My Prayers Have Been Answered...

The Spice Girls Reunite For World Tour

(turning flippant mode off, yet again)

Quick Trip to the Hometown...

I had the day off today because I have to cover the night shift this Saturday night. I decided to drive down and check in on the grandparents in Malden. It had been a couple of months, and even though my mom had just been down last week, they hadn't seen ME in a while. I had a nice visit with them and my uncle at his job. My grandpa and I spent some quality time grilling burgers on his Weber kettle for supper. Funny grandpa/grandson moment: his wife left us alone while she went to get some groceries for lunch and supper. I'm not the most talkative person in the world and my grandpa's communication skills have diminished since his stroke so there was a lot of silence but I know he appreciated me being there.

I stopped off and talked to my mom in Festus; I stayed a bit too long because on the way home I ran into a heavy rainstorm that made driving a bit tricky, shall we say. WOW that's an awful feeling, to be so blinded by a rainstorm that you can't tell where you're going. I prayed quickly and thankfully the rain stopped after about 10 minutes.

I arrived home to a nice surprise - my porch pillars were put back in place by the concrete contractor, after 2 weeks. Now, if they would only deliver the dirt to fill in where the concrete forms were....small victories, small victories.

Say Uncle!...

I'd better get used to the idea, because it's going to happen at some point during the first week of 2008! That's right, my bro and sis-in-law are expecting! They actually told my parents and I on the day they introduced us to their puppy a few weeks ago. We were ordered to keep quiet for a few more weeks until the pregnancy was a little further along. This will mean a bigger house for them, certainly, because their little townhouse isn't quite big enough for them, a dog, and a baby.

(kmom: if you haven't heard this from my Mom yet, you certainly will shortly, so act appropriately surprised when you get the news, mmmkay? Thanks! : ))

This was the significant announcement previously advertised. No Paris Hilton-related news, I'm afraid.

Significant Announcement coming...

Stay tuned for a Significant Announcement coming tomorrow in this space.

Weekend plans...

1) sleep late!
2) have a leisurely breakfast
3) bathe self
4) replace burned-out switch that controls my outside electrical outlet and post light
5) continue quest for the perfect pooch for me, the usual adoption events, plus HSMO and APAMO
6) try to find a copy of the new Polyphonic Spree record
7) refrain from cutting grass because it hasn't rained in a couple of weeks!
8) take in the Ambassadors of Harmony spring show at the TouPAC in the evening
9) Sunday church
10) Sunday relax in the afternoon
11) Sunday evening prepare for the week

The Visionary...

Below I have embedded my friend Ben Muehleisen's entry into the recent St. Louis 48 Hour Film Project 2007. Ben gathered up a group of friends to write, film, and produce a short film in the space of 48 hours. This film makes more sense if you know that: all films had to mention "entomologist" (a bug person), the phrase "don't look now, we may have trouble!", the names "Ryan Coccinelle" or "Rita Coccinelle" and had to have a doll as a prop; all these among other things that I can't remember. Sadly, Ben's film didn't make the top 15 films, but it was a worthy entry nonetheless. Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!!!...

Haven't truly updated in a while, so here goes...

My home-improvement projects for the year are now done. My basement is waterproofed with two inside cracks sealed and an outside drainage system installed. I also had my driveway and front porch torn out and replaced. With these projects have come the inevitable inconveniences; the waterproofers plugged something into my outside electrical outlet that broke it and the post light wired into it. Hopefully that will get resolved this week. I also can't drive on the new driveway until Wednesday at the earliest so I'm parking in my front yard.

I hope all my readers appreciated their fathers appropriately today. I hosted a late afternoon dinner for my folks and bro/sis-in-law. Speaking of the bro/sis-in-law, they adopted a German Shorthaired Pointer pup named Ruby a few weeks ago and they brought her along. This pup is a female, 11 months old and weighs 45 pounds. As a typical GSP pup, she is full of energy and always ready to play. She is a handful but a lot of fun to have around. I can see she's a bit too young and active for my lifestyle so I definitely will shoot for a 2+ year old dog when I adopt a pooch.

(EDIT: whenever I think of Ruby, I automatically hear Kenny Rogers singing "Ruby, don't take your love to town" in my mind. creepy!)

(EDIT #2: Unfortunately Ruby had to be returned to the breeder from whence she came, due to allergy problems she inflicted on her new owners. : ( (6/27/07)

Congratulations to my friends J and G, married yesterday!

Understatement of the Century!!!...

From ABC News comes this quote from the unfortunate Miss Hilton:

"I used to act dumb"


a masterpiece of understatement.

Gettin' The Funk Out ON SESAME STREET!!...

Indulge me another YouTube post--I couldn't believe what I came across today..Stevie Wonder dropping a serious funk bomb on Sesame Street in 1972. Un-believable. On Sesame Street!

Didn't Talk To Anyone!...

I had the day off yesterday because I work on Saturday this week. Something very odd happened - I managed to go the entire day without speaking to anyone. Not a single soul! I stayed in most of the morning, made a trip to Home Depot for a new hose nozzle (self check-out), cleaned up my grill, bagged up several bags of yard waste, made a trip to the grocery for hamburgers/hot dogs (again self-check out), then did my usual evening bike ride. Through all that I didn't talk to anyone.

has anyone else had a day like that before?

Out Of The Mouth Of Moon Man...

During tonight's Cardinals-Reds game, Reds outfielder Norris Hopper (great name!) was lackadaisical in his pursuit of a fly ball hit in foul territory, so when the next Cardinals batter hit a ball in his direction, he was, shall we say, more focused. Or, according to broadcaster Mike Shannon, "he dove for that one like it was the last bar of soap at the Y[MCA]!!"

he was in a rather jovial mood tonight, for some reason.