Thought this was a good one.

I read webcomics with a passion. And by passion, I mean that ever Saturday night, I clear out my work schedule and settle down to go through about 25-30 comics, reading from the previous Saturday's.

Some are good, some are great.

One in particular that is a bit of a weird one is called Sinfest. It deals with the protagonist, Slick, a hybrid of Calvin & Hobbes and Doonsbury in the fact that it's a quirky commentary on social and political agendas while still being just plain silly sometimes. A hottie, a pig, the devil and God, even a dog and cat comic sometmies, it's a varied comic sometimes, but one that I never fail to read. Sometimes the comics about religion don't always agree with me, but knowing that they don't always deal with the big Guy upstairs, I don't always have to disagree with it. Which brings me to my point...

This week there was a comic over at Sinfest, I'll point you over here so you can take a look at it yourself, where a good point was raised. At what point in this nation's history have we taken God out of...well, God? We mention him in the Pledge of Allegence, he's on our money, in our Bill of Rights, he is a lot of places and Christians are quick to point out that he would be sorely missed if the word of God was erased from these public showings. I myself get a little quick tempered when thinking about people getting upset that "Under God" is in the Pledge of Allegence. It should be there, shouldn't it? Are we not a nation under God? Do we as a society really understand what we're saying most of the time? What we as Christians are trying to convey with our hearts and our actions? Are we blowing wind? Smoke? Hot air?

When I get on a rant, I'll go back and read it some time later and wish I had taken more time and developed a more coherant thought. I'm sure that this time will be no different. Michael and David have me beat hands down in the arguement for God department. I'm just not good at it. I know what I mean in my head, but I have a difficult time conveying that thought out to other people, especially if they are against me and want to debate. In fact, I've asked for Michael's help a few times over at Chud to help with my arguements on religion. I just don't have the capacity to talk my way around things. But I would think that my core readership here, my friends and family (Hi mom!) would understand where I'm coming from on this. Does everyone think we as a society are getting away from the core message of God, even as we fight to keep the message out there? I can't speak for others, but I am guilty of forgetting why I do things sometimes, I just do them because I'm supposed to, not because I'm fired up about it. As a Christian this is probably a dangerous attitude to have, and yes I know I need to work on that. Despite what my friend Adam says, I'm hardly the poster boy for all things Jesus. I have miles of work ahead of me before this road is ready for walking on firmly. I just want to be able to know that God is there for me, and that I am there for him, even though he needs me like a fish needs a bicycle. I need him, and I know he knows that.

I feel like Paul Harvey all of a sudden. Page two!

I'm eating some Hostess Cup Cakes and have gotten chocolate on my fingers and by proxy on my keyboard. I'm a messy little piggy. Yes I am! Somebody get me a bib and a WetNap. Dayshift is going to have a field day with this work station.

The gluttony that only I know

Ok, so coming back into town tonight, I had prepared my mind for the leftovers which I had brought back from Ada with me. Not only did I get some of the EXCELLENT dressing my mom makes every year (hooray!) but also a sizable portion of turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes and some awesome cranberry sauce, but Brigette hooked me up too with her mom's dressing, home-grown corn, green bean cassarole (true to my word, very little made it to the apartment), turkey (they still had tons leftover) and some of her great-mother's fantastic cranberry sauce. I, along with David Rutledge, am all about the cranberry, the mighty fighter of urinary tract infections and besides being good for you, it's just darn tasty. That being said, Mr. Patrick Cusher mentioned on his blog that he was making some homemade stuff for his family, forgoing the what was once traditional canned gel that I guess his mom used up until this Thankgiving. I hope it went well for him. I love cranberry sauce, and I know Pat is picky about his own recipies (as any chef would be) and I don't blame him for wanting to try new stuff with the fam. Maybe he'll tell me how it went in a future installment over at his place on the web.

Anyway, back to my original story:

I had come back to Tulsa tonight with the hope that I would get to dig into my leftovers sooner than later. I could already think about getting up from my pre-work nap and digging in to my Thankgiving master. But I had forgotten about the leftovers Bib's kids left from when they were here Saturday. I had a soft taco, some mac & cheese, a few fries and two tiny slices of a kid's pizza I had sitting there. Well, it doesn't take Ray Charles to see that I love food, and i abhor wasting of food of any kind, so I had put off my second Thankgiving meal of the day to polish of what was left in the fridge. I would rather it get eaten than thrown away. I don't know why I'm like that, I just am. I guess that's one of the mryiad of reasons why I'm heavy. I can't stand to see food wasted. But that's another story for another time.

All in all I had a good day today. I had another bout of cramps, double rib cramp in the shower this time. That was nice. Nothing like trying to shave with your arms above your head. I'm sure I looked a bit silly doing this, but as it was a private shower, I felt safe from prying eyes.
I got to see all three nieces this weekend, along with my sisters. Had a good dinner with Michael West, even though Smitty called me and I forgot to call him back (sorry buddy!) No word on David or Pat, so I'm not sure how they turned out this holiday. Called my aunt Nancy, but got the answering machine with no call back, so I don't know how my other family is doing. *sigh* I guess I'll have to find out later this week.

By the way, tomorrow is the much ballyhooed biggest shopping day of the year. I plan on going out and taking care of what I can in the morning, stashing it away and hopefully will get somethings that people will want. The thing is, I don't know what people want. I'm a little strapped for cash right now, with still paying bills off from the house, and with my pending PA trip, I really can't afford to splurge as much as I would like to this year. If you're wanting something special from me, you've got to let me know. I'm not psychic, just psycho.

Here comes the PAIN!

Ok, so the midnight boughts of cramps are back. I spent the night over here at Brigette's folks house again. Last night I was up constantly with leg cramps (front and back thank you) and cramps in my ribs. Now explain that to me, cramps in my ribs. Very painfull and there's not much I can do in the way of getting rid of them.
We did have fun last night though. Bib, myself, her sister Jo and boyfriend Cody took the kids out for pizza and bowling. The kids lasted one game and that was it, but they still had a blast. I hate to say it but a 4 year old little girl was kicking my butt at bowling. I am horrible. I somehow managed to eek out a 2 point lead on her at the end, but Brigette won over all of us. I was pretty funny to watch her son Brenden try and act like the guys that were in the next lanes to us. They would fire that ball down the lane and Bren just wanted to be like that too, so he would walk up carefully, stop, and throw his arm back and try and release it at the proper time. Sometimes he did, and sometimes he didn't. Obviously the times he didn't were the funniest because it was just so comical looking. But he did a real good job. I'm proud of him for trying hard and never giving up. Is that appropriate? Me being proud of someone else's child? I'm that way with my nieces too. I get such an over-whelming sense of love and pride when I see them, even though they are not biologically kin to me (step-sistes and all) but i love them just as i would any other.
Today I am going with Bib and her famiiy to have a Thanksgiving meal with her Great Mother who is in a nursing home. She's a really nice woman and I hope she enjoys herself today with her family. I'll be honest, I'm a little giddy getting to eat a Thanksgiving meal before the real deal. I love dressing and turkey and cranberry sauce. If I could eat it everyweek, then I would do so. It's my most favoritest holiday, natually since I'm such a great eater! Haha! If anybody has any leftover dressing come the 28, 29 just let me know. I'll be out of mine and I'll be needing a fix.
I hope everyone has a great holiday and I love you all!

Note to Michael: You are awesome. Thank you so much for both the giving of the book and the loaning of the adapter. Both will be used soon. Thanks again.

Note to Brigette: You may think you suck at bowling but you beat 5 other people last night. That's got to be pretty good I think in my book.

Note to David: Don't stop commenting on my blog now. You've got good momentum, keep it up.

Gentlemen....Behold!!

For those that care, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Vol 3 and personal favorite Home Movies, Vol 1 came out this week. Home Movies features commentaries by the voice actors that do lead characters Brenden, Jason and all around drunk/coach/blacksmith, McGuirk. How cool is that? I might have to go to Best Buy today and pick up Home Movies. I love that show. Just don't tell Patrick I'm going to Best Buy. I don't want him to throw holy water and a salt on me. It's burns Precious! Its burns!

That said, I'm doing well this morning. As it turns out, my Tourette's medication has a drug interaction with the antibiotics the doctor gave me. I took them for the first time last night and so far I'm alive. Just FYI though, if someone should find me face down in my apartment, clutching my chesh, please sue the pants off of Kris Armstrong and make him pay dearly. It'll be his fault. :-)
Thanks! That's pretty much it. I'm leaving work. I'm off like a dirty shirt as they say...

Sick as a dog, sawing up logs

Ok dear readers, I've been sick now going on a full week. Between a low-grade fever, chest congestion, sore throat, dizziness, and the ever-loving constant cough I've had now for two months, I'm just peachy keen. I hope one day to feel better, I'm just afraid that that day is not today. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

Monday I had dinner with some wonderful friends. Smitty and his wife Reneay couldn't make it. Smitty was in Norman and Reneay wouldn't answer the phone (for shame!), so they missed out, but Michael West, Jeremey Russell, Rusty "Man-Arms" Pickens, Aaron Aday, David, Erin and Sid Rutledge and then my dear Bib to round it off. We had dinner at Doc's there in Ada and true to form I dribbled steak juice on one of my favorite shirts. I washed it last night and it is still stained so I'm guessing the shirt is ruined. That stinks too, because I really like my Cubavera shirts. Luckily I have one exactly like it hanging up in the closet, so I have a backup at least.

Went to the doctor today for my throat/coughing/blood pressure situation. The doc wanted to draw blood to check my white blood cell count, so the last thing I had to do before leaving was get some blood drawn. Now, I'm no stranger to the phlebotomy proceedure. As having a mother being a 'lab vampire' not to mention the numorous times I've donated blood at the OBI, I am pretty up on the hygenic way that needs to be followed in order to draw properly.

First off, "Maud" just swabs my arm with a single alcohol wipe and then rubs it with a non-sterile cotton ball. After that, a poke with a neddle prove fruitless (or is it bloodless in this case?) she switches arms. Again, single alcohol wipe, rub with cotton ball, then she takes off her latex glove and touches my arm with her potentially nasty finger to find a vein. Then in a effort to clean it, she just rubs it with that cotton ball again. I asked her if that was standard procedure, she just said it would be alright and went ahead and drew my blood. Afterwards I was a little angry at this. I'm thinking about calling up there and reporting her behavoir. That is certainly not a healthy thing to be doing to patients, and especially at this time of year when germs are running rampent. I don't want Maud to be touching my clean arm with her skanky finger. If I get MRSA, I know exactly who I'll be pointing my finger at.

Other than that, I'm just wanting to lie down and try and sleep longer than an hour without coughing. The doctor gave me a presrcription for some steriods today, it's only 5 pills and it's not the muscle building kind. This stuff targets the resperatory system and hopefully will help me get over this cough. I'm sick of it and by golly I'm more than ready to be rid of it.

Everybody looking forward to Thanksgiving? I hope to spend it with the people that love me and that I love back. And then I'll go to work and be miserable again. Ah! What a quaint little cycle I have going for me.

I can't believe you caught me monologing!

I was driving around the great burgh of Owasso yesterday, when a truck with the "Student Driver" tag on the front zoomed in front of me. I thought I would have a bit of fun and caught up with the truck at the next stop light. Inside was one drive, a woman of about 50 years of age and talking away on a cell phone. I'm guessing she was a teacher, as there was not passenger, and she was on her break for lunch.
Ask anyone about my views on cell phones and driving. I'm really against it, even though I myself have been guilty of it from time to time. I don't do it often, and only when nessessary, and as a rule, I don't do it if I'm in heavy traffic. Some people don't care, obviously. They think they have free reign over the vehicle and are able do everything they would normally do while on the phone, next to their ear, creating a blind spot with their hand up to their head....

Uhhhhggghh!!

You know what? it's not worth it. It's not worth it get worked up over morons and dipwads and jerkholes and all those other things. Next time someone leaves a basket in a good parking spot at Wal-Mart, I'm just going to grit my teeth and move the basket myself. Next time some yahoo is chatting merrily away on their cell whilst barrelling down the highway I will hold my tongue. When I see a jackhole pick up a full screen verson of a movie best watched in wide-screen, I will go home and clutch my DVD collection with passion, and then pop in The Two Towers:EE and sit back, relax and think about how I let stuff get to me too much.

I guess it's too much to ask that everyone put up with me when I get in these moods, but I do appreciate those that do with minimal reactions. My friends, you are all beautiful!

A word to Michael West: You go boy!! I knew, way back at A-Kon, that the 'Mac' was in you somewhere. And you know what? I was right!

A word to Bib: I had fun this past weekend. Between a movie, dinner, Pepsi Spice and the cat pooping, it was a blast. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being a life-long friend. I hope someday to be in Mary's 'inner circle'. :-)

A quick question to Erin: Did you get that email about the production of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' being held up here in the Tulsa area? I never got a response so I'm never sure if you and David are getting my emails.

Birthday wishes and sore ankles

Ok kids, first things first. Today is Smitty's birthday! I was told by my birthday reminder that he will be 29, but I thought he was older than that. Am I older than the Ada crew? Crazy... Anyway, I spoke to my good friend on Sunday, as he was packing and getting ready for a business trip to New Orleans. I suspect that he won't get to read this until well after today, so if by chance Reneay if you read this, could you pass on a very Happy Birthday to my dear friend? Much appreciated.

While I'm thinking of it, I don't know what to get him. Thinking back, I got him one birthday gift one time, and that was Spaceballs the DVD back when he and I were in Norman on, uh, business for the tribe. Ok, we were screwing around in the city on company time. So what? But that gift was the only one I've given him. I'm trying to think back on gifts I've neglected to get everybody. Paul, David, Michael, Pat... I'm sure the list is quite long. Even my sisters and I don't exchange gifts. It's just something I've gotten out of the habit of doing, and as such I don't expect much. I do like to be called or remembered on July 6th, but other than that, I don't need a cake and I don't need a party. I suspect my friend's are the same way by this point in their lives.

On to less important things...

I was napping Tuesday afternoon when I was awoke with a very painful feeling in my ankles. It was a double cramp in both of my foot-ended joints and boy did it smart. Hoping around like an idiot for 20 minutes, it was all I could do to not chop the silly things off just to stop the torture. Twenty minutes people!! And I'm talking pain!! Ok, I'm being a baby about this. I'm sure any given woman who goes through labor will debate me on the trival amount I suffered in contrast to childbirth. I'm a complete wimp when it comes to pain. I'll freely admit it. If you could go back and talk to my mom or grandmother, they would ragale you with tales of my moans of displeasure of having the slightest sniffle when I was a child.
Anyway, as it turns out, I couldn't walk for a little while. I had come back home to Owasso, and upon waking from my slumber, getting moble was difficult. Even know I'm hobbling along like a gimpy... eh, gimp. Not a pretty site. Should the need arise that I need to give chase to someone, it's a given that they are going to get away from me. I need one of those motorized carts that old folks use. What are they called? Rascals? Zimmers? Whatever. I just want to tool around in comfort!