Friday, President Bush was in town for a town hall meeting. I was there. I think I have been to 15-20 presidential visits. No matter the person, the respect for the office makes it an enjoyable experience for me to go to. This was my first post 9-11 one to go to and I found the security a whole lot tighter than I remembered.
A couple of years ago, I took my parents down to Plains, GA on Fathers' Day. We went to Maranatha Baptist Church and had Jimmy Carter as our Sunday School teacher. Yes, that Jimmy Carter. That is probably my fondest memory of being somewhere with a President. My parents really enjoyed it, too.
A few weeks a go a friend I have kept up with since college called and asked what I was doing this weekend. Long story short, she had tickets for a show here (she lives out of state) and wanted to give them to me and wifey if we could use them. It was John Fogerty and John Mellencamp. Great show but really hot and I dont do well with heat or humidity. Average age was probably in the 50's. We enjoyed watching the people and listening to the music. We laughed as a roadie was walking the seating sections looking for someone to show the bands some southern hospitality. Did I mention the average age was in the 50's? Now think about the roadie again and laugh.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Snake heads and fish heads
This week wifey was out trimming the shrubbery and stopped when she thought she saw a lizard. It wasnt a lizard but a snake.
Yesterday I was cutting some of our grass which is kinda thick and tall after the overabundance of rain from the hurricane. Long story short, I killed a snake with the mower but didnt know I had until I pulled the mower back and saw it moving around (which they do even when dead). Never did find its head.
Last weekend wifey and I escaped into the mountains. Her mom was in town and watched the dogs for us. Sunday we had lunch at a nice restaurant on the way home. I ordered the pan fried trout. It came out and part of the fish was raised up off the plate. I thought it might be more fries or a lemon wedge that got underneath the fish. It was Mr. Trout's head that had been folded underneath. I have eaten whole fish before but wasnt expecting it this time.
In poker news... I am doing much better at the free site I have been playing at. I am getting a good hang of it I just need to work on the mathematical parts a little more as well as knowing how to play positions better.
Yesterday I was cutting some of our grass which is kinda thick and tall after the overabundance of rain from the hurricane. Long story short, I killed a snake with the mower but didnt know I had until I pulled the mower back and saw it moving around (which they do even when dead). Never did find its head.
Last weekend wifey and I escaped into the mountains. Her mom was in town and watched the dogs for us. Sunday we had lunch at a nice restaurant on the way home. I ordered the pan fried trout. It came out and part of the fish was raised up off the plate. I thought it might be more fries or a lemon wedge that got underneath the fish. It was Mr. Trout's head that had been folded underneath. I have eaten whole fish before but wasnt expecting it this time.
In poker news... I am doing much better at the free site I have been playing at. I am getting a good hang of it I just need to work on the mathematical parts a little more as well as knowing how to play positions better.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
You want me to what?
Two stories... real quick
The other day I received a letter from a headhunter. The headhunter was hired by this corporate guy that wants to get into the line of work that I am in (they sent me his resume, too). Anyway, they would like me to volunteer my time to help train this guy to essentially be a competitor. Dont think that I will be doing that.
Today I went to a market research thing on cars. I got to look at trucks and tell them which one I liked best and why. It was obviously paid for by Dodge and we got to preview a new Dodge full-size truck not on the market yet that has some pretty cool features. About all I can say on that subject. They paid $100 for my time (maybe an hour) and some soft drinks on the way out. I wished I could have taken a peek at the SUV's they were doing, too.
The other day I received a letter from a headhunter. The headhunter was hired by this corporate guy that wants to get into the line of work that I am in (they sent me his resume, too). Anyway, they would like me to volunteer my time to help train this guy to essentially be a competitor. Dont think that I will be doing that.
Today I went to a market research thing on cars. I got to look at trucks and tell them which one I liked best and why. It was obviously paid for by Dodge and we got to preview a new Dodge full-size truck not on the market yet that has some pretty cool features. About all I can say on that subject. They paid $100 for my time (maybe an hour) and some soft drinks on the way out. I wished I could have taken a peek at the SUV's they were doing, too.
Friday, July 15, 2005
What do you mean you are open?
Had lunch today with a friend at one of my favorite restaurants, a little Cuban Restaurant in an out of the way area. A friend of mine had told me he had heard it was closed. We called ahead and then showed up after learning it was indeed open. After lunch we asked about the rumor. It seems that the local paper ran an article saying that the restaurant had closed after 18 years and if you wanted cuban food to try a place that just opened up. The careless reporter claims he received some emails saying the restaurant was closed so he ran the story. He never called to check if it was true or not just ran the story. The paper ran a retraction (probably buried somewhere hard to find) but business has been slower than normal since the story ran. Makes you wonder about the validity of what you read in this paper doesnt it?
Friends and the Fundraiser
Last night was the event I threw for the Kidney Foundation. It raised around $1300 so far (some folks are feeling guilty for saying they would be there and then not showing up so they are writing some checks). I wish it would have raised more money but overall it was a great time. Kevn Kinney was as superb as always. It threatened rain all night and since we were outside (but covered) we were a little nervous. It would not have been a good thing for the talent to get electrocuted...
Kevn really got intothe show as did the crowd and his second set was almost 2 hours instead of the scheduled 1 hour. He shared a lot of background info on a lot of his songs (where and why he wrote them) and mixed in a variety of songs in the middle of his songs (for example, my favorite was when parts of the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" found its way into "Fly me Courageous").
Kevn and I talked a good bit. He remembered playing at my college alma mater in 1991 and said it was one of his favorite DNC shows. He was unaware that I was the reason he played there. He was gracious and signed autographs and took photographs and even played requests from the audience (including one that was rather obscure).
Thanks to everyone that helped make this a success, including Dennis, John and Gardner and ESPECIALLY MCP.
Kevn really got intothe show as did the crowd and his second set was almost 2 hours instead of the scheduled 1 hour. He shared a lot of background info on a lot of his songs (where and why he wrote them) and mixed in a variety of songs in the middle of his songs (for example, my favorite was when parts of the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" found its way into "Fly me Courageous").
Kevn and I talked a good bit. He remembered playing at my college alma mater in 1991 and said it was one of his favorite DNC shows. He was unaware that I was the reason he played there. He was gracious and signed autographs and took photographs and even played requests from the audience (including one that was rather obscure).
Thanks to everyone that helped make this a success, including Dennis, John and Gardner and ESPECIALLY MCP.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Randomness
Currently I am doing the waiting game. Nothing you can do to speed up time, especially while waiting for tests results to come back. [sigh]
Went to Home Depot Landscaping today. I was looking for some plants for our beds but they didnt have that many to choose from. A child was on the loose. He was about 4 maybe 5 and his parents just watched him turned over flats of plants, signs, displays, and whatever else he wanted to do. They didnt correct him, and dang sure didnt "fix" any of his mistakes. One of my pet peeves if you have to know...
Early May I decided to play around in the stock market. It wasn't a big purchase but I just wanted to see what I could do. I had read up in several business publications on some areas for probably a couple of months and finally made my decision on what to buy. Yesterday my stock closed up 33% from when I bought it maybe 7 or 8 weeks ago! A friend bought the same stock maybe a month earlier (after reading the same things that made me believe it was a good stock) but a few dollars more per share than when I did, so he is up maybe 25% but I would bet he put a lot more into his investment than I did... Still not bad for an "amature"
Yesterday I tried my hand at online poker. Free site that you dont put up any money to play. I did well for the first hour or so. I stupidly left my email running in the background and got distracted when some emails started coming in and quickly lost all I had won and a little more. Wifey does particularly well at this site. Maybe one day I will be good enough to play against her on the internet.... HAHAHAH (she'll be reading this soon).
Last weekend with it being the Fourth and all, a theme park near our house had a huge fireworks display. It seems it was only us and a couple next door out in the yard to enjoy it. I remember the last couple of years when it seems half the neighborhood was having firework viewing parties but not now. Dont know why.
Went to Home Depot Landscaping today. I was looking for some plants for our beds but they didnt have that many to choose from. A child was on the loose. He was about 4 maybe 5 and his parents just watched him turned over flats of plants, signs, displays, and whatever else he wanted to do. They didnt correct him, and dang sure didnt "fix" any of his mistakes. One of my pet peeves if you have to know...
Early May I decided to play around in the stock market. It wasn't a big purchase but I just wanted to see what I could do. I had read up in several business publications on some areas for probably a couple of months and finally made my decision on what to buy. Yesterday my stock closed up 33% from when I bought it maybe 7 or 8 weeks ago! A friend bought the same stock maybe a month earlier (after reading the same things that made me believe it was a good stock) but a few dollars more per share than when I did, so he is up maybe 25% but I would bet he put a lot more into his investment than I did... Still not bad for an "amature"
Yesterday I tried my hand at online poker. Free site that you dont put up any money to play. I did well for the first hour or so. I stupidly left my email running in the background and got distracted when some emails started coming in and quickly lost all I had won and a little more. Wifey does particularly well at this site. Maybe one day I will be good enough to play against her on the internet.... HAHAHAH (she'll be reading this soon).
Last weekend with it being the Fourth and all, a theme park near our house had a huge fireworks display. It seems it was only us and a couple next door out in the yard to enjoy it. I remember the last couple of years when it seems half the neighborhood was having firework viewing parties but not now. Dont know why.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
I guess it is real now
Yesterday the overnight delivery guy showed up with a package rather early in the a.m. I had just finished unhooking from the peritonial dialysis machine and was trying to figure out what package was being delivered. Maybe wifey was getting something, I thought as I went down to open the door. Instead it was the package of stuff for the crossmatching tests for Tuesday.
What will happen is that I will have a lot of blood taken because not only do I have to get blood for these tests but it is also time for my monthly labs. And if I am really lucky it will also be time for my quarterly labs, too.
Anyway, the same day that this is happening to me (Tuesday) 2 potential donors will have considerably less blood drawn. We will all send the blood by courier to the labs that day. In about 2 weeks we will know which, if either, is the best match. After that is determined, that person, if they are willing, would schedule the two or 3 day evaluation I had to do early February or late January. They would be tested to make sure that they have no problems that would preclude them from giving a kidney. 3 weeks later they would get the results of those tests and if they are still willing, then the transplant would be scheduled.
Those of you keeping score at home, that means the earliest that I could have the surgery would be the end of August.
In other news, I received some positive information yesterday on "the big news" that I have hinted at in past posts but nothing can be announced for another couple of weeks. Sorry.
What will happen is that I will have a lot of blood taken because not only do I have to get blood for these tests but it is also time for my monthly labs. And if I am really lucky it will also be time for my quarterly labs, too.
Anyway, the same day that this is happening to me (Tuesday) 2 potential donors will have considerably less blood drawn. We will all send the blood by courier to the labs that day. In about 2 weeks we will know which, if either, is the best match. After that is determined, that person, if they are willing, would schedule the two or 3 day evaluation I had to do early February or late January. They would be tested to make sure that they have no problems that would preclude them from giving a kidney. 3 weeks later they would get the results of those tests and if they are still willing, then the transplant would be scheduled.
Those of you keeping score at home, that means the earliest that I could have the surgery would be the end of August.
In other news, I received some positive information yesterday on "the big news" that I have hinted at in past posts but nothing can be announced for another couple of weeks. Sorry.
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