Driving By Braille

As is my standard practice, I have followed up last months blogging binge with a blogging hangover. There has been a lot going on lately keeping my away from the keyboard. Ralphie and Steve were down for a visit. Casey’s computer died and I had to reload the OS and all the programs. My company laid-off 300 workers and I sat around wondering if I would be one of them. I wasn’t. My prayers go out to those who did get laid off. Having been through it just last year, I know it is never easy. I had an old friend and his family from high school over and we had a great time. It’s nice to know that he is still a great guy. His wife and kids are great, too. I always breathe a sigh of relief whenever I come across good kids.

Not having blogged for a while, I have found myself developing thoughts more than that writing them. This was due in large part to the then-impending job cuts. There is a sobering feeling that accompanies an event like that, though I don’t have to say that. Your lively hood usually depends on someone else’s decision and that is always a little unsettling. It’s nice to be the ‘master’ of your destiny, but it’s always important to remember that you are never really are. It’s nice to pretend sometimes.

Driving by Braille is a term my friends and I used when we were driving after we had perhaps a bit too much to drink. The idea was to let the driver side wheels run on the center road dividers.  That way you knew you were driving with the road.  In reality, it didn’t work like that.  I spend a lot of my life driving by Braille, but in a more philosophical sense. 

Leela is going to be baptized next week.  We are all looking forward to that very special occasion as she is joined the Body of Christ.  All sorts of family and friends will be in town for it.  Should be a very good time.

I bought a new Bluetooth headset, so I can call my friends and family again. 

That all for now. 

And so it goes.

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Annoyances

This is a list of things that annoy me.  Some of the items come from other lists of things that annoy other people but don’t really annoy me.  Three of these items come from Nixon’s famous ‘Annoyance’ list.

Try and guess which ones really annoy me and which ones don’t, but are funny enough to make this list.  I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

1. People making that ‘quotes’ sign with their finger when they talk.

2. Fat free cheese

3. Hair gel that over-promises and under-delivers

4. Hyphenated words

5. The U.N.

6. Weak beer

7. Bags of Texas Air

8. LOL cats that don’t make me LOL

9. Those inspirational posters hanging everywhere. I come on! I am not an eagle, nor a bridge, nor a flyswatter.

10. Excessively negative people

And so it goes.

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Happy New Years!

Well, tonight we say good-bye to a rather tumultuous year, at least for our clan.  We saw the loss of a job, an unanticipated move, the gain of a job, the blessing of a better place to live and the great blessing of another child.  There were also the incidental victories.  I got my second Bag ‘o Crap from Woot and I and won my fantasy football league. 

Looking back at the year, I feel the same way a forest must feel after a fire.  The fire hurt, but now there is room for growth and renewal.  In 2009 Sammy will start kindergarten and Mary will start pre-school.  I will continue (God willing) in my new job and Casey’s Speech-Pathology practice serving the Catholic Schools will grow.  We will wrap up the year with our first Christmas in Boise and our first Christmas in Idaho since Casey and I were married. 

We lost our dog, Cassie this year.  She was a good dog.  A good dog.  Noelle started wearing an eye patch to help with her Anisometropic Amblyopia.  For each day she wears her patch, she gets a gold dollar to use to buy a hamster.  The hamster won’t live as long as the dog (at least I hope not.  I don’t want a 16 year old hamster).

We are going to strive to cut our current garbage output from four bags a week to three bags.  We have cloth diapers for Leela and Mary will be potty-trained this year.  We tried last year, but it just didn’t take.  Too much going on. 

We replaced our dinner table one that will allow us to seat all six people and keep food on the table.  That may not sound like much, but it is really a huge deal to us.  Ralphie and Steve were nice enough to provide the table. 

Ralphie was able to spend a month with us while Leela finished cooking.  The kids loved having Grandma Ralphie around for so long.  So did we.  Mary is still asking, ‘Where did Ralphie go?’. 

This year my blog enters its third year and I will pass the 100 post mark.  I don’t know if that is really a big deal, but hey, I am running out things to say.

I hope all of you have a wonderful 2009 and that it is full of the Lord’s blessings.

And so it goes.

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Introducing Leela Joy

Hi everyone. I have decided to let my newest daughter, Leela Joy make her first blog entry. Keep in mind that she is only three days old, so don’t be surprised at what she says….

Wow. This place sure is bright. It is a lot brighter than where I came from. I must admit that I don’t really know where that is, or in this case, was. I just know that this place is brighter.

I noticed almost from day one (six days ago) that this place is filled with strange people of different sizes. There is a ‘No-well’, a ‘Sam-e’, and a ‘Mary Leela’. I am beginning to suspect that I am the ‘Mary Leela’, but I am not sure. Most of the time they call me ‘Mary’, then ‘Leela’ and makes some cryptic comments about getting the name wrong. Maybe if they just picked one name, it would not be so difficult.

Another thing I find interested is the amount to time people spend in near silence around here. I think that I am something very special because whenever people are around me, they speak with an awed, almost reverent hush. At first I thought it was because they did not want to disturb me, but I am beginning to think that it is out of respect for who I am. That rocks!

Today I made a trip somewhere I had not been before. It was very, very bright and colder than I am used to. The ceiling was very high and light blue with a single light way up at the top. I didn’t stay long because the guy who carries me around didn’t want me outside too long, just long enough to be exposed to something called ‘nature’. It seemed important, so I went along. All in all it was not bad.

There are also other people who come around sometimes, but don’t seem to be here as much. There is a ‘gram-e’, a ‘popa’, a ‘pat’ and most curiously, a ‘ral-fee’. The ‘ral-fee’ is around more than most and she is taller too.

All I do is eat, poop, pee, cry and sleep. I am really good at all of them.

I am also good at being cute.  Look:

I decided to put in a picture of my big sister, Mary.  She’s cute too.  I think she is the ‘Mary’ of ‘Mary Leela’. 

And so it goes.

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Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Matthew A Rodriquez, one of my best buds and fellow Bookhouse boy.  One of the best things about Matt is his name, his middle name, or lack thereof.  You see, A is his middle ‘name’.  It is not short for any dumb-ass names like Anthony or Azzula.  A, as you all know, is an indefinite article.  You could correctly pronounce his name as Matthew, A Rodriquez.  Matt has many family members and it would not be fair to call him Matthew, The Rodriquez.  He is one of many, hence, A. 

So happy birthday Matt.

Oh, play around with the Bookhouse hyperlink.  It is something called a split link where part of the word takes you to a certain site, and another part to another site.  This is an example of some fancy-smancy HTML coding I developing to sell to some guy in Nigeria.  He said he has a lot of money for me if I do it. 

And so it goes.

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Rossman

So one of my best buddies, Ross, was in town.  It has been about two years since I saw him last.  He, along with two others and myself form a mysterious and secretative group call The Bookhouse Boys.  Let me tell you about it.

In 1992 or so, my friends Matt, Ev and Ross decided to go out drinking.  Nothing new there.  What else are a group of high school seniors and recently graduated kids going to do?  Here in Sacramento, it rains a bit.  This was one of those nights.  Long story short, we got our Mickey’s and headed out to Prarie City.  As I said, it was raining and being wet and drunk is not as fun as being dry and drunk.  We decided to go and knock on the door of this house owned by older couple.  My buddy Ev knew them.  We asked if it would not be too much trouble to into their old woodshed and drink.  They said, much to our surprise, go ahead.  There is some wood down there.  Just don’t burn the place down.  For the next five years we did almost all of our drinking down there.  Other than the four of us, only five or six others ever joined us during those days.  We had all sorts of great rules like, you have to bring at least two beers no one has ever had before.  We downed over 200 different kinds of beer.  Here is the best part.  We never removed a single bottle.  No joke, there must be over 1000 bottles down there. 

Where did the name Bookhouse Boys come from?  That is a blog for another time.

Anywho, Ross is on his way to take a new job in Tacoma.  Yeah!  At least he is on the west coast again. 

For those of you who read Dog Blog, Cassie seems to be doing better.  I don’t think she is going to get any better, but she has stablized.  I’ll keep you all posted.

And, I know you are all wondering, which beers did they have down there.  Here are all the ones I remember off the top of my head:

Airship AleAlleycat Amber Aktien-Brauerei Hell Amberbach American River Oatmeal Stout American River Vienna Amber Lager Anderson Valley Boonville Boont Amber Ale Anderson Valley Boonville Poleeko Gold Anheuser-Busch Black And Tan Ayinger Jahrhundert-Bier Bass & Co. Pale Ale Becks Beesting Honey Ale Belmont Brewing Co. Strawberry Blonde Big Red Ale Big Rock Magpie Ale Black Dog Ale Black Dog Honey Raspberry Ale Blueberry Ale Blue Herron Pale Ale Brasseurs Originale Beer Of Paris Budweiser Butte Creek Rolands Red Buzzard Breath Carmel Wheat Hefeweizen Cerveceria Del Pacifico Chimmy Cingcents Chimmy Premier Coors Original Coors Tail Fin Ale Copperhead Pale Ale Corona Extra Corsendonk Monks Brown Ale Cowboy Lager Damm Fine Beer Devil Mountain Black Honey Ale Die Blauen Squirrel El Dorado Ale Elk Mountain Amber Ale Erdinger Weissbier Estes Park Longs Peek Raspberry Wheat Estes Park Wild Honey Wheat Stinger Ale Eureka Black And Tan Faust Fischer D. Alsace Fram Boise Lambicras Ale Full Sail Ale George Killians Wilde’ Honey Georgia Wild Raspberry Ginneus Extra Stout Goldengate Wheat Ale Goose Island Blond Goose Island Honkers Ale Goose Island Kilgubbin Red Ale Grants India Pale Ale Grolsch Grolsch Amber Hassongs Haystack Black Heckler Brau Heineken Henry Weinhards Henry Weinhards Blackberry Wheat Henry Weinhards Honey Hefeweizen Henry Weinhards Ice Ale Henry Weinhards Red Henry Weinhards Walnut Stout Holzhausener Landbier Holsten Premium Hoopla Fischer Amber Humpback Ale Humpback Premium Honey Wheat Ice House Jamaca Brand Red Ale Jet City Ale Kokanee Labatts Blue Labatts Ice Lagunitas India Pale Ale Lagunitas Tacaloma Amber Ale Lake Tahoe Hefeweizen Lake Tahoe Kristall-Weizen Lake Tahoe Red Ale Lifemanns Frambozenbier Lost Coast White Beer Mac Tarnahans Amber Ale Mallard Bay Red Ale Maudite Ale Michelob Michelob Winter Brew Spice Ale Michelob Honey Lager Mickeys Mickeys Ice Mickeys Red Miller Genuine Draft Miller Original Miller Lite Miller Red Mississppi Mud Molson Export Ale Molson Gold Molson Ice Moosehead Mrs. Pluckers Malt Beverage Muenchener Murphys Irish Amber Naked Aspen Raspberry Wheat Napa Valley Ale Works Red Ale New Amsterdam India Dark Ale Nor Wester Blacksmith Porter Nor Wester Raspberry-Weisen Octoberfest Old Feziwig Ale Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout Oregon Blackberry Brew Oregon Hefeweizen Oregon Honey Beer Oregon India Pale Ale Oregon Wheatberry Beer Pacific Ridge Pale Ale Pacific Ridge Berry Wheat Beer Paulaner Munchen October Marzen Petes Wicked Ale Petes Wicked Maple Porter Petes Wicked Octoberfest Petes Wicked Pub Lager Petes Wicked Strawberry Blonde Petes Wicked Summer Brew Petes Wicked Winter Brew Phatboy Pinkers Munster Ale Pyramid Apricot Ale Pyramid Hefeweisen Rainer (Old) Rainer (New) Rainer Ale Railyard Ale Raincross Cream Ale Raspberry Redrum Ravensbrau Porter Rays Amber Lager Razor Edge Red Bone Red Lager Red Dog Red Hook Double Black Stout Red Nectar Ale Red Stripe Lager Red Tail Ale Red Wolf Rino Chasers American Ale Rino Chasers Lager Riverside Christmas Brew Riverside Pullman Pale Ale Riverside Seventh Street Stout Riverside Victoria Avenue Amber Ale Rods Rebble Rippin Beer Rogue Dead Guy Ale 1995 Rogue Dead Guy Ale 1996 Rogue Dead Guy Ale 1997 Rogue Old Crustatian Rowdys Perfect Amber Ale St. Ides Gold Premium St. Paulie Girl St. Stans Red Sky Ale St. Stans Whistle Stop Ale Salvator Samuel Adams Boston Lager Samuel Adams Creme Stout Samuel Adams Double Bock Samuel Adams Summer Ale Samuel Adams Winter Lager Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale San Andreas Earthquake Porter Saranac Adirondac Amber Saranac Black And Tan Saranac Pale Ale Saxers Lemon Lager Schnider Weisse Bier Scotts Ale 7Th St. Stout Shamnie Sine Sance Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Sierra Nevada Porter Slo Brewing Co. Brickhouse Extra Pale Ale Slo Brewing Co. Cole Porter Slo Brewing Co. Flying Dog Ale Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale Sparkys Golden Ale Spaten Spaten Optimator Spaten Premiere Spring St. Patrick Old English Spring St. Patrick Stout Star Raspberry Wheat Ale Stinelager Sutter Creek Powder House Ale Thomas Kemper Weizenberry Thomas Kemper White Timberline Blake Street Honey Ale Timberline Colorado Amber Ale Timberline Lemon Wheat Ale Truckee Amber Lager Truckee High Sierra Pilsner Tsintao Beer From China Two Dogs Lemon Brew Wacsteiner Premium Verum Watneys Creme Stout Watneys Red Barrel Weihenstephan Hefeweizen Weihenstephan Korbinian Weltenburger Kloster Asam-Bock Weltenburger Kloster Hefe-Weizen Hell Wheat Berry Beer Widmer Hefeweizen Wild Boar Wild Boar Special Amber

And so it goes.

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