Halloween Tricks

For a long time people have been inviting me to Halloween parties. For most parties people always seem to want all their guests to dress-up. I hardly ever go unless I'm sorta 'forced' to by loved ones.

Let me be clear on something. I don't really like dressing up in a costume. I think its stupid and silly to do it as adults. I know the point is to be silly. That doesn't change the fact that I don't like it.

Why the hell doesn't someone throw a Halloween party that just has a theme and lots of fun stuff to do without making all their guests dress-up?!? I'd throw one myself like that but I'm not really the type that throws a lot of parties. There could be all kinds of cool stuff there with no pressure to dress in costumes. I'm jealous of my friend and coworker Geekalicious. She got invited to one like that. The guys play pool, the women play cards and gossip, they have hayrides and apple-bobbing, and all kinds of stuff like that. But that seems to be a rare occasion in the Halloween party-throwing population.

Want me to dress up and come to your fucking party? Fine. Just expect me to bite someone hard with my fake vampire teeth until it hurts. That way maybe I can take out some of this anger and frustration. Maybe I'll spike your damn punch too. Hmm... I need to go to the liquor store. Yeah, that's it... before this post I didn't know what I was going as. Now I know. I'm going to go as a trouble-making vampire. Here I come with my Halloween Tricks. Get ready. If I've got to wear a fucking costume I'm going to get revenge.

So anyway...

I wound up not getting the green comforter set after all. I got a red one.

Last year my dad and mom gave me money to buy a new bed. I'd just bought a house and I used the money for other stuff,... like part of the closing costs etc. Understandable, right? Right. Friday my cousin Kristina got married. This meant that Thursday, my dad, mom, and grandma (Dot Dot) came up from central Florida to spend the night prior to going over Friday for the wedding. I had a queen bed in the Master bedroom and a full bed in one of the guest bedrooms. See the problem?

So last week I ordered a new bed. $1200 of goodness, which my back is still getting accustomed to, but that's a different story. It arrived Thursday. Yes, the same day as my company arrived. I moved the existing queen into the third room and the new queen off my truck into my room by myself, trying to rush and set them up, make the beds, and have everything ready for their arrival. I heard them pulling in as I was putting the sheets on the last bed.

I'm not sure if my back hurt more from moving the beds alone (that new queen is pretty dang heavy - its one with a box-top so its 15" thick) or if my back hurt from adjusting to the new bed. The new one is quite different than the old one.

In either case, at least now I have plenty of bed-space for guests. Want to come visit? :)

Multimedia message

Phone mix-up

I hate incompetence.

My phone had some problems the last few days. I couldn't send text messages. It told me I had voice mail when I did not. I took it to Cingular and explained the situation. They tried several things and wound up putting in a new "cim card" (sp?). After 45 minutes of my time, supposedly that fixed the problem. To be safe I asked the lady to send me a text message and I'd reply with one to be certain it was working. She sent one from her phone to mine and since she had my phone in her hand she replied to her own phone with mine. She said, "Its working fine now. And nothing is different than before."

Except my phone number, you stupid bitch.

How the hell could she not notice that my phone number was different when SHE had to type it in to send me a text message?!? How could she fail to mention my number had changed?!? The answer? Incompetence! Good God, woman, go rent a fucking brain cell.

Last night I received many phone calls for some other person. Apparently the idiot had put in a cim card that was already registered to someone else and didn't notice. Additionally, I probably missed several important phone calls I was expecting last night. I should have called Japan for a few hours and told all his friends that called in the middle of the night to fuck off, but I didn't.

Today I went in to Cingular again and the lady there knew what she was doing - unlike the moronic twit from last night. So now I'm back up and running - hopefully. Yay. I do think I lost some messages though, so if you called and left one last night and I didn't respond, now you know why.

Not Dead

Well, I'm not! Nor am I in a coma... just incredibly busy. Grading papers. Sound like fun? Ugh. Be back when I can breathe.

Busy Bee

Holy crap I've been busy these past few weeks. And right now (as Roger Watkins used to say) "there are no signs this blistering pace will let up."

I've definitely been a busy little bee though, seriously. The new semester started last week and for several weeks prior to that I was going nonstop many hours a day, even on weekends, trying to get a new class ready.

Man, designing a new course takes a TON of work - especially when the course is to be 65% online!!! I worked on creating this class all summer but it wasn't until about 3 weeks before school started back that I realized the magnanimosity of this project for which I'd *gulp* volunteered. I'm still nowhere near done. I have yet to create PowerPoint presentations with voice accompaniment, which I plan to do for about eight chapters worth of material. I have yet to write chapter guides for 12 chapters. I have yet to write 5 class assignments out.

But at least I got a ton of course documents created, all the articles scanned and uploaded, and the course website made with blank spaces for the missing parts. I have a plan. And having a fully drawn-out plan when creating a class is a great deal of work. :)

For those of you I've neglected this past month, you have my sincerest apologies. I've been busy with work and haven't called or written many of you. Sadly, don't expect me to be a better friend for another month. =/ (lol) I've still got a ton of work ahead of me. Just know that I'm dealing with it though and only stressing out a little bit as opposed to how I used to deal with work. No wonder I had a minor heart attack at the age of 25. I used to stress out WAY too much about work. Now, I take my time even though I rush a little bit, and I afford myself breaks throughout the day when I know my brain hurts or I can feel my blood pressure rising.

You forgive me though, don't you? Great! I knew you'd understand. ;)

Garden Surprise

As you know, I play World of Warcraft. One of the races you can choose in this game is a gnome. Create a gnome, get a portal to Darnassus (the Night Elf land, lush with vegetation), hide in a garden, and voila, fun times! Be sure to click on the picture and read the text at the bottom. :D

In case you can't quite make out the text, it reads;
Frankel (the gnome): Boo!
Frankel (the gnome): Did a gnome hiding in the garden scare you?
Frankel (the gnome): Boo!
Cyrida (a nearby night elf): Yes, I think I peed a little.

Is that great stuff or what?!? :)

Can you tell I'm having a constructive day?

Photos of Japan!

Here it is! An album of some of my photos of Japan! I hope you enjoy the photos. I sure had a blast over there. :) I took over 100 shots, but just selected some of my favorites to put up on the net. Click HERE to take a look!

The 3 places with long names were temples we saw in Kyoto. Beautiful!

Sanjusangendo - I couldn't take a picture inside but this is the place with 1001 Buddha statues. Incredible!

Kiyomizudera - Awesome temple with a big Buddha, protector statues to ward off evil spirits, and a bell to ring in reverence of the dead. I lit a candle for mom.

Ginkakuji - Amazing nature and some incredible architecture! Also, this place has some "VIP moss" as they call it, that holds a lot of the soil together and provides nutrients. This place also had an amazing view since it was up high. You can see Kyoto Tower in the distance from the upper path.

The inside restaurant shot includes our friend Mie and her boyfriend Yashka in a place we ate at in Osaka. The neon sign place was one of the streets I took a photo of outside the Osaka restaurant. Too bad I think I deleted the night-time shot of a better one. Oh well.

The Udon shop is in the train station where Mamotaro's statue is located. See the write-up on Mamotaro in my previous post for an explanation.

The man and woman outside the family style restaurant in front of the bonsai tree are Nattsu's parents. They're awesome!

Oh, and the shot of the mountains out the plane window is over Alaska near Mt. McKinley.

All in all, I had an awesome time! From eating raw sea snail and vinegar cooked octopus, to realizing how enormous their major cities are, I was blown away. I hope to go back. :)

I'm BACK!

I made it safely back from Japan, alive and well. I'll post details and pictures soon. Stay tuned!

Arrival in JAPAN !!!

The line in Atlanta to check in and to check baggage was horrible! We spent an hour and a half just in line to check baggage! We made it in time for the plane though, just barely.

The flight to Chicago went well. The layover wasn't that bad (3.5 hours). The flight from Chicago to Osaka, Japan was a bizarre experience to say the least. 14 Hours on a plane, 3 meals, and many stretches, a few chapters, 2 movies, and a few new friends later, we arrived.
It took an hour limo bus ride to get from the airport (that's built on a manmade island composed of trash) to the hotel. A shower and a late supper of $45 noodles later, and I crashed for the night. Now it is 4:30 am, and I'm wide awake. I'm to get up and get to the train station by 9 am to meet my friend to join me on a ride to and a tour of Kyoto, the old capitol of Japan. I'm looking forward to it.

I paid $300 a night for my two night stay in the hotel here but I have a nice room on the 22nd floor, where when I look out the window, I see city lights and buildings as far as I can see. If you're familiar with Atlanta's downtown, imagine that as far as you can see, travelling on a highway at 50mph for an hour, on both sides of the raised highway. I've been through Manhattan when I was younger, and even that doesn't compare to the size of this city.

As for the look of it all, of course I can't read any of the signs, but they sure look spectacular all lit up at night. The view is absolutely stunning. I'll update again if I have more internet access. I may not until I get back, but I'll just have to cross my fingers and see.

Until my return, regards from JAPAN !!!:)

VACATION !!!!

For those of you that don't know yet, Nattsu and I are going to JAPAN! This will be my first time out of the States and I'm both anxious and excited to go. I'm a bit nervous going on a 14 hour flight to a country where most of the people won't understand me and I sure as heck won't understand them! But I am looking forward to it nonetheless.

We're first taking a 3 1/2 hour flight to Chicago then a short layover and then the 14 hour flight to Osaka, Japan. Osaka is where our friend Mie lives and she took off work a day to hang out with us and show us around. Wasn't that sweet of her? :) Thanks Mie! We're also going to go sightseeing a day or two in Kyoto, the old capitol of Japan. I hear there're tons of cool things to see there. Shrines, castles, zen gardens, etc. I think its going to be fun!


Once we're done sightseeing there, we're going to take the train out of the Kansai region where Osaka and Kyoto are and head over (yes, on the bullet train! Choo! Choo!) toward Nattsu's parents' house which is on Shikoku island. Curious to know where these places are? Just check out this map!

On the way we'll make a train stop to see the Peach Boy monument. Yes, I just said Peach Boy. I'm not sure if its because Georgia is the Peach State or if its because I'm silly and like kids' stories from around the world and hearing how they're different than the ones I heard as a kid, but I like Peach Boy. Getting to see his monument is kinda cool and I'm excited about that as well. If you'd like to read all about Peach Boy, you can find his story here. Note that his name is Momotaro in the story. There's a great song that goes in the story too, but I couldn't find a sound clip of it.

Wish us safe travels! :) I'll post to let you know we made it back safely when we return.

Ok, so I'm a slacker...

I should've posted this up a few weeks ago, sorry! Anyway, a few weekends ago I went down to the Georgia Rennaisance Festival. I met a ton of friends there from all around the state and we had a blast! Here is a pic of our wandering group. :)

HELL YEAH!

This is an absolute MUST VISIT !!!

Do you have a 710?

Are you missing a 710?

Yesterday I was having some work done at the car dealer.
A blonde woman came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten.
They all looked at each other, and the Mechanic asked,
"What is a seven-hundred-ten?"

She replied, "You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine. I lost it and need a new one. It had always been there."

The mechanic gave the woman a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like.

She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710.
He then took her over to another car which had the hood up
and asked, "Is there a 710 on this car?"
She pointed and said, "Of course, it's right there."

Click here to learn the identity of the mysterious 710:
http://www.mademelaugh.com/gfx/710.jpg

Money, Native Americans, Nature, & My Brother

So, I need to catch you up-to-date but I'm tired as it is late at night.

Here goes:

• I took a trip to Cherokee North Carolina for Memorial weekend.
• I lost $300 in Harrah's Casino
  
  
• I bought jewelry made by the Navajo Indians, and yes, I was in Cherokee, North Carolina, not Navajo, North Carolina. I got a cool ring!
• I drove up to the Smoky Mountain National Park and hiked up to Clingman's Dome.
  

• My brother Ken and his wife Sherry came to visit me on my 35th birthday! We had fun. We grilled Fillet Mignon with a mushroom rub wrapped in bacon, grilled corn-on-the-cob, had some garlic mashed potatos, side salad, and fresh green beans. We played Outbreak and watched Chronicles of Riddick. They saw my new house and they said they really liked it. I'm extremely glad about that. :)

So now you're all caught up. Tomorrow I go to the Georgia Rennaissance Festival where several friends are meeting. I'm excited!

My Only Friend, The End

Okay, so it isn't my ONLY friend,... but it is one of them. What? Who? The end of the semester, duh! Yay! I get to see another batch of young adults take off into the sunset, communication skills enhanced, some more than others. This makes me happy. I see people improve.

People often ask me though, "How do you tolerate it? Why do you still teach, given how snotty kids can be, how bitchy and whiny and irresponsible they are sometimes? Why in the world do you do it, especially at your salary?!? Why put up with all the shit for the low pay?!?" Here's my answer: A year from now ONE of these people MIGHT come back and tell me some story of how the skills they learned in this class helped them in life. It may not sound like much, but that one person's story can make this job worthwhile.

Of course, I'm sure I'd be just as happy in a corporate communication job, especially if the pay was good. :) But those opportunities come along very seldomly. When I was searching for a job prior to accepting this one, I had several interviews for corporate positions as well as those in academia. I applied about 50% to the corporate world, and 50% to academia, so I interviewed at everywhere from Clemson University to up to the 4th interview with Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Illinois (in Chicago).

Sidebar here about that BCBS of Illinois position... I think I was shafted on that one. I went for four interviews. I was even shown where my office would be (20-something floor looking out over Lake Michigan). Everyone IU had interviewed with told me I was perfect for the job. At the last interview, I gave a PowerPoint presentation and speech, highlighting the functions of workplace communication groups. I could tell they liked it. Four people even winked at me or nodded at me with a subtle 'thumbs-up' gesture. The whole communication group is made up of Barbie-Doll-esque women, and one male. The one male is the head of the group. At BCBS, the group even has the nickname of the "Barbie-Doll Team" and it is common knowledge that the guy hires only Barbie-Doll-esque women.

From all their positive feedback I was sure I'd get the job. A few days later I got a call turning me down. I found out who he hired,... you guessed it,.. another Barbie Doll-esque woman. Through an inside source I found out she was not even as qualified as I am for the job. I seriously considered sueing the living fuck out of them. I know I'd have a case. I didn't though. I hate how litigious our society has become and I despise wrongful hiring practices. I've actually been TOLD by an employeer before that I was the best choice for the job but due to equality distributions he needed to hire a woman or a minority. Damnit, I don't care what kind of quotas we need to meet in this world to "show" our equality. Hire the person that is best for the job! I don't give a shit if they're male, female, black, white, or purple. I say get rid of all this anti-discrimination bullshit. Let people hire whoever they want to,.. and if they choose less-qualified people for the job, based solely on their gender or color, then fine! Let them FAIL in business because they were too damned shallow to hire the best person for the position!!!!

Oh yes, so anyway,.. about all those interviews,...
There was one company I applied to that I never heard back from. Leica instruments. They are a swiss company and make instruments for civil engineering. I used to do Civil Engineering Drafting & Design for about 12 years total. Now I have a Master's in Communication. They needed someone to do PR communications for them. Ummm.... HELLO!?!?!? Why the heck did they never contact me?!? I'd have been PERFECT for that job! *sigh* That one I still wonder about.

So, where does all this leave me? I am out for the semester. I teach during the month of June, 5 days a week. I am in an annual contract position at a local University west of Atlanta. I wish I had more stability than being on a yearly contract. Why is it that they have to do that? Government budgetting? Inability to committ to hiring someone permanently? Why can't they hire people on a yearly basis for the first 2 years then change them over to be a 'lecturer' position in which they have job security? Even worse is,.. there is an unwritten rule at this University, that they don't keep anyone more than 7 years. Why is that? I think there are a lot of things in academia that are screwed-up. And sometimes, yes, I question what the hell I'm doing here. But every now and then I get that one student with the story of life change and it makes it all worthwhile.

(But corporate America, keep an eye on me! If you need someone with my skills,... you know where to turn!)

Musical Questions

I stole this from a friend's site,.. but she won't care. And if she does, she's naughty and deserves to be spanked.

The rules: Put your music player on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question. Post this on your blog.
Leave a comment here when you post it on your site. Simple enough? Right? Right.

~Will I get far in life?
Blindfolded - Carelessness Kills

~How do my friends see me?
Daknit, Bard of Justice - Doesn't take a Telepath (to figure out what you were thinking)

~Where will I get married?
Poe - Hello

~What is my best friend’s theme song?
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench

~What is the story of my life?
Type O Negative - The Glorious Liberation of the People

~What was high school like?
Los Enanitos Verdes - Amigos

~How can I get ahead in life?
Collective Soul - The World I Know

~What is the best thing about me?
Dave Brubeck - There'll Be Some Changes Made

~How is today going to be?
Metallica - The Struggle Within

~What is in store for this weekend?
White Zombie - Blood, Milk, And Sky

~What song describes my parents?
Sound Clip from Cool Hand Luke - "What we've got here is,... failure to communicate."

~My grandparents?
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Please Baby

~How is my life going?
Elton John - Candle In The Wind

~What song will they play at my funeral?
Metallica - Until It Sleeps (LOL !!!)

~How does the world see me?
Days Of The New - Downtown (I knew I wasn't Uptown!)

~Will I have a happy life?
George Carlin - Capital Punishment (OMFG!!! LOL)

~What do my friends really think of me?
Braveheart - Amazing Grace

~Do people secretly lust after me?
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen

~How can I make myself happy?
Metallica - Leper Messiah (ewww)

~What should I do with my life?
George Carlin - Minority Language

~Will I ever have children?
Jethro Tull - Part of the Machine

~What is some good advice?
8Stops7 - Satisfied

~What is my signature dancing song?
Type O Negative - My Girlfriend's Girlfriend

~What do I think my current theme song is?
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator (Mmmm...)

~What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Blindfolded - Wonderful

~What type of men/women do you like?
Sound Clip of Beavis saying "Insane in the Membrane" but then
Kool & The Gang - Cherish

Boycott This!

Any business that I see closed today in response to the immigrant boycott, I will boycott for the period of one year. This already includes one of my favorite restaurants which I ate at last night and they told me that today theyd be closed.Illegal immigrants are criminals. They circumvent a procedure that is already in place. They cut ahead of law abiding applicants in line.

They get no support from me.

If they love this country so much, if they want to be here so badly, they should respect our laws and the people who are waiting patiently to enter this country legally. There are a lot of people in the legal line waiting to get in. They should be first. Thats why there is a green card lottery and a whole set of immigration legislation! If you break the law, you should be put in jail and then deported.

I have no problem with immigrants. Some of my best friends are immigrants. America was founded with immigration. My wife is an immigrant, a LEGAL one before I even met her. I have a problem with ILLEGAL immigrants. Legal immigrants go through the proper channels to be here, illegal immigrants do NOT and THAT is the difference.

As such, I am boycotting all closed businesses for one year. I also plan on eating out for every meal today and am purchasing some items today. So, illegal immigrants aren't showing up for work? They wont profit from todays sales? Good. They can suffer for their crime.

A world without illegal immigrants is fine. They'll see the only difference they make is a negative one. If they want to make a real difference, then they can go back to their countries of birth. Let America's economy adjust and prosper without them and let the Federal Government allow in people that are willing to go through the proper channels to GET to the land of the free, NOT those who get here on a free ride. They should APPLY to come and work and live here. THEN they will have my full respect and support.

And for those who say that this isn't about illegal immigrants but immigrants in general. I call bullshit. Did you even read my distinction above? Besides, a march, a protest, a boycott was never even thought of until Congress discussed introducing a bill to make illegal immigrants a felony charge. They should make it a felony. These people should not be rewarded for illegally getting here!

Thanks to ODB for the idea of posting on this. ;)
Peace, my friends.

Here is a pic of the trees in my backyard. I want to cut down all the ones with blue tape around them. 

Trivia, Old Friends, and Trees

This weekend I nearly killed myself trying to cut down some trees in my backyard. Thank goodness my brother called and told me he'd be able to come up in a few weeks to help me with the rest. I don't think I can do the rest by myself. I'll send a pic of the trees to here soon.

Tonight I went to eat at a place called Johnny's Pizza and Subs. It was a good place and it was trivia night. I came in 3rd place. =/ Damnit, I WAS in 1st place until I missed the last question. The sad part is I saw the 1st place winner guy using his cellphone to get the answer. That chubby fucking bastard! 1st place won a $25 gift certificate to the restaurant, so it wasn't some life-changing contest, but still. That's not right,... the fucker. Looking at the size of his belly he needs free food like a fucking hole in the head. At least the dick had kids, so I hope some of the food goes to them. Probably not though, the grubby dicklicker will probably eat it all for himself. Those poor damn kids are going to starve. Come to think of it, the kids did look pretty skinny. =/ Fat bastage!

This trivia event reminded me (in a good way) of Elvis though. (See, the whole thing was overall a great and fun time.) Elvis is particularly good at trivia. He kicks major trivia game ass. I like playing with him. We each have our own areas of expertise, but we're both pretty damn good at it. The last time he and I played trivia together was in a restaurant in Albany. I'm pretty sure that night we came in first place and won some sort of gift certificate then too.

What a Break...

Spring Break just came and went. What did I do? Eh, a few things...

1. planted flowers & bushes around new house (they died due to the freeze LOL)
2. played MTG with friends
3. played some WoW
4. I drove down to Smallbany, GA to visit friends

I know that Albany is not a small town - It is usually the 4th or 5th largest city in GA. I call it small due to the unfortunate situation many of its residents are in - a state of small-mindedness. I love my friends that are there - they are exceptions to the rule, but a great deal of the people there make me want to vomit. The words, "pretentious, racist, snobbish, judgemental, fanatically religious, and superficial" come to mind.

Mind you, as I said, the friends I made in Albany are my friends because they weren't those things. It is okay to be religious, but anyone who tells me I'm going to hell for the way I believe is judging me and they can go fuck themselves. Furthermore, the pretentious, superficial, 'I'm better than you because I drive/wear/went to/etc' people,.. well,... those people are a lifeform somewhat below the level of moldy cheese and they reminded me of why I don't like to visit SMALLbany. However, there are still reasons I'll probably visit again;

5. I played poker with friends, just hung out with friends,

6. I played some PnP RPG (Marvel) with good friends, and

7. I got to visit the most wonderful family I know, the Parrs.

The Parrs are family to me. I literally call them Mom, Brother, and Sister. Its because through my good fortune I made friends with one hell of a guy I call Elvis, some 16 years ago. He's a wacky type, so you can imagine we get along pretty well. :) I'm glad for that. His mom is terrific, and I consider her to be my mom of sorts too. Heck, she's raised me quite a lot since I met her. His sister is a riot too. She's a bit odd, but aren't all sisters? hehe ;) She has 5 children I really adore. Also living with them is his Aunt. She's a fruitbasket but I love her dearly as well - hehe! I got to spend hours with them just playing and talking. It was because of numbers 5, 6, and 7, that I will brave number 4 again. They make the trip totally worthwhile.

{EDIT}: Mitch, you dipshit, you're included in #5! Yes folks, I hung out with the amazing Mitch Belcher!!! :) Hehe. - Better?!? :P You Dork. LOL, Don't worry Mitch, I still luv ya!

Subdivision Entrance 

2nd Bedroom 

Backyard 

Dining room from Sunroom