Bread so crazy, it's in the name!

This was long overdue. I have even admitted this to Nikkilooch, who has been urging for years that I was truly missing out from not eating Crazy Bread from Little Caesars. But I took care of that this past weekend.

First off, it's been years since I've even tasted anything from LC's. But I was willing to explore this new culinary foray. And it totally lived up to it's name! This is especially important after ordering Amazing Lamb from a Chinese joint and finding out it was Just Alright Lamb. Just grabbed a single order with a cup of Crazy Sauce (of course!) and bolted home with every intent of it being a side-item to my leftover Chipotle lunch. That's not quite how things went.

So I was driving home when it became quite clear that my car was smelling better by the minute. Guess why? Crazy Bread! I tossed everything on a plate and was initially dismayed. I guess my brain expected kinda cheesy bread, but this is not CB's style. I started dipping, chomping, enjoying, eating more. Pretty soon I had eaten all but 3 sticks and forced myself to stop there, temptation be damned. I now empathize completely with Nikki's urges to just eat the whole thing in one sitting. Oh - and Chipotle never even made it out of the fridge until much, much later.

My mind was blown. This bread was indeed very crazy.

Even made good use of the leftovers by throwing them in the toaster for a minute to crisp things up. I also learned that it's good to alternate bites with and without dipping sauce. The bread is so good on its own that you gotta let it shine solo... in your mouth. So yeah, overall a very satisfying food experience. It's not fine dining in any sense - it's actually pretty disgraceful. But it's clearly going to be a guilty pleasure in the future. Go get some. Seriously.

Pictured above: my undoing, Crazy Bread/Sauce

Gah...

Sooo.... apparently I need this game like my life depends on it. I'm getting pressured from pretty much everyone that's ever seen it, hearing that I must buy it. I'm certain it's awesome - I've wanted it from day 1. I have only hesitated because I'm trying to spend on needs before wants. But that might be a losing battle. Anywho, who wants to donate $5 to the cause?

Anyone?

Hello...? *tap tap tap* Is this thing on?

The Adventures of Uncle Lucy

It's Sunday, the last day of rest on a greatly needed long holiday weekend. Work has been intensely frustrating ever since Queen Lauren got tapped on the shoulder, so I am definitely taking delight in any time spend enjoying the little things. And while this extended weekend might've had some bumps here and there, it was overall quite refreshing and interesting. Thanksgiving was good - nothing very notable there. Just good dinner with the family and lots of football. But the day after...

I don't shop on Black Friday - I avoid going out like the plague, but I did find good reason to at least leave the house. I drove down to Hughesville (yes - on purpose!) to visit my awesome friend from school and TKD, Hayley. She also had her adorable daughter around, so that made for good fun. I walked in, doled out hugs to all the Heaths, then joined Hayley and Misha in the living room... to watch Diego. Now, Diego isn't quite as bad as his female equivalent, Dora, but it's the same style. Anywho, this episode, "Underwater Mystery," featured a spotted whale named Lucy. And since I never introduced myself to Miss Misha, her brain went to the "recent new names" catalog and pulled out... Lucy. And with her mother reinforcing this (at great amusement), I am likely going to be remembered as Uncle Lucy, despite my efforts otherwise.

We get to a stopping point in Diego and decide to stop out and pick up Ledo's for lunch. So Hayley, Misha and I load up and head over to put in our order. Since we passed a Wal-Mart on the way, we decide to double back and do some quick browsing while lunch gets made. Apparently, the power in the entire store had crashed not 2 mins before we pulled in. We're talking BLACK. The only light is from scattered emergency lights and the sunlight up front. And there are lots of people, all with confused expressions, some bordering on anger and panic. In an attempt to go out the way we came in we are halted by a very ill-tempered employee in a motorized wheelchair. She was old and cranky... and needed to have chocks thrown in front of her wheels. But we got out okay and headed back to Ledo's.

Then we realized the extent of the outage since Ledo's and other nearby stops had lost power as well. Fortunately, they lost power after our meals had finished. So we grab it and go. It took us about 10 mins to get thru one intersection when a state trooper couldn't figure out that his parked cruiser was actually causing more of a blockage. Brilliant.

We get home, we eat, Misha goes up for a nap. So we throw on a movie, which frequently upset the very temperamental DVD player (which is why we stopped at Wal-Mart in the first place). We get thru half of the movie and the kid comes back down, needing a snack. So Hayley grabs her a pack or two of fruit snacks and she chows down. But she leaves all the purple and orange and yellow ones. "Clearly," I think, "we have the same taste, and she's weeding out what she doesn't want." Not wanting them to get sat on or go to waste, I finish off the unwanteds while a bathroom break is being taken. I was wrong. They were wanted. I ate a little girl's fruit snacks. Yup - now I'm THAT guy. So, of course, Uncle Lucy gets teased and ribbed again for a while, but I guess I had it coming.

It was a very pleasant visit, and I'm so happy that I got to spend time with my friends. And Misha must have forgiven me because she gave me a big hug and waved me goodbye. She might have addressed her farewell to Lucy, but she's cute enough to let it slide. It was quite an adventurous day.

Survivor: Nags Head

It came so slow and has gone by so quickly, but it definitely happened - Beach Week 2009. As Leah had been appropriately trained to say, Beach Week was "legendary." I'd been aching for this one way more than last year for various reasons. First, prior to driving down to NC, my most recent trip and break from was was to TX for a funeral. That doesn't count as a break at all. Also, work has been pretty stressful over the last few quarters. I needed this one. I needed it BAD!

That being said, this legendary entry will sum up our legendary trip in the same fashion as last year's. No real plot or sequence of events, but rather a shot-gunning of random happenings, observations and maybe a gripe or two. But rest assured: we still came out in the positive this year, and I'm so happy we went. Game on!

-You can chalk it up to whatever excuse you like, but I was first to the house. Yelling "FIRST!" kinda solidified that.
-I DID NOT LOCK MYSELF OUT ON THE BALCONY THIS YEAR! (I know you all wondered/hoped...)
-Eating lunch at Pierce's Pitt BBQ (in Jamestown, VA) does not suck at all. It sucks so little, I made sure to do it on the way back.
-I'm still awful at shooting pool, but I've gotten slightly more tactical about my approach. I found it also takes me about 30 games to finish a round without scratching once.
-Lars' head and the glass-topped tables did battle numerous times. I believe the tables dominated.
-Dad and I hit up the Wright Bros. Museum, listened to a story-telling and saw lots of killer historical spots.
-I found that you can still get blisters from walking on just sand. Seriously. I also thought my calves were gonna rupture for several days.
-Our new lottery system for assigning dinner duties worked very well. I see no reason to change that in years to come.
-If one person in the family gets sick, then we ALL get sick. Of course, some people gotta 1-up everyone with sinus infections and intestinal whammy (not naming names).
-Weather was amazing every day. Some humidity and clouds here and there, but c'mon. Also got footage of some SERIOUS lightning storm action.
-I believe it is worth $100 to run and jump in the ocean in the dark, windy night. Chris does not share that belief, though he was willing to ponder it for a while.
-I believe we made a record number of trips to Duneburger this year. I personally experimented with their shakes. Cherry: fantastic; butterscotch: pretty good; pineapple: meh.
-Sleeping in (past 8:30) was not an option.
-I love the movies Horton Hears a Who! and Finding Nemo... but after this trip, I need some time away from them. They'll understand.

INTERMISSION (Just linked the first thing YouTube gave me - go figure it's by the "My spoon is too big" guy... Honestly, it was either this or the Monty Python segment. I apologize.)

-Stack 'Em High now has pancakes with both chocolate chips and shredded coconut. "Dear Diary... JACKPOT!"
-Again, driving home was terrible. Just felt so much longer with nothing but a work week to look forward to. And I-64 jammed up like a mother.
-Some people don't yet grasp the internet. Some people sound a little like George W. Bush. Coincidence?
-I felt personally offended when I fell asleep to Family Guy, then woke up to Seinfeld.
-I managed to go the entire trip without shaving... kinda liberating.
-The ocean did not kick my ass this time around when I went boogie-boarding. I win.
-I don't EVER want to watch Dora or Diego again. Swear I got dumber...
-Some dogs are just too ugly to live. I learned that "brachycephalic" translates to either "Nature kicked your dog's face in" or "will likely die from breathing complications." No thanks.
-This book is farkin' amazing. I couldn't read anything else the whole time!
-Sometimes the hot tub isn't exactly hot, thus effectively making it a tepid tub. Temperature fail!
-There was something incredibly funny about getting my parents to drink shots.
-The Cheat is a super-finicky car passenger. He started fussing and grumbling at random nothings. He also doesn't like the roadside rumble strips.
-700+ miles and zero speeding tickets. Same as last year, but still worth noting.
-I may not be her all-time favorite, but I don't mind at all when Leah shares snuggles.
-We caught a couple more crabs that were "sleeping" at the bottom of the pool. Seeing Leah pick one up and pantomime with it = teh hilarious!
-Terry Anderson wins the first annual I Went to the Beach and All I Got was This Tan from the Computer award.

That's all for this year. Can't wait to do it again. People should be getting jealous enough to want to join in. Honestly, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I had to make another trip before I went with the family. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Oh - and if I can trick my cameras into working/editing, pics and video will follow soon.

PS - I know I still need to post pics from Warped. They're coming.

Canadians, Trannies and Brits - Oh My!

I said it was coming and now it's here: the awesome story of my third Warped Tour experience... from, like... 5 weeks ago. *ahem* Moving on!

Warped Tour '09 almost didn't happen for me... because I'm an idiot. Mike knew I was going, so we were planning for me to be out of the office that entire day. Then Mike's little brother mentions that he was going to the show the next day, the 14th. I had previously thought it was the 21st (like an idiot). So Mike calls me up, makes me double check my ticket and he's right (and I'm an idiot). So this drastically changes things, like having to get a REAL amount of sleep for the next day.

I get up extra early so I can pack up for the concert and jet to work early. I figured I'd skip all the potential backup to the Columbia venue by already being there. Got to the office around 5:30 AM, let myself in, locked up, then went right to the massage room with no windows and the most-padded semblance of a bed, to sleep until I knocked a few hours out on an early shift. Then... the Mexicans showed up... to clean the place, of course. I locked the doors to keep them out rather than going out and explaining why I was there already. Little sleep was had. Knocked out a few hours on the job, then zipped over to Merriweather.

First and foremost, I will say that the weather was amazing all day long. I remember there being the constant threat of rain or whatever thinking about falling, but it never did. I chilled at the mall to let the entry lines fade, then ducked inside after about 30 mins. Made my trip to the giant inflatable wall to scope out the schedule, jotted down who I needed to see where... and then it began.

Never have I gone to a Warped Tour and known so few bands on the bill, so that made it an incredible opportunity to discover some new blood or some old blood that had previously missed my ears. I didn't get to see every group I wanted, but definitely got to see my share of good and bad acts. Here's the breakdown...

Senses Fail - the only band I made mandatory since I've come to discover their entire discography in the last year or so. Kind of a short set, but I'll hit them again in October when they visit Towson. But they played the fav's, like "Can't Be Saved" and "Rum is for Drinking, Not for Burning." Buddy does a lot of mic swinging... like, a LOT. Might need to tone that down and focus on having the mic in-hand when it's time for the vox, but hey, who's the rockstar here? Not me.

I also had the pleasure of collecting autographs and handshakes from each one of the guys at their signing. I even ran into Buddy again after their show and talked him up a little bit. Certainly glad to have dedicated, authentic bands like them on the tour. I got some pics with the guys, but I'll save them all for when I have every shot I wanna share. (Stupid phone!)

TAT - the award for Surprise Awesomeness goes to this punk/rock trio from England. I just happened to be walking by their stage as thing were ramping up and got sucked in. In the interviews I've seen, they agreed when someone characterized their sound as "Joan Jett meets Green Day." And my God, are they addictive! Their frontlady is crude, hilarious, smokin' hot and a phenomenal guitarist! Every guy would try to nail her if she wasn't capable of kicking our each and every ass. I didn't know any of the songs then, but I remember lots of catchy riffs, enticing lyrics and several spots prime for audience participation.

This little dialogue sums up the thrill of getting to see them:
Tatiana: How many of you all have heard of us before?
Crowd: *about half of everyone woo's and cheers*
Tatiana: Well, how many of you motherfuckers have heard of us now?!
Crowd: *EVERYONE goes off like mad*

Their bassist, Nick Kent... solid. Dude is loud and lively. It's rare a bassist catches my eye/ear, but he's just that good. Check out their album, Soho Lights. It's freakin' gold!

Alexisonfire - this is another group I just happened upon near the end of the day. Their music seemed like something I might wanna check out later, but that's not what hooked me (though it isn't without merit). A song or two in, a "that guy" near the front chucks a cup of ice and it spills on the lead guitarist (who was kicking lots of musical ass). Half of the band plays on while the other half drops gear and goes after this dude! You don't fuck with the band - they're Canadian, but they'll still beat your ass for being so audacious. Lucky for that guy, security got their hands on him before the band did. Had that not been the case...? Yikes. I took a break from them for about 60 seconds to see the big headliner across the field everyone was talking about, 3OH!3. They blew chunks - that is all. Went back to the rockin' Canucks. Didn't stay for the whole set... last group of the day, tired, gave up and called it a success. Lots of dynamic sound, good use of all the members on vocals and instrumental layering... need to check them out more on album-quality stuff.

Anti-Flag - these guys remind me of Rise Against in their style and anti-authority theme. They even chastised the elevated VIP stands for not coming down and joining the rest of the crowd in the mix. But they were't all "fuck you"s and yelling - they played some good songs, none of which I knew before, but they drew me in faster than anything else I'd seen that day. Again, definitely need to see more. But also credit them for riling the crowd up into one of the most vigorous mosh cyclones ever. I just ran and bumped and picked people back up until my lungs were dust-coated from the frenzy. Another good pic to come of that.

Neat little PS from those guys... I'm walking back to my car and I pass Justin Sane as he's biking around. Couldn't navigate him to a hotel like he needed, but I thanked him sincerely for coming out and he took his praise graciously. Very cool guy.

Those are all the highlights... time for some lesser events.

Escape the Fate was good.

Behold the Flood was surprisingly good for a little local group.

Millionaires made me want to hurt someone - they sang poppy songs about being divas and they danced. You're at an underground punk-rock show. We don't have room for circus acts.

Jeffree Star epitomizes "circus act" like nothing else I saw that day. This flamingly gay transvestite vocalist did nothing but strip off his clothes, sing raunchy, faddy songs and call everyone bitches in every way he could. They made me want to rethink freedom of speech. I know music is a very subjective topic, but they have no substance or heart. I can't wait for these fakes to fizzle out and get min. wage jobs.

Westbound Train was... out of place. This was a very enthusiastic jazz ensemble that was playing the other half of the pavillion stage before Senses Fail came on. So the crowd was kinda loaded in the exact opposite way they wanted. They were decent, but need to find a new channel that suits them better. They started playing "Shout!" and everyone just wanted them to keep getting "a little bit softer now..." until they left. They win the ever-depressing Participation Ribbon.

And then, while I was waiting in line for the Senses Fail signing, I got to watch this one spastic dude in action. All he had with him was his sign pointing towards "Free Stuff" and a whole lot of sexual frustration. This was made evident by his ever-expanding variety of suggestive dance moves involving the large sign-on-a-stick. One of those random things that will always stick with me... sadly.

So that's about it. Some highs, some lows, some starvation, and lots of exhaustion. Got home, showered off the multilayered crud on my skin and called it a solid win. Viva la Warped! (Pics to follow - harrass me if I stall too long.)

Another Weekend Top 5

This was one of those kinda busy, blurry, already-gone weekends. Yet it was well-spent and productive.

1. For all the time Jonathan has been there for me, I got to be there for him once.

2. Aprehension be damned -turkey burgers still kick ass.

3. Read two whole books in less than a day's span.

4. Sidewalk chalk and short walk to the lake with Leah.

5. Managed to snag the last remains of Mom's Day ribs.

Back to the craziness of work and more work...

Top Cinco de Anoche

1. Boss picked up dinner and drinks tab at Diamondbacks.

2. Thai chili wings and free taco buffet.

3. Some girls thought I looked like Michael Cera (in a good way).

4. Rainbow shots are awesome to watch being poured.

5. Only did one shot of tequila... odd stuff that is.

(Not pictured: remembering exactly what shade stomach bile is.)

Weekend Top 5

1. Awesome weather outside today, good enough to change my oil.
2. Good eats from Austin Grill, Boston's and Rita's.
3. Niece and nephew entertained with the simplest of things. Hope that lasts a while.
4. Never ever ever felt rushed for anything.
5. GUITAR HERO: METALLICA!!!

Weekend Ups and Downs

I know I'm long overdue for a new post, especially to follow up on the most recent ones. Whatever - I'll get around to them eventually. But I thought I'd write about some recent events, mostly taking place on the weekends since my weekdays are almost entirely consumed by work. Freakin' new 12-8 shift...

This last weekend really wasn't anything special. I caught up on laundry, did some necessary shopping, picked up some new books for whenever and failed at napping. Oh - I also got to drive back to my place in crappy, snowy weather. Bah.

But last weekend? Almost pure awesomeness, let me tell you. I missed a family gathering for a small concert, but made up for it by crashing with Katie for movies and videogames. I don't trust the Wii Fit, but I gotta admit that it's kinda fun. Then I got up Saturday morning to go on my first Urban Exploration (urbex) adventure in Savage, MD. It's basically wandering around abandoned and decaying buildings just to see what's to find. Most of the group had a photographic interest as well, but some things were just nice to look at, as well as hiking around. I'll post some pics later, but that was a great time outside.

After that, I drove to Burke to see the VA family and relax with some weird dvr'd shows. Dinnertime came shortly after my arrival, at which point I learned something new: brinner (breakfast for dinner) and tacos aren't mutually exclusive food items. We had soft tacos with eggs, cheese and Canadian bacon... and they were fantastic! I also found out that Leah has a special song just for me, the NeNe Song - that rocked my face off. I crashed kinda early and kinda hard since I had a migraine, but that cleared up the next morning after some caffeine. Eventually, I drove my way home and just chilled in wait for the impending week of work.

So here I am again, work week just looming over my shoulder. Maybe I should get to bed early tonight so I'm not feeling totally bent in the morning. Plus, I gotta account for weather atrocities that may or may not be a problem. Bah - have I mentioned how I'd much rather stay in and just read? So it goes.

20,173 Herniated Cervical Vertebrae (post-Metallica thoughts)

*Deep breath in... then out* Damn.

I have not been in the front door more than 20 mins from the Metallica concert, so I'm gonna try to log some memories and observations before they are clouded by a relaxing shower and double-digit hours of sleep.

1. If your new wife will join you on the floor level of a Metallica show, you know she's special. Good to meet you, Chris.
2. T-shirts should never cost $32 apiece... but some do... and they still sell.
3. Bad seat doesn't necessarily mean bad show. Thank God for that!
4. Just because you are assigned a seat, it doesn't mean you ever have to sit down. In fact, you probably shouldn't.
5. I saw a couple sharing a sweet kiss during "Wherever I May Roam." Whatever works.
6. Lars was lit from behind and at a low angle, so you could see his shadow just booming up on the ceiling - pretty damn pimp.
7. James has cut pretty much all the swearing out of his stage banter, and it only sneaks up in a few choice songs. I wonder if that's intentional or what.
8. I was unusually amped up when "Master of Puppets" started up, one that doesn't usually grip me, but that's probably what started my whiplash.
9. I don't remember what song it was that had just started, but I will swear until my grave that the moment James Hetfield struck his guitar, it played the note thunder.
10. I was teased all night with the possibility of hearing "The Unforgiven", but it never came. However, "Motorbreath" was a very pleasant surprise.
11. If I had to choose between a lights show and pyros.... yeah, you already know which way I'd lean.
12. Between songs, James pointed out some young kid up at the very front, looked to be around 12. Lucky damn kid!
13. Hurricane Rob did some spinning around the stage again. He also fell down at one point because his own closing bass riff defeated him.
14. Giant black Death Magnetic beach balls were awesome, especially when the band was kicking them out into the audience while they kept playing. James jump-heatbutted one, which was hilarious.
15. My boss' brother clearly dumped the rest of his beer on the floor from trying to check his watch. I scolded him for this, but also staring down and holding onto the evidential empty plastic cups.
16. At one time, the audience's "hey-hey-hey" chant was so strong and so coordinated that in between shouts it almost felt silent.
17. I guess I haven't seen Metallica live since I became a die-hard Hokies fan. That made "Enter Sandman" very, VERY special and moving.
18. There was a moment in one song where Rob, Kirk and James formed a triangle in front of Lars, all pointing to him like they were channeling energy. It was really cool, and I think it worked!
19. Their sound quality in an arena will never be as good as an open stadium. But their very worst show is probably still mind-blowing.
20. Lighting rigs designed as giant steel coffins that revolve around stage, tilt and swing down... bad-ass. If I got any decent shots, it's of those bad boys in action. These had to be 30' in length or so.

Finally, let's see if I can name every song (out of order) that got played tonight.
Ecstacy of Gold
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Broken, Beat and Scarred
The Day That Never Comes
All Nightmare Long
Cyanide
Sad But True
Wherever I May Roam
Nothing Else Matters
Die, Die My Darling
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy
Harvester of Sorrow
One
Four Horsemen
Master of Puppets
Enter Sandman
Battery

Good times. Big nod to Kelly and Chris for making this my fantastic birthday gift! Well, a very ginger nod because my neck is sore, my stomach is growling and my aching body desperately needs a shower. Might be pics later if any of them came out even quarter-decent. Rock rock on.

My 2008 Book Quest

In the past few years I have fallen back in love with reading so long as I can find material that interests me. Yes, some of it may revolve around philosophy or death other topics that don't easily come up in everyday conversation. But I decided that 2008 would by my year of explosive reading, aiming to finish a book every week, or have 52 total by year's end. Though this didn't happen - I made it to 39, finishing the last just before midnight on New Year's Eve - I still did more reading in one year than most people will ever do in their entire lives. Really... 39 out of 52. It's like I got thru September and just started slacking. Beach Week sure derailed me a bit among other things. But what follows is a full listing of those 39 books that I did manage to finish. I'll wait until my next post to nod at my recommendations and ones to avoid. So here's what I tackled in '08:

Ciao, America! (Beppe Severgnini)
How Starbucks Saved My Life (Michael Gates Gill)
You Suck (Christopher Moore)
Bad vs. Worse (Joshua Piven)
Everything I'm Cracked Up to Be: A Rock & Roll Fairy Tale (Jen Trynin)
Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury (Stephan Pastis)
Bloodsucking Fiends (Christopher Moore)
Bang Your Head (David Konow)
My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student (Rebekah Nathan)
Xenocide (Orson Scott Card)
Children of the Mind (Orson Scott Card)
Rock On: An Office Power Ballad (Dan Kennedy)
The Man with the Iron Tattoo... (John Castaldo, Lawrence Levitt)
How Doctors Think (Jerome Groopman)
Wisdom for a Young Musician (Bruce Warren)
Lio: Happiness is a Squishy Cephalopod (Mark Tatulli)
I'm Ready for My Movie Contract: A Get Fuzzy Collection (Darby Conley)
The Crass Menagerie: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury (Stephan Pastis)
Then We Came to the End (Joshua Ferris)
Come On Down!: Behind the Big Doors at "The Price is Right" (Stan Blits)
Made in America (Matt Hughes)
The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unexamined Life (J. Jeremy Wisnewski)
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life (Tony Dungy)
Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Christopher Moore)
F Minus (Tony Carillo)
My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith (Kevin Smith)
Kill as Few Patients as Possible: And Fifty-Six Other Essays on How to be the World's Best Doctor (Oscar London)
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (Christopher Moore)
God Save the Fan... (Will Leitch)
This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Daniel J. Levitin)
Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die (Michael Largo)
Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance (Atul Gawande)
Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe (Jane Espenson)
Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital (Heidi Squier Kraft)
Fluke (Christopher Moore)
Coyote Blue (Christopher Moore)
Practical Demonkeeping (Christopher Moore)
Falling Up (Shel Silverstein)
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Anne Rice)

Damn... I really read a LOT! Some of those titles were abbreviated, but you've got enough info to look them up on Amazon or wherever for your own pleasure. As I said a follow-up post will... umm... follow shortly. Rock/read on.

Post-(Christmas-Crazies)

I felt the need to parenthesize my title so that it clarified I'm writing this post the Christmas-crazies and not that I'm experiencing post-Christmas crazies. Got it? Good. Here we go!

I worked the morning of Christmas Eve at the clinic, but Mike and I acted as techs that day, running around nearly non-stop. I soon regretted wearing my Skechers on account of them having nearly no padding, so my feet started to kill after only a couple hours. But we hustled thru the day and eventually closed up at 3. I ran back to my place quickly to pick up some forgotten items for the weekend, then down to Waldorf.

I made decent time getting down there, but was still sore and tired upon my arrival, so I lied down for 30 mins or so before joining everyone for dinner. I had a couple plates worth of food, spoke when spoken to, but mostly tried not to collapse at the table. After dinner, I went back to lying down to rest up before the last church service at 7:30. I wake up, roll over to the clock... 8:30. Guess that's one tradition I just broke - oh well. I go back to sleep until about midnight. I get up for maybe an hour or two, then spend the rest of the night forcing myself back to sleep. This lead to a sore neck and back. Bah.

Christmas day went pretty nicely. If nothing else, it was gorgeous outside, so that was a pleasant surprise. I opened presents with Mom and Dad, then we carted everything else over to Burke for more gifting and eating with them Sextons. We pull up to the sight of Leah riding around on her new tricycle, so she's having a blasty blast. We spend the rest of the day rocking gifts, consoling Laurence over his tooth/teeth, eating fantastic food and taking scattered naps. We eventually head back to Waldorf with Little Miss in tow, the rest of the Sexton party to follow the next day. Oh - and Chris apparently can't make soup. I know this sounds dumb, but I will out-dumb him soon enough.

I don't remember doing much on Friday... picked up some stuff around town, watched both WALL-E and Beowulf, going out to Mexico for dinner, not much else. But the ride home after dinner was interesting. Get ready for dumb! Chris and I evaluated our beer situation at the house and deemed it inadequate, so we made a stop on the way back. He stayed in the car with Laurence while I ran inside to get 12 bottles of whatever. I quickly do so, then come outside to see what I think is Chris standing outside, leaning into the car to fix up Lars in his seat. I decide the best signal for "we're ready to go" is to sit down in the shotgun seat and close the door. But instead of hearing, "let's roll," I get in response, "Ummm... can I help you?" I slowly notice how the seats feel a little different... wouldn't you know I got into some strangers' car while the mom was fixing up her own child in the back. They were surprisingly cool about it, considering they could've thought way worse of me and come after me. But we're still not sure who's got the better story: me or them? *shrugs*

Saturday meant building a train set for Leah. Why? I don't know. My cooperation in this obviously proves I'm just the muscle and not the brains. Stupid train set demanded some of both, though. After conquoring that, I packed up to head home, where Dad and I promptly signed my lease for another year at Mt. Marley. Spicy, meaty foodage was eaten, and then I had peace again. I spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing and doing things on my own schedule. It was nice.

That's pretty much it. As usual, I made out like a bandit for gifts this year: some movies, a couple shirts, wine glasses, kitcheny stuff, new Guitar Hero game, Shel Silverstein book, musical train ornament, framed picture of the kids, and (eventually) a new timing belt and water pump for my car. Lotsa good stuff, no real excess. I like.

Beach Week

Yes yes, I finally got to take my long-anticipated vacation to Nags Head, NC. The whole family got a house right on the beach for a week. And since this was my first real vacation in years, I enjoyed it very freakin' much. But since there was over a week worth of events to process and remember, I'm not even gonna try to write a narrative with a sequential plot or character development or anything - time for another list! Here we go...

-Sometimes you can microwave staples (accidentally) and get away with it.
-Scoping out our house for the first time was like walking into one of the Real World houses.
-There were lots of sand crabs running around to watch... or fish out of the pool... twice.
-We had a pool table downstairs. I still suck beyond measure.
-Some gas stations have Red Bull in 16 oz. cans, others have Monster in 32 oz. cans. Are 40's and kegs soon to follow?
-I was the first to the house. Thankfully others arrived before too long because I locked myself outside on the 3rd floor front balcony.
-If I have to fall asleep to background noise, I will always choose the Atlantic over Rt. 100 traffic.
-We ate lots of good homemade meals, but Stack 'Em High and Duneburger both got multiple visits.
-Leah's memory is getting really good; if she drops a pretty shell, she'll remind you later without prompting.
-If your beer gets cold enough to turn slushy, don't try to drink it - it's gross. Let it warm up, but not in the hot tub.
-I like mini-golfing better than shooting pool, especially when there are pirates or dinosaurs involved.
-Storm damage probably wrecked every other house-to-beach pier we saw. So glad ours was intact.
-I tried boogie boarding for the first time in years. The Atlantic won and celebrated by permeating me with salt water.
-For whatever reason (lotsa stairs?) I got a touch of plantar fasciitis here and there. And my left hip decided to go sore/retarded for a while. Both have mostly calmed down now, but weird.

INTERMISSION... (check your e-mail, go pee, grab some popcorn, etc.)

-This dude is obviously disturbed, but I couldn't stop watching...
-Near 700 miles of roadtime with zero speeding tickets = awesome!
-The night skies get pretty dark down there, so the stars really come out. I can't remember seeing so many stars before.
-I can build a fajita or a panini like nobody's business.
-Even when I retired to my room for the night, late night Scrubs episodes kept me company. I even caught myself watching the Dog Whisperer, and Iron Chef was killer.
-Had a migraine the first night and crashed early - glad to get it out of the way.
-There's something oddly peaceful about sitting on the pier bench at 3 am with a box of strawberry Pocky.
-Driving home was sucktastic. Even aside from just having to leave, traffic was horrible and I came across some real assholes.
-We had a slow-as-frick elevator, but it amused Leah to no end, so it was fun times.
-I needneedneed to take more vacations like that.
-I passed a wedding on the beach, but just kept walking - the temptation to do something dumb was immense, but I didn't want it coming back to bite me.
-Our mantra for packing/leaving day: "Fuck it."
-There's still some undeniable appeal to digging a big hole in the sand, though we never got around to burying anyone.
-If we acted silly enough in the ocean, Leah forgot her fear. It also helped for all of us to shake our fists and yell, "I'll get you water! Go away!"
-I won $10 for a sudden leap into the freezing pool. *Ka-ching!*

That's all I got for now. I'm sure I'll remember more as I am telling stories to people, but pictures will follow soon. Now... do I post them on MySpace, Facebook or both?

EDIT!!

It struck me at work that I had forgotten one of the most important points from last week's game:

Some of the Terp fans know to 'Stick it In!" too, though it's not as good as VT's people. I tried to help them do it proper, but there was no changing them. Meh.

Today should be an interesting football day.

UMD vs. Cal Observations

I spent the majority of my past Saturday around Maryland campus for tailgating and footbally goodness. There were several lessons and observations worth noting, so they are listed below for your amusement and development of better judgement. Here goes...

1. Noon kickoffs mean you will need sunscreen.
2. Scoring first AND second is awesome.
3. Shaking hands with the university president = kinda neat.
4. Officiating is always gonna be a flawed aspect of the game. Horrible calls.
5. Playing for 3 quarters and relaxing means you might still lose.
6. According to Phil, if you were in the marching band, the chants and inside-jokes stick with you forever... kinda like herpes.
7. Some officials probably get paid to say the words "time out." So they say it lots.
8. Shotgunning beer is obviously not for me. I'm okay with that.
9. Maryland campus... still fucking huge.
10. Blisters, sunburn and a hoarse throat still can't take away all the joy of football, especially when upsetting a ranked team. OVERRATED!! *clap clap clapclapclap*
11. When they have a good QB, decent pass coverage is a must.
12. Mascot costumes with big heads and smiles aren't always cute - sometimes they're creepy.

That's all for now, folks. This has, of course, made me want to go to more games, so there should be more to tell later. "Time out."

Re: Tyrod Taylor back in

Really...? I mean, really?! Sonuvabitch...

*Sigh* Go figure they reverse their plan and that article comes out no less than 2 hrs from my rant of dedication to the Hokies' long-term planning. Maybe this means we'll have a more productive season. Either way, we'll just see.

In Beamer we trust.

This last weekend was a tough one for loyal Hokie fans. They surprisingly lost to ECU in the last few minutes on account of a blocked punt turned into a TD. We all knew this season would be a difficult one, but nobody really expected to lose the very first one. At first I was nothing but disappointed, looking for quick solutions to get the team back on the road to glory. But then I remembered that it's not my call, and Hokies have more faith than that.

I think what has drawn me to this team, aside from sheer amusement and talent, is their character. We win like Hokies and we lose like Hokies - with class and character. The easy thing to do would be blame coaches, question decisions and make the quick fix. Pull the redshirt off of Tyrod Taylor and trade shifts with Glennon. But they still have a whole season to find their rhythm and cohere. I'm sure Beamer put plenty of thought into his decisions, so I'll just shut up and support the team. Then. Now. To come. GO HOKIES!

As the dust settles

Today was my lazy day. I hardly did anything at all, much less leave my apartment all day, but it balances out with the rest of the crazy weekend I had going on. How better to cap it all off than tell the story?

I've got a brand new baby nephew now, Laurence Ryan Sexton. It's an amazing reminder of how small they start since it's been 2 years and change since I held a baby that size. And he's a totally clean slate right now, a whole story ahead to write.

I spent lots of my time wrangling Leah and trying to keep her entertained/distracted so other things would go smoothly. But she did get to spend some time with her little brother and is already very protective of him. I think it's gonna be especially interesting seeing a similar little-brother-big-sister pairing from the outside.

I also forgot how little we make home-cooked meals when a baby comes. Nearly 100% of eatings were bought elsewhere. Let's see if I can remember them all: 5 Guys, Chevy's, Panda Express, Wendy's, Uno's, Dunkin Donuts, Blimpie, Chipotle... I forget what else, but I'm surely 10# heavier.

I guess bad timing and seniority came into play a few times because I wasn't getting much arm-time with the kid. Some people only had one day there, then feedings and check-ups and other stuff was postponing me. But things settled enough that I got the time I was waiting for. Not sure if I'm the first to sing to him, but I'm surely the first to sing him a Skynyrd song. Actually, I played him the Shinedown cover of "Simple Man," but it's still very moving.

Homecoming was yesterday and all were very happy to be there, including Chris' spine on account of the craptastic chair-bed. I stuck around to make sure things were settled, then left the family to themselves for some peace and quiet. Of course further peace and quiet will come on the whim of their two children now. God help them. I am very happy to be back at my own home and working on my own schedule.

Blogger is being retarded about posting these pictures, but here's one for warm-up, and there will be hundreds more to follow. Ciao.

Blogger, meet Twitter. Twitter, Blogger.

I have recently been reeled in by the strange charm of Twitter and its microblogging ways. All thru the weekend I kept thinking of things I wanted to put on there, but haven't figured out the texting avenue just yet. So what follows are the short versions that would otherwise appear here:

Just because the Wii is kid-friendly doesn't mean it doesn't cheat - it just cheats and smiles.

I do not need to go out west to find a nice farm girl.

There's no nap quite like a Foof-nap.

Leah can kinda do figure-8s if you give her a bo staff... or retired curtain rod. Watch the crap out.

If dinner includes Buffalo Wings University, I'm in.

Saw the new Batman flick - it rocked. Leftover wings sat in my car - it smells great in there!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2?! Seriously....?

Bookbaaaaag? C'mere!........ please? (Frick!)

It's getting hot in here...

So shut the hell up now!

Our AC at the office is busted, at least the unit that blows over the larger, busier half of the gym. I personally called the mechanic and saw him come out to scope things. He told me our compressor (which is apparently 15 years old or something) is shot, and they won't have it around until next Wednesday. This is awesome... and by "awesome" I mean sucktastic. Not only does it mean I get to sit at my desk in the hot corner of the gym, staring at the rising thermostat in bitterness... BUT I also get to answer the same stupid questions from all the gym members!

"It's kinda warm in here today. Can we turn the AC up a little?"
"Do those ceiling fans over there work?"
"What's wrong with the AC?"
"When will you guys get things fixed for us?"
"Why is it taking so long to fix the AC?"

I had originally posted a note on our dry-erase board that was polite and apologetic, asking for patience while we sorted things out. Now the note has been edited into, "HOT? Broken part is coming next week. -CMR" Doesn't that say it all? It's not our fault, we're no more comfortable than you, it's not like we just haven't noticed, and we're not actively trying to screw you over! I was ecstatic today when one of the patients empathized for us employees, realizing we had to be here 8+ hrs. So I'm not crying for any fitness members that come in for 45 mins, whine half the time, then get to go home. Fuck off.

Here's how bad it is: Mike and I are wearing shorts until this gets fixed. Now if only we could sip pina coladas too...