Thinking about nothing.

Don't ask why I am thinking the way I do, I just am. I was thinking recently about why people come and go into your lives. What purpose they serve, and how one doesn't know why they arrived in your life til after they are gone. A person may enter your life for 60 seconds, or be involved with you for years. You may think you know everything about that person and they still find a way to show or tell you something new.
With that in regards, I offer you a tid bit more of not necessarily a reason, but an example of such a scenario. Its a cheesy one at that, but as someone coined earlier that I read, they came into my life for a 60 second snapshot. This person was my high school physics teacher, a Mr Guillermo Ulloa. Now, I sucked at physics, as a matter of fact, I think I got a C in his class.
But of all the shit like kinetic and potential energy and other crap that you figure I would retain, the one thing that stuck with me and always will, was a simple life lesson. I forgot the context of why he told us this, but he did anyways.
He said that people are inherently dumb. Not necessarily stupid, but dumb (stupid people are unsavable, but dumb people just haven't been taught something). You're dumb, she's dumb, he's dumb, I'm dumb...We're all dumb. You're all dumb because I know things that you all don't know, and I'm dumb because you all know things that I don't. The reason that we are all here together is so that we can LEARN from eachother to make things better and to get along, otherwise we're destined to remain dumb, and eventually become stupid.
It takes a minute for it to sink in, but after it does, it makes perfect sense. We need to learn from eachother, in all aspects of life. Life, love, happiness...our jobs, our families...complete strangers...Everyone's included. By that rational then, we are all equal and on the same page. We're not separated by our jobs, our classes, our races or sexes or ages. I hope to put something in a bit of a perspective for someone out there. There's nobody "better" than you out there, and at the same time, you aren't "better" than anyone else. For somewhere at any given time, there is someone out there that can show you up on something..just as equally as you teaching another a thing or two.

Time to honor

The holiday season is approaching, and once again, soldiers will be separated from their homes, jobs, family and loved ones.
Despite our political differences, hopefully there is one paramount that will join us all, and that is undying support for our troops.
They deserve our attention for their sacrifice, no matter how seemingly unfair or pointless the cause is. If you think this way, then you differ from me, but we should both agree that our boys and girls overseas deserve our gratitude, prayers, support and praise. They do not need to come home after fighting for 15 or more months to show up to boos, ridicule, chastising, condemnation or disrespect. They are overseas doing a job that most of us wouldn't have the skill or bravery to accomplish. They are deserving of our accolades and thanks. If you see a soldier anywhere..In your family, on the street, in the airport, in a restaurant..Where ever....Stop and say hello and thank you. It will make their presence here with us feel wanted and worthwhile.
While you are here, please take the time to view this tearjerker Flash animation at
http://home.insightbb.com/~armedforcestribute/ . You will need to have sound for this link.
And if you have spare time and money, please visit the USO website at www.uso.com
to give our troops a chance at a brief escape back to homeland reality and a small piece of mind.
Thank you all, for our men and women over there!

Old West? OK corral style

Today I woke up after 4 hours of sleep to take my folks down south to take in a part of the old west. We headed down south of Tucson way to take in some sights. We started off with a real quick visit to San Xavier del Bach, a pure whitewashed church and mission just south of Tucson. It was a magnificent sight. A little ragged and old, but it still had enough interest and history.
I ended up getting a candle and my annual xmas tree ornament there for a couple of bucks. Not bad for a hand painted piece.
We left there and headed southeast to our destined location, the old west town of Tombstone, AZ. After the old west days died off into he early 1900's, the town saw some revival in mining for metals in WWI and for lead in WWII. Afterwards, the town pretty much became a ghost town until they embraced tourism as a source of income. So in a nutshell, the town wouldn't exist if not for the nostalgia. The main historic area consisted of about 5 square blocks of old west town. The rest of the city is tiny and sparse.
We ended up seeing a skit show and shootout at an amphitheatre like venue called Helldorado.
Pure cheese baby. The actors are old school bit part actors and stuntmen throwing out cheesy one-liners. But, for as cheesy as it was, it was very amusing and definitely worth the $5 a head you drop to go in. Go ahead and check it out for shits and giggles.
On a side note- the main actor/host that played the sheriff was a decent actor for his old age. I forgot his name, but he was in the recent Tombstone movie, played Abe Lincoln in Bill & Ted's excellent adventure, and tours the country acting as Abe Lincoln for various events.
We walked around town a bit looking at various stuff, taking in the knowledge that these streets once had blood shed on them and famous figures once walked the streets. I would have done more, but I didn't push the folks to go into a saloon and have a beer and a whisky or take other tours of other historical shit. There will be other visits for that stuff.
We took plenty of pictures, and saw a lot of cool stuff. We headed home for the 2 hr drive and hit up Texas Roadhouse for a good old western prime rib dinner...which was...and always is fucking to die for! So now I have some serious food coma going on and am thinking of heading to bed a little early. Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day...time for the dentist again. I get to have another filling and a fitting for my prosthetic in the morning, bright eyed and bushy-tailed.

Mind your P's & Q's Mister!

I think that I am going to personally take on a crusade. A crusade of what you may ask? Something that has been bugging me especially lately, and I see it more and more on a daily basis.
Manners...Yes, you heard me right, manners! People have forgotten the essentials of manners, common courtesy and general pleasantries-and its driving me insane. This next generation of xtreme sports and reality show shock jocks hasn't been taught right. Ranging from a simple excuse me, to could you pass the salt please? All these little nuances have been forgotten.
So yes, I'm starting a crusade. It may not be a massive world changing event, but at least a personal crusade that will hopefully affect at least one person. I see it at work on a daily basis, directed at me most of the time. People are just fucking rude.

"uh, hey man...can I get a jack and coke and a bud light?"
"Um..No."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Well, you forgot to say fucking please man."
"Oh...Oops, may I please have one?"
"That's better...Sure...Here you go brother man!"

Honestly..Is it that FUCKING hard to say? To spend that extra 1/4 of a calorie and 1/2 second to say one fucking word that makes life so much easier to stand, let alone function in? Don't people realize that they can get where, what, how and who they want easier and faster if they apply common decency and respect in their daily lives? I know its a irrelevant question seeing that I already know the answer. The answer is no...Of course not. Its all about the Me and mine..The I generation. Hell, I'm all about the "I" generation too...I just achieve my means faster by treating people better.
What do you think that poor high schooler is gonna do at the Subway shop when I go up and say please when ordering? He aint gonna drop anything on the floor by "accident", or skimp on the mayo, spit on my food, or even rub his ball sweat on my bread...unless he's that fucking cruel for no reason (which would, by Karma's balance scale, mean that his dog is gonna get run over by a semi later on that day). If anything, he may throw on an extra tomato or "forget" to ring up a soda.
What I'm trying to say is that the long forgotten teachings of manners DO pay off. You may get a random little bonus like having someone lite your cigar for you or even get out of a traffic ticket.
But the best reward will be to walk away knowing that someone doesn't hate you and thinks that you are a decent person. If we could all do that..Then we could actually live with eachother.
So, if you come into my home or bar and find me being short and acting like an ass to you for apparently no reason, check yourself out to see if your etiquette is lacking around me.
That's my rant...and I'm stickin to it!

Wally world

Now, I know two things for a fact. One, Walmart is a Mecca for times when, at 3:30 in the morning, you really need to go get a toothbrush, roll of duct tape and a cubic zirconia ring all for $20. Secondly, the fact that besides my father, my Mom is in love with Walmart. As common with most 68 yr old women, she falls square in that demographic. Add to the fact that where home is in the Bay Area, she doesn't have one close by to go to..say in a 10 mile radius. Here..Its across the street. Excuses are made up to go walk to walmart...gee..that milk looks low...Let's walk to walmart. You need some dryer sheets? Walk to Walmart. The brand new bag of dog food had a cup served out of it this morning...Lets walk to Walmart. Walmart, Walmart, Walmart. Did I fail to mention that there is a nasty annoying habit of her to repeat the SAME story over and over again..like 5 times in an hour? We just ate dinner and I heard her say Walmart like 10 times, and tell a story about the bakery and produce section there three times.
Ok, I know you got bread there yesterday, and donuts there this afternoon. I had one, they were tasty...now finish eating your chicken dinner. For the record, I did not buy the chicken at Walmart..Just so that I wouldn't put more fuel on the fire to talk about Walmart.
God help me, if there would be anything wrong with the folks moving down here, it would be to hear the same story on a daily basis on how a French bread loaf cost her a buck fifty. The only thing worse than hearing that would be to know that more than likely...there would be another story on another item waiting for tomorrow. Its a viscous cycle.
But god bless her and Wally world...Its still a wondrous place.

Judgment Day

It ws judgment day for me at the doctor today. For all of you interested individuals out there, I passed with flying colors.

The doc couldn't find anything wrong with my lungs, or how they function. He ended up diagnosing it as severe allergies and prescribed me some heavy duty allergy meds to see if they will put a dent in my symptoms. IF they don't work, then he can have me consult an actual allergist, but it probably won't come down to that.

Everything else passed as well. Nothing on my xrays, the bloodwork came out fine, and by golly, I passed an STD screen also. Nothing like being free and clean and breathing easy again.

So celebrations are in order! It is amazing though, the power of the human mind and its ability to play tricks opon itself. I had convinced myself that I had everything from asthma to emphysema. That is my mind though, always the worrisome one and bit of a hypochondriac at times. It just makes the end result of nothing being wrong taste all the more sweeter.

Now I can center on other stresses in my life. The usual ones, like job, family, love life, whether I have enough milk in the fridge to last through tomorrow..Etc...

But kudos and thanks to all of y'all that have been concerned about my health the past month. It hasn't gone unnoticed and it makes me happy to know that I have friends out there who care. May karma smile opon and reward you greatly!

All I want for Christmas

The holidays are coming soon and I was asked the question the other night by a friend of mine what "I" wanted for Christmas. I said that I didn't really ever ask for anything, and just hoped that no family member gets me that cursed holiday sweater that I would never wear. She said that I should start saying what I would want or need to avoid all that trouble and to make it easier on people to shop for me.

So without further adieu....my Xmass list.

1) an Ipod Nano mp3 player with at least a 4gig drive.

2)a new carpet steam cleaner

3)a authentic custom jersey of my favorite football team

4)a new hammock and stand from www.hammocks.com

5)a new headboard and footboard for my bed

6)a spare dvd player for the bedroom

Granted now, these are too big and bad. I don't think that Santa will be able to fit all them in his sleigh...so instead, this is what I really want.

THE REAL LIST

1)good health and luck to all my family and friends to make it through another year.

2)good health for me

3)to be able to see my family again

4)to have our troops overseas come home safe.

5)dog toys for Jenny

6)a renewal for my membership to the Surfrider Foundation

7)6 pairs of new socks, and 6 pairs new underwear

8)to take a roadtrip somewhere in 2006 with friends

9)anything history related, books, movies..Etc.

10)for someone to donate to the USO.

For the boys-author unknown

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,How shall I deal with you ?

Have you always turned the other cheek ?

To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.

Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep...

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the soldier waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you soldier,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell."

It's the Soldier,

not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.

It's the Soldier, not the poet,

who has given us the freedom of speech.

It's the Soldier,

not the politicians that ensures our right to Life,

Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,

who serves beneath the flag,

and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

THESE COLORS DON'T RUN

Showtime with Tom Walbank & Dick Dale

The Dick Dale concert was last night at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix.
There is just something about a small venue coinciding with a great show. The last concert I went to was like 14 years ago at Shoreline Amphitheatre in the Bay Area with like 70,000 people. The show I went to last night was about 150 people in a venue no bigger than my house. Simply one of the most entertaining and musical appreciating shows ever.
When we first got there and waited in line outside, we noticed that we were pretty much the youngest people there. It was nice to see all the old time die hard desert surf heads out there. The 70 yr old longboarders with the surf shirts and surfboard logos on them, topped off with a grizzly addams beard.
We got in and situated, grabbed a cocktail and waited for the show to begin.
Now, I haven't listened to Blues in a long time, and have never been to a live Blues show, but the opening act was simply like honey in my ears. If you get the chance look up Tom Walbank and the Ambassadors.
They are a Blues band out of Tucson, and trust me, they have their shit together. Funny thing is, that this Blues band consists of 3 white boys. You will love them. I almost didn't care if they were just an opening act, I wanted to hear more, but I still had the sweetest act coming up next. I ended up picking up a copy of their CD there for $10.
There was about a 15 minute intermission between acts, and Dick Dale entered in style. The drummer and bassist were already on stage, and Dick started to play outside in the parking lot. He walked in doing a rippin guitar solo. Dick is by far the king of surf rock, if there is even another person out there who can compare to him. He played for about an hour, mixing in some blues and soul, did a great rendition of House of the Rising Sun, and ended with a tribute to the boys overseas by finishing with Amazing Grace. A former Air Force man himself, it was a fitting ending to the show.
All in all, the venue was spectacular, small and cozy-and the music was simply to die for.
If you are interested go check out Tom Walbanks site at www.tomwalbank.com
and Dick Dick Dales site @ www.dickdale.com

Let the rain fall.

Well...after a lovely camping trip, I am partially convinced that whatever condition I have is allergy related. Up in the mountains for 5 days, I was breathing fine (except for the strained shoulder). The SECOND...second I descended into the valley, stuffy dry sinuses, nosebleeds, and the same old shortness of breath feeling in my chest. There has got to be something in the air down here. Hopefully this rain will clear out some of the pollutants, allergens and excessive grass seeding in the valley. Anywhos, I did get my pulmonary function testing and xrays done at Desert Sam this morning, so I should be going to the doc to hear the results within a week. At least the tech at the testing center said everything looked fine, even though she didn't really know what to look for.
One hell of an apparatus they have there to test your ass with though. Strap a hose into your mouth connected to 2 computers, two scuba tanks and a generator. Easy enough, and normally there is no pain. But do you think that it would be that easy for me? Fuck no. I work Sunday night, get out at 4 am, need to be up and at the hospital at 730 am. That wasn't so bad. The fact of me sleeping for those 2 or so hours wrong and throwing a rib out was nice though. So every breath I took hurt like a bitch. And the tech wants me to breathe into this Frankenstien-like machine deep and fast???It sucked. I had to apologize for wincing to her as she tested me, and am sure I could have performed a lot better if not for that damn rib out.
Got back and slept for a bit. Ok...I slept for 6 hours. Short nap. Get up and scrub baseboards for the impending parental visit. Pretty fun day. Add in a rainstorm all day and you'ld need a bottle of prozac.

Meet the Fockers

As eagerly anticipated for well over a year now, its time that my 'rents pay me another visit to the Phoenix valley. I haven't seen them since my cuz' wedding in June and they haven't been out here since like a year ago September. Dad's been busy with post-chemo treatments for his cancer along with negotiating business deals with various consultants on new commercial property investments. So ok, he's been a little tied up. I am eagerly awaiting their visit though. They are getting older, closer to 70, and time is of the essence.
The ONLY thing I can say that I am not looking forward to in their visit is...cleaning the damn house before they get here.
Mix in my dentist and doctors visits this coming week, work and the ever necessary sleep...and it's shaping up to be a long week. They are showing up Thursday, driving in from San Fran. They'll spend their usual night in Palm Springs to gamble their asses off before showing up here to do what?...gamble their asses off.
So I need to have this place in "mom" like conditions before then. So far I've overhauled both bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. Scrubbed baseboards and walls, scoured toilet bowls, tubs and showers...and I am the vacuum and windex king lately. All of the rest of the house needs to be done I figure by Tuesday...soooo I can patch and paint all of the leftover holes in the walls from when the lovely ex moved out. They're all patched...just need the paint.
Mount up a few frames, fix a little thing here and there and *presto* just like new house.
How shall I be rewarded by this? Home cooked meals...mom doing laundry again...family in my house again...anything that I could ever ask for from my folks.

and your lotto munbers are 1,54,22,24,5,16

Your Fortune Is

Man who stand on street corner with hands in pockets, not feeling crazy, feeling nuts.

href="http://www.blogthings.com/fortunecookiegenerator/">The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator

Thats right...feel them nutz!

Ha, ha...I'm a Teal

Your Power Color Is Teal

At Your Highest: You feel accomplished and optimistic about the future. At Your Lowest: You feel in a slump and lack creativity. In Love: You tend to be many people's ideal partner. How You're Attractive: You make people feel confident and accepted. Your Eternal Question: "What Impression Am I Giving?"

What's" Your Power Color?

It aint easy being green!

thats funny shit right there

Your Pimp Name Is...

Uncle Dynamite

What's" Your Pimp Name?

The best of...Volume 1

I've been thinking of the top 20 best scroggin/making out/gettin it on songs that I could think of, and said fuck it...I'll post em. Now all I have to do is take my own advice and burn them all to a CD. Don't think I could fit them all on one CD though, as number 4 is a bit long....
So without further adieu!!!
1.Only When I Lose Myself-Depeche Mode...What makes Depeche Mode a makeout song? Simply put, "Its only when I lose myself in someone else that I find myself." Dunno, but the entire album is gold..Look for Depeche Mode, The Singles 86-98. Every single song on that CD is makeout bliss. From In Your Room to the creepy Little Fifteen,Stripped, A question of Lust & I Feel You.
2.Fascination Street-The Cure...Another one song that is good solo, but the whole damn album is a make out feast. His voice is strangely attractive and mesmerizing, and the mixer beats with guitars can't be beaten.
3.How Soon is Now-The Smiths...I don't care if the guy is gay, but Morrissey's voice can set you in a trance. Add the synthesized background, the more upbeat pace, and the damn length of the song too..its a good 7 minutes to suck face to.
4.Cafe Del Mar volume 1.-Buddha Bar...If you can find it, buy it...but more than likely download it. There is only one song, and its 1 hr long. A mix of house, ambient, cross cultural remixes. The only vocals on it are occasional chants. Remixes of mandolins, Asian flutes, sitars, guitars, synthesizers and trance. Imagine mixing a dance club joining playing throbbing, slow grinding jams in a Cost Plus market.
5.Cream-Prince...Prince, the artist formerly known as, whatever...the boy can put out a sex funk like no other. A lot of funk, a little blues, and some rock beats is like honey in your ears. And since you know what Prince is all about, the lyrics are no surprise..."Cream...get on top..." I don't think he's talking about the dairy product.
6.Oh Sweet Nuthin..The Velvet underground...Smooth and silky. The lyrics mesh so well with a jazzy folkish background that you'll feel like sitting in the backseat of your car again. The song is so damn mellow and flows so good that even when you notice it intensify, you're so into the song that you'll find yourself picking up the pace.
7.Fade Into You-Mazzy Starr...Another classic. Mazzy's voice is almost a whispy sensuous breath in your ear. The acoustic guitar, tambourine and pianos are not dominating, and at times you need to listen intensely for them, but it is a must have.
8.Closer-Nine Inch Nails...Played at every bar, strip club and frat party...but it still is just as effective in the heat of passion. Its simply a cut to the chase song. Not a good tune to start making out with, but once the clothes start flying off, this is the one you want pumping on the stereo.
9.Sing for Absolution-Muse...This guy is so into his woman in this song, that your girl will think the same of you. The singer is going for your gut on this one, and he does get there. He's almost operatic and just about singing a ballad. the groovin drum beats, piano and bass heighten your senses, and the song picks up pace in perfect timing.
10.Amber-311...mix together a little reggae so cal beat with a modern day twist and you got this little love song. 311 isn't known for many slow songs, but this is a damn good one. Look into their remake of the Cure's "Love Song" too.
11.Run-Snow Patrol...A spin off of Coldplay's success, Snow patrol is another Brit band. His voice does well in sounding passionate and wanting. the background bass and drums are almost disturbingly eerie, but push the line well.Pay attention to the lyrics the first time, it'll add to the experience next time. The song is about a love going away and eagerly awaiting its return..."even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear.."
12.Lost-Vast...Vast is a weird eclectic almost cultish band. I highly recommend listening to their stuff. His haunting melodic voice sounds Bono-ish, only better. The band uses a lot of mixing, dubbing, orchestral, operatic chanting and hypno trance beats. The kind of tune you want to just kiss lightly to, caress deeply and stare at with.
13.Karma Police-Radiohead...Yes, the song is a little depressing, but the bass, piano and echoing vocals set a deep and passionate, almost hypnotic setting.
14.Who's gonna ride your wild horses-U2...Bono's voice is breathless, slightly labored, reverbing and piercing. The passion of this song alone will set a mood. Add deep bass and classic U2 guitar riffs. Not that you'll be paying attention to the lyrics, but its a impressive love story. "Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?Who's gonna taste your saltwater kisses? Who's gonna take the place of me?"
15. Doin It-LL.Cool J...Who says east Coast rap can't make it big time into a make out session? LL can bring it, slow enough and damn sexy too. Calling your girl a peach, and having her spread out on the hood of your car. Damn straight.
16.Never Say Never- Romeo Void...Plain and simply stated..I might like you better if we slept together. Screw the makeout session, this is a scroggin song.
17.Sexbomb-Tom Jones...Dude! Its fucking Tom JONES! Enough said! Sets you in that "let's go to Vegas" and have a make out fest. Throw in some big band horns, a kicking bass beat and classic Mr. Jones confidence in the vocals...and damn, she'll be good to go.
18.Faithfully-Journey...the first girl I ever went out with was a Journey FREAK, and proceeded to stomp all over my heart, thus ruining every single Journey song except this one. This song WILL be in my wedding I swear. The ending vocals alone will get the panties wet, the slow start, the rocking finish. This is the epitome of every prom night back in the day.
19.Hey Now, Hey Now-Crowded House...the 80's revival continues the struggle. The lyrics suck, but the tempo, echoing voices and bass beat set the mood.
20.I Just died in your arms tonight- Air Supply-Cheesy..super cheesy! Not even as good as government cheese, but it still gets the job done somehow.

Back to the world

Ahh yes, the epitome of a man. Sitting stoic, content and with his trusty sidekick. Welcome back to the world though. The trip was as expected an all around success. Went to work Weds night, came home, packed and dilly dallied around Thurs. Did I sleep? Hells no. Tossed and turned till 4am when I headed over to Chris' house. We were on the road by 530.
Made it to the site at 730 in record time.
An enjoyable first day with Chris, Greg and I. Drinking in the afternoon, passing the hell out later...
Ryan "cobbler man" showed up later that evening and we all just chilled around the fire boozing and joshing at eachother. Next day is when I guess you could say things got a little sour...but that wasn't gonna stop my ass. Got up, had breakfast, we all popped a few beers, I went to take a nap. I slept on my arm wrong, woke up quick and jumped up the wrong way...throwing my shoulder out. The pain that ensued for the next 2 1/2 days was intolerable. I could leave it alone and be fine, but any bending over, lifting up my arm or anything strenuous would send me into a tirade of explicatives and hollers that resembled childbirth...and to be honest, I'd rather have given birth than deal with that shit. Speaking of shit...ever try to punch one out with a sore back and thrown out shoulder? Not pretty...but yeah, TMI.
Saturday Doug, Chris' brother Bill and his wife and kids-Liam and Jett, Dale and Mary all showed up. Bill, the wife and the kids only spent the afternoon up because Jett has a severe sinus infection and is having bad asthma right now.
So we all stayed up the weekend, laughed our asses off, pulled plenty of drunken shenanigans on the passed out unfortunate (and I never want to see Chris' ass ever again!). The beauty of it is that the shennanegined had no idea that they got punked...they even thanked us afterwards for not fucking with them. Can't wait till they see the photos.
Doug, Greg, and Ryan left Sunday night. Dale and Mary stayed the extra night and called out of work the next day. Dale and I went and hunted for squirrel a bit, but didn't get any. I did manage to bag 2 crows on the trip though. The first one was not in good enough shape to mount, and the second flew/fell down the side of the cliff. They are not really good to eat and in fact are a nuisance of a scavenger species, destroying crops, spreading disease and hindering the population of other animals that need to grow in population.
Feel free to insert a tree hugging liberal comment here.......................
Rest assured that your point will be dually noted and respected, but please no preaching or condemning.
Dale and Mary left on Monday afternoon, and Chris and I stayed one more night. Got up this morning and left around noon. Too bad too, the weather got perfect as we left. 80 degrees when we left. No major probs with the weather. About 70 everyday, 40's at night. Sat and Sunday it was brief thunderstorms, rain for 5 minutes, and then stop for an hour. It did sleet once for 3 minutes, which was kinda cool, yet concerning...I just held my drink up for more ice...
Did some off roading, some exploring, picture taking and wildlife viewing. Saw a good sized flock of wild turkey, one female elk, one young female deer, hawks, crows, squirrels, chipmunks and one very hairy tarantula. Saw a couple of lookout points that gave me a case of vertigo...Interesting, yet kinda frightening. Saw some spots that showed a little bit of Arizona History. Battlecreek ridge and the General Crook trail, where General Crook fought Geronimo.
OF course some people who said that they were gonna show up didn't...and that just makes my put them off my xmass card list..but still on the last BJ on earth list. I won't name names, but lets just say that Laura doesn't know this site really exists.
All in all another successful trip, and a eagerly awaited one at that. The next one is up in February, and its oh so far away.

Have we forgot about Scuba Steve?

I was recently talking to someone about our old friend Scuba Steve. Has he been forgotten? Let to drown and get picked at by all the fishes on the bottom of the sea?No....Scuba Steve is just hiding, waiting until he is called opon once again to swim the ocean blue in search of booty. So Scuba Steve gained a few pounds and has a little trouble fitting in his wetsuit now...He can pull it off, he just has a little middrift showing.

What was the point of Scuba Steve? A chance of adventure, heroism and stealth. I'm gonna go pull a scuba Steve commando mission and the bar tonight. Or Scuba Steve is gonna get your ass when you're not watching. Or Scuba Steve is the romantic guy "popping" up at just the right time in the pool with a hottie. Scuba Steve is debonair, a man of few words (well, he does have a air tube in his mouth), a man on a mission....Who isn't afraid to go deep or go home.

So I say no...Scuba Steve is still around, just in different forms. He's the guy stealing pens at work, the guy grabbing 20 packs of hot sauce at taco bell, or the guy taking home the hot chick at the bar you didn't even think he had a chance with. Witness his power and strive to be like Mr. Scuba!

Sweet Freedom

I'm a FREE MAN Jerry! Free I tell you!
Its finally opon me. A week of sweet sweet freedom from everything. I'll be arriving in Jack and coke land and staying at Captain Morgans house within a span of 20 hrs.
The bags are packed, the food prepped, weapons ready, beer stocked and the truck gassed. I'll be cruising out at 4 am Friday morning. I could have left today, but chose to get some other stuff done and run errands instead. Needless to say this first of 6 days off is plenty relaxing.
We are looking at opting to head back into town late Tuesday possibly instead of Weds. Chris has got some business to tend to on Thursday and needs his recovery day. AS he will too...I think that boy is gonna get fucked up on our trip.
Latest reports from up there, 77-83 day temps, 43-56 nighttime. Chance of rain on sat and sunday. A little rain dont hurt, shit, I've been through the tail end of a tropical storms coming out of Mexico one January...now THAT was fucking rain. That storm dumped 11 inches of snow on the nearby mountains to us in less than 6 hours.
So in that regard...I say tally-ho! Off to camp I go! Y'all still are welcome to come up if you can, we'll be there all week. See you on the flip side!

its almost go time!

ITs so close I can taste it. And with all the health issues, work stress and unneeded drama...I need to GTF out of dodge!
Two more shifts left then I'm a free man. I should have had one left, but I got asked to work tonight because one of my other bartenders got hospitalized (ironically on HIS camping trip) and is unavailable tonight. Its alright, I'll pull a cool $200 tonight working for him, which I will definitely need the next coming week.
So far...the current update is that of 12 confirmed people...our largest group up there ever. I think the busiest night will be Saturday or Sunday night.
There is a remote possibility that the group may expand to 16 -20 people, but for now we are good at 12.
Looks like Mr. Huezo will be able to loan his nuts back for a night as he goes up without the broad nagging his ear off. It'll be good to see an old buddy again...get him to GFU land and have him pass out...only to pull shenanigans on him....hmmmm...magic marker anyone??! Last time we pulled stuff on a passed out party-goer up there it consisted of a passed out army buddy and a 1/4 bottle of cholula hot sauce in his mouth.
There is another possible guest appearance by a special someone too. She may go if Huezo goes...which would be a VERY pleasant surprize. THEN...that would be a party right there! We would put last year's Camp "Blaze" to shame....
Jenny is getting jumpy...she always does when all the gear starts to get laid out before we leave...I usually have to lock her up while I load the truck or else she'll just be in the way getting all up in my business "can we go now?can we go now?can we go now?can we go now?..huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?huh?"
Cooked up the chicken for homemade fajitas last night, so those are good to go for eatin good up there. Everything else is prepped and packed...all that is left is to work 2 shifts, pack the truck up, get ice and gas and get the freggin hell out of here!

Health Issue Update

First, the good news...with the usage of the prescription allergy medicine samples that the doc gave me, the symptoms have subsided a little. I can go one or two days feeling normal until I have a relapse of shortness of breath and severe congestion. So that may be a good sign that this may just be a severe allergic reaction.
The bad news is....that my doctor's staff are incompetent cunts! Let me set the stage for you...the receptionist/ doc assistant is an IT. By an IT, I mean...preopt shemale. Imagine a 350 lb overweight Latino with bitch tits. Stick a wig on it, add the 5 o'clock shadow, hairy ass arms and the falsetto female voice. No joke man! Even if you are in perfect health going in to just get a physical, you will be leaving there feeling ill.
So anyways, I go in 2 weeks ago Thursday (remember...2 weeks ago now...). Get examined, draw blood, etc...my doc says that IT will schedule testing at the hospital the following week (last week). I get out to the reception area, and IT takes my info down, gives me the X-Ray form so I can go and do a walk- in for that one and then I ask IT...TWICE..."you are going to call and schedule an appointment at the hospital, then call me with a time and date right?" It said yes...TWICE! Well...it was 5:45 pm when I left the doc's office, so IT couldn't call that day. IT never called the next day(Friday) and the office was closed the weekend, so I wait til the next weekday. And then the next, and the next, and the next....I called a week after the initial visit and left a message. IT called back and left a message saying IT forgot and will call the hospital tomorrow(Friday) and schedule a time. Well, once again, IT never called to schedule anything. Its now been TWO FUCKING weeks since the initial visit, and 3 weeks of having symptoms.
So now I have to call again today and try to get a hold of IT again to try and schedule something AFTER I get back from a weeks vacation! WTF guys!
God help IT if this ends up being a serious condition, for I will go and kick IT in whatever junk IT has left down there.
On a lighter note...I went to the dentist Monday (fuuuunnnnn!) and got the ball rolling on stuff I need to get done in my choppers. I'll be dropping $700 on an extraction and prosthetic replacement on a busted baby tooth that had no replacement grow underneath. So I get back from camping next Weds...and then get worked on that Friday. Gives me something to look forward to when I get back.