Wow are brides a very scary group of wild animals. The folks at the Charlotte Convention Center have brass balls to host this event without the assistance of a SWAT Team. First off, there were about 5 brides to every groom, yet this was not the place to get chicks. The you add in the estrogen dioxide exhausted by the mothers-of-the-bride that were in attendence and you can see why I was shaking in my boots. All in all, we had a very good time, got some answers to questions that bothered us so. We saw some cool ideas for some bouquets and tuxedo's that are kind of non-traditional. Our favorite part was talking to a professional wedding planner. This is a route that we might take.
Now before you poo-poo the idea of a wedding planner, yes I know they take 15% of the wedding costs as their own. That being said, the fact that they can get you SOME discounts because of the volume they do. The biggest thing Amanda and I need help on is knowing where and how much of the budget we should spend (that assumes that the bride's parents have given you a budget, in our case, they have not). There are some certain aspects of the wedding that are very important to the bride (dress, flowers) that the groom does not care about. There are some things about the wedding that they both care about (cake, music, reception location) and then there are things that we both could give a flying flip about (table linens, church decoration, transportation). The biggest gain we have made is that we both have a clearer understanding of what is important to the other and ourselves.
Now all we need is a budget from the bride's rents and we have it made!!!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
eBay
eBay is like crack, only worse. This was my first time selling stuff. I am nervous because I hardly ever ship packages, I hope I don't mess that up. I also hope that no one gets mad or leaves bad feedback. I did my best to represent the stuff but who knows.
So the big winner was a New Zealand All-Blacks rugby shirt that I got from Uncle John in a hand-me-down box he sent about 9 months ago. I wore it once, and when I was cleaning out my closet and thought I would list stuff on ebay, this was the last thing I threw in the pile. Shows you what I know, apprently in slightly used condition it is worth $22.50(+$6.95 s&h). My other winner was two of my fraternity letter shirts I sold as a lot, they ended up selling for $15.50 (+$6.95 s&h). I sold an Air America base ball shirt for 99 cents plus s&h. I had a reserve on my Tommy Bahama shirt of $25, but it did $18.50, so I sent a second chance e-mail just to see, I made enough on the other shirts that I don't really care about that one. I still have a few items up there for the next three days or so, I hope they do well!!!
So the big winner was a New Zealand All-Blacks rugby shirt that I got from Uncle John in a hand-me-down box he sent about 9 months ago. I wore it once, and when I was cleaning out my closet and thought I would list stuff on ebay, this was the last thing I threw in the pile. Shows you what I know, apprently in slightly used condition it is worth $22.50(+$6.95 s&h). My other winner was two of my fraternity letter shirts I sold as a lot, they ended up selling for $15.50 (+$6.95 s&h). I sold an Air America base ball shirt for 99 cents plus s&h. I had a reserve on my Tommy Bahama shirt of $25, but it did $18.50, so I sent a second chance e-mail just to see, I made enough on the other shirts that I don't really care about that one. I still have a few items up there for the next three days or so, I hope they do well!!!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Conch Republic
We now have a cool Conch Republic flag soon to be flying proudly over the Elkins Park Estate Family Compound. (I don't think I can call a shoebox on in a parking space a compound, well, I did!!!) How ya like me now?
Ebay, I am selling some things on Ebay, I have not tried this. As I was cleaning out my closet, there were some things that I didn't want to just give away, if they don't sell I will keep them I guess. My ebay id: barenakedtoby. If I make a buck or two then cool, it only costs 20 cents to list it on ebay, unless you pay for all these options, which I did for my Tommy Bahama shirt, like reserve price and multiple pictures. So far, only one person is watching my product.
update 8/8- two items have been bid on, 11 people are watching my stuff.
Ebay, I am selling some things on Ebay, I have not tried this. As I was cleaning out my closet, there were some things that I didn't want to just give away, if they don't sell I will keep them I guess. My ebay id: barenakedtoby. If I make a buck or two then cool, it only costs 20 cents to list it on ebay, unless you pay for all these options, which I did for my Tommy Bahama shirt, like reserve price and multiple pictures. So far, only one person is watching my product.
update 8/8- two items have been bid on, 11 people are watching my stuff.
The Cool Parent
On of the most important things to me, when I think of my future, is being a good parent. I stress sometimes thinking about how to be a good Dad. I didn't have the most prime example, my rents got divorced when I was 12 years old. I had a lot of men (and Re Re) who set an example for me on the way one should raise a kid. I have the task of putting together the best attributes and try to pass them on to my daughter or son. Here are some of the things that I want to pass along to my child:
I want to be very handy around the house, be able to fix, build, have cool stuff. I got this from Ed Sanfilippo. He was always in the garage working on something. On top of that, he took Jason and I camping, and most importantly, never told Jason that he was too busy doing something. I get very preoccupied with things and I have to be careful not to let anything come before my wife or children.
I want to let my kids try new things, this was ReRe's strength. I used to joke around that Re Re was my dad because she lived with us for a couple years after Dad had left. She always tried new things with me, she let me drive her car all the time, even when I was really too young, she would take me around the neighborhood on her lap and let me steer the car. I think when I was thirteen of fourteen she took me out driving quite often. Then came the rollerblade era. We used to laugh when she said she wanted to buy rollerblades, but by God she did it. When we went to Erie to visit her, she didn't have a lot of money but she did have rollerblades, she was not the fastest, but she was pretty steady and managed not to break any bones!!! I hope that I will not only allow my child to participate in things but also try to participate with them, until I am some old dude who embarasses them.
I want to be very involved in my child's life, activities, and social development. I look at the way Mike McKinney was always involved in his daughters life. He had a house full of girls, he could have left it all to mom and no one would have blamed him. He was a starter, scorekeeper, and coach for their swimming and softball teams, he was the husband of a troop leader and an honorary Girl Scout. He never missed many drill meets in ROTC, he made most soccer games, and overall was very involved in what the girls had going on. I don't want to be pushy about it, sometimes parents don't realize that their child will grow more without their shadow, but if they want me involved, I hope to be there.
The most important thing to me, the largest focus for me, and the hardest thing to do as a parent is to be the Cool Parent. I am not talking about wanting your kids to like you so much that you buy them alcohol, drugs, or $200 shoes. No no, I want to be the neighborhood Dad. I had a great example of the neighborhood cool parent. My mom made our house the neighborhood clubhouse. It is so easy to learn social skills and have fun in your own home. My mom had to say no to certain requests, my mom spoiled us when appropriate, and she always welcomed our friends as if they were her children. The sleepovers were usually at my house, the basketball games were usually at my house, the after-prom party was at my house. I know it cost her an arm and a leg to keep 18 kids fed, but she did it by herself. She taught a whole group of us how to put on a condom so we would know how to have safe sex, I don't even think they ratted her out to their parents. When I see people, my friends from school, they always ask about her, if I had a nickel for every time I heard "I just love your mom" I would be living in Key West doing nothing. Even my ex-girlfriends miss my mom more than they miss me. My mom was loved dearly by the neighborhood boys. When my parents split, they checked on her all the time, even if Andy and I were gone with my dad or camp or something. Clint used to see her car coming home late from work and would take his dog Toby and come visit with my mom while Andy and I were in bed. That is pretty cool to get teenagers to care about anything outside of themselves. I hope I can create a home environment where I know my kids and thier friends are safe and comfortable. I hope all of them will come to me with issues, questions, and share their lives with me.
This whole post was inspired by Marlies, who saw my mom for the second or third time in her life, after dinner we stopped to get my car keys. My mom hugged her like a long lost friend, said "come see me anytime, even without Amanda or Jon." The difference is she meant it. I remembered how proud I am of my mother and the way she raised Andy and I. Then I thought/worried about the way that I am going to parent my children, and who else I would emmulate. Marlies said it best about my mother; "Your mom is awesome."
I want to be very handy around the house, be able to fix, build, have cool stuff. I got this from Ed Sanfilippo. He was always in the garage working on something. On top of that, he took Jason and I camping, and most importantly, never told Jason that he was too busy doing something. I get very preoccupied with things and I have to be careful not to let anything come before my wife or children.
I want to let my kids try new things, this was ReRe's strength. I used to joke around that Re Re was my dad because she lived with us for a couple years after Dad had left. She always tried new things with me, she let me drive her car all the time, even when I was really too young, she would take me around the neighborhood on her lap and let me steer the car. I think when I was thirteen of fourteen she took me out driving quite often. Then came the rollerblade era. We used to laugh when she said she wanted to buy rollerblades, but by God she did it. When we went to Erie to visit her, she didn't have a lot of money but she did have rollerblades, she was not the fastest, but she was pretty steady and managed not to break any bones!!! I hope that I will not only allow my child to participate in things but also try to participate with them, until I am some old dude who embarasses them.
I want to be very involved in my child's life, activities, and social development. I look at the way Mike McKinney was always involved in his daughters life. He had a house full of girls, he could have left it all to mom and no one would have blamed him. He was a starter, scorekeeper, and coach for their swimming and softball teams, he was the husband of a troop leader and an honorary Girl Scout. He never missed many drill meets in ROTC, he made most soccer games, and overall was very involved in what the girls had going on. I don't want to be pushy about it, sometimes parents don't realize that their child will grow more without their shadow, but if they want me involved, I hope to be there.
The most important thing to me, the largest focus for me, and the hardest thing to do as a parent is to be the Cool Parent. I am not talking about wanting your kids to like you so much that you buy them alcohol, drugs, or $200 shoes. No no, I want to be the neighborhood Dad. I had a great example of the neighborhood cool parent. My mom made our house the neighborhood clubhouse. It is so easy to learn social skills and have fun in your own home. My mom had to say no to certain requests, my mom spoiled us when appropriate, and she always welcomed our friends as if they were her children. The sleepovers were usually at my house, the basketball games were usually at my house, the after-prom party was at my house. I know it cost her an arm and a leg to keep 18 kids fed, but she did it by herself. She taught a whole group of us how to put on a condom so we would know how to have safe sex, I don't even think they ratted her out to their parents. When I see people, my friends from school, they always ask about her, if I had a nickel for every time I heard "I just love your mom" I would be living in Key West doing nothing. Even my ex-girlfriends miss my mom more than they miss me. My mom was loved dearly by the neighborhood boys. When my parents split, they checked on her all the time, even if Andy and I were gone with my dad or camp or something. Clint used to see her car coming home late from work and would take his dog Toby and come visit with my mom while Andy and I were in bed. That is pretty cool to get teenagers to care about anything outside of themselves. I hope I can create a home environment where I know my kids and thier friends are safe and comfortable. I hope all of them will come to me with issues, questions, and share their lives with me.
This whole post was inspired by Marlies, who saw my mom for the second or third time in her life, after dinner we stopped to get my car keys. My mom hugged her like a long lost friend, said "come see me anytime, even without Amanda or Jon." The difference is she meant it. I remembered how proud I am of my mother and the way she raised Andy and I. Then I thought/worried about the way that I am going to parent my children, and who else I would emmulate. Marlies said it best about my mother; "Your mom is awesome."
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Miami & Key West
Background. Amanda and I took a trip with another couple. Sara is my best friend from college. She and I have traveled near and far together with no issues. Tim is Sara's husband, I stood for him at his wedding, he will stand for me at mine. Sara's father and step mother live in Coral Gables, FL, right outside of Miami. A little spice to the trip was Chance, the 2 year old black lab.
Friday- after saying goodbye to the Celtic Trader, we enjoyed a night at the Smith's house and headed out. As surprised as some may be, Chance was a really good traveler, he only needed to stop when the other girls did. Amanda almost dehydrated herself all day just so she wouldn't be the cause of frequent pee breaks. My mom raised me to to travel swift, hurry up so you can spend more time at your destination. Amanda is trying to teach me that the journey is part of the experience, I am yet to be bought in. We got to the Hilyard's around 8ish. It was a good trip.
Saturday- We just went and hung out at Miami's Bayside shopping area, we took a boat tour of the Star's Homes. We saw Tom Cruise's condo, Elizabeth Taylor's pink mansion, and Rosie O'Donnel's palace. Shaq-fu was not spending time on the basketball court.
Sunday- we went to South Beach. We were disappointed at the lack of topless women, but there was no shortage of scantily clad Cuban men sporting banana hammocks and boy-cut shorts. Contrary to the name, boy-cuts are made for women only!!! It was so f'n hot that you actually got more soaked when you left the bathwater temp'd ocean. We ate the most amazing dinner (Sara's dad is a carpenter {not like J.C.} and a superb cook) of Salmon with a champagne double reduction sauce, lobster tails, and king crab legs. Amanda and I discussed it that night, there is a reason she and I have headed to the mountains multiple times since dating but have yet to wander to the beach. WE DON'T LIKE SAND!!!!
Monday- Drove down Route 1 to Key West. This is a dream place, especially for Amanda and I, there are no beaches, so no worry about sand. We have all the island charm without small granules in every crevice. We stayed at the Key Lime Inn (www.historickeywestinns.com) and it was a dream. This old home was remade into a campus of cottages. We actually had a room next to Tim and Sara that shared a rocking chair front porch. The pool was the perfect temp, we swam twice a day. We got a great rate because it is Key West's off-season. We went shopping for most of the evening. We did however decide that we must stay another day!
Tuesday- Headed to the Hemingway house to see the six toed kitties. They are freaky looking. Our tour guide was pretty cool. The house is 16 feet above sea level, the altitude was getting to us so we had to head on to Mallory Square to see the sunset. It was everything Jimmy Buffett has written about and more. If I ever have to stay in the Southeast for any godforsaken reason, I am living in Key West. We followed up the evening at Sloppy Joe's where Sara, Amanda, and I got trashed. Amanda is a funny drunk although I must admit, she is not a good walker when sober, her skills deteriorate further when inebriated. We danced the night away, at one point during Gnarls Barkley's Crazy, we were that couple, yes, the ONLY couple on the dance floor. Does that make us crazy?
Wednesday- We stopped on the way back from Key West in Key Largo and picked up two huge ass lobster traps. Duh, this is a perfectly normal thing to do while on vacation, who doesn't do that? Oh yeah, NO ONE DOES THAT!!! (We had to strap one on the roof, I am sure we looked to cool driving in Miami through Little Havana with a lobster trap on our roof.) (In Tim & Sara's defense, the got the traps because they bought some local Key West art for their turquoise living room and her dad is goind to make picture frames.)
Dm dm, da dadum dm dum, from the windows.... to the walls...... get low!
Thursday- that hip-hop interruption was uncalled for, I will fire myself as author of the blog and hire someone else soon. Anywho, we did NOTHING on Thursday except to finish puting a roof on a shed, because once again, that is a totally normal thing to do while you are on vacation. I did get to see a nice collection of formerly illegal assault rifles. [W gave in to the NRA and now the Brady Bill is expired, I hope he gets shot by a legal assault rifle] {Now is when I usually apologize for such comments, but I hate that guy, I am not the least bit sorry for saying that.......}
Friday- It was long boring trip home but.......
note: This entry will not be finished, due to the Patriot Act, the author has been arrested, he will not be formally charged with anything, but he is a danger to the country. Love, Dept. Homeland Security
Friday- after saying goodbye to the Celtic Trader, we enjoyed a night at the Smith's house and headed out. As surprised as some may be, Chance was a really good traveler, he only needed to stop when the other girls did. Amanda almost dehydrated herself all day just so she wouldn't be the cause of frequent pee breaks. My mom raised me to to travel swift, hurry up so you can spend more time at your destination. Amanda is trying to teach me that the journey is part of the experience, I am yet to be bought in. We got to the Hilyard's around 8ish. It was a good trip.
Saturday- We just went and hung out at Miami's Bayside shopping area, we took a boat tour of the Star's Homes. We saw Tom Cruise's condo, Elizabeth Taylor's pink mansion, and Rosie O'Donnel's palace. Shaq-fu was not spending time on the basketball court.
Sunday- we went to South Beach. We were disappointed at the lack of topless women, but there was no shortage of scantily clad Cuban men sporting banana hammocks and boy-cut shorts. Contrary to the name, boy-cuts are made for women only!!! It was so f'n hot that you actually got more soaked when you left the bathwater temp'd ocean. We ate the most amazing dinner (Sara's dad is a carpenter {not like J.C.} and a superb cook) of Salmon with a champagne double reduction sauce, lobster tails, and king crab legs. Amanda and I discussed it that night, there is a reason she and I have headed to the mountains multiple times since dating but have yet to wander to the beach. WE DON'T LIKE SAND!!!!
Monday- Drove down Route 1 to Key West. This is a dream place, especially for Amanda and I, there are no beaches, so no worry about sand. We have all the island charm without small granules in every crevice. We stayed at the Key Lime Inn (www.historickeywestinns.com) and it was a dream. This old home was remade into a campus of cottages. We actually had a room next to Tim and Sara that shared a rocking chair front porch. The pool was the perfect temp, we swam twice a day. We got a great rate because it is Key West's off-season. We went shopping for most of the evening. We did however decide that we must stay another day!
Tuesday- Headed to the Hemingway house to see the six toed kitties. They are freaky looking. Our tour guide was pretty cool. The house is 16 feet above sea level, the altitude was getting to us so we had to head on to Mallory Square to see the sunset. It was everything Jimmy Buffett has written about and more. If I ever have to stay in the Southeast for any godforsaken reason, I am living in Key West. We followed up the evening at Sloppy Joe's where Sara, Amanda, and I got trashed. Amanda is a funny drunk although I must admit, she is not a good walker when sober, her skills deteriorate further when inebriated. We danced the night away, at one point during Gnarls Barkley's Crazy, we were that couple, yes, the ONLY couple on the dance floor. Does that make us crazy?
Wednesday- We stopped on the way back from Key West in Key Largo and picked up two huge ass lobster traps. Duh, this is a perfectly normal thing to do while on vacation, who doesn't do that? Oh yeah, NO ONE DOES THAT!!! (We had to strap one on the roof, I am sure we looked to cool driving in Miami through Little Havana with a lobster trap on our roof.) (In Tim & Sara's defense, the got the traps because they bought some local Key West art for their turquoise living room and her dad is goind to make picture frames.)
Dm dm, da dadum dm dum, from the windows.... to the walls...... get low!
Thursday- that hip-hop interruption was uncalled for, I will fire myself as author of the blog and hire someone else soon. Anywho, we did NOTHING on Thursday except to finish puting a roof on a shed, because once again, that is a totally normal thing to do while you are on vacation. I did get to see a nice collection of formerly illegal assault rifles. [W gave in to the NRA and now the Brady Bill is expired, I hope he gets shot by a legal assault rifle] {Now is when I usually apologize for such comments, but I hate that guy, I am not the least bit sorry for saying that.......}
Friday- It was long boring trip home but.......
note: This entry will not be finished, due to the Patriot Act, the author has been arrested, he will not be formally charged with anything, but he is a danger to the country. Love, Dept. Homeland Security
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
iPOD Karaoke
Okay, so my beloved cousin, author of maggie's red thread, has turned Amanda and I on to the thought of iPOD Karaoke. I thought I would return the favor in kind. I challenge anyone to find a love song, any love song, by anyone, be it Barry White, Michael Bolton, or Jimmy Buffett. Find me a song that CANNOT be easily made into a Christian pop song. I think it would be awesome if the compilation of popular love songs was made into Christian music by simply changing some words around.
baby (or any other tender reference to a sig. other) = God
make love = give love
kiss = pray
touch = save
etc etc etc
This was brought on when I was appraising a minivan today and on the radio was, what I thought, was a love song. Talked about loving, caring, sharing, all of those things we want in a relationship. I was grooving along, then all of a sudden, the last line of the song simply said "thank you God." Now I love me some God, and I think that any artist who can be a successful Christian artist should be (God knows it isn't easy writing a careers worth of songs about the exact same thing while still not sounding repetitive could not be easy). But if you are just taking a love song you wrote for your high school girlfriend and changing some word, you are no artist, unless you consider yourself a con-artist.
baby (or any other tender reference to a sig. other) = God
make love = give love
kiss = pray
touch = save
etc etc etc
This was brought on when I was appraising a minivan today and on the radio was, what I thought, was a love song. Talked about loving, caring, sharing, all of those things we want in a relationship. I was grooving along, then all of a sudden, the last line of the song simply said "thank you God." Now I love me some God, and I think that any artist who can be a successful Christian artist should be (God knows it isn't easy writing a careers worth of songs about the exact same thing while still not sounding repetitive could not be easy). But if you are just taking a love song you wrote for your high school girlfriend and changing some word, you are no artist, unless you consider yourself a con-artist.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Obsessed
Well, freking B!+(# tagged me on her blog, so here I have to discuss the following prompt using 5-paragraph essay, minus the essay, form.
"List/discuss the various obsessions that you have had over your lifetime."
I will try to put these in chronological order.
Matchbox cars were my first love, obsession, and best friends. I have likely had thousands of them. We would go out every pay day with mom and go to K-mart (now Ashley Home Furnishings on Independece Blvd.) and Andy and I would get some kind of toy. We would then go eat at McDonalds (now South 21 in front of AHF). Then we would go to the $1 movie (now the Aldi / Cookout on Albemarle Road). I had this plastic bin full of matchbox cars. Each car was a person in a community, I would have a Mayor, an ambulance, hospital, I would build garages and all kinds of things. I would lay on the sidewalk for hours and on the side have roads and trails, build buildings out of sticks, and have long running story lines.
I think my next obsession, and likely the most odd, would be rental moving trucks. I learned everything I could about rental trucks. Keep in mind this is before the internet, I would learn what brand rented out what kind of trucks, how much they cost, how old thier fleets would be... etc. I remember there was Ryder trucks, they are light yellow, they are now owned by Budget Rent-A-Truck. Then there was Hertz-Penske which was my favorite because they maintained their trucks better, had the youngest fleet, and they rented only Chevy's. U-haul was my least favorite, the ran their trucks into the ground and then sold them. You still see old U-haul trucks when people are too lazy to have them painted. I would always point them out to my mom, I am sure she was wondering "I wonder if he will be a mover one day, damn, I thought he would go somewhere."
Sticking to themes, I then started my NASCAR collection. I would buy the racing champions cars and leave them in their package. At first I would open them, but then I realized their value so I would buy two, keep one mint and play with the rest. I once took a 4'x4' peice of plywood and made a mini race track with them . Made walls, pits, and even tried to make the corners banked. I was the master of popcicle sticks and wood glue. I looked up my collection when I was in college and it was worth about $3,500, I guess today it might be worth a little more.
My first musical obsession started in 1988 when Jimmy Buffett released Hot Water, still one of his better albums with cameo's by James Taylor, the Neville Brothers, and Kenny G. I loved Buffett, I had posters, t-shirts, and all the tapes you could get your hands on. Aunt Annie and my mom got me hooked, I still am though in some moderation. I remember constantly standing on my bed with the floor lamp (a rocking mic stand) and putting on a whole concert. I think I would still bring the house down today. (My other music from that era: Def Leppard, Billy Joel, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Ghetto Boys, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Toad the Wet Sproket, Van Haggar(I missed the DLR era), Aerosmith, and Wilson Phillips.)
The Girl Years
As far as crushes went, I had ginormous crushes on Jewel and Claire Danes. Jewel was my snaggle tooth'd love, I thought she was SOOOOO sensitive and deep, her strong lyrics, blah blah. Claire Danes was so-cool in My So Called Life and then when she was Juliet, she was MY Juliet. I thought she was the most beautiful person ever because she wasn't fake.
My other obsession in the girl years were girls themselves, and notably I picked up the love of the 3-way phone call. This awesome invention by the phone company kept Dhara, Kelli, Ryan, and Laura up to date on everything that was happening. We lived a few miles away, but when you have no car, that is a long way. I think it was the summer between 7th and 8th grade Dhara and I got on the phone right after dinner, lets say 7ish. We included Kelli at 8ish, and Ryan and Laura got on the gossip conference call around 9. Laura and Kelli both got off sometime after midnight, I think Ryan finally fell asleep on the phone at 4 am. Dhara and I hung up at 7:30 when her mom got up and picked up the phone. Dhara got in trouble I think, but I don't know why. Even though some of the things we said were not that innocent, at least no one was having real sex. Man, I loved the phone, hell, I STILL DO!!!!
Now, maybe forever
I will start with music, I love almost any kind, and I am starting a new obsession with Sirius Sat Radio. But I am a BNL fanatic. I have been to 8 concerts, I have driven hours to see a show, I have every thing they have ever released, I have their new E.P. because my cousin David rules! I have some t-shirts, I belong to the fan club. I cannot explain why I love them so much, their songs make me laugh, their music is pleasing to my ears, and their deeper songs strike big chords on my heart strings. I guess my favorite story is of the day before we started college, my high school friends and I went to the BNL show at Verizon. We had camped out all night and landed 2nd row tickets center. We were so close, right after "I live with it everyday" Stephen Paige looked in the crowd at my horridly colored blonde hair and glasses and introduced me to the crowd as his little brother who flew down from Canada to see the show, I was treated so well by those around me.
I will finish where I started, Cars. If you take the Beastie Boys song "girls" and change it to cars, you would have me. "Cars, in the morning its Cars, and in the evening its Cars, that's all I really want are Cars, two at a time I want Cars, Cars, Cars Cars." I love them, I work with them on a daily basis, I have appraised nearly 8,000 cars over the last 3 years. I have owned more cars than ride in President Bush's motorcade, only none of mine were bullet proof, I wish none of his were either. I counted somewhere earlier in my blog, so you look it up, but it has been a lot of cars. I love all kinds, I like the status symbols, I love the performance, I love the practical, I love the impractical, I love the off road, I love the on road, I love most cars. With my obsession with cars comes a heavy price, I can find something I hate on every car, every freaking car has something I cannot stand, no matter what. My biggest car obsession comes with interior ergonomics. The layout of a cars interior is much more important than anything else, here's why. If you drive to Pittsburgh, you spend about 7 hours inside the car and about 15 minutes outside pumping gas, I see the inside more, therefore it is more important. I think that Japanese car makers are the best at laying out dashboards. The buttons make sense, they are logical, they are not too numerous (like German cars) and the materials they use feel good to the touch (unlike American cars). The japs do not understand armrest at all, they are generally too low, rough materialed, and never soft enough. The Americans generally get spacing right, they should, they live here, they know we are a fat country. Germans understand the deadpedal, you know that think you put your left foot on in an automatic transmission car or where you rest when not using the clutch, yeah, well like me, Germans have big feet. They know where to put your foot. I will flat out refuse to buy a car if it does not have a sufficient dead pedal. See, obsessed, who gives a shit about dead pedals but me?
I hope you enjoyed this, I would tag someone, but no one reads this damn thing, except Amanda, please e-mail me your obesessions and I will post them for you on my blogtastic place on the world wide web.
"List/discuss the various obsessions that you have had over your lifetime."
I will try to put these in chronological order.
Matchbox cars were my first love, obsession, and best friends. I have likely had thousands of them. We would go out every pay day with mom and go to K-mart (now Ashley Home Furnishings on Independece Blvd.) and Andy and I would get some kind of toy. We would then go eat at McDonalds (now South 21 in front of AHF). Then we would go to the $1 movie (now the Aldi / Cookout on Albemarle Road). I had this plastic bin full of matchbox cars. Each car was a person in a community, I would have a Mayor, an ambulance, hospital, I would build garages and all kinds of things. I would lay on the sidewalk for hours and on the side have roads and trails, build buildings out of sticks, and have long running story lines.
I think my next obsession, and likely the most odd, would be rental moving trucks. I learned everything I could about rental trucks. Keep in mind this is before the internet, I would learn what brand rented out what kind of trucks, how much they cost, how old thier fleets would be... etc. I remember there was Ryder trucks, they are light yellow, they are now owned by Budget Rent-A-Truck. Then there was Hertz-Penske which was my favorite because they maintained their trucks better, had the youngest fleet, and they rented only Chevy's. U-haul was my least favorite, the ran their trucks into the ground and then sold them. You still see old U-haul trucks when people are too lazy to have them painted. I would always point them out to my mom, I am sure she was wondering "I wonder if he will be a mover one day, damn, I thought he would go somewhere."
Sticking to themes, I then started my NASCAR collection. I would buy the racing champions cars and leave them in their package. At first I would open them, but then I realized their value so I would buy two, keep one mint and play with the rest. I once took a 4'x4' peice of plywood and made a mini race track with them . Made walls, pits, and even tried to make the corners banked. I was the master of popcicle sticks and wood glue. I looked up my collection when I was in college and it was worth about $3,500, I guess today it might be worth a little more.
My first musical obsession started in 1988 when Jimmy Buffett released Hot Water, still one of his better albums with cameo's by James Taylor, the Neville Brothers, and Kenny G. I loved Buffett, I had posters, t-shirts, and all the tapes you could get your hands on. Aunt Annie and my mom got me hooked, I still am though in some moderation. I remember constantly standing on my bed with the floor lamp (a rocking mic stand) and putting on a whole concert. I think I would still bring the house down today. (My other music from that era: Def Leppard, Billy Joel, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Ghetto Boys, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Toad the Wet Sproket, Van Haggar(I missed the DLR era), Aerosmith, and Wilson Phillips.)
The Girl Years
As far as crushes went, I had ginormous crushes on Jewel and Claire Danes. Jewel was my snaggle tooth'd love, I thought she was SOOOOO sensitive and deep, her strong lyrics, blah blah. Claire Danes was so-cool in My So Called Life and then when she was Juliet, she was MY Juliet. I thought she was the most beautiful person ever because she wasn't fake.
My other obsession in the girl years were girls themselves, and notably I picked up the love of the 3-way phone call. This awesome invention by the phone company kept Dhara, Kelli, Ryan, and Laura up to date on everything that was happening. We lived a few miles away, but when you have no car, that is a long way. I think it was the summer between 7th and 8th grade Dhara and I got on the phone right after dinner, lets say 7ish. We included Kelli at 8ish, and Ryan and Laura got on the gossip conference call around 9. Laura and Kelli both got off sometime after midnight, I think Ryan finally fell asleep on the phone at 4 am. Dhara and I hung up at 7:30 when her mom got up and picked up the phone. Dhara got in trouble I think, but I don't know why. Even though some of the things we said were not that innocent, at least no one was having real sex. Man, I loved the phone, hell, I STILL DO!!!!
Now, maybe forever
I will start with music, I love almost any kind, and I am starting a new obsession with Sirius Sat Radio. But I am a BNL fanatic. I have been to 8 concerts, I have driven hours to see a show, I have every thing they have ever released, I have their new E.P. because my cousin David rules! I have some t-shirts, I belong to the fan club. I cannot explain why I love them so much, their songs make me laugh, their music is pleasing to my ears, and their deeper songs strike big chords on my heart strings. I guess my favorite story is of the day before we started college, my high school friends and I went to the BNL show at Verizon. We had camped out all night and landed 2nd row tickets center. We were so close, right after "I live with it everyday" Stephen Paige looked in the crowd at my horridly colored blonde hair and glasses and introduced me to the crowd as his little brother who flew down from Canada to see the show, I was treated so well by those around me.
I will finish where I started, Cars. If you take the Beastie Boys song "girls" and change it to cars, you would have me. "Cars, in the morning its Cars, and in the evening its Cars, that's all I really want are Cars, two at a time I want Cars, Cars, Cars Cars." I love them, I work with them on a daily basis, I have appraised nearly 8,000 cars over the last 3 years. I have owned more cars than ride in President Bush's motorcade, only none of mine were bullet proof, I wish none of his were either. I counted somewhere earlier in my blog, so you look it up, but it has been a lot of cars. I love all kinds, I like the status symbols, I love the performance, I love the practical, I love the impractical, I love the off road, I love the on road, I love most cars. With my obsession with cars comes a heavy price, I can find something I hate on every car, every freaking car has something I cannot stand, no matter what. My biggest car obsession comes with interior ergonomics. The layout of a cars interior is much more important than anything else, here's why. If you drive to Pittsburgh, you spend about 7 hours inside the car and about 15 minutes outside pumping gas, I see the inside more, therefore it is more important. I think that Japanese car makers are the best at laying out dashboards. The buttons make sense, they are logical, they are not too numerous (like German cars) and the materials they use feel good to the touch (unlike American cars). The japs do not understand armrest at all, they are generally too low, rough materialed, and never soft enough. The Americans generally get spacing right, they should, they live here, they know we are a fat country. Germans understand the deadpedal, you know that think you put your left foot on in an automatic transmission car or where you rest when not using the clutch, yeah, well like me, Germans have big feet. They know where to put your foot. I will flat out refuse to buy a car if it does not have a sufficient dead pedal. See, obsessed, who gives a shit about dead pedals but me?
I hope you enjoyed this, I would tag someone, but no one reads this damn thing, except Amanda, please e-mail me your obesessions and I will post them for you on my blogtastic place on the world wide web.
Exciting Stuff
A list of things I am excited about.
I got new Rainbow Flip Flops from Amanda. I came home from work today and Amanda said she had a suprise for me, she had gotten me a card, about made me cry with some seriously kind words, and wrapped up carefully in an Off-Broadway Shoe Warehouse bag were the Rainbow flops I have been wanting. I know they are pricey flops, but they are cool and comfy.
I got a new cell phone, same number, but finally something without a green screen. I have no idea how to use it yet, but I know that I have a bluetooth headset, I have a camera phone, I can download songs, and I have Vcast which will stream in the current news, sports scores, and all kinds of other crap. I do have a feeling that KMX will not allow me to send pics, stream in the news, or download music, just like Carmax, give you the most potential but then not let you use it.
Miami. Manders and I both cannot wait to take a RELAXING vacation. We are driving with Tim, Sara, and Chance (the 55lb lab) to Miami Friday, we will then be going to Key West Monday. While we are down there I think we will be drinking, diving, drinking, swimming, drinking, tanning, drinking, clubing, drinking, dancing, and making sweet sweet........ debt! Oh what fun this trip is going to be!!!
I got new Rainbow Flip Flops from Amanda. I came home from work today and Amanda said she had a suprise for me, she had gotten me a card, about made me cry with some seriously kind words, and wrapped up carefully in an Off-Broadway Shoe Warehouse bag were the Rainbow flops I have been wanting. I know they are pricey flops, but they are cool and comfy.
I got a new cell phone, same number, but finally something without a green screen. I have no idea how to use it yet, but I know that I have a bluetooth headset, I have a camera phone, I can download songs, and I have Vcast which will stream in the current news, sports scores, and all kinds of other crap. I do have a feeling that KMX will not allow me to send pics, stream in the news, or download music, just like Carmax, give you the most potential but then not let you use it.
Miami. Manders and I both cannot wait to take a RELAXING vacation. We are driving with Tim, Sara, and Chance (the 55lb lab) to Miami Friday, we will then be going to Key West Monday. While we are down there I think we will be drinking, diving, drinking, swimming, drinking, tanning, drinking, clubing, drinking, dancing, and making sweet sweet........ debt! Oh what fun this trip is going to be!!!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Vacation Part Three
We then struck out to the oregon coast, the pacific coastline is neat because instead of having long beaches that run for miles, they have little coves that are surrounded by cliffs, hundreds of feet tall. This was taken from a lighthouse that overlooks Tillamook.
The following day we went to Mt. Saint Helens. It was the only day that was cloudy and chilly. We couldn't get any good pics of the mountain itself but below you will see the lava flows from the 1983 eruption. Experts predict it will blow again in the next 10-20 years.
The last part of the trip was the wedding of Amanda's cousin Mike to Rachael. We had a great time, and once again the weather was perfect.
The following day we went to Mt. Saint Helens. It was the only day that was cloudy and chilly. We couldn't get any good pics of the mountain itself but below you will see the lava flows from the 1983 eruption. Experts predict it will blow again in the next 10-20 years.
The last part of the trip was the wedding of Amanda's cousin Mike to Rachael. We had a great time, and once again the weather was perfect.
Vacation Part Two
We were lucky to spend the 4th of July, USA's Independence Day, at Mount Rainier. It was a rare clear day and you one of a few that you could see the top of Rainier.
We enjoyed a snowball fight on Mount Rainier, below you will see Amanda posing for the camera right before the war of snow balls broke out. I wish all inernational disputes could be solved in this manner.
We hiked up a cool trail from about 10,000 feet. We were stopped one the trails got a little two icy for our tennis shoes to traverse.
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