Lite Blogging

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I only had Spurs for 48 hours and we were not gonna spend that time on the computer! Plus I was sickly yesterday and spent the whole day in bed watching really bad movies on HBO.

He is off again this week on yet another road trip and I'm preparing for my 1st road trip starting Sunday with my new job. I'm kind of excited because I actually get to see the folks I'm working with. Plus it's in Chicago and I've never been there before.

I'm not looking forward to the air travel. After seeing the problems going on lately with planes going down I'm a bit freaked out. Then of course I have to watch this four hour program on National Geographic last night about 9/11. I hadn't seen this documentary before and it was really informational on all of the background of how it came to happen. Not that I'm a morbid freak or anything, I just didn't know a lot about the history of the terrorists that did it. Plus I think it's always good to keep that in the forefront of our minds so we never get lax on terrorist attacks. So now the FAA is thinking about allowing small knives and scissors again onto the plane. Wha? NO! No weapons of any kind please! These terrorists were not that big. They could have easily been overpowered had they not had box cutters to slit peoples throats.

So then today, I'm eating lunch and watching National Geographic again (I've really gotta stop watching this stuff) and there is a program about an Air Alaska plane that went down in the Pacific before reaching it's L.A. destination. Really scary shit folks. Ugh, those people had a horrible long ride down before it smacked the ocean at about 220 mph. Vertical dive, spinning, flipping tail to nose, etc. It came out that it was the Jack Screw Assembly on the tail portion that determines if your nose is going to be up or down (sorry I can't remember the technical term for it). In this case it was locked in the down position and the pilots had to fight with everything they had to manually keep the nose up for as long as they did. And then the kicker, these assembly's are still used on the DC-9 and the MD80's in service today. Of course they are supposed to be checked daily for any malfunctions but my goodness folks. That doesn't make me feel any better. Not to mention the strike going on right now and the "replacement" workers that have been put in their place. I don't want a disgruntled maintenance worker checking out my plane please nor do I want an inexperienced "replacement" worker!

Anyway, as you can see I'm a nervous wreck when it comes to this stuff. True, most accidents occur on our highways than in the air but now we have multiple airbags, anti-lock breaks, etc. in our cars to hopefully keep us safe in the event of an accident. That little strap across your lap on a plane is not going to help you one bit during a crash! Ugh.

*BONUS* My plane from Dallas to Chicago is an MD-80 and hey, again on the way back Chicago to Dallas is an MD-80! Wahoo! I feel so much better now!

Road Trip Hell

After 8 loooooooonnnngggg days on the road, I begin my odyssey back to TLTTF in just a bit. It's an all day airport fest, with multiple trips on tiny little planes. Whoop-De-Doo.
The trip itself was a success and is getting good reviews from upper management in Corporate.
The downside is I'll only be home for about 48 hours before I'm off to save the world again.
I'm tired and I miss my wife.
Looks like she's taking to this whole blogging thing.

Puss N Balls

This morning I go out onto my patio for my morning smoke (yes, I know, no comments about smoking please) and there is a new furry friend sitting on one of my patio chairs.

www.ImageShack.

Well I was a bit concerned because my main furry friend Stella was inside and totally freaking out about this while looking through the patio door window. So I tried to shoo my new friend away but he wasn't having it.

He you say, how did I know it was a he? Well, let's just say I've never had a male cat before and man did he have the biggest set of you know what for a cat. So, therefore I will call him Balls.

As I am trying to shoo Balls away from my patio so Stella will quit freaking out there is a lady walking her dog along the walkway outside my patio. She says, "oh let me help you", I say "you know this cat", she say's "well he's kind of a community cat", I say "oh, okay, now I feel really bad for trying to shoo him away but my cat is freaking out". So she tries to help me but Mr. Balls is not having any of that. He likes the cushy patio chair and ain't budging. Fine, let him have his nap and he will be on his way I thought. So she says "we call him Dakota". Muwahaha, well not anymore, his name now is Balls. Or Mr. Balls. Whichever he prefers.

So throughout my day I have been taking my smoke breaks on my patio and there he is, Mr. Balls. Just hanging out on the chair and napping with an occasional pass in front of the patio door window to get Stella all in a frenzy. I tried to explain to Stella she should play a little more hard to get. But no, she was standing on her hind legs and waving her naughty bits all in front of Mr. Balls. Stella is a tiny kitty and I explained it will never work out between her and big Mr. Balls.

By the way, do cat's have a penis like dogs? Does the pink lipstick come out like it does with dogs? Eww, I really don't want to find that part out.

So I gave in. After lunch I got a couple of small tupperware bowls and filled one with purified water (which is what Stella gets now) and one with Cat Chow. I had a very large bag of Cat Chow and just felt wrong that there was a hungry Mr. Balls on my patio and I had all this Cat Chow. So I go out and put the water down first. He gets off of his chair and checks it out but doesn't drink it. I then put the bowl of Cat Chow down. Man, I've never seen a cat eat so fast in my life. He had that bowl of Chow down in about 1 minute. So therefore I felt better. Mr. Balls has a full tummy now and can go on his merry little way doing whatever he does during the day.

Not so much, he jumps back up in the chair looks at me, meows, then goes back to sleep. Oh well, I just let him be. Later on throughout the day he moved from here to there on the patio getting out of the sun. Right now he's curled up in the only shaded corner right now.

I will continue to give him food if he shows up again. He's quite skinny around the middle and looks like he hasn't had any nutritious food in a while. Probably more dumpster diving type stuff. I figure, hey, I don't want another indoor cat but if he is happy with being outside and living that way who am I to judge. And then again who am I to withhold the yummy Cat Chow goodness when we have plenty of it in our household.

I'm sure Spurs will be thrilled when he gets back. The main objective is to keep Stella inside and Mr. Balls outside when going out on the patio for our smoke breaks. Small price to pay I think so that Mr. Balls has a full tummy everyday :)

Can They Spy On Me?

I'm becoming more and more paranoid. This job I have now where I work from home and VPN into the company server to get email and files from their network - I think they are spying on me. The other day I was unable to logon to a test server successfully and was Instant Messaging one of the people I work with about the problem to see if it was company wide. She automatically invited an IT guy into the chat and before you know it he was in my computer fixing the problem while instant messaging the whole time and I had no idea what was going on.

In my last company you could tell when they were going into your computer because #1 they needed your IP address and #2 the little symbol thingie in the bottom toolbar would change colors.

Not so much with this place. Evidentally they can come in and out as much as they like without you knowing a thing. Like today, after I log off the network and close all my programs down for the day I get this weird message that something isn't letting something on my computer? Hmmm, does that mean someone was trying but didn't realize I was already off the network?

I want to know when they are watching me. Not that I'm not doing my job - but I'm a fast worker. Give me a project that they think takes a week and it takes me a day or maybe two. There are times during the day when I am taking notes and doing research from actual printed documents and not using my computer. Oh, and watching TV or talking on the phone or playing with kitty. Does this mean they think I'm not working. And by the way - who can watch me and who can't? Is it just IT? I'm totally tempted to ask them but you know that won't look good.

So if there are any IT guru's out there that can tell me how I know when they are in my computer I would appreciate it. Wait, that would not be good either because that means the IT guru would know how to get into my computer.

Yes, I may need therapy.

Reality Shows

I don't like reality shows when they involve "ordinary" folks. Real World, The Batchelor, Survivor, etc. just don't interest me at all. These are just desperate folks that want to be on TV. Now, throw in rich folks and I'm all over it. Rich people fascinate me. Their whole take on life is so funny. It doesn't depress me or make me envious it just flat out makes me laugh.

So, the two I am watching currently are:
Filthy Rich Cattle Drive
The Girls Next Door

First off, Filthy Rich Cattle Drive involves a bunch of celebrity/insanely wealthy kids. Most of which I have never heard of. One is the daughter of the Yahoo CEO (who I think is a total bitch), one is George Foreman's son (I like him because he seems the most grounded of them all), and one is Pat Benatar's daughter (she's really cute, I didn't even know she had a daughter), etc. etc. They flew all these rich kids out to Colorado to be on a ranch and learn how to drive cattle from the experienced employees that work on the ranch. Then they have to actually drive a herd of cattle to another place. You can imagine the possibilities here. It totally cracks me up. Just watching the whole wardrobe thing is cracking me up. They bought their cowboy hats at Fred Segal. Anyway, it's mind numbing entertainment I know but hey, it's something. On the plus side the ranch is absolutely gorgeous and the land they are getting ready to drive the cattle through is breathtaking - hey sign me up, I'll do it. All except the sticking of the arm up to your elbow into the cows butt-hole to check to see if it's pregnant. Ah, yes, this was done. No thank you.

Next we have The Girls Next Door. Yes, ladies and gentlemen they are opening the doors of the Playboy Mansion to us regular folk. This is really fascinating. Heff has not one but three girlfriends living under his roof. HELLO! I'm sorry, how old is he now? Ew! Anyway, all three are drop dead gorgeous blondes (yea! go blondes) which I am assuming he prefers. He has one MAIN girlfriend that actually shares his bed/bedroom with him. The other two I guess are on stand-by in their own rooms. These girls were never playmates and they don't get to be in the magazine. Why this is I just don't know yet, I guess Heff doesn't want their naughty bits published while he is in use of them? Anyway, this is totally fascinating. Why would these bimbos actually agree to this. And they think it's their chance of a lifetime? The MAIN girlfriend is a little miffed, you can tell. She wants to be with Heff full time and you can tell she's a bit peeved with the other two. But alas, they live in a beautiful mansion. They have servants waiting on them hand and foot. They go to amazing locations/events/concerts and travel in style. What more could a bimbo want? The last episode I watched was where it was one of the girlfriend's on stand-by birthday. She seems a bit redneck to me. Anyway, her whole family came to visit her at "The Mansion" and they had a big pool party for her. I'm sorry, would you actually invite your family to this? Her grandmother was there for pete's sake. But as a bonus her teenage brother was there too. Can you imagine how popular he is in school right now? The shots of him were watching the girls in the pool - double D's galore in very small bathing suits. You know his life is good. He doesn't even need the magazine. He's got it all right up close and in front of his face.

So there you go, my review of the two new reality shows I am watching. Hope you enjoy!

Mystery Memory Foam

I decided to go buy new sheets today so I thought I would splurge and get some really nice ones. I bought the 500 thread count type and man are they soft. I can't wait to get into bed tonight.

So I'm walking around the store after finding the sheets I wanted and see that they have the memory foam mattress toppers on sale. Hmm, I thought I would try it out. Our mattress is pretty comfy but why not make it more so. So I get my stuff home and put the new sheets in the wash and pull out this memory foam topper from it's packaging. It was curled up in a big ball and vacuum packed in plastic. It wasn't really easy to get that sucker out and unfurled. I had to do the steam roller over it several times to get it flat. But that was fun for me!

So I have it laid out on top of the mattress and start to notice this unusual smell coming from it. It smelled like a combination of gasoline and ammonia. Very noxious. So I read the little sheet that was stuck inside of the packaging and it stated that "you might notice an unusual smell, it will go away within 48 hours". Hmmm. So I start thinking, what is this crap made of? Some space age material that they came up with after mixing many chemicals together? Am I going to wind up with some unusual disease after sleeping on this for a while?

It also states that it's highly flammable. Hmmm. Now I'm starting to worry. Not that we have any type of flame that would come near our mattress but what about static electricity? If I flip over in bed and create a shock of static electricity will I blow up?

Now if Spurs were here he wouldn't let me put the stinky foam topper on until the smell went away. But I'm the type of person that when I buy something I want to use it right away. It did come with a cover to put over it and then there will be clean sheets over that so I'm hoping I won't be able to smell the nasty fumes.

How much you wanna bet I'm gonna crawl into bed tonight and after about 10 minutes rip that sucker off of the bed because of the smell.

*UPDATE*
Man, the mystery memory foam ROCKS! It was so comfortable and I did not want to get out of bed this morning.

This One's For Mo!

Since this is the only way I am going to get an FSU symbol on this site I thought I might post it while Spurs was out of town.

www.ImageShack.us

See, I never went to college. I was married at 19. I spent the most miserable years of my life from the age of 19 to 31 being married to the most miserable person on the planet. Thankfully during my divorce I was most fortunate to have the friendship of Morrigan to keep me strong. Morrigan and I had a ton of fun together. We went out and needless to say from not living my 20's to their fullest I was a wild woman! I don't know to this day how Morrigan put up with me. But thankfully she did and we had a blast!

The most fun was our road trips to her college stomping grounds. We would go for baseball and football games but mostly baseball. We loved to sit in the bleachers and cheer for the Noles and drool over the very yummy baseball players....Hellllloooooo Stretchy Boys :) Yes, we would show up early to watch them stretch on the field......yum.

So here's to FSU having a great football season this year (even though I will mostly be watching the Gamecocks, I will try to sneak an FSU game in here and there) And here's to Mo! My best friend and the one who helped me to live my 20's over again and become an honorary Seminole!

You wanna know how you KNOW?

Strange title huh? Well I was thinking today about how you know when you are truly, madly, and deeply in love. How do I know this you ask? Well Spurs left this morning for yet another trip for work where we will be apart for the second longest time in our relationship.

You know you are in love when they walk out that door for their trip, you have done your smooches and good-byes and I Love You's and as soon as that door shuts your heart drops down into that heavy place. The heavy place for me means your heart sinks down and feels heavy and you know it won't be uplifted again until you see the one you love walk through that front door again.

I miss Spurs a whole lot when he's gone. I know the saying - absence makes the heart grow fonder. I realize it's not healthy to spend too much time together. Spurs is my husband, lover, best-friend and partner in crime. We can talk to each other about anything and everything and we make each other laugh every day, several times a day. I just flat out miss him. I even wander into his bathroom several times a day just to smell that clean soapy smell - the Spurs scent. I know, weird. (I have a feeling I'll get some funny comments on that one)

So I went out to the movie rental place today during lunch and rented about 10 movies. I figure that will keep me occupied until he gets home. Kitty and I will snuggle up on the couch and just chill and watch movies.

Why is it that the time you spend with your loved ones goes by so quickly but when you are alone it seems like extra hours are added to each day until they get home.

New Digs

With the help of one bad momma, the site has been redecorated to better reflect....ummmmmm.......something....
Well, anyway, we just plain dig it!!!!!! Thank you so much Prochein Amy, for your time, suggestions and just plain hard work. I hope Texas winds up number 2 behind the Gamecocks.

Cue Phil Collins

...I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord...

Changes are coming my friends...can't say what or when but they're coming...

Weather Pixie

I feel like a complete freak. Why, you ask??
Because every time I visit my Blog Grandmothers site, the first thing I do is check out what the weather pixie is wearing. The outfits change and I swear the expressions do as well. One second she's in an evening dress, the next she's in cutoffs and a halter top. It's just too much to have to think about while at work...
I never noticed this until she did a little pixie post. Now I'm checking about every hour or so...it's sad, I know...
Holy Crap!! Is that a toe ring?? They are soooooooo sexy...

Rupert Holmes and that damn song

…"If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain
If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain
If you'd like making love at midnight in the dunes on the Cape
Then I'm the love that you've looked for - write to me and escape"…

I’ve had that damn song in my head all day long. I hope it is now your problem....
Think Llamas...think llamas...

Space Shuttle Photos

Here are some very cool pix from the shuttle.

Safe retun guys.

Felling better and some little known history

I feel tons better today and will probably even hit the gym. Thanks for the well wishes...

When I get sick it's different from most folks and since Napster knows the whole deal she really stays on my butt. I love her for it.
Here's the Cliff's Notes version of the tale...

It all started with a little bruise that I acquired at football practice. And by little I mean the whole right hand side of my face turned blue. Ummmm...uh-oh...
Parents take me to the hospital and within an hour or so I'm being told that I have Leukemia and need to be rushed to the chemo clinic. Shit, does this mean I won't make practice tomorrow.

Roughly 8 weeks of chemo and assorted test drugs and treatments provided no answers for the good doctors. A specialist is called in. Well whoop-de-doo...
He makes the correct diagnosis of a rare and little known(at the time) disease called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP for short. Basically your body stops producing platelets and you bruise and bleed easily. Super. Remember, I play contact sports.
As a matter of fact, there was only one other diagnosed case of ITP on the east coast when I was going through this crap. Onward we go....

Approximately a year of test drugs provided only marginal results and I was beginning to get a little testy. In comes another specialist. Hoo-rah.
This guy actually figures out that my body, specifically my spleen is causing all the ruckus. What was happening was that anti-bodies were attaching to my platelets. Well, the spleen wipes out those anti-bodies but in the process, platelets as well. So they decided to remove my spleen. Whatever.

They removed the spleen and good thing too because it actually ruptured on the operating table but that's another story.

This did the trick and I have the freakin' scar to prove it. I was back in business with one downside. Without a spleen to fight viral infections a little cold could kill me. I took tons of anti-biotics and gradually built up enough in my system that I go back to doing the things I love. I still had to watch out for colds and stuff but was pretty hard headed about that sort of thing. I woke up in intensive care 3 different times with my family and the pastor present.

I'm still stubborn as hell about colds and stuff. I don't know why. Maybe it's a macho thing or something. Hell I'm 6-1, 250 lbs and can bench a small car. I've had broken bones, fought more than one guy at a time and been shot. How can a little cold knock me out?? Maybe it's all the memories from being in and out of a hospital for the better part of 3 years. I don't know.
Thank god I have Napster hot on my heels.

To many over the counter drugs

This cold or whatever I have is really whippin' my butt. I've probably slept 40 of the last 48 hours.
I'm wearing a mask on planes from now on...NTS be damned...I already get additional screening anyways.
I think I must be the worst sick person ever...I'm not particularly needy unless I'm sick. I'll try to do better...
We cleaned out the cabinet last night in search of cold meds. Felt like I was walking on cotton...

Sissy is tearing up TLTTF from what I hear. Hopefully we will be able to have dinner tomorrow night. At any rate, Napster will take her out if I'm on the DL.

While in bed today, I was watching CNN and they showed the repair effort on the space shuttle. It looked like the guy just pulled out two little pieces of paper.
Man I hope those guys get home safely.

Special shout out to Mo...make the damn reservation girl. It's Vegas for Pete's sake.

This and That

I'm suffering from a cold. Every time I get on a plane, I wind up sitting next to some jack-hole with the damn ebola virus. I try to take preventative meds but invariably I wind up with a cold. Do you think people will take offense to me wearing some sort of protective mask?? Or how about putting everyone who's sick on their own sickly little plane and let the people who're well have a nice ride home without someone blowing snot all over them.

Sissy's in town. I always like seeing her. She's what you call "Good People".
I wish some of the good genes would have rubbed off on me because for all intents and purposes I am a complete bastard.

*Sneezing and blowing my nose*

Last week in Chucktown was a blast. Worked like an "All-Star" and partied like a "Rock Star". It was good to see my friends.

The travel schedule is really going to pick up here in the next few weeks. Even Napster is getting in on the act. She's heading to Chicago at the end of the month while I will be in the 7th level of hell known as Yuma. I will remember to pack shorts this time however...

Napster and I have decided that for at least the time being, we're going to share the blog. We do everything else together so why not this?? We may have seperate blogs in the future, but for now we're in this thing together.

What else.....oh yeah, how long do you think it's safe to leave a cat unattended??
We're both gone at the end of the month and we're debating about a kennel or having someone come to the house. Looks like we'll be gone 6 days and I think that's too long to leave our screwball cat alone.
Mo, you may not answer because ESPY pees all over everything.

Have you ever noticed that if you use the spell check provided by "Blogger" every time you type in "who're" it will correct you with "whore". What's that all about??