Hump Day

Disclaimer: For those of you not up on office lingo Hump Day in no way refers to acts of a sexual nature. Even if we wanted it to. It refers specificly to Wednesday. The middle or hump if you will to the work week. It's all down hill from here. Kind of like everyone reading this who's over 40. LOL
Skunk Attack:
So the four of us are standing outside in the front yard. The good news is our sinus are clear. The bad news is our sinus's are clear. All of the animals are still in the house. We finally get brave enough to get the animals into the front yard with us. Since Sadie has not been sprayed she is put into my car.
Brian and I take turns running into the house, getting the things we need out of it and opening windows, doors, turning on fans, etc...
Meanwhile Beth takes my nephew (we call him Bug) and bails on us over to her in laws house. She does remain helpfull. She calls the vet and gets the solution to take care of skunk smell. Oddly enough it is not tomato paste or sauce, or tomato anything. It is: Hydrogen peroxide, dish detergent (like dawn), and baking soda. Beth, David (Brians's dad) pull up with the ingrediants. Our cells are still in the house. We didn't know. Brian and I were already knee deep scrubing panzer with Tomato Paste, and yes we even broke out the Ragu. Panzer is their collie german shepard mix. She took the brunt of the hit. The new solution did help. Now Brian and I are getting tired and start thinking about me calling in sick. This is not a good thing to do durning training. You miss one day you are fired. Caught sleeping you are fired. So at about 7am Brian and I are standing in the drive way also bathing in this solution. I haven't slept and I go to work. I'm hoping to explain my situation to my trainer and get the day off. All I smell is skunk. I can't tell if I actually smell like it. Our security gaurd is the first person that I see. I have to ask. I ask him if I smell like a skunk. He can't smell anything. Fastforward training is mostly reading that day. Class room is dark and cool. Perfect sleeping conditions. I made it through. I get over to Brian's parents house. Beth has bought Brian and I some temporary clothes. I get in the shower first thing. My clothes are put in the wash first thing. After the shower I say hi to Sadie and the other dogs, and cat. They are in the back. Beth had them groomed. Panzer was done six times or something like that. Missy three times. Sadie twice. Dogs do not smell any longer. Apparently Sadie had laid next to Panzer when I left to work. Friends for life, together through thick and smelly.
Then Beth, Brian, and I decide to go out for pizza. We are all sleep deprived. Brian was getting some more pizza, and I don't remember what I said but Beth and I were laughing so hard. It was good times.
I must remind you that for about a week any time I had a stiff drink, something spicy, or did anything that opened my sinus I would smell skunk again. Gross.
More of Oklahoma adventures: The skunk fiasco to come.

The differences:
Oklahoma is humid. California is not. This has it's impact in some of the most bizzare places. In CA I would buy a huge bag of chips. I have always finished a bag of chips before the became stale. Here you can not eat the chips fast enough. After about two, three days tops you have to through the bag away and get a new one.

Today:
SSDD. At work we recieved a nice break today. One of our systems was down so we got to visit, play on the net, etc...For those of you that don't know I work in the wireless industry. There is a commercial out right now basicly selling our signal strength. One of my friends and I were laughing today because it we are eimployees of this same company. One of the biggest employee complaints is loss of signal. Ohhh the irony. Then I cleaned my apartment and did a load of laundry.

Sadies Corner:
I played with Jess today, and mostly laid around the house. Jess brushed me today and then vacumed me. It's because I'm shedding my winter coat. I like to be brushed. He usually does it every day. I'm still not sure what to think of the vacume though.

Family Circus:
Ok. So I called my sister to wish her a happy mothers day. She tells me to be sure to call mom on her cell because she is at grandma's. I call her cell and leave a message. Later that night I go to bed. The next day I had a call from my dad reminding me to call mom. MOM NEEDS TO CHECK HER VOICEMAILS. I've tried calling a few other times, but they are always so busy I'm constantly missing them. So MOM IF YOU ARE READING: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AND I LOVE YOU.

Until next time...

Another Day, Another Dollar

The Saga of the move continues:
So...When last we left our hero's:
My dad and Paul were on there way back to California. My sister and I were going to get my new drivers license. My dad and Paul had come back to get their brownies. Repeat the wave thing. As soon as they are out of sight my sister and I jump into her car. On the way to the DL place and we pass my dad and Paul on the freeway.

1st day in my new state:
We have to go to three different places just to get my license. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the CA DMV. The good new is they look at my CDL and just approve me for a new ODL. After hours of waiting in an unairconditioned office we have to make one more stop. We have to get my actual license. They take my picture and 2 minutes later I had it. Much to my disappointment they took my CDL. They wouldn't let me keep it. Bastards. Good news is I don't have to get new plates or tags until my old ones expire. I'll be damned if they get both of my plates. I'm taking one off before I even go down there. That is all taken care of.
Off to the vet:
We go to the vet and get Sadies new license also. I also give them Sadies medical records. The vet out here was pretty nice.
After that we get pizza at pizza hut and go home.
I have the next two weeks off, and just enough money to get me throw to my first check. I'm looking at a pretty boring few weeks. My sister actually let me rearrange my room the way I wanted it. They also have satellite TV. I never thought I'd say this but with over 300 channels I still couldn't find anything on I wanted to watch.
They kept my nephew in daycar because they would have had to pay for it anyway. I drove back and forth to work a few times just to make sure that I new how to get there.
Finally I started work. My new job looks interesting. I'm meeting some new people but most are older and married. No real chance of going out there. I make it through my first week of work. Woo Hoo.
Second week of work:
I'm home and I go to bed early. Sadie and I are in my room. About 12:00a I smell this weird smell. I thought Beth had put some shoes in a dryer and they were burning or something. Next thing I know Beth is knocking on my door. She is gagging and saying to grab my nephew and get out of the house. That we had been sprayed by a skunk.
I wasn't sure if it was still in the house, so I put Sadie in her kennel. We always go in and out through the garage. Little do I know that they had put one of the dogs that had been sprayed in there. I throw the dog back into the garage and go to double check the rest of the house. I meet Beth, Brain, and my nephew on the way out. We are now outside.
More of the skunk attack next time...

Monday (yesterday)
Well I did the work thing. The weekend had felt real short. Work goes pretty well. I played ping pong at lunch with some friends. Finally work is over. I go home and play with my dog. Good times. I pretty much chill for the rest of the night.
Tuesday:
Well pretty much the same thing today as yesterday. Chill Time.

The differences:
The ocean: described by a Californian: It's beautiful, "totally knarly breakers dude" etc...
The ocean as actually described by an Oklahoman I know at work: "Well it's bout as blue as a bottle of Windex!"

Woman Search:
Still no new developments. I haven't seen my neighbor either.

Sadies Corner:
Well it's been normal weekdays for me. Jesse plays with me and walks me in the morning and when he gets home from work. I got some hotdog today. I love hotdogs.

Family Circus:
Well dad is coming out soon to see my niece dedicated. Then my sister and her kids are going back to California with my dad for a visit. Brian (brother in law) and I get stuck doing yard work at their house.

The only reason Sunday sucks is because it's followed by Monday

The Move Part II:
Sadies nocturnal mischief:
During that night Sadie went bed hopping. Ultimately she finally settled down and went to sleep. She left a little puddle for Paul to step in first thing in the morning. It was not good times. We got up, had breakfast took Sadie out to use the restroom got gas and we were off.
Day 2:
ultimately the morning was pretty uneventful. We stopped at a Loves truck stop for gas and lunch around noon. Let Sadie out again. We were somewhere in New Mexico at this time if I recall correctly. Again after this travel was pretty uneventfully. My back was getting worse. So it was quite painful.
We enter Texas, pass through Austin and decide to skip on the steaks. About 3-4 hours away from the my sister's house (my temporary home) we stop at a gas station. It's a pretty routine gas stop until my dad realizes that he had locked the keys to the Suburban in the Suburban. It's humorous now but at the time I was in pain and just looking forward to getting to sleep in a comfortable bed. About an hour later the lock guy got there and we were on the way again.
We get into Oklahoma and stop at another Love's for gas and snack and a break for Sadie. We could have gone further but we would have had to stop for gas again sooner or later.
There was a bus there. Full of women. (Thank you God!!!)
Huge line for the ladies room.
I'm a man. No line for the men's room again (Thank you God!!!)
It was so humid I had to run my air conditioner. Not because it was hot, but my dash and steering wheel were getting wet with the windows open.
We finally got to my sisters house and our new home. My sister and brother in law had a room all set up for me. We let the dogs meet. That was interesting. Visit for a while, then it's off to bed. Ahhhh bed, such a wonderful place. Sunday morning we go to my nephew's dedication, then over to Jan and David's house for lunch. That afternoon, we unload everything, another evening full of visiting, and off to bed.
Next morning it was time to see my dad and Paul off. My sister made a huge breakfast and some brownies for dad and Paul's trip home. (I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but Pauls daughter made us cookies for the trip out here. They are to die for.) It's always hard saying bye. My dad waived to us until he was out of sight. He's done that ever since we were little. It was kind of nostalgic, familiar and comfortable. Felt good. I think it was easier for Beth and I to say goodbye because I was staying.
Beth also had taken off the day from work to show me around and take care of some things for me. Any way dad had forgotten his brownies, and turned around and came back for them. We said goodbye all over again and just after they left, we did.
My sister has changed a lot. She drives like a maniac. We actually passed my dad and Paul on there way out of town.
That day with Beth to be continued.

The weekend:
Yesterday Sadie and I had a kind of lazy day. We slept in and lounged around the house. We went out to the lake that evening for some fetch, swimming, and in general just some running around. My friend Shane met us there and we had a good time with Sadie.
We both were hungry, so we dropped Sadie off at home and went out for dinner. We then decided to split up and go to a club later or a movie later. He was going to call me with movie times, and if we couldn't make it, it was off to a club. Anyway I left my phone in his van. To make a long story short we ended up at a club called Grahams. On the way out we ran into my neighbor and her friend. Two beautiful women, dressed up and ready to go out. (Thank you God!!!) Shane tells them that we are going to Grahams and they say they are going to a club called Mardigras. As we were leaving they made a point to tells "hey if we don't see you at Grahms then we'll see you at Mardigras. Goodtimes. We get to Grahms, and they made me turn my hat around. That is a no no. Any way they have a country side, and a hip hop side. It sucked. The ugly to hot ration was way out of wack. I'd say about 40 uglies to ever one hot. I did get to see my first country dancing: The two step, line dances, and swing. Interesting. One of the few country songs I know "The watermelon Crawl" was not played. Apparently it is also a line dance, but they don't do it at that club. No one new why. Shane and I decide this place is dead. Off to find my neighbors. We get to Mardigras after a brief detour (Shane forgot were it was). Only to find out that they won't let us in because Shane was wearing a T-shirt, and I was wearing a hat. Back to Grahms. We had a pretty humorous time. I learned a thing or two. Like those funky cowboy shirts that look like you are in Jacobs robe of many colors are called brush poppers. Again no one could tell me why. Shane was hit on. I wasn't. Easy come easy go. Get home, and hanging out, outside. The neighbor girls get back, say hi and then go in their apartment. I hope they don't think we stood them up. Who knows? Went to bed.
Today I got to talk to my bestfriend Aaron. He still lives in California. It is always good to hear from him. Then I went out to Chinese food and saw "Van Hellsing" with Shane. Good food. Good movie. Back home to do chores and hang out with Sadie. Talked to Aaron some more.

The differences between the West Coast and the Heartland:
Pick up lines:
California: Girl picks up on you says "What type of car do you drive?"
Oklahoma: Girls says "I betcha didn't know you were plucked when you walked in here."


Woman Search:
No new developments from the last entry. Although I wouldn't mind getting to see my neighbor again.

Sadie's Corner:
Yesterday was great. Jesse took me to the lake and let me swim, and play fetch. I got to do a lot of running around. My friend Shane came out to play with me too. He fed me potato chips. I love potato chips. He's a good friend. Then I went home and took a nap because I was tired. Today Jesse left for a few hours, but for the most part we got to hang out all day.

Family:
No news at this time.+

Friday is Good Times

The move:
We left California with a late start. Mostly my fault for two reasons: 1. I didn't pack until the last minute. 2. I forgot to get something, so we just picked it up on the way out. It was my glass bookshelves. Ironically enough I still left the screws in California.
The entourage consisted of Sadie and I in my car, and my dad and his friend Paul in the Suburban pulling a small trailer.
We are heading south on HWY 99. I'm following behind to make sure that the trailer was tied down properly. I figured that after about half an hour of doing 65 we'd bump it up to at least 75. We wouldn't be making record time to Bakersfield, but we'd be making good time.
We didn't 60-65 all the way there.
It's hot but not too bad. We stop in Bakersfield to let Sadie out, and let her have a drink. The vet advised that we should stop every few hours for her.
Mojave here we come:
We left Bakersfield and got on our junction that would take us to I40 and my new home. We get to the Mojave and it's HOT!!! We had originally planned to be leaving the Mojave by early morning. It was about 3:00p when we got there. We stopped for some food and gas. I let Sadie out. Gave her some water and walked her around a bit. Then we hit the road again. About 10 minutes on the road I had a funky sneeze that caused my back to spasm. Needless to say the rest of the trip was a painfull one for me. I thought for sure that we would be traveling faster now. It was Pauls turn to drive. He had to get used to the trailer too. 60-65. Now in case you don't know me, I am not usually a speed limit person. I had made this trip before and I made much better time. I made enough extra time that I made the trip in two days and still had time to get a good nights sleep and see some of the sights. This time we also had a deadline. My nephew was being dedicated on Sunday. It was Friday when we left.
We stop at some little town just across the Arizona boarder. Do the dog thing, the gas thing, and I try to strech my back, but it's not doing to well. Back on the road again.
Off to Flagstaff:
I am still unclear as to who was driving this leg. If it was my dad or Paul. I was happier though, whomever it was drove faster. Then we ran into some bad weather and believe it or not a traffic jam. They are redoing one lane at a time on I40. We finally get to Flagstaff and stop at McDonald's for dinner. It's about 9:00pm. Sadie was happy she got hamburgers. Her first ones ever.
We decide to stay the night there and waist about an hour looking for a hotel room. They were all booked. By this time I'm tired. I had slept for maybe three hours the night before. Drove all day and my back was hurting. Just shoot me and put me out of my misery. We ended up driving about another hour and found a hotel on our first try.
We stayed the night there. I was even more happy to find out that our room had three beds. We took Sadie out to use the restroom, gave her some food and water. The old guys called home. Then we went to bed.
Stay tuned for Day 2 of the move and Sadies nocturnal mischief.
Yesterday Friday May 14th, 2004
Sadie and I did the walk thing in the morning. We ate breakfast. I took a shower and went to work. Work went well. It always does on Fridays. I went home and let Sadie out during my lunch hour because I was going out with some friends after work, so I thought she could use a break. Anyway we get off work and it's down to the ping pong room. We played ping pong until about 9:30-10:00 then the four of us went off to Hooters.
Ahhhh Hooters, it's one of my new favorite past times. The crew that night was my friend Shane, Adam, Kalen (pronounced coleen, he's from Romania), and myself. It was Kalen's first time to this wonderful establishment. It was goodtimes. Good food, great service, it's starting to become our "Cheers". Plus they serve Corona (my beer of choice). Most of the time it's just jokes and non important banter, but last night we got off on to politics and religion. The first thought that crossed my mind was "ok, who's going to start fighting first?" No one did. I guess you could say that is a mark of maturity and friendship. You know you have a good friends when you can respect each others opinions even if you disagree with them. We left Hooters at about 1:15a. Good times.
I went home, and let Sadie out. She was so happy to see me. Then off to bed.
The differences between West Coast and Heartland:
Nice people:
I was at a gas station filling up my tank and someone Honked and yelled at me "Hey hurry up you S.O.B." I didn't recognize the voice and thought these are fighten words. I turned around to give him a mouthful, and it was a guy I had met at work earlier that day.
Pickles:
I don't know what it is out here but for some reason sweet pickles are the thing. I am a dill pickle guy. Even some restaurants serve sweet pickles. (Gross)Pickles should just not be sweet.
Adult beverages:
CA: pretty much is buy anything, anywhere, anywhen.
Here: They do not sell anything higher than 3%abv in grocery stores. You have to go to a liquor store. Which by the way close on Sundays and oddly enough some liquor stores actually have drive throws. I just think that is trouble waiting to happen. Also they have something out here called dry counties. Means no beer. They suck.
Woman Search:
Well my search for Mrs. Right continues. I've met a few women out here.
Note #1 Hooters waitress'get asked out all the time. I think they are immune to my charm.
Note #2 Don't date anyone at work. I haven't tried it, but I just don't think that it's a good idea.
Work and Hooters out.
Note #3 Dating service websites don't work. I had joined two. Both I felt had unacceptable results.
1st was Eharmony.com they charge to much. Take to long, and most matches in my case were a bust.
2ond will remain nameless. Lets just say that matches there email you links to their porn site instead of letters. If I was interested in porn I would just buy it. Not look for it on what operates under the guise of a dating service.
dating services are out.
Must find a new barrel.
Although there is a real nice lady running around somewhere with my number. Maybe she'll use it. Who knows?
Tonight:
Looks like lake, shower, food, movies.
Sadie's corner:
I am happy. I get walked twice a day. I don't need a rabies shot this year because the one I got last year was for two years. I get to go swimming at the lake every weekend. It's a good thing my flea and tick control is waterproof. Jesse still makes me take those heartworm things everymonth. He says it's just in case but I don't mind, they taste good. I like his new friends. They spoil me. More about me later. Jesse wants the keyboard back.
Family:
Will appear sooner or later, but I would much rather be at the lake with my dog than typing so until next time.

Thursday May 13, 2004

So a few weeks ago my friend IM's me. He tells me to check out his website. I do. I think it's cool. I have always wanted to have my own sort of Doogie Howser thing, now I do.
My latest adventure started last August. I up and moved from California to the heartland. Talk about landlocked. I'm in Oklahoma now.
Sadie (my dog) and I lived with my sister, her husband, and my nephew for about 2 months. Then I got my own place. I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief with that one.
I'll post a little more of this story every day.
This section will be about some of the differences I've noticed between California and Oklahoma.
1st one people out here are nice.
Example 1:
First week here I went out to lunch. At the restaurant a girl just jumped right in the conversation I was having with my friend. She was just being nice, and talkative. The first thing that crossed my mind was "She needs to go back to her Dr. and have the dosage on her medication changed.
Example 2:
I was walking my dog around my sister's neighborhood at about 10pm on a Friday night. A car slowly rolls by me then stops about three houses down from me. Then with it's headlights blacked out tears off down the street. I thought this is suspicious. Then I continued on my walk. 3 minutes later it happens again. Now I'm thinking that they are getting ready to A. Do a drive by on me, or B. Rob me. Car does the same thing as before. Finally they do it a 3rd time about 3 minutes later. This time they only stop about a house in front of me. I thought, "Damn I wish I was carrying."
Then two kids jump out of the car, run up to the front door of the house, ring the doorbell, jump in the car and take off. They were door bell ditching.
Now for today:
Today I got up around 7am. Took my dog for a walk, and went to work. I live for weekends. Wooooooo Hooooooo. I have endeavored upon the never ending quest to become a master of ping pong. I'm getting better. I actually win every now and then. Then tonight I came home. Took Sadie for a walk. Ate dinner, and now I'm making my web page. Wooo Hooo.