I like the UK. I've been there a few times on vacation, and God willin' and the creek don't rise, I'm going back for a few weeks next spring. The natives speak a strange dialect of Amurican, but the beer is good, and I'm actually a fan of the food. I could really go for some Bangers and Mash right about now.
But this is nuts. Are you kidding me? You take a pic of your kid and next thing you know, Chris Hanson is asking you to "have a seat right over here".
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Vacation
Last week was one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever taken. We didn't go anywhere, and we didn't do anything special. I just sort of hung around the house got some stuff doing that I'd been putting off. Like getting the garage to the point where I can actually get my car into it. I always liked the way my grandfather put it. "I can't understand why people will park a $40,000 car out in the elements just so they can keep $500 work of junk from getting wet.
But I digress. After having spent 5 whole days not-at-work, I was rather rudely reminded that vacation is an illusion. I spent extra time in the weeks preceeding my time off getting everything ready for my departure, and I'll spend several weeks after I get back taking care of everything that went on while I was gone. All else benig equal, I didn't get any actual time off. those 40 hours worth of work were just re-distributed. Ugh. At least I got to spend more time with the Kid than normal. Which was nice.
I also re-discovered a talent that I had forgotten I even had. I'm a firm believer that everyone has a talent for something, and if you can make money doing it, so much the better. Although I have played an instrument in the past, I don't consider myself a musician. I'm no good at "art" (drawing, painting, etc.); I can hold my own in a kitchen, but not to the point where I'm really good at it. Unfortunately, my talent is one that I can't make money with. I have the uncanny ability to find the one thing on TV at any given moment that my wife will absolutely hate. Usually it's something educational, military or history related. Last night it was the rather innocuous Canadian import "Corner Gas". I just watch it and giggle, but she doesn't understand what I'm laughing aboot.
But I digress. After having spent 5 whole days not-at-work, I was rather rudely reminded that vacation is an illusion. I spent extra time in the weeks preceeding my time off getting everything ready for my departure, and I'll spend several weeks after I get back taking care of everything that went on while I was gone. All else benig equal, I didn't get any actual time off. those 40 hours worth of work were just re-distributed. Ugh. At least I got to spend more time with the Kid than normal. Which was nice.
I also re-discovered a talent that I had forgotten I even had. I'm a firm believer that everyone has a talent for something, and if you can make money doing it, so much the better. Although I have played an instrument in the past, I don't consider myself a musician. I'm no good at "art" (drawing, painting, etc.); I can hold my own in a kitchen, but not to the point where I'm really good at it. Unfortunately, my talent is one that I can't make money with. I have the uncanny ability to find the one thing on TV at any given moment that my wife will absolutely hate. Usually it's something educational, military or history related. Last night it was the rather innocuous Canadian import "Corner Gas". I just watch it and giggle, but she doesn't understand what I'm laughing aboot.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Good Morning
I apologize if anyone has been waiting for another post, but I have taken this week off to do some decorating, shopping, and just relaxing around the house. The 4 inches of snow we got yesterday made it that much better.
I also bought us a new toy. Funny how I have to buy all this stuff since the kid came.
I also bought us a new toy. Funny how I have to buy all this stuff since the kid came.
Is is me, or did she say "da-da"?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Moss Point Memories
In between the turkey and football of Thanksgiving, I usually take the time to reflect on members of my family that we don’t get to see often enough.
My mother’s parents used to live in Moss Point, Mississippi, a “suburb” of Pascagoula on the Gulf Coast. My Aunt, Uncle, and 2 cousins lived around the corner from them in the same neighborhood. Because my family was usually somewhere on the northeast coast between Washington, DC and Maine, we didn’t get down there as often as we would have liked. One of the first pictures of all of us together was in 1971. The youngest one in the picture is me. Yes, I used to be a blond.
My memories of the too few times we spent there are as thick as the steamy summers on the Gulf Coast. It’s hard to hear cicadas and not be brought back to those evenings with my sister and cousins. We spent our last long summer there in 1981 (I think) while dad was on deployment. It’s funny what you remember about times like that. The doorknob on the front door on my grandparents’ house was in the middle of the door, not on the side. Every few evenings, a truck would roll though the neighborhood belching a fog of mosquito-killing insecticide. Every afternoon, the shrimp boats would return to Pascagoula, and the air would positively reek with the indescribable smell of commercial shrimping. Every lawn had Bermuda grass, which was completely alien to a northerner like me.
My grandfather built a boat he named the JADE, an acronym of the first initials of his 4 grandkids. Living not a mile from the coast, we went out on that boat seemingly every day. In 1974, we got a picture of the 4 of us on the boat.
My grandmother died not too long after that trip in 1981, and my grandfather moved out of the house a year after that. He passed away in 2002. Over the years it’s been harder and harder to get us all together. There were brief holiday trips over the next few years or so, but the 4 grandkids all went their separate ways. One cousin converted to Canadianism (as my sister says) and lives in Vancouver. My other cousin now lives in Asheville, NC. My aunt and uncle are settled into a comfortable retirement in Tupelo, MS. My sister is in Texas, my parents are retired in Northern Virginia, and I’m here in Annapolis.
Last time the 4 of us were together was in the high desert of Oregon in the summer of 2003 for my grandfather’s funeral service.
My mother’s parents used to live in Moss Point, Mississippi, a “suburb” of Pascagoula on the Gulf Coast. My Aunt, Uncle, and 2 cousins lived around the corner from them in the same neighborhood. Because my family was usually somewhere on the northeast coast between Washington, DC and Maine, we didn’t get down there as often as we would have liked. One of the first pictures of all of us together was in 1971. The youngest one in the picture is me. Yes, I used to be a blond.
My memories of the too few times we spent there are as thick as the steamy summers on the Gulf Coast. It’s hard to hear cicadas and not be brought back to those evenings with my sister and cousins. We spent our last long summer there in 1981 (I think) while dad was on deployment. It’s funny what you remember about times like that. The doorknob on the front door on my grandparents’ house was in the middle of the door, not on the side. Every few evenings, a truck would roll though the neighborhood belching a fog of mosquito-killing insecticide. Every afternoon, the shrimp boats would return to Pascagoula, and the air would positively reek with the indescribable smell of commercial shrimping. Every lawn had Bermuda grass, which was completely alien to a northerner like me.
My grandfather built a boat he named the JADE, an acronym of the first initials of his 4 grandkids. Living not a mile from the coast, we went out on that boat seemingly every day. In 1974, we got a picture of the 4 of us on the boat.
My grandmother died not too long after that trip in 1981, and my grandfather moved out of the house a year after that. He passed away in 2002. Over the years it’s been harder and harder to get us all together. There were brief holiday trips over the next few years or so, but the 4 grandkids all went their separate ways. One cousin converted to Canadianism (as my sister says) and lives in Vancouver. My other cousin now lives in Asheville, NC. My aunt and uncle are settled into a comfortable retirement in Tupelo, MS. My sister is in Texas, my parents are retired in Northern Virginia, and I’m here in Annapolis.
Last time the 4 of us were together was in the high desert of Oregon in the summer of 2003 for my grandfather’s funeral service.
The old neighborhood in Moss Point was hit pretty hard by Katrina. I doubt either of those houses is still standing.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Over the River
and through the woods. To Grandmother's house we go.
Another beautiful weekend following a ho-hum week. My poor wife took the red-eye from LA on Thursday night, only to get to the airport at 6:00 on Friday morning to discover a car with a dead battery. I was already on my way to work, so I turned around to do something. Anything.
Did I mention that it was "my" car that had the dead battery? Felt a little responsible, I did.
Got everyone home safe and sound with the help of the Kid's godmother and drove to grandma's house for her birthday weekend. A good time was had by all, I'd say.
"Excuse me, but I can't seem to find my yak. Have you seen him?"
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sometimes It Just Can't Get Any Better
My apologies for not posting in over a week. Life gets hectic sometimes, and blogging takes a back seat. Audrey was sick for a few days last week, I was on duty the previous weekend, and the wife is out of town all this week, leaving me to play Mr. Mom until Friday.
Having said that, Audrey's friend Julianna came to visit last weekend. As I spent the day toiling in the basement of the largest office building in America, I missed this beautiful scene.
Seriously, Isn't this picture just so full of awesome you can't stand it?
Friday, November 2, 2007
"I Give You Full Marks for Bravery"
Pirates Tell U.S. Navy to Back Off.
Wow. That's gotta take some stones, eh? These pirates must not have been watching the Military Channel much, because they've clearly missed all the shows on what total bad-asses SEALs and other Special Ops guys are.
I don't know what it says about when the State Department spokesman feels need to remind us that "...These are not pirates who will remind you of Johnny Depp. These are quite different kinds of pirates."
Dur...
More importantly, do they remind us of the other star of the movies?
Wow. That's gotta take some stones, eh? These pirates must not have been watching the Military Channel much, because they've clearly missed all the shows on what total bad-asses SEALs and other Special Ops guys are.
I don't know what it says about when the State Department spokesman feels need to remind us that "...These are not pirates who will remind you of Johnny Depp. These are quite different kinds of pirates."
Dur...
More importantly, do they remind us of the other star of the movies?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)