December Kicks My Ass

One post for the entire month... so sad

The Christmas holiday was fine. But the weeks leading up to my vacation have really burned me out. Now that I am on my vacation I find that I just want to veg out, but family and friends won't have it.

On top of the rest of the months stress, I started dating 2 different women. They are 2 entirely different types of people. The one I have seen the most is an IT geek (not the same as what I do). We had some really nice dates, but then she dumped me right before my Michigan trip, siting that I don't seem interested enough. After 4 dates am I supposed to be calling every day? When she dumped me via e-mail it had only been 4 days since I saw her last, and I had my kids. The other is fine with the limited contact. In fact I am getting the impression she may just want me for sex. We haven't done "it" yet. That could get interesting. Time to stock up on condoms again. I could be totally wrong about this, but I know she is not someone to get too serious about at this point. Maybe I'll explain later.

I drove to Michigan with my brother Mike. Our brother Billy was there too with his family. I was sad because I couldn't take my kids. My mom and my sister Patt in Michigan are always great to see. My brother-in-law John (late sister Paula's husband) and my niece kate were also wonderful to see. My sister's family (husband and 2 kids from a previous marriage) get on our nerves. I could, and ma, post about how much of a pain in the ass he is.

Mike and I decided to drive by our old neighborhood in Madison Heights. Our old house is for sale and falling apart. It is very depressing to see.

We headed back to Colorado on Sunday. I figured we would stop somewhere in eastern Kansas that night, but we managed to drive all the way through. 18 hours straight. Our longest break was in Missouri where we had a quick bite to eat and stopped to buy some fireworks. We left Michigan a little before noon eastern time , and arrived at my house at 4:30 am mountain time.

I think the thing that helped us the most was we downloaded The History of Howard Stern Act 2 before we left. We listened the whole way. I almost had to pull over a few times due to laughing myself to extreme tears a few times. I know Howard Stern isn't everyones cup of tea, but I love his irreverant humor. Although I don't think he is as disrespectful as most people think he is.

The boys and I are going skiing on New Years Day with some friends. My first skiing of the season. For some reason I am not looking forward to it. I think I just need to go skiing alone sometime, and not have to deal with anyone else's schedules or needs.

No Room To Complain

I hope that all of my friends here in the US had a great Thanksgiving.

My oldest son had his 16th birthday the other day. He has gotten an awful lot of cash from everyone. He of course wants a car, but i am not getting him one. Because friends of his got cars when they turned 16 he things he should have one. My ex agreed with me not too long ago, but I think he is working on her hard. There was talk of her getting him one. I wish she would stop backing down. I have a perfectly good '97 Chevy pickup that he can use.

Work is really intense right now, but we are getting things done. Probably not fast enough for the execs, but we are also trying to not impact the various project deliveries that are scheduled. I've been giving a lot of training classes again. I kind of enjoy it, but I hate the fact that everyone wants the same things out of the new tools that were available in the old one. These people need to deal with change and get over it.

Ski season is starting up. My oldest has already gone on one trip with his school's Snow Riders club. Early snow is not very good, so he scraped up his board pretty bad. My youngest is in 5th grade, and apparently the ski areas give free passes to 5th and 6th graders. We got him the cards, so I am sure that means lots more skiing this year (I hope).

I have had a strange run of good luck with women from the Internet dating sites lately. I wasn't even really trying and have had dates with 2 in the last 2 weeks, and another who I thought wasn't interrested suddenly wants to see me. I've never been a good juggler, but I'll see what being a cyber slut is all about. Not really... I am not sleeping with them. Well, not yet.

One lady is a very intense marathon runner, and bike rider. I am no runner, and my bike riding is more on the enjoyable end than competative. I hoep that doesn't bother her. So far so good. Another lady is pretty fresh on the dating scene, so I need to see how mentally stable she is before going too far. I remember when I was in her shoes. I didn't know what to expect, and was ill-prepared for meeting new women. It's hard to tell so far. Then the 3rd I haven't met yet, but she seems interesting, and has her own company (no, not Avon or anything like that).

I am a one woman man, so having 3 interested at one time kind of gives me a weird anxiety.

I Am Really Not Very Interesting - Another MEME

Stolen from Evening

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? It's ok.
2. Favorite late night snack? ice cream or popcornt.
3. Do you own a gun? Yes, a handgun, 2 shotguns and a 30.06 rifle
4. What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee shop? Chai.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I am ok with them, but don't have them often.
7. Favorite Christmas song? The Christmas Song
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Chai.
9. Can you do push-ups? Yes
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? N/A
11. Favorite hobby? Quad riding
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? Procrastination.
14. The last disease you contracted? Pneumonia about 8 or 9 years ago
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. Too much work, too little time; Is she interrested; I should be getting to bed
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Chai, Diet Dr Pepper, Water
17. Current worry right now? Finances in my future.
18. Current hate right now? Changing plans midstream, which happens to me WEEKLY!
19. Favorite place to be? Anywhere with friends laughing
20. How did you ring in the New Year? Home alone
21. Like to travel? Yes, but don't do it often enough.
22. What is your favorite candy? Butterfinger.
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, but I never wear them
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Burgundy
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slippery.
26. Can you whistle? standard lips pursed.
27. Favorite singer/band? Thats impossible to say. I have so many favorites
28. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor? No, I would be thrown off for killing someone.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever I am playing on my MP3 player.
30. Favorite girl’s names? Jenna
31. Favorite boy’s name? Kyle or Ryan
32. What’s in your pocket right now? Wallet
33. Last thing that made you laugh? My friend Tracey telling me to masterbate.
34. Like your job? I like parts of my job, but not very well.
36. Do you love where you live? Yes, absolutely.
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? That work? 3
38. Who is your loudest friend? Mike
39. Do you drive the speed limit or speed? Rarely.
40. Does someone have a crush on you? I think so.
41. What is your favorite book? Kids book, Ferdinand The Bull
42. Favorite Sports Team? Denver Broncos or Detroit Tigers
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Thinking about sleep
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today? Work

Political Bullshit

I posted something else earlier if you don't want to read about politics.

I have been engulfed in political discussions for weeks now. I am no expert on the subject, but it has really gotten to me this year.


When I went off to college at 17 Reagan had been in office for a year or so, and had quickly resolved the Iran hostage situation just because of who he was. That made me admire the guy. I had no clue of the details around the release, or what being a Republican meant. I really didn't know the difference between the parties other than my dad was Republican and my mom Democrat.


Soon after I got to Phoenix for school I needed to get a new driver's license... well I was told I had to after getting busted for not driving with my headlights on (there was a loose wire), not having a local license, and not having proof of insurance in the car. On top of that I had turned 18, and needed a different license for that. Luckily I was pulled over into the parking lot where I worked. My manager was outside and knew the cop. The resulted in me just getting ticketed for the license and insurance proof.


While getting my license I was asked if I wanted to register to vote. I figured what the hell, but I had to choose a party affiliation. Independant was not an option at the time, and I was clueless. I chose Republican since I knew that Reagan was a Republican.

I live in the most conservative city in Colorado, so its not like I have seen much of what Democrats can do here. Over the years I felt my choice was a good one. I learned that Republicans keep government small and taxes low. There were a few things I didn't follow with the right wing though. Especially the right for a woman to choose how she handles a pregnancy. I always felt that it was a strange thing that Republicans wanted smaller government and less regulation, but wanted to push their opinion on whether an abortion was right or wrong.

Now that I am a father and have a number of presidents behind us since my entrance into this realm, I see things a hell of a lot different than in my youth. I have always been moderate, but always leaning to the right. But I was seeing some problems with how our very conservative town was working.

Maybe our public school systems need better management, but without the funding their isn't much to manage. Every school my kids have gone to has been over-crouded since the day it was opened. My oldest son's middle school was built for a capacity of 600, but they were forced to put almost 1000 kids in this school the first full year it was opened. The high school he now attends is under the same strain.

Two years ago some people were able to get a few measures passed to get more school funding in our district and some road improvement projects. I voted for the higher taxes, as I didn't see things getting any better in the future unless all the jobs in town dried up and people moved away. We now have a new high school, middle school, and a couple grade schools. The high school my son attends got a couple huge additions to it. We're finally getting close to where we should be.

This town has been so against any taxes that they can't see what the lack of that revenue does to our future. I am not saying that I am totally for any new tax hike that comes along, but I am going to be taking a much closer look at things before taking a hard line on no taxes.

This brings me to the presidential candidates. This has been an interesting year. I voted for McCain back in the 2000 primary. I saw Bush as a fumbling idiot, so I couldn't back him. Lets face it... Bush is not the brains behind this administration, and some really powerful people have gotten their pockets lined without tax dollars and whenever we fill our tanks. I know things can't be any worse than what we've had for the last 8 years... well, so I thought.

I was never too excited about Hillary Clinton. I thought that would be a mistake. I am by no means against a woman president. I bet a woman could do a hell of a lot better than some of our past (and a hell of a lot better than our current) presidents. I just thought that people hate her too much to be successful. McCain to me was a good choice. He was a lot more moderate than any other Republicans in the race. Obama was an unknown to me, but some of what he was saying was definitely had some good points.

Then McCain started falling in-line with the more conservative right wingers. I kept telling myself he is just doing this to get the backing of the party, and that he would not be such a party guy once he got to the while house. But then he picked Palin for a running mate.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!

I could not stand her from the first minute she opened her mouth. I couldn't give less of a shit that she is pretty. Who the hell cares when this is someone that would be taking over if McCain dies in office (which isn't such a small risk). He needed to pick someone maybe a little more right than him... NOT THE QUEEN OF THE FUCKING FASCISTS!



This person is so NOT prepared for a heavy political position, and certainly doesn't have enough knowledge to even try to be a "Maverick". It is clear to me that McCain's handlers chose her is because she is a woman governor, NOT because she has any clue as a politician. I think McCain had no idea how bad of a match this was.

Now I've been feeling like a total ass for hoping he was who I thought. I can't in good conscience vote for McCain. Now that I have watched all 4 debates I am more certain than ever that the Republican party has totally lost its way. Obama not only handled himself WAY better than McCain in all 3 debates, the points he has made make far more sense to me (and apparently most of the US agrees).

A few weeks ago a fried of mine was over for gaming night and asked if I wanted to get a mail in ballot. I figured I would, but then on the form it also asked if I wanted to change my part affiliation. I changed to Democrat.

Now I worry about Obama being killed by one of these lunatics behind McCain.

I hope that is the last thing I say about the election before Nov 4th.

Thoughts on travel... and being a pussy

One of the things I wish I did more is travel. So the majority of my vacations are to visit family. Sure, I get out to Vegas or like in August I went to San Diego, but I feel guilty if I go on a trip without my kids. I usually tell them I will be out of town, so that they don't wonder why I am not at the house. I know I need my adult fun.

I have never been to Europe. I have only taken a part day trek to Mexico when I was in high school. For some reason I kind of have this feeling like I don't deserve a nice vacation. I am not one to go somewhere alone. I applaud my friends that can do that, but it would just make me feel out of place. Not on an adventure, which is what I know I would feel like if I went on with someone.

I have used the excuse of not being able to afford a nice trip like this. This isn't really true. I could do it financially if I really wanted to. I just avoid putting large charges on my credit card if at all possible.

The lady I went out with last week before my Michigan trip is now in Germany. She is a chef at a very posh hotel here in Colorado Springs, so she is there on a business trip. But I know she is going to make an adventure of it. She is definitely that type. I admire that. Is there a gene I am missing? I know that one of my inhibitions around this is because I wouldn't know the local language, but people do this all the time.

A friend of mine at work has been really hard on me lately because I am not outgoing enough. He slammed me because I meet women I date on-line instead of just going up to someone in the grocery store or where ever, and asking them for their number. Sometimes I think its easy for him to say these things because he is married. But then I see how women react to him all the time and I know I not doing it right.

For me its not about "hooking up". I do want to find someone that could build into a serious relationship. It's not like I can't talk to women. I do, and sometimes at very random locations. I just don't seem to have the balls to ask for their number. I think the last time I did that was 2 weeks after my ex left. It landed me a date with an extremely attractive woman, but ended badly because she was a HEAVY drinker and a party princess.

Maybe the on-line thing is just too easy to hide behind. I guess I need to get out of my safe zone... for both the dating and the travelling.

Vacationing in Michigan

My kids are on a 2 week fall break from school, so I decided if I don't take a vacation now I will lose much of my vacation time (we don't get to roll it over or get paid out at year's end). With mom having gone through her surgery I figured now would be a good time to come. Plus, Erik's birthday just happened yesterday.

The drive out was uneventful. Kevin helped with about 7 of the hours of driving. I don't rest well with him behind the wheel, but I did take a nap the second morning, only to be jolted from my 20 minutes of sleep when Kevin hit the warning track on the shoulder. No more sleeping for me! He wasn't going off the road, but some states put their warning bumps way too close to the lane.

We had a nice party for Erik last night. My brother-in-law and niece came up from Ann Arbor with a cake made from scratch. It was great to see everyone there. We're all getting together again on Wednesday too.

I had to come to the coffee shop down the street from the senior center mom lives in to get wi-fi. There is something wrong with her router. I am sure that is something I will tackle this afternoon or tonight during the Red Sox game.

I went on a first date this past week. It was kind of an odd thing. She messaged me first, which is always a good thing, since I am such a fucking coward sometimes. We decided to meet at an Old Chicagos near her house. Meeting at a bar is not always a good thing. She asked if I was good at trivia... "pretty good", I said. But I hadn't played the trivia game that plays in the bar. She seemed genuinely excited to meet, so that made me feel at ease.

The evening we decided to meet she was going to have dinner with her parents and daughter, but would meet me after that. She said to relax after I got home from work, throw on some jeans and come meet her around 9.

Before meeting her I decided to take a really critical look at her profile. The big thing that stood out was that she smoked "sometimes". I decided that maybe it's only a minor thing and to let it slide. Normally to me it is black and white, either you are a smoker or you aren't, but we'll see.

When she arrived, I saw her walking through the bar and said hi to a couple people. Hmmmm. She was wearing a pretty hot little dress with a lot of cleavage showing, which made me wonder about the jeans comment. Oh well.

She knew most of the bartenders, and told one to get us another trivia controller. and she ordered a beer for herself, I did as well. The bartender delivered the controller and a personized stein with her name on it full of Guiness. The first game I started out good, and by the time we finished 15 questions I had kicked ass. She then told me she needed to go outside to smoke. She told me she only smokes when she drinks... From the looks of that mug, she must drink a lot.

The second game she kicked my ass hands down. So she is smart, at least on trivia. The 3rd game I again got my ass handed to me. WTF! Did she let me win that first one? She won the fourth game, but not by as much. She is a very nice lady. I doubt this is someone I will be with long term, but she is a lot of fun. I wouldn't mind having her as a friend. We have VERY similar senses of humor.

I keep going back...

It's been almost a year since I broke things off with MS. It stills feels wierd, and I don't know why. As I analyze things in my own head I know that the reasons I broke it off were very good reasons. Yet I did care for her quite a bit... obviously not enough to keep it going.

Well, I'm not sure if I have blogged about this at all, but she is now dating one of my best friends. She and my friend Dan met because of the game nights that we would put together. Part of me is jealous, but then I keep wondering why. Although I was the one that broke it off, I guess I don't let go sometimes. It was a number of months ago that Dan told me they were dating. I was honest with him and told him that it did give me some anxiety, but I also told him that it is just something I will deal with. Dan assured me that there was nothing going on between them with she and I were together. I wasn't concerned about that at all.

Two weekends ago I hosted game night. This was the first time I had seen them together as a couple. At first it was a bit uncomfortable, but that feeling did pass. I almost cracked at one point because she she always called me "baby" when talking to me. Well, now Dan is baby, but I almost responded. Dan and I are good enough friends that we would have laughed it off, but there was a couple there that was new to the group, so it could have made for an interesting explanation.

Another ex-girlfriend contacted me a few weeks ago. I met up with her last week to watch some football. I have gone back to dating her a couple times now, and each time things didn't work out (duh). The last time I broke it off because she wanted to just be friends. With some ex-girlfirends that works for me, but this one I fell for hard a number of years ago. There is one thing I know... my feelings for her have always been more than friends. I ended the "relationship" last time after 2 month because I wanted more than just being friends.

I don't know what will result from this. It was so great to just talk and get caught up. A lot has gone on in both of our lives. I am very hesitant to get too close at this point, and I know a few of you are just rolling your eyes. I do need to see this through. We'll see if we're at all compatible.

My kids and I are driving to Michigan in about a week and a half. Mom has had her surgery and is doing very well. I hope this was a long term fix. She sounded really good on the phone the other day.

I need to get the Malibuick (this is what the guys at work call my Malibu) in for some maintenance before the trip. I have had the car since January, and I rolled over 24,ooo miles today... UGH! When I picked it up it had 7 miles on it.

The Many Layers of Jon

Layer One: On the Outside
Name: Jon, Noj, Shankenstein, Shankbone, Harvey
Birthday: just over 2 months away
Current Location: Kitchen, avoiding cleaning the floor after last nights party
Eye Color: Green-ish... used to be very blue
Hair Color: Brown, with a tiny hint of gray
Righty or Lefty: Righty, and trying to be a switch hitter (basebal, you pervs)
Zodiac Sign: Saggy

Layer Two: Just Below the Surface
Your Weakness: I have a hard time telling friends no
Your Goal: Successful in parenting, work, and relationships
Your Fears: Failing my kids; embarrassment

Layer Three: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your thoughts first waking up: I don't want to go to work
Your bedtime: When I get around to it
Your most missed memory: My sister. The pain of losing her is slowly going away, but I miss the fact that I can never talk to her anymore

Layer Four: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: Dr. Pepper
McDonald's or Burger King: Chipotle
Single or Group dates: Both
Adidas or Nike: New Balance... I need a EE width
Lipton Tea or Nestea: Tazo Chai
Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla with some additions like reeces pieces, or peanut butter cups
Cappuccino or Coffee: again, Tazo Chai

Layer Five: Do You?
Smoke: Hell no.. never even tried it
Have a crush: Constantly
Think you've been in love: Due to the pain following, I would say yes
Want to get married: Maybe
Believe in yourself: Most of the time
Think you're a health freak: Bad health freak

Layer Six: In the Past Month
Drank alcohol: More this month than most
Gone to the mall: Only when necessary
Eaten Sushi: Love it! Spicey Tuna Roll is the best
Gone skating: not for a hell of a long time
Dyed your hair: Never

Layer Seven: Have You Ever?
Played a stripping game: No, but if you ladies are willing ;-)
Gotten beaten up: Not really. I fought my brother all the time when I was a kid, but I don't think we ever did much damage to ourselves. Other fights never lasted long.
Changed who you were to fit in: No way... I usually tell people how they are being Lemmings when they do that.

Layer Eight: Getting Old
Age you’re hoping to be married: Does age really matter after your first.
Plastic Surgery or Wrap: No, but I do moisturize
Buried or Cremated: Cremated. Why waste the land?

Layer Nine: Perfect Mate
Best Eye Color: Blue
Best Hair Color: Auburn
Short or Long Hair: Doesn't matter, just take care of it.

Layer Ten: What were you doing...
1 HOUR AGO: Reading blogs
1 WEEK AGO: Replacing my water heater. That was a shity day.
1 MONTH AGO: I was in San Diego
1 YEAR AGO: Working, slaving

Layer Eleven: Finish the Sentence
I LOVE: My my kids
I HATE: Being put in situations where I know my decisions will cause others difficulty
I HIDE: In my house
I MISS: My family
I NEED: To get going on a lunch date

WOOHOO... 2 posts this month

Inspired by Grace

I actually took a couple days off of work this past week and met up with a friend of mine in San Diego. No... It wasn't Jillie. It was a different friend that happens to live a couple hours from there in Arizona. I've mentioned her a few times before, but it's been years (literally). Unfortunately, Jillie was in the midwest having her usual fun, like visiting another one of my favorite bloggers, Evening, so we didn't get a chance to meet for that drink she owes me (or do I owe her?)

Had fun... relaxed a bit... took pictures... I didn't take my laptop or my work cell phone (which probably irritated my boss (ask me if I care).

I am not in the mood to insert the pictures right now, but I will eventually.

My mom is having a tough time in Michigan this year. She's had chronic heartburn, and is now having lots of bladder infections. She had to miss her yearly trip to Maine (remember the lobster from last year?) because of it. I feel bad for her.

After dealing with a couple lazy doctors that just want to treat symptoms my sister got her to someone who finally figured out what was going on. Her insides are shifting out of place. I guess this is common when you get older, but I've never heard of it.

The shifting (or dropping) has caused her bladder to get pinched off which is causing the infections. She is scheduled for surgery next week. It is freaking me out. She is 80 years old.

I am going to take my kids to Michigan during their fall break from school in October. I hope that will cheer her up. We'll be driving, so it won't be quite a week that we're there.

I am also planning on going to Michigan this year for Christmas. I won't have the kids, but I am planning on taking my brother with me since he couldn't go last year. It's just not the same without Mike there, but it won't be the same without my kids either.

I may have time for a Michigan Bloggers gathering if anyone is up for it.

Dr. Horrible

There is nothing better than to find something out there that is not only from the best writer/director in the world (Joss Whedon), but it is funny... DAMN FUNNY!



You be the judge (only available on the web... for now)

I can't wait to get the DVD

I have totally screwed things up on my template, so i can't add a permanent link to the Dr. Horrible site on the sidebar :(

Meme

Grace was giving me shit about not posting, so I stole the meme from her, that she stole... I am so lazy

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? The charger to my Treo for work

2. When was the last time you threw up? A couple years

3. What’s your favorite curse word? Fuck stain

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? KityKate, Alan, and Jason

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Driving to work

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Looking at flights to San Diego

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? sleeping... hopefully with sex dreams

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? Fucking Assclown

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? Diet Pepsi

13. What was the last thing you ate? Buffalo Wings

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No, but I did last week

15. When was the last time you ran? For exercise or out of fear?

16. What’s the last sporting event you watched? Red Sox Angels this evening from the Wings place

18. Who is the last person you emailed? KityKate

19. Ever go camping? YES!

20. Do you have a tan? barely... I stay out of the sun. I don't want to shrivel up like my dad

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? About half the time

25. What did your last IM say? OK

26. Are you someone’s best friend? Possibly

27. What are you doing tomorrow? SSDD

28. Where is your mom right now? at her apartment in Michigan

29. Look to your left, what do you see? Paper shredder

30. What color is your watch? I don't wear one

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Beautiful women

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? Only if mamed

33. What is your birthstone? Citrine I think

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Usually go in

35.How many kids do you want? 2, and I have them already... snip snip. But I am always willing to practice with someone ;-)

36. Do you have a dog? not any more

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? My eldest

38. Have you met anyone famous? Yes, a few

39. Any plans today? sleep, drive, work, stress, drive, crash

40. How many states have you lived in? 3

41. Ever go to college? Yes

42. Where are you right now? Home, in basement

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? My back

44. Last song listened to? Crazy Bitch (scary that Grace listened to the same song)

46. Are you allergic to anything? Is there anything I'm not allergic to?

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? New Balance athletic shoes

48. Are you jealous of anyone? No, but I am envious

50. Is anyone jealous of you? I hope not... that would be sad

51. What time is it? 12:06 am

52. Do any of your friends have children? yes, about half of them

53. Do you eat healthy? I try... and fail often

54. What do you usually do during the day? work and pull practicle jokes on my team

55. Do you hate anyone right now? I wouldn't say hate

56. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily? Yes, a lot

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 44... MAKE IT STOP

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes, but the one in Denver is no longer a Six Flags

60. How did you get one of your scars? Flaming marshmallow landed on my wrist; and when I was about 1 I pulled on a toaster chord and the toaster fell off of the counter and landed on my head.

TA-DA

I have a new boss

...this doesn't change anything about my job, other than now I have to get him clued into how fucked up things are with some of our projects. He's been here a week and I think he was a bit surprized and the extent of the mess.

He seems like a good guy, and easy to work with. He has asked some very good questions, and I know he wants to do the right thing. I think our department is the only one trying to fix the problems at this place. But I look at it this way, if the other groups need to continue to work they have to go through us. Yes, we have the power to make their lives difficult, but I don't work like that. The VP of our section wants me to do things that could definitely make people take notice, but that would cause impacts to customer deliveries, so I need to find a better way to work them into our plans.

Tired...

I am beat. I don't want to bitch about work. It wears me out to the point where I get home and don't want to do a thing.

Late weekend I kind of just wanted to sit around and veg, but I promised to take my kids to a Rockies game Saturday.

The Rockies are doing pretty mediocre this year, but I like to take the kids to a big league game once in a while. It was a great game and great weather. Yes, I have pics.


















Even the sunset was beautiful.

Sunday I was just going to drop the kids off at a paintball park (is it a park?). Well, my good friend Mike was taking his whole family too, so they worked on me for a couple days prior. I ended up joining them.

I have never done paintball before, but I ended up doing really well, although I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. My legs were shaky from all the covert sneakiness I was doing. I think playing war type video games over the past few years taught me a lot :D But now I am bruised, and still a little sore 5 days later.

I am going to be sick if I don't get some rest.

Goodnight

Music is life

I have always loved a pretty wide variety of music, and I have always enjoyed getting suggestions from friends on what to listen to. Melanie recently introduced me to a few new favorites. Now I am asking you all to make more suggestions.

I now have a play list over there on the right. Its by no means complete. I plan on adding a bunch more when I find the time.

On other exciting fronts...

Bizarro chick and I have had some really honest and difficult conversations as of late. I gave her a week off (basically I have been ignoring her calls). Tonight I was visible in IM, and she hit me up to talk. I kind of let her have it. I tried not to be hurtful, but there isn't an easy way of doing this.

Sooo.... She is still being extremely needy, even after all this. I told her that she needs some time to get her head straight after breaking up with her long distance guy. She tried trowing some of it back in my face, but that just made me feel like I was breaking up with a girlfriend.

So we may or may not be much of friends after all this.

groan

... and I haven't had any today

I got this from Amorous Rocker, and thought I would share.

A silly test... and I could have done a little better. I am a master mouse clicker.


OnePlusYou Quizzes an

Sure Happy Its Thursday

A couple from one of my favorite bands. Kind of fitting...

You Wanted More



Mean To Me

Bizarro - I hope that's it

Let me paint the picture. She is 39 years old, but looks at most about 32. Medium long blonde hair, pretty face, and a very nice body. So for me to not want a romantic relationship with her is saying a lot about her issues. She is very needy with a capital N, and now she's on the rebound.

... So while I was down stairs fixing my friends computer she was watching Cloverfield. Luckily I had finished the blog post and was working on the other system because she snuck down to the basement and was watching me fall asleep at the workbench.

I had just finished what I was doing and started a defrag when I was dozing off. The movie ended, and she wasn't overly impressed by it. She's never had that great of taste in movies.

I got my sleepy ass upstairs and cleaned up a little, and she plopped her ass down on the couch. Apparently she wasn't going to leave on her own. This just means I have to deal with it. On top of that it turns out she poured herself a nice big glass of juice, and added a generous helping of my vodka to it (at least it was cheap vodka).

This wouldn't be the first time she might have to crash at my house, but I was determined to confront the "issue" and send her on her way. I don't think that was her plan at all. I got the distinct impression that she wanted me to drag her to my bed and do all kinds of fun things to her.

I wasn't taking the bait.

I do have some self control. I know that this is hard to believe for a guy. Especially from a guy that is not currently getting any. The situation reads RED FLAG in my mind, which makes me able to control my libido. I am certain that most guys would have done the nasty and ditched her. I don't play that way.

So she asks me point blank what the problem is with the two of us dating again. Suddenly I felt like I came to a gunfight with a pocket knife. I didn't want to insult her, or make her feel bad. I am not a very good speaker when confronted like this, so I probably sounded like a total moron.

After telling her that I just don't think it would work, which she wonders why I think that, I ask her if she is ok to drive. This gives her the semi-obvious hint that I want her to leave. It took another 10 minutes or so before she was finally getting up to go.

She didn't plead or beg. She just said "Think about it" with a coy look.

I am afraid this has ruined our friendship. I know I'll always think that she is hoping I'll change my mind.

Bizarro - In Real Time

Another ex-girlfriend of mine and I have stayed friends over the years. She's kind of flaky, but she is fun to hang with sometimes. We dated about 4 years ago. She has heard all of my strange stories since then about women I am dating, and the strangeness that eventually breaks the relationships.

There are a number of reasons I don't want to date this lady anymore. Some of it is just her personality, and other reasons have to do with her kids. It just doesn't work for me. I have remained friends with her, but made it clear that we would not be "a couple". She was always fine with this.

Last night she started texting me saying that she knows someone that has a crush on me. I found this odd because prior to dating her 4 years ago I went on one date with a lady that ended up being one of her close friends. So for her to say she knows someone else from my past was quite curious.

I asked her who it was, but she said she promised not to tell. It was cute at first, but then became very high schoolish and annoying. Well tonight she stops by unannounced (I thought she was going to call) and fessed up to it. She was drunk, and she was referring to herself. ARGH!... That's all I need.

So apparently last night she broke up with her long term long distance boyfriend that we've both known was a long term waste of time. She proceeded to drink herself into a mess, luckily staying at home. She then started the texting.

OK, I didn't want to date her before... Does she really think I'll want to date her after the school aged bullshit?

I had plans tonight to finish a computer repair for a friend, and maybe play some WoW. She knows this but asks if she can hang out and watch Cloverfield. She's upstairs right now. I am working on the computer. Now I need to kick her out soon.

The drama is sure to continue

Bizarro World...

I've had what I would call a rash of strange discussions lately.

I never dated in high school. When I went off to college I met a girl in Phoenix that was nice. Unfortunately I met her about the time I needed to leave. We went out on a number of dates. I was 19, she was 16. I know what you're thinking... we never had sex.

Well, out of the blue she IMs me. She was leaving her second husband and heading back to Phoenix. Why does she contact me? I have no idea. Maybe she just needed to talk to a friend. We reminisced about the past a little. It got wierd but I kind of ignored it. Emotionally she's not in a good place right now, so I just let the "what if" questions go by without much of a responce. I have a feeling I am going to hear a lot more from her.

So Saturday, I am reading over e-mail and doing some research when I see that I have a message waiting for my on my Facebook. It happens to be from the girl I dated a few months after I got back from Phoenix.

Is this a warped episode of "You Bet your Life"?

This was the first girl I ever had really strong feelings for, but that was over 20 years ago, which is hard to believe. She's been married for a while. We kept in contact about once a year with Christmas cards until she got married. She was always afraid my ex was going to get jealous, and my ex always did. But I was not going to tell a friend that she couldn't send a Christmas card. Hell, my ex used to get gifts from one of her ex-boyfriends. I was never threatened by it. The guy was as annoying as gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe.


Anyway, she now has her PhD in Fine Arts. She was a music major and a very talented teacher even way back then. She used to teach private lessons to beginner sax and clarinet players. I think that is one of the things I really liked about her. I am extremely proud of her accomplishments. It's funny that we've reconnected so many years later. I remember her saying once that it may not be soon, but someday she and I would be very happy together. I don't believe for a second she was still working toward that.


It's been a weird weekend with a lot of reminiscing. It makes me wonder what might be around the next turn. I think I'll go buy a Powerball ticket.

No Going Back

I've had second thoughts up until a couple weeks ago about fixing things up with MS. I know it's hard to just change the way you think about someone. Maybe I've just been lonely. She was always around, and now for 6 months I have not really dated anyone. A random date here and there, but nothing that sticks.

We see each other now and then. She had asked if it was ok if she could stay in our board gaming group (we get together about once a month). I was fine with it. The first couple game nights were uncomfortable, but we've gotten past it.

She told me that Dan from our gaming group had convinced her to start playing World of Warcraft a couple months ago. I thought that was odd. Not the fact that she was playing a video game... she is quite a geek in her own right, but the fact that she was playing a PC game. She's an XBox player. I guess Dan and her had been playing a lot, and I had a feeling something might develop out of it. Dan confirmed it the other day. He told me over IM, and asked if I was ok with them dating. I did feel a little jealous, but I know that MS's and my problems would not go away. I was fine with it.

A week or so later MS and I talked about it. She knows I am feeling wierd about it, but she said it herself that the reasons I broke up with her were valid and would not be getting any better anytime soon. I think she was a little stunned by my little bit of jealousy.

She is right, and I will get past this. It just feels weird. I've never dated someone then had a good friend date her later. There was this thing with my brother once, but that was a whooooole different story.

Long time, no HNT... Anti-drama

It's been like 2 years (or more) since I've done an HNT.


I have a lot of friends dealing with drama lately. I can't stand drama. I wish I could just make all the negative shit just go away.

I know it's not being realistic, but damn...

One friend has a legal battle staring her in the face over a child. I can't imagine what this must feel like. I can't imagine trying to take my kids away from their mother. Just the thought of it can bring me to tears.

Luckily I had a couple of great days with her recently. I hope this turns out in her favor.

I have another friend that has a different type of drama going on. She is being stalked. She knows who it is as until recently they were dating. This guy follows her around. Knows everywhere she goes. Brakes windows in her car, and breaks into her house and steals things (2 laptops so far).

The cops are involved, and they are hoping to get some hard evidence on the guy. His actions are escalating, and I am worried about her saftey. Unfortunately she doesn't live here, so there isn't much I can do to help.

I lead a pretty simple life. I have my struggles, like everyone else, but it makes no sense to me why people have to be this malevolent. Why do relationships end up in such a spiteful manner? People need to focus their negative energy on something else. Get over yourselves!

Projects just keep coming

There comes a time when you have to just say no. That time came today.

Last week I was working 12 hour days including on Saturday. We're finally able to implement some of the changes we've been proposing to our development group. I had my whole department in at work for 9 hours Saturday, then a couple of us had to be on-line from home to deal with some minor problems that a developer was having.

This first phase has really stressed me out. I have been wanting to get this done for over a year. Now that phase 1 is done I feel so much better. As far as I know there haven't been any complaints about our changes. I am pleasantly surprised.

The next phases will be equal or worse on the stress scale. Things are starting to pile up. Last year no one wanted to make these tool changes, but now that it's been drilled into their heads everyone seems to need us all at the same time. This isn't feasible, but that doesn't stop them from trying.

I was going to start testing of the data imports from one tool to another yesterday, but as I was setting my laptop on my desk, my boss comes by and asks if I was going to walk over to the Hyatt for the Project Management training class. My jaw dropped. I totally forgot to put that in my calendar. DAMNIT! So I've had to go in for Project Management training for the last 2 days.

The good thing is... now I know what my boss wants when he asks for a project plan.

For the last few months I have had a hard time sleeping before midnight. This week I've been falling asleep while watching movies in the evening. I think it all started this week because a friend came to see me, and kept me up until 5 AM Saturday night.

I am so tired... burned out...

I really want to buy a new trombone and join a community band, but something keeps me from doing it... the fact that I work in Denver, I don't think they'll be too pleased with me being later periodically. Maybe I should just do it, and see how it goes.

The Dating Persona Test

I got this from Grace. I had nothing better to post that you haven't already heard me bitch about. I didn't expect to be marked as "The Gentleman" due to some of the answers I gave. I guess I am not too much of an ass.

The Gentleman Deliberate Gentle Love Master (DGLM) Steady & mature. You are The Gentleman. For anyone looking for an even-keeled, considerate lover, you're their man. You're sophisticated. You know what you want both in a relationship and outside of it. You have a substantial romantic side, and you're experienced enough sexually to handle yourself in that arena, too. Your future relationships will be long-lasting; you're classic "marrying material," a prize in the eyes of many. It's possible that behind it all, you're a bit of a male slut. Your best friends know that in relationships you're fundamentally sex-driven. You're a safe, reliable guy, who does get laid. In a lot of ways, you're like a well-worn, comfortable pair of socks. Did you ever jack off into one of those? All the time. Your ideal mate is NOT a nut-job. She is giving and loving, like you, but also experienced. Your exact male opposite: The Last Man on Earth Random Brutal Sex Dreamer Always avoid: The Battleaxe (DBLM) Consider: The Maid of Honor (DGLM), someone just like you.

Link: The Online Dating Persona Test OkCupid - free online dating Dating

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I don't have anything new... Just a celebratory picture from a few years ago. I hope you all celebrated safely.

Busy month... but someone wanted an update

So Kevin is the starting catcher for the freshmen baseball team at his high school. He is taking this year very seriously, both school and sports. I think it's funny how the school's eligibility standards are so low. If he is failing 1 class he cannot play... My ex has a much higher standard. If he has a C he cannot play. We'll see if she'll buckle if that happens. I am betting so. Kevin is still in 2 honors classes, band, and now sports. Yesterday he tells me that the coach wants him to play on the JV team this week to see how well he does. He is an awesome catcher, but I am not expecting him to get much playing time on JV. He is also on the freshmen team. So he has 6 games this week. UGH!

His grades are very good, not perfect, but I don't care that much about having straight As. If he gets them I will be extremely proud, and reward him in some way. He's been continuing his drum lessons away from school, but is about to put those on hold until after baseball season is over. He still plays trumpet in band, but I can tell he doesn't like the teacher. I have a feeling he is going to want to drop band unless this guy is less of a dick. I was going to have to call the guy because he was going to fail Kevin in band because he missed a concert. My ex sent a note stating that Kevin had a huge English assignment that needed to be done, so she was note allowing him to go to the concert.

I totally agree that he needs to make his best attempt at being at all concerts and contests for the band, but when an academic class is suffering, you have to focus there first. What an asshole. Kevin asked for his number so I could call him. He apparently chickened out and gave Kevin a writing assignment to do to make up for the concert. Coward! I am going to track down his number anyway, or at least his e-mail.

Erik tried out last week for little League. We find out which team he is on this week. He is excited. He is doing well in school as well.

He got his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do a couple weeks ago, which he is also into very much. I think it is teaching him a lot of good things.

Erik is a reading machine these days. It's hard to believe that he was considered well below his class just a few years ago. Thank you J. K. Rowlings!!! We still need to work on his writing.

So work is again kicking my ass. The main reason I was hired aover 18 months ago was to implement some pretty substantial process changes and new tools. Well, most of the process changes require the tools to change. We JUST got the company to buy the tools a couple weeks ago. We've had a year to prepare for this, but there is only so much prep you can do ahead of time.

We've been working a lot of weekends lately getting things ready, and upgrading the servers to accommodate more people using them. Now I am going into presentation mode, trying to explain all of the things that we are putting in place, and of course dealing with all of the resistance that comes along with change. My stress level is way up.

One of my guys is under so much pressure (not from me) that I am afraid he is going to crack. His wife doesn't work, and she got into an accident (not her fault) totaling the very nice SUV he bought for her. She is now traumatized and is afraid to drive. He works a second job on the weekends. The only car he has now is a piece of shit 15+ year old Nissan Sentra. And now that is giving him trouble. The guy seriously works 70+ hours a week.

I was talking to a friend of his (we all play World of Warcraft together). Scott is a good guy. I've never met him in person, but we had a talk last night about Mike. He works with Mike at Mike's other job. He is concerned about Mike too. He also thinks Mike's wife needs to get a job. Apparently she does nothing. I guess one of the reasons Mike doesn't mind working so much is because if he had idle time at home, she would dream up projects for him to do on the house. I know this year he has built a deck, started finishing his basement, replaced a number of appliances, etc.

On top of all this she calls him ALL THE FUCKING TIME. I give Mike shit for leaving his cell phone on his desk, but now I know why. He doesn't answer it if he doesn't have it on him. I remember when my ex used to call me all the time at work. It drove me crazy. He is such a nice guy, I hear some of his side of the conversations, and she sounds like the neediest woman on the planet. I also think she is a hypochondriac.

So what's going on with me, besides kids and work? Nothing really, but there is something coming up.

I have casually asked the lady from work out, was it she that asked me out. She only works in the office 3 days a week. She works from home the other 2 days. I told her about 9 months ago that I owed her a drink for helping me with something. I never followed through with going out for drinks. I was just trying to tell her how much I appreciated her hard work. Sure there was a little flirting there. I am a flirter. What can I say? But the fact was, I was seeing MS.

The last couple weeks she's been helping me out with some other things. Her department needed some stuff from me, so she's been giving me shit about it. Our IM conversations turned personal. I've learned a lot about her recently. She's asked a lot about me. She thought I was still seeing MS. When I told her I wasn't she said she figured I was most of the way to being married. She then told me I looked married. What the hell is that? She then said something about making me look single again. I still don't understand. She then reminded me that I stilled owed her a drink. I took this as her giving me a not so subtle hint to ask her out. I didn't right then, but I told I do need to do that.

She is always there on Fridays, but yesterday I wasn't. It snowed something like 5 inches here over night, so I decided to be a chicken and not risk the drive. I sent her an IM that spurred a long conversation which she was disappointed in me for not being there. She said she didn't need to be home for the kids. She wanted me to take her out for that drink. I asked if I can take her out on Monday instead... so we'll see.

I am still very nervous about seeing someone from work. I just get the impression from her, that even if we don't work well in a relationship we could still be friends, but then again women are unpredictable.

Happy Blogiversary

Today is my 3 year anniversary of blogging. Thank you all for being part of it.
It may not always be pretty, but I think it is all me.

CHEERS!

I am confused

Women are a constant source of confusion for me.

I met a woman a couple months ago, actually, she IMed me in Yahoo out of the blue. I tell her she is my stalker. I've kept this on a just friends basis because I wasn't really wanting to "date" anyone. I had just broken up with MS, so she understood, and was fine with just being friends. We probably talk once or twice a week, so i started learning a lot about her, as well as she learned about me.

There are a lot of things going on in her life that make her a bad candidate for dating. The fact that she is married is not the biggest of problems. I won't go into all of it.

She really seems to like me, but gives me plenty of space. She gets flirty with me, but then tells me that it takes a lot before she would trust a man enough to have sex (not that I was trying). From further conversations it was pretty obvious she wanted to "go out".

We met for dinner right before I went to Michigan for Christmas. No pressure for calling this a date. We were just meeting and talking. No different than us chatting on the computer.

After this I got very busy, but continued to talk to her on IM, as well as an occasional phone call. There was never any pressure or guilt laid upon me if I didn't talk to her for a week or so. I would get an IM, just saying that she hoped I was having a good week, or something like that. I appreciated the space as well as the occasional "hello".

I like having women friends. Part of it is probably the sexual tension that is naturally present. But I think most of it is just the different kind of things I can do with a woman friend, that guys don't really do together. Although I will go to a movie with my guy friends, it doesn't happen often.

I think another aspect of it is I can talk pretty openly with a woman about my love life, where I can't with most of the guys. It's just not "manly" to talk about relationships. With her it is different. I'm not as open about these types of discussions.

She got very flirty with me on the phone a couple weeks ago. I played along for a little while, but for some reason I felt guilty about it. Almost like I was leading her on in a way. So I got serious with her. I was very candid with her about things going on in her life that I had a problem with (from an angle of dating her). She didn't take it well. She got very upset with me, and told me that she was amazed at how nice of a guy I was... up until this conversation. The fact of the matter was that I was just telling her my feelings about my hesitation to be anything more than friends with her. Trust me, there is a lot here.

She started crying, which is like torture to me. I wasn't trying to insult her. She had to have known that the circumstances she is in is not conducive to being in a relationship. I told her she was over-reacting, but we all know that once a woman gets this upset I was just dumping gas on the fire.

A day or 2 later she sent me an e-mail apologizing, and saying she hopes we can still be friends. I was fine with being friends as long as the drama was gone. The last couple weeks have been drama free... pretty much back to normal.

We went out to a movie last night (only our second time face to face). There was no drama, and we did have fun, but it's just not feeling right. I feel like I am in limbo land, somewhere between dating, and friends. It's very odd, and will probably just fizzle.

I think I've become cynical.

I know I'm slow

I've been awfully busy lately. Work has been difficult, as usual, but on top of the normal bullshit, I had to get my employee's reviews done. It is one of the main things I dislike about being a manager. It sounds like my boss wants me to do more management stuff, instead of being more of a technical manager (I work as well as manage... hehehe). He's recommended I do some training, but I am not sure what kind of training will be available.

Last weekend I had a great weekend of skiing with the boys. My sister and a bunch of her friends came to Colorado to ski for the week. She wasn't flying in until Sunday, so was hoping I could take a day off and bring the boys up. The funny thing was, I already took Monday off because I was going to take the boys skiing for Sunday and Monday. We just changed oour plan as to where we would go.

Normally we go to Monarch a lot because it is WAY cheaper, and the crowds are not nearly as bad as anything up west of Denver. Patti and her friends were coming to ski Winterpark, which I have never tried, so I figured what the hell. I got a room at the Best Western, and we headed up. She was traveling Sunday, so I skied with the kids that day. The conditions were as good as I have ever seen them. Fresh powder, sun shining, and no wind. It doesn't get much better than that. The crowds weren't too bad considering it was the weekend.

I forgot to take my good camera, so I had to take these with my new Helio phone.


Of course, there were no pictures of me.

I didn't take the new car up there. I still have the truck, which is 4 wheel drive, so I keep it around for things like climbing over Berthoud Pass. That is a winding mother of a road.

But as promised (and nagged about), here are some pics of the new wheels.


I am really liking the car, but I still feel weird whenever I see a Vibe on the road. I know I shouldn't be that attached to a car. I realize it is not the pretties car on the road, but there was something about it I just loved.

Since some of you were wondering, I haven't done anything about asking out the lady at work. Part of me wants to, but actually part of me is still liking not dating right now. I'm sure my thoughts on this will change when my horniness makes the decision for me.

The Car and Thanks

No one was around this weekend to take a picture of me modeling with the new car.

I posted that picture because it is the color of my Malibu. I think the picture doesn't do it justice. The background color is too blah. I really does look sharp. It is called Dark Grey Metallic. It looks really good with the 2 toned leather interior :D

I promise to get some real pictures of it up. I am very pleased with it. It is the nicest car I have ever owned.

I know I was bitching about the car. I realize how close I came to being a meat puppet. I choose not to dwell on that. I am very happy to be alive and in one piece. Thank you all for your regards. I REALLY do appreciate it.

Chrissie... I know you love your PT Cruiser. Why, I'm not quite sure. I would bet you have some decent extras. the one I had sucked hard, and not in a good way.

Saturday I spent the day being the total geek that I am . I packed up my computer and went to a guy's house who I've never met before for a LAN party. There was about 16 guys in the basement of this house playing computer games together. It was a riot. I sucked. I was typically down toward the bottom of the stats for each game. I was there for 12 hours straight. When I left they were still going strong.

Sunday I did laundry ALL F-ING DAY, and watched The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy on HD-DVD. That shit is way too cool. I was going to watch Ultimatum tonight, but I took the boys out to dinner.

I have been extremely busy at work writing personnel reviews and devising more plans to fix the world (ok, maybe just this company). My boss finally got a real office, so he doesn't sit in the cube next to me. Since no one else from my team sits near me I am having myself moved over toward my team. If I stayed put I would have been surrounded by QA women. That sounds great on paper, but trust me it wouldn't have been good.

Jason, one of the guys on my team, is trying to convince me to ask our recruiter out. She is very good looking, and very friendly. Kind of too bubbly in my opinion. I've done some checking and she is unattached. I would bet that she would go out with me, just from my impression from the way she is flirty with me. I just don't think it's a good idea. I've done the work romance thing before. It can be pretty ugly if it goes south. On top of that, she's in the HR department.

Not a New Years Resolution

... but something was resolved

I said goodbye to the Vibe last weekend when I went and ripped out the stereo in the lot next to the collision center. Don't worry, I was allowed to do it. It was sad to sit in that dead hulk of metal and broken glass. I thanked it for saving my life.

The insurance company of the guy who caused the accident finally called me the other day to get my side of the story. I know they were just corroborating what they had already heard. I was kind of annoyed though. I was at work, and she was trying to twist the story as I told it. I know it is probably her job to do that, but I was frustrated. The good thing was that she finally agreed to take care of the liability. I'll get my $500 deductible any day now. They also conferenced in the Enterprise office and got that transferred to be billed directly to them.

I was hesitant to get a Malibu. I hadn't been impressed by the styling or the power since the 70s pony car versions. But this one is SWEET!


I had been having a hard time finding one I liked. Either the wrong colors or missing options I wanted, but I finally found one with all the options I wanted and the color I wanted. I got the sunroof, which I didn't really want, but these cars are selling so fast they can't keep them in stock. The guys at the Chevy dealer said that the Malibu was about the only thing they were selling. They sold maybe 2 other cars since the beginning of December that weren't Malibus.

Now I wonder if I am going to regret it when the new Vibe GT comes out in March. sigh