I *heart* Keith
Most mechanics have a bad reputation. Most people think mechanics are out to rip you off by suggesting repairs that are not needed. I recently sent my truck to have some work done. I wanted a new serpentine belt put on it, wanted the brakes checked and fixed and the coolant flushed. I sent the car to Keith. Here's what happened:
- I supplied the belt (cost $40) and Keith put it on for free
- He took the tires off, looked at the brakes, said they're fine - No charge
- He said my truck doesn't need new anti-freeze ever really and if it were his truck, he wouldn't do it.
So what I expected would cost $200-300 turned out costing me only $40 for the belt. An honest mechanic - and a good one. Just for the dealership to change the belt, they'd charge me $100, brakes and a coolant flush would be another couple hundred.
If I spent years in college...
How depressed would I be to have to write stories like this:
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was delivered by C-section...
...Bruce Lansky, a self-described "baby name guru" and author of "100,000-plus Baby Names," says the name is "unusual without being silly."
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt is only the latest instance of a unique name bestowed on a celebrity child. Lately, names rooted in Hebrew are all the rage.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' baby was famously named Suri, which the couple claimed means "princess" in Hebrew (or "red rose" in Persian). Some doubted the Hebrew origin, instead suggesting the more accurate meaning was "pointy nose" from Todas, a language spoken by a Southern India tribe.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their second child Moses, born in April. Their first child, Apple, remains one of the most renown examples of esoteric names given to celebrity babies.
Right now, a truly original name for a celebrity's child might simply be Jack, or Jill.
I think I'd kill myself. What's even worse is that they actually pay people to write this because people cannot get enough of stupid celebrity gossip.
George Meets Flower
There's a reason George only goes out on a leash when taking a late evening walk. It's a damn good thing I stopped him before he could get close enough where both us of us would have been most unhappy to have seen this guy - that would be the black thing with the striped tail in the middle of the field. He's hard to see but I wasn't getting any closer.
That said, I did stop to take a picture and I had to draw its attention in order to even see him. Not the brightest move maybe, but George appreciated seeing his friend again.
Uwaga! Kanar on this train
I was riding the train downtown the other day for another fun meeting in Minneapolis - Really, enough with the downtown meetings. All I get when I get there is, "Oh, what time did you leave at?" Same time as usual 6:45, I just had to fight horrible traffic, find parking and use a hell of a lot more gas to get here by 8:00-8:30. - Anyways, so there I was sitting reading and the announcement came through that you must have a ticket to ride. Whatever. So at the next stop, the announcement comes on again and a cop gets on and starts checking tickets. Why the hell do they announce that they're checking tickets? All I had to do was get off at the next stop and wait for the next train to avoid getting caught. Stupid.
Stupid Air Conditioning
My parents suck. They took my car with its fully functional air conditioner and stuck me with their stupid Durango with broken A/C. Do you know how hot it has been? I called my mother to let her know about this A/C development. She said, "We were wondering when you were going to ask about that." HATE.
Dead Guy in the Bedroom
The drunk lady loves to tell stories. She loves to gossip. The problem is that she doesn't get out a whole lot so she tends to tell the same stories over and over again. Usually I'm okay with this because sometimes new details emerge. However, the story about how Ralph died in my house and laid there for seven hours while his family put the dock in at the lake is not something I need to have repeated. I also don't need the calculation that it is the third anniversary of him lying dead in my bedroom. He doesn't haunt the place so we're good with that, but my mother was really creeped out when the drunk lady mentioned it a couple days ago. Seriously, let's get some new stories.
I'm not getting married
I just wanted to clarify that for everyone. The drunk lady and her boyfriend have spent a lot of time trying to convince me that I should get married. Apparently, there is something wrong with being single. They even asked about my background - Are a lot of my relatives single? What does that have to do with anything? Do they think remaining single is a genetic trait?
Maybe it's the beer affecting their brains - They offered me one too.
That's it
I quit. I'm not talking to anyone ever again. If you're not happy with that, deal with it yourself. I'm sick of being blamed for everything. I'm sick of feeling like an idiot. I don't have to put up with it and I've decided I'm done with it. In fact, my decision has just been made, I'm leaving the state ASAP. People suck. I'm going where there are no people.
One of the best things about Poland...
Every morning I come downstairs and find this waiting just for me:
Usually by the time I get up (hey, I'm on vacation), everyone else has already been up and eaten hours earlier. All this and it's just for me. I love Danuta. We should import her.
HATE!
They broke my satellite, broke a $15 light bulb, eliminated the power to the outlet that powers my television, dropped nails in my driveway and remain completely oblivious to the fact that I am paying them thousands of dollars to do a job that should not involve any of the above mentioned problems happening. I hate them.
Why?
Bobbi e-mailed me today with the news that Hardy has a severely sprained ankle and will be out for 2-6 weeks. Dammit! I was supposed to get to see him play against the Twins this weekend. Now it looks like he may even be out when the Brewers come to Minneapolis. Stupid catcher blocking the plate.
Hills are high
Word of warning - When you are exhausted and in pain and you see the building you are trying to get to in front of you but obviously over a mile away and way, way, way up on top of a big hill, consider some other mode of transport besides walking.
Rest in Peace
Rudy
1993-2006
Happy Mother's Day
Apparently my mother's wallet was stolen yesterday. In an exciting turn of events, the theives ran up $40,000 in purchases in 20 minutes. Good job boys. While my dad was having a fit about possible identity theft (my mom's social security number via an old insurance card and driver's license were both in the wallet), my mother was more upset about losing her Hennepin County Library card and her special Polish wallet. George, meanwhile, was content to lay in my basement sleeping.
Best Restaurant Ever
With the bill came no crappy mints and no fortune cookies. No, instead everyobe got a free shot of vodka. I think restaurants should all adopt this method of saying thank you.
This just in...
One must always dry one's hair. No air drying ever. So says Sonia. Trzeba.
Oh Vodka, What have you done to me?
I love tequila. We all know that. Sadly tequila does not exist here. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of liquor and three beer runs in an hour is a pretty good reflection of that. Personally, I blame the lack of tequila on the pervasive influence of the Yankees. Even in a country where baseball bats are basically illegal, there is a horrendous Yankee presence. Still, I was shocked that someone would show up at a party wearing that NY hat. On chyba tez kocha Dereka Jeterego. Szkoda.
Anyway, after spending most of the evening trying to ply me with liquor, I finally gave in when offered vodka. And while Zurek brought out a bottle with very little vodka remaining, after the elders left, he brought out the good stuff. What can I say? There were not enough walls to hold me up really.
You know what's loud?
Birds.
I hate chirpy birds. Oh and owls.
Stupid Metro Police
I hate light rail - everybody knows that. Yesterday, I had to be downtown for a meeting. I wasn't really in the mood to drive there at rush hour and find a parking lot or pay for parking so I took the train. When there aren't millions of annoying kids and people going to the Twins game, it's not horrible. Although the guy sitting in front of me must be nearly deaf because wow, did he need to turn down the volume on his iPod. I sat and read a book the entire trip. Much better than sitting in traffic.
Anyway, after my meeting I decided to stay downtown until the Twins game. I only needed to kill four hours or so. I went to Target looking for contact solution - they failed me, I went to Walgreens looking for the same thing- they failed me. After that exercise in futility I walked to the Dome, sat under a tree and read for an hour or so until the gates opened.
After watching the Twins win, I walked out to the train. Now see, I hate the train and don't actually want to pay to ride it. Usually, I just pay one way. Lately however, the stupid metro police stand at the entrance to the LRT with flashlights to check your ticket. I dislike them intensely. Not because they are doing their job, but because they are on a power trip about the ticket thing. Anyways, I ditched the cops, thought about climbing over the rail on the other side where they aren't so diligent, but then decided to just walk to the Government Center and get on there. No ticket checkers, E got a free ride (my tax dollars went to pay for this horror. I shouldn't have to pay to ride it too).
Last time I mentioned the train, I talked about the snow globe at the Metrodome Station. At the Government Center Station they have this little pinball thing where you pull the handle, the ball goes on a stupid circular track and then a tv screen comes on and a guy starts waxing poetic about seeing fireflies downtown and following them to a place where he saw a raccoon and I wanted to kill myself at this point in his tale so I stopped listening. What the hell are these things? Seriously, if my tax dollars are spent on this crap, why can't they spend a little cash on a stadium? I bet you sponsored this crap Mr. Pogemiller. Why do you suck so much?Hmm...perhaps I should e-mail and ask him.
When the facade crumbles...
Have you ever looked at someone and thought, I'd like to be him/her? Everything appears to be perfect in some people's lives. They have the perfect house, the perfect kids, a lot of money and the leisure time to enjoy it. Then, you look deeper past the perfect shell to see the problems: depression, anxiety, need to be accepted. You see the need for everything to be perfect is a result of someone trying to cover up the fact that in reality, everything is not so perfect and you are most likely happier than they. What appeared to be social drinking is really heavy alcoholism. A bottle of wine a night, the need to get up in the middle of the night to get a drink, a few lines of coke when out with friends - these all make for an ugly life behind the perfect image.
It's not fun to watch people spiral down this path. It destroys not only their lives but the lives of family and friends. I look at my godfather and see the havoc he created in his life. He lost any rights to see his son and his ex-wife severed all ties with his family, denying the kid the chance to play with his many, many cousins at the family lake home or visit with and get to know his grandparents. He had all kinds of support from his family and friends. People desperately trying to get him to see what he was doing to himself and get himself dried out and away from the drugs. He could never seem to get himself on track. I believe my godfather is currently living on the streets somewhere near Nashville.
Watching someone else slide down this very slippery slope, unable to stop the inevitable fall to the bottom really makes you realize how bad life can get and that while yours may not be as perfect as you'd like, it's pretty damn good.
Sold Out
I ask you - when tickets go on sale at 11:00 AM, how can they be sold out by 11:01? Presale must be ridiculously large. I, of course, am blessed and got my tickets for Tuesday night easily enough and then got Wednesday seats when someone else had released them. It's getting harder and harder to get tickets for the NFR. I know I can always buy them on the street, but it's much cheaper to buy them from UNLV. Although last year I got a sweet deal on a lower level seat. Anyways, I planned to not be anywhere else this afternoon just so I could be here to buy my tickets and thankfully I just barely managed to get them.
Viva Las Vegas!
