money...

Money. Such a stupid part of our life. Completely overrated, a pain in the butt when ya don't have enough, yet pretty handy when we have enough of it, and potentially destructive when we have too much of it.

What really makes life interesting is when timing is impacted by money. As we know by earlier posts I wound up in the hospital after a life-threatening injury. All that costs money, and in my case as somebody who did not posess health insurance at the time, it adds up to a LOT of money. Over $20,000 to be exact. To add to this I got bills yo'!

Well, we'll skip that for now, but I would like to tell ya a bit of what's been goin' on lately. This month I've been able to resolve close to $18,000 worth of the medical bills thanks to the hospital approving me for a charity loan, thus writing me off and forgiving me of my debt.

THANK YOU FREE-MARKET!!! Prime example of how universal healthcare is not needed and private organizations prevail to benefit the lives of others.

Anyways, the main chunk of the debt is gone, I'd love to work on that sucker and pay the rest of it off to be done with it once and for all. I'd gladly do so if it weren't for all the other crap that costs money until then.

As if I had nothing to kill my wallet, my transmission decided to poo out recently ($$$!!!), I needed some new clothes for work ($$$), contacts ($$$), Christmas presents ($$$), and to add insult to injury, my noble computer for the past 5 years suffered a catestrophic blow when the harddrive suddently died while installing an update. :(

That was REAL bad. I kinda rely a bunch on my computer, so to have suddenly go "thpppppt" was a super slap to the face.

Oh well. It's all good. As long as we keep a good attitude about it, we'll realize that it's only money and somehow, we'll be ok in the end.

So close and yet so far...

It is an entire month after I ordered my mount and yet I still do not have it within my possession. I have discovered that it is STILL just sitting all packaged up on a loading dock waiting for White Santa to just bring it to me. I am sad because somebody is sleepin on the job.

I guess tomorrow I'm going to have to put on my mean face, because this is absolutely ridiculous. I've worked in shipping before and I know for a fact that when you have a scheduled pickup, it's not that hard to hand over a 3 lb. package to a dude who simply just scans it and by golly-heebie-jeepers... imagine that, it's off to it's proper destination.

Grr... I need a cookie.

The other santa from the block...

So I just received word that the CP-e mount is not coming from Brown Santa. No... it's actually coming from his pasty white twin.

WHITE SANTA!

There is very little significance between these two santas. Both bring joy when they arrive at our doors within 7-10 business days...


Sometimes, like most brother's they have been known to argue and quarrel about whom is more superior. Honestly I don't give a hoot. I just know they are currently bringing me this!


So, here's today's awkward experience. I'm making my way back to the clinic after dropping off a specimen, and as I exit the stairwell I enter the hallway, see a lady bent over tending to a baby in a stroller, which is normally no big deal. What made this awkward was not so much her, but her husband who decided to make his move by raising hand high in the air to give her the spank of the century. This could have just been odd timing for me, (and truthfully I wouldn't really care anyways) but what was funny about it all was the look on the husband's face when he realized I had just walked in on the scene and froze dead in his tracks 'cause there was no way he was getting out of that one. He was busted. As I tried everything I could do to stay composed and just walk by as if I didn't see anything, his face just shot bright red, he just smiled and as I made it a little down the hall, I hear him laughing and whispering to his wife about what just occurred. I take my hat off to him though. I mean shoot, you're married. Why not?

As I was opening the door to our clinic, I could hear a crack of thunder in the distance. Job well done sir! Lord Vader is proud of you!

Waiting for Brown Santa...

That's right folks, straight from the north pole (only next door) is the fat man in red's jolly ol' cousin. Unlike his shy and trespassing neighbor, Brown Santa is a little nicer. When it comes to waiting for that new bike, mom's flowers, camping gear, shoes for your girlfriend, (or in my current case, a CP-e Wishbone bottom transmission mount), all you have to do is tell him what you'd like, and he arrives within only a few days!

I just can't wait. I've been a good boy and the final piece to my new transmission is bound to arrive any day now. :D

I've been going crazy, there was a slight hic-up at his workshop and he was never told about my mount, thus causing me to wait a whole month for it :( but everything is OK because he was sorry and that he'll be back at my house within the next couple days. *JOY!*

Speaking of Santas, for those of you who know and really love me, here are a few things off of my list..

Black Diamond Mesa Tent5.10 Tennies
Line 6 Micro Spider amplifier
Guitar Stand
Tripod microphone stand w/ boom

Turkeys and Zombies

Before you see another word, I'm just gotta start off by saying "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!" Hopefully it was a good one.

We had a typical Turkey Day, just went over to my Dad's and ate until we collapsed on the couch and watched the Dallas Cowboys slaughter the Oakland Raiders. After all was said and done I went to my brother's house to help move some boxes and test out his media room since it now has ambient lighting. The best way to properly do so is by playing some Left 4 Dead 2. Great game. :D

Pretty much it's the same thing as the origional Left 4 Dead, only harder, more zombies, new characters and a wider variety of "toys" to battle infected scum. Apparently, in this story, the plot is based on 4 other survivors who are left behind as they watch rescue helicopters leave without them, forcing the heroes to blast, chop, and even chainsaw (yes I said chainsaw) their way to safety. Very fun game, but I wouldn't let little kids play or watch.

I'VE GOT GAS

Not to rip off Dumb and Dumber, but I think if I ever owned a propane or fuel franchise, I'd simply have to name it that...

Speaking of gas, I actually got some. But not for me, it's for my fish tank. I finally decided to install an air-bubble system and buried a couple air rocks (one 5" circular and a 1' bar). I put them right next to each other and laid the log on top of it all, and so far I don't think it looks too bad.

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we all know what that's about. Of course it's mainly to remember how thankful we are and what not, plus a great reminder of American history. At the same time, we also should never take lightly that this grand day is also a day where one may stand proud... well, more slouched in pride on a couch with their belt undone after all they may have consumed.

Yes, I'm talking about food. Lots and lots of food. A fantastic excuse to get fat. Ever notice what happens right after Turkey Day? No, not Black Friday. I could care less about about a stupid excuse for a bunch of psychopaths killing each other at 5 a.m. all because they can save a couple bucks. No... I'll be happily hibernating in my food coma. What I'm talking about is what really happens after Thanksgiving.

"Hey man, how was your Thanksgiving?"
"It was good, ohhh man I'm still full!"
"Oh geez, I hear ya. How much did you eat?"
"2 full plates"
"2! HAH! I ATE 3!!!"

Yes, I speak of the food competition. Whether it's among family, friends or just oneself, out there... somewhere... is an individual ready to consume as much as they can humanly stuff in. Does this contribute at all to any beneficial manner to mankind? No. Is it healthy? Not really... Do I mean to inspire anybody to do something stupid or potentially harmful? Of course not, but for those whom know who they are, Thanksgiving dinner is an annual duel between man and plate. Just try not to puke. That makes for great memories and even better photos. Not so great at the table. Or on the carpet... or in your mom's plant vase... maybe on a anthill, but certainly not on a duck.

Folks have a wonderful and great Thankgiving and try to remember those oh-so-fun family conversations. Even when one of the kids gets gas.

and now for something completely differant, here's a vid for your enjoyment...


Y
":ch

Where were ya when they passed out the brains???

Seriously folks. It happened again. This morning was entirely different from yesterday, with lots and LOTS of bright happy sunshine. What gets me though, is as I'm entering the on-ramp to a tollway, I look ahead and behold not one but 3 construction workers just STANDING in the middle of the road! Any cones? Nope. Any sign of any shape, size or form? Na-ah. The 2 of them are just standing around watching as another is scooping small clumps of mud off the road. So like before I'm forced to slow the crud down as the dude with the shovel is just looking at me before moving to the side and waving "hello".

Now don't think that I'm hating on these construction dudes, but ya know, it's called "safety" for a reason... Next time give us drivers some sort of advanced warning before we hit y'all.

Not much I can think about except for a random craving for waffles...