....or not. Maybe it will be just as boring but with more pages.
The little baby Alice got plum tuckered out today. Much fun was had by all.
2012/07/31 08:00 Today is my last day of work. When I wake up tomorrow I will be retired. I will have a lot more time to spend on my website. It should be much more exciting after tomorrow....
2012/07/30 18:00
I did sunburn the tops of my knees sitting in the sun. There was a brief respite from the sun and some rain sprinkles fell but that was very brief.
2012/07/27 20:00 I was at the mall yesterday; Carousel Center (soon to be Destiny USA). I was wearing my “Mars Attacks” T-shirt and I walked into Hot Topic. The clerk came out from behind the counter and he said, “Man, is that a ‘Mars Attacks’ T-shirt? That is so cool!” Yeah, that’s me, the cool one inside Hot Topic.
2012/06/30 23:45 Michael and I went to see “Snow White and the Huntsman”. I was in the mood for a movie; a little escapist entertainment. I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. I like the whole re-imagining of classic tales. I enjoyed the first season of “Once Upon A Time” for that very reason. This take on the Snow White fairy tale was quite entertaining. Spoiler alert – when one of the dwarves takes an arrow to save Snow White and the subsequent funeral caused me to tear up pretty good. The movie was very well done. Charlize Theron played the evil queen and she did a great job with the role. The queen was definitely evil but she was still sympathetic; having been set on her evil path at a very young age. There is a whole bunch of summer films coming out that I want to see. I should have plenty of time to see them as I will be retired soon.
2012/07/01 08:00 Today is the first day of July. It was supposed to be my first day of retirement. Sigh. Delayed. There were 254 page views of my website in June. That’s a pretty average amount.
2012/06/29 23:00 Yesterday I decided at the last minute to stay one more month at work. I am delaying my retirement to August 1st. There had been a going away breakfast party planned for what was supposed to have been my last day. It was too late to cancel or postpone the breakfast; the breakfast pizzas had already been ordered. It was kind of weird having a party when I wasn’t leaving. It reminded me of Jon Bon Jovi when he said, “You said you couldn’t live without me so why aren’t you dead?” Marguerite came and brought the pizzas. I really miss working with Marguerite and it was so nice that she came for my last day (even though it wasn’t my last day). Jan came and made a little speech and she started crying which came close to getting me going all teary eyed. They gave me a Kindle Touch and an Amazon gift card as a going away present. I can’t wait to see what I get next time I leave. Seriously, I was very touched by the going away sentiments.
2012/06/28 17:00 I probably need to have my head examined by some serious professionals to find out what the hell is wrong with me. I decided today to stay at work for one more month. Karen is not very happy at all. I am considering sleeping in the car tonight with the doors locked in case she tries to cut something off while I’m sleeping. I feel so torn. I didn’t know what to do and as much as I agonized over the decision I knew I wasn’t going to be happy either way I went. I am going to work part time through July and my new retirement date will be August 1st. I will discuss this more later.
Made it back from Ohana: Luau at the Lake - all safe and sound. It was an awesome weekend. Already looking forward to next year.
2012/06/24 23:00
Karen doing her best Graham Elliot pose.
2012/06/18 12:00 Yesterday we made a trip to Grahamwich – a restaurant in Chicago. We have been watching the reality series MasterChef and Graham Elliot is one of the judges. Karen found out that he was from Chicago and that he had a couple of restaurants here. The restaurant called Grahamwich is a less formal sandwich shop. We had a nice lunch there. Too bad the soft serve was broken though. Graham likes his desserts and I bet the ‘cinnamon stick’ would have been awesome. Something for next time.
My 'Jarrito' Margarita.
2012/06/17 09:00 Yesterday Karen and I had a great day in Chicago at John and Lynn’s house. It was a graduation party for Jack and Michael. Jack is going off to college and Michael is advancing to high school. We left the van in New Buffalo and took the train into Chicago. We arrived in Chicago at Union Station. From there we walked to the ‘loop’ and caught one of the ‘L’ trains. We rode the public transport to the house. Walking and riding the ‘L’ are great ways to see the city. The graduation party was nice. Met some nice people, enjoyed some spirited conversations, and ate some great food. I ended the evening with John and I enjoying some Dark N Stormys. As much as I’ve learned about rum and as much as I’ve researched the Dark N Stormy I still learned something from John. I liked the way he mixed the Dark N Stormy – putting the ginger beer in first and then floating the rum on top. I’ll be using that technique from now on.
Chicago, the windy city, as we emerged from Union Station.
2012/06/03 12:30 Karen and I went to Beaver Lake Nature Center this morning to watch Adison complete her first 10k. This was for the annual AIDs fundraiser. Adison did a great job!
Adison crossing the finish line.
Adison and I at the Taste of Syracuse. Self portrait. I always look lobotomized when I take my own picture. I have to practice my technique I guess.
Great crowd for the Taste of Syracuse.
2012/06/02 23:00 Adison and I went to the Taste of Syracuse last night. It was a good time. We had all kinds of dollar samples; chicken riggies, meatballs, empanadas, cheeseburger sliders, wings, pulled pork sliders, falafels, etc. There was a huge crowd and the weather wasn’t too bad at all.
2012/05/09 19:00 I continue to count down the days until I retire. I feel I am soon to start the next chapter of my life. In a sense I feel like I am being reborn. I have been cleaning and organizing my home office; that part of the house that Karen refers to as ‘Scott World’. I have spent many hours in the past at my desk in my office at the Evil Empire. After I retire any hours spent at a desk and in front of a computer will be spent in ‘Scott World’ exclusively. To that end I have been cleaning and slowly bringing my Tiki things from my desk at work to my desk at home. I believe all of this is a kind of nesting instinct. I am looking forward to my new life like an expectant parent. Parents expecting a new child frequently experience this nesting instinct; it is commonly characterized by a strong urge to clean and organize one's home and is one reason why couples who are expecting a baby often reorganize, arrange, and clean the house and surroundings. Once ‘Scott World’ is ready to embrace my retirement I will update that page here on the site.
"One candle - this should be easy."
"Chocolate frosting is the best!"
"Excuse me a minute - I have to get this text message. Probably a birthday shout out from one of my peeps."
"I am one year old"
2012/04/25 23:00 I quit my job today. I gave my notice. My last day will be Friday June 29th. I am taking an early retirement effective July 1st. After 24 years it’s “bye bye”. This will surely be the “Summer of Scott”. Karen takes exception with me saying that I quit my job. She says I am retiring not quitting. Since I am leaving early without having achieved all the points I need for a full retirement I feel there is a little bit of quitting involved. And, it makes me happy to say I quit.
2012/04/24 11:00
We live in an age of cages
The tale of an ape escaping
In the search for some truth he can use
Set the place, set the time, set the fuse,
The optimist laughed and the pessimist cried in his wine
The madman and I got drunker
Till both thought the other thank you
And we laughed all the way to the stars
The optimist asked for a taste of the pessimist's wine
And the madman said Son,
How do you feel? I said Me? I feel fine
Lead me into temptation
Emerson Lake & Palmer from "Works; volume 1".
One of the last pictures I took of Elsie.
El Dorado aged 5 years and El Dorado overproof.
2012/04/14 12:00 My cat is missing. She hasn’t been home in two nights. I fear something horrible has happened and I am very sad.
2012/04/23 23:30 It was nice to get home. As much fun as any trip is it is always nice to be home and sleeping in your own bed. It would have been a nicer homecoming if Elsie had been here. I have accepted the fact that I will never see Elsie again. She was a good cat and I loved her. Something horrible happened to her as she always came home. It was either an accident or foul play. Whatever happened I only hope it was quick and that she didn’t suffer? Elsie and Missy were best friends. They were cat and dog but they loved each other. I like to think that if there is anything right and just with the cosmos then Missy and Elsie are together somewhere.
2012/04/12 09:00 Tomorrow is another Friday the 13th. I say another because I believe it is the second of three Friday the 13s that occur in 2012. If that scares you then you may have paraskavedekatriaphobia (also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia). Those are the scientific terms for the fear of Friday the 13th. The simple fear of just the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia. There are different theories why Friday the 13th is so unpopular and associated with bad luck. It may have started in the bible as the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus and Jesus was then crucified on a Friday. Thirteen comes after the more acceptable number 12 which is the number of months, the days of Christmas, the number of signs in the Zodiac, the number of Hercules labors, the number of tribes of Israel, and the number of gods in Olympus. Of course, for pagans the number 13 is actually a lucky number as it is the number of full moons in a year.
2012/04/12 19:00 I received a special delivery today. Some more rum for my rum 'library'. I got two Guyanese Demerara rums via FedEx.
2012/04/10 23:00 I staged the photoshoot for the T-shirt ads today. I set up for the shoot outside. It was a little chilly out. It was windy, and it rained a little. Not ideal conditions when trying to get that tropical feel for the photos. I wanted to use real torches in the shoot, which I did. There wasn’t a general consensus that the photos produced were acceptable. I believe we are going to try again and improve on the first effort. After the picture taking was complete we had chicken and biscuits which I had made especially for the occasion. Thanks to Michelle for taking the time to be my model.
My model Michelle after the photoshoot. First high fashion and then chicken and biscuits.
Some very nice beers.
2012/04/09 09:00 I don’t remember my dreams very often. Most of the time I don’t remember my dreams at all. I can’t say I have nightmares with any frequency. And then, I go and have two nightmares last night and I remember both of them. In the first I was in the same situation as the characters in AMC’s series “The Walking Dead”. I was being chased by zombies. But, I was with the cast of the 1970’s sitcom “One Day at a Time”. That’s right, Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, and Valerie Bertinelli. Bonnie Franklin turned into a zombie and I killed her by splitting her head with a lawn mower blade like Billy Bob Thornton in “Slingblade”. I woke up and went to the bathroom. It was about four in the morning. I went back to sleep and started dreaming again. This time I was doing a job I haven’t done in twenty some years with people I haven’t worked with or seen since then. In the dream I went to the bathroom to wash my face and the soap had been switched for some kind of caustic and it took the skin off my face and I couldn’t stop the bleeding. How weird this all was. I haven’t seen the sitcom “One Day at a Time” for thirty years, certainly wasn’t thinking about it, and here it popped up in my dreams. Same thing for my old job. Yesterday was Easter. We had a pleasant dinner. My parents came over and so did Adison. We had both ham and turkey for dinner. Tristan came back from a visit to his other grandparents and I did an Easter egg hunt for him with clues; sort of like “Blues Clues”, and I think he really liked it.
2012/04/08 09:00 I started the outdoor grilling season last night. I cooked some NY Strip steaks on the Weber. I bought a new grate for the Weber. I cooked using lump charcoal rather than the briquettes I usually use. There are pros and cons to using lump charcoal instead of briquettes. I am really a novice at using lump charcoal. The lump charcoal lights faster and burns hotter. It is more responsive to oxygen. The briquettes are more consistent. I think I will make using the lump charcoal a regular part of the repertoire. Mix things up a little. While I was grilling, Brego the berserker dog ran around the yard. I had a Kona brewing Longboard Ale while I was outside grilling. When I came in and sat down to eat I had a Kona Wailua wheat beer with the steak, fries, and beans. Very nice. I have plans this summer to build a ‘grilling gazebo’. I will build a little gazebo to house my various bar-be-ques and smokers. I am going to power it so I have lights. With lights and a roof to keep the rain and snow off I can extend the grilling season.
2012/04/07 09:00 Karen and I went to Toys R Us last night after work. The trip made me a little sad. Or maybe a better way to put it is the trip made me a little melancholy. I haven’t been toy shopping for a long time. Walking the aisles of Toys R Us I was taken back to past shopping excursions when my kids were little. Frantically searching for the seasons hot items; the must have toys. Every Christmas I always got my daughter a stuffed animal. Some joys of the past are gone and you have to accept that. They have, hopefully, been replaced by new joys. That’s surely one of the keys to happiness. Things change and when they do you need to find the new joys. The toys on the shelves were so much more commercial than I remember. It just felt like every toy in the store was an advertisement. After we were done shopping we went out to dinner at Smoky Bones. I love spending time with my wife. After all these years she is still my best friend. Karen and I will have been married twenty nine years this coming August. I can’t imagine life without her.
Michelle and Laura after alterations were complete.
Page views per month.
2012/04/05 23:30 Tonight after work I went to Lake Effect in Baldwinsville for happy hour. Michelle had Laura meet us there to do some tailoring of the 2012 Patron of the Tiki Arts T-shirt in preparation for next week’s photo shoot. Michelle is going to be my official model for photo ads promoting the new T-shirt (soon to become a collector’s item). I had a good time as always. Had some Middle Ages IPAs; Impaled Ales. I told the bartender, Holly, that they need to get some Middle Ages Wailing Wench on tap.
Laura is Lake Effect's tailor in residence.
2012/04/01 11:00 Happy April Fool’s Day. Or All Fool’s Day as it is also known. I am going to report something which may seem to be an April Fool’s Day joke but which is, I assure you, factual. The traffic on my website increased dramatically in March. Prior to this month I had only had one month where page views exceeded three hundred. In March I had 502 page views. I have no explanation for the sudden interest.
This latest iteration of my rants and rambles will be much like past versions. The key components will be unchanged. There still may be too much information shared and I am still most definitely weird as all get out. If you choose not to heed the warnings then read on at your own peril.
khan tiki mon's rants and rambles v.6.25
Even more rants and rambles. Time marches on and waits for no man and so the rants and rambles continue unabated with no end in sight.
Penguins waiting patiently for dinner.
I love my time at Tim Horton's with Karen and Tristan.
2012/07/15 12:00 Tristan went with Karen and I to Tim Horton's this morning. Sometimes when he comes to Tim Horton's with us he gets a little antsy. I came up with a game that we play all the time now. I draw a picture, one line at a time, and Tristan has to guess what I'm drawing. Then it's Tristan's turn to draw and I have to guess. We have a lot of fun with that.
Is my website more interesting than a beige wall?
2012/07/12 12:00
2012/07/08 23:00 The heat wave here continues. It has been very hot. The kids got to cool off some in the kiddie pool.
Tristan enjoyed the pyrotechnic display.
2012/07/07 21:00 We just got back from watching the fireworks in East Syracuse. Got a late start going. We stopped at Subway and picked up some subs to take for dinner while we watched the fireworks. Got to the school where the fireworks were being launched from too late to park nearby. We went to Pizza Hut and parked there. Spread a blanket on the ground outside Pizza Hut and watched the fireworks.
2012/07/02 20:00 I went to get Chinese food today. On the way to the East Wok on Thompson Road I saw a black and white cat ducking into some bushes by the side of the road. While I knew there was no possible way it was my cat Elsie, for a minute I thought that maybe it might be. I still miss my cat and it makes me sad. My new favorite dish to order at the Chinese restaurant is the ‘happy family’. While I might not always be able to have a happy family I can at least order a ‘happy family’.
2012/07/05 05:00 Sometimes I feel like curling up in the fetal position in a dark room. Making as small a target as possible for all the shit raining down on me. Now is sometimes.
2012/07/01 23:00 We had some races in the parkway today. It was Tristan and his remote control car versus his Aunt Adison’s pedal power on the big wheel. It was a lot of fun to watch. Tristan would get very excited and chased the remote control car. If it veered too far off track he would pick it up and push it in the right direction. Don’t think he was really grasping the whole remote control part.
2012/07/01 17:00
We picked up this guy in Michigan. He rode with us all the way back to Syracuse, NY. We only had 2 days between the Chicago trip and Ohana: Luau at the Lake. No time to unpack so he came to Lake George with us. He is a stoic passenger; not much conversation. Today he got his spot in the Tiki garden.
The Beacon North crew says goodbye to a coworker (who is leaving - really).
The starting line. On your mark... get set...
2012/06/10 13:45 Karen and I were up very early on a Sunday. We went to Green Lakes to cheer Adison on and as she ran a 5K. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. Adison did a great job. Her time was more than she was hoping for but she stayed up with Karen and I the night before watching bad movies on the Lifetime network. I am sure that was a bit of a handicap.
Khan Tiki Mon and Michelle after photo shoot.
2012/05/11 09:00 This letter has been posted and re-posted on the internet. I find it funny:
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia
(It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian :)
2012/05/10 23:30 Michael and I went to see the movie “The Avengers” tonight. It was really very good. Joss Whedon is an excellent storyteller. You could enjoy the movie without having seen the previous movies like “Ironman”, “The Hulk”, and “Captain America”, but I think you really need to have seen “Thor” before seeing this one. The movie is almost “Thor 2” really. We saw the 3D version of the film. The effects were good without being cheesy or gimmicky. The best 3D effect I have ever seen was in the previews. The trailer for the animated film “Despicable Me 2” was awesome. “The Avengers” was exciting with some good action but the humor was what put the film over the top. There was lots of funny stuff in the movie. There was a line spoken by the character Thor about adoption that had a lot of people in an uproar. Okay, first, the line is said by a character in a film. If you make a movie about a serial killer and that character says he likes to kill young girls one could assume that none of the people making the movie, the writer, the director, or the actor, share those sentiments. So, you have Thor, an alien from another planet, saying something about the adoption of someone from another species, and somehow that’s hurtful to people involved in adoption here on the planet Earth?
I have bottle 165 of 390.
I love it. Too funny.
2012/05/01 09:30 May Day! May Day! Today is May Day; the first day of May. It is a cold and rainy day today. No matter. I have 60 days left until I am retired. The 'Summer of Scott' will commence shortly. There were 264 page views of the site in April. My Hukilau 2012 page is under construction. The work I have done there so far is up but the page is seriously a work in progress.
2012/05/04 23:30 I hope everyone had an awesome “Star Wars Day” today. I know I did. May the fourth be with you. I walked around Carousel Mall after work today and the Hot Topic store was having a “Star Wars Day” sale. I met Adison at the mall and then Karen joined us and we had dinner at Pizzaria Uno. My impending retirement looms large on the horizon. I have only 57 days left. Almost half of those days are weekends or vacation.
2012/04/26 22:00 When I got home from work today my grandson Tristan was waiting for me. He said he had been waiting for me all day. We sat on the couch and watched the cartoon “He-Man; Masters of the Universe” and ate Trix cereal out of the box. It was the best part of the day.
The crowd for ‘Blue Moon Afternoon’. There were quite a few members from the endangered species known as the “Hippies” in attendance. Yes, lots of aging “Hippies” in attendance.
There were hula hoops and beach balls.
The Pousette - Dart band.
2012/07/22 09:00 Yesterday was the concert ‘Blue Moon Afternoon’ at Jamesville Beach. I have been listening to Mimi Griswold and her Sunday radio program called the ‘Blue Moon Café’ for years. I heard the advertisements for the show and I was thinking about going but never got organized enough to make any plans. My friend Sean called at the last minute to see if I wanted to go and so we did. It was a hot day, lots of sun, no shade, but with an occasional breeze. I had a couple of Killian’s ales and a Philly cheesesteak wrap and listened to some very enjoyable music. My favorite was from the Pousette – Dart band. I had seen the Pousette – Dart band in concert when I was in college some 35 years ago. During their performance Jon Pousette said that his mother was 92 years old and she still asked when he was going to get a real job. He said he didn’t have the heart to tell her it was never going to happen. Too funny.
A big elephant and a little baby Alice.
Tristan learning how to milk a cow at Penguin Palooza.
Little baby Alice was waiting for the penguins to swim by. The penguins were all waiting to get fed.
We love the penguins.
2012/07/15 22:00 Penguin Palooza!! Today was Penguin Palooza 2012.
2012/07/14 10:00 Karen is constantly telling me that my website is boring. Very boring. And so the cartoon “Pearls Before Swine” in the paper today was very funny.
2012/07/13 23:00 Robert and I went to see the Oliver Stone movie "Savages" tonight. It wouldn't have been my first choice for a movie to see tonight but Robert really wanted to see it. I was pleasantly surprised. It was better than I expected. I actually found it entertaining. It was violent but not where it was unwatchable like some of those 'torture-porn' movies that are released these days.
A “Fringe” party? The first thing that popped into my mind as I read the cartoon “Pearls Before Swine” in the paper today was a party where you watched episodes from the fifth and final season of the show “Fringe”. The show is great and will take its place right up there with the “X-Files” in my opinion. That is kind of geeky. Then I realized they were talking about political parties. That’s me. I am proud to say that I voted for Ralph Nader in the last three presidential elections and I voted for Ross Perot before that. In my personal life I can be described as “fringe” for sure. I have always operated on the periphery. And if I had a “Fringe” party there would definitely be music. Without music life is stupid.
We need some rain. It's too hot and it's too dry.
2012/07/07 10:00 I read about an interesting test of true love. Lock your dog in the trunk of a car. Lock your wife in the trunk of a car. After one half hour let them out and see which one is happy to see you. Too funny!
Life is good.
2012/07/06 22:00 Been feeling pretty down and out of late. But, the good news is, it doesn’t take much to set things right. A fire in the Tiki fire bowl, Tristan with a gigantic marshmallow, and hanging out with the dog; priceless.
Parkway races.
2012/06/12 09:00 Happy Birthday to me. Today is my birthday. The significance of this particular birthday is that it gets me to the spot where I am able to retire. I am taking an early retirement which starts on Sunday July 1st. My last day of work is Friday June 29th. I am using four days of vacation between now and then so that means that after today I have nine work days left. Nine days is all. I am so anxious to get on with my life.
2012/06/15 23:30 I am writing this in New Buffalo, Michigan. Karen and I left Syracuse this morning about ten or ten-thirty for our trip to Chicago. We made pretty good time. We didn’t encounter very many delays. There was some slow going near Cleveland which we hit at rush hour but for the most part it was clear sailing. I drove the whole way except for about an hour and a half where I took a nap and Karen drove. I find that’s the best way for me to ride with Karen when she’s driving is if I’m sleeping. She makes me very nervous. She is a terrible tail-gater. My theory is that if I have to die in a fiery car crash I would prefer to sleep through it. We stopped fairly often. We hit quite a few of the rest stops on the toll roads. We stopped at one facility in Ohio that was very nice. It seemed new and was all bright and shiny. There was a food court, a gift shop, and a newsstand. The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. I went into one of the stalls and on the back of the toilet was a pile of scratched off lottery tickets and a nickel. That seemed fairly pathetic to me. I mean, who sits in a public restroom, in a rest stop on the Turnpike, scratching off instant lottery tickets? I am getting so I don’t like driving much more than eight or nine hours a day. It seemed this trip was going to exceed my comfort zone. I started thinking about dinner and a drink at the end of the trip. Our destination for today’s trip was John and Lynn’s vacation home in New Buffalo. There is a Mexican restaurant there that Karen and I like. Well, maybe it’s just me that likes it. I spent the last few hours of the trip thinking about a Margarita and some Mexican food that were waiting for me. I was getting worried that we wouldn’t make it before the place closed. To make matters worse my navigator wasn’t paying attention (crossword puzzle) and I drove past our exit. We had to travel a good twenty miles out of our way before we finally made it to ‘El Rancho Grande’. They were still open and they seated us in the bar. The last few times we ate there we sat in the ‘John Wayne’ room. I still find it ironic that a Mexican restaurant has a theme celebrating the heroes of the Alamo as being the Texicans. I had my ‘Jarrito’. The ‘Jarrito’ is a Margarita that comes in a ceramic mug that you get to keep. The food was awesome but the Margarita was a little disappointing. Making a good cocktail is all about the proportions. This particular Margarita was a little too heavy on the tequila. I had a Duncan steak taco and tamale. I love tamales if they are done right. This tamale was very good. It was steamed in the corn husk and had the perfect ratio of corn meal to meat filling. The tamale was firm, not mushy, just the way I like them. The Duncan steak taco was skirt steak with Chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, and jalapenos. Spicy but very flavorful. I had a Corona to wash it all down. By the time we finished they were closing up and the staff had a birthday cake for one of the kitchen workers. They brought her into the bar and sang to her in Spanish. It was very cute. I will admit to a little cake envy. The cake was gorgeous with big red confectionary peppers on it. We are spending the night here in New Buffalo.
Adison and her Dad after the race.
Adison preparing to cross the finish line.
If you had to get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday you couldn't ask for a nicer morning. The lake was beautiful.
2012/06/05 09:00 Last night we had another photo shoot for the 2012 Patron of the Tiki Arts T-shirt ad campaign. It went much better than the last shoot. My friend Michelle is the official model but as models go she’s a bit unruly. I don’t think she’s been watching “America’s Next Top Model” with Tyra because if she had been she’d know that the models don’t fire the photographers. Anyways, after being relieved of my duties as photographer I brought in a pro. Matt was nice enough to come and do the shoot for us. After we got the pictures done we had dinner. Meg and Everleigh came for dinner also and we had a great time. I made an antipasto, lasagna, and a peach cobbler for desert.
Adison and Karen immediately after the race. It was cold and raining. Karen was waiting at the end of the race with a dry towel.
2012/05/26 11:00 How many more times? Ring. Today is the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend 2012. Memorial Day Weekend is the traditional kick off for summer. I have to work twenty more days and then I am a free man. Let the ‘Summer of Scott’ begin. Taking an early retirement is one of the biggest decisions that I’ve ever made. I had a few moments of terror last week where I questioned whether I was making the right decision. The doubts didn’t last long. I actually had thought I would have had those moments of doubt before I did. And I had thought that they would have lasted longer. It’s all good. Yesterday after work I met Adison and Tinti at Coleman’s Irish pub on Tipp Hill. I had a Guinness and some appetizers at the bar.
2012/06/01 21:45 Monday night Karen and I watched the movie “Pan’s Labyrinth” on DVD from Netflix. I had wanted to see the movie for quite some time. I loved the movies “Hellboy” and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” which were directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Based on a comic book the Hellboy movies, and especially “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, are beautiful movies that transcend the genre. I read about the movie “Pan’s Labyrinth” that Del Toro made between the Hellboy movies. “Pan’s Labyrinth” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. The movie has won numerous international awards including three Academy Awards from six nominations. The film has been named the best film of 2006 by numerous film critics including Roger Ebert. “Pan’s Labyrinth” made the top ten lists for 2006 in many publications including the NY Times, the LA Times, Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, both major Chicago papers, and the San Francisco Chronicle. The movie did not disappoint me. I thought it was a beautiful and moving picture. The film is a sort of parable. The action takes place both in the real world in Fascist Spain during the start of World War II and in a mythical and magical kingdom in the mind of Ofelia, the young protagonist. The funny thing is that as much as I liked the film Karen hated it. I tend to be more emotional and more sentimental than my wife but I can’t believe anyone could watch the film and not be moved by the young Ofelia’s situation and her attempts to deal with it. There are some great characters in the film and I especially liked the maid Mercedes. Mercedes is a spy for the rebels fighting the Fascists. She is a compassionate soul and she has a sadness to her. She says she is a coward when in fact she is the bravest character in the film. Watching “Pan’s Labyrinth” I was reminded of the 2011 film “Sucker Punch”. While “Sucker Punch” wasn’t an artistic triumph like “Pan’s Labyrinth” I found that film to be entertaining and I liked the style. In “Sucker Punch” a young girl who has been forced into a corrupt mental institution takes refuge from her horrible treatment in her fantasies. A couple of nights later Michael and I watched the movie “30 Minutes or Less” on DVD from Netflix. Not a classic film by any stretch of the imagination. This comedy starred Aziz Ansari and Jesse Eisenberg. Eisenberg is most famous for playing Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, in “The Social Network”. The title “30 Minutes or Less” comes from the fact that the main character, played by Eisenberg, is a pizza delivery driver. The best line in the movie comes from one of the slackers in the film who is defending the fact that he sleeps all day by saying, “I don’t sleep late because I’m lazy. I can’t get out of bed because my dreams are so big.” It is now Friday night and it’s the first day of June. I have one month, four weeks, until I retire. Sixteen days of work between me and my freedom. The closer I get to the finish line the more desperately I want to be done. The closer I get the more I want to start the next part of my life. The rest of my life is calling and I’m ready. There were 276 page views of the website in May.
Adison before the race start.
Adison crossing the finish line.
2011/05/20 13:00 Adison had her first 8k race today. She has done 5k races in the past but this was the first 8k. The race was at Green Lakes State Park and Karen and I went as spectators and to offer encouragement. Adison did a great job.
2011/05/18 23:30 My brother Paul was in New Jersey on business and he made a surprise visit here in Syracuse. We all had dinner Thursday and Friday night.
Khan Tiki Mon and his brother Paul at Spaghetti Warehouse.
2012/05/08 23:00 We had a birthday party for the little baby Alice today. We celebrated her first birthday (nothing wrong with a belated birthday party - am I right?).
2012/05/08 17:30 When I got home from work today I had received a special delivery. It was the newest rum for my rum collection. This rum was distilled in Guyana in 1995. It was then cask aged in Scotland for 16 years. It was bottled in 2011. Only 390 bottles were produced.
2012/05/05 11:30 Having coffee with Karen this morning at Tim Horton's I saw this cartoon in the paper.
2012/04/27 22:30 Among Tristan’s toys he has a doctor’s kit. He was playing doctor tonight. He gave Karen a checkup and she asked for a diagnosis. Dr. Tristan said, “you have dry skin and cold feet”. A couple of months ago when Tristan was playing doctor I asked for a check-up. He apologized saying, “Pop pop I am very busy and I am not taking any new patients right now”. Can you say health care reform? I did get a check-up finally tonight. My diagnosis was a big thumbs-up since I am “hot lava”. That’s a really good thing I guess, “hot lava”.