Back from a Welcome Retreat

I finally got my new toy to help me post! I'm sorry, but sometimes it's the smallest victories that make you feel like you have some semblance of control over your life. Good times.

Over the 4th of July, I had the pleasure of getting away from it all. LampLover and I took the invitation of a couple of dear friends, and got away to the mountains for the long weekend. We were in the western arm of the Ozark mountains, in the rural northeastern region of Oklahoma. I didn't even know the Ozarks made their way into our northern neighbor before we left for this trip, but there they are. It was great for me - made me a little less homesick for travel in the northeast, as it was almost identical to driving in parts of Maine and New Hampshire. LL, our friends and I used the holiday weekend as an excuse to eat lots of food, lay about near the water and take fun nature hikes and blow stuff up. Yep - the great American tradition for celebrating the birth of our nation - let's see how much of the land we love we can catch on fire! The weekend stayed relatively flame-free, and aside from poking myself in the arm with a lit incense stick (non-scented and used for lighting the fireworks), it was injury free.

Work has been a grind lately. I feel like I caught the hem of my shirt in the big Corporate Machine last month, and it proceeded to pull me in an bend, spindle and mutilate me a bit. Monkeys don't like being caught between cogs. We don't really understand cogs. Just give us food (and beer in this monkey's case), let us sit in the tree and don't bug us too often. If you do, we've got poo and we know how to use it.

Testing, Testing...

One, two, four...

The New Toy

Not to overshadow the other post - I'm keeping this one short and sweet. This is my new toy. Only discovered down-side to new toy so far: Inability to post to Blogger. I've been trying to post for the last week or so, and so far it comes to the site, lets me create a post, but then won't update. Doesn't like Safari or Firefox. *sigh* Oh well - everything else on it rules. We've decided to name it Fred, in the grand traditions of great Freds everywhere.

WiredMonkey + LampLover = MonkeyLover?

I've been trying to post this forever, but apparently have been having issues - more on that in a future posting.

Since I'm not so good with the phones, and have a few friends who won't hear about this if I don't pick up one of those silly little things...I have a bit of big news.

I asked Her to marry me, and she said "yes".

How much does THAT rock? Answer = more than the usual amount.

Happy monkey here...finally able to post the good news. Celebration will ensue - will update with times and dates. Right now it looks like the ceremony itself will be in either January or April of next year. Hopefully lots of friends and family can make it...it will be a party to remember. No word yet if Shiner will be the official sponsor. We'll have to see what we can do...

Handfuls of poo

Wha?

Oh yeah, the blog. Heh. I knew that was around here somewhere.

Forgive me, my friends, for slacking off once again. But, if you look at it positively, I've been completely 100% effective, and quite aggressively accurate in being...a slacker. Yup. Who can we get that we are SURE will slack off on their blogging duties? Hrrrrrmmm....that WiredMonkey fellow seems to be pretty out of it. Look at the droopy eyelids and inanimate limbs in that slackjawed primate. Pshaw....he's practically asleep. We'll take 'im!

Er sumthin.

What's new? Look for pictures on the Flickr site soon...I need to try and get some photos of the house out on the site, and my goal is this weekend. The LampLover and I have a very busy weekend ahead of us. Some friends are having a crawfish boil tomorrow..and if you haven't been to one, my dear, considerate readers...you are truly missing out. I mean...YUM. Those little mudbugs are a great time...and you add in corn, potatoes and sausage...what? Are you KIDDING me? No, I am truly not. Those food items are all present to tickle your palate. W00t. LL and I are really looking forward to it. Then, right after that (actually overlapping it), we have a friend's birthday party to get to...some fun folks who know how to have a good time, and we're really looking forward to seeing them. Yay!!

We'll let you know how it goes. Pop in again in a few days and I'll see what I can do in the way of an update. *grin*

MONKEY.

I'm here!

Things are good. I'm alive. I felt a post was needed as it's been nearly a month since I've posted. This past month has been particularly active though. LampLover and I are looking at co-habitation. We have our eye on a nice place in a neighborhood I'm very familiar with, having rented a house in that area once before. It's a great neighborhood - nice neighbors (mostly older and retired or young couples in starter houses), an area that's active with people walking and riding bikes, and a library, nearby parks and that sort of thing for recreation. LL is a bit nervous about things, as am I to a lesser degree, but I think that will abate once we're in and comfortable. The biggest nerve-wracking thing is telling her parents and grandmother, who is in town visiting. They are from a different school of belief, and don't believe a couple should live together before being married. I respect that view, as does LL, but neither of us abide by it. Besides, after a year together, it's not as though we are viewing this as just a convenience. We're looking long-term, and I'd like to make that a bit more formal, but have to come up with certain jewelry first...and I'd like it to be a bit of a surprise. Which is hard to do, no matter if you're living with someone or not. So, at least we'll be together.

The other significant occurance, as you may have picked up from the last paragraph, is that LL and I celebrated our anniversary. No monthiversary there - we've been together for more than a year now. It hardly seems it sometimes, time has flown so fast. But, other times, it feels like so much more...like we've known one another forever. I think that's how it is when you find your soul's match...you can't remember a time when they weren't part of your life, because you're at your happiest when they're a part of it. Blah, blah, sappy monkey. I know. So sue me.

*munches a banana*

Oh yeah - another story I did for McKinneySports.net. W00t!

okaybye.

Writing About Sports in DFW

I have a new job - freelance sports writer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. This is a big step in my dream to be a full-time staff sports writer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I'm extremely excited about the opportunity, and although I'm not completely happy with my work on my first story, I keep in mind I'm working out the rust of nearly two years of writing inactivity. And hey - it's soccer...not a forte in my sports repertoire. Let me know in the comments if the story can't be posted and I'll cut and paste it in here.

I've Been Tagged...So That Explains the Dart In My Ass and the Sharp Pain in my Ear...

These are making the rounds I guess...I got this in my email, but I've also seen them in blogs. Besides, I need a break from work, so this will suffice.

FOUR JOBS YOU HAVE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
1. McWorker

2. Best Buy Employee
3. Mac Technician

4. Sports Writer

Four Movies you would watch over and over.
1. Wayne's World

2 . Evil Dead II
3. The Holy Grail

4. Miracle

Four places you have lived
1. Bangor, ME

2. Syracuse, NY
3. Key West, FL
4. Dallas, TX

Four TV shows you love to watch
1. Medium

2. My Name is Earl

3. The Office
4. Trading Spaces

Four places you have been on vacation
1. Florida

2. Maine

3. Shiner, TX

4. San Antonio (man, do I need better vacations - though the Shiner was was the best...)

Four websites I visit regularly
1. Fark
2. Toothpaste for Dinner
3. Google
4. Digg.com

Four of my favorite foods
1. Pizza
2. Cheese Steak Subs

3. Bacon

4. Chicken Parmesan

Four places I would rather be right now
1. Home, preferrably asleep in bed.
2. Visiting with friends I haven't seen in FAR too long (J-Star, A & E, etc...miss y'all!)

3. In bed with twins (hey, the question ASKED...)

4. Margaritaville.

Four People I'm Tagging (of the people who read my site and haven't already put one of these on their sites. Just post them in your own blog if you have one - not many others do - or reply in the comments):
1. J-Star
2. LampLover
3. A & E
4. FU-D

Post-Op Prattle

Under the knife and out the other side.

So, I have undergone the surgery, and now I'm recovering slowly, bed-ridden and drug-filled. That may sound fun, but it's really more necessary than anything else. This morning I found out what can happen if I let the drugs in my system lapse, even due to something as necessary as sleep. Owwwww, dammit. I will be doing my best to make sure THAT doesn't happen again. I've been blessed with having a great nurse through this - LampLover is taking fantastic care of me (though she won't put on a little skimpy nurse's outfit while she is doing it...was worth a shot). She is staying with me and brought lots of movies to help entertain me while I'm stuck horizontal. The Cheat was really nice and bought me a movie to help entertain me while I'm out of commission as well - Wedding Crashers is part of my movie collection now.

I was going to attempt a return to work on Thursday, but that idea has been nixed. The return may happen Friday, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel tomorrow afternoon. I can't imagine sitting at work for 8 hours right now, even on pain meds...I just don't think it will happen. Friday is looking a tad doubtful too, but it's at least worth pondering. Any hours I can save would be nice, since I'd like to have SOME sort of personal time left in my cache by this summer.

Monkey Love and Painful Procedures

Let me start by saying this - Valentine's Day is not one of my favorite days. A lot of people seem to think that "romantics" (or whatever comparable labels we're given) would be a natural match with a day devoted to love. Not true, in my book. I'm more of a belief that every day should be devoted to love. Why just one day? And why the expectations of flowers, dinner, candy and other gifts? I'd much rather give small tokens of my love and express myself throughout the year than have one day devoted to it. Actually, and it's a cliched joke, Hallmark, FTD and the other big profiteers of the day are the one who perpetuate it, I think.

Anyway, I still feel an obligation to make sure my beloved LampLover knows I love her, and to take the time to express it in a way that *I* like. Dinner out a nice restaurant would have been nice...and a bit better of a present would have been good too. However, I don't really have the money right now - one reason why will follow this recap - and so I'm left to devise more creative activities. Luckily, LL is good with the imagination as well, and she suggested a little frozen chinese food buffet (from the cold depths of my freezer - prepackaged and pretty much ready to go) and I threw in the idea of a movie, and we were off. It was a quiet little romantic meal...we exchanged gifts just before - LL gave me a great framed picture of the two of us from New Years Eve and I gave her a little basket of bath items to pamper her with - and then enjoyed the food and the company (though not the movie really....FYI, The Corpse Bride is a bit sub-par). Other activities of the evening will remain on a need to know basis. It was a very enjoyable day, despite it's over commercialism on the whole.

Now, some of you don't know, so I will share. My out of shape gut managed to let down it's defenses a bit last fall when I was moving into my current digs, and lo and behold - out protruded a small hernia. I've put it off for some time, because it's really just a bit of a nuisance, and not particularly painful. But, during my last visit to my doctor, I decided to have him check it out. Yep, he said. Hernia it is, and you need to get it worked on - call this fella, he's good...handed me a reference. Being the speedy guy I am, I followed up on said reference about 3-4 weeks later. The Referred Doctor took a look at it. Yep, he said. Hernia it is, and you need to get it worked on. Not today or tomorrow or anything...but pretty soon. No more than a month or so from now. Ugh. So, I scheduled the surgery, and that was about two weeks ago. My surgery is upcoming this next Tuesday. So, wish me luck...good thoughts, etc., etc. It's not a particularly difficult surgery, I've been told, and it's an outpatient procedure, and I'll be back in the very bed I get out of the morning of my surgery later that afternoon, but I'm still a bit nervous. Guess I'm chicken. Oh well. Good mojo is requested, none the nevermind.

Oh - and the Olympics are on. Good hockey. Actually, VERY good hockey. Catch some if you can - the best in the game are on display.

Monkey - out.

Unmarked Cars are Watching My Neighbors Dog...

Finally, a respite in the work. It's been crazy at work, and because of that I haven't wanted to be in front of a computer unless I'm at work. Therefore - very little blogging. Which was probably for the best anyway, as most stories about work are pretty boring.

Outside of the work world, things have been going great (he says, knocking on wood). LampLover and I are coming up on our 11th monthiversary towards the end of the month, meaning just a little over a month before the big landmark. We're very excited about it and speaking for myself, I'm really looking forward to the next one, and one after that, etc., etc. I've never been so excited about my future with a person before.

*mush mush mush*

I know. But now you're past it, so don't you feel better?

This weekend should be a good time. A couple of days away from work is always nice, but when you can have a gathering with friends, eat good foods and drink some Shiner...well that just makes the weekend all that more enjoyable. Of course, it's the big Super Bowl weekend upon us, so LL and I will be taking a friend up on an invite for a small gathering to include a cookout and access to a kegerator full of Brown Liquid Goodness (a.k.a. Shiner). My dearest girl is not a fan of football, but hopefully with all the commercials and camaraderie and Shiner, it will help her get through the ordeal. To be honest, even as a football fan, this is the biggest let-down of a SuperBowl in about a decade. I mean really...Pittsburgh and Seattle?? Who cares??? Well, aside from the citizens of Pittsburgh and Seattle...and do they even? *shrug* Hopefully I'll be wrong and it'll be a good game.

**Here's where the credits would be if you were watching a movie.**

Blowing off the cobwebs...

Ok, in my defense....ehhh, forget it. I have no defense. I suck. But, there are other blogs out there that have gone longer, so oh well. Let's just move past this sad little point.

So, let's bust out the ever-effective point-by-point method to catch you all up on what's new:

• Lamplover got into the school she applied for. BIG YAYS!!!
• Christmas passed happily with good friends and family, and we all ate too much and drank too much.
• I have a new roommate - haven't gotten a good pseudo for him yet. What say you, oh Unfortunate One? Did you have any not-too-embarrasing monikers for him we could use on here?
• Serenity is out on DVD - go buy 5 for your friends. While you're at it - get Firefly on DVD too. They rock.
• I finally finished Insomnia. Great book, of course.
• I started reading The Chronicles of Narnia after seeing the movie adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe because the film reminded me of how fun it was to read the story when I was a kid. I'm a bit bored with it now that I'm on the second book, but I'm determined to trudge through all 7 in the series. Perhaps it'll pick up again.
  
• Found out my mom has yet another difficult health problem to struggle with...I don't know who she pissed off in another life, but she must have been one evil little creature, cause she's getting an undeserved heaping of shite in this life.
• It's a new year - 2006 - onward and upwards...

Illness and the Impending Mall Trip

I've been sick for over a week now, thanks to a particularly tenacious little flu bug that is making the rounds here in Texas. At first I thought it might be allergy related, since the weather was still warm and I didn't seem to have any flu-like symptoms aside from the runny nose and sore throat. But, much like the warm weather, that theory is just a memory. I've had body aches, fevers and chills along with the continuation of the aforementioned sore throat and it's new buddy, a deep chest cough. Ugh. The worst part of it is, I've been so busy with a very important video conference at work, that I can't take time off to rest and heal properly. I have upped the amount of fluids I've been taking in and have tried to make sure I'm getting more rest than normal, and I think that has helped. But damn - I can't wait to have this flu pass. Maybe I should look at the bright side: that I've dealt with this strain of the flu, and hopefully won't have another for the rest of the winter. Well, I can hope not at least.

Christmas is coming quickly this year - I haven't had the time (or money for that matter) to do all the shopping I'd like to do. I've picked up a couple of presents already, but still much shopping has to be done, and apparently most of it will be done with a couple of days to go before Christmas. For, as much as I'd like to get the shopping done early, the bills won't wait due to the holidays. Grrr. Ah well - it will keep the tradition of this year's 17th annual December 23rd Mall Blowing very much alive. Perhaps this year it will catch on even further! It's easy to do folks. You need to get as many people together as you can, go to a mall on one of the busiest days of the year and do your last minute shopping. One key thing you must buy, however, is something for yourself. Because, the 23rd tradition is a rather selfish one. In addition to the shopping, you must go out for lunch with your group of friends, and also take in a movie. It can be done as a rental, but going to the theatre really makes the tradition much more fun. Leave comments if you plan to do it - I'd love to hear if there are others celebrating my group's little self-determined holiday.

Lighters in the Air, Please

You Are an Emo Rocker!

Expressive and deep, lyrics are really your thing. That doesn't mean you don't rock out... You just rock out with meaning. For you, rock is more about connecting than grandstanding.

What Kind of Rocker Are You?

WiredMonkey Writes

I hadn't realized so much time had passed between my last post and today. As the old idiom goes, "Time's sure fun when you're having flies." Well, it's something like that.

Part of what has aided my failure to notice the rapid passing of time has been a renewed interest in reading and writing. whup! Hold your tongues, smart alecs! There'll be time for illiteracy jokes at a later point. The big monkey is talking.

Yes, it hasn't really been ground shaking or life altering in it's implications as of yet, but I've realized I'm wasting away my life in a job that I will resent (despite the fact that it probably IS a decent job) because I'm not doing what I would love to be doing. I'm not crafting with words. I'm not out there building stories, instead letting them rattle through my mind on their way to oblivion, all because I'm afraid of taking a chance - or what is much more likely...too lazy to take a chance. It's a lot of work figuring out the many kinks and convolutions in the world of publishing. But, if I don't do it soon, I'll never realize my dreams. And that is something I think I will really end up regretting. Extensively. So fuck it, man...let's do this thing up right.

I started with a book I've been meaning to read for about 4 years now - Stephen King's On Writing. LampLover saw me with the book a day after I started and commented it was a good, insightful read. I said, "shhhh...I'm reading." She hit me. It all works out for the best, I guess. Anyway, she was spot-on in her assessment of the book. Stevie has a way of cutting through all of the excess and getting right at what is important, whether it be in a story or just an interview. He provided some good pointers and allowed the reader to see how he works and the processes he follows. I think it will be a pretty helpful weapon in my arsenal when I sit down to do this. The key thing I took away from the book was something I've always believed, to an extent. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. I really need to step up the volume of books I'm reading. The last month or so has been good - I've packed the latest Harry Potter book and the Stephen King book under my belt. I've finally picked up Neuromancer by William Gibson once more. I haven't picked it up in about 4 years, and this time I'm giving it a good go. My goal is to try and get up to 52 books a year again - a very attainable goal if I read every day, which I'm doing.

So, after a few months of heavy reading, I am going to start tackling the task of sitting down and working on my fiction again. Short stories, scenarios...anything to get the juices flowing. Maybe just more blog entries as long as it's descriptive and in a prose style. My goal will be 1000+ words a day to start and ramping up from there until I'm writing at about 2000 words a day. That, along with my job and tiny social life, should keep me quite busy.

Wish me luck folks - hope you'll enjoy the increased (and hopefully improved) writing that is to come.

Oh, yeah...and we're in the house now. W00t!!

This Weather is Downright Un-Texan...Thankfully!

It's wonderfully cold here today. Not the type of cold that the Northeastern U.S. typically sees in October, but nonetheless, a nice cold temperature that is very unseasonable for this time of year. The WiredMonkey is thoroughly enjoying it. Earlier in the week, I was having the argument I sometimes have with myself as my hair gets longer: do I want to shave it or do I want to go pay $15 to a stylist to make it look good, and not all one length like some sort of organic Q-Tip? I opted to stay home with my clippers and save the money. So, when cold weather hits, the top of my head is usually the first to complain. Last night, I was walking Hunter on his appointed rounds, and actually felt the need to dig out a winter hat. A "tuque" or "toboggan", if you will, though I'm not fond of either of those words, particularly. Okay, tuque is just fun...but not toboggan. This morning, when deciding what to wear to work, I actually decided upon a sweater. It's nice when you get to wear the clothes with sleeves in Texas - it's not something you can count on, necessarily.

Tonight, if the temperature holds, I plan on finding a nice warm spot on my couch, mixing myself a drink to warm my insides, and curling up with a nice book. Reminds me of Autumn Days past...

Speaking of which, I was showing some co-workers slides of pictures of Maine Autumns. *sigh* This is the time of the year when I miss my home state the most. The weather is chilly and the mornings have a bite to them, if not actually producing frost. You can see your breath in front of you and the tingle in your cheeks from walking around in the cool air. The whole reminiscing made me a tad homesick. So to any of my Monks (or Pseudo-Monks) out there reading this - enjoy the weather and hometown for me, cause I'm missing it quite a lot right now.

In Honor of Hockey's Opening Day

Best. Site. Ever.

P.S. Go Stars!!!

For My Inner D&D nerd....

Mystic Theurge 40% Combativeness, 46% Sneakiness, 70% Intellect, 52% Spirituality

Brilliant and spiritual! You are a Mystic Theurge! Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you�ve fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you�re an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't. The Mystic Theurge is a combination of a cleric and a mage. They can cast both arcane and divine spells, and are good at both, making them pretty terrifying on the battlefield. They have more raw spellpower than just about any other class. You're both intelligent and faithful, but not violent or deceitful. I guess that makes you a pretty good person.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 18% on Combativeness You scored higher than 73% on Sneakiness You scored higher than 52% on Intellect You scored higher than 66% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on Ok Cupid

Long time no blog...

LampLover and I enjoyed our first NHL hockey game in over a year on Wednesday. My dentist, a season ticket holder who just happens to be the coolest dentist around, called me up at work and offered me his tickets for the evening, as he wasn't going. It was a great night for it - the hottest day of the year, culminating in an evening temperature in the 100's, made the prospect of a game on ice sound very tantalizing indeed. And, hey, it's the Stars! What's not to love, pre-season or not? I'm pretty happy with what the rule changes in the NHL have produced: the games are much faster and exciting. The Stars played a rather sloppy game against the St. Louis Blues, but managed to pull out the winner in overtime, 5-4.

Work has been keeping me busy with lots of jobs that aren't necessarily under my list of job duties. This makes for a stressed-out and annoyed monkey. LL hasn't enjoyed my mood because of it either, I'm sure. I'll be thankful when the large project I'm working on currently is finished this upcoming week, and I can let loose with a large sigh of relief. Things have been going well though, and today I was even rewarded with a small praise pellet from my boss. He came by and told me I had made myself quite the asset to the company and we would have to rearrange my schedule soon to be more in line with the corporate timeline (9-5, I guess). Regardless of the daunting prospect of earlier mornings, it made me smile.

Oh. And my asshole dog bit me again last week. I say that half in jest...anyone who knows me knows I love my dog...it's just that this biting issue is getting really old. It's about the 4th or 5th time he's bit me now. It's a good thing I love him, or he would have made the final trip to the vet years ago. LL suggested we get a training collar that he wears all the time now. It has made him a much better behaved job and he is starting to understand what is expected of him.

Welcome Back, Hockey

Today is a very good day, despite the fact that it is a Monday. Normally, I would hesitate to label a Monday as a "very good day", but it is hard not to do that when hockey has returned.

Yes, today my very own Dallas Stars, and many other NHL teams, have officially returned to the ice as they open training camps around the nation. The Stars will hit the ice at their official practice home, and location of one of the newest and shiniest of the Starscenters. I am going to do my best to get up to a practice by the end of the week. All of the practices are between 10am and 2pm, so I don't know how much luck I'll have at catching them until this next weekend, but I'll do my best. I'll be sure to take my camera if I go so everyone may get a glimpse of hockey through my site.

LampLover and I went to one of the Starscenters this last weekend to hit the ice. It had been over a year since I had been on the ice, I sadly realized once I was on. But, it was very much like riding a bike: after a few laps around, I was able to do crossovers and switch back and forth between skating forward and backward and of course doing slide stops. It felt wonderful to be skating again, and I truly loved it. I'm hoping to start doing the puck & stick times they have at the centers on the weekend, and try to get myself back into shape slowly. Eventually, I'll try and get back into league play by being a substitute for a team and perhaps find a good group of guys who are looking for an out-of-shape defenseman slash forward and whip myself back into good fitness while having a great time.