Randoms 3.14.09

- sent out my final tax form today. this is the worst one, since i have to include a check. Damned local taxes. Can i at least select the potholes that i would like them to fill?

- Do yourself a favor...never look at the nutritional value on the Microwave TV dinner. This little pile of Salisbury Steak and Mac&Cheese is providing 83% of my daily fat requirement and 78% of my daily Sodium intake. ugh.

- I'm disappointed that you can no longer see my tire tracks on the median at the Mt Joy interchange on Rt283. For the last few weeks i've been able to relive my harrowing trip down the median every time i drove past it. Now the grass has grown back and you can't see them as well.

- Seriously...this salisbury steak is sooooo tasty. it's worth the 83 percent of my daily fat intake.

- Dad's return home was delayed by a day. They wanted to check one more small thing and felt it was best if he stayed another night. Nothing major.

- Spent about 20 minutes on the phone with someone who was upset at the content of music and TV in modern society. I agree that society is coarser than 20 years ago. But i think that's almost always the case. Each generation one-ups the generation prior. It moves even faster today with so many delivery systems and ways to interact. Still...it's one thing to disagree about song lyrics and content...but entirely another matter to assume that my music is causing teens to have babies out of wedlock. I wouldnt think that "poker face" or "you found me" would be a good sex song anyway. If you conceive a baby while listening to Fergie, we need to talk. there's just something wrong with that.

- Springtime is taking it's sweet time getting here. I planted seeds 3 weeks ago and there's still nothing. A little warmth and heat would be a good thing. Supposedly it'll be nice on thursday. i'll believe it when i see it.

- random advice pulled from Facebook: "never go to a doctor who's got dead plants in his lobby"

- Tuesday is my least productive day because i spend most of the day in meetings. Shouldn't it be the other way?

- my buddy is working on his house, and i feel like it should inspire me to get off my butt and finally paint my kitchen. It hasn't...yet

- last week i learned a few things, and those things continue to frustrate me to no end. Truthfully, there's nothing that can be done about them at this time. I guess it just hits one of my hot buttons. I know you're not supposed to sweat things you can't control. but that's the problem. I feel like i SHOULD be in control of this. Dont' ask what it is, It's not something that i'm willing to discuss. For now it'll serve as motivation until i can do something about it.

- Did you know that TALAPIA is pronounced "tuh-la-pee-uh?" i always thought it was tuh-LAY-pee-uh. i learned something new today. FYI: it's a fish.

- you know what bothers me? POP edits of songs. This past year, there's been so many edits of songs that completely change the song. LOVE STORY from Taylor Swift is an amazing song in it's original form. The pop edit sounds like a bad kareoke version with an out of place dance beat. If people are buying millions and millions of copies of the original, wouldn't they expect to hear the same version when we play it? i think so. i can understand small edits for content or length....but do we really think listeners aren't comfortable with a bit of twang, or some rap in the middle of a song? We overthink these things sometimes...just play the freakin' record. it's either a hit or not. a new mix with lower guitars or a tacked-on cameo rap appearance is just silly. Do you know anyone who says "wow..i LOVE this song! but i completely change the station the minute that little guitar part plays in the chorus"?

- ok, to completely rebuff my last argument... i loved when they remixed that J LO song and changed everything and added Ja Rule to it. That was fun.

- RIP Harry Kalas. We've lost too many of the great sports announcers in recent years. Nobody can truly be the voice of the Phillies the way he was. Just like Myron Cope was the "voice" of the Steelers. It still seems weird to listen to Bill and Tunch call games without Myron. I can't imagine what it'll be like this year listening to Phillies games without Harry's voice. You never replace these guys, because they're too unique to be hired today. Enjoy the great ones while they're here....Ernie Harwell still fills in occasionally for Tigers games. The amazing Vin Scully makes it worth staying up late to catch a Dodgers game online.

- as a true radio geek, there is nothing better than listening to a baseball game on the radio on a warm summer evening. i can crank up the little AM tube radio in my office and catch games in lots of markets. Doesnt' even matter if i'm rooting for the team.

- i got a nice little easter basket from Kelly's mom and dad. It contained a bottle of wine, some coffee and lottery tickets. Wow....supporting all THREE of my favorite vices!

- number of times i got too bitchy/preachy in today's posting: 2
- number of salisbury steak patties i ate while writing this: 2

- So glad to be back in good health. I got knocked down by this bug that's going around. Sore throat, coughing, sneezing, blah. It took a lot out of me. FInally got back into the flow of things this weekend. whew. hopefully that's the last big flu/cold bug for the spring

- Obama will pre-empt American Idol tonite for a speech. I KNEW i voted for him for a reason. haha

- Went back to the gym last night after two weeks off. I managed to maintain my usual weight so that was good. But wow...2 weeks of being sick saps the energy. i did a light workout and was panting and wheezing afterwards. gotta try and stay healthy from now on!

- It was really nice on Sunday so i got a lot of yardwork done. I had a pile of leaves that i needed to get rid of, so i dumped 'em behind the shed. Hopefully it gets really windy and they "disappear". Planted a ton of flowers too. In 14-21 days i should see the seedlings sprout from the ground...at least that's what the packets told me. I've never used seeds before for planting, so this is a new adventure in lawn care. I really hope most of them take, because i need some color in the backyard.

- ever have one of those weeks at work where you feel like you're in a Dilbert cartoon? We got some new stuff from our corporate offices last week. My boss and I just had to laugh and say "ok". It's gonna work out great, but it was totally unexpected. Sometimes it's best to just nod your head and smile.

- i am 100% completely addicted to Cadbury Mini Eggs. Once Easter is over i will stock up on 10 bags, at least. I gotta make it through the year until they go on sale next easter

- I'm searching for someone new to cut my hair. Rusty found true love and moved away to be with the person he loves....so now i need someone else to cut my hair. It's like dating someone new. You have no idea what to expect. Ugh.

- I spotted the first Daffodil of spring this weekend. Finally!

I meant to update this more regularly than once a week. But it didn't happen this week. Listen...it was almost 70 outside this weekend. Did you expect to spend 30 minutes in front of a computer screen when it's that nice outside? hardly.

This will be a shorter post than normal. I'm battling a cold bug and feel pretty drained. My mind isn't spinning at full speed today. The gerbil isn't completely off the wheel, but he's hanging on the side of it while it spins slowly.

Watched Russell Brand on Comedy Central this weekend. His MTV Awards show performance last year was horrid, but my god is he funny doing stand-up. If you don't like dry humor, skip him. I've always thought stand-up would be a really fun challenge. I'm not sure i'm committed enough to write a full 15-30 minutes of material, but i'd like to try. No worry about me hopping up in front of a crowd with a mic, i do that every day and all the time at events. I just need to corral my ADD brain and put together a routine. I need to add that to my 2009 bucket list.

Actually..i need to WRITE my 2009 bucket list first. Let's see:

- Fix my Wrangler so i can drive topless this summer

- write stand-up routine

- use every vacation day i have coming

- Convince Alex to let me do one weekend airshift on 96.1 KISS in Pittsburgh, and Laura to let me do one weekend airshift on B104 in Allentown. That way, i'll have been on the air in every major radio market in Pennsylvania.

- paint kitchen

- spend a full week at the cottage and finally get the dock built

- insulate, rewire and renovate the loft and move my master bedroom up there.

- take my parents sightseeing in DC or Philly for the day

- add one more station to my roster

- Open a Roth IRA and complete my retirement plan, so i'm not just relying on my 401K.

- paint the carport

- learn to make Coconut Shrimp and dipping sauce like they serve at Red Lobster


That's good. If i think of anything else, i can add it later.

Randoms 3.3.09

- I promise i will only make one posting about my new car. Let me briefly say that it is absolutely-freakin-awesome-super-spectacular-crazygood-amazing. Traction-control is a godsend. We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday and i had no problem getting to work and home afterwards. Although i DID stall once in the parking lot. that had nothing to do with traction control, and everything to do with me putting the car into 3rd gear instead of 1st while i was playing with the CD player.

- I don't think i slept this past weekend. On Friday night THRIVING IVORY put on an amazing show at the Chameleon. Thanks to everyone who came. We grabbed dinner with the guys beforehand. They're very nice and were excited for the show. Watched the whole show, said thanks to the band and headed home. Had to be back at the station in less than 11 hours to get ready for the David Archuleta meet-n-greet on Saturday, so it was a quick turnaround for me

- Speaking of dinner...i gotta recommend the Tuna Wrap at Alley Katz. It's not tuna salad...it's actual seared tuna with wasabi dressing. It tastes like a sushi wrap. i highly recommend it. I'd never been to that restaurant before, but i went there twice this weekend. I pick my restaurants by "proximity to the event i'm hosting". There's many restaurant i love, but if i'm doing a chameleon show i end up at either House of Pizza, Seniorita Burrito, the Belevdere, Arts Hotel or now Alley Katz. I should investigate that area more..i'm sure there's other stuff on some of the side streets.

- Our event with David Archuleta was equally exciting and fun. You never know what to expect from these stars when they come to visit the station. Luckily he was very genuine and nice. I think he's the most A.D.D. person i've ever met too. He kept getting distracted by posters and things in the studio. David Cook could have knocked him out of Idol weeks earlier if he'd just thrown some shiny nickels on stage while Archie was performing. Nice kid though, i wish him nothing but success. Pics? they're up at FM97.com, or in my "famous people 2" album on facebook.

- Three weeks ago i was sick of winter. Now i'm waaaay over the edge. If i could go on a murderous rampage against winter, i would. OK, we get it...snow, cold, wind, etc.... bring on the damned spring already.

-Luckily there are a few signs that spring is around the corner. While i was out for a walk in Harrisburg's Riverfront park this weekend i noticed some Daffodils starting to pop through the ground in the "sunken garden". A couple of weeks and those will be blooming. I wonder how my daffodils will do this year? I got mixed results last year, but they always do better the 2nd year after you plant them.

- When i try to email Bryan Jordan from the Morning Rush, my email always defaults to JORDAN from KISS in Cincinnati. Whoops. i keep sending him updates and stuff for the morning show.

- I wish i read more books.

- I had nothing but the lowest expectations for Jimmy Fallon this week as he replaced Conan O'Brien. Somehow, he managed to disappoint me...and i was expecting the worst. The only saving grace was Justin Timberlake and the Roots, who both made the show watchable. EVERYONE seems to think Jimmy is a bad idea, so why do these high-ranking officials at NBC think "no...he'll be great!". How many drugs are they snorting to think that Jimmy is funny and improvisational like a great late-night host needs to be? Jimmy's schtick is to laugh at his own jokes. wow. that's a FAIL. Do yourself a favor....go watch the AMAZING David Letterman this week, and then go watch Jimmy. It's like watching Michealangelo paint followed by watching a monkey flinging poo at the canvas.

- my friend's best quote of the week: "i'd rather watch my own mother take a shower than watch Jimmy Fallon".

- I'm entering a very tough period in my life. The guy who cuts my hair left this week, so i'm on the hunt for a new place to get my hair cut. Ideas? it's like dating someone new after you've been with someone else for a long time. I never figured out how he did it, but my old guy made my hair look very full. Wow. that's a feat! I'll probably go into a hair care funk and neglect my hair until it's a tangled mess. If you see me wearing hats to work everyday please pull me aside and tell me to get a haircut

- still winter? yes..it's still winter

- I've noticed that i'm not getting many of the "work from home and make 10,000 dollars" ads on the side of facebook now. I've moved on to "learn the trick to whiter teeth". hmmmm....first they insulted my income, now they're saying my teeth are yellow. Thanks facebook...way to build me up!

- My friend James was coming down on Monday and we were gonna grab beer and wings at Hooters. Unfortunately, it snowed like crazy and we postponed his visit. Yep...the snow caused me to miss out on Hooters. just another reason i hate winter.

-Looking forward to jetting down to Philly tomorrow night for a new artist showcase. Should be fun. Plus...there's free Italian food. If you invited me to my own beating, but offered free italian food..i'd still probably show up. Luckily, this is a bunch of industry friends and a great new artist...i will also enjoy the breadsticks.

- Hitting the gym tonight. I managed to get there on saturday morning for about 45 minutes before David Archuleta madness. It's packed on saturdays though. I much prefer to go in the evenings during the week. No waiting, no lines... less eye candy too, but at least i dont have to wait for some guy to do his 5 sets before i can use the bench.

- Random shout-out to Lesley Roy, Joe Daddio, Hooters and Springtime.


# of PRETZEL Goldfish crackers i've eaten while typing this: approx 60
# of PARMESAN Goldfish crackers i've eaten while typing this: 0

note to Giant. Stock up on PARMESAN goldfish...you were OUT when i shopped this week.

I decided to buy a new car this week. My Volkswagen has been a perfect lil' car for the last year. supa' mileage and very comfortable. But I've been piling up the miles and thought it was time to make a switch. I wanted a little more room, and a little more VROOOOOM. Been looking for a Mazda 6 or a Jetta GLI. after a few weeks with no luck i swung into my dealership yesterday and spotted a gorgeous SAAB 9-3. woooo. It took 30 seconds of test-driving to convince me that i was in love. Signing the papers tomorrow.

Without question, this is the nicest car i've ever owned and i couldn't be happier. Since i spend 90 minutes a day in my car (at least) i figured i needed a comfortable place. This fits the bill. Sunroof? Turbo? 5-speed? check. A very reasonable price? also check. If you're thinkin' about buying a car...why not look into a used car? My Saab is less than 4 years old and was a top-of-the-line car when it was new. it's got low miles, but i bought it for less than a 2009 sedan with far less options and luxury. Just seems like you get a LOT more bang for your buck. Sure, you're taking a chance that there could be problems. DO your homework, find people you trust and pay attention to small details.

I try to eat and drink somewhat healthy. It's not a full-on commitment, but i do my best. I've been trying to drink more water the last few weeks. Not sure if it's making me healthier, but i have to walk to the bathroom a lot more often. so i'm getting more exercise that way.

Heated seats is the most underrated option in automotive history. I've always said that i'll never own another car without sunroof. Now, i'm adding heated seats to that list. Wow. my butt toaster was workin' nice this morning as i headed to work.

American Idol is on tonight and i could care less. Call me when we're down to the final 4. until then, i got other things to do. The gym beckons.

Speaking of the gym...i sincerely hope the steroid guys are more subtle tonght. I'm not passing judgement, i'm just saying.. If you want to openly discuss your steroid use, please don't do it in the middle of the weight room in an extremely loud voice.

Wait, this car gets better highway mileage than my VW GOLF? wow. when gas goes back to $4 a gallon this summer i won't be dying. whew. i never sweated gas mileage until i started driving 70+ miles a day for work.

Brief glimpses of sunshine and temps in the upper 40's have given me hope that i'll survive this winter. Every time i look up, i expect it to be spring...and it's not. i fully expect one more blizzard before the year is over.

How on earth did we shop for cars before the internet? In less than 2 hours i read about every price, option, glitch, road test and consumer review that's been published on my new ride. Went to the dealer and had them check two areas where problems were common. i can't fathom how i plunked down a few thousand dollars for my first new car in 1999 without doing hours of exhaustive online research.

My friend thinks that "Jai Ho" should become the new "whatzup". just a nice general greeting that fits in a variety of circumstances. I'll give it a shot.

In the hubbub about our show with David Archuleta on Saturday, i hope you don't miss out on THRIVING IVORY on Friday night at the chameleon. great band! cheap tickets! lots of exclamation points!

i get a lot of press releases and newsletters in my email every week because of my work here at the station. i get 3 or 4 newsletters that are completely in spanish. I want to unsubscribe, but i can't find the link because i can't speak spanish.

almost died this morning as i was trying to program all my presets into the radio of the Saab. wow...12 preset buttons? was this car built for a radio geek? yes. i should let my radio friends campaign for their stations to be the better buttons, and not stuck at the bottom. #1 is FM97, #2 is my sister station WRFY. The rest are fair game. begin your bribery.

One of my friends used to sing "thanks for the mammaries" when he heard THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES by Fall Out Boy. Now, everytime i hear that song i think of boobies. maturity is not my strong point.

In the market for a 2002 VW Golf that's had nothing but tender loving care for the last year? lemme know. I'd type the dealership here...but they're not paying me. yet.

# of thoughts related to my new car in some way: 7
# of thoughts related to Best Picture winner Slumdog Millionaire: 1

my car deserves an Oscar.

Would it really hurt the Oscars and Grammys to give some awards to movies/music that people actually LIKE? I'm not saying they should nominate Paul Blart:Mall Cop...but at least take audience and box office into consideration. Even create a "peoples choice" where we can vote? C'mon...don't take yourselves too seriously, it's just movies.

Speaking of which. Whose idea was it to have 5 nominees come out and give a tearful speech about how cool each nominee was? lame-o. This event is already a big Hollywood circle jerk...but you don't need to spend 5 minutes telling me how Anne Hathaway is brave for her choice of roles. We're making movies...not curing cancer.

Also...i refuse to completely trust Hollywood after hearing that Paul Blart:Zookeeper has been greenlighted. Don't try and tell me it's a good idea. It's just not.

Brad Pitt was sporting a goatee last nite. does that mean that it's coming back into style? Crap...I'm 33 and still can't grow decent facial hair. Guess i can't be a slave to this particular fashion.

Ratings for this years Oscars were up slightly from last year. However, let's remember that last years show was the WORST RATED OSCARS ever. So this year was rated higher? yay. it's still in big trouble. i firmly believe this has something to do with Ryan Seacrest being on the red carpet. either that, or normal people don't really care to watch exceedingly rich, fake people get awards and have everyone tell them that they're great. (see: cancer, not curing).

I love Mickey Rourke. someone please get him a reality show, stat. This guy is nuts, funny, unpolished and extrememly fun to listen to. His acceptance speech at an awards show earlier this weekend involved swear words, mentioned actresses butts, etc... Take all of Kim Kardashian's cameras away and point them in Mickey's direction, please. for the love of all things sacred...if Denise Richards can get a show, Mickey Rourke can. He oooooozes with personality and talent. Denise Richards can cover her talent just by buttoning up her shirt.

It's amazing the amount of people who come out of the woodwork when you have a very big concert coming up and tickets are sold out. There's nothing wrong with asking...but if you haven't spoken to me in 2 years and NOW is the time you choose to start emailing, don't be shocked if you're not getting tickets.

I always see these ads pop up on the side of Facebook that talk about $100/hour part time jobs with no experience or training required. Really? please tell me no one is stupid enough to believe this. Off the top of my head, i can think of one Part-Time job that pays $100/hour and requires no training. Stripper.

Actually...even strippers need some training. You're not just BORN with the ability to slide on a pole and dance. I don't think they offer that skill at technical school.

I'm dangerously close to deleting my Myspace page. just feels like something that's come and gone. i don't talk to anyone exclusively on Myspace. it's just an extra page for me to get spam on. if you've got some incredible, life-altering reason to keep a myspace page...lemme know.

We're into the point of winter where i start to veg and get depressed. I'm so sick of being stuck inside. i stop doing laundry and let the housework slide. it's a vicious cycle, since the pile of laundry just depresses me more. i stare out the back window and wonder how much longer until i can reopen the patio and hang the hammock. the warm weather we had 2 weeks ago just made it worse, because i remembered how nice it was to be warm!

Does anyone honestly like the Fairness Doctrine? It's rare that i find an agreement where both Rush Limbaugh and Barack Obama agree...yet here's one. They both think the fairness doctrine is a bad idea. Don't believe people who tell you that Obama is trying to shove this legislation down people's throats. he already said he's not in favor and it's a dead issue. Fair enough. Let's debate the economy instead. That's where we need to focus our energies.

What's the fairness Doctrine? It's legislation that would guarantee that all viewpoints are expressed in media. Right wingers feel that it attacks conservative talk-radio. They're at least partially right. Stations that air shows like RUSH and HANNITY would be forced to express more Liberal viewpoints as "balance". I always found that stupid, and I'm undoubtedly liberal. Who would determine what "balance" was? It's a horrible minefield to start monitoring viewpoints. If you don't like conservative talk, flip the dial. If you don't like liberal viewpoints...don't Tivo Keith Olberman. Seems like a much easier solution that spending millions of dollars and possibly endangering the ratings (and revenues) of local American radio and tv stations. And where else would this apply? Would liberal and conservative blogs be forced to offer varying opinions? Can you imagine trying to monitor online activity and podcasts to insure "balance". what a nightmare.

Luckily, Obama says it's not happening. so we can stop worrying about it.

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are popular because they're pretty amazing radio hosts, regardless of what you feel about their viewpoints. i hate most of their thoughts, but i wish i possessed half of their ability to deliver views and drive an audience to action.

I'm looking forward to two concerts this week. Thriving Ivory should be amazing on Friday night and Archuleta will be a good show on Sat. tickets for the Ivory show are only $9.70 at chameleonclub.net. please come out and support this up and coming band. you won't be disappointed!

Is it wrong that i want Thriving Ivory to cover "Chloe Dancer" by Mother Love Bone? Is that inappropriate to ask them?



Number of times i mentioned Seacrest in today's blog: 1

Number of times Seacrest mentioned Me in today's blog: 0

you owe me one, Ryan.

wocka wocka wocka.

i dont know why i'm so tired today. Went out for a little bit last night, but i wasn't drinking because i had to drive. so i hung out for a while and then came home. woke up late this morning and have been half-asleep all day. was really hoping to hit the gym and get some launndry done. neither has been achieved...yet.

random randoms for 2.22.09

- played volleyball yesterday morning for the Schreier Pediatric tournament. they're a wonderful charity and it's a great time every year. We played against the college radio station from Millersville University (WIXQ....website is here http://www.wixq.com/). great bunch of guys who were having a lot of fun. i MAY have worn my Mansfield University shirt as a little bit of a college smackdown. haha. :) was really great to see them and also raise money for a wonderful chairty.

-after playing volleyball for 2 straight hours i would expect my forearms and legs to be very sore. nope, not a bit. i'm very sore in my upper back. wtf? that muscle right between my shoulder blades hurts today. how do i hurt THAT playing volleyball?

- i DID wake up at 730am on a saturday...maybe that's why i'm tired.

- Kelly and i decided to go to the Saturday Market for some lunch and bargain shopping on Saturday afternoon. I managed to avoid the delicious looking potato chips and kettle corn (gotta eat healthy). i did mange to make one very nice find....a model 466 General Electric tabletop radio.



nice and vintage, it's going to look cool in my offce. I've got a cool little collection of vintage radios started. i really love these little plastic 1950s , 60s and 70s ones. got one? email me...maybe we can make a deal-i-o.

I'd forgotten my username and password for this blog...so i finally gave in and reset everything. i promise i'll update more!

- When i type the date, i use periods between the numbers instead of slashes. it looks like 2.17.09 instead of 2/17/09. where did i pick up this annoying little quirk? am i a bold "outside the box" thinker? no...the "." key is just one key closer than the "/" and i'm lazy.

- I'm trying out TWITTER. Like i need ANOTHER online distraction! Follow me..i'll follow you...http://twitter.com/JeffHurley. If you're on twitter, does that mean you're Twittering? Twitting? Getting Twitty Wit' It? ok..i'll stop now.

- As we make the push into spring i'm trying my best to stay in shape. Been hitting the gym regularly and trying to eat well. I say "trying" to eat well...because there's 3 kinds of dessert PLUS a package of Double Stuf Oreos in my kitchen. it's going to be hard to resist temptation when there's that much good food in the house. I always figure i can eat desserts as long as i continue to hit the gym, but the sheer amount of junk food might win out this time.

- Spent about 45 minutes preparing for a meeting today...and then the meeting was cancelled. i feel like i spent all night studying for a quiz and the professor decided not to do it. grrr. at least i feel caught up on everything that's happening on the station.

- the first race of the NASCAR season was laaaaaammmee. i hate rain-outs. It's confusing this year because Tony Stewart now drives a red #14. I keep seeing the Orange #20 and thinking it's him. Gonna take a while to get used to the new colors and #'s. Yes. i like nascar.

- i was flat-out AMAZED that i got a tax rebate. I've come to expect the absolute worst from taxes. Every year there's some little loophole or rule change and i've ended up owing money. i finally got everything in order this year and booyah...a tax rebate. When i pay taxes, can i specifically tell them which potholes to fill? There should be a little box that i can check for that. I'd like the pothole at the end of my street fixed please...here's 38 dollars.

- Is CAR CRASH by Matt Nathanson the best song this year? I would vote "yes". Of course, we're only 6 weeks into 2009.

- Why would anyone even consider buying REGULAR Oreos when the DOUBLE STUF Oreos are sitting next to them? Regular aren't cheaper or any healthier...so just go for the gusto and get the double stuf! Buying regular Oreos is just saying "i hate myself and don't deserve good things".

- I got a nice new leather jacket at Christmas from my parents. It's in the style of a motorcycle jacket. I haven't ridden my bike in years...so i dont really count as a "motorcycle rider" anymore. One night i was in this dive bar and some reeeaaalllly drunk guy looked at my jacket and slurred "heeeyyy...what the f**k bike do youuuuu ride?". i had 2 choices...admit that i hadn't ridden my Japanese bike in years and incur his drunken wrath...or blatantly lie. Of COURSE i lied like my life depended on it (it might have). He and i became best of friends immediately and talked about bikes for a few minutes. whew. I know lying is a sin, but getting beaten by a drunk guy is more painful. I should get a free pass on that lie come judgement day.

- Kel and I went to Olive Garden for dinner the other night. Why do i not go there more often? It's nearby, tasty and their house Merlot is yummy. i know that "real" wine lovers don't use the term "yummy"....but i do. Picture some wine snob with a French accent saying "this 2001 Ecco Domani Merlot is YUMMY with a full body and rich color". haha.

- Friday night i'm sitting on my couch (probably watching history channel or hgtv) and my phone beeps. I look at the screen and there's a new text... John from Secondhand Serenade felt the need to remind me that he was in the Bahamas enjoying the warm weather. I angrily texted him back. i dont remember the exact words, but i think it was something like "hate...snow...blah blah....you suck....snow...." Remind me to punch him next time he's in town. haha. FYI, please keep requesting his new song "Your Call". i love it.

- My dad and i had a long talk this weekend. He's got a fairly big surgery coming up in the next few months and wanted to go over everything with me. It's hard for a young man to deal with the fact that your dad is growing older. He's the last "hero" that most of us hold onto. When we're little we aspire to be like dad and see him in a different light than the rest of the world. He's Spiderman and Superman all rolled into one. As we get older we see the cracks in his armor, and it's tough to come to grips with. We start to realize that he's just like us, with issues and problems that he deals with everyday. My dad is still the toughest man i've ever met and i'm glad he's dealing with his health quickly before it blossoms into something more serious. Love ya dad!

- 'Dats all i gots. Maybe more another day. email me...or twitter.

On Friday i finally gave in and had my three wisdom teeth removed. No, i don't have four..i had three because i'm special. get over it.

i dreaded it....because i hate going to the dentist. i suppose all those years with braces when i was young scarred me for life. i bitch and complain every 6 months when i have to go for my cleaning. i just don't enjoy it. sorry.

so i went in and hooked up the IV. made some witty small-talk with the nurses (seriously, WHO puts their dentist office next to a graveyard??? c'mon!). 20 minutes later, the teeth are out and i'm in la-la land.

My parents dragged my half-unconscious ass into the car and took me to Rite-Aid for my prescrition. I don't remember any of this, but i know i was there....because i have the receipts.

Slept for the next 4 hours...woke up... OW OW OW....took a vicodin...YAY! back to sleep... another 4 hours...OW OW OW...vicodin....zzzzzzz. this cycle repeated all day.

My parents spent the afternoon tidying up my flower beds and pulling weeds. Very nice of them. They got to enjoy a nice dinner, while i sucked down yogurt and gatorade. i took them to my favorite sub shop...which sucked because it smelled SOOOO good...and i couldn't eat anything. ugh.

On saturday...i popped a pill and we hopped into the truck to pick up some bark for the flower beds. I'm not allowed to lift or do anything strenuous...so i just bossed everyone around. :) i'm sure the neighbors were alarmed, since my parents were doing all the heavy lifting, and i just stood there.

While they pushed the bark around, i tore up the landscape lights and fixed all of them (no lifting involved). Installed the new timer and got them all back in place. So now i have nice looking landscaping AND working lights. the neighbors hate me, since my yard looks better now. hahahaha!

all this work in the yard kept me from notcing my teeth. when we sat down on the patio for a drink (more gatorade), i suddenly remembered that they hurt a little. ow. but not too bad...whew.

My parents headed out, and i finished working on the new "patio lounge". now i've got a cool little spot to chill out in my backyard. very relaxing. since i have wireless internet, i can also sit out there and be online. pretty sweet.

anyway...woke up today and only have a minor little pain. so i think the teeth are healing normally. hopefully i can eat something a little more substantial later today and tomorrow. i sipped my sunday morning coffee like normal.

here's the lessons i've learned:

1). wisdom teeth extraction sucks for a few hours, but you don't realize it since you're drugged up.

2). my yard looks better than my neighbors.

3). getting teeth extracted is a viable excuse to lounge around while other people do the heavy lifting.