So, here is some dinner conversation or ice breaker material for you to discuss next time you’re in need of mindless ridiculous subjects. First, let me preface this with why I thought about it. I had read an article that folders are more likely to pass more germs than wadders when they wipe in the bathroom. The link to some studies is here. There are more believe it or not. Apparently, this is a hot topic in the science and statistical communities.
http://www.wonderbarry.com/TP%20Site/general.html
Just to run down some statistics:
44% wipe from front to back from behind their backs.
60% look at the paper after they wipe.
50% say that they have wiped with leaves.
8% have wiped with their hands.
2% have wiped with money.
The following are some interesting percentages on toilet paper use taken from a Kimberly Clark survey in July 5th, 2000. It shows that more men "fold" and more women "wad".
40% fold or stack, 40% wad or crumple, 20% wrap it around their hand.
52% (Men) & 38% (Women) are "folders"
38% (Men) & 52% (Women) are "wadders"
6% (Men) & 6% (Women) have no preference
4% (Men) & 3% (Women) don't know
So I was in the bathroom and was washing my hands and reached to dry with the towel. I noticed I always grab three regardless of how long I wash my hands. The guy in the other side getting paper towels was damaging Brazil with as many towels as he was grabbing. Some how I got to thinking about the toilet paper and how I am a folder and how the study said I would get more germs than a wadder. (Which I don’t see how since its all wadded up and nasty! But then again, IT’S TOILET PAPER PEOLE AND IT’S RUBBING YOUR BOOTY! So there you go, DISCUSS!!!!!!!! And post your thoughts here, I won’t tell anyone. Heh!
XO ILY YM
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Driving, Riding and it better be a tractor man...
Traffic this week ahs been terrible. I have managed to knock my MPG down to 13 miles per gallon due to the absurd traffic jams! I now know the reason for “Take a Back Road” by Rodney Atkins. I liked it anyway but the line about knowing what a field of corn and cotton looks like and if there’s a jam it better be a tractor man! I have actually created a tracker in excel to measure my routes and such.
I am limited to three anyway. Distance varies from only 28 miles to 34 miles. There are only four ways across the Fox River:
1. Interstate 90 – the most traveled and also under construction
2. Algonquin road – the next most traveled, mostly two lanes and constant back-ups
3. IL 14 – Not as many back-ups but traffic is sporadic and you never know when it will be backed up ridiculous and where
4. Down 31 and onto Higgins – also under construction and backed up due to folks jumping off the interstate to avoid back-ups
So this is definitely a quandary for me but, I like driving and I like the country side. I also like the opportunity to sing and work on my voice again as I haven’t done it in so long I get some practice. Now I said I like driving. Driving; not sitting still. Yesterday it took me 30 minutes to get from the Cary Metra station to the Fox River Grove Metra Station. Crazy. Done harping.
My wife is awesome! I got a new bike. It’s awesome and I can’t wait to start riding. I plan on riding every morning for 30 minutes in order to get my self back into shape and start doing some longer distances and speeds. I plan on doing it before showering in the a.m. before work and then expanding to a weekend ride. There is a trail here that is about 26 miles long and goes from Algonquin to Wisconsin. I plan on riding it and logging my trek. There is a web site that has some major pictures of it and how it links to other trails. Its pretty neat. The trail connects to over a 100 miles of other trails as well. I am very excited about this and cant wait to get to work on it!
And now back to work. Had a short break for a moment to clear my mind before starting on another avenue to work on.
ILY XO YM
I am limited to three anyway. Distance varies from only 28 miles to 34 miles. There are only four ways across the Fox River:
1. Interstate 90 – the most traveled and also under construction
2. Algonquin road – the next most traveled, mostly two lanes and constant back-ups
3. IL 14 – Not as many back-ups but traffic is sporadic and you never know when it will be backed up ridiculous and where
4. Down 31 and onto Higgins – also under construction and backed up due to folks jumping off the interstate to avoid back-ups
So this is definitely a quandary for me but, I like driving and I like the country side. I also like the opportunity to sing and work on my voice again as I haven’t done it in so long I get some practice. Now I said I like driving. Driving; not sitting still. Yesterday it took me 30 minutes to get from the Cary Metra station to the Fox River Grove Metra Station. Crazy. Done harping.
My wife is awesome! I got a new bike. It’s awesome and I can’t wait to start riding. I plan on riding every morning for 30 minutes in order to get my self back into shape and start doing some longer distances and speeds. I plan on doing it before showering in the a.m. before work and then expanding to a weekend ride. There is a trail here that is about 26 miles long and goes from Algonquin to Wisconsin. I plan on riding it and logging my trek. There is a web site that has some major pictures of it and how it links to other trails. Its pretty neat. The trail connects to over a 100 miles of other trails as well. I am very excited about this and cant wait to get to work on it!
And now back to work. Had a short break for a moment to clear my mind before starting on another avenue to work on.
ILY XO YM
Friday, August 19, 2011
Never look a gift box in the wrapper...
Let’s start things off with a little absurdity. My wife receives a present from her friend in the mail. A nice gift card from Bath and Body works: Definitely something very nice and useful that she likes. A few days later, she receives a bigger box, (picture to come soon because I will be posting this!) this box is approximately 2 feet long by 10 inches deep and 6 to 10 inches thick. It’s very light as well. She opens it up and guess what’s inside? Another box: A gift box. A long flat gift box sealed in plastic with Bath and Body Works on it.
So being the thoughtful person her friend was she selected a gift box for her gift card to come in and create a nice presentation of the gift. However, the wise folks at B&BW grabbed a large gift box and sent it separately, paying extra shipping and in a box way larger than needed and even with protective wrapping inside. Wow…****SHORT DIATRIBE AND RANT WARNING*******
Our toys have really damaged our kid’s intelligence and thought processing skills. We need to smash all the computer toys and games that do stuff for them and give them Hotwheels, dolls and board games. Another rant is posted somewhere here relating to that so I won’t go off on that tangent. I will say however, this week has presented itself with a plethora, a veritable cornucopia of reasons that lead me to the upbringing of our spawn. Give it to me now, give it the way I want it because I matter more than you and I don’t care about the impact to anyone else. WRONG THOUGHT PROCESS!
So I am singing in the truck with my mp3 player and really getting my voice back finally. I am loving the music I am creating on my acoustic. I now need to get back into the habit of writing and trying to record. My Xmas list will have some recording elements to it so I can begin that hobby/process again. There is nothing like going to a bar and playing music you have written and see people concentrating on the words trying to hear the story. And with me its so much more enjoyable because most people think songs are born from experience. Some are, but mine are just how the words fell on the page and how they fit the music. Sure I have a few that have significance to them but for the most part, they are just songs.
When I let some colleagues hear a couple of songs I had, both are blues rock type songs and have a strong element of being bitter towards a woman. The feed back I got from most women who heard it was “Man I’d hate to be her!” Now its not bad and I didn’t wish ill will on anybody or write about hurting anyone but I did detail the anger and hurt felt from their actions.
I told my wife a week or so a go I had about 10 songs that I think would fit specific artists and after reviewing the lyrics and music I knocked that down to about four and a possible fifth if I worked on it some more: That’s an avenue I have thought about pursuing: selling some music to some current artists. I like performing and I think I am still young enough in talent that I could survive a music career for 3 to 5 years but I really like playing small places and writing songs. Knowing I have material that someone else would be happy to pay me for and perform even if they had to alter it a bit is still very rewarding and satisfying. We’ll see.
I still have an idea for a kennel so I can work with animals on every level. I may begin investigating the business plan for that and developing a structure to approach it some how. Especially if I chose to buy some property soon it would be great to develop the business while I have another job. Growing the kennel in stages saving funds and developing partnerships with vets and ASPCA shelters and such. I would really like to do that full time eventually.
So there ya go. Random thoughts of crap as I break from work and process other things through the channels of this industry.
Today is my mother’s birthday. I miss you mom. Listening to “Purple Rain” (Prince), “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd), and “Someday After While” (Eric Clapton) right now and thinking of you.
In case you don’t know about the significance of these songs I’ll give a short reason here. There are quite a few posts with more detail around them earlier on in this blog.
Purple Rain – Played at her funeral by her request. People didn’t want it played but damn it, it’s my momma’s funeral and she never got what she wanted in life she is damn sure gonna get what she wants now! Plus it is her way of saying hello to me every now and then and letting me know she is still there.
Comfortably Numb – When I began playing guitar around 12 she told me when I can play all of Comfortably Numb exactly the way it is, she would consider me a good guitarist. I worked hard at that and could do it by wrote before I was 18. So she at least got to hear me do that.
Someday After While – This one I just think of her when I play and hear it. Reminds me a lot about the way she lived her life and how she looked forward to the future no matter what overshadowed her life.
XO ILY YM
So being the thoughtful person her friend was she selected a gift box for her gift card to come in and create a nice presentation of the gift. However, the wise folks at B&BW grabbed a large gift box and sent it separately, paying extra shipping and in a box way larger than needed and even with protective wrapping inside. Wow…****SHORT DIATRIBE AND RANT WARNING*******
Our toys have really damaged our kid’s intelligence and thought processing skills. We need to smash all the computer toys and games that do stuff for them and give them Hotwheels, dolls and board games. Another rant is posted somewhere here relating to that so I won’t go off on that tangent. I will say however, this week has presented itself with a plethora, a veritable cornucopia of reasons that lead me to the upbringing of our spawn. Give it to me now, give it the way I want it because I matter more than you and I don’t care about the impact to anyone else. WRONG THOUGHT PROCESS!
So I am singing in the truck with my mp3 player and really getting my voice back finally. I am loving the music I am creating on my acoustic. I now need to get back into the habit of writing and trying to record. My Xmas list will have some recording elements to it so I can begin that hobby/process again. There is nothing like going to a bar and playing music you have written and see people concentrating on the words trying to hear the story. And with me its so much more enjoyable because most people think songs are born from experience. Some are, but mine are just how the words fell on the page and how they fit the music. Sure I have a few that have significance to them but for the most part, they are just songs.
When I let some colleagues hear a couple of songs I had, both are blues rock type songs and have a strong element of being bitter towards a woman. The feed back I got from most women who heard it was “Man I’d hate to be her!” Now its not bad and I didn’t wish ill will on anybody or write about hurting anyone but I did detail the anger and hurt felt from their actions.
I told my wife a week or so a go I had about 10 songs that I think would fit specific artists and after reviewing the lyrics and music I knocked that down to about four and a possible fifth if I worked on it some more: That’s an avenue I have thought about pursuing: selling some music to some current artists. I like performing and I think I am still young enough in talent that I could survive a music career for 3 to 5 years but I really like playing small places and writing songs. Knowing I have material that someone else would be happy to pay me for and perform even if they had to alter it a bit is still very rewarding and satisfying. We’ll see.
I still have an idea for a kennel so I can work with animals on every level. I may begin investigating the business plan for that and developing a structure to approach it some how. Especially if I chose to buy some property soon it would be great to develop the business while I have another job. Growing the kennel in stages saving funds and developing partnerships with vets and ASPCA shelters and such. I would really like to do that full time eventually.
So there ya go. Random thoughts of crap as I break from work and process other things through the channels of this industry.
Today is my mother’s birthday. I miss you mom. Listening to “Purple Rain” (Prince), “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd), and “Someday After While” (Eric Clapton) right now and thinking of you.
In case you don’t know about the significance of these songs I’ll give a short reason here. There are quite a few posts with more detail around them earlier on in this blog.
Purple Rain – Played at her funeral by her request. People didn’t want it played but damn it, it’s my momma’s funeral and she never got what she wanted in life she is damn sure gonna get what she wants now! Plus it is her way of saying hello to me every now and then and letting me know she is still there.
Comfortably Numb – When I began playing guitar around 12 she told me when I can play all of Comfortably Numb exactly the way it is, she would consider me a good guitarist. I worked hard at that and could do it by wrote before I was 18. So she at least got to hear me do that.
Someday After While – This one I just think of her when I play and hear it. Reminds me a lot about the way she lived her life and how she looked forward to the future no matter what overshadowed her life.
Jamming the Country Tunes at our Air Force Departure Party
Pappaw, Momma, Me and Granny
XO ILY YM
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
My girls...
I could easily write another diatribe about how old I am, feel and getting but I won’t. I won’t dwell on my little girl coming up with her boyfriend that she may marry one day so I can meet him. I won’t dwell on the memory of the day I realized I had to let her go and grow up. I remember it vividly.
She was 12 years old and at Skatetown, USA in Maryville, TN for a friend’s birthday party. I saw her skating around the same floor that her mother and I used to skate on each week. We’d go there often to see each other outside of the normal place, which was at church. We’d break up there and see other people, make each other mad and all the things a young teenage couple experience in that place.
Now my daughter, the same age as when we met was skating around, flirting with boys and giggling with her friends and it hit me like scripture: I had to let her grow up. She was no longer the little girl that looked at me as a hero when I took that fish off her fishing line. She was going to get her heart broke a dozen times and I would have to wait it out with her and let her work through that pain so she learned to cope healthily with the loss. No matter how much I wanted to go break his legs, I had to let her handle it and deal with it.
I knew she was going to have problems with her work one day. She would be in situations where she felt alone and no matter how much I wanted to come in and save the day, I had to let her do it alone and learn how to manage and pull herself up alone.
It sucked. I felt the pain of a lifetime in that moment. I had felt it before with her brother so why can this not be easier the second time? It’s now 8 years later and I still don’t have the answer to that question. Also, I have a four year old daughter and will get to go through this pain again at an older wiser age which means I will experience even more pain but have less discipline to hold myself back from breaking a man’s legs that hurts my girl whether she is wrong or right. It don’t matter. She’s my little girl idiot.
I listened to a Darius Rucker song this morning that got me to thinking this way, “It won’t be like this for long”. And ain’t it the truth?!
I am meeting the boy this weekend and I look forward to it. We have a lot of things changing in our future as a family and I trust and love my daughter to do the right things and not put herself in harms way more than is reasonable. At some point, a parent has to let go and trust that you have done all you can and allow them to make mistakes and have successes on their own without your help. They won’t do everything that’s right or what you want them to do or how you would do it. But, if you at least get the courtesy of a question from them on how to approach something, you did your job. You gave them confidence in themselves and in your parenting. Everything you worried about is now a memory and they have the reigns. Let them drive it and live their life.
I love you my little girl. I wish you all the best and hope for nothing less for you in anything you do. You will hurt and be mad and dismayed at times. But, never think someone somewhere loves and cares about every feeling you have and understands when you make a mistake you will learn from it and you don’t have to pay for it the rest of your life. Never distance yourself from your mother no matter what. Don’t turn your back on your father because you don’t agree. Don’t not talk to your brother because you get irritated with each other. Don’t allow people you love and that love you to go without hearing you care about them no matter how stupid we get with each other. We’re family. You get tired and sometimes you just want to be mad.
Make your mistakes, make your successes and love your life. At any moment, you have so much to be thankful for regardless of what you have going on and it should be cherished.
Now pray for your old man not to scare the crap out of your beaux and be able to keep from breaking the fingers of the first guy that hurts KB’s heart.
Guess I did everything I said I wasn't going to do. NO WAIT! I didn't blather about my age!
XO ILY YM
She was 12 years old and at Skatetown, USA in Maryville, TN for a friend’s birthday party. I saw her skating around the same floor that her mother and I used to skate on each week. We’d go there often to see each other outside of the normal place, which was at church. We’d break up there and see other people, make each other mad and all the things a young teenage couple experience in that place.
Now my daughter, the same age as when we met was skating around, flirting with boys and giggling with her friends and it hit me like scripture: I had to let her grow up. She was no longer the little girl that looked at me as a hero when I took that fish off her fishing line. She was going to get her heart broke a dozen times and I would have to wait it out with her and let her work through that pain so she learned to cope healthily with the loss. No matter how much I wanted to go break his legs, I had to let her handle it and deal with it.
I knew she was going to have problems with her work one day. She would be in situations where she felt alone and no matter how much I wanted to come in and save the day, I had to let her do it alone and learn how to manage and pull herself up alone.
It sucked. I felt the pain of a lifetime in that moment. I had felt it before with her brother so why can this not be easier the second time? It’s now 8 years later and I still don’t have the answer to that question. Also, I have a four year old daughter and will get to go through this pain again at an older wiser age which means I will experience even more pain but have less discipline to hold myself back from breaking a man’s legs that hurts my girl whether she is wrong or right. It don’t matter. She’s my little girl idiot.
I listened to a Darius Rucker song this morning that got me to thinking this way, “It won’t be like this for long”. And ain’t it the truth?!
I am meeting the boy this weekend and I look forward to it. We have a lot of things changing in our future as a family and I trust and love my daughter to do the right things and not put herself in harms way more than is reasonable. At some point, a parent has to let go and trust that you have done all you can and allow them to make mistakes and have successes on their own without your help. They won’t do everything that’s right or what you want them to do or how you would do it. But, if you at least get the courtesy of a question from them on how to approach something, you did your job. You gave them confidence in themselves and in your parenting. Everything you worried about is now a memory and they have the reigns. Let them drive it and live their life.
I love you my little girl. I wish you all the best and hope for nothing less for you in anything you do. You will hurt and be mad and dismayed at times. But, never think someone somewhere loves and cares about every feeling you have and understands when you make a mistake you will learn from it and you don’t have to pay for it the rest of your life. Never distance yourself from your mother no matter what. Don’t turn your back on your father because you don’t agree. Don’t not talk to your brother because you get irritated with each other. Don’t allow people you love and that love you to go without hearing you care about them no matter how stupid we get with each other. We’re family. You get tired and sometimes you just want to be mad.
Make your mistakes, make your successes and love your life. At any moment, you have so much to be thankful for regardless of what you have going on and it should be cherished.
Now pray for your old man not to scare the crap out of your beaux and be able to keep from breaking the fingers of the first guy that hurts KB’s heart.
Guess I did everything I said I wasn't going to do. NO WAIT! I didn't blather about my age!
XO ILY YM
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