Mindless Juices

Since a post is better than no post, here's a survey I've borrowed from Sabrina's blog who borowed it from Angela's blog. Quit your whinin and enjoy. :) THREE NAMES YOU GO BY 1. Steve 2. Oz 3. Dear THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD 1. pigletsa 2. inetjk 3. Snoopy THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF 1. my ability to learn quickly 2. my laser eyes 3. my hair THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF 1. my belly (I have a little one where I used to have a 6-pack) 2. my big ears and big nose 3. I bite my nails THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE (Heritage: Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.) 1. My humor 2. My gas/flatulance 3. Heart disease THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU 1. wasps 2. being fired (I've never been fired) 3. losing Sabrina THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS 1. Sprite 2. Sabrina's laughter, kisses and/or hugs 3. sleep THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW 1. jeans 2. badge 3. wedding ring THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS (this is currently) 1. Green Day 2. Curtis Mulder 3. Billy Joel THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (at the moment) 1. Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day (over 9 minutes long) 2. If You Dont, Dont - Jimmy Eat World 3. California - Phantom Planet NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS 1. building a coffee table with a padded edge 2. eating Sabrina's panna cotta 3. to get out of debt THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (with who?) 1. Some differed opinions from my own 2. Conversation 3. Trust TWO TRUTHS AND A HALF-LIE (in no particular order) (comment and guess which one's a lie) (whats a half-lie?) 1. I love my wife 2. I love my job 3. I love my cats THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU 1. long, slender neck 2. nice curves 3. proportion THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES 1. EQ2 2. TV 3. golf THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW 1. Go home 2. Lie down 3. Sleep THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING (or considered?) 1. college professor 2. high school teacher 3. TWC upper management THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION 1. A cruise 2. Las Vegas 3. Hawaii THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE 1. Go on a cruise 2. Hit the max level in an EQ game 3. Adopt a child THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK 1. I like to cuddle 2. I watch Gilmore Girls and Everwood and like it 3. I use conditioner THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A DUDE 1. I play video games 2. I have no idea how to empathize 3. I suck at listening (especially if I can't tell you how to fix it) THREE CELEB CRUSHES (today I'll go with...) 1. Jennifer Love Hewitt 2. Jessica Alba 3. Nicole Kidman

Batman Begins... let me just say, "wow." This was a particularly well-done movie. A one that we all needed. Christopher Nolan (writer & director) went back to what movies are all about. A great story with great actors and some special effects. Please note, SOME special effects. I was so happy to go to an action movie that was NOT about the special effects. While Matrix and Crouching Tiger... were impressive in their own right and moved the FX world forward tremendously, the techniques seemed to be all over every movie these days. They were cool when they were novel, but we get it now and they don't make a movie good. So, Batman Begins puts up the short backstory that we all know, but with just a few key scenes to establish Bruce's bat "obsession" and setup a few scenes later on. Then, we're all in to the story we really care about. How does a billionaire orphan become the Dark Knight? Since Batman doesn't have any powers, everything needed to be explained and it all was. So happy. So, I can only think of a few times that CG was used: bats, the Scarecrow's effects, and the bat signal. I only know they were CG because they would have to be. Other than that, if CG was used, it was sparingly and artistically well done. My favorite scene was definitely all Michael Caine's delivery. The Wayne mansion is on fire. Bruce is trapped beneath a smoldering cross-beam. Alfred returns from an errand (trying to not spoil anything), finds Bruce slowly regaining conciousness, but still trapped. He attempts to lift the beam and Bruce tries to help. Alfred says, "Sir, whatever is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"

I don't know who the man is, but I've been working hard for him. My days have been solid 8 hour days. You know, there are days when you take a little longer on a project than you could ACTUALLY do it? Or your "smoke" breaks are a little higher in number or length? Those aren't solid days. It's time actually spent working... not blogging. This is currently not solid time. Anyway, I needed a break after three days of solid days. And, Sabrina reminded me that I hadn't blogged in a while. That's a sure fire way to not have people comment on your blog... not having new content will kill a blog. So, I'm blogging. I'm hoping to blog about Batman Begins very soon. It was one of the best action movies I've seen in a long time.

Sometimes, for my job, I have to stay up to midnight. I won't bore you with the reason why, but suffice it to say, I run out of things to do. I usually try to play video games, as I did tonight. I was playing EQ2, but I died and didn't feel like playing much more after that. Here's a profound statement, dying is always a major downer. So, then I started catching up on my blog reading. Whenever I read a blog, I try to comment at least once before leaving, assuming there's new material to comment on... (Josh?) So, I made some attempt to be funny on a comment on Angela's blog. Then, I linked to my own blog and checked for new comments. Yes, I'm Emailed, but check my Email less than I hop on my own blog, just to make sure it's there. 'Cause you never know when, one day, it just disappears... and you're left wondering, "Where'd my blog go? It was right here a second ago. I know it was there when I left the house this morning." Or worse, you post pictures of your missing blog on street poles and offer a reward. Then, you're worried and you start thinking about all the awful things that are out there, "What if it caught something? Like a virus? Or was hacked?" And you try to put it out of your mind, but you're worried and you don't know what to do... Don't let this happen to you. Check your blog often. Make sure it feels loved... Josh. This is what happens to me when I have to stay up.

OK, so, the best thing that I could do is support my wife and help her accomplish her 101. As Crazy Charlie said on The Real Gilligan's Island (yes, I watched it), "If the women are happy, everyone's happy." But, it's not completely selfish reasons that I want to help her. I'm am really trying to be a less selfish person and focus on loving my wife like she really deserves to be loved... with action and words... not just a feeling inside of me. So, my 101 is making sure that her 101 is completed in 1001 because that's what she wants.

So, I realized that I never mentioned our NY trip. We're getting pretty good at renting a car and going on road trips. We've had to take a few for different reasons, but most often, it's simply cheaper even after paying for gas and parking. $300+ for a ticket from NC to NY and then you don't have any way to get around unless you rent a car, pay for taxis or take the subway! We paid $88 for the car for four days. We spent about $50 in gas. Sabrina's dad covered our parking which would have been $60 for the two times we had to park it in the city while we walked around. So, $200 and 18 hours of driving with the luxuries of Slyvester and wireless internet... not a bad deal. OK, so on the way up, we start talking about how I like to have answers to questions that kids ask, like, "Why is the sky blue?" Well, one of those questions I thought I want to know the answer to is what is heat shimmer (you know, the wavy lines above a fire or your car on a hot day). My wonderful wife looked it up and gave me the anwer along with why the road looks wet up ahead on a hot day. I love the internet. Also, special thanks to Nick for helping us find the info. And, Sabrina's family, is a little... crazy. Don't get me wrong, they are wonderful people and, by far, some of the best in-laws ever. I love them and I think they love me. But, like any family, they have their quirks. I've heard something like, when you're really in love, you even love the person's defects. I guess that's how they are. And, this weekend in particular, they were all a little weirder as they were dealing with the grief. The memorial was good and I understand why the family loves the Father who performed the ceremony. He's was very good... loving AND realistic... the way clergy should be, IMO. On to a lighter note, staying at Slava's and Yura's place was SO nice. It was nice to escape "The Family in the City" (new sitcom airing next season on Fox) and still feel... I don't know... at home? If it wasn't that feeling, it was a good one. They were wonderful hosts and I wish we could have spent more time with them. It felt a little like we were using them and I hope they don't feel that way. The ballet was interesting. I am SURE that I would prefer a ballet with a full orchestra. I would certainly appreciate the talent of live music with live performance. I liked it, but I didn't love it. But, the seats were amazing! Seriously, front row of the second section of the mezzanine... so, not the first section (where the front row could easily fall off the front of the mezzanine), but behind the first section where there's a walkway... the row on the walkway with all the legroom anyone could desire and no one for 6 feet to obstruct your view. Slava rocks!... huh... literally... interesting. So, the last stop was Ikea. I think it was probably our best visit to Ikea. I have a solid understanding of what Sabrina is trying to do in each room and I like all of them, so I felt much more encouraging to her. There were many things I told her she could get and she decided not to. Still, despite looking at other stuff, we found what we were "hunting" for (women shop, men hunt). We got in and out in 2 hours. I have now spent the past week putting things together and they look great. I'm going to take pictures and post them.

Since everyone else is doing it, I thought I would, too. Accomplish 101 goals in 1001 days... Well, that's seems a little too much. How 'bout 11 in 101? You see, you just take out some zeros. Better yet, we'll make it 11 in 101 minutes. 1.) Eat lunch. 2.) Clean up office. 3.) Get out in the field with a tech. 4.) Fill up truck. 5.) Make fun of at least one co-worker. 6.) Finish paperwork. 7.) Check Sabrina's blog for update. 8.) Check my Yahoo! mail. 9.) Close all pending escalations. 10.) Go to the bathroom. 11.) Finish this list. One down, 10 to go... :)

I hated having a blog that was in set column widths. It made my posts seem VERY long, even the one's that weren't that long. I wanted a dynamic main area that was as wide as you made it on your screen. After viewing new templates and a lot of re-coloring, I've come up with this new look. Please let me know what you think! I have only found one problem... apparently, BOLD = Black... stupid . I have resolved myself to simply not use bold anymore. I will stick to italics.

# posted by Steve (Oz) : 6/01/2005 11:18:00 AM  1 comments