The Good (Eli), The Bad (Belichick), & The Ugly (Petty)

For once, the big game actually lived up to its hype and even entertained us more than the hit-and-miss commercials.

In case you want to know, I eventually and decided to root for the defense . . . of both teams!

That's probably a unstable way of picking a team but I realized that the big names in this game, all of which I couldn't stand, played on the offensive side of the ball. Since I couldn't hardly name any of defensive players on either team I decided to root for the defense!

And guess what? I won!!!

But in doing so, I guess there is one thing I have to admit . . . Eli Manning is a good quarterback.

There. I said it. Now let's move on!

Bill Belichick's early exit to stage right before the game was over only reiterates his jerk-dom and provides yet another reason why I was glad to see New England lose! Whatever happened to 'we win as a team, we lose as a team'?

As for the Half Time Show, Tom Petty may not be pretty but he can still play!

The only thing I'm wondering about now is how does eldest brother Cooper Manning feel this morning being the only Manning not to win a Super Bowl?


Sheesh! The Manning Thanksgiving Family Reunion is gonna be pretty tense this year!

Cooper is gonna catch the glare of a Super Bowl ring everytime either Peyton or Eli pass him the sweet potatoes!

At least Cooper will always be able to laugh at Peyton for wearing dorky sweaters when he was little.
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"Are you excited about Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers playing in the Super Bowl Half Time Show?"

Total votes: 16

Tom who and the what-breakers?: 18% (3 votes)

Who cares? Half time is for a restroom run and a second trip through the buffet line!: 25% (4 votes)

I guess Hanana Montana was already booked: 25% (4 votes)

"You don't have to live like a refuge!" (Cigarette lighter in hand!): 31% (5 votes)

Sorry, Tara!

QOTW: Hey Santa! Duck And Cover!

It looks as though the 'signs that the end of world is near' theme remains appropriate for our weekly QOTW recap.

I have to say that I'm quite concerned that we may be seeing a new trend as last year's results from this same question were a bit more, let's say . . . passive!

Out of 14 votes to this same question a year ago, I was the only one who had no issue with filling a Santa intruder full of chocolate chip cookies, milk and several rounds of buckshot. Meanwhile there were 7 of you who would have used up 2 GB on your digital cameras with photo evidence that the fat man in red actually exists!

But apparently something's different this year because Santa doesn't stand a chance if shows up without his SWAT team gear!

What gives? Did Santa get a little too handsy during last year's photo-op or something? Sheesh!

Regardless of what has drawn your disdain for Father Christmas, I feel that it's my responsibility however to give you fair warning that, according to Weird Al Yankovic's The Night Santa Went Crazy, Jolly Old St. Nick can be pushed only so far! In other words, what goes around comes around!



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"You're woken early Christmas morning by a man wearing a red suit placing presents under your tree."

Total votes: 11

You assume you're dreaming and go back to bed: 0% (0 votes)

You hide your family in a closet and call the police: 27% (3 votes)

You gather the kids around for a photo-op: 9% (1 vote)

You get trigger happy with your 12 gauge shotgun!: 63% (7 votes)

Last Week's QOTW: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Had to wait to post this one until I finished with the lights. Which apparently puts me in the category of decorating on December 1st.

The roof is dying to have some lights added up there but since I'm trying my best not to fall off a roof this holiday season it's not going to happen - because we all know that the first thing that would happen as soon as I step foot on that roof would be for me to fall off of it!

Maybe Keri's husband can swing by and throw them up for me!

It's funny how every year while putting up the lights I always think of the that scene from Christmas Vacation and hope it doesn't happen to me.

Now that I've got the outside lights up ( . . . and working!) , it's on to the Christmas tree!

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"When will you decorate for Christmas?"

Total votes: 26

Already decorated! (Sorry, Wade!): 15% (4 votes)

As soon as we clear the Thanksgiving table: 30% (8 votes)

December 1st: 34% (9 votes)

December 15th-ish: 3% (1 vote)

Bah, humbug!: 15% (4 votes)

QOTW: Hallo . . . Eeeek!

The little kid in me still loves Halloween. And why wouldn't I with such a ginormous sweet tooth? In fact, it's taking every ounce of will power I can muster not to go downstairs right now and devour all 4 bags of Halloween candy in our pantry!

But the sugar-crazed little kid in me has always gotten freaked out by Halloween as well. I've never liked all the blood, guts and gore that comes along with it. I know it's all fun and games, but every year the limit on what is acceptable seems to be pushed further and further.

I know a guy who once got dressed in all-black, wrapped his 6-foot pet king corn snake around his neck and then hid in his bushes and waited for poor, unbeknownst trick-or-treaters to come up his sidewalk.

I said "once" because he got quite an earful from parents after their kids were frightened so bad they all peed their costumes and vowed never to venture out of their homes after dark ever again!

And who could blame them?

Instead, let's celebrate Halloween by following the Easter holiday example where we celebrate an actual death by posting images of cute little, fuzzy farm animals and tell stories about some larger-than-life rabbit who hops around leaving eggs for kids - another story that freaked me out when I was little!

I would still dress up if I could come up with an original and clever idea and had someone to show it off to than just my neighbors.

That being said, my sugar-drive can be so overwhelming at times that there's still a slim possibility that I could be seen tomorrow night meandering up my neighbor's sidewalk trying to pull off wearing one of my suits and slicking back my hair as a Wall Street tycoon costume just so that I can get a mini-Snickers bar.

"Gee, Wade . . . you're . . . uh . . . really going all out this year, aren't ya'?"

"Just put the candy in the bag!"

"Isn't that a plastic bag from Target?"

"Never mind that! Just give me some flippin' candy!"
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Sorry to deprive you of the QOTW results but my computer is giving me all sorts of fits.

Needless to say, the majority of you would never dress up for Halloween.

Bunch of fuddy-duddies!

QOTW: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Although I was pretty high on the Cowboy game I went to last week, I walked away wondering if the best seat may not have been back in my own house. So I made a list of Pro's & Con's of attending a NFL game at Texas Stadium.

Going to the game:

1. Arriving at Texas Stadium at 2:00 for a 3:15 kick-off but end up missing nearly the entire 1st Quarter because it took until 3:45 to pull into a parking spot . . . Con!

2. Having to pay an additional $80 for that parking spot . . . Con!

3. Having to deal with a drunk Patriot fan who kept yelling, "All day long!" at us every time the Patriots so much as made a first down . . . Con!

(I so wanted to pop him in the mouth and yell, "All day long!" . . . but ya' know that whole WWJD thing!)

4. Luke-warm bottled water: $5.00 Hot Dog boiled sometime early that morning: $7.50 . . . Con!

5. Putting up with some dude on our row who kept leaving his seat to buy beer only later having to leave his seat again to go pee . . . and doing so each time in the middle of a play . . . Con!

6. Having your $6.50 watered-down Coke knocked over by said-dude while he was shuffling off to the little boy's room . . . and him being too drunk to notice . . . Con!

7. Not hearing a word of Michael Irvin's Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony during Half Time because I'm deaf in a one ear . . . Con, but I've grown used to it!

8. Playing bumper cars in the parking lot with a bunch of drunk Patriot fans while trying to leave after the game . . . Con!

9. Seeing Tom Brady (future Hall of Famer) throw 5 touchdowns in person even though it's against the Cowboys . . . Pro! (Hey, you've got to recognize greatness when you see it.)

Staying At Home:

1. Watching the game in HD on my flat screen . . . Pro!

2. Watching the game while sitting in my big, fat recliner . . . Pro!

3. Being married to a dear, sweet, loving wife who is always more than happy to bring me another Dr. Pepper from the fridge . . . Pro! (Love ya', Babe!)

4. Falling asleep in my big, fat recliner during the 4th Quarter after the Cowboys have wrapped up yet another "W" . . . Priceless!

I guess that pretty much settles it!
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Would you rather see a major sports event in person or watch it at home in HD?

Total votes: 16

Got to be there in person!: 43% (7 votes)

Stay At home!: 56% (9 votes)

QOTW: Still Nuttin' Good On TV . . .

"Hey! Isn't that the joker who came up with the stupid idea of a TV series based on cavemen characters from an insurance company's ad campaign?"

"Yeah, I'd sure hate to be that guy!"
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"What is your prediction for ABC's new TV series 'Cavemen'?"

Total votes: 18

The best thing on TV since Seinfeld: 0% (0 votes)

A couple of laughs for a couple of seasons: 5% (1 vote)

Should have stuck with just the funny commercials: 38% (7 votes)

If the commercials aren't funny then why do they think a TV series would be?: 55% (10 votes)

QOTW: Rise And Shine, Sleepy Head!

I can get at out of bed at any time I want. It's having a coherent thought after I've gotten out of bed that tends to be the problem.

Sometimes I'll stand dazed and confused in my mandatory morning shower so long that Kelly will think that I've fallen asleep while standing up - not that I haven't tried!

Helen and M. Missionary will no doubt tell you that the morning is best kick started with a good cup of coffee. I'll respectfully disagree despite my best efforts to become addicted to coffee myself.

Add all the creamer, half & half, sweetener you want - to me, it still tastes like burnt coffee beans. What I can't figure out is, why do coffee grounds smell so good in the grocery store ailse if it tastes like burnt coffee beans?
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What gets you up and going in the morning?

Total Votes: 17

A long shower 25% (5 votes)

A cup of coffee 25% (5 votes)

A good breakfast 10% (2 votes)

A little TV 5% (1 votes)

Sleeping in until Noon 20% (4 votes)

Other 15% (3 votes)
- the baby
- 4 kids jumping on my bed!
- kids

QOTW: It's The Weatherman's Fault!

So I'm minding my own business and enjoying our lovely atypical Texas summer weather of 80-degrees/80%-chance-of-flooding-of-biblical-proportions when all of a sudden what's-his-face weatherman on Channel 8 (not Delkus but the other guy) chirps off, "Folks, there's a good chance we won't see triple-digit temperatures this entire summer!"

(Kelly had to cover Tate's ears as I chirped off at what's-his-face for jinxing us!)

And wouldn't you know it? No sooner than when he said that - Bam! 104 degrees and suddenly my once beautiful green lawn turns up a dead brown!

It's a good thing Channel 8 is the only news in town that broadcasts in HD or else I would switch to Channel 5 faster than you can fry an egg on a hot Texas sidewalk!

(Hey, HD in triple-digit weather is still HD!)
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"Do you prefer 80-degree weather with 100% chance of rain or no rain with triple digit heat?"

Total votes: 24

I'm singin' in the rain! 63% (15 votes)

The heat is on! 38% (9 votes)

QOTW: Keep On Truckin'

OK, so this is how you do it:

1. Before entering the truck stop restroom, take a deep breath of fresh air.

2. Enter restroom with only one eye open. This way you'll still have at least one good eye if the vapors cause instant ocular damage.

3. Use your foot to open stall door. Don't worry about locking it the door, you're not going to be that long.

4. Do your thing.

(Are you still holding your breath?)

5. If neccessary, distract yourself by reading the chicken-scratch on the walls. But beware, this isn't exactly the New York Times Best Sellers List you're reading here.

6. When you're done, use your foot to flush.

7. Wash your hands before you leave, for pete's sake!

(Now that you're outside the restroom you can exhale!)

8. Upon exiting said-truck stop, burn your shoes for they are now considered unholy!

9. Make a mental note to fly next time!
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"Which do you most dread about a road trip?"

Total votes: 24

Smelly road kill: 0% (0 votes)

The back seat: 4% (1 vote)

Motion sickness: 16% (4 votes)

The truck stop restroom: 45% (11 votes)

The tail-gater: 16% (4 votes)

"Are we there yet?": 16% (4 votes)

QOTW: All Hail, The Trapper Keeper!

It's safe to say that, as a Ritalin-deprived hyperactive Grade School kid, I was a little unorganized when it came to those minor school-related details such as homework, tests, projects, summer reading assignments, yada, yada, yada.

My lack of preparedness got so bad that one day my Mom picked me up after school and told me she was taking me to the store to get a Trapper Keeper.



Honestly, my first thought was, "Cool! I hope they have one with Transformers on it!"

(No such luck! The store was out of ones with Transformers on them and my mom wasn't about to embark on a cross-town scavenger hunt looking for one that did!)

I remember how amazed I was at how quickly my grades improved once I started using my generic looking Trapper Keeper. It was a great discovery to find that I was actually pretty good at homework when I actually did it! And now that I had something to remind me to study, tests didn't seem nearly as hard either!

(This was one of the first "A-ha!" moments for Little Wade!)

After Grade School, I went on to make plenty of Honor Rolls and Dean's Lists so I guess I have the Trapper Keeper to thank for my educational salvation.

It makes me wonder how much more I could have accomplished as an eager young mind had I had a Trapper Keeper and a healthy daily dose of Ritalin!

Would love to hear your favorite Trapper Keeper story if you got one!
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"Which was your favorite 'back to school' supply?"

Total votes: 24

Trapper Keeper: 45% (11 votes)

Superhero Lunch Box: 8% (2 votes)

Giant eraser: 0% (0 votes)

Big Chief writing pad: 8% (2 votes)

New box of Crayola crayons: 25% (6 votes)

Box of Kleenex for your home room: 0% (0 votes)

Back pack: 4% (1 vote)

Mechanical pencil: 12% (3 votes)

QOTW: (Sniff, Sniff) Is That You Or Me?

Seriously? 63% of you would go the entire summer without deoderant for $25K?

Speaking as one who sweats like a banshee, I find everyone's willingness to "raise your hand" quite surprising!

(Name that deoderant commercial - 'Raise your hand! Rasie your hand if you're _____!)

I realize $25K is a lot of money but is it really worth it? Especially since you can't tell people why your own dog is too embarrassed to be seen (or smelt) with you.

Me thinks full consideration wasn't given to the laundry list of problems with going sans underarm protection.

Such as:

1. Your boss having to tell you that your natural body aroma isn't as sweet as you thought it was.

2. You keep getting emails from the local hyperhidrosis support group - a group for those sufforing from a medical condition characterized by excessive sweating.

3. You go way over-budget on your monthly perfume/cologne expenses. (But I guess it doesn't matter since you're about to get $25K, right?)

4. Your friends allow you over for dinner only if you duct tape lemon wedges under your arms.

5. Al Gore references your arm pits as examples of global warming.

I'm sure you'd all spend your deoderant-less summer dreaming about how you would spend your $$$ - my recommendation would be to first replace your entire wardrobe!

Or is that why you would agree to such a stunt in the first place?
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"Would you go an entire summer without wearing deoderant for $25,000? (You can't tell people why!)"

Total votes: 22

Sign me up!: 63% (14 votes)

A summer in the Artic Circle maybe: 22% (5 votes)

Not worth it!: 13% (3 votes)

QOTW: Eh, Not So Much!

Like it or not, that was officially a bad Wade's Question Of The Week!

Anytime you have a 100% on any response, you've got a bad poll.

I remember there was something I was going to say about superstitions but, thanks to VBS sapping my brain, I have absolutely no idea what it was.

And because of my VBS-sapped brain, I'm not even going to attempt to come up with a question for this week in fear of repeating the same mistake from last week.

Hope you all don't mind!
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"This coming Friday is Friday the 13th - Are you superstitious?"

Total Votes: 11

No, superstitions are for children: 100% (11 votes)

It depends on the superstition: 0% (0 votes)

Yes, I've already cancelled all my plans for Friday: 0% (0 votes)

QOTW: Will Work For Tips

UPDATE:

The timing of this post is a little ironic . . .

I'll try to make a long, convoluted story short and sweet (which is not really possible for me). When I schedule lunches with my doctors, I use a delivery service to pick up the food and take it to their office. Today's delivery was a very uncharacteristic 20 minutes late.

When the driver finally showed up, I could tell that she was flustered and very upset. It didn't bother me that she was so late since the doctor was running late as well - but she kept apologizing anyway.

But I thought she was about to break down and start crying when she realized that, in her haste, she had charged my credit card incorrectly and had essentially given herself a 25% tip. Knowing that correcting the charge on my credit card would be more trouble than it's worth, I told her not to worry about it and just keep the extra $$.

At this point she actually did break down and start to cry!

"I should have just called in sick this morning! I went to pick up your food and then my car wouldn't start. And when it finally did I raced here so you're food wouldn't get cold but then I got pulled over by a cop who gave me a ticket and now I've charged you too much and I know you're one of our best customers and I don't want to make you mad!"

I swear that she said all of that with one breath!

Since it's so unbearable for me to watch someone cry I gave her a hug and a big smile and told her to go home and watch some Oprah - that got her laughing a bit.

I'm not saying that over-tipping will make people happy, but at least it lets them know that it's completely understandable to have a bad day every now and then.
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Kelly says that sometimes I can be too generous of a tipper.

I think it goes back to when I waited tables in Abilene - I remember what hard work it was just to get an extra buck.

Some guy would come in and play Dr. Pepper Derby (meaning he would ask for a refill every other minute) and then leave a crumpled up dollar bill on the table and actually have to nerve to say on his way out, "Now don't spend that all in one place!"

"I hope all that Dr. Pepper makes you pee in your pants!"

I did get some pretty interesting tips while waiting tables:

$20 bucks from a guy who wanted me to keep refilling his coffee and otherwise leave him alone.

The same amount from a guy after performing the Heimlich on his wife - "Is $20 bucks all she's worth?"

2 shiny quarters from an old lady who would eat lunch at Cotton Patch every Sunday - she was nice but we all hated waiting on her.

Some guy gave me a $2 dollar bill as a tip. I still have it in my wallet - Don't ask me why.

But I never know how to tip the kids at Sonic. Do you tip them or not?

And what about the waiters who bring you your food curbside when you're ordering to go? Do you tip them the same as you would if they were serving you inside?

Here's a little insider tip on how to handle a waiter with a bad attitude: Pay with a credit/debit card and where it says "Tip" on the receipt write "Not with that attitude." At the end of the night the waiter will have to turn in the receipt and his manager will see it. If he doesn't turn the receipt in then he'll show up short and have to pay for your meal out of pocket.

I saw a guy get fired because someone did that to him!

So I don't mind giving a couple extra bucks if the service was what it should be. But if things go bad don't even try blaming it on the kitchen with me!

It's rarely the kitchen's fault!
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Which best describes you as a tipper?

Total Votes: 22

"You want a tip? Don't forget to floss!": 0% (0 votes)

2 shiny nickels: 0% (0 votes)

15%: 36% (8 votes)

15% plus a buck or two - they're working their tail off!: 63% (14 votes)

QOTW: It's A Blog World After All!

Have you ever stopped to think how funny it is to ask someone, "Do you blog?"

You'll get in return one of three responses: A knowing nod, a quizzical look, or a roll of the eyes.

Having previously been one of those who would roll my eyes at such a question, the 180 I've pulled on blogging is quite impressive. But what impressed me most about blogging was that its a great way to catch up (and keep caught up) with friends and family.

But has anyone noticed the certain element of the blog world that makes you feel safe enough to go lurking? We can all play Seven Degrees of Separation with the blogs we read - I came across this person's blog after clicking on a link of another person's blog who commented on my high school friend's blog . . . and now I feel like I know them just like a friend!

Susan recently called out her lurkers. I don't think I'm gonna call anyone out - I'll respect your right to lurk. But to Susan's point, blogging (and leaving comments) many times leads to something very unexpected - blog friends (folks whom you know solely through the blog world). I've got a couple myself - Satire & Theology and Jill.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: If we were told about blogging 10 years ago, most of us would just ask, "Why would you want to do that?"

Funny how that is what my parents ask me today!
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"How do you blog?"

Total votes: 20

I only read the blogs of a few very close friends: 10% (2 votes)

I enjoy reading many blogs of friends and acquaintances: 20% (4 votes)

I actually have a few blog friends - people you know only through the blogosphere: 45% (9 votes)

I'm a closet blog stalker!: 25% (5 votes)

QOTW: At Your Service

Something occurred to me after I posted last week's QOTW . . .

We trade our time for money (our job) and then turn around and trade our money for time - house cleaners, lawn service, personal shoppers, etc.

I realize the massage/spa treatment doesn't really apply here, but it's an interesting comment on our society where an entire service industry exists for the purpose of doing for us what we would normally for ourselves . . . if we only had the time.

Just thought I'd share that "Huh" moment . . .
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"If you had the money, which service would you pay to have every week?"

Total votes: 18

House Cleaners: 38% (7 votes)

Lawn/Landscape Service: 11% (2 votes)

Massage/Spa Treatment: 38% (7 votes)

Personal Assistant/Shopper: 11% (2 votes)

QOTW: Workaholics Anonymous

Here's last weeks' QOTW as promised . . .

My first job in sales was at Pitney Bowes Office Systems - I sold copiers.

Working for Pitney Bowes was great despite the minor detail that I wasn't very good at selling copiers. I typically fouled things up during the demo - which was when you brought in a copier that a potential customer was considering and demonstrated to them how incredibly easy it was to operate.

The problem was that I was terrible at operating copiers. If it could be jammed, stuck, over-loaded, overheated, off-lined, side-lined or even error-ed, I somehow was able to show my customers-to-be how easy it was to do.

Need 10 sets of collated, double-sided, hole-punched copies? You got me! However, I do know a good way of changing out the toner cartridge so that half of it ends up all over your brand new suit - that's easy!

My demo's were usually abruptly ended by a polite, "Uh . . . thanks. We'll give you a call."

(Thank goodness I'm much better at selling drugs!)

But the cubicle world of Pitney Bowes brought out the "best" in the office personalities. My boss was the coffee addict. He'd start a new pot of coffee at 4:00 in the afternoon just because he was thirsty. What always puzzled me about him was that, despite practically having a constant caffeine drip from an IV, he reminded me of Droopy. With as much coffee-intake as he had you'd expect someone with a little more edge - never understood that one!

His boss was the nicotine addict. It would be 103 degrees outside and he'd be standing in the parking lot in a wool suit puffing down a cigarette. I always hated seeing him smoking when I'd return to the office from a sales call because he would make me stand out there and tell him how things went.

Thirty feet away was a comfortable 75 degree climate-controlled environment and all he wanted to do was "burn one" out in the blazing sun while reminding me of the advantages and disadvantages of analog copiers versus digital copiers . . . as if I really cared!

I mention Pitney Bowes because this FedEx commercial reminds me of Pitney Bowes (The Office reminds me of Pitney Bowes, too - but that's another post!). When I found this clip on YouTube, it gave me the idea of last week's QOTW.

It's no surprise that most of you think you're the only normal one at work. The real question is what would your co-workers say about you?

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"Which office employee are you?"

Total Votes: 16

"Blameless Bill" - 6% (1 vote)

The Attitude - 6% (1 vote)

The Whiner - 6% (1 vote)

The Coffee Maker Cop 0% (0 votes)

The Clock Watcher 18% (3 votes)

Thumb-Twidler Extraodinaire 6% (1 vote)

Mr. Over-promise/Under-deliver 6% (1 vote)

The one normal person in the whole place 50% (8 votes)

QOTW: The Stuff Room

I gleamed this week's question from a recent discussion I heard on the radio about how Americans are obsessed with size . . . particularly when it comes to the homestead!

The guys on the radio mentioned that the most expensive house in the Dallas/Fort Worth area has around 20,000 square feet. And at the moment only 2 people live in it - although it requires a small company of people for upkeep!

I'm sorry, but there is a point when a house becomes too big!

But I started wondering, "If I could add a couple hundred square feet here or there to our current house (for practical purposes, of course!), where would I put it?"

I think the enemy to any house and home is clutter. I hate clutter. I hate disarray. I hate stacks of stuff - although I am currently tolerating several boxes of sales material in my office because I have nowhere else to put them . . . I need more closet space!

I have to hand it to our builder, they did a pretty good job on creating plenty of closet space. But can you ever have too much closet space? It's just amazing how all the stuff you accumulate over time seems to suddenly overflow and take over a room.

And that's all it is - just stuff. Stuff we never will use - stuff we never have used. But all stuff that we think we will eventually use. So we keep it and stuff it in every nuck and crany in our house until finally there's no room for the stuff that we really do need to keep!

I guess that's why there are so many storage units being built around here . . .
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"If you could add square footage to any ONE area in your house or apartment, which area would it be?"

Total Votes: 25

The Living Room: 12% (3 votes)

The Dining Room: 4% (1 vote)

The Kitchen: 12% (3 votes)

The Master Bedroom: 8% (2 votes)

The Bathroom: 20% (5 votes)

The Closets: 36% (9 votes)

The Pantry/Utility Room: 0% (0 votes)

The Garage: 4% (1 vote)

The Front/Back Yard: 4% (1 vote)

QOTW: Not-So-Golden Silence

When I was a wee lad, there were several things I promised myself I would never do when I got older. There are already a few things I've done that I said I wouldn't:

(1) I will never work in construction - My dad got me a job at Montoya Remodeling when I was 17 after I threatened to spend my entire summer laying on the couch watching TV. A summer hanging sheet rock is great motivation to go to college.

(2) I will never work in fast food - A friend of mine convinced me that working at Chick-Fil-A would be fun because, "we never actually do anything." A week after I started a new manager was hired who made sure we all had plenty of work to do!

(3) I will never listen to AM radio - I remember being forced by my dad to listen to AM radio anytime we rode in his car. When you're a kid, AM radio is about as interesting as watching water drip.

If Dad did ever listened to anything else it was either The Beatles, The Dueling Banjos or Patsy Cline - only two of which could be considered an improvement over AM radio (see What's on My iPod).

But I guess I'm one to talk, nowadays - AM radio is about all I listen to. First it's 1310 The Ticket (sports radio), then either WBAP 820 or KRLD 1080 (both news and talk radio). If nothing is good on one of those 3 then I usually bypass FM radio and go straight to my iPod.

Not listening to FM radio means I usually don't watch music award shows since I don't have a clue who anybody is anymore.

As for now, I'm trying hard to keep the other promises I made to myself when I was younger:

(4) I will never say, "This will hurt me more than it will hurt you."

(5) Don't let Christmas lights get you all upset - If you ever tried hanging Christmas lights outside then you know what I mean.
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"Which do you listen to the most while driving?"

Total votes: 18

FM Radio: 9 votes, 50%

A CD: 4 votes, 22%

AM Radio: 3 votes, 16%

My iPod: 2 votes, 11%

A Cassette Tate: 0 votes

Nothing: 0 votes

Which ever movie is in the DVD player: 0 votes

PS: Congratulations to everyone for not choosing 'the DVD player' - it's good to know that there are at least some people who don't constantly placate their children by sitting them in front of a TV screen!

QOTW: Traveling Pains

Last week, work took me a little further than my usual twice-a-month flight out to San Angelo. This time it was to Philadelphia, PA - the supposed City of Brotherly Love.

On this trip particularly, I noticed how traveling can be very unbecoming for some people. Why is that? I believe most people to be courteous and generally respectful of others. But there apparently is an internal switch that gets flipped when some people get an airline ticket in their hands.

One minute you're talking to a sweet little old lady about her 9 grandchildren and suddenly the next minute you're getting your head ripped off because you took too long to pull out your driver's license at security. Shesh!

That being said, I'd like to take a moment to respond to 3 guys I bumped into on my to Philly.

To the guy who used the phrase, "You don't understand - I have to be on that plane!" in order to get security to let him cut to the front of line so he make could his flight:

"No, you can't cut to the front of the line because not only are you cutting in front of me you're cutting in front of the 20 people behind me - each of whom made a concerted effort to arrive earlier than just 15 minutes before departure!

To the guy at the gate who turned to me and said, "Hey man, can you watch my bags?" and then just took off without waiting for me to respond:

"Dude! Unattended bags = security threat!"

I just stood there for a second not really knowing what to do! I seriously thought about calling a TSA agent and telling them that some guy just hauled off and left his bags just sitting in the terminal. But had I done so, they would have cleared out the entire place and I, ahem!, all these people would have then missed their flights!

But before I had a chance to cry 'wolf!' he came back, "Thanks, man! I had to blow my nose!"

Blow your nose? Are you kidding me? I found this to be an appropriate time to display my restrained displeasure with him by subtly rolling my eyes and slightly shaking my head.

Oooo! That showed him!

To the guy who had a problem with me speaking to my co-worker seated in the row infront of me and said, "If you two are going to talk back and forth the entire flight then why don't one of us switch seats now so all these people won't be bothered?"

(Keep in mind that passengers were still boarding the plane!)

"Dude, two words: Chill. Pill."

The funny thing is that because of my hearing, I'm usually not very talkative on flights anyway - its just too hard to have a conversation over the roar of the engines. He would have gotten his precious silence as soon as we pulled away from the gate.

Unfortunately for him though I have a terrible habit of smacking loudly when I eat pretzels! Boy, that was a big bag of pretzels - took me forever to finish it!

Side note: In shocker of all shockers, my trip concluded without a single bad experience due the incompetence of the Evil Empire. Although relieved, I don't expect this to be a long-lasting trend.
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"Which do you most dread when flying?"

Total votes: 22

The kid who kicks the back of your seat: 7 votes, 31%

The middle seat: 5 votes, 22%

The guy in front of you who uses his seat to remove your knee caps: 3 votes, 13%

The guy who snores: 2 votes, 9%

The guy who hogs the arm rest: 2 votes, 9%

The incompetent pilot: 2 votes, 9%

The rude flight attendant: 1 vote, 4%

QOTW: We're not in Kansas anymore!

Conventional wisdom tells us to always follow our instincts . . . but sometimes I can’t help myself. Every time I hear our neighborhood tornado sirens blaring, I have to go outside for a look!

(Don't worry! I didn't see this twister in person - I just copied the photo off of Wikipedia for aesthetic purposes!)

While everyone else is running for shelter, I’m the one in the back yard peeking over the top of my fence to see if an F5 twister is coming down my road.

Meanwhile, my sweet dear wife is yelling at me from a room with no windows and located in the middle of our house!

I’m not for sure why, but tornadoes inspire more curiosity than fear for me.

And it’s not like I’ve never had any close calls. I actually slept through one when I was younger. It hit the neighborhood next to us, skipped ours, hit our church, skipped over the highway, hit the next two neighborhoods and then my high school though it didn’t do enough damage to cancel classes – D’oh!

I hate to pick on my mother-in-law . . . buuuut, I never seen someone so glued to The Weather Channel anytime so much as a low pressure system moves through North Texas. I’m sure it has to do with her west coast up-bringing – and all she had to worry about was the occasional western seaboard re-arranging earthquake.

Granted, north Texas thunderstorms are a little nerve-racking if you’re not used to them, so I guess I can’t blame her.

Oh, well – at least the tumultuous spring season provides plenty of business for all the friendly independent contractors between here and Florida - and from the number of flyers I have stuck in my front door, each one of them apparently thinks I need a new roof!

Don’t call me – I’ll call you!__________________________________________________________

"Which natural disaster do you fear the most?"

Total votes: 14

Tornado: 11 votes, 78%

Earthquake: 2 votes, 14%

Hurricane: 1 vote, 7%

Blizzard: 0 votes