Keeping Score...

Monster Truck:  1

9 Downed Trees:  0

Today, with the great weather, I decided to get some of the tree branch piles removed before it starts to rain for a few days and adds to the weight of the work.  I have one pile left... and I'll do that later on in the week when the weather gets better.  My Dad's truck is infamous at the Marriott... from pulling out the stumps to how much I piled it high, the employees were sad to see my new truck thinking that the old one died.  The new truck is awesome... able to handle more weight in it... having the 4-wheel drive to pull the stumps out more easily... and a longer bed, all make the job go with less effort. 

Also, with the rain coming, I had to get the wanescoating, counter and flooring and get them over to my Dad's so they won't get wet.  Bright and early tomorrow, I'll be over there.

Shout it From the Rooftops...

I have decided to drop the terrorist alert on comments on the blog to a minimum... there will still be word verification to divert spam and a final approval of comments, but you no longer will need a registered profile to be able to comment... you can be anonymous again... and you are allowed to carry a gun (for my Republican friends) and more than two ounces of liquid while reading.  I reserve the right to do a pat-down (to cute boys, mostly).

I really appreciate feedback.  I am an opinionated person and have my views, but welcome other's as a check-point to my own rationale and behavior.  Feel free to share whatever you want... my posts are meant to envoke personal experience as it relates to your life as well.

The Status Quo

Earlier in the week, we had made plans to get together last night to meet my friend Matt's new BF.  Systematically, the plan fell apart with people canceling and I spent my day trying to corral people together to make it nice for Matt, to the point of an upset stomach.  'Come meet my friends' doesn't go over so well when noone shows up.  Needless to say, by the time came for us to meet, there was a poor showing and, oddly, even Matt was about an hour and a half late.  It just goes to show you that fun can't be planned.  It just has to happen and why I spend a great deal of time trying to make things nice for people with no reception is beyond me.

When I lived in Philly, I had a group of friends that consisted of about 15 people.  We got together a few times a week and enjoyed each other's company.  We never fought with each other, caused problems or stirred the drama pot.  We supported each other in our lives and decisions without judgement or prejudice and did things unselfishly, without question or argument for the friend or the group.  We approached our conflicts head-on, and not behind backs... and the lines of communication were open.  We respected each other's time and decisions.  Life was quiet and simple and it just came together naturally, void of spite, jealousy and ulterior motive.  I wish I had that now.  I miss it.

Sitting down to lunch yesterday with an old friend and a brand new one, it was interesting to see things from a fresh point of view... one that doesn't just accept the current structure of the group as the norm and acceptable.  By the time we were done and I got feedback from my new friend, I was embarrassed, disappointed and appalled at the group's history of behavior... (including my own participation) and moreso that, in comparison to my old group and the stark difference of dynamic, that this is my life at this point.  The funny thing is that the other group, all of us in our early 20's, acted more like adults than the current group, most over their 40's.  The whole thing saddens me for many reasons, none of which are worth listing because things will never change and I'm just exhausted with it all anyway.  Again, not personally void of past participation, I'm dedicated to change for the better.

Paraphrased from my new friend's blog (I couldn't have said it better): 

More to the point, I was a third party (or maybe a fourth or fifth, who knows) witness to some of the nasty little things "friends" can be capable of. It made me appreciate the drama free (for the most part) existence of my own friendships. Friends are a luxury that I am so grateful to have. No matter the strength of them. This is perhaps one label that I might just force myself to uphold. I have friends of varying closeness, varying distances; however, it seems the common denominator in all of them is that extra little extension of common courtesies. That extra little sacrifice of my time. That extra little, "Okay so he likes oprah....shit....I guess I can join him this once." Making a person feel like its okay to be themselves. Even if its socially weird or unexpected, or unbecoming, its still okay by me. Whatever it is, as a friend I will kindly chalk it up to the greater sum of you. I will be there when you call (or more realistically, I will call you back as soon as I find my phone lol), meet you when I promise, treat you like a human being, care about the things you care about (because you care, and I care about you), listen to the things that bother you, and be your shoulder whenever it is within my power to do so. In short, if I am your friend, then I will be your friend. No shortcuts, no cut corners, no bullshit. Common courtesies should be built into the structure of any friendship I think. Not tacked on whenever its convenient. People are different and friendships are always their own thing, but disrespect, rudeness, and drama should not be the main expressions of them. A few times, yes of course, it happens, we are people. But a too common of an occurrence leaves a nasty stain, and too many stains will ruin even a good pair of jeans.

Wednesdays (hump day) Can Be Dangerous

Dog Humps Cat's Head - Watch more Funny Videos

Saturday

This morning, my daddy loved me extra specially... he made me pancakes... and even a few 'eatsy beetsy' ones....  I went out for a bit last night, so it was good to eat a good breakfast before getting to work.


Since it was beautiful out, I switched working at my Dad's house to go take care of more trees that were knocked down at the Marriott.  My friend Berry came and helped me... and we took down and piled up probably 7 trees.  It felt good to get outside again... what a gorgeous day!

Two Steps Forward, Three Back...

It was a pretty productive day at the homestead.  I met with my real estate agent friend and she guilted me into tearing up the floor in the kitchen, ripping down the small tile backsplash and redoing the countertop... none of which I wanted to get involved it, considering that my business is just about to break loose for the season.  My brother will be helping me Sun, Mon and Tues... at the cost of my ears bleeding from his diarrhea of the mouth.  I was able to get the bathroom medicine cabinet up, install a GFCI plug and get the two sconces hooked up and mounted today.  At least that room is almost done. 

Those Were the Days

When I was going through some boxes at my Dad's, I came across this picture... I believe it was my school picture from sixth grade.  While it probably looks a little goofy to most, it's actually one of my best pics from school.  This was around 1978... polyester shirts were all the rage and I was right on top of my game.  I was giving you the long hair.. the St. Christopher medal around my neck... and the groovy, polyblend button down with a tangerine-colored print.  If you look closely, you can see my chipped front tooth (from biking into a parked car with my face).  You can also see my chickenpox mark on the side of my nose.  This was the year that my face grew into my head though, and things were turning out proportionately better than the year prior.  No mustache yet... but it was getting ready to work itself through at any moment.  Ultraman, Olivia Newton John and 'Stayin' Alive' were high on my list of interests... Now it's Tide Ultra... Olivia de Haviland and, well... trying to just 'stay alive'.

Progress

I can't even put into words how excited I am about Spring.  I know I've been going on and on about it... Today, I went over to my Dad's... with the real estate agent coming on Monday, the goal is to get as much done before then to get it listed.  I walked into the house and wanted to cry, actually.  Although I've done a great deal of the work, there's still a lot that has to be done... it's overwhelming.  I wish a tornado would just pick it up and dump it in Salt Lake City (preferably on the Mormon church)... but I digress...

I ran into a little bit of a plastering problem (much like in Florida, where a large chunk of the wall fell off)... so, rather than painting over the wallpaper that was there, I tore it all down and I'm fixing the plaster.  I also removed all the old plugs and switches, built-in microwave that didn't work, trim, and anything else.  I got a new range hood and some things to complete the bathroom.  I'm contemplating putting in a new sink and countertop in the kitchen.  After crying a bit, then tearing everything down, then getting what I needed to fix it, I'm better now and tomorrow is another day.

Those Funny Religious Folk

This-n-That

What another beautiful day... I'm loving the sun.  More and more, my perennials are sticking out of the ground.  It seems strange since it was only weeks ago that they were covered with 4 feet of piled snow.  Daffodils are my favorite flower not only for the simple beauty, but because they are the first flower to come up in the Spring.

I met with the real estate agent today... and we're finally getting the house listed, but not before I have to spend the next 3 or 4 days over there painting and cleaning.  I also got my landscaping contracts to my clients... and I have another 10 trees to remove from the snow knocking them over, making it 13 tall pines and 7 large bushes in total just at the one client.

Camp opens in 29 days and I've comitted to doing massage again this season.  I'm adding another massage and increasing the price of my therapeutic massage in the hopes that the new one (slightly more Swedish-styled and utilizing techniques learned in my class in December) won't be as taxing on my body, especially when I have to do 8-10 in a day, one right after another.

Although in the bottom 3 tonight, looks like Tim was given another chance on AI.  With the song choices being from the Rolling Stones, it's hard for kids 19 years old to connect with a group that started twice their age ago.  Anythings better than Barry Manilow though, I guess.  I was able to keep Tim's spirits up though... and he felt better after a quick workout at our house.

I've been doing more research on the Master Cleanse and actually bought the ingredients today.  Lemons, purified water, organic unprocessed maple syrup and cayenne pepper mixed together sounds horrible, but it actually tasted ok.  I managed to get two glasses down today.  Drinking 8 glasses of that and eating and drinking nothing else for 10 days will be a little difficult, but the benefits are supposedly worth it.  I'm probably going to start it on Sunday. 

Yum !! (Little Green Men)

Happy Green Beer Day

A Few St. Paddy's Pints @ Yahoo! Video

Alice

More like Alice in wonder-why-I-paid-twelve-bucks-to-see-that? land... I was not a fan of the movie tonight... for a few reasons... First, although the movie seemed to go fast, it went slower than that fucking rabbits' watch.  I was squirming in my seat dreaming of the end of the movie. Next, it's hard to have 3-D glasses on anyway (let alone overtop of my real glasses)...  and all the 3D effects were things flying at you or whizzing past your head... it was visual vomit overload.  There was so much to look at... you could probably see it ten times and not see the same stuff twice.  Lastly, I consider myself fairly grounded in reality (oh, did anyone see my bf on American Idol tonight... miss you Tim... see you after the show)... so it was a little bit over the top fairy taleness for me. 

As far as the acting, I'm sorry... Johnny Depp is just strange no matter what he plays (which seems to always be some strange individual)... and he looked like a mix between Madonna and Frodo Baggins... Helen Bonham Carter was excellent as the Queen of Hearts... she stole the show.  Alice was a little tart... and there's no one else worth mentioning.  All in all, it was visually interesting but a bit tedious.  I'd give it a 6 of hearts out of a full deck.  Wait for the DVD... squint your eyes and move your head around a bit... same effect. 

There's a Spring in my Step

Today turned out to be a fantastic day!!  63 degrees and sunny... and putting aside that I felt a bit like crap, I was able to get my room and bathroom spring-cleaned... moving everything away from the walls, changing the linens on the bed, washing the comforter, organizing the closets... Fun fun fun!  I love cleaning!  I was also able to make an appointment with the real estate agent to get my Dad's house listed finally, even though I have some stuff to do on it yet.

Tonight, we are finally going to see Alice in Wonderland 3-D, XD, XLT, BLT, NYPD..... blah blah blah.  Whatever happened to a container of stale popcorn and a slightly bigger screen than the TV displays at Walmart?  Hand me a 42 cent pair of 3D glasses that you're going to take, shake off and resell, turn up the volume a little more and then charge me $12.00?  If this is the trend in movies... forget about it.

I've been in a fog lately... I missed the Ides of March... Daylight savings time (we have 14 clocks in our house)... and tomorrow, I guess, is St. Patrick's Day.  Pretty soon Peter Cottontail will be hopping down the bunny trail... outside, some of my perennials are already poking their heads out!!

(Get Your) Piece of Sky

When I was younger (full of piss and vinegar to climb the corporate ladder), I used to listen to this song on my cassette player in my car on the way to interviews.  It's always been a great motivator of mine throughout my life.  This is Streisand at her best.... listen to the last note (at 3:40)... bitch belts it out and holds it for over 20 seconds... if that doesn't inspire you to get off your butt, nothing will.  

Today, with the sun, I feel energized and awake... I have so much to do and it's time to get to it... no more giving in to my cold.

Anything (Short of Ajax Cleanser)

I abuse my body, I know that, and I know better.  Whether out of stress or convenience, I ingest so many bad things. (candy, pop, fast food).  Stress equals food equals guilt equals stress...  It's a viscious cycle.  And it's only magnified that this has been one of the most ill years I've had.  Time for some changes.

I've been reading about the Master Cleanse diet.  Only consuming a recipe of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, the ingredients work together to give some nutrients and provide more of a cleanse to the body than a fast would by shocking your system, removing toxins and cleansing the colon... and shedding weight as well.

With the start of my season/Spring, coming off my depression meds and trying to get over being sick, it's the perfect time. I'm overweight, sluggish, and have concentration issues.   I'm going to look into it more and hopefully be able to endure it for 10 days.

Listen

Breakfast With Butch

I think I've posted in the past about my Mom's revolving 6 meals 7 days a week.  Somehow though, it always ended up that we'd have a dried-out roast on Sundays... which I think has to be the sole origin of my interest in leather and a slight incomprehension to cycles in math.  In my Mom's defense, I was a pretty finicky eater growing up.  I pretty much grew up on ketchup sandwiches (Town-Talk bread and ketchup only), jumbo and ketchup, peanut butter and jelly or macaroni and cheese.  With H.J. Heinz headquartered in Pittsburgh, you pretty much had to put ketchup on everything... it's a rule.

I'm the worst for eating out... I very rarely eat at home.  Still, my Dad makes a meal on Sundays and I try to eat with him, even if I've just eaten.  Having been a baker in the past for Jenny Lee, he's actually a pretty good cook, although it's usually simplistically cute.  Steam-n-fresh veggies... pop-n-fresh biscuits... all stuff that's pretty simple.  My Dad's specialty is pancakes... he makes the best.  He'd make me really small ones called 'itsy bitsy' (pronounced "eatsy beetsy) and you always had to wonder what was in them.... sometimes oatmeal... sometimes wheat germ... sometimes who knows? Whatever, it always makes me feel special when he makes them for me.

Tonight, we had a meatloaf, corn, some potatoes and biscuits.  He'll cook, and I'll usually clean up.  And although it was really excellent, it's priceless to have this time with him.

Sunday Funnies

Yum !! (Barefoot)