Sweating To The Surreal

In lieu of actual content, I ran across this video and wanted to post it for your consideration:




Please feel free to leave your "WTF?!?" comments after viewing.
I'm still scratching my head about this one as well.

Welcome Spring

Not that this past Winter was as rough as the previous 2 or 3 years, but at last it's over with and Spring has arrived.

Let's see I think the poem goes likes this:
"Spring has sprung, the grass has rizz,
I wonder where da flowers is?"

Anyway, I thought we should send Winter off and welcome Spring with a nice, mellow song by Louis Armstrong as he performs "What A Wonderful World"..... the Death Metal version.

(Not) Bathroom Humor

Over the course of the past weekend, I got to visit a bunch of different public restrooms.
Mostly at hotels, but also at the airport and a couple of restaurants.
Although they were different places and each one had a different "atmosphere" to it, one thing was common among all of them:
People who didn't flush after they were finished.

It's not just this past weekend either.
I'm seeing it happen practically everywhere I go to.... well, er... "go".

What is the frickin' deal with this?!?
Are people so proud of their 'work' that they feel compelled to share it with others?
Or have people just grown so lazy that something as simple, and DECENT, as flushing a toilet has become too much work for them?

Technology has advanced at an alarming rate in recent years; phones that fit in our pockets, televisions that are almost as thin as a deck of cards, and whole libraries of music that can be carried with you on a stick about the size of a piece of chewing gum just to name a few.
Some of it has been great and a real boon to modern society, while others have only made bad things happen faster and easier for people.
One thing that technology has brought us is the self-flushing toilet.

If people are so proud of their "performance art" that they wish to share it with the world, I think they should take a picture (after all, it lasts longer) and start their own "Poop Blog" so they can share it with the world.
Or if people have become so lazy that the simple act of pushing a button has become hard work, well now they have an even better excuse to not put out the effort.

With the economy in the "crapper", so to speak, I believe it would be in our best interests if the government were to fund installing these self-flushing toilets across America.
It would provide local jobs for people, thereby generating revenue, and make things a much more pleasant experience for people just trying to relieve themselves.

I hate using public restrooms as it is, but when you have the added 'bonus' of witnessing someone else's lunch from the day before, it makes me want to just set the place on fire to cleanse it.

Anyway, that's my 2-cent rant for the day.
You can go back to doing what you were doing before.
I'll be in the bathroom. Reading.

Emerald City Comic Con - 2010

Another year, another comic convention here in the great metropolis of Seattle.

This show was the biggest ever, in terms of not only the guest list but also the sheer number of people who attended it.

There is just w-a-y to much to cover in this post, so I will simply touch on a few of the high-points of my weekend.

Friday morning started early... like 3:50 a.m. early!.... as I woke up 'cause I couldn't sleep anymore. I had to be up to catch a ride to Seattle so I could check into the hotel, then it was off to the airport to greet guests as they arrived.

I was at the airport with the Maimed Man from around 9:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m.

We worked in tandem: he kept an eye on the flights and which baggage claim to meet them at, while I coordinated with the drivers outside and gave the guests their show packets. It was a great system and went very smoothly with both of us there.

We met a lot of the guests, including (but certainly not limited to) Erin Gray, Lou Ferrigno, and Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!

I also got to meet Terry Moore & his wife Robyn as they arrived. They remembered me and gave me hugs to say "hello".

It was a long day and very tiring, but after leaving to come back to the hotel we then went out to dinner with a bunch of the other ECCC volunteers.

Saturday morning, I got up early again and started taking my stuff over to the convention center so I didn't have to lug it there at the last minute.

It was about 6:30 a.m. when I walked up to registration and there was already a line of people waiting to get in. (The show didn't open until 10:00 and they still had 3-1/2 hours to go)

Then I got some breakfast at the Dragonfish with C. Burnham before going back to the convention center for the day.

People were still setting up their booths right until the time the doors were opened for the attendees.

I made my way around the show floor getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Then 10:00 rolled around and the people started pouring in.... literally!

Here's a pic of the crowd right before the doors opened:

And here's what it looked like on the inside just a few seconds after they opened:

There were three main places that people were making a beeline towards.

One was to get in line to meet Stan Lee.

Another to meet Leonard Nimoy.

And the third was at the opposite end of the building to meet Geoff Johns.

Those three areas quickly became a mass of bodies and chaos.

It took some wrangling, but eventually we got volunteers to manage those areas as best as possible.

As for the show floor, it was PACKED!

So much so that I had a difficult time getting around from place to place.

Still, I managed to weave through the crowd and make my way to the guests and bring them stuff they were asking for.

I ended up at the end of the day with blisters on two of my left toes and I was sore all over just maneuvering through the crowd and being on my feet all day.

Originally there was to be a "meet-and-greet" with Stan Lee right before the show opened for a few of us volunteers, but Stan got the the show floor too late for it to happen and then his line was overwhelming. I asked a couple of the promoters if there was even a chance of getting to see him, but it looked doubtful. So I gave up on my dream of getting to have my picture taken with him.*

I was busy the entire 8 hours of the show (not to mention being there a few hours early), but finally it was 6:00 and everybody was shooshed out for the evening.

A bunch of volunteers met up for dinner, but I went out with a friend and we met up with some of the comic writers from the show.

Along the way, I ran into Filip Sablik (the publisher at Top Cow) and Steve Rolston among others.

I was having a good time, but the evening began to catch up to me and I began to fade. So I bid them all a good night and headed back to my hotel room to try and sleep.

Sunday morning came and I got up later than I expected.

In fact, I had just enough time to take a quick shower before getting to the convention center and had to skip breakfast.

On my way, I was carrying an ice cooler on one shoulder and talking to my mom (who came for the show) with my other hand. The guy in front of me was nice enough to open the door and hold it for me so I could get in. It turned out to be none other than Joe Quesada! The Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics!

I showed my mom and her husband around for a bit, and then I had to get busy as the doors were about to open again for the second day of the show.

Day two is always (THANKFULLY!!!) a bit slower, and I managed to meet a few new people and find out more about the books or art they were selling. I also was able to get a couple of sketches I'd been hoping to get this year and I picked up some new books to read.

The day went a lot easier with fewer attendees on the show floor, but my blisters from the day before began giving me trouble. I wrapped up each toe with a band-aid and continued to power on for the day.

As it drew closer to the end of the day, the crowds started to die down and people started to get their stuff ready to pack up.

Over the intercom speakers, they announced that this year's show was the biggest ever with over 14,000 people having attended it! (Although, I heard a little later that the number might have even been larger... so once I get the final total I'll let you all know)

The post-show dinner party took place across the street about an hour and a half later.

Hotness & I showed up a few minutes apart but mingled for a bit and then ended up sitting at different tables.

Since she works with the media guests, she tends to hang out with a lot of the volunteers from that group.

I am usually working with the comic book professionals, so I always end-up sitting with them at dinner and catching up.

After a couple of hours, they kicked us out of the resteraunt and sent us downstairs to hang out in the bar. Aaron Douglas (who was a guest at this and last year's shows) showed up and goofed off for a bit with all of us.

Then we headed out to another resteraunt for a few drinks and nibbles before settling down for the night.

We stayed at the hotel an extra night, so it was nice not having to rush home after staying out late the night before.

I got up Monday morning and had breakfast, then after Hotness woke up I took her to get something to eat.

There were a few guests in the hotel lobby when we got back and I got to speak with them and introduce them to Hotness.

Among them: Tim Bradstreet and Mark Texeira, both of whom Hotness has always enjoyed art they have done.

We finally headed back up to the room and packed up our stuff and made the drive back home.

It was a long, but very fun and eventful, weekend.

Much more so than last year's. (I was fighting off a cold last year, and by the end of the show I had no voice left and could barely walk anymore)

I'm resting up and looking forward to my trip to Calgary in a little over a month.

Lots of cool stuff happening then and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

* Oh yeah.

I had given up on ever meeting Stan Lee, when at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday I got a text message that said: "Hustle your butt down to the photo booth right away!"

I got there and found out that I was going to get the chance to have my picture taken with Stan after all!

Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I did get to shake his hand and tell him what an honor it was to meet a legend like himself. Then 3 seconds later, our picture was taken and I was out of there and back on the floor helping guests.

The photo printer broke down during the show and I was not able to get my picture before the convention ended. Luckily I know the photographer and will be getting it in the mail soon, though.

So.... About That Wedding

I figured out a way to get online at the house. Not sure how or why exactly, but why look a gift horse in the mouth. I'll make use of it while I can.

Back to our previous topic: The wedding.

Hotness and I had planned on having a "Vegas Wedding". We didn't want to deal with finding a place out here and getting all that kind of planning together. Besides, something non-traditional seemed like "us".
However, the best laid plans never work out the way you want them to, so we ended up having to compromise.
Without a steady job to pay for tickets to Vegas (and not wanting to dip into what money I do have), Hotness thought we should have the wedding here at home.

She asked a friend of hers if they would mind letting us use their house for the ceremony and reception. They live quite a ways out in Preston, WA in a H-U-G-E house with tall windows that look out into the woods. (See picture below)
The living room was just the right size for a small group of friends and family to sit comfortably and share our day.

The minister she wanted to have was a friend's dad, and she called to see if there was any way he could make it up here to marry us. He currently lives in California, but has known Hotness since grade school and said "I'll be there. I wouldn't miss it

Hotness's brother had recently returned home from a several-months-long European trip (after having flown back-and-forth from Hawaii to Montana during their mom's illness), so he really wasn't in a financial position to come back out on ANOTHER flight right away.
Then, a few days before the wedding, he & I talked for a bit and then he said, "It's my sister's wedding. How many times am I going to get to see that? I'll be out there for it!"
We decided to keep it a secret from Hotness until the day of the wedding.
He took care of the flight and I just needed to figure out a ride from the airport and a place to stay for the night once he got in.
My friend Imperfect had recently come home from a family vacation in Florida, and had the house to himself while his wife and kids were still away. He said he wouldn't mind picking up her brother and letting him stay at the house since it was pretty much empty at the time.
So now we had that taken care of.

On the day of the wedding, Hotness got up and left to get her hair and makeup done while I got my suit and stuff together.
I headed over to Imperfect's place to check on Hotness's brother and go over a few last minute things with Imperfect.
Hotness called while I was there to say that she was already done and headed to the house where the wedding would take place.
This was much earlier than I planned on, so her brother and I left right away to get there before she did.
She beat us there by only a couple of minutes, and was out near the road tying balloons to the mailbox so people could find us.
As we got closer, her brother ducked down in the car so she wouldn't see him and then jumped out (after I slowed down, of course) to surprise her.
There were lots of squeals, smiles and hugs as told her "SURPRISE!"

After that, I went inside to get some of the food ready for the reception.
There wasn't much to do, but it was still too early to get dressed in my suit so it filled my time as people started showing up.

An hour before the wedding was to start, the minister took us aside to go over the vows and what was to take place.
Then 15 minutes before the wedding I went to get changed.
At 2:00 p.m. everybody was sat down in their seat, the music started and the wedding began.

It couldn't have turned into a more perfect day.
The sun was shining and it was coming into the house through the big windows we stood in front of.
Hotness's brother walked her down the aisle.
My mom and her husband came out and she made our wedding cake for us.

After a brief ceremony, we exchanged vows and the minister then pronounced us "Husband & Wife".
We walked down the aisle together as "You're My Best Friend" by QUEEN played on.

Everybody soon joined us in the next room where we thanked them all for coming and to please enjoy themselves to food.

We took a few pictures and then it was time to cut the cake.
I'm not a fan of "smooshing" the cake at weddings. The bride spends all day getting ready and trying to look nice for the biggest of "big days" and then you go and stuff cake in her face? I think not.
Instead, we took small forkfuls and ate them without a lot of fuss.

After that, we mingled a bit to make sure everybody had been introduced to everyone else.
Then it was time for us to sign the wedding certificate.

We mingled and talked for a while longer, then as it started getting late and everyone was heading home, Hotness, myself and a few others went to get dinner together.

So that's the gyst of it.
Here are a few pictures of the day:
I decorated the entry way with pictures of us at various stages of our lives. To the left were pictures of Hotness as a baby, child, teenager and an adult. To the right were pictures of me as well.
In the middle were pictures of us through the years that we've been together.


The big windows as the sun shined in during the vows, and our first kiss to "seal the deal" as a wedded couple.


The cake my mom made, as well as some of the food that was served.
My mom and I both made all the food for the reception.

Preparing to cut the cake. Notice Hotness's look of eagerness. (Should I be worried?)

Then our first bites together.

Signing the marriage certificate

A view of the back of Hotness's wedding dress.

Myself, Hotness, G-rod and Liz.

My new brother-in-law, Hotness, and myself

The newly wedded couple!

Post-wedding, Hotness is trying to earn back some cash to help pay for the wedding.

Since we weren't able to have all the people we wanted at our wedding, our plan is to have a B-I-G reception at a later date (hopefully this spring or summer) and invite everyone to it.

We really wanted to share our day with all our friends and family and by having another reception later we can include them all.

While our internet is working I'll try to post some more recent things, but we'll see how things go.

Thanks for your patience.

"We're Experiencing Techincal Difficulties"

UPDATE:
Yes, Hotness and I are officially married now.
I've been trying to post about it, but our satellite internet connection at the house has gone out and we don't know when it's going to be repaired. We are scheduling a technician to come out soon, but until they get there we do not have access to the interwebs.

As a result, there is no "wedding update with pictures" to post.
I'm using a friend's computer right now, just so ya'll wouldn't think I'd forgotten about you.

I promise to post as soon as I can and give the rundown on everything, but until then this "mini-post" will have to suffice.

Sorry for the delay. I'll try to get back soon.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something "Blu"

With the wedding coming up shortly, things are beginning to take shape.
I made Hotness's bridal bouquet and I'm taking care of the music.
I also need to get some appetizers whipped up (I have the stuff for one, but still trying to decide on what the other will be), and I'm working on the decorations... although we aren't going crazy with that. Just something to make the place look more "wedding-like".

I have my suit all ready and Hotness picked up her dress last weekend, so those are out of the way.

This is our last weekend to "take it easy", as next weekend will begin the final hours to the event.
Friday night we have a wedding shower to go to. Saturday night is the ballet. Sunday I will be getting the chairs and dropping off the decorations. Monday I'll be getting the appetizers made and setting up the chairs and decorations I dropped off earlier. Tuesday will be... let's see... um....
Oh yeah! The actual wedding.

As the day approaches, we have been asked by different people, "What would we like to have as a wedding gift?"
Hotness and I have different opinions about this.
I feel that we really don't need anything, as we've been together for so long and already have the things we need. Plus, with the economy the way it is, I don't want people to feel they HAVE to spend money on us.
Hotness feels that if people would like to get presents, we should let them. Some people really want to express their happiness for us by getting us a gift, so we shouldn't stop them and make them feel unappreciated.
So we're basically leaving it up to the individual as to whether they want to buy a gift, but it's certainly not necessary.

Now, having said that, we received our first wedding gift in the mail on Friday.
It was from my good friend Imperfect and his wife.
They got us a Blu-ray disc player!

I've been on the fence about getting one.
I was perfectly happy with the DVD player we currently had and didn't see the need for spending more money to upgrade just yet. But on the other hand, I did have a nice, new HDTV that wasn't living up to it's full potential and with Blu-ray discs being released at lower prices than standard DVDs, it was beginning to sway me over.

I would've been happy to wait until our wedding day to open their present, but due to some packaging SNAFUs, we decided to open it early.
We opened the box and... TAA-DAA!!! A beautiful, Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player was inside!
So yesterday, I made a trip down south to Fry's to pick up the HDMI cable (and a Blu-ray disc, 'cause... Heck! Why not?) as well as some LAN cable to connect it to the interwebs.

I got back home and proceeded to hook it all up.
There was an update for the firmware, so I took care of that right away and then afterwards I went about setting up the adjustments (i.e. video output, audio, brightness, on screen language, etc...).

Unfortunately, my surround sound DVD player did not have an HDMI input.
That would have been the best option. So instead, I had to use regular co-axial plugs.
But to be totally honest, I can't see that it makes a bunch of difference to my ears. My "home theater" isn't that big and my ears aren't that discerning when it comes to sound. So I'm happy it works.
I did have HDMI inputs on the TV, so I plugged the Blu-ray player directly into it.

Then I went and tried out a few standard DVDs to see if the picture quality was any better.
I noticed it was a bit sharper, but almost a bit "over compensating", so I'll have to tweak the settings a bit more (or just use the regular DVD player).

Then I put in the new disc I bought. I got "The Blue Man Group: How To Be A Megastar Live!"
This had special significance on a couple of levels.
First: Being our first "Blu-ray" disc, why not get the "Blue Man Group"?
And Second: This was the same concert tour I went to see with Imperfect a few years back, and since he got us the player it seemed appropriate.
This was by far a H-U-G-E difference in visual quality. I really didn't expect it to be, but I was amazed. Even Hotness said "Wow, that's really clear and what an amazing picture!".
So I'm totally glad to have it have it and especially happy that they got us such a nice gift.
Thank you both again!

In other news....
Nothing new to report in the job-search, although I hope to have something exciting to say in the not-to-distant future.

The Emerald City Comic Con is only a few weeks away. I'm excited and nervous at the same time for it to happen. There are so many cool new guests (Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy) and awesome returning guests (Terry Moore, Whilce Portacio). It's also expected to be the BIGGEST show yet, which means there's going to be a LOT of hard work to do while it's happening.
Last year was a tough one, so hopefully this year we'll be better prepared. Hotness and I are sharing a hotel room for three nights (instead of two, like in previous years), so that'll help in not having to travel back right away after the second day of the show. We can relax one evening and take our time leaving on Monday.

Babysitting is still happening quite a bit and despite catching the occasional "bug" from the kids, has been a lot of fun. Being "Uncle Ferretnick" is a blast.

Well, that catches us up again for now.
I apologize for the sparse postings, but until something happens that's worth "blogging" about, I tend to just let things slide on here.
With the wedding and conventions coming up I should have more to talk about.

Ya'll be good now!

A Pirate Looks A Forty

Last week I turned 40.
I wasn't all "I'm having a mid-life crisis" about it, but still.... 40 years old.
That's twice as old as 20 and in some ways I don't feel any wiser than I did back then, only older.

Anyway, to mark the occasion, I wanted to have a "pirate-themed" birthday party at the Comic Stop with all my friends to celebrate.

(I was listening to Jimmy Buffet's song "A Pirate Looks At Forty" and thought that was kind of appropriate for me considering my penchant for acquiring music and such. *wink wink*)

My buddy Imperfect also has his birthday on the same day as mine, so we went to IXTAPA in town and had lunch together.

He mentioned to the restaurant owner that it was my birthday, to which I added that it was also his. The owner asked which of us was the younger, and we told him it was me.

So, after we were finished with our meals (which were muy bueno, by the way), he came over to us with two sombreros and two bowls of fried ice-cream for us, while he and a few of the waitstaff sang us "Happy Birthday".

Here we are, as the goofballs we tend to be:

Anyway, back to the party....

Hotness was busy with work and getting stuff ready for the wedding, so she delegated the party responsibilities to other capable hands.

It was supposed to be a surprise party, but since it was originally my idea and I'd only been talking about it all year, it wasn't much of a "surprise". Especially since I had to carry a cooler into the comic store that night of my birthday. (Hmmm... suspicious?)

Still, I was greeted with a loud "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" when I walked into the back and they turned on the lights.

The party was fun and it was a nice way to turn "middle-aged", even if I did look like a dork for the duration.

Here are some pics for ya:

I really didn't expect gifts, as it wasn't my intention for having a birthday get-together, but I got some pretty nifty swag nevertheless.

I got a few gift cards for iTunes and Target. A got a limited edition Mighty Mugg of Peter Parker with his "Spidey senses" going off. (Way cool!)

And I got a book that I had on my Christmas list (but Hotness wasn't able to find) called "The Supergirls".

The party didn't last too terribly long, but it was fun while it lasted.

-----------------------

On Saturday we met up with Dr. Zoltar and his lovely assistant to see their baby. (I'd actually gotten to see her a couple weeks earlier, but Hotness hadn't yet)

Then that evening we went to help celebrate 2.0's girlfriend's birthday. (She doesn't have a 'nickname', so I'll call her GF2.0)

-----------------------

Sunday was our second opera for this season and it promised to be a doozy!

It was "Il Trovatore", and it had just about everything you could want in an opera.

There was fighting, murder, love, kidnapping, curses, vengeance, gypsies and the popular "Anvil Chorus".

We were joined by GF2.0, who wasn't able to make it in time to get her seat for the first act, so she had to watch it in the lobby on the screens.

During intermission we caught up with her and we all got our seats for the second act.

Then, she left to head back home while Hotness and I went to... where else?... Pomodoro for dinner after the show.

Yum-yum-yummy, as always!

Overall it was a great birthday weekend and made turning 40 into a "not-so-bad" event.

Wedding Planning

Well, back to the blog again.

After proposing and getting engaged almost a year ago, I tried to come up with ideas for the wedding (what to wear, where to have it, when to have it, etc...).
I wasn't met with resistance by Hotness, but rather benign indifference. Nothing seemed like a bad idea, but it all seemed like it could be taken care of later.
So after a few weeks of trying to come up with ideas, I gave up and put it on the back burner until she wanted to sit down together and plan for it.

Nothing, other than talking about going to Las Vegas, was ever really discussed.... until about 2 weeks ago.
That was when Hotness dropped her wedding plans on me. And only 1 month before she wanted to make them happen.

She thought I was upset at first, but really all it turned out to be was that I was totally unaware of what she wanted to do until that moment.
So in one fell swoop I got the lowdown on what she wanted to do and the steps she'd already taken to make them a reality.
I was a bit speechless.
I didn't know that she was planning ANYTHING, and now I'm having to rush around and get stuff together to make it happen in less than a month.

It's not all that bad though.
I got my outfit already picked out, and last Saturday we found a dress for her that not only looks great, but totally suits her.
So those two things are taken care of.
This afternoon, we'll be heading out to pick up the marriage license.

Other than that, we're planning a very small, intimate wedding.
So right now, we're in the process of trying to get invitations made up so we can get them sent out as soon as possible.

In fact, we're not even planning on a real reception for afterwards because we'll have so few people there.
The reception we want to have will be much more elaborate so that we can share it with all our friends. But right now, we're not even sure when that will be. Originally Hotness wanted to have it on the anniversary of when I proposed, but it turns out that that's on the weekend of the Emerald City Comic Con. I'm cool with that, but for some reason she says "no". Then in April, I'll be gone for Calgary Expo again.
So for right now, that event is up in the air until we can find a time (and a place) to have it.

In the meantime, I'm just kind of in a fog.
My birthday is coming up and we're sort of 'half-way' to the wedding, so everything just seems kind of surreal right now. I know things are going to happen, but they aren't happening "right now".

I'm kind of rambling, aren't I?
Yeah, okay. Onto other subjects...

I went and saw "Avatar" the other day.
It was in 3-D and I was afraid that I might get motion sickness (as I'm prone to do at movies lately), so I dosed up on Dramamine.
What an incredible movie. And the 3-D only made it better.
I think if I'm going to get a Blu-ray player in the near future, THIS will be the movie that tips the scales in favor of doing it.

What else? Hmmm...
Oh yeah!
I TOTALLY geeked out yesterday when I found out that Stan "The Man" Lee would be coming to ECCC this year!
I only have to real goals in life, and in the grand scheme of things they are within reason.
1) To meet and get a picture taken with Weird Al Yankovic
2) To meet and get a picture taken with Stan Lee.
Looks like I can cross one of those off my list real soon! (and if anybody can help make that first one a reality, please let me know!)

I'd like to say I have a whole bunch of other stuff to talk (or rather, "blog") about, but I don't.
No news on the job search other than I haven't heard back from anybody.
Nobody has called me to even set up an interview. I'm still sending out job apps and my resume, and all I'll hearing back is the sound of crickets chirping.
I'm not depressed, but it does get a bit discouraging after a while.

I'll probably have more to talk about after this weekend.
My birthday is coming up and on Sunday Hotness and I are going to the opera (our second one for the season).
I should have SOMETHING to talk about again by then.

So Yeah.... 2010. Yippee.

2009 has gone out with a whimper it seems.
It had it's ups-and-downs (mostly downs) but I really can't think of last year as being anything spectacular. Just another milestone on the road of life.

Oh sure, we got a new President. That was new and a high-point for the year.
Everybody was all excited to see fresh, new blood move into the White House and take command. But where's that enthusiasm now?

Hotness and I got engaged last year. Another high-point.
But with money being tight, we really can't have the wedding we'd been planning to have.

Two good friends and myself lost their jobs last year.
Luckily the two of them were able to find work and I *might* have something lined up soon, but still... losing your job isn't exactly the most exciting thing to experience with an economy in the toilet like it is.

No, 2009 will not be a memorable year for me other than to say "Oh yeah, THAT happened".

Now with 2010 upon us, I get to look forward to hitting the 40 year mark.

I do have a lot to be thankful for, actually.
I have some very amazing, supportive friends. I'm no longer working at a place I didn't enjoy being at. I'm going to get married soon. I still have a roof over my head.
But overall, I just don't feel all that excited about this new year.
Maybe it's the grey weather outside. Maybe it's that I've been sort of cooped up in the house a lot lately. I don't know.

I realize I'm only three days into it so far, and I should really give it a chance to prove itself.
But today... I just don't feel the love for it.

Livin' Large

Yeesh!
Almost a whole has gone by without any new posts.
I'd like to say I've just been too busy, but the reality is only partially true.
I have been busy but not enough to prevent me from blogging.

What's been happening?

Well, I'm still searching for a job. Lots of resumes sent out but nobody has called back.

I did have an interview, but it turned out to not be for a job directly. It was a 'job placement service' and they called me in to get more information regarding my work history. I think the interview went well, but I haven't heard anything from them since.

Been doing a lot of babysitting and I just recently house-sat for our neighbor last weekend.

Other than that....? Not much.

So see, really nothing exciting to blog about.
------------------------------------------------

I did make a major upgrade in our house a few days ago.

I was out shopping with G-rod the other day and noticed a flat screen LCD TV on sale for the holidays.
I've been wanting to upgrade from our old 29" clunker for a while, but I've been waiting for a good price drop on the new flat screen HDTVs before I made the switch.

This one was marked down $200 from the original price and seemed to have everything I was looking for in a new TV.

I asked G his opinion and he thought it was a great deal as well, especially the price.

So I came home and talked it over with Hotness and did some research online to get reviews and price comparisons before making a purchase.

Almost all the reviews I read were positive (and the few negative ones were really petty complaints) and the prices I found online for it were about the same as the non-sale price I'd seen, so overall it looked to be a good buy.
I decided... "This is it".

It's a SONY Bravia 40" LCD HDTV.

To make a very long story short, there were a few mishaps in trying to locate a store that still had stock on this TV while it was on sale but after some dogged perseverance I managed to succeed in my goal of finding one.
I even manged to get it for LESS than the advertised sale price so... BONUS!!!

I loaded it into my car (which was a feat unto itself... take a look at the pictures)


and brought it home to hook it up.

One of the reasons I liked this TV was it had a lot of different types of inputs for various cables.
My DVD player used an S-cable and this TV was one of the few styles I found that had an input for that.
So after I got home and took it out of the box, it was plugged in and I was watching movies on it within 20 minutes.

I'm loving this new TV and do not regret buying it at all.
I've been going over scenes from different movies just to watch how they look on the new screen.

With the surround sound system I acquired not long ago, I feel like I'm starting to catch up with the 21st Century finally.

As for my older 29" television, I gave it to my aunt to replace her tiny, little 13" TV.
(Yeah, people still have some of those!)
So everybody's happy and watching programs on bigger screens now.

I recently bought the "Ultimate Cut of Watchmen", and I'm looking forward to spending the better part of 4 hours watching it on hi-def and surround sound. Probably today since I don't have any other plans to speak of.

The rest of this week will be filled with playing Heroclix with a friend's kids, more babysitting and... something else I forget. (Aw c'mon! I know it Christmas this Friday!)

I don't know when I'll get back to this blog, so in the meantime have a great Christmas and hopefully you have your shopping finished.

Be talking again (hopefully) soon.....

Das Krümelmonster sagt NEIN!

It's not Monday, but it would qualify if I was still doing those posts.

For your enjoyment, here's Cookie Monster singing with Rammstein:

Stress Symptoms

I gotta take Hotness to the doctor today for an appointment.
She's been feeling under the weather, much more so than I was when I had the cold I just got over. We're hoping it's nothing to serious (as in the flu, or particularly H1N1) so we'll see.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about some stuff in my life right now and I thought I'd talk about them briefly.

Stress does a wicked number on your health in more ways than you can imagine.
When I was selling aquarium fish (many years ago) we always informed customers about the many factors that can cause stress in the fish tank environment and how to try and eliminate them for the overall health of the fish inside.

The same thing applies to us humans.
We have sources of stress on many, many different levels coming at us at all times.
Not all of it is bad, but constant repetitive stress can really wear you down after a while.

About 8 or 9 years ago I started having trouble with my sinuses. I wasn't having infections or anything like that, but I was having difficulty clearing my nose when I blew it into a tissue. It never seemed to work and only got worse as the years continued. I even went to the doctor to try and see what the problem was, but he couldn't determine a cause so it went on without any remedy.
Occasionally I'd take an over-the-counter allergy or sinus pill to help alleviate the symptoms, but they always returned.
At night, I'd have difficulty breathing and wouldn't get a full, restful night's sleep. In the morning I'd wake up barely able to breath through my nose and would spend a good portion of my morning trying to blow it out so I could breath a little.

I thought I may be allergic to the cat, but I never had been before and the symptoms never got drastically worse when I was around the cat.

Then, about 4 or 5 years ago I started having trouble with my stomach. At least once (and quite often twice) a week I'd have an upset stomach.
My tummy would cramp up and I'd have to go. It was not comfortable in the least.
The medical term for this would be called "irritable bowel syndrome". No real way to stop it, it just happens and people have to deal with it for the rest of their lives.

Well a funny thing has happened in the last couple of months.
I haven't had one instance of an 'irritable bowel' at all.
And around the middle of November my sinus started to clear up. I've been able to breath clearly at night, and when I blow my nose... it clears out the junk and I can breath.

What have I been doing in the last two months to make such an improvement to my health?
Nothing, quite literally.
I was laid off two months ago and in these past two months, my body has started to recover from stress I was subjecting it to at a job that I wasn't enjoying.

When my sinuses started acting up, I had just moved into "Will Call / shipping". I was there for about a year or two before moving into sales. Then in the last 4 or 5 years of being in sales and having to deal with customers, vendors, and even some co-workers my stomach started acting up.

When I was let go from my job, my tummy troubles ceased.... practically overnight.
My sinuses took a little while longer to start to clear, but they have been for the last 2 or 3 weeks and I can not only breath easier but I actually feel a lot better than I have in recent years.

You'd think that being unemployed would add more stress and make my body react even worse, but I've really been more relaxed than I ever have been in a long while.
I'm looking for work, but I'm only looking for things I seriously want to do. Not just the first thing that comes along.
I'm not about to subject myself anytime soon to the same stress levels I had been before.

Now, if I would just get my butt into the gym.........

Funniest Thing I've Seen All Week

This is pretty darn funny.
It's actually safe for work, although you might not want to watch it there.
Just thought I'd warn you first, but nothing to offend anyone really.

Are you ready?
Go here.




(Hint: You have to click the 'play' button more than once)

Post T-Day Food Report

OoOoOoOo..... finally recovered from my turkey-induced coma and can tell you about how the day went.
Ah, scratch that. I just want to tell you about how my recipes turned out.
In a word... Awesome!

I stuck to the list of ingredients, but I have to admit they leave a lot of room to play around with.
You can add or subtract as much sausage, celery, etc... to get it the way you want it.

I did make a couple of modifcations to it while I was mixing it up:
I added 1 small clove of garlic to the butter that I cooked the celery, onions and mushrooms in.
I also added a little bit of rosemary to the stuffing (I didn't measure, but if I had to guess it was about 1/4 teaspoon).
Otherwise I stuck to my original plan and made it the way I wrote it out and planned on doing.

I will definitely make this stuffing from scratch again. It was totally worth it.

As for the potatoes....
The only thing I did that wasn't on the recipe earlier was I added fresh ground pepper and salt to them before cooking them.
I cut up the potatoes, crumbled the bacon, (coarsely) chopped the rosemary and then put it all in a big mixing bowl. Then I poured the olive oil over it and ground some pepper and shook a little salt over it before mixing it up and dumping it into the baking dish.

They both turned out great and everybody like them.

Today Hotness and I braved a couple of stores to do some holiday shopping.
We weren't looking for any of the "Black Friday" specials, but there were certainly enough people out-and-about that it was difficult to find parking and get through the check-out lines.
Luckily we didn't have much to do so we weren't stuck in any of it for too long.

Tomorrow, I have some errands to run early in the day and then my afternoon will be filled with more babysitting. (I'm thinking of having business cards made up with "Professional Babysitter" on them. Hmmm.... what do you think?)

That's all for now.
More to come soon, I promise.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Today I am making the stuffing I posted the recipe for earlier.
I'm really looking forward to how it comes out.
I'll post my thoughts on it after this Friday.
---------------------------------

So yesterday I got to spend the day in Seattle with Technogreek and my friends from Calgary, "K & L".
L is a B-I-G fan of animation and it just so happened that there was an animation exhibit going on at the Pacific Science Center.
Having connections like I do (wink-wink), I was able to get all four of us FREE PASSES to the exhibit for the day.
Which was especially nice, since the whole thing was geared a lot more for kids than for the general animation loving public.
There were a lot of hands-on projects for younger folks, but not a whole lot of history or background for us 'old fogies' who remember the "Good Old Days".
They did, however, have a nifty real-time animation set-up that took your picture in "bullet time" and then animated it right there for you.
This was just one of the three that we did:

Overall it was a fun experience, but I'm certainly glad we didn't have to spend full price to see it.

Afterwards, we went to a sports bar across the street for some Kobe Beef burgers, and then to Bellevue to check out a paper supply store for L.

Technogreek had an appointment in the afternoon, so he dropped us off at his place. K and I went to the Comic Stop and then to Jamba Juice before I dropped him back off and headed back home for the day.

Other than that, I watched "Boondock Saints" with Hotness that evening, under the threat of my brother disowning for not having ever seen it.
It was really good, and I'm surprised I hadn't known about it earlier.
Now that I have seen it, my brother has agreed to not disown me and I am back in his good graces again. (*WHEW!* I was really worried there for a bit!)

Anyway, I wish everyone a terrific Thanksgiving and I have some good news looming on the horizon. I'll write more about it when I have something 'concrete' to report.

Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing

I'm up early on a Sunday morning. Hotness is still in bed snoozing.
I figured, now is a good time to blog and put up a recipe I'm working on for Thanksgiving.

Before I start in, I should mention a couple of things:
1) This is a recipe I'm making for the FIRST TIME. I'm not sure how it'll come out, as I'm "winging it" as I go along.
2) All measurements (that aren't specified) are approximate. I'll try to be accurate, but it's sort of up to personal preference on some of this stuff, so use as little or as much as you see fit.

First, we start with the cornbread since this is the base for the whole thing.
You can use a commercial gluten-free mix, like Bob's Red Mill GF Cornbread Mix. (This is probably the easiest way to go, but since I couldn't find it when I went shopping, here's how to make your own...)
> 1 Cup of gluten-free (GF) cornmeal
> 1 Cup of GF flour (I used: 1/2 Cup rice flour + 1/4 Cup Tapioca flour + 1/4 Cup cornstarch.... all available through Bob's Red Mill)
> 1 Teaspoon Xanthan gum (this stuff is rather expensive, but a little bit goes a very long way, so it all works out if you plan on doing a lot of GF baking)
> 1/2 Cup sugar
> 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder (I used Clabber Girl, but make sure the brand you use is gluten-free.... they should be by nature, but sometimes you never know)
> 1 Cup of Milk (I used Fat-free, or "Skim", but that's just personal choice)
> in a 1 Cup measure, put 2 eggs and then top off with vegetable oil to make "1 Cup"

Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the wet ingredients to it and mix well.
(for added flavor, I added about 1/2 tsp of rubbed sage and 1/4 tsp of thyme to the dry ingredients)

Pour it in a skillet or baking dish (8x8x2 should be fine) and bake at 425 F. (Originally my recipe said for only 20 minutes, but it actually took about 35-40 minutes. I'd say start at 20 minutes and check it to see if a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out without any gooey batter. If it does, it's done. If it doesn't add another 5-7 minutes until it is)
* One thing about GF breads is that thay are "heavier" and more dense than typical bread. Don't be surprised if it doesn't come out looking like regular cornbread (such as Jiffy Cornbread).

Let it cool and then slice the cornbread into 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices.
Take the slices and cube them into 1/2 - 3/4 inch cubes.
Then let them sit for a couple of days to get nice and stale. (You want them kind of dry and hard when you make the stuffing).

If you don't have a couple of days, you can spread the cubed bread out on a cookie sheet and dry them in the oven for an hour or so. Turn your oven to 150 - 200 F and check on them periodically. When they are nice and dry (almost like croutons), they're done.

That recipe (plus the stuff we're going to add next) should be enough to make a side-dish for 4 or 5 people. So if you are planning on more people, just double-up the recipe. If you have leftover stuffing, who doesn't like stuffing the next day? Only communists, I tell you.

Now to make the stuffing.
Measurements are approximate, so feel free to add more if you like it, or leave it out if you don't.

In a skillet on med heat, melt about 4 Tablespoons of butter and to it add:
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 Cup of Mushrooms (see below)
Stir these around for a bit until they start to get a little soft. (The onion starts to turn translucent about that time)
Then add these to your cornbread cubes and toss them around to mix it all up

In a saucepan, heat up 1 cup of GF chicken broth (you could use vegetable broth if you want) and add 1 teaspoon of sage (I use "rubbed" instead of "ground", but the flavor is the same so use what you have... and feel free to use more if you like sage).
It doesn't need to boil, but get the broth to a simmer to make sure you get the sage flavor to mix.
Then add this to your cornbread cubes and mix it up good so that everything is soaked in both, and put it in a baking dish (the size will depend on what you decide to add to the stuffing next...)

I am adding to this mix:
> approx. 1 Cup of wild mushrooms (I bought dehydrated ones at the grocery store and followed the directions for reconstituting them)
> approx. 1 tart apple (like Granny Smith) chopped up into small cubes
> approx. 1/2 Cup of dried cranberries (I'm using Craisins, but you could also use chopped dried apricots instead)
> approx. 1 Cup of cooked and drained pork sausage (not the "maple-flavored" kind, though)
> approx. 1/2 Cup of shelled pistachios (or walnuts, pine nuts, or even shelled pumpkin seeds!)

Mix everything (or at least, everything you want to add from the list of extras) and bake it in the oven at 425 F for about 30-40 minutes until everything is heated through.

I've never made this recipe before, but I did make good old Stove-Top Stuffing and added these ingredients to it and it was wonderful. I can't see that making stuffing from scratch would be any different.
I'll let you know how mine came out after Thanksgiving is over.

***** Bonus Recipe *****
I'm also making some roasted red potatoes. This recipe is E-A-S-Y!!
Chop up some red potatoes into approx 1 inch cubes (about 7 regular-sized taters), and put them into a bowl.
Add fresh ground pepper and salt (enough to taste) and a generous amount of chopped rosemary (if I had to measure, I'd say at least a tablespoon)
And crumbled cooked bacon. (Mmmm! BACON!) Maybe about a 1/4 Cup (or a little more... it IS bacon after all!)
Then pour olive oil over (just enough to coat everything evenly) and toss everything around a bit to mix it all up.
Put it all in a baking dish and bake at 425 F until the potatoes are done (usually about 45 minutes, but check them periodically... it could take an hour)

Anyway, that's what I'm making this year.
If you try either (or both) of these recipes out and have any comments or suggestions, let me know.

Until next time.....

KISS Alive 35

I apologize for the tardiness in getting this up on the blog, but I was kept down with a bad cold when I woke up on Monday and I've just been taking it easy.

Apparently rocking out on Sunday night took too much out of me. But before I dive into what happened, a little history first....

I'd never been a big fan of KISS growing up. Mostly because my mom thought they were a bad influence, but also that I wasn't really into that kind of music as a youngster.

As I grew older, and started to develop my (warped) sense of musical taste, I never really took the time to 'discover' them and see what the fuss was about. The few songs I'd heard were just okay to me.

But they have a devoted fan base of all ages.... the KISS Army, it's called.

I saw them about 8 years ago during their "Official Farewell Tour", back when all original four members were putting on the makeup and hitting the concert circuit.

I thought, "Well, I'll probably never get to see them again so I ought to check them out and see them live before they retire".

What a fantastic concert!

They pull out all the stops to make their show a spectacle beyond any other.

I became a fan of the band after that night.

Their "Farewell Tour" turned out to not be so 'final' after all, as they have continued touring during the last 8 years since I saw them.

When I heard they were coming back to town, I thought it'd be fun to go see them again but having been recently laid off (and therefore having to watch what I spend), I figured I'd have to pass.

Besides, it was only two original members and two others who've been in-and-out of the band over the years, so really it probably wasn't going to be the same anyway.

Then on Friday (before the show), I was putzing around on Facebook when I saw a post by Wicked Juan... "Going to try and score $10 KISS tickets".

WHAT!?! Tickets for 10 bucks?! Seriously?!?

I wished him luck, and he turned around and sent a message back to me, "You can try and get them too, here's the link....".

How... HOW, I ask you?... could I pass up a chance to get super-cheap tickets to go see KISS?

I couldn't.

So I followed the link, typed in the "secret code" and.... I scored them as well!

I figured I'd get two tickets, because really, what good is going to concert by yourself. Especially to see these guys?

I was so excited. Not only did I get the tickets for dirt cheap, but I was going to take my concert buddy with me.

I called her up and asked if she could join me, but it turned out she already had plans for that night.

So I called Elwood... same thing.
I called a buddy who works with Hotness, but he couldn't make it either.

I was getting bummed because I was afraid I'd have to go to the concert alone.

I mentioned that I got the tickets but hadn't found a "date" to go with me, when one of my friends suggested a camping buddy of mine.

I called him up and asked him and he said, "Hmmm.... I don't really know what they sing, but it sounds like fun. Sure."

So on Sunday night we headed into Seattle to meet up with Wicked Juan and his wife and have pizza before heading to the show.

We got to the concert, found our seats and got ready for the show.

Here' our view of the stage:

The opening band was Buckcherry. Not only was I unimpressed by them, but the sound was awful. If they were any good, I couldn't tell because they just sounded horrible.

In fact my ears hurt after their set was finished.

This isn't the first time I've had this problem with opening bands at the Key Arena.

The same thing happened when I saw Van Halen in 2004 there. Their opening band was Rose Hill Drive and they played so gosh-darn loud that I put in earplugs (something I rarely ever do at a concert).

Luckily, the main act doesn't have this problem and the sound is much better.

Anyway, they finished and left the stage. Then a big banner dropped while they switched out equipment:

After about 20 minutes, the lights dimmed and over the speakers everybody heard...
"ALRIGHT SEATTLE! YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST!!!"

The banner dropped and the band started right in with "Deuce" and even set off fireworks right off the bat!

From then on it was hit after hit, explosions, fireballs, confetti, elevated stages, fog machines and the craziest rock costumes ever!

Gene Simmons did a bass solo, complete with the "spitting blood" routine and flying up from the stage.

There's a good video montage of the show we went to that night here on YouTube.

What the band lacks in profound musical lyricism, they more than make up for in showmanship on the stage.

There is no other concert like a KISS concert!

People were decked out in costumes all over the place, and all ages were represented.

There were young kids with their parents, teenagers, on up to the 40+ crowd.

Once the music starts and they start performing, no matter what age you are in real life you suddenly become an pre-adolescent and get your face rocked!

It was a total blast and I think if they come back to Seattle again, I just might have to go see them... one more time.

****** BONUS ******

A little Gene Simmons goodness to put on your desk so you can rock out at work.

Via Nice Bunny Downloads.

Going Mobile

I tend to run along a fine line between being a technophobe and a gadget-freak.
I like nifty gadgets and such, but I don't always feel that I need to have the latest-and-greatest whenever it comes out. In fact, I tend to shy away from some things because I feel that they invade my person space a little too much.

I went a long time without a cell phone for this reason. I felt if anyone needed to get hold of me they could call my home number, leave a message, and if they were somebody I wanted to talk to (i.e. NOT a telemarketer!) I'd call them back. I don't need to be getting calls when I'm not near a phone. But Hotness talked me into getting one and now it's with me all the time.
And it has come in handy. I'm constantly using the camera, and texting has become second-nature to calling when I need to relay a message but don't want to make an actual call.

I felt the same way about my first iPod.
I wanted something to listen to when I went to the gym, on a plane ride, etc...
I tried to find an mp3 player that WASN'T an iPod, simply because I wanted to support somebody other than Apple. (They had a H-U-G-E market presence and I wanted to 'support the little guy')
But I eventually broke down and got an iPod Nano (because everything else on the market was geared for use with the iPod) and loaded it up with songs. It's served it purpose at the gym, camping, on my plane rides to Calgary, and so on.
I can't say that I couldn't live without it, but I do appreciate it's convenience and portability.

When the iPhone came out, it was eye-catching but didn't lure me in with it's sleek design or it's functionality.
What bugged me most was that you couldn't replace the battery on it. So once it "died", you were stuck with buying another one, and so on.
That's not to say I still didn't like it, but I managed to avoid being sucked in by it's sexiness.

Until, recently that is.

No, I didn't get an iPhone. But I did upgrade my iPod to an iPod Touch.
I have a friend who works for a company that builds applications for the iPhone and iTouch and was very impressed with what it was capable of doing.... besides just playing music.

I can talk myself into rationalizing just about anything, so it didn't take long to talk myself into getting one.
Hotness didn't dissuade me, but tried to get me to explain my reasons for wanting one.
I explained to her that with it, I could:
1) check my email when I'm not at home (especially while I'm out job-hunting)
2) use various applications, or "apps", that are specific to my interests (more on this in a bit)
3) I could instant message for free with her when I'm mobile, particularly when I'm in Canada (instead of texting her at $.30 per international text... which adds up after a week!)
... not to mention just playing around with it for fun.

"Okay, if you think you'll actually use it for that go ahead and get it," she said.
So I did.
I didn't go crazy and only got the 8GB version. I figured if it worked like I thought I'd be using it for, I could always upgrade at a later date.

I have fallen in love with it during the week I've had it.
I could probably live without it, but I have already gotten accustomed to having it with me at all times.

I was able to check my email and update my Facebook status while at the local coffee shop before heading to a job search.
I went to dinner with Hotness one evening and sent an email to a friend about something I had just thought of (and would probably forget before I got back home).
I loaded some "kid-friendly" apps on it and have used it to keep my niece and nephew entertained for a few minutes when I'm babysitting.
Not to mention, using it as a day-planner. (Am I free to babysit on Monday afternoon? Lemme see... why yes I am. Anytime after 2:00 p.m.)

I've been searching the iTunes store for applications, mostly free ones, that I can use for myself.
There's a ton of them on there. A lot of crap and a lot of useful ones.
Obviously you get what you pay for, but for the most part I've been pretty happy with the free apps I've picked up.
I got a few games (to kill time and keep kids busy), and a couple of conversion apps (i.e. inches to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, foreign currency to U.S. dollars, etc...).
I also picked up a language translator, not that I need it all the time but "just in case".
And I got a sale price calculator that will determine the cost of something with original and additional mark-downs plus figure in the tax so I'll known what I'm about (or NOT about) to spend on a sale item. (Since I do a lot of shopping, this comes in very handy)

Did I need it? No, probably not. Obviously I've lived this long without having one and could've continued to do so.
But like I said earlier, I've grown accustomed to having it in the very short time of owning it.
It's also helped me realize that having an internet-capable phone is something I'll want to have if I can find the kind of job I'm hoping to get. Portable internet access will be a necessity for me.

So here I am, sucked in by another shiny object on the technology shelf but very happy with it.


---------
Coming up soon:
KISS in concert
Gluten-free cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving

Beware Of No. 3

Sorry for the lack of posting.
I will try to rectify that soon, but in the meantime please enjoy this Public Service Announcement from BabyLove Diapers.





Heh heh heh... a "poo explosion"!