Saturday, June 17, 2006

Music

Since I have met the love of my life, er, well the second love of my life, Sirius Sat. Radio, I have become a critic. They give you all kinds of little tidbits about the artists and the songs, I just love it. Here are some songs that I like/love that are currently on the radio.

Keane- "Is It Any Wonder?"- This song is a great euro-pop rock song a la Oasis or Coldplay. They don't seem to be hitting a sophomore slump after their first album "Hopes & Fears" did so well with the song "Somewhere Only We Know." That song is featured in that new Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves movie "The Lake House."

Mary J. Blidge- "One"- Mary, the latest in a long line of Diva's in the soul community has her first new album out in 3-4 years, after the success of her first single, she released this cover of the classic U2 song "One." My biggest pet peave for anyone is when you cover a song, PLEASE be original. Although the song does not sound exactly the same, when you use the band who originally recorded the song to do the back up vocals and music, you can hardly call it a cover. It is like she is sharing the stage at one of the million benefit concerts Bono supports in SE Africa. That being said, she puts a good spin on the song and I think I like her GUEST VOCALS (not a cover) version almost as much as the original song.

DMC f/ Sarah McLachlan- "Just Like Me"- Unlike above, this cover of Harry Chapin's hit song "Cat's In The Cradle" has a very unique twist. First of all, this time the lyrics are rapped by DMC (of Run DMC fame) and then the chorus is sung at 50% faster by Sarah Mac. Some of the lyrics were changed and the only music that was used from the original recording is the string arangement at the end of the chorus. This is a very cool cover song.

I am noticing a trend in pop music that cover songs are back in style like the were in the mid-90's. Sheryl Crow covered Cat Steven's "First Cut Is The Deepest" last year. I have heard pieces of Cat Stevens on Jimmy Buffett albums, I have heard Neil Diamond pieces on some hip hop records. UB40 was so ahead of their time!! They covered Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine, Can't Help Falling In Love With You, and Cherry Cherry." Who hasn't covered Neil Diamond songs, Elvis did it (11 times), the Monkees & Smashmouth (I'm a believer) and Urge Overkill (Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon). Neil Diamond rules, though I own nothing of his repitoire.

I cannot wait to hear someone 20 years from now ripping off Eminem, 50cent, or Blink 182 for a rif and some kid calls it old school. That is the measure of being old!!!

...reaching out, touching me, touching you......

SWEET CAROLINE!!!


BA BA BA

Monday, June 12, 2006

Weddings, Fallen Trees, Cars, Tempora, Weekend!

Wow what a busy weekend. Sometimes I like it better when my days off fall in the work week because then I can relax more. I find that a weekend off is more work than "work" itself.

This Saturday I woke up (9ish) and headed out to Concord Mills to buy a suit. I know that is not the most desirable place to buy a suit, but a man who wears a suit only 3-5 times a year need not head to Jos. A. Bank and drop a half a thousand dollars on a suit. So I head to Haggar, where they are clearing out the store and have their $350 dollar suit marked down to $79 bucks. I thought about buying a second one, but I might do that this weekend if there are any left. I then went to Banana Republic and bought a (pink) shirt and a (pink) tie. I came home, put on my suit, and Amanda and I headed out.

We showed up at Meredith's wedding at about 10 minutes to gate. We wandered in, ran into her dad, where he congratulated Amanda on her engagement, her graduation, and her fabulous graduation cap (I am responsible for about 2 of 3). It was held at St. Mary's chapel where Erin got married, I had forgotten how small that place was. I got to spend time talking with three very important men in my life, Major Ainsle who was my Senior Exit Essay Advisor, Colonel Wilbanks, who single handedly gave my mom the greatest compliment that I was responsible for, and Sarge, sergeant Libro, the man, the myth, the legend. I had all three as teachers in school, in fact my senior year of high school, I had 4 JROTC classes. I got to talk with them and many other throwbacks at the Great Aunt Stella Center in downtown Charlotte, as far as I could tell it was an old church. It was a perfect size and a perfect distance from Merph's wedding. The food, music, and cake were all good. Once you hit that trifecta, you know it will last.... God bless Merph and Jeff!!!

After the wedding, we were going to see a movie, but the theatre was just too crowded. I love movies, I love going, I even don't mind paying, but opening night sucks!!! The crowds, the heat in a crowded theatre, it is just not my bag baby. So we headed to Southpark Mall, where Manders and I go when we can't think of anything else to do. She bought some books, I spectated. We then headed to my father's to share the engagement smiles and show off the ring. (I'm sorry, you said you wanted a completely irrelevant side story? Does it belong here? it is like you have deja vue, ESPN, or something!)

So last weekend my dad went to his preachers daughter's wedding. After attending said wedding, he came home and was browsing a magazine and the article he read was about how to plan a wedding and still be friends afterwards, essentially a guide for parents to not rule the day. The article started off like this. "So you just got home from a co-worker's daughter's wedding, you are laughing and thinking to yourself 'I am so glad we don't have to go through this' when the phone rings, it is your child, low and behold, they are engaged..." About 20 minutes later my Dad's phone did ring, and his youngest son is engaged. Cool huh, stay tuned for more predictions in this wicked-retarded-long blog entry.

Sunday Amanda and I skipped church and went to the pool. We are trying to get a base tan going so when we go to Miami in July/August, we don't burn to ashes. After cleaning up, we shared lunch with Marlies and the two of them went off dress shopping. I went to Huntersville to visit with Tim and Sara. Tim was breaking out the deep fryer and tempora, we dipped shrimp, lobster, zucchini, and attempted a blooming onion. Amanda joined us up there, we were too far away to make the Southpark Pops concert that we wanted to make with my cousins and aunt & uncle. While on his back porch we were looking at some trees and noticed a dead one in his neighbor's yard that looked as though the right easterly wind will rock it down on his garage. I told him about my Bradford Pear tree to the right of my driveway and how heavy it looked for such a soft wood. We went to Concord Mills and saw the greatest movie ever made.... CARS!!! (check this cool segway) Wouldn't you fucking know it....

The second tree discussed is the one that fell during our freakishly strong thunderstorms we had on Sunday evening. It layed across the driveway, I am glad Amanda came up because that tree would have done a some damage to the Super-Focus. It was 11:00pm, we were tired, the house had no power, it was hot, and we went to my mom's to spend the night.

My dad came over today. When I came home from work, he was out in my yard sawing up the tree. I got to bust out my horrificly dull chainsaw, it made it about 95% of the way before it reached the effectiveness of a butter knife. Amanda came out and the three of us, along with some short term help from neighbors David and Bonnie, worked on it for a solid 2.5 hours. This is one of my dad's shining moments as a father. He came over to help unasked, he rarely puts himself out there like that but I wouldn't have finished in time for this next freakish storm we had. I will blog about my dad at a later, much more interesting post.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Bridezilla

Wow, who would have thought it would come this soon? Actually, Amanda has been very graceful in what has been a long week for both of us. She has already been looking a wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses, and has checked out MPUMC's church calendar to get a feel for available dates. You go girl, I am just hoping to learn not to call her my girlfriend, she is my fiance.

On other fronts. I will be going to Pittsburgh every Tuesday but one for the next seven weeks. I am going to a baseball game with my Uncle Neil next Wednesday night and I will be staying for a couple days with my Aunt Annie while everyone is on vacation. My softball team benefitted from a forefiet this evening and moves on in the league playoffs. Next week we play the #4 Dilworth United Methodist Wise Guys to go to the Championship (we are the DUMC Wise Men, #1 seed, and we beat them last time we played and we crushed them during the scrimmage we played tonight.) I do want B**** to notice that this is the first time I have talked about softball in my blog since the first game of the season. Also, you are suppose to post more often than I do, that is how I know I am suppose to post. Gah!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

We're Engaged!!!!

On Saturday, June 3rd 2006, I took Ms. Amanda Andrew to the VanLandingham Glenn, Susan Harwood Gardens on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and asked her to marry me. Under the ruse that we were there to snap a few pictures of our favorite campus spot so I could complete a group of pictures for our living room, Amanda was brought to the gardens. After search for Vebernum, a Japanese fern, and a three year old inside joke between us, I snapped a few shots of Amanda. I then told her I wanted to show her some pictures I had already taken and get her opinion of them. When she opened the album, there were a few pictures of the two of us. The first one was of she and I at her graduation. The second one was of a drunk Amanda and a goofy Jon on our Asheville trip. Then came the directions for Da Bradshaw Code. She was to look at the extreme close up of signs from Charlotte that are very near and dear to Amanda's heart. When she cracked the code, she would get a prize. The code was as follows:

W= dilWorth united methodist church (our church)
I= brIxx pizza (her work)
L= sur La table (favorite store)
L= Lindt chocolatiers (favorite truffles)
Y= tiffanY & co. (her ring)
O= 89o1 Elkins Park Drive (our home)
U= dilworth United methodist
M= sMithfield elementary (her work next year)
A= callAway plantation (our neighborhood)
R= R (a building block from her graduation cap)
R= midoRi (her favorite drink)
Y= toYota (my 4Runner)
M= Montpelier (the street she grew up on)
E= smithfield Elementary
see prizes below

Above you see Amanda, holding the photo album I gave her with the Da Bradshaw Code. Note the big cheeeeeessssssseeeeeyyyyyyyy grin on her face! It was later said that her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.



Above you will see the happy couple, about 5 minutes into being engaged. No, we don't yet have a date, but look forward to so a fall 2007 wedding!


This is for the girls, the ring and the little box it came in. For some reason unknown to men, that matters?


Tuesday, May 30, 2006

You pay for radio?

YES I DO! I bought Sirius Satellite Radio from Best Buy, I pay $12,95 a month and I have gotten more for my money since Friday than any $13 I have ever spent. All need to jump on this radio revolution!!! I have about 10 channels that I listen two and I flip through the other 160 channels, but the non commercial format just makes it worth your while. Just think, for buying one less CD per month, you can not ever have to listen to Adam Smasher or Baby Boy and you can listen to NPR without them begging for money. It is awesome, hook it up today!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Born a Ramblin' Man

I will be going to Pittsburgh for the next 10 weeks or so, flying out every Tuesday and flying back every Wednesday. I will be racking up some sweet frequent flyer miles, I only need 4 more segments to be Gold Preferred Dividend Miles, I hope that gets me in first class for my trip to Seattle next month. On top of that Amanda and I will be driving to Miami with Tim & Sara (and thier lab Chance) to enjoy some free vacation too. It is going to be a busy next couple of months. I am very excited about Seattle and Miami! I am also very happy to be going north a lot this summer for auctions, you have no idea how hot those auctions get in Atlanta. Standing on pavement while 3,000 cars with their engines running and dumpin exhaust in the smoggy air isn't my idea of a retreat. I hope I can catch a week with a Thursday & Friday off so I can stay in PA and hang out with Aunt Annie, Paula, Uncle Neil, and all the family up there. We shall see.

Cheeto is at the vet being declawed as we speak, even though I still contend (like B) that boy cats are indeed cooler than girl cats, she is pretty playful and cheery, I am sure that when she gets home from surgery she will be so pissed that all the enthusiasm will be gone. I will keep you updated.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Intro To Cheeto

Sorry for my long Blogcrastination, it has been a busy few weeks! Amanda graduated and we got a new kitty cat, have to keep up with the Malady's! Her name is Cheeto, she will turn one in August. We got her from a friend of a friend who couldn't keep her any longer. She and Twink get along okay now, the first few days were not so pleasent. Cheeto and Twink, those two names make us sound like a couple of potheads who have the muchies all the time, dude, lets go to the store for some cheetos and twinkies! Oh well! We love her, maybe she will keep her 11 year old sister young for a while!

Graduation






Amanda graduated!!! Yay, you go girl. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Note that my Mom, Dad, and Brother are in one picture for the first time in about 15 years or so!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Zinny Minny Poof Poof

Poof, Truck Gone!!! Sold $12,500 :-)

" 'A'is for Angry which is what you are at me....

'A' is for adult which is what I'll never be, 'A' is for applesauce my favorite meal, 'A' is for Adam which is how I sometimes feel, like I'm the only man on Earth and I've forgotten what that's worth." ~Barenaked Ladies "A"

Accent: dominant accent is Southern, but I have a hint of Mon Valley (Western PA) from my mother. Somewhere in Australia I picked up the line "no worries."

Booze: I love beer, it is liquid bread. I like strange micro brews, I like most beers, my favorites are golden pilsners and amber beers. I also enjoy wheat and pale ale beers as long as they aren't to hoppy. I like any liquor mixed with Coke. Jack & Coke, Crown & Coke, Coke & Coke.

Chore I Hate: I hate to put away laundry, though doing it has never bothered me. I hate cleaning windows and cleaning bathrooms, I really hate cleaning bathrooms, mainly toilets, it is my stuff but still grose!!!

Dog or Cat: Yes please! We have one cat named Twink, her full name per Amanda is Twinkle Toes, bleack cat, white paws, I call her Dr. Twink M. Toezums, MD. She is the "Cousy of Cats"

Essential Electronics: Radio, I love music and talk radio, I am going to get Sirius whenever I get a car to put it in.

Favorite Cologne: I am currently wearing Perry (Ellis) Man, but Amanda isn't so hot about it. My next bottle will be LaCoste Essential, yummy. My favorites of the past are Aqua Di Gio (my absolute fav, but reminds me too much of the Meredith era) and Leau Par Kenzo, which smells good but only lasted about 3 hours.

Gold or Silver: Silver, I never liked brass or gold, yellow hues do nothing for me. Silver just seems so clean, plus a car guy has to love Chrome, a silver ish finish.

Hometown: I claim two. Elizabeth PA, my mother's home town is where I claim my frame of mind, my views on politics, and my disassociation with the South. Mint Hill, NC, when I am claiming my roots, keepin' it real(whatever it is) and when my southern cred comes in to question. Like many other parts of my life, I play both sides hoping to win.

Insomnia: I used to get it really bad in the summers when I didn't have a schedule. I would stay awake for about 30 hours and then sleep for 18, I would cycle like that through summer vacation. I cannot ever remember sleeping the night through the first day of school.

Job Title: Buyer, CarMax Autosuperstores Inc.

Kids: None yet, but I would like to have one in the next three to five years, I have always been afraid of being an old dad.

Living Arrangements: I have a house in Matthews with my live-in girlfriend, best friend, and the sexiest woman alive, lucky for me, Amanda covers all three or I would need a bigger house.

Most Admirable Traits: My ability to empathise, Amanda thinks I am always the devil's advocate but no matter the situation, I can always see it from the other's viewpoint, except for the 47% of functionally retarded individuals in this country that voted for "W", no empathy, what were you thinking? I think my sarcastic wit and charm might also be a trait, but hardly admirable.

Number of Sexual Partners: Good thing no one reads this thing, but my Uncle John taught me a good lesson when I was 15, he said, and I will never forget "never put anything emotional or sexual in writing, it will always be regretful and I have yet to encounter a situation where it has been helpful." Thanks UJ!!!

Overnight Hospital Stays: I have spent many a night it the hospital, but always in the break room or waiting room. I used to go to work with my mom when both she and my dad were working. She would bring us those warm blankets and all the OJ we could drink. Then we would go with my dad when he had an overnight shift at the hospital and stay with him, we would order pizza, assemble a model car, or have wheelchair drag races. I have also spent long nights in waiting rooms. At CMC, when my friend Clint was shot in the head and later pronounced dead, when ReRe was in the hospital, and the latest was when Marlies got sick and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.

Phobias: I am most fearful of retirement. I think it is because my grand parents all worked until they died, my mom's generation are all still working and don't look to be slowing down and the same for my dad. I just have this notion that retired people are in God's waiting room, just waiting for Saint Peter to grab the clipboard. This isn't true, but as Darwinist thinker, they are kind of a drain on society. A lot of my self worth comes from working.

Quote: "The best laid plans never get you laid the way you planned."

Religion: United Methodist, I actually joined the church in February 2004. I was raised in a quasi-Catholic home, I went through church school, got my first communion, got confirmed, but was never really bought it. My mom stopped going to church when she got divorced, so I stopped. I began a religion hunt in my junior year of college inspired by my renewed friendship with Ashley. I went to a service every Sunday by myself at all different protestant denominations. I had decided on United Methodist Church about 2 months before I started dating a United Methodist Minister's Grand Daughter. Worked out well huh?

Siblings: Andy, he is my older brother. Like me and the rest of my family, he has issues. We all do our best to cope the way we know how.

Time I Wake Up: It depends, the early side would be for a Manheim Auto Auction trip which I get up about 3:30 am, drive to Greensboro, NC and catch a charter jet at 6:00am, I get home around 7. Most auctions I get up between 4:30-5:30. For work the earliest if 6:00, for a 7-4 shift or 8-5 at South Blvd. The latest I will get up anymore is about 10-10:30 unless I am exhausted.

Unusual Talent or Skill: Girls only like guys who have great skills, like numchuck skills, kick boxing skills. I would say my ability to memorized all the trim levels, engine sizes and unique options on every vehicle made. Also I can tell you if a car is painted by sight or by touch, so blind fold me or tie my hands behind my back, paintwork and bondo, you cannot hide from me!!!!!!!!!

Vegetable I hate most of them, but I guess my favorite is potato(e)s

Worst Habit: Short Term Memory Malfunctions, what did you just say Amanda?

X-Rays: Much like B$%*@ , Regularly at the dentist. I had some when I broke my arm.

Yummy Foods I Make: I make the best grilled cheese in the world. Erin and my mother laid down the foundation for the greatest grilled cheese maker in the world!!!

Zodiac: Pisces, don't even know how to spell it, but I do know we have the hardest time with attention span and monogamy. I have never cheated on any girl to this point in my life, so I doubt I ever will.