so Sunday night I had to leave the house due to a lack of Huck-chow. I also had to drop a prescription off at Target. So on the way home, I decided to see what the hub-bub and traffic was about at Sonic. So I stopped in. I decided to go for car-hop service, and pulled in when a space cleared. I browsed over the menu, and tried to pick something I would like. I opted for two of their value chicken strip sandwiches, a small order of "tots", and a Strawberry Shake.

So onto the food. The chicken strip sandwiches were darn tasty. Nice and crispy chicken, with some lettuce on the bottom, and some mayo. Tasted good and went down easy. The "tots" where almost all tots, but I also had some popcorn chicken pieces and regular fries mixed in as well. Now I personally got a kick out of this, as when I get a stray food mixed in with others, it's a treat. Like when you open a bag of Doritos and get a Cheet-o inside the bag as well. Now about the shake. It was EXCELLENT. And thick. Like so thick trying to drink it actually loosened my partial. I really enjoyed it.

Of course, now I have a copy of the menu in my car, and I have already picked out somethings I need to try next, like the lime-aides and also the smoothies.

I came home, and I was/am still nursing a pulled pectoral muscle. It's really painful, and hurt enough to keep me in the house Saturday night, meaning I missed the chance at a movie w/Kristen. I stupidly popped some pain killers when I came home, and felt better enough and installed the attic fan I bought. I started around 7-8pm, and planned to be done by 11pm, at the latest. Between cutting a hole in my attic door, and cutting the wood for the fan to mount to, I didn't start installing UNTIL 11pm. I also ran some conduit to encase the wire for the fan, and by the time I cut power and finished wiring, it was 12:30. I also found out later that I almost lost my one external hard drive when I cut the power to the attic, which apparently is hooked into an outlet I plug my computer into. So I got the fan powered and started fixing the problems I was coming across, like the air leak out of the top. By 2am, I had the fan running and the attic COOLING nicely, and went downstairs to bed.

Of course, when I woke up this morning, my muscle reminded me of all the work I did. So I was in a lot of pain today, which is of course a day they send me around to random locations to do things I have no clue how to do b/c it's systems I have never dealt with before. I think I figured out what I was doing, which is good. So here I am, sitting on the couch, not really minding my hurt shoulder. Why? Because I walked into a fallen branch and it jammed into the top of my foot. So it hit near a vein, and the swelling and pain has started. I forecast a nice bruise to compliment the others I am sporting tomorrow morning.

OK, that's it for tonight, as I am tired, and need to sleep. BADLY. So on that note, I will bid you all Nighters.

so Sunday is about 15 minutes away from ending. So what did I do? Well, I slept in today, much as I planned. After I got up, I ate, drank 2 cups of coffee, and started watching Arrested Development from the pilot. While doing that, I cleaned up in the kitchen from the chili I made yesterday. I also decided to finally put the last coat of black paint on my Radioactive Case. So I masked off what needed to be saved, and proceeded to put a final black coat on. It came out pretty good from what I see. I just need to put a clear coat on, and everything will be ready to go. After that, I went out to feed the horses and also gassed and filled in a woodchuck hole in the mare paddock as well. I then set out a trap in case he wasn't in the hole. After that, I came back inside, made some muffins, and started neetsfoot oiling my boots and slippers. Once the boot dry, I can put a nice coat of polish on them and have them look good again.

OK, that's it for tonight. I'm gonna hop in the shower to get any sweat from today off me, then slide into the bed for a nice nights sleep. Talk to you later all. Nighters.

so I know I haven't updated since Dizzy returned, so I decided to sit down and catch everyone up. For those who don't know, Dizzy is one of the four kittens Ash Lee had. She's always been my favorite amongst Ash's kittens, and was always around outside when I was doing anything.

So last year, right after my birthday, Dizzy disappears. I mean just gone. No trace. I spent hours calling her and looking for her, but nothing. I put a report to the Humane Society and left them a picture of her. One month went by. Two months went by. Then three, four, etc... The whole time I said she was still alive as none of my neighbors or I had seen any bodies on the road. I figure she had scratched on someone's back door, and as soon as they opened it, she moved in. I had been holding out hope that she would escape one day and she'd be back.( Pictures and more of my rambling, after the jump! )

so I know have been lacking on the update front. I have been just super busy, and I am really upset that I haven't been updating like I should. I have been neglecting many things, and that bothers me. But I have some time tonight, so I thought I would fire off a quick update.

So a few days ago, I get an IM from my Ex. Now, surprisingly, this is not uncommon. It is my understanding that as part of the mandatory counseling/debreifing that all my Ex's receive from the Government, part of the therapy is contacting me. But seriously, I have no problem talking to any of my Ex's. In fact, there are some I talk to on a regular basis, and quite enjoy it. There are the few who choose for some reason to not speak to me. I can understand that. Heck, I even have one Ex who denies we even went out, but I have witnesses, so I know I'm not making it up. So back to my story. So I was playing a game on my computer when I got some IM's. After I was done playing, I checked my IM's before I went to bed and I saw they were from someone I had dated over 5 years ago. She IMed me to ask if I was ever going to talk to her again, that she was sorry, and if I want her to, she'll leave me alone. Now I will say the break up there was a bit on the rocky side, and I was a little upset at the end. But the funny thing is, unlike other times when I can hold a grudge for a long time, I can never stay angry at someone I love. Yeah, it may take some time, like it did with Molly, but in the end, my love for them wins out. Of course, while I'm going out with them, any anger usually passes very quickly. I may brood for a day or two, but I think I do that so I can try to stay mad, and try to work it all out in my head. I know with Kari, if I saw her smile at me, any anger I had just melted away, and I'd forgive her for anything(and did). But where was I? Oh yeah, my Ex, Kristen. So she IMed me, but I wasn't able to check the message until later. So I did IM her back, but I never got a response. I mean look, I am not adverse to talking to any of my Ex's. I may set rules for how I want to be contacted, like only over the phone or in person, but I don't consider that too restrictive. I also don't try to block them out of my memory. I will admit each time I pass the street her house is on in Toms River, I look down to see if I can see her green car. Whenever I hear about Monmouth University, I think of her. And yes, I will admit that even though I saw her SN pop up on my buddy list, I never pulled the trigger and IMed her, mostly b/c I wasn't sure if it was still her. But when she IMed me, I was all for getting into a convo. Who knows, maybe it will still happen?

But anyway, what else is going on. Ahh, on Friday, I got bit by a horse. We had a new horse come in, and while attempting to open his stall to feed him, he reached out and latched onto my hand. He ripped off my glove and a good amount of skin. After I went inside to bandage the thing up, the bastard was standing in his stall over my glove with a look of, "Come on in and get it, I dare you". So I whacked him back with a stick and got my glove. The bite isn't deep, just long and wide, so it's healing pretty quickly. The only bad part is I have yet to develop super powers. At least some I can observe. Perhaps I can run 6 furlongs in over a minute with a small Indian Gentleman strapped to my back. I thought I could count, but I kept tapping out the wrong answers with my foot to math problems. Oh well.

Other than that, nothing much exciting has been going on. I finally finished my holiday card for this year. It has been mostly been a scheduling thing, as all my graphics programs are on my mac, and she is still acting up. So I needed to find time to get my PC setup to work under Win2k, as none of my cards had 2k drivers. So in the end, I got it done.

OK, I am tired and the night just gets shorter. I will leave you all now. You'll probably see me on the BedCam.

so it is officially the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I thought I would sit back and catch up on the whirlwind which has finally dropped me off.

I started my prep on Tuesday by making one of the two cheesecakes I was planning on making. After making the two test cheesecakes over the weekend, I got my results back from the test subjects and the results were all for the Amaretto cheesecake. So I went about baking. oth cheesecakes went off without a hitch, and came out pretty well.

Thursday I woke up and did the farm thing. I then went back inside and prepared myself for the day. On the plans were first my Dad's family, then my Mom's family. I was supposed to by at Auntie's at 12pm, and I would have been, if it hadn't been for my Dad. So I showed up a little after 12 and I was the first to arrive besides my Aunt Susan and Aunt Elaine. They really liked how the cheesecake looked, which made me happy. I settled in and soon my Cousin Amy and her husband(wow, weird saying that) Bill showed up. A funny thing I learned was that Amy is a fellow Gawker reader. She is a Jezebel reader, and I am a Gizmodo reader. We shared some stories all about Gawker, which was cool. Soon after my Father arrived and our only hold out was my cousin Rebecca. Now I was supposed to go to dinner with my Mom at like 3pm. Becky didn't arrive until a little after three as she was stuck in GSP traffic, and had to get off and take back roads. So I held out till around 3:45 and took off for Tinton Falls and my Mother. When I got there they had already finished dinner,so I loaded up a plate and ate. After dinner I got to try the cheescake which was pretty good, although IMHO, a little heavy on the Amaretto. I blame the alcohol for that, and I am referring to the stuff I drank while baking. I soon left and headed ack for my house whereupon I sat around for awhile and eventually went out and fed the horses for the night. When I tried to water them, I realized that my Father had not drained the hose, and I could not get water out. I spent over an hour and a half thawing out the house, which delayed me getting into bed.

Friday I awoke and was not in a good mood as I didn't sleep well. Lately someone has been appearing in my dreams again, and each time she does, I get a crappy nights sleep. They kind of share a theme, but it's hard to describe it in words. I think it's a betrayal feeling, with an overtone of loneliness. So I woke up, put Huck out, unlocked the hay trailer, brought Huck back in, then went back to bed. I slept better then, and got up around 11am. I was still going into work again, as I am apt to do on the Holidays, but made some pitstops before I got there. ZOMG, what is up with these Black Friday things. I have never really gone out for them before, but since I get up early for the farm, I sometimes do now. Last year I got some nice deals (Read Here), and unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see any fliers while at Aunties, so I didn't know what was really on sale, except that Staples had a laptop cooler I wanted that I saw in a leaked ad. I went in and found the cooler as well as a new Logitech cordless mouse and a 8gb flash drive(I'm a mem whore). Everything was easy to find. I didn't stop in Circuit City which was nearby, which I'm pissed at myself for. I found out after I got home from work that Circuit City had a NICE Logitech cam on sale for 9.99, but are sold out everywhere. After Staples I went into work and caught up on some work and sent some paperwork out which needed to travel. While at work I checked Target's flier online, and saw they had House Season 3 on sale for under $14.00, so I stopped by there on the way home just to pick it up. So I will say this. Of the things I knew about WHILE shopping, I found everything, and very easily. Except for the webcam, which I might try finding morrow. I know I don't NEED another cam, but it can't hurt, especially a nice one with glass optics. After work I cam home, tried out my new laptop cooler which seems to be working, checked the horses, then started cleaning. I then ended by writing a entry, which is where I am now.

On that note, I am getting to bed. I have a jam packed week ahead, which includes Christenings, going up to the big city to hang with some of my Giz people, and ends on Saturday when I have to go to the Monmouth Mall to try and win a lot of money from a local radio station. So good night all, and hope your Holidays went well, and keep going that way.

so it's the weekend. Well, to be most accurate, it's the end of the weekend. So what did I do? Well, after this whole hectic week, I decided I needed a mental health weekend. So yesterday, I pretty much just sat around the house relaxing. I finally set up some remote access for the cams, so when I am at work, if need be, I can restart the cam feeds. I do realize that if I am not home, and the cams are down, do they really need to be up? I decided that yes, they do. Even if they are just static shots, them updating gives us hope, Obi-wan. I also added a new addition to the laptop I use upstairs in bed. Since it was tough to see the keys, as most of the lettering has been work off, I took some glow-in-the-dark letters and stuck them onto the keys of the laptop. I can now see them easilt, even if the lights are out.

Today, Sunday, I wanted to get rid of some wood and papers, so a fire was called for. It was one of my normal fires. While I was at it, I also got rid of some of the wood piled we have over by where I park. I tried using all the logs I could in the fire, but some literally crumbled when picked up. I split one log, and found some Carpenter Ants inside. They made popping noises in the fire. I took some of the rotted wood from the pile, and threw it in a wheel barrow and took it down to the stream. The way I see it, when the weather gets cold, the water inside should break them apart. I also think the wood that is pretty much pulp might be good out in the paddocks. It's pretty much soil right now, so it could replace some holes we have outside.

OK, it's getting late, and despite a cup of coffee three hours ago, I'm tired. Nighters all.

so it's been a productive weekend. I heard that it was going to rain, and all signs pointed to it being the truth, so I decided to stay in. I needed to get some things done, and this seemed like a good weekend to do it.

On Saturday, I woke up after catching some good sleep. I got up, made some coffee, then talked some with my Father. We had a new client coming to see the farm Sunday, so we talked over what we needed done. After that, I started the cleaning process. I turned up the speakers, and cranked some tunes to help me along. My office needed a cleaning badly, so I went and got rid of some empty boxes I had been keeping in there. Once they were gone, the cleaning went much more quickly. In my room, I had computers and hard drives all over the floor, so I put all of the hard drives I had gone through in a spare laundry basket along with with other computer stuff I wasn't using. I was going to put them up in the attic, but I decided that I could just keep them near the attic door, which made them accesible, but out of the way. I also went up into the attic and closed up the windows up there b/c it's starting to get colder, and we don't really need more airflow through the attic. After that, I put all of the stuff up in the attic that needed storage, and was going to bring down the Holiday stuff, but I decided that it was too early. I had spent about two hours doing all of this, and was happy it was done. I realized I had a lot of clothes that needed cleaning, so I started doing some loads of laundry as well. I went upstairs to vacuum, and started my Roomba down on the ground floor to give her some cleaning time. I was passing the bed and realized I was probably do for a sheet change, then remembered I was supposed to do it last week, but had decided to wait until this week. So I stripped the bed, and set out new sheets. I also had a little bit of inspiration, and organized some of the cables floating around my computer, specifically the cord to my external antenna for my router, and the cord for my DeskCam on JerseyCam. While I was at it, I also made more room and secured the cord for the BedCam. Since I had to pass the cord for the BedCam through my computer closet and the wall, I had to make a passthrough on the edge of the door/sheet of wood I use to keep it closed. While taking it off, it occured to me that the piece of string I had been using wasn't cutting it anymore, so I added an actual handle onto it, which looks pretty good, and lets me handle it very securely. By now, it was getting late, so I went to feed the horses, then came back inside. I was going to watch COPS, but since the World Series was on, I decided to check my collection of movies, and felt in the mood to watch "21". While I was doing this, I continued doing laundry and also modified a quick release shoe for one of my tripods. If you're wondering why, don't worry, you'll find out soon enough when I make some more changes to the website. After 21, my movie appetite had not been satisfied, so I turned off the lights and started to watch "Charlie Wilsons War", which was pretty darn good, IMHO. Now it was getting late, so since I had to be up early Sunday morning, I hit the sack.

On Sunday, Even though I had set my alarm, I overslept. I got up and luckily the new clients hadn't shown up. I had no sooner had a pop tart in my mouth when they DID show up. I went out and talked to them till my Dad could make it here. All in all, I think it went pretty good. They were impressed with our place, and it looks like we should get at least 6 more horses over the winter. After they left, I did some more stuff around the house, like wrapping 10lbs of hamburgers, and finally decided to call it quits, which is where I am right now. So if you all don't mind, my head is cloudy, and there is a warm clean bed calling my name upstairs.

Nighters all.

ok, I didn't really go on vacation this weekend. I mostly just stayed around the house. Boring, I know, but hey. At least I got some cleaning done on top of some other things. I managed to fill out all of my rebate forms and get them ready in their envelopes. Now I just need to get the UPCs, and I'll be ready to scan and mail them. One of them is for the new webcam I got, so that I am up to three cams at JerseyCam. The only bad part is that Juliet, my Mac, seems to be very sick. I was having problems with files and her system, and now she seems to be down for the count. I think the problem is a bad battery, so once I pick up a new one, I will try that out and we will see what happens. Since I never really shut her down, I can understand how the battery lasted 9 years, and I'm hoping that being off and not plugged in for a few weeks is the cause of it. Since she is down, Cam 1 is down as well, as the picture isn't the same when I run it through my PC. Hopefully she'll be back up and running soon, as I miss her, and while I'm not a shortage of places to find parts, I've never had any of my macs get so sick they couldn't be repaired. So head on over and check out the new cam, which is for the living room, and tell me what you think.

So on Saturday, I decided to use the veal sausage I got from the store to make a big pot of gravy. I also threw in some yummy pork pieces, but forgot the loin end, so there were no bones to really flavor it. Oh well. It cooked very well, and I was snacking on it all day as it cooked. I even had it for dinner tonight, along with some pasta. I also made some meals for the next three-four weeks, so I'm good in that arena.

After last weeks fiasco with the septic system/ground hog, I finally got some laundry done. For those that don't know, I had a clog in my septic line. This caused the water to back up and there is an ingenious pipe below my porch that will dump any backed up water, rather than it backing all the way up to a sink or toilet. This is a good system. Except when a groundhog.woodchuck decides to build a nest under your front porch. What happened was all the water went into his hole, and since he was right next to the foundation of the house, the water found a easy route, and came in through a hole in the foundation into the basement. So when I went downstairs to get some food last Saturday while doing laundry, I see water just pouring into the basement. This left me in a pickle, since it was late Saturday, and Sunday is $$$$ for a plumber. I came to the conclusion that the problem was the septic tank being full, as I have been asking for the past three years to get it pumped, and it never has. So Sunday I went to Home Depot and purchased some pipes so that I could divert the water away from the hole, and have it head towards the street. It would at least allow me to shower, which was a good thing, and since it is considered "gray water", it's good for the lawn, which sucked up most of the water. Of course, since Mario designed the porch, it was a pain to remove all the lattice work to get under the porch. On a lucky note, after deciding to purchase some Tyvex jumpsuits for my car, in the off chance I needed to do something while wearing nice clothes, they came in very handy while crawling under my porch to attach the pipes. Monday the septic guy came out, and pumped the tank which was only half full. They then ran a snake through the main pipe, and found the clog, which was the main culprit. At least I know that after 6 years, during which the house was occupied by two people for three years, I only managed to half fill our, and I quote the septic guy, "huge" tank.

So this weekend I did some more laundry, and the lines seem to be very clear now. Now for those who may not know, I picked up a little friend two weeks ago. He doesn't have a name, as I haven't thought of one. He is very helpful around the house, and cleans up after me. What is he? He's a Roomba! Here's a picture:
Say what you will about these things, but they are GREAT. The biggest problem I have is the hair, dust, and hay that I bring in from outside. Well, this little guy just goes banging around and finds all the crap, and cleans it up. When he's done, he travels back towards his charging baselin, lines up, and parks himself to re-charge. I mean how cool is that? I decided he was a guy b/c he likes to drive headlong into everything. He does it so much, I sewed him a little bumper guard to prevent any scrapes. The cats hate him, but they will come from upstairs to follow it around, then run+jump away when it comes near them. I think Dummy is starting to realize it won't hurt him, and has let it get closer. Some users report that their pets learn how to turn theirs on, and run around an play with them, so I probably have to look forward to that.

Other than those bombshells, nothing much has been going on. OK, it's near 12:30, and I have to be up in 5 hours. Talk to you all later.

for what, you may ask? Well, it is tough to explain. But as much as I despise other people's children most of the time, sometimes they are just so cute. Glenn and Tracie had their baby just a little over one week ago. I still stop over and see them every now and then, and I usually head out that way when I go out for Happy Hour, I'm the one who usually finds out what's up for Bob&Family. It was funny. I stopped by last Monday, and Glenn had told me that Tracie was scheduled for inducement on Wednesday(it was originally Thursday, the 11th, but she didn't want that day). I was just about to leave when Gillian made Tracie take her outside so she could say bye to me. I mean, if that doesn't melt your heart a little, I don;t know what can. After I found out they had the baby, I didn't stop in b/c I didn't want to start the Cole and Simba barking and possibly disturb the baby. But yesterday, while I was removing the headliner to my car(more on that later), Glenn and Gillian stopped by. Gillian loves all the animals we have here(and who doesn't?). It's so funny watching her pet the horses. She was making Glenn walk her up and down the barn so she could pet each horse like 5 times. So today I was passing by and I saw Glenn in the driveway with a stroller. I stopped quickly and went down the driveway. He is SOOOO cute. This Glenn is Glenn V, which is just so cool. Another thing I didn't mention yet is just how tough Gillian is. Today she was trying to catch a cat that has taken up residence in Glenn's area. Well, she grabbed a thorn bush. Now most kids would cry, but she jerked her hand back, and just kind of looked at it, then went on playing. She came up to Glenn about two minutes later, and she actually had a thorn in her hand. Glenn pulled it out real quick, and she kept on going. The last time she was here, she took a small fall in the mare barn. Most kids would start bawling, but she got up, said "ouchies" and took off running again. So I left Glenn b/c it was getting late, and I like to be home by 8pm when I go out. Well, later on,m after Glenn's, I passed a mother who was with 3 kids. I said "howdy" to them all as we passed, and as I got further away, I heard one of the kids start going, "WOW(not World of Warcraft, BTW), he was nice!".

So what am I accomplishing by all of these stories? I guess I'm trying to give some reasons as to why I think I have been feeling the urge to have kids. Maybe it's b/c I'm getting older. But for some reason, I kind of get all optimistic about what my kids will be like. I will never say I want them to have what I didn't, b/c I had everything I needed as a kid. I do hope my children aren't struck w/the same burdens I had/have to deal with. As much as it makes me who I am, there are times I wish I wasn't who I am. Times I wish I could just be "normal". Not have to deal with all the repercussions of having ADHD, amongst my other problems. Be the person people need me to be. It's so painful to see what you had, but lost, and the only reason for it is you. Especially when you can remember doing things so vividly, and it just drives the stake in deeper. When you walk around an empty house, a house you swear you can feel the energy a family once provided it with. But now the house stands empty. Only one set of footsteps echos through her halls now. And it looks like that's the way it's going to be for awhile.

OK, I need to hit the hay. Try to go to bed not completely depressed.

i have been at such a deficit since last weekend. Just for a catch up, about two weeks ago, I received a call from one of my best friends from college, Leah. She informed me she was going to be a Benny for a few days, and wondered if she could see me. I said sure. The only caveat was that to do so, she would have to sleep over. No problem I said. I always keep a spare set of sheets and pillows on standby for unexpected guests, as there are a few people who have carte blanche to stay at the farm if the need ever arises. I pulled my sleeping bag out from under the bed, and all was set.

Leah arrived a little earlier than expected, but it was cool. We fed the horses, then toured the farm + house. We then went out and did some shopping for some supplies she needed and also I picked up a few things, such as food. We went back to the house, and I fixed up some of my seasoned corn on the cob, with a main course of seasoned London Broil and pan seared veggies. After dinner we talked and watched TV for awhile before it was time for bed. It was really cool catching up on old times, and it was also nice having someone else in the house, even if for only a few hours. Cynder finally warmed up to Leah, which was cute, and of course Skeeter walks up to anyone. The next morning, I fed while Leah got ready to continue her voyage to the Jersey Shore. As was said so deftly in Dogma, "I suggest you not underestimate the staggering drawing power of the Garden State, and show up two hours in advance." Of course, I was late for work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now if I could get Molly and maybe some others to stop by, we could have a party!!

In the form of bad segues, I just mentioned Kevin Smith, or more to the point, one of his movies. This leads to another problem. Mr. Smith is coming back to Red Bank to do An Evening With Kevin Smith show. I REALLLLLLY want to go, but I'm stuck with the fact that I won't go alone. So here's an open call to anyone out there: If you have nothing special planned for November 7th, wanna catch a show? Being a Kevin Smith fan is preferred, as it will be multiple hours of hearing him speak, but not required. I'm hoping there might be some afterwards meet and greets/autographs, as I just got my 2nd set of "Clerks" celluiod frames, and it's from the "Juxtaposition" part of Clerks. It's a shot from behind the counter in which you can see Dante, as well as Jay and Silent Bob. I am totally psyched about these frames. But it would be so much cooler if I could get the card it is attached to signed by Kevin Smith, and possibly even Jason Mewes or Brian O'Halloran. A man can dream.

OK, that's about it for now. Even though tomorrow is a holiday, I will be going to work. It's nice to have a "lazy day" to catch up on projects I have been slacking on. I really need to come home and work on the house, as I have been running ragged since last Sunday, and haven't had the time nor the energy to clean the house/clothes. I have been using the mower all week to get the paddocks cut, and I made a failed attempt at getting the computer I promised to my neighbors son up and running. As it is, it's 00:09 on Monday, and I have to be up in a little over 5 hours to feed the horses. On that note, see you all later.

i think it's understandable why I feel how I do about the dentist. Now I don't hate dentists, just the work they do. It started way before I lost my teeth, though, so it's not that. I have just never enjoyed going to the dentist. I think it stems from my past non-habit of brushing my teeth often. Now please don't think I have a gaping maw of rotting teeth. In fact, the only things that have ever removed teeth from my mouth are the medieval tools of the dentist and plastic pool toys thrown by former hot GF's. I had very strong teeth for someone who did not brush much. But anyway.

So today I got up and did my morning thing. It was a bit tough today as I was sore from trimming the fields w/ the RedMax last night after work, and also from smacking my hand with a mallet while constructing the tarp slide for the sawdust pit. It seems whenever I construct a PVC device, I invarably end up hitting my left hand with a hammer. And no, by Hammer I don't mean my penis, I mean a real hammer(if you don't understand that, you must be living in a cave or living in an online world of fantasy. If that applies to you, check here). I then took off to see Dr. Li. I got there 5 minutes late b/c I was stuck behind a funeral procession. I mean, who plans on running into that? So I got there, went in, and expected the worse, as usual. Instead, I was told I'm looking good, and for an adult who drinks coffee, my teeth were not stained. I explained to him I try to keep my teeth a little stained to match my partial. I left there, headed to Wawa for some gas and grub(BTW, their new mint chocolate chip milkshakes are good), then I went home. Since I took the day off, I decided to get some stuff done that I had been putting off. I cleaned out the cabinets of old stuff, or stuff that only had one or two uses left in it. It made a lot of room for my growing shaving den. I then worked on my office for a little bit, organizing everything back to where it should be. Next, I assaulted the slow drain problem I have been having with the washing machine lines. I got a bottle of some nasty cleaner from our plumber, and tried that out. It seems to have worked, but I think my problem is a combination of a few issues, which I should resolve soon, i.e. running some new PVC pipe, eliminating some extraneous angles from the set up, etc... It should be easy, as I am skilled in the art of PVC. Once I cleared the drain, I did some laundry that had been sitting around waiting until I had cleared the drain so i didn't have to watch it drain and stop it if it flooded. I was doing that for the rest of the day until it was all done. I now have a lot of clean boxers, exercise stuff, pants, and dress shirts. YAY! In addition to all of the tasks I completed, I became ambitious and field stripped the vacuum. I washed all the parts, rinsed out the filters, and dried everything out. I also cleaned the pet carrier I found on the road the other day (I think I'm up to 3 hard carriers now), vacuumed both floors of the house and also Huck's rooms. The only room I skimmed over was the cat's office, as it's always full of hair from them lounging in there. The room that looked the worst, but was the easiest to clean was the Kitchen. It's usually done last b/c I follow the up to down, left to right philosophy of cleaning. It applies to rooms, houses, cars, etc... It makes it so much easier to clean. I was really happy to clean the dishes, as I had some sitting in there from Sunday, and I hate when dishes sit in the sink(except if they are soaking). It's so easy to clean them, so there's really few reasons why they aren't done. But I did all of them, then took some vinegar to the counters to get them nice and white. I was pretty much done then, so I finished folding clothes, then decided to relax by paying my bills for the month, and writing this entry.

OK, that's it for now. I'm tired and should get to bed. I'm still sore, so a nice sleep in this cool weather feels so nice. It's been cold enough upstairs lately that I need to use my comforter at night when I sleep.

Nighters----

and so I will. There's so much stuff I was supposed to answer and enter here, and I will own up, I've been too busy/pre-occupied to do it. I feel bad of course. There has been much interest in JerseyCam, and I know people have popped over here to read some stuff, but I have been lacking. It's hard to believe in a little over a month, I have racked up 1,500 hits to JerseyCam. I wish my life were as interesting as it is online, but alas, it's not.

So what did I do today? Well, I slept in a little, b/c I have been tired lately. After I woke up, I went and did the normal Sunday farm thing. I also got rid of the huge pile of paper I had been collecting/saving up. I went over to our woodpile and split about 10 logs to get some nice fuel for the fire, then started it. I used most of the paper to get the fire going, whereupon I started to throw some of the logs on. I got some good heat, and managed to melt all the metal and stuff I threw into the fire, which is always a good thing. It's actually still burning now, but it's down to embers. After that, I came inside and took a shower to get the smoke outta my hair, and the dirt off of me. That's about it. OK, bed time.

it has been an awful long time since my last entry. I mostly blame my schedule for it. I barely get to sit down and relax except for the weekends, and then I'm usually to lazy to sit in front of the computer to type. So lets get up to date! Most important things first.

Skeeter and Cynder are still alive. They constantly try my patience and tempt fate, but come out on top. I am on step 2 of toilet training them. As of right now, the litter box is next to and level with the toilet seat, and they are using it just fine. Of course, my bathroom and toilet are now covered in loose litter, but it will all be worth it in the end. The next step is the litter box on the toilet seat, and finally a insert to go into the toilet. After that, the cats will be litter box free, and I will only have to flush the toilet! For their viewing pleasure, I have set up two suet feeders and one bird house on the gutter outside the windows of their room. It's so hilarious watching both of them perched upon a box with their tails twitching watching birds.

Ash Lee, Dizzy, Angel, and Crystal are also fine. The tom has made an appearance again, and he is messing with the cats at times. I really want to catch him and get rid of him proper, but everytime I set up the trap, I manage to only catch Angel. Ash has started to become lovey again, which is nice. Dizzy is as adorable as ever, but she's become a major pain in my butt at times. Since the weather is warming up, I will go outside to feed/hay/work w/o my heavy jacket on or sometimes my overalls. Thin clothing and sharp claws do not mix well. She also has been getting in the way when I go to target shoot in the gully behind the farm. But she's so cute, how can I stay mad at her?

Speaking of my bow, I did purchase a bow for myself. It's something I've been wanting for awhile, and it has a variety of uses. Besides geese removal(permanently) and also woodchuck removal(also permanent), it is also a good form of exercise and a stress reliever, will help me provide food if the world goes to hell, and considering actressGina Davis almost made the US Olympic archery team, it could a ticket to Olympic gold. I found a guy who sells/repairs them pretty reasonably at Englishtown Auction, so after coming into some money, I blew it on my bow. I set up some moldy hay bales(can't feed them to the horses) as targets/backstops, and take some shots now and then when I have time. It's also given me some chances to create things for the bow that I need, rather than buy them. I just made a quiver out of PVC last night while watching the Riches, so I saved some money there. I also am in the process of making a pro-style finger tab, which I based on a design I found online. After catching my arm on one of the first shots, which resulted in a nice little raspberry, I did fold and buy a nice pro bracer. I got it for half off, which wasn't to bad at all. I also got some new arrows, and have plans to get more, in case I lose any. I had thought I lost one already, but after hacking down a lot of thorn bushes this weekend, I found it!! Next to build is a bow rest for when I have to put down my bow outside. Inside I hung a hook from the ceiling in my office, and I hang the bow there when not using it. Since the bow has a 60lb pull, and a far let off, it's a great work out for my arm. Once I get my finger tab made, I can really start getting in some shots every night, as w/o it, 60lbs spread over 1/8" hurts a lot. My aim is slowly improving, and the only thing I seem to be able to hit repeatedly is the space between the two bales of hay, which results in a arrow disappearing into the (used to be)brush behind it. Since the bow has such a high draw weight, it was also putting arrows almost completely through the bales. I have since got some foam from Collingswood Flea Market for in between the bales, and also added some burlap to the back of the bales. Since I'm using target points, they don't go through the sacks, so it's way better.

Speaking of auctions/flea markets, as anyone who has checked out my away messages(you haven't? Shame!) has seen, I have been hitting them up pretty often. Since I started my new wet shaving/safety razor habit, I have been amassing a collection for myself, and also a small on for my Father. I will present him with a nice kit on Fathers Day, which I hope he will enjoy. In order to get some nice razors, I have had to get some bad ones also. I have gotten some razors on eBay and others at the flea markets/antique stores. The market razors tend to be cheaper, and you get a good look at them, so you get better quality. But the price you pay is quantity, and any you find are a treasure. eBay on the other hand, has more quantity, but less quality, and is very expensive sometimes. You also do not get to handle the razors, and are at the sellers mercy. I have only gotten burned once so far::knocks on wood::, so I am considering myself lucky. Antique stores are in the middle of two, and tend to be less expensive than eBay, better quality, but still low quantity. I now currently have over 30+ razors. I have six that I am evaluating for my daily shavers, and five in my "collection", which are for display. I have a few picked out for my Dad also. Once I figure out which ones will go to my Dad, the rest are going to slowly be put up on eBay. If I get $10-15 dollars for each razor that I sell, that will pay for all of the razors on a whole, which is good. I have no doubt I can get that much b/c that's what the market has been commanding. Even if I take a slight loss, it's still not that bad, b/c I will have gotten my Dad a nice Fathers Day gift. I do really enjoy the safety razors though. The shaves are great, and except for a few bad shaves due to bad blades or water conditions, I mostly end up very smooth. But about the flea markets. It's very refreshing to get up on a Saturday morning, take a quick shower in, talk w/ my Dad, then go out for a few hours and walk the markets. Never underestimate the intoxicating qualities of fresh air. Also, don't count out the food there, either. I found a guy who does nuts at Englishtown who makes some kick ass Butter Toffee Cashews that are to die for. The way I see it, I work off the calories walking around the market.

The farm is doing well. Since we got rid of our worst clients(whom have since started pulling the same stuff they did w/ us at their new place), we have less horses, but more owners/trainers. Everyone is happy with how their horses are looking coming from our place, which is great! My Dad's been down almost every day, and I think he's looking better and I think he's feeling better. If he would only take my advice about yogurt, I think he'd be all set. I have to admit I'm starting to enjoy working at the farm sometimes. This Sunday I put about 12 hours of work in, which I'm still paying for, but felt great. I burned a lot of stuff, and did some other things, like work on the firepit. I added stone dust into the holes of the cinder blocks I use to circle the pit, so they shouldn't move, and also not crack as much as they used to, because they are more solid. I also started breaking in my new boots, b/c the last ones went all crappy like. I got some Army boots, which are good, except that the top of the boots hits the bottom of my calf, and it causes some pain. Also, my Dad sold his trailer. He didn't have much use for it, and someone offered him a little more than he paid for it a few years ago, so he made out. Ironically, I spotted a trailer for sale the other day on rt. 33, and he's already thinking about buying it. I offered to front him some money if he needed it, and if we could find a truck, I think we'd be set to do run back and forth to the track. Maybe I finally can slap a bandanna on Huck and he can be my co-pilot.

Speaking of Huck, he's fine. He's been pretty well behaved lately. The only problem I have is his habit of coming up on the bed when I don't invite him. I don't know if it's a bad habit he picked up during the last few years, when he used to jump in bed to get attention, or if the cats are messing w/ him and he just decides that once he's out, and I don't say anything b/c I'm asleep, he can jump up. He's also re-registered for the year, so he got a nice new tag in addition to the new name tag I got him a little while back. I still think he's lonely since only Skeeter will play w/him, and not for that long.

Work is work, and that's pretty much all I can say. I did my taxes late this year b/c of hold ups w/ my Dad's returns. I got mine in early last week, but he got his in on the 15th at the post office in town. I should be getting a kick ass return check, so I'm psyched. Since interest rates are horrible, I think I'll enroll them in some 6 month CD's, so that if there is a up turn, I can take advantage of a better rate.

Family is doing OK. Easter was nice this year. My cousin Jenny is preggers, and it's so facisinating to me. Pregnancy is just so wonderus to me. My Aunts are already planning to spoil the child. Jenny is doing a good thing and not finding out the sex of the baby, which I think is cool. I know I am destined to have all girls for two reasons. One, I will be horribly overprotective parent, and two, I think fate will not give me the chance to ever have a SteveDave like I want. Also, my cousin Amy is getting married in about two weeks from now. It's at a nice place, so I can't wait. I must remember to pack my shoes this time. Luckily, I picked up a shoe shine kit at the auction this weekend($3), so I can finally shine shoes proper. I just have to pick out which suit to wear, and the most important thing, which tie. I think the $115 silk tie is the forerunner, as it is worthy of the event I am attending.

Really, that's all I can think of for now. It's been a semi busy day, and it's not getting any less busy. I still have to go home, go out for Happy Hour to unwind, come back to the house and start working on my bow rest, and do whatever else rears it's head to try and distract me. But then I get to sleep. Nothing beats throwing on a pair of wool socks and curling up under the wool blankets on my bed. And on that note, I am off to a night of busy work. If anyone needs me for anything, the important people have the important numbers. I almost always answer, except if I can't reach the phone, or it's too noisy out to talk. Nighters all.



Quote For Today:

Look to the past and remember and smile,
And maybe tonight I can breathe for awhile.
I'm not in the scene, I think I'm fallin' asleep.
"Feeling This" by Blink 182

not much to tell you the truth. My week so far has been pretty boring. I did have a bit of excitement Saturday, but it wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be, damn my imigination.

To recap, I went out to Englishtown Saturday to do some razor browsing. I did find a sweet razor for about $8. I also ended up getting myself a nice new Zippo for my collection. B/c of the bad weather, there were few open vendors, so I will have to wait for a better weekend to go again. After the auction, I went and just hit some stores down on Rt 9 to see what I could find. I did get a new shave cream, which is helping me get closer to a BBS shave. I then stopped into PetSmart for a new tag silencer for Huck's new name tag. While there, I of course went to the back of the store to see their kittens. They were all cute, but I don't need anymore. One had "Muted Tortie" on her sign, which intrigued me. I didn't know if it meant it was a naturally silent cat, or one which had been silenced. Not wanting to disturb the workers, I sent a text to Val, who called me back to explain what muted meant. It did not mean a quiet cat, so Skeeter is safe for a little longer. During the convo, she asked me if I knew anything about plumbing and electrical stuff. Being a jack of all trades, yet a master of none, I said a little. She asked me if I could come over and take a look at her new place, as she's been having electrical and plumbing problems. I said sure, and went home to get some stuff done b4 I headed over. I went home, got some tools(read: too many) ready, and called Val up to get some more info. While on the phone, my dang battery started dying, so I cut the call short and went inside to charge the phone. I was outside for maybe 10 minutes when the power went out again, and HARD. We had NO power. I ran inside, shut Juliet down, grabbed my headlight, and continued feeding. Afterwards, I called up Val, got basic directions to her new place, and headed off.

She's in Jackson now, but in a different direction than I used to go into there. My phone started dying due to the short charge it got b4 the power went out, but it lasted long enough for her to meet up w/ me, and follow her to her place. Since I'm paranoid, I brought WAYYYYY to much stuff than I needed, and the power turned out to be a GFCI trip. The plumbing leak was a horse of a different color. Val had put in a new shower faucet, and the water feeds were too short for the connectors, which meant the seals weren't seating tight and was leading to bad leaks. I tightened some nuts, added some o-rings to shorten the travel distance, and added some PTFE tape to the threads. Powered up the lines, and no leaks that I could see. One of the connectors was mocking me by appearing wet when it wasn't. With my work done, we were both hungry, so we elected to go catch some dinner. Due to the advanced hour, most places were closed. We were close to the back end of Howell, so the decision was made by the GPS for Long Horn, and off we went. Dinner was good, I had a cheeseburger(my standby) and Val had a chicken sandwich. Afterwards, we both headed off. I went home and Val went to pet sit. I had been very tired all day, but with the assistance of 3-4 glasses of Coke at dinner, I made it about as far as my back door. The power was back on, but I had had enough, and off to bed I drug myself.

Sunday was boring, to say the least. The hour ahead thru me some, but I got all of my chores done, and also added a fire onto the list. Got rid of a lot of old mail/paper, which makes me happy. What I didn't do was clean up the stuff I was supposed to on Saturday. That also happened Monday, as I was just blitzed when I got back home from Happy Hour and was barely capable of anything. Yesterday was also a waste. I am hoping to improve some tonight, I swear. OK, that's it for now. Work is over soon, and I can go home.

Nighters all

i know, I haven't updated in like forever. Just been very busy. And when I work hard, I party hard, so most nights I'm in no shape to write entries. It's Friday, so I thought I'd take a few minutes away from the "real" work, and fill in some details.

Angel is back outside. She had healed up, and was just miserable inside, so when the weather warmed up for a few days, I kicked her out of the house. Ash Lee and Dizzy were cautious at first, but after some hissing and sniffing, it was a regular old family re-union. The inside cats are good. They are still trying to get themselves killed, but also stop me from doing it. Case in point. Sunday, I had to take my Mom to a wake. Afterwards, we went out for chinease food. During dinner, I dropped a piece of chicken on my tie. When I got home, I took it off, and left it on the kitchen table to clean on Monday. Monday night, I come home, and the tie is clean! Someone had licked the sauce off the tie. So I did some hand laundering in the sink, and the tie looks good. Needs some steaming though. Speaking of ties, my brand new order of 29 ties came in(only 26 are for me, the others are gifts). But yes, the cats are cute. This weekend I am using some advice I found online, and am going to try to teach them to use the toilet. It doesn't sound that hard. If I can help teach a dog to use bells to say he wants to go out, getting cats to use a toilet is child's play. Flushing and lighting a match, that's another story. As for the dog, Huck is Huck. He got a new tag, which makes him even more handsome.

What else.... Well, I stopped using my razor at home to shave. Wait, before you all picture me a la Tom Hanks in Cast Away, let me explain. I have been using my electric razor, and one day the switch broke. I was using my Fusion and Mach 3, but I'm not a fan, so I sucked it up, and bought a new one. Got a great deal, BTW. Well, while I was looking for razors online, I came across some old book marked pages I had saved when I was contemplating straight razor shaving(not for the nervous, faint of heart, or people w/little to no hand-eye coordination. I also came across some recent articles on wet shaving. For those "Not In The Know", wet shaving is not using the traditional can lather, but the old soap and brush. Even w/ a Mach3, the difference is amazing. The propellants in modern can stuff actually dry your skin. Companies fight this by adding crap in, but it takes its toll. Also, the modern razors are made with so many blades because they want you to shave w/ less strokes so you get less razor burn. Wet shaving fights this by using warm, moist lather applied with a brush, which exfoliates as well as opens the pores and softens the hairs. But after searching awhile, I realized something that has occured to me before. Yes, we have advanced as a society technologically, but perhaps we have gone forward when we had it good at a point. I discovered this before when I switched from chemical laden T-Fal to pure cast iron. From a computer controlled plastic sewing machine to a 50 year old Singer sewing machine. Also when I went from a modern car to my deer killing Oldsmobile. Sometimes simpler is better. So I went on Ebay, and bought a 1959 Gillette Adjustable Safety razor. It takes the double edged razor blades you occasionally see in the stores. Yeah, it's simpler, but it's so much better. The razor has a good amount of heft to it, so it essentially shaves all by itself. The blades cost about $0.17 each, which is way better than the ~2.00 for the modern throwaways. I'm about two weeks into shaving, and I'm close to a BBS(Baby Butt Smooth. Sorry, I like to use acronyms) shave. I have two razors that I use, and a few more I have been buying, but will sell later, as prices seem to be increasing. It takes a little longer in the morning, but it's so worth it. It's a very involved process, so it lets me turn off my brain while I soak my bowl and brush in hot water, build up a nice lather, spread it on my face, and then shave. True, it takes about 3-5 passes to get nice and smooth, but it's so sweet. Sometimes you can actually HEAR the hairs as they get cut. It's bad sometimes when I laugh at something Tony & Greg say on the radio, and end up shaving off part of a mole or cut myself. But I'm loving it. I also decided to make up a Fathers Day present for my Dad, so I am stalking the flea markets and auctions for a nice razor for him, as well as other accessories. He really took a shining to my razor(s), so I think he will enjoy this.

OK, enough about razors, what else? Not much else is really going on. I've been completing things around the house that need to get done during this recent spate of bad weather. For the first time in a long while, and maybe the 3rd or 4th time since I've moved in, we lost power the other night during the storm. It wasn't that bad, as I keep supplies around the house for such things, and I know where almost every flashlight is stored. The only reason I woke up was that the UPS on Juliet was beeping away like mad. After I got up and turned it off, I went back to bed, and was asleep for about 2 minutes when the CO alarm next to my bed started beeping b/c the power was off. The battery backup was low on it. One bad trait of Huck's is that in the event a smoke alarm goes off, he runs away and hides. So as soon as that starts beeping, he starts whining and clawing at his crate door, and I brought him downstairs to the mud room to ride out the storm. Went back upstairs to sleep for a bit, but feeding time was close by, so I went and did that. While I was feeding, the power went back on, and all was well. I did have a weird dream during the night though. From where I remember it starting, I was in a Drumline/Stomp the Yard type situation, and there were people competing. It somehow turned into a cheerleading competition(yay!). The team I was on was losing, so during the break, we went into the locker room. The head cheerleader was a Kirsten Dunst-esque, with nice blond hair, a sweet body, and a wet/sweaty top which showed off a nice set of nips. It was somehow decided that I could win the competition for my team. All that it required me to do was wear make-up/face paint and stare/intimidate the opposing teams so they would mess up. That's about as far as it got before the power problems, which upset me. I would have like to have known how it turned out. OK, that's about it for now.