Tiny's Tantalizing Text

Politics

2008-01-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

I really don't like discussing politics, so this is a rare post for me. A couple of weeks ago, I believe between Christmas and New Years, I got a phone call from the John Edwards Campaign, and they stated he was going to have a meeting/speach in the town South of where I live on Sunday afternoon. I decided to attend this function just to see what it was all about and possibly get to shake the hand of one of the people who have a chance to be elected President of the United States of America.

The event was to begin at 4:00, so I took off from home at about 2:15 for the 15 minute drive and then sat in my truck another 15 or so minutes before venturing inside the restaurant it was being held at. There were probably 15 people inside waiting already, and as the room wasn't quite ready, kind of stacking up in the hallway. I signed in and proceeded to get myself as much out of the way as I could, while still being able to take in the sights of the people coming in. At about 3:15 or so, we were told we could go find a seat, so I took a seat against the South wall of the room. To my left, there were a couple of flags hung, then moving along the West wall was another and then a screen for viewing movies and such.

Just after 4:00, the first speaker took the floor (chairs were arranged around the floor in a circle), and he was the County Democratic Party Chairman. About this time, I look to the door that is behind the flags to my left, and Mr. Edwards and his family are standing there ready to be introduced. Not a good time for approaching him, so I stayed where I was, and listened while the County Chair introduced the State Chair, who then eventually introduced Elizabeth Edwards, who gave a little speech before introducing John.

I was very impressed with his speech and pretty much decided that he was the Candidate I would be supporting in the Iowa Caucus a few days later. Once the speech was over, John posed for some pictures and shook hands on his way back out of the room. I carefully got into position to be one of the people that shook his hand, and it's a good thing I was able to or I would have had to physically attack 2 people that pushed their way past me for the same opportunity.

On to the Iowa Caucus held Thursday, January 3rd. This was the first time in the 20 years I've been eligible to vote that I've taken the opportunity to attend this function. I've voted in every General Election since I've been able, but have usually skipped the Primaries and Caucuses. We had a crowd of 46 voters in the room for our Caucus, which was more than double the attendance in 2004. When we broke into the groups, I held with my intention and went with the Edwards group. The Richardson group (my second choice), was 2 people short of viability, and since my Dad and another guy that I respect a lot were in that group, I switched to theirs, along with another person that got recruited.

Once it was all said and done, Candidates Obama and Clinton had 2 delegates, and Edwards and Richardson each got 1 delegate to the County Convention. I was also selected as an alternate delegate for Richardson, as well as a member of the County Precinct Committee (don't yet know what that entails, first meeting is the 23rd of January).

Well, now that my life is that much more open, I hope I haven't bored anybody out there reading this...or changed your opinion of me for the worse, knowing that I'm sort of Politically active this time around.

Thanks for reading.

2 days after Christmas

2007-12-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hello reader(s), it's that time again to apologize for not posting more often. Since my last post sort of centered around the passing of my bestest buddy, Sherman, I guess I should update you on my emotional state. As late as 2 days ago, I held off from telling Dad something, as I just would not have gotten through it without breaking down and crying. On Christmas Eve, Dad was up at his girlfriend's house and I was at home with our 2 remaining cats...Bela and Sneetch. Bela decided she was going to lay in the living room for once, on a towel we just had in the middle of the floor, and take a nap. She rarely does this (spend time in the same room as me) when Dad's not there. It was nice just having a cat to talk to (if she cared to listen) once again. That's what I miss the most about Sherman...he was always there by my feet (if he wasn't on my lap), ready to listen. He was a pain in the butt about it sometimes, but I miss it nevertheless.

Yesterday morning, Sneetch just had to be a pain in the rear end...about 4:30, she was sitting in the middle of the basement floor, far enough from my bed for me to see her when I woke up. She then proceeded to push the bathroom door fully open (I close it most of the way to let some light out, but open enough so that the girls can walk in to get to their bathroom and dry food dish overnight), causing the light to shine in my eyes brightly. I should have gotten up to close it again, but I didn't want to have to try to get comfortable again in the same or similar position for the final 2 hours or so of sleep. I just slid down and tried to sleep on my side, but it didn't work.

News from the health front. 2 weeks ago, we started a new wrapping process on my leg that's been swelled/swelling for nearly 8 years now. A week ago is the first time in 8 months that my leg didn't leak any fluid out and onto the floor, and has been nicely dry ever since...must be working, at least to some extent. It also seems to be getting some of the fluid out of my leg, as the place where my shin meets the top of my foot, I can actually touch there without going under a fold of skin filled with excess fluid. Last night was a very trying time when we were re-wrapping the leg. Neither Dad or I are in very good physical shape, and we had gotten the under wraps pretty much done and were putting the over wrap on when I told him that I could'nt feel my foot. He then tried to flick at my toes a couple of times, and I couldn't feel it. As we had struggled for about a half hour getting it this far, neither of us was in a very good mood when we had to undo what had been done and start over once the feeling returned to my foot. We did, however find a little bit easier way to do the wrapping. A couple of modifications and possibly a construction project, and we can do it easily.

Well, I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and I wish you the best in the New Year.

Been gone too long again

2007-11-29T12:16:00.001-08:00

Hi. I'm going to start with some bad news, as I know that my lone remaining reader can relate to it. On November 12th, I lost my best buddy in the whole world...my cat Sherman. He hadn't been doing real good all summer, seeming to battle a neverending case of the sniffles. On Sunday the 11th, I noticed his left eye didn't look right, so I picked him up and looked closer. The eye was pretty much blocked off by some "mattery" stuff that had dried in place. I took a washcloth and wiped at it, it moved without him trying to get away so I continued and did get it off, revealing his real eye.

I gave him a hug and started to apologize for letting it get that bad without me noticing it, and he stuck his paw up to my lips, sort of as if to say "don't worry about it, I feel better now and you fixed it".

On his last day, he was laying between the living room and dining room, but still strong enough to say "Good Morning" as I walked by to get stuff ready to wrap my leg for the day. A short while later, while watching TV before going to work, I saw him get up and walk toward the hall that leads to the bathroom, he stumbled a bit, but then continued on his way. He then let out a wierd sound, so I went to check on him, he was laying down, but still living. I pretty much knew at that point that the time had come to say goodbye.

There was nothing I could do, so I left for work and told Dad about it, and that he'd probably find Sherman deceased when he went home for lunch, and that's exactly what happened.

Upon realizing just how long he'd been my buddy compared to other people in my life, it made sense, but at the time I couldn't figure out why I was crying more over the loss of a cat than I had for many of the PEOPLE who I've gone to funerals for (I gotta know somebody pretty well to go to their funeral). I had contact with him almost daily for nearly 16 years. My next best friends, I had met prior to meeting Sherman, but didn't become friends with them until a few years later. I can't believe that almost 2 weeks later, I'm still getting choked up typing this.

Anyway, enough of the sad stuff. On a happier note, I went to Thanksgiving Dinner with my Aunt, her Daughter, Son-in-law, 2 granddaughters, and another Nephew, at a restaurant that had a buffet for both Dinner and Supper crowds. I didn't stuff myself for once, only hit the buffet line once and didn't pile the plates 2 feet high.

I had also bought a Turkey earlier in the week that I was intending to roast for myself and try my hand at making some gravy. Well, when the location changed from my Aunt's basement to a restaurant that I could easily walk into, that plan changed and I suddenly had a project for my smoker. On Saturday evening, I put some water in a big pot, added half a bag of Morton Tender Quick (basically a curing agent), set the turkey in there, and topped the water off to cover the bird. Since I didn't really have a cool place to put the bird and the sink under the kitchen window stays cool anyway, I just poured ice in the sink around the pot and covered with foil and some insulating material.

On Sunday, I pulled the Turkey from the brine and transferred to a rack at about 1:30, then went and started preheating the smoker. About 2:45 I took the bird and 4 hours worth of Hickory Bisquettes and started smoking it at 250*. Five hours later I looked at my remote thermometer and it had dropped the signal, so I went out to the sender to see the temp of the bird and it said 159. That was good for me, so I unplugged the smoker and took the bird inside to cool a bit over the sink. A couple of hours later, it was time to carve and de-bone the bird and I set to it with my nice sharp Santuko knife, tasting a few of the delicious morsels as I went.

This project had the least amount of thought and effort put into it than any other, and I have to say the results are some of the best I've done.

Is this thing on?

2007-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hi, anybody who may stop by and read this. I've been MIA from here for a while, but kinda hope to get back into it.

My last post told of my getting a new business venture off the ground, selling Bradley Smokers and Accessories. I'm happy to say that I have sold 3 smokers and several boxes of the bisquettes that are burned to smoke the food. I also have 3 of the cheaper model smokers on backorder (hopefully only until the end of the month at latest), and quite possibly have them sold as soon as they come in the door.

Leg is still leaking badly...should probably go see the Doctor once, especially since I've noticed a little infection in the other leg again now. He'll probably cuss me out for not taking the fluid pills he prescribed, but I do have a couple of good excuses. First is that they don't seem to be helping the leg when I'm on them, and the second is that after a few days on them, I get a kind of a pain in the left side of my belly area....has happened the last 3 times I started on them.

Fire Department. Well, no real interesting calls, but during Fire Prevention Week last week, we held a Fundraising picnic. Haven't heard the tally yet, but I was told the crowd was really good. I spent the evening out with the grillers as I had been in charge of getting the food for the cookout, and spent the afternoon cutting the 560+ buns for the hamburgers and hot dogs. The place I had to order from never asked if I wanted them cut, so I assumed they would be...I'll know better if I do it again next year.

On August 19th, I bought a new Cell Phone, and set off on a quest to have my number ported from my old service provider (Alltel) to the new one (TracFone). After 13+ hours on the phone with Tech Support and Number Portability Departments from both companies, spread over 50 days, I finally had a working phone on October 9th.

Well, I think that's about it from this go-round. I hope it isn't so long until the next one, I really do enjoy writing here, I just don't do it enough.

Got a little update for ya

2007-08-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I had started a new business venture and was waiting on my new inventory. Well, I got impatient on Wednesday and made a call to the company to see if/when they were planning on shipping the product. They couldn't check on it, so they took my number and said they'd have to call me back. An hour later, still nothing, so I decided to check the online status thing again, and lo and behold, the status was changed to "shipped" (an hour and 10 minutes earlier, it was still "processing"). There was also a tracking number for Fed Ex, so I clicked on that and saw that the shipment was shipped the day before, and would arrive the following day.

Then came the wait on Thursday. This is the main reason I prefer UPS over Fed Ex. With UPS, I have my shipments by 10 AM or so, if they're arriving that day. The Fed Ex truck finally showed up at 3:30 PM.

Before I could play with them, I had to deliver some pop and beer to the Fire Station for our meeting that would be taking place later that evening, so I took care of that. Got back at about 5:00 (had to pack it all into the coolers so I only would have to ice them after work). Totally worn out at this point, as it was a long hot day, and carrying the pop and beer took a lot out of me. Sadly, I waited until this morning to unpack the 4 Rack Digital smoker and get it displayed, as well as displaying the bisquettes that weren't yet spoken for/sold. I also took one on my sales call, as my friends/customers there had ordered one of the ones that are backordered, and I was hoping to upgrade them to this one. So far, they haven't jumped at my offer.

Had a long day yesterday. In the afternoon, there was a big Ethanol leak in the town South of mine, that required our department as Mutual Aid (several others too). I didn't go there, but I did go to the station so I could get my report info together. After work, I dropped the ice off at the Fire Station, and relayed that I would go to training, but not the meeting...just plain wore out...left from there to get my cooler from home for some bottled water and Gatorade for the guys during training (chief caught me after the ice and told me to get it). As I was calling the convenience store to get that stuff together, something was paged, but I turned the radio down and missed it, and almost simultaneously, one of our firefighters called for assistance at an accident near the c-store I was going to. I'm not sure if we got paged on this or not.

Anyway, we got that taken care of (I picked up the stuff before responding to the accident), it was training time, actually a half hour later than it was supposed to start. I finally got home at 8:00 and got my soaking wet and heavy wrapping and towel off my leg (towel was to prevent fluid from going to the floor...didn't totally prevent this).

Have a good one.

Hi..do I have any readers left?

2007-07-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

If so, thank you for sticking by me and continuing to read the same post that's been there for almost 2 months. I really have no excuse for not posting more often.

Anyway, time to get ya up to speed on what's been going on in my corner of the universe. Nothing new on the health front, leg continues to drain, soaking my daily bandages in the process, as well as the floor under my chair. I've been over on Dad's chair as much as possible, as it doesn't put the pressure on it forcing fluid out like mine does for some reason.

Nothing new on weight loss...of course I haven't been doing much to spur it along, or even get it started.

Love life? That wasn't even around, and still isn't.

Business...ah, there we go, have some news there. I like my Bradley Smoker so much I decided to try to become a dealer. Went through the credit application, submitted it just before July Fourth (I think the Friday before), kept in touch with them until I knew it was approved on July 13th. Got one sold to a buddy so I could place my initial order of 3 smokers on Wednesday the 25th, and am now waiting for them to come in. Had a minor issue with the order entry people not getting it sent on, and then with the order itself...seems they're out of the model that I wanted 2 of, so I had to replace that with the next higher model. The order has now hit the processing stage (did that Friday the 27th), and now I'm waiting on it to change to shipped...giving them until Friday or I'll make another call.

We're also doing a little restructuring of our inventory lines. Not gonna go into it, just say that we're changing our approach on the Auto Parts front, still staying with NAPA though.

Well, I had another item, but lost it while typing...if I think of it, I'll post it later.

Thanks for reading.

HI, Miss me?

2007-06-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I took the last month off from writing here. I didn't intend to, but I could never think of anything blogworthy.

Health wise, I'm doing alright...no better, no worse, just holding my own I guess. Had a pretty exciting afternoon with the Fire Department on Tuesday of this week. About 2:30 in the afternoon, we got called for a guy who had taken a huge amount of a prescription drug he was given that morning after a trip to ER with a sliced wrist. We showed up with a light turnout (me and 3 others who actually worked with the patient). When I got to the scene, one of our guys came out to the EMS unit and got on the radio to call for a Deputy assist as the patient was not cooperating. Couple of minutes later, our other 2 responders came out as they had given up on trying to treat him without law enforcement there.

We were watching the doors when a guy (I didn't know at the time that he was the patient) came out of the house and started running. Since my fellow department members didn't give chase, it continued my ignorance of him being the patient, and by the time I safely backed up to give pursuit, I lost sight of him. I met the deputy after I had driven a block, and apparently we crossed the path of the runner, but didn't see him. A few minutes into the chase, we hear that he's possibly going to another house about 5 blocks away to get a gun, so the deputy speeds that direction, and I follow, if for no other reason than to call for help if the deputy gets shot/shot at. For some reason, I wasn't too concerned for my safety until the reality hit when I saw a trusted source carrying the gun out of the house to give to the deputy. I then thought I was pretty stupid to be sitting there watching this unfold.

Less than 10 minutes after word of the gun went over the radio, our town was inundated with law enforcement. 6 deputies, 1 State Patrol, 1 deputy from the county North of here, 4 DEA/DCI/FBI (I'm not sure, 2 suits, 2 "undercover" guys), and I think a couple more for good measure were meeting with us and the ambulance crew, getting a plan of action put together. About a half hour after this meeting, the guy was in police custody, with plans to be committed to the State Mental Facility.

It was fun....scary for a bit, but overall, a fun afternoon that might not have seemed that way at the time.

I'll try to keep blogging, but anymore I need something exciting to say...sorry. :D

Wednesday Whatever - Remember these?

2007-05-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Good morning. Got back from my trip to the Kansas Speedway around Midnight on Sunday night. Tired, but not bad considering I was the driver and had not slept well Saturday night.

We left town at 8:00 on Saturday morning, stopped for some gas & groceries 15 minutes from here, then set out on the highway for the rest of the trip. Made one stop in St Joseph, MO for a pop and "relief", then headed straight to the track, arriving at 12:45. The area had grown a LOT since I was last there 5 years ago, and one place I wanted to find was Arthur Bryants..a BarBQ place I'd heard had some good food. I took our normal exit, and since Yahoo maps showed 3 streets coming off of the road I was on, with Bryant's being at a "Y" between 2 of them, took the first left turn. This was a mistake because it took us into a mall parking lot.

It was then I decided to just give up and go to the track. We found our way to the street just on the North side of the parking lot and got pointed in the right direction when I saw the building I was looking for. We had already decided to just enter the track and grill some stuff, so that's what we did.

The parking lot was a bit soft, but I had no problems driving around and getting parked (had rained the day before). Weather was decent I guess...warm, but with a nice breeze. The rest of the day I spent sitting around people watching while my buddies went into the track for quals and the truck race. Race got over around 7:30 and we sat around until about 8:30 to let traffic die down. We then decided to see how busy Bryant's was, since we now knew how to get there. Much to our surprise, they weren't very busy, so we went in.

I had a combo of a pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket sandwich, fries, and a huge glass of pop (44 ounce I think). It was really good, but the pulled pork I've made is better. *grin* I haven't done a brisket myself yet, but that's one of my upcoming projects.

Sunday we left the hotel at about 8:30 and headed to the track, stopping for gas and ice on the way. Would have bought some beer too, but the County we were in can't sell beer until noon on Sundays. We took the first road into the speedway lot, and got the closest parking spot we've ever had there. Second row from the fence around the ADA lot.

That's about all there is to tell...Sunday was spent like Saturday, and the trip home was uneventful.

Thanks for reading.

Interviewed by a friend

2007-04-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hey readers, I read on some other blogs about being interviewed, and one of the writers I responded to decided to take a look into my feeble mind and sent some questions. Thank you Mrs. Nuggie...I hope the view inside doesn't make you run away screaming and trying to gouge your eyes out. lol

Here are the questions posed to me:

1. Brittany Spears or Jessica Simpson?

Well, I don't really know much about Jessica Simpson, but I can tell ya this...I've seen Brittany nekkid and don't want none o' that. Besides, she seems really screwed up in the head...I got enough of that for both of us. If the question was open to all celebreties, I think I would probably choose either the brunette from "Little Big Town" or the brunette from "SheDaisy" (I think Kassidy is her name, but since I can't think of the 3rd name right now, I'm not sure).

2. What's the weirdest thing you've put in your smoker?

Hmm, if I'm gonna eat it, I don't really consider anything weird, but one combination that I would have never thought of on my own, was a 6-pack of "chicken rolls". They're a boneless/skinless chicken breast wrapped around some ham and cheese, all wrapped up in bacon.

3. What is your dream car?

Well, right now it'd be a black Dodge Mega-Cab pickup. If I weighed a lot less and took up less space, I could probably see myself in something like a Corvette.

4. What is your favorite race track?

I like the Kansas Speedway because it's close and I've been there (actually even going again this weekend). For local level racing, I like the Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa. And my favorite for watching on TV would be either Talladega or Daytona.

5. Why is your favorite driver not making the races this year?

I suppose since a lot of other driver's fans are so scared of what he can do behind the wheel that they're bashing him (mainly at Racingstalkers.com) and enjoying seeing him on the sidelines, I'd say that one of them planted the fuel additive at Daytona, causing his crew chief and another guy to be suspended from the tracks indefinately, and are now somehow getting him to over drive the car in qualifying, resulting in a slower lap time.

Well, that about does it for my interview. Are you feeling a little brave? Would you like to open up some of your life to your readers? Here's what ya gotta do to play this game:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Thanks and enjoy!

Good Day, I think

2007-04-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

Good evening readers. Couple of times I was a bit worried what was happening, but I think I had a pretty good overall day. This morning I was checking my lottery tickets from the last 3 drawings and found that I had $16 worth of winners. Then, on my daily sales call, we were listening to the radio when they had a call in trivia question deal, where I scored a pair of tickets to next weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and IRL race at Kansas Speedway.

One of the things that got my heart pumpin' in a not as good way, was when I went to pick up my tickets that I won and run some other errands. I was leaving the store from one of my stops and hear a bunch of sirens. Since I had left my radio in my truck, not expecting anything to happen in the short time I was going to be in the store, I had to call Dad, who was back here with the scanner and have him fill me in on what was going on. It happened to be a car vs. train accident in a little town West of the one I was in. Only word I have on patient condition is what was on a news website...2 people seriously injured and taken to larger hospitals by helicopter.

Earlier this week, Monday I believe, I read about an area family that was killed in a plane crash in Missouri. I knew the father/husband by name only, as he owns/owned property here in town when I was doing the utility billing, and only talked with him on the phone once. Still kind of a shocker.

I also wish to extend my prayers and sympathy to all affected by the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. Not much I can say about it, besides...damn.

Hmm, how did this post take that turn? I wanted it to be upbeat and I spend more time talking about serious injuries and death than why I really started this entry.

Oh well, even with that downer, I'm still looking forward to next weekend's trip to Kansas City, KS for some tailgating and letting my buddies use the race tickets.

Have a good day.

Hello

2007-04-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while again...got out of the groove and now I just can't settle back into it. Had thought of a great blog subject Thursday or Friday night, but unfortunately lost it 10 minutes later.

Good tasting food has still been coming out of the smoker...did a 3#ish pork loin and a 3#ish turkey breast roll Sunday. Next week's project has been curing since Thursday night and should be ready for smoke Saturday, and consumption Sunday. It's another 3#ish pork loin with "Buckboard Bacon" cure on it. Also have a couple racks of ribs that may accidently find their way into the smoker, possibly on Sunday.

Health wise, I think I'm feeling pretty good, but my leg is leaking a lot of fluid again, even though I've been taking my antibiotics regularly. Not really sure what's going on there. But, I guess as long as the Advil and Bactine keep the overnight sting to an absolute minimum, I can live with the soaked bandages for a while.

That's about all I have for ya today, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Take care.

Wednesday Whatever - March 21 edition

2007-03-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all...not much going on, but wanted to get a post in today yet. Made/smoked my dried beef on Sunday and it came out pretty good. Also tried out one of my newest toys, an electric meat slicer, on Monday. Works great for the price. By reading a smoking forum, I found some new recipes that I'm going to try, altered to my preferences, of course (I don't eat vegetables, so that kinda limits some recipes that I can do). If they're any good, I'll brag on 'em a little.

Well, it's about time to get out of here for the day, so I'll wrap it up for now. Hope to be getting back into at least posting weekly.

Hello? Is this thing on?

2007-03-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hi there, remember me? I'm the guy that had gotten fairly consistent with weekly posts, but now haven't made one in almost a month. Not a whole lot of exciting stuff has happened, but there were a few interesting things that went on while I haven't written.

March 1st we had a nice little 2+ day blizzard. Weather started getting crappy when we closed the store on Wednesday the 28th of February, and was pretty bad by Thursday morning. Still went to work as I normally would, but decided against going on my sales call. Around noon, we pretty much decided that we weren't that busy anyway, so we actually closed the store after loading some pop and beer into my pickup to be delivered to the Fire Station for the meeting that was supposed to be that night. Between the time we got loaded and the door got locked, we had 3 customers come in. We still decided to close, and I was going to drop the beverages off at the station on my way home. Well, I got to the station and found the doors blocked by a nice little 3 foot high snowdrift, and since I didn't have a shovel or boots to protect my poor little feet, I decided to go home and try again later. Couple of hours later, our department had a message page that the meeting was cancelled, and that made me very happy, as I didn't feel like leaving the house anyway.

Friday morning, Dad didn't call down by the usual time to wake me up to wrap my leg, but I got up anyway and headed upstairs. The streets were plowed, but it was still snowing, and at about 9:00, we decided to go try to open the store. Made the short drive uptown, and it looked like a ghost town - nothing else open and no other vehicles out. I returned home, but Dad was going to try to get a shovel out of the store. The sidewalk was clear, but he couldn't get the door unlocked due to ice, so he came home too. About 12:45 he tried again and got in, but called at about 1:00 and said I didn't have to come up as he was going to be coming back home shortly.

This is the first time in the 33 years we've had the store(s) that we closed due to weather. Saturday morning, the snow had stopped, but the wind was still blowing pretty hard. We opened at the normal time, and I took a short drive around town on the way in to survey the snow. I drove out to the newest part of town and had to drive thru a narrow pass thru a drift, then was turning the corner to go down the last part of the street, and had to turn around. In front of me stood about an 8 foot high drift. I could see around it and saw our local maintainer working on the other end of the street though. At this time, I was still thinking about heading to another town when I got off work at noon, to get some lunch, but after I got turned around and headed to the highway to make the rest of the trip to work, I decided against doing that. When I looked to the South, it didn't look too bad, but to the North where I had to go, there were still drifts causing the highway to be one-lane wide.

On sunday I managed to get out of town to go get some groceries, but the roads were still a bit treacherous in some places. It also started a lot of melting, as the temp hit about 40 with bright sunshine.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was going to make some dried beef. I only missed the smoking day by a week. The trip to Cabela's was cancelled when my buddy and I decided the roads wouldn't be up to snuff yet, and I wasn't sure how long my smokehouse would remain buried, so I didn't get the meats curing until last Saturday evening. They will be going into the smoker on Sunday. Our snow is all but gone...hard to believe that the blizzard was 2 weeks ago, and now you can't even tell it happened.

Sometime in there, I think it was the Saturday of the blizzard, I made my first successful purchase on Ebay. I bought a pair of thermocouples for a project that I'm doing, to enhance my smoker. It's called a PID, and basically what it does is control the temperature within a very tight range, and to a particular number I set it to (the rheostat on the smoker now doesn't have any numbers to see where you are, and the temp can vary in any position based on the air temp outside). I ordered the remaining parts Monday and was hoping to build it before smoking and drying the dried beef, but I'm betting these parts don't arrive until Monday.

That's about all I can think of right now, although I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell ya'll something.

Take care, and I hope to talk at ya again sometime soon.

A Rare Second Post for a Week

2007-02-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hey readers. Just thought I'd fill ya in on what happened during my lunch hour today. I was getting gas, had just paid for it in the shop and was walking back to my truck when I heard a funny noise, kind of like a crunch. I looked up expecting to see a car that had just run over some hard snow, when I saw that I was right, but it was a little more serious than that. The car was bouncing off the curb, then on the curb, then off again at the intersection, before bounding up on the curb and hitting a sign pole. I grabbed my radio and called to have Law Enforcement come down, and gave a preliminary driver report to the dispatcher. The driver said he was okay, and less than 2 minutes after my initial call, there were 4 Highway Patrol, and 2 PD officers on scene.

Since the driver reported that he wasn't hurt (I'm not trained for patient care beyond CPR anyway), and there were many officers there, plus the fact that I really couldn't provide any more information than other witnesses, I asked if they needed me for anything else, they said no, so I went on my way to relieve some of the traffic congestion at the scene.

About an hour and a half before this incident, I was on my way to my sales call, when my Fire Department was paged for an EMS call for a guy who was having trouble with his Oxygen level. I was a little over 4 miles from town, so I got to fly low to get back, and since nobody else was on the highway to lead the ambulance in, I took that job.

While writing this, I'm reminded that some how, some way, we are in a certain place at a certain time for a reason. I say this because, due to the first call (the guy with a low Oxygen level), I was running late for my sales call. I still made the sales call, and was really running late when I headed to where I was getting gas, so late that I debated just going back to work, and get gas and lunch here in town instead of the other town I ended up at, and decided against my first choice of where to get gas.

Granted, another gal was on her cell phone reporting the accident, noticed her just after I got done talking to the dispatcher, but still, it was almost like that's where I was supposed to be at that time.

I guess I finally had a relatively exciting day. Don't know how many more of these I can handle...lol.

HI

2007-02-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

Hey, sorry about not posting for over a week or so...just been busy. If you know me, you'll know that I like the sport of Auto Racing very much, and yesterday was the first race of the new season for the series I follow the closest, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The race was pretty good, but I was a little disappointed with the ending. Not because of how it happened, it was one of the closest finishes ever, but because of who beat who. I so wanted Mark Martin to pull off the win, but he was nipped at the line by Kevin Harvick.

I had a pretty ambitious weekend, food-wise. On Saturday I made some pulled pork from a shoulder I had bought a few weeks ago. Didn't smoke it though, didn't feel like shovelling the snow away from in front of my "smokeshack". I put it in a low oven (>200 degrees) when I got off work at noon, then went to get some groceries. At about 8:00 or so, I only had about 170 degrees and I wanted to FTC (wrap it in foil, then bath towels, and put into a warm cooler) it after it hit 180, for at least 2 hours before ripping it to shreds. So I jacked the oven up another 50 degrees and it was ready to FTC at 9:00. I only left it in for about an hour and a half as I just couldn't take it any longer and had to get a taste.

My original plan for Sunday was to get some beef jerky going in the smoker by 10 AM, but since I got up at 9:50, this didn't quite happen on time. About 11:00 I was getting ready to make breakfast when my plans got pushed back a little more by an EMT call. Upon returning home, I managed to get the smoker warming up and set about to making omelets for Dad and myself. After they were eaten, I got the cured jerky strips out of the fridge and put 'em on my racks, then into the smoker at about 12:40 I think. Checked it at about 2:00, and since they had smoked as much as I was gonna let them, I then opened the vent all the way to let the moisture out and increased the heat a bit to compensate. 4:00 I took my first sample, I thought it was good, but Dad said it wasn't quite dry enough, so I let it go another hour.

At the grocery store on Saturday, I picked up a nice 6# turkey breast roll that is my next sacrifice to the smoking Gods, this coming weekend. I'll be slicing this one a little thinner than the 3#'er that I made last weekend, and having sadwiches off of it for lunch during the week. I'm also going to start curing a beef roast and a deer roast to make some dried beef out of, as soon as I get an order from an in-state supplier. Would like to smoke them the weekend of the 4th, but I also want to go to Cabela's in Omaha that Sunday as there is no race on TV. But, since I have to thaw the meat before I cure it, and I'm not going to start thawing it until the seasonings get here, I'm probably looking at the weekend of the 11th to smoke and dry 'em.

That's the part I don't like about this smoking stuff...having to plan so far in advance in order to do stuff right. Well, that, and spending so much money on stuff to make it easier and to accomplish what I want to do.

Well, that's all I have for today. Have a good week.

Happy 7th day after Groundhog Day

2007-02-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Or something like that. Not the greatest week I've had. Wednesday afternoon, Dad's computer decided it didn't want to go to secure internet sites, including one he needs for Tax Prep work, and also didn't want to talk to the printer. It was over my head, so we called the guy that set up our network, left a message with his son, that he didn't get, so called again the next morning. Anyway, he gets here and spends 2 and a half hours trying to get it fixed, couldn't do it so he was back to try more stuff this morning for an hour and a half. Still not fixed and it looks like we're gonna have to "day one" the computer and then get the documents and databases back to current.

In other news, I presented a bill to my banker (reimbursement type thing), thinking it would be taken care of the day I presented it (last Friday), only to find on Wednesday, hmm maybe it was just a day instead of week, sorry, back to the story, that he hadn't deposited the amount to my account yet, and as I was spending money, I had gotten 2 overdrafts. Didn't bother me much until the next day when I saw that he still hadn't taken care of it and another OD hit. I called the bank, they told me that he'd call me. Never heard from him, so I checked it out this morning, and he finally had put the money in my account, but hadn't done anything about the OD charges. I also had noticed that a CC payment that was supposed to have been made yesterday wasn't in the record. I went to the bank and mentioned the OD charges to the teller, asking for a call back. In the mean time, I checked on the CC website to see if I was getting a late payment and/or over limit charge, but so far they aren't listed and they have a payment on there, fingers are crossed in hopes of it staying that way. The bank called me back, but it was the teller and not the banker who caused this mess, saying that the OD charges were being reversed, so that's a plus.

On to smoking issues. Gonna smoke a boneless turkey breast roll this weekend. Do a nice little brine bath Saturday night, then a couple of hours of hickory smoke and a few hours of cooking in the smoker. Should make some nice sandwiches for lunch next week.

Don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but I ordered a new remote meat/smoker thermometer towards the end of January, and it still hasn't shown up. I used the retailer's contact form earlier this week, and it said they'd be back to me within 72 hours, and as of writing this, the 73rd hour mark has passed without me hearing from them. It sure would have been nice to have this thermometer for this weekend's smoking, since it's supposed to be only about 10-15 degrees outside when I'm doing it, and I don't really want to put my sweatshirt, gloves, and coat on every hour to go out and check my temps to make sure everything is working the way it should...but I will since I have to.

Well, I hope I haven't bored you, or lowered your spirits by complaining so much today. I'll try to do a light hearted, almost funny, post next week. Okay? Until then, have a good day, and thanks for reading.

Hello

2007-02-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

Did ya miss me last week? I kept thinking about posting, but never had time when I was thinking about it. I had mentioned (I think) that I was taking last weekend off (the 27th & 28th of January) from smoking stuff. I didn't, I had read all day Friday, on a new forum about how good these "chicken rolls" were, so that evening I hit the grocery store and picked up the pieces to make some on Sunday. One reason I was going to take that weekend off, was so I could do some Smoked Buffalo Wings on Saturday, February 3rd, to take to the Super Bowl party that I was going to. That didn't happen because it was c-c-c-cold outside.

I'm also still waiting on a new toy that I ordered, so that I can monitor smoker and meat temps from beside my chair in front of the TV. It's real similar to my current remote thermometer, but my current one sits on top of the smoker with the lead going into the meat, and I have to go out to look at it. The new one has a lead to go into the meat, and another to measure the air temp inside the box, hooked to a sender that sits on the smoker. The receiver can then be located anywhere within 100 feet (allegedly, will have to test as soon as I get it).

I also ordered some seasonings/cures, this past Saturday, but for some reason, my order was declined. I have a message in to them asking why, but haven't heard yet (only been about a half hour). Giving the company a chance to explain before I drag them through the mud. If it is handled satisfactorily (and if their product(s) are good), I'll even come back and give them a good plug. Just gotta wait for now.

The other day, possibly even a couple of weeks ago already (where does the time go?), Dad was talking to his cousin and they were talking about how their families used to butcher hogs and cattle, and make sausage. Dad's cousin still has a locker plant make him some sausage from the family's old recipe, and he smokes it himself. That got me thinking about making some sausage myself. Found a couple of good places to order the seasonings and casings from, but I would also need a meat grinder/stuffer. Cabela's just happens to have one close to my price range ($35).

I don't want to get carried away spending money on this stuff, but I'm also enjoying the smoking, and the eating of the end products, and want to expand what I'm capable of doing.

Now for the Super Bowl. I went to a neighboring town's Fire Station to watch with friends from there, and play some cards while eating, drinking, and watching the game. My buffalo wings turned out pretty good, even though I didn't smoke them. I used an altered recipe. Cut the wing pieces apart, dicarding the tips, spread them on a sheet pan and sprinkled with Chili Powder, baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes, then melted 1 1/2 cups butter, added about 2 cups of a combination of Red Devil sauce and Cookies' Wings & Things sauce and a splash of vinegar, and poured this mixture over the wings in a crock pot. Set that on low and let them be for about 3.5 hours before heading to the party, then it was another couple of hours before I sampled them. Man they were tender, and the pepper heat was perfect, not enough to set your mouth on fire, but you could taste it.

As for the game, I really didn't have a favorite. Was leaning toward the Bears because I don't really like Peyton Manning. I do happen to like Tony Dungy better than Lovie Smith though. All I really wanted was to see a decent game, and I think, for the most part, I did.

Well, that about covers the past couple of weekends, and some time in between. Stay tuned for the next round (when I get that far, lol).

Wednesday Whatever - January 24 edition

2007-01-25T07:03:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a day late, but this time it's not my fault...honest. I tried on a few different occasions yesterday, but the site was really slow or wouldn't let me in.

Pretty sure I told ya'll that I got a smoker for Christmas (Bradley Original, Black, automatic "bisquette" feeder for the wood/smoke). Well, I seasoned it on the 5th, and my first smoke was on the 6th. I did a "bone-in" turkey breast, just seasoned with some seasoning salt mixture on the outside. It was alright, but lacked something, I'm sure a brining would have made it come out better. On this round, I was also going to do a whole chicken, but the one I knew of in my freezer turned out to be already cut up, didn't know in the other freezer we had a complete chicken (well, no feathers or stuff like that).

My second round with the smoker came out a little better, but also a little worse. This time I mixed up a very basic brine (1.5 C Kosher Salt in 3 Gallons of water), and soaked my 2 racks of baby back ribs and 3# pork loin roast overnight. On smoke day, I put them in the smoker with 10 of the bisquettes, which gave me 3 1/3 hours of smoke. My cabinet temp only got to 175 degrees, and at the 5 hour mark, my loin only had gotten to 147 degrees, so I finished the meats in the oven since it was supper time. The ribs turned out pretty good...and bad, if you can believe that. The end of each mini rack (had to cut each rack in half to fit on the smoking racks) was just way overpowered with smoke, and there was a thin membrane of some kind that needed to be pealed off the bottom. From the end bone in, however, the flavor was pretty good, and even had the color I was looking for.

It was hard to do, but the pork loin made it through the night intact, and made awesome sandwiches Monday and Tuesday. Have a little left that should go into a sandwich for me today, but if Dad wants it, I'll let him have it. This loin/roast brought to mind another item I would like to get, and I really didn't have a hard time selling Dad on the idea. Our next purchase will be a meat slicer. Just a cheap basic one for now, to make sure it's gonna work to save us some money on lunchmeat type stuff (maybe other stuff too). Found one that I should be able to obtain for +/- $50 through brylanehome.com, and as soon as I can find that much room on one of my credit cards (I know they're bad for my financial health), I'm going to order it.

It's going to be a little too cold to try to smoke anything this weekend, but I already have my mind made up on what to do next. When Dad and I went to the City on the 13th, I picked up a couple of boneless turkey breast rolls (about 3# each), so I'm going to do one of them. Both if we happen to have the slicer by then. I'd also like to do another pork loin roast...they're on sale at one grocery store for $2.49/lb., but I've seen whole loins in this store for around $1.69/lb., so we'll see what happens. Also kind of had plans to smoke some chicken wing pieces for the Super Bowl party that I'm going to, but I think I'll just do Buffalo wings instead. I don't want to ruin that many of them.

Well, that's about all I have for today. Take care, and thanks for reading.

Follow up

2007-01-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Good morning readers. I recently found some information and would like to follow up on something.

Several posts ago, I mentioned a discussion about Weight Loss Surgery, and some problems that go with them. I have been reading a website for about a year, that has a forum to provide information about the Duodenal Switch version of WLS. One of the posts in that forum tackled a question that came up in the discussion I was writing about, that of people that have WLS ending up with bad teeth (or something like that). The following is a copy/paste from the DS/WLS forum that I read that deals with the tooth issue.

He said in recent years he has indeed had a surprisingly high number of WLS people in but that he did not feel it was due to nutritional or vitamin deficits. Rather, he broke it down for me like this:

1. Since about 1999, the number of people who have had various forms of weight loss surgery has gone up over 900%. That's not a typo - nine hundred percent. So there are that many more people in the general population who are post ops, period. It stands to reason that there will be more people going in with dental problems because of this.

2. As we've talked about in the past, many MO people do not take care of themselves. They don't go to doctors as frequently as they should and that includes dentists.

3. He said that our teeth develop while we are still children and into our teen years. Teeth in and of themselves are not affected by internal vitamin or nutritional deficiencies. Teeth are external and therefore are affected primarily by what touches them directly. Like sugar. Or toothpaste (and lack thereof). So when our teeth decay and/or break down, it's because of what they come in contact with, not by things like low calcium.

Now, if we have calcium or nutritional issues, that can affect our bones and our tissue which means it would affect our jaws...the bone structure that HOLDS our teeth...but not the teeth themselves. If otherwise healthy teeth just start falling out, that is indicative of deeper problems.

4. He feels that in addition to the above, the other reason he's seeing more post ops is because our eating habits are changed. Yes, we eat smaller meals but we eat more of them (this might be more gastric bypass than ds). We're drinking a lot more fluids and while we do drink and eat less *sugar*, we're likely still consuming a fair amount of sweet things...just with sugar substitutes and they can be just as detrimental to our teeth. We're also likely using our teeth more as we're eating more protein and fiber-laden foods that require more chewing. He thinks that combining these factors has led to the increase.

After reading that, I gotta admit that I was wrong about the possible causes. But, after reading that post, it makes sense to me, and also hits home. It has been 20 years since my last visit to the dentist, and I don't intend to be going back any time soon.

The DS/WLS forum also tackled the hair loss issue, and has confirmed that it is temporary, and other surgeries cause it as well. I haven't yet found a post that is real informative, such as the one I pasted regarding the tooth issue, though.

What's up?

2007-01-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hey readers, did ya miss me last week when I didn't post a "Wednesday Whatever"? I really mean to, but just couldn't think of anything to say during the many times I was online.

Went to the city this past weekend to spend the gift cards I got for Christmas and the one I cashed in some hotel points for. Picked up a bunch of movies at Best Buy. The ones I can name off the top of my head are: American Pie presents The Naked Mile, Super Troopers, Old School, Talladega Nights, Tommy Boy, and a couple more that I can't think of right now. We also hit Lowes', Menard's, Staples, PetSmart, Walgreen's, Coyote Canyon for Supper, and Long John Silver's for lunch earlier in the day. Oh yeah, we also hit Super Wal Mart for some grocery type things (meat to smoke one of these days, some chicken wings for the Super Bowl, etc.).

When we left, it was kind of sunny, but cold. Got about 30 miles up the road and some snow was starting to stick to the highway, but there was enough traffic to blow it off. Got to the city and there wasn't really anything coming down any more, but as the day went, it seemed like a very fine mist was starting. We started home, and the first 20 miles or so was fine, then the road just started getting covered. I set a fairly slow pace...maybe 50 mph because I don't like to drive in snow with head lights in my mirror...for the 20 miles back to where the snow had started on the way up, but then got behind somebody who was taking it slower than I was. I wasn't in a hurry so I just stayed behind them until we got to the next town, when they went a different direction. That put me back to the front of the train. By this time, the road had gotten covered pretty well, and wasn't blowing off with the traffic any more, so I just maintained about 40 mph, and figured if people wanted to pass me, they could.

Sunday was pretty boring...just sat around watching football and movies. My ankle was pretty sore since I spend a lot of time on it, with it tilted at a slight angle thanks to my shoe that is pretty worn out and barely stays on that foot. I knew it wasn't going to be a fun day, since I could feel my ankle hurting while laying in bed. I'm actually surprised I could make it upstairs as bad as it was hurting. It got a little better through the day, but was still pretty sore when I went to bed. Fortunately, it felt pretty good yesterday morning, and I haven't felt it since.

Well, I'm out of time for now, might post more this afternoon, or maybe even tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Thank you

2007-01-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

"Thank you for what and to whom?" you may be asking right now. Well, I guess to the administrator for kicking me off of a message board that I apparently spent WAY too much time looking at. You see, in the month and about a half since I got booted, I've gotten caught up on so much work, it's unbelieveable. And my blog entries...they've been rolling right onto this page.

Granted, some of my "catch up" time could have been caused by Dad no longer being the City Clerk, but we still had almost everybody who normally came in to pay their utility bills here, come in to try to pay them, even into this month.

The increase in bloggage probably comes from this being my only current outlet for what is going on in my head (no, don't try to enter, you'll get lost and never be heard from again).

Don't get me wrong, I do still spend way too much time on the internet. I have 11 blogs that I check 2 or 3 times a day for updates, a message board that I only lurk on because most of the fun people have left for other places, and a quick perusal of horoscope and daily comic sites. I've just learned to close the browser window for a while and actually get something done, rather than reload the board index repeatedly waiting for somebody to post something.

I know I use a lot of sarcasm, but the thank you in this post is heartfelt and genuine. Yes, I do miss conversing with my friends on that board, but I also feel a little happier now than I have for some time. Hmm, maybe some of that happiness came from getting some work done instead of goofing off...nah, let's not get carried away here.

My excuses are getting fewer

2007-01-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

For not eating healthier during the day, anyway. Yesterday we set up a little "kitchen" in the office. Just a "dorm" fridge, microwave, and a toaster oven that I bought almost 2 years ago for this purpose.

Provided I remember to bring food in, it should be easier to just come back to the office and fix something for lunch instead of rushing (at the end of my sales call) 12 miles to McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, etc., then 14 miles back to the store...just 8 miles from the business I call on. Should also be cheaper.

Granted, it's not going to stop me from making those trips, I really do like the food from those places, and I'm still going to have to make a run to that town for other things during my sales call sometimes, but it shouldn't happen near as often as it does now.

In other news, not much is going on in my little corner of the world. Tomorrow we're having brunch with my grandmother and aunt & uncle (all on my late mother's side). This afternoon I'm hoping to "season" my new smoker, then smoke a bone-in turkey breast to try it out. I'm only doing the turkey breast this time because I don't want to ruin 30 pounds of meat if there'd be a malfunction or if I dozed off and let it cook for 20 hours (okay, I never sleep that long, just don't want to take a big risk the first time out). All goes well, I might smoke some chicken hindquarters for supper on Sunday.

Have a nice weekend.

Wednesday Whatever - January 3 edition

2007-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know I'm a day late again, whatcha gonna do about it? lol. We had a nice little snowstorm on New Year's Eve, causing me to cancel my plans to go 13 miles South and have a Prime Rib Buffet supper. Granted, I could have made it with no problems, but I just thought it would be a bit foolish to go out of town on snow covered roads just to spend $20, eat too much, and come back home to my 3 cats. If there was a date involved, well that may be an entirely different story.

I took a nice drive around town checking out the streets. Never found one that hadn't yet been driven on in the snow, but got to bust a few drifts with my 4x4. For supper I ended up getting a pizza from the local convenience store.

On New Year's Day, I pretty much just sat around watching football, but was briefly interrupted just after the Wisconsin game for an EMS call here in town. The call was for a guy with stroke like symptoms, but turned out to be something like low blood sugar or a diabetic reaction. My job was only to lead the ambulance into town. This was a little different, because I didn't know that the hospital got a new ambulance. As it was coming over the hills heading here, I noticed the LED-strobe light bar, and it looked more like a Deputy coming. As it headed down the last hill (still about a half mile away), I could tell it was taller than the Crown Vic's that the County has, but thought it could possibly be one of the jeeps they use. I have to pull onto the highway when they're about a quarter mile back so I have time to accelerate to their speed, so I just took a chance that it was them, and it was.

We got the call handled, and I was back home in time to see the kickoff for the Michigan game. Pretty good timing, eh?

The Oklahoma/Boise State game had the best ending I have seen in a very long time, if not the best ever....and I wanted Oklahoma to win. Here's a quick recap. Oklahoma ties the score at 28 with under 2 minutes left, then intercepts a pass running it back for a TD. Boise marches down the field and ties it on a classic "hook and lateral" play, sending it to overtime. Boise wins the toss, and goes to Defense first. Oklahoma scores a TD and takes a 1 point PAT. Boise gets a TD, tries the 2 pointer, and makes it.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful, and that brings us to today, and nothing of note has happened yet.

Hope you have a great day/week.

Another Bonus Post - Aren't you just the lucky one?

2006-12-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Good morning. I've been debating whether to do this or not, but I finally decided to. About a month ago, I got banned from a message board that I liked to post on. I realize the post that got me banned had a sort of harsh tone to it, but I didn't attack anybody on the board, and I didn't use any profanity in that post, so I really didn't expect to be thrown out. After posting said message, I went to wait on a couple of customers, and in doing that thought of something I wanted to post to clarify my position on the subject being discussed, but imagine my surprise when I tried to get in and post it, and couldn't.

So far I have e-mailed both administrators to ask them what I had to do to get reinstated, but haven't heard back from either of them. I miss talking to some of them, but I know they read my ramblings here (I hope you know who you are, and how much you mean to me).

If I had known I was going to get banned over that particular post, I would have taken on another post that I'm quite positive that my reply at an earlier date would have gotten me banned. The topic was Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), and it was stated that 90% of the people seeking it are just looking for an easy way out and don't really need surgery, they're just too lazy to do what it takes to lose the weight. Another part that ticked me off was some replies in which the poster was against surgery because so and so died, surgery is a joke, causes hair to fall out, softens your teeth, etc. Another poster took a cheap shot at it, saying something like "well, that'd be attractive".

Now, I don't know the percentage, my personal belief is that it is lower, but I do agree that too many people are seeking WLS. I think the minimum weight to be considered should be 350 or so, to my knowledge, the criteria now is 100#'s over "normal", with co-morbidities. I also agree that some types of surgery (the lap-band, for instance) are a joke. This is about where my agreeing ends. WLS is far from an "easy way out". The surgery I'm considering is major surgery, and quite frankly, scares the hell out of me. But, while I'm in good shape for my size now, I know time is running out on that, and I want to have a good chance at spending another 50 years on this earth.

To the person who said their friend (or friend of a friend) died from the surgery, are you sure it was the surgery, or was it possibly one of their co-morbidities that struck them down? I guess I do have to admit that one reason surgery scares me so much, is that my mother never recovered from an exploratory surgery to see if her cancer was gone, and my sister passed away after having 3 surgeries, the first of which would have basically cured her diabetes, if not for complications that brought on the need for the additional 2. It has taken me 5 years to see that surgery can possibly be a good thing.

I'm going to tackle the comment that really didn't pertain to surgery next, the one about "that's attractive". Well, how many of us that qualify for surgery are either supermodels or dating them? Assuming you love your significant other and would never leave, which would you rather have them do, lose a little hair and have imperfect teeth, or carry an excess 150+ pounds that are causing them health problems? The hair loss is, more often than not, temporary. Usually from either the anesthesia or changes done to the body during surgery. In the year I've been researching WLS (mainly the Duodenal Switch), I haven't heard of people having problems with their teeth. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, in fact, I can see how it could. With the procedure I mentioned, many people become lactose intolerant, at least temporarily. They also lose the ability to absorb a large quantity of the nutrients required to live healthy, thus needing vitamin and other supplements (like calcium).

Well, I feel a lot better now that I have that out of my system. Keep in mind that I openly admit that I don't know everything about anything. I hope, if nothing else, this has been informative...I tried not to let too much anger interfere with writing it, and feel I did a much better job now than I would have even a month ago.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a Happy New Year. Be safe if you are out partying.

Wednesday Whatever - December 27 edition

2006-12-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon readers. Welcome to the final Wednesday Whatever of 2006. I don't really know what to talk about today, so I guess I'll go over what I got for Christmas.

I guess I made out pretty good. From Dad and his girlfriend, I got a smoker (ordered it from Cabela's yesterday) and a $30 Best Buy gift card, a bottle of something to make some beer bread (I don't know if everything is in it or if I need other ingredients, haven't read the instructions yet), some candy (like I need that lol), and a wooden Sudoku board. From Dad's girlfriend's kids, I got a couple of DVD's, a box set of Garth Brooks CD's, and I thought something else, but I can't think of it right now. We hosted other family members and had a small gift exchange, in which I received a set of "Space Bags", those bags that you pack stuff in and vacuum out the air so they compress. We haven't had our get together with my late mother's side of the family yet, but the only gifts there are either for Grandma or usually a popcorn tin or similar item from her to each of the rest of us.

I really wasn't that into Christmas this year, but I wasn't really anti-Christmas either. It seemed to sneak up on me somehow. I never had the opportunity to go out and see the Christmas lights people had up, and I didn't get to the City for any shopping or supper with Dad like normal. Did all of my shopping during the week leading up to Christmas, Internet for some gift cards, and a trip to the grocery store and Wal Mart for some other things.

New Year's Eve will be different. The past few years I've gone to the bars, but with it falling on Sunday this year, the bar I go to when I go out isn't going to be open. I've also been cutting way back on drinking (no special reason other than I don't feel like doing it very often any more). I've decided that I really don't want to stay home, but I'm not really planning on drinking. I'll probably have to discuss it with my fishing buddy tomorrow to see what he's doing.

Ideally, I'd like to find a Honey and end the year with a bang, as well as start the year with another one. The chances of that happening, though, are slim and none, and I just saw slim leave town. Even if I found a willing prospect, I'd probably be too shy to make it happen.

Hope you enjoyed today's post, and that you have a safe New Year's Eve.

Bonus Post

2006-12-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody...bet you didn't think I'd post again until at least next week, did you? Well, something happened today that I wanted to share with you. I was out on my sales call today, the guys that work in the shop were giving me some crap about not being very much in the holiday spirit, and "The View" happened to be on the TV they had on. Don't ask why, I can't answer that one. Anyway, toward the end of the show, Rosie had a nice interview with a 12 year old girl who has Cystic Fibrosis, and they were going to end the interview doing a duet of a song from the musical "Rent" (the girl's favorite show). A few lines into the song, Rosie got up from her stool and walked away leaving the girl wondering what was going on, at the same time, the cast from the musical came onto the stage to surprise the girl.

I've never been a big fan of Rosie, but I thought that was a pretty cool thing for her to do. My attitude also got a little bit better after seeing that, I even actually wished the guys a Merry Christmas as I was walking out the door. Quite the change from when I walked in, and upon hearing them ask what I brought them for a gift, told them "a kick in the ass".

Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday Whatever - December 20 edition

2006-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Good morning. It's the Wednesday before Christmas, and I have yet to finish my shopping. I only have Dad left, but have no idea what to get him. He said a gift card would be fine, but I don't know how much or where from. Pretty much have to decide today and get it ordered online.

I think last week I mentioned my "good" leg had some problems. Well, here's an update. While the color is still a little off and there's still some heat in the area, it doesn't feel near as bad. Had a couple of spots that seemed to be pimples (or zits as I like to say), but when they popped, it wasn't the usual crap and core that came out, it was almost watery and then the solid resembled fat from a raw steak and had a smaller piece that looked like the lean part of a steak. The whole thing was smaller than half of a pea, but it was still wierd.

I also mentioned that my uncle had passed away last Wednesday. The funeral was held Saturday morning in a very small church. They had to bring in about 20 folding chairs to hold the crowd (in addition to the pews that were full), so it was a very nice crowd. One thing I thought was very appropriate, was that we took the long way to the cemetary. One thing he enjoyed was driving through the country, and instead of a 12 mile drive if we'd taken the normal route, it was closer to 30 miles. The reason for this was that the Funeral Home in charge of this had another funeral at the same time with the deceased being buried in the same cemetary.

Yesterday Dad brought my old football cards up from our old house. Just by doing a quick look at ebay.com, I think I have about $300 worth of late '70s and early '80s cards. I don't know whether to try to ebay them myself, or take my chances and try to find a dealer that won't screw me on them. 99.9 of the cards are what I would consider mint condition...I don't have packaging, but the cards have the original color and are not bent or creased in any way. I haven't made any spectacular finds, but an interesting one is a 1979 Mike Patrick...I didn't know he played. I also have multiples of some that I think should be worth something (Franco Harris, Danny White, etc.).

Well, I gotta go for now. I wish you and your family(ies) a Merry Christams, and if I forget to post next week, a Happy New Year.

Wednesday Whatever - December 13 edition

2006-12-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

Greetings dear readers, sorry about no post last week. I told you about Dad retiring from his job as City Clerk, right? Well, as a result, I had to give up the City's DSL Internet Service, so we called to get that disconnected in addition to getting hooked up with our own DSL Service here at the store. We wanted them deactivated/activated on the same day, but eveidenlty there was some confusion as the City's DSL Service died Thursday afternoon, and our store's wasn't going to be active until today.

Thursday also started a string of unfortunate happenings that I would like to have stopped immediately...if not sooner. While finishing up the phone call on the DSL Service and a couple of other items, my Fire Department got called to an accident on the highway just inside the City Limits. A pickup had pulled out from a gravel road in front of a dump truck, and of course the driver is deceased. He also happens to have been the father of one of my High School classmates. Since that accident, 4 other people that I know have passed away. 3 of them, I only knew well enough to know who they were. The 4th is my uncle. He was scheduled to have surgery today to fix a leaky valve and a clogged artery, but he didn't make it into the hospital, he collapsed around midnight at my cousin's house where he was spending the night, and we got the call at about 2:30 this morning.

Dad did holler down to let me know about it, but since I didn't answer, he decided to let me sleep. While I'm grateful that I got the sleep, I kinda wish I had known earlier instead of just getting to the top of the stairs, saying good morning, then BOOM. That always makes the day suck.

Well, now that I've depressed ya'll, and myself, let's move to some happier stuff. Thursday night we also found out that the people interested in buying our old house are going to buy it. Our Christmas tree has been standing for nearly 2 weeks now, and not even a ball has been moved by our lovely little angelic kitties (now watch, I'll go home tonight to find shiny ornaments scattered throughout the house, lights strung all over the floor, and artificail pine needles everywhere).

I guess I'm happy that our DSL Service that they said would be active by 5:00 this evening was up and running when I got here at 9:00 this morning (I just had to check). Found out that we do indeed need the filters on the phone lines here...got a call just after I was done and all I could hear was static. It continued after I picked up our cordless that I put a filter on, but ceased after hanging up the other one. Unfortunately, whoever called got tired of waiting before I got that done and hung up.

This one doesn't really fall under good news and I sure wouldn't put it with my bad news that I posted. My legs are conflicting. My good one has been kinda sore for the past week, with something that I've been treating as an infection...it was red and hot on the upper inner calf area, not to mention painful. The pain has subsided a bunch, but really hurts today because I have a huge zit on it right now...can't wait for that sucker to pop. The bad leg, however, really looked good this morning. Not as good as the other one when it's the right color, but better than it has for a while. From the knees up I feel surprisingly good, just wear down quickly (as anybody my size would). Sleep seems to be coming easier and it's been a long time since I've scared myself driving down the highway by nodding off for a second or 2. I've gotten this far on my own, just think how much better it'll be when I can get a new mask and start using my CPAP machine.

Well, there's a glimpse into my life over the past couple of weeks. Thanks for reading.

YIPPEE

2006-12-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

Remember last month when I bragged about getting the City's Utility Bills done in record time? Well, I just finished doing them again today, I didn't keep track of time and had a few more distractions, but that's not why I'm so happy. I'm happy because now I'm going to have a lot more time on my hands. Why you ask? Because I just finished those bills for the last time. You see, 32 years ago, my dad became City Clerk of our little town here in Iowa. 18 years ago when I graduated from High School, I pretty much became his assistant in this job, as well as a partner in our 2 retail businesses. Over the years, the Clerk job got more technologically advanced, resulting in the City buying a computer in 1993. Guess who got to figure out how to do the billing at that time. Me. Slowly, he started giving me more things to put on the computer, and/or get figured out with the computer.

Earlier this year, about the time I mentioned that Dad was running for County Supervisor, he told me he was going to resign as City Clerk, regardless of the outcome of the election. When the election bid fell just short, I thought maybe I could talk him into reconsidering, but no, his mind was made up, and he tendered his resignation this past Monday.

It's going to be different come January 2, when I don't have to bust my butt to get the Utility Bills out, but somehow, I think I'll manage to handle my giddiness. Dad might be the one who really has a problem getting rid of the smile on his face. You see, in Iowa, there is a pension fund (Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, better known as IPERS) that is paid into and available for Government workers, from State down to the local level. From this fund that he has paid into for the past 32 years, he will be receiving a monthly check for roughly the same amount he was taking home as City Clerk.

Well, it's after 6:00, and I've actually been off the clock for the past half hour, so I think I'm going to head home now. I just wanted to get this posted tonight while I'm still happy about being done.

Hi, remember me?

2006-11-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm the guy that writes on this blog, only I haven't been keeping up with it very well over the past few weeks. I only have an excuse for no post last week, and that was because I was kinda ill the day before Thanksgiving. The rest I'll just chalk up to forgetfulness.

The weekend before Thanksgivning, my Fire Department held their annual dance fundraiser, complete with turkey raffle and other games of chance. I also had our annual NAPA Marketing Conference to attend the following evening with my dad and his girlfriend. Saturday morning, Dad asked if we could cancel one of the rooms we had reserved since his girlfriend wasn't feeling well. I checked the hotel policies, and they stated 24 hour notice or forfeit the first night's rate. Well, we were only staying one night anyway, so Dad and I went and had our own rooms. Only about midnight or so, he got sick. I didn't find this out until Sunday morning when I was waiting for him to call so we could go have breakfast...I decided to give him until 9:30 and call him. He requested that I bring him some ice, so I did that before heading to the buffet (we stayed at one of the casino/hotels in Council Bluffs, IA) for a very high protein breakfast. I had Roast Beef, Ham, Bacon, Sausages, a little bit of eggs, and a banana.

About 10:30 Dad's feeling well enough to be getting dressed and getting out of the hotel, so I help with his luggage and have him check us out of the hotel, while I go to the parking ramp to get my truck. He also had his truck down there, and we'd been having troubles with the battery in that, so I was going to make sure he got started even if he wasn't sick. I should mention that the reason we drove down separately was because I wanted to attend the meetings while he didn't, and we both had different plans for Sunday. All Sunday plans got scrapped when he got sick, as I had to follow him to make sure he got home. We got about halfway home and he was starting to feel like he was going to fall asleep, so he pulled into a convenience store and absentmindedly turned off his truck. This time it was a real pain in the ass to get his truck started...I bet we were stopped for over 20 minutes. It was to the point where if it didn't start the next time, I was going to have him climb in with me and temporarily abandon his truck, before coming back with a buddy of mine that is a mechanic. It started and we were back on our way.

Once we got back to our hometown, he drove this truck into the garage where it's kept (at our old house), so I assume he's fine and I head home to catch the start of the Homestead Nextel Cup race. Right at the green flag, I nodded off for half an hour (hadn't slept very well myself...peein' all night), wake up and realize I'd been home for an hour already and he wasn't home yet. I drove back to the other garage and found him asleep in his truck. He said he'd be right up, so I went back home and watched more of the race. Another hour went by without him being home, so I was just getting ready to go drag him out of the garage when I see him driving up the street. So I grab the cat that is kinda apathetic towards me, but really likes Dad, and meet him at the door saying "you're lucky you're home now...me and my enforcer were just coming to get you."

Thus ends the story of that weekend, but was told as background for my little bout with illness. Even though Dad and his girlfriend were both sick, I don't think it had anything to do with me. They were possibly knocked out (food poisoning) by some bad pickles, and I think I coincidently got some food poisoning from another source. On Wednesday morning at about 3:00, I seem to have had a little diarrhea, and at 5:00 or so, it was compounded with vomitting for one series. Got up at 7:30 to get my leg wrapped, and really wasn't nauseaus or anything, just had the runs. About 8:30 I decided that it would be best if I stayed home for at least the morning to stay close to the toilet, so I called Dad and told him that, which was fine. About 10 or so, I had another round of calling Ralph, and I don't know if it was the sink or the stuff going into it, but I could definately smell something that smelled like rotten eggs.

About noon I decided I felt well enough to go to work, so I called Dad and told him I'd be there as soon as I was dressed. We had a fire call at about 1:00 that I went to, got back to work about 3 after stopping at home to make some jello and relieve myself again. Then Dad let me off at 5:00 because we weren't very busy anyway, and I wasn't feeling 100%. One of the reasons I point to as a possible cause for sickness due to food poisoning was the previously mentioned rotten egg smell...remember I had eggs from a buffet on Sunday? Another possible factor that I haven't yet revealed is that on Tuesday night, I made some chicken and noodles, using raw chicken that I cut up prior to putting it in the pot to cook, then covered it with broth once it was cooked. Well, I made a stupid decision not to wash my hands after cutting the chicken and before going to the living room and eating some cheese curls while watching TV.

I'm kinda ruling out the flu or stuff like that because I really never had a stomach ache, chills, fever, body aches, or any other major flu symptoms, just the 2 that I've told ya'll about.

Thanksgiving was kind of disappointing, since if you know me, you know I love food and used to really enjoy tipping a few. As I was still kind of recovering from whatever it was I had on Wednesday, I decided that alcohol would not be good, and I was going to behave with the food intake. I can tell it really sucks to be surrounded by AWESOME tasting food and having to be careful on what/how much you consume because you're scared.

A similar instance happened to me a couple to a few years ago on Christmas Eve...my extended family (Dad, his girlfriend, and her kids & grandkids) was having a spectacular pre-made meal of prime rib, mashed potatoes, and such, but I couldn't take full advantage because that morning I had been to the ER with a nosebleed, and as a result had my nose stuffed with gauze and stuff. I'm so paranoid when it comes to my own blood...especially from my nose. If I see even a quarter of a drop come out, I'm done for 3 days from doing anything involving dipping my head or requiring more effort than a short walk.

Well, I hope I haven't made you sick or anything, and I hope you come back to read more when I post again (hopefully soon).

Mememememe (I never know when to stop)

2006-11-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

Here’s a fabulous meme the cool kids are doing. Consider it yesterday's "Wednesday Whatever" until I figure out something else to post.

1. How does she take her coffee?
Clear, sometimes out of the toilet.

2. Is she a morning person or a night person?
Awake or sleeping at any time of the day...no set schedule.

3. What kind of car does she drive?
She ain't all enough to drive.

4. Does she adhere to the speed limit?
Like I just said, she ain't tall enough to drive.

5. How long does she take in the shower?
Bath only.

6. What are her favorite food and favorite drink?
Canned Friskies and toilet water.

7. What kind of soap does she use?
Saliva.

8. What kind of shampoo?
Saliva.

9. What would she say is the thing she likes the most about you?
The way I set her down when I'm done torturing her.

10. What would she say is the thing that annoys her most about you?
How I torture her all the time.

11. How did you meet?
She and her sister were living with my sister.

12. Tell me about your first date with each other.
Never really went on a date.

13. Where does she hide her stash… and what kind of stash is it?
Usually where I step on it in the middle of the night....kinda gross.

14. Is she a saver or a spender?
She don't get out much.

15. What would she do with $10,000?
Probably roll around naked in it.

16. What is the one possession of hers that you absolutely detest, but he would kill you if you threw it away?
Her trophy skeleton.

17. Who wears the pants in the house?
Me.

18. What is his ultimate weakness?
That cute little face.

19. How would she describe you?
Big ugly ogre.

20. How will you spend the holidays?
Wishing I actually had a girlfriend instead of writing this about one of my cats.

Wednesday Whatever - November 1 edition

2006-11-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Man, this is gonna be tough. I missed last week, so I know you all are going to expect a really good post this time. Trouble is, my life has been pretty boring. I missed last week only because when I was going to post (on Wednesday even), Blogger decided to be doing an update or maintenance or something, and I never got back to it.

I'm going to take the week backwards and see what I can run into. First up, today I completed our monthly utility billing for our 430 or so customers in less than 3 hours and 15 minutes. By complete, I mean that I (get ready) entered meter readings, printed the readings, printed 2 copies of the "proof" bills, printed the bill cards, tore them all apart, and put the stamps on them.

Last night I felt like a truck ran over me, starting at about 5:00. But, since it was Halloween, and I didn't feel like answering the door, I went to get some groceries, then took a half hour nap in my truck in the driveway before going in at 8:00 to have supper. Felt so bad that I almost couldn't eat all of my supper (can of chicken noodle soup and a balogna/thuringer sandwich). Felt a bit better by the time I went to bed though.

Monday, I also felt pretty bad when I got home from work, but I had a meeting to go to in a town about 30 miles away. After they fed us, I started to feel a little better, but on the drive home, the insides of my thighs were hurting bad and I was hot but shivering. Again, I felt better just before going to bed. Oh, by the way, my truck almost got a new hood ornament about 7 miles from the town with the meeting...a big ol' buck deer came out of the ditch, ran parallel with me for a few yards, then ran back down into the ditch.

The weekend was kinda blah, but at least I didn't fall asleep much while watching TV like I normally do. Saturday was 3 races and a football game, while sunday was a pre race show, race, and a football game after returning from supper.

The rest of the last 2 weeks is pretty cloudy, even though the only alcohol I had this past weekend was about 4 drinks on Saturday night, and I wasn't feeling like crap until Monday.

Here's somewhat of a rant that I came up with on Monday afternoon, and had I felt a bit better on Monday night, I might have said it when the opportunity did come up. You see, my friends are always telling me that all I need to do to lose some weight is to not eat as much, but then when I'm with them and don't eat as much as they think a guy my size should eat, they ask "is that all you're eating? did you eat before you got here? are you stopping on the way home?" etc. I decided that sometime when they're doing this, I'm going to say "just because I weigh XXX pounds doesn't mean that I'm shoving food in my mouth 24 hours a day seven days a week".

Well, that's about all I know of in the world of Tiny for this week. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday Whatever - October 18 edition

2006-10-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

WOW, I'm writing this on Wednesday. Had a Dr. appointment this morning...was supposed to be at 10:45, but I didn't get called into the exam room until 11:20, then the Dr. didn't come in there until 11:35. I was out by 11:45 though, then to the drug dealer to fill my script (antibiotic), the grease factory (McDonald's) for lunch, then back to work.

Considering my Dr. appointment was about an infection from a sore I have on my leg, I did something really stupid once I got back here. I started to pick the dead skin and scab off of the wound, and wouldn't you know it, it started to bleed. Nice little trickle of a combination of blood and fluid from the leg that proceeded to turn the inside of my shoe red. I've got a limited First Aid kit here at work, once I found it, I put a non-adhesive pad on the wound with some tape, and got it to stop bleeding. Would have been just as happy with a shop towel and some duct tape, but I figured this was a little more sanitary. I also called Dad at home to have him bring one of our big band aids and some Neosporin type stuff along back to work.

Don't know if I've lost any more weight yet...think I'll try to break the grain scale at the co-op again tomorrow evening some time. I'll be overjoyed if I'm down 90-110 from May of '05. I was somewhere from 40-70 down 4 weeks ago.

Not too much else happening. Tried to go fishing Sunday afternoon, but didn't catch anything. Got some groceries last night, but nothing exciting. I swear I'm going to have to get me a woman so I can start talking about sex, or even just outings that aren't only attended by me, myself, and I.

Have a nice day everybody.

FIRE DRILL!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention, yesterday my local Fire Department did a live fire drill at the local Elementary/Middle School, partially for training, and partially for showing off in front of the kids.

We met at the firs station at 12:30 so everybody could get their gear on and sort of go over a plan of attack so nobody would get hurt. At 12:58, the Chief had the Comm. Center page us out for the drill, and we took off, lights flashing and sirens blaring. The kids were on the playground, corralled by their teachers, just as they were supposed to be.

We sent one truck into the alley on the North side of the building, another around to the South Doors, with our newest truck being positioned by the West (front) doors, along with our EMS unit. From there, since it was only a drill/demonstration, we ran the booster reel hoses into the building. After a few minutes, we were informed (all part of the drill) that the custodian was unaccounted for, so a couple of guys got into the air packs, and took the "stokes" basket in, located him, and drug him out. Also, since we had simulated smoke (dry ice going to room temperature) we ran ventilation fans.

To my knowledge, the only thing we did wrong (in fact, didn't do at all) was our new County Wide Firefighter Accountability System. Everybody has a set of 4 plastic tags affixed to the bottom rim of their helmet with velcro. On the way to the scene, each firefighter is supposed to get 2 of their tags affixed to boards in the front of the truck, once at the scene, one board stays in the truck, the other is handed to either the Incident Commander or the Safety Officer on scene. Tag number 3 is put on another board in the case of an interior attack or search mission. The fourth tag stays with the helmet as an identifier. In a perfect world, we really wouldn't need to do this, but you know as well as I do, that we don't live in a perfect world. Some day, our lack of attention to detail could bite us in the butt.

Wednesday Whatever - October 11 edition

2006-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Guess who forgot to make his weekly post again yesterday. Well, maybe not forgot...I remembered several times, just not when I had time to do anything about it.

Anyway, here's the week's recap. I'm not sure if I mentioned anything about it, but we had our Annual Fire Prevention Week Fundraising Cookout at our Fire Department on Monday night. I was in charge of getting the food and beverages lined up for this event, and after a little trouble getting buns (couldn't get any, then had too many lined up), everything fell into place. I pretty much stayed out by the grill all night (not grilling, just sitting there bsing with the grillers), and at 8:00 when we were done serving, I drove around front, got the garbage out of my truck into the dumpster and went home since I was very cold and tired. Other years, we've eaten a bunch of the burgers and hot dogs out there, but I was pretty good this year, although I still had too much (2 dogs, 2 hamburgers, and 1 pork burger...no buns though). I was pretty well behaved on the beer consumption as well, other years I have one after another, while Monday I only had one.

Wednesday night was the annual Chicken supper at my grandmother's church. She always buys us a ticket, and we usually go to sit and eat with her. This time, however, my aunt and uncle were going to get their meals to go, and since I hate folding chairs, I decided to do the same. Dad and his girlfriend did go in and sit with her for this meal. I did go in and talk to Grandma before getting my meal though, so I'm not all the way in the dog house with her...just on a chain outside of it, but able to go in the main house when I want to.

Today is also my Dad's birthday. I didn't mention it right away when I came upstairs this morning, but I did say Happy Birthday when I got to work. He still accused me of forgetting since it took that long, but I disagree because I said it with no prodding from him, and hadn't talked to anybody before I got in the door at work.

Our Annual NAPA Marketing Conference is next month at a Riverboat Casino and adjoining hotel. The DC (Distribution Center for those of you not familiar with retail chains) blocked a bunch of rooms at the host hotel and another nearby hotel. We called yesterday for rooms (6 days before the block expires) at the "Special" rate of $95, and got the last 2 rooms. Granted, they're Smoking with 2 Queens, but I'll take that just for being in the host hotel and not having to drive or take a shuttle to the other hotel after the Cocktail party. Besides, I've stayed in this hotel before, and I'm pretty sure I can still get some room service after the party if they don't serve enough stuff that I like there. I didn't see anything about Room Service on the other hotel's website.

Well, thanks for reading...and for putting up with the sporadic posting.

Wednesday Whatever - October 4 edition

2006-10-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Thankfully you're sitting down...you might have blacked out and fallen down if you weren't...I'm posting this on a Wednesday!!!!

Let's see, what all happened. I guess I'll start with Saturday morning. My cat Sherman, who is my bestest buddy in the whole world, scared the crap outta me. When I got up, he was laying on the floor at the foot of my bed, and I really didn't think much of it. A little while later, I noticed he hadn't come upstairs to see what's going on, so I whistled for him (sometimes I think he thinks he's a dog), but he wouldn't answer. I went back downstairs, he meowed at me like he was kind of hurting, so I picked him up and he seemed a little lighter than normal. I bring him upstairs and call Dad to see what we should do, then the vet's, but the vet didn't answer at the shop or at home. So I call Dad again and tell him I'm coming to work so he can come home and look at Sherman. He reports to me that he thinks it's just a tummy ache or constipation.

Well, I worry about him for the next 3 hours at work until I can close and go back home and be with him. Sherm laid by my feet all afternoon until about 5:00, when he went back to the basement to lay down. I decided to let him be, checked on him at about 6:15 before going uptown for supper, then again at around 8:00 when I got back home. About 10:00 or so, he made me a little happier by coming back upstairs, but he still didn't seem right. However, I knew at 2:00 AM Sunday that he was close to back to normal, he came downstairs, jumped on my bed, and since I was just sitting there upon returning from a walk across the room, I picked him up and heard the most joyous sound I could ever hear at that time...he was purring.

This whole incident made me feel really stupid because I was so convinced he was going to die that I posted it on a message board I visit, along with multiple updates. I even broke down and cried once (everybody does it, especially after holding in so much bullshit that you almost have to explode).

He is now back to normal and I couldn't be happier.

Another amazing thing happened on Sunday. I was in the middle of watching the Nextel cup race while Dad was outside preparing campaign signs to be put up all over the County. About 2:30-3:00 I decided that since he was probably going to his girlfriend's house shortly, I'd take my water pills. One of them routes the excess fluid out of the body, while the other one routes it through the liver. Why, I don't know, I'm just supposed to take both for a week then switch to the one that does the liver thing. Anyway, about an hour later, just when the pill that removes the water via the bladder is supposed to kick in, Dad says let's go put some signs up. Since I had to finish dressing anyway, I popped the cork on my bladder, then on a prayer, get into the pickup to go delivering signs. We spend about 3 hours driving around the County putting signs here and there, I even had a 20 ounce bottle of pop, but didn't feel the need to offload any water throughout this trip. I guess by the time we got home, I was starting to feel it, but I've had to go much worse in the past. It was unbelieveable that I could hold off for 3 hours, the effects of a pill that usually makes me tinkle every 20 or so minutes for 3 hours.

Well, that about does it for the highlights of my life over the last week. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday Whatever - September 27 edition

2006-09-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

As seems to be the norm lately, I'm writing this not on the day it should be, but at a later date. This time on Friday afternoon.

Well, Dad's County Supervisor campaign signs are slowly being put up. I think he said a day or 2 ago that we had about 150 of our 250 plastic yard signs up, and there are a bunch of the bigger wooden signs in place. We have some names in the remaining towns, but really need to think of more to get adequate coverage.

Sounds like my favorite lunch will be no more pretty soon. I've been getting KFC's famous bowl and some of their (evidently) soon to be discontinued Honey BarBQ Boneless wings. I guess it would be a good opportunity to cut back to just the bowl and hopefully further my getting into better shape. I don't really like the term "weight loss", as I have considerably more to get rid of than most people.

Speaking of that term, I've been watching this season's episodes of NBC's "The Biggest Loser", and enjoying it much more than I thought I would. It helps that one of my fellow message board posters and bloggers is related to one of the contestants that made the show, and that he is also a fireman. I just wish that during that show (or really any time I'm at home), I'd get off my fat, lazy butt and do something instead of sitting there munching away.

I must be doing something right though...I'm not sure if I already posted this or not, but last week after Fire Department training, I weighed myself at the local Co-op's grain scale, and found that since May of 2005 I had lost at least 30 pounds, and possibly as much as 70. The scale was fluctuating due to the wind, so I couldn't get an accurate read. I've decided to try again after our next Fire Department Meeting, which is Thursday the 5th of October. That's going to be after a full week of taking water pills, and 4 days of taking "Trim Life" vitamins and fat burner pills. I know the drug type stuff isn't going to do anything for me by itself, but I'm hoping it'll do enough to make me feel like it's helping and give me the push I need to start doing other stuff. If the scale shows I'm down 90+ from May of '05, I'll be starting some serious training, and keep those numbers falling. If it's not there yet, I'll bitch about it for a while, and continue what little I am that is sort of working, but make it a little less intake and bump up the mini workout I do right before bed.

Wednesday Whatever - September 20 edition

2006-09-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, you may notice I'm doing this on Thursday the 21st, I forgot to do it yesterday, or ran out of time, or something like that.

For the first time, I watched a "reality" show on purpose last night. The Biggest Loser was on, and since I "know" somebody who knows one of the contestants this round, I decided to watch once. I don't think I was actually following the spirit of the show for the first half hour or so...I was busy stuffing a home made pizza down my throat. The show itself was pretty good, although I really didn't care for how they'd tease you with a weight coming up and cut to commercial, or when the red team had to vote somebody out, they did the same thing. But I guess the producers think that adds drama to the show.

Speaking of weight loss, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that surgery is the only way I'll be able to accomplish even getting halfway to my goal weight. Fortunately, I have found a WLS (weight loss surgery) that I am seriously considering. My biggest hold ups right now are a) paying for it (no insurance), b) it's MAJOR surgery and should not be jumped into, and c) I am the biggest wuss you've ever seen when it comes to needles and/or pain, and there would be plenty of both involved in the recovery as well as during the prelude to surgery.

I'm doing okay on my own, pretty much maintaining, if not dropping a couple of pounds here and there, but at my current weight, it's not enough to even mention. I mean, really, a couple of pounds here and there is fine if you weight around 200-250 or so, but up where I am, that would compare to 40-50 pounds here and there for something to be proud of.

One thing I've definately decided, I am sick and tired of letting my weight determine what I can and cannot do. I want to go to more "big league" races (they finally just built a track 2 hours or so from my home). I want to go to an amusement park and be worn out because I went on every ride and walked the entire park 3 times, not because I walked up to the front gate. I want to walk up to any vehicle, get in, and drive it, not stand there and say "nope, ain't gonna fit in this one either". There's more, but I'm getting depressed here.

I'll add my disclaimer that I put on a message board once. I'm not helpless, I've never used a wheelchair, cane, or walker. But I can only walk a very limited distance before my body starts telling me to stop and rest. Not my heart and lungs either, my back, knees, and hips basically tell me to "sit down before we make you fall down."

Wednesday Whatever - September 13 edition

2006-09-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon, readers, lovely day here in Western Iowa.

First off, several of my friends participated in blogging about victims of 9/11. I debated doing so myself, but I felt that I couldn't even do decent job of memorializing a friend or family member, let alone somebody who I had never met. I'm glad not everybody feels the same way I do about it, or if they did, they took a shot at it anyway. I only read a few, but it was nice seeing that people are still willing to take the time to research, and put into words what others of us are too scared or lazy to. I know there are other reasons people didn't participate, and I respect those reasons.

This weekend marks the 58th annual "Calf Show" in my community. For the second year in a row, there will be no calves on display, unless people roll up their pant legs. This used to be a really big deal, but now it's basically a parade on Saturday morning and a reason (if we really need one in this small German town) to go get drunk. Maybe I'm a bit cynical about it because I'm not in good enough shape to walk all over and take in the sights and sounds, but my observations are what it looks like from where I can get to.

Dad's supervisor campaign has been at a standstill, but last night he revealed to me that he's been told to hold off on putting up signs for a while...I'm assuming until after the School Board election which was held yesterday. Last night when we got home from getting groceries, we assembled 98 signs to the wires that hold them in peoples yards. We also have 8 large signs ready to be put in along highways here in the county, with enough wood for 6 more. We should be ready once we get the green light to post 'em.

Well, I guess that's about all I can think of for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday Whatever - September 6 edition

2006-09-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not writing this until Saturday, September 9th. Sue me or deal with it. lol.

This week just plain sucked. Started out with computer problems for our Utility Billing system that lasted most of the week. Then yesterday Dad was trying to assemble the Agenda for the monthly City Council meeting and kept getting ticked because he couldn't find stuff, and you just know who was getting caught in the line of fire (if you don't know, guess...here's a hint, ME).

I mentioned in one of my last posts that I was heading to the City to buy some ribs to BBQ on Labor Day. Well, I bought the ribs, but didn't feel like cooking them on Labor Day. Went fishing instead (wait, is it still fishing when you don't catch anything?). My buddy (who was pretty well drunk at the time) somehow convinced me to take gravel/dirt roads home from the lake to avoid some of the looking into the sun, which was not bothering me very much on the highway. Well, we about wrecked going down one hill, because it was pretty much dirt, was very rough, steep hill, oncoming car at the bottom, and when I got over near the bottom to go by the car, the road felt like it sunk away. A few hills later, the sun was really bad, but I was able to see some motion in front of me a little ways...3 young deer decided to be running down the road. No, I didn't get any of them either, just startled me for a second.

My County has way too many Hog confinements. Saturday on my way either to or from the City, I counted up the number along the highway that runs on the North side of my town. There are 5 of them (2 under construction) in 18 miles...plus, you can see more from the highway. In the next county over, and I guess 1 up, I was on a back highway and saw ZERO confinements. Also, one day this spring, I did some smoke chasing, and once I located the smoke, I took a drive on a lot of gravel roads in the West Half of our fire district, and found about a dozen confinement units.

I used to be in favor of people being able to put these buildings up, but GEEEZE, enoough is ENOUGH.

Okay, I'm done ranting. Have a good day.

Wednesday whatever - August 30 edition

2006-08-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Another week has passed since my weekly musings. This time we're heading for a long weekend. I have to work alone Saturday morning, but I'm heading to the City in the afternoon so it's all good. Main objectives on the trip are to eat at Long John Silver's (I know it isn't very healthy, but I LOVE their food), go to Best Buy and possibly purchase a DVD recorder, Wal Mart Supercenter for some slabs of Baby Back Ribs and maybe some other grocery type items, and maybe a trip to Arby's for some Roast Beef Sandwiches to take home. I hate it that the closest Arby's and Long John Silvers are both about 60 miles away. Of course, maybe that's good for my waistline.

I'm not sure what else is going on, but I'm planning to Bar B Q some ribs on Monday, but I don't know if I'll have company over or not, haven't invited anybody yet. I've also got a nice netted pork roast in the fridge that I'd like to slow cook on the barby. Might do that on Sunday while waiting for the race to start.

So far this week, I've slept better than I have for quite some time...just hope I didn't jinx myself by bringing it up.

Well, that's all I can think of that could be considered noteworthy for now.

Keep it real.

I gotta admit

2006-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was wrong about Saturday night's Nextel Cup race. It was actually pretty enjoyable. Only 10 cautions for 62 laps. Far short of the 20/158 that I expected. I still didn't see much side by side racing, but the pit strategy kept it interesting.

Friday night's Busch race, however, lived up to all expectations I had. 14 cautions for 85 laps (that's out of 250, so nearly 1/3 of the race was behind the pace car).

Wednesday Whatever - August 23 edition

2006-08-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome, dear readers, to another round of me posting what is or isn't going on in my life. First off, I still aintgettinany, so if you have a good looking female friend in the midwest, between say 20 and 40 or so, that you want to punish for something, hook us up.

This weekend the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series rolls into Bristol for their annual night race. I expect that only 3-4 cars will escape with no damage. I'm not real crazy about this track since it leads to mostly single file racing (parade), where the only way to pass is to knock the guy in front of you out of the way, usually leading to cautions, that usually take up 1/4 or more of the 500 laps. That being said, I haven't missed watching a Bristol race on TV since the last time I raced during it at my local track. I don't know if I'll have some guests over or not...right now I don't feel like cleaning the house to Dad's "company's coming" specs. I wouldn't mind clearing the table and some of the counter, and vacuuming the living room, but I simply don't have time or energy to asolutely clear the counter(s), pick up everything all over the upstairs, and whatnot. And then have to make some food for us to munch on during or before the race.

I e-mailed one of my best friends from High School yesterday to see when he's coming back this way. His reply blindsided me with news that he is about 4 weeks from finalizing getting a divorce.

Last thursday I was supposed to get a haircut after work, but forgot about it until later that evening. I decided to go try to find my "stylist" and apologize...that trip was successful, as she was just walking out of her house when I was driving by. My haircut has been rescheduled for tonight. I'm looking right at a note to remind me, so hopefully I won't forget again.

Well, that's about the extent of my week. Thanks for reading.

Writing Assignment from TMLSB

2006-08-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning. Are you ready for a rare Saturday morning post? I hope so, because teacher Todd gave my friends at my new "home" message board a writing assignment that is due Monday morning at 8:00 local time. And, since I don't get to work until 9:00 local time on Mondays, I have to do it now to get it done in time. Anyway, it is supposed to be 5 or more paragraphs on "What would you do if money wasn't an object?".

I guess the first thing I would do is have bariatric surgery, since I'm a really overweight person, and would like to have the energy and ability to do anything at any time. Also, a year or two after that surgery, I'd probably have some cosmetic surgery to get rid of the excess skin that would arrive from the loss of so much weight.

Now that I'd be in shape and lookin' good, I would get a motorcoach and follow the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for a season or two, all the while interviewing candidates to become Mrs. Tiny.

After my tour with the Cuppers, I would probably have to do something to stay busy. Possibly by getting an IMCA Stock Car, Modified, or Late Model, and make an attempt to either win the National Title, or make the Supernationals Feature Race in Boone, IA.

I've thought about getting a job driving a truck, should I ever happen to lose a considerable amount of weight, but I don't know if I would still want to do that if I didn't need money any more. Maybe a few runs for a Company here in my hometown when they need an extra driver.

One thing I definately wouldn't do, is forget about my friends, both local and Internet. I'm not saying I'd throw money at them, but we would spend time together.

Well, that's about as good as I can come up with.

Wednesday Whatever - August 16 edition

2006-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Good evening (or whatever time of day you are reading this). I was just sitting over at Dad's desk killing time until closing time when I realized I hadn't posted my weekly thoughts yet.

Over the weekend was the 25th Annual Carp Contest held at Blackhawk Lake in Lake View, Iowa. My buddy and I have fished in it the past 2 years, so we tried our luck again. The first year, I caught 2 carp, and my buddy got shut out, though he landed one for our third partner. Last year, he caught one or two, and I got shut out. What happened this year you ask? We both got shut out. Our third partner got one carp before we got there on Saturday, and a catfish, then a bullhead while we were there. On Sunday, this other guy caught a bass...an inch and a half long. We also got rained out after about 3 hours on Sunday. If we'd gotten the whole day in, I'm sure we would have caught something.

I also had the misfortune of breaking a reel on Sunday morning. I had casted out with my doughball and was going to turn the crank to tighten the line when it slipped over and wouldn't reel in. Well, I just thought the screw was loose, so I borrowed a screwdriver and tightened it, then it wouldn't move at all. Took it apart and found the crank handle was broken where it goes on the shaft, so I borrowed the crank handle from my other rod & reel (got it out of the water first so I wouldn't get a fish on with no way of bringing it in). The reel still wouldn't move the line in, so I took the cap off the reel and manually wrapped the line around the spool until I got it all in. Five feet from shore, I got snagged and had to break the line, but I didn't lose my hook since my buddy found it wrapped in his line when he did a bait check.

I should have known it was going to be a bad weekend for fishing. Didn't feel like making my bait until Friday night, Saturday when I was bringing lunch home for Dad and I, my buddy's fire department got called out for a garage fire, so that bought me a little extra time to get my stuff loaded. I left town 5 minutes later than my original plan, knowing that his department hadn't returned to the station yet...they called in when I got 2 miles out of town. Well, anybody who has spent time with a fire department knows that the work ain't over yet, just because the trucks are back at the station. There's usually hose to re-rack, tanks to fill, etc. Well, they finally got done, I took him home so he could change and grab his gear, and we finally got on the water (from shore, not on a boat) at 3:00.

Which brings me to our fishing spot. I had a low branch overhead and a downed tree in the water to my left. I'm also a lefty. I pretty much had to throw sidearm to get under the branch, but had to release late to keep it out of the downed tree. I'm much more accurate overhead. Needless to say, I spend most of Saturday unsnagging from trees and tying on hooks.

Wow, what an entry over a fishing outing. Good thing I can't remember anything else that happened since my last entry.

Wednesday Whatever - August 9 edition

2006-08-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome weaders...er, readers. It's time to post my boring weekly updates.

First off, news from the health front. As you may recall (maybe not, I don't know if I ever posted it), my leg has been bothering me at night by stinging like heck until about 3:00 in the morning, from finishing up on it's leaking procedure for the day. Yesterday I decided I wanted to do something about it, so I called the Physical Therapist that got me started with the wrapping procedure. She said it was quite possible that I had an infection in there, and that was also causing some excess leakage. She suggested I see my regular doctor, but since I had a refill left on my antibiotics, I decided to just refill that and see what happens after a few days of taking them again. She also recommended starting again on my diuretic/water pill. The main problem with that is, I work until 5, don't remember to take it until 7, then I'm up all night peeing. I don't really mind waking up several hundred times a night, I just don't like to actually get up during the night.

Overall, during the day, I feel like I've been losing a couple of pounds here and there, but I just ain't seeing it. Of course on this body, a couple of pounds is like removing a cup of water from Lake Superior. I guess my belly doesn't seem to interfere with my steering wheel as much lately, so I suppose that's measureable progress.

My favorite fishing lake is having it's annual Carp Contest this weekend. It's usually worth $10,000 (10 fish tagged worth $1,000 each). This year it's a biggie...$25,000 (25 tags worth $1,000 each). My buddy and I are going to hit it for the third time.

Sunday will also, unfortunately, mark the fifth anniversary of my sister's passing. One day, I'll return to Wichita to relive some of the fun events I shared with her. Like going to a Wichita Wrangler's Minor League baseball game, visiting the "Exploration Place" (a place built mainly for kids to learn stuff at, but is really fun no matter what your age), mini-golf, and some of the restaurants. I had no idea writing this paragraph would make me tear up a little bit.

I think last week I mentioned something about straightening my desk a bit. Well, I got it as far as it is going to go. Used to be level deep with about 6 inches above my PC tower, with just enough desktop exposed to set our wireless keyboard and mouse on. Now I can actually see parts of the desktop...didn't remember it was that color. lol. However, it still falls under what most people would probably call "cluttered".

Well, that's it for today. My butt hurts so I'm gonna go sit on Dad's chair for a while and maybe cop a snooze until closing time.

Wednesday Whatever - August 2 edition

2006-08-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come again to make my definate weekly post. I know I should post more aside from Wednesdays, but I really don't have much to say.

This afternoon we had a little excitement in my old neighborhood (I recently moved a block and a half East of my former residence). There was a small electrical fire in the basement in one of my old neighbors' house. 2 minute response time, mostly just using our ventilation fans to blow the smoke out of the house, but we did take a "booster reel" hose in and spray a little water after the smoke was cleared out. Not sure what was on fire since I didn't go inside.

I suppose some of you are wondering how my leg is coming. Progress seems to have really stalled out again. At least it isn't going backwards is all I can say. I really wish the fluid wouldn't leak out through the skin, that's causing some problems with sleeping. You see, when I lay down at night, I usually lay on my left side or stomach. Guess where the leaks are...left side of left leg and the front of the leg. And, for some reason, they sting really bad until 3 AM unless I have a clean towel under the leg (new one every night).

It seems like I am actually dropping a couple of pounds here and there. I noticed Monday that the walk into the store from my truck, the walk with the Meals on Wheels food at the Senior Center, and my walk back from lunch didn't take as much energy from me as they had the last few weeks, and I wasn't looking for something to lean on in order to stay standing. I know that sounds weird to those of you in decent shape, but for me, that was HUGE. However, since I noticed that, I expected to feel that good all the time, and I don't know if it's just because my expectations are too high or what, but I don't feel quite as good today.

Well, I told my boss (Dad) that I was going to start trying to straighten out my desk somewhat today, so I better get to work on that since I only have an hour left here today.

Wednesday Whatever - July 26 edition

2006-07-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Not much new happening in the town of Tiny, so I'm afraid you're going to have to put up with another "filler piece" here this week. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new Sansui 20" flat screen TV for my basement bedroom for right at $100. This week, it looks like there's a VCR/DVD-R combo unit available at the same store for about $70, so I might have to check that out since my Dish DVR hard drive only has about 45 minutes of recording time left.

It was a sad afternoon yesterday for our Fire Department. One of our members had to call for an ambulance for his mother, who unfortunately, passed away. She was 59. I don't know if we could have done anything if she had been found sooner or not, but it really sucks to be involved with a DOA call. It makes the calls easier when we can at least be trying to do something to save the patient, even though you know in your heart that they aren't going to make it.

Now a little something to lighten the mood. My buddy Sherman (yeah, he's a cat, but he's also my bestest buddy in the world) had been having his hair clump on his back, and pretty much the rest of his torso, so Dad decided to do a little trimming on him. You know those rectangular garbage cans that are about 20" tall? well, we/he filled one about 1/3 of the way with Sherman's hair, and there's still some that could come off. I gotta admit, Sherman seems to feel 1000% better than he had earlier in the summer. For several nights, he didn't come down to my bedroom, but now I wake up with him on my chest several times a night. His "sisters" are spoiled brats...they'll meow at Dad until he gives them a can of Friskies food, of course Sherman enjoys that food too, but he has no problem enjoying the dry Meow Mix in the bowl in the basement. I told ya'll that to tell ya'll this. I've been enjoying some Frito's Scoops corn chips lately with a can of Frito Lay Mild Cheddar cheese. Since it's got a pull top like the cat food cans, my angels all come running when I open it. Sneetch and Bela figure out that it's mine and I'm not going to share, but since his haircut, Sherman does the cutest thing. I have a table thing right next to my chair, about 30-36 inches high, that I set my pop and the can of cheese on. Well, he stretches up and reaches onto the top of the table thing and tries to knock the can of cheese, the plastic lid, or the metal lid down. Maybe I'm not explaining it well enough, but it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen him do, since he's so timid about it too.

Last night at the grocery store, I did something I swore I would never do. I paid $8.99/pound for a Ribeye steak. That SOB better make my mouth have an orgasm after I grill it. We also got in on some free Sweet Corn, so that'll make a nice combination for supper tonight....maybe with some of the canned irish potatoes that I picked up. Monday night I had some pork cutlets cooked in cream of mushroom soup, over bread, with a bowl of Campbell's Potato and Ham chowder. The soup wasn't quite heated long enough, and the bread was almost at expiration, so it wasn't the best meal I've prepared for myself.

I can't belive I only have 5 weeks and 1 day left of picking up the meals for our local Meals on Wheels program. What's more astonishing is that this is the end of the 8th week that I've been doing it. Seems like I just started.

Well, not bad for not thinking I had anything to talk about when I started writing this today, huh? Until next time, keep it 'tween the ditches.

RAGBRAI

2006-07-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you not from Iowa, that stands for "Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa". Every summer, the Des Moines Register sponsors a ride across this great state of ours. It is surprising how often it rolls through my general area in the state, but rarely hits my hometown. This is the third time in 5 years these 5,000 to 10,000 bicyclists have ridden through the town 8 miles East-Northeast from here. We got in on it 2 years ago when we were the lunch stop, just over halfway through the first day.

I hope when I lose some weight, they'll come rolling through here again, and I can actually help out with the fundraising that occurs with the various organizations selling food and trinkets. In 2004, I stayed home and watched the race on TV, except for the 2 times we got called out on EMS calls. One was for a lady in a van that didn't feel good, coming home from the lake. Another was for a disoriented rider near our local pool, where all of the stands were located. For about 4 hours, every street that could have vehicles that day were narrowed down to barely one lane wide with all the support vehicles in town.

I think the riders are all nuts, but I guess, the last time I looked at a bicycle and it didn't melt out of fear of my getting on it was well over 20 years ago, I'm sure they're in a lot better shape than I am. Although I still don't see the sense in riding 40-70 miles a day with a bicycle seat crammed up your butt.

PCDI can kiss my butt

2006-07-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Back in December of 2004, I decided that we'd been having too many problems with our computers, and I'd like to be able to fix them if anything more went wrong. So, I do minimal research and decide to take PCDI's PC repair course since they send you some FREE TOOLS to use once you graduate. In hindsight, I should have went with my hunch that I had once I received the first shipment of course materials. I did a quick skim of the book they sent, and found no mention of the XP operating system, which all of my computers (4 of them) have. I sent a question to the instructors asking if they would cover XP and newer equipment down the line, and they said that it would be covered.

Another hint that things might not be up to snuff occurred a couple of months into the program when, after waiting several weeks for a new shipment to arrive (they send a batch of 4-6 lessons after receiving the tests for 3-5 of the previous batch) I called them to see where this shipment was, and they said they hadn't received 2 of the 4 tests I'd sent in (3 were mailed the same day, guess I shoulda used the same envelope).

The only thing I applaud them for is the fact that about halfway through the course, I found that I could take the tests online, thereby removing the chances that they'd get lost in the mail.

Oh well, they're paid now, and as soon as I get my diploma, I don't have to be in touch with them any more.

Wednesday Whatever - July 19 edition

2006-07-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling very creative today, but I've done such a good job of keeping up with this theme over the past month or so that it would be a shame to not post something today.

Nothing much has happened here lately. Haven't been fishing since before Memorial Day. I'm not going to comment on the last 2 Nextel Cup races because I don't want to offend any friends, even though I know they can take it.

I've been trying to use my CPAP machine again, but my first attempt back was the most successful so far. I had it on for 4 hours. The second night was 2 hours, the third I could only put up with it for an hour because it was leaking and blowing right into my eye. Last night I don't even know how long it was on, but for some reason the pressure really built up and was almost blowing it off my face.

I have no way of knowing for sure, but I feel like I've lost a little weight over the last couple of weeks. My knee doesn't hurt any more (for now at least) and this morning was the easiest walk I've had to the stairs to go up for my leg wrapping, in a looooonng time. Can't tell by my clothes either because I've been wearing sweat pants and tee shirts since the wrapping started around November of last year. Well, the tee shirts I've always worn, the sweat pants have only been since November.

Now that I've jinxed myself, I'll probably go back to feeling lousy and limping and whatnotall. I hope not, but you all know how it goes....especially with the weight loss rollercoaster.

Until next time...be safe and keep it real.

Another Tag Induced Meme

2006-07-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks Dan. Oh, and note to Ninecats...This was much easier than the 100 things.

(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)

✓ I miss somebody right now. (My Mom and Sister)
✓ I don't watch much TV these days. (Because I'm asleep in front of it)
× I own lots of books.
✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses. (For almost 30 years)
× I love to play video games.
× I've tried marijuana. (No way , and it would be a cold day in Hell if I ever did)
× I've watched porn movies. (You can't prove a thing)
× I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.
✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
× I curse sometimes.
× I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.
× I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.
✓ I have broken someone's bones. (My best friend at the time's arm when he fell off the back of my moped as I was giving him a ride.)
× I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal. (Not that I know of)
× I hate the rain. (We need it too bad to hate it right now)
× I'm paranoid at times.
✓ I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free. (ALthough only after another surgery would be successful)
✓ I need/want money right now. (to have this other surgery)
× I love sushi. (Umm, I barely like cooked fish, and hate vegetation)
× I talk really, really fast.
× I have fresh breath in the morning.
× I have long hair.
× I have lost money in Las Vegas.
× I have at least one sibling. (Did have until 8/13/01)
× I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
× I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.
× I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
× I like the way that I look. (HA)
× I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months. (Not that I recall)
× I am usually pessimistic.
× I have a lot of mood swings.
× I think prostitution should be legalized.
× I slept with a roommate.
× I have a hidden talent.
× I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.
✓ I have a lot of friends. (Both Internet and real life)
× I have pecked someone of the same sex.
× I enjoy talking on the phone.
✓ I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants. (Only started after having to wrap my leg...jeans wouldn't fit over the wrapping)
× I love to shop and/or window shop.
× I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.
× I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother
.✓ I have a mobile phone
.× I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.
× I've rejected someone before. (I'm not sure what, if anything, would have happened that morning....)
✓ I currently like/love someone. (I always do, however, they rarely know it.)
× I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.
× I want to have children in the future. (not sure)
× I have changed a diaper before.
× I've called the cops on a friend before.
✓ I'm not allergic to anything.,
✓ I have a lot to learn.
✓ I am shy around the opposite sex. (Getting a little better though)
× I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
× I have at least 5 away messages saved.
✓ I have tried alcohol or drugs before. (Only alcohol...I'll kill ya if you try to give me illegal/illicit drugs.)
× I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
× I own the "South Park" movie.
× I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.
× I enjoy some country music. (No, I enjoy MOST country music)
✓ I would die for my best friends. (Though I'd much rather stay living and keep them in my life.)
× I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist.
× I have used my sexuality to advance my career. (Um, what sexuality?)
× I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
× I have dated a close friend's ex.
✓ I am happy at this moment.
× I'm obsessed with guys.
✓ Democrat.
× Republican.
× I don't even know what I am.
× I am punk rockish.
× I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
× I study for tests most of the time.
× I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.
✓ I can work on a car.
× I love my job(s).
✓ I am comfortable with who I am right now.
× I have more than just my ears pierced.
✓ I walk barefoot wherever I can.
× I have jumped off a bridge.
× I love sea turtles.
× I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.
× I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.
× I am proficient on a musical instrument. (I was, but haven't played for around 19 years.)
× I hate office jobs.
× I went to college out of state.
× I am adopted.
× I am a pyro.
× I have thrown up from crying too much.
× I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
× I fall for the worst people.
× I adore bright colours.
× I usually like covers better than originals.
× I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.
× I can pick up things with my toes.
× I can't whistle.
× I have ridden/owned a horse.
× I still have every journal I've ever written in.
× I talk in my sleep.
× I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century.
× I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.
× I wear a toe ring.
× I have a tattoo.
× I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.
× I am a caffeine junkie.
× I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all.
× If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder.
× I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better.
× I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.
× I'm an artist.
✓ I am ambidextrous. (to an extenet)
× I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed.
× If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony.
× I have terrible teeth. (Not great either though)
× I hate my toes.
× I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me.(Thanks Dan)
× I have more friends on the internet than in real life. (About even)
× I have lived in either three different states or countries.
× I am extremely flexible.
× I love hugs more than kisses. (Can't really say...had plenty of hugs but not a whole lot of kisses)
× I want to own my own business.
× I smoke.
× I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else.
× Nobody has ever said I'm normal.
× Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then.
× I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons.
× I like the way women look in stylized men's suits.(I don't dislike it either)
× I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me.
× I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds.
× I have played strip poker with someone else before. (Only alone.....and lost)
× I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help.
× I believe in ghosts and the paranormal.
× I can't stand being alone.
× I have at least one obsession at any given time.
× I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again.
× I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment.
× I'm a judgmental asshole.
× I'm a HUGE drama-queen.
× I have travelled on more than one continent.
× I sometimes wish my father would just disappear.
× I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am.
× I am a Libertarian.
× I can speak more than one language.
✓ I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be.
× I would rather read than watch TV.
× I like reading fact more than fiction.
× I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do.
✓ I have no piercings.
× I have spent the night in a train station or other public place.
× I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried.
× I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night.
× There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it.
× I like most animals better than most people.
× I own a collection of retro games consoles.
× The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver.(try Sweat)
× I have hit someone with a dead fish.
× I am compulsively honest.
× I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired.
× I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers.
× I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex.
× I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders.
× I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to.
✓ I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on.
× I dislike milk.
× I obsessively wash my hands.
× I always carry something significant around with me.
× Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair.
× I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others.
× Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother.
× I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document.
× I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird.
× I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time.
× Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed.
× I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won.
× I do not 'get' most comedy acts.
✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing. (But I wouldn't consider dating/marrying one either)
× I don't like to chew gum.
× I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it.
× I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car.
× I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years.
× I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other.
× I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly.
✓ I love to sing. (Sometimes)
× I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up.
× I have a custom-built computer.
× I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it.
× I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human.
× I've gone skinny-dipping.(don't ya have to be skinny to do that?)
× I've performed in three plays.
× I enjoy burritos.
× I'm Irish and loving it.
✓ I have a thing for redheads. (And blondes and brunettes)
× I am a twin!
× Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'.
✓ Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else. (I sure try to anyway.)
× I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes.
× I sleep more than 12 hours a day.
× I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough.
× I need more time to myself.
× I wish I was more open-minded.
× I hope that I go really prematurely grey.
× I download songs from the internet.
× I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend.
× I say random things to freak people out.
× I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note.
× I love playing Truth or Dare.
× I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it.
× Music helps me remember that I am not alone.
× Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems.
× I think this survey is particularly long.
× I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones.
× I can only hate someone that I love.
× I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks.

Wednesday Whatever - July 12 Edition

2006-07-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, it's me again. I think I'm going to go North one town tonight and buy a TV for the basement. Right now I have a little 13 inch TV down there, but when I'm laying in bed, I can't read the Dish menu to see what's on. I'm thinking the 20" flat screen that's on sale for $100 should help in that regard.

We did the grocery thing last night, but since it was after supper and for some reason my 2 Footlong hot dogs and Brownie Batter Blizzard filled me up more than usual, I really didn't buy much. I may have to eat out a couple of nights or make a filler stop sometime.

Dad's County Supervisor campaign is rolling along semi-smoothly. He was in 2 parades last week, and went to another town's celebration this past weekend where he made his mark at a bake sale. Also, he worked a Mountain Lion exhibit and a Quilt show for a Sesquicentennial celebration in the town just South of here, where he's going to have to get quite a few votes from in order to unseat one of the incumbents. We've only bought 2 signs for the campaign so far - 18x24 magnetic signs for on our trucks. One of them blew off before we hit 45 mph one night, and now doesn't stick at all. Luckily it held on the Mustang he used in the 2 parades. We were going to order a replacement for that sign, and a couple more to go on our tailgates, but the signmaker went to the city to pick up some supplies so I have to wait until tomorrow to order them.

I'm on my own here at work tomorrow since Dad has to take his girlfriend to the city (different city) for some kind of test (voluntary), and visit her kids/grandkids. Please come up with some blogging ideas or anything to keep me entertained all day.

I think our Mayor is an idiot. I feel halfway safe typing that since I know he doesn't know how to use a computer, and it is highly unlikely that anybody reading this is from my hometown. Why do I think he's an idiot you ask? Well, first off, he basically fired me from being the town's treasurer, but hired my replacement at 15 times my pay for doing the same job. Another reason, the City budgeted for this fiscal year, $10,000 to upgrade playground equipment at the main park, with the rest of the funding coming from a local group's fundraising efforts. Somehow he got 3 of the 5 Council members to vote against paying the already allotted funds, allegedly due to a slide (that was never going to be put back up anyway) wasn't re-installed. I made him pay for what he did to me (I hadn't billed for my services for about 10 months, so I submitted a bill at the new treasurer's rate...and got paid), so I really hope the Park Committee has the fortitude to do something to (again) make him look like the jackass that he really is. Of course, if the Council members would realize that the Mayor is nothing more than a figure head, that they actually decide what happens in this town, we'd be a lot better off.

Well, that's all that's on my mind this week. Until next time, have a good one.

I wanna talk about me, wanna talk about I...

2006-07-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so much for the Toby Keith lead in. This is my "100 things about me" post that seems to be going around my stalker friends' blogs....too bad I can't be original and have stuff stolen from me. Here we go:

1. I'm a very large person.
2. Surprisingly (from what I've read about similarly sized/weighted people), I get around without mechanical assistance.
3. I'm a Ford man, but drive and love my Dodge pickup.
4. I've only been drunk one time.
5. I've only had 2 deserved hangovers.
6. I'm a NASCAR fan.
7. I have 3 cats.
8. One of them is my best buddy in the whole world.
9. Even though he bit me once 6 years ago, and my leg still isn't healed from it.
10. I sell NAPA Auto Parts.
11. I sell Liquor.
12. I'm a part time accountant.
13. I work in the City Clerk's office.
14. I'm involved with the local Volunteer Fire Department.
15. My best friends are about 20 years older than I am.
16. I have another friend from High School that I don't talk to nearly enough.
17. Our Dad's graduated and hung out together.
18. Our Mom's graduated and hung out together.
19. We've been in the process of remodeling and moving for almost 3 years.
20. My mother died from Cancer.
21. My sister died from complications of Diabetes.
22. I drove a race car for 5 seasons.
23. I only had 2 hard wrecks.
24. My last season I didn't finish a race.
25. I won 1 heat race.
26. Same night, I failed to start the feature.
27. I was taken out while leading coming off a re-start on a night when I had the field covered.
28. We ran 4-wide for 4 laps one night, before somebody behind us wrecked.
29. I once made a pass while watching a wreck over my shoulder.
30. I played on Dart Leagues for about 5 years.
31. I played in the State Dart Tournament 3 times.
32. I've been to Fire School twice.
33. The second time was a lot more fun.
34. I'm forbidden to say why.
35. But the first night was almost as much fun and we didn't even leave the hotel.
36. I've learned to play cribbage.
37. I knew how to play pitch, but I think I need a refresher course.
38. I love to play Euchre, but I'm never in a crowd that plays.
39. I've been arrested.
40. This is harder than I thought.
41. I've attended 5 NASCAR Winston/Nextel Cup races.
42. I've attended 3 Busch Grand National Races.
43. I've attended 3 Craftsman Truck Series races.
44. I've attended 4 ARCA races.
45. I've been to 1 World of Outlaws race.
46. I've been to 1 UDTRA/Hav-a-Tampa race.
47. I've been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gift shop.
48. I have almost a dozen dirt tracks within about a 2 hour drive from my home.
49. I took up fishing about 3 years ago.
50. I've only caught 4 fish.
51. One of them, the lure was bigger than the fish.
52. I used to never drink water.
53. Now I drink almost a gallon a day.
54. In addition to over a case of Pepsi a week.
55. I love Cappucino.
56. But hate Coffee.
57. I like garlic and hot sauces.
58. But can't stand vegetables aside from Corn, Potatoes, and Mushrooms.
59. My desk is a mess.
60. But I can find anything requested that is on it in less than a minute.
61. Did I mention that this is hard?
62. I take blood pressure meds.
63. That caused a case of Sleep Apnea.
64. That must not be too bad any more.
65. Because I haven't used my CPAP machine for a couple/few months and haven't noticed the symptoms that I had that caused me to get the machine.
66. But I will go back on the machine when I get a bigger mask and the air coming through the machine cools off again.
67. I have a TV in my bedroom.
68. I don't watch it because it's too small to be seen from my bed.
69. I wanted Alltel when I got my last cell phone.
70. They didn't service my area so I went with Cellular One.
71. A couple of months into my contract, Cellular One sold out to Alltel.
72. 2 of my cats don't like it when I hold them.
73. So I do it every chance I get just to spite them.
74. They don't mind me petting them when they're on the ground though.
75. I keep too much stuff.
76. 13 years of Stock Car Racing Magazine.
77. 13 years of Circle Track Magazine.
78. 5 or so years of Hawkeye Racing News newspaper.
79. Several Years of Sports Illustrated Magazine.
80. Every Credit Card Bill I've ever received.
81. Invoices/Sales Slips for most stuff I've ever bought (not groceries or lunches or stuff like that though).
82. I've been as far East as Washington D. C.
83. I've been as far South as Altanta GA.
84. I've been as far West at Rapid City SD.
85. That's about as far North as I've been too.
86. I made a 6 hour drive in 110 degree weather with no air conditioning.
87. With my grandmother in the passenger seat.
88. We survived.
89. I attended a 29 hour party, with an hour nap at 6:30 in the morning.
90. I got home from a Friday night out at 5:30 AM.
91. And went to work at 9:00 AM.
92. I'm almost done with this.
93. I have lots of friends that I haven't met in person.
94. I would like to change that into having more friends that I have met in person.
95. I've met and talked to Ken Schrader.
96. I've been within arm's length of several other NASCAR drivers including Kyle Petty and Buddy Baker.
97. I've met at least 4 NASCAR Winston Racing Series National Champions (Joe, Steve, and Ed Kosiski, and Gary Webb).
98. I know I've had other encounters with famous people, but I can't remember them right now.
99. This post took me all afternoon.
100. But I'm now done with it.

Wednesday Whatever - July 5 edition

2006-07-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I almost forgot to do this today. On Saturday afternoon, I went to a parade that had only fire trucks and emergency equipment in it. Our department sent our newest truck, our EMS unit, and an old Model A truck that happens to be the first truck manufactured by Toyne, Inc., a fire truck builder in Breda, Iowa. The Model A wasn't even scheduled to go, but after a conversation between me and another department member, it was decided that it was stupid for that truck not to go, and he made arrangements to trailer it to the parade and drive it through. This paid off, as we received a trophy for the oldest truck entered in the parade.

On Monday, there was going to be another parade in the same town, 15 miles from my hometown. My dad was going to be in this parade with his girlfriend's daughter's red Mustang with campaign signs (he's running for County Supervisor) and the grandkids that he calls his as well. It was sunny and dry when we each left town (I was only going to watch, the Mustang headed down a little earlier, and Dad was coming down shortly after I left. 6 miles out of the town I live in, there is a curve that turns almost 90 degrees, and I started getting rain drops on my windshield right at this curve. About 300 yards later, it starts raining cats, dogs, and any other critters you can think of. So I got on the phone to alert the others of the rain, not knowing that the Mustang was already in the parade lineup, and basically told them what they already knew. It was still early, so when I got to town, I found myself a nice parking spot where I could watch the parade from and turned the local radio station on, as well as kept on monitoring my Fire Radio. Uptown, the sky starts clearing and the rain slows almost to a stop, but right at that time, the radio announcer that was uptown announced that the parade was cancelled. About 30 seconds later, the Fire Chief from the town I was in got on the Fire Radio and announced that the parade was cancelled.

So, I tried to call the mustang owner, but apparently, she was on the phone to somebody else, so I decided to drive to the High School (the place the parade was lining up) to see if I could find them. I did and they told me right away that we were heading to a local bar for a while, as the Fireworks show was still scheduled for that night, even though in one of the Fire Radio transmissions I heard that the fairgrounds parking lot was under water. So we have a few drinks and wait to see what's going to happen. A little while later my radio comes to life with an all-call page stating that the fireworks were postponed until Tuesday night. We then decided to come back to my hometown for supper and a couple more drinks. About 8:00, Dad and girlfriend went home, and the parents of their grandkids decided to go to a bar that is in a basement. I don't do steps well, so I passed and decided to go to a friend's place in another adjacent town for a few beers on his patio.

Tuesday morning (my birthday, also the Fourth of July) Dad wakes me up to let me know he's heading to a parade about 40 miles away, and then to another that's about 30 miles away. I told him to let me know what time the second one started since I wasn't ready to get outta bed yet for the first one. I watched TV until noon, then pretty much slept in my chair since I couldn't find anything to watch on TV, until about 3:30 when I figured any parades were over and called Dad's girlfriend's house to see if they were back yet. They were, so I asked what the deal was and they said they didn't have time between parades to let me know when the second one was.

About 5:30, I decided to go get a pizza and find a good parking spot at the fairgrounds for the fireworks show. I ate what I was going to of the pizza and was just about ready to take a quick snooze in my truck, when another pickup pulls up beside me in the spot I was saving for Dad. When this guy got out of his truck, I finally recognized him as one of my second cousins. We had a nice talk while waiting for Dad's carload of people and the fireworks to start.

The fireworks show was AWESOME, it rivaled the best show I've ever seen (1999 after a Wichita Wranglers baseball game in Wichita KS). I was unofficially on duty watching for spot fires and/or injuries, since I had my radio with me. Fortunately, I didn't have to report anything, and it was pretty interesting listening to what goes on behind the scenes at a fireworks show.

I had a busy and interesting Sales Call/Lunch Hour today

2006-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

My first stop was at the bar I do the books for, as I had to drop off some new time cards and pick up some candy for Dad to throw out in the Parade on Monday evening. All I knew about the candy was that there was supposed to be $100 worth. Know how much that is? 3200 "Dum Dum" suckers. Got them loaded and headed to my next stop at the garage I call on to drop off some "can bags" (Iowa Recycling Law pop can return bags) and have a can of pop with them and basically catch some crap about whatever they feel like picking on me about. My next stop, I'm supposed to catch up to the Budweiser truck to pick up a keg tapper and some glasses, as well as some beer that Dad forgot to order. Considering I was 15 minutes late, I knew to drive uptown in this other town and caught him leaving a bar, but he didn't see me and continued to the grocery store where I parked right behind him. He didn't see me then either, and since I'm lazy, have a sore foot, and the other knee is sore, I wait in my truck for him to come out....and wait, and wait...probably about 10 minutes. So, he now sees me and grabs the tapper, but he's out of cups, and has his assistant put the beer I want in the back of my truck. Then he told me to go to our original meeting spot to see if they had any glasses since he forgot to put them on the truck.

I get to the other store, put my foot in my shoe and position it so the sore isn't hurting quite so bad, and hobble into the store to ask about the glasses. Of course they don't have any, so I hobble back to my truck, kick my shoe off and bend down to pick it up, at which time my back decides to relieve some pressure and pop in about 4 places. This actually felt good. Okay, now I gotta head back uptown to pick up the drugs I had ordered at the pharmacy....drive thru....God I love them. This was uneventful, and I head down to the highway to get to another drive thru for lunch. A car in front of me was waiting to make a left turn at one stoplight. He actually had plenty of time at one point, but waited until the light was about to turn red to go ahead and turn, so now I'm running late and hit a red light. I finally make it to KFC and place my order, pull around the corner for the pickup window when I see another car waiting at the window, only they're parked 4 feet away from it. Their order finally gets served to them and the driver has to open their door to grab it from the window. In the mean time, I called Dad to let him know I'm running late, but at my last stop.

Finally made it back to work at 12:15.

It's time to fess up

2006-06-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

I made a boo boo on my Meals on Wheels job yesterday. I didn't notice any notes for people not wanting lunch, so I went on my way to pick up all but the 2 that said they'd be gone all week. When I got to the senior center, I checked my list to make sure I remembered which 2 weren't getting meals, and went inside. I told the lady in charge how many and who was getting them, then proceeded to wait for the meals to be done. I've got an 18 minute drive back, and have to be back by 11:10, only this day they didn't get me out the door until 11:00. So, I called Dad right away to let the delivery driver know that I was running late. Now might be a good time to throw in the fact that the lady in charge at the Senior Center gave me some paperwork for a couple of the meals recipients to fill out, 1 being one of the cancellations for the week. Okay, I'm back in town handing off the meals to the delivery person and tell them who gets the meals. Well, I gave the name of the person that needed to fill out the form that was going to be gone, and didn't mention one that was supposed to be getting a meal.

Well, I don't figure this out until later in the afternoon when the person who was supposed to get the meal called and told me she forgot to call earlier and tell me not to pick one up, but she was home now and if I had the meal, she wanted it. Couple of phone calls later I find out what happened and another phone call to my supervisor to let her know what happened and find out what to do, she told me not to worry about it, saying that's okay, it happens.

Last night the person I told the delivery driver to deliver the meal to called and basically chewed Dad out (on our answering machine since I couldn't get to the phone) for not having her down as gone for the week and making sure she was off the list for Friday, she called again this morning to make sure we got the message, at which time I got Dad off the hook and let her know what happened.

Wednesday Whatever - June 28 edition

2006-06-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? 3 straight weeks I've remembered to do this. Now if I could only get the daily posting thing down.

Last night I was going to just sit around watching TV and waiting for Dad to make us some supper (was going to be grilled ham with some sweet corn cooked on the side burner of the grill). Well, I got home from work, shirt off, shorts on, cold pop in one hand and the remote in the other at 5:20 when the scanner lights up with a message for our Fire Department. Anybody available to help with a controlled burn, meet at the station at 6:00. Well, about 5:50, surprised that Dad isn't home yet, I put my pants back on with a shirt, grab my radio and head out to the pickup. Dad's just arriving home now, so I tell him that I'm going to the controlled burn just to see what and where it is since no details were given on the page.

Well, the burn goes off fine, although there was a time with so much black smoke I thought sure the DNR, FAA, FCC, FBI, CIA, NAACP, NCAA, MLB, NFL, NHL, PGA, WPBA, and any other interested alphabet agency would show up. Oh, by the way, the burn was just a mid-sized brush/debris pile in a hole. About 8:30 we decided any damage that could be done was already done and headed back to town. When I got home, Dad informed me that if I'd been 15 minutes later, he would have had supper without me. It was then that he was going to light the grill and side burner. Grill got lit and I went into the house to grab another cold pop. Dad came in too and went into his office. About 10 or so minutes later, he went out to check on the grill and the corn, came back into the house and told me to go get another gas cylinder. This time I left the house wearing my shorts since I didn't want to put my pants on AGAIN, even though I hate my legs, especially the one that was still wrapped.

I get to the quick mart, c-store, whatever they're called in your area (similar to Casey's, Pronto, Kum & Go, etc.), and drive by the cage where they keep the cylinders. Upon first glance, they're all upside down, which is usually the sign that they're empty. I went inside anyway and told the gal working what I wanted and what I'd seen. She decided to check it out anyway. Lo and behold, on the bottom shelf in the back, there were 2 cylinders left that were full. With my purchase made, I head back home to find that Dad decided to make the corn on the stove and broil the ham.

In the midst of all that screwing around, he asks me what we would have to do to get the Sioux City news station hooked up to our TV, since we've only had access to Omaha's since we got Dish Network hooked up on May 1st. I told him the options, and after much explaining of the easiest method, and halfway through eating supper, we hooked the original cable line back into the back of the upstairs TV. About this time, since I've had some parts to try to get this done, but haven't gotten around to it yet, I decided to experiment with it after Leno's monologue, since the part after the first commercial wasn't anything we'd be interested in.

Now, when the dish was being installed, the installer told me I would need an "A-B Switch" to be able to have the local cable and Dish Network on the second TV. I thought "no way, the Dish feed is coming in on a channel that ain't even close to what local cable covers", but didn't argue with him as I figured he'd been to classes or something and had some idea what he was doing. As an experiment, I took an ordinary 1-2 splitter, hooked the feed from both the Dish receiver and the local cable to the outputs, and a line to the TV on the input. Guess what, it worked GREAT.

Now if only fixing the phone lines that the same Jackass Dish Installer farked up was as easy, we'd be set.

Things that make me smile

2006-06-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Ethel has a Happy List on her blog, but I just can't work with that title. So here's my version, things that make me smile.

My white calico knowing when to give me a foot rub, even though it drives me nuts when her whiskers get between my toes.
Any cute pictures of dogs and cats.
My black cat (also bestest buddy in the whole world) just being himself.
The way my dark calico complains every time I hold her.
The end of the last episode of the "Malibu Sands" series on "Saved by the Bell" when the gang walks into the sunset paired off the way I'd pair them up: Screech and Kelly, Zack and Jesse, Slater and Lisa.
Air Conditioning on a hot day.
Knowing the answer to a question before I ask it.
Thinking back to the time I met a fellow message board poster (who I have unfortunately lost contact with) at a race night in the IMCA racing capital of the world, Boone Iowa.
Knowing that someday I'm going to take my Goldwing out for a ride.

Wednesday Whatever - June 21 edition

2006-06-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

A little over halfway through my first month of picking up meals for the Senior Citizens here in town that have signed up to receive them. Thus far I have earned $160 for my troubles of driving 30 miles round trip and taking an hour out of my day, 3 days a week.

Since Dad and I have been drinking more water and less pop, we decided on Monday to check into having one of those water coolers put in at our store. I checked the prices on Monday just as we were going to close, and made the order to have it put in on Tuesday. Even with the $11/month cooler rental, it's much cheaper than buying Aquafina bottled water off the truck. I think we were paying about $12/case of 24 - 20 ounce bottles. Now we're paying $5 per 5 gallon carboy of water. I'm sure we'll kill at least one of those a week.

Tomorrow I go to the City for the third time in 2 weeks. This time I'm going for a meeting/class on how to sell Heavy Duty (truck) parts in our store. Doesn't sound like something that'd take a class for, does it? But, I'm okay with it because a) it's a day out of the store; b) they're buying lunch; and c) I get to choose from my 3 favorite fast food joints for supper (Arby's, Long John Silver's, and Wendy's). This City is the closest that any of these places are to where I live, about 60 miles. Downside to tomorrow's meeting/class is that I won't be on the internet at all, all day. I also have a Fire Department Training class tomorrow night when I return from the City, except I have to go to the next town over for the class.

I like going to KFC once in a while for one of their "Famous Bowls" and some Macaroni and Cheese. A few weeks ago I was in their drive thru when I noticed they have a "Mega" size pop. Well, since I like to slurp on a glass of pop for a long time, I decided to give it a go. My jaw hit the steering wheel in my truck when I saw the size of the jug. They definately weren't kidding when they named it the "Mega", it's a half gallon bucket filled with pop and ice. To quote Ron White, "I told ya that story so I could tell ya this one". The SECOND time I got this nice sized glass of pop, I kept the glass and have since filled it with ice and water at about 9:00 at night and drank it down before going to bed. However last night for some reason, I didn't do this. I immediately knew it when I went to bed. If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you know that I have a swollen leg (not near as bad now as before) that leaks fluid almost constantly. When I was drinking that half gallon of water before bed, I wouldn't have a whole lot of fluid come out of my leg onto the towels that I've learned to put at the foot of the bed. Last night I almost drowned. The towels were dry when I went to bed at 11:00, and by the time I woke up at 1:00 (wasn't comfortable and had to pee), when I moved my leg, it actually sounded like a splash. Needless to say, I took those towels off the bed and after relieving myself, went and got my big thirsty towel out of the drier (the laundry room is in the bathroom). Evidently, my leg was close to done leaking for the night when I got up, because the new towel wasn't very wet this morning when I got up.

I bet ya'll are wondering, since I drink that much water right before bed, if I get up 20 times for relief. Well, the answer is no. If I get up in the middle of the night, it's 1 time unless I've taken a water pill that didn't work in the time it was supposed to. I've actually made it through the night at least twice, although the last time I got up 15 minutes early because I couldn't take the pressure in my bladder. I don't know why, but for some reason, I really don't like to head to the bathroom until it's almost an emergency.

Well, now that I feel I've made some of you question your wanting to come and read my blog, I guess it's time to wrap it up.

Have a nice day and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Because one of the cool kids did this...

2006-06-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do it on my site too. Here is a "Johari" window link. Not sure what it does, or how it affects life in general, but like I said, one of the cool kids did it, so now I must. http://kevan.org/johari?name=TinyTim23C

5 Things Meme

2006-06-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Now, I don't know what the heck a Meme is, but it seems I was tagged by my friend Ethel to make 5 lists of 5. I guess I'll play along, since it does kinda sound fun.

5 things in my Fridge
1. Chocolate Milk
2. Co-Jack Shredded cheese
3. Pepsi
4. Ground Beef
5. Mushrooms

5 things in my closet
1. Shirts
2. Hangers
3. Dust
4. "private" DVD's
5. A puzzle

5 things in my handbag (I don't have one, so how about wallet?)
1. Minimal Cash
2. Too Many Credit Cards
3. A Debit Card
4. 2 Lists for Ethel's photo challenge.
5. Driver's License

5 things in my car (truck)
1. Favorite Stuffed Animal
2. Quilt
3. 2 coats
4. Fire Helmet
5. Fire Radio

5 People to Tag
1. Billy
2. Ninecats
3. Nuggie
4. ?
5. ?

Wednesday Whatever - June 14 edition

2006-06-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Last week I started a new job that I can do while on duty at my present job, but it pays $20 an hour. Too bad it's only an hour a day, 3 days a week that I do this other job. The job is to leave our store at about 10:00 in the morning, arrive at the Senior Center in the next town South by 10:30, and wait for 3-5 lunches to be ready for me to pick up and bring back here for the local Meals on Wheels program.

It's kinda wierd, the ladies that prepare the dinners I actually kind of knew before going there, but didn't know they worked there. One is the mother of a friend of mine that once worked on my pit crew occasionally, and the other is an aunt of my favorite bartender/waitress at the local bar/cafe.

Most days I have time to slip through a drive-thru to pick up my own lunch, but Monday I didn't have time, plus I didn't know if the person delivering the meals that I was picking up was going to show up since I couldn't reach her on the phone. I called Dad as I was leaving the Senior Center, and she still hadn't called, so I'm going over in my head what to do if she didn't show up. Well, I get to 2 miles out of my town when my cell phone rings and Dad tells me that she's there waiting for me...what a relief. Today I had time to stop and grab my lunch, but when I returned to town, the delivery person wasn't waiting for me yet. I came into the store to see if she'd checked in with Dad, and she hadn't, so I called her home, no answer. Dad told me to give her 10 minutes before deciding what to do. Luckily, she showed up in about 7 minutes.

One day last week, I almost lost the lunch I'd picked up for myself, as the delivery person was going to grab that sack in addition to the coolers that she was supposed to.

I'll have this job until the end of August, so I'm sure there'll be more stories coming out from it.

Thanks for reading.

The one stuffed animal that means something to me

2006-06-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

This post is partially inspired by Billy's post about his dad.

Back in 2001 when my sister passed away, she was living in Wichita, KS, and me and Dad lived here in Western Iowa. The day she passed, I was on my way down to visit her, and bringing our Grandmother along since Brenda was recovering from several surgeries and we were going to help out. I won't bore you with details of this trip because they're irrelevant to the story I'm trying to tell. Well, thinking back, you do need a little detail. She went in to the hospital on July Second, which happens to be 2 days before my birthday, and that summer was my first being affiliated with our local Fire Department.

The week following her funeral, Dad, his girlfried, another family friend, and I, went to Wichita to move all of Brenda's stuff back home, and to attend a memorial service that her former employer/co-workers were holding. We arrived in Wichita on Tuesday night and picked up the rental truck before settling in at the hotel. On Wednesday, we were going to load the truck with a bunch of help from Brenda's former co-workers, only Dad and I had to go over to the law firm where she had worked to take care of the loose strings and estate crap. We got done at the firm about noon and decided to do lunch with Dad's girlfriend and the other friend we had along before getting into the job at hand. After lunch, Dad brought Brenda's car out of the ramp it was parked in and told me to clean out the trunk. Brenda loved stuffed animals and had probably close to 200 in her collection, but when I was cleaning out her trunk, I found 1 lone stuffed animal, and it happened to be a dalmation wearing a fire helmet. Needless to say, that little fella rode home in the vehicle I drove (Dad's pickup, he drove the truck, his girlfriend drove her car, and the other friend drove Brenda's car). There was only room for the driver in each vehicle, as I had luggage on the passenger seat (that's what the dog sat on), Dad had our 2 newest kitties in a cage on the passenger seat of his vehicle, and the other 2 vehicles just had stuff on them. Every couple of miles, I would look over at my new friend, and each time I looked, he had turned a little ways around. It was almost like Brenda was riding along and turning the dog just to let me know she was there.

He's still riding with me, but he doesn't have quite the view of the road ahead that he enjoyed while sitting on the dash. I took him off of there so his bright red helmet wouldn't fade after so long of being in the bright sunlight.

It's Recipe time again

2006-06-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

This time we're going to explore my version of Spanish Rice. It's not what you typically would call Spanish Rice, but that title sounds a lot better than "Hamburger and Rice - Red" (because I also make a white version that I don't make as hot (seasoned hot, not heat hot).

1# Ground Beef
Sliced/Diced/chopped Fresh Mushrooms (or small jar of sliced mushrooms)
3/8" slice off of a 1/4 size pit ham, diced
1 1/2 cups water
1 small can Tomato Sauce
2 cups Minute rice (unprepared)
Finely shredded Colby/Jack cheese
Seasonings (all to taste)
Tabasco Sauce
Soy Sauce
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Cookies brand Flavor Enhancer

Okay, here we go. Start browning Ground beef in a 13" skillet. When it's about 1/3 browned and some of the fat has melted off, add the mushrooms if using fresh, otherwise wait until about 2/3 done and add with the ham. When the beef is fully browned and the mushrooms and ham are hot, add the tomato sauce, then I always rinse the can with the water just to get it all into the dish. Add the seasonings and bring to a boil. Once boiling nicely, give it a stir and add the minute rice, bring to a boil again. Let simmer until the liquid is gone, cover with cheese. Stir and serve.

Tip. I usually have a hard time stopping the eating process when I have this dish, but last night I took 2 of my medium containers (from that set that has 3 different size containers with the same size lids that come in a handy spinning rack) and filled them before having my supper. I still probably ate too much of it, but at least I didn't eat the whole thing, and wasn't in pain for an hour after supper. I had one of the containers for breakfast today and I'll probably have the other for breakfast tomorrow.

Wedensday Whatever - May 31, edition

2006-05-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Now for the time I was arrested

2006-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Great Googly Moogly

2006-05-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Finally Friday

2006-05-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Wednesday Whatever

2006-05-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

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.

I guess it's time to share my Cheesy Potato Recipe

2006-05-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

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.

Ethel's Photo Challenge, week #2

2006-05-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

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.

I've debated whether to do this or not

2006-05-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

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.

I can't believe I'm tired today

2006-05-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

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.

I just realized I'm a hypocrit

2006-05-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy Birthday post...

2006-05-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

..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.

Cheating by Thievery

2006-05-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

My diet nearly died today..

2006-04-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Granted, I never was officially on a diet, but I have been consciously reducing my intake of food. The injury started today by not being able to get out of the business place I was visiting in time to head to the other town I visit on my sales call, thereby severely limiting my available lunch choices. I had planned on hitting Subway for a footlong Chicken Bacon Ranch sub, but since I was late, had to choose between a) the bar and restaurant in the town I was in, b) the bar and restaurant next door to my place of business, and c) the convenience store/pizza place in the town I work and live in. I realized it had been awhile since I'd had Pizza, so I chose option C, which was a mistake because when I have pizza, it's best not to get between me and it until it is all gone.

This puts me in a quandry...I have some Iowa chops that really need to be used (today marks 1 week that they've been in my refrigerator), and I don't want to freeze them. I'm thinking I'll just throw today away and try to be good again tomorrow. I still think I need to punish myself tho, so I'll probably forego the chips and dip while watching TV tonight.

Still haven't heard from the Dish Network guy...may have to call or stop by tomorrow again. I really want it hooked up by this weekend so I can start playing with it and figure out how to run it so I can teach Dad, as well as know what I'm doing with the DVR option.

Rambling

2006-04-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Don't really have much to say, but I'd like to get a streak of consecutive days of posting going. I decided this past weekend to have Dish Network activated in our new house...it's been pre-wired for almost a year now, and it's getting close to the first Nextel Cup race of the year that's being shown on FX. Our local cable company doesn't offer FX and I've now been without for almost 2 years since dropping DirecTV. Anyway, I stopped at the Dish guy's store to let him know he could come up and finish installing the system, but he was out on another install. This really didn't surprise me...disappointed tho, since I wanted to discuss programming with him before he showed up. Secretary said she'd have him give me a call tho, so that should work.

It'll be nice to have TV in the basement too. Sometimes when Dad goes to bed, I'm not quite ready to head down to the dungeon to my bed, but I don't want to keep watching TV upstairs and possibly prevent him from sleeping, as his headboard abuts the wall that the living room TV is on. It'll also be nice to have more programming options, especially on Tuesday nights. I have a hard time finding anything interesting from 7-9 on that night.

Well, I guess I survived another post.

Summer Cooking

2006-04-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's getting to be that time of year here in the great state of Iowa...even tho we just had some light snow flurries this morning. One of my favorite summer meals consists of grilled/marinated chicken hindquarters. I buy the hindquarters by the 10# bag and break them down into single meal bags to put in the freezer. On the rare occasion that I know I'm going to be alone for supper the following day, I'll take a bag out of the freezer, dump enough Kraft Zesty Italian dressing in it to cover the pieces of bird, and set it in the fridge until the next evening. What works best for me for grilling them is to get the grill (in my case it's a Coleman 2000 series, stainless burner with additional side burner gas grill) nice and hot by setting the burners on high and letting it be for about 10 minutes. Once heated, I'll put the pieces of chicken on the grill, skin side down, and let them sear for about 3-5 minutes, then flip and let sear for the same, 3-5 minutes. Once this is done, I'll shut one burner completely off, move the meat to that side of the grill, turn the other burner down to low or medium low, close the lid and leave it alone for about a half hour to 45 minutes. The last time I made this, my mouth thought it died and went to heaven, even tho the skin got black. Somehow it wasn't crispy black, just colored that way.

Another favorite is a nice Ribeye steak cut from a corn fed, Iowa raised, bovine creature. I like to pre-season it with some Lawry's seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper before grilling it. I do have to admit, my Dad does a lot better job of grilling Ribeyes than I do...I guess I just don't have the patience. I see it laying there, pretty soon it calls out to me, and my mouth starts watering, next thing you know, it's on a plate headed to the table and I cuss myself out because it's still just a little too rare to be awesome. It doesn't stop me, but, man, I wish I could control myself a litte better.

An indoor favorite that I only recently learned how to make, is fried center cut, bone in, tenderloin pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy. Always knew how to do the taters, but finally figured out how to get the chops done correctly and make gravy. I never used to dredge anything in flour, or fry with butter in the pan. That, combined with covering the pan over low heat while you peel, boil, and mash the potatoes makes for an unbelievably tender and tasty piece of meat. Also, the gravy seems to come out better if you can use some of the water that the potatoes were boiled in...don't know why.

I don't want to give away all of my secrets in a single post, but I do have several more indoor meals. Stay tuned.

NASCAR

2006-04-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Gotta make a post about my favorite sport here. I was watching Wind Tunnel on Speed Sunday night. Dave DeSpain was hosting with guest Ed Hinton and Robin Miller tossed in his 2 cents via satellite or something like that. Now, granted, I couldn't care less what these guys say, but their words are heard/read far and wide and may sway the thinking of the people that hear/read them. The main issue I have trouble with is their bashing of Kurt Busch doing his "Snow Angel" celebration after the Bristol race that was affected by snow, and the following Busch race (can't remember where) that wasn't. I've got 2 requests when it comes to celebrations following a victory. Do something original, or act like you've won before. The Angel was original. Burnouts (first one I remember is Ron Hornaday following the November ARCA race at Atlanta in 1999), the Polish Victory Lap (Alan Kulwicki), Fence Climb (Helio Castroneves at Indy a few years ago), etc. are getting old. Although, I do enjoy the PVL when it is in tribute to a fallen racer, as when Rusty did it at Bristol in '93, Dale Earnhardt at Pocono or Talladega in '93, and Steve Park at Rockingham in '01.

Can it Be?

2006-04-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

2 Entries in 2 days? Oh my God. For those interested, my leg is coming along nicely. Still can't put a shoe on correctly (probably could, but not while the leg is wrapped), but if past moves on the swelling are any indication, it's getting ready to make another move in the right direction that could provide the breakthrough needed to finally wear 2 shoes at once. Also on the health front, I've been taking antibiotics on and off since January because of a re-curring infection, and now have a new sleeping partner....a CPAP machine due to the onset of Sleep Apnea, I believe stemming from my "Beta Blocker" blood pressure meds that I've been taking since December or so.

Also, like the cool kids that I've been copying by having a blog and posting on message boards, I've been trying to lose some weight. Granted, I haven't been near as successful at it. My present goal is to weigh one-half (1/3 would be perfect) of what I do today, but I think I'm going to need some help getting there. I have cut back on the food intake ALOT, and really don't miss it...almost skipped supper last night even. Lately, I've been researching weight loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery). The one in particular that I think would best suit me is the "Duodenal Switch", where a good portion of the stomach is actually removed instead of stapled or banded off, and the intestines are re-routed so that the food doesn't stay in them as long and the fat does not have a chance to be retained in the body.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I was ready to pop anybody in the nose that mentioned weight loss surgery, and now I'm actually considering it. The biggest obstacle in my way is the cost. I don't have insurance, nor do I have any substantial savings, and the price ranges anywhere from $15000 to $60000, depending on the doctor and how long of a hospital stay is involved, among other things.

I know this could be arranged better, but I'm typing this as I think of it instead of going back and editing. I think I am losing a little bit of weight...this morning's trip up from my bedroom in the basement didn't seem to leave me as winded as in the recent past, and I just checked my "resting" pulse rate...72. Hard to believe since I'm sitting on a chair that doesn't have a back on it, and with my size I usually need a backrest.

Well, thanks for reading.

After an absence from posting for 4 months...

2006-04-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

..I think I will create a post with an idea stolen from several of my friends that have blogs out here, and hopefully will be thought of as one of the "cool kids".

I am: the biggest Teddy Bear you'll ever find.
I miss: feeling almost invincible.
I want: that feeling back.
I have: patience.
I loathe: being late.
I fear: not even close to as much as I used to.
I play: at every opportunity.
I hear: usually just what I want to.
I care: about people I've never met.
I smile: probably not as much as I should.
I wonder: if I'll ever get back into as good of shape as I was 5 years ago.
I poke: my cat (Sherman) in the belly and do the Pillsbury Dough Boy's "hoo hoooo".
I love: my family, cats included.
I mess: with too much stuff.
I ache: to have a girlfriend.
I think: about way too much stuff that'll probably never happen.
I always: believe that one day I will win the Powerball jackpot.
I am not: phony.
I sing: all the time when nobody (human) is around.
I cry: very little.
I talk: alot once I'm comfortable with the people I'm with.
I spill: not much.
I wish: I would hurry up and win the Powerball jackpot.
I keep: everything.
I am not always: as neat as I should be.
I can: usually brighten somebody's day.
I can’t: run.
I write: sloppily.
I win: or I don't play. lol
I lose: sleep over the wierdest things.
I smell: meat to make sure it's good.
I confuse: people on purpose.
I need: a girlfriend.
I should: do something about that.

2005-12-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

More good news. Progress is almost certain. Over the weekend, my assistant that wraps my leg was out of town, so on Sunday I decided to do an experiment and see how much progress has been made. Well, on the outside of my upper calf is an area that goes down really nicely over night, but used to fill up within 15 minutes of getting up in the morning. This area took over 3 hours to fill in on Sunday. Also, down by my ankle on the inside portion of my leg, there is a bubble that I can push down to nothing while laying down, but quickly fills in when I get up. This area used to touch the floor by the end of the day. Sunday it never got within a half inch of the floor.

Another reason I decided to do the experiment was that I think I have hit a plateau in my recovery. Have gone from getting up 3 times a night for bladder relief, to once, if that often. I don't count the time when I'm up for the day since I've been doing that one forever.

Okay, enough about my peeing habits. My little girl Sneetch scared both herself and me on Saturday afternoon. She got the handle of a plastic (Wal Mart type) bag around her neck. Of course she freaks out and runs around the house for a couple of minutes before cowering under the basement steps. I try to call her out from under there so I can help remove the bag, but since she's the most skitterish cat I've ever seen, of course she refuses. On to plan "B". I went into the laundry room where I could get a better look at the situation, and even knowing that the broom I was grabbing was going to scare her worse, I knew I needed to reposition her. Fortunately, she turned the right direction and was off the bag so I could pull on it with the broom and eventually "swept" it right off her neck.

I wasn't expecting a total change of my position in her eyes, like the lion that had the thorn removed from it's paw by the little boy, but a "thank you" meow would have been nice.

2005-11-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Good news I think. My leg appears to be making some slow progress. When I go to bed at night, I can get the bulge that is on the inside of my ankle flattened out to where I can feel the ankle bone with my other foot, and the upper outside of my calf seems to be getting more fluid pushed out in the overnight hours. Ever since I started this procedure, I've wished that I hadn't waited 5 years from when my cat bit me, causing the infection, that caused the condition that is causing the swelling, to get help. There were, however, three main reasons that I didn't. First, I didn't/still don't have insurance, Second, I thought that in finding out what was wrong or in treating it, that the doctor would want to check the cat out, and since he is still my bestest buddy in the world, I wasn't going to let anything happen to him (yes, even tho his bite is what caused this), and third, up until recently, the swelling didn't bother me a bit except for the looks of it compared to the other leg, and had been easily hid under my jeans.

Also. I'm getting much more comfortable sleeping in the basement of our new house. Getting a lot more sleep every night than for a while after we moved in. Pretty soon I should have my sleep debt paid down enough that I'm not falling asleep at the wheel. I have found a deterrent to falling asleep behind the wheel tho, Altoids Peppermint. They're pretty strong, but they do keep me awake. I'm working on my second tin of them, popping 3 at a time. My sleepiness could also be caused by the need for new eyeglasses. Every time I've been out of spec with the lenses, I've had a hard time staying awake when not constantly moving, and it's going on 2 years since my last eye exam.

2005-11-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well, now, third post is being done only 18 or so days after the second.....not bad. I had to log in to post a comment in a friend's blog, so I decided to give a little update on my leg that I told y'all about in my first entry. My doctor in Denison (Iowa) sent me to a physical therapy clinic in Moville (Iowa) that was about 55 miles away. A couple of weeks ago I called them to tell them I was ready to continue the treatment (my condition is called "lymphedema", the swelling is caused by damage to the lymphatic system resulting in the lymph fluid not being recirculated out of the affected area). Well, the Moville clinic decided they didn't have time to treat me, so they sent me to a physical therapy clinic in Cherokee (Iowa) about 45 miles from my home. Over the last 2 weeks, I've been to 5 appointments in this clinic, the last being Saturday when my dad went along to learn the wrapping procedure to help with the removal of fluid. I was also released from treatment at this appointment, I guess due to the cost (I don't have insurance and evidently it is rather costly for them to wrap my leg). I think progress has been made, but when we change the wrap tonight, I'm going to have Dad take some pics so we can compare them every couple of weeks to see if there's visible progress or not. At Friday's visit, the guy working on me said he thought there was some progress made, but I sure couldn't see it from my angle. As long as I can get a sock and shoe on that leg by April, I can live with the swelling below the knee. I want to ride my motorcycle that I bought in the summer of '04, and get my license since my motorcycle permit expires in July. Another thing that would be accomplished with the ability to put a sock and shoe on that leg is the beginning of an exercise program...getting down to half my current weight would be considered a good start.

2005-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Just as I figured, I'm not real good about keeping up with a blog or journal...I started this one on September 20, 2005, and this is my second post, almost a month later. Part of it could be because I forgot my log in information and didn't feel like thinking very hard. Other reasons could be that I didn't have much to say, or even that I had actually forgotten that I had this account for a while.

Well, now I feel better that I've made my second post. Maybe it won't be quite as long until I post my third....or fourth.

2005-09-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know what came over me, but I decided to join this site and do some writing. Maybe it's because I sit in front of a computer all day and around the middle of the month it gets boring between customers, and people aren't posting on the message boards I visit as often as I'd like so there's always something new to read when I go online.

Here's a little background on myself. I'm a 35 year old guy living in Western Iowa, just moving into a different house (last night I slept there for the first time) after 31 years at my last house. Two of my three cats are already somewhat comfortable in the house, as Sherman (the oldest and my bestest buddy in the world) came upstairs to watch TV with me last night, and was reasonably good all night. Sneetch took a little longer, but around 3:00 this morning, she came out from cowering under the stairs to tour the basement and even go upstairs to Dad's bedroom. Bela has been the stubborn one, and I thought she'd be the easiest going of the 3. As of 9:00 this morning, she was still hiding under the stairs, and I don't know if she'd been upstairs yet or not.

I also have a minor health issue...a leg that has been swollen for 5 years. I am finally getting treatment for it, but I have to wait for some sores/seeping to get cleared up before we can really get to work on getting it back to normal. For about the last week or so, I've been having some calamine spray put on it with a bandaid overnight, then keeping it on during the following day, removing it after work. Well, last night I didn't take it off after work and decided to try to get a 2nd night out of it. Mistake. About a half hour after I went to bed, the tape holding the bandaid let loose, probably from being soaked by the seeping fluid, and came off. Also, since I've been using the calamine spray, it seems the only time I have any pain in my leg is when there is no bandaid on the sore. Well, guess what...it hurt like heck all night, and that combined with sleeping in a different bed in a different house with a somewhat restless cat makes for very little sleep. Oh yeah, there was one more thing that kept me from getting a lot of sleep. I'm on my local fire department and carry a 2-way radio. I don't trust it to wake me up when it's programmed to be on just my local tone, so I keep it on "open" all the time, and last night was the most overnight calls I have ever heard in the 4 years I have been carrying a pager or a radio...and none of them were for my department...which I guess is good.

Well, I think that's enough insight into my feeble mind at this time...stay tuned for the next episode.