Weekend Assignment #304: De-stressing

Okay, I'm not sure what number assignment this should be, but I think it is 304. I'm going with that.

Anyway, Karen wants to know how we relieve stress.

Weekend Assignment #303: How do you de-stress when you're feeling frazzled?

Short answer; I don't. I suck at getting rid of stress. Really. Just ask Jenn. I bottle everything up then get all pissy about stupid stuff. Don't I sound like a fun person to live with?

I do somethings that help once in a while. I will play video games to try and feel better, but if I have trouble in the game I get irritated again. How does that help?

I will listen to music, and that will actually work. It's hard to be irritated when you are listening to a song you really like.

I do remember one time when the kids were very young and I was off of work for the day while Jenn was at work. I don't remember the specifics, but I know it was not a good day. The kids were probably cranky, the dog was probably getting into things, just a plain bad day. I remember talking to Jenn at one point during the day and letting her know I was having a bad day in the oh so subtle way that I do that. When she came home she told me to go out. She basically made me leave the house and go to the bookstore to chill out. It worked. I don't remember if I bought anything, but I felt better when I came home.

Don't let me get started on work stress. We have a lot of stuff going on there right now and none of it is good. It doesn't help that the office loves gossip, especially when it is some kind of negative gossip.

Extra Credit: The Weekend Assignment may soon have a co-host. That okay with everyone?

Fine by me. As long as we keep the a non-graded assignment.

Weekend Assignment #293: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

At least in the stores it is. So far we still have green grass. Let's hope it stays that way for a while.

Karen's assignment this week is about the holidays and when they start for us.

Weekend Assignment: #292: Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving ahead, and Christmas advertising has begun. So how about it? When do the holidays begin for you? Do you avoid thinking about Christmas and Hanukkah until after Thanksgiving, or is any time after Halloween okay? Is it time for Christmas lights in your neighborhood, and do the neighbors agree with you? How about Christmas music? When does that become okay, if ever?

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas decorations going up in the stores right after Christmas. It has nothing to do with the fact that Thanksgiving isn't here yet, or that it contributes to the commercialization of Christmas. I don't care about that. I just hate that it makes me stressed out thinking I have less time to get presents. True, Jenn does most of the shopping now, but I'm a last minute shopper, so I don't want to think that last minute is here already. Does that make any sense? Sure, you could say that the decorations up early would remind me to go shopping so I'm not doing it on the last minute, but that's just stupid. Once I realize I have a month-and-a-half until Christmas I just forget about it until the next time I go into the store. That's why I avoid stores from now until December 22nd. It's easier on my heart.

What was the question again?

Oh, yeah. I have noticed people put up lights on their house, but they aren't turned on yet. Here in the Midwest you put them up when the weather is nice. That way when you go to turn them on and they don't work when it's cold and snow, you can say that at least you made an attempt.

And Christmas music? Well, that's playing here on the local "Christmas" station. They started last week, which is a little late for them. I want to say they started right after Halloween last year, but it might have seemed that way. I'm not against Christmas music this early. My problem is there is not enough good Christmas music to start this early. Unless you want to repeat the same thing every day, you need to dig deep into the Christmas music bin. When you are dragging out Christmas music sung by cats or dogs, you need to have a better plan.

Extra Credit: Have you bought any holiday presents yet? If not, when do you think you'll start?

Actually, we have bought a few gifts. We bought a Wii due to a special sale, and we picked up a few games today because of a sale. We are out of control! Jenn is going to his some stores on Black Friday. I'll be asleep. I mean, keeping an eye on the kids!

Weekend Assignment #280: Volunteers

I wasn't sure how to start this post, I'm still not, because the Weekend Assignment might go away due to lock of participation. That's not good. If it wasn't for this I wouldn't have met anybody here on the Internet. So, if you have a blog and read this, think about joining in on Karen's page. Please.

Anyway, on to this week's assignment.

Weekend Assignment: #280: Have you ever been actively involved in a campaign or a cause, to the point of doing more than just donating or voting? Tell us about the phone calls, the food drive, the charity walk or other civic-minded work you've done, if any. And if you've never done this sort of thing, why not? (It's okay if you haven't - I'm just interested in the reasons.)
Extra Credit: Do you have a favorite charity? Which one?

The short answer is a sad no. I can't think of anything I've volunteered for. Maybe there is something that I can't remember, but I don't think so. But, I still have something to add.

I've never actively campaigned for a candidate or volunteered like Karen does, but I was part of one a long time ago. Back in the late 70's a family acquaintance was running for governor in Illinois. You know, back before Illinois had such a bar rap. Of course I was only eight at the time, so it may have and I just didn't know.

The only reason I remember this is because we got to be part of a commercial. We recruited the neighbor kids, since there was five of them, got all the kids in our family together, and we went to some school to record a question and answer segment. Yes, the kids were asking the questions. Obviously, in the final commercial there was no volume on us, instead there was a voice over about something to do with kids. He was high up in the education system so that was part of his platform. I should probably mention is name, don;'t you think. It was Mike Bakalis. He's got a Wikipedia page and everything, so you know I'm not making it up.

I don't remember a whole lot about it, though I seem to, but I do remember asking him what he was going to do if he didn't win. That right there is why they didn't bother to record what we were actually saying. Once the commercial stared running I kept hoping to see myself on TV. I never did. I saw some of the neighbors, my sister, and some other kids, but never me. I remember my parents telling me one of my aunts saw me, but I 'm sure they were lying. Too bad this was before the age of VHS, I could post a video of the commercial.

I can post this video, but it has nothing to do with me, so I don't care.

Check out the 70's hair. Also, check out the awesome 70's graphics. Can you imagine someone getting elected with something so boring now?

Sp, that's my story. Oh, and if Mike Bakalis is out there, hi. I had fun doing that commercial back in the day. Sorry you didn't win.

I don't really have a favorite charity, We kind of have a random donation policy in our house. I don't know if that is good our bad.

Weekend Assignment #258: Hobby of Mine

For this week's assignment Karen gets some help from Laura:

Weekend Assignment #257: Are there any hobby activities you've always wanted to try? What is their appeal? Also, what's stopping you from pursuing them?


You know, it took me a while to come up with something for this week. Then, when I did get an idea, our Internet connection went kerplooey. Now I think I can actually answer this.

This first few things I thought of I had already done. Blogging was a hobby that I thought about for a long time before actually doing it. Actually, if it wasn't for Jenn starting hers, I may never have done it. So you can all thank, or blame, her.

I've done some of the basics out there; I have some coins I collected, I play golf, running. The basic things that most people do, or think about doing, I've done. Well, except skydiving. I've never thought I wanted to do it, and I never will!

So, after some hard thinking I came up with flying. An airplane, not being a superhero, or anything. My step-dad had a four-seater airplane that he used to fly when I was growing up. I always thought it was cool and really wanted to learn. When he was learning about flying I would always help him with his tests. Actually, not all that long ago, I found some of his old study materials in the basement. Inside was a score sheet with both his and my scores. I did pretty well!

I never did get to learn though. I know if my mom and step-dad didn't get divorced I would have learned, but I never got the chance. I would have had a plane readily available and could have practiced pretty easily. It's not like I miss it now anyway. I wouldn't be able to afford to fly. Do you know how much it costs to rent a plane? Not to mention owning one? Well, I don't either, but I bet it is a lot.

I did get to take one lesson about 9 years ago. Jenn bought me a one hour lesson at the local airport out here. It was pretty cool, and brought back a lot of memories. I got to fly along the lake and do a low pass over the former Meigs Field. Jenn's mom was not to happy about it though. She was pretty sure I was going to die that day.

Extra Credit: What was the last hobby activity you did?

I just took some picture out in the front and back of the house. We'll see how they turn out. I'll be posting them soon.

So, do you have a hobby you want to do?

Weekend Assinment 255: Two Centuries Later

I missed out on Karen's last assignment because I was all messed up last week after our trip. Now I'm back. Before I go on to this week's assignment, I want to mention something about last week's. The assignment was do-overs and what would day would you want to re-live. This was inspired by the movie Groundhog Day. So, my thought was, I want to re-live the day I saw that movie. That way it would be some weird, endless loop that would probably destroy the universe as we know it. Cool, huh?

Okay, back to this week. Karen's assignment is as follows:

Weekend Assignment #255: Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, two hundred years ago this week. Both went on to propound ideas that had a lasting effect on the world around us. Have either of them had a particular impact on you personally?

This is pretty easy for me. See, growing up in Illinois you have no choice but be reminded about good old Abe Lincoln and how much he meant to our country. Usually this involves a filed trip to Central Illinois to see some log cabins he may have lived in at one time. Also, there is no way one can get through school without doing some kind of report on Abraham Lincoln. I don't remember when I did one, but I know I did. Heck, our slogan is "Land of Lincoln."

I wonder if anything is going to change since Obama is from Illinois. Obviously, a lot depends on how well Obama does as a president. I think it will take a lot to push Lincoln out of the minds of Illinoisans. I could be wrong though.

Now, about Darwin; I'm not saying he wasn't important to me, it's just that being in Illinois it's hard to beat out Lincoln for popularity. Darwin was very important for the scientific community, in my opinion. I know there has been some debate recently about evolution in some states. I don't get it. I don't know why some states want to go backwards in science. Don't even get me started on Creationist Museums. People living along side dinosaurs? Really? I don't want to get too deep into this right now. You can go to Phil Plait's blog and see many arguments he has on it. He's a scientist and can do much better job arguing for me.

Extra Credit: Where do you rank Lincoln on your personal list of greatest U.S. presidents?

Oh, boy. Top five, at least I never really thought about it that much.

What about you? Who is more important to you?

Weekend Assignment #221: What Are You Drinking?

With the warm weather upon us, Karen wants us to talk about what we drink to keep hydrated for this Weekend Assignment.

Weekend Assignment #221: What do you like to drink? Do you prefer Coke, or Pepsi, or neither? Do you start your days at Starbucks, or end your days with a nice cup of herbal tea? Are you a connoisseur of beer, or do you like to keep a pitcher of lemonade on hand? Do you carry a bottle of water around, and refill it as you go? Tell us about your favorites!


For me, it depends on where I am and what I am doing, as I guess it would be with most people. At work I drink water for the most part. I usually buy one bottle and refill it over the course of a week or two, rinse and repeat. Most people at work wouldn't dream of drinking the water out of the drinking fountain, but I don't find it to be bad. If I get some kind of heavy metal poisoning, I'll just sue. That's what we do, am I right? I'm just kidding of course. (Anyone know a good injury lawyer?)

About two or three years ago I got on a Mountain Dew Code Red kick. It started innocently enough when I was working a midnight shift, then it got out of control. I finally had to stop because I was drinking too much of it and it was making me sick. I'll still have one on occasion, but I find it too sugary, and I get an instant headache.

I also had a short thing with Cherry Coke, I'm pretty much over that too, but sometimes I am tempted when I walk by the soda machine at work. She's a very beguiling soda, always promising a nice sugar rush, but then you crash at your desk at 3pm and she is nowhere to be found.

Now I will have Dr. Pepper when I need a caffeine kick. I usually drink the cherry vanilla or berries and cream variety. They seem to be a little more soda-like and less cough medicine tasting than the regular Dr. Pepper. I'm trying to cut out caffeine all together, but it is a work in progress.

I love the smell of coffee, but I have never liked the taste. I think if I went to Starbucks I could probably find some hyper-sweetened variety that I would like; that is why I stay away. We have one just up the street from my house, I don't want to live at their drive-thru.

Lastly, I like beer. But, as my wife says, I'm kind of a beer snob. I don't like Bud, or Miller, or the basic domestics. Some of my favorites are Sam Adams Summer Ale, Fat Tire and Leinenkugel's Big Butt. In college I was just like everybody else, whatever was the cheapest was my favorite. Except Milwaukee's Best, I could never handle that. Then one of my friend's introduced me to Sam Adams, and eventually I got hooked. Good thing it was near the end of college, I was able to finish my time with the cheaper beers.

Extra Credit: Have you ever invented your own drink sensation?

Never a sensation, but in college I would drink Southern Comfort and orange pop. Most people thought that was disgusting, but it wasn't bad. Really!

What do you like to drink?

Weekend Assignment #220 : Beautiful

Yes, I know it is Wednesday, but I can still do my Weekend Assignment today. Karen said so. So, with out further delay; this weekend assignment.


Weekend Assignment #220: Tell us about one person, place, concept or thing you find particularly beautiful, and why it affects you in this way. If you can demonstrate its beauty with photos, great, but as always, the primary emphasis for the Weekend Assignment is words. Extra Credit:Does something threaten to disturb or destroy that beauty?

I'm going to skip over the easy answer, my wife, besides, she doesn't want me plastering pictures of her all over here.

Instead I will talk about something inanimate, outer space. Yes, it is kind of general, but it is beautiful! Even our planet looks better from space. From the rocky, inhabitable Mercury to the giant Jupiter, our own solar system is an amazing bunch of rock and gasses that came together to circle our sun.



If one of those planets were not there, would the solar system by the same? Would Earth be what it is toady? I don't know, but it's possible it could be very different.

Beyond our solar system you have out galaxy, the Milky Way, with billions of stars circling a densely packed center of stars, dark matter, and a giant black hole. Looking at a galaxy from far away can make your worries feel small and insignificant.


Can't it? It makes me wish we could get out there, see what lies beyond our solar system. It won't happen for a very long time, if ever, but it would be great if humans could really get to other star systems. Maybe, if we are extremely lucky, find some other intelligent life.


When you see clusters of galaxies like this, it makes you think it is possible. Unfortunately, these are so far away we could never reach them. Still, it is fun to look at these images and just wonder, what is out there that we don't know about yet?

Extra credit: I don't think anything is threatening the universe. I think things will be fine for several billion years. Earth only has about 4 billion, based on the sun's life cycle, unless we mess it up first.

All images from hubblesite.org go check it out!

Weekend Assignment #214: Fresh Starts

Time for the Weekend Assignment from Karen over at Outpost Mavarin. This week she wants us to write about any big changes we've had in our lives.

Weekend Assignment #214: Sooner or later, pretty much everyone makes one or more major changes in their lives, sometimes several at once. We leave home, go off to college, get married, get divorced, change jobs, change careers, have kids, move to another house or another state, etc., etc. These things can be very stressful, but we do them in the hope of being better off in some way. Tell us of one change you voluntarily made in your life at some point, that worked out really well.


I've had the some of the same as many people. Going off to college is a big change. Meeting new people, learning how to take care of yourself, doing laundry; all are tough to do on your own for the first time. That's why we all go home to visit with large sacks of dirty clothes.

I've had a handful of jobs. All of them were changes that I thought would better myself in one way or another.

I'd say the biggest change when was my wife and I got married. Within a year's time, we bought our first place, got married and I went back to school. Quite a change for a newly married couple to go through. Most people have a hard enough time learning how to share a bathroom.

Our parents were good to us. They let us stay home while we saved up the money to get married and buy our place. They didn't even charge rent; that helped us out from the sart.

So, after living in the place a short time we talked about me going back to school and how we could afford it. Luckily, I was able to get a student loan, so off I went. I drove 500 miles a week back and forth to school and worked at a restaurant on my days off and at night. My wife and I didn't get to see each other much for those two years, though she would come in to the restaurant for dinner a lot. That was how we caught up with each other for a while.

It all worked out, though. Now we live in a house with two kids and a puppy, and we get to see each other a lot more. Though my family likes to say I have too many days off. They are just jealous.

Extra Credit: Tell us of a little tiny change that also went well!

We switched over from a powdered dishwasher detergent to the little tablets you put into the machine. That seems to be going well.