French Bred - Ch 1 - The Arrival

I don't know who thought that all airline passengers would be under 5 foot 8, but whoever it was should be taken out and shoved into a shoebox. As I boarded Air France for my 12-plus hour flight from San Francisco to Paris, I realized that someone was having a good laugh at my expense. I was flying coach, and seated next to a German man who spoke almost no English. It was close to 3:00 in the afternoon, and I had been up since about 5 in the morning, packing my bags and heading to the second day of a convention at the Cow Palace in Daly City. The convention was to begin at 9:50, and I had to be at the nearby airport by 2:00. Needless to say, by 3 I was exhausted, and was looking forward to sleeping most of the way to Paris. Or not.

The details about the flight are a blur. I know that I was nervous, because I was traveling overseas for the first time and would be greeted by my wife-to-be. I was also nervous because I was going to be spending the next four weeks living with her brother and her sister-in-law. They spoke no English, and I spoke no French. No problems there, right? I was crammed into an airline seat specifically designed for Gary Coleman or Paul Simon. I am 6 feet tall. Trying to sleep in such a seat is like trying to get comfortable being folded in two in a hospital bed. You've seen the cartoons, right? The bed has a little control box and someone pushes the wrong button, causing the bed to fold in such a way that the patient was able to examine his own heels. That's how I felt on the airplane. No way to sleep. No conversation. No desire to remain conscious.

However, despite the constant fear that Air France would go on strike in the middle of my flight and drop me off somewhere near the Bermuda Triangle, we landed safely at Roissy / Charles de Gaulle airport on the outskirts of Paris. As I got off the plane, I wondered how so much pollution could creep in through the air conditioning units of the airport. I didn't know that Paris was so smoggy! Then I realized that what I was experiencing was a wall of cigarette smoke from all of the passengers waiting in the gate area. Instant cancer was a real concern as I carved my way to the baggage claim area.

The first sign that I saw in English woke me up quickly. It said, and I am not making this up, "Unattended baggage will be exploded." There was a little pictogram of a piece of luggage being blown up. Baggage will be exploded. Exploded? Not examined? Not x-rayed? A poor little innocent bag, just sitting there waiting for its owner, would be taken hostage and quickly detonated. What kind of animals were these French?

Well, this wouldn't cause a problem for me. I would just go to the baggage claim area, claim my baggage from the area, and head out to greet the love of my life. So, I waited. And I waited. Everyone else had claimed their bags, but mine had not yet arrived. Minutes passed, and I began to have terrible thoughts. "Oh crud! They've exploded my bag!" I tracked down someone from the airline and asked where my luggage was being held hostage. The employee was actually helpful, and tracked down my bag that was still sitting in the luggage compartment of the airplane. As my heartbeat slowed to something below a rock band drum solo, I took my bag and ventured out into the airport, searching for the customs inspectors, the passport inspectors, and freedom.

As I walked towards the customs inspectors, I noticed quite a number of men dressed in black uniforms, some with dogs, and all with rather scary looking rifles. They looked prepared to attack any piece of luggage that threatened to attack an innocent passenger. They also looked prepared to dispose of any American who dared to eat processed cheese in their presence. I decided that discretion was the better part of not being shot, and quickly moved to the customs line.

French Bred

I have been asked to write about something a bit more "light-hearted" than the drivel I have been spewing for days. I really couldn't think of anything to write. So, I'm going to do something I've dreaded doing. I'm going to post a few of my anecdotes that I am thinking of including in my ever upcoming book effort. Needless to say the following:

All rights reserved 2009, Adam Himmel. Copyright 2009 Adam Himmel. All legal rights 2009, Adam Himmel. Anyone trying to copy or use this material without the express written consent of Adam Himmel (and not Major League Baseball) will be prosecuted and deemed to have very bad taste.

The working title is "French Bred", and will focus on the differences between French and American culture, seen through the eyes of a very fortunate American who married a fantastic French woman. (That ought to get me out of a few problems, eh?) Starting tomorrow, and being posted intermittently, I will try to grind out some anecdotes for the so-called book. If anyone has ideas, I welcome them, as I tend to get writer's canyon (writer's block isn't big enough for me).

Anyway, I will try to start this tomorrow. The first tale will revolve around my first visit to France, which happened to be my first visit to any other country other than Tijuana, Mexico, and the strange things that happened as I realized that France was not just an offshoot of the United States and actually had its own culture and customs. Strange idea, eh? Allow me to set the stage quickly...

I had been a pen-pal of a young French lady since high school. Years went by, and our lives took different paths. However, after a break of nearly 10 years in writing, she got back in touch with me. Our letter writing recommenced, and after a visit by her to the U.S., I did one of the smartest things I have ever done in my life, and proposed to her. Strangely enough, she said "yes", but had to go back to France to get things organized. About one year later, I traveled to Paris to marry her. The French system of laws required that I reside there for 4 weeks before I could marry this Parisienne, and many interesting things happened in that time span. These stories will start with my arrival in Paris, and take the reader through some of the events that led to my hating France and the French, and then to my loving the country and its people.

Stick with me and please give feedback. For the longest time I have been told that I have the makings of a writer. I never believed it, and never really gave it a try. Maybe this is a way to find out if I do.

Have fun with me, and let's see where this takes us...

Allons-y!!!

An Open Letter to Calif. Service Union

Okay, I try to avoid delving into political matters, but this one has me completely confused. According to the Sacramento Bee, dated July 27, 2009, "members of California's largest state employee union have been voting on whether to give their leaders permission to call a strike." In addition, the Bee notes that "Government officials say that a walk-out...would violate labor agreements and that the state would punish anyone who strikes."

Here is where some common sense is needed. First of all, does anyone remember when the air traffic controllers went on strike during the Reagan presidency? It was deemed to be an illegal strike. What did Reagan do? He fired all of the striking employees. Does the SEIU think that the California legislature and the Governor wouldn't just jump at the chance to reduce the state labor force by legally canning the strikers? Just think of the money they would save!

Yes, it stinks being put on furlough and losing 20% of your pay. I mean it really stinks. Tell that to the thousands upon thousands who have completely lost their jobs, are living on a pittance of unemployment, and can't find new jobs. Do you honestly think there wouldn't be a line to apply for a State job even at a 20% lower rate of pay?

Eventually, one would expect that the economy would turn around (unless this system of things ends before that happens...), and then the State will probably do its normal idiotic routine of throwing money around on pet projects like there's no end to the funds. But until then, understand that your union leaders aren't really doing you a favor. If an illegal work stoppage takes place and you lose your job, will you really be happier and doing better financially? Ask the fired Air Traffic Controllers.

Until things turn around, tighten your belts, live within your means, and hope that the economy turns around for you. You'll be doing the same thing that the majority of Californians are doing right now.

When Will They Get The Picture?

Well, Californians are up in arms again. Once again, the Legislature and the Governor let them down, and passed a budget that cuts and cuts from the needy and does nothing to address the underlying problems.

In the United States Congress, legislators are arguing about health care, and every time someone suggests a fix, it gets shot down by people who are in the pockets of the insurance industry.

Wars and threats of wars are everywhere. The swine flu is predicted to hit a huge section of the population this autumn. It all seems to be spiraling downward. I mean really...even the SciFi channel changed its name to SyFy! (That has to be in the book of Revelation somewhere!)

And yet, when someone suggests to them that human governments have failed, they get offended and even angry. Why? I'm sure that the last time they read the newspaper (if they read newspapers any more) or their news website or Fox News or whatever, they probably were ranting about the elected officials who don't know what they're doing, or about some other country that is threatening their country, or so on.

How about a little honesty? How about admitting, just once, that human beings have proven incapable of ruling themselves? Wouldn't that kind of candor be refreshing?

Yeah...it would be. But that's okay. Over six million people know it, along with millions of others who are studying the Bible with them. There is hope.

Although the person who named the SciFi channel SyFy should be dragged through the brambles by his shoelaces. I'm just saying...

Another Round of Short Bursts

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another installment of "Short Bursts From a Tired and Twisted Mind". Please note: all commentary is designed to be apolitical, although certain common sense questions may be posed. I bear no responsibility for any insanity that runs through my brain.

Health Care: Doesn't it seem illogical for a rich country like the U.S. to have so many people uninsured and underinsured? It also seems illogical that people go hungry or homeless in a rich country, but that's another topic for another day. Granted, health care costs money. But how do these huge insurance HMOs have so much money to spend on commercials and lobbying if they're just doing things for the patients? Just asking...

Starbucks: Why is everyone so surprised that Starbucks closed a bunch of stores? I mean, I can walk out my door and down the street about 3 blocks, and there's a Starbucks. Then, about 1/2 mile away there's another. And another 1/2 mile away there's a Starbucks in a Safeway supermarket. Overkill, you think? Or maybe overcaff. (Someone pick me up a skinny vanilla latte', will you?)

Basketball: Why do I care anything about basketball in the offseason? Am I that desperate for the Kings to have a good season that I'll grasp for any straws in the news that might encourage me? ... umm ... yes, I am.

Electronics: I love my iPhone. I do. And I really love my new MacBook Pro. I do. But I'm not in the tank for Apple. I'm not. Really. I'm not. ---- I AM!!! OK??? I AM in the tank for Apple! (There...I feel better now. Don't you?)

Food: I had dinner at La Provence last night for my anniversary. I positively love the food there, as well as the ambiance. Anyone who can eat at that restaurant and not say that it was great loses many, many points on my scorecard. I don't really keep a scorecard, but if I did, they would lose points.

Sacramento Valley: Tell me again why I live here. Is it the climate? Yeah...110 in the summer is just peachy. The economy? Hey, California Legislature and Arnie...get a clue, bozos! The roads? Ask the suspension on my car. Come to think of it, I haven't the vaguest idea of why I live here, except that now that I bought a house, I'm stuck here. (Good thinking there, buddy boy.)

French language: I hate verb conjugations!!! I do!!! Can't I just speak it like Tarzan speaks English?? They'll understand. "Me go there...eat good food...go store later...then go sleep. Ugh. Watch for elephant droppings." I stink at this language. My brain only works in English, and even then I couldn't define a participle to save my life.

That's it for now. Be sure to tip your waiter. I'm here till Tuesday. Try the veal. If you had any adult beverages, don't drive home...call a cab. Goodnight everybody!!!

Television Tastes

I hate most reality shows. I really do. Things like American Idol, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Really Annoying (I made that last one up, but I think it would be a hit, don't you?) are all knock-offs of the same basic idea: if I can get in front of a camera and not make a complete and total idiot of myself, I can be famous! And people watch. I mean really, what's the point of "I Survived a Japanese Game Show!"? It feels like these shows are just dumbing down the viewing audience.

A while ago, I ranted about the cancellation of a smart and clever show: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. If you haven't watched it, rent (or buy) the DVDs. It's another Aaron Sorkin show, and it was brilliant. The problem was, in my opinion, that it was just too smart for the room. People wanted mindless drivel over something that involved some thought. "Oh good! Simon Cowell is insulting another bad singer! Let's record that so we can watch it again!"

So what's on my DVR these days? Mindless drivel? Sure...at times. But shows like that are akin to dessert. It's okay once in a while, but you can't survive on it. The shows on my list right now are:

Doctor Who - Always clever, always smart, always fun.
Psych - Again, clever and smart with references you have to listen for, while still being hilarious.
Top Gear - BBC's car show, with three hosts who look like they absolutely have a blast working and playing together. It's silly at times, but they show some awesome cars and I can watch the show over and over again and long for more.
Burn Notice - This is more my son's thing, but I have to admit that the writing is pretty smart.
Deadliest Catch - Very guilty pleasure. I'm not sure why I'm addicted to this show, but I am. It's the same basic thing every week - catch crab - but the sheer effort of doing the job just boggles my mind.
Mythbusters - Another guilty pleasure. I don't watch it every week, but it's always fun.
Fort Boyard - Not on very often, and only on the French channel TV5, but I get into this show! It involves a group of athletes or celebrities completing challenges to win money for their chosen charity. It isn't mindless, but it involves brains, athleticism, and overcoming fears.

Anyway, that's what I watch. I will also catch Poirot or Miss Marple whenever it is on, and will throw on BBC America News to find out what is really going on in the world, but that's about it. It amazes me that I can scan the million channels on my digital cable box and find absolutely nothing worth watching. Here's hoping that Aaron Sorkin comes back to television and that people kick-start their brains into watching something that doesn't involve bad singing, vampires, or sex and violence. Fat chance.

A Salute to the Wife

Yeah, I know the title is a bit corny, and this isn't going to be a long post. But I just want to give a shout to my wife of 14 years. When she married me and moved to this country with her then 6-year old son, a lot of things could have gone wrong. She was an independent woman who had her own life in France and her whole family within Metro distance. Still, she decided to marry this guy with numerous idiosyncrasies, anxieties, and other issues and do her best to make a life with him.

I'm very pleased to say that after 14 years, our life (IMHO) is a very happy one. She is everything I could have dreamed of and more. We now have a house of our own, a step-son turned adopted son who is about to turn 21, and goals that we share and work towards as a team. In addition, she is beyond doubt my best friend, who I rely on and who I enjoy spending time with more than anyone else.

To my wife...you are absolutely the best. I truly look forward to every day with you, and that means to eternity.

Sappy stuff over. Future posts will return to their sarcastic normal selves.

Hesitation

I really wish that I was an organized person. As I sit here looking at my desk in my home office, I see scattered papers and miscellaneous flotsam and jetsam that has no business being on a desk. That isn't the worst of it, though. The worst is my habit of procrastinating. Not just any kind of procrastination. It's the kind where I physically cannot force myself to do what I need to. For example, if I have an assignment to give a talk, I have the worst time just sitting down and writing. Unless I have an idea in mind, I waffle and waver and refuse to get going. It's very frustrating.

I was at a convention over the weekend. It isn't the type where people wear funny hats and talk about new forms of orthodontia. Actually, it was a religious gathering where we are taught from the Bible. Now, I find the topics entirely interesting, but then my ADD kicks in and I have the worst time focusing. Still, I got most of the info out of the weekend. But hiding at the back of my mind the whole time was the fact that I brought my laptop to the hotel to work on my assignment for the following Saturday, and never worked on it. Was I tired? Yes, but not to the point where I couldn't do the work. Was I lazy? Yes, but not to the point where I was immovable. Instead, I just dreaded doing the writing.

Anyway, I stayed home from work today to recuperate, take care of some "honey-do's", and write the talk. The first draft is done, and I'm sure I'll have to edit and cut and time it out to 30 minutes. I just wish I had finished it a week ago. Don't worry. By the time I have the next assignment, I'll forget the wish I just made and procrastinate again. I'll tell you about it...sometime.

So Tired

Have you ever been really tired? I mean so tired that you feel as though you could fall down where you are and just sleep?

Yeah. Me too. It's been that kind of a month, and things don't appear to be getting any better. Still, like so many others, I'll deal with it. Besides, things could be much worse.

I could be in Iran right now. What a situation. The strange thing is that some people are hollering for the United States to get involved. Yeah, they should get right on that. The U.S. can simply add another front to the battles already being fought. That'll work. Besides, the issue for Iran is internal. It's an election fraud battle. Hmmm...wonder what would have happened if people got that angry back during Bush/Gore?

I could be one of the many, many people who have been laid off. I have so many friends who are going through this. It's heartbreaking. I hope things improve soon. Which leads to...

I could be a California legislator. Don't you feel sorry for them? They are so wrapped up in their party differences that they just won't put the people first. Awwwww.....poor babies.

I could be a school-aged child. Did you ever notice that cuts tend to hit the schools first? It's amazing. Sure, administrators could probably do a better job budgeting their funds, but it doesn't help that legislators think that selling the kids down the river is a budget-cutting option. When they graduate, they'll be as thick and unlearned as the legislators that are running the show and...wait...the legislators are breeding new legislators!!!

No. I think tired is okay.

Soooo lazy

Man, it's hard to believe that I have such a difficult time posting to a blog. It's just that I forget about it, especially since I don't know if anyone is reading it.

Anyway, I'm just going to add a quick update here, and try to do better in the future.

French is still a tough language. I have people tell me that I'm getting good at it, but I don't hear it. Why is that? Is it due to self-dislike, lack of self-confidence, or what? Anyway, I have to keep working at it, because I'm going to have a ton more work in a few months, and it isn't going to be pretty.

Still loving my Ninja 250. It's a blast, and it handles so well. I've gotten used to riding again, and I realize just how much I missed it. My only concern is that it's going to start hitting 100 degrees soon, and even my new highly ventilated jacket is going to feel broiling. Oh well, it's better to be safe. Just a warning to all of you in cars: when bikers split lanes, it isn't always because we just want to get ahead of you. For instance, sometimes when it is hot, you forget that we don't have air conditioning on our bikes, and sitting for 10 minutes waiting to move to the front of a line at a light can cause us to start dehydrating. So please, if you see one of us coming down your line between cars, give us a break. We aren't all doing it to show off.

I heard former governor Jesse Ventura talking on a radio show the other day, and he was saying how many of the problems in the world today can be chalked up to organized religion. I was struck by how much that sounded like a shot across the bow for the destruction of Babylon.

Convention next month in SF. Wish I could go to the one in Paris or North Carolina, but money's tight, as many people are experiencing. Maybe next year.

One more thought: change the NBA lottery! There's no way that the team with the worst record should only have a 25% shot at the top pick. That's ridiculous! Weight it so the team has at least a 40% chance at the top pick, 20 at the number 2 pick, and is guaranteed no worse than #3. The Kings getting the number 4 pick after a 17 win season is ludicrous.


Posted 30 minutes later: One MORE thought! PETA and its members should get a freaking life! Now they are upset at President Obama for killing a fly. A fly!!! It is an insect, known for carrying disease and serving very little purpose. Why don't you people worry more about human beings? A fly....for cryin' out loud. On top of that, they are upset at the fishmongers in Seattle for tossing fish. Dead fish. Not live fish. Dead fish. Fish that are bereft of life. They are pushing up the daisies! (Sorry...having a Monty Python moment there.) Does PETA think that the fish are embarassed being thrown? Perhaps they aren't really dead. They're not QUITE dead. In fact, they're feeling better and think they'll go for a walk! (Whoops. Another Python moment.) I say again...GET A LIFE! GET A CLUE!!! GET A REAL JOB!!!

I'm not saying that animal abuse is acceptable in any way. However, these are flies and dead fish. Flies and dead fish. I can't even wrap my brain around the way these loons think. I'm going to take some Tylenol now and try to get these dorks out of my brain. (Loonies.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31422688/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Why Closed Adoption Records?

Today I decided to try once again to find out who I am.  Let me back up for a moment.  I was adopted as a baby back in 1964.  I never had a huge desire to find my birth parents, but I did feel the need to find out some health information.  Every time you go to the doctor, they ask if there is any family history of heart disease, diabetes, etc., and every time I have to answer, "I don't know...I was adopted."

I understand the desire of a birth parent to remain anonymous.  Back in 1964, it was still unacceptable for an unmarried woman to have a baby.  It was still a stigma.  Today, many woman have babies despite being unmarried.  It's the way times have changed.  I'm not saying that I approve of it, but that's how things are.  But I digress.

I wrote to the adoption agency who handled matters and received a nice letter from the woman who actually handled my adoption!  Of course, she was very limited in the information that she could provide.  I found out precious little about my birth parents.  My "father" had forced his intentions upon my natural mother, and then his father helped him to skip town.  My mother was very young and decided to put me up for adoption.  I'm grateful to her for this decision, not because I think she would have been a bad parent, but because she could have had an illegal abortion!  I think I prefer living, thank you very much.  Anyway, through conversations with my adoptive family, I garnered one precious piece of information.  My sister remembers seeing the file at the adoption agency with the name "Baby Boy Pringle" on it.  Pringle.  That had to be my mother's last name!  So, after a lot of research, I found one piece of information to corroborate my sister's recollection.  In a database of birth records, I found the following:

Last Name:  PRINGLE

First Name:

Middle Name:

Birth Yr, Mo, Day 1964 (and the birth date matches, too!)

Mother's Last Name:  PRINGLE

Sex:  MALE

County of Birth: LOS ANGELES

It all matched.  So I went back farther to see if there were any Pringles who would have been around 17 or 18 at that time.  I could only narrow it down to females born in Los Angeles county in 1945 or 1946.  The chances that a woman would have remained in the same county all her life up to that point were slim.  Still, I found two:  Donna Jo Pringle born in 1945, and Penny Lee Pringle (mother's maiden name Pfeil) born in 1946.  Frankly, I doubt if either one of these are correct.

I even had the adoption agency put a letter and Consent to Contact note in my file to allow my birth mother to reach me if she chose to do so.  She has yet to make contact, and it has been over 10 years since I added that to my file.

What's the point of all of this?  Those of us who are adopted need a little more than our birth place as information.  At the very least, we need medical histories that are as detailed as possible without giving away our birth parents' names or addresses.  It isn't fair that I don't know if my family has a history of cancer, genetic diseases, or even insanity!  (I may be proof of the latter, who knows?)  There are a number of diseases or problems that I might be able to prevent if I knew my family history.  As is, my medical life is a roll of the dice, not knowing what might happen and not knowing if I could do anything to stop a future issue.  I deserve to know these things.  Not just for my own peace of mind, but for that of MY family, who depends on me to provide for them.

If anyone reads this or searches on it and may know anything, please drop me a line.  Even if you don't know anything, just take a moment to think about how beneficial it would be if birth records included medical histories.  It could save a life.

And to birth mother, with the maiden name Pringle...I'd like to know you if you would like to know me.  But even if you want to stay anonymous, a little note to the adoption agency with a medical history for me would be helpful.  

Swine!

So, we're having flashbacks to the swine flu fiasco of 1976.  That was the last time that people panicked so that the government panicked so that they gave inoculations that ended up killing more people than the flu did!

I've been noticing a strange disconnect between this version of the flu and the facts about flu.  In reality, quite a number of people die in the U.S. every year from a variety of flu types.  This version is no different.  The reason it seems different is because a number of people in Mexico have already died from this version, and the current flu vaccine doesn't carry antibodies for this type of flu.  Okay.  So what do we do?  Act like it's SARS version 2 and walk around wearing surgical masks?  Go ahead.

How about this?  If you're sick, stay home from work or school.  Instead of thinking you are brave or saving up your sick pay or PTO or vacation, use the hours and avoid spreading the virus!  I hate it when parents send their kids to school because they "can't afford to miss a day", and they end up contaminating a bunch of other kids.  If our children have so much homework that they can't miss a day, then that's another matter that needs to be addressed by our school boards and governments who think that passing a STAR test or a High School Exit Exam is a good determiner of future success.  (Getting off track.  Sorry.  But I really hate the way schools do things these days!)

Another thing you can do is something quite novel:  wash your hands.  With soap.  And warm water.  For more than 5 seconds.  I can't tell you how often I see someone leave a bathroom without stopping to wash his hands first.  It's disgusting, it spreads disease, and...it's disgusting.  (It's even worse than seeing someone talking on a cell phone while he is using the urinal!  And that's another story to harp on some other time!)

Influenza is a virus.  It can't really be killed easily, but its transmission can be halted.  Just use some common sense, don't panic, and follow basic cleanliness regimes.

And for goodness sake, if you have the flu, STAY HOME!!!  (And stay out of my office!)

Nonsense Thoughts

I realized that I haven't added a posting for a little while, so I thought I would write a quick blurb of a variety of thoughts.

1) I stink at learning French. Period. I hate it because I have absolutely no gift or skill at it whatsoever. Frustration talking? Maybe. But I really am not getting the hang of this.

2) The Kings are changing coaches again. I can't see Kenny Natt continuing as coach.
2b) I don't see Beno Udrih remaining as the starting point guard much longer, either.

3) Jay Cutler is a whiner, and the coach of the Broncos is an egotist. (Like I care about the Broncos, Bears, or Cutler...)

4) One of the great internet comic strips out there is Real Life. (www.reallifecomics.com) Greg Dean rocks.

5) Riding a 250cc motorcycle in 40 mph gusting wind is scary. Not fun.

6) Did I mention that my French stinks?

7) Red Dwarf is a funny British series, but very uneven.

8) IMHO, some of the best tv on the air right now includes: Psych, Burn Notice, and House.

Tune in next time for something that makes more sense.

Keep It To Yourself

It seems as though I like to talk about my new motorcycle a lot. So sue me. It's a blast to ride again and it makes me happy.

What I don't like about it is the opinions of others who are convinced that I am going to end up an organ donor. I don't verbally slap people for this, but I sometimes wonder if they don't say these things because they like to be fatalistic rather than the idea that they care about what happens to me. "What, do you want to die?" "Why would you buy a death machine?"

The negative to positive comments run about 5 to 1. I don't mind if people say, "Be careful when riding." I appreciate it when people say, "Nice bike! Are you wearing the proper protective gear?" Those kind of comments express genuine concern. But comments like the "organ donor" statements and such are just for the sake of sounding like they are smarter and wiser than you are. Guess what? I know the dangers. I know the dangers of riding a bicycle on the street. I know the dangers of walking through bad neighborhoods. I know the dangers of letting a dog lick your face! OK! I recognize the dangers, accept the dangers, and take all the appropriate measures to avoid damage. Driving a car is dangerous. Driving like an idiot is incredibly dangerous! Riding is dangerous. Riding like an idiot is often fatal.

If you want to express concern, do so. Do it in a way that acknowledges that I am an adult and not an insane person with a death wish! You want danger? Go on a carnival ride at some county fair. (Not implying that all rides are dangerous, but you do frequently hear of injuries and deaths on these things!) When I ride, I wear a high quality helmet, padded gloves, armored jacket, etc. I keep my head on a swivel and try to be aware of everything going on around me. I assume that other drivers are going to pull out in front of me or not stop when pulling up behind me. I'm sure you do the same thing in a car. But I'll tell you one thing; if I see a car not stopping as it pulls up behind me, I have a chance to get out of the way by scooting out of the way. You can't do that in a car.

For those who care; thank you. I'll ride as carefully as possible.

For those who ask if my wife took out extra life insurance on me; thanks...for nothing.

Bad News Keeps Coming

It's getting scary out there. The economic news gets worse and worse.

I can understand why people are nervous and being cautious with money. However, the people who are panicking are making matters worse, not better. Look at it this way: the economy depends on people investing, spending, and for want of a better expression, living their normal lives. When money is pulled out of the economy, businesses fail.

I am not going out to purposely spend money I don't have. Far from it. However, I'm also not going to stop spending entirely. If there's something I need, and I have the money, I'll buy it. For example, my watch conked out on me last week. I started to go through convulsions not having a watch on my wrist! So, I decided to get a new watch. Did I NEED a new watch? Well, need may be a strong word, but I sure felt like I did. Thus, I looked around and found a nice Pulsar (made by Seiko) for under $100. I love the watch, and I pumped a little bit of cash into the economy.

I didn't go out and buy like a madman. (Except for the Ninja, maybe.) But I bought groceries, I went to Ikea and picked up a few things. (Does anyone else love that crazy place as much as I do? Used to hate it. But that's a blog for another day.) We need to be careful with money...always. It's overextension that got us into this mess. But careful and reasonable isn't the same as panicky and miserly. Don't stuff your mattress. Use the banks for your savings, and make your reasonable everyday purchases. It's confidence that pulls an economy up.

And tell the stupid politicians to quit arguing and get to work, will ya? (Just kidding...none of my business, that's for sure!)

Rainy Days and Mondays

No, I'm not going to sing. (Even though I still am trying to find a talk show that will interview me. My purchase of the Ninja has solved the drought!)

I just found out that my homebuilder, John Laing Homes, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Now, I'm not vindictive. Also, this isn't good news for my home inspections and warranties for the first year of ownership. In fact, I haven't heard from them yet to schedule the walk-through! But I am beginning to be a believer in "What goes around, comes around". They were so jerk-like at times during the negotiation process that I almost feel as though they are getting what they dealt. Still, I don't wish anyone out of work, and there were several very nice people who worked with us on our home purchase. I hope all of them are doing okay.

But to all of you out there who think that just because you're in sales that you have to hard-sell and hard-line your customers...be careful...you never know what you're setting yourself up for! What's the old saying? Be careful as you climb the ladder of success. Don't step on anyone on the way up, because those are the people you'll have to deal with on the way back down. (Or something like that. It's Monday, for cryin' out loud!)

The Bike

It's been a few days that I've actually been able to get on my new motorcycle and ride for a bit, so I thought I'd post some thoughts about the bike.

1. It's a great little bike. Anyone who says that the Ninja 250 is for people who just want to pretend they are racers is out of their mind. It is very comfortable to ride, is responsive on the throttle and in the turns, and feels far more stable than the cruiser bikes I've ridden. Besides, the thing is not designed to do 120 mph.

2. Good equipment is vital. I don't feel invincible with my jacket and helmet, but I feel a bit safer. Knowing that I invested in one of the best helmets on the market and that I have armor in my jacket makes me feel that if I do happen to hit the pavement, I have a better chance to walk away from it. Still, I may invest in some good pants and boots next, just to be careful.

3. The bike is beautiful. It gets looks, that's for sure. Mine is a fantastic blue and just knocks your socks off. It doesn't need stickers or other stuff on it. The clean lines, the color, and the design of the bike is all you need.

4. It begs for a few extras. I would like to get sliders on the side, just to protect the bike if it does fall. I would also like to replace the rear seat with a cowling to make it even cleaner. Also need some kind of security, although if someone wants to steal a small bike, they'll probably do it. LoJack anyone?

Overall, as the engine begins to break in and I get more familiar with the bike, I feel as though I made a great choice, thanks to the wife and son. I really missed riding, and this motorcycle not only gets me back into it, but I don't think I'll be trading up anytime soon. It's juuuust right!

Drought v. Riding

OK...I'm torn. I know we need the rain, and we've been getting a good soaking lately. But I really want to be riding my new motorcycle. I think that makes me a selfish person in a way. Far more people are affected by the water shortage than are affected by my needing to hitch a ride with my wife to work. But still....

Well, I guess I can wait to ride. Our city has announced that they want everyone to cut their water usage by 20%. If that doesn't worry people, it should. Many people let showers and sinks run and run without thinking about how much water they use. Or, they water their lawns until the precious liquid flows down the sidewalks and into the storm drains. It's funny, but when I stop to think of how much water I waste, I think that I do pretty well compared to some in the savings department. But still, I see that fresh water going down the drain and wonder if I can't do more.

Next stop: the local Home Depot / Lowe's for a couple of new showerheads to reduce that water usage. (Along with an egg timer for my son's bathroom to keep him on schedule!)

I guess I can wait to ride. Keep the rain coming.

In House, and On Two Wheels

It seems like I blog less and less month by month. Part of the reason is that no one is actually reading this silly thing. But then, who would want to read something that only gets posted once in a blue moon? (sigh....)

But, here I go again.

We are in our new house - finally - and have turned in the keys to our apartment. The house isn't perfect, but it is our home now and we are enjoying that aspect of life. It is strange not to have people stomping around overhead. It is very odd to be able to pull into a garage, open the car trunk, and walk into the kitchen with groceries and not get drenched while walking up to a second floor apartment and avoiding a hernia. It is unusual to have bulky mail either put into a large mailbox and have a key left in our mailbox to access it, or to have UPS actually drop things off at a secure spot at our home. Packages actually arrive without being crushed into a small apartment mailbox!

Yes, things are better in many ways. Granted, our bills are higher, and our mortgage is much higher, but that is the price one pays for a home. I can deal with it for now.

In addition, my car went splat. The stick shift was starting to struggle again, and then the electrical system pooped out. I had a choice. I could either fix the car - again - or get something else. Strangely enough, it was my wife who suggested that I go ahead and buy a motorcycle. Even though it would cost more than fixing the car (this time), over time it would be less expensive. So, after doing my research, I narrowed things down to 3 bikes, all of which were small enough to be affordable.

Yamaha V-Star 250 - Cruiser bike. Okay, but nothing special.
Honda Rebel 250 - Cruiser bike. Smaller than the Yamaha in terms of seat height. Hasn't changed its style in 20+ years.
Kawasaki Ninja 250R - Sport bike. Me? On a sport bike?

The winner? The Ninja.

Yes, I know. I've heard the comments. "What? Do you WANT to die?" "You're an organ donor, right?" "Why do you want a crotch rocket like that?"

Guess what? Part of the safety concern centers around the rider. It's up to the rider to be attentive to his surroundings and to ride like everyone is going to pull out in front of him or t-bone him. It's up to the rider to obey traffic laws and posted speed limits. Nothing is perfect or perfectly safe, but a rider goes a long way to helping himself by riding safely and wearing high-quality safety gear. That's what I've done. I didn't skimp on the helmet or the armor. In addition, the Ninja has a more comfortable riding position and is more stable than the other bikes. Thus, I am the proud and happy owner of a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R. So sue me.

One more thing: the California legislature acts like a bunch of children, don't they? You wonder why I have no confidence in humans to govern themselves? Just look at California and even the U.S. Congress. Pitiful behavior.

I think I need to go for a ride.

Everything Going Better

Just a quick note to say that Comcast has made everything right.  Of course, I had to escalate matters, but with that done, the construction team was out the next morning and the technician that same afternoon.  We have internet, we have cable, and I have a headache.

More later.

Moved In, But.....

Just a quick note to say that our move to our new house went rather smoothly. We had good weather, good friends, and I have a wife who did an incredible job. Little incompetent me even had the ability to install curtain rods, which has left me in a state of shock to this very moment.

One snag, and it's an annoying one; Comcast stinks.

Let me tell you a little story of incompetence. A couple of weeks before the move, I scheduled an appointment for Comcast to come out to my home on the morning of the move to hook up our internet and cable service. Right on time, the contracted technician came out and started the work. A problem arose. The conduit was blocked with some form of junk, and he could not run the cable to the house. Thus, he had to schedule a "conduit blow" with the Comcast construction team. They said that they would be out that afternoon or the next morning, and then a technician would come out to complete the process.

By 11:30 the next day, we still had no word from Comcast. So, I called their oh-so-helpful "800" number. The lady said that it was scheduled for 6:00 that evening. (Just a bit later than the Saturday afternoon I expected, don't you think?) Anyway, that time came and went. This morning, I called again. They said it could take up to 5 days for a crew to come out, but that they would escalate it and someone would call me. Five days! Thus, if we stick with their schedule, I would hopefully have my internet and cable service by Saturday, the 27th! Only one week later than scheduled originally!

Cable companies say that they are improving their images, making service appointments with smaller windows and striving to provide service that matches the extravagant prices we are paying. Then, something like this happens, and it reminds me just how much I despise Comcast. To make a long story short, this is the epitome of incompetence and customer DISservice.

May they get pimples for the joy that they have taken in causing me grief.

Moving Day

Well, the day is finally within sight.  We are moving on Saturday.  It has been a long and draining process to get into this home, but now it is getting exciting.  As we have been moving in our new, smaller furnishings and our new items, the house has begun to look like a home.  Once we get the rest of our things in, it should feel real.

It's a big jump, moving from an apartment to a house.  And at my age, it's a bit scary.  Still, I hope that I'll be up to the tasks involved in ownership: cleaning, maintenance, etc.  

I feel particularly blessed that we have such good friends who have volunteered to help us, and my wife has been incredible throughout the whole matter.  Here's hoping that Saturday runs smoothly, especially compared to what we've been through so far with this house.

Almost Ready to Move

Here we are at the beginning of December, and I have almost reached my limit on the preparations for moving. We have (read: my wife has) finished the painting and went with colors very different from our original plan. Still, she did a great job, especially considering that it was her first attempt at this kind of painting. (My wife is amazing!)

The big frustration has been trying to find the furniture, ceiling fans, and window treatments that we need to be comfortable. We still...STILL...have not found a living room chair / recliner to complete the living room The wife lovingly wants me to be comfortable, but she also has requirements for size and color of the chair. Thus far we have not found it at a price we can afford. Therefore, the search goes on.

The ceiling fans are done, so we now have light in the rooms. However, we are trying to decide on window treatments, and there is more to it than just, "Let's get THAT one." Blinds or curtains; vertical or horizontal; rings or clips; regular or decaf? It's all insane, not to mention expensive! Sheesh! It's just fabric, for crying out loud! Anyway, hopefully we will have the treatments decided on by the end of the weekend, and maybe the chair as well. Then, we have to buy a bed and get moved.

In addition, my other son is being nagged by his mom (my ex) to get his driver's license. Thus, the only date that we can get him down and schedule the test is...wait for it...the weekend we are moving. sigh....

And...we have the special week for our congregation this week, and are making preparations for our French group to become a congregation. Then we have a two-day assembly the week after we move.

I'm going to cry now.

Or at least go fetal.

Got the Keys

Well, we picked up the keys to the house yesterday, and I realized something: I just spent a honkin' lot of money! Yeah, I know we got a house, and that builds equity (eventually). But still, the way it hit was funny. I was standing in the kitchen with my wife, made my statement, and watched as her eyes got really big. Then she asked me to not say that again. (She's so cute.)

Anyway, now the real insanity begins. Grout sealing, painting, appliance delivery, garage door opener install, ceiling fan install, furniture moving...AAAUUUUGHHH!! I think I just sprained something thinking about it!

I did, however, order new checks, business cards with our new address, and got the gas, electric, garbage, etc., changed over. At least there is SOME progress.

Keep watching this site, as my brain slowly turns to mush.

First time homeowners

I haven't written in awhile...quelle surprise! Things have been insane. I will write more in the future, but for now, just a comment.

After over half a year, my wife and I have completed the purchase of our first home. I never thought that I would buy a home for the first time in my mid-forties, but sometimes things work out that way. We were getting so tired of our apartment; having rude upstairs neighbors who think that imitating an ogre stomping through the brush is a nice way to say "hello" is just a blast.

Still, without our city's affordable purchase program, it never would have happened. So, over the next few weeks, I'm going to be involved in painting, grout sealing, purchasing, installing, and moving a variety of items to get moved in to our new place. I'm nervous. I haven't changed residence in over 15 years. I hadn't changed congregations in 13. Now, I'm in a French congregation and am moving in to a new house. May Jehovah give me strength...I'm going to need it.

More later as we go through the process. I'll try to keep a running update to put my insanity into words.

September - Isn't this supposed to be Fall?

Well, here it is, September 30. It's around 91 degrees outside. I hate California summers. I have lived here all of my life, but for one semester I spent autumn in upstate New York. Mind you, I hated the city I lived in. But autumn there really felt like autumn. There was a crispness in the air and the leaves were turning incredible shades of yellow, orange, and red. Here in California, the pine needles are a lovely shade of brown from the summer heat, and sap from the trees rains down upon my car windshield, making a sticky, opaque mess.

What in the world am I talking about? I don't know. I just hate hot weather and am looking forward to cooler temps.

I just thought I would jot down a few thoughts as of today.

Paralegal: I have finished my paralegal courses. Due to my hard work and focus, I have determined that I don't want to be a paralegal. Not now, anyway. Not until attorneys actually band together and determine that they will use the English language as the basis for all paperwork used in contracts, legal documents, and discussions. No wonder people hate and mistrust lawyers; no one can understand a word they say!

Baseball: Who cares? The A's were destroyed by midseason trades and the Giants had one good player.

Football: Al Davis needs to volunteer to be the poster child for the American Alzheimer's Association. "Please...don't let this happen to your family members. Support the American Alzheimer's Association." Al, sell the team.

Basketball: What's this tingling in my chest? Could it be...I'm excited about this year's Kings team? I see a positive aspect in Ron-Ron's departure? Or is it just that I had one too many bean burritos for lunch?

A personal note: Without going into a lot of detail, we've been in the process of buying a house. We should have closed 2 weeks ago, but for issues faced with the builder. I won't talk about it now, as I don't want anything else to interfere with the deal. Once everything is signed, sealed, and delivered, and we are in the new house, I'll tell you all about it. (Shameless plug for the future...)

Rant Time

Okay. It's time for a rant. My topic today: personal responsibility. In this case, the personal responsibility I mean is taking responsibility when you have done something wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were out and about in our relatively new car. I say relatively because it is 1 1/2 years old, but looks brand new. We get home and I look down near the rear tire and realize that someone has hit our car. Not hard, but hard enough where the other car left paint on our car, the rim was scratched, and the bumper was dented. The dent wasn't bad, but it popped the bumper out of place on one end.

The person that did this had to know that he or she hit my car. Had to! I would like to say that no one is stupid enough that they wouldn't notice, but I'm sure I would be wrong. Anyway, there was no note; no phone number; not even a scribbled "sorry" on a gum wrapper.

I took the car to my repair shop to see if they could pop it back into place. They informed me that they could not do so due to damage to the underside of the bumper. It would have to be replaced at a body shop. I haven't priced it, but you can probably estimate around a grand.

I'm not going to get it repaired right now. I can't afford to blow a thousand dollars on a small thing like this. But where is the person that did it? Where is the personal responsibility for one's actions?

The Bible says that "he who is faithful in little is also faithful in much". If someone is this irresponsible for something like this, would you hire him or her to work for you? Would you trust the person to babysit for you?

Frankly, I'd like to say this as simply and honestly as I can as an open comment to the wrongdoer (yeah...as if he or she reads this...or if he or she CAN read): You, sir or madam, are a coward of the first degree. Your insurance might have covered it, or you could have paid for it, or if you were broke, I might have said to forget the whole matter. But instead, you ran. You left without an apology or taking responsibility. You are a wuss and a weasel.

Am I harsh? Maybe. But forgiveness comes with repentance. This person obviously had no intention of taking responsibility for his or her actions, so it seems there is no repentance.

May a weasel get loose in your shorts.

I'm done now.

How Long Has It Been?

This post is basically a placeholder. Why? Because my brain is about to fall out of my head! Busy, busy, busy.

Quick update on HOW busy: improving my French by conducting meetings and WT at French Group; finishing up my paralegal courses (7 weeks to go); househunting/buying; work; work; field service; work; congregation; work...etc., etc., etc.

Random thoughts:

You ever get the feeling that people don't want ANYONE as President? Everyone complains that they don't like either candidate...again. (That's why I support the Kingdom government, folks!)

Artest gone...just a few more to go before the true rebuilding can begin.

I thought I saw the sky the other day...and it wasn't brown!!!

I hate rude upstairs neighbors, and idiots who think that screaming and playing the harmonica outside at 4 am is a good idea. Jerks.

Coffee...gooooood....

Sleepiness...baaaddddd....

Maybe more later...maybe not.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

A big week is coming up for my family.  After 14 years we are changing congregations.  It isn't just a normal kind of change, but a change to a foreign language group.  For us, it's the opportunity to serve where the need is greater in an area close to home.  But that doesn't mean that it isn't stressful.

When my wife and future adopted son moved to this country, my son couldn't speak English.  My wife was fluent in the language, but still she was moving from an area where she spoke, read, and thought in French to a place where very few seemed to understand the language.  I can only imagine how hard it was for her to leave her family and friends and move to the other side of the world to be with me in an English-speaking country.  Yet, she managed it beautifully, and has since become a citizen.  I look back and I feel nothing but love and admiration for her sacrifice, but also for her courage.  It couldn't have been easy.

Now, I'm trying to repay her favor in a small way.  I've never handled change well.  I have lived in the same apartment for around 18 years(!!), have been at the same job for 14 years, and as I wrote earlier, have been in the same congregation for 14 years.  Did I mention that I don't like change?  Yet, here I am, changing everything.  Most of my congregation meetings will be in French.  I'll still be an elder in the congregation, but I'll also be one of the "eldest" members of the group.  (How did 44 become old??)  I'll have to travel a bit farther to get to this congregation, too.  

So how do I feel?  Nervous, that's for sure.  But there's also an excitement in the air.  There's the feeling that I'm doing something good and that for one of the few times in my life I'm actually stretching my comfort zone out and making room for something more.  And through it all, I know that my wonderful wife will be able to help me through it, because she's gone through more than this.

Why am I writing this?  Because it helps.  And because that if there is anyone actually reading this, maybe they will realize that if I can reach out, they can too.  Just because they call it a comfort "zone" doesn't mean that it can't grow to include more area.  

Been a Long Time

Here we go again. I found a few minutes, some energy, a keyboard, and enough wits to add an entry to my blog. Why? I still don't know. One of these days I'm going to have to find a way to get some readers. Anyway, here's an update on what's doin'.

As of May 1, I will be moving full time from an English congregation to a French language congregation. What does that mean? It means that all of my meetings will take place in French, all of my parts will be conducted in French, all of the preaching work will be done in French, and all of my brains will leak out of my ears. (Hey! Leave out those "what brains?" comments!!)

Even though I will miss seeing my friends in Ridgeview as frequently as before, I'll still be living in the same place, so I will be able to continue to visit with them socially. The big challenge will be to improve my language skills so I don't feel so awkward and lost in French. But I take great joy in seeing the zeal and the effort in those who are currently a part of the French group. Many of them are just learning the language and show courage in responding in French despite the struggles. They are wonderful, humble, and fun-loving people who love Jehovah very much, and I am flattered and humbled myself that they have welcomed us so warmly. They just need to realize that I am not fluent. They seem to think I'm a modern Maurice Chevalier! Ah well.

Kings - Dead for the playoffs. There's no big surprise there. There are just too many good teams in the west. But, memo to Geoff Petrie: Get rid of Ron-Ron. Please? He sits out a game, comes back against the Lakers, and has zero assists. Yeah. That's who I want on the court. Lose him. Take the hit on Kenny Thomas' contract and lose him, too. Trade Francisco Garcia while he has value. Not because he isn't good, but because he's not going to get a lot of playing time. Re-sign Beno Udrich (good point guards are hard to find). Then, take that draft pick, and package it with someone and get some experience on the floor to lead these kids.

Raiders and 49ers - A moment of silence, please, for the upcoming season.

A's - They probably won't be as bad as some expect, but there's no way they'll challenge for anything. But aren't you all glad that Barry Zito left for the ...

Giants - The over/under for wins this season is now 20 in my opinion, and I'm taking the under. (P-U!)

Politics - Is anyone else sick of the whining yet? No? How 'bout now?

Television - Is it just me, or is there absolutely NOTHING worth watching on the tube now? I mean seriously. In any given week, there is nothing with intelligence on the air that doesn't involve shooting, knifing, or sex! (Oh how we miss you, Aaron Sorkin. Studio 60, we hardly knew ye.)

DVDs - Just FYI, the word is out that one of my favorite animated series of all time will be coming out on dvd soon. Pick up Freakazoid! in July. You'll laugh so hard that you'll break all your furniture.

I'll try not to stay away so long.

Still Kickin'... Barely

Judging by the complete lack of comments, I know that no one is really missing this blog. (Except Asia...) Still, I feel the compulsion to write a bit today since I have a few minutes.

My paralegal courses are kicking my butt. It isn't that the work is so hard, but there's just so much of it. Add to that my work in my congregation, my move to the French group, and the search for a new residence...I'm beat.

Let's play the topic game today.

Politics: I don't get involved. But it's interesting to see that California is predicting a huge turnout of ... well ... the high 30 percent of registered voters. Isn't that pretty pathetic? An election with more coverage and interest than has been shown in years, and California is expecting the high 30s? It makes me laugh. Or at least snicker.

Real Estate: I'm starting a search for my first house. I've lived in an apartment all of my life and my lease is about to expire, so I'm looking into the idea of buying a home. I'm finding it very disheartening, though. I can't afford typical California prices, and the houses I can afford are in places that are not appealing in terms of safety, traffic, and distance. I know that if you want certain things that you have to pay for them, but this is kind of ridiculous. My monthly housing budget is enough to buy a very nice place in Raleigh, NC, but in northern California I can probably afford an empty washing machine box behind Best Buy. It looks like I may be signing another lease. That bites. I'd love to be able to own my own home, even though it scares me. I'm really tired of the people upstairs making my walls shake with their heavy walking. I want peace and quiet. But I don't have the funds. It's very discouraging.

Super Bowl: Didn't watch it, didn't care. Still don't care.

Kings: Does anyone but me think the Kings would be better trading Artest and Bibby for some future draft picks? I know it doesn't work like that in the NBA, but that's what I would like to see happen.

Paralegal Classes: I'm not sure this is the career for me. I hate offices, but thought I could do some immigration paralegal work. There just doesn't seem to be many jobs out there for that area, and I sure don't want to work for an ambulance chaser.

French: Is there a reason why my wife and family say that I do a good job speaking French and I feel like I'm still sounding like a Parisian Tarzan?

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll try to post more often, but I don't see much free time at any point in the future. Best to anyone who dares to read. If you do, do me a favor and pass on this blog addy to others. I'd really like some feedback from folks.

TTFN

Time Also Flies - When You're Losing Your Mind

A quick post, since my only reader Asia is quickly losing her grip on reality.

It's been an incredibly busy time, which further explains the lack of posts.  Between insane end of the year work in the payroll department, finishing my Associates' degree in Liberal Arts, fending off boredom and frustration in my Paralegal courses, and dealing with numerous other demands on my time, I haven't had any time at all to post anything.  So, I'm going to take a moment to give some more random thoughts.

Pakistan:  If anyone thinks that the governments of this world can make things better in the long run, just look at what's going on.  Someone assassinates Bhutto for whatever reason, and they think that it makes things better for them.  How?  In the end, violence begets violence and that region is already close to exploding.  

Baseball and HGH:  Boy, Roger Clemens is in a spot.  He says he's innocent of the use of human growth hormones.  But if he sues, then he can be deposed, which means that they can ask him any number of questions under oath.  You just know he doesn't want to do that.  But then, Pete Rose opens his big yap and says that these players have brought shame to the game.  Really, Pete?  And your gambling on baseball while you were a manager was ... what?  Good?  Less harmful?  Shut up, Pete.  You still need to learn that prized behavior, humility.  As for the problem itself, there's no way to go back and look for people to punish.  It won't work.  And Selig can't go on a witch hunt without pointing four fingers back at himself, and another finger at the Players' Union.  Just admit it was a problem, that a large number of players did it, start testing for it and punishing users now, and don't let it happen again.  That's your only option that makes sense.

The Primaries:  Boy am I glad that I don't have any part in the political matters in this country.  I have to admit, though; the humor possibilities are endless.

The Spears Family:  Go away.  I beg you.  Just go away and take Lindsay and Paris with you.  (Side note:  the mothers' book on parenting skills just moved from the "how to" section to the "science fiction" section of your local Borders.)

Writers' Strike:  Does anyone really miss network television?  And when are they going to stop calling shows "reality" series?  Do any one of these idiotic shows even remotely resemble reality?  Besides, I don't think the general public deserves good television if they didn't give Studio 60 on Sunset Strip a fair chance.  What a loss.  If you haven't done so, rent it on Netflix or just go buy it.  Quality television at its best.  Aaron Sorkin, on behalf of the viewing public, I apologize.  Please bring us another great series, but this time put it on a cable channel that will appreciate it.  (Just not HBO...I don't subscribe to it.)

That's all for now.  I'll try to check in again soon, if anyone really cares.  And if anyone reads this, please drop me a comment.  I'd love to read your thoughts.

A Few Moments

If I described the last few weeks as tough, I would be greatly understating the amount of work and pressure that has been grinding me into dust. Still, now that I have a moment, I thought that I would throw a post in here. I'm not doing this for any readers, since I only have one (Hi, Asia!). I do this for the sake of refreshment for my brain. Sometimes, just writing silliness calms my mind.

So, what should be the silliness for today? Should it be the presidential races? Nah. Too political. How about the fires in Southern California or the droughts in the south? No, too depressing.

So, today I would like to copy one Stephen Colbert and play "Tip of the Hat / Wag of the Finger". In fact, this is a "wag of the finger" to - Stephen Colbert!

Comedy is a strange thing. As humans, we all find different things to be humorous. Personally, I find the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, Alton Brown (Good Eats!), and Monty Python to be very funny. I also find Donald Trump and the WWE to be very funny, but in a different way. What I don't find funny is a comedian who feels that humor involves bad language. There are a number of comedians out there who drop "f-bombs" or the like with every other sentence to shock the audience into laughing. Even Jeff Foxworthy gets a little graphic about his love life from time to time.

There are a few comedians, though, who are funny while keeping it clean. I understand that Sinbad refuses to use bad language in his act, and I salute him. Stephen Colbert in his show "The Colbert Report" is very funny. I especially like "The Word", but the show is hilarious for its sarcasm, its tongue-in-cheek jabs at society and its leaders, and Colbert's creation of his alter-ego as a conservative extremist. (I saw him a few times on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", and he isn't like that.

Thus, I was happy to pick up his book, "I Am America (And So Can You!)" That happiness didn't last, as Mr. Colbert felt the need to lob quite a number of "f bombs" and other vulgarities at me as a reader. It stopped being funny very quickly.

Therefore, Mr. Colbert, I send to you a blindfolded "Wag of the Finger" for your strange need to get nasty in your book. You're a funny guy. The character you created claims to value family and clean morals. If only you believed it and proved yourself to be an excellent comedian by not relying on cheap methods to try to get a laugh. Pitiful.

A Few Moments to Spare

I have a few minutes, so I thought I would add a few lines today.

I have just started my paralegal studies and have decided that Lawyerese is its own language. Our studies this week have focused on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. I read one sentence that had to be the equivalent of 6 sentences in English. I guess that's one reason the law can be so intimidating. It is rare to find anything written in simple terms. But I have also discovered that there is a reason for this. Everything that is written for the field of law has to cover many different contingencies. Otherwise, court cases would abound with technicalities that thwart the efforts to apply justice.

Common, everyday English can be very fluid, and leave a lot of room for interpretation. The law cannot do that. For example, what is murder? It is easy to say that it is one person who purposely kills another. But the law cannot allow for such a wide use of terms. If we left it at that, then we cannot allow for circumstance or state of mind or the like. It would be nice to say that murder is murder, but it just isn't that simple.

That having been said, it sure would be nice if these paralegal textbooks carried more examples, and if the FRCP had a "plain English" translation alongside for rookies. But, they don't, and I have to fight off the desire to run screaming into the night rather than make sense of how to serve a summons.

It's going to be a looooong series of classes. Sure, it will be about 6 months, but it's going to feel long. (I wonder how that would be described in Legalese?)

Few and Far Between

Well, my efforts of keeping this blog going on a daily basis has hit a snag.  My English course at the local community college was no big problem.  However, adding the paralegal course has caused my time to be at a premium.  Therefore, I am going to have to return to "catch as catch can" on my postings.

I'll try to do it as often as I can.  Sorry for my inability to do more.

First Impressions

Well, I did it. I bought an iPhone. So, like everyone else, I'm going to give my first impressions of this expensive little toy.

First of all, it is sleek. When it is turned off, all you see is a silver frame around a pitch black screen. But when it is turned on, everything comes to life. The registration process with AT&T is easy, but I'm sure that it was easier on my iBook than it would be on a Windows PC. After the registration, syncing, restarting, syncing again, and disconnecting, I was ready to play.

I think the thing I liked most was the phone and contacts feature. Dialing the phone is simple, and adding and editing the phone contacts are incredibly easy. I was even able to add pictures to my contacts with just a touch. I had to use the pictures that I imported, but it's easy to import more. One of the cool things is that when you call up a photo to use for a contact, you can zoom in and crop the photo to look how you want. It is such an absolutely easy process that I want to add everyone right away!

The Safari browser is a bit slow using the Edge network, but it's great when you hook up via wi-fi. The iPod feature is nice, although a bit less intuitive than the iTunes program on my iBook.

One thing I didn't like is the inability to bring in .mp3 ringtones or use a song that's already in your iPod as a ringtone. You can go into iTunes and create and download a ringtone for 99 cents (which is far less expensive than it is to download one online through normal AT&T methods), but it still seems a bit unfair to charge me twice for the same song. I also have a short song I want to use as a ringtone, but the current methods don't allow for it. Come on, Apple! Don't you make enough money from the phone itself???

Another negative is the lack of voice dialing. Apple needs to add this feature, especially for those who use a bluetooth headset and need to dial while driving. With voice dialing, I don't even have to take a look at the phone.

Overall, my first impression is one of glee. I can tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with this phone. That is, if I can get my co-workers to quit asking to see it.

Needing Focus

Have you ever had something that you are supposed to do but have no real set schedule as to when it is supposed to be done? That is a real challenge for me, as I will procrastinate until the cows come home.

The problem is, this is no longer an option for me, at least for the next 26 weeks or so. I am currently completing a writing course, which ends in December, and as of this coming Monday, I am also going to be starting a fast-track paralegal course. Both of these classes are in addition to my spiritual and family responsibilities.

So what is the solution? It's especially tough for someone who has attention issues as I do. So, here is my plan based on what has worked for me recently:

1) Schedule everything. There can be no deviations. If part of an assignment, reading, writing, or studying is scheduled for a particular day, that task must be completed before bedtime.

2) Prioritize. Ideally, I should do this while making my schedules, but at times this might have to be done on the fly.

3) Celebrate the small victories. They are victories, you know. When a large assignment is done on time and my other activities haven't suffered, I need to treat myself somehow, whether it is with a particularly good cup of coffee or a day off.

4) Don't ignore my family and even rely on them. I have a wonderful wife who is a huge help and support. I can't be so proud that I turn down help from her. I also can't focus so much on my tasks that I forget that she is the most important human being in my life. I have good kids, too, who don't demand more than I can give. They need less attention now that they are older, but they still need my time and my praise from time to time.

5) Pray. 'Nuff said.

In the end, the only way I can finish these courses without going insane is to keep my eyes focused on the goals and the reasons for these efforts. If I do that, and I follow my own instructions, I may make it through the next six months with just a minor need for a lobotomy.

Pick Yourself Up...

OK...so my posts lost their regularity. I'm not going to let it get me down. Instead, I'm going to infuse a bit of literary Metamucil and try to get regular again.

I'm about 2 months away from getting my AA degree. That's 25 years after my high school graduation. Even though I berate myself for taking this long, I do feel good that I have finally accomplished something in this area. As such, my wife has told me that I deserve a graduation present. (Awwwwwww......cute.)

The problem here isn't that I don't deserve a present (which I don't think I do), but instead it is how to justify spending money on myself. I don't like to do this, because every time that I do I tend to buy something absolutely pointless. For example, a while ago I bought a Palm TX; a relatively useful item which I do use, though not as regularly as I once did. Still, it has served a purpose. I bought a Nintendo Wii. Useless, but I love it! (Geek alert!) I have my iPod, which I also use every day and I love it. (Level 2 Geek Alert!!) So what graduation gift do I have my greedy little eyes upon? An iPhone. Why? 'Cause it's so darn cool!! (We have achieved Nerdvana! Alert Dilbert writer Scott Adams!) The problem is the price. Even though it has dropped $200 since it was released, it's still $400 plus an extra $15 a month for internet fees. Lots of moolah.

Still, both my wife and son insist that I should get it as a gift for myself. Do I do it? As they say in the old cartoons, "I dood it!"

Nerds of the world unite!

Dealing With New Phones

My wife and son just got their new cell phones today.  They traded Sony Ericsson w600i phones for Razrs.  As soon as they saw them, they loved them.  Until...

Until they realized that even though they transferred their phone directories over via SIM card, they were going to have to "manipulate" them.  In so many words, they are going to have to fix the names and combine the home and cell phone numbers for single persons into single entries.

The phones aren't so much fun now.  sigh...I can't win for trying to do something nice.  I'm sure they'll love them again once everything is fixed.  But for now...

Another thing that cracks me up is that they just jumped right in to playing with the phones instead of reading the instructions first.  Thus, I became their walking, talking, pulling my hair out by the roots instruction book.

It's late.  I'm tired.  It's been a lousy couple of days at work.  I'm going to bed.  Honey, put your phone on silent, will you?  Oh...well check the instruction book on how it's done.

No Time To Blog

It's been one of those days at work. A day when I thought that every piece of equipment, every program, and every employee was out to get me and drive me nuts.

And I was right.

But seriously, it's been a day that I will be trying hard to forget, so I'm going to leave the blog alone today. That's life.

To any of you who are reading this blog, (I think it's just you, Asia), see you tomorrow.

AT&T Makes Things Right With Me

A couple of days ago I complained about AT&T and their website. As of this morning, my feelings had gotten even worse.

I went online to their upgrade site and clicked on the chat button. I tried to communicate my questions to the person on the other end, but the tech simply did a typical cut-and-paste response and didn't respond to any of my questions. Then, she ignored my follow-up postings and then closed the chat.

Annoyed as can be, I decided to try calling AT&T again, although my past discussions about the subject matter had been fruitless. (Yes, it does sound like I was banging my head against the wall.) However, lo and behold, I spoke with someone who actually heard what I was saying. She not only acknowledged the logic in my statements, but made things right! I now have the phones that I wanted for my son and wife on the way, and I have to say that AT&T Business Services showed a human side that many cell phone companies lack.

Before this, I had good experiences with this part of the company, and was distressed that suddenly things were not going as well, but my faith has been restored. I can hereby state that I am still a customer and will be so for another two years. Thanks AT&T. It's nice when something like this happens and a company shows appreciation for a loyal customer. (Now I just have to wait for a month or so and treat myself to an iPhone as a grad present!)

Sports Weekend

Lots of stuff went on this weekend. My blog...my opinions...so there.

Baseball - What a collapse! The Mets went down in flames and frankly, I'll shed no tears. Now if only the Yankees will go down, too. But who am I to brag? I like the Athletics!
I'm also kind of happy to see the Fuzzy Cubbies in the playoffs if for no other reason than to hopefully break the Bartman hatred. Maybe if the Cubs win, then Steve Bartman can come out of hiding. (Do you think some baseball fans take things waaaay too seriously?)
So, out of the teams that are still in it, I'll root (if I root at all) for the D-Backs in the National League (because I'm an Eric Byrnes fan) and the Indians in the A.L. (just because Cleveland could use a break.)

Football - Did anyone else think that the 49ers offensive line looked like a sieve? I'm not amazed that Alex Smith got injured. I am amazed that Trent Dilfer was still standing at the end of the game. Although he didn't do much to worry the Seahawks anyway. Truly a sad display, and I still wonder about Nolan's play calling from the sidelines.
Oakland won?? Oh...it was against Miami. Never mind. Still, it's kind of funny to see the Raiders at the top of the division with a 2 - 2 record. Lane Kiffin is probably going to get an earful from all those who said Daunte Culpepper should have been the starter from game 1.
Arizona beats Pittsburgh....bwah ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!!!
Chicago loses to Detroit .... bwah ha ha ha haaaaaaa!!! (Ouch! My side hurts from laughing too much!!!)

Basketball - The NBA is looking at Sacramento's Cal Expo for a place to build an arena. If it keeps the Kings in Sacramento, I'm all for it. However, to soothe the nerves of the citizens, they had better release a traffic plan that makes sense before they even release the plans for an arena itself. That area is already a nightmare, and an arena is going to make it far worse.
More on the Kings...does anyone else wonder what the heck Petrie is doing? This team looks like such a mixed up hodge-podge right now that I hear the NBADL is thinking of accepting the Kings as one of their teams. I have ZERO hopes for a playoff spot right now with the way the roster looks. Here's hoping the Mr. Petrie has a rabbit somewhere in his clothing if it isn't in his hat.

Poorly Thought Out Website

Today, I would like to tell you about frustration in its purest form.  That frustration revolves around the website of one AT&T Wireless.  I shall explain.

My contract with AT&T will be up in December.  Because of this, I can upgrade my phone or my family's phones at a discount.  So, I went to the website to attempt to do so.  There is a special going on that says if you upgrade to a particular Sony phone, you also get a Bluetooth headset for free.  Now, I tried to click on the link to upgrade my wife's phone.  It listed my name instead of hers.  So, I changed the name to hers.  OK.  Then, I clicked on that model phone, and it added the phone to the cart, but gave no place or information to add the headset.  Hmmm...time to chat with the company, but wait!...they are closed!  You can't even chat with someone from India!  Are you getting the picture?  I also wanted to upgrade my son's phone to get him one of the free Razrs but....they are sold out!  Yay!

You know, AT&T's network has been pretty good for me.  I have had very few problems with dropped calls and such.  But AT&T...your website bites!!!  You are a communications company, for goodness sakes!  Make your website more useful. 

I thank you.

Gettin' Sick of Being Sick...and of Sick People

Well, here I am on day 12 of being sick. Frankly, it's getting old. But you don't want to hear about that, do you? Neither do I.

I decided that today I was going to live up to the description of this blog and be opinionated. The opinions today are going to surround some of the legal issues that are being plastered all over the news. Yeah, I'm sure that you're sick of these cases, but I haven't commented on them and I want to.

OJ - How the mighty have fallen. He used to be such a talented football player and was making at least a little money in the movies. Then he decides to play "Juice the Ripper" and escapes the prison laundry. Now, he walks into a hotel room to, excuse me, steal back his own items? This guy needs more mental help than shock therapy can provide. Even if the stuff was his, it wasn't, as everything that has monetary value belongs to the Goldman family.

I do have one more question, though. Can he get a fair trial of impartial jurors? I think that any attorney would be worried that the jury would be trying to convict him for the murders rather than the robbery. Mistrial on its way, folks.

Michael Vick - Another footballer fallen by the wayside. I'm not going to comment on the dog fighting, as it is disgusting, no matter where you are from. I do want to comment on the latest bit of idiocy provided by Mr. Vick. How...HOW stupid is a person who smokes pot while on parole. Yeah, the judge in this case is going to feel a lot of sympathy for Vick. Now he is on house arrest with his ankle bracelet showing is location and is probably wondering why everyone is picking on him. Perhaps we should have seen this coming. Not because of the airport incident with the water bottle with the secret compartment, but just by checking the family tree; particularly the branch leading off to his thug of a brother. Sheesh.

Larry Craig - Oh, I just can't think about this one. It's so warped on so many different levels.

Brittney Spears - Here's another one that I can't think about. However, a group rate at rehab with Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie could probably save her some money, don't you think?

This is one twisted world we live in, isn't it?

Guilty Pleasures

We all have them; guilty pleasures in the area of reading material or viewing material that we really like but may be a bit embarrassed to admit that we like. Well, no more hiding. I am about to admit publicly some of my guilty pleasures in books and movies.

Books
Let me start with a series that I am currently reading. In fact, I'll list a couple by the same author. His name is Lawrence Block, and the two series are the Evan Tanner and Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Evan Tanner is the "Spy Who Couldn't Sleep". Without going into too much detail, Tanner took some shrapnel in the Korean War which destroyed the sleep center of his brain. He spends that extra time learning languages and writing doctorate thesis papers for paying students. He got roped into secret government work, and the books are about his adventures. To bring him to our day, Block had to use cryogenics. (You see why this is a guilty pleasure?) The Bernie Rhodenbarr series starts with "Burglars Can't Be Choosers", as Bernie is a burglar turned bookseller who can't give up his old profession. He frequently has to use his skills to get the cops off his case when he gets accused of other crimes. Both series are fun, even if they do stretch credibility a bit.

Other favorites include books by Christian Jacq (especially the Ramses series), Agatha Christie (go Poirot!), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock rules), and (here's the extremely guilty one) Pride and Prejudice.

Movies
Oh, man...I could go on for weeks about movies. I think I'll just list a bunch rather than go into details (in no particular order):
Support Your Local Sheriff
Clue
Real Genius
Airplane!
Hot Shots Part Deux
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Cats Don't Dance (animated and a salute to Gene Kelly)
Gigi
An American in Paris
Singin' In The Rain
Asterix: Mission Cleopatra (in French)

I must admit, I don't feel guilty about many of these...unless you count Cats Don't Dance and numerous other cartoons (Animaniacs, Cars, Incredibles, among others). Still, try some if you haven't seen them. And don't worry...I won't tell anyone.

Two Different Views of Gray

I was talking with my wife this morning, and she told me that she needs to find a stylist who can do highlights at a reasonable price. Knowing that she didn't mean those yellow pens that you use when studying, I asked why she thought she needed this done. Her response was that she is tired of all of her gray hair.

Let me describe the level of gray in my wife's hair...maybe...MAYBE 1 - 3 %. I have far more gray than she does. But I have no desire to get highlights done or anything of that nature. Heck, I'm just glad that I still HAVE hair, but even these allies are deserting me quickly.

The Bible links gray hair with wisdom and glory. But in terms of human ego, gray represents something very different. Oh sure, many women will say that gray hair makes a man look distinguished. If that's so, why is Walt Frazier advertising Just For Men hair coloring? They are trying to convince us guys that we can't attract women unless we color our gray and make it brownish-orangeish color. No thanks.

But women see gray hair in themselves as a sign of old age. The first gray hair results in depression and mourning over lost youth. And men tend to view women with gray hair in a similar manner. Why? Why this form of discrimination? I don't have an answer to that.

Thankfully, "Madison Avenue", the world of advertisers, is starting to use some very attractive gray headed women in commercials. Maybe this can help to break the stigma.

Almost all of us get gray eventually, except for a few really freaky people who keep their color and I despise them horribly. Maybe someday, as long as gray hair still exists, we will see it as the Bible does and think how distinguished women look with that color as well.

Too Tired

This is a sort of substitute post for today.  I had to take my wife down for biometric scanning today.  It went very quickly, so props to the USCIS for that arrangement.

Anyway, I have a meeting at 7:30 tonight, and I think I need a nap.  Old age must be creeping up on me.

So, let's count this as a post and try to do better tomorrow, shall we?  We shall.

When You Can't Think of What To Write...

Wow. I've been doing pretty well in keeping this blog going. Six days out of seven each week isn't bad. But I find that on certain days that I have brain clog. I just can't think of a topic. I suppose I could try some "creative writing - fiction", but I'm doing enough of that for my English class. Frankly, fiction isn't my best genre. It's on days like this that I tend to rant, so why break the mold?

I find that I have given my wife the "gift that keeps on giving". Yes, as sick as I was last week, I decided to share the sickness with my loving spouse. I told her that I should have slept on the couch but no, she wouldn't hear of it. Because of her generosity and love, now she is sniffling and coughing like I was. What's the moral of the story? Wives, if your husband offers to sleep on the couch when he is sick, accept it as an act of love. Frankly, it's also a bit of selfishness on our part because we know that when you're out of action, nothing gets done around the house. Okay, that may sound chauvinistic, but I only say it because I know how lame I am at cleaning and cooking. (Take out food, anyone?)

Rant the second...the San Francisco 49ers are overrated. I think I said something about this last week, but after watching part of the game against the Steelers, I feel justified in my statement. Alex Smith, congrats on being the number one pick a couple of years ago, but you are NOT good enough to be a starter. Sorry.

Rant the third...Thanks to Asia for being, as far as I know, the only reader of this blog. She is the only one who comments, so I have to assume that she is the only one that reads it. I appreciate it, Asia.

Rant the fourth...To all residents of Sacramento, California: Does anyone else think that Cal Expo would be an absolutely horrible place for an NBA arena? Can you say "traffic nightmare"? (I knew you could.)

Final rant...Why do parents give their kids names that they are going to hate or hate dealing with all their lives? For example, they spell names differently for the sake of being different. Let's take an imaginary (I mean it...it's imaginary) example. John and Joan want to name their baby daughter Jane, but instead of spelling it "J-a-n-e" they decide they want to be different and spell it "J-a-i-n-e". As the child grows up, she will have to correct pronunciations and spellings just because the parents wanted to be different. People, please consider things such as this and other things such as sources of teasing. Being unique is fine, we are all unique. But when you clamp a ball and chain of a bizarre or too-different name on your child, you aren't stressing uniqueness. You're saying, "Yes, please, tease my child. It will be good for her." Trust me; it isn't.

Digital Cable

You know the old jokes about 100 channels and nothing on?  Like Frankenstein's monster, "They live!!!"  

We recently upgraded from analog cable to digital cable.  Cool, right?  Indeed, there are some benefits.  We now have Turner Classic Movies, which makes American Movie Classics look cheap.  TCM does have the classics, particularly the old MGM collection.  We also have (because we coughed up an extra $10 per month) TV5, which is the French television network.  For those of you who have read earlier columns, you know that my wife is French, so we are glad to have shows in her native language.

There are some other cool channels.  The History Channel International is nice, as is the Sci-Fi channel.  BBC America is an awesome addition.  But other than those?  Bleah!  A whole lot of crud, garbage, poubelle, etc., etc.  But the joke has to be changed.  Now, we have to say that we have 500 channels and there is nothing on!  Sheesh.  TV - off...book - in hand...time to read.

Waitin' On The Comcast

I am now taking part in a ritual that all homeowners or renters go through at one point in their lives or another.  It is a ritual that all can identify with and empathize with.  It is the waiting game.  It may be experienced with a phone company, a cable company, or an electric company, but it will be experienced.

Many moons ago, you were given a 9 hour window in which the technician was promised to arrive.  "He'll be there Tuesday."  

"When on Tuesday?"

"Some time between 8 and 5."

"Can you be a bit more precise?"

"Some time between 8:01 and 4:59."

"Thanks a heap."

Ah, but thank goodness for progress.  Yesterday, I came home to my phone answering machine reminding me of my service appointment with my local cable company.

"Your service appointment is scheduled between noon and 5 p.m. tomorrow.  Please call us if you have any questions." This has been a recording.

You see?  Progress!  The nine hour window has been reduced to five hours!  Just think!  Ten years from now it will be 3 hours!  I don't know about you, but I'm psyched!

Sports Day

It's that time again! Time for my random rants on sports.

Basketball - Each time I look at the Sacramento Kings' roster I scratch my head and wonder. How in the heck did we get into this mess? I won't go into details, or this wouldn't be a short rant. Nonetheless, what are the chances that we can get rid of everyone except for Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia...and that's it?
AK-47 (Andre Kirilenko) wants out of Utah, and, of course, Kings fans wonder if we could get him here. Personally, I'd love to have him here, but I just don't see how it could work. But I'm sure going to keep my eye on www.sactownroyalty.com for the latest news and opinions. Just think how much Sacramento's Russian population would go for this trade!

Baseball - To Marc Ecko, the man who bought Barry Bonds' record breaking baseball: Can you please be a bit more self-serving and self-righteous? I would be curious, however, how you plan to get that baseball into space. Do you really have so much money to waste on these things? Feed the poor, plant some trees, do something useful!

Football - Fans crack me up sometimes. The Raiders are 0 - 2 and the haters are pulling the plug on the entire season. The 49ers are 2 - 0 and bandwagonneers are ready to anoint them the rulers of the NFC West. Both teams have looked mediocre at best, and it's only been two games! Calm down, will ya?

Three Cheers for the River Cats! - The Sacramento River Cats just won the Triple-A championship. And that's with more call-ups and roster changes than one can even imagine. That says a lot about the players, the coaches, and the fans who supported the team. Way to go, guys! You rock!

TheraFlu Rules

Still sick today, and have already had to write a lot for my creative writing course.  Thus, no big blog commentary again today.

Yet, I do have to write something, per my self-imposed instructions.  Thus, today I sing the praises of TheraFlu daytime formula.  Man, does anything work better to get a person through the day when he's sick?  Not that I've found.  I do have some advice for those who want to use it.  First, daytime formula only.  The others are almost undrinkable.  Second, use very hot water and finish drinking the concoction before it gets lukewarm.  The hotter the better and the less gagging.  Finally, whenever possible, add honey. 

That's all, and that's all I have to say today.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Sick Tuesday

I'm not feeling too well today, so here's just a few random thoughts.

Is O.J. Simpson evil, deranged, sick, stupid, or all of the above?

I like how Jeff Foxworthy describes the side effects of medicines. He lists everything from diarrhea to low credit ratings. It's funny, but it's true. I looked up the side effects of a medicine that my doctor prescribed for cluster headaches. Thanks, but I think I'll just suffer. Sheesh.

It used to be that women looked at the inner man when choosing a partner while the man looked at the outer woman. Studies have shown that to be true. But does anyone else think that young women are becoming just as shallow as men? What does that say about society?

Being sick stinks on ice.

That's all. Just wanted to post before my brain completely seizes up like an engine without motor oil.