Friday's Feast! (one day late!)...

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?

8

Soup
When was the last time you think you were lied to?

Probably sometime while I was working the help desk at work this week!

Salad
Share some lyrics from one of your favorite songs.

Born, by Over the Rhine

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Main Course
What do you do/take when you are in pain?

One Tylenol extra-strength usually does it.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: My GOD is very ALIVE.

Thursday...

It's Thursday, in the midst of the summer's first HOT spell of the season. Rain and thundernlightning are forecast to rumble through later and break the heat into tiny bits.

Nothing much to report on this week, I'm afraid. I've been sharing the help desk load at work each day (except for my monday solo flights!). It reminds me that I like being a tech much better than working the phones.

Our intrepid baseball Cardinals have endured two frightful games against the ChiSox so far this week. Either our pitchers are suddenly really bad or their hitters are just that good. My eyes popped a bit on Tuesday night when I saw the 20-spot they put on us.

I made a new musical discovery yesterday. Read about it in My Tunes.

I've been checking out Mark Lowry's podcasts recently. Mark is a Christian entertainer who was associated with Bill Gaither on the gospel circuit for many years. He's a pretty funny guy.

Hollywood comes to St. Louis!...

I had heard rumors about a movie being filmed in St. Louis and more rumours about Jessica Alba being involved in said movie. Well, today I was making a Father's Day card run to a nearby Hallmark store and noticed a crowd gathered on the sidewalk around an Oberweis Dairy ice cream parlor. I slowed down a bit and saw what looked like a film crew setting up around the building. I drove on and took care of my card-buying, then stopped by the scene on my way back. It turns out I was was right! The movie is called "Bill" and indeed Jessica Alba is starring in the movie. The Oberweis building was being used to film a scene, though it was renamed "Sweet Sweet" for the movie.

NO, I didn't catch even a glimpse of Jessica Alba, because they were filming inside the building while I was there. However, I did run home and get my camera, so here are some pictures I snapped. I stayed for about two hours, then left as a thunderstorm began blowing in from the south.

This was a really cool thing to see because movies NEVER film in St. Louis. One of the bystanders I talked to said that the movie crew really liked filming here. Let's hope we get some more movie traffic as a result!

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I was reminded that my life isn't a movie when I returned home to find the thunderstorm had deposited a large portion of my backyard maple tree onto my deck. Thank goodness for cross-cut saws and yard waste pickup!

Too many beauty pageants?

How do you know when there are too many beauty pageants in the world? When you read this story:

Pageant vet claims Little Miss Horseradish title

Little Miss Horseradish? holy cow.

Where do you buy your music?

My Tunes updated tonight with a report of my CD-buying spree this weekend. It begs the question, "where do YOU buy your music?" I usually buy from Best Buy because if they have what I'm looking for their prices are usually $14-$15 for a new CD, less for older CDs. I will buy from Borders if Best Buy doesn't have what I'm looking for and/or if the CD is on sale for $15 or less. Borders' prices are usually so high that I check their real-time inventory stock before I go. Beyond those two, I'll go to Amazon or Half.com if I'm looking for a CD that's older and I don't mind buying used. I also frequent the several used CD stores near me for older, out-of-print stuff that's off the beaten path.l

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Nothing exciting happened this weekend. I covered the night shift at work last night and spent a quiet day around the house and doing chores and such. Work's going to be not so fun for the next few weeks as our help desk operator has taken a tech job with our sister publication and I'm one of the two other techs that will be filling in until his position is filled.

Got spammed...

I'll be turning on word verification for comments, folks. I got comment-spammed overnight, which isn't cool.

Friday's Feast

(Inspired by DCBrownie, who put hers up first)

Appetizer
About how much money did you spend on gas this week?

It was around $40 at $2.74 or so per gallon.

Soup
What is your favortite brand of toilet paper?

toilet paper? what's that? JUST KIDDING! It's Charmin, in the double roll!

Salad
When was the last time you discovered something that you thought was pure genius?

I have to go along with DCBrownie on this one, the production of Julius Caesar I saw this week was pure genius!

Main Course
What is the least amount of sleep you can get by on per night?

about 6 hours or so.

Dessert
June is a popular month for weddings. Do you know anyone who is getting married this month?

My friend C. is getting married at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando, FL at some point this month, but I haven't been invited. My BSF discussion group leader D. is getting married in Taylor, MO in a couple of weeks, I believe. I was invited but am not attending.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

One of the fun things that happens in early summer in St. louis is "Shakespeare in the Park." Shakespeare Festival St. Louis takes over a section of Forest Park for a free open-air production of a Shakespeare play (likely very similar to what DCBrownie and her date experienced last Saturday.) I met some of my Metro Singers friends last night for this year's production of Julius Caesar. We managed to secure a vantage point close to the stage in a blankets-only section. It was a glorious evening full of idyllic sights and sounds. If my readers will indulge me, I will list some of what struck me:

--The expansive stone patio behind the Art Museum that looks out on to Art Hill and the lake beyond it.

--Picnic-ing with friends on a clear, sunny evening (bonus points for bare feet!).

--The perpetually-smiling, big black bear of a dog near us, resting lazily in the grass.

--The band of toga-ed kids that paraded through the crowd, inviting people to the children's show.

--Being so close to the stage so as to actually see the expressions on the actors' faces.

--Taking in a timeless classic of literature and drama performed by skilled actors, in a venue The Bard would surely approve of.

As a bonus, traffic in and out of the park was no problem. I found a close parking lot and didn't get lost leaving the park. It was a very good night.

The Weekender...

So ends another weekend...

I am back in my bedroom, sort of. The floors in both bedrooms have been refinished to a flawless satin finish and my furniture is back in place, albeit temporarily. There are still new baseboards and painting yet to be done but at least I can sleep in there again. My parents are returning to the British Virgin Islands this week for more sailing on the high seas, this year with a couple from their church. So I'll have to wait until they return so they can help me finish the project.

This afternoon I drove out to Augusta, MO to bike another section of the Katy Trail. I biked from Augusta out to Marthasville, 23 miles round-trip, in a little less than 3 hours. No Missouri River, just a lot of farmland and breezy woodlands. It was a nice day for biking, with a slight breeze and temperatures in the low 80s. On the way home I got the idea to call my brother for nutritional advice, since I figured my body needed to recover from the bike trip somehow. He advised protein, protein, protein. So, once home, I scarfed down a leftover fried chicken breast from Cracker Barrel, leftover rice from Wednesday night dinner, and a PBJ sandwich. I think I accomplished that little mission nicely.

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That little earthquake you felt yesterday was the earth trembling when Albert Pujols pulled a muscle in his side during yesterday's game. The media-proclaimed Hero of Cardinal Nation has now landed on the disabled list for the first time in his illustrious career. The injury, coupled wtih Mark Mulder's sudden horribility (and a sudden rash of other injuries), led intrepid P-D columnist Bernie Miklasz to proclaim that the NL Central division race is now "open again." I wouldn't go that far because we went through this last season and won the division. We did rebound nicely today with a 9-6 thrashing of the Cubbies to salvage one game of the series.

In a way, I'm glad AP got hurt because I feel the media coverage of his season thus far was becoming ridiculous. (Now don't get me wrong. I'm as big a fan of AP as anyone else. I love the way he carries himself as a Christian man and the influence he's having on MLB.) My employer, the local metropolitan daily newspaper, today printed one section of a 4-part life-size poster of AP. Maybe now the writers and reporters will figure out that he is indeed human. If they'd attended church with me today, they'd have heard that "man is ordinary, but God is extraordinary." I'm sure AP would second that sentiment.

The most eagerly anticipated new CD of the year?...

Don't think I'll be camping out at my local Borders waiting for this little gem to be released:

Paris Hilton plans reggae, hip hop album...

I think this is a contender for most ridiculous headline of the year.

"The Landmark"...

This is where I spent an interesting couple of hours last Saturday night. It's the home of my great-uncle and aunt who retired back to the Malden area from Odessa, Texas several years ago. My great-uncle plays a mean lead guitar and moonlighted on the Odessa country music scene for many years. Upon their arrival back home, they renovated an old country church (where my parents were married) into a small music hall and private residence for themselves. They have hosted infrequent weekend jam sessions there ever since. There was supposed to have been one on Saturday night but no one showed up to play, unfortunately. He brought out a box of old family photos, many of which I hadn't seen before, and later he did strap on his guitar and play some tunes for us.

When Blogs Collide...

From left to right : Cooks In Kansas, Life As I Know It, and Four of Clubbs at the Cook/Smith wedding reception, Saturday, May 27. I'm happy to report that Whitney and Jon were married in a lovely ceremony in Malden. The reception was a standard cake/punch affair, which nicely suited the occasion. I especially enjoyed visiting with the Cooks and Clubbs and also many relatives I hadn't seen in a good long while. Heck, even my dad ran into some of his old National Guard pals. Gotta love that!

Yes, folks, I am still alive...

Happy Tuesday, faithful(?) readers!

I haven't had much to say lately, it seems. Life has been rolling right along. Let's review what's happened since I ruminated on John Deere eyewear.

- The annual end-of-year picnic for my Monday night bible study happened on May 13. We assembled at Central Presbyterian's Centreat recreation area on a chilly day. Much red meat was grilled (I built the best fire of the 3 grills in use!) and consumed. We played softball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee to keep warm!

- Yes, Mom was treated wonderfully on Mother's Day this year. My brother& sis-in-law and I came down for church with the parents and then headed home to prepare lunch for them. It was a very good day.

- I'm having the wood floors in my bedroom and my brother's old room refinished this week. During the work, I'm camping out in my 3rd bedroom/office. My queen mattress and box springs just barely fit in there so at least I'm not sleeping on the couch this week. The sweet parts of this inconvenience are 1) my brother finally was forced to clean out his room after being gone since last October, 2) I have taken possession of many of the clothes he outgrew, 3) several bags of old clothing were donated, and 4) The monstrous old office desk that dominated my brother's room was rescued from the curb by a pair of grateful women who really needed it.

After almost 7 years of a Tuesday-Saturday work schedule, my boss has given me the chance to return to a Monday-Friday schedule. (Since our most senior tech retired we've been short on Mondays so I'm more needed then than on Saturdays.) This is the all-American traditional schedule, so this decision should be a no-brainer, right? It's my Inigo Montoya dilemma - (he'd been in the revenge business so long that once he'd avenged his father's death he didn't know what to do next.) I've been working this schedule so long I don't remember life before it! Still, in the interest of not looking a gift horse in the mouth I believe I'll take him up on his offer.

I'm looking forward to getting back down home for my cousin (and Cooks In Kansas' sis) Whitney's wedding this coming Saturday. Once again it's been too long (January) since I've been down so it'll be that much more nice to be there again.

Suburban Fringe is particularly amusing this week - you'll get a good chuckle, I guarantee.

Nothing Runs (Or Sees) Like A Deere...

Did you know that John Deere has added their name to a line of eyewear? I noticed several different pairs on display at my opthalmologist's office today.

(aside: if your eyeglasses suffer a major injury such as a broken temple, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, and PLEASEWHATEVERYOUDO, do not attempt to repair them with Super Glue, which will likely leak onto the lens nearest the break. Proceed directly to the retailer from whence they came, for repair. You will be charged $20 extra for having the Super Glue removed from the lens. Alternately, warn the optician ahead of time so they're not surprised when they clean them with their super-dee-duper ultrasonic lens cleaner.)

so John Deere sells eyeglasses now - can't help but think of my beloved Papaw who has been a loyal employee of John Deere in some capacity for about 900 years now. Seems to me that's an odd thing for them to sell, but their marketing folks obviously think it'll fly.

Read the entire press release here.

It (was) a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Holy cow, what a beautiful Sunday it was in St. Louis! Just-right temperature, bright sunshine, and puffy clouds rolling on by. It was a great day to have a pizza picnic at church followed by playing sports in the park with friends current and new. Yes, I'm sore, not being used to so much physical exertion on a Sunday afternoon, but it was so worth it! Definitely not a day to stay inside.

I managed to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year, non-alcoholicly, of course. My friend K's birthday is May 5 so she and I and some friends met at the local El Maguey for dinner and conversation. We went back to her place for cake and Trivial Pursuit.

I rented Mad Hot Ballroom recently - I really loved it - it's a film everyone, especially teachers, should see.

Be cool and stay safe, folks.

Vacation Report...

It's Friday night and the promised rain is puncturing the dry air over us, finally.

I had a productive, relaxing week. Basement and garage have been tamed into a semblance of order. More importantly, I was able to get out and enjoy the near-perfect weather. Wednesday found me biking the trail at Jefferson Barracks Park. Along the way, I actually sat down under a tree and read a book, how quaint!

On Thursday I biked a trail in a recently-opened floodplain section of Cliff Cave Park. Many species of wildflowers were in bloom - I'll have to return with my camera. I stopped at the River Des Peres Trail afterwards. Beautification efforts along RDP Avenue have resulted in 3 pedestrian bridges being built to cross over the RDP into the Christy Greenway bike trail. I explored the greenway and then returned to hit the entire RDP bike trail, round-trip. I'd never done it front to back and it was a nice ride.

Today I drove out to the new Hamburg Trail near Weldon Spring, MO. It ends at a section of the Katy Trail that I rode last fall and I remembered seeing a sign for it at that time. The Hamburg Trail rides through forest glades with historical markers posted along the route. My legs got really tired near the end of the ride, so I knew it was time to let them rest awhile.

Now the rains will soon come and force me indoors for the weekend. I need to get out and look for new bed linens, anyway. I'll soon be re-doing my bedroom and my brother's old room with refinished wood floors and new paint. For some reason, I haven't seen many manly, non-frumpy, non-flowery bedding ensembles.

My Tunes updates tonight after this publishes.

Vacation, finally...

I'm on hiatus from work this week, first vacation of the year! I'm not headed to any destination more exotic than the greater St. Louis area, though. This week is just unplugging from the usual routine and tackling all those little things that haven't gotten done yet. Things such as lawn fertilization, garage-cleaning, cobweb eradication, etc... There are also some bike trails (and possibly some hiking trails) that have my name on them as well. I will also be able to join some some of my man-friends at Bandana's for dinner tomorrow night.

How do I know I timed this vacation just right? A minor crisis hit at work on Friday night right at 5:00 and a major crisis hit at work on Saturday morning. A computer unplugged at the wrong time and a network cable plugged into the wrong place make for tense times. Sometimes you just know it's time to get away.

Speaking of bike trails, I got out on Grant's Trail for the first time this year on Saturday evening (oh the joys of daylight savings time!). I'd gotten my bike ready to roll last Wednesday night at Sunset Cyclery and it was good to get back at it.

I experienced Blueberry Hill for the *ahem* first time last Thursday night. I know, I'm ashamed I've lived here 6 years and had not experienced it yet. It's a cool place to hang out if you're with a group of your friends. It was karaoke night in the basement Elvis Room, but I was still in my work clothes so I wasn't exactly dressed for that sort of crowd, so I declined multiple invitations to belt out a tune or two.

My church has gotten a new thing going called The Gathering - young professionals (age 19-35) meeting every other Sunday night for bible study and hang-out time. They wanted to attract singles and marrieds but it's been all singles so far. I've started going and it's been pretty cool so far. We started a Louie Giglio video series on dating, love, and life last night.

He Is Risen!...

He is risen, indeed.

Had a splendid Easter Sunday today. Great services at church and a great dinner at home with the folks and bro/sis-in-law. As my birthday is tomorrow, the dinner featured several of my favorite dishes (coincidentally, not intentionally). Dessert was my 'special' birthday cake - a delicious confection called Strawberry Dream Cake. The "dream" part of the name must come from its dreamy taste, or the feeling that you are dreaming when you behold its magnificence--I'm not sure. It's a simple recipe, an angel food cake stuffed with mashed strawberries and smothered in whipping cream (not COOL WHIP!). It's a culinary tradition first started by my beloved deceased grandmother and faithfully carried on by my beloved mother. It's a delight beyond belief for a strawberry lover like me.

I was listening to a Chuck Swindoll Easter message on the radio coming home and he pointed out something I'd totally missed until now. Mark 16:7 says that the women at the tomb were told to 'go tell [Jesus'] disciples and Peter,....' By the time of the Resurrection, Peter had defected! So utterly destroyed by the guilt of his denial of Jesus that he resigned his discipleship. Of course, as the story goes, Jesus restored Peter and he became a great leader of the early church. A man who, when the chips were down, denied any knowledge of Christ (even to the point of cursing at the third one who asked him) had hope because of the Resurrection. If you're reading this and you've been there or are there now, that same hope is yours today.

Albert Pujols picked up his team and carried them on his shoulders today. The Cardinals are scuffling, as the writers say, out of the gate this year. A shaky bullpen, and the new right fielder (who hasn't endeared himself to anyone as yet) conspired to put them at a 7-6 disadvantage late in the game. A brilliantly unorthodox strategy of sending up a pitcher to pinch-hit (albeit one who hits well) was successful and AP sent the faithful at the Church of Busch home happy with his THIRD home run of the day. THREE HOME RUNS. A devout Christian was the Cardinals' saving grace on Easter Sunday. How nice is that?

I've Been Reviewed!...

A few months ago I submitted this blog to The Weblog Review for, well, a review. I didn't pay to get it reviewed quickly, so they put it in their 'people who didn't pay to get a review so we'll get around to reviewing it someday' file, which was OK with this blogger.

So what do they think?

It's down toward the bottom of the page - if it's gone by the time you read this, do a search on my blog title and it will magically appear.

I guess I should explicitly state 'I'm Not A Serious Blogger' somewhere in the sidebar. I think the reviewer expected a harder-core blog than mine is. I don't promote any points of view or any certain cause nor do I have any axes to grind. I just write about stuff that happens to me and, well, occasionally I politicize and point-of-view it. The reviewer was constructive in her criticism, however, and I certainly appreciate another set of eyes looking at it.

I Went to a Concert and a Church Service Broke Out...

This is borderline MyTunes material, but I just got back from a great show at the historic Sheldon Concert Hall tonight. It was a double feature with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Dixie Hummingbirds! I lucked out and got a seat front and center first row in the balcony, best seat in the house if you ask me. This is a small room, so the balcony is not far from the stage. The Dixie Hummingbirds were a treat to hear; they feature only 1 original member these days, but have added a young bass who delighted the audience by plumbing the depths of his range. I wasn't familiar with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band but I am definitely a fan after hearing them tonight. They brought back the Dixie Hummingbirds to close out their show and it suddenly turned into CHURCH! It was a very joyous way to end the evening. Only fitting, I guess, since the Sheldon was a revival meeting hall in a former life.