This Week's Update is Late Because I Was Out Having Fun

It's true. This past weekend through Tuesday, I spent a bit of time visiting with a friend that I haven't seen in 14 years. I've known her since right after basic training when I went to tech school...which is a lot like college only you have bigger parties that last all weekend long and I'd have to say you drink a lot more...at least some of us did.

We didn't have a big party or drink to excess this weekend, but we did go to a bad karaoke night, reminisced a bit about things we did way back when (not THAT long ago), and did some great touristy things too. Things I haven't done since I was a kid. I learned a bit about my own city...isn't it funny how much we don't know about where we live? I don't have time to write the whole story here for you this week...you'll just have to believe me that it was a lot of fun. Here's a great "15 years later" picture we took which happens to be in almost the exact same pose as one we took in 1992. You decide if we planned it that way or not.

I could have taken my shirt off and recreated a picture from the beach, but I didn't think that was appropriate in front of a city restaurant window...even if Katharine did encourage it.

Nobody Ever Wins Those Damn Toys

It's true - 35 years old and I'm still worried about winning carnival toys.

This is me, just last week...a couple of tokens at the arcade gets you a chance to win a big prize. You guessed it...a small, fuzzy, stuffed toy. You've all seen it before; the machine that lets you direct the giant claw down on some unsuspecting toy, who is then lifted away, never to be seen by his friends again. At least that's the Toy Story version. But in my version of the story, the little creature is not whisked away...it's not even picked up because no matter how hard I try, I can't win! This is a kids game! What the hell?! When I was 13, I went to a carnival and bought my girlfriend a stuffed animal because I couldn't win one. Things apparently haven't changed.

And while I'm on the subject of kids games...who the hell invented Dance, Dance, Revolution? Obviously, it was invented by coordinated people, for coordinated people, but that's not me. No way. This fact was obvious when I almost fell off the Revolution platform into a collection of small kids nearby...kids that destroyed any score that I thought of achieving. I guess this is their time to shine in their age of videogames that are far more interactive than when I used to play PaperBoy and Joust. Makes me wonder what the future of games will bring.

I Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Hate Cars

It was a cold, windy, and rainy day in New England on Marathon Monday. I was not running the marathon, but I did get my share of foot travel. I went out to get some dinner a few miles from my house...it was a short trip. I didn't see the need to wear a coat...I was in the car. Did I mention it was cold? As I approached the plaza where the restaurant was, the car skipped a beat. COUGH. "What was that," I asked myself silently as Katharine asked the same thing aloud. We rolled to a light and the car stopped. I started it again and rolled just far enough to get to the dinner location of choice and that was pretty much the last time I would drive my card for a day and a half.

Here's the culprit...a crank shaft sensor that apparently failed and forced us to walk home from where we had driven to. It wouldn't have been a horrible walk if either one of us had jackets on? I think I mentioned earlier that we didn't. It was cold too! See where this is going? Luckily it only took the next day to fix and didn't cost a fortune...double good that the place I brought it to didn't rip me off. They offered to give me the old part but I wouldn't know a crank shaft sensor from any other part in the engine so I declined. It was a greasy part...I take their word for it that it was broken. The car works now, that's all I care.

How Can I NOT Post This?

This must be my lucky month! Last week, I needed $149,000 to buy myself the original Knight Rider car (which none of you sent me by the way...cheap bastards). Then...well...then I got a pie in my face, but let's skip that for now. And now, for sale on Ebay for only $11,000, is a life-sized replica of Jabba the Hutt that I could put in the backyard and decorate for the holidays!

This is like that time Katharine wanted the giant shark replica from the Finding Nemo movie. Look at it...it's ONLY $11,000. So, to make sure we're all on the same page. For $160,000, I could have two really cool items and never want for anything again. OK...so maybe I've said that time and time again, but this time I mean it. No, seriously...well, at least until the next great DVD set is released.

Home Alone

By Katharine

Okay, I have a question... does anyone else get really, really, really excited when their significant other is out for the evening?? I mean *really* excited??? I'm asking because Jeff is going out soon, and that means I.... have the whole house to myself. I am sooooooo excited to have the house to myself I can barely describe my glee. I get to do the following:

• Order take out food without compromising -dammit I may just get TWO orders of Peking Ravioli and sit down and eat them all by myself
• Watch my movies the way I *want* to watch them and that means fast forwarding through the parts I don't like to get to the parts I do like (it drives Jeff absolutely ape shit when I do this)
• I can indulge my inner girlie side and do the whole face mask, paint nails, loofah scrubbie beauty routine without scaring Jeff
• Can we say - QVC Marathon??? I can only hope that The Quacker Factory is on that night

Did I mention the whole watching movies the way I want to?? I'm so excited for this and I am going to watch movies that Jeff *cannot* stand. The following just might make the list:

• Lost Boys (well DUH!!!!!)
• Steel Magnolias
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• The Decline of Western Civilization Part Two - The Metal Years
• and maybe I'll throw in a musical like "Pirates of Penzance" or "The Magic Flute", you know, something that Jeff would rather gouge out his own eyeballs than watch

Really there is so much I want to do I don't think I have enough time. So if anyone reading is going out with Jeff.. keep him out as long as you like. Seriously!!! I have a lot of things to accomplish!!!!

Work Hard, Play Hard, Throw Pie

There are days when you go to your job and work REALLY hard, get a lot done and you're exhausted by the time you go home. Today was NOT one of those days. Today, I went to work and along with 3 other people, took a pie in the face for charity. You can't possibly understand the smell of sour milk left behind by dried up whipped cream and pudding in my hair, unless you were there...it took a nice long shower to get rid of that when I got home.

I could explain to you how funny this all was when it was happening, but instead, I'll just share a few of the pictures.

There are a lot more where these came from and they'll be posted soon with my new flickr account.

I Just Need 149,000 Dollars and It Can Be Mine

Who hasn't always wanted the Knight Industries Two Thousand...known simply as K.I.T.T. to Knight Rider fans of the 1980s. If someone out there will just send me $149,995...the car, the actual car from the first season, can be mine! MINE! Check this out.

It even has the Turbo Boost button, the Ski Mode button, although the buttons don't do anything...but the lighty thing in the front DOES make the swooshy swooshy noise! How can you NOT want to get this for me!? At least pick this up for yourself and take me for a ride.