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Showing results for tags 'Life In General'.
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I'm skipping church to write this entry. I have a good excuse, though: Amanda & I didn't get back from Lafayette this morning until 12:45. It was a football game. Yes, they play football in Lafayette, LA. Or, at least the visiting team does. It was Red vs. Blue, round we-lost-count. McNeese, my alma mater, having paid its dues in blowout losses to Miami, Nebraska, Kansas State, nearly defeating Texas A&M, and actually defeating Northeast Louisiana ER Louisiana-Monroe, finally was considered good enough to schedule its old Gulf South Conference rival, a "real team" in Southwestern Louisiana ER Louisiana-Lafayette ER Louisiana at Lafayette. Why am I taking a Jim Rome style in describing the foe? Because, for 20 years, USL/ULL/UofL was busy playing with the big boys, and couldn't be bothered to continue a rivalry with Ryan Street High School (a derogatory name for McNeese). Last night, that was changed. Last night, McNeese was the I-AA rent-a-win on the Ragin' Cajuns' schedule. Last night, McNeese blew the barn doors open, and hammered USL in their home stadium by a count of 38-17. I had to thank my girlfriend for humoring me: she said she just enjoyed the football, but I know she could only start to grasp how big this was. The Cowboys could now finish 2-9 for the rest of the season, and I would be fine. Disappointed, but with the USL game in hand, it's all gravy here on out. Oh, and it was great yelling at Cajun fan, leaving with 12 minutes to play in the game. Even the student section (which was over ¼ blue & gold at the start) was 80% gone by the end. Now, to see about taking out the Perdido Pelicans. You know, they are favored by 25 right now... -KIE
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Coming this Friday.... -KIE
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Wow, what a day. Amanda & I have a saying that goes back to the Summer Mission in 2001. Actually, it's a saying for the 5 of us, but since we are 2 of the 5, it still counts. The saying: "Never a dull moment." Well, Saturday, September 8, 2007, was not dull at all. Saturday was move-in day for Amanda. Her mom, dad, pastor, sister and two nieces, Mikayla (6) and Ally (2) came down from Monroe to help. (The former 3 this morning with a trailer in tow, the latter last night with boxes.) Since Mikayla & Ally are both a bit young to do anything but unload a box, or drag an empty box outside (respectively, of course), they were sold on the idea of swimming in the pool at Flowergate. I've not mentioned this pool before, simply because I am not a pool person. I don't have a pool pass. Well, the morning was filled with furniture moving, up two flights of stairs no less, and box unloading. Lunch was sandwiches at 2 PM, along with sparkling white grape juice to celebrate the occasion. Then, it was time to get ready for the pool. Neither of the girls can really swim, so since there would have to be an adult (Aunt Amanda) supporting them in the pool anyway, cramping was a non-issue. Big sister Mikayla got her bathing suit on, and Ally had to follow suit. Big sister Mikayla went outside, in anticipation, and Ally had to go too. - This is where I go outside myself: the stairs leading up to/down from Amanda's apartment aren't exactly level, and they're too short to reach the handrail. This is also where it gets interesting. - Big sister Mikayla paces up and down the stairs, and I stop her, inferring that Ally's going to want to do it, too. I use the logic to convince them to slow down and be patient: they didn't have towels with them, and you can't go swimming without a towel. Besides, Amanda was still putting on her bathing suit. It's at this point that Mikayla decides to go back inside, and was not quick with the door. Myself, sitting cross-legged about 4 feet away, couldn't tell that Ally's fingers had gotten in the door jamb. The unthinkable happened. Mikayla closed the door, not in a slamming fashion, but enough to crush Ally's fingertips. It took about a half-second of blood-curdling scream for me to realize what had just happened, and I jumped for the doorknob. What the next 4 minutes involved can only be described as organized panic. Ally's right pinky finger was bleeding profusely, and the tip had nearly been severed. Aunt Amanda rode with Marcie & Ally in the ambulance to Children's Hospital in New Orleans, by the river. I drove myself, Amanda's & Marcie's parents, and Mikayla in my car. (I took the interstate, didn't speed, and beat the ambulance by 10 minutes.) Out goes the swimming pool. Out goes the real-time merciless berating of my friend Earl, who swore that Michigan would redeem itself against Oregon and VaTech would upend LSU. Out goes the second Walmart trip. Out goes the trip to get an iPod on clearance. Out goes the trip to get my new glasses. Since I was the only one driving, we ended up with only one vehicle at the hospital. Amanda & I went back to the apartment to pick up her Tracker and some clothes for Ally & Mikayla. We spent 20 minutes trying to find her keys, which had been covered by a pillow in the haste to leave the apartment 2 hours earlier. All told, 8 hours after the incident, Ally was discharged at 11 PM. She has stitches in her right pinky, and it's unknown if enough of the nail bed remains, that she would still have 10 fingernails after this ordeal. X-rays confirm that the finger is broken as well, and she'll have to see an orthopedist next week in Monroe, to make sure the bone set correctly. Fortunately for her, she's only 2 years old and will likely not remember this. Never a dull moment. One point of interest: when asked who she wanted to ride home with, she said "Uncle Byron," or so I was told. I don't know if she was lucid (well, as lucid as a 2-year-old could be), but I'd definitely say that qualifies as putting words in my mouth. Anyway, I've spent so long on this entry just to wait up to see the second showing of Bleach. In any case, I need sleep. -KIE
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My iPod died today. It was a slowish death, but the final straws were the forced plug-in to a radio/docking station. Less than 7 hours attached to it, and the sound quality deteriorated rapidly. It will be replaced this weekend with an early self-birthday gift, an iPod Video of undetermined color and hard drive size. -KIE P.S. Kex, do you need that essay on O. Henry that was left on the iPod?
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Yes, folks, that's right. Pizza for breakfast. Kids, later in life, there's not going to be a parent telling you that you can't eat pizza for breakfast. (Instead, there will be a nutritionist and/or cardiologist telling you that you can't have pizza for breakfast.) College students, yes, there are times after graduation that you still have to get creative with the first meal of the day. In either case, the milk smelled funky, so bacon & sausage pizza was reheated. Amanda started her new job today. She had just called (4:30 PM) to relay several encouraging things that happened today, most of which I wouldn't divulge on her behalf. The past weekend was something. We went to another fantasy football draft (a Yahoo! league for church, no money changing hands), revelled in the demolition of the Big House at the hands of the BIG SOUTH conference. Big South > Big Ten. I've ALWAYS wanted to say that about a I-AA ER Football Championship Subdivision and a I-A ER Football Bowl Subdivision conference. 34-32 will be a score for celebration for the rest of the year. Then there was a McNeese game: the Cowboys beat the Vikings of Portland State by a count of 35-12. One of the Flying Elvii made an appearance, to claim the pair of tickets Jerry Glanville always puts on Will Call for Mr. Presley. Much of the rest of the weekend was filled with card games and an excessively long trip back. What is at most 3 hours ended up being almost 6, after a wait in Walmart for a tire repair and a 45 minute delay between Lobdell and the Mississippi River bridge. There has been disturbing talk about the Cruisers in the last entry being a force to be reckoned with. This is disturbing because I was hoping for a 7-7 season and no more: I like my mediocrity. *sigh* -KIE
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Coming in October.... -KIE
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Nope, nothing to do with a near-accident. Fortunate to say I haven't had one of those (or the full kind) recently. Let me tell you about my trip to the mall this afternoon. It was supposed to be a short trip. Just picking up a CD from Family Christian Store & something from Smoothie King. The CD is Live the Life by Michael W. Smith. What can I say, except that I am in a timewarp. "Missing Person" is a very special song for me, by the way. It took almost 9 years, but I finally got it on CD. While I was in there, I ordered The World as Best as I Remember, Vol. 1 by Rich Mullins. They didn't have volume 2. Upon leaving Family Christian Store, I realize that, hey, while I'm here, I'll go ahead and get a new dress watch: my old one bit the dust this morning. How so? Well, it started back on the Fourth of July, when my parents & I went to Houston for an Astros game. It was raining, and before the game even started, I check my watch (to verify how long it'd be until the park opened), and there was a mist underneath the crystal. It took until this past weekend, the same Saturday that Amanda & I went apartment hunting (the title of the previous entry), for me to find out how much it'd cost to get it fixed. How much? Too much. The removal of the crystal is not a thing easily done. And since there's water under the crystal, there's likely water in the mechanism itself. Water = corrosion, which will have to be cleaned or may have to be replaced. What's more, it is (or was) waterproof, so before it can be called "done", it would have to go under waterproofing tests again. $125 to repair a $70 watch. Ain't happening. The final straw was this morning, when I checked the time on my wrist after I got to work, only to find it was 12 AM. (After I got back from this Esplanade escapade, it was 12:06 AM.) So, I decided to go ahead and see about the watch today, since I was in the mall already. From Family Christian Store, I went to what reminded me of the Sunglasses hut (not the kiosk variety), only to see that the watches were very poorly displayed: I had to stoop and crane my neck to see the faces of the Fossils (the brand I'd more-or-less decided on to replace the busted Armitron). I told the man I might come back, and then went to the Dillard's Mens store. Up & down the escalator twice, only to find out in the cologne department that men's watches are in the jewelry department in the main store, on the other side of the mall, next to Family Christian Store. Mind you, I'm still sort of on-the-clock at the office. Back to Dillard's, got a $85 Fossil, not as heavy as the Armitron, stopped in at Family Christian Store again because I realized I'd forgotten about a CD I've meant to pick up for the last 2 years: Shawn McDonald's first CD, whose name escapes me because the disc itself is in the car. And all this time, I'm forgetting the one thing I really need: a new pair of glasses from LensCrafters. Yep, and you girls wonder why guys are afraid of malls. -KIE
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I need to talk to my brother, yet when I called last night, I completely forgot what it was I was going to say, and ended up just chatting about Team Fortress Classic. Yes, I'm as well-versed as any in using the detpack, a timer-set bomb (5-second, 20-second, and 50-second timer varieties only) capable of clearing enviromental barricades and killing any enemy within blast range (and the demolitions man that set it, if he's still within line-of-sight) in one blow, as an offensive weapon. Still, there are more important things than running up a score on a game: why can't I see this after 7 PM at night? Sad, really. Both the runons and the subject matter. Word for the day: oratorio <ôr'(schwa)-tôr'ē-ō'> n. an extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based upon a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and performed without action, costume, or scenery. Why is this word relevant? I'm glad you asked. On the evening of Thursday, October 4, 2007, I, along with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary choir, and parts of the choirs of First Baptist Church of Kenner, First Baptist Church of Covington, First Baptist Church of New Orleans, First Baptist Church of Marrero, Metairie Baptist Church, and a couple others I don't remember, will be performing Savior: a modern oratorio at Leavell Chapel, on the campus of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. How big is this? The choir should be pushing 80 people. I mean, the sheer size of this piece cannot be completed by any one church (except, maybe, Second Baptist in Houston, FBC Dallas, or some other mega-church). Anyway, the piece is out of print: it was only on the market for one year before it was pulled, as no one was buying it [because it was too big]. There are soloists coming from Dallas & Mobile to perform with the choirs. I know these sentences are disjointed, but I'm more than a little distracted with the Bridge City model looming over my plate. -KIE
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Opening note: any "approval image" wider than Dokuma's will not be put in the content block: I'm not making the sidebar any wider. Sorry. Oh, what a weekend to recap. I've been so busy, it's been all I can do to actually stop to write this. Okay, I haven't been that busy in the evenings, but gosh, time just flies when you're blowing computer-controlled enemies sky high. Or at least 4 stories high. Yes, Dok, the title "Tunnel" is from the song "Tunnel." It was the theme song for the playoff run. Sorry it took me so long to address that comment. Amanda's second interview of Friday went well enough. She got some more answers, and, more importantly, a salary range. Salary is important when shopping for rental property: can't rent something you can't afford. We found a couple of nice places, a few places she wasn't going to afford anytime soon, and a lot of places whose leasing offices weren't open on Saturday. Like she quipped: "Don't these people realize Saturday is the only day people have to shop for apartments?" We found a reasonably nice one available at Frenchman's Creek, not too far away from my place. By some miracle, the place didn't flood during Katrina, which means the unit's price doesn't incorporate a refurbish cost. In other words, at least for this lease period, it's below market. We also went to Mid City Lanes, at the corner of Tulane & South Carrollton. We rented Lane 18 for an hour Saturday night, and she beat the pants off me: 339-270 in a single series. It's not that I was going easy or anything: she beat me straight up. I am mortal. We would've stayed for the live band at 10, but 1) the Saints were still playing when we got done at 8:30, and 2) Mid-city isn't that pleasant a neighborhood after 10 o'clock at night. Also, two more things of note. 1) I found out how much my dress watch cost: $65. This is too low, as the cost to repair the water under the crystal is going to be at least $125. Thus, any birthday present you had plans of giving me can be in the form of cash, to post-purchase defray the cost of a new watch. I'm thinking of Fossil, or maybe Citizen, because I'm not a Rolex person. Any specific models anyone wants to recommend? 2) I found a Chris Rice CD, Smell the Color 9, at the Family Christian Store Friday, for $1.90. Yay. And, at 9:40 AM today (about 2¾ hours ago), Amanda was called to tell her she got the Covington job, and that she starts the day after Labor Day. -KIE P.S. Mark your calendars now for October 4, to be in New Orleans. It's a Thursday. Reason coming later this week.
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http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070817.html Astronomy is so cool. I swear, next meteor shower I'm going out to the meadow at LaFreniere, fireants and light pollution regardless. Amanda got down here without incident. She's called to tell me that the 8:45 interview was really just a second interview, and that the process is not complete yet. Gosh, it wouldn't be the federal government if there weren't red tape. Yesterday on the way in, she got a phone call from a place she interviewed at on the northshore last time she was down here: they want to call her in for a second interview, which was scheduled in a quick turnaround for 3 PM, or a little more than 3½ hours from now. I'm so happy for her, and words only begin to describe my thoughts on how much a part I've been thus far. It's a line I can trace so far back: I wouldn't be here if I hadn't gone to Akron in 2003, and I wouldn't have gone to Akron in 2003 if I hadn't been in 2001. Amanda wouldn't be where she is if she hadn't gone to Ecuador in 2004, and she wouldn't have gone to Ecuador in 2004 if she hadn't gone to Akron in 2001. And in the "us" sense, we wouldn't know each other, much less be with each other, if we hadn't spent 10 weeks in/around Akron in 2001. They say hindsight is 20/20, but I say this is God. No, I'm not about to move up relationship timetables, but I still have to admit: God is so freaking cool. *contented sigh* Now if only work would be so blissful. -KIE
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-KIE, who knows it's smudged
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First, I would like to call everyone's attention to the entry below, entitled "Tunnel". I'm not going to republish "Tunnel", because there is, well, information relative to the date & time it was published. (I'm glad that the data wasn't corrupted when the blogs finally did come back online: I hadn't read Bink's topic in GD before posting it.) In any case, I urge you to read that before reading this one, otherwise a bunch of this won't make sense. Have you read it yet? Good. Softball is done for the year. After defeating WBBC 6-5 in 8 innings (after I almost blew it in the seventh inning) Thursday night. This set us up for a rematch against Grace Presbyterian Friday night, with the winner to face St. Charles UMC: FBC-K 7, Grace Presb. 2 FBC-K 5, St. Charles UMC 1 From the very bottom of the loser's bracket, we roared through elimination games, rattling off 4 in a row to make it to the Saturday morning series against Metairie Baptist #1, who had won the winner's bracket (a.k.a. "the catbird seat"). 9 AM Saturday was our fourth game in 38½ hours, and we had just about run out of gas. Even my arriving at the ball field 90 minutes early to ensure the opposing pitcher/manager and league commissioner didn't get his preferred dugout (the one not as exposed to the sun) couldn't make the difference. (I got there at 7:30, he got there at 7:45, and the game was at 9:00. He wasn't happy.) Final from Saturday: MBC 9, FBC-K 2. The better team won, but we didn't go down without drawing blood, so to speak. No regrets this season. Had you given me 11 wins & second place in the tournament on Palm Sunday (before the season begins), I would've taken it in a heartbeat. I've never been party to a team (outside of fantasy baseball, whose seasons are 51 games long) that won more than 9 games over the course of a season/post season. I'm proud of the effort, and the dedication. Especially the Thursday night game: previous Kenner teams for which I've played would've mailed in that game, long before my E2 in the top of the seventh would be a factor. After cleaning up, I got a phone call from Amanda. She & her parents were going to go to the Saints practice in Jackson, MS, that afternoon. Well, if I can drive 2½ hours one way just for a jar of salsa (okay, multiple jars of salsa), I can certainly drive that to meet my girlfriend. Admittedly, I'd have an earlier start than 1:30 in the afternoon, but hey, you gotta work with what you have. My umbrella came in handy (as a sunshade) and my long arms even more (to pass Amanda's dad's hat to Saints players for autographs). Although, the most interesting thing I picked up would have to be the green HDPE Gatorade bottle. Yeah, the kind they use in the NFL. I have one. It's something. We (Amanda, her parents, and I) then ate at a Cracker Barrel my brother would've found most uncomfortable (all the Ole Miss & Miss State paraphernalia). I got back at about 10:30 PM, and I consider myself lucky to have driven all the way back. I watched Bleach, and then more or less passed out. Sunday & Monday have both found me playing TFC while not otherwise obligated. I'm getting a little better situated as a scout in dustbowl, and I found a very effective, if not obvious, set up for an engineer in crossover2. I think I might switch to pyro in 2fort. I like the ammunition he can carry. In each case, however, my aim is absolutely terrible. I'm thinking of enabling autotarget if it doesn't improve. Anyway, that's the weekend recap. Thoughts/comments are appreciated, both here and the entry below (as relevant). If you'd excuse me, I have a news story to write. -KIE
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30° 00' 25.16" N 90° 11' 53.10" W 7:03 AM CDT this morning (approximately 80 minutes ago). Just a traded peck on the cheek, but I'm still on cloud 9½. -KIE Godspeed, Amanda.
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No cryptic, witty, or double-meaning title necessary this time, as this very well exceeds any need for one. I've played the escort before, but this was my first honest-to-goodness date. Saturday evening, Amanda & I went on what could only be described as an [epic at the end] adventure. We went to Lakeview (northwest New Orleans) to eat at Landry's seafood, on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We got there at about 7:40, and were told that it'd be a 30-45 minute wait. No worries, as it was a lovely, almost bearable evening on the lakeshore. The beautiful sunset, the waves from the wakes of boats coming out of the marina gently lapping on the concrete steps (except the speedboat: that wake didn't lap gently), the jumping fish, the wonderful company, it was lovely. We enjoyed this until about 10 after 8, at which point air conditioning became more important than scenery, and proximity to the restaurant than losing the place in the light-up pager line. We got a booth inside at 8:25, give or take. This is important because they do have outside seating. We were kind of hoping to get something outside to continue to take in the view, but it was not to be. By the time our appetizer arrived, there were a few more people inside at the waiting area: not only was it later in the evening (and business was thus picking up), but a thunderstorm had come in off the lake, and soon, everyone that had an outside table was now inside, waiting to be reseated. We were eating (she had stuffed shrimp, I had the special: boiled shrimp & king crab), and the storm had not let up: there was even a girl who may or may not have slipped on the wet decking outside the front door. (Because the restaurant is outside the levee's protection, it is built on piers, and the door is 18 feet above the ground. All through the meal, we're interrupted by lightning, and we wisely slowed our eating pace in hopes of waiting out the persistent monsoon outside. It's now after 10 o'clock, and we're stuffed by the Bananas Foster crepes (dessert) in front of us, that we more or less ordered to justify not leaving. The check is closed and paid, and the rain still hasn't stopped. If anything, it's picked up to steady sheets off the lake. I can't stand it anymore, and volunteer to go retrieve the car, parked 330 rainsoaked yards (meters) away. The entire trip across the parking lot and West End Boulevard, I was part laughing, part yelling like the loony I was acting. For the first time ever, I had to use the red "panic" button to locate my car, as it was sufficiently wet & dark that I could not recognize my Malibu from a shadow. I got in and closed the door as quickly as possible, and drove to pick up Amanda at the door. She still got wet, as she had to go down two flights of stairs to get there. Further inspection of my clothing revealed a solitary dry section on my person: the seat of my pants. Moral of this story: if you're going to eat out in Louisiana, don't leave the umbrella in the car. If there's not a cloud in the sky, that's all the more reason to bring it. On a side note, whenever Amanda takes my hand, I get this uncontrollable, goofy smile, like I'm the luckiest guy on the face of the earth or something. Is that normal? -KIE
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196½ lb, 24.4% body fat Yes, it is a nauseatingly beautiful day. Well, not nauseating: it'd only make you sick if you couldn't be outside to enjoy it. 88° F, and a few clouds in the horizon to break the gorgeous blue sky. And I'm here at the office, working. Last night, we finished that rainout/suspended game. Grace Presbyterian scored 9 runs in the top of the last inning to win 10-4. I couldn't get a called strike for anything than right down the pipe, so to speak. I couldn't defend my pitcher and I couldn't go off on the umpire because 1) this is a Christian league, and 2) there was no one on the bench, so if I got thrown out of the game, there was no one to take my place. It was very, very frustrating. However, the rest of the weekend has been a general "Yay!" We won the game this morning against FBC-NO, 7-2. I went 1-3, raising my average to .240 (6-25). Considering I was hitting .091 (1-11) at one point this season, I'm very happy. Our next game, in the loser's bracket, is against the 5 seed, Williams Boulevard Baptist Church, and that will be played this Thursday night. The past 2 seasons, this is where we've bowed out of the bracket, so I'm hoping we can turn it around this time. I did get to enjoy the day today: Amanda & I had lunch outside: Hawaiian BBQ chicken pizza from Papa John's under a big ol' oak tree at Lafreniere Park. She & I are going to Baton Rouge tomorrow after church, to go visit with Michael & Brandy. Anyway, I'm supposed to be doing work so that I can have this submittal out the door first thing Monday morning (at which point I'm not here), so I'm going to get back to work. Next entry on Tuesday, after the weekend. -KIE
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This entry was typed this morning at my closet/office at the Joseph S. Yenni building, but not entered here at BZP because internet access is heavily restricted. Okay, got a weekend schedule sorted out with Amanda. She'll get here Friday afternoon, and head home, through Covington, Tuesday morning. (Covington, to interview for a job). This is after she tests for the TSA at the airport Monday, at 1 PM. Which leaves me with the daunting task of finding stuff to do Saturday evening/Sunday afternoon/Monday evening. (Friday night & Saturday morning are softball, Saturday noon is a makeshift barbecue, and Sunday morning/evening are church. Not to mention that I have to go to work Monday....) I initially considered this last night, and came up with the following statement: I do way too much 'existing' and not enough 'living.' Seriously. I just come home after work and mess around on the computer or watch TV all night. While the computer is a great distraction, it's just a distraction. I need to get outside for more than just softball. Who knows...that might just work itself out anyway. In a similar vein, I've undertaken the daunting task of cleaning up my apartment in front of her arrival. Like I mentioned, the computer is a great distraction, and general cleanliness is left to be desired. No, there's not garbage all over the place, but I do have trouble putting/filing/shredding away paperwork, and there are some boxes I've yet to go through. Heh, there was even a softbag that I evacuated with almost 2 years ago that needed going through. (Windy & Smeag, the infinitive "to go through" is a single, compound verb in the southern dialect: don't jump on me for ending with a preposition there. ) Is the place immaculate? Not even. But I do have more carpetspace in the front room (room for an air mattress) It's symbolic, in a way. I'm giving up my trash for someone else's benefit. Gosh, why did it take so long for that to happen? -KIE
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Paraphrase of a conversation overheard at a long table in a Baton Rouge Logan's Roadhouse two weekends ago... "So, what's going to happen with Hurricane Erin?" "More than likely, it'll approach land, say 'Am I ready yet? No.', and back away. This pattern will continue for about five weeks." *laughter* "Okay, then what about Hurricane Felix?" "Oh, he'll just wander around out in the Atlantic. If it does hit anything, it'd be a miracle." For the record, Felix and Erin are my brother's father-in-law and younger sister-in-law, respectively. Rain rain, go away. Come again some other month. It's not like we're in a drought or anything (certainly not on the order of WaWa), but the rain is interfering with the softball playoffs. Oh yeah, the softball playoffs have started. I'm not going to go as in-depth as I did last year, as, well, I have other things taking priority. Our first game, is against the 7 seed Grace Presbyterian. My first at bat was in the second inning, and as I stepped into the batter's box, it started to to downpour. 10 minute rain delay. Get back out there, and the first two pitches were both balls. Before the third pitch was thrown, another 5 minute rain delay. Pitch 3 was a strike at the shins and pitches 4 & 5 were inside and outside, respectively. 20 minutes for a five-pitch walk: easily the longest at-bat I've ever been party to. The game was suspended due to lightning in the bottom of the third inning, bases loaded & two runs already in, 2 out with a 2-1 count to Brian Perkins, rover. I'm on deck, and FBC-K leads 3-1. We have 30 minutes to complete the game Friday evening at 6:30. At 7:15, the winner of that game plays St. Charles UMC in the winner's bracket, and at 8:30, the loser of the suspended game plays FBC-NO in the first elimination game. If we win at some point Friday night, we could end up playing at 9, 12, or 1:30 Saturday. Thankfully, no more than one game, though. What's more, Amanda is coming to visit this weekend. Public shopping list in progress: bleu cheese, hamburger patties, milk, leaf lettuce, tomatoes (gasp), and don't forget the clothes for Goodwill tomorrow! -KIE
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I'm getting that sense of impending doom once again. I promised, more or less, the last of the model, the parts that weren't rushed to get done back in the spring, for the end of August. Not just the model, but a completed report on improvement runs made on a calibrated model. I just started the subcatchments for Bridge City today. Couple that with the fact that I'm spending 20 hours a week at the Yenni building and this "doth not bode well." Looks like I might be spending Friday afternoons/Saturdays/Sundays at the office, again. Gee, the things I do because I care. Anyway, today brought what will probably the last NewEgg.com order for a while, unless Koutech makes an updated version of the floppy drive I ordered a while back: one with a USB motherboard header (and they could even bring the spare port up to the front panel) this time instead of the lame through-plate. In any case, I have a new bit of technology in my possession: a new cell phone! A silver Motorola V3 RAZR. I ended up having to buy it from Newegg because AT&T didn't carry this one any more. It still works, but it's the 2G phone. I don't NEED a 3G phone: I've suffered with a 1G phone all this time; do you think I'm going to leap & bound technology like that? Oh wait, I just did that with the computer. But, see, the computer was 5½ years old, and the phone is only 2 years old. And besides, I'm more of a silver guy than a gold guy. Now if this one will hold a charge for more than 24 hours, I'll be happy. The first phone call placed got voicemail. The second call was an answering machine. The first call back was the first missed call: Amanda. Through the course of conversation, her plan "A" is to come visit in 9 days, in hopes of catching one of my softball team's playoff games (We host Grace Presbyterian in Game 4 Saturday morning at 10:30 AM CDT.) Hopefully this will be coupled with a serious job interview, but that doesn't appear to be necessary. *looks around his apartment* Well, there could have been better times to have been tied to work. -KIE
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Nothing to say about David Vitter: haven't been following the news recently. Yesterday was my first day on the job at Sewer Capital Improvement department of Jefferson Parish. My job description over there is to help out as needed, since I am the sole representative of Digital [Engineering & Imaging] (the company I work for), who happens to be the program manager. I don't know how it works, either, but the company gets paid while I'm there, so hey, I get to go. It was like another "first day on the job." Really. Just like my first day at DEII, my boss (then it was Fernando, yesterday it was Paul) took myself and a co-worker (then it was Rob (who is now in Fernando's capacity), yesterday it was Gary (who I replaced at that office)) to lunch. Then, it was Applebee's. Yesterday, it was Kyoto². Yesterday, I had sushi for the first time, ever. I had an order of California rolls and an order of Junya (smoked salmon and softshell crab) rolls. I ate 4 each, and thought better than to bring the last 4 rolls home. The Junya rolls were better than the California rolls, maybe just because my rich American palette is so used to consuming meat at virtually every meal. Neither set of rolls were wrapped in seaweed, and as such, one of the California rolls fell apart in the soy sauce. I am proud to say I got all the way back to the apartment before upchucking. In fact, I didn't upchuck at all. However, the first thing I did when I got in was to cover my palette with chips & salsa. Still, sushi was not the worst part of the day. The worst part came early, when I learned that the internet is largely blocked at the Parish building: I can't even check my work email there, much less my other email accounts. And don't even think about BZP! *sigh* The things I do for my company. -KIE
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Oh my. Looks like I have some catching up to do. Once more, in the style of the quick hit: 66 anything-larger-than-a-funsize-candy-bar is a lot to eat in 12 minutes. You couldn't pay me to be on Coney Island last Wednesday.Had Jimmy Rollins hit that home run a section closer to the foul pole, I would've caught it. Seriously, it landed on the same row & seat as my ticket, just the wrong section.Seems like many people don't know how to drive large vehicles in rainy weather. (Here's a hint: slower)Not sure which has been the bigger bear in migrating files: the size of my MP3s or the location of my IM logs.I like my new computer, a lot. It's running circles around the old one.I'm still amazed as to how fishy the speckled trout smells, yet not tastes.Apparently this past year, I was worthy of a 15% raise. I'm not saying here how much I'm making now, except that I'm still in awe of that number.Like I told Frank, I have a lot to look forward to this year.½" hearts are easier to pick up than ¼" and smaller confetti. Still.... *sighs*My heart smiles too, Amanda. I am in awe of what's going on with you right now, and how I am sort of party to it.Can't forget: go to the Yenni building for 8, not the office for 7:30, tomorrow morning.Brandy is filling out well. My mom is emptying out her wallet too well.I hate the well. Avanti is soooo superior to the Well.Staff Survivor was too much fun for me to have to have watched from the sidelines last time. I'm not missing this opportunity. -KIE
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Nope, this isn't the earth-shattering announcement. It's not Saturday morning (except for you, <dd> ). I should mention that Grace Presbyterian is one of the few, if not the only, team in the league with red uniforms. Since red is the color of a winner, you'd figure they'd be better or something. But they're rusty, and they were short-handed tonight. The line score: Grace Presb. 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 FBC Kenner 1 2 3 2 2 0 X 10 F And once again in the Kenner box score, batting 11th No. Name Pos. H-AB R BI .... 47 Foret C 2-3 0 2 What can I say, except that I was playing inspired. Came up with runner on third and two out in the bottom of the second. Grounded through the pitcher, and the shortstop would have had to make a SportsCenter play to get me out, but he kicked the ball. Ruled an infield hit. Out 6-4 with the next batter, though with the lead I had, if I hadn't rocked back to first base on contact, I would've been safe. Came up with runners and second & third with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Grounded to shortstop, ruled a brain fart on the part of the first baseman who wasn't covering the bag. Everyone safe with no throw, gets scored as another infield hit. Advanced to third with the next atbat, but ended up stranded there. Oscar (who pulled his quad last week) led off the sixth with a double. I came up and worked an 0-2 count full before grounding out 1-3. Moved Oscar over, but he didn't score. I'm now batting .211 on the season: .500 against Grace Presbyterian and .077 against the rest of the league. Our record is now 6-1-1, .812 winning percentage. What was it that inspired me? Well, it wasn't Aaron Broussard this time. You'll find out tomorrow morning. -KIE
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Rivers flow into the oceans, and oceans never fill.... It's a secret. Anyone that has the Jars of Clay CD Good Monsters, yes, there is no coincidence as to the title of this entry. I'm going to do something about it Saturday. The rest of you, well, you're not in on it, and you'll have to wait. -KIE
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Wheels of an iPod, that is. Just a quick note: since I finally have an MP3 player, I might as well do this: Soundtrack of my life Opening Credits: "Holy", Nichole Nordeman Woven and SpunWaking Up: "I Need You", Jars of Clay The Eleventh Hour (I could wake up to that. )An Ordinary Day: "Chevette", Audio Adrenaline Some Kind of Zombie (...yeah )The First Date: "My World", Holy Soldier Promise Man (ominous beginning.)Falling in Love: "Walk on Water", Audio Adrenaline Bloom (....heh)The Rumble: "Caught Inside" [instrumental] The O.C. Supertones The Supertones Strike BackThe Break-up: "Can't Erase It", Jars of Clay If I Left the Zoo Getting Back Together: "La La Land" All-Star United all star united (HA HA HA HA HA)Life's Okay: "Lord (I Don't Know) – Live", Newsboys Adoration: The Worship AlbumThe Mental Breakdown: "For the Love of God", Rebecca St. James TransformCruising: "I Am The Way", Mark Schultz Mark Schultz (eh, could've done better...)The Flashback: "Your Love is Better than Life", Newsboys GoThe Party: "He Will Always Be There", The O.C. Supertones Adventures of the O.C. SupertonesEverybody Dance Now: "Fade Away", The O.C. Supertones Chase the Sun (...yeah. )Regretting: "Stay", Joy Williams GenesisThe Long Night Alone: "Let it Rain", Newsboys Going PublicA Death: "Enough", Chris Tomlin Not to Us (A very, very interesting way to look at it.)End Credits: "You Are Loved", Rebecca St. James If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something (Okay, I cheated this one. I exercised "Producer's Privilege" to find one with a string intro. ) Story of my life: always months late on fads. -KIE
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Must move quickly. Must decipher report template from upstairs, and fill in numbers accordingly. Must clean up cost estimate that was miraculously finished in one day yesterday. Must wade through plethora of news leads and post first news item later this afternoon. Must determine what is wrong with InfoWorks' numerical model, and how to avoid the problem long enough to complete my model runs (time-varying data isn't just spastic, it's now flying out of logical ranges set by system restraints). Must act now, as there are only two left. -KIE
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Big Test #2 was passed tonight by FBC-Kenner.... New Life 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 FBC-Kenner 3 0 3 0 2 1 X 9I went 0-1, pop out to the pitcher to end the second inning. I was straight-up subbed out after the third inning for Jason, who needs to get some playing time wherever. Batting .154 on the season, it might be just as well. It's not like I'm that great at catching pitches anyway. Like I said: all I'm good for is hustle. In any case, we're 5-0-1, good for a .917 winning percentage. Only one team left with a record that could supplant us for the top seed in the tournament, and that's Metairie Baptist #1, the team we face next Saturday. And we'll be without our starting pitcher, shortstop, and left fielder. This could get rough. Rough like work, but I don't want to go there right now. -KIE
