08-Aug-2002 - Welcome me back from vacation. Today's topic was going to be: Raking in Birkenstocks Means Dusty Feet. But something happened last night which trumped the planned topic. Kara is still feeling lousy with pregnancy stuff; While men are less able to be sentive and selfless (than...) I try to do what needs doing when I'm not watching baseball or drinking beer and scratching. Last night I did some dishes. A kitchen window looks down a street beside our house; During my stint with the dishes a neighbor was out walking with his son (and a six of green bottle Dutch beer) right down this street facing my kitchen window. Jim noticed me "whirling away" (his words) and, instead of walking by, he rang the doorbell. Expecting a "Would you be interested in buying..." I opened the door. Jim was there with an unopened beer in his outstretched arm: "I saw you whirling away; you look like you could use this." Handing me the beer he smiled and headed back to Evan's stroller midway down the sidewalk. "Thanks" I said and turning to go back inside I paused then said "Jim, this is the best unexpected surprised I've had in a while." I felt good. I hope Jim gets a similar surprise soon.
09-Aug-2002 - I thought the coffee was gone from my cup. Yesterday I left my coffee thermos here at work so this morning I could only bring a cupful with me while commuting. It's a small cup which made the journey. The coffee in the small cup has been cold since last night. The coffee in the small cup was made when dessert was served after dinner. Dinner was held in honor of Hannah's 2nd birthday. Hannah's 2nd birthday was last week. Hannah. Kara and I were at Kara's parent's house in Vermont last week. My parents were in Richmond last week. My parents came to dinner last night. Almost half the coffee from last night was present in the pot this morning. More than half the coffee present in the pot eventually made its way to my cup. My cup made its way to work. As I finish this shoddy piece a few sips remain. These sips are cold but good nonetheless.
13-Aug-2002 - Lunch came from the fridge at home today. Some homemade pizza and soup. Kara is, among many other things, a fantastic cook. She doesn't realize how good she is even though I tell her each time she amazes me; she amazes me quite frequently. Both the pizza and the soup were cold and at least 2 days old but still tasted fantastic. Bland entry, eh? Ironic.
14-Aug-2002 - All about brushing my teeth: The toothbrush sits in a ceramic device mounted on the bathroom's tile wall. The device sits on the wall solely to hold six tooth brushes and a cup. It holds 3 tooth brushes and a cup used not for water but for the tooth paste tube which, otherwise, would have a hard time staying in its place. The tooth paste tube is almost empty. Before squeezing paste onto my brush (the mangled one... I recall not even its color... odd; perhaps my inability to detail an item I use at least twice daily should be a topic itself) I had the coax a bit near the nozzle by rubbing the tube, from bottom toward nozzle, over the sink edge. Once the peas sized bit is on the brush the near empty tube goes back into the cup. Water is on; brush is wet; brushing begins. Brushing ends; brush rinse and beaten on the sink edge (freeing stubborn water from its bristles); brush back in device; water off; sink wiped with tissue; tissue in toilet; faced wiped on towel; light off; gone.
15-Aug-2002 - Had lunch with Scott, Chip and 2*Scott yesterday; we discussed some odd stuff. Do you know in what order you put on your shoes and socks? What leg goes into the pant's first. With what hand do you scoop stuff from a bin? Have you tried changing the order in which you do routine task sequences? Do you prefer to pass people on your left or right when walking toward them? These are screwed up people; don't have lunch with them. My buddy Tom writes saying "try the standup toothpaste tunbe. Not only does it eliminate the cup's need it also prevents frustration generate when 2 people squeeze the tube differently." I'm with you on that last point, Tom. Kara squeezes randomly; I like bottom up. I'm too cheap to buy the standup tube, though; the paste per penny ratio is important to me. Happy Birthday, Mom.
16-Aug-2002 - Phish is back. Yeah Ha. Not only are they back but 3 of their first 4 shows will be played within a 100 miles of my home. I heard from a friend out of DC; his very excellent band Mobia's Trip broke up last year but not without recording a 7 song set collectively called "Swan Song". He sent me the songs which are very good. Maybe, like Phish, Mobia's Trip will eventually reunite. Until then check out A Bass and Its Boy and Dexter's Sand Box. As we're discussing new music alo check out Andy's (and other's, too) new project Bourbon Sprawl.
19-Aug-2002 - I dub yesterday "Odd Use of Cinnamon" day. To celebrate my parent's anniversary, Kara and I had them over for brunch. Kara, being an exceptional cook, made the meal. Her salad choice was a greens salad with oranges, strawberries, onions and roasted pecans topped with a cinnamon, tabassco, raspberry vinegarette. Odd sounding, eh? But was it good. Yoobetcha. After my parents left Kara and I stood by the counter and ate the rest from the serving plate with two forks and little selflessness. Errands followed. It was hot. We left the kitchen fairly unclean. Driving home from the mall Kara said "I'm too hot to make dinner in a hot kitchen". Before you jump to the 50's assumptions regarding our household let me say this: Kara chooses to cook becuase I'm too slow in the kitchen. Anyway, we stopped at the neighborhood mexican place wherein we both got platters containing a cheese enchillada featuring a cinnamony sauce. Does anyone else prefer to say "SI-min-in"?
21-Aug-2002 - Missed a day. Oiy, I'm slipping. Between my junior and senior years in college I went to DC over the July 4 weekend. Driving from Lexington to Staunton in my Mom's car then from Staunton to DC in Kourt's little mini Ford something. We stopped in Georgetown where Kourt's boyfriend (and my buddy) Charlie was living for the summer. Georgetown, while beautiful and conveniently located has a parking problem. The mini Ford something fit neatly in a small spot between an alley and someone's front porch... not important. We Metroed down into VA near the Iwo Jima Memorial where we walked around in the dark knocking into people and just getting hot. We decided to catch a taxi downtown to watch the fireworks. As we crossed some bridge the driver got stuck amidst cars, people and bikes paused on the bridge in hopes of obtaining a good view. Cars jipped passed on our left but stood still on the other three sides. We had a lousy view to boot. The driver, to our amazement easied the left front out into traffic with these words "Ooo Ooo, I'm slipping!"
22-Aug-2002 - Richmond radio, while awful, is the only thing I get in my car right now. One slightly fun thing on the radio are stupid games. My favorite might be one called "Say It or Play It" wherein a contestant is given either the first few words of a song ("Say It") or the first few notes ("Play It") and must then identify the song to win (a prize like 4 tickets to see the Richmond Braves). Here's the twist I think might be fun: Take the lyrics for, perhaps, the chorus but assemble then pasting sound clips from other songs wherein the same words appear. One word for this song, another word from that song, etc, etc, until the words for the chorus are built then play it for the 5th chump who calls to see if they can identify the song. Cool, eh?