I promised pictures a couple of weeks ago from when my parents came to visit from The Great White North. So here goes:
The Acolyte gets Cheetos from Grandpa. Mrs. T was not amused.
The Acolyte gets a tricycle from Grandpa.
The Acolyte and his Uncle ELB at the park.
Me at the park.
The Acolyte with his grandparents.
Mrs. T and I have been taking weekend roadtrips to various cities and towns in recent months scouting potential homesteads. I know, we just moved, but that move was unexpected and it was from one rental to another. We're talking now of "The Big One," the move that will come complete with a mortgage and, even more, raise me to a whole other social echelon, The Landed Gentry. That's right, I'll finally be able to vote for real, like the framers of the Constitution intended, as a property owner.
Since my office is in my house we're not bound too close to where we are now. I did rule out Beijing for obvious reasons. (I'll be drinking RC and eating at Burger King quite a bit this summer. For a full list of companies I won't be doing business with check out this page.) But I digress. Most of my jobs are in south Texas though, so about a year ago we started researching areas around San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston and all the little towns in between. As we'd visit places, we'd strike them off our list. Very few places we visited stayed on our list. By this morning we only had a handful of places left. So when we hopped in the car this morning I was bracing for another let down. But when we arrived at our destination, Mrs. T and I agreed we had found our home. And the winning city is...
Round Rock is a town of about 100,000 people just north of Austin. It's close enough to Austin that we won't miss special events. It's got a great school district. It's got an IKEA. But most importantly, it's got the grave of a famous train robber that The Acolyte just loves:
Estimated move-in date: December 2009.
As I mentioned earlier, my evil little brother is in town. He's buzzing around Texas in his C-5 this month. These are pictures the boom operator took of him yesterday morning while they were refueling.
ITEM!
The past three weeks have absolutely sucked. Mrs. T has been fighting off the flu resulting in her pushing back scheduled business trips. I've been trying to juggle my schedule around hers and it's been a nightmare. I finally knocked out what I needed to do out of town now, so the pressure's finally off. Mrs. T is rebounding as well.
ITEM!
My maternal grandmother died back in 1991. This Wednesday we lost the last of her siblings, my Aunt J. There were five siblings in that generation. My grandma, Aunt R and Uncle J were beer drinkers, my Aunt L drank water, but Aunt J drank Scotch. Aunt J was pretty feisty. Reports from Indiana tell me she was flicking people the bird right up to the very end. She was a stalwart Republican and we butted heads constantly over politics. Not a birthday card or Christmas card went by without us scribbling a political jab to the other. For example, during the '04 Election I sent Aunt J this scandalous shot of herself:
This really pushed her buttons and she was on the phone immediately giving me an earful.
I regret that I couldn't get to Indiana for her funeral today. But I want folks to know that in lieu of flowers I sent a contribution in her memory to the Republican National Committee. I wouldn't have done that for anyone else. But I just know that this evening she's strolling the golden sands of some heavenly seashore hand-in-hand with Ronald Reagan-- and that makes me feel good.
ITEM!
Speaking of politics, David "Biafra" Shuster was back on the air tonight after MSNBC suspended him for his role in Pimp-gate. Of course, Bill "Freaky Falafel" O'Reilly never left the air after his lynching comments about Michelle Obama. I think this perfectly demonstrates the problems that come with subjectively sanctioning folks for the content of their speech. Note that both the Shuster and O'Reilly comments were metaphorical. I've already discussed my take on "pimping" in my previous post, let me throw in a word about "lynching."
If you look up the word "lynch" in the dictionary chances are it'll define the word in terms of vigilante justice/punishment without due process, usually referring to hanging and often by a mob. The definition is race-neutral. People use the term frequently without intentionally implying race. Problems arise though when listeners unintentionally infer race. Of course when the speaker is white and the subject is black sparks can fly. O'Reilly's comment was careless and insensitive, but we can't just assume he intended to use the word fully loaded with racial implication. We have to be reasonable. Speakers should try to be sensitive. But before blowing a gasket, listeners must consider the context and tone of a statement and ensure that they're not reading more into it than what the speaker intends. Moreover, the ultimate sin in my book is when people intentionally infer the worst from a clearly benign statement in order to smear the speaker or gain sympathy for themself. Such tactics are an affront to reason and folks who utilize them ought to be lynched.
Okay, I've got the computer set up at the new Cloister, but I've got a long way to go with the move. We've got all the "big stuff" over. By big stuff I mean anything that requires two or more people to carry. What's left is about a gazillion truck loads of books, pictures, electronics, stuffed animals, clothes, dishes and much much more. Problem is we know it's not all going to fit. I mentioned before the new place is only 1,600 square feet whereas the old place was 2,600 square feet. The plan is to prioritize what we've got, crunch what we can into the house, anything left over we'll pack neatly into the garage, and if there's anything we can get rid of we get rid of it.
On the bright side, the new place is coming together quickly and nicely. That's because we're filling boxes and unloading them as we go. The stuff gets to where it belongs fast and we save a bunch of $$$ by reusing the boxes.
We're so going to deserve a housewarming party when this is all done.
This is the big transition weekend. The fridge, washer, dryer, dining table, computer, TV and the rest of the necessities are moving to the new Cloister. I'll be without internet Friday and Saturday, but should be plugged back in sometime Sunday. Don't miss me too much!
Keep firearms, sharp objects and small pets away from me please. I'm heated.
As I've mentioned several times, we're in the middle of an unexpected move. The lease on my new place started yesterday and the lease on the old place is up on the 31st. So today is one hell of a time to be told that the owners on my old place have changed their mind and don't intend to sell!!
Property Manager: "I know this is an awkward subject, but the husband wanted to sell and the wife had him change his mind, so if it's not too late, they'd like to extend their lease with you."
Me: "Aww shit."
I never cuss when I'm doing business. But I'm bound by my new lease and now have to move into the house across the street that's 1,000 square feet smaller than the one I'm currently in; I just paid several thousand dollars unexpectedly and NOW they tell me I didn't have to move after all!!!
I'm livid.
Extremely eventful week, so here goes:
ITEM!
Wednesday morning Mrs. T and I drove the Acolyte down to Ochopee, Florida for his first airboat ride in the Everglades. He dug it very much.
After boarding the boat, we floated slowly away from the dock. The Acolyte was curious and pointed at whatever wildlife he'd see on the bank. Then the boat took off. As we got up to speed the kid burst into laughter. The kid next to us burst into tears.
We used a company called Wooten's. They've been in business forever and run a great outfit. In fact, I took Mrs. T down there on her first trip to the States back in '98 when we were just engaged. In addition to the airboat, they've got a nifty animal sanctuary that the kid just loved:
ITEM!
We were in Florida to visit my paternal grandma. She had five kids, 12 grandkids and the Acolyte is her 13th great-grandkid. Seven of the 12 grandkids were in town along with 12 of the 13 great grandkids. It was chaos. By chaos I mean a dozen kids piled onto one golf cart driven by an eight-year-old zooming around the house and nearly toppling over into an alligator infested pond. The Acolyte has a few years yet before he can join such revelry, he stuck to the indoors and played with my Aunt's dog, Jimmy.
ITEM!
For some reason Waffle House isn't big in San Antonio. That is to say, we don't have any! The closest one to my house is in Austin. So while in Florida I took the kid on his first trip to the legendary Greasy Spoon.
Several years ago Florida passed a law that prohibits smoking in restaurants. Now I quit smoking a while back, so I wasn't upset that I couldn't smoke. But I have to say there ought to be an exemption for Waffle Houses. Cigarette smoke is at least a recognizable odor. And for years it masked copious other odors a Waffle House and its clientele emit. By the end of breakfast I was praying that someone would blow a big puff from a Marlboro red right in my face.
While I'm on the subject of short order diners, I'd like to plug my all-time favorite-- Huddle House. They're big in Georgia and other southeastern states. But they're slowly creeping westward (3 locations in east Texas now!) Westward Ho Huddle House, Papa's hungry!
ITEM!
The weekend before leaving for Florida I threw a party at my place for a bunch of high school friends I recently reunited with over Facebook. I'm happy to report that property damage was kept to a minimum. The only loss was a 10-cent sake cup. Knowing this crowd I was prepared for much worse.
ITEM!
We got to the airport a bit early for our return home. Once in the terminal we grabbed dinner at the Jose Cuervo Tequileria. Our waiter was very bald. When the Acolyte first saw him his eyes lit up with a smile, he quickly stood up in his chair, pointed at the guy and excitedly shouted, "Anpanman!"
ITEM!
We arrived home late last night. Now it's time to prepare for the big move in earnest. The lease to the new place starts January 1 and we have to be cleared out of this place by January 31. So if I'm a little light in my posts these next few weeks, that's why.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!
Just discovered a blog of an old buddy of mine, promises to be good. Read it!
In other news, just threw an all night party for a bunch of high school friends. Still recovering. I'll discuss it more later because now I have to prepare for the family vacation to Florida. Going to take the Acolyte to see his great-grandma. Flight leaves at 5:50 AM tomorrow morning though, much to do in the little time I have left. Hope ya'll have a great holiday!
Mrs. T and I were watching the season finale of America's Most Smartest Model last night when a commercial for My Word Coach aired. Mrs. T's eyes lit up. English is her second language and she's been in a learning slump the last couple of years. The Word Coach caught her attention as something easy and fun she could do on the side. I tucked her reaction into my memory thinking Word Coach might make a nice little Christmas gift.
Then just this morning on National Public Radio I listened to a story about the website FreeRice.com . It's a free vocabulary building website based on a program designed by a guy to help his son's performance on the SAT. Turns out it's become hugely popular not just among high school students, but also folks studying English as a second language. Moreover, with every word you answer correctly, the site donates 20 grains of rice to the UN's World Food Programme.
When I got to work this morning I logged on to check it out. It's pretty neat, albeit humbling. The site ranks your vocabulary level on a scale from 1-50. Your level fluctuates as you hit or miss. It remembers your highest level reached and your current level. I played for a few minutes and decided to play until I earned 1,000 grains of rice. I figured at that point I could share my score with others so we could compare. It's a lot of fun, only problem now is that I'm back to square one for Mrs. T's Christmas present.
So without further ado, my current vocab level at 1,000 grains of rice was 39 with a highest level of 42. Play for yourself at FreeRice.com and let me know how you fared.
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