Ok, I don't mind snow...the cold I can tolerate. But storm followed by storm followed by storm is getting old.
I actually don't like early spring because I don't like cold rain. It seeps into your bones.
Now I'm not known for wearing a heavy coat in the winter as it restricts my movement, but I have consistently worn my leather and a hat this year-that's how cold its been. Yikes.
This award show is fun because it's looser than the Oscars and more free thought occurs. The Awards are voted/decided on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Let me point out a few spots on the winners:
1) The Office won for "Best Television Series-Musical Or Comedy" beating Sex & The City. The clip of The Office they showed was totally NOT funny. However Sarah Jessica Parker won for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy" and was absolutely giddy. It's gonna suck when the show ends in 4 episodes.
One thought tho-Fran pls comment. One of the characters Samantha played by Kim Cattrall-has Breast Cancer. I normally don't like how TV portrays Cancer patients (victims, might-as-already-be-dead, blah blah). However I love that they are keeping the character strong (albeit scared) and determined. Its a much more realistic view.
It is terrific to see Mikhail Baryshnikov again too.
2) Angels In America and Six Feet Under-both HBO material won a few awards...Al Pacino was amazing in AinA. Can't beat that...can't wait for Six Feet Under to return. The female star of this show-Frances Conroy won a G.G. tonight.
NOTE: Sopranos returns March 7th (Suz's bday).
3) From other interviews and such I've always thought Michael Douglas was a cocky jerk...however he won the Cecil B. Demille Award and gave a very humble and delightful Acceptance speech. I was wrong.
Saturday Suz picked up her best friend's daughter Kate (our wedding flower girl) at 10am and took her to her swimming lesson. I stayed in bed until they woke me up at 11. We hit our favorite lunch spot, Jay's Diner and chowed down heartily (oh Fran-the waitresses all giggled and loved our wedding pics).
Then we hit the Rochester Museum & Science Center. I'd been to the Planetarium as a kid but really never to the Museum part...they had all kinds of demos on Air pressure and how it effects water & sound. One demo was putting a Marshmallow Peep (Yes Fran-our fav sugar source) in a Bell jar and dropping the pressure and then bringing it back up. Gee who knew we could get so wired up on sugar & air? :) Kate's mom picked her up at 4:30 and we slummed the rest of the night.
Today Suz went to church w/out me (we have an Interim Pastor while Pastor Ken is on Sabbatical and I have a hard time adjusting). Went and worked out...we're walking in towards the locker room and I hear a shuffle and a thud..Suz is on the ground. She lost her feet and took a nasty dive. No bruises but she's sore. It happens once every winter-hopefully this is it.
Then hit my parent's house-Dad wants on Ebay...somehow this frightens me :)
Just something different...
LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Pete aka The Blurf
-- Birth date: May 10th, 1969
-- Birthplace: Rochester, NY
-- Current Location: Pittsford, NY
-- Eye Color: Hazel
-- Hair Color: Dirty Blonde
-- Height: 4'0" in wheelchair
-- Righty or Lefty: Left
-- Zodiac Sign: Taurus
LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: Swede/French
-- The shoes you wore today: None..I'm in a wheelchair
-- Your weakness: M&M's/Peppermint Patty's
-- Your fears: heights/losing my independence
-- Your perfect pizza: Dbl cheese + mushrooms
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: career satisfaction
LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on AIM: LOL
-- Your first waking thoughts: Just a little more sleep, please...
-- Your best physical feature: My upper-body strength
-- Your most missed memory: I miss my long-time best friend Marc Pacyga and the time I spent with him
LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Coke if available
-- McDonald's or Burger King: McD's
-- Single or group dates: Neither-I'm married since 10/18/03
-- Adidas or Nike: Again I'm in a wheelchair-no need.
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Yech-I hate both
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla with chocolate syrup-Marshmallow syrup too
-- Cappuccino or coffee:I hate both
LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: Only when severely stressed
-- Cuss: Used to do it a lot but now only when I'm out of work..:)
-- Sing: With certain CD's when in the car alone and it's a pretty day outside.
-- Take a shower everyday: Every morning.
-- Do you think you've been in love: Definitely-yes-matter in fact I am right now.
-- Want to go to college: Already went/graduated 1995.
-- Liked high school: I survived but I was a very different person then.
-- Want to get married: Was married 10/18/03.
-- Believe in yourself: Of course.
-- Get motion sickness: Nope.
-- Think you're attractive: After I shower in the AM.
-- Think you're a health freak: No but I'm getting there.
-- Get along with your parent(s): Yes
-- Like thunderstorms: Nope! Never.
-- Play an instrument: Took drum lessons as a child but don't play anymore.
LAYER SIX: In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Yes
-- Smoked: No
-- Done a drug: No - unless prescription drugs count!
-- Made Out: Yes (with my wife-Thank You Very Much!)
-- Gone on a date: Went on one last week with the husband.
-- Gone to the mall?: No
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No
-- Eaten sushi: No
-- Been on stage: No
-- Made homemade cookies: No
-- Dyed your hair: No
LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: No
-- If so, was it mixed company: n/a
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes
-- Been caught "doing something": Yes
-- Been called a tease: Yes
-- Gotten beaten up: No
-- Shoplifted: Yes
-- Changed who you were to fit in: No
LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: I married at 24 (a little earlier than I had expected).
-- Numbers and Names of Children: Don't have any and we may not. Our puppy's name will be Isabella.
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: The wedding we had.
-- How do you want to die: In my sleep.
-- Where you want to go to college: I graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Dunno...give me a hint :)
-- What country would you most like to visit: Sweden
LAYER NINE:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: 2
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: I have a good group of about a dozen friends that I think I could trust with my life.
-- Number of CDs that I own: Combined with my wife's, over 200.
-- Number of piercings: None
-- Number of tattoos: None
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: 4.
-- Number of scars on my body: Several major ones due to surgeries as a youth.
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: Just a few and they had to do with how I treated people in early years.
Hump day already...kinda nice.
I would swear I am seeing MORE people on cell phones when driving. These people need to be strapped to metal boards with very dull rusty spikes and have large blocks of concrete dropped on them.
Bought a humidifier for work...helping keep my speaking voice going better. Winter can end...now.
Well I feel really good...slept well Saturday night. Just needed sleep I believe. Thanks for all the Get-Well wishes...it means a lot.
Eagles lost...oops. I know the Fran Clan was thrilled about this. Read his post
Salvation Army Update: THE COUCH IS GONE!!!!!!
They picked it up Saturday bright & early at 8:45 as promised. We now have our Garage back..and most importantly, I can get to my Ebay stash.
As a result there are new items up...please peruse at your leisure. By the way I have a stash of old Playboy magazines for sale...good condition. I won't put them on Ebay as I am concerned about possibly selling to a minor incidentally. If interested email me please at blogger at rochesterdotrrdotcom (changed for spam purposes of course).
Tomorrow is a day off...ahhhhh relaxation.
Well, still sick...overslept and didn't hear the alarm go off...woke up at 2. Boogied and got my butt to work. I hate getting to work late (I start at 3:30 but I like to be in the office by 2:30) as I feel like I'm playing catch-up.
I was granted Monday off (MLK Jr. Day) as the person ahead of me in Seniority is "No Longer With Us". That'll be nice.
SALVATION ARMY UPDATE: Monday I called Salvation Army and talked to the man in charge of the Donation Pick-Up program. Expressed my concerns quite calmly-he actually said he was surpised I wasn't more upset. He agreed with me that we should've been first on the list last Saturday. He said he'd talk to the phone guy "Tom" and give him an "attitude adjustment". Supposedly we're scheduled for 8:30am this Saturday. If they don't show I'm going to raise all kinds of hell.
Well, I'm sick again...no surprise with the below 0 temps we're having at night when I get out of work (yes I am wearing my jacket, Fran).
I have "Middle Ear Congestion". Basically my ears are ringing like a bell, my sinuses hurt and my balance is really funky. If I lean my head forward just a lil bit, it feels like I'm gonna hit the floor...but driving is no prob.
No fun...
Ok so as if I wan't pissed off enough over the Salvation Army situation (it deserved its own post)...
I'm trying to open my hermetically-thermonuclear-sealed MS Office XP (Xmas present). Phone rings-I get startled, jump and the scissors sink a hole in the arm of our new $5000 Leather couch (Parental Wedding Present). Not a huge one-1" long but it's through the leather clearly. I called the 1-800 # for the warranty and they tried to deny me...but I restated the issue and they took it which is appropriate as I paid $110 for this 5-Year Full Coverage Warranty.
Swell weekend....now tomorrow is a Monday.
Salvation Army was on their 2nd appointment to come and pick up our couch Saturday..another "8am-3pm Pick Up" time. This time they don't show and finally call at 2:30 saying they can't make it. I explained you have a 1/2 hour left-just jump in the truck, buzz over and get it. Nope..no reason-just can't make it. Bullshit! I called last Thursday and confirmed we were on the list for Saturday. So I take the phone from Suz and say this is unacceptable-we are on their reschedule request and should've been an early pickup-yet they still don't make it.
Then the guy gets all pushy with Suz and insists we reschedule next week. Well the next 2 weekends we're full--busy...pre-scheduled events, etc. He doesn't get it and again suggests next weekend. I told him I refuse to drop events to sit around all day for a pickup that probably won't happen.
So I levelled this guy over the phone...he can't give me a decent reason for not showing (or any at all) and was rude to Suz...after all that we reschedule for Feb 21. I demanded an address to write a letter (which is done and mailed) insisting that someone call me and guarantee me a FIRST SLOT PICKUP on this day.
However if anyone out there lives in/near Upstate NY and wants a sleeper sofa that is good for a basement or a porch-give me $50 and pick it up and its yours-no questions asked. Just get this damned thing out of my garage please
First...Kat...you are very welcome.
Well when I go home tonight it'll be -5 degrees F. I drive a vehicle that uses Hydraulic lift and boosters to various systems. When it gets cold the ramp goes down slower than you've ever seen anything move. Basically grass grows faster. I've already told the biggest guy in our center I may need his girth when we leave. :)
In other news, I got my stats back at work for the year. PREMIERE top-o-the-line stats every month throughout. I was one of 2 people in the entire center to achieve this. It pretty much guarantees me a good Raise this year. Considering there were distractions this year (ie Wedding) I'm really pleased about this.
Well I took Monday off...now I'm back at work like everyone else. (Sigh) Post-Holiday Depression is coming on...
Monday I did errands around the house. Entered a bunch of bills in Where's George, wrote some Thank You letters to our Reception Hall and Florist from the wedding.
Everquest Update-I finally figured out to fix my Faction for Freeport for my 52 51 lvl Druid. I died twice when someone brilliant told me just to do some Freeport Quests-too bad when you come visible you get slaughtered. A 93% XP Rezz helped with that. I need to go to Crushbone and get 500 Orc Scalps. I turned 80 scalps last night and got 40 plat, some faction change and a bit of XP so I know it'll work. Sounds like I'll get some good cash too.
This weekend has started out the new year nicely...
Suz and I are both pretty mch over our colds. Saturday was spent taking down Xmas decorations and shelving the tree. Found out there was a nest of small spiders in our Xmas tree...how nice.
Today, as another Winter storm begins, we are morning greeters at church on what will be our Pastor's last Sunday before his month-long Sabbatical. I find myself very picky about who I hear religious material from so I probably won't attend much while he's gone.
Further political thoughts...I didn't mean to sound like I was switching parties-I am a firm Liberal Democrat and am not a big fan of George W. Bush. However if Howard Dean wins the nomination, this may be the first Presidential election I do not vote in at all. But that also conflicts me because I feel like if I don't vote I don't have the right to speak up-however voting with the Independent party may be a possibility this time round as well.
2003 was not a bad year for us....1) We got married!!! 2) I patched things up with someone who I never thought would come around and 3) Things settled down at work. Definitely not a bad year.
2004...what do I want? Hope for??? Well...above all...in God's hands I humbly put an unselfish request that the Fran Clan be able to conceive/deliver a healthy baby. Maybe it is selfish....I want to be an Uncle to another child but is that so wrong??
My second wish...we have a healthy firstborn-our Bischon Frise' puppy-Isabella-to be acquired in the Spring. She will be raised in a positive loving environment.
My third generic-all-encompassing-wish is for a safe and healthy year for all Friends and Family
Well..until today I was a slight supporter of Howard Dean to win the Democratic Nomination. Then he said that "Osama Bin Laden is innocent until proven Guilty".
Umm...wrong answer there buddy...this is a maniacal freak who has clearly admitted to multiple bombings and who, in recordings proven to be his, has admitted to participating in the planning of the September 11 tragedy. You have lost my vote.
I will vote Republican before I vote for you-you are a dangerous man Howard Dean...I only hope more people realize it.