Overstressed

I have had a rough week. Many hours at work plus having to help Kevin with his science project. Tomorrow we have Kevin's Solo and Ensemble contest. I'll get some video of that.

I need a massage. Chrissie, I need you.

Feeling Groovy

I am still coughing up lots of fun stuff, but I am feeling much better. Thank you all for your kind well wishes.

Erik had his class concert on Thursday night. It was a Egyptian theme. Erik was up there singing his heart out. Luckily he had called me at work to ask me to take my video camera. I'll try to figure out how to post some video. There was a point where they were all doing air guitar that I almost lost it. Most kids were pretty laid back about it, but Erik really got into it. What a ham.

I had a nice 3 day weekend, half of which was spent with the boys. Nothing too amazing happened except for Kevin and I cleaning the garage. I can actually fit my car in the garage (WOOHOO!)

I'm not sure what happened, but I did my taxes Saturday, and I am getting a shit oad of money back from the Feds. Switching from Consulting to a regular job has really messed me up. I hate having the government hold my money all year interest free. I know it's my fault, but it pisses me off.

Just so that you all know... I did not win the Powerball on Saturday, so I can't buy you the cars and trucks I was planning on. Sorry for letting you down.

Tagged again?

Synge wanted me to share the following:

Four Jobs I've Had: Fast Food, Reproduction Specialist (this doesn't mean what you think. I ran large copiers), Software Configuration Management Engineer, Computer Geek

Four Movies I Can Watch Repeatedly: Serenity, When Harry Met Sally, The Incredibles, October Sky

Four Places I've Lived: Madison Heights, MI; Colorado Springs, CO, and Phoenix, AZ (sorry, only 3 places, but multiple locations in CO and AZ)

Four TV Shows I Love: Since it doesn't say current TV shows it makes it easier. X-Files, Firefly (please come back), Twin Peaks, and 24

Four Places I've Vacationed: Las Vegas, NV; East Port, ME; Disney World; Anchourage and Fairbanks, Alaska

Four of My Favorite Dishes: Medium New York Strip Steak, Meat Lasagna, Chicken Marsala, Sushi (specifically, Spicy Tuna Roll)

Four Sites I Visit Daily: Gmail; Google; Yahoo Mail; A shit load of blogs

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now: California; Australia; Arizona; Las Vegas

I am supposed to tag 4 people. Normally I don't, but what the hell. Chrissie (I know... I'm always picking on you), Madame X, Pieces, Terry - Queen of the Dorks ... and I am not going to warn you that youv'e been tagged.

My Sci-Fi Profile

My template didn't like the whole results, so I am only posting the picture



Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

What Sports Car Am I?

I am feeling better today. I took Monday completely off of work, then worked from home Tuesday and Wednesday. That is not bad considering I watched a shit load of movies and X-Files episodes (what a slug). It still hurts when I cough, but at least I can breath today. Breathing is good, right? Thanks to all of you for your well wishes. I was supposed to have a lunch date with a new lady on Monday, but had to postpone.

I've reloaded 3 computers while being ill. I guess some jobs you don't need sick leave for. It amazes me the amount of spyware and just plain shit people get on their computers.

My rebuild of my computer was totally not needed. I was thinking I was infected with something that was knocking out my Internet access intermittently, but no, it was my fucking ISP. One of the ubergeeks at work lives near me and informed me what was going on.

I highly recommend the new CD from Train called For Me, It's You

I stole this from Stacy

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Sick and tired

I took today off from work. I've had a sore throat and chest congestion.

I haven't had much to blog about.

I had the kids for a few days longer since my ex had to go out of town over the weekend. Unfortunately I was not feeling up to doing anything.

We did go to see "The Pink Panther" on Friday. I didn't really was to see it as the trailers just made me cringe. Why would anyone want to remake this franchise. There is NO ONE that can be Inspecter Clouseau other than Peter Sellers. Leave it alone!

Hating the idea of this was not enough to stop my kids from influencing me to go. There were some serious groaner moments in the film, but then there were a number of really funny gags. It's okay for a rental, but I wish I could get my money back.

Steve Martin did a fair job. Jean Reno was pretty dead pan, but did a good job. Beyonce Knoles needs to take a lot of acting lessons. Kevin Kline was great as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. I can see how they are goin gto continue to remake the whole Pink Panther franchise. Hopefully the stories will improved, but I may pass on any others.

Can you believe the crap I get from Chrissie?

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Jon!

1. Two grams of Jon provide enough energy to power a television for over twenty-three hours!
2. You should always open Jon at least an hour before drinking him.
3. Jon can turn his stomach inside out.
4. In Ancient Egypt, people wore glittery eyeshadow made from the crushed shells of Jon.
5. You would have to dig through four thousand kilometres of Jon to reach the earth's core.
6. Jon can give birth ten days after being born, and is born pregnant!
7. White chocolate isn't technically chocolate, because it doesn't contain Jon.
8. Snow White's coffin was made of Jon!
9. Jon is the world's tallest woman.
10. Jon is the largest of Saturn's moons!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

A Beautiful Day of Skiing

I took the kids and a friend of my oldest son skiing today, and we had a blast.

I am too cheap to get a room at the lodge, so we woke up early this morning and drove two and a half hours to Monarch Ski Area. The kids requested I make an MP3 disk for the truck. One of the main requests was The Beatles. Do I know how to brain wash my kids or what?

Monarch is one of my favorite places to ski. They don't draw the crowds that the resorts further north pull. It's far enough from Denver to make it inconvenient. Hurry for us! This resort has some other major bonuses that I really like. They have a great ski school. They also have one of the lowest lift ticket prices in the state. On top of all this, their lift lines are no where near as bad as the big resorts.

So I made a reservation for Erik to take another lesson. He was really needed professional training. Our trip between Christmas and New Years confirmed that I am ill equipped to teach him.

We got the the resort just before the lifts started. I got Erik's lesson plan squared away, but his lesson wouldn't start until 10:15. I took him up the short lift to the bunny hill to work with him while Kevin and Taylor did their own thing for a bit.

Erik has been skiing a few times since he was 5. Not often enough to give him much confidence. He did really well on the lift to the bunny hill. Got on perfectly, got off equally well. His problem is in his turning and stopping. He tends to panic and won't concentrate on what he needs to do. It's funny how Kevin is the exact opposite. Erik did fine on the first runs, but he was freaking out whenever he got any speed up. I dropped Erik off at his lesson, then contacted Kevin on the radio so I could join up with them.

The weather was perfect. Sunny and relatively warm for a ski resort (a balmy 20F in the morning, warming to around 30F in the afternoon). I had heard from people that had been skiing there yesterday that it was extremely windy and snowing. We picked the perfect day.

The boys had been warming up on green slopes while I was away. They desperately wanted to get on some blue slopes (Note: For those that don't know, ski runs are rated Green for easiest, Blue for more difficult, and Black for expert... then there are the double black diamonds and such for the extreme folks). We headed for the top of the mountain. On our way up I saw these beautiful views of snow covered pine trees and expansive vistas of the near by mountain ranges. These pictures don't do it justice. The snow was absolutely perfect. You couldn't ask for better conditions.


Kevin and Taylor are snowboarding. Kevin is getting pretty good, but Taylor was struggling, even though I was told that he has done quite well in the past. I came to find out that this was only his second time. I agree, with that new info in hand he's doing quite well.

We took a lunch break and met up with Erik's class at the lodge for lunch. Erik informed me that they had a great lesson and that they'd already been up to some Green runs (not the bunny hill). I was pleasantly surprised. He sounded like he was a little tired, but excited about the progress he was making. They headed back out after an approximate 45 minute break. That boy was going to be really tired. Hell, around 2 p.m. I was getting pretty damn tired. I must be getting old... blah, blah, blah.

I finally broke away from Kevin and Taylor to go get Erik around 3:15. He was taking a break in the ski school lodge while the rest of the group was doing another run. He was thinking they would have time for one more run, but I informed him that the lesson was over. His instructor finally came by and told me they had been on every lift and skied a bunch of Green runs.
I thanked him for taking good care of my son and teaching him what I couldn't.

I figured it was getting too late for another run, but Erik asked if there was time for one more. I decided there was time since the lifts were open for another 10-15 minutes. We took the shorted lift up. It lets out onto a number of great Green and Blue runs. Erik picked the run called Rookie. As we got off the lift I noticed that he had a lot more control over his speed and turns. Then I lead him onto Rookie and to my surprise, he followed me with no hesitation. I reminded him that just this morning we had mad a bunny hill run where he was panicking at an even slower speed.

His confidence and form was all there. I was totally amazed. Then as we turned onto another trail on the way down the mountain we ran into Kevin and Taylor. They also were blown away at Erik's sudden skill on the planks. Erik's ego had a big boost. He wants to call my sister in Michigan tomorrow and tell her all about it (she was with us when we had to get the Ski Patrol to give Erik a ride down the mountain on a snowmobile during our post Christmas ski trip).

I hope to get them up there at least one more time before the resorts close. I told Erik that he and I will ski together, but next year he should probably have another lesson just to remind him of what he had forgotten. He is psyched.

This was one of the most perfect ski trips I had ever been on. It was serious fun.

Wish you were here

HNT - Peer Pressure

I can't even take time to fix my computer and get my game back up and you guys are nagging me for HNT. GEEZ!!!

This picture was taken on New Years Eve when my buddy Mike invited us to stay at the Residence Inn with his family in the suite they had for the night.

Okay, so it's a weak HNT, but my knee is in it. :P