Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
Flying may not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.
Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.
So last night I was investigating what appeared to be an awful noise coming from my computer. I am still pretty certain that it was a fan making the noise, however when I rebooted no Windows were to be seen.
Imagine my dismay! What a dork! what a dummy! I ad backed up everything but my Newsletter subscriber list. At the moment not all is lost as I still believe I can pull the data I need off the drive.
The one good thing about this development is that it gives me an excuse to upgrade to XP like I had wanted too. I have had a copy I bought for at least a month but just haven't got around to it. Now I have no excuse!
Lesson learned. Think about how foolproof your backup plan is.
Well Casey is already planning ahead for my friend Raymond and his wife Patricia coming to visit us on the Island. She decided to purchase the second last Bocce set that was available at Costco. A bargain was to be had and she could not pass it over. I told her Ray loves to play it (or so he tells his in-laws) and would be a relaxing and fun activity to add to the Bed and Breakfast's repertoire.
Of course Casey has played this before on kayaking trips. Where they found the room to put and lug around this heavy game I do not know! However they did and played it on the beach and modified the rules to play forest Bocce too.
This was a wise investment that should bring many hours of entertainment to us all. If you ever visit the Bed and Breakfast I will challenge you to a game!
Casey and I took Sydney to her first obedience class. Quickly and as expected the tables were turned and the training was for us and not the dog. It was an interesting hour plus class.
Sydney of course won't listen to Casey when I am around so I ended up having to do the training part. Sydney quickly learned to sit, stay and heel on command. However when a little wiener dog got in front of us she became very distracted (or perhaps it was her owner who was showing of her dental floss thing underwear).
Anyway the class was a good learning experience. We are looking forward to the next one!
You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
A week a go I finally made the swap to Satellite. I still have cable for my Internet but that is because there is no other good option in my area. Otherwise I would swap everything from Comcast.
Why did I swap? Firstly because of customer service. Comcast's customer service was appalling 9 times out of 10. Secondly because of cost. I worked out for the same cost I will now be getting double the stations, and better yet they are ones I want!
So far the experience has been great. I received a free PVR which is like TIVO. The reception and features are fantastic!
Really at this point int he game if comcast do not pull up there socks they are going to start seeing people leave on mass. Their arguments on downtime and local channels are simply not true. In fact I do not see how this does not come down to false advertising.
So far my experience with Dish Network Customer Support has been amazing. Hold times once were a little long, but they did warn me of that while I was holding.
Anyway if the experience sours I shall inform you all. I hope not as the next step would be booting TV and renting DVDs instead!
Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings.
Today is Hayden's 5th Birthday. I got to speak to her on the telephone which was nice. She likes her presents, I got her clothes (2 pairs of boots, t-shirt, jeans) a book on the body, and a packet of Jello. Mum and Dad got her a Scooby Doo leap pad book along with a pink dress and sweater.
She told me about her school and how she was having a pink cake today. She also talked about Strawberry Shortcake.
I hope she has a good life without me near by. There is not a day that goes by when I do not think about her.
We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.
I would like to think I am a romantic sort of guy, however Valentine's Day officially became purely a marketing ploy for retailers to make more money today as I drove down I5.
Why? Well I was listening to the radio and every single ad on the two stations I listen to were telling men to buy women gifts. Not one told women to do something nice for a guy.
Now I have plans for Valentine's Day and I intend on spending it with my girlfriend. We are going to dinner and then a comedy club. I will not be buying her extravagant presents, like one ad suggests purchasing a overpriced diamond ring.
The smart guys and gals out there will do something that involves spending time together. Strengthening the bond that way instead of showing it through expensive gifts.
NOTE: If someone wants to buy me a kayak please disregard my rant. What do I know anyway? Last time I spent way too much on flowers for Valentine's Day I was getting a divorce 14 days later!
There's nothing that keeps its youth, So far as I know, but a tree and truth.
On the weekend I decided that I wanted a haircut. Now I have always wanted to be able to do the quick buzz to trim things up, but never found anyone that was willing to do it for me.
Casey stepped in buying some quality clippers and offering her services, giving me the impression she was going to be able to do it well.
Well after a nice day out we decided to give it go. Not much after she had given the sides a go, she burst in to tears and announced she was not any good at this, had ruined my hair, and told me for the first time that she loved my long blonde locks. Of course this was all news to me!
Ok so here I am sitting in the bathroom with half a haircut. So I had to take charge. I put on a longer guide and attacked the top. Now this isn't quite a buzz cut but it is pretty darn short.
Casey got courage to do a bit of a fix on the back two days later (last night) and now my hair looks half decent.
I am sure with the planned kayaking expeditions and hiking we have for this summer, my hair will grow in golden once more.
Until then I can get a job as a bouncer (door man) at one of the local clubs or pubs.
Ritual is the way you carry the presence of the sacred. Ritual is the spark that must not go out.
The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character.
Generosity with strings is not generosity; It is a deal.
Intimacy is what makes a marriage, not a ceremony, not a piece of paper from the state.
Never take the advice of someone who has not had your kind of trouble.
Ok here is a little rant. Every morning I drive south-bound on I5 through the famous Fife curve. For those of you who do not know what the Fife curve is, it is a simple curve on the freeway that bends to the right as you head south through Fife.
Now what is frustrating is that most mornings no one can maintain their speed going through this curve. It isn't that hard, especially if you have cruise control on as I do. However 90% of drivers feel the need to slow down to 40-50 Mph in this 60 speed zone.
There is a reason that this is the case. The police target this area on mass. This morning their were three motorcycle cops, two or more patrol cars and an untold number of unmarked patrol cars lurking. This is the case most mornings. I do not think Washington drivers ever learn this though, as there are always plenty of drivers to pull over.
If everyone just went with the flow and stuck to the speed limit there would be no problems in this area at all....well maybe the truck weigh station but that is another story!
Life is full of obstacle illusions.
The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.