The Big VD.

The big VD. Its weird that a semi religious day is pushed so hard on us from the start. Kids giving paper valentines to other. Of course the popular kids having their "mailboxes" over flowing with them and kids like me having an empty one. How humiliating as a child.
I understand the holiday for adults. A special day set aside for some one special in your heart. Some one (in most cases) that you are or were/are  romantically involved, even some one you may consider special. But why push this on kids? I always had a hard time at Valentines day in grade school. I was outside looking in.  I hope things are different in the schools today. I hope that its different, but I kinda doubt it. I felt all these odd feeling creep in to me as I watched my son fill out these paper cards for his school mates.He was happy and all I could do is just feel odd. I guess  the real difference is that he is part of the school, not just attending it.

Any ways I hope you each got something special from your special some one, whether its a lover or from that heart of a small child just hold it close and smile. Give them back a kiss. Every one enjoys a kiss. -- Peace

Skitching at its finest...

Snow, snow snow...... Its funny on how much snow we have received in the past two months. Lots of people are complaining on the amounts. I am officially an old timer, I'm telling stories about the blizzard of 1979. I am telling stories on how I had to help my dad dig out the next day from a mountain of snow. These guys don't know what real snow is. We have been real lucky the past 10-15 years with the amount of snow.
The reason I'm telling you this is because I'm tired of the snow. I'm tired of shoveling, salting and then shoveling again. Even my kids are tired of it. Snow pants, hats, gloves, jacket and sweaters....The dry skin and short days are just a pain.
As a kid I would love the snow. Playing king of the hill, walking for miles on a frozen creek and of course skitching.

Skitching: (skit-ching; Verb) the act of dragging behind a moving car on a snow filled road.  

After a huge snowfall we would get out slickest boots. We would wait at a stop sign and see if we could sneak on to its rear bumper. The car would then take off in the snow filled road and we would be dragging behind it. If you were good you could stay in a semi squat and stay upright on your boots. Some guys would just sit down on their butts and get dragged down the street. Our feet would be inches away from the rear tire and of course we would be face first in to the exhaust. We would skitch on cars , UPS trucks would be great and only the brave would be on a semi trailer. We had one or two people have their gloves caught on the bumper and dragged beyond sight. That would be at least two city blocks.
We were lucky, no one was hurt. A car could have come up close and crushed us. We could have hit a dry spot and fell. Again I admit we were stupid.  The days of skitching are long dead; very few cars have metal bumpers, every one has a cell phone and most streets are salted right away.  I' don't regret it , I had a ball as a kid. I'm also thankfully that no one was hurt. Think about it ; pack of roaming kids looking and hanging out on a winter street. Just waiting for the perfect score or some ones older brother to let us jump on. When that would happen we would often get enough kids on the bumper to actually stop the car in the snow. Ahh the days of rear wheel drive in the late 1970's...... . Thats my grandpa story for you.... Enjoy.

Any ways - drive safe and always check your rear window. Just because im near 40 does not mean I wont go skitching on your car.

Black Ice and cheese in a can.....

Where do I start? Work in Omaha was work. Good people, a nice hotel and
great food. They know how to make a steak. After putting in about 60+ hours
in the snow and cold I had to deal with the ride back. We had the car
packed and were ready to go. Saturday the State of Iowa must have had a
nice weather day. The roads thawed and water was all over them. By 5pm a
cold weather front came over the state. The Mercury plunged to about -40
with the wind. This happened in a very short time. This also happened to
set off alot of light blowing snow. The whole show was perfect for BLACK
ICE. During the night we saw 3 busses , 3 tractor trailers and no joking
about 50 cars in the ditch or fully crashed. The ride all through Iowa was
a white knuckle ride all the way back. The ice comes out of nowhere. You
are in it before you can react. The usual reaction is the wrong one. You do
not apply your brakes when in the Ice. This will send you off in a wild
spin off the road. That pluss that its night and it just spells super bad
driving conditions.
When we had a chance to re-fuel we really felt the wind. My hands hurt
while I pumped gas in to the Jeep. Even during the cold we stopped at a
Culvers in the middle of no where to grabe a turtle shake. I also have to
say the food at Perkins was not good. But thats just my opinion.
The ride there should have taken about 7 hours wound up taking a little
over 10. The ride back took about 9. It was nice to see the Welcome to
Illinois sign crossing back. Would I stay in Illinois? I'm not sure , but
its nice to be home. To sleep in your own bed was great and really nice to
reach in to your fridge with out having to tip some one.
Drive safe. The State is running out of salt for the roads and we have
many weeks ahead of us to go before winter is over. Keep an extra blanket,
gloves, phone charger , flares and a candy bar in the glove box. Remember
to keep your tires filled. The cold temps can cause the pressure to drop
and that not good either.... Peace.

the adventure so far.....

Well you may or may not know I am helping out in OmaHA. I think I'll start out with the ride. The ride was supposed to take 7 hours. The snow started out about five minutes after I left the house. I 88 became a one lane with a top speed of about 23-30 miles per hour. So a 7 hour drive became about a 10 hour drive. Illinois and Iowa became a graveyard of cars in a ditch. We counted about 50 cars with a space of 3 hours. The drive was long with a visability of about 50 feet. After the snow ended we came in to a deep fog. Arrrg. We got in about 4am, tired, achy and hungry....
The good part was that I knew two managers at the location. Work was work and really no big deal.

The second day we weny out for wings and beeers. Not in Nebraska but back in Iowa. They knwo how to drink in Iowa. Cheep beers. We the wound up in a biker bar til 2am . My self 2 other guys and a gal that I know. I have to say it was fun drinking with a strong woman. One that slammed a guy about a "peral neckles" manu more cheep pitchers and smokes. Fun and kinda insightfull..... I'll keep ya tuned in.

Bad 1's and zero's.

So I actually have time to read at work today. What do I wind up reading??
The Stand. Its an older book but I have it in a PDF format. Not even on
paper its all digital now. I started chuckling that there is no day that I
do not involve my self with a computer. I guess I first went on line in
1996 and have been there ever since. I have some tech in my life and others
have way more. Cell phone, pagers ( remember those?) ,i pod, cd players,
dvd player, computer broadband, black berry, gps, text messages, wi fi and
more. Some days I just leave every thing off and live the life style of
pre-1996. No cell and only cable tv. Even then I'll leave the TV off and
listen to the radio or read. Some of my friends need to be connected 24/7.
I enjoy the older lifestyle. I like the lifestyle of the 1950s. The only
thing I would add on to that would be internet access at a library. Outside
of that I would be ok. No Facebook, myspace or blogs. The one thing that
would die off would be ways to express your self with out sitting down with
a typewriter...... Hmmm

I dont know - I guess part of me longs for slower days. Letters not just
bills delivered in your mail box, Reading the news paper, Radio, no IMs ,
no text message. The Simple life..... ha I know the simple life was not
simple. I guess the grass is always grenner even if it is digital....

HEY what ever panned out with VR? I guess I'll pencil that in along with me
living on the moon, jet cars and Underwater cities......

.....

"Treat bacon like caviar or it destroys the privilege."

sick...aftermath

The day seems longer and longer. I can't sleep well and I wake up stiff in
the joints. I must be sleeping funny because my right knee sometimes throbs
and wake me during the night. The kids have been sick, the wife has been
sick as well; fever, cough, sinus. I've been playing house nanny for the
past few days and fighting my own sickness. Doped up on ni'quill and
robotussin dm. My stomach is hungry but I also feel nausea as well. I have
not eaten well in about a week. SOme soup and french toast but nothing
really solid.
I'm burning the candle at both ends this last week. Its starting to
catch up with me. I got the feeling that once they get better at home I'll
wind up getting sick as a dog. I almost feel like I'm looking through my
own eyes.... its hard to explain. As if my eyes were goggles and I'm
looking through them. Im also seeing things out of the corners of my eyes.
Weird movements and shadows that are not really there. I hate this feeling.
It feels like this is what the onset of maddness feels like.

You know what I want right now......I want to take a hot bath with some
scented bath bombs and just chill. I want to listen to a book on
tape/cd/mp3 (whatever). I just want to be alone for a few days. Nothing
wrong with that? eh?

Brrrrrrrr......

It hits you in the face like a hammer. You walk outside and can feel it
draining the life from you like some sort of Sci-fi monster. Every thing
you carry feels sharper, yu can feel the edges on boxes, the straps on
plactic bgs and weight of all items. Your skin feels thinner, itchy and it
hurts within a minute of being outside. You should dress in armored layers;
undies,long johns, thermal socks, t shirt, thin shirt, shirt, light wind
jacked, fleece , fall jacket with windproof parka over the top, wrist
wraps, gloves and a hat (with 3 more in the car "just in case I lose one).
That list is what I wear outside at work. Its not the cold so much as the
wind that drives the air temps down. I was in a car today and yes it was
nasty cold inside, but outside the wind was near unbearable.
Why do I live in the Chicagoland area? Why do I do this every year? I
swear I don't know..... I hope you all stay warm and comfy. Peace

Cough....

Sick ...... It just won't go away. Every one in the house is ill or gets
slightly better and then gets worse. Kids then me then the kids then my
wide then the kids......arrrggggg it just wont stop. It sounds like a TB
ward at home.
Its probably the weather change that triggered the whole mess. The few days
of 60 degrees in January then a good chill down aftwerwards... Its a mess.
I'm OK so far. Just OK. Headache and a sore throat but OK. Hmmm mm good
halls taste good.
Thats me just venting on the stir-crazy of winter + sick time. Im getting a
little loony with out the Sun in the sky and constant cough at the
house.... I know its not just me, others at work are in the same boat with
the winter blues and sickness.
Peace

Resolutions 2008

Well 2008 is here. I actually managed to stay up for is and have a drink. I
heard pots and pans, fireworks and what I am assuming gun fire as well. The
snow made it seem like the year is starting over like a new page or
parchment. Then the reality set in I had to go outside and shovel and salt
the walk and drive. Thats OK too. Its sweat equity in your home. More than
just the $$$ you put in to the house.

I have a few resolutions that I will try to keep through the new year. None
too lofty (I hope).

- Get down to 225-235 pounds by Late September
- spend more time with my kids ; playing as well as school time
- spend more time with my nephew - he's a good kid and I want to be a part
of his life.
- spend more time with my family as a whole ; Mom , dad and the rest. My
Grandmother is 95, she strong but the clock is always moving forward. I try
to send pictures of my kids and write to her. The sad part is my uncle that
takes care of her told me that I'm the only one that sends her cards and
pictures.
- the kicker is to look younger than I am. I'm 39 and I would like to look
like I'm 28-35. I guess I want to say is to take care of my self a little
better. Eat better and less (portion control). It will be hard with the
gray in the hair and beard.
- This one is hard to control; is to see more of my friends. All of them.
My work schedule make this one very very hard to do. Many hold parties on
Saturdays or Sundays. With only one real day off a week it make s it hard
to get to. Time to do things for me and to see them is always short.
-I said this one last year and I failed; To actually take time off and take
a vacation; even if its to stay home and fix/paint/sleep/BBQ/read in short
anything!! I still have 38 hours that I did not use from last year. Sure
I'll get paid for them but I could have and should have taken the time off.

I guess that these are generally the resolutions of 99% of the people who
do them. I hope I keep at least one by years end.

Peace and hope in the New Year.

--I scrapped the photo/weightloss blog. My camera is too old and big to
haul around with me to take snap shots. My phone takes pics but again its
an older one that does not down load to a hard drive. I'm trying to write
more in the new year. I have a project that I am going to try. Its a take
off of the movie with Michael Keaton. I forgot the title but he leave
videos to his kids while hes dying of cancer. I want to leave letters to my
sons and nephew. The Project is tentatively called ; Open letters on
becoming a man. I'll post the site in the next few days. Thanks again.