Category: general

Where I put something when I’m too lazy to categorize it.

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a total homo for weddings


Wow, I only wrote on thirteen out of the twenty-one normally-writeable-on days this month. That’s likely my worst blogging ratio on a month in quite some time. Vacation and family in town’ll do that to a blogger, though, I suppose. I ask no forgiveness. That’s just what I do. Deal.

Last night I decided to randomly make some banana bread after cleaning up the kitchen post-dinner (I love baking, for some reason), and then decided not to write at all. That’s just what I do. Deal.

Now I’m sitting here thinking about work, and how I don’t want to go there tomorrow.

I do that often, actually (if I may write a sentence or two off-topic): I think about work a lot. Actually, I think about everything a lot – I pretty much over-think nearly everything I think about. Not like some sort of paranoid obsessive thinking, just thinking things through from multiple angles. In the case of my over-thinking approach to work, I’m convinced this is part of the reason I’m successful at the sawmill. It may sound conceited, but I feel like my morning-shower, on-the-john, driving-to-work, drifting-off-to-sleep mind-wandering about all things career helps me turn over rocks I otherwise would miss. Yeah, OK, let’s get it on.

Lately, Keaton’s got this new thing she does which kinda unnerves me. We’ll be playing around on the floor: me propped up against the little half-wall in our living room and her climbing all over me like I’m a jungle gym. She looks me in the eye, cocks her head a bit and move in closer – her gaze fixed on my nose. As she moves in closer still, I can see her eyes locked onto my nostrils as she raises her hand to point. Slowly, as if she’s doing something with terrible gravity, she stretches her finger to my face, touching my nostril and saying “Uhhhh-gooooo” with such a pained look of concern on her her face it makes me wonder if there aren’t worms crawling out of my nose. Her little face looks like she saying, “Oh Lord, dad… there is… really something wrong with your nose.” Can make a guy self conscious, y’know?

This past weekend Sharaun and I attended a wedding. I’m a total homo for weddings, a complete pussy for ’em. It’s hard for me not to get all choked up when I see fathers’ “giving away” their daughters (I felt that way long before Keaton) or sweet little flower girls doubtfully poking their way down the aisle. But the clincher is always the public proclamation of raw human emotion (or, at least, the proffering of such). I get drawn in by all the sincerity and weight of the whole affair, and almost always find myself having to redirect my wandering mind to somewhere else so I don’t end up in tears. But, I like weddings.

Before I go, Ben says this guy looks like me. Does this guy look like me? Goodnight.

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redeemed by keaton


Happy Wednesday peeps. Before we begin, let me fulfill one of yesterday’s blog’s ending promises and go ahead and link right up-front to the new batch of pictures for July I added to Keaton’s gallery. Check those out and enjoy.

Now that that’s over with…

I spent some amount of time today trying to scheme a way to earn frequent flier miles when paying my mortgage. The idea of spending so much money on a regular, monthly basis sparked the thought: Why not earn free airline tickets at the same time? And, while I was at it, why not pay down my fear-they’re-gonna-live-forever college loans with a mileage card and earn free flights that way too? As those are really my only two large recurring payments, I figured I should do my best to get some bonus when paying them. I’m sad to say, however, that, after much research, I wound up empty-handed. Seems there’s just no real way to earn miles for paying your mortgage… or is there?

On most of the frequent flier forums online, getting miles for mortgage payments is referred to as the “holy grail” of points programs. Apparently, back in early 2002 – some folks did indeed locate that “holy grail,” by way of a Bank of America mile-earning debit card. Being a debit card, and not a credit card, the user had only to have a Bank of America account in which there was money to draw from. Points were earned whenever money went through the debit card. Turns out, some enterprising frequent-flier found out that most merchants who sold money orders accepted debit cards as a form of payment (credit cards are prohibited when purchasing money orders, for obvious fraud concerns, but since debit cards are backed by actual cash – they are allowed). This Bank of America miles-earning debit card user published his miles-for-mortgage exploit: Use the debit card to purchase Western Union money orders, then use those money orders to pay his monthly mortgage. Viola! Miles for mortgage! The scheme made such a splash, it even got picked up by the nations’ most respected financial rag, the Wall Street Journal. The attention, however, prompted Bank of America to quickly put the kybosh on the scheme by denying points for money order purchases. Spoilsports.

So, I was right all along… there’s no way. Bummer.

During my research though, I ran across some detailed discussion of something I’d already heard of before, but only in passing: “mileage runs.” Frequent-flier mile junkies will scout out and recommend the cheapest multi-hop “runs” for miles, breaking the end result down to a cost-per-mile number. Often, these runs can be long, even overnight, trips through four, five, maybe six destinations before returning to home base – but with a price so cheap that the miles earned on the long journey are worth the trouble. Mileage runners often talk about achieving “gold” status simply with a few bargain-basement runs.

If I were single, I think I’d do this. Might be a fun way to spend a couple days: flying to several US cities, eating in different airports, listening to music – all without the burden of a single piece of luggage. And anyway, I like traveling, especially when I’m alone. It makes me feel “important,” or something. Some of these guys even plan mileage run “meet-ups” in airport lounges or bars during plane changes. For some reason, that calls to the entrepreneurial wanderlust in me. Yeah… mileage running.

Sorry I don’t have more. Goodnight!

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a segue-segue


Good evening friends. Gonna talk mostly music today, sorry if that’s not your bag.

But, before all that… Recently, I mentioned that the epic hike Anthony and I had planned for our coincident sabbaticals (sabbatici?) was “off.” Turns out, Anthony has turned around his poor luck and our hike is now officially back “on.” Unfortunately, however, we’ve had to reduce the planned itinerary due to a more limited span of overlapping available time betwixt us. Fortunately, though, we still get to do it. The current plan involves trekking only half the originally planned route, meaning about a week-solid on the trail instead of fourteen days.

Tonight, after mowing the lawn, edging the lawn, and blowing off the sidewalk, I came inside and did some hardcore music research – the likes of which I’ve not done in quite a while. Inspired by this super-interesting (to me, at least) article I stumbled on the other day, which alleges that much of Jimmy Page’s prodigious musical output was either pilfered or recycled, I decided I didn’t know quite enough about that part of the Beck/Page/Clapton lineage.

So, while at work I queued up Jeff Beck’s Truth to jog my memory, and when I got home I hit the end-all-be-all of music knowledge, allmusic.com, to attempt to figured out what Yardbirds albums I should own but didn’t. Then, list in-hand, I headed off to my favorite legitimate music download site (hahahah!) and began the deluge of bits. In the end, I grabbed the the entire Yardbirds discography, as well as a boxset, and some live and rare material. Tomorrow at work the music in my headphones will be more than a soundtrack to multitask by, it will be an education.

New tunes have their burden tho, friends… as I once again I find myself wanting a new iPod to hold everything I have. Woe to me…

Hey, speaking of mowing the lawn and music, let’s use those things as a nice segue into some reminiscing, shall we? OK!

Today, I decided to change up my normal routine of iPod on random while cutting the grass and instead put on Wishbone Ash’s 1972 classic, Argus. I freaking love that album, it somehow manages to combine the best “eerie” aspects of early Black Sabbath, the crunch of Led Zeppelin, and the progish melodies of Yes. I absolutely love that album. Interestingly enough, I only “discovered” Argus a mere ten-ish years ago. (Cue tinkly chime things and warbly-wavy video cut).

It was way back when I worked at Omni Records & Tapes in Merritt Island, Florida. Man, I loved that job. I was an “assistant manager,” which was a BS title that meant I got paid slightly more than minimum wage for the additional work of dealing with unruly customers, staying late to count the dosh and do the books, and getting the alarm code and a set of keys to the store. Even still, it was my dream job. A music freak employed in a music store, treading up and down the aisles, making recommendations, surprising the “old folk” with his knowledge, etc. Plus, I got to buy CDs at a dollar over wholesale, and I had access to almost any “import” I wanted. I swear I spent a full 50% of my paycheck right back into that store. The owner must’ve loved me, I basically worked for CDs.

Anyway, I worked there with a fellow by the name of Bob. Bob was a “true” manager, sitting one rung above my mere “assistantship” in the record store pecking order. Bob and I were fast friends from the start, sharing a common love of good music, beautiful women, and computers (my word, how’s that for a lonely-nerd resume?).

Warning, segue-segue: I had, in fact, had my first encounter with Bob years before I got my job at the record store. As a teenage student of classic rock-‘n’-roll, I had once come into Omni in search of an obscure early 70s record called Woyaya, recorded by the African rock-funk outfit Osibisa. At the time, my buddy Kyle and I had a copy on vinyl we’d liberated from his father’s LP collection – and I was trying to locate a CD copy. I can remember Bob’s quizzical look when I asked if he could special order the CD. “How’d you end up looking for that record?,” he asked, obviously familiar with it himself. I told him I had a vinyl copy, doing my best to exude the “in the know” nonchalance of a beyond-his-years music nut. Anyway, Bob managed to find that CD as an import, and special ordered it for me.

Whoa…. off-track here, let’s bring this back.

‘Twas record-store-manager Bob what introduced me to Wishbone Ash, and today’s lawn-mowing background jam, Argus. He used to use the downtime on the weekends to root through the discs in the store and turn me on to new tunes. One Sunday it was Wishbone Ash – I remember some young kid came in with his dad, and, as an aspiring guitarist, had his ears piqued by the disc on the sound system. That kid bought Argus before I even had a chance to listen to it all the way through. I did, however, immediately reorder two copies – one for restocking, and one for me. Hey, thanks Bob! Oh, and, related – ’twas record-store-manager Bob who also turned me onto Jeff Beck’s Truth, which I also mentioned above. That particular turning-on, however, happened just last Christmas when I was home in Florida. Keep the suggestions coming, my friend, I’m still happy to be your understudy.

Well, that’s it for now. Be sure to watch the blog this week for some new pictures of baby Keaton, and this years “half-best-of” list… I promise they’re all in the chute.

Goodnight.

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as many a young lad do become


Good evening folks, and a happy Tuesday to ya. T’was a rare humid day here in Northern California, somewhat cloudy by late afternoon and evening threatening rain. But, we got no rain. Came to the conclusion today that I need a bigger iPod. Or, alternately, another iPod altogether on which I can store only certain items – I’m thinking Beatles bootlegs, for instance, or bootlegs and live-albums in general. My 60GB just ain’t getting it done anymore…

When I was a young lad, somewhere around the tender age of twelve or thirteen, I became quite enamored, as many a young lad do become, with the beauty of the female form. And, while this blossoming interest in all things woman was less of something scholarly or noble, and more of something perverse and puberty-driven, my motivations didn’t provide with my enough shame to want to hide my burgeoning libido. So, I took the conspicuous approach – and plastered my pre-teen lair with racy imagery. Being a kid, however, and still having parents – I couldn’t easily cover my walls with the likes of Playboy centerfolds… I instead had to go with what I could get. And, that, my friends, is how the small alcove on the top bunk where I spent my nights became wallpapered with images cut deftly from the JC Penny catalog. That’s right, I had underwear models, swimsuit models, and the like, all taped from top-to-bottom in some crazy collage of unintentional soft-porn.

I can remember flipping to the middle of the thick color catalog, to the index, and looking for the keywords which would become my new decorations: “bra,” “bikinis,” “panties.” At the time, I don’t know why I wasn’t more embarrassed by my scantily-clad homemade pinups – it’s terribly humiliating to think back on now, and I can remember being somewhat disgusted with myself the day I tore it all down and replaced it with an equally idolatrous picture-collage of black-and-white images of the Beatles I’d clipped from a public library book (without regard, I might add, for others who may have one day checked out said book). But, at the time, I remember carefully tracing the edges of the models with the scissors, being careful not to shear off any boob- or butt-profile in doing so. What a disgusting, and outwardly needy-seeming, thing to do, right? What was wrong with me?

Finally, in the you-thought-you’d-never-see-the-day department: Keaton is, as suddenly as of just this morning, cutting her top two front teeth. Yes, that’s right. This near 17-month old baby of only two teeth is finally giving her bottom two buckies a couple buddies to hang out with. Her sleeping tonight has been fitful, she wakes often crying and we go in to put some numbing stuff on them. Funny that most parents have probably already experienced this by 17 months, but not us. Her teeth are just slow starters, I suppose. I’ll post some pictures of her with her shiny new top-fronts as soon as they’re nice and erupted.

Goodnight.

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family came to town


Hey there folks, remember this blog thing here on the internet where I used to write? I didn’t give up on it, or anything, I just took a nice break from writing, coincident with the vacation I took as family came to town. And, after a week-long hiatus from blogging, I must say I feel refreshed and happy for staying away briefly.
My only regret?: It’s now Sunday night and tomorrow I return to work. My only solace?: Only six more weeks until I’m off for two months… just counting down now.

We’re fresh off a two-night camping trip to one of our favorite local spots where, for the first time, we brought some rafts to play on the river we pitch tents alongside. I love the campsite so much, it feels remote, but is actually within an hour of civilization – and every time we go there I feel ultimately relaxed and taken-away. However, in all the times we’ve been there, we’ve never really played in the river much, aside from an occasional short swim in the frigid waters. This time, though, I had a blast rafting up and down the quarter-mile stretch of river that flanks the campgrounds, braving some easy “rapids” and simply floating around with the bottom half of a Newcastle cooling in the snowmelt waters.

Keaton seemed to enjoy herself too, and didn’t appear to mind the sand in her diaper or the thrice-daily smearings-on of SPF 45 sunblock at daddy’s less-than-gentle hands. She slept fairly well in the tent and liked hanging out by the water’s edge. I told Sharaun that my only wish would be that she were a little more on the “adventurous” side. Y’know, wanting to run down hills or venture off into the water with dad and stuff. But, I suppose I love her cautious guarded personality as much as I do every little bit of her, so no real complaints. Besides, her willingness to simply sit on a lap and enjoy some quiet time is kinda nice.

Oh, and, as a pleasant byproduct to telling the story of my time in the cold river – I think I’m ready to finally say that I’m “over” my cold-induced urticaria. I spent all weekend soaking in those freezing waters with nary an itch, hive, nor anaphylactic fit. The Lord be praised, I’ve been healed.

I’m gonna close this down now, but I’ll be back again tomorrow and hopefully onto my regular posting schedule this week. Also, I promise this week will see the “half-best of” list published… as it’s super behind right now. Goodnight folks.

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out loud regardless


Tonight I can’t seem to get enough to eat. We got home from dropping off Sharaun’s folks at the airport and I played with Keaton for twenty minutes before putting her to bed, Sharaun split right away for her volleyball game. And, even though we’d had dinner shortly before leaving for the airport, I came home and ate a heaping bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios (in whole milk – I’ve become addicted to its creamy sweetness ever since we’ve started keeping it in the fridge as part of Keaton’s diet). After the Cheerios, I finished off the leavings in a bag of Gardetto’s snack mix we’d taken down to the cabin with us last week. After the Cheerios and the Gardettos, I chewed a couple pulls of jerky, the sweet-hot and peppered kind; also obtained on that trip down south for the Fourth.

And now I sit here, listening to the new Animal Collective album for what must be the seven-billionth time this week (I’m not getting into it now, but let’s just say this album is waay radder than the stuff which spurred me to write this). Anyway – I think I’ve eaten enough now, and it’s time to burn some calories on the keys.

I love my time alone like this. I think it’s made even more important in this particular instance because we’ve had company the past week. Not that I didn’t enjoy our time together with family, it’s just nice to sometimes have the run of the castle. I can put on music at my preferred volume (the volume Sharaun calls, “Turn that crap down! How can you think that guys whiny voice sounds good on top of all that treble?”), I can eat sweet and salty snacks, and I can fart out loud (OK, I fart out loud regardless… don’t hate). It was kinda cloudy this afternoon, and I think I even saw a couple raindrops manifest themselves – which made it cool enough for me to open the windows when I got home: another bonus of my alone-time, the fresh air. Don’t ever let the opportunity to sneak away for some “you time” get away from you, folks. And I’m not even talking about masturbation (although that’s probably up there on the list); I’m just talking about good ‘ol leave-me-alone with my thoughts time. Get it.

In anticipation of my near four hours of travel time tomorrow (the airport time, the in-flight time, and the public transpo time from the airport to the Oregon sawmill), and, as a first for me, I’ve loaded up my iPod with some movies. I’ve got Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (still haven’t seen it), the BBC’s controversial rebuttal The Great Global Warming Swindle, and Michael Moore’s newest, Sicko. A regular card-carrying Sierra Club Democrat’s playlist, I reckon. I’m looking forward to seeing them all, but I think I’ll begin with Sicko, mainly do to the insane amount of press it’s been getting lately all about the internets. I never figured myself as someone who’d watch movies on his iPod, that tiny screen always seemed a roadblock to my enjoyment. But after a test with some short clips I found it quite passable and somewhat convenient. I’m gonna need a bigger iPod…

Before I go, one last little morsel; indulge me: I’ve written several times about the writings of this writer, but I found this semi-recent blog entry of his simply perfect, as blogging goes, by my standards, at least, or something. Oh to write like that.

Well, as much as I wanted to mow the lawn and get a haircut before leaving for Oregon – it just ain’t gonna happen. Until tomorrow then, when I should have ample time to write – Goodnight.

iPhone. Ron Paul. Bush. Iraq.

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pretending to remember


Happy Monday night to you this Tuesday morning, my friends. Tomorrow is my this week’s Friday, as after that I’m away from the sawmill for a full seven days. Seven days, folks. Then it’s up to Oregon for some displaced work (y’know, work away from your day-to-day desk always feels different). After that, I have one single, solitary, lone-wolf day back in the office before I’m off for yet another week. It’s going to be a fast and spotty July. And, when I get back on the 23rd, it’ll be a mere month or so away from the beginning of my sabbatical. Two. Months. Vacation. ‘Nuff said. Let’s get this over with.

Remember way back when I was all obsessed with the bermudagrass infestation in my lawn? I went out and bought some serious poison, which I applied twice with some success and then didn’t follow up with the prescribed regimen and thus wrecked any small progress I made, ‘member? Anyway, I shoulda stuck with the regimen, y’all… I really shoulda. My lawn is at least 60% bermuda these days… I swear. Those little tendrils snake their way out of the boundaries of the lawn and onto the bare concrete of the driveway and sidewalks, where they stand out like blinking neon: “Dave got weeds.”

The other morning on the way to work, I came up with a novel new game to play while alone in the car. Speaking imaginary eulogies for those I know; practicing, out loud, the from-the-heart tributes I’d give in their honor at their funerals. May seem macabre, but I got a lot of enjoyment out trying to condense the essence of those I know down into small little speeches. I would revise my speech as I went, looking for honest, impactful, “real” things to say. It works best for those I know best, of course – easier to talk honestly about someone you understand (or think you do). This isn’t to say I want anyone I pretended-to-remember to actually slip this mortal coil, I guess I just enjoy hearing myself talk.

Goodnight.