A new Pope

We are trying to get a friend of my sisters elected Pope. I know it is a long shot but he is a baptised Catholic male that isn't married, never divorced. When asked what name he would take because the Pope never takes his real name, he said how about Pope Butch the First.

Great name, so I sent him an email:

OK tell his Holiness Butch the First, I'm looking for a few things from him when he takes over:

1. Change the taste of the wafer, Honey, BBQ, Ranch, Cheddar or Jalapeno Flavor I get the symbolism but the taste is horrible.

2. I want more than a sip of wine, I don't need a bottle but the after taste of the wafer in my throat needs a little liquid to wash it down. Come on everyone knows about a Dog and a beer, Cookies and milk got it, Wine and cheese, Coffee and donuts, Wafer and wine. Give me a cup; I will pay for it in my donation.

3. Lets make confession fun for everyone (posted anonymously of course) the top ten sins of the week kind of of David Letterman thing. Have everyone vote at Sunday Mass for the best sins of the week. If your sin is number one at the end of the week, you get a prize. Maybe first place is everlasting life or no more confession forever, something good not a ribbon or t-shirt.

4. Get rid of the little red cardinal hats, how about a baseball cap with LA Diocese, or Cardinal of South Africa. Keep the Pope hat, which by the way is very cool.

5. Lets work on the dress code at mass for everyone. Tuxedos and ball gowns are not required but if I see one more hoochie wearing tight spandex and earrings the size of Texas with the husband wearing his " Good Overalls" I will commit a sin.

6. I think we need a refined Ten Commandments; Coveting Thy Neighbors Wife needs some work. We are in a new Millennium, not everyone wants the wife these days, unless you live on Wisteria Lane.

7. I want Butch the First to get rid of the incense. If I want to burn my nose hairs I will call a drug dealer.

8. I am not real cool on the raising of the hands thing in mass. It's early in the morning and all of that standing, kneeling, sitting, I get tired; remember it is mass not a workout at the Y.

9. Keep the uniforms for Catholic School girls. I will be very honest; you definitely got that right.

10.. Last but not least, if the priest can't speak English because he is from the 3rd world, get a freaking nun to hold the mass. I am not suggesting that you let women in the priest hood, (Confession for young men would be very interesting) Trust me it is more important to understand what's going on and to make sure I am on the right page, than to have a little dude from the Philippines mumbling on stage.


Let His Holiness know I'm working on his election and if he needs something from me he should call on the phone or email me. I already have too many voices in my head and I am not sure I will be able to pick his voice out from the rest.


Thanks in advance, your servant

Pete

My wish

Having this young lady (who by everyone that knew her) claims she was the most private person and didn't really like to have her picture taken, it is so wrong that her picture has been spread all over the world. I have stated not only do I not want to be hooked up, I don't even want to be plugged in. Just jam me full of painkillers and stick me in the corner, I will die and that is it. I shudder to think that there is someone out their that doesn't believe me I DON'T WANT THE MACHINE AS PART OF ME, DARTH VADER IS JUST A MOVIE CHARACTER.


IF ANYONE EVER PUTS VIDEO OR PICTURES OF ME IN THAT KIND OF STATE OUT FOR OTHERS TO SEE, I SWEAR TO GOD, I SWEAR TO BUDDHA, I SWEAR TO THE DEVIL, TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE I WILL HAUNT THOSE RESPONSIBLE UNTIL THEY DIE. I WILL ENSURE A PAINFUL DEATH AND HORRIBLE AFTERLIFE, ALL I CAN SAY IS SHIRLEY McCLAIN.

I will awake from my coma and I will kill everyone in sight. Count on it.

To video tape anyone in that state and then to release it to the media, is absolutely horrid. To video me, the man that doesn't like having his picture taken would crush what little spirit I have left in an almost lifeless body. I am a private person who relishes my privacy and that will probably cause me to die alone and if anyone should publicize my suffering you are not fulfilling my wishes.

Do not FUCK me over and who ever steps in and claims that I was drunk when I wrote this, they are lying. One of you will think that you know what's best for me and will try to convince the others that I really want to be hooked up to a machine so that YOU ALL could feel better about yourselves, WRONG.

My wishes are known to all including GOD. I believe my spirit will live longer that in the body that it is currently resides in. I honestly believe all of us are more than just these "bags of chemicals and water" we drag around. I want to be cremated and I want a contest to decide what happens to my ashes, yep a contest. Everyone at the funeral gets to write down what they they think should happen to my ashes. Trust me I don't want to sit on someone's shelf or mantle.

If anyone wants to know what I want well I probably would like a sightseeing trip, how about everyone take a baggy or a little box of my ashes and take me everywhere. Or you could send me to experience a week with each person at the funeral, kind off like the Stanley Cup Trophy. I think that after a while most of the ashes will have been spilt all over the place and I will in essence BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE, (I have been complaining for years about how I can't be in more than one place at once , well when I die yes I can.

I want a funeral where everyone will show up and tell lies, (all funerals are about lies, great guy , what a shame he died, blah, blah, blah) about me to everyone else that will agree with the lies. I want lots of music and flowers for all of the women to take home, they like the flowers not me. The music should be rock no god damn church funeral music. No choir no lady in the back playing the cello or a flute.

Have a party afterwards and then everyone take home a piece of me in a baggy or in a box.


These are my wishes.

My Family today?

Honest to God this is true and it is not a TV show episode.

This afternoon my Mothers Uncle William, (My Moms mothers brother), got that, calls and tells my Mom that his sister Florence has died and she, (my Mom) needs to get a hold of her Mom, Williams Sister the news. My Mom is upset and tries to get a hold of her Mom, (My Grandmother) and can’t. She calls and calls no answer. My mother finally calls her sister Joan and relays the news. My Aunt Joan finally gets a hold of my Grandmother and tells her that her sister has died.

Meanwhile…

My mother calls back to her Uncle William in New Hampshire. Now I am sure that he is 80 or 90 years old and his hearing isn’t so good but, when my Mom asks her uncle William, “How did Aunt Florence die” He yells to his wife in the back ground, “Hey was it Florence or Helen that died.” My Mom hears, “it was Helen, not Florence.” My mom hangs up the telephone and calls back to my Aunt Joan’s and tells her, “Don’t call mom yet there has been a mistake. Florence didn’t die, Aunt Helen did.” My Aunt Joan hangs up the phone on my mom and calls my grandmother back to explain that her other sister has died.

I don’t know about any one else but this is scary. I hope I live a long time and I hope that I never have to call one of my brothers or sisters to tell them that one of my other siblings has died. If I do, I hope I get the name right.

Here are some thoughts

I have been doing some thinking on Terri Schiavo. I have never met her or any one close to her and I can only comment from my point of view and give an opinion; I don’t pretend to be Solomon or to really reach meaningful conclusion here. Are we extending her life or are we prolonging the death experience. I signed the DNR letter when my father collapsed and was taken to the hospital. I had many conversations with my Dad over the years and I knew that he did not want heroic measures taken to extend his life if he was on life support. This decision was easy when I signed it at the hospital and I was standing next to him when he took his last breathe. Months later the nightmares began and I did feel guilty for some time, convincing myself over and over again that my decision was correct and then I convinced myself that it was wrong and I had killed my father. Today I have come to grips with the fact that I did what he wanted and that is all that I did, I fulfilled his wishes, not mine, and I did help my dad go to heaven the way he wanted to go, his way and on his terms.

There are a lot of hysterical people running around claiming that they know what is best for this poor women and family. None of these people have ever met her, met her husband until she unfortunately became the “flavor of the day” no one outside of her family knew her.

Her family is her husband and to a point her father and mother. When she married her father for lack of a better phrase, “ Gave her away.” I know this doesn’t mean what it says but when she married her husband was, is the one that is responsible for her. Tragic as it is he does have the right to make this decision. The husband has for years told the same story, that after a couple of funerals were family members died after being on ventilators she told him that she never wanted to be like that. Now his error was that he didn’t have her write it down, but how does a young husband tell his even younger wife she needs to write down this “living will statement.” I am sure lots of Americans are writing down their wishes now, but 15 years ago this was a quiet subject for everyone.
I have been married and I had conversations with my wife about our plans and our wishes that I never told my parents about.

While in hospice care her husband was asked to remove her from the facility because he demanded on a continuous basis better treatment for his wife. She has been bedridden for 15 years and has never had a bedsore. 15 years in bed and no bedsores, I would say that that isn’t mistreatment that is excellent treatment.

Her husband never mistreated this poor girl; she had a heart attack due to low potassium from an eating disorder. Her medical care was botched at the hospital and she was put in hospice. There was a settlement that pays for her care and has not made the husband rich. This is why the guy comes across as the bad guy because he didn’t sit by her bedside everyday and forgo any hope of a life for himself. He went out and met someone else and didn’t play the grieving husband or play the martyr role that we think he should play. Did he give away his right to make this decision when he gave up on her and started seeing someone else, maybe I think but she was already in a coma when he met someone else.

Terri’s parents are the ones I feel sorry for the most. What are they supposed to do, not fight and let her die? They are doing what I hope all parents would do love, cherish and care for their children forever. Some would say that they are not caring for her but extending her suffering, but I fear that they are doing all they know how to do, love their daughter.

Everybody has had his or her shot to make their case but the truth is she decided what she wanted to have down in her conversations with her husband years ago. I cannot imagine the pain and agony that her husband has gone through and has to deal with now and how has he changed in 15 years of battling to fulfill his wives wishes, but it seems to me that everyone should take a deep breath and let go.

I do worry in part because somehow it just doesn’t seem right have close 30, 000 people a year die from having their life support turned off by family members, yet I do not want to be on life support and be a burden for my family. We do not know what it is like to be the patient because only 1 person has ever “recovered” while being in the same degree of “coma” or “vegetative state” as Mrs. Schiavo and he remembers nothing of his lengthy hospital state.

Life is precious and should not be wasted and love is even more precious and is rarely viewed in such a bright light but so many people and when magnified by the TV cameras, the politicians and the religious people I fear we all loose sight of the absolute gift we have.

Spring Time Vacation

No matter what, I will head back to Phoenix next year for more baseball and sun. I will stay in a different hotel near a ballpark and will get to different stadiums than this year. I saw games Sunday Night, Monday afternoon, Monday Night, Tuesday Day and Night. I spent Tuesday morning watching the Angels take infield practice for 2 hours and I watched batting practice while leaning my face through a chain link fence like a little kid. I saw the sausage race at the Brewers Park and actually stood up and cheered for the hot dog to win the race. I talked baseball with some strangers at some of the games and sat alone on the grass at others and just enjoyed the day. I didn't have to leave early because I had a long drive home and I waited until the end of the games to leave. I watched Major League Baseball players play catch with their kids on the field right in front of me and they were not bothered for an n autograph.

I saw little kids sing the national anthem as well as a group of 75 years old ladies and heard a tape of a choir sing it as well. The park would become extremely quiet and EVERYBODY took off their hats and most of sang along. I was in a stadium with as few as 2700 people and again with over 12, 000 packed in. I saw big stars, Vlad Guerrero, Todd Helton, Ben Sheets, Sean Green, Adrian Beltrae, etc and saw future stars like Ian Kinsler and Macier Izturis.

While at the Angel game on Monday afternoon I watched a stupid fan from NY or NJ act like an ass. He was pasty white in color and wearing a NY Yankee hat and about 40 years old. He brought his elderly father to the game and headed down the aisle past me. He then proceeded to berate a couple of guys that he claimed were sitting in his seats. He threatened “I will beat the living shit out you if don’t fooking move right now”. That’s right “fooking” not fuck, but the long drawn out version only available from an east coast idiot.

The two guys just sat there in their seats and said, “Hey dude, these are our seats your in the wrong section.” The knucklehead from back east went on and on with the “Foook You” Then he pulls the “Do you know who I am” card. Yep, “Do you know who I am? Who freakin cares who you are. Finally the usher who is older than dirt comes down to see what the commotion is; the usher looks at both sets of tickets and tells Mr. East Coast that he is in the wrong section. Everyone around cheers, then Mr. pasty white east coast guy flips the double bird to everyone in the stands, classy guy giving the finger to everyone around while his dad stands there holding his drinks. His father looks embarrassed and they finally move over to a section where they sit down. Is it over, hardly?

A couple innings later this idiot has now moved down a few rows and sits in someone else’s seat. When this family comes to sit in their 4 seats Mr. East Coast is belligerent and tells them that they are ion the wrong section and that these are his seats. F bombs fly out of his mouth and finally security comes down and hauls this guy out. While he is being escorted up the aisle everyone claps and of course here comes the double bird again from Mr. East Coast. Everyone starts to cheer and his poor father slowly stands up and begins to head up after his son who has clearly embarrassed him again.


I watched grown men with notebooks full of baseball cards hound players for a signature. Most of these guys wanted the players to sign 5 or 6 cards for “My Family”. Each and every single player refused to sign more than 1 card and then some of these “adults” called the players “DICK” and “ASSHOLE” after getting their card signed.

I met a players agent at the Brewers vs. Rangers game and I talked to him about the behind the scenes stuff, paydays, insurance, contracts, travel arrangements, minor league stuff and learned a shitload of stuff about things I never knew. I met the sister of a wife of a major league player and while she proceeded to get sloppily drunk and the she asked me,

"Are you anybody that's important, you know you look important",

(I guess that's a compliment right?)

While being cute and someone to talk to, she did drink 8 beers in 2 innings and that was a real warning sign to stay away. Eventually she staggered up the stairs and she threw up on the walkway BEFORE she got to the restroom.

I got some sun but wore a hat and never got burned, I never got drunk and I only got lost once and only once, when I was detoured thought the ABC Extreme Makeover Home Edition House traffic jam on Monday Morning, (that was on TV Sunday Night about the little girl with cancer)

The drive is so easy, 6 hours is a trip to Vegas, (without the gambling), and everybody was friendly and nice. I felt a lot of anger, frustration and stupid stuff go away while I was away, and it's a real shame that 1 day back on the job and a lot of that stuff is back.

The ego trips and the lying and the “I’m more important than you are” BS is crushing to return to. Too much stupid stuff at work is absolutely killing me. I should feel better when I get back from a vacation, I should not feel this worn down after 1-day back.

I sat here on 3-15-05 in Suprise Arizona 

Vacation

I am going on vacation next week and I am working like a dog this week so that I can go. I am amazed that once my vacation shows up on the company calendar massive amounts of work flow to my inbox. I am suddenly needed to check documents, visit managers, solve aal of major crisis' among feuding employees and re-schedule court dates. If I am lucky I will work only 60-70 hours this week, so that I can take a vacation for a week so that I can return to the disaster that my desk, my inbox, my voicemail, my e-mail, my regular mail box and my 2 company mail boxes. Ahh the joys of going on vacation,

I will be in Phoenix AZ watching Cactus League spring training baseball and getting a tan. Maybe pictures from vacation on the blog, just what everyone wants to see.

Have fun

this cat has been hanging around my porch. Not my cat, but I'll call him Stan. 

Tough Week

It has been a tough week. A "Random" audit by the Dept of Labor in my company that caused me to work 65 hours last week. The utter loneliness of a dateless Valentines Day and the request by the Dept. of Labor that I produce even more payroll records for the company that I work at will make this week a 50 hour+ work week. To top it off I have to work on F&*^%ing Monday instead of taking Presidents Day off as a holiday.

No thanks from my company for dealing with the DOL and all of their paperwork and BS.

If I had much hair left I would have pulled it out by now.

This is my dog 

Super Bowl

Well my pick is tah dah The Patriots.

I see the game close at the end of first half and slowly The Patriots will pull away with a mad dash at the end by The Eagles to bring it close.


Go Patriots.

I really don't know what to say about this, I mean so many things come to mind but first off someone, somewhere decided that a state park was needed for this. 

Dating

It has been brought to my attention that I go on lots of dates. I am not sure that is correct. I lived with my first wife for 5 years before marrying her. The marriage lasted 7 years and then I spent 3 or 4 years out and about. I then met the most wonderful women I had ever met and whom I thought was my soul mate and that relationship lasted about 10 years. Since then I have dated 5 or 6 very different women in the last 2 years and only 1 seemed promising but she was more like my first wife, wanting more than she had and disappointed with her current state.

I met her at the supermarket where she worked and she was probably too young for me. She wanted to be richer; she wanted to be thinner, (she weighed 100 lbs. and constantly referred to herself as FAT), she wanted a better apt. she wanted a better car; she wanted a better job, etc. She also made sure that I knew that she was not happy with my car, my job, my apt, etc as well. When push came to shove I explained that I had already done this in my life and was not interested in the whole better car, better house, spend money like it does not matter to buy a better something that you already own. I hate the thought of going to a restaurant night after night with brand new clothes each time to just “SHOW OFF” I spent lots of money in my first marriage to purchase better items like, cars, TV’s, dishes, clothes, furniture etc to replace the same things with “better quality” items. I could see that this happening over again and wanted no part of it. Don’t get me wrong she was beautiful, funny, and probably too young for me but way too insecure with what she has. Dreams and desire for your future are important but not in this manner.

Another date just could not be on time. I know I am a stickler and probably a little anal about being on time but this lady was just too, too F#$%ing late. Truthfully she was inconsiderate and could not figure out that her inability to look at watch created problems for us. We dated for about 3 months and everything seemed to be going pretty well. Then it started, o our last 3 dates she was not ready for the date 2 hours after she said “Come pick me up at 6:00 pm and I would arrive at 10 minutes to 6 and then I sat around for 2 hours at her place waiting for her to get ready. I don’t like waiting and I mean I don’t like waiting; it brings out the devil in me. She would talk on the telephone to friends while getting ready and she would yell at me from behind the door to have a conversation. Yes, she was apologetic and she definitely showed her appreciation to me later but when I asked if she could either be ready at 6 or have me arrive at 8 either way was fine with me she flipped out and gave me the “You don’t think I am worth the wait.” When I explained that sitting around her apt. for 2 hours each time we went out wasn’t my idea of a good time. I explained that I would be more than happy to show up at anytime but it would be nice if she was ready when she said she would be ready. Well I obviously said the wrong thing, (truthfully she was not worth the wait) and she told me to leave and I did, never to return.


I do remember a few dates from way back. Some were great, some were good and some were horrible. I remember that right before I met the love of my life I dated a gorgeous woman that I took to an LA Raider game 13 or 14 years ago. I had a ½ share of season tickets when the Raiders played at the Coliseum. It was a bright Sunday afternoon when we arrived and we parked completely on the opposite side from our seats when we entered the stadium. After showing our tickets at the entrance we started to go around the walkway to our seats. The very first stand we came to had a wine stand next to the beer stand. She wanted a glass (cup) of wine so I got a beer and she got wine. We proceed to walk half way around the Coliseum to our seats when she decides that she wants another glass of wine. Back I go to the only wine stand at the Coliseum 10 minutes later I return with her 2-nd glass of wine. Near the end of first half she wants 3rd glass. I had no problem with this thinking she will get a little liquored up and we will have a great time after the game.

Long story short she had 6 glasses of wine at the football game and I spent the majority of the game walking to, waiting in line, walking back just to get her all of this wine. She passed out in the truck on the way home and when we got back to her apt she spent the next hour puking up wine. She vomited all over the floor of her kitchen and she puked in her kitchen sink before she could get to the bathroom. That was our last date ever. Thank God.

Before Raider wine girl I dated a girl Vikki. (With an I, no E) that’s how she introduced herself “Hi I am Vikki with an I, no E” who I took to Las Vegas for an enjoyable weekend. My first relationship since my divorce, (relationship is a strong word here a few dates and a trip to Vegas) This trip was wonderful until I uttered the name of my ex-wife instead of her name while in bed at the precise moment a young lady wants to here you moan, breathe, utter, scream her name. Within a half hour we were checked out of the hotel and back on the road to Ventura. There was not one word spoken between us all the way back to Ventura from Vegas.

Some of my dates have included:
Meet the ex (that’s the surprise meeting’s with the ex-husband),
The no babysitter at the last moment, “we have to take the baby if you want to go out.”
The ”we can’t go out because I am still working”, (I ended up hating this chick)
The “Spender” that is the date that orders the most expensive item on the menu and takes 1 or 2 bites TOTAL and then shakes your hand at the door. (She did this twice before I took her someplace “less expensive” and then she mentioned that she didn’t like the food at that restaurant.)
The “I didn’t know I was supposed to call you back after I got your message to call you”
Besides being an airhead this gal ended up getting pregnant right after we dated by her ex-husband. Whew that was a close one!

I really appreciated that one gal named Maria that would not let me take her out unless I also took out her best friend “Denise”. Hey, I am an open and ok guy and I will take out two ladies no problem. Unfortunately she wanted each every date to include her best friend. At first I thought all right two women yeah hooo hoooo. Nope wrong assumption; I was just the wallet for the two of them to get out and enjoy a nice meal while not sitting at home. When she called me to ask if we could go out again I asked her if “we” meant her and I or all three of us? I explained that it was getting expensive taking her and her friend out for dinner and drinks. Her response was, ”If you want to go out with me you know that Denise has to come along too!” In closing, the argument went along the lines of what I wanted versus what she wanted and then she got very upset when I mentioned that after 4 or 5 dates with her and her best friend it was time to stop going out or go out as just a couple and for her to make the decision. She responded with the ever popular, “You’re a dick” and hung up. Being the DICK that I am, later that week I called her best friend Denise and asked her out. We went out just the two of us and I had a great time.

I dated this girl recently that after the first date decided (without asking me) that we were going to live together. It is kind of creepy to open your door at 10:00 pm to find the girl you met on a blind date two nights before is at your door with a big bag of clothes looking for a place to stay for “ just a couple of nights”

Jesus this has to get easier you know but what the hell other than the expense of frequent dinners for dates and their best friends, it really has been fun.

Why is it?

Why is it that everyone can always tell the exact moment in time when they fell out of love but can anyone tell the exact moment when they fell in love?

This Weekend

The weekend is upon us and I have a date that hopefully will go well. It seems I am in that continuous dating stage, (No complaints from me), having multiple dates with different women is not a bad thing, and really it isn’t. For a long time I had very few friends if any and a few acquaintances. I never really hung out with friends or kept friends for very long. When I divorced most “friends” went with the ex. Easy to understand but I moved on and made new friends. These new friends were in LA and when I moved back here other than an email or a Christmas Birthday Card we just lost touch.

Most of the people that I am friends with I also work with and honestly it is just to damn hard to date some one you work with. Someone in the relationship wants to know more about the “company” than they know and one way or another work gets in the way. One of the two knows more and uses it to get what they want or holds it over the other to gain an advantage. “Sex, Secrets and Lies” I have been there. Take it from me dating coworkers may feel easy at first but it is definitely not the way to go. Co-workers always ask inappropriate questions and assumptions are made that just make everything harder.

I look forward to these new dates not in a way maybe I want or should. I don’t see a long future in any of these women but just an opportunity to meet someone. It is nice to have a glass of wine and intelligent conversation Hey don’t get me wrong a little physical contact is a good thing, (OK it really is a great thing) but right now it isn’t the only thing.
Unlike the past I like to listen to someone else talk about themselves. I have become curious about someone anyone other than myself. I am curious as to how they got to this point in their lives and where they want to go next.

Tonight will be dinner and walk in downtown Ventura and who knows maybe we will hold hands.

Yahoo! News - Fish Off the Menu After Tsunami Fears

Yahoo! News - Fish Off the Menu After Tsunami Fears

What is the world coming to? Karma will get you every time and you get what you deserve and for every action there is a re-action Blah blah blah.

I am not surprised anymore. I have seen repeated articles in the news about people in South East Asia and eastern Africa not eating fish anymore. They are refusing to eat fish because TAH DAH the fish may have eaten bodies that were pulled out to sea from the Tsunami. Bodies that floated out and quickly decomposed into fish food have caused a great stir in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India. They are extremely worried that if they eat fish that has eaten human remains they will be considered cannibals. Most of these places really survive on seafood.

Now for thousands of years we humans have been eating fish with only a few instances of fish eating us, (Jaws, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, etc) and now they are getting their revenge on us.

AFC and NFC picks

My picks this weekend

Patriots over Steelers

Eagles over Falcons

My Football Picks

My picks for the NFL playoffs are as follows:

Atlanta over St. Louis
Indy over New England
Pittsburgh over NY (barley over the Jets)
Philly over Minn.

I know, I know the family is from New England and I'll catch a bunch of shit for picking the Colts, but Indy is set this year and the Pats are injured so lets see what happens on Sunday.

My nephew

The picture below is of my nephew Sgt. Traver Penell USMC. He is recieving a cake from one of my other nephews class on Friday January 7th, 2005. My nephew Conner and his classmates wrote letters for Traver and his squad while they were in Iraq. Traver and his squad helped clean out Fallouja. Traver IS an American hero.

This is an American Hero 

is this me? 

What was that?

Ok I am not the musical genius of the world and I know that I can not sing, but what happened with Ashlee Simpson at the Orange Bowl on Tuesday Night? My god she sucks. Her dad who you know manages both his daughters needs top go back to being a preacher. He needs a lot more talks with the lord about Ashlee because it worked for daughter number 1 Jessica. Maybe he made a pact with the devil for Jessica and it is coming back to haunt Ashlee.

How were we to know that out of all of the Simpsons that were going to make a scene in Florida Tuesday Night it wasn't OJ that made the crowd take notice.

How bad do you have to be to get booed at a football game? My god the least she could have done was give us the boob, I mean Janet Jackson gave us the boob and she could sing.

Lets go back to the marching bands and the cheerleaders from now on.

The night that almost never happened!

New Years Eve is the night most people look forward to or dread. Do you have a date; is there a party you will go to? Are you dateless and will you watch Dick Clark or will you just go to bed early?

Surprise, surprise I had a date yep a real date not a make believe date. We had reservations for a nice restaurant but we had to be there no later than 7:00 pm. If we arrived later we would loose our reservations and then have to wait in line to get a table and we would not be able to stay for the party.

I made sure that she new that we had to be at the restaurant before 7:00 pm. I tell her that “I’ll pick you up at 6:00 pm,” she says “I’ll be off at 4:30 pm” She calls at 5:00 she is still working but will be home at 6:00 pm. “It won’t take me long to get ready, I promise”

I have never believed that line in my life. “It won’t take me long to get ready” means to most women 1 to 1and a 1/2 hours or more. To me as a guy it means 20 minutes. I arrive at 6:15 pm at her place; she’s not there. She calls at 6:30 pm she will be home in 5 minutes. She arrives we go inside I head for the couch, loosen my tie and wait. We leave at 7:15 pm from her house and head to the restaurant. We are running late and I’m pissed and she’s looking tired. She complains that she took 5 extra clients, (she’s a hairdresser) she charged double and they all paid it plus generous tips.


I understand but I was still pissed off, (I don’t take waiting or being late very well). We get to the restaurant and as expected lost our reservations and have an hour wait for a crappy table with no view. We decided to grab dinner at Yolanda’s, not very romantic but the food is good.

Long story short, she did work all day and she was extremely tired and began yawning during dinner. Being the nice guy I asked if she would just like to blow off the night and go back to my house or hers. She decided that the best thing to do was to just drop her off at home and she said she would make it up to me at a later date. Damn, another night alone oh well what are you going to do? I drop her off and head home. I get to the apartment and figured since I was awake and it was early I might as well do a quick load of laundry. I get a load of towels together and head for the laundry room.

I get a tap on my shoulder and a young lady asked if I was really doing laundry on New Years Eve? Would I like to come to a party at her Apt? Sure what the hell else do I have to do tonight? I ask if need to bring anything “Wine” she says “2 bottles” No problem be at my place at 9:30 or 10:00 pm she tells me the apt number and leaves. I jet to the liquor store return finish my laundry and head on over 2 bottles of Chardonnay. A couple of weeks ago I gave this young lady 4 quarters for a dollar bill so she could finish her laundry and now I get invited to her party woo hoo!

I am the last to arrive at her place when I walked in there were 10 people 6 gals and 4 guys. Everyone was single, two of us were divorced, and one guy had a child that didn’t live with him. Two of the ladies shared an apt, but everyone else was in a single room apt. Not a bad group, the girls were 29 to 38 yrs old. The guys were 31 to 43 yrs old. White, Asian, Hispanic. There was lots of booze, wine, beer and some hard stuff. The food was, well potato chips, crackers and cheese. The host of the party was a young lady named Donna. She had more personality and ideas than anyone I have met in years. Bright, bubbly, cute and she obviously knew how to use her looks and personality to get what ever she wanted. She should get on the show “Apprentice”; Donald Trump would not give her the “YOUR FIRED”. Tonight she wanted all of her guests to get acquainted.

She decided that we were all going to have to talk about ourselves, without being specific. I am not into party games or charades but what the hell, I don’t really know these people and I could have a few drinks and then split. We proceeded to go around the room and make a statement or two about ourselves. When everyone was finished talking everyone else got to ask each other a question, kind of like “What’s my line” We turned out to be a Nurse, engineer, auto mechanic, secretary, teacher, student, salesperson, cable installer, office manger and HR Manager. Almost like the movie The Breakfast Club Not bad we laughed and joked and had a real good time. Usually this is when I would head for the exit. Find an excuse and just disappear, but before I could find an excuse our host decided it was time for the fun to start.

Donna decided we were going to play an adult scavenger hunt but with a twist. She decided that we would have to go to each of our apt to get what she decided and bring it back and we would go around the room and then in something reminiscent of “Show and Tell” we would present our items. Everyone would get a grade and the winner would get a prize at the end of the night.

“F*&%” I don’t play party games; I mean I really don’t like this stuff. A couple of us begged off but she insisted with a big smile and the kind of look a lot of men have fallen for. How easy a pretty woman can sway me.


The rules were that you had 5 minutes to get what was requested. When everyone came back you to talk about your item and then you would get a grade. If you came back empty handed you got zero points. If you took 7 minutes or more you would loose points and everyone had to take a drink before they took off for their apt. Almost everyone was drinking wine so a sip or two of wine every few minutes would be great. It rained hard most of the day on Friday but it was just sprinkling outside so it was actually pretty easy to go back and forth from her apt to my apt and back.

Her first request was for a baby picture. I took off for my place got my picture and returned. Show and tell began with a couple of naked baby pictures and lots of laughs. The next item was to get was your worst Christmas Gift from this year. One girl got some underwear from her mom that was a size 12. This girl was an easy size 2. She was a little pissed off at her mom. Some one actually got a Chia Pet as a gift and I brought a t-shirt that I got from brother-in- law.

Next came your worst piece of clothing you own, a few of the ladies had some of the most hideous bridesmaids dresses imaginable. One guy had a new Members Only Jacket, Wow!

The following tasks came next:
Bring your yearbook from High School.
The one item in your pantry you have that you won’t eat.
The last book you read, the last CD you bought and the worst movie you own.
The last gift you got from your most recent girlfriend/boyfriend, (3 people were emptied handed, one girl had a huge engagement ring)
Bring your favorite shoes, (must be a girl thing).
Bring your cologne/ perfume for everyone to smell. (I won this)
Bring an article of clothing that your last date left at your apt. (All of the guys lost this one, none of us had anything to bring!)
Best and worst Tatoo, (I lost this one) but I liked the rose in a real personal spot on on gal, Jesus it must have hurt A LOT to get a tatoo in between your thighs, now what I mean.

We all got ten minutes to go onto our computers and bring back our most recent e-mail, even it was Spam or personal print it out and bring it back. Out 10 of us 6 had spam, 3 for prescription drugs, 1 for a real estate loan, 1 for the good old penis enlargement, and the last was for fake watches. My e-mail won it was a customer complaint for my business.

Since everyone was single it was actually fun and before midnight everyone was feeling real good. We watched the ball drop and we all had a drink and then a quick kiss between the girls and guys.





Then it was decided that we would all take a tour of each other’s apt. One of the guys, Jesus jumped up and said he needed to clean his apt before any one came over. “No dice we are going to yours first” every yelled and off we went. Needless to say he was embarrassed with lots of dirty dishes in the sink, bathroom a mess. He was voted “worst bathroom” and “worst kitchen.”
I was voted “cleanest kitchen”, “most organized”, “emptiest fridge” and “best porch” (I was the only one with a BBQ)

There was “best picture on the wall” given out to the gal that had a naked picture of herself hanging up in her bedroom.

The “bedroom you want to do it in.” given to a different gal that had a lot of candles, maybe 100 candles or more and few adult toys, devices and a huge collection of porn, quite kinky.

“Worst collection” was given to the young lady that had a collection of plastic, clay, metal, pewter whatever SNAKES Very freaky. The youngest gal had 20 or 30 stuffed animals on her bed and she had names for each and every single one, she was the runner up.

“Worst furniture” went to the guy with the bricks and board TV organizer. He had a wooden lawn chair in his living room, as this was his only piece of living room furniture besides the college dorm room TV stand. He got “Most in need of Queer Eye for a Straight Guy” makeover”

“Worst lamp” to the guy with the huge parrot from Mexico that he converted into a table top lamp. One gal had a great couch and a wonderful recliner but no tables, no other chairs and a real small desk lamp. She got “Best Couch and Chair in the Dark”

“Best fridge” to the guy with a couple of boxes of tamales from his mom, he passed some out to all of us.

We all went back to Donna’s had a laugh, exchanged e-mail address’, cell phones and business cards. We decided to try to keep in touch and vowed to meet again. The party broke up around 1:30am. That was the latest I had been up in years and I did have a few (5) glasses of wine but I felt great. I went home alone but I definitely didn’t feel lonely.

I am betting than some day soon visitors from another planet will visit us soon and the unfortunate part is I fear they will land here where I live and will deal with the knuckleheads in my community. They will decide to annihilate earth or make the decision we are a bunch of fools and never return.

On December 23rd a customer at one of our restaurants brought his video camera into the store and left it after his meal. He returned a few days later and said that one of the other customers stole his camcorder. When I asked how he knew this he said, "I saw them take it" I remarked "you saw someone steal your camcorder and you didn’t say anything until 2 days later." "Look at the video you’ll see the guy taking it" stated the customer. I went back to the why did it take you two days to come and tell us about this. His response was, "Because I was eating"
This guy was too busy eating a freaking hamburger to get up, walk 5 or 6 feet and say something when it occurred, but two 2 days later he has enough energy to come into my office and complain to me.

We do have a security system but unfortunately no clear view of anyone taking his camcorder but I can see him entering our store with it in his hand. According to this customer it was a brand new "expensive" camcorder that he purchased to make videos of Christmas morning at his house. He had it with him when he went to get his lunch. He stated that he set it down on the counter so he could pay for his lunch. He took his lunch and sat down and proceeded to sit down a few feet away. He finished his lunch and left the restaurant and went home. Viewing the scene the camcorder is not visible on the counter ever. So as far as I can see maybe he kept the camcorder to him self, Hell I don’t know what happened to this guys camcorder. I called him and told him that we had no clear view of the incident and that I was very sorry for his loss. He said "Thanks" and hung up the phone. Some how I knew this wasn’t over.

Today he called to ask if we would have his check ready to pick up. I said, "Check. A check for what." "To replace my camcorder," he said. I then went on to explain that we were not responsible for his loss and that he should call the police and file a report if he feels that his camcorder was stolen. He doesn’t want to bother the police but wants a $1000.00 from me.
I told that I was sorry but were not responsible and that he should go see the police and file a report and we would try to help identify which customer allegedly stole his camcorder. He response was as expected, "FUCK YOU"

I am concerned that we will be visited from beyond and the first person on earth the aliens will try to talk to this is this moron. Heaven help us all.

My nephew returned from Iraq a couple of weeks ago. After debriefing and parties and seeing everyone else in the family he was around for Christmas Day. He was hesitant to talk about what happened even when pressed and especially when asked, “How many did you kill?”

He was in Fallouja when the Marine Corps went through that town like a hot knife through butter. While eating breakfast on Christmas Day the TV was on and a news report came on about the bomb that blew up the mess tent that the US Army had in Mosul. My nephew looked at the TV and under his breath said “Pussies” I said, ”Pussies” he said, “Yeah Pussies. Those Army pukes were eating in a tent. We rarely ate inside let alone a hot meal. They had hot showers and hot chow. You know on Thanksgiving Day we were killing these guys and someone from the rear came along and said hey Hot Chow. So we stopped killing these guys and went over to a truck and there were plates with turkey and potatoes and stuff. It wasn’t hot but it wasn’t a MRE. We finished the meal and then we right back to killing those guys.”

I asked him about the incident that was widely reported on TV about the Marines that shot that supposed un-armed Iraqi in the room. He laughed and said, Hey over there everyone is armed. Little kids run around with guns. Trust me he was not un-armed.”

He then started to talk about an incident where his squad got into a bit of a jam while clearing a couple of houses in Fallouja.

“ We were trying to clear a small block when suddenly we started getting small arms fire from all around. Everyone ran for cover in a different direction and we took off and headed for a corner that I thought would provide sufficient cover for my buddy and myself. We dove around the cover and were kind of laughing at each other and figuring we really did dodge a bullet. Slowly the firing stopped and we heard that the rest of the squad was safe and secure. We all re-grouped and moved out in a different direction and once again we had to find cover from the incoming fire. We humped it around this corner and realized that we were once again separated from the squad. I was looking at an Iraqi with an AK 47 pointed right at me and I froze in my track and figured this is going to hurt, really hurt. He started firing at us now and when my buddy came around the corner and he took a stray round in the shoulder. He dove back behind the corner and was yelling and screaming. I was in clear sight with no protection other than what I had on me and I figured that if I moved, I would take around or two. This Iraqi idiot was 20 or 25 feet away with an AK 47 and could not hit me. Finally the guy emptied his weapon and I took him out with a couple of quick rounds from my weapon. My buddy was fine; it was really just a scratch.

I sat there mesmerized by the story and asked well what did you do next? He said they went through the body and found his Iraqi ID card and $250.00 in brand new American currency. They kept the cash and when the rest of the squad returns from Iraq in January this dead Iraqi will be buying the squad drinks.

We will be taking him out for pizza and beer in a couple of weeks maybe we will get to hear some more stories.

Well so much for beautiful weather in California at Christmas. Rain in the forecast for the next 10 TEN DAYS, call Noah and see if we can get his Ark for a real cheap price. I want on the Ark because I definitely don't want to be on the road here. A few drops of water and the entire freakin' city forgets how to drive. Most of the clowns speed up and actually go faster when it's wet outside. Unfortunately I have to drive around the city for my job wish me luck.

and you thought your Christmas was bad! 

It was a beautiful day yesterday here in California. 85 degrees, no wind and a clear sky. It's the kind of day that everyone back east doesn't believe we have out here. I was watching highlights of the Chargers vs. The Cleveland Browns on TV. There was snow, lots of snow, fans in the stands huddled up and their breath oxidizing in the freezing cold and I am wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops.

I was barbecuing a piece of chicken with an ear of corn. It was just like summer a warm afternoon, smoke drifting out of the vents of the BBQ and kids playing soccer on the lawn I sat down with a glass of wine, a small salad and enjoyed my BBQ chicken and corn. I had a small cup of frozen yogurt for desert and enjoyed the day out side on my patio. Looking back at the TV and seeing the freezing fans in Green Bay and in Cleveland I realized just how different this country really is.

Not bad for December 19th.

Merry Christmas from California

Christmas Party 2 (Read Christmas Party 1 before reading this)

Office Christmas Parties and alcohol go hand in hand. “Back in the day” we had 2 parties 1 for all of the employees usually held at a local hotel. We required everyone to dress up and behave. No booze just a large gift exchange; food, dancing and we gave out some awards. The party lasted 3 to 4 hours and it wasn’t exciting but it was a Christmas Party. With out fail year in and year out a few employees would sneak outside and smoke dope and get drunk at their car and attempt to re-enter. There was never any serious violence just some pushing and shoving a punch here or there.

The second party was a Staff party and was a blow out. Champagne, cold duck and wine flowed like water and there were always a few little finger foods that no one ever touched. It seemed year after year I left there drunk and drove home. One year I drove some one else home from the party and my car ended up on his front lawn. One year someone vomited in the elevator when leaving. A customer or client would come to the office and we would all stand at attention with a smirk on our face and bottle of champagne in our hands. One of us would start giggling and we would all end up laughing. The goal then was to see who could keep their balance with out spilling their drink. The party was on the last Friday before Christmas and began around 2:00 pm. By 5:00 pm most everyone was hammered and trying to figure out how they were going to get home.

With company growth we canceled the employee party and just concentrated on the Managers party. This year the company paid for the adult beverages. Each employee was given 2 red tickets for the purchase of 2 drinks. Any drink that wasn’t alcohol would be free from the restaurant. Great system in theory but most of us have access to the tickets and would grab a few tickets here and there throughout the year. 63 people in attendance 45 over 21 and we had almost 200 adult beverage tickets turned in. Just over 4 drinks per person and I know of a few wives that didn’t have anything but ice tea. This includes the extra tickets we gave to the late people when we ran out food.

The managers that are messing around with each other kept eyeing each other during the party. No physical contact just a head nod, a smile, a wink here a toss of the hair there. When dinner was finished gifts were exchanged and everyone got out their chairs and mingled. There were more drinks and some people filtered out and went home or left for the after party not these two managers, who by the way work in the same store. She is actually his superior, supervisor, and boss, whatever. These 2 “couples” came in the limo together that he paid for and this was that “the latecomers” group. She always seemed to be a bitch and he is an up and coming super star in our company. He will easily be promoted over her in the new future. He is personable and kind, she is cold and goes out of her way to be mean to most of the employees.


The female manager and her husband seemed to be disagreeing during the party. They would say something to each other and she would roll her eyes in disgust. He would then call her a name and she would push his hands away from her. He just seemed to disappear and I guess got a ride home. She seemed to become more open and was having a better time without the husband. The male managers wife became hammered and became loud and crude. She kept rubbing his crotch and repeatedly grabbed her breasts with both hands, (Good thing the owners had left) he was embarrassed by this situation and it seemed he was looking for a way to get her home and still go to the after party with his co-worker girl friend. His wife solved all of his problems when she asked if she could home right away and she told him he could go to the after party alone. His eyes lit up and he got an idea he borrowed somebody else’s car and told them to take his place in the limo and they would all meet at Sergio’s house for the after party. I have no reports of a hook up yet at the after party but reportedly they were the last two in the limo about 3:00am

Yes the after party! A manager invited everyone over to his house for more food and drinks. I was not an eyewitness to the after party but can only report second hand information. This after party really wasn’t my cup of tea as it was on a Wednesday night and I had to work early, (7:30 am) on Thursday.

Mix alcohol and young females with any age males and there is always going to be sex. No one appeared drunk or seemed to be falling down but when the after party started however one young lady was already asleep. There were excessive amounts of beer and tequila. The food was sushi, shrimp, and meatballs in a crackpot, empanadas, chips and salsa. The perfect foods for vomiting after having six or seven shots of tequila were available for all.

The house is large and rather spread out so the party was really in 3 or 4 different areas. The living room the kitchen, and the family room, which was adjacent to the outside patio. Older mellower managers were in the living room while a harder drinking group was in the family room while the youngsters were outside.

A group of people left around 11:00 am mostly the staff and their spouses and some of the managers that had to work on Thursday morning.

After midnight a young female manager became extremely drunk and began to vomit all over the back yard at the party. She was sick enough that she puked on her self and in her drunken stupor did what most every guy wanted; she took her top off. Blouse and bra gone she proceeded to paraded around for a few minutes with vomit on her slacks and bare-chested for all to see. The big boss in an effort to see the boobs off the young topless girl got a little too close and when she vomited on his suit he exclaimed, “ You just threw up on my $700.00 suit” Another young female manager watching this scene take place yelled at the big boss, “It’s all about money for you isn’t it. Can’t you ever have a conversation with any of us that doesn’t include how much money you have or how much money you have spent.” When the other managers heard the commotion outside, (drunk males looking at a woman with no top provides much in the way of a commotion). An older male manager took off his coat and put it around this young lady and he and his wife took her home.

Another young female that was a friend of a friend at the party decided that she was going to have a conversation with a few of the older male managers. I understand that she went to a few of the males and in a very sexy voice asked them questions regarding sex. She became very coy and asked them questions about oral sex, positions and how big they were. A couple of wives / girlfriends were pissed off but supposedly one of the wives/girlfriends put her up to it. Reportedly she took off her bra and opened her blouse a button or two to show a little extra something for everyone to look at.

A young lad who came with his brother who is a manager passed out drunk and peed all over himself in the back yard. Everyone just left him alone sitting in chair with his lap seeping urine.
According to others most people left around 1:00 am with a few leaving at 2:00am. One couple spent the night on the couch, the smartest of the whole group.

No violence to report, no DUI”S but the office assistant that was involved in a deadly DUI early this year was drunk enough that he should not have been allowed to drive. He still has depositions to attend in the accident that killed 3 of his friends. I wish I was there to make sure he didn’t drive or that he took a cab home.

Two days later a couple of the participants of the party mentioned to me that they were glad I wasn’t there. When I asked why one of them said, “Dude, you would have shit with everything that went on.” I replied back, “ I’m not the companies conscience or “Morals Manager”. That was a private party at someone’s house and we, (the company) are not responsible for what happens at a private party. Sergio is responsible for what happens at his house, not me. People are responsible for themselves and I am not going to spend the rest of my time being the “Morals Manager”” I asked them, “Would my presence have changed your behavior.” One of them said yes and one said No. The one who said yes commented, “you see things no one else sees and you remember it, dude”

I am really concerned about this statement, I have to ask myself “Is that how people really see me”?

Oh well I arrived at work on Thursday morning at 7:30 am sober and alive. I know that if went to the party I was going to get in trouble. Maybe if it was on a Friday or Saturday I might have gone yeah I would have gone, drank way too much, stared at the topless chick and would defiantly have made in-appropriate comments to that young lady asking the sex questions.

Is a first date really just a job interview with alcohol? Think about it!

Our company Christmas Party was last night and just like all company Christmas parties there was the wide range of employees, wives, husbands, dates and friends. The friends the dates and/or wives with fake body parts, fake jewelry. The annual battle of the Supervisors and their wives versus the Managers and their spouses is definitely worth seeing. Who sits with whom, do the Supervisors wives acknowledge each other with a handshake or maybe a hug or just a glance from across the room. The musical chair dance that takes place to see who sits with the owners seems to rival the TV show Survivor, “Outwit, Outplay Outlast”. Spouses move name cards; move drinks, move purses, and coats just to a closer seat to the owners as if the closer you sit the more valuable you are. The glances, the look the smugness of the winners and the jealousy of the losers add to the spectacle.

Managers that were in the hot seat a few days ago stand in the back as if they want to be invisible. A harmless incident the week of the party in past years has seen poor seating to a lesser bonus. Cautious glances from a spouse to a manager about where they sit can been seen when everyone takes a seat.

Whispers and close talking about who is sitting where and next to whom goes on for a few moments until a hush falls over the room, Who will be the first to get up and get in the buffet line. No one wants to be first and everyone is anxious to see “Who will be first?” Naturally I am always first, I don’t care and actually look forward to it to see who will be second and which manager and spouses will be last. The line is confusing with plates on both ends and different items on each side of a long table. People line up on different sides and crush into each other, someone spills a plate of rice and the usual comments of, “Is that all there is” is heard. No one wants to seem gluttonous or heavy handed, but it is obvious that some of the male spouses are very hungry. Heaping plates from the buffet and empting serving dishes are the result.

The late crowd shows up (a hour and half late), 5 managers and spouses and the buffet is out of food items and then the fun starts. The wait staff of the restaurant approaches the office manager to make sure that she understands that any extra portions will be added to the already agreed upon price. The office manager then goes from one table to another to see, “Who took all the food” While the late comers are getting their drinks, new fresh food is brought out and before the late managers have a chance to get plates, most of the “Hungry Man table” rushes to the servers and pretty much devours all of the new food brought in. It is then decided that rather than get “more” food the latecomers would each get a few extra free drinks. Everyone seems happy until it is discovered much later that all ten, (5 managers and spouses) are under 21. How many late people will there be next year?





The groups that show up at the party vary from the newlyweds to the couples that really only see each other at the yearly Christmas Party. The new managers that have never been to the party are nervous and clearly afraid that they will make a faux pau of some sort that will haunt them for decades. Older more senior managers arrive, rarely are they dressed formally, usually just a coat, no tie or just a long sleeve shirt, no tie or coat. Their wives are dressed up as if this is the only formal function they attend all year. They wear lots of jewelry, make-up and perfume.

Most of the male middle management is near the age of 21 and their idea of dressing up is to wear their work clothes with one of those fake black plastic leather “pleather” jackets. When asked why they didn’t dress up the look astonished that you think they are dressed up. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing” They bring a girlfriend that is young most are 18 years old or younger. These “dates” are dressed for the disco, short skirts, low tops and heavy make-up with huge hoop earrings that a buffalo could run through. One young lady wore low cut blue jeans with a top that that was so tight it would fit someone that is 2 or 3 years old.


The two managers that are having an affair show up with their spouses and sit at different tables. During the party they end up staring at each and rarely acknowledging the spouse they came with. I notice the “look of love “ but does any one else notice?

There are a few singles that show up alone and try to fit in with the different groups that exist. They flow from group to group never really fitting in, looking uncomfortable, interrupting a conversation with an anecdote or a joke then moving on.


More to follow: drinking, cursing, sex and the Chrsitmas Bonus.

Why is it that things go right for a while and then suddenly everything goes to shit.

I think I figured out what's going on. Tell me if this sounds plausible. First off, those who say Voldemort is linked to Harry are correct, but how? It has everything to do with how he survived! I’m guessing but how is Voldemort coming back? Simple.
He "stored" a large amount of himself in Harry's Lightning Bolt scar! This is why the scar aches, burns, etc every time Voldemort is feeling something strong, or using magic. What part of himself did he place in the scar? Probably the larger portion of his power! Did you ever wonder why the Wands are the same? Maybe it is because the power is the same! Harry may well have been born a squib!!!! He only has power because Voldemort left him self in the scar and Harry can use all of Voldermorts powers, snake talking, animigus, etc
Dumbledore didn't kill Voldemort because it is useless! As long as Harry is alive he will keep coming back! Voldemort needs Harry to die to release the power and allow him to fully come back! Until then he is a shadow of his former self!
In the end those who say they are setting Harry up for Sacrifice are correct, though he most likely will not have to die. Instead they will have him lose his magic to defeat Voldemort somehow. The precise vehicle for this defeat is unclear to me...

Something else... Has anyone considered that Hedgewig may be a very special owl indeed? We never saw him being "purchased". That task was done out of scene by Haggrid. I've thought for a while that Madam Hooch may be an animagus, and that she may actually be Hedgewig, set by Dumbledore to guard Harry.

The huge amount of SUV’s on the road today is unbelievable. It seems to me that most people drive a behemoth of a vehicle to go get a cup of coffee. I have employees working for me making minimum wage or a little above that drive $40,000.00 vehicles. My god the amount of money that they put into the down payment or what their payments are is mind-boggling. The kicker isn’t the money but that they drive it just to work and home and back and forth. I have teenagers working for me that have these vehicles as well

The kids that drive these monsters also seem to be on the cell phone as well. They drive wild, not paying attention to what happens around them. Oblivious to any one but themselves they seem to have no purpose than to otherwise drive around and annoy the neighbor hood. Other drivers can’t seem to drive fast enough for these kids or always seem to be in the way. No blinkers, never paying attention just running the streets

Earlier today a young lady driving a brand new Ford Expedition rides up behind me flashes her lights, honks her horn. Clearly she is in a hurry and I’m not, I pull over, she is on the cell phone and flips me off as she goes by.

She speeds up and turns a corner on the phone and turns wide and hits a van. When I pull up to the accident scene the older man driving the van is in bad shape. This girl, (really just a girl) drove to big a car, too fast, not paying attention and causes a bad accident. The first words out of her mouth are to the person she’s talking top on the cell phone. She is talking on the cell phone to a girlfriend about a party she’s going to while the driver on the van is bleeding to death. I call 911 and suddenly a few other drivers stop. A nurse happens to stop and helps stop the bleeding on the injured mans leg. Fire trucks and paramedics, finally the police. Swear to God the girl is still on the phone when the police pull up.

After a few minutes the police officer asks the girl what happened and she says,
”He hit me” The officer asks her to put her cell phone away while he interviews her, she asks the police officer, “Do I have too.”

The man is driven away in the ambulance when I approach the officer to explain what I saw and how she was driving when she went pass me. The young lady overhears my discussion with police officer, runs over and yells something at me in a foreign language. The police officer steps in takes my statement. When he looks in Expedition, he finds a bag of make-up all over the front seat and floorboards, a soda, (not spilled) and she says, “When he hit me I was putting on my make-up, look what he did to my face.”

I looked at the officer and said, “Thank-God this is your job”

A new study from UCSF states that stress takes a toll on your body all the way down to the cell level, and could shorten your life. REALLY NO SHIT. So now I have proof that my job is killing me.

If I could take your pain away with a touch I would fly to you and remove all of your sorrow. I laid awake all night thinking about you and your tears make me sad.

You and I have been through a lot and no matter the past, you and your heart are important to me. It pains me to know that you are hurting and all that I can offer is words. I take no joy in your pain and I pray that everything works out for you. Your happiness is all that I ever wanted.

Things like this happen for a reason (someone special told me this once) and I don’t believe you will be alone for very long. I will always be a friend for you, to you and with you.

Man is pack animal. We don’t like to be alone. We need friends, we need family, and we need each other. I’ve been loved and I been alone and believe me being loved is so much better than being alone.

Loved is warm and comfortable, alone is cold and tearful.

Today is a great day. The sun is out, clear sky, no wind just a beautiful day. This is the type of day where good things happen.

Red (Republican) vs. Blue (Democrat) Liberal vs. Conservative

Whatever.

I live in a red county that is almost entirely in a blue state. I resent the fact the most people that run the parties or run campaigns think that I am willing to change my vote on issue because some famous person takes a certain stance on a subject.

Does Bruce Springsteen vote can't more than my vote? If any one out there votes a certain way because a famous person tells them to, well in my opinion they should not be allowed to vote. Isn't voting the ultimate form of self-expression. When you vote you are getting your chance to say what you want. All of these people that believe that Michael Moore has all the answers and is 100% correct all the time and vote Democratic are not voting, they are fans.

Michael Moore position was not, "Vote for Kerry, he is a great man for the Presidency" His deal was, "Don't vote for Bush" The difference is huge and most people saw through it. Look knucklehead I can read and I can make up my own mind, I have been able to do this for 40 + years. Give me the facts and not your opinion so I can make up my opinion. I am not your stooge.

I don't look at the TV and say, "Wow Jennifer Anniston says I should vote for John Kerry, Well she is good looking so she must be right. How freaking dumb is that, and any of you that voted a certain way because some famous person told you so, should ask your self this question, "Why am I voting?"

I do not agree with everything the Republican Party stands for; I have issues with the Republican Party on abortion and stem cell research. However, I do believe strongly that less government is better. I believe that lower taxes are a good thing. I believe that it is not the governments job to help me be successful or to survive. I think taking money out of my pocket to give to people that are generally lazy and are unwilling to get a job is a crime.

I also think the idiots that are trying to get the law changes to allow Arnold to be president by 2008 are in for a rude awakening. It could take decades for this change to occur, changing the constitution is not a simple matter. The bill must pass both houses and be ratified by 38 states. This is not very easy and unlikely to happen by 2007. 2007 is the cut off for applying to run in some states for the 2008 primaries.

The people in this state honestly believe that what it wants, it should have and anyone that disagrees isn't sophisticated. Some Californians believe that if you do not live here than well you are miss-informed and you're ignorant and that makes them superior. I have met people like this and they really believe that California sets the tone for the whole country. Well if that is so and California is so Red how come President Bush was re-elected?

One of my favorite movies of all time is Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart as Rick is such a great movie character. He is portrayal of the “I don’t care about any body but me” nightclub/bar owner is real and easily believable. I am not usually a huge fan of old movies but this movie hits home and it is relevant to any time. This movie is dead on about certain aspects of a weird 3-person relationship.

Today is election day. Everyone should get out an vote. If you don't vote you can not complain.

I voted for George W. Bush and I voted for stem cell research to go ahead. Go Vote Go Vote Go Vote!!!!

Halloween,

All you knuckleheads that showed up for candy with out a costume last night shame on you!!!!

What is like to be a Red Sox fan now that they have won the World Series?

Well it is like losing your virginity. Yup that’s right your virginity.

Remember back when,

You heard about it way before it happened and what everyone else said about how great it would be isn’t even close to how great it is.

You dreamt about it happening a different way each time.

It came close to happening a few times and failure always seemed to be the result.

You never thought it would happen to you just to everyone else.

The expectation seemed to be a curse.

You didn’t believe it was happening even while it was going on.

When it finally happened you were so stunned you could barely talk couldn’t even move.

When it was finally over yelling and screaming just didn’t seem to be enough celebration.

The next day all you thought about is when will it happen again?

I am still amazed at the way we treat women were I work. The three “men” in charge have no clue that the women in our company want more in their life than working here. It seems to me that we go out of our way to piss off the female middle management with “Set Rules” and “Mandatory Schedules” and absolutely arcane statements. We have regularly lost great managers because we say and do stupid things.

This job is a tough job and isn’t for the weak. Long hours, tough scheduling and not much room for advancement, telephone calls at all hours of the day, meetings scheduled on your day off and make it difficult for everyone males and females. If you’re a women with a family or trying to start a family it is a brutal job.

A Supervisor’s in the course of a week told a young female manager in our company that having more children now was wrong and she should wait until she was older. She already has a daughter and her and her husband want more children but when she accidentally slipped that she wanted more kids. This Supervisor made her feel terrible and pushed her over the edge, she turned in her notice today.

A week before this very same female manager was traveling to a seminar with a different Supervisor and a few other mangers. Some how the conversation turned to unwed teen-age mothers. This second Supervisors and one of her peers began to belittle these teenage mothers and they both made statements to the effect that un-wed teenage mothers come from broken homes and are not loved. Their parents were bad parents and didn’t love their kids.

The Supervisor and the other manager both knew that this young female manager sitting in the same car with them was 16 when she gave birth to her daughter. She was not married when she gave birth and was living at home with both of her parents. They continued on repeatedly making the same and similar generalizations about young teenage mothers.

This is not the first time this has occurred in our company. We have little tolerance for mothers that have families. These very same Supervisors arrive at work late 9:00 am or later and rarely work past 4:00 pm. They arrive late from lunch because they have to pick-up their own children from day care, pre-school, etc and leave early Mon-Fri to pick –up kids from school. Bothering the Supervisors on a weekend is a “crime” and according to the Supervisors always is because one of the managers screwed up.

We had an earthquake this morning. A 6.0 on the scale. My office shook a little and dust came down from the ceiling no damage just dust. The earthquake was centered up in San Luis Obispo, about 2 hours north of here. It always seems that going through an earthquake is exciting and you suddenly realize that this could be the big one and that's when you get real nervous.

My brother turns 42 today. There was a time in my life I never thought he would live this long. His 20's were a period of excess. Alcohol and drugs led him astray and down a path that I truly thought he would never return.

He is clean, sober and most importantly he is my brother and I love him.

A day in the life! 

I just can’t seem to get into the football season this year. I am, (was?) the biggest NFL fan ever. I set up my Saturdays so that I would not be bothered on Football Sundays. No shopping, no chores, no headaches, just Football. I would work my ass off on Saturdays just to sit and watch. Beer Food, snacks it was a weeklong process to plan my meals for Sunday. I would destroy my weekend to watch football and suffer through Monday.

Everything changes and so has my life. Most of what I thought was important clearly isn’t. Most of the people I know look at me with pity or with a sense of sorrow. I can tell their feelings and it does not bother me. Years ago it would have been a serious problem for me to accept other peoples negative perception of me. Now I don’t pay attention to others like I used to. Maybe I should but I don’t need their pity or sorrow, I just need me if I don’t fix it, feel it, need it, deal with it no one will. I would rather go outside and go for a run with the headphones on than watch TV. The library is more important than the liquor store. I keep throwing things away that I bought a long time ago and have never used. Clutter, trash, possessions, things are, (have been) a waste. Getting back to a basic few items and an extremely less complicated life is my goal.

I have no demands on my time, except for my job, and I need to find more things to do. I tried helping at the library reading to kids, but it took to long to try to explain what the words mean than what the author meant or what the story is about. Donating my time seems to come with lots of strings and questions about my full time job that I don’t want to deal with. Why is it so hard to help out?

It seems that to I still have a long way to go and certain selfishness seems to show up every now and then. When I give some of myself out to others it seems that I get hurt. Whether it is in personal relationships or when I donate my time it seems to come back and create more trouble than it is worth. I know that I can’t or won’t grow as person unless I give some of myself up to others. I know the “YOU CAN’T GET LOVE UNTIL YOU GIVE LOVE” Well giving love, time, self, help, “GIVING” is what it is going to take to get some back.

I bought a new car yesterday. I have had my pick-up for 7 years and 116, 000 miles and it was time to retire the green Hornet pick-up truck. It served me well and I used it and abused it The old truck needed a new transmission ($1800.00) and a new radiator ($700.00), well I knew it was time for a trade-in.

I don't subscribe to the adage , "You are what you drive." I know it's California but what's the point of paying $30, 000.00 for a big truck or a SUV. I have no kids, no wife, it's just me and I drive 4 miles to work and 4 miles home each day.

When I arrived at the dealership, I test drove a big Chevy 2500 HD pick-up a massive beast and a great truck. During the test drive I got a phone call from a friend once again asking me if I could drive over with my (old) truck and haul some stuff for them. They didn't know that I was test driving a new truck but somehow I knew that I needed to buy a small car. I turned around headed for the dealership, parked the truck got out and walked over to the littlest car i could find.

I purchased a brand new 4 cylinder Chevy Cavalier. It gets 35 miles to the gallonand doesn't need a transmission.

You better have what you need from yourself BEFORE you look for it from someone else.

Bad day, a real bad day. It started at 6:45 am and strangely enough it ended at 6:45 pm.



M failed to install ISP correctly at the new store. I worked freaking 11 hours today most of the time on payroll. J worked 80.00 regular hours and 37.00 OT hrs in the pay period. M was up set that I questioned her about the fact that her payroll wasn’t done, accurate, ready or completed. She melted down and blamed her payroll problem on J and me for some strange reason. How J is involved I don’t know.

As I mentioned the other day I am now the marketing director, manager, supervisor, lackey.

B. asked me about you this afternoon. He wanted to know if you were OK and if I had talked to you or heard from you. I told him that you were doing great and that you were back where you wanted to be and that most importantly; you were, (I can’t believe I will state this) where you belonged. I told him you were dating someone in your home town and that you were real happy.


I told him that you were happy and that everything was good between us. He asked if I was going to leave here and move to your town to be with you, I said "No" and I asked why would he ask that question. He said that he heard a rumor that I was unhappy here in California without you and I was thinking about leaving California. He stated that he assumed that meant I was leaving to be with you.

I explained that his sources were good but not accurate. Yes, You could say, I am miserable and you could also say that I was, I am, I might be maybe thinking about leaving California. But not for Michigan, (your feelings about me are clear), but maybe some place south of you. Some place new.

I have interviewed for a few companies that are far away from here, far, far away from the memories and the past. I know it is a long time ago for you, but you know for me, some days, some places, are still real hard to deal with. I really do feel strongly about going away and putting the past behind me. I can’t imagine being here very much longer, I seem to be the outcast, the person everyone wants to pity.

Here are the friendship conversations you wanted,

I know that we feel different about each other and it is OK.

Look no disrespect or malice intended, REALLY. Friend to friend.

“Cross my heart, and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye”
Not in bad way but How did you move on?
I’m sure that you stopped loving me long before you told me you were leaving.
I imagine you waiting for the moment to tell me you were leaving and somehow for months you were afraid of telling me.
How did you hold all of this inside you?
Were you that afraid of me?
Did you really feel that I didn’t love you?
Did you really think it didn’t matter to me that you left?
Was I that mean to R and you?

I look back now and I realize that you were unhappy for a long time and, Look, no offense, but I believe love, true love doesn’t reside in a zip code.

Sometimes late at night I really, really hate you and sometimes I really, really thank -you.

I became more than “me” when I was with you. I was “OVER CHICKED” with you. I don’t know the answers you ever gave to your friends and family when they asked you,

“WHY ARE YOU WITH HIM?”

When anyone, everyone asked me that question, I always said the same thing,
“BECAUSE, I’ M A BETTER PERSON WHEN I AM WITH HER!!!”

You made your decision and you got what you wanted, you said “damn everybody else”, go for it. You made a decision that your family was more important than we were. It’s OK because, you became the mother you were destined to be, the person you always wanted to be.

God has decided that we were only supposed to be together for a short period of time, yeah ten years is a short time. I really did give everything I had and it was not enough. I never wanted to be a dad but you changed my mind and I will always look at R and R as “my children” and even though you and they won’t admit it and no one else will admit it, “I AM PROUD OF THEM” and “I DID THE BEST I COULD!! “

Unfortunately, I lost out, well maybe I didn’t lose. I learned a lot from you, but my god, for a while there we were good together, really good together.

Look, please respond to me, you cast al large shadow and most importantly, tell me how you feel, tell me what is inside of you. Tell me what you want. I have nothing to loose, your gone.

Will your silence; can your silence hurt me any more?
It has taken a long time for me to get some of this out and I am probably a year or two too late.

Sometimes I am mean and nasty, sometimes I am rotten and inconsiderate, but I will always be your fiend.

Love forever

I am laying my heart out here and you know it. I know you are happy where you are and you know I am miserable. I wish I was there and yet all I know is that, what your happy?, your miserable? You never really tell me. It seems your holding something back while I just long to be near someone, I need to be wanted.

I can't believe I ever chose work over you. In the all time worst trades in history in the history of trades I fucked up. I look back at a decade of bad decision's and stupid ego and regret, (yeah regret a fucking big word for me), a lot.

How is possible something that was soright has gone so bad so fast.

My hurt is real and deep and I would give it all away for a real minute with you, just to look in your eyes and to hold you again. I know it will never happen but thought keeps me alive most nights.

I am looking for support for someone to pump me up to lift my spirits all the things you used to do.

Once again I got screwed. I work in a small office that is technically a satellite office across town from our main office. Today is Monday the 5th of July and our main office is closed but no one told my assistant or me. We both showed up for work before 8:00am this morning, 7:45am for me 7:55 am for her. No message on the answering machine, no message on the voice-mail. I send my assistant to 3 different restaurants to complete some employee opinion surveys. When I talk to one of our restaurant managers he says to me, “Why are you working today the office is closed.” I said, “ If the office was closed I would know about it” He looks at me with a shit eating grin and says, “The office is closed, they didn’t tell you”

I place a call to the main office and sure enough the answering machine is on. I call the owner and as usual no answer. I page him and I then call my assistant and apologize for the mistake and I send her home with pay for the rest of the day with the promise that she can leave 2 hours early on Friday with pay.

The owner finally calls and says, “No one told you?” “Nope” I say I explained that I worked on Saturday and Sunday and talked to the Supervisors on Saturday and no one told me we were to be off today. He doesn’t say sorry just “ok” and hangs up.

It would not be so bad but for 12 years this has been shits been going on, the money is good but the treatment is intolerable. Maybe it is time to move on.

I heard you were coming to town this weekend and my heart is alive. I know you are not coming to see me but some how deep down I am excited.

Is it possible I will see you and you will want to see me?

I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities that exist!

Will we be together or will we be apart?

Will you want to see me?

Do you still want me or am I just a FRIEND?

I will admit to exhilaration that I haven’t had in a long time.

I am afraid to call you, but I have too. The possibilities are too important. I cannot stand the “not knowing” How will you look, how will I look, what will you say to me, what will I say to you?

Will you hug me, will you kiss me? Will you spend time with me or as I suspect lots of time with others and a little time with me.

The pain is temporary. The memories last forever. Just keep going. Just keep going.

Here is great joke attributed to Ronald Reagan.


Two Irish ladies were at the wake for their dear friend, Mollie. “Poor Mollie,” said the first woman, looking down at the body, “She had such a hard life. First she married Mike, who gave her five crying children in six years. He beat her and never worked a day in his life. Then Mike up and died, and she married Johnny, who was worse, giving her seven more children and not a penny of support. He was drunk all the time until he died, too. Now Mollie is gone, worked to death taking care of those 12 kids.”

“Well, at least they are together at last,” replied the second women.

“You mean in heaven?” asked the first woman. “Is poor Mollie with Mike or Johnny?”

The second woman stated, “ I was referring to her legs!”

Thank You for everything Ronald Reagan may God Bless You and your family.

I graduated from High School in June of 1979 and voted for Ronald Reagan in his second election. When he was wrong he owned up and admitted it, when he was right he gave credit to others. He cast such a large shadow that I really don’t think George Bush the first didn’t, couldn’t survive the shadow. It seems that George Bush the second will have a better a chance to a second term than his father did.

I got this from a female friend and it seems to fit.


The guy's "Rule"

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally: the guy's side of. The story. I must admit it's pretty good. We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. This is our rule! Please note... These are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days. .

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know the best way to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.




1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothings wrong. We know are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you do not want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like camping.

This is my way to talk to my best friend. I can’t talk to anyone else so here I will be heard. No one wants to hear what I have to say, so I will say it just in a different manner. The keyboard is my friend and I write to my friend.

I know life should be hard. Life should be tough, goals should be difficult maybe even unreachable. Hell, I don’t know but the struggle seems to take away from the joy of the journey.

I stop myself from enjoying life. I am the eternal glass half-empty instead of the glass half –full. Lately, God seems to have handed me the empty glass. If it were not for bad luck or no luck, I would have no luck!

What do I want from life? You keep asking me that question and I just don’t know anymore. What I wanted always seems to be the roller coaster ride of life. Things go up and things go down. Relationships happen, go well, go bad, they end.

What do I want from life?

I just want to be wanted, just wanted by someone that wants me. I want the impossible, I want some one to love me and to tell me when they want something and work with me, work on us.


Great relationships last years, last generations, they last lifetimes. It seems that at different times in a relationship, one person carries the other. Things happen, people go up, people go down.

One person has a bad day, the other picks them up, maybe it’s a bad week, bad month, hell maybe a bad few months your partner picks you up.

Selfishness seems to have gotten in the way of forgiveness.

Sometimes I want to be told what to do. I don’t want to be dominated or bullied, sometimes it is just easier to be told; “We’re going here” and we are going to do “this” or “that”. I like talking about us, I like pretending, and I like to dream. I hate the feeling saying something; anything will get me in trouble.

Twice in my life I felt afraid to say what I wanted and it led to devastation and the end of both relationships. I cannot believe that I became afraid to state what I wanted to say and was afraid that if I spoke out my relationship would end or be worse.

I was right in both instances and wrong as well. I was told I was aloof and moody. I was told I was grouchy, rotten and mean.

I guess I met and loved the wrong women at the wrong time. I felt each time was the right time, but they did not feel the same way.

My first love was a woman that loved herself more than she loved me. We were married, but she liked the finer things, the money, the cars, the stuff, etc. She wanted more than I did and she was ashamed of her own family and she seemed to be embarrassed of me and us. The family we almost had disappeared on one Christmas Eve and then so did we.



The second women I wanted to be with for rest of my life loved her kids from her first marriage more than she loved me or us. We always seemed to disagree on us, (the us of her and I) versus us, (Her kids, herself and I). When I asked her to marry me not once but twice, both times she said, “NOT YET”

Both relationships lasted more than ten years but ended in a second. Both came as shock, but looking back now


“HOW FREAKING BLIND WAS I”