Late Friday night the DC area was rocked by high winds, hail, and heavy rain. We lost power at 11pm along with over 800,000 others. Saturday was long and unpleasant--our temperature hovered in the 100 (37-38) degree range. The highlight of the day was taking a very cold shower before heading out to run a few errands. "Run" isn't the right word, since I did them as slooowly as possible. Right now we're borrowing wi-fi from my wife's office as I charge my netbook and iPod (and enjoy their a/c).
It's supposed to be just as hot on Sunday and Monday. I'm not sure when our power will be restored. One of the local power companies assured its customers that within 24-48 hours they would have an estimate on how long the power will be out. Is it just me, or is that crazy???
We're going to play "Guess what this used to be" tomorrow as we clean out the refrigerator.
Hope you're doing well. Enjoy what's left of your weekend!
Edit: Still waiting for electricity @ 9am on Tuesday.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Dark Side - Revenge
If this is not the most evil thing I've done, it’s definitely in the top 2 and I've forgotten the other one. It involved my very first girl friend—Dawn. We were 14. I spotted her during soccer practice. She was a cheerleader (the best one). She agreed to be my girl.
For 3 weeks we held hands, smiled at each other and talked in the hallways. Then just out of the blue she broke up with me. It might have been because her family didn’t like “Catlicks”, as her grandpa pronounced it. "Might have been" but wasn't. I soon learned the true reason. Her actual boyfriend (an older boy) had been out of town and now was back. She had used me as a temporary replacement--cheating on the other guy. I wasn't really upset when we broke up, but the new info made me mad. I wanted revenge and I had a plan. An evil plan!
Step 1 - I used all the charm I had (at 14—hahaha) to win her back. It worked. I convinced her to break up with the older guy so we could get back together.
Step 2 – I bought a couples ticket for the upcoming school dance. She was on restriction for a bad grade in Spanish. She wasn’t allowed out of her house after school.
Step 3 – I invited her to the dance. She gave me an annoyed look and reminded me she was on restriction. I replied, “Oh that’s right. But I bought a couples ticket. Do you mind if I ask someone else?” Her jaw dropped and she starred at me for about 5 seconds before she stormed off.
I sold the ticket for face value, went to the dance alone, and met my second girl friend there. Victory! Right??? Wrong! At first I thought “now we’re even”, but my annoying conscience kept making me think about it. (Is there a way to remove that thing???) I felt awful about it. As you might have guessed, guilt worked its magic and I've never considered doing anything like that again. Not even when karma paid me back and I found myself in a similar situation in high school.
During my short dating career, two girls cheated on their boyfriends with me (without my knowledge of the situation). It was unpleasant. By any chance have you had a similar experience?
PS – I bumped into Dawn four years later and we had a great talk. I apologized. She apologized and gave me a hug. I served my penance. So please don't yell at me about this. :)
For 3 weeks we held hands, smiled at each other and talked in the hallways. Then just out of the blue she broke up with me. It might have been because her family didn’t like “Catlicks”, as her grandpa pronounced it. "Might have been" but wasn't. I soon learned the true reason. Her actual boyfriend (an older boy) had been out of town and now was back. She had used me as a temporary replacement--cheating on the other guy. I wasn't really upset when we broke up, but the new info made me mad. I wanted revenge and I had a plan. An evil plan!
Step 1 - I used all the charm I had (at 14—hahaha) to win her back. It worked. I convinced her to break up with the older guy so we could get back together.
Step 2 – I bought a couples ticket for the upcoming school dance. She was on restriction for a bad grade in Spanish. She wasn’t allowed out of her house after school.
Step 3 – I invited her to the dance. She gave me an annoyed look and reminded me she was on restriction. I replied, “Oh that’s right. But I bought a couples ticket. Do you mind if I ask someone else?” Her jaw dropped and she starred at me for about 5 seconds before she stormed off.
I sold the ticket for face value, went to the dance alone, and met my second girl friend there. Victory! Right??? Wrong! At first I thought “now we’re even”, but my annoying conscience kept making me think about it. (Is there a way to remove that thing???) I felt awful about it. As you might have guessed, guilt worked its magic and I've never considered doing anything like that again. Not even when karma paid me back and I found myself in a similar situation in high school.
During my short dating career, two girls cheated on their boyfriends with me (without my knowledge of the situation). It was unpleasant. By any chance have you had a similar experience?
PS – I bumped into Dawn four years later and we had a great talk. I apologized. She apologized and gave me a hug. I served my penance. So please don't yell at me about this. :)
Friday, June 22, 2012
Summer's Here - Giveaway Winers!!!
Summer is officially here, so it's time to announce the Almost Summer Giveaway winners. As usual, I used the random number generation feature in Excel to assign numbers to each entry, with the lowest numbers being the winners. The sort revealed our Grand Prize winners and runners-up (also winners) are (highlighted in yellow):
Herro Hachi Winners Flo Tea Room Winners
Herro Hachi winners, please visit Herro Hachi to pick out your prize (any t-shirt of your choice) and e-mail your selection and mailing address to Kym (kym@herrohachi.com). As the HH Grand Prize winner, rooth may select any item available on the Herro Hachi website.
Flo Tea Room winners, please contact Harmony (flotearoom@hotmail.com) to let her know if you'd like her to mail your gift certificate or if you'd prefer to pick it up (I've heard rumors about the Candian Post being slow). As the FTR Grand Prize winner, Elisse...gets a gift certificate--haha, sorry, the gift certificates are all the same. But you still have the distinction of being the Grand Prize winner! :)
Thank you all for being here, all of my blog friends, I truly appreciate it--you're among the great people who make blogging fun. Also, thank you Kym and Harmony for making the giveaway so easy (for me).
Okay, let's all have a great summer!!!
PS - I don't think I used the word "winner" enough in this post. :)
Herro Hachi Winners Flo Tea Room Winners
Herro Hachi winners, please visit Herro Hachi to pick out your prize (any t-shirt of your choice) and e-mail your selection and mailing address to Kym (kym@herrohachi.com). As the HH Grand Prize winner, rooth may select any item available on the Herro Hachi website.
Flo Tea Room winners, please contact Harmony (flotearoom@hotmail.com) to let her know if you'd like her to mail your gift certificate or if you'd prefer to pick it up (I've heard rumors about the Candian Post being slow). As the FTR Grand Prize winner, Elisse...gets a gift certificate--haha, sorry, the gift certificates are all the same. But you still have the distinction of being the Grand Prize winner! :)
Thank you all for being here, all of my blog friends, I truly appreciate it--you're among the great people who make blogging fun. Also, thank you Kym and Harmony for making the giveaway so easy (for me).
Okay, let's all have a great summer!!!
PS - I don't think I used the word "winner" enough in this post. :)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Weird Significant Others (a brief repeat)
They can be weird creatures...me included. Heck, maybe I'm the
president of the weird spouse club. But this is about my wife. She did
something pretty funny recently.
One morning as I was wiping the sleep from my eyes and trying to remember exactly why I had to go to work, my wife said, "You were in big trouble when I woke up. I was SOOOO mad at you because of what you did in my dream last night. But I decided to forgive you!"
Forgive me?!? But I'm not complaining. This has happened before...and usually she punches me in the arm before I'm fully awake. She doesn't hit hard in those situations, so I've decided it's cute.
PS - I posted this when I first started blogging and almost no one saw it.
One morning as I was wiping the sleep from my eyes and trying to remember exactly why I had to go to work, my wife said, "You were in big trouble when I woke up. I was SOOOO mad at you because of what you did in my dream last night. But I decided to forgive you!"
Forgive me?!? But I'm not complaining. This has happened before...and usually she punches me in the arm before I'm fully awake. She doesn't hit hard in those situations, so I've decided it's cute.
PS - I posted this when I first started blogging and almost no one saw it.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Oh, My Pa-pa...
to me he was so...different. The "different" relates to some of the lessons he shared--like how to take out the neighbor's crazy-mean German Shepherd. But I covered that last Father's Day. This year I want to repeat the oddest story about my dad. If you're squeamish, you might want to skip to the bottom!
Back in the day, where my dad grew up, boys were not circumcised until just before they started school. When it was my dad’s turn, he was rewarded with a bag of candy for taking it like a man. Later, his younger brother asked if he could have some of the candy. My dad told him no, it was only for boys who'd been circumcised. My uncle was afraid of doctors, but he really wanted the candy. My dad came up with a solution. He'd watched the doctor and was sure he could handle the procedure. Yes! He grabbed his mother’s shears and took his little brother down to their barn. A few minutes later their younger sister walked in, saw blood, and ran screaming for help. Fortunately that uncle was fine—he went on to father 4 kids. No DNA confirmation though. ;P
Hearing that story (and others) helped me to understand why my dad seemed to believe childhood was boot camp for adulthood--and he was the drill sargeant. He knew first-hand the trouble kids could get into and he wanted to keep us out of it. But I was such a good kid, I really didn't need to be kept out of trouble. Sure, there was the mushroom incident, and the slingshot incident, and the cast iron skillet incident, and the...but I'm getting off track. The point is that I rarely got into any trouble (that my dad knew about). Like any thoughtful child, I did my best to not cause any problems (that my dad would hear about). That was my gift to him. It was the least I could do. =)
PS - I joke, but I really was a good kid--the one in the group who steered his friends away from doing dumb things. Usually! Sometimes dumb ideas were just too well camouflaged as good ideas. Live and learn. lol
Back in the day, where my dad grew up, boys were not circumcised until just before they started school. When it was my dad’s turn, he was rewarded with a bag of candy for taking it like a man. Later, his younger brother asked if he could have some of the candy. My dad told him no, it was only for boys who'd been circumcised. My uncle was afraid of doctors, but he really wanted the candy. My dad came up with a solution. He'd watched the doctor and was sure he could handle the procedure. Yes! He grabbed his mother’s shears and took his little brother down to their barn. A few minutes later their younger sister walked in, saw blood, and ran screaming for help. Fortunately that uncle was fine—he went on to father 4 kids. No DNA confirmation though. ;P
Hearing that story (and others) helped me to understand why my dad seemed to believe childhood was boot camp for adulthood--and he was the drill sargeant. He knew first-hand the trouble kids could get into and he wanted to keep us out of it. But I was such a good kid, I really didn't need to be kept out of trouble. Sure, there was the mushroom incident, and the slingshot incident, and the cast iron skillet incident, and the...but I'm getting off track. The point is that I rarely got into any trouble (that my dad knew about). Like any thoughtful child, I did my best to not cause any problems (that my dad would hear about). That was my gift to him. It was the least I could do. =)
PS - I joke, but I really was a good kid--the one in the group who steered his friends away from doing dumb things. Usually! Sometimes dumb ideas were just too well camouflaged as good ideas. Live and learn. lol
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Almost Summer Giveaway
I'm overdue to show my blog friends appreciation for your visits, comments, and also making me feel welcome on your blogs. So it's time for a summer (northern hemisphere) giveaway—one that includes t-shirts and food! Is there ever a bad time for free t-shirts and food???
The giveaway is open to anyone, but current followers and commenters will receive additional entries.
What can you win? The t-shirts are very cool Herro Hachi (Making Funny fashionable) originals and the food is from the amazing menu at Flo Tea Room (in Vancouver and Richmond, BC). T-shirt winners will be able to select the shirt of their choice from Herro Hachi and the Food winners will receive a gift certificate for Flo Tea Room. I live roughly 2,900 miles (4,670 kilometers) away from the closest FTR, so I won't be able to join you. Maybe next year! =)
Entry Rules:
1) (One entry) Leave a comment saying you want to enter—and please specify if you’re entering for the shirts, the food, or both. You lucky people who live in the Vancouver area or are planning to visit there (or have a friend there who could use a good meal) can enter for both.
2) (Bonus entry) Tweet “Win giveaway from @herrohachi and @flotearoom http://ricademus.blogspot.com/2012/06/giveaway-summertime-and-winnin-is-easy.html” and put a link to your Twitter page in a comment below. (I'm an existentialist--if I can't see the tweet, it doesn't exist. ;P)
There will be multiple winners of both, so the odds are good that YOU will be one of them. When you win, I'll ask you to send your contact information directly to Kym (HH) or Harmony (FTR) and they will send out your prizes.
Entries must be in by midnight (Pacific time) on June 20th. The winners will be announced June 22nd.
The giveaway is open to anyone, but current followers and commenters will receive additional entries.
What can you win? The t-shirts are very cool Herro Hachi (Making Funny fashionable) originals and the food is from the amazing menu at Flo Tea Room (in Vancouver and Richmond, BC). T-shirt winners will be able to select the shirt of their choice from Herro Hachi and the Food winners will receive a gift certificate for Flo Tea Room. I live roughly 2,900 miles (4,670 kilometers) away from the closest FTR, so I won't be able to join you. Maybe next year! =)
Entry Rules:
1) (One entry) Leave a comment saying you want to enter—and please specify if you’re entering for the shirts, the food, or both. You lucky people who live in the Vancouver area or are planning to visit there (or have a friend there who could use a good meal) can enter for both.
2) (Bonus entry) Tweet “Win giveaway from @herrohachi and @flotearoom http://ricademus.blogspot.com/2012/06/giveaway-summertime-and-winnin-is-easy.html” and put a link to your Twitter page in a comment below. (I'm an existentialist--if I can't see the tweet, it doesn't exist. ;P)
There will be multiple winners of both, so the odds are good that YOU will be one of them. When you win, I'll ask you to send your contact information directly to Kym (HH) or Harmony (FTR) and they will send out your prizes.
Entries must be in by midnight (Pacific time) on June 20th. The winners will be announced June 22nd.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Blog Talk
Do you talk with people about your blog? I do, but only a select few. The first time I mention the blog to someone, he or she usually tries (and fails) to hide their surprise and, perhaps, confusion. One exception is my birthday twin. I call her that because we share a birthday and (surprise) she has a twin. LOL, I know, I wasn't very original on that. We don't see each other often, but we make sure to get together for lunch at least once a year (guess when). She works in publishing and is interested in "new media".
Anyway, last year she was working on a project with a former boss of mine and we invited him to join us. During lunch she asked if I was still blogging, so I gave her a quick update. The former boss was amused. At first he didn't say anything. Then he said he thought it was great, in a smiling, mocking way that told you he meant the opposite. I didn't react because he almost always lobs up a big softball for me to hit when we talk. I waited and before long, he delivered. He said he didn't understand why people would embarrass themselves by writing a blog.
My reply: "It could be a little embarrassing. That's why I blog under your name." *evil grin*
He was taking a bite at the time and nearly choked on a tasty piece of chicken satay.
How do your non-blogging friends react when you talk about your blog???
PS - My wife is the only real-life person I'm sure reads my blog. She's my fact-checker, making sure my stories are accurate (and don't make her look bad). :P
Anyway, last year she was working on a project with a former boss of mine and we invited him to join us. During lunch she asked if I was still blogging, so I gave her a quick update. The former boss was amused. At first he didn't say anything. Then he said he thought it was great, in a smiling, mocking way that told you he meant the opposite. I didn't react because he almost always lobs up a big softball for me to hit when we talk. I waited and before long, he delivered. He said he didn't understand why people would embarrass themselves by writing a blog.
My reply: "It could be a little embarrassing. That's why I blog under your name." *evil grin*
He was taking a bite at the time and nearly choked on a tasty piece of chicken satay.
How do your non-blogging friends react when you talk about your blog???
PS - My wife is the only real-life person I'm sure reads my blog. She's my fact-checker, making sure my stories are accurate (and don't make her look bad). :P
Friday, June 1, 2012
Looking up!
Looking up is such a positive expression and I have to admit I really enjoy actually looking up--at clouds, trees, mountains, the moon and the stars. Just the thought makes me smile. But in this post I mean looking up as in getting better, moving in a positive direction. I received a sign yesterday that my luck is going to be really good in the coming weeks.
For the first time in my life, a bird pooped on me!
As I walked back to my office from a meeting yesterday I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to discover a bird had gotten me on my left shirt sleeve, at bicep level. I keep a spare shirt in my office (wasn't a boy scout, but I try to be prepared), so I did not have to wear the soiled shirt the rest of the day. I washed the sleeve pretty thoroughly before putting the shirt in a bag. My daughter was happy to hear about this--birds have gotten her twice. Now she's not the only target in the family.
I have heard it's supposed to be a sign of good luck in your future. But honestly, I generally have pretty good luck anyway. And I was VERY lucky yesterday--lucky I wasn't looking up and standing two inches to the left when the bird fired at me. LOL!
So, have birds ever shared "luck" with you????
Have a great weekend, folks! :)
For the first time in my life, a bird pooped on me!
As I walked back to my office from a meeting yesterday I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to discover a bird had gotten me on my left shirt sleeve, at bicep level. I keep a spare shirt in my office (wasn't a boy scout, but I try to be prepared), so I did not have to wear the soiled shirt the rest of the day. I washed the sleeve pretty thoroughly before putting the shirt in a bag. My daughter was happy to hear about this--birds have gotten her twice. Now she's not the only target in the family.
I have heard it's supposed to be a sign of good luck in your future. But honestly, I generally have pretty good luck anyway. And I was VERY lucky yesterday--lucky I wasn't looking up and standing two inches to the left when the bird fired at me. LOL!
So, have birds ever shared "luck" with you????
Have a great weekend, folks! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)