TSO!!!

Last night was the annual TSO concert.



Of course it was an awesome heavy metal screaming guitar pyrotechnic laser light show Christmas music and performance extravaganza. Hard to describe, but it should be experienced at least once.



After the Christmas part of the show they do other stuff. In this case, they did selections from their new release "Night Castle". It inspired me to go on-line this morning and purchase the download MP3 version.



The only bad part was the drive. It took almost two hours to get there. The trip normally takes about a half an hour. I allowed an hour, or double the normal travel time. So we missed almost an hour of the three hour show. But better to remember the incredible two hours we did see.



Also:



On the home front........

I had these brass swing arm wall lamps in the bedroom. The one on my side of the bed broke, and I couldn't fix it ( a rarity ). I went on the Internet to see if I could find a replacement. I came across these gorgeous Tiffany swing arm wall lamps. I could envision them in out bedroom, so I went ahead and purchased them. They came in on Thursday, so instead of working on the toilet, instead I assembled and installed the wall lamps. I have to say they look incredible.

Grazing Day

Today is grazing day at work.We have next Thursday and Friday off, and a lot of people take off next Mon-Wed so thay have a total of nine days without a wake-up.

This means that we have to have our potluck's today. There are a LOT of groups having their potlucks today. I call it grazing day, because a people wander around eating a little here and a little there all day long.

I brought egg rolls. But we have a lot of real good food. Chinese style pork with hot mustard and sesame seeds. Deer dip (kinda like chili cheese stuff with Vennison) Sweet Potato suoffle', main course of chicken. Cheese trays, vegetable trays, meat trays. Spinach dip in the hollowed out bread. And don't forget the cookies, donuts, and pie. And sodas.

I declare today a guilt-free, calorie-free day.

I Hate Plumbing, and it hates me

The house lies in wait for moments of weakness. Nay, it veritable LURKS. Things always go wrong in bunches. I sense a sinister glee in the piling on of disagreeable tasks.
I accept that as a homeowner, I will need to do maintenance and repair, or be prepared to pay someone else to do it.
I prefer to do it myself, but some things are better than others. I will remodel a bedroom, lay new flooring, rebuild cabinets, rewire rooms and I actually enjoy it.
But I hate plumbing.
Oh, I can do about anything that needs to be done, but would prefer not to have to do it at all. And some of it is nastier than other parts. Few things make me shudder more than remembering the time when I pulled the cleanout plug out of the line going fron the disposal to the downtube and had it all blow back all over me. Multiple showers were not adequate to wipe the stain from my psyche.
So of course I Have been faced with multiple plumbing related repairs.
It started out innocently enough. I should have suspected that the house was setting me up for the one-two-three.
The knob on the Kitchen sink came loose. As a matter of fact the serrations inside the knob had worn off, SO I had to do some creative repairs to get it to work again.
As I went down into the basement to fetch a tool. I noticed water on the staris. It was dripping from the upstairs bathroom.
As soon as I was through with the kitchen I went upstairs, and there was water all over the floor of the bathroom. How does it happen that the cold water line all the sudden comes loose and leaks. It has been working just fine for a long time. There has been no earthquake or disturbance.
Although annoying, it is not a major problem. I took everything apart, cleaned it and reassembled it. Seems to work fine.
When I was going back to the basement to put away the tools, I heard water dripping.
NOW WHAT?!?!
The downstairs toilet is leaking.
The house is getting the upper hand. Somebody needs to call fifteen yards for piling on.
I think it is the wax ring has developed a leak, which means I have to pull the toilet. We have now passed from annoying to nasty.
I have purchased a new wax ring, and it is waiting for me tonight.
I think I may need to fortify myself with a couple of beers before I undertake this chore.
It is kinda EEWWWWW.

BAD BAD BLOGGER

I have been a bad blogger lately. Practically a non-existent blogger.I guess I just ran out of juice.
We went this weekend to see "2012". I hate end-of-the-world thrillers that are based on bad science.The last one I was coaxed to go see was "Day After Tomorrow" which I hated with a passion.
Mrs A needed a little pampering and a reward for being such a good sport with my mom. She insisted on going to go see "2012", so we went. Yes the science stinks. Yes a lot of the special effects are physically impossible. Yes the story line is ridiculous. But I went in having told I would not alow rationality to interfere with the movie. Every time that little voice started to say "Hey, wait a minute", I ruthlessly squished it. That made the movie tollerable. It held my interest for the entire show.
I'd give it a six on the sliding one to ten scale. The science would get a D at best.
For dinner we went to The Olive Garden. Love that place, except the wait to get seated on Saturday night is about 45 minutes. But the food was worth the wait. And a couple of Tanqueray and Tonics didn't hurt the mood.
All in all a good weekend.

Turmoil

I am not out to look for pity, because I am not one to blame things on other people. Pretty much, I believe that we are where we are because we have made choices that put us here. Things daisy-chain off of one choice to another to another. Sometimes it feels like life has painted us into a corner, but it isn't life or chance, it is our own decisions.

I see a lot of people try to blame their circumstances on others. It is mostly BS. I suppose there are people that have totally been screwed, but 99.9% of them are acctually where they are because of their own choices.

Sometimes I get down, like everyone does, because life seems to be kicking the shit out of me. But if I take the time to look at the situation, I ALWAYS find that I am the creator of my own situation.

My recent troubles with my teeth are a result of genetics, certainly. But only my decisions made them what they are. Seven years ago, I knew my teeth were going bad. At that time I made the decision to fight losing my teeth. I could have opted for dentures, but said "Hell no, I will fight every step of the way"
So if I lose a battle, the war is still of my choice.
There has been a lot of turmoil at home recently.. V. is a pretty good kid. He isn't into drugs or running with a bad crowd, or in trouble with the law. I know a lot of people would wish for a kid like him.
He is also an arrogant, insensitive, disrespectful, selfish spoiled rotten asshole.
There are times I really wish I could take hime out behind the woodshed and teach him how it REALLY is. But I am not willing to spend time in jail to prove the point.
He does not get along with Mrs A. He is disrespectful. Talks back. If he talked to me like he does to her, he would apollogize, or I would beat the crap out of him.
V is my grandson, now adopted, and legally my son. I don't need to go into all of the very painful circumstances that brought this about. But I accepted the responsibilty to provide him with a stable and safe environment.

As usual with idealistic undertakings, it has led me down paths I never anticipated or wanted. You have to understand that he has no other spokesman. No one who has been willing to stand up in his behalf and take his defence.

I have the legal and moral responsibility to be his patron. He is a senior this year, and will be 18 on July 1st next summer. In a way I look forward to the point when I have no legal responsibility and can tell him that I no longer am required to put up with his BS.

I don't know what he thinks will happen when he graduates. The world is not waiting out there, wanting to meet his desires and needs, has no legal requirement to give him anything. The world basically doesn't give a shit if he lives or dies. OR YOU, OR ME.

The conflict between V and Mrs A is dificult for me. I need to take care of V, but in a lot of ways I would really like to just kick the crap out of him. Mrs A is much more of a controller than I am, but she is not wrong in expecting to be treated with respect. On one hand I have a legal responsibilty. On the other hand I have my heart, because I love Mrs A more than anything in this world.

Which lands me right in the middle of a situation I can in no way control.

As I told Mrs A the other day "No matter what I do, I'm F&(*ed".

Updates

On Thursday while I was having my stitches pulled, Mrs A took The Matriarch in for her semi-annual poking and prodding. Earlier in the week, she had a spell when she got dizzy and kinda passed out for a short time. The doc checked her out and decided there was something a little "off" on her cardiograph, so he sent her to the Emergency Room.
Mrs A called me to let me know they were on their way to the hospital, so I jumped in the truck and met them there. We spent the next four hours with them running every test they could think of. First they were going to check her in for observation, then send her home, then check her in, then not.
After four hours they couldn't find anything wrong, so they sent her home.
We are taking care of "i" this weekend. He is a really enjoyable kid. With just enough mischief to make things interesting. It was R's birthday, and she wanted an evening out. Can't say I blame her. She has had to handle a lot over the last several months.
She got an early birthday present from the government. A $9,000.00 grant for education. She took some nursing courses earlier this year and had a 3.85 GPA. The grant is for her to continue and get her LPN. It's good to see her on a positive path.
Saturday was our other grandson's birthday, which they held at a bowling alley. I don't bowl, but it was "i"s chance to see some of his cousins. hate kiddie birthday parties, but at least there was a lounge. A double Tanqueray and Tonic took the edge off.
I believe we have an uncimmitted weekend next weekend. I owe Mrs A for being suck a good sport the last week or so, so I think a good dinner at The Olive Garden is in order.

In Stitches

I get my stitches out of my mouth tomorrow. They have been driving me nuts. I know, short trip.
In fact I had one hanging down in my mouth that was especially bothersome. So when I got home I got out the cuticle scissors and took it out. The doctor will probably give me hell, but I don't care.
Monday they had to perform an emergency root canal, and put in a pin, then clean up the bridge and reinstall it.
Today is my Mom's83rd birthday. Happy birthday, mom. She now holds the record for the longest lived of her family line. Just think, every day is a new record. Here's too a long string of new records.