Blogging Break

I said this in the last post but wanted to bring it up top.

This blog is on vacation until April 30th. I'm heading to AR to close on our house.

Ya'll take care.

Best,

Pappa

This Blog Has Been Pretty SERIOUS the Last Few Days!!!

Let's move on to more jovial thoughts.

Here's a few stupid things that drive me crazy:

1. Waking up to my dog licking herself: Is there anything worse than waking up at 2 AM to a steady "slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp" noise only to look over and see your dog's nose buried so deep in her own butt that you wonder if she considered plumbing as a second career? Don't get me wrong. If I could....well, I won't go there.

2. Decorative pillows: Mamma has these damned decorative pillows she puts on our bed every day. There's only like, ohhhh I don't know, 500 of them. This is all fine, except that they're a pain in the rear to take off and they then get stored ON MY SIDE OF THE BED!!! Getting up to go to the bathroom at night is like walking through a minefield installed by a male florist. As Homer Simpson would say, "Stupid decoration."

3. Cat's meowing for food: I'll feed you when I'm good and GD ready, you stupid little hooker!

4. Asian drivers: DWA = Driving While Asian. This is part of the reason I don't use my name on this blog, so I can say stuff like this. I don't think it's the Americans of Asian heritage. I think it's the ones who were actually born over there somewhere. They drive like a 5 year old on his Hot Wheels trying to run over as many acorns in the driveway as humanly possible. THIS ISN'T "CONNECT THE DOTS" PEOPLE! THIS IS DRIVING! They're probably too busy solving a calculus equation or listening to a 'Hello Kitty' CD. That or taking pictures. Those folks are ALWAYS taking pictures.

5. Low tire pressure light on my Jeep: My jeep has a light saying my tire pressure is low. This thing came on as soon as the temperature got below 30 degrees up here. I understand the reason why temperature affects tire pressure. I also understand that a responsible driver would fill his tires up with air to save on gas. Well, I'm not a responsible driver. Get that stupid ass light and it's associated "PING" off my freaking dashboard! When that sucker stats flopping, I'll put some damned air in it!

Further, why would I fill it up in winter only so I have to let air out in the spring? This is circular. It's fine as long as the temperature is above 30.

6. Running out of propane when grilling: This is why you keep a spare tank but if you don't have one, and you run out, well....you're stupid, but it still sucks.

7. Dog hair - Bailey didn't shed when we first got her. She does now. I'm taking her back. Not really. When she shakes, she looks like the character Pigpen off the Peanuts comic strip. You know? The one with that cloud of dirt hanging over him. Except with Bailey, it's hair, not dirt. I think her days as a permanent inside dog are numbered.

8. The light/noise designed to circumvent natural selection on my Jeep: Otherwise known as the "seat belt not fastened" indicator. Thankfully, I figured out how to turn this thing off. Listen, sometimes I just drive from my apartment to the dumpster, I don't need you telling me I should fasten my seat belt during that 1/8th mile stretch. Worse, it's a constant "ping, ping, ping, ping". Holy moley puddin' pie, it makes me want to put my fist through the dashboard. The only thing about putting your fist through the dashboard is that...well...that would hurt and I really don't think I could do it anyway.

Listen, if you're not smart enough to figure out that fastening your seat belt (on trips longer than those to the apt complex dumpster) is potentially good for your health, I don't want you to breed anyway.

This blog is on hietus next week. I'll be in AR to close on our house. Check back a week from Monday. Hope everyone's doing well.

Pappa

My Thoughts on Moving Home

Mamma and I had a discussion about 3-4 years ago about moving home sometime.

At that moment the discussion took place, moving home was only a dream. We ventured up here with no knowledge of where we would go at the conclusion of our journey. We came up here on blind faith that we were doing the right thing. Who really knows if you're doing the "right" thing or not when you make a big decision such as the one we made to move 1,000 miles away from home to a strange climate, filled with strange people, all in the name of furthering my career/dream.

The closest friends we had in MI were people we'd never really met. The closest person we had to a friend, my mentor for the first few years in the program, was someone who had gotten his Ph.D. under my previous mentor at UA. I had only met him one time, and that was on my campus visit to MSU.

I don't mean to imply that we're special. Lots of folks move far away from home for various reasons and don't know anyone when they get there, but it was an eye opening moment for me when I realized that the move to MI was real.

I realized the move to MI was real when I changed the license plate on my old Jeep. Even more poignant than this moment was when my mom, dad, and Mamma left after dropping me off here.

The four of us, and Misty the cat, drove up to MI in August of 2002 to get me moved in to the house we were to live in for our first couple of years here. The four of us stayed for a couple of days and then it was time for the three of them to go. Mom and Dad had to go b/c they had to return to work. Mamma and I weren't married yet and her dad was in poor health at the time so we both thought it was ABSOLUTELY the best thing for her to stay in AR.

We checked out of the hotel and walked out to the parking lot. At this time, mom, dad, and Mamma got into the car after a few hugs and drove out of the parking lot to get back on the interstate and head South. I watched their car leave the hotel parking lot and that memory will always stick in my mind. I felt pretty derned alone. My family and fiance had just left, leaving me with a cat that, at the time, I would just as soon punt through a plate glass window. I'll never forget that car leaving the parking lot.

I then went back into the hotel room to get my stuff and the damned cat had knocked over a box of wine glasses in the whole 5 minutes I was gone. Thanks, cat. Great way to start a new chapter in life.

Fast forward a couple of years to the aforementioned conversation between Mamma and I about hoping to return home sometime. I told Mamma during this conversation that I wondered if home could ever be as good as I remembered it being. We all know that sometimes things and places are romanticized in memories far beyond what they actually were in real life.

Ever since I came here, I've held a rather romanticized view of AR. I've read the AR Dem Gaz every day until the last few months when I stopped b/c of my disdain for Wally Hall...but that's been covered previously. I've followed every move of the Razorbacks RELIGIOUSLY. I've missed the warm weather, people, and friends. I've missed family and being a part of family dinners and functions.

Now that we're moving home, I know that things may not be as good as I remember them being in my mind. But that doesn't make me less excited. It just makes me realistic.

This whole post leads me to remember a quote by Morgan Freeman who played the character Red in "Shawshank Redemption." Red is riding the bus to Zihuatanejo, Mexico to meet his friend Andy Dufrese who had escaped from Shawshank after being falsely accused. On the bus, Red finally finds "hope" after stating earlier in the movie that "hope" was the bain of a prisoner's existence.

Hear Red's quote here: http://reelwavs.com/movies/shawshank_redemption/hlfreeman.wav

(You've got to copy and paste the link...doesn't work otherwise for some reason)

While this all may be rather melodramatic, I'm realistic. I know things will never be as good as I have built them up to be in my head. That said, I also find I'm so excited about moving home that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think its the excitement only a man moving home can feel. A man beginning a new chapter in his life, whose conclusion is uncertain, rejoining family and friends and now with a family of his own. I hope family gatherings are filled with as much love and laughter as I remember them. I hope to see my friends and shake their hands after a long time gone. I hope summers are filled with as much water, fun, and laughter as I remember them. I hope I still get excited with the start of every Razorback football season and tear up when they play the national anthem. I hope I still care enough to cuss the Hogs when they don't meet my expectations. I hope the drive to Fayetteville still brings back memories. I hope Fall in the Ozarks is as beautiful as it ever was. I hope my son loves Arkansas as much as I do.

I'm realistic, but I hope.

Pics

Sacrifices

Ohhhhh the sacrifices we make!

Back when I worked for a trucking company in LR, one of our loads was filled with Sony TVs. As often occurs, this load got to its destination and had two more TVs on board than the receiver had ordered. This puts the trucking company and shipper in a bit of a pickle. What do you do with the extra cargo?!?!?

To be honest, I'm not sure of the legal outcomes of this even though I probably should be. Obviously, the shipper isn't going to want to pay the trucking company to haul those TVs BACK to where they came from only to have them shipped out AGAIN someplace else. Further, those TVs aren't technically the trucking company's property so they aren't fully responsible for what occurred.

In this case the problem was resolved fairly easily. The trucking company I worked for made a deal with the shipper that employees of said trucking company could buy the TVs for cost. Even better, these were 42" TVs...and Sonys to boot!

I snatched one of those up like an Etheopian crack addict snatches up a McDonalds Quarterpounder! It was $1,200 but WELL WORTH IT! I've had that TV ever since. It traveled back to Fayetteville and then moved up to MI with me.

In Fayetteville I had a crappy little, one bedroom apartment. I happened to really like this apartment though. It was a GREAT pad for a single guy. Short walk to all my classes. It actually bordered campus. This "complex", if you can call it that, was built in the 1970's I'd guess. It was on the third floor, but that really didn't matter to me b/c I didn't have enough money to go to the grocery store anyway. My grandmother kept me stocked with food and I drank a lot of water and....ummmm...beer. Yeah, I was like that guy in the commercial who gets to the cash register and doesn't have enough money for BOTH toilet paper AND beer, so he puts back the toilet paper. Got to have your priorities!

The other great thing about being on the third floor, and simultaneously being broke, is that I didn't hardly have to use the heat all winter. Now, lots of folks would have been REALLY cold in there but I had a little (and I mean LITTLE) space heater that kept one room tolerable and I could get covered up pretty well when I went to bed.

Also, this year in Fayetteville was the year that Mamma and I dated. I came back home to Little Rock EVERY WEEKEND (except FB game weekends). Lots of miles on the old Cherokee during those trips but I didn't drive it during the week so it all evened out.

All this to say: That was a great year! All this time, that Sony 42" TV was situated in my living room right in front of the only comfortable piece of furniture I had: My recliner. I didn't have a couch. I had a recliner. I had an office chair for my desk. I had 4 chairs situated around a table. Trust me, I spent HOURS in this recliner sitting in front of that TV and I LOVED that year. Broke as a joke and loving every minute of it.

When I decided to go to school in MI, I did so b/c the old rule is that you should get your terminal degree from someplace you never want to be again. Thus, MI. Plus it's a great school for my discipline, but that's too practical of a reason...right?

I wanted to come back to AR so I went to MI partly for this reason. Now, we're lucky enough to be coming back to AR! Here's the problem: The TV. It's big. I mean REALLY big and takes up a lot of space. Plus, I want a new, flat screen, HD TV. So, I've decided to save the money I would spend moving the TV, sell it, and use the money saved and earned for my new BIG HONKIN HOG DADDY FLAT SCREEN....errr...to pay for moving expenses, baby diapers, and formula. Yeah. That's it. Baby diapers and formula.

However, I've got to admit that selling the TV is a little difficult. It was the largest purchase I made after finishing college (outside of my Jeep) and I went through some good times with that TV as the only other thing in my apt/house that talked. Maybe I'm a big wus and am stupidly rather emotional over a physical good, but I'm a little depressed to have sold the TV.

But I sold it anyway. For $150 to a Ph.D. student up here who, conveniently, is moving on to Ohio for a job starting in the fall. One man's trash is another's treasure, I suppose.

Oh well. Let's raise a glass to the 42" Sony. Adios amigo!

Prayers for Families at Virginia Tech

What a horrific event.

Thousands upon thousands of eighteen year olds take their first step into adulthood each year by venturing off to college. American society today, for those that go to college, allows young people the ability to transition from (what surely seems like to many) 24 hour supervision to a place where they are in control of their schedules without many of the pressures that characterize life in the "real world".

College is a time in most peoples' lives that they remember fondly. I know I do. Great friends. Great times. Great memories. For those of us lucky enough to have family financial support during college, you don't have to worry about a true job. You don't have to worry about paying the bills. All you have to worry about is getting to class on time, homework, and studying for that next test or quiz. While this seems stressful to many students, many claiming they don't have time to get it all done, in truth it is a care-free existence that most would return to at almost any point in their lives.

College life is characterized by few possessions. Theft occurs at colleges but you have so little of value that anything stolen is generally inconsequential. Certainly, other more serious crimes occur on college campuses nationwide. Sexual assaults, physical assaults (usually in the form of fights outside of the local night spot), etc... are unfortunately not uncommon.

However, if one were to go to college in a true college town as opposed to an urban university, you would likely feel very safe wandering the streets at any hour of the day or night no matter your condition. This is especially true for males. Even the police in small college towns often turn a blind eye toward indiscretions or help you get home if you're in need.

Sports weekends bring another air to college campuses, especially in the fall. Fans, long removed from their days on campus, return to support their team, reunite with friends long lost to the perils of time and adulthood, re-live forgotten memories, and celebrate the time they spent on campus. While sports in and of itself has become big business, we all like to pretend that those kids are putting everything on the line for school pride and the sticker on their helmet or the name emblazoned on the front of their jersey.

Another special time of year arrives in the fall on college campuses. New life is breathed into the air upon the arrival of a freshman class. Some of these kids are hungry for knowledge. Most are more likely hungry for freedom. Others are trying to get away from previous perceptions held by their peers and start anew. College affords all of them this ability.

The college environment has many faults. Universities are commonly perceived, and often rightly so, of celebrating diversity at the expense of other more pertinent qualities. When I speak of "diversity" in the previous sentence, I not only refer to race and gender but also diversity in thoughts and views. While distasteful to many, at times including myself, this diversity in thought allows one to explore the furthest reaches in society with little fear of long-term repercussions. Again, this is not always a good thing. Society generally is what it is for a reason. However, the point is that college students are "safe" to explore themselves and their world without fear of someone trying to ruin them or their families for these actions. In fact, colleges are built around "safety". Even professors are awarded carte blanche to express themselves when they attain tenured status. That's the whole point of tenure: to be able to explore unpopular or controversial views or research, stretching the boundaries of currently held "truth", without fear that these actions will negatively impact their ability to make a living. Again, many of these views and much of this research is viewed as distasteful - I even perceive much of it as distasteful - but many past "distasteful" notions are now understood to be fact. After all, to say the Sun was the center of the galaxy was, at one time, heresy.

No, university students and professors are - for the most part - safe, and there is a reason for this safety. Professors are safe to stretch the boundaries of knowledge and students' minds. Students are safe to explore themselves and discover the kind of man/woman they want to be once their college years inevitably draw to a close.

"Safe" is the operative word in the above paragraph.

Safety is what was robbed of the students at Virginia Tech yesterday. Their college years are forever tarnished by the memory of some deviant and his actions. The innocence of college, the innocence of the transition from childhood to adulthood, the innocence of starting over in life, the innocence of mentors assisting you, the innocence of friendships, the innocence of Fall, is forever tarnished.

Certainly, the surviving students will return to Blacksburg, a town nestled in the Virginia hills close to West Virginia, and rekindle old friendships and memories after they graduate. However, these memories will forever be made more poignant by the events of April 16th, 2007. Those innocent memories will never be the same.

Many families will never be the same. Sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, grandsons, granddaughters, future moms, and future dads were lost yesterday. Bright minds were extinguished before they had the chance to fully contribute to society.

Part of the reason I chose my career is the safety and innocence with which I remember college. Unfortunately, days like yesterday remind us that there is evil in the world and no bastion of safety and innocence is immune. It is easy to go about our daily lives, far removed from Blacksburg, and only think of the horror that occurred yesterday as a sad event primarily affecting someone else. We all have to do this to cope and remain productive members of society. We cannot go through OUR lives in a perpetual state of worry and remorse over past events. However, I would call upon everyone today to take a moment, sit in silence, and pray for the Virginia Tech families and community. Pray for comfort. Pray for mental peace. Pray that they will be safe in every meaning of the word.

Guess What Days Got the Most Hits on this Blog

You probably don't have to think too hard to figure it out.

That's right: The days where I post pics of Junior. I laughed when I figured that out.

I told Mamma I was going to shut down this blog when we moved home but I think we'll probably keep it up just to post pics and keep everyone up to date on him. I won't post every day, and probably won't add any of my own commentary at all, but we'll probably keep it going just for the little guy. He's in high demand! :-)

Best,

Pappa