The latest before I head out

I don't know if I'll get a chance to say it before the 25th, so...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!



These last 2 weeks have been intense. Work is unreal, but add to that trying to get things in a state where I can go on vacation, and then the car. I've rarely ever been this stressed.

The latest on the car is that the insurance company totaled it. I haven't decided on a replacement yet, and won't until I get back from Michigan. I still have not found out the name or the insurance company of the guy who caused the mess. The owner of the other truck involved called me yesterday thinking I was either the guy who caused it, or knew more information about the guy. It was hard to tell because his Spanish accent made it hard to understand him. He seemed like a nice guy. I asked him if any of the 6 guys in his truck were hurt. Apparently one of his guys was, but not bad.

So we're just waiting to get the report from the state patrol. Actually I don't have to wait. I have collision insurance, so I can buy a new car anytime. My insurance company is already getting ready to pay off the credit union that has the loan.

I hope to talk to you all soon. One or 2 of you I might even see in Michigan :D

Vibe One Down, Vibe One Down...

As I said, I had to go to work Saturday. It snowed a little Friday night, but there wasn't much accumulation, I figured the main arteries and the interstate would be clear, which they were for the most part. BUT, I got in an accident just the same. A 3 car pile up (does 3 cars constitute a pile up?) on the Interstate. It was not my fault.


I was very lucky. The roads were not very slick in the lanes, but apparently the on-ramp was a different story. I was in the left of 3 lanes. A red Chevy crew cab pickup was in the middle lane just ahead of me. Suddenly I saw a tan Toyota pickup sideways entering the center lane ahead of the red pickup. I slammed on the brakes as I saw the red pickup t-bone the tan one. A fraction of a second later, the tan truck was spinning toward me. I just remember the air bags deploying. I'm not sure why I thought this at the time, but I remember thinking that the air bag was nice and soft. I then realized I was in a very fast spin. I thought to myself that someone else is surely going to slam into me while I was spinning out of control, but eventually I stopped on the right shoulder without any more bumper cars.


I sat there thinking I had to have been hurt, but I didn't feel any pain. The hood was crumpled, especially on the passenger side. The windshield on the passenger side was smashed in and sliced into the air bag. The passenger window was gone and glass was everywhere. When I finally took a breath and realized I was fine a lady in a big SUV drove up to me to see if I was alright. She explained to me that the police were already called, and then kept talking to me to make sure I was OK. Up where the other vehicles were there were people all around. I figured that couldn't be good. I stayed by my car. I was about 100 feet further down the road. That would have been interesting to watch someone spin that far.

I checked the rest of the damage around the car. The engine was still running when I finally came to a stop, but now I could see that the front of the car and part of the engine compartment were pretty mangled. I saw the radiator cap, and part of the radiator it was attached to, sitting on the battery. The passenger side front quarter panel was not there, so I thought. Actually it was still there, but was curled up like a long sheet of foil and sitting on the ground behind the front tire. The passenger door had some crumpling at the front of it, but the door could still open and close.


A fireman was walking toward me, so I met him half way. he wanted to see the car and make sure it was shut off, so we walked back to the car. I figured he would be used to seeing this stuff, but when he saw the front of the car he was surprised I was not hurt.

I am assuming that the insurance company will total the car. If so I have to get a new one (I am leaning toward a new Vibe of course, but thinking about a Saab as well). I'll probably know Monday. Kevin was going to get the Vibe after he can drive. I wasn't thinking I'd be in the market for another year. I've been discussing going to a police auction with a friend of mine for an alternative vehicle for Kevin. Now that is probably the way we'll go.

So for the time being I am driving a piece of shit PT Cruiser (I have dubbed it PT Loser). It's a gutless car. But why would a rental car company get cars without cruise control or anti-lock brakes? Due to this I don't think I'll be driving it to Michigan. We are still planning on going, but I'll turn it in for something better for the trip.

Pushing forward

It is Friday night, and I have to go to work tomorrow. It's cold, and probably snowing as we speak. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. (bitch bitch bitch)

We doing our second attempt at moving the folks in Iowa to a new server. We think it will go well, but then again we thought that the first time.

I don't really have to be in the office, but 2 of my guys are going in, and one Systems Engineer. I'll probably work on some database crap I need to finish. That or do some performance review paperwork (somebody shoot me).

I will also take the guys out to a nice lunch... ON THE COMPANY!!!

Feeling Good

I am getting older...

Today is my birthday, and nobody realizes it is. I like it that way.

I feel weird telling people it's my birthday, so I don't. Regardless I have received a number of e-mails, IMs, and eCards today, 90% of which are from people that have never met me. They probably only know it's my birthday because MySpace, or some other site told them. I do appreciate the well wishes.

The guys generally couldn't give a damn (for the most part). I know the guys I work with would probably have bought me lunch, but I don't like it when anyone makes a big deal over me. Maybe its my social anxiety.

Birthdays don't really bring me happiness. They haven't for many years.

On a good note...


I mentioned back in September that I have been working out. At that point I had been going to the gym in our building for a little over a month. Jason at work, who is also a friend, really motivates me. There are days that I can't go down to the gym in our building because of meetings and such. He definitely doesn't hound me about it, but he reminds me to get my ass down there.

This gym is quite nice. It isn't huge, but it has a lot of really good equipment. One room is full of weight lifting equipment, and the other has treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, etc. I mostly do the weight machines, but 1 or 2 days a week I'll get in some time on a bike.

I think I have only missed one work day of working out in the past 3 weeks. I am at the point where it feels good to get exercise everyday. This is totally foreign to me. I've never been much into this. I think the last time I got into any regular amount of physical exertion was when I was in college and my roommate and I played racquetball a couple times a week.

A few weeks ago Jason put up a challenge to me and the other guys in my department that have been working out. The challenge is that we need to lift the full stack of weights on one machine. We only had to lift it once. We get to choose which machine. We had through December to work up the strength to do it.

I have pretty strong legs. I was pretty sure I could already do one lift of the stack on the leg press, I was already doing full sets of 8 reps at close to the full stack. So Monday I proved I could do it. I think that is equivalent to about 220 pounds. I then decided to try this on the rest of the leg machines. I was successful on all 3. Somehow I felt this wasn't a good test for me since my legs have always been pretty strong.

I knew that the bench press machine was something I could not do a few months ago. My boss, who doesn't look very big came down to ask me something while we were down there. I think he also wanted to check out the gym. He sat down in his Dockers and dress shirt, and easily lifted the 200 pounds on that machine. The whole stack. My jaw dropped. After he left I sat down and tried. I couldn't even budge it. I felt puny.

When Jason made the challenge I had it in the back of my head that the bench press was one that I was not going to be able to do. I worked on it every other day, and although I was able to lift a lot more I didn't think I could do it.

Today it was just me and Jason. I was feeling good, except for my left shoulder I have to baby a little because of an ATV injury from about 7 years ago. I made some comment about the bench being my nemesis the other day. He told me I was full of shit, and that he thought I could lift the whole thing.

I got on the bench this morning. I was lifting a few plates less than the max (goal) to see how it felt. "POP" went my right shoulder. What the hell was with that? I set it back down and walked away. My shoulder didn't hurt, it just freaked me out a little. I did a few other machines and it felt fine.

I psyched myself up to give it another try. I told Jason what I was doing. He came over to encourage me. I decided to just jump to the max and give it a shot. He kept telling me it was easy. I did it!!! One clean rep of 200 pounds. It seemed a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Hurray for me! I am older and stronger than I have ever been.

Delays, and more delays

****** UPDATED ******

See the added photo of the face...

It's been way too long since I posted.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I had a good time hanging out with my brother and his friends. Lots of booze, food, and football. I started drinking at 10:30 when I got to Mike's house. I was immediately handed a very tasty Bloody Mary.

Football that day sucked (for me).

I had the pleasure of playing host to a friend of mine the previous weekend. I had tickets for a comedy show the night she flew in, so we went to see Rodney Carrington. I needed a date since I bought the tickets months ago and MS and I are no more. It was a great show.

We did some sight seeing the next day. Something I don't do much of here in Colorado Springs, but I couldn't have a friend in town and not show the the Garden of the gods. Here are a couple pictures.

I love the soft focus effect here... but actually I think that was because my lens is dirty.


A picture of me, since it is so rare that I like a picture of me.



Can you see the indian face on the rock formation? The Ute Indians named the park. Obviously we white people translated the name.

Check out the rock climbers sitting on top of that out cropping
Now can you see the face?

On to Christmas...

My son, the drummer

Stacy let loose all the pride that she has over her son. I started telling her about my son, and realized I was just gushing on about him to the point that it was really my own post. So I decided to put it here instead.

Kevin, My oldest, who turns 15 in a couple weeks, was interested in playing drums back in 6th grade. His mom and I were against him playing drums. I tried and failed to get him to follow in my footsteps and play trombone. I didn't push very hard. He decided on trumpet, which I knew was going to be a decision he might regret. Trumpet and drums are the 2 most popular. He was not the best trumpet player, but he was far from worst. We never had him take private lessons. We should have.

He asked again to play drums a little over a year ago. My ex and I decided then that it would be okay, but knew his teacher wouldn't let him play in the band as there were already WAY too many "drummers" in the band His middle school was way over populated. But she did encourage him, which I appreciated. We started him in lessons. My ex-mother-in-law bought him a drum kit (which stays at my ex's house). He did very well in his first year of lessons. I sat in on a lesson one day. I was absolutely amazed how well he played.

My son has a few friends that formed a little garage band. They knew Kevin took lessons, but never heard him play. Kevin's drummer friend let him play on a couple songs. They were amazed at how good he was considering he's never played drums in a band. Kev isn't joining their band. Who needs 2 drummers (besides .38 Special)? But it got him really excited that he could play with others his own age.

Kevin took time off from the lessons due to baseball and vacations in the spring and summer, but is back at it. His drum instructor decided to move to a new location, just a couple miles away (WOOHOO! No having to cart him half way across town at rush hour).

His grades are excellent (not straight As, but damn close), he is athletic, a musician, and is in general a really great kid. What more can a parent ask?

Here he is in his Halloween costume.



Oh, and he has a truly great personality and sense of humor.

YEAH KEVIN!!!

Sigh

Ever since my divorce I knew that there was someone out there that would feel for me the way I deserved. My dating "career" if you will has been filled with some very interesting times. I have met some really incredible ladies, a couple of which I fell for head over heels. Those feelings are always intense, incredible, and always welcomed.

Unfortunately those few times I felt that the feelings have either faded, or were abruptly changed by other emotions. Some have said it's because I get scared. I guess that may be a part of it, but I don't think that is all, or even a major part.

MS is a great lady, and a lot of fun to be around. But ever since getting ready for the trip to Maine this past July I've been having serious doubts as to our compatibility. I broke up with her.
I know I alluded to the fact that there was drama during our Maine trip when I posted way back when. I decided I didn't need to give you the details. But ever since that trip my feelings have been affected. It has a lot to do with the kids. While I made it no secret that her son is a problem, she never took the steps to deal with it. He is very ADD (I think I mentioned this a while back). Not only does this condition cause a strain with me and my kids, but she has to deal with him to get him to chill out. Then there is the effect it has on his school work. We had discussed his needing to be back on the ADD meds, but even though she said she would do it, it never happened.

This is a big problem for me. She has basically given up trying to help him have a good life. He is not stupid, his teachers even agree. It just seems to me that your child's well being should be your focus. Instead she would sometimes come spend the night with me while her 15 year old was home alone. I had assumed he was with his dad, but found out afterwards he wasn't.

So my feelings for her have gotten to the point where I know we don't have a future. It is very sad for me to even type that. Part of me feels like I failed in some way. Why do I find it so hard to break up with someone when other guys I know do it with such ease. Do I ever want to be like that? Probably not.

I felt a lot of depression coming on for the last couple months. I know the relationship had a lot to do with it. Or maybe it was what I knew about what I needed to do, but was avoiding. Now that it's over I feel even worse.

What will go wrong next?

So, the Rockies got their asses handed to them last night, then the Broncos lose to the Packers in overtime tonight. What can possibly go wrong next?

I am on vacation this week. That seems like a good thing, and it really is. I just wanted to take my vacation on a week I don't have the kids. Not that I don't like being around my kids, but if I have to be here to take them to, and pick them up from school I would rather be working.

My vacation is a result of a shitty vacation policy at work that states if you don't use your vacation time by Dec 31st, you lose it. I don't think they'll even pay us out for the time. So this is the only week I have available to me. We have shit scheduled from now until the end of the years at work, and fitting all of my guy's vacations in before the end of the year as well. Personally I give us only about a 50% chance of getting all of the major things done that we have planned.

I am taking the 21st through 31st of December off as well. Obviously I haven't been taking off enough time this year. I miraculously got permission from my ex to take the boys to Michigan with me. My family is very happy about that. I was too until I started looking into plane tickets (over $1600 for all 3 of us). They are raping people this year. So I decided to NOT fly this year. Last year after getting stuck on a business trip due to blizzards, my brother and I drove straight through as soon as I got to town. I hope we don't have a repeat. Mike isn't coming this year.

I was thinking about taking the train, but even that was going to cost me close to $800 without even getting a sleeper. Looks like I'm driving it solo.

I went to MS's best friend's Halloween party Saturday night. Again we came up with a last minute costume. This one wasn't nearly as good as last years, but it worked.

Sorry for blocking out her face again...

You like where I bite?

Snow in October

This is what I woke up to this morning...


We've had a pretty calm fall here in Colorado, but it is still a big surprise when something like this happens. You can't tell from this picture but we got a pretty good snow out of this for it being October. It kept snowing most of the day. At times pretty heavy. It's melting almost as fast as it comes down, but it is still exciting. I've forgotten to get my skis tuned. I had better get on that.

I've been keeping myself busy learning some video editing/DVD producing software. It has made it apparent that I need more memory in my system. Who would have thought 2 GB of RAM wouldn't be enough.

My first task I am assigning myself is to move all of the TV show episodes I have downloaded onto DVD. Then I'll clear the files off of my hard drive. That 1TB of storage doesn't last too long when dealing with videos.

What else can I tell you. The rest of my life is kind of the "Same Ol' Shit"

I am forcing myself to take a week off from work in the next couple weeks before more shit hits the fan at work. I mistakenly made it during a week I have my kids. I should have planned it when they are at the ex's. I'm going to see about changing it. I am feeling the need to go gamble.

Happy Birthday to E!

My youngest turned 10 the other day. It's hard to believe he is in the double digits. My oldest turns 15 in just over a month. It is the birthday season in my family.

I upgraded the kid's computer to Vista the other day. I had the software for some time, but never felt the urgency to do the upgrade, especially after I had some trouble when I did it.

The reason I felt it was time was that my soon to be 15 year old had visited an adult oriented website last week while at my ex's. She told me that she found the link in the browser history. I usually don't check that because every time I have there was nothing, but this made me look at their computer. There was a different one than he had been checking out at the ex's.

I told him I was going to install Vista before he got here for the week, I didn't tell him why. Vista seems to have some really good parental controls. It was either install it or buy a filtering program.

I told him yesterday when we were all going to bed and he couldn't shut down his computer. I also set it so that he could not access the computer after 10 pm. He didn't argue. I think he was embarrassed enough that he knew he wasn't going to win anything.

I know he's going to figure out all he needs to know about sex one way or another, but I would rather have some control over the delivery of the information.

His girlfriend is very nice and sweet, but who knows what they are plotting. I read their computer conversations, but day to day contact and phone conversations are almost guaranteed to contain other troubling details.

On a good note, his report card was all A's and B's.

Inside Look

So Roxi kicked my ass into at least posting something...

Here is my desktop. It is a picture I took while hiking in Maine back in late July/early August.




What's on your desktop?

I am sick of being stressed

OK, so I've been bitching and moaning about the project in Iowa... well last week we laid off over a dozen people. Basically a house cleaning. There is an aweful lot of people there assigned to do jobs they are not qualified to do. Quite frankly, I am surprised the numbers weren't higher. There are a few people still there that I would have picked.

One of my key guys informed me that he's been offered a job at another company. He and I are friends, and we are both disturbed by the way things have been going for us, but I certainly don't want him to leave. He said he was on the fence. We discussed what it would take to keep him.

I let my director know what was going. It happened to be the same day he was leaving to go to Iowa for the lay off. He had a lot of shit on his plate to say the least. While he was gone, he and our VP discussed options and strategy to keep my guy happy. When they returned we had a meeting with him to discuss our options. He seems to have come back to our side of the fence. I hope they come through with what we discussed.

The one good thing that has come from this panic is that I am focusing more on our local issues than just the Iowa shit. We are working on plans for what we should have been doing in Denver all along. Iowa will hit us again, I am sure, but for now we are feeling better about our futures.

I've definitely had better days. My motivation is down, my mood is bad. The good thing is, I am working out just about everyday to help deal with my frustrations. I am feeling better, physically, than I have in a very long time.

The kids are doing great. This first quarter is flying by.

Girlfriend? Well, that isn't helping my mood.

I've been playing a bit of WoW lately. It's my escape. Probably a bad thing to do instead of dealing with my other issues, but I have gotten my Orc Hunter to level 27 :D

I'm still here...

I'm in a funk...

I am over worked...

GF trouble...

What else is new? I went camping over the holiday weekend. Had a great time with my kids and my friend Mike's family.

So much happened these last few weeks I have a hard time putting it down in words. I need a vacation from my brain.

I miss chatting with you all.

Vacation News

I hope you all have the patience to let these pictures load.

I went on a great vacation to the wonderful state of Maine. My mom is originally from a tiny little fishing town called Eastport. This area is absolutely beautiful. But first we stopped north of Boston to visit relatives of MS. The kids got to do some swimming, and burn off some energy. THANK GOD!


This is Eastport as seen from the back of our fishing boat.


The primary reason for this trip was to see family. My mom's siblings have been coming to Eastport every summer for decades, so having a family reunion to them might seem like a small deal, but they do it up right. This year was a bit more special. More people came this year than have come since the early 70s.

We rented cabins at two adjacent campgrounds. I wish I would have taken a picture of our cabin, but I failed miserably. Here's what our campground looked like as seen from the other campground. Seems like a silly picture to take, but the views were amazing.


Fishing was fun, but we didn't catch anything worth keeping.











We had a big lobster feed early in the week. I have never tried fresh lobster. The last time I came to Main I was about 10, and the thought of having to rip my food out of its shell didn't appeal to me. I have matured a bit since then.

I became very good at eating a lobster on this trip. But I don't take anything out of the main body cavity. No thanks! That's too much work.

Kevin wanted a lobster, so he got his own and enjoyed it. Erik didn't want one. We cooked up some burgers and dogs for the ones that didn't want lobster. But when Erik saw how much we were enjoying it he decided to try one. He loved it and ate almost a whole one AFTER eating a hamburger and a hotdog. Amazing!

Back in 2001 Eastport was the host of a semi-reality show called Murder in Small Town X. Fox Television built this statue to put in town for the show. The "winner of the show was a firefighter from New York City. He was killed on 9/11 just a week after the final episode of the show aired. The production crew had left the statue behind for the city of Eastport, but in 2005 the city re-dedicated the statue to Angel.

The town did really well as a result of the show. All the bed and breakfasts were booked solid. The stores and restaurants had record business. The show gave the city a kick in the butt. They've started all kinds of rejuvenation projects.

I've kind of taken over some of the genealogy work for the family. I found a book about the beginnings of the area, which my ancestors where involved in, but so far no mention in the book about our family. The book did point out that there is a lot of records in a museum in town that I was trying to go see, but unfortunately the museum was closed.

We also went whale watching one day. That was fun, but it got damn cold out on that boat. I was not prepared, but I managed without whining (until now). We saw some seals, porpoise, and fin whales. The fin whale seemed small to me, but in reality it is quite big. It's just that it doesn't show much when it breaches the water.



We went on hike in Lubec that was initially supposed to be only a couple miles, but unfortunately we missed a turn. The scenery was amazing. I'll close out with a bunch of pictures taken during the hike.

I'm Back

I am back from my vacation and have been at work all week. I don't have time to post pictures right now, but will soon.

One More Day...

until I am on vacation.

The big trip to Maine for my family reunion starts Thursday. I am anxious, and nervous. I don't know what to expect from this trip. I am going to be really self-conscious about myself, and people asking about MS. Am I stupid for taking my girlfriend on vacation with me? Probably.

I am really excited about seeing my immediate family, and seeing some of my extended family that will be there. I guess there are going to be family members there that I have never met before. That's what happens when your mom is from a large family and her siblings are spread all over the country.

I hope that it all goes smoothly, but I am afraid it won't/ I am going to try and stay calm, and not over-react. MS is getting stressed out because she knows I am going to be stressed out. AHHHHHH

I am surprised that I am not being asked to delay my vacation due to my job, but I told them that this was planned a year ago (well, not quite, but they don't need to know that). We're supposed to be rolling out new processes and tools to the group in Iowa at the end of August. We're not ready.

Actually I don't think we'll meet the schedule for one big reason. The server hardware we need has not even been ordered yet. I know that once the hardware is on order that our schedules will be screwed until we turn the switch.

The Iowa people are driving me crazy. We ask some really simple questions, and they skirt the answer EVERY FUCKING TIME. my frustration level with them is at an all time high. I am thinking they are trying to fuck this up for us, when in fact this will make their lives so much easier.

ACK!

I'll see you all after the 4th of August.

Unpopular Music Favorites Meme

After that last meme it made me wonder if I was the only one that had a lot of unpopular music in my past. What are you all hiding in your musical past. I would like to hear from you, and possibly be influenced by you to check out some new music.

Pick 5 groups that you love that you think that most people have never heard of. Hit me with your best shots. I am going to try to find YouTube links for all of these. You don't need to, but if you can possibly manage the time...

I am going to have a hard time limiting this to five, but here it goes.

The Producers - No, they had nothing to do with the Mel Brooks movie or play... or movie. They had a few albums back in the 80s, and I caught them live twice. You older folks that watched MTV in the early days may remember this one.Their energy was incredible. They were a very friendly bunch of guys.



Split Enz - One of the more popular, yet never heard of bands I listen to. I still have some of their songs in my playlists. These guys were weird, but they created some amazing music. They started out in the early 70s, but never "made it big" here in the states until 1980 with this song. A few of the member of this bizarre group later formed Crowded house. If you haven't heard of them you should be ashamed. In doing some research for this post I learned that Crowded House just released a new record. I must find it!



Material Issue - In the early 90s my tastes were way into what was called Power Pop. I was finding next to nothing that I like in the mainstream. My best friend in high school turned me on to these guys. I hadn't seen the video until looking for it today. What a bunch of young kids. But they had a lot of great songs in a short period of time. Unfortunately the band fizzled when grunge came into the mainstream. The lead singer/song writer committed suicide about a year later.



Jellyfish - I've raved about these guys before. This is yet another bizarre group which had influences from 60s, 70s and 80 music. Jellyfish remains one of my favorite bands of all time. Their songs are very complex and fun. They would put on excellent live shows. They only lasted through 2 records. Maybe it was all the weird costumes.



Gary Myrick & The Figures - Another band that I learned about through my brother. I was borderline obsessive about listening to these guys. Every cassette I compiled back in the 80s would always contain a couple of their songs. In 1980 they seemed to be destined for greatness (in my opinion), but the band disappeared faster than they appeared. The band had 2 songs in the movie Valley Girl, and he had a solo record that got him a hit with "Guitar, Talk, Love & Drums". He was also a member of the band Havana 3AM back in 1991. I have enjoyed his music over the years, but none seemed to equal what I heard from his work with The Figures.



I hope you enjoyed them all

When I was 18...

Meme Alert!!!

I got this from Os.

My take on these picks is a bit different that what I think was intended by the Meme. I did listen to a lot of pop radio. I was listening to the college stations to the New Wave shows. Once in a while there is a popular song or group that even my non-conforming musical taste would enjoy. Eventually everything moved away from guitar music and started to make me ill. Then came the hair bands. Yikes!

The rules:

1. Go to the Billboard #1 Hits listings (go here, scroll down, and you’ll
see them separated by decades/years on the left in the sidebar)
2. Pick the year you turned 18 (1982, for me)
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year
4. Pick 5 songs and write something about how these songs affected you
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends

"Who Can It Be Now" - Men at Work - I was fully running down the New Wave path when these guys hit the scene. They looked goofy in their videos. Almost 3 Stooges like, so of course that appealed to me. I always loved bands that even though synthesizers were the rage they kept the guitar work up front. They were one of many Australian bands out in that time frame. I liked many of them.

"Someday, Someway" - Marshall Crenshaw - The first time I heard this song I was driving my oldest brother and I somewhere. Billy heard it start playing and turn up the shitty AM radio that was in my mom's 1976 Mercury Comet. It's a simple song, without a lot of flare, but it has heart. I immediately loved it. I bought this album (yes vinyl), and his second album right before heading to college. I was always awkward around "girls". I didn't date all through high school. I never even went to a dance. I didn't know how to dance, and I had no idea how to learn. One day while cleaning my apartment while playing this album I miraculously figured out how to move my ass to a beat. Pretty sad for a musician. I'm still not a great dancer, but I am not afraid to try anymore. Thanks Marshall!

"Paperlate " - Genesis - i bought this album from a used record store near home. I was on a big Genisis kick for many years to come. They were kind of artsy cool for their early career, but turned radio friendly and started cranking out excellent hits. This one happened to only come on their 3 Sides Live album. A double album with one of the 4 sides containing new stuff. Any band willing to put a horn section in has a lot of class in my book.

"867-5309 (Jenny Jenny)" - Tommy Tutone - An instant classic with pretty much the same guitar rhythm as John Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K in the USA", or The Romantics "What I Like About You". Yes, I know there are differences, but my point is that they all rock. I was hoping this wasn't going to be a one hit wonder. Oh well.

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - The Clash - Probably one of the songs responsible for moving me further away from main stream pop music. Sure it was a hit, but it was Punk. You either loved it or you hated it.





It really surprised me how few artists that I liked were on that list. This may have inspired another music meme. Originating from me means it's going to be a bit odd.

Too much information...

... running through my head

The shit hit the fan at work about the Iowa projects. All that was planned has changed. I am scrambling to get ready for setting them up with the new tools and process by the end of August. I don't think that's enough time, but we're going to try.

My home Vista upgrade has caused me a couple of problems. Battlefield 2 is not working. I have updated drivers and BIOS (which created a big headache) and still it won't let me play. I may have to get a new video card. That is upsetting to me. WoW on the other hand is working better than ever. I guess I have to change my game of choice until a solution is discovered.

I've seen a couple movies this past month...

Knocked up: HILARIOUS!
Not quite as good as "40 Year Old Virgin", but damn close.

Evan Almighty: DISAPPOINTED
Too many holes in the story. Steve Carell is a favorite of mine. It had some good moments, but no where near as good as Bruce Almighty.

Live Free or Die Hard: KICKS ASS
I didn't think they could get another good movie out of the franchise. I was WAY wrong.

Ratatouille: AWESOME!

Brad Bird did it again (he wrote and directed "The Incredibles" too). This guy knows how to write and direct an animated movie.

I have upgraded

I bit the bullet and upgraded to Vista

I am almost happy about it. It was an easy and safe install, it runs much better than XP, every picture seems to look better than before.

But I can't get Battlefield 2 to work. So I am a little upset. I've tried new vid drivers, and running it as the administrator, but I got no where. The next thing to try is uninstalling and re-installing all over again.

Wish me luck

Bitching about work

Hey friends...

I have a minute to breath... barely

This is a rant... feel free to ignore it. I just need to vent.

My experience with the Iowa group has been fairly limited. We try to support their software configuration management needs, but I was happy with just letting them stay status quo until we move them over to the tools we use in Denver. That's not happening soon enough. Their SCM server is crapping out on them. Locking developers out every day, sometimes multiple times a day. It is a Linux box.

A few weeks ago we decided we needed to change out that server. They wanted to move from a Linux box to Windows. Sounded easy enough, but me and my crew are not too familiar with the tools they use. We got it all set up except for one add-on that send e-mail out every time a file is checked in. I told them they may need to go without that tool. They said "NO WAY!", they had to have it. About a week or so ago I asked why getting spammed from the source control tool was so important... that was a big mistake.

Well they use this tool in a VERY unorthodox way, and also do software releases in a very odd way, I came to find out. Apparently, when a customer finds a bug in the software and declares it an emergency, the group in Iowa fix the code and check it in. This generates these e-mails that identify only the lines in the code that are changed. The Iowa group then forwards that e-mail to the client. When I was investigating this I though "Why the hell would they care what lines of code were changed?". I came to find out that the customer has our source code on-site (This is bad, VERY BAD!), and when an emergency bug needs to be fixed they take this e-mail and make the changes on-site instead of just getting a new release from us. They then rebuild and redeploy locally. I think the words that came out of my mouth were, "You got to be fucking kidding me". Not only that, but the client has the "option" of making changes we don't know about, or not implementing all of the fixes we send them.

Let me explain something here. My title is Manager of Software Configuration Management. It is my responsibility to be able to control and recreate any software that has either been deployed internally or to the customer (ESPECIALLY to the customer). I had no idea this was going on. The project manager that told me this said she knew that this was a bad way of doing it, but this was needed due to customer expectations. I told her this was going to have to change.

I could not keep this to myself. I wrote this up in an e-mail to my boss, he is the head of Systems Engineering, and to the head of Product Engineering, and the VP of Software Engineering for our division. What suprised me is the speed in which I got a reply. The first came from the VP. She was in shock. So much so that she followed that up with another "less volatile" response. Unfortunately she told me that I had to get that fixed.

This is an issue way beyond my group, which is way I threw it up the ladder. I don't interact with the customer, and if I was to tell the customer that this practice is no longer going to work I know I would have my head on the chopping block. I let everyone know that the customer relationship needed to be worked to get them to understand the change to the process, and it should be done by someone that already has an on-going relationship with them.

I think the VP agreed, but she never told me. I was trying to understand how to unravel this mess when my boss came by. He was laughing and shaking his head. I told him I don't want to look under any more rocks in Iowa, "can we just nuke 'em from orbit, it's the only way to be sure". That was a movie quote (I know... such a guy thing). Can anyone guess the movie?

Well the responsibility is no longer on me to fix this. It has been handled at the VP level. More than one VP had to be involved because a different VP handles the customer facing stuff (I was right... YEAH!).

Sorry for all the process talk. I know it's not exciting.

So now we're moving them over next weekend to the Windows box without the e-mail add-on. Another weekend ruined with work. There are going to be a number of ruined weekends coming up shortly. This was just one of the things stressing me out.

I haven't even been playing much as far as computer games go. My BF2 installation needs to be redone. So I've been playing a little World of Warcraft. Sometimes with Chrissie. I like how her character dances for mine.

Little League is over, but Kevin is also on the freshmen team at the high school. That goes for a couple more weeks. I've been spending a lot of time at the ball parks.

Too Damn Busy

I know I'm not around much. My work is kicking my ass. Many deadlines that may not be possible. I have lots to blog about, just no time to do it.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Movie Junkie

Stole this from TG

Check which movies you've seen, and keep count along the way.

Out of 239 movies: HOW MANY HAVE YOU SEEN??

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane

Total: 9

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
(x) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far: 15

( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp

Total so far: 19

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 26

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots

Total so far: 33

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
(x) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG - only the original

Total so far: 45

( ) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber

Total so far: 51

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 56

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 62

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
(x) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total so far: 75

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 85

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 97

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 108

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin (funniest movie ever made)

Total so far: 114

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 120

() Baseketball
() Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three

Total so Far: 124

( ) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
(x) Willard

Total so far: 130

( ) High Tension
(x) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld

Total so far: 138

(x) Kill Bill vol 1 (unfortunately)
(x) Kill Bill vol 2 (unfortunately)
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 140

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 146

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
(x) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

154 out of 239 movies seen!

Actually this has an aweful lot of lame movies.

What I did last night...

The concert was... AWESOME!

I saw them back in 1981 in Denver (my first concert ever), then again in 1983 in Phoenix (my first mega huge outdoor concert). This time blew those others away.

Interviewing and talking

No, things are not so bad at work that I am leaving. I have interviewed a couple of people this past week for my job opening.

I determined that both guys could do the job just from reading their resumes. Sure, people sometimes lie in their resume, so it's up to me to make a decision through talking to them.

I don't really like interviewing people. It's part of my social anxiety. I tend to talk to much because I am nervous. Mike, one of my guys that does interviews with me, said he is going to kick me the next time I start providing way too much detail. It was good to hear that. It keeps me aware of my rambling on.

The first interview was last Friday. The guy had been awake for over 24 hours due to a major software release from his current job. He seemed a bit wired. I wasn't going to hold it against him. He knows what he is doing, but he doesn't know the main tool that we use. There would be a substancial learning curve, but as he stated, he has always wanted to learn this tool. His expertice in other areas kept him in the running.

The next guy I was a bit skeptical about. I feel bad about this, but I am a bit apprehensive about hiring someone from India. I have met some great engineers from india, but I have also known a lot of mediocre and bad engineers. Some of the problems stem from the communication gap. Some people from india speak so fast that it is hard to understand them through their heavy accent. Other parts of my feelings come from the fact that a lot of people from India are very meek. I can't afford to have someone that doesn't step up and question why we do things a certain way.

This guy came in, dressed in a very nice suit. I was in my jeans and a Polo shirt. We're casual in the office. I had forgotten about the interview. Usually I'll wear a pair of Dockers. He was very articulate and extremely well versed in the tools. He had to do some extreme customization to integrate a couple tools together. He apparently did this all on his own. He was not afraid to speak up, and even interrupted me when he knew that I was going to ask a particular question.

Mike was with me for both interviews. Both of us had some hesitation about hiring the first guy. We both agreed he could do the job, but we thought his focus in a particular area caused him not to fit as well as we'd like. After we finished with the second guy I went over to Mike's desk to get a quick first impression from him. His exact words were, "HIRE HIM!!". I felt the same way. We made him an offer today. The recruiter and I are 99% sure he'll accept.

I had originally put in a bunch of stuff here about the discussion that MS and I had for the last few days. Suffice it to say that she needs to get her son back on ADD meds, and probably a sleeping pill (I guess he only gets a couple hours of sleep per night). There was also a lot of concern over our relationship. She is being VERY needy,a nd it concerns her that I am not.

Lots to think about.

Long Busy Weekend

It's not been too restful until today.

Saturday my girlfriend's daughter graduated from high school. Afterwards there was a party... at my girlfriend's ex-in-law's. Why did I say I would go?

Actually her ex has been nice to me the few times I have seen him. I don't know what he really thinks of me... but from reports I hear he is jealous. Why, I'm not sure. He was the one that left for another woman.

Anyway, I've met his parents on a couple occasions... both revolving around MS's daughter. I have been nice and got into conversations even though I was uncomfortable.

I went to the graduation without my kids. I felt it would just be boring for them. I picked them up afterward and took them to the party. The uncomfortableness continues.

When we arrived I did not see MS's car. I figured maybe she had to run to the store for something. We went in and I got to meet MS's cousin (I'll just refer to her as "the cousin") that lives nearby. She is very nice... and since she is on MS's side of the family I felt a bit more at ease.

They informed me that MS had to take her daughter to an after hours clinic because of a rash and hives that have been bugging her for a few days. That meant that I was going to be in unfriendly territory without backup for a lot longer than I thought. It would have been nice to have at least received a call warning me.

The remaining kids (there were 5 including mine) decided to watch a movie in the next room. I kind of wanted to join them, but figured I should stay in the room with the adults so i wouldn't be labeled anti-social.

We talked a lot about nothing... mostly talked about the housing market. The cousin is a broker. After a while the cousin had to take her kids and head home. She has a night job that she needed to get to. Great, abandon me.

When she did leave I found an opportunity to join the kids watching the movie, and I took it. I then had to deal with MS's son being the inconsiderate person that he is. Seeing as I was already uncomfortable at this house I didn't say anything. His father finally jumped in when he noticed the behaviour. Their son is ADHD, and I guess this attitude is related.

MS and daughter finally arrived. We had cake and got out of there not too long afterwards. I'm not sure if MS even knew how annoyed I was. I tend to hide it well.

Me and the boys joined my buddy Mike and his family up in the mountains. They went up Friday, but we joined them Sunday for a day of ATV and motorcycle riding. The weather cooperated. We all had a great time. I did not invite MS to join us. I think she would have, but I just couldn't take another day of bickering kids. Obviously MS and I need to have a talk about all of this. It's just hard to know when to do it. Sooner is better, but this week is going to be difficult.

Kevin has joined another baseball team. This one is loosely linked to the high school he'll be starting at this fall. Today was their first game. MS called to ask if they could come. After a slight hesitation on my part I said "sure".

As with every time our kids are together there was a conflict between Erik and her son. He had taken the baseball that Erik had and wouldn't give it back. It wasn't that Erik needed to have the ball. It was that he does shit like this just to get on people's nerves. Guess what... he was on mine. I asked him why he needed to do that. I got some sarcastic remark back. Then MS got annoyed at me for getting on his case.

Being single with kids is very difficult. Most of the women I have dated have had kids. Sometimes it's the kids that cause things to not work out. I see that happening again. She knows that her son annoys me, but I need to let her know how bad I see it getting. It's not fair to my kids to have to deal with this. My kids are not perfect angels, but they are respectful and pleasant to be around... most of the time.

Mistaken Identity

How would you feel if you received an e-mail that contained pictures?

How about if those pictures were meant for family and friends of the birth of their baby? ...and those pictures did not crop out her private bits?

...and then you realized it was a case of "calling the wrong number". I must have an e-mail address very close to someone elses.

I let her know that I think the pictures were meant to be sent to someone else.

I think I just heard a scream from somewhere off in the distance.

The good news is the baby looked fine

Let the games begin!

It's happened. I have been coerced by my friends to start playing World of Warcraft. I played with one of my regular gaming buddies for about a week. I had been avoiding playing with Chrissie because I didn't want to be stumbling around, showing my ignorance. Then to be playing with her I needed to create a new character. Apparently I was on the wrong side. Chrissie and I had some fun a few nights ago. I am still getting used to it, especially using text chat instead of TeamSpeak (time to step up to the latest technology, Chrissie). I am not as good at multitasking as she is. I'm working on it. I particularly liked how she had her character dance for me. Yeah, baby!

So this is my character, Sardak. He's not much to look at, but he's good with a bow and arrow.

What I've been up to...

First of all...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
I have been dealing with baseball, baseball, and more baseball.

Then there is the endless work stress, but I'll bitch about that some other time.

The season has started and is looking like it's going to be an exciting one.

Kevin is mainly playing 3rd base, but has been put in as catcher on occasion. He loves playing catcher, but he has a great arm and great reflexes, so 3rd base is a good choice for him too. I wish I would have remembered to take my camera to one of the games a few weeks ago. They lost, but Kevin caught a screamer at 3rd that would have resulted in a double or triple. He stretched out and caught it perfectly.

He had a game earlier this week where for 2 innings straight every time the opposing team got a hit it went straight to Kevin. I had to leave before the end of the game because I had to get Erik to his. These guys are running me ragged (that's a mom saying).

Erik is playing 1st base almost exclusively. He seems to have a better glove and understands what it takes to be a good first baseman. The level he is at in Little League still has a lot of kids who have hardly or never played before. I was afraid his coach was going to be a problem due to not showing up for opening ceremonies and not scheduling a practice for weeks after other teams started practicing. I guess it just had to do with not being able to get time off from work. Now things are going well.

His season so far has been flawless except for on dropped throw to him a few games ago. He isn't hitting as well as he should. I don't know if it is just him changing things or his coach, but he has a very odd stance and bat position. We're working on it.

Kevin's progress report came the other day. As and Bs. I am very proud of him. I wish I got those kinds of grades when I was his age.

48 questions ... yes, another meme

Chrissie is such a snot. She sends this stuff in an e-mail instead of posting so then I have to get blamed for making it continue. She should be spanked!

1. WHO WERE YOU NAMED AFTER? First name... no one. Middle name Alan Shepard, but my mom spelled it wrong.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Late February I think

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? As long as printing counts as handwriting, yes

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Pastrami (I think Chrissie and I are such a perfect match)

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes... and I will not be having anymore... but I still like to practice often.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? Yes, because I get along with everyone (well, almost everyone)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes, definitely

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup, and Chrissie should inspect them :P

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Probably not, but I would skydive

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Peanut Butter Crunch

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Dress shoes, yes. Sneakers, only when they're brand new

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Only if I don't shower

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their mouth

15. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My weight

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Paula

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? If they want

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black jeans and brown Merrells

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? The bland combination of chicken, ribs and shrimp at the Elephant Bar. It was supposed to be spicy. Blah

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Jellyfish - That Is Why



22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? I don't remember what it is called, but it was the hand lotion an ex-girlfriend uses. I think it's from Victoria's Secret

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Ann

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? A lot!!!

27. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? At the stadium = Baseball or Football. On TV = Hockey.

28. HAIR COLOR? Brown (with a little bit of grey)

29. EYE COLOR? Green

30. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, but I wear glasses when driving at night

31. FAVORITE FOOD? The perfect steak

32. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Thriller scary not blood n guts scary, and funny happy not sappy happy. Chrissie... wanna go to a movie?

33. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Shawn of the Dead (ironic considering my last answer)

34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING??? Brown patterned polo

35. SUMMER OR Winter? Summer I guess, but Fall is my favorite.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheesecake

38. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? All my friends that have nothing better to do

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? BWH

40. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Implementing IBM Rational ClearQuest: An End-to-End Deployment Guide

41. ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? My G5 Laser Gaming Mouse... and dust

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? The Daily Show

43. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SOUND? Kids laughing

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles by far

45. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Thule, Greenland

46. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Yes, so I'm told by some... and I can also play the trombone :D

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Madison Heights, MI

48. WHO'S ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK. See 38