Sunday, June 22, 2008

[Shrek] Thanks for the mammaries

In the past couple weeks I've had a couple topics I wanted to share with folks but so far hadn't gotten around to it yet. But after yesterday one of those subjects popped up again, so I guess it was a signal that I should spend a few minutes and talk about them.

I like breasts.

I have always been a breast man, and make no apologies about it. I never judge a woman by the size or shape of her breasts, and I'm not one of those testosterone driven morons that stares at a woman's chest while having a conversation with them.

Fiona knows I'm a breast man and is very amused by it, even occasionally laughingly pointing out a pair that are worthy of such notice. Usually that "notice" is when the woman is wearing something inappropriate for the size of her bosoms. Or, in some cases, not wearing.

Fiona and I were in Target recently during the early June heat wave, shopping for some shirts for her as she had very few summer-weight tops. Well, perhaps more correctly, she was shopping and I was enjoying the store's air conditioning.

As I'm standing there feigning interest in the stuff Fiona is looking at, two college age girls come strolling by with their puppies running free. Observant as I am I noticed immediately, and determined they were the perfect size to be allowed to roam leash-less. They also decided to look at the same displays Fiona was looking at and were in my through line, so my interest became slightly less "feigned".

(For those that don't know what a "through line" is, it's the imaginary path that a golf ball would travel on should the putted ball go past the hole; or the path of continued trajectory of a bullet fired that missed its target. This will come as no shock that guys use it all the time to obscure what they're really looking at.)

Unfortunately, also in my through line was two older women of a slightly larger size that also decided on the hot day to let their doggies run free. They also both chose to wear tops that were not really conducive to folks that are not in decent physical shape. It was not a pretty sight.

So, as a person that has spent a lot of time noticing boobs of all types and sizes, allow me to make an observation for you that might help when choosing what to wear when going out:

If you're college aged and in shape, let the puppies run free. If your child is college aged or you're not in shape so much, tie those doggies down. Please.

Now about yesterday.

Fiona and I went to a cookout/graduation party for the daughter of a woman Fiona went to school with. As one would expect at such a gathering, there were several recent high-school graduates--all girls--along with a couple "drinking age" girls that are friends of the graduate's older sister.

Not knowing anyone at the party and not really seeing any group of folks I'd fit in with, I basically stayed close to Fiona, who herself only really knew a couple of folks at the party. We stayed in the kitchen area, mostly because that's where Fiona's friend spent most of her time preparing stuff during the party. The gaggle of girls was also there, but for except when they went into a mass-giggle they weren't really doing anything to attract attention to themselves.

After a while a friend of the host's shows up with his room mate. He's an older (50ish) gay man that we had met last year at a housewarming party, and is a very funny person that makes no bones about his sexual orientation. He is a touch "stereotypical" (although, aren't we all in one way or another?), and plays that up using humor. He's one of the few people I've met that I've actually thought would make a great stand up comic.

But at one point it got a little creepy.

Despite being a connoisseur of breasts, I think it would be a little odd for me to be starting a discussing of a girl's breasts when she's younger than my daughter. It just seems like one of those topics an older male--gay or not--probably shouldn't be bringing up addressing a group of young girls. Never mind doing it twice. I know I'm a pig when it comes to breasts, but I at least exercise a little discretion about it.

Although we did find out that one of the drinking aged girls--who was already "well served" at this point--had bosoms sized 36G (which I had guessed correctly in my mind) and has uneven nipples (even The Amazing Kreskin would have been lucky to guess that). She did have the common sense to tie those doggies up, although that may have been out of necessity as she may have fallen over forward had she not.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

[Fiona] Father's Day

For anyone who has ever had to take care of a relative my deepest respect goes out to you. June 11th was the first anniversary of my mother's passing. It still sounds strange to me and some days I feel like the phone is going to ring and she will be at the other end crabby or laughing or in whatever mood she needs to share with me. It has been an odd year for myself and my dad. I have an older sister who lives in NY but her visits here are limited as she has her own issues to deal with and illness.

Dad and I do the best we can with what we have to work with. Sometimes he thinks it is Saturday all week long. At times he makes me chuckle with his antics and sometimes I cry. The best memories of my dad live in my head...young,strong,vital. He is not so strong anymore and not so young. He is more likely to remember fifteen years ago then this morning but he is my dad and I love him more than I am sure I can ever convey to him. I try to live for today and not think about a time that will someday come when I will have to be in this world without him.

It frustrates me that I can't make things "all better". Today is Father's Day. Tell the people in your life while they can hear it that you love them. I tell my dad every time he calls me, every time I see him, every time I need to. Dad I love you.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

[Shrek] On to baseball...

With the New England Surge playing the last game of their regular season and the team opting to play its opening playoff game on the road, it appears that the Surge won't be playing another game this season in Worcester. Or if the rumors are true, maybe ever.

So now it's officially baseball season in Wormtown, and Fiona and I will be taking in our first game Saturday when the Sharks Boosters invade Fitton Field. We're doing the "all you can eat" cookout before the game. While Fiona won't be taking full advantage of the chow line, you can bet I'll be having enough for the both of us. When you consider what food and drink costs at a ball game, the $25 cost of the meal/tickets is a steal.

I used to be a huge baseball fan, but in the last few years I have become a little bored with the attitude major leaguers have. The fact that free agency has killed major league baseball to the point where it's the same teams every season adds to my boredom. Sure it's cool when the Red Sox win, but all things being equal I'd like to see how well they or the Yankees could do if there were a salary cap.

Actually, seeing how poorly the Bronx Bombers are doing this season with the highest payroll one has to think they can't do any worse with a lower one.

That's one of the reasons I like the Tornadoes so much. It's a bunch of guys playing hard for the love of the game. Can't ask for more for your money.

If you're interested in talking about the Tornadoes, you can go to tornadoes.mordel.net.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

[Shrek & Fiona] Our date...

Fiona and I went on date Thursday afternoon, and we'd thought it would be fun to blog about it. As determined by a coin flip, Fiona fires first.

[Fiona: Afternoon Delight]
On Thursday of this past week Shrek and I ditched work in the early afternoon to escape into the cool dark of our local movie theatre and catch a flicker. Shrek and I have been together for a long time. We try to keep our relationship young and alive by doing things together. Sometimes it is just playing video games together, sometimes it might be going out to eat, or well you know married things that involve lingerie.

Shrek knows that I am a huge Harrison Ford fan so I have been dying to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I have to inject one thing here. Before our adventure could begin in earnest I first had to drop my laptop off at the local witch doctors to have its little ass kicked back into the world of the living. So after my laptop was safe off to the doctor's, Shrek and I were off to find a quick nosh and then to the movie house. We decided on our local 99 Restaurant. I will not bore you with the facts of our meal; suffice it to say it was hot and tasty and not too expensive.

Ahh, now to the movie. First in the fair city of Worcester a matinee costs $7.50. OUCH! Shrek and I paid the ransom to get in but skipped the popcorn and drinks seeing that our rent was due in a few days and, well, what can I say about the price of gas that you fair readers don't already know? We took seats in the back row...make out alley.

Remember when previews were fun to watch? I wish someone would tell me when they became commercials. It is a pain in the ass to have to wait for this schlock to scroll by. Yippee finally the opening scenes. The familiar music begins. I went into this movie with no expectations, except for the one I keep in my heart for my sweetie Harrison. I must say he has aged well.

The movie was fun to watch. It had everything about an Indiana Jones movie that I love and a bit more. It wasn't perfect and the story line had a few slow to should have been cut scenes but the refrigerator scene and the car/boat chase scene were well worth the price of admission.

[Shrek: We named the dog "Indiana"]
Fiona and I did something Thursday we don’t do very often--we went to a movie somewhere other than the West Boylston Cinemas. We went to Showcase North, and the movie we saw was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

We’re spoiled by our favorite movie house because we’re used to going to a movie, getting a couple fifty-five gallon drums of Diet Coke, and ordering a dumpster full of hot freshly popped popcorn for under $20. Spending $7.50 each just to get into a movie--and a matinee at that--is completely foreign to us.

I am a huge fan of the Indian Jones movies, and when it was announced years ago that there would be a fourth installment in the series with all the major principals involved I knew there would be no chance I would miss it.

One would think that a sixty-five year old Harrison Ford would have issues pulling off the swashbuckling Indian Jones again, but Ford jumped back into the role seamlessly. The return of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Arc and the additions of Shia LaBeouf as “Mutt” Williams and the legendary John Hurt as Harold Oxley round out the cast of good guys.

Cate Blanchett also stars as Irina Spalko, a Russian agent looking for more crystal skulls. Ray Winstone rounds out the major players as George “Mac” McHale, and you’ll need a score card to keep up with whose side he’s on at any given moment. And as with the first three installments, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was directed by Steve Spielberg and the executive producer is George Lucas.

With all those cards in play it’s hard to think they could have made a film that’s so...average.

With the film set twenty years after The Last Crusade, Spielberg and Lucas have abandoned the 1930’s serial style the first three films used and embraced the B-movie style that was prevalent in the era The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is set in. It may have worked for a different character, but it didn’t work for Indiana Jones.

The previous Indiana Jones movies all follow the same basic formula--chases, followed by more chases, followed by even more chases. The action between those chases was really only a buildup to the next chase scene until reaching the end of the movie, which was an escape of the main characters from whatever evil had developed throughout the movie. The problem with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull there aren't enough chase scenes, and the escape scene at the end really left a lot to be desired. Also noticeably absent from the film is a staple of the franchise, the comedic banter. The earlier films had many “laugh out loud” lines, which is something The Kingdom of the Crystal is sorely lacking.

Like the other films, the story was pretty straight forward. The problem was it wasn’t very compelling. Never once did I really care about those crystal skulls, and the lack of any explanation as to why they had mystical powers--even after finding out what the skulls really were-- made them even less interesting. Now add the fact the humor the Indiana Jones scripts are known for was for the most part missing and what you have a film that missed its mark.

Had this been a movie that had nothing to do with the Indiana Jones franchise it might rank a little higher, but as with any sequel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull needs to be compared to the movies that came before it in the series, and it falls short in comparison.

Monday, May 26, 2008

[Fiona] NCIS

I love this show. Today Shrek and I have been watching a marathon of the series. I wish I could be Abby. Way back in the day before Goth was a culture I wore black. I wore it more because I felt like it personified who I thought I was. Dark and guarded. I was very angry growing up. I didn't have a lot of friends on purpose and I wished away more days on being grown up than living my life or making life plans.

The character Abby is someone I wish I could have been ...cute, intelligent, well dressed (in the Goth sense of the word) and the holder of one of the coolest jobs I have ever seen portrayed on TV. Then again when I was a kid I wanted to be Ginger from Gilligan's Island.

I am happy to say that now I just want to be me.I am cute, intelligent ,dressed well and ok so my job leaves a lot to be desired but it pays the bill. Now that I have lost weight I am trying to find out what I really like and want. Last week I went out to our local Target and I bought myself two skorts. Black skirts;one over pink shorts and the other over tiger stripes. Shrek liked them alot...bonus for me if you get my drift*** ;^)

Monday, May 19, 2008

[Fiona] It's Called Laundry, People

Shrek hates going to the laundromat. I used to laugh at him. Shrek always used to say that he hated stupid people until one day he realized that he just hates everyone pretty much the same, stupid or not. Sort of cynical and yet so true and freeing. Sometimes Shrek goes with me to the laundry. It is usually when I am sick or I am feeling really overwhelmed by the sheer volume of clothes that need to get washed.

Shrek and I live on the third floor with no laundry hookups but our rent is "wicked cheap" so I go out to do the wash. The problem that I have is other people. Why do people feel the need to comment about my mound of clothes? I swear if I have to explain to one more nosy person about my laundry I am going to scream. Yes, creepy people I have a lot of laundry what of it? I am getting too old to lug baskets up and down three flights so I save up my dirty clothes...deal with it.

I do my clothes once every two weeks, unless I have a need of some favorite thingy that got dirty or I just feel ambitious. Make no mistake this is the only time I will explain to the general uncaring public about my laundry habits. Thank you very much.

[Shrek] Finished!!!

I have finally finished the (as of now) complete run of Sue Grafton books. It took longer than I expected, mostly because life kept getting in the way of play time.

I hate when that happens.

For folks wondering if they were any good, well, most of them were. The early ones sucked. But as I had the whole run I figured I'd give them a try for at least three or four books before deciding to stop. Luckily C Is for Corpse was one of the good ones, and from that point on they were pretty good.

Now I'm on to The Sundering by Jacqueline Carey, which is a combination of her two novels Banewreaker and Godslayer. Carey writes long books, and The Sundering was so long her publisher broke them into two books. I waited for the Science Fiction Book Club edition, which put them back together.

I don't know what Fiona is reading...perhaps she'll mention it next time.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

[Shrek] Just catching up...

The fall bowling season officially ended Friday night with the banquet for my Monday night bowling league. For the first time ever my team won the league championship. We're named "The Wigglers" because our first bowler, Mikey, likes to wildly wiggle his hips like a hula dancer on speed when the pins are rocking back and forth. It's very funny when he does this, and brings a lot of laughs.

In the last week of play we needed to beat the other team 5-3 to win the championship, and after splitting the first two strings we needed just to tie or win the final string to capture the crown. It came down to the last two boxes, where I converted the 5-7-8-9 for a spare and then filled it with an eight. I was bowling against the best bowler in the league, who had one final chance to mark for the win. But when he left the soft 5 in his last box the title was ours.

In my Thursday night league, where my team is called "Valhalla" after a bar that was closed a very long time ago, we fared about as well as we usually do, which was in the middle of the pack. We finished 7th of 12 teams, but had lots of chances to finish in the top five. We just sucked at the wrong times.

The summer league has started, and like last year when we won it's myself, Fiona, Josie (whom I have dubbed TFG for "The Fashion Goddess" on the score sheet), and Rich (Speed). The goal in the summer league is to have fun, and so far, so good.

Fiona and I have been going to the New England Surge games on the weekends. They're the local indoor football team, and they aren't a bad way to kill the weeks between the Sharks and Tornadoes. They're the second best team in their conference, so every home game is usually a win--except against Rochester, which is the best team in the entire league.

We've recently found out that Rochester violates the spirit of the salary cap by having their players work for one of the sponsors of the team, so they're able to pay their players more than is generally allowed. That sponsor has just recently become a part owner after a very public fight, so it will be interesting to see what the CIFL does about the situation.

One of the Worcester Tornadoes free exhibition games is this afternoon, but Fiona and I won't be going as she's currently fighting a cold. On top of that the pollen count super high so she's fighting allergies too. Looks like a good day to watch some stuff we have saved on our DVR.

Friday, May 2, 2008

[Fiona] I Want To Break Free

I am sitting in my livingroom listening to Queen and trying to get over being pissed. I love this song by Queen...I Want To Break Free. It is totally unbelievable to me how crappy a day can go. This morning I went to three different Dunkin' Donuts and left each one sans coffee. Never mind that I got up a little early because Shrek had yet another day off from work but it was also raining and I thought that I would give myself a treat and get a steamin cup of Joe. As things often go I should not have been surprised that my morning didn't go well.

Sometimes I feel like I never get to win, that the Gods whoever they are get a preverse joy out of pissin on my shoes.Just once I wish my life ran like a Disney cartoon. Those always end on an up note. I Want To Break Free.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

[Fiona] Overwhelmed

Occassionally I make posts that tie into my other blog. This will be one of those times. I had melt down yesterday. It was over a combination of things. I don't know how Shrek keeps his sense of "come what may" married to me. I get antsy when I feel overwhelmed. Things at work, things at home, my dad, chores, my ongoing weight loss and its separate but equal overwhelming qualities all conspired to push me over the top.

I pace and mutter to myself when I feel stressed. Every single thing I had left to wear in my dresser felt uncomfortable and baggy. Work has been slow and we have had several days of layoff. Gas prices are out of control. Grocery prices are going way up and to be honest I don't know how people with kids do it. I felt like I didn't have the right to go out and buy anything to wear that fit. The more I turned that notion over in my mind the angrier and more frustrated I became. I felt trapped. Irrational I know but hey I never said I made perfect sense, silly.

Shrek asked me what was going on and in true Fiona fashion I danced around the real issue. Shrek is very wise after a few minutes he got up out of his chair and put his strong arms around me and calmed my fears. I went out to our local Target and I am now the proud owner of two pairs of brand new "cheap jeans". All of the clothes that no longer fit me have been bagged up and Shrek and I will be bringing them to a Salvation Army nearby. Sometime in the near future I hope to be at my weight loss goal and spend some time in maintenance land if for no other reason than to just breathe.