Must...Get...Outside...

Okay, so I did go out yesterday and do some running around. I drove up to work on my day off to take care of a printer issue they were having, and to print a 16"x20" picture enlargement for a customer. Then I went up to Home Depot to say hello to Monica, running into my Assistant Manager from work, who was there in his hours off before he had to go into work, buying tile for his bathroom. After that I went to Kohl's and took advantage of the tax free days to get some new, much needed shoes for work, before returning to Home Depot to wait for Monica to get off for lunch. We enjoyed a nice lunch together at Chick-fil-A, then Monica had to return to work, and I returned home. But I haven't really been "outside."

I want to get out and do some more photography. I want to walk in the woods and the mountains. I want to go fishing for trout in a chilly mountain stream. And I REALLY want to visit the ocean again (and do some fishing there.) It's been way too long since I've really done anything! My last vacation was YEARS ago, and lately all I've been doing is sitting inside, working on this Web business I'm a part of. I NEED A BREAK!!!

I have got to set aside some time to go somewhere, and do something new (or at least something I don't do every day.) I need to travel out of state and visit family, friends, or at the very least some place new, or somewhere I haven't been in a long time. I haven't left Georgia in several years, and it's time for a change of scenery!

Anyway, thanks for listening to the usual rant. Monica should be home from Wal-Mart soon, and it will be time to make lunch, and food for the upcoming week. I think we're going to make some quiche again, since she seemed to enjoy the last lot so much, and it was convenient for breakfast.

I hope everyone enjoys the remnants of the weekend, and has a great week. Take care.

In The Kitchen With Monica

Today has been one of those rare days (lately anyway) that Monica and I have both been home (and awake) at the same time. So we've spent the day cooking together, something we haven't done in a long time.

I got the grill going, and slow cooked a couple racks of short ribs, which we'll be having with corn and mashed potatoes for dinner. While they were cooking, Monica and I worked in the kitchen together, making a couple of quiches, and some chicken-n-rice. The plan was to make a couple meals that will last for a day or two, and that we can take to work with us for lunch, so we don't eat as as much as [I] have been lately. (I swear, I should own STOCK in Moe's!)

Anyway, at the moment Monica is sitting outside, chatting on her phone, and I [obviously] am sitting here typing this blog post while we wait for the potatoes, corn, and chicken-n-rice to finish cooking. Then perhaps we'll sit down and watch a movie while we enjoy dinner. And then later, maybe we'll have banana splits for dessert. Ah, the good life. :)

Back In Business

Well, I printed out the mailing label to ship my PS3 back to Sony, to have them fix it, or send me a Best Buy gift card to go buy another one, but when I talked to the customer service people the other night, and informed them that I had a Netflix DVD stuck in the Playstation, the lady I spoke with told me to go to Best Buy to see if the Geek Squad could get the disc out for me. So that's what Monica and I did today.

The Geek Squad tech tried the approved methods to try and get the disc to eject, and then he tried other methods, such as inserting a knife blade and a bent paperclip into the disc slot to try and get the white post that was preventing the disc from ejecting to retract. He didn't have any more luck than I did, unfortunately. On the plus side of things, however, he was like "Just go get another one off the shelf, since we're not going to be able to fix this one here." So I was able to get a brand new PS3 from Best Buy (without the 1-2 week wait for N.E.W. to send me a gift card to buy a new one), and since they don't make the 60 gig version like I had any more, I was able to get one of the 80 gig versions (it's the same price that I paid for the 60 gig one.) It just cost us $4 due to the difference in the tax rate in Acworth and Athens.

So we're back home with the new PS3 hooked up and updated, and we only missed a day or so of movie watching! It did also cost $20 to pay for the Netflix Blue-Ray DVD which is still stuck in the old PS3, but that's a small price to pay, all things considered. However, I will have to rent that movie again, since the PS3 crashed in the middle of watching it. Oh well, it was a funny movie, so it's all good. I'm glad we made the trip to Best Buy though. I would have hated to have been without movies for 2 weeks or more! (Hey, we don't have TV hooked up, what do you expect! lol) All's well that ends well. :)

No Movies For A While :-(

Well, right in the middle of watching Wild Hogs on Blue-ray with Monica tonight, my PS3 decided to lock up. It just stopped working, the disc stopped spinning, and it went into and "error" mode with a flashing red light. There's a small, white "post" that's across the entrance to the slot where discs are inserted, and it's preventing the DVD that's in there from coming out, and stopping me from putting anything else in. Another problem is that the disc is from Netflix, so I have to try and get it out (or find someone who can), so I can send it back to them.

The major bummer, though, is that I will be without my PS3 for at least a week or two, because I have to send it back because it's messed up, and then N.E.W. will send me a Best Buy gift card for the original purchase price, and I'll have to buy a new one. Unless Geek Squad can get it to work when I take it to Best Buy to see if they can get the disc out. But I'm still without the PS3 for at least a week or more, which means that I've lost my major form of entertainment, namely movies. (Which doubly sucks, considering we're paying for Netflix.)

On the plus side of things, I'll get to buy the PS3 with the 80 gig hard drive, which is what I wanted in the first place, but they had pulled all the original 80 gig ones off the shelf just before I purchase mine, in preparation for the re-release of an 80 gig special edition model. So I guess that's the silver lining to this whole situation.

I'm heading to Acworth/Woodstock on Saturday with Monica, so I'll be taking my PS3 with me, and stopping by the Best Buy store that I purchased it at, to see what can be done. I'm really going to miss being able to watch movies though, and it's going to be a very LONG 2 weeks. *sigh* Oh well, there's nothing much I can do about it, so I guess I'll just have to go with the flow...

Griffin Day 2009

Well, the Griffin Day 5K and Concert was a great success, and thanks to everyone's support, thousands of dollars were raised to help out the family. I don't know the exact total yet; I'll leave that up to Clare to post. Needless to say, it was a fair amount.

The day started with a 5K run/walk along a trail cut through the Adams' property. Then some people left while others stayed and socialized. In the evening there was a pot luck dinner, and an open air concert featuring some local artists. Prizes were raffled off, and again, all proceeds went to Griffin and his family.

I spent some of my time taking pictures of everyone, and I have put some of them online. If you would like to view them then head on over to http://www.fullmoondesign.net/griffinday/. I took close to 800 pictures that day, but I only put 176 or so online, and they're not full-sized because it took quite a while to upload these. But you'll get an idea of what it was life. They're not professional pictures, so don't expect too much! lol Also, if you have any problems with the site, please let me know.

If you would like a full sized version of one, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks, and have a great week. Peace.

Twitter App For Windows Mobile

I'm checking out a new Twitter application for my Windows Mobile based phone. It's calle Twikini, and you can view screenshots of it here:

http://www.trinketsoftware.com/twikini/Screenshots.aspx

I don't have a snazzy iPhone or a Blackberry, but Twikini received high ratings as a Windows Mobile Twitter app, so I'm going to check it out. For more information about the program, visit

http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini

Thanks, and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Bored

Well, Monica has been in RI since Thursday, and will be there through July 4th. As for myself, I'm here at home, going stir crazy. I have all this time on my hands, and nothing to do with it. I don't really know anyone up here (other than my sister and her family, and some friends of hers), and I'm not into the whole partying/drinking scene (that starts in December, when I hit "middle age.") It's kind of like being back in college, but at least back then I was in a dorm, and I had people around me all the time, whether I wanted to or not. Back then I used to go to movies at the Tate Center; play video games, pool, or ping-pong in the same place; play card games with the few people I knew in my dorm; or go fishing or mountain biking on the trails around Athens.

Now I just sit here at home for the most part, staying inside during these horribly humid days, and watching movies or working on the computer. I have no life. *sigh* Oh well, things could be worse I suppose, but I REALLY need to get away from here for a while, and go somewhere I've never been, or at least somewhere I haven't been in a long time. I need to get to the beach, or into the mountains...back to Nature somewhere. But it's so bloody HOT and HUMID! I just shut down this time of year. English people weren't made for humidity!

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. I just talked to Monica, and things are starting to work out better at the camp, so hopefully she'll have a great week, and make lots of new friends. As for myself, it's work and home, with the only break in my routine (at the moment anyway) being watching Jack and Esme on Tuesday night while Clare and Josh go out to dinner for their wedding anniversary. At least SOMEONE is having some fun around here. :)

Have a great week everyone. Peace.

Movie "Night"

It was really this afternoon, after work, but "movie afternoon" just sounds kind of stupid.

At any rate, Monica and I went to see a matinee showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen today after we both got off work. It's an awesome movie, and excellent soundtrack, and a great movie score! I would definitely see that movie again, if anyone is interested in going to see it! :) It's another one I'll definitely be buying on Blue-Ray when it comes out in several months.

As far as the previews went, of the ones I saw, there are some very promising looking movies coming out over the next few months. The first is the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince. They went all in with the effects on this one, and it looks like it's going to be an awesome continuation of the series. Then there is a movie starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, based on the true story John Dillinger (Depp). It's called Public Enemies. Finally there is another movie I've been waiting for. It sounds cheesy, but the live action G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie that's coming out in August looks awesome, and it has 2 of my favorite (read bad @ss) cartoon characters in it, namely Snake Eyes (G.I. Joe) and Storm Shadow (Cobra), both ninjas who trained together, but then became mortal enemies. They've definitely ramped the storyline up from the "nobody every dies" cartoon of the 1980s. This is a serious action flick, and looks to wow audiences looking for a high impact action thriller!

There was another movies, based on some Aime, that I missed the preview for because I was out getting popcorn and a drink for us, but if the title credits for it are any indication, it could also be another action movie hit. It's called The Last Airbender, and it's from M. Night Shyamalan. It will appeal to younger audiences for sure, because it's based on a cartoon.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Go see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen if you haven't seen it already. It's an awesome ride!

Have a great rest of the week. Peace.

Checking In

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've posted a blog on here, so I thought it was high time I checked in with my handful of readers. For those of you who know me personally, or have been following my blogs over the past few weeks, you know why I've been a bit lapse in my postings. I've had a lot on my mind. Also, I finally got a new computer, and I've been in the process of getting it set up the way I want it. It will allow me to do the work I need to do, and will serve as a stepping stone to a more powerful computer in the future.

Anyway, today was another up and down day for us. Monica got her promotion at work, and is back to being a Department Head (although in a different department this time.) She'll be back earning what she was before we moved. As for myself, I'm back to being Supervisor of the ImPress Department, what I was doing before we moved. Unfortunately, it's not very likely that I'll be going back to what I was earning before the move. I MIGHT get back up to what I was earning when I first started with OfficeMax, nearly 3 years ago, but that's probably as high as they'll put me. But who knows, they might take pity on me and give me my old salary back. *fingers crossed* That was the good news.

On the down side of things, when I went to start my car up today, to drive home from work, I found that my battery was apparently dead, and the engine wouldn't turn over. Just what I wanted on a 95+ degree summer day! Anyway, after hanging out at work and at Moe's (the restaurant) for an hour or so, I got a jump from one of my coworkers, and was able to make it home. We might just have to buy a new battery soon though, and that was an additional expense we didn't need.

On the plus side, I got a card for a free burrito at Moe's from one of the corporate guys who's there all the time. He came over to me and introduced himself, thanking me for giving Moe's my frequent business (he sees me in there more or less every time he's there), and handed me the card for the free burrito. I guess all that sitting around waiting for a jump paid off in the end. :)

Anyway, I'm off to stream a NetFlix movie with Monica. Have a good evening all. I'll be back to post more in the near future. Stay cool.

Catch-22

I received the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection in the mail today. I get these programs so I can get jobs on the side that pay better than my actual job. The problem is, I need to get one of those jobs to earn money to buy a new computer that's capable of actually RUNNING these new programs without crashing. Half the time I can't even install them! So unfortunately, it's one big, vicious circle. Sort of like college.

You get the loan, to get the degree, to get the job, to spend forever paying back the loan you got to get the degree (and therefor the job) in the first place! For the lucky few who end up with a decent paying job, they find a way to break the cycle. The rest of us are stuck in this gerbil ball from Hell, walking in place and never really getting anywhere fast. I hate feeling like a gerbil...

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 8

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 7

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 6

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 5

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 4

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 3

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 2

Dad's Birthday Pictures - Part 1

Here are some more pictures from our day out on the lake yesterday (Saturday) for Dad's birthday. To view the others, check out Clare's page.

As Close As I'll Get

Monica sent me this picture from her phone today. She was out with her sisters and her family, somewhere in the Miami/Miramar area. She informed me that the Sea Monkey was definitely part Limey, because fish 'n chips were the only thing she'd been craving all day, and that she'd eaten that for lunch. I asked her where she'd eaten fish 'n chips and she was like, "Oh, at the bar at the pool..."

I'm glad she's having a good time. I wish I could have been there with them all, but she REALLY needed to be there, so I'm glad it worked out that she was able to go. She'll be back late Sunday night/early Morning morning, so it isn't a long trip, but I'm sure the getaway will do her the world of good. And spending time with family is always nice.

As for myself, I'm off to Acworth with Clare and the kids in the morning, to celebrate our dad's birthday. The plan is to rent a pontoon boat (I think) and spend a few hours on the lake, but we'll have to see how that goes. It will be good practice for me, having my schedule basically determined by children. When they're ready to go, they're READY TO GO, so there's no telling how long we'll have to hang out tomorrow. But it will be good to see dad and Sandra. It's been a while since I've been down that way. (It will also be nice to get a bunch more meat to put in the deep freezer, so that's an added incentive to make the drive! *g*)

At any rate, I'm just hanging out by myself for the most part, doing the "bachelor" bit once again. There's not much going on around here. It was nice to spend some time with Clare, Josh, and the kids though; something I haven't been able to do much lately because of my work schedule. Things seem to be evening out though, and this next week it looks like I'll finally be on the regular ImPress Supervisor schedule of Monday (or Tuesday this week) through Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM. I'm sure I'll have to work a Saturday, Sunday, or evening here and there, but for the most part my schedule should finally have stabilized. Now I just need to work on raising my pay. *smile* One thing at a time though, one thing at a time.

Have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe. Peace.

The 2009 Walk To Defeat ALS

This year's Atlanta Walk to Defeat ALS is Saturday, November 14th. We're getting an earlier start on things this year, and getting better organized. Monica and I will be walking, along with various other friends and family members, and we'd love to have all of you come join us in walking for this worthy cause. It's a simple 2 laps (I believe) around Centennial Olympic Park and the surrounding area. It's nothing too strenuous, and it's a fairly slow pace because there are so many people.

In the meantime, we're trying to raise money for Team King Tribute, in memory of Monica's mom, Kim King. Please take a moment and click here to visit my personal donation page. I'm setting a lofty goal of raising $5,000 myself this year, but I can't do it without your help.

So please consider making a tax deductible donation to a great and necessary organization, and joining us on the walk this November.

Thank you for your time, and please have a wonderful day.