Back to Aamco (Bastards!)

I took Judy back to Aamco at lunch today. Matt told me that the synch gears were allowing the car to get "between gears". He said he was sorry about all the problems and times the car had to be towed in. He said they would fix the transmission for only the cost of parts since they already had the car in, the transmission out, and working on it before. He said the only problem would be to get parts for it, being so old. I was upset because I took the car in to be fixed, and it came back not fixed. I'm thinking of contacting Wave 3 troubleshooter.

Back at Aamco

I drove Judy to work after picking her up at lunch. After work I get
in her to leave. I got two gears (1st and reverse) and neutral now.
It won't shift into 2nd or 3rd. I had to call X AGAIN and tell her I
couldn't pick up the kids. I am feeling as low now as I have in
about ten months or so. I tried to get a TARC schedule, but figuring
that crap out is rocket science. I sent off for a schedule, but it
said on their site that it would take days due to volume. I am so
screwed. If I lose this job, my life is done. I'm really feeling not
worth a damn right now.

Aamco sucks 2

Not only did Matt mislead me about the time it would take, but also he only called me once on Friday late to say Judy would not be ready. I had to call each time to find out what was taking so damn long! I don't think Judy ever wants to in back there

Aamco on Dixie sucks

I'm very upset with the level of customer service i've been given from the shop where I had work done on Judy. They told me Thursday, but more likely Friday. Matt in the office also said he would keep me informed. Now its Tues.

My Car & Quotes

Damn car is NOT DONE!!!! I AM VERY ANGRY!!!!!

I was reading on lunch today and I came across a quote from the book
that I found very powerful: "When on the brink of unleashing almost
inconceivable savagery, one did not hum a merry tune and remark on the
lovely day. One nursed dark thoughts."

And it made me remeber to go back and get the quote (same book) that
I'd read a few days before: "Love is a passion for life shared with
another person. You fall in love with a person who you think is
wonderful. It's your deepest appreciation of the value of that
individual, and that individual is a reflection of what you value most
in life."

Though copyrighted, I wanted to share these with the world.

Worried...

Aamco did not call me today. I had to call them. That's bothering me. I talked to the same guy as last time. He got a little snippy with me. But he said they are coming down to the wire and they close at 5:30. Judy had better be done or its on!

This week...

Judy is still in the shop. I have high hopes that she'll be done
tomorrow. I have enjoyed one thing about being without a car...this
girl I've been dating, T., has been so kind to let me ride with her
back and forth to work. She works close to my place of employment,
and lives close to where I live. We've been out to dinner & coffee,
to lunch, to see The Big Rock Show, and just last night went to see
The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I really like seeing her in the morning
when she comes to pick me up, and then after work. We talk the whole
time, both there and back.

I'm really growing very fond of her. She's beautiful, intelligent,
funny, charming, and she's the kindest woman I've met in a very, very
long time. I'm always worried that I'll say the wrong thing and
offend her, hurt her feelings or make her uncomfortable. I'd be very
angry at myself if I did that. I'm such a awesome jackass sometimes
when I don't want to be.

She has kids of her own, two girls mostly grown, and then another
daughter about Lexie's age. I was thinking of asking her if she
wanted to get together with her youngest and my two sometime so they
could play together. You know my kids never meet another child who's
not automatically a friend and playmate. That's good. I like to see
them socialize, especially Logan. I worry about him now because he's
not in daycare and doesn't get to spend much time around other kids
his age, except for big sister.

I got an offer, and accepted from my new job today. I'm officially a
full time employee beginning Monday. The bad thing is that I've been
getting paid weekly, and now I'm going to have to hold out for three
weeks between being paid by the temp agency, and the new job. Ugh.

Funny thing is that my hire day is the same day my sister starts HER
new job! Speaking of which, she came over tonight. I fixed supper,
then we sang some karaoke on my PC. After that we watched a movie she
had brought over called Joyride. I saw most of it but fell asleep
about 3/4 of the way through it and then woke up for the end. It
seemed OK. I'd probably like it better if I wasn't so tired. *shrugs*

I hope my car is ready tomorrow. I hope the old girl is "all better
now". I'll be glad to have my wheels back, and I'll be definitely
ready to see the kids on Sunday. Saturday night I originally had
planned to go take my sister out...Saturday is her birthday. But then
we cancelled, but now I think it's back on again. My friend Steven
really wants to go, and he talked me into it. The bar that we're
going to is not the kind of place where you have to spend a lot of
money at all. Cover, if anything will be about $4, and I'm not
supposed to drink much alcohol anyway, so I may just be doing
cranberry juice or ice water. No big deal to me.

Judy update

Judy is gonna be ok. She'll be in the shop until at LEAST friday. They had to order parts. I knew she would make it because not only do the kids and i love her, but chicks REALLY dig that car! She's irreplaceable.

David Ernspiker - Lead Guitar for BRS

A little better shot of lead ax-man: David Ernspiker. This guy is incredible. I think I enjoy this band so much because of how much they get into the music. You can tell they love it.

Jaymz St.Jaymz...Bassist for BRS

This is the bass player...Jaymz St. Jaymz. I love this guy's name, and I've seen his hammering on the bass knock pictures off the walls before! Awesome! He's also the vocals for most of the AC/DC stuff they do.

Williams...Drummer for BRS

A little better shot of David Lloyd Williams Jr.

David Lloyd Williams Jr. of BRS

This is David Williams, the drummer for BRS. He's a very talented guy!

David Ernspiker of The Big Rock Show

This is David. He's lead guitar. As you might be able to tell, he's in a wheelchair. It does not hold him back one iota from rocking then entire place!

THE BIG ROCK SHOW!!!

This is THE BIG ROCK SHOW!!! Saw them at the Golden Nugget! I'm taking my sister to see them for her birthday!

The Big Rock Show with T.

This is my friend T. We went Friday to see a band called the Big Rock Show. They do all classic rock music. They play here in town just about every night. They are very good, and you can tell they truly love the music that they play.

Cutting another notch on my belt!

Ok, its not really a notch, its a hole! I just made a hole in my belt about a week ago and i screwed it all up so i never used it. Yesterday while putting gas in Judy my damn pants almost fell off! Same thing walking into work, so i HAD to do it. :-)

Lunch with T.

Steven just called me...he said he and Kathy just talked until 5am.
He said that a half hour of that was Kathy talking and asking him
questions about me! So funny!

I went to lunch today with my friend T. She wouldn't ride in
Judy--she's very safety-consious, and Judy doesn't have front seat
belts yet. So she drove instead, and went to a Vietnamese restaurant.
The food was VERY good...just the right amount of spices. She got an
avacado shake that I really wish they made in diet form. She's been
embarrassed a couple of times by me...and she's always nervous around
me. She says its not anything to do with me, but I hate thinking
she's getting so stressed out when we're together that she isn't
having any fun... I'm flattered that a beautiful woman gets nervous
over me, but if you know me at all, you know how easy-going I am. Not
a person to get nervous about for certain.

Karaoke with Steven

Last night I went out with my buddy Steven. We ran into each other in
front of Office Depot so it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. We had
supper at Hooters--I can still put away a 10 pc hot wings if I order
'em naked (that's what they call ones they fix without breading).
While we were eating, my friend Diane sends me a YIM on my
phone...there's a karaoke contest at a local bar I go to sometimes.
Steven says he'll go too, so it works out good.

I had fun, sang several songs, did NOT win the contest, but I met this
pretty little gal named Kathy who told me that I sang very well, and
she admitted that i'm a phenomenal dancer. She sat with Steven and I
most of the night and we talked and played some pool. Steven never
would sing anything, but he says he had a great time. We ended up
taking Kathy home because she had a little too much to drink. Well,
they dropped me off first, so I don't know what happened from there...

Dr. Gaar, my Surgeon

This is Dr. Gaar, my surgeon. He's a hell-of-a guy. I like that he shows genuine concern and gives me lots of postive feedback. I went to see him today and he says i'm doing excellent. I go back in three months. I've lost a total of over a hundred pounds since I first came in to see him.

This is a test of the...

This is a test of the gastric bypass system. My first carbonated beverage in close to four months. I've been sipping very slowly, cautiously watching for warning signs. I have GB friends who drink sodas so i think i'll be ok.

McDonald's Play Place on Hurstborne

After church I treated the kids to McDonald's. They get the apple dippers, so there's some semblance of nutrition, and they get TONS of exercise. Lexie feels like a big kid. They have self-serve soda so I let her get her own refill on sprite.

Swimming, church, roast...

This morning we're going to church, then I hope to take the kids to McDonald's, then swimming at the apartment's pool. This morning I got up early and put a roast in the slow-cooker. It should be ready for supper tonight.

Checking in...

I noticed how beautiful the sunrise was on the way to work. Sometimes it is something simple and natural that puts things into perspective for me. Yesterday the kids and I went to see Fantastic 4 at the V8. They loved it! No deep questions though.

The Kids and Ladder 49

Tonight, for something different, the kids watched an adult movie with me. Now, please let me define that. I mean adult as in not-kiddie. No animation or slapstick humor throughout. It was Ladder 49. Their grandfather (not that he's much of one in my opinion--he never asks to see them or spend time with them) is on a fire department. The movie had a few choice bad words, but besides that was pretty clean. I always explain to them if I hear swearing in a movie that "they are going to say some words that you may or may not have heard before. They are bad words and kids never say them. Grown-ups should not say them either, but sometimes they do. If you are not sure if a word is bad or not, you can come to me and whisper the word in my ear and I will not get mad at you. I will tell you if it is a word that should be said and I will tell you what it means."

Well, even though it had some language, I really liked watching it with them. They asked questions...good ones when some of the firefighters got hurt, or especially when they died. I told them that sometimes bad things happen and it's not something that anybody did wrong. The movie did a good job (John Travolta is a damn decent actor--despite that he's a raving lunatic like most Hollywood types) and he stated simply enough even for my children to understand that firemen put their lives at risk doing very dangerous things--but for a good cause.

Lexie asked why didn't they just let the buildings burn down after all the people were out. I told her to pretend that she woke up tomorrow outside on the grass and all she had was the clothes she was wearing. No tv, no house, no pets, no books, no clothes, no food...and then I told her when someone's house burns down, that is what it is like for them. I told her that getting the people out is the most important thing--even more than dogs and cats. You could see the little light go on behind her eyes...the light of understanding. I live for that. It gives me so much satisfaction to live life, experiencing what they experience, and being there to answer questions--and to pose questions that make them think, fathom, comprehend, understand...

Awesome Date, and Flying Fish Eggs

I had the most awesome date tonight. An amazing woman (T) and I went to Shogun. We got a little sushi, and had lots of good conversation. I got Flying Fish, which I thought it would be similar to her order of tuna. It was not. It wasn't the meat of the flying fish, but the eggs. I was hesitant but tried not to show it...you know how I am. I try to keep my facade...calm, undaunted, unshaken. But this was the second biggest task of the night. The first being meeting such a beautiful woman for dinner. I made a minor fool of myself...too much wasabi all at once. I was trying to cover the texture of the little eggs. They crunched and broke apart in your mouth like little bitty paintballs--emitting a salty liquid. It really wasn't a bad flavor at all. I probably would not get it again. T seemed not to notice except (how could she not) when I had to run to the bathroom. I got some wasabi on my finger, then when I started crying due to eating a bit too much I rubbed my eye, which promptly caught on fire! I had to flush it out.

I got back to the table and we talked about movies (she likes horror!) and music (we share some of the same interests--but I think she might come hear me do karaoke sometime). We also talked a lot about our families. She hinted that with the help of a friend of mine named Jose Cuervo, that she might dance with me. She said she was very nervous. I can't fathom anyone being nervous over me. Well I was pretty nervous too, but then I think I hide it well...not just from other people, but (the trick) from myself. I think we are definately going to go see The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I made the mistake of watching the preview when I got home. I'm officially creeped out!

After dinner, we walked down to Starbucks to have coffee. They also had checkers at Starbucks. I don't really want to talk about the checkers we played, and I'm not saying I let her win either... Infer as you wish. (ok. she not only beat me, but badly) T has a wonderful laugh. She has a natural beauty. She has a good soul...a kind soul. I can tell these things and I am seldom far off. I knew she was nervous. When are date ended I asked for a hug. I got two. I didn't want to make T any more nervous than she already was, but in retrospect, I wish I would have told her how beautiful she is.

We make great pets...

I got the kids goldfish yesterday. One of three looks like he'll make it. Of course its the one I picked out, not one of theirs.

Jenni from HPL

This is the gal that came over and talked to me half the night. Her sister Melody lives here in the 'ville, but she was in visiting from NYC. Its one of the reasons I go out...just to meet and talk with new interesting people. They seemed really nice.

Hikes Point Lounge

This is the place where I went Friday night to do karaoke. I'd never been there before. They didn't have hardly any of 'my' songs, but I liked the place anyway. The drinks were VERY cheap (not that I drink much) and the people were all friendly.

Steve Leff

This is a picture of my friend Steve. He's a crazy son-of-a-bitch! He taught me most of what I know about international logistics, and all of what I know about sales. Most importantly he taught me you can not be personal friends with your manager.

Overdose

Anybody know what taking more than the recommended amount of Claritin will do to you? One per 24 hours just isn't getting the job done. It USED to work...

Sh¤te my pants over gas prices

I am very disturbed. Gasoline over three dollars a gallon is pure insanity. I motion for impeachment if Bush doesn't do something before i have to refill this coming week!