My mind is torn between right and wrong. For many years I've stood atop my soap box blasting Valentine's day as being a money holiday. I'm sure at some point in history the day was special and unique, but I believe it is only around to give heartache and financial woes to the slackers and not-so romantics. But this time is different because when February 14 rolls around this year I better have some roses in my hand. I've joined the ranks of boyfriends looking to please their girlfriends with actions of love. In preparing for my first Real Valentine's day I've taken to learning.
I went to a flower shop near my work place and a kind lady laid out the rules of flower ordering. If you try to order your roses late, as in the day before, the price for a dozen almost doubles. Then, even if you were to order your roses ahead of time, you are still not assured of your order getting through. That is determined by how early you placed your order. I was figuring if my order doesn't get carried out, I saw this HUGE box of chocalates at Russel Stovers that might work.
Here is your forewarning. This is just a rant of the useless kind because what I say can't change society.
I've noticed that vehicles are getting bigger and plusher especially in the SUV and minivan scene. Sure I drive a RAV4, which some might consider an SUV of sorts, but honestly its smaller than a Kia and sounds like one too. So the other day I'm driving home down US-19 in the midst of usual traffic. Side note: they need to build a 19A- an elevated road over 19 that goes from Clearwater to St. Petersburg without any traffic lights.
Anyways, while sitting at a traffic light bored, I'm looking around and I notice a modern scene in a minivan to my left. There is a mother with a child seat in the front seat, a 4 or 5 year old running wild in the back half of their silver mini-van. Add the fact that she is chowing down McDonald's fries, looking to finish the batch before the light turns green. I found the scene crazy. It is clear to me that many don't take driving seriously, escpecially on 19 which is known for daily accidents and bad drivers. She had her baby in front of the airbag and her other child wasn't restrained at all. What really brings this story to mind is the fact that I saw her swerving through traffic and punching it like Mario Andretti pushing a cannolli cart. And then she cut in front of me because she wanted to make a right turn, with no thought of her kid's safety. This lady, clearly deserves an award for stupidity in my book. But this is the trend of late. Buying bigger and more ridiculous vehicles with the mindset of "I might need that much space," and these rides suck down gasoline like a sixth grader drinks coke. I'm about tired of the SUV trends. Bring back the not-so bloated american please.
USA helped turned my attitude towards TV miniseries. After weeks of seeing the ads for their new miniseries my interest was perked. It's based on the award winning movie with the same name. I thought the movie was good, it wasn't great, but I liked the way seemingly seperate characters and their stories tie into each other. Much like the world, I'm sure there is some deep symbolism to be found there.
The miniseries had three parts and was very well made. USA Studios does a real good job at making movies, but one flaw still haunts their productions. Crappy characters which you want to shoot in the head. For Traffic, I thought the teen actors were damn annoying. They were necessary for the storyline, but seriously, are all teenagers stupid. Hmm.. Then again they might be.
Anyways Traffic: the miniseries (sounds so dramatic) was descent. And I'm sure USA will play it over and over again so you won't have a chance to miss it.
Normally I sacrifice a part of my lunch time to working. I've been feeling the stress to work harder. My work load of editing images has gotten crazy in the last 2 weeks. I'll just say I have 8000 images to edit and my given time frame is NOW. But the other day I went to lunch with a co-worker, Jessica and her husband Bert. They meet for lunch often during the week and this time I tagged along and it was good to get out of the office for awhile.
We went to Flanigan's Pub in downtown Dunedin. I don't remember the address or anything, but the downtown area is pretty small so you shouldn't have any problem finding it. Its a regular looking Irish Pub with the green color scheme matched with dark wood chairs, tables and bar area. So my review of the joint: The food was good, the service was kinda slow, and it was meat hanging cold in the pub. I'll say it was a good experience, but I can't honestly give an opinion on it since I didn't get a Guinness there.
Its very entertaining to have a cat during his developing months. Shelby is in his exploration and development stage. One evening while Shawana and I are doing our own things, I'm working out on the bowflex and Shawana is staring at the computer, Shelby goes to show off. It seems he has been practicing his stunt maneuvers while home alone during the day. He is sitting in the living room and is gazing at the top of the entertainment center. What catches our attention is his series of little meows. Normally we think he has gotten himself into some trouble or is really hungry because he is not a very vocal cat. But with him sitting in the middle of the living room floor we shrug it off and realize its Shelby trying to get some attention on him. And attention he got as he made a big outburst and leaped for the top of the entertainment center. Poor kitty, he was close, but didn't have the ability to pull himself up. He had his front paws on the top but the rest of his body was in full stretch while dangling there. He finally let go, I'm thinking a little ashamed, and received a roar of laughter from Shawana and I.
But we were even more amazed when Shelby was spying on us in the living room about a week later, actually I wasn't sure but Shawana gave me the correct details. We were sitting on the couch watching some TV in the living room. Its not important what we were watching because I can't even remember. Out of the corner of my eye I notice movement. Sure you say it was the cat, but this time the movement was at a much higher level. We've seen him jump on top of the kitchen counters and have shooed him off of them many times. This time the movement I saw was much higher. I can clearly see Shelby walking on top of the kitchen cabinets. He apparently had jumped to the counter, to the refridgerator and then onto the cabinets. Like a normal cat he is always looking for that higher ground. I was going to point it out to Shawana, but she saw him on her own. I was too busy laughing, I was doubled over in front of the couch gasping for air until my sides hurt. Shawana was worried that Shelby was going to fall or jump down from on top of the cabinets because in between fits of my hysterical laughter I told him to get down. She was trying to get my assistance in the rescue and was getting ticked at me because I was of no use. Giggling like a school girl hopped up on lollipops and pez, I couldn't pick myself up off the ground. True family entertainment isn't too hard to find. Hopefully we don't have to worry about aerial assaults of the kitty kind.
Its one thing when your team doesn't make the playoffs. I'm a Giants fan so I've been getting use to them having a bad season. Look for them in 2005 though, I'm just telling you now. Anyhow... After the Bucs failed to repeat their greatness from last year, my chance for really enjoying the Superbowl dropped even lower again. I'm lift with picking teams who I would like to win out of the rest of the unfavorable teams, not really caring but there are teams I do hate. Patriots!
Between Shawana and I, we were hoping to see the Colts vs. the Eagles in the big show. I chose the Colts because they have some quality playmakers and I've got respect for Tony Dungy from his Buccaneer's days. As far as the Eagles, there is no choice because I don't like the Panthers.
So damn it to hell now. Its the Patriots vs. Panthers. February 1st will come and I'll only be watching the commercials. I do enjoy what millions of advertising dollars yield during the big game. The e-trade monkey still makes me chuckle. They paid 2 million dollars on an ad and they showed a monkey clapping and stomping to music to make their point on bad investing. The game is going to blow, so I hope there is some other quality entertainment to be found.
its 6:20 am and I'm so glad to be home, finally. What started as a regular Saturday of bountiful rest ended a few minutes ago, early on Sunday morning. When I left home Shawana and her friend Sherita were busy working on code for work, imagine that, on a saturday too. Anyway, I was going to Kris' house to attend a "gathering of good times" for his girlfriend's birthday. Hippo bird day two ewe! That was out of one of her birthday cards. It was clever and had the party crowd confused for a second as to what that meant. I stayed up there for a couple of hours and had a grand time, also realizing I'm still sucking at playing pool. When I got back to the apartment Shawana and Sherita were still hard at work with Saturday Night Live on the tv. Poor Shelby was still locked in the bedroom because he is not Sherita's favorite animal plus he can be very distracting while working. Which, I'm sure, is stressful on such a 'people-person' cat. Work time soon wrapped up and Sherita left. Its after one and my body is working overtime to convince me that I'm tired, really tired. Shelby is wide awake and still scurrying around the apartment at full steam. Shawana is still up, but she isn't feeling so hot. She is dealing with a bit of discomfort from her lower stomach/bladder area, but we decide to go to bed, hoping this will pass.
We fast-forward to sometime after 2am. Shawana is still suffering and is going to the bathroom every 10 minutes or so. I'm still awake out of pure concern of my girlfriend's well being. After a little discussion and a strong suggestion from Shawana's mom we went to the emergency room at Bayfront Medical in downtown St. Petersburg. Its 3am when we walk into the empty ER. A nice security officer points us towards the regestration window. There was a guy working the window and he was using the late hour calm of the ER to catch some rest. With it being so dead we quickly got served and setup in an exam room, just to wait some more. Shawana stopped by the bathroom to collect a urine specimen for testing before she joined me in the exam room. I giggled as she had to dawn one of those sexy, forever drafty hospital gowns. And we wait. Shawana brought along her palm to keep us occupied, but the wait was still long and difficult. I can say that the chairs in the exam room were not designed for comfort or sleep. I managed to pass out for 5 minute intervals.
The environment of the ER was calm except for one patient who was not a satisfied customer. She would yell out every now and then, which didn't help Shawana with her nervous feelings about being in the hospital at all. But she did managed some rest in the midst of what she deemed a cold world. After all was said and done the nurse practioner told us that the problem was a severe case of Urinary Tract Infection. Probably from too litttle water consumption and too much soda drinking. It was a relief for this experience to be over. Shawana got a prescription for treatment and she promised to increase her fluid intake to a normal level for humans. And that was the end to our 3 hour field trip to the emergency room which also included several update calls to Shawana's mom, who was definitely in full worry mode.
To add to the fun we walking out of the hospital behind the screaming patient. Who continued with her loud outburts while being loaded into a transport van. It started to drizzle, but I remember looking up at the guy trying to get her in the vehicle and he shook his head at me. What a night?
We must be crazy people. For months Shawana and I have endured physical abuse from our beloved feline friend. We've had many thoughts in how to curb some of his kitten aggression. I personally would love to implement tranquilizers into his everyday diet, however Shawana is right on how bad an idea that would be. Another thought be both agreed upon was another kitten. Shelby would have company during the day while we are at work and another cat would hopefully shield our feet and limbs from attack. Over the weekend we did some basic searching for a possible match as playpal for Shelby. Last week we both fancied this 10 month old cat, Alvin, at the local PetSmart; but we deemed him too big and slow for entertaining our helion.
And I seriously warn you about the Animal House off of 4th street in St. Pete. This is the modern age, I don't think that pet stores have to smell like they herd cattle through the middle of building. The smell of festering dog smacks you like a doctor smacks a newborn baby, forceful and makes you wanna cry. It was disturbing to see the employees standing around like a smell this bad is normal. Thank God they didn't have any cats there because they just would have smelled like ass. Our search was short, but we decided that one little furball was handsome and special enough by himself. But again, if anybody wants a cat, 352.....
I brought in a picture of Shawana and Shelby for my desk, a quality one at that. My cubicle is barren of anything personal. Normally I think of it as a jinx to bring in any personal effects before my 90 days with a company. Plus add in my seating location of my back to everybody passing by my desk, leaving my personal space open to the mere hallway walker heading to the bathroom or the smoking area. But something was needed on my desk for entertainment value, besides browsing for stuff I don't need on eBay.
I've met Shawana's mother and sister and a few other of her close family members since May. They gave me a insight of southern personalities and how Shawana acted in her comfortable family environment. We come from different backgrounds, Shawana's family represents MS and MS style. My family comes from the Carribean. If you venture onto an island in the tropics, there is a good chance that I have family there.
So its New Year's Eve and I've just flown into MS for the first time. Shawana meets me at the airport and we are driving back to her family's neighborhood. Over the hill and through the woods to Shawana's house we go. The drive has to be taken at a steady pace because of all the deer in the area. Shawana pointed out that everybody in her family at some point has met up with a deer while driving through the woods. We're not talking about happy times on the side of the road feeding them, but accidents with Bambi and his cousins bounding into the middle of the road. We get to Hawthorne Road, I deem it that because at the corner is a small country church her grandmother attends. Across the street from there is her dad's house; continuing further down the road, we pass her grandmother's house on the same side of the church followed by her mom's house. We pull into her driveway, but look down the road you can see her brother's new house. There's something about having so much family so close together.
As we get inside it becomes apparent that Shawana's mom has setup my family introduction tour for this evening. First stop is to Shawana's brother, Troy. Though I described the family as being close by, its still far enough that getting in the car is an ideal option. Escpecially up here in MS because it is significantly colder compared to St. Petersburg. Troy's kids, Antroya and Troyman, were down in St. Petersburg visiting last year so I've met them before. Going there first also helped squash the rumor that I was a rotundasly short individual to Troy and his wife. Antroya saved me from witnessing Troy strutting around in his underwear on my first visit over there. Though she wasn't able to save me from this sight the second time around, her efforts were appreciated. The family was cool, and Troy is definitely a talker. He was quick to give me insights to the family members and MS in general.
Our next stop was to her dad's house. Leroy also falls into the cool category and it after a few minutes of visiting with him, its clear where Troy and his father are very similar. They love to talk. This is illustrated to me even more when Troy and his family show up at Leroy's while we are still there. One funny story after another rolls out from both of them. The stories get even funnier to me after Leroy whips out some home-grown bottled goodness. I received several geers to relax and have some; they were hoping I was a cool cat who could hang with the big dogs. Troy poured me one drink of this high-grade battery acid mixed with Coke. Damn that moonshine was good, it reminded of the only other time in my life that I drank from a batch of homemade alcohol. Obviously the recipes are the same, strong and to the point. One story really stuck out in my mind, seeing that it came after I had a drink. Where the Hawthorne's live is very rustic, wildlife and the great outdoors are very abundant and the area has both types of family entertainment: Hunting and Fishing.
Leroy shared the story of his front lawn deer hunting. One night he's getting ready for bed when 5 deers show up outside the window. He carefully takes the screen off his bedroom window. He then eases his rifle carefully out the window until he is about butt-up against the neck of the biggest deer in the bunch. He fires and the buck jumps straight up in the air and takes off. The questions sound out, "Did you get him?" Leroy felt assured he got him, closed the window and went to bed. He found the deer the next day.
Not to be outdone Troy tells his recent tail of Bambi Shooting. He is up in a tree waiting for his prey to come along. Off in the distance he sees his target deer. He aims and shoots, he misses and catches the deer's attention. Strange thing is the deer doesn't run, he walks towards Troy. Troy fires again and misses, the deer keeps coming towards him. By the 4th shot Troy describes the deer as being at the end of the rifle. Being shot the deer jumps straight up and Troy searches and finds his prize.
Whew that was a full evening and I was too worn out to stay up and watch the clock strike midnight on the New Year.
If you've come in contact w/ Shelby, our magnificent cat, then you've probably felt his teeth. As a kitten he is better described as an agile crack addict with an unusually short attention span. When Shawana and I got back from MS (The happenings of that trip are still being told, stay tuned!) we picked up my Rav4 from extended parking at the Tampa Airport and headed to Ocala. My mom and sister was gracious enough to play host for Shelby while we were both out of town. I would get daily reports of Shelby's crazy behaviour and antics. But all his actions and habits are expected because that's our Shelby. Though we get tired of his constant playfulness we were glad to see our cat again, and we saw an eyeful of it. My mom's house is significantly bigger than our apartment, stratch that it's UGE. He was running wild across the furniture, chasing unseen objects back and forth across the dining room and kitchen. With a little trickery we were able to swoop him up in his carrier and exit Ocala. The trip back to Tampa is always the same with Shelby in the car. He meows until he passes out, unfortunately it takes him an hour and a half to do so. And turning up the music just pisses him off more and he begins to raise his meows to a "cat in despair" level.
Its saturday and we are all unpacked and looking forward to some rest after a long day of travel, Shelby included. Come Sunday, after a good night of much needed rest back in our own bed, we awake to feed Shelby and start the regular Sunday activities: doing nothing. Something is different though. Shelby is not himself today, sure yesterday he traveled and we didn't expect too much from him, but today he was the same, non-moving, non-playing cat.
Our minds start to wander, what's wrong with Shelby? He spent the week at my mom's house so maybe he is just tired from running around that house. Or could he be depressed, our apartment is small and Shelby seemed to be enjoying himself at my mom's. Or did he eat something that has him paralyzed. My mom has a room full of various plants and a big window. We called it the green room when I was growing up because the walls are a light shade of green with matching carpet. Shelby found this room interesting, but I surely didn't find that to be great after he threw up his food after eating a leaf from a plant in the room, and Omar got caught cleaning it up. What is wrong with him! We called people for advice and we had him under observation for the day. He just slept and slept. You would throw his favorite squeaky mouse and sure he would chase it, but then he would fall asleep where he caught it.
Back in November we got Shelby fixed. A tech at the vet's office told Shawana that it would take about a month for all the testosterone to run out of his system. We thought that could be the cause for his current state, but how could his playfulness drop-off to zero in less than a day. We were completely puzzled. Monday resulted in alot of conversation between Shawana and I about our cat's welfare. By the time we got home he seemed a little bit better and by Tuesday he had reclaimed his helion status. So Shelby is okay and we are back to offering him to anybody who will take him. Call 352.....
My girlfriend, Shawana, had been in MS for 10 days when we finally saw each other again on New Year's Eve. She met me at the airport in Jackson, MS. After a long journey its great to see a familiar face, especially the face of someone you love. I enjoy flying and I always think of Fight Club when I'm travelling alone. Unless the plane is empty, you end up sitting next to a complete stranger that you hope doesn't smell bad. I had an afternoon flight outta Tampa to Memphis only because I had to work that morning. I had one of those middle seats between a lady name Rose from Phoenix and a young blonde chick from Oklahoma City. Unlike Fight Club these were real people and not some figment of my sick mind.
The flight to Memphis was cool. I had my share of small talk and the ride ended. I had a little time between now and my next flight to Jackson. So I decided to shop around the airport. In the midst of what I will call the "Holy Grail of Airport Elvis Memorabilia" I found a cool Memphis shot glass for Shawana. On my next flight I talked relationships with John, a guy visiting his father in Greenville from Chicago. I got a descent lesson in things MS and I appreciate it.
That takes us back to the Jackson Airport- I've gotten off my flight, said later to my short term friend John and I'm heading for the baggage claim. I see Shawana and we replay one of those cliché movie moments. Alright, I relived one of those scenes.. and I ran towards her so we could share a hug and a kiss. Ahhhh..... anyways. The drive back to Kosciusko takes over an hour, so we stopped to get some Chik-fila after leaving the airport. Its after 6 (central time), so its dark already, so I can't see any of my natural surroundings through MS. But I have 2 more days to see all of the sites I came to visit. The rest is to be continued...
I love it when I can make a solid decesion for scheduling a task. My goal today was to have a quick lunch and make a weblog entry because I have truly been slacking. I have so many things I want to do at home: redesign my website, work on some music for the website, upload some damn pictures, play video games until my eyes hurt.... and the list goes on. Plus I haven't put an entry in since before Christmas, which is not cool.
So after a quick trip through McDonald's drive-thru to get a grilled chicken caesar salad I went back to my desk to snack and write. I get one line into writing about Max Payne 2 when Amanda, the intern, starts talking to me. Apparently I am the only person in our row that back from lunch and since I sit across from her, she starts a conversation. I don't want to be rude because she is not a terrible person, just annoying at times, and she is conversing about talk from yesterday. But she won't stop. I'm too damned nice. I've used up all my lunch time trying to stop the talking. Her secondary job as intern is to answer the phones when the receptionist is at lunch. Even when she answers a call and I turn my back towards her and continue to type, she continues on after the phone conversation is over. Well I tried to deliver, but I have failed.
Straight up, this game is truly awesome. When Kris, James, and I lived together at the glorious Clearwater house we invested weeks of playtime into the original Max Payne. We have lots of fun games already in the house, but Shawana was gracious enough to get me Max Payne 2 for Christmas. Thanks Baby! Consider this my review for Max Payne 2: This game Rocks! I loaded it onto the computer last night and simply got mesmerized by all the updated graphics, action and drama. GET THIS GAME for yourselves because I am surely not letting anybody borrow my copy. Well at least not for six months, or when hell freezes Florida over.
Happy New Year!! Shawana and I are back from our trip to MS. Its good to be back, and its good to see Shelby again. I've got lots to tell, but work has got hold of my time again. Check back for details!