Filed under: | Personal | The 48th State

Some a**hole in a Lexus cut right in front of me on the way home from work, from two lanes over, then slowed down to point threateningly not at me, but at some other guy in an SUV. Of course he slowed up everyone behind me too.
That did it. I reached for my cell phone and called 911 to report his rich-b***h a** to the Arizona Highway Patrol. He may be on his way home somewhere in Scottsdale (a rich-b***h town of course!), and I hope the Good Guys pay a call on him to let him know that someone who gives a damn about Public Safety reported him. That was fulfilling my duty as an American Citizen!

Filed under: | Personal

And I guess that’s a good thing for me right about now, with my non-standard schedule this week. About the only good thing about it is that I can stop by at BK for breakfast, instead of McDonald’s or Del Taco...which, BTW, has a smashing good shredded beef breakfast burrito...so new of a product they forgot to include it on their web site!
Whoop de freakin’ do.

Filed under: | Personal

I’ve worked four 10-hour work weeks since October of last year, where in addition to my weekends off, I get one other day off during the week, Normally this is either Tuesday or Thursday, and I use this day to run my errands.
Not this week. I have some training starting Wednesday for some “new” (rather, to reacquaint myself with some old) systems, so I can service clients in yet another part of the country. While I still start at 0600 today and tomorrow, I will work until 1430 for those days, then for the rest of the week it’ll be 0800 to 1630. These will all be with a half-hour lunch instead of an hour I would get under the 4x10 scheme of things. Whether I can sleep in to compensate is another matter entirely.
Now that I have you thoroughly confused....

Filed under: | Personal

On July 31, while I was in MIchigan on vacation, I sent the rent check to my landlord via USPS Express Mail. It was delivered at 1137 hours on August 1, and was signed for by the office manager.
AND THEY LOST THE CHECK!
I gave them two full weeks to find the damn thing, and they still couldn’t find it. So I placed a stop payment on the check just a few minutes ago, and informed the office manager (via e-mail) that I will be in their office tomorrow on my day off. It is both amazing and absolutely unbelievable that this incompetent staff could lose the frakkin’ check after the way it was delivered and signed for.
And while I am there, I will ask for their supervisor so I can write him/her/it and tell them the shoddiness of their operation...because this would make it the FIFTH TIME in the last five months that they’ve frakked up something with my records, and God only knows how they’ve treated other tenants. I’m done with these b*st*rds come October 31.

Filed under: | Personal

I “woke” to the sound of thunder & lightning at 2-ish. Sure enough, it was a monsoon storm! So I turned around and went back to sleep and woke up at 0400. After the crappy day I had yesterday, I figure I deserved the extra hour of sleep; besides, hearing rain during the night helps me sleep better.

Not only that, but the storm cooled temperatures down to a mild (for monsoon, that is!) 79 degrees! High of 113 today.

Filed under: | Personal

0830 EDT - At AZO. It’s been raining most of the morning so far; I noticed it when I got up five hours ago. Good thing too actually, as southwest Michigan has had a drought for some time...not like Arizona of course. And I didn’t escape the monsoon either, rain notwithstanding. All last week it was hot and humid.
This trip has been a mixed bag for me. Mom came down with pneumonia on Tuesday, so I’ve been taking care of her all week like the good son I am. And I am. However, all of my other friends...save two...were unavailable, and I am quite disappointed in them.
Aside from my mom and brother, there really isn’t much else holding me emotionally to this Great Lakes State. Next year is my 30-year high school reunion, so if I do decided to attend, it’ll be an extended (4-day) weekend trip, and not for a full week. I think that’s fair enough.

1105 CDT - At ORD. I’ve already been here two hours, my connecting flight to PHX should be in about an hour. At least when I landed here, it wasn’t raining, so I didn’t get soaked. I decided “cram it” and forked over $6.95 for access to Boingo so I can file this report. At least I stayed in touch with the rest of the world while I was at home.

1515 MST - I am back in PHX and at my apartment. At least the truck is relatively clean!

Filed under: | Personal

...and then it hit me yesterday...I figure I’d better post it today.
35 years ago today, we (that is, Dad, Mom, my siblings, and I) moved back to the good ol’ US of A from Asmara, Ethiopia (now the capital of Eritrea), to a little burg named South Haven, Michigan. Dad retired from the Navy and he had some of his relatives there. This is where I grew up. There are a few pix from South Haven’s yesteryear (and some other, more modern photos) in the Gallery. In fact, what I will do is while I’m up there during vacation next week (Yay!) I’ll recreate this photo as the same harbor looks today.
Anyway, back to the post here. when I came back to the States, I experienced a whole bunch of things all at once which I didn’t have overseas: McDonald’s, color TV, a culture shock if you will, from which it’s taken all this time to recover from. In some ways, I still haven’t. Even that, compared to all the stuff I saw especially in Asmara and less so in Naples, Italy (Dad’s previous post), made me all the more thankful to God that I was born an American.
And in case you’re wondering what the forecast is for my vacation…

I think I like that.

Filed under: | Personal

I had a bad day today at work. Not the ciients, not the client managers, not the coworkers. Two friends who are splitting up. And I love both of them. Seeing this after 16 years together breaks my heart too, and I felt their pain all damn day.
See I didn’t figure this out till I got home tonight. I just wish I had someone close to me to come home to and talk about it. Sigh....

Filed under: | Personal

Happy Father’s Day to all the readers out there who are fathers. It’s just another day for me; I attempted to phone my son to see how he is doing. His mother answered, told me he wasn’t there, and hung up.
Par for the course. Now I wonder if he even lives under his mother’s roof....

Filed under: | Personal | War on Terror

Well it’s been almost a year since this blog was banned by the Indian Government...for telling the truth about the REAL Evil which threatens the world. But my posting of this file on another forum, which clearly shows how Hamas treats its enemies...even if they are from the same religion...got me a “special warning.” Click on the thumbnail to read the warning, which lasts for 45 days.
What’s that saying? ”There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.” Merely another example of how Liberals see the world as they wish it to be, while Conservatives see the same world for what it is.

---

UPDATE (06/17/2007, 0530 MST): And that’s followed up by a letter from the site’s owner, stating that he wanted to ban me outright. I think I’ll take a vacation from that bastion of el cubo thought for a while...besides I’ve had worse Father’s Day presents.

Filed under: | Personal

Now this one I remember, probably because it was in color and not black & white. Why, when gas is 3 bucks a gallon, would I want to be driving a harvest gold Dodge Monaco (built with modern tech), from the back seat? Perhaps it’s also because there was also a group of executives checking this car out...I just so happen to have a national executive visiting my workplace today.
Or maybe it was because it, like so many automobiles of the day, had a huge back seat and was suitable tor, shall we say, “extracurricular activity.”
AHEM!

Filed under: | Personal

I am at a loss for words.
I just found out that Allan C. Kelly, The Skipper over at BMEWS, has passed away. I don’t know all the details, but I feel terrible for his family. I am praying real hard that God will keep his sons and all his relatives in His care as they mourn for Allan. I got to know him over the last three years since I’ve been in Arizona, and he was one of the main forces toward driving me to better educate myself regarding firearms and the Second Amendment. When I actually fired a weapon for the very first time back in April, he was so proud and gave me a whole bunch of information:

TOTALLY EXCELLENT! That’s some might fine shootin’, pardner. You will find little difference between the 9mm and the .40 caliber. The 9mm is basically a .380 in metric. The .45 will kick like a mule but it sure makes a sweet noise and punches a major hole.
I have a 9mm Taurus in stainless steel, with gold trim and pearl handle grips. It’s a pimp gun that I keep around for show. For self protection I have the ugly, black, square Glock 30 compact in .45 ACP. For firing range fun I have a Ruger P245 full size M1911 .45 ACP. Then there’s the .22 LR Match Grade pistol for competition. Then there are the .... never mind.
Go forth and play with different ones before you purchase. You’re obviously holding a good grip from the grouping. Once you buy a preferred firearm, get used to it and move your distance out to 25 yards and eventually 50 yards to test your eyesight. Read up on how they work. Learn how to disassemble them. Understand how a bullet’s trajectory works and what is sighted in at 10 yards will be 4” higher at 50 yards.
You have entered a whole new world of fun and security. Always remember that Mr. Gun is not your friend if you mistreat him or fail to follow safety rules. And NEVER point a loaded weapon at something you don’t intend to shoot. Watch your breathing while firing. Exhale slowly and squeeze the trigger in sync. Keep both eyes open as you sight the firearm on the target. Always wear safety glasses and ear plugs. Grip the pistol with both hands, left hand over right and squeeze the trigger with the right pointer finger, with the trigger resting on the first or second pad of the finger (I prefer the second because I have BIG hands).
...
Just some of my father’s wisdom passed down to me and now along to you.

Allan I’m going to miss you a lot. Please help God watch over us all.

Filed under: | Personal

My four-day holiday weekend is over, having taken a vacation day yesterday to tack onto the Memorial Day holiday. Here’s my schedule for the rest of the week:
• Wednesday: Work
• Thursday: Scheduled Off Day...Another appointment at the chiropractor. YAY!
• Friday: Work
What’d I do? Stayed home. Can’t complain, really.

Filed under: | Personal

It’s kinda hard to avoid this function when one of my teammates, who got her US Citizenship LEGALLY late last summer, will be delivering her second baby, a daughter, next month. So the boss decided to hold one for her before she gets to go on maternity leave. She told me she’s done with the kids part and her husband is fine with that; they weren’t expecting this one to come along. Of course, some couples do have a good reason for that.
Being a guy and not having gone through such an event for almost twenty years, I actually found this to be exciting. I got her a gift card from Wal-Mart. And she’s only 26 too...just a kid! At least I will be quite happy for her and her husband, and that is a positive step for me.

Filed under: | Personal

I normally don’t post a first story this late in the evening. When I got up this morning I just didn’t feel like it, and resolved to do so when I got home tonight.
It sure was nice to get together with my fellow team members outside of work, at a sports bar, and just shoot the breeze without having water cooler conversations full of rumors. Shot some pool for the first time in many years...and I won!
Now that is a good way to end the week.