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May 27, 2008
You Must Be This High To Ride This Ride
I've been called lots of things.
I'm not exactly sure what the age cut off is for cougars, but I guess I'd have to place myself squarely in the cougars for Cook category.
As my friend and fellow trainer Gina and I agreed last week, he's purty.
American Idol thusly decided, it's back to baseball, and Shea and I likely having no television-related things in common. Which is okay.
I picked up Stephanie Myers' new book The Host a few weeks ago. Read it straight through, and loved it.
A couple of days later Shea and I were in the car, talking about books.
I said Ms. Meyer had a new book out.
Shea says, "The Host," and then after a brief pause, "maybe we can go to the bookstore and get it."
"Well," I tell her, "I've already got it."
"You do??"
"Yep. And I've already read it."
"You have?"
"It's great."
"You stink."
***
In other news, it's been a busy few weeks. I was in Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, and now I'm in Chattanooga. If I could find that massage therapist that used to work at the place right across the street from the hotel, my days here would be better. As it is, I walk from the hotel to the training building, and then back after work.
There are lots of beggars here. They don't sit on the side of the street jangling a paper cup.
They walk right up to you and get in your face. A lady this morning asked me for a cigarette, saying she gave her last one to another homeless person, and was saving her money for food.
I gave her two. Somehow I'd rather they ask for smokes than money. Shrug.
***
The house is coming along although I obviously have not kept up in the posting pictures department.
I painted the kitchen a bright color which I cannot decide if I like. Apart from that, the only inside painting left to do is trim and touch-up.
I have a few small electrical issues remaining. The den switches that I thought operated the long-since removed ceiling fan in the center of the room, don't. Operate the overhead fixture that is.
I called in a professional to look at that one. The fix will require a trip into the attic, which will necessitate a very early Saturday morning appointment, which is why it hasn't happened yet.
And I've still got about 20 outlets and switches to replace, but will do that when I'm home and can just turn off the power to the whole house. Meaning when there isn't a baseball game on, or laundry to do.
(Looks like I'll have ugly switches until about October.)
So apart from a few little things inside, I've turned my attention to the out of doors. Namely, the world's ugliest back yard, which after a few days of concerted effort is now simply an ugly back yard, but still with huge potential.
I have a detached structure in my back yard.
It could be called a workshop, it could be called garage B, but is more like a small house with a roll-up door.
It's probably 20' x 30' with a high pitched roof and more than enough space (not to mention existing framing) for a second story.
Either way it has been christened the Satellite Castle.
Which of course begs the question...
An answer for which I do not have yet.
But back to the out of doors.
In addition to the ugly yard, I also have an ugly house. Well, it's cosmetically ugly on the outside.
The siding is a blue I don't like, and would paint were it also not just in bad shape. The gutters too need serious attention.
But not before I (with help) reroute the DirecTV cables (that currently traverse the outside of the house tucked up under the siding and come into the house via holes in the walls) through the attic and down the walls.
This alone will eliminate at least 70 feet of extraneous and annoyingly visible cables from my view at home - the extra that sticks way out into the den, the extra at the junction box at the back of the house (part of the ugly equation you see), and all that snaking around the house.
Which also begs questions - which walls to put the cables down.
You'll have to stay tuned for that answer too.
Posted by Angela Tanner at 10:26 AM | Comments (1)
May 14, 2008
Live from Boston
Dave Matthews is once again auctioning good tickets to upcoming concerts for the benefit of the Bama Works charities.
These tickets include backstage lounge passes.
Yeah, like I didn't have out my credit card before I read that.
Dave, Dave, Dave.
I love you man.
Posted by Angela Tanner at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2008
I Need Six Volunteers
So, I was tagged by my blogger buddy Gene www.cabsareforkissing.blogspot.com and www.picturesfromataxi.blogspot.com.
I had to write back for instructions on what to do.
Having procured said instructions, I am now prepared to go poorly forward with the task: namely post the instructions here, write six random things about myself, and tag six other bloggers.
Counting the two blogs I mentioned above, that still leaves me four to go. This could be a problem.
However, I'll get to the two easy parts anyway.
The rules:
- link to the person who tagged you (done - twice)
- post the rules on your blog (here they are)
- write six random things about yourself in a blog post (it's coming)
- tag six people you know in your post (I do know six people, but I don't know six people that have blogs.)
- let each person know they are tagged by writing a comment on their blog (I will have to find five more people.)
- let the tagger know your post has been published. (I'm attaching the message to the carrier pigeon as I type.) (It's as tricky as it sounds.)
On to six random things about me:
1. I name birds and other wildlife that come into my yard if I see them more than a few times. My current favorite is a bird I named Chet - after the reindeer in Santa Claus 2 that doesn't fly exactly right. It takes him about three times to line up on the final approach to the large feeder - wings flapping all over the place.
I talk to them sometimes too. I have a chipmunk (named Boo) that lives under the concrete pad of my heat pump. It's about 15 feet from his home to the spilled birdfood on the deck. He's nature's little vacuum cleaner.
Well, I was out on the deck yesterday afternoon. I heard leaves rustling up near the house, and saw who I thought was Boo heading toward his house.
He came within two feet where I was standing, stood really still, and when I moved, he ran back behind the heat pump. That was when I knew it wasn't Boo.
So I said to non-Boo, out loud, with no embarrassment whatsoever, "you're not from around here, are you."
2. I park in the same place at the airport every week. For years I took the closest spot available, but paid for it by then wandering around when I got home looking for my vehicle, remote alarm waving in the air. Because I was never smart enough to write down where I parked, yet still had to solve the problem of being able to find my car, I found an area far away (it's a relative term at my local airport) that is available all the time.
3. I have my Delta frequent flyer balance back up to half a million.
4. I often wear a wedding band or my (large, and may I say spectacular) diamond ring when I travel. Makes things simple for me.
5. In almost 20 years of flying, I saw my house from an airplane for the first time ever in my life just last weekend.
6. I never have old maid socks when I do my laundry. Ever.
It might take me a while to find six people to tag. Maybe I'll print out some cards and hand them out in the airport on my way to Baltimore this afternoon.
(Breaking the rules with a number 7: no perhaps about it, I am the number one fan of the front man for the Dave Matthews band.)
Posted by Angela Tanner at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
Tag, You're Out
So during the extended period when nothing was pondered publicly, I had ONE email from someone concerned about me.
One.
From my New York hack friend Gene. Who was then kind enough, upon hearing I had not dropped off the earth, to tag me.
Now if he'll just tell me what I'm supposed to do, I'll be happy to, uh, accept the tag.
***
In other news, I've managed to catch two baseball games lately. I watched the Royals get their asses kicked at home by Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago, and last week saw St. Louis win at home. It was my first time to both stadiums.
(Too bad the Orioles aren't at home this week.)
Gene, if you're listening and have any connections to tickets for games later this season at Shea or Yankee Stadium, sign me up. A subway series would be divine, although I know I'm asking a lot this year.
Posted by Angela Tanner at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)
You Would Think This Would Be a Better Post
So this morning the alarm clock interrupted a dream.
I was an an airport in the gate area and two flights were boarding near the same time - one at 5:00 to Atlanta, and one at 5:45 to Memphis.
For whatever reason I thought I was on the 5:45 flight, so I wasn't listening to the 5:00 flight announcements.
As the 5:00 flight closed, I looked at my ticket, and that was the one I was supposed to be on. I went to the gate agent, and they had been calling my last name, but saying Turner instead, so the gate agent asked a supervisor whether he could [insert some long technical sounding airline term] me. The supervisor said yes, so they scanned my boarding pass and I walked down the jetway.
As I got on the plane, the flight attendant was standing in the galley with scissors, and a long length of thin red cord. She stopped me from going any further and wanted to pin a piece of this cord on me (in an I support the troops simple one loop shape]. I asked her why I needed that, and as she pinned it on me, she said she just thought it was nice.
I told her I didn't want to wear it, and continued on my way to my seat.
But not before passing a man on a stretcher on the AB side of the plane.
I walked back past the back galley to my seat, which wasn't a seat but rather a small dorm-style room with two beds, and a lady in a housecoat and curlers in one of the beds. So I (naturally) presumed the other bed was mine.
Except that her stuff was scattered all over that bed too.
Then the alarm went off.
Mercifully.
Know how I know it was a dream? Because I never fly through Memphis if there is an earlier option through Atlanta.
Posted by Angela Tanner at 06:53 AM | Comments (0)