[Shrek] Random Thoughts

I've been very busy as of late and have neglected this blog a little...so as I have a few minutes I'll just toss out some random thoughts.

* If Sarah Palin believes her home state of Alaska's proximity to Russia equates to foreign policy experience, then I must be a very pius person as I can see a church from my front room window. The failing of that would be that I must also be an alcoholic because I can see a barroom and a liquor store too.

* Despite what many pundits seem to think, not voting for Obama doesn't make you a racist. I know lots of folks that aren't planning on voting for him, and for the vast majority "racist" isn't a word I would use to describe them.

* Any list of the top five American film makers needs to have Ken Burns on it.

* "Sisyphean" is a great word that no one uses. It's a shame, because it describes most of what is going on in the political world today. "Nescient" is another great word, and it's why no one uses sisyphean.

* Dianne Williamson finally wrote a column where she didn't attack anyone or try to be funny. (Link: Old soldier commands our respect). She should try that more often. Despite not agreeing with her very often I read every column she writes. In the end, that's probably all she cares about.

* When did employees stop being employees and became "associates"? Who are they supposed to be associated with? Better yet, when did I stop being a "customer" and became a "guest"?

* If you're not in favor of replacing police officers with flagmen at state construction sites, travel down Rt 12 in Auburn as they widen the road. Count the number of officers and compare it to the number actually directing traffic. I have all the respect in the world for the police, but they should at least pretend to be paying attention to traffic.

* What's the easiest way to screw up a traffic pattern? Put a police cruiser in plain site. Suddenly everyone forgets how to drive.

* Both Run-DMC and Chic have a chance to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. Despite being eligible, Stevie Ray Vaughn was not a finalist. Nescients.

[Fiona] Paying It Forward

Random Acts of Kindness, Paying It Forward, Doing the Right Thing...call it whatever you want. It is something that more people should partake of not because you might reap some reward from it but because it makes you and the other participants feel happy; like the world is a good place to be in. Sometimes being happy to part of something bigger than yourself is all the reward necessary.

My parents never had much but they always gave 100% of what they could. The fastest way to get a smile give one away first. I guess you could say that was my mother's philosophy. My parents never thought twice about what action they should take about matters. If something needed to be fixed or someone needed that 's all it took for their involvement. I like to think that some of their goodness survived in my genes.

I found a brand new seriously shiny fully working totally tricked out cellphone...and I returned it to its rightful owner. Not because I had to but because I wanted to. I know from past experience just how heart sick a person can make themselves when things go awry. I found it open in a driveway I was exiting. It was a super sunny day. The reflection of the sun off the case caught my eye. I have to admit at first glance I thought that someone had run over the unfortunate cell because it looked flat. After closer inspection, I realized it was the new Envy by LG. This was no throw away occurence. Someone had dropped this phone.

I drove home showed hubby and told him of my plan to look through the phone's contact list and try to find a HOME number. I told you this phone was up and running. I could have easily misused it for any one of a hundred misdeeds but I am not that kind of a person. I found a listing for HOME. I dialed it from my own landline so as not to use this persons minutes and left a brief yet detailed message for the person to contact me so I could return the phone.

Long story short...phone lost...phone found...phone returned to rightful owner...Fiona feeling like life has deeper meaning. Owner calls next day to say thank you so much...I just hope that someday she does something good for someone else just because she can not because she has to.

[Shrek] Insanity, Cheating, and Redemption

Fiona and I, along with friends Rich and Josie, bowled in the couple's league this summer at Colonial here in Worcester. For the most part, even though we bowled like crap for most of the season we had a good time.

For the most part.

Unfortunately, the league included an absolutely batshit crazy woman. And when I say "batshit crazy", I mean legitimately "eleven eggs short of a dozen" type of crazy. Add to her insanity the social skills of a seven year old and a more annoying voice than Fran Drescher, and you have all the makings for a huge explosion.

And that explosion came two weeks ago.

Our team--in next to last place and bowling the last place team--was bowling in the lanes right in front of the desk. So when I wasn't bowling I spent most of the night leaning against the desk shooting the shit with Bobby. While I was bowling the first five boxes of the third string something happened at the desk, that had I known about I would not have returned there when I was done.

When your match is over you fill out a yellow score sheet and turn it in at the desk. It seems that the crazy woman made a change to that sheet after it was turned in. Was she cheating as some were saying? Was she fixing an error that she says her daughter made? I don't know, and even to this minute, I don't care. What I do care about is what happened next.

As I came back to the desk from bowling, she accused me of cheating. "You cheat all the time and everyone catches you" were her exact words. My only reply to her was "excuse me?". She repeated her allegation. Twice.

I know exactly what she was doing. Because I have had it out with this crazy woman before she was hoping I would verbally defend myself so she could turn herself into the victim, shining the spotlight on me instead of her. There is no way she expected me to do what I did.

I walked away, laughing.

I went to tell my teammates what was happening so that they would know what was going on. Of course the team we were bowling heard me talking with my team, and they also began laughing. From that point on every single time someone got a good break the other team would laughingly accuse them of cheating. Seeing as gossip travels faster than the speed of light, it took absolutely no time for the whole league to know what she did and what she was saying.

For the record, I never told anyone about her changing the scores, only that she accused me and my team of cheating.

Fast forward to last Tuesday, and she was still making her accusation to anyone that would listen--or maybe more correctly--anyone she could corner and whine to. She was told by several people to keep her mouth shut, but as she has the mental power of a small child she just couldn't keep trying to deflect that spotlight off of her.

The team we bowled that week, who had been bowling next to us the week before, jumped right about the "cheating bandwagon" and began not only to accuse us of cheating when we got a good break, but also accused themselves of it. The two teams to our left were also doing it, so we had a great time that night laughing at each other--which if you think about it is the whole idea of the summer league.

Now the best part--I suspected we were going to bowl her team in the last week of the league (yesterday), so I asked Paul to check the schedule to see if I was right. And I was. So I made sure to let a couple folks know she had to bowl us yesterday.

As you may suspect, she was less than pleased to find out she had to bowl against us.

So after a few e-mails going back and forth between the four of us I decided I was going to take the high road--a path I don't normally take by the way--and just ignore the woman. Rich, on the other hand, decided that he'd had enough of her over the last couple years. He placed a bottle of white out and a couple of erasers on the scoring table.

He was also wearing a t-shirt that he made that had this picture on the front...



...along with the words "Super Cheater". On the back he had "HGH? Steroids? Eraser?"

When she saw it, she went nuts. She threatened to have Rich thrown out--which of course she didn't do because there was no chance of it happening. When Paul came down to ask Rich if there was going to be an issue, he calmly said that as long as she kept her mouth shut there wouldn't be any problems.

But, of course, being batshit crazy she couldn't, and after another outburst stormed off.

Our team went on to pound her team into the ground (they get to take her average at 100%, which is probably better than she would have gotten anyway), with me throwing the high triple of the season and was one bad box away from a 400 series. During the night several people came over and apologized to me because I had to put up with her craziness the last couple of weeks, and hoped it wouldn't keep us away next season. It won't, trust me on that.

What I am most proud of is my team, not for standing up for me, but for not letting the drama destroy what was a pretty fun year. I'm also proud of them because we didn't let it get to us, and over the last three weeks went from fighting to stay out of last place to ending up in fourth place and over .500 on the year after bowling so badly over a third of the season.

[Fiona] One of Those Days

Did you ever wake up and just know that it was going to be one of those days? Well this morning I just knew it was gonna be a day to remember. Most mornings I shrug it off and I must say that I did try to shake off that,"it is gonna be a shitty day feeling" but to no avail.

Today was not a stellar day. One of my dad's older brothers passed away. The water return on our toilet is leaking like an open wound. The bathroom sink is clogged. Oh yeah, I almost forgot I got stung by a bee about an hour ago. I take an allergy pill everyday but not today. I forgot.

Shrek and I never made it to work even though we went through all the motions to get us there. Like I said I just had a feeling this morning and about three quarters of the way to work...bam...car malfunction! Shrek and I called out of work from the side of the road and called our repair guy straight up! Well at least I can say that this part of our day turned out quite well as it was a small repair and not a piggy bank breaker,yippee!

I called my galpal earlier this evening as I needed a venting session followed by coffee. My gal pal and I try to walk her neighborhood at least once a week. It gets her away from her 4 wee ones and it gets me out of Shrek's way. I look foward to our walks as we chat about the stuff going on in our lives and we usually have a good laugh. We had just gotten back to her house when that stupid bee stung me! Somehow a bee landed on my left thumb and stung me at the knuckle.I was so angry. I actually yelled at the bee. "I can't believe you have the balls to attack me, you stupid bee! I've had a craptastic day! WTF!" I killed him. I am not sorry!

It is a damn wonderful thing that my galpal lives around the corner from a pharmacy! I placed a call to my MIL,nurse person, and asked her what I should do. I think the last time I was stung by a bee my stepdaughter was like ten years old. I have to honestly tell you I had no idea if I were allergic or not. A quick benadryl caplet and ice at sting location and I am just starting to feel better. The ice has returned my hand to a normal size. Thank you medication.

I felt this day was blog worthy and I am happy? to report that supper has not been an exception. I made Shrek chicken fingers and fries. I think it is only fair to tell you that as I prepared to put the fries into fry the bag split open from the bottom and I lost more than a few to the floor and trash bin! I am going to bed, bewitched,bothered and bewildered! I am through with you day!

[Shrek] Just being goofy...

[Fiona] Tuesdays with Papa George

I try never to brag about my mad bowling skills. In truth, I am just mad because I suck at this New England favorite way to spend an evening. Shrek and I bowl on a couples' league in the summer. He always says it is for fun, but you know that's a crock. It can get pretty cut throat.

To me the best part of Tuesday nights in the summer is stopping at Papa George's Pizza for a nosh before we go off bowling. Papa George's Pizza is located at 351 June Street in Worcester, Ma. It is owned by Stephanie and Panagiotis (aka Peter) Stratos.

Sometimes it is more than just about the food that you get at a favorite spot. First, let me say that the marinated chicken is the best I have ever had anywhere, any place. Trust me, I eat a lot of chicken so I would know. What I love about this place is the love that they put into their business. Stephanie and Peter are very picky about the ingredients that get used in the making of their masterpieces. Pizza, fish and chips, grinders, calzones, salads, chicken wings, homemade baklava , cookies, ice cream novelties. They have it all and do it all so well. Drop in sometime, place an order, get to know the folks. I know you will go back again and again. It is that good.

Going for food here tugs at my heart. It reminds me of going home to family. There is a mix of bickering, laughing, good times, great food, and people you love to be with. We are always welcomed with open arms and questions about our general well being. I ask you when was the last time you went out to eat and someone cared about how you have been?

Just recently Stephanie and Peter went to Greece for three weeks to be with their family.Waiting for them to return was like waiting for Christmas. Sheer torture. I am not great at waiting, especially when I know that something great is waiting for me to sink my teeth into. While they were out of country Shrek and I went to Elsa's Bushel and Peck...ok but not the same. Food without a proper dose of love is...feed.

[Shrek] Reunions, part deux

As I tell just about everyone, I am terrible at recognizing people. I am forever asking Fiona "is that so-and-so?" or "how do we know that person?". I'm even worse with names. People think I call folks "buddy" or "pal" because I'm friendly, but it's really because I don't have a freakin' clue what the person's name is. So for me to remember someone from more than twenty years ago would certainly be an odd occurrence.

But for me to remember that person's husband...well, you can't even get odds on that from Vegas.

Several weeks ago Fiona and I were in White Hen Pantry after work getting a soda when the older gentleman walked in. The light bulb went off in my head--I knew that I should know who this person was, but as usual, I couldn't place the face. So, I took my next usual step, I asked Fiona who it was. She had no idea.

I just presumed I was wrong and didn't know the person, so while Fiona was gabbing with the girls behind the counter I went out to the car. As I was walking out to the car I passed another car, and thought I recognized the person in the passenger seat. Seeing as the driver's side window was open (and she was parked next to my car), I asked if she had been a teacher at South High.

She quickly said she had been, and we spoke for a few minutes. Not shockingly, at first she didn't remember me, but after mentioning a few of the people in the class she even remembered the table I sat at during vertebrae anatomy class I had her for.

I jokingly mentioned how bad I am with names and faces, and the oddity that I would recognize her husband--a person I'd met just twice, the last time in 1986. At this point he returned to their car and mentioned that we probably had last met at my senior prom (and it was).

Funny thing is, I don't remember much from my prom night.

I've just recently had another reunion--albeit an virtual one--with someone else I haven't seen in nearly twenty years. When Paul Howley was at That's Entertainment a few weeks ago, we were exchanging information about people each of us hadn't run into in awhile. One of those folks he talked about was a former employee of TE, David Lynch.

One of the things Paul mentioned many times was that David was writing in his blog the story of a friend called My Island, and that I should most certainly check it out. It was supposed to be a six part series, but it had already swollen to many more than that.

So the next morning (Sunday), while Fiona was at Weight Watchers, I started reading the story. It is mindbogglingly good, and I spent much of that morning reading all the parts available. It is an incredibly soul searching collection, free of the gloss that often accompanies stories where the writer plays a major role.

I don't want to give too much away, and I urge everyone to read it.

David is currently on chapter 23, but THIS LINK will take you to chapter one. For other chapters, simply click on the purple arrow next to "June" in his blog for a list of the other chapters. You should also read the comments (and leave one if you'd like)...there's some lighthearted stuff that offsets some of the darkness.

I left a comment for David after one of his posts, and after he's finished with the story I'll run him off an e-mail to really catch up. If there's one lesson I've learned in life, it's never interrupt a writer when he's busy.

[Shrek] Reunions, part un

Now to the topic I wanted to write about last time...and it's turned out to be way too long for one post, so I'm splitting it into two parts.

A couple weeks ago John and Kile came up from Virginia for the weekend. There was a mention at TotalCon in February that we should all get together in the summer for a day of playing D&D or whatever else we decided on. So right after the convention e-mails went around trying to pick a good weekend for the possible get together to take place. We settled on the weekend of July 18-20.

So Kile and John drove up from Virginia on that Friday, and after checking into their hotel gave us a call to begin Friday's festivities. Our predetermined plan was pretty straightforward; we'd pick them up at their hotel, head on over to Scott & Jadira's house, and then off to dinner at Joey's Bar and Grill on Mill Street. (Joey's is currently working on a web site, so here's a link to Fiona's mention of them in her Large Marge blog: Where everybody knows our name.)

After enjoying some still warm focaccia with a house blend olive oil with herbs and Parmesan cheese to dip into, and pre-dinner cocktails (Fiona got her standard--a coffee. She loves their coffee so much we've gone out of our way some late afternoons to sit at the bar so she could enjoy a cup or four), our dinners were served.

John and I got the Chicken Pepperoni, Scott got the Caesar salad, and after a bowl of Clam Chowder (in my opinion, the best you can get in the city) Kile got a shrimp dish that was one of the nightly specials. Jadira ordered the "All American" burger, and as usual Trish went "off the menu" with her modified Joey's Salad and "Weight Watcher friendly" baked haddock with lightly sauteed summer squash and zucchini. Fiona and I didn't get dessert, but everyone else did. Based on what was said every dish tasted just as great as it looked.

As it has been every time we've gone there, everything was perfect at Joey's. John and Kile are both looking forward to a return trip on their next visit. As an aside, if you're looking for a quiet place for a drink (including the previously mentioned coffee or any other non-alcohol fare) and a snack--go to Joey's, sit at the bar, and order the onion rings or sweet potato fries. Heck, get them both...and add those things to the list of "best you can get in the city".

After dinner we walked down a couple of doors to the candlepin bowling alley. Being from the area, John was very familiar with candlepin. Kile, being from Kentucky, had no idea what it was about. We all had a good time bowling and hanging out, and as all of our luck is, finished and left the building in the middle of a intense downpour.

Saturday Fiona and Jadira went to Salisbury beach (look down one post for how well that turned out), while the rest of us were joined by Pinhead (yes, that is Mike's chosen, preferred, and well honored nickname) and Wes Carpenter for a day of D&D, that (as expected) turned into mostly hanging out and joking around with each other.

Throw in a BBQ lunch and chicken dinner and we had ourselves a pretty nice day.

Sunday was supposed to be the day the John and Kile spent with John's parents, and so it was...until early evening when Kile called asking if Fiona and I had eaten dinner yet, apparently looking for some "fun" people to hang out with after all day with family. We hadn't eaten, and quickly took them up on their offer to go out to dinner for some "bonus" get together time.

Our attempt to go to Pub 99 failed miserably as the dinnertime line was almost out the door. So we decided to go to Steve's Pizzeria instead, which as it turns out was more what John was looking for versus a "real" sit down meal. (Steve's doesn't have a website, so we'll head back to Fiona's Large Marge blog for more info: Steve's Pizzeria

For those that have never been to Steve's, they have the largest grinders I'm aware of anywhere around here. They are so large that Kile ordered a small meatball grinder and took half home. John got the steak and cheese (just the way I order it too--just steak, cheese, and mayo), I got the chicken salad, and Fiona got a salad topped with grilled chicken. We added fries and onion rings to the mix, and when the folks at Steve's heard we'd brought friends from Virginia in, the threw in some nicely toasted and buttered garlic bread.

We finished the evening hanging out at their hotel for a while enjoying the conversation. When Fiona and I arrived back home, there was a phone message from Ray looking to confirm potential plans for when he and Kathy are up in September. Unfortunately due to computer issues I had to cut that conversation short, but I suspect we'll be enjoying some fine dinning somewhere while they're up.

And, at least for now, I don't need Ray to repair my computer.

Part deux will follow soon, and includes some reunions with folks I haven't seen in twenty years or more...

[Fiona] What?

Ok,Ok...I know I need to post otherwise people think I have given up on sharing my little insights on the crazy things that surround my life. Fear not I am still out and about viewing the insanity of the living. I guess I just haven't been feeling like there was anything I really needed to comment about. Shrek has been at me about my lack of posting and so here I sit trying to wax poetic. Looks like I failed my pilot check. I am in a summer slump I guess.

Last weekend my galpal(two of her kiddos), myself,and a friend of ours went to Salisbury Beach. Shame on you town of Salisbury! Gross! How do you get people to come in for a visit? Kidnap them? Nothing like cruisin' by life on glory days gone by.

Shrek was surprised that we were adventuring out to Salisbury Beach. He tried to warn me. Amusement park...gone. Cute shops...gone. Beach side pizza...has seen better days. I need to say that the state park and camp grounds were nice enough. My galpal had secured a day pass from our local library and so when we got to the state grounds we got to park for free. I was very happy with our day at the state park. I was just disappointed with what has become of Salisbury public beach.



When was the last time that the governing town officials ventured out to... the police department at the public beach? I mean come on. Am I the only one to be surprised that the public men and women's bathrooms are interconnected? I was afraid to go in and use the bathroom NOT just because it was filthy but because there should never be MEN in the LADIES bathroom!!



I was not surprised to see some of the trash come off the beach. It went walking by under the influence of whatever. What moves a person to get stupid and screwed up on a hot day?

Maybe I am naive but whatever happened to family day at the beach? Where is your pride? I would lie about where I lived if I were unfortunate enough to have to live in town. You seem happy enough to take my tourist dollar... please put some of it back into your community. You could have a beautiful boardwalk and shops if you just would put in the effort. How about better public bathrooms? Find reasons to make people want to visit.

[Shrek] Reformat

This is not what I intended my next post to be about.

This was supposed to be about last weekend's get together with friends John and Kile from Virginia, segueing into a Labor Day get together with Ray Conrad, and then finally mentioning...well, I'll leave that for when I make the post, probably Wednesday.

But what happened instead was I needed to reformat my computer after being hit with a Trojan Horse.

I'm not 100% sure how my computer became infected by it because my machine is buttoned up pretty tightly, but after about five days of fighting it I became 100% sure I was losing the battle.

The final straw was when, ironically enough, I was talking to Ray after having dinner with John and Kile last Sunday night. He had left a message on our machine confirming our potential Labor Day reunion (well, technically the weekend after), and as I returned his call my firewall was turned off by the infection while I watched. I decided to quickly remove my PC from my network.

At that point I went from trying to snipe at it file by file to deciding to use the nuclear weapon of wiping the hard drive totally clean. But even in making that decision, I still faced a small hurdle. My CD drive was broken, and had been for some time. I'd tell you how long it had been broken, but I don't recall. It was long enough for Ray to have offered to fix it; not the last time he was up in Worcester, but the time previous.

Yeah, that long.

Monday morning the first thing I did was pull the old one out to make sure I was competent enough to put a new one in. After seeing how easy the removal was I was already shaking my head about not doing this earlier.

So at 8:30am, Fiona and I went off to the Circuit City at The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, Mass. We arrived just before 9am to find out--SURPRISE!!!--Circuit City opens at 10am. We thought it was odd that it opened so late, but as we hadn't had breakfast we decided to head over to the McDonald's on Rt20 at the Millbury/Worcester line to grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

As we drive up to the intersection just before the McDonald's we find out--SURPRISE!!!--that particular McDonald's is under renovations and closed. We both just looked at each other and started to laugh. So much for a quick, painless trip.

We ended up going to the Golden Arches across from the newly rebuilt Auburn High School, where we know some folks from our weekly stop there Thursday evenings after bowling. Of course, despite many of them usually working the occasional morning shift none of them are working that particular morning.

After we ate and returned to Circuit City, where we were helped by two really great employees that answered all my silly questions, including one that said the replacement was going to be a very easy thing. He was right, it was very easy. So easy I am still kicking myself for not fixing it earlier. That fact I have since used it very little not withstanding.

As I had already saved all the files/pictures I wanted, all I needed to do was begin the reformat process. Having done this several times on older computers, and on other people's machines when they had issues, I knew that it is seldom a pain-free process. But with a little patience it usually all works out in the end.

And so it did, but as I'm not really that patient a person there was some cursing involved before it all worked out fine. Of course, even when things do work out fine there is usually some cursing, so I guess nothing truly out of the ordinary happened.

Now come the painfully slow process of downloading all the Window's updates and various programs I had installed before nuking the hard drive. I didn't realize how many I had until earlier this week when I figured I was less than a third done recapturing all that info. Five days later, I'm still only two thirds done.

And--SURPRISE!!!--there has been more cursing involved.