Julie sometimes complains about how infrequently I tend to update my blog. I can’t really argue, since I don’t like that I go so long in between posts as well (:
Just for some fun, here’s my favorite commercial of all time:
My brother made a comment about the swine flu, calling it “bacon lung.” I totally loved that, and all the hooplah keeps making me think about one of my favorite Simpsons quotes from an old episode:
Lisa: No I can’t! I can’t eat any of them!
Homer: Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute. Lisa honey, are you saying you’re *never* going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!
Homer: [Chuckles] Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.
– Of species porcine, “Lisa the Vegetarian”
The “A wonderful, magical animal” was a family quote for a couple of years, and I still get a chuckle every time I see it!
This is something of an odd post for me.
The other day I was listening to the radio and some country music was on. I don’t remeber where I was, but I do recall that I was somewhere that I couldn’t change it to some GOOD music. Since I was forced to listen to it, I started paying attention to the songs. One of them was the Big & Rich song, “You Never Stop Loving Somebody.” (lyrics)
This song really struck a chord with me because it’s something that I’ve always felt, deep in my heart. I don’t really like the song, but I agree with it. This is one of the things that made the drive back from Louisiana pretty hard at times (more about that trip later (: ). When I was driving through Oklohoma City, OK, I passed a lot of familiar places and had a whole host of memories floating around. I had a long distance relationship with a girl there for several years, and even though things ended on somewhat of a sour note, it didn’t end because I stopped loving her. I wouldn’t run back to her now, I’ve moved on and found someone else who I love, and who loves me, and I am happy!
One of the reasons I wanted to write about this is that I’ve started talking with another old flame, a cool woman named Kristy. She’s married now, living in Atlanta, and still a really cool person. One of the things I’ve always thought is that I dated the people I did for a reason; I always had a great time being around them. Kristy is a great example of that! We always had a good time, and that was one of the things I really treasured about her. After we parted ways, I was almost devistated, and I knew that I could have handled things a LOT better, and maybe even prevented it. Time went on, however, and I loved others and lived my life. Now that I’m back in touch with Kristy, I have a chance to be friends with her again and that is something that makes me happy. She is a really interesting person and I’m glad to count her as a friend!
One evening, last week, I went over with my buddy Kevin to help out with some work he was doing at one of his many jobs. He asked me over to help because he knows that I’m always willing to help out and he thinks that I’m pretty good at some of the things I do. We ended up not really finishing what he was planning on doing, due to a couple of configuration problems, but we decided to roll back and try it again some other time, since it was LATE (about midnight) and both of us were getting a little bit loopy. I really had a great time, and I miss the time I worked with Kevin and got to hang out with him all the time. I love my job but I REALLY miss working with Kevin.
After working with Kevin the other night, he put a brilliant post about how we used to work (and still do). One of the things that he says is “Again my life is so much better because of the great people I have found to share it with.” This line just makes me so happy because I really value what a friend Kevin is, and I feel that way about some of the people in my life as well! I wanted this post to be something of a tribute to some of those people.
First up is Julie! Not only is Julie my wife, but she’s a great friend as well. She’s been on the mend from a back injury for a while now, so she’s been in the apartment a lot over the last couple of months. It’s driving her crazy, but even so, she’s always able to make me laugh and smile. Sometimes I have to be the one cheering her up, but that’s a lot of fun, too!
Next I want to mention my friend Jamie. Jamie and I have ben friends for many years, back from when we met in college. She was the friend of a girl I was dating and when that girl proved her insanity, Jamie remained a close friend. Even though she lives in Texas, we still talk quite often. Most of the time, we end up just complainig about something or other, but it’s really great to have someone who you know will listen, even if you are being silly or bitchy.
I have a ton of other friends as well who mean a lot to me, but I’m not going to list EVERY one! (: You should KNOW who you are!
Now that Julie’s back is getting better, we’ve been going out for longer and more difficult walks. Last weekend (our anniversary weekend) we decided to head out to the Woodland Park Zoo, over in Seattle. It was a beautiful day, although it was a little bit chilly. We’ve been having great weather lately, at least it’s been sunny, clear and cool.
The trip over to the zoo was really easy. It’s not that hard to get there from our apartment (another reason I love it’s location), but parking was something of a problem. We circled and circled and went round and round. The parking for the zoo is split up into several different lots, scattered around the perimeter of the zoo. None of the lots are very large and the spots are the small tight spaces that I’ve come to hate in this area. In one of the bigger lots, I finally broke down and waited for a couple to finish putting kids and strollers away and leave. We had to sit for about 5 minutes, but apparently it was a great day for zoo-in’ it.
Julie had given me a gift card for a two adult membership for Christmas, so I was excited about getting that activated. When we were talking to the cashier, we found out that the rates had gone up, but she was going to give it to us for the amount of the gift card! She said that since we had “purchased” the membership already, they would honor the price that we were given online. I thought that was AWESOME!
Once we were inside the zoo, I noticed that it’s not nearly as nice as the Toledo Zoo. I mean, it’s nice, but I haven’t seen one nearly as good as the Toledo Zoo. I honestly think that Toledo’s Zoo and Museum are some of the best in the country. At Woodland Park, they are working on a new penguin exhibit and they were having a preview for donors. It was quite a big deal with tents and even a guy dressed up as a penguin for the kids. I wanted to go up and get a picture with it, but I wasn’t a donor. ):
We did have a bite of lunch at the “food court.” I was VERY unimpressed. It looks like they had a variety of food service, but then some company ended up buying and running all the spots. In the food pavilion, there were several shopfronts that all had the same sign up, and the directory listed foods that were not offered any more. Not really a big deal, but I hate it when variety is taken away.
We didn’t stay TOO long, but we had a good walk around and got to look at some tigers, emus, a sloth bear (of course) and a cool exhibit where you could go in and feed some birds. Now, it’s time for the pictures!
So, Julie and I just had our first anniversary!!!
WOO! We managed to make it a year!
Honestly, it wasn’t that hard. In that time, we’ve moved across the country, had new jobs and careers, had laughs and some tears, and enjoyed our time together!
I love you bunches, Julie and I’m glad we’re married!
I just want to post some videos that I’ve been getting a kick out of:
I really love this song and the video. It’s a great example of a BAD music video. The camera loves to hang around the bald guy in blue and the blond lady. Everyone else is just kind of on the sidelines.
This is one of my new favorite songs. The guy is a great singer, I love the lyrics and the music, and the video is just wonderful! After I heard this song for the first time, I went out and listened to the rest of the album and bought it!
This was not the official video for this song, but it really displays how inventive fans are and how well a tribute can be done!
This is also up on my list of favorite songs. It’s been there for a while, I know, but I just can’t get over it. I’m actually not really a fan of many of the other songs by Hot Chip, but this one just really stands out. Speaking of standing out, this video is wonderful! I love how the feel of the old Batman series is really captured.
More posts to follow.
First off, a lovely quote:
“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
Historian Henry Roberts (1901-1971)
I got a rather big kick out of that quote. It reminds me of this picture that I’ve seen around the Internet :
Now, just to be square, I’m not trying to CONVINCE anyone of anything, I just try to keep in mind that there are a lot of alternate viewpoints out there. On a related note, one of the things I’ve always loved about my upbrining was that we (my brother and sister and I) were always given a choice about what to believe. That is something that I really cherish and I am very grateful to my parents for.
Thanks, Mom!