In Which I Have Some Explaining To Do / Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Okay, so I haven't posted in blooming ages. To be honest not much has happened. Apart from that Great Idea coming together. So far it's three definates and about three more maybes. You'll have to get back to me on this one people! I need replys soon, so I can book the house while is still available, and the exchange rate is still high so I can save the English people some money. I guess I'll have to put a deadline on it. Yep, that's what I'm going to do!
Well apart from building that website (I don't want to put the address on a publicly accessible site, so just email me if you want the address and haven't got it and I might decide to give it to you!) for my Great Idea I haven't really been up to much. Just working really. Oh I played guitar again in church on Sunday and went to Alpha. That's about it really.
I guess I should apologize, I've been spending all my computer time doing that website and researching prices and stuff. I'm sorry I haven't done this in the last few days. I'll try to get back on it now, I've done almost all I can do with my Great Idea without knowing how many people are coming. Apart from a few things, which I'm going to do now. Goodnight!
/Hopped!
9:37 PM
In Which Linda Finally Goes Home :-( / Saturday, March 27, 2004
I worked for a bit today, I worked for a bit yesterday. After I finished work yesterday we all sat round and played Skip-Bo all night. Today I got back from work in time to Linda a lift to the airport. So no more marvelous Linda entries in here for a while. Ahhh... I'll miss the old girl (Linda, not mother - although I do miss her too!)
That's about it really. I went to practice for tomorrow. That was fun. Life is so boring without anyone here to entertain. So one of you get over here right now so I can keep you all interested in what I'm writing! I was thinking maybe a bunch of y'all could get together and we could rent a condo on the beach in Florida and stay there for a couple of weeks, having a proper holiday. Sit on the beach, play in the pool, go deep sea fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, get drunk on margaritas and beer every day.... It'd be good fun! It's hot in Florida all year round, so we could do it in the off season and save some money maybe. Anyhow, it's just a dream I keep on having...
Well that's it. I have to do the comics and get to bed. Goodnight y'all! Oh yeah, mother sent me over a union jack. I put it up in the garden, so I've claimed this land as English soil! I haven't actually told anyone yet, and I think maybe the American government might get a bit pissed off with me if they find out. They're probably reading this right now! Oooops! Just kidding... heh heh :-)
/Hopped!
10:55 PM
In Which the Sister Contributes Again, Even Though it Says "Scribbled by Ash" at the Bottom / Thursday, March 25, 2004
Hello again!
I see Pete didn't write much yesterday, but we did have quite a busy day so we'll let him off and I'll tell you instead...
We went for a drive around Louisiana, heading for Lafayette (which I may have just spelt wrong) and turning left and heading South. We stopped off at a tourist information place in New Iberia where the lovely man there was great. He was suitably surprised to hear a weird accent, so we explained we were British and he was quite keen for us to pick up information on everything in the area and watch a video about the area. He was also quite keen for us to sign the visitor's book, so Pete duly obliged. But the best thing about this man was when he left he told us to "Have a nice day, really" which was quite cute! Most people here wish you a nice day, but here was a lovely old man who really meant it! Bless him!
So, taking his advice, we went to Avery Island which is on top of a salt mine. Part of it is a jungle tour, where you pay a fee and get to drive your car around a mini nature reserve and keep an eye out for alligators and turtles and things like that. We didn't have to stay in the car so we got out and walked around a bit too and came across an observation point for white egrets, which is odd as there were so many of them you didn't really need the observation point to help find them! The whole place was really lovely as there was loads of greenery and Spanish Moss hanging from trees and it was a really pleasant place to visit. I'm sure Pete wouldn't object to going back there, so if you come over he can drive you there!
The other part of Avery Island was the Tabasco factory which we visited and went on a tour of the factory. I didn't realise that Tabasco was from Louisiana, although looking back on it I should have noticed as the bottle's label has a bit about Avery Island, LA on it and I can't think of many other places on the planet where people would be so keen on hot sauces! The tour was quite interesting and they gave us a mini-bottle of Tabasco sauce which I now have in my bag for emergency use in case I am presented with bland, tasteless food at any point in the future!!
We drove towards Morgan City and then back up to Geismar via roads that wound along the sides of bayous and swamps and stuff. I didn't bother keeping too much of an eye out for raccoons as I finally saw them the day before, so hopefully I was a little less manic as a passenger (not having to call out for Rocky at all times!). We got back here just before Ash got home from work so had dinner and played cards in the evening. It's a game called Skip-bo (Mum has it if you want to play it yourselves any time). Much as I hate to brag about it, I won all three games we played and am currently the undefeated champion!
Today Pete and Ash had to work so I have been watching Pete's DVDs of Eddie Izzard and Family Guy (I have seven disks of this to watch and so may not manage the whole lot before I come back, but maybe we could start up a campaign to get it shown on UK TV as it's very funny). Pete came back from work so we drove off to pick up Ash and ate dinner at Pete's diner and left him there to work. I watched the Apprentice this evening, which is another reality show but it's 10 people trying to get a job working for Donald Trump and is very good - I;'m hooked after just two shows, although conveniently enough last week's show was a review of the previous 5 weeks so I had a good introduction. There are only three weeks left of the show, so I'm considering extending my stay until after the final, but even I recognise that this is a very sad reason for staying here!
Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm flying back home on Saturday so I may not get round to writing again before I go. Assuming that this will be my last entry on here until I come back over to visit Pete, I'd just like to say bye for now (unless you live back over in the UK in which case I'll see you in a couple of days) and I've had a fantastic time over here. It's been great to see Pete and Ash again as I've missed them both and if you miss either (or both) of them, I'm sure they'd love to see you if you had a few weeks off work and an urge to sit on a plane for most of a day! It's not the shortest of journeys over here but it's well worth it.
Take care y'all and I'll see you soon,
Linda xx
P.S. I forgot to mention that there are loads of photos of Avery Island and the zoo (including my beloved raccoons) over on Pete's Page. Much as I could add a link in here I can't be bothered as I know there's already one to the left of this entry near the top of the page, so you can use that one instead! I haven't looked at the photos yet, but I have a bad feeling that I may be in some of them and so will invariably look quite stupid. If I do, I apologise - I blame it on the heat over here, it's doing funny things to my head!! Bye!
/Hopped!
9:59 PM
In Which I Don't Write Very Much Because It's Kind of Late, Even Though I Did Have Lots Of Fun With Linda Going to See Alligators and Stuff. / Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Yep, we had fun alright. I have to go to bed, I've got to get up early to take Ash to work. I would've done this tonight, but we all got caught up in a game of Skip-Bo. Sorry. Linda will tell you all about it tomorrow.
/Hopped!
10:26 PM
In Which I Have Lots of Exciting Things to Talk About! / Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Gosh! I haven't written since Saturday! Well I have been busy!
Sunday I played guitar in church. That was excellent fun! It's much better playing an instrument that you really know, rather than an instrument you know because of knowing how to play the first instrument. Alright, it's more fun than the bass... That's an easy way of putting it! Anyhow it was great fun. Even though our "audience" (maybe the "our" should be in quotes actually... We're all the for the Big Man upstairs!) is getting smaller... Maybe once they heard my amazing chops they'll come back! Some new people have been coming along, which is really what it's all about. So all's good really.
We went to eat at Applebee's because Linda wanted to go there. We didn't mind. They do very good food there. We got home and it was pretty much time to leave for Alpha. That was good, all the groups are starting to talk more, and there's some interesting things being said. There aren't any atheists it the group though, I think that would make things more interesting and relevant. After all the whole course is designed for non-Christians in the first place. The closest thing to a non-Christian was Linda, and she's not going to be there next week! After Alpha I had a few beers with Linda and watched some TV. It was Sunday, I'm allowed on Sundays.
Monday I woke up with Ash to give her a lift to work (as I do every weekday at the moment so I can have the truck) and went to see Father Sheldon about some problems I'm having with my faith (nothing major just not hearing God loud and clear. I've got a lot to write, I'll tell you about it later.) Then I went back to pick up Linda and off to pick up Ash because she finished at 12. We went to Oak Alley in the afternoon for lunch. I had Gumbo and Jambalaya and Key Lime Pie. It was all very tasty! Then we just walked around the grounds for a bit.
I was knackered by the time we got back because I have to get up at 6:30 to give Ash a lift. So Ash and I took a nap, we woke up pretty late and went to Waffle House for dinner, Linda liked it. We decided that it would work great in England. A 24 hour breakfast place. Wouldn't that be more appetizing after a piss up than a donor kebab? It would to me!
On to the most exciting day. Today! We went to New Orleans to the aquarium and zoo. It's the third time I've been to the Aquarium and it's great every time! We caught a boat down to the zoo. The zoo is great! They have loads of cool animals there. Sealions, lots of snakes, rhinos, tapirs, all sorts. I got very scared when I went into the aviary. I'm petrified of birds in an enclosed spaces and they were flying all over the place, I had to get out of their quick!
They have a swamps of Louisiana bit there, they had black bears, alligators, snapping turtles, cougars, and, most importantly for Linda, raccoons! She's been looking out for one of those cute little blighters ever since she got here and she finally found some!
After the zoo we went to the casino. Linda didn't quite understand it. She put a nickel in a fruit machine, lost it, and thought that was it. So I made her put a dollar into a machine that was 2 cents a go, and she sat there and lost it happily. Dianne was the only lucky one, she put $5 into a machine and came out with about $28. We're real big gamblers eh?!
Well that's about it. Oh I went to the chiropractors this morning, Ash was going because she hurt her neck, and she though I should go too. He said that we're in bad shape (do I believe him? Well I guess I can wait and see...) His assistant took some x-rays. I got a bit concerned about how competent she was when she asked Ash "Are England and London the same thing?" but I think she knew what she was doing. I'm going back tomorrow after the dude has looked at my x-rays.
It's late so there won't be a link tonight, Linda and I are off to Cajun Country tomorrow. Here you go a link to that:
The Cajun Coast
/Hopped!
10:42 PM
In Which the Sister Spends a Day Sitting in the Sun / Saturday, March 20, 2004
Hello! It's me again! I would love to report that I've done something extremely exciting today, but I was in fact sitting outside for most of the day in the sun reading a book. Although it may sound boring I have loved it as I know it'll be a good few months until it's warm enough to do the same thing back home so I made the most of it today. I spent some of yesterday doing the same thing and was rewarded with a momentary glimpse of a humming bird (it's my mission while over here to see a humming bird and a raccoon, no raccoons so far though). I'm kind of glad I noticed it was a humming bird as I was having a bit of difficulty trying to work out what the strange humming noise next to me was, so was quite pleased to see a bird rather than think I was going mental!
All the excitement for today has been saved for the dogs though. This morning they got into my bedroom (I assume this was a conspiracy with the cats who can open the door handles) and ran around the house with my socks and underwear and ate a whole load of chocolate I had bought the day before for people back home (Hi Joe and Cris!). The rest of today has had the dogs on some kind of manic sugar-rush which involves them running around at high speeds trying to eat everything - more chocolate, girl scout cookies, glasses, cats, anything that moves and most things that don't move. We've also been finding my knickers dotted around the house and I suspect that may continue for the remainder of the weekend, oh joy of joys!! Still, at least some of the chocolate survived and I have some clean, un-mauled clothes to wear tomorrow!
Pete's been at work today and Ash has been doing stuff on her church's website so for some of us at least it's been quite a relaxing Saturday - oh, and we went back to the drive-through (sorry, drive-thru) daquari place which remains a slightly odd, yet highly delicious concept!
That's about all for now. I hope you all have a pleasant day and I should imagine I'll be back sometime over the next week. Bye!!
/Hopped!
9:37 PM
In Which I'm Back with Stories to Tell! / Friday, March 19, 2004
It's been a while since you've heard from me, right? Come on... You missed me didn't you? Alright Linda is a great replacement, but you want the genuine article right? After all, it's not called Ramblings From an Englishman, His Sister and his American Bird! Not that she'll never write again on this. Oh no! She's not off the hook yet! Maybe I'll be able to convince her to do her own blog to put some of her own talented writings on it. I bet y'all enjoyed it eh?
Anyhow, on to me, and my adventures! I guess I should fill in the blanks Linda left out over the past few days... As you know, we went to the St. Patricks day parade in New Orleans. It was fun, I wish I could've had a few drinks though. Oh well, it was still fun, and someone had to look after those drunken tarts! They snogged loads of Irish guys for their wears. It's a pretty cool parade, a lot more intimate the Mardi Gras parades. They have barriers up at the Mardi Gras ones, this one people were pretty much part of the parade, they just had to move out of the way to let the floats through. All of the Irish people in the parade were very drunk, I almost gave up my lental vow by breathing in the fumes coming off the lady who gave me a (green) rose! I think I was the only person in Pat O'Briens drinking non-alcoholic drinks. They have a cool fountain there, it's got a fire in the middle which they light when it gets dark. There will be some piccies on my website of it maybe tonight or maybe tomorrow depending on if I have time. You'll just have to check and find out.
Yesterday was a busy day at work for me, which is alright, I got enough tips to pay for... Well I'll tell you about that in the next paragraph. Well really I haven't got anything to add to this paragraph anyhow, because I didn't do much last night really. I did drive the truck by myself yesterday, it was good to be able to crank up the tunes and hang my arm out of the window. I think I'm going to have to get bass tube sometime in the future, as I do most of my music listening in the truck nowadays.
So onto today. I learnt a big lesson in driving today. Always carry a spare key! I locked the keys in the truck. My tip money went on paying the man from Pop-A-Lock to come out and let me into it. Doh! So after I finished work I went to Wal-Mart and got a spare key cut, which I'm keeping in my wallet, just in case! This evening we went out to play pool at Clicks, and much fun was had by all! Hurrah! That about wraps it up for today, I've got to work tomorrow, so I guess Ash will be entertaining Linda. Umm... Yeah. I guess I didn't have that many stories to tell, the title was kinda misleading... Well goodnight!
Extreme Ironing.com
I bet you've missed the links eh?!
/Hopped!
10:26 PM
In Which the Sister Continues Her Domination of Pete's Blog! / Thursday, March 18, 2004
Hello again! I'm back for a second helping as Pete's gone off to bed whereas I've still got another week off work so am able to do really rebellious things, like staying up after 10:30 and writing random gibberish on the net!
So yesterday we went to New Orleans for St Patrick's Day. We got there at about 2:00 and wandered around the French Market for a bit before heading off to Pat O'Briens to drink Hurricanes with what seemed to be the rest of New Orleans who didn't have to work yesterday afternoon (or maybe they did need to work, but I'd hate to get them fired for being in a pub instead of the office!). I duly drank my Hurricane while Pete had the 'Eye of the Hurricane' which is basically the Hurricane in a slightly smaller glass and without the alcohol. Now, I don't want to give the impression that they drink a lot of booze in New Orleans, but the glass which was made for the non-alcoholic drink was fresh out of the box of glasses and still had a sticker on it when it was served to Pete! Even the people who served the drinks seemed to have a bit of difficulty getting the hang of the fact that you could buy non-alcoholic drinks in the bar they worked in! I like New Orleans more and more each time I visit it!!
Anyway, the parade was due to go by the Cafe Du Monde (mmmm, beignets!) at 7:30 in the evening so we got there in plenty of time. It eventually turned up at about 8:30 - the reason why it was so late was because much of the parade was Irish men handing out flowers and beads and kissing all of the girls along the route! It was great fun and there were several fine examples of delicious men in kilts to look at so I would highly recommend it to anyone if they happen to be passing by New Orleans this time next year. We got back yesterday at about 11:00, so Pete went to bed as he and Ash had to work the next day.
There's not much of any huge excitement for today - Pete and Ash went to work and I went to have a milkshake at the diner Pete works at. I was introduced to his colleagues and was told that my brother looks just like me, at which point Pete beamed with joy at such a comparison, and quite right too!
I think that's about it for now. I'll force Pete to write something soon, just so you know I haven't locked him in a cellar or anything. Bye for now!
/Hopped!
9:34 PM
In Which the Older Sister Takes Over!! / Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Hello! I thought I'd take the advantage of the fact that Pete's not looking to write his page for the day! I got here on Friday and it's really good to see Ash again, and I guess it's pretty nice to see Pete too!
This morning Pete took his driving test and passed it, which quite frankly scares me! He's been a really good driver until he took his test and it's all been downhill from there! He managed to get 24 out of 30 for his written test (he needed a minimum of 24 to pass) and managed to break the speed limit on his test, but the woman let him off - no doubt seduced by his charm and beauty (ha! ha!).
After he passed his test we (Pete, Ash, Ash's Mummy and I) went to New Orleans to go to the zoo, but were too late to get the boat to the zoo (even thought it was on the same side of the river that we were on anyway - go figure) so we went to eat beignets instead. I may have spelt that wrong, but they're v delicious and that's all that counts! Then we went to the French Markets and wandered around New Orleans for a bit, before going to an IMAX film of the sea, which was presented by a talking turtle, who are very known for their presenting skills. Maybe. Then we came back and ate burgers, although not until Pete (who has just passed his driving test, remember) tried to drive us the wrong way down a really quite busy road, so well done to him! See? I said his driving's gone downhill since he passed his test!
Anyway, all's well that end's well. We got back in one piece and ate burgers, I have one of the cutest cats in the world on my lap and Ash is really quite merry after a banana daquari so hooray and hurrah!
Tomorrow we're going back to New Orleans as there's a parade on for St Patrick's Day, which is quite sweet of them to arrange for me as I couldn't come over at Mardi Gras for the parades. As Pete's given up drinking for lent (except on Sundays) and will be driving, you may get a slightly better diary entry from him tomorrow than last time he went to a parade in New Orleans!
/Hopped!
9:25 PM
In Which I do Lots of Stuff / Monday, March 15, 2004
Okay, okay! I've been lazy again! It's all Lindas fault! She's been keeping me busy. It's great to see her again. I've missed the old girl! Well I guess I'd better tell you what we've been up to. I think the last time I wrote was Friday right? So I guess I'd better start from Saturday, it makes sense to me!
I went to driving school on Saturday for my six hour pre-license class. It was fun, I was in a class full of 16 and 17 year olds who were doing a 36 hour course (because I'm over 18 I don't have to take that). I heard some interesting stories. Here's one I remember. It sounds a bit like an urban legend but the guy who told it swore it was true. His friends neighbor's a single dad. His son got bitten by a Water moccasin which are deadly, especially to a young 'un so he got in his car to take him to hospital. In his panic of driving out he ran over his daughter and killed her, and his son died on the way to the hospital. Bit of a shitty day there. Another one (and this is defiantly true) is a guy was speeding to get his father to the hospital because he was having a heart attack. He got pulled over by a cop, and he said his dad was having a heart attack. Rather than offering him an escort to the hospital, he took his time writing a ticket, quite intentionally, and the guys dad died in the back seat. The family are taking the police to court right now because of it. Nasty copper. I hope he gets a whole bucketload of shit for it. He should be charged for manslaughter really.
Anyhow, I had a test at the end of the day (not my actual driving test - I'm doing that tomorrow) to show that I was listening in class. I got 100%. So now I've got a certificate to prove I've done that, I just have to go to the DMV in Gonzales and take a sign test, a theory test and a practical test and I should have my license. If I pass. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
After that we (Ash, Linda and I) went round to Debbies house, her dachshunds had had puppies. They were so cute and tiny! I wish Ash took her camera so we could've got some pictures. So we sat round there for half an hour making a fuss of the puppies and talking to Debbie.
Then Ash and I went to a dinner for the Alpha course leaders, we kind of got things organized and had some yummy smoked turkey. We had to rush off after that and get to the practice for the church band. I think me getting a four track has helped my timing a little, I was pretty on it for most of the songs.
So that was Saturday. Busy day. Sunday was also a busy day. We went to the contemporary service and I played my bass. They're going to make our church bigger. It really needs to be. At the moment it's like a small hall. There's a little terrapin outside for the kids to go to for Sunday school and that's it really. The plans show that they are going to make the main area bigger and put in three classrooms and an activity hall. So that's all pretty cool.
After that we had our first Alpha meeting. It was alright, I think most of the people were panicking a little because people didn't immediately start talking and feeling comfortable. Most of them only have experience of Cursio, which is one weekend, and Bible study groups where everyone knows each other beforehand anyhow. I think it'll all work out alright in a couple of weeks. Linda came along and sat in, which was nice. I hope she learned something. I learnt that I don't have to keep my lental vows on Sunday, so Linda and I drank a few beers and watched some Family Guy. Linda likes it (how could she not?!)
There's Sunday. Today wasn't a very busy day at all really. Just as well! It gives me a chance to wind down a bit! Linda and I did a jigsaw puzzle and watched some more Family Guy episodes and The Simpsons. Then we went to MacAllisters and had jacket potatoes, then we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get Lindas birthday pressie (a bottle opener) and Wal-Mart to get Linda a little head thingy for her car aerial (someone stole the other one!) That was today.
Wish me luck for tomorrow, I have to get to bed early so we can get down there early for my test, so I'm off to bed.
You Don't Know Dick!
/Hopped!
9:50 PM
In Which Lindypoo Arrives! / Friday, March 12, 2004
Yes mother, quit worrying, she's here safe and sound. Albeit a bit late... She was supposed to arrive at 7, but she actually arrive at 8:50, so Ash and I sat around playing eye-spy until she arrived. She's doing fine. I'm sure I'll be able to convince her to write on this sometime so you can hear from her yourself.
Apart from that, I haven't really done much, I was supposed to work today but my boss called and told me I could have the day off. I hope that he didn't misunderstand what I said. Well if he did then it doesn't really matter, I just won't go in until Thursday. That'll learn him for not listening!
So I've just spent the day making music and taking photos. You can see all of the photo's here. Just go to the one's with updated next to them to see the new ones. That's really about it. I haven't really got much else to write. I've got to be up early tomorrow for my driving class. I have to do a six hour class, then I have to wake up early to go and line up to take my test. So I'm off to bed now. Goodnight!
Virtual Stapler.com
/Hopped!
10:31 PM
In Which I Catch Up Again! / Thursday, March 11, 2004
Okay, start again, the cat just stepped on the keyboard and managed to delete everything I just written! Just as well it was only a couple of sentences.... It went something a little bit like this:
Alright, alright! I'll write my blooming blog today! I know you've all been suffering from noinfofrompeteitus so it's time I cured you of that!
My day's have been pretty much the same really. Working for three hours a day and playing music for the rest of it. I'm going to have to find another job so I can work some proper hours and earn some real money. I guess I'll do that after the wedding in Virginia that Ash and I are going to at the beginning of April. The plan is to go to that, get some temp work for a couple of months and come over in time to go to Dave's (my bro's) stag night, stay for a month and do some temping over there, go to the wedding, and come back here and find a proper job. Maybe in Virginia, depending on whether Ash's job with the airline goes through or not. It'll work better for all you brits if I'm working in Virginia because you'll only have to get one flight to Washington DC rather than having to fly somewhere and get a connecting flight, so it'll be cheaper to come over and visit, if that's your excuse!
We went to our home church thingy tonight, it was fun. Not really much else to say about it really. I washed Ash's truck today. It needed it baaad. That's about it really. Talked to Dave and Dave today. That's kind of weird, Dave (my bro) living in England and Dave Bennett living in Japan, and me living in the US. Three completely different timezones and we all talked at the same time! Dave S was just getting ready for his evening to start, me getting ready to go to work, and Dave B getting ready to go to bed! Quite strange really... Anyhow, that's all I've got I think.
The Beandog Abduction
/Hopped!
9:21 PM
/ Tuesday, March 09, 2004
I'm busy playing music and recording it on my new toy. Today was alright, same as any other, apart from I got my four track and I'm using it. Bugger the link, I've got more important things to do with my time!
/Hopped!
10:01 PM
In Which It's my Darling Sisters Birthday / Monday, March 08, 2004
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Lindaaaa
Happy birthday to you!
That's right, it's Linda's birthday today. How old does that make her now.... 27! Boy that's ooooolllllld!
That's the most exciting thing about today really. I worked. Taht was my day really. Boy! My life is turning out to be pretty darn boring isn't it? Oh well!
The four track came today, but no-one was here to pick it up. Doh! I guess I'll go pick it up tomorrow! Woohoo! I forgot to say, I've got a social security number on Saturday. So now I can do whatever job I can get. I found out I'll have to do a six hour lesson to get my driving licence. Oh well. I guess that's not too bad. I just have to get it done quick. I've only got 4 days until Linda comes over! Maybe Linda will have to give me some moral support if I can't get it done soon enough...
That's it. All the news for today. Tune in tomorrow, when I won't be writing much then either. I'll be playing about with my four track all night! Woohoo!
MC Squared.com
/Hopped!
10:18 PM
In Which I Play Bass for the contemporary Service (Again) / Sunday, March 07, 2004
Sundays seem to be turning out as the most interesting day of my week. Ash and I went to the 9:30 service and the 11:15 service at church today. We went to the 9:30 service to get blessed for our anniversary, and I played bass in the 11:15 service. I did have some problems changing from guitar to bass, but it all worked out all right in the end. There wasn't very many people there this time round... Maybe we really are rubbish! Then again, a lot of men were at the retreat, and maybe the women were too busy shopping or something (j/k). There was more music this week than last, so there was more areas for me to mess up in... Which I did quite a bit!
After that we went to lunch with Maria (the band leader) it was nice. She paid, which was cool, because I just put all my money in the collection plate. Jesus said that if you give with joy you'll receive back more than what you've given. Maria paying for lunch kind of proved that for me. I also borrowed her bass, so I can practice and play some bass on songs once I get my four-track once I get it, which is going to be in 3-5 days. Excellent! I'm looking forward to that! Although Linda is going to be here cluttering up my music room! Tsk! (j/k again, I'd much rather have Linda here than have a music making machine!)
Then we came home, slept until 6... Overslept until 6 I mean, and ate some dinner. I think I might get a drum machine, there's a pretty good one for $100, which is a bargain. I've been researching it on the internet this evening. That's about it really. Eventually on the St. Margarets website there's going to be a music page and we're going to try and get some recordings of the band on it. So you'll be able to suffer those too.
Well that's about it. I'm going to go and do nothing for a while until I go to bed.
Phoons.com
I'm sure you'll see me soon on this website... I just need a place to do it!
/Hopped!
9:21 PM
In Which I Have A Day of Doing More Than I Did For The Rest Of The Week / Saturday, March 06, 2004
Well, Work was busy, but that's a boring thing to talk about isn't it? Work, work, work. All the time work. See? That was a pretty boring thing to read wasn't it? So I got tired at work (because it was busy - see above) So I came home and had a nice refreshing bath. So After I refreshed myself I watched some of the DVD telling people how to lead Alpha groups. I'm not going to lead one, I'm going to be a helper. Which, as far as I can gather, means that I just do the whole thing again, just in a more encouraging way. Next time round maybe I'll be a leader.
After that I went to church to rehearse for tomorrow. I took along my (borrowed) electric guitar and played that. It sounded good having a guitar that could be heard. Tomorrow however I'm going to be playing bass. That may be a bit of a problem because I learnt all the songs for guitar. Oh well, I'll work it out quick enough.
That's about it. Just a little more than I did the rest of the week, but it's still more! Did you like yesterdays link? They made me laugh anyhow! Here's another one:
Gobler Toys
/Hopped!
10:37 PM
In Which I Get Tired. / Friday, March 05, 2004
Hello! I worked my first full shift today for a while. It was very busy, this made me very tired. I did, however make enough money in tips to pay for me and Ash to go to Mike Andersons, which was yum-tastic. I had soft shell crab, which is a fun thing to eat. They just chuck the whole thing in a fryer, and you eat it shell and all, so you can pull off the legs one at a time. "Now you'll have to hop Mr crab! Hop hop hop along the beach!" Well it amuses me anyhow.
Well that's about it for today I think. It's not fair at work, Joey the new bus boy just sits around and no-one has a go at him. I think it's because he's a mouthy bastard and just says "You go do it" Whenever anyone asks him to do something, where as I go and do it. It pisses me off a bit. I thought about it, and I thought to myself "Why be angry? Why be anything but happy? Angriness isn't good for anyone, including me!" So I was just happy after that. Hurrah!
That's all I've got really. As I'm tired, and we're going to be short-staffed tomorrow at work (I'm having to miss out on the men's retreat at church because of the short-staffedness, which is a shame I'd actually be able to go fishing and walking and do stuff. Oh well) I'm going to cut it short and go to bed. Here's a link:
Deep Thoughts
/Hopped!
10:27 PM
In Which I do Nothing... Again / Thursday, March 04, 2004
Okay, so I didn't post yesterday, because I didn't do anything. I also didn't do anything today really, but I know some people worry if I don't post anything. So here I am posting.
Yesterday I worked, came home went to sleep, woke up and ate Popeye's. Okay I know fried chicken isn't on my diet, but I wanted some. So I had some. Sue me!
Today I went to work, and helped Joe out in the garden (yard) We moved some plants, pruned some bushes, and did other gardeny stuff. Not that exciting, just hard, honest work.
Ash and I went to Homechurch this evening. It was fun. That's it. Like I said, I haven't really done anything interesting.
Two interesting (ish) things have happened over the last two days. 1. A woman in Dearmans thought I was Australian! The cheek! 2. I've been having weird dreams, well nightmares, recently. They all seem to be very violent. The ones I remember are me and Norm Being chased by an angry mob, Dave (my brother) and I getting into a very bloody fight, and Me being a Mafia hitman. I had to kill Ash in the last one, because she was wooing and killing gang members femme-fatale style, but in the end I found out it was some other girl and managed to get her to confess by strangling her. I'm so glad I didn't have to kill Ash. It would've made my day completely different. So, weird eh? In my dreams I'm a killer.
Anyhow, Ash is nagging me about going to bed and I've run out of stuff to write, so I'd better finish here. Here's a link for ya.
Oh just before that, Mark you'll be happy to know that MSIE is crap. We switched to Mozilla and all the slowing down problems stopped. Hurrah for Mozilla! Boo for Microsoft!
Traffic Cone Preservation Society
/Hopped!
10:09 PM
In Which I Have Another Day of Doing Almost Nothing / Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Not much to talk about today really. It's our wedding anniversary for real today, but we did all the celebrating yesterday, so we didn't really do much today. I worked from 11-1:30 today, I managed to get off early. Yipee! So I came home and went to sleep. I woke up when Ash came home, and we both slept. That's it really.
Lindypoo's coming over! Woopee! She's coming on the 12th. Excellent! I'm going to have to get some time off work so I can entertain her. That maybe a bit troublesome, they don't like me having time off... Oh well, I'm sure we can work something out. So I've been reading the drivers manual so I can get my drivers licence before she comes over, and we can go out cruisin' and boozin'. Well Linda can do the boozin' I'll do the cruisin' for two reasons: I'll be driving, and I've given up booze for lent. What a stupid idea that was! Well I suppose it's a small thing to pay for ol' JC going through all that suffering...
There maybe a problem with me getting my driving licence, basically Ash has Mississippi tags on her truck, so she is insured as a Mississippi resident. I'm a Louisiana resident. So If I'm going to be insured on her truck we either have to move to Mississippi or get Louisiana number (licence) plates. That costs money. It's going to cost me alot of money for me to get insured because I'm in that dreaded 25-30 male braket, and lots of other young blokes like driving fast/drunk and crashing into things. The good news is that it only costs about $30 for me to take my driving test. That's the only good news though. So I'm not sure if we'll be able to afford to get me driving in the next 10 days. Doh!
Well there's another day in the life of me. Just everyday ups and downs again... I'm sorry if anyone actually reads this for entertainment. You should find something better to do with your time than sitting in front of the computer reading about other peoples lives. Make you life interesting enough so you don't feel you have to!
Oh, I realised something the other day. I'm no longer dissapointed that I don't get any emails from my friends, I'm just plesently surprised when I do get them. A much better outlook to have!
Florida Driving Test
/Hopped!
8:55 PM
Happy 2nd Anniversary to Us!!!!! / Monday, March 01, 2004
Two years! Woohoo! We've come a long way, and I hope to see us go a lot further. I have the most wonderful husband in the world, thanks to the mummy that raised him, lots of Heinz baked beans, and Stevie Wonder songs.
/Hopped!
10:24 PM
That's right, It's our second year of wedded bliss. Well at least it is wedded bliss now.... It wasn't really before September, but now were together, and will be forever. Hurrah! We didn't really do anything that interesting really (or least nothing that I can talk about ;-), we ate at Chilli's for lunch (I had a bacon burger, Ash had a chicken ceaser pita) and Olive Garden for supper (I had the touer of Italy, Ash had a steaky thingy) that was about it really.
We went to a music shop, I tried out an Epiphone Casino semi-acoustic. It sounded very nice, but it cost $450. There's another semi-acoustic by Ibanez which is only $299. The shop I went to doesn't do those though, so I'll go over to the other side of town to another guitar shop and check it out there. I went to Wal-mart to buy a karioke machine so I could record some music, but it's crap, so I'm going to take it back.
Ash realised it was crap... Alright she listened to me complain for a bit. So she went onto Ebay and bought me a Tascam Portastudio 424 MkII for $79. I should cost about $200-$250 secondhand, so it's a bargin! Excellent! Finally I can start putting together my own music! Woopee! Get ready for a bombardment of crap songs on my website!
So overall a pretty good day really. Oh, does anyone know who put 25 quid into my HSBC bank account a couple of days ago? It doesn't actually tell me any details about it. Thanks to whoever it was! Thankyou Aunty Marion for the card and letter.
Well I've got to get to bed early, so I'll just leave you with a link, and say goodnight.
Dildoart.com
Warning:this site contains dildos in art.
/Hopped!
9:11 PM