Food, Folks, and Fun

I've had quite a busy week or so. I got to spend lots of time with friends and family and eat lots of good food! Here's a recap:

Thursday my uncle and his wife came through town on their way back to Montana from Florida. We all had a family get-together and good conversation. Good times.

Friday I left for Springfield, Missouri, to spend the weekend with Daniel and Noelle. They're a couple of friends from college. I actually played a big part in the two of them getting together, so that's fun.

Saturday, we three drove down to Branson, Missouri, for a good part of the day. We had Thai food, drove on a really cool go cart course (that looks like a wooden roller coaster, but it's a track!), played some mini golf, went to a winery, and did some shopping. When we got back from Branson we ate at a place called Crosstown Barbecue in Springfield. Pretty good stuff, but it's no Smokehouse.

On Sunday we went to church and then had lunch at Lambert's, the home of throwed rolls. Yes, they TOSS rolls at you if you want one. I had a big cheeseburger and stuffed myself. Oy. After visiting the mall and Bass Pro to do a bit of shopping, we then watched two movies for the remainder of the day: About a Boy with Hugh Grant and Over the Hedge. Both were pretty good! It's certainly the best movie in which I've seen Hugh Grant. He almost was a good actor.

Then on Memorial Day I said my goodbyes to Daniel and Noelle and drove back to Independence just in time to go to another family get-together. This time it was over at my sister's house. We had the regular burgers and hot dogs typical of a Memorial Day feast. We had some spumante that I'd bought at the aforementioned winery. It was good (and gave us a nice buzz)!

Now it's back to the daily grind. Fortunately it's a short week.

Die, Chuck E.

My life lately is, generally, uninteresting. In the course of the last week I went to work, went to church, got a hair cut, bought a couple of CDs and an XBox game, and ate overly expensive pizza at Chuck E. Cheese's prior to my nephew's pre-school graduation. So let's talk about that last one:

I don't like Chuck E. Cheese's. I don't say that in the context of "their food is nasty" or "it's just too noisy." Something about that place disturbes my soul to the very core, though I'm not totally sure what it is. I DO remember that when I was a kid, we went there for some birthday party and I was deathly afraid of the mechanical robot band. They scared the hell out of me. Even today they're kind of creepy. That may be part of my animosity for the place. But Thursday there was something else.

Aside from the outrageous $20 charge for a large two-topping pizza and prize tickets that were hardly worth anything -- 30 for some stupid plastic ring? Come on! -- I noticed something about the employees there: None of them looked remotely interested in being there. None of them ever smiled or even came close to faking enthusiasm for working in such a "fun" place. They all looked depressed to the point of wanting to kill themselves and take every man, woman, and child customer with them. So here in this one restaurant was ridiculously overpriced pizza, cheapo prizes, and this dichotomy of children having the time of their lives climbing around like monkeys while the employees were teetering on the brink of murder-suicide. It made me uncomfortable. I don't like that place.

That said, my nephews subsequent graduation was adorable.

A Good Weekend.

This was a simple, good weekend with good food, good mothers, and good times.

Friday evening was a relaxing time at home, eating Papa John's and catching up on some of my favorite shows that were previously recorded on my DVR.

Saturday, I went out and about for a while. I shopped for Mother's Day stuff for my mom, sister, and sister in-law. Along the way I bought myself a pair of brown Crocs. They're just so darned comfortable, I needed a pair that would match my...um...brownish clothing. After I returned home, I had another nice phone call with my good friend Erica. That's always a pleasure. To wrap up the day, I went and played poker with the guys for the first time in a month and a half. I lost $2, but it was still enjoyable. I'm not sure why I like playing poker there so much, but I just always look forward to doing it again.

Sunday was Mother's Day. After doing sound at my sister Marcie's church, we all went over to her house for a VERY tasty lunch and family time. When I say "tasty," I mean grilled chicken and pinapples, grilled salmon, asparagus, green beans, rice, and a strawberry cheesecake dessert.

So now it's back to the daily grind. Lots to do at work as we get closer to tearing our studio apart and putting it all back together with new equipment and a vision for the future. Exciting stuff.

The Uber-Rare Personality Quiz

Normally I don't post these things to my blog, but I found this one to be especially interesting. I welcome you to, at least, read over the questions. If you'd like, copy and paste them into a comment with your answers.

DISCLAIMER: I did not author any of the questions and left them unedited. I know some of them are kind of redundant and/or confusing, but give it your best shot.

What would you do if:

[1] I committed suicide:
[2] I said I liked you:
[3] I kissed you:
[4] I lived next door to you:
[5] I started smoking:
[6] I stole something:
[7] I was hospitalized:
[8] I ran away from home:
[9] I got into a fight and you weren't there:

What do you think about my:

[1] Personality:
[2] Eyes:
[3] Face:
[4] Hair:
[5] Clothes:
[6] Mannerisms:

Other:

[1] Who are you?
[2] Are we friends?
[3] When and how did we meet?
[4] How have I affected you?
[5] What do you think of me?
[6] What's the fondest memory you have of me?
[7] How long do you think we will be friends or enemies?
[8] Do you love me?
[9] Have I ever hurt you?
[10] Would you hug me?
[11] Would you kiss me?
[12] Would you fuck me?
[13] Would you marry me?
[14] Emotionally, what stands out?
[15] Do you wish I was cooler?
[16] On a scale of 1-10, how nice am I?
[17] Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
[18] Am I loveable?
[19] How long have you known me?
[20] Describe me in one word.
[21] What was your first impression?
[22] Do you still think that way about me now?
[23] What do you think my weakness is?
[24] Do you think I'll get married?
[25] What about me makes you happy?
[26] What about me makes you sad?
[27] What reminds you of me?
[28] What's something you would change about me?
[29] How well do you know me?
[30] Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
[31] Do you think I would kill someone?
[32] Are we close?
[33] Are you going to put this on your journal and see what I say about you?

Halo Huh?

So...I guess I need to finish playing Campaign on Halo 2 so the new Halo 3 trailer makes sense.

Might be good to do.

Then again, I should also pay attention to the story line a little more, too. All this time, I was running around killing everything in sight and there was a story to it all!

It's Not Fair.

On April 5th of this year, a friend of mine from college passed away due to a brain stem injury. Jayme Parks-Soulis was part of our Liahona Student Fellowship for the last couple of years that I was there. She was a vibrant spirit. She was always incredibly friendly and contributed much to the campus ministry.

Then, shortly before one of our school years ended, we found out that she had breast cancer. Over that summer, she had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery to heal her and bring her life back to normal. She was very strong through the whole ordeal and I admired her very much for that. She went on to live her dreams -- of moving to France and teach there -- and for a long time I hadn't heard much about her.

Then, early this year I got news from her best friend Meghan that Jayme had suffered a terrible brain injury that put her in a life-supported coma from which she would never return. No car crash caused it. No previous injury caused it. It just attacked her out of the blue like her breast cancer had in college. Unfortunately she couldn't beat this.

It's not fair.

I don't use that sentence lightly. In fourth grade, my teacher Mrs. Lewis shared a very important thing with us: Don't keep saying that things aren't fair because they aren't going to be. I trained myself not to say, "It's not fair," because I knew better. I had learned that that three-word sentence is a cop out for not getting your way.

But what happened to Jayme: That's NOT fair. It wasn't fair that she got breast cancer in college, and it's certainly not fair that she died of a brain stem injury at 23 years old! It's not fair for a young woman, who's worked so hard and come so far, to be taken down in the prime of her life.

Life wasn't fair to Jayme. I can only pray that the Lord will comfort her in heaven and comfort his family and friends here.

Jayme's obituary in The Examiner

*Yawn*

I haven't posted much here lately because frankly, there's not been much to post. Since I returned from Michigan, life's been pretty ho hum.

Things have continued to stay busy at work. Our router project continues to move along at a steady pace. This weekend I need to look over the design documents that our vendor supplied us on Friday. I need to make sure all the "i"s are dotted and "t"s crossed.

Home life has been fine. We heard some bad news this week that I won't get into yet. Needless to say, your prayers would be appreciated as this is a situation that we'll be dealing with for a while. More later.

On the upside, I have a three-day weekend, thanks to Harry S Truman being born on May 8. I'll probably take some of the day Monday to review the design documents and make any notes I need to get back with the vendor on Tuesday.

So that's it. Boring as all get out. Maybe I'll post an old "And Stuff Like That" from college sometime this weekend. That would be more interesting than this post has been.

Peace out. Happy birthday, Harry.

Where In The World Are You?

If you're fairly new to reading my blog or didn't take an opportunity before, I welcome you to add yourself to my Frappr map. Just post some very basic information (name, zip code, short message, and optional picture) and have your virtual "pushpin" placed in your part of the world.