Ring. . . Ring. . .

Due to month end, I was extremely busy at work today.  But after everything finally calmed down and as I was walking out of the building, I noticed a voice mail on my phone from . . .

Would I be happier in the Orlando area? It certainly can’t be any worse than where I’m at now. . .

And. . . change of topic. . . Went to see my bro at the hospital tonight after work. I haven’t seen him in over a week because I’ve had one of those never ending colds that’s been going around recently. Bro looked a million times better than last time I saw him and I’m happy to report that he is leaving KC tomorrow to head to Rusk Rehabilitation center in Columbia, which is just a short drive from his family’s home. We still don’t know what the extent of his brain injuries are but as each day passes he seems to come more and more out of the cave. After a couple of months at Rusk, we should finally know for sure what the real situation is. Right now, everything looks very, very positive. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

So the Dow made history today by making its largest single day point loss ever.  However, in regards to percentages (7%), today’s drop doesn’t even rank in the top 10.  Look it up if you don’t believe me.

I hate to be the bearer of such news to all the Negative Nancy’s out there, but the sun will still rise  tomorrow, the universe will still exist (does it really care about the stock market?), time will continue to march on, the sky will remain blue, and the relentless cold that I currently have will continue yet another day.

I’m no expert, but if your in it for the long haul, then right now sure seems like a great time to buy, buy, BUY!  What goes down has only one other direction to go. . . eventually.

Religious Dinosours – Part I

I absolutely LOVE this kinda stuff.  (By the way, I’m not specifically diss’n on Islam, cause Jebus knows there are plenty of Christian preachers/ministers who make crazy ass comments.)  But this one caught my eye.  Straight from The Telegraph UK 9-15-08.

Sheikh Muhammad Munajid claimed the mouse is “one of Satan’s soldiers” and makes everything it touches impure.

But he warned that depictions of the creature in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, and Disney’s Mickey Mouse, had taught children that it was in fact loveable.

The cleric, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed.

Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam’s teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.

According to a translation prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute, an American press monitoring service, he said: “The mouse is one of Satan’s soldiers and is steered by him.

“If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing, because the mouse is impure.

“According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry?

“Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice.

“Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases”

Last month Mr Munajid condemned the Beijing Olympics as the “bikini Olympics”, claiming that nothing made Satan happier than seeing females athletes dressed in skimpy outfits.

And yes, I’m sure Mr. Munajid is a good person and truly wants the best for mankind.  But come on Missy, last time I checked the calendar it was 2008.  I bet PETA didn’t care much for his comments.

On another note, the weekend is right around the corner.  I think I’ll go mouse hunting. . . or maybe I’ll finally go cow tipping. . . Damn Cows!!  <raises and shakes fist!>

Avast, Matey! Its Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Ye best be click’n on the pic to learn more.  Arrrgg!

Soccer Weekend

Bro was finally taken out of ICU today and is now in Step Down ICU.  Progress is being made, slowly but surely.  He had to have a trech yesterday in order to help his breathing, he’s always had problems with sinus infections, so this isn’t a big surprise.  The docs think it will only be for a few days and will once they take it out, it should heal enough so that it will no have long term effects.

My parents have returned from Springfield and we have a busy weekend of hospital visiting and catching the soccer games that my neices and nephews have on Saturday and Sunday.  As much as I hate sports, I am looking foward to seeing them having some fun on the field,  they have really been great kids through out this entire mess.

On different note, I got a new car last week and I’m really enjoying the newness of it.  (Gotta love new car smell)  It’s a brand new Nissan Sentra and it only had 14 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.  I hate to send Betty the Saturn to the junk yard but 10 years in the same car is enough.  The only thing I don’t like is that the new car has automatic tranmission and I’m way to used to manual.  My left foot just doesn’t know what to do anymore without the clutch!

Two Unused Tickets

I purchased these tix months ago to see my all time favorite musical “Les Miserables” at Starlight here in KC.  I decided last night that I’ve seen enough “Les Miserables” these past 9 days to last a life time.  Tonight they went unused and that’s ok, I’ve been lucky enough to see the show 3 times already.  I’ll just wait until next time.

On a much happier note, my cat Jesse is very happy that I refilled the birdfeeder outside her window.

Don’t ya wish we all had those kind of problems. . .

Disappointed by Performance of Homeland

Have you ever bought an album (yes, I said album) and there were only 3 good songs and the rest was just filler?  Well, thats pretty much what I thought about Laurie Anderson’s Homeland performance at the Lied Center in Lawrence last night.  I have been a fan of Laurie’s work ever since I purchased Big Science waaaaaay back in 1982 and was really looking forward to seeing her.  “Let X = X” was the song that really turned me on to her eons ago.  Anyway, except for a few shining moments of absolute brilliance, the show was a complete let down.  The performance was lacking any sort of visual, Laurie never moved from behind her synths except for an occasional hand gesture and of course to leave the stage.   The lyrics to her songs were moving, touching, and sometimes funny, but the orchestration (IMO) was horrendous and just flat out boring.  I have to admit, I was glad when it was over.  (Maybe I just had other things on my mind)  I’m definately still of fan of Laurie, and always will be, but this just didn’t do it for me.  I’m glad I have the David Byrne concert to look forward to next month.  I’ve seen David three times and he always puts on an interesting show.  I’m sure that will help me get this bad taste outta my mouth.

In Memory of Those Who Perished on 9/11/2001

Yup, He’s Still Here. . .

Update on my brother. . . A close friend of his came to visit, and this is what was written in regards to that visit on the Caring Bridges website that was set up for my bro.

“D. V. paid him a visit today and B asked him to raise a finger to wave hello, just guess which “finger” he gave him!
(You guessed it).

lol, Yeah, fuck you too. 

Today’s Events

Busy, busy day today.

• Informed my manger that I wouldn’t be at work today due to my brother’s accident.
• Took my car into the shop to get it worked on, it had been overheating the past couple of days and the heater would not warm up.
• Rented a car from Budget for the week. Thanks to Amtrak Guest Rewards program I got a $30 discount and triple points for future travel.  Yeah!
• Headed to the hospital to be with my brother and family
• Got tired of watching the gang members hanging out in the ICU waiting room.  The person they were there for apparently got shot by a cop.  Don’t know the story and don’t really care.  I missed the action, but at one point hospital security had to be called.  No comment.
• Took my parents and aunt to a nearby grill for lunch.
• Got a call at lunch that my 10 year old Saturn was kaput and it wouldn’t be worth fixing.
• Left the hospital around 5 to take care of business at the automotive shop.
• Went home and crashed.
• Woke up more tired than when I fell asleep.  (don’t you hate it when that happens)
• Found out that my brother is having stronger responses to people when they talk to him.  That’s great news!
• Looked online for cars but quickly got bored.  I hate looking for cars.  Blech.
• Caught up on some podcasts, blogs, and YouTubers.
• Wrote this.
• And now headed to bed shortly.

Right now I’m both physically and emotionally drained.  Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not feeling sorry for myself, just stating a fact.  All I know, is that for once, the headaches at work and with my car just don’t seem so bad.

Special thanks to A, S, J, and H for their help and kind words.  Hugs to you all.  I hear a pillow calling my name.