been a long time since my last post here...after my promise to keep updating regularly.

Dad's at another funeral this morning. This time for a cousin (I guess) of his, that also is the Dad of 2 of my High School classmates. Even though we still live in/near the same town, I'm not very close with these guys. Yes, I was the DD for both of their bachelor parties, but that was closer to when we graduated. That reminds me...I almost went to jail for the second time on the second party...here are both stories since I'm bored.

The first party was a pretty quiet deal, even though we ended up at the stripper bar (of course, that was the main destination). We met at the local bar to get the party started with the dads of both the bride and groom in attendance. Played a couple of drinking games (yes, I participated with pop instead of beer), before the rest of the partiers decided to do a Rumple Minze shot that was ignited. Groom's dad didn't know it was lit and wanted to know what it smelled like....yep, inhaled a little of the flame. I think it was about 9:30 or 10:00 when we decided to head down the road 13 miles to the strip club. At the time I had a 1983 Ford E150 conversion van that normally seated about 7 people. We piled 13 bodies in there for the trip. Big mistake, every time I got over 40 mph, somebody would move and that would cause the entire van to bob back and forth...all I could do to control it. Anyway, now we get to the club, everybody gets through the id check and we proceed to "look at the ladies". 2 of the guys that were along are pretty quiet and shy like I am, and the groom knew this, so what does he do? He gets the current dancer over to our table and buys the 3 of us table dances. Had I been drinking, I probably would have stuck around, but sober, shy, and being the first time in an establishment like that kinda freaked me out, so I went out to wait in the van until closing time. While out there, I had a small conversation with a cop that I knew in that town, and generally just watched traffic until 1:30 or so. Well, we then loaded everybody up and headed to the truck stop in that town for breakfast, dropped 2 guys off, then proceeded back up the highway. I don't know if it was because there were 2 less bodies, or if they guys were all passed out, but the van handled a lot better on the return trip.

Now, the second party a month or 2 later. It started similar to the first one, local bar to start, head to strip club. This time there were a few different people along, my 2 quiet, shy buddies were not, and the total head count was only 7-9. One of the guests was recently married and his wife didn't approve of strippers (my guess is not many openly do, but a lot won't complain in special circumstances). Anyway, this guy and I were standing outside the door debating whether to go in or not when another in our party can't get through the id check because he forgot his id. Of course, he's not a normally quiet guy, and half drunk at this time, so he starts yelling at the id checker. Well, me and the guy that didn't want to make his wife mad get the other guy out of the door and corralled into another bar to have a drink. Then we went across the street and around the corner from the strip club to another bar for a drink, and run into the bride and her sister who are out for a few drinks. Standing outside talking to them, and what happens? The groom comes running around the corner, I look up and see a police car pull in, and all hell breaks loose. Seems the groom didn't like it that one of his friends couldn't come into the strip club and wouldn't let it go. Fortunately, with the help of the married guy and another guy, we got the groom into the van, grabbed everybody we could find, and I took them to another bar away from uptown, before heading back up for the rest of the group. We didn't stop for breakfast this time because I didn't want to be in the police station getting mug shots and finger prints again (guess I better tell that story next). Now, I start dropping people off, and the groom just happens to be passed out cold in the very back seat of the van. Get to his house, and his brother gets out, leaving me and the other guy that helped round up the group to somehow get the groom out. We finally got him woke up enough to stagger out of the van, but he runs off into the trees. His mother comes out of the house to thank me for doing the driving and getting everybody home safe, and says she'll take care of the groom. Heard at the wedding that the groom slept outside on the lawn.

Only a day and a half of work left this week. I think I'm starting to realize what a mistake it was to have a few beers after Fire Department training last night, on an empty stomach. A year ago, this probably wouldn't have been a problem, but since last November or so, I have drastically cut back on my alcohol intake. I started to feel it about 2/3 of the way through the second beer, but decided to have a third anyway. I don't think I'm hungover, but I'm tired and having a hard time waking up, although I've been out of bed for 2 hours as of this writing.

It's kinda boring here at work today, it seems like most of the town went to the funeral. The deceased just happens to be one of my best friends' father, but was also one of my dad's best friends when they were in school. So, last night Dad and I went to the visitation/wake/viewing thing at the funeral home. It was the first time I've gone to that and gotten teary eyed when it wasn't for a direct member of my family....in fact, I even got choked up when I tried to talk to my buddy.

Working alone pretty much all of the rest of the week. Dad is going to play golf this afternoon (if he ever gets back from the funeral lunch), then tomorrow at noon, he and his girlfriend leave for the Eastern part of the state for her class reunion. They come back either Sunday (when Dad wants to) or Monday (initial plan).

Well, thanks for reading.

Since I made a batch for our cookout on Sunday. Start with a bag of Lynden Farms Country Style Hashbrowns (I guess any brand will work, around 1/4" dice). Dump them into a 9x13x2 pan and set aside. Melt a 16 ounce block of velveeta cheese and stir in a can of Cream of Mushroom soup and an 8 ounce tub of sour cream (I use Blue Bunny brand). Once heated, mixed, and smooth, pour this mixture over the hashbrowns and stir together. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes, however long it takes for the potatoes to get done.

They are almost as good reheated in the microwave as they are straight from the oven.

True Colors





Slippery When Wet





Romancing the Stone





She Blinded Me With Science






Jump



True colors and she blinded me with science weren't really what I had in mind, but I got to be pressed for time. The "science" picture is of my late sister, who in one way or another did teach me a lot about science. And, if the cat on her shoulder looks familiar, you've probably seen my kids page on my website.

But I finally decided to post a couple of pictures of my leg, for anybody who might be interested in seeing what I've been talking about. Here is a warning though, I think these pictures are really gross and disgusting, so don't complain to me about it, you were warned.

If you feel you are ready and really want to see it, click this link.

Now, if you need something to cleanse your eyes/mind, here are some pictures of my kids.

What brings this post on? Well, I finally got some new batteries in my digital camera. I did that mainly to be able to start taking more pictures to play
Ethel's photo game, but I also really wanted to start documenting more of the stuff I see on a daily basis...we'll see how long that lasts.

Last night, for the first time in MANY years, I slept from before midnight to just after 7:00. To what do I owe this lengthy sleep? I believe it was courtesy of my CPAP machine. This morning when I woke up, I really couldn't even feel that I had it on. Plus, the weather got a bit cooler, not sure if that made any difference since I don't have a window open or anything, and the house is fairly well insulated.

Hopefully this was the first of many consecutive good nights of sleeping, that will translate into more energy, which will translate into losing some tonnage, creating more energy, and so on, and so on, and.....you get the picture.

Every morning, I have a certain routine where I read new posts on 4 or 5 message boards, then look at my favorite blogs, followed by checking my e-mail. Well, when I'm looking at the blogs, I feel disappointed when I find out that nothing new was posted since my last visit, yet I haven't made a post on my own blog since last Friday. Same thing happens with the message boards and e-mail....I rarely post and send even fewer e-mails, yet I depend on these things to keep me entertained. I'll try to do better about updating my blog and not feeling disappointed by un-updated blogs/message boards/lack of e-mails.

Health news. I'm not really sure why, but I seem to be walking a little better now, even though the bottom of my left foot is sore, and my right knee hurts from compensating for the foot. I don't know if I've lost a couple of pounds or simply gained back a little confidence in my walking, but for a while, I was so worried about tripping that I could barely walk at all. I still don't like uneven surfaces, but when I can see it's flat and level, I get to moving fairly well. My left leg seems to be getting better (read past posts to get the full story), but I still have a ways to go.

I love having prescriptions that can be refilled without having to see the doctor. A few weeks ago, I noticed that my leg was a little pinker and hotter than usual, but my antibiotic bottle was empty (I still had a couple of the complimentary pills that he gave me on the original script tho). Well, instead of having to wait 3 days for an appointment and the infection getting that much worse, I simply popped one of the freebie pills, called the pharmacy for the refill, and had the new pills that night. 3 days later the infection was gone, but I took the meds for another 3 days to make sure it stays gone. Now I have some leftovers so I don't have to call the pharmacy right away, I can get down to 1 or 2 pills before calling. However, after that next script is filled, I don't have any more refills and I'll have to visit the doc if I need more.

Well, that should be enough for today's look into my life. Until next time, keep it real.

..for my friend Ethel. She says she turns 30 today, but I dunno, she's taking it too well. :-) Of course, my body fell apart just after my 29th, so it was almost a relief to hit 30.

Happy Birthday Ethel.....best wishes for many more.

Since I stole this idea on Monday and haven't been very productive since, I've decided that I must get this posted before I go any further with the work I have to do. The idea was stolen from one of my stalking and blogging buddies, Raz-A-Ma-Taz.

1. FIRST NAME? Tim
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I'm aware of, Middle name is from Mom's Father.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last time I remember is August of 2001 when my sister passed away.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Who writes anymore?
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Baloney/Balogna
6. KIDS? Haven't met their mother yet.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I dunno, I'm kinda stuck-up. ;)
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Would this be considered one?
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? NEVER
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? As far as I know.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not on purpose until I lose mega weight.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Grape Nuts
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Depends what I'm doing
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Cold
16. SHOE SIZE? 14EEE
17. RED OR PINK? Red
18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Weight
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Mom and Sister
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? N/A
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black/Purple
22. LAST THING YOU ATE? A slice of Burger King's Hershey's Sunday Pie
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The hum of 2 computer fans and my chair squeaking
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? The one that don't get used
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Exhaust from a Methanol 355 motor.
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My hair cutter
27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Depends if she's coming at me or going away from me.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Sure
30. FAVORITE SPORT? Racing
31. EYE COLOR? Blue
32. HAT SIZE? I dunno
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, can't stand things close to my eyes
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Cooked
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Comedy
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Either "8 Seconds" or "The Pelican Brief"
37. WHAT COLOR UNDIES ARE YOU WEARING? White
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
39. HUGS OR KISSES? Couldn't say....been a long time since either.
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? BK's Hershey's Sunday Pie
41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a
42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a
43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Books?
44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? My mouse and Notorial Stamp....Oh, you mean the design..it's the freebie from Dell
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Whose Line, News, AFV
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Racing Engines
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Who?
48. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Atlanta or Washington D.C.
49. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Having to pee at noon and not go until 6:00 PM
50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Summer of 1970 in a hospital in Western Iowa