Halloween = Candy for Me
I ran into the grocery store today to pick up some Halloween candy. I was a little annoyed because I had been planning to go into town to hit Wal*Mart for candy but winter weather meant I didn't want to try heading over the mountains just for some cheaper candy. Sadly, as it is the Wednesday before the holiday, the selection was limited. I did find some Take 5 bars and grabbed Snickers but was very disappointed about the lack of Butterfingers.
As I was heading for the check out the guy on the radio started talking about Halloween candy and how people pick their favorite candy so that they can eat the leftovers. It was so appropriate to my thoughts. I mean, no Butterfingers. Are you kidding me? Halloween is all about the excuse to buy all your favorite candy and you don't have it? That would have been the last bag I opened, thereby leaving me with my favorite candy bar. Very distressing. It would almost be worth it to take on the Sisters in a blizzard, but not really.
Is it winter yet?
Two weeks of winterizing and I think I'm finally done with the whole yard thing. My parents were out last week and my dad helped me cut down some trees and fence off the fence so Gracie can no longer escape. Today, I took set number two of all the slashings we collected out for the garbage man. I was much more on board with throwing them in my truck and dumping them in the mountains or just having a giant bonfire, but my dad insisted on tying them all up. It's going to be weeks before I can get them all out for the garbage man.
My dad also split some wood for me. I needed just a few large logs split. He went a little overboard and created enough firewood to last me for years. I tried to tell him he's splitting wood for others because I can't use that much wood, but he insisted he likes splitting wood. I usually only have a fire going when it's below zero and I need to keep the basement pipes from freezing.
Yesterday, I woke to discover one of my deals from work was being broadcast to millions on the Today Show. I immediately went into panic mode. Not that the deal wasn't correct, but holy hell what if it wasn't? The massive spike in traffic caused major slow downs on the site. This was worse than last week's article in the LA Times where the reporter used my analysis to show one of our partners in kind of a negative light. They spun it nicely, but oops. That said, everything I did was right and the hotel had to concede the point. I guess it's good that what I do is helpful and being seen by people, but I prefer when things are a little less public. I'm already paranoid enough about what I publish, I don't need the national press doing QA for me.
Thunk
I was sitting watching the ball game downstairs the other night and suddenly I heard a thunk, thunk, thunk, thud. Poor George. Not only did the groomer shave off all his hair so he looks like an alien, the poor dog fell down the steps. It's probably a good thing he doesn't have any stairs at his house.
The Importance of Knowing Your Cable Channels
My parents (or rather my dad) have been planning a trip to the Black Hills for a couple of months now. My dad's grand plan was to arrive in Murdo, South Dakota tomorrow evening. Then the Twins decided they weren't done playing yet. Weather conditions and distance being taken into account, my dad decided he wasn't going to make Murdo by 4:00. So he called me and asked me to find something in Mitchell. I found him the Best Western and the AmericInn. We've stayed at the Best Western before, they take pets for free and they have super low rates. My dad called and made a reservation. Then he called back and asked if they have TBS. The girl checked her list and said no.
So my dad called the AmericInn. They told him indeed they have TBS. He made a reservation and then called me. It would be an extra $40 to get a room where he could watch the Twins game. I mentioned the possibility of a sports bar - more specifically Blarney's Sports Bar and provided him a number to call to check their TBS status.
Then I decided that if the AmericInn had TBS on cable, they probably had the same cable operator the Best Western used. I decided Front Desk Girl was lying about the lack of TBS. I then found Mitchell Telecom and downloaded their channel selection. Channel 59 is Superstation TBS. So my dad called Front Desk Girl back and told her to turn on channel 59. She soon changed her tune. So the Best Western it is and my dad is now $40 richer for the efforts of Google. And Front Desk Girl probably thinks we're crazy.
Because I was amused...
In honor of tonight's Monday night match-up and because I was entertained by
this site (site may be NSFW but checkout the kid's drawing of other kid in wheelchair), I give you this promo.
Who Do We Hate? FOX!
Damn freaking FOX is airing the Phillies Marlins game in Utah. Explain to me how a meaningless game for teams on the east coast would draw a larger audience in Utah than a playoff race game. I pay $200 a year to watch the Twins and they screw me over on the second to last game of the season! And because it's a FOX game, you can't stream it on MLB.tv, you can't get audio of it, you can't get anything. I don't understand why I can't at least stream the game through the FOX site. Bastards.
The Poor Dog and the Stupid Dog
My mother took George to the groomer the other day for a trim. She returned to find him completely shaved. His entire top coat is gone and my dad says that in the sunlight you can see the pink of his skin. What kind of idiot would do that to a dog? And more, what idiot would do that in October? My parents started digging out sweaters and stuff he wears during hunting season but you know how those are held in place? With the front legs. George doesn't have two legs in front. My dad is still raging three days later. The night he first saw George he didn't sleep, he was so upset. Evil, evil groomer.
Yesterday was quite miserable here. I didn't want to go outside so I let Gracie out intending to watch her from the window. Not 20 seconds after closing the door, we had total white out conditions. I couldn't see a thing. So I went and dragged a coat out and ran down the steps to see my idiot dog digging her way under the fence. Much as I love her, she's on her own if she runs away during a blizzard. Stupid dog.
