Old stuff

My wife and I were watching one of our new favorite shows the other night “Storage Wars.” These guys go to places where people rent storage, or should I stay stop paying rent on their storage units. They get about 5 minutes to look inside the unit without going in, they are not allowed to open any boxes, and then whoever gets the highest bid gets everything inside the storage unit. Sometimes it is all useless junk and other times there is some crazy collectibles inside. Last night a couple bought a unit that had over $5,000 wroth of old toys inside for like $600. Which brings two questions to mind; why would anybody forget or not pay the rent on a storage unit that had that many collectibles in it and what stuff do I have lying around that is of any value?

One logical reason is that maybe the person passed away and no one knew they had this stuff. Or, maybe they did not really know how valuable this stuff was. Who really does know how much something is until they sell it. There was another guy you bought a storage unit and it had shrunken heads in it. Which leads me to other questions; who buys shrunken heads and why are they keeping them in storage in an old cooler?

I have one thing that I know that might have some value. Actually I share this with my brother, a Wayne Gretzky rookie card in very good condition. How I ended up with it don’t know. How much is it wroth? Maybe a few hundred dollars, but it’s not like I can go to Wal-Mart and take a TV to the register and hand them this rookie card for it. As of right now, it is sitting in my closet and it is about as valuable as the cardboard from a cereal box. That’s the thing about collectables; they are not of any value until you sell them. I remember as a kid when Star Wars was huge, I had a bunch of toys and comic books. I don’t understand how people are looking for toys still in the box. They are toys; no kid wants a toy to just stare at in the box. Not only did I destroy the box, the action figures did not make it as well. It was an epic battle between G.I. Joe and the Star Wars clan, very few survived. Those memories are more valuable to me than the toy itself, plus I’m not paying a rental fee to hang on to them.

On another note, I will only be posting on Thursdays now. Life is just getting a little too busy to try to post something twice a week and it doesn’t pay the bills. Unless someone wants to buy a Wayne Gretzky rookie card to keep things going. :)

Robbery

This weekend I learned a few things. First thing I’m learning is that there is a reason for voice mail on phones. I had to teach myself that I don’t have to answer my phone every time my wife calls, especially if I’m in the middle of something. If it is important or an emergency she will leave a message, otherwise I end up being on the phone with her listening to her tell me that the cat threw up and she almost stepped in it. So Friday I am in the middle of doing my work and she calls and leaves a message. I check to see if it is something important and if I need to call her back. Yep, radiator hose has a leak in it and there was smoke coming out of the car. So I called her back, thankfully she was at home and not stuck on the side of the road. We worked out the car situation, because we both needed to be at two different locations that night. I had to start preparing myself that I was going to be working on a car that weekend.

I know nothing about cars. My wife would tell you I can barely drive a car, much less work on them. I know where the gas goes and change a tire if I needed to, but that’s about it. So we were all set to take her car to the mechanic when I thought, let me take a look under the hood and see if it is an easy fix. A few hours later and a trip to the auto store and I had replaced one cracked radiator hose. Yep, it was one of those moments that I felt like I had passed a test to be a man. It wasn’t a difficult task, I did have to grunt and groan a little. But that is what makes it such an accomplishment. I smashed my finger nail. The clamp on the hoses on a 10 year old car is hard to get off, and my hand slip on the pair of pliers I was using and the clamp snap back and caught my finger. I started to bleed, but it kind of made the whole experience a little manlier.

Leave it to my wife though to put me in place. She did not do it on purpose, but I had her make a list of things that I needed to buy at the auto store. I was thinking I was going to look like this well prepared mechanical guy going to the auto store and I would show the worker my list of things I needed and be on my way. So I shoved the folded piece of paper in my pocket; when I got to the store I pulled the paper out of my pocket, unfolded it, and saw my list of parts were written on pink paper with a dancing penguin in a tutu, on top was written in big bold pink lettering “I’m a Dancing Sugar Plum.” I thought these guys are going to take my man card away if they see this. So I got all the parts I needed with out having to accidentally expose my feminine side, but it did kill the whole manhood buzz I had going on. Lesson learned, always check your list before going to the store.

American Idol

Last night I found out I have another problem to add on to the weird things that is wrong with me. I’m addicted to American Idol. I told myself since they started putting promotions on TV, that this year I was not going to waste my time watching that junk. My wife was even stating she was not going to get involved in it because she was not a fan of J-LO. So my wife had to work late last night and I had to go to a late meeting, I used this as an excuse to stop by the Golden Arches on the way home, I was having a Big Mac Attack. I sit down with my bounty of food; push the cat away from sticking his head in the bag, (he loves their fries) and turn on the TV. I totally forgot that American Idol was starting that night. I though to myself, the wife is not home, it won’t hurt to watch a little. A Big Mac, large fries, a Dr. Pepper and two hours later, I had watched the whole show. My wife came in during the middle of it, kind of rolled her eyes at it and walked away. Just when I thought she had stronger will power than I did, I hear it on the TV in the other room, Busted.

I don’t know what it is about that show that just sucks you in. Maybe it’s like watching a car wreck that you can’t look away from. There are some good singers that they put through, but let’s face it; there are a lot of people out there that should keep their talents in the shower. Then I even wonder if some of these people should be allowed to walk the streets freely. The point is I wasted two hours of my life watching this show, well not the whole two hours. McDees fries were involved for some it and that is never a waste of time.

Thawing Out

Atlanta is finally thawing out. My wife, who was getting cabin fever from being cooped up inside all week, and I went out Saturday morning to run a few errands. I had to take a little control over this trip. Last time we did an errand run together we ended up in one too many women’s apparel departments. There is nothing worse for a guy to be standing around surrounded by racks of dresses and blouses without an ounce of TV or sporting equipment in sight. So we agreed we were just going to run out grab the few things we needed and get back home.

I needed a few parts for a garage door opener I am installing for my wife. I’m a little different from some guys. I actually enjoy when my wife has something for me to work on around the house. Nothing like grabbing a power tool and putting something together, when I put on my tool belt I feel like Batman and his utility belt. Only, Batman’s belt doesn’t pull his pants down just enough so everyone can see the color underwear he is wearing. Maybe that is what the cape is for.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and eating the snacks my wife prepared for us while we watched the football playoffs. Atlanta lost, but the home made party Chex Mix, Tacos, bean dip, and peach pie were good. So it was a score for me. Even though while we were eating dinner I had just finished my fourth taco and going back for more (I know what you're thinking, why didn’t I just put more than 4 tacos on my plate in the first place.) When my wife spoke up and said, ”Uhm, could you leave me some more.” I wanted to say, “It’s survival of the fittest Babe!” But realizing that she made all the food and I probably would regret that comment later, I politely backed away and waited for her to get what she wanted. Even Batman and all his gadgets in his utility belt would rather face the Joker than a woman scorned.

Passage Proverbs 21:19:
It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

Snow Roads

I have discussed before the many differences between the north and the south. The north says “You guys” compared to “Ya’ll” in the south. Around the Great Lakes they drink pop or soda; below the Mississippi River they drink sweet tea. The one thing I thought would be different here in the south would be the weather. I hate having to get up a little earlier to walk out to warm my car before I go to work, hoping my first step doesn’t send me flying across my iced over walk way like Wayne Gretzeky after a hockey puck. Plus it’s been really cold, I mean the type of cold that freezes the stuff inside your nose when you inhale, I hate that feeling.

The D.O.T. here (Don’t-Own-Trucks) were not prepared. The guy that heads the department said on the news that we should all just hope the sun comes out soon. That’s a reassuring statement from the guy who is supposed to be keeping the roads clean. Basically we should all go outside and sing like Anne “The sun will come out tomorrow…” We’ve all heard it before, these southerns can’t drive on snow, and well this Yankee couldn’t either. When you have ice on top of ice, with no one putting salt or clearing off the roads, you need to be a penguin driving a zamboni to get around Atlanta. So they just keep telling people to stay inside.

Schools have been out for three days now due to the weather. Some schools were on Christmas break so some of these kids love this weather. Plus for some of them it’s the first time seeing snow like this. So people are grabbing whatever they think will slide to go sledding; trash can lids and laundry basics seems to be the favorites. The best I’ve seen is some guy on the news going down a hill in a canoe. So the other day when I was snowed in I looked out my window and saw a guy in a pickup truck pulling his kid on a piece of wood behind him. I figured he must have worked for the D.O.T. and it was bring your kid to work day. I am starting to hear people saying they are getting cabin fever, three days of snow and these people are already going out of their minds. Another difference between the north and the south, Good luck to all my buckeye friends and family who might get snowed in for a week or more.

Snow Day

Well I'm off today because of snow. That's right I moved from Ohio to Georgia to get away from that awful white stuff and I still get snowed in. It's God way of showing me he has a sense of humor. I did try to make it to work. I left thinking I grew up in this stuff, it's not going to get the best of me. So I get all bundled up, cussed a few times because I had to scrape snow and ice off my car. That brought back horrible memories of northern mornings; 3 to 4 months of getting out in the cold, scrapping 1/4” of ice off your car, and praying to the winter gods that your car would start, then you would have to maneuver your way down the frozen tundra called the driveway. Thankfully this morning was not that bad, but I still hated doing it. So I started to drive to work, I had to keep it in 2nd gear most of the time, fish tailing most of the way. I'll admit that part was fun, because at one point in my life I did want to be a Duke boy and drive around Hazard county, I can cross that off my bucket list now. But I didn't even make it half way to work. What normally takes me 10 minutes to get to, took me an half an hour. Plus, all the ice and snow covered the lanes in the road, I spun out about 3 times. I turned around and journeyed my way back home. Some idiot decided they were going to take a turn going 50 mph and almost spun themselves completely around. Had I been there a few minutes earlier I would have collided with them. So it wasn't the icy conditions that bothered me, it was the other Duke's of Hazard wanna bees out there.

So I came home to my wonderful wife who just the other day decided to point out how old I am getting. Seems she had discover that much like counting the rings on a tree, you can guess how old someone is by looking in their nightstand drawer. That makes sense; a young boy may have his favorite baseball card and action figure, a teenager may have that magazine he doesn’t want his mom to see, a college man will keep the phone numbers of all his hopeful dates. I on the other hand have; a heating pad for my sore leg where I pulled a muscle the other day, my blood pressure machine that I have to keep track of, and a pair of toe nail clippers so I don't accidentally cut a main blood vain on my wife while we are sleeping at night. Yep, I'm probably just a few steps away of keeping in my night stand a tube of Ben-gay and denture cleaner. I do not even dare, for risk of my physical and mental health, look in my wife's nightstand and see what she has hidden in there.

Christmas Gifts

So for Christmas I got some wonderful gifts; I got a laptop and some digital drawing software to go with it. I have been drawing for a long time. I think I got my first drawing board when I was in the 6th or 7th grade; I still have it and use it. Only now I am using it for a desk for my laptop. So working on my laptop on my old drawing desk got me thinking of how things have changed over the years and what will this year bring in regards to new technology.


There was a time everything was done by hand. When I first got into drafting we had to learn how to draw using the old drafting tools of T-squares and triangles before we even touched the computer. At that time drafting on the computer was still new and it was run in this program environment called DOS. Yes kids there was a time before Windows and Macs. Now it’s hard to keep up with all the upgrades that come out as this world becomes more and more fast paced. Before buildings were built from blueprints, now the whole building is computer generated and transferred to computers out to the construction site. Some old man is cussing because he can’t even figure out how to turn the computer on, and what he does build is wrong because, the young college punk sitting at his desk is depending on his fancy program to figure things out for him.

Even the way we take pictures has changed. Look in that old junk drawer in the kitchen; there will probably be some rolls of film from 5 vacations ago that still need to be developed. Good luck with that. Remember the Polaroid’s, the instant picture that you had to shake a little to start to develop. Now that is just some new dance song that has also come and gone. Today everyone is a photographer, because everyone has a camera on their phone. Now you can take a picture on your phone, send it to a computer, Photoshop it to make it look better, and instantly send it to all your friends on Facebook to see. I think I got maybe 3 actual Christmas cards this year. I mean the ones where you go to the store and pick out. We did get like 20 cards that people took a picture of their kids with Mickey or Santa, Photoshop in a Christmas tree and typed Merry Christmas. I’ll just say I don’t think Hallmark has anything to worry about in regards to competition; also we were guilty of doing that too.

I could go on and on about how communication has changed in this world. I mean even grandma has an e-mail address, yet I still do not find the time to write to her, some things will never change. The point is I hope this year we realize that all these fancy gadgets do not replace the fact that we need to think for ourselves. Plus my mother has just enter this century and got her first cell phone. I still have nightmares from when I was first trying to show her how to use a mouse on a computer. I think she thought she was accidently going to launch a missile or something.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone, I hope the year brings many blessings to you. There is no comic today because I spent my break tweaking this site and also worked on some other projects. I’m back to work after being on an 11 day vacation. I didn’t do anything but gain weight. For Christmas I got 4 boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes and gift cards to McDees and Taco Bell. My friends and family know me so well.

Before I get into the coming year, let me tell you how my year ended. My house was broken into! The dirt bags. I was on the phone at work talking to a customer when I got a call from my wife. I did not answer because, one I was on the phone with a customer and two, normally my wife just calls to tell me that she got peanut butter for $0.05 on sale with a coupon. I don’t care how much the peanut butter is, there just needs to be peanut butter in the house. So I text her to let her know I was on the phone and I would call her back. A few minutes later she calls again, I was still on the phone so I text her again. I thought there was only one thing that was going to get me off the phone with the customer and call her back, and that was that the store was out of peanut butter. But she text me with in seconds, it read “The house was broken into.” I quickly put the customer on hold and called her back. Thankfully everyone was ok and nothing was stolen. The neighbor across the street scared them away when she saw them kick in our front door. Which shows you the intelligence of these crooks; one who breaks into a front door in a crowed neighborhood in the middle of the day, two it was my understanding that they parked in the street, so I guess they thought they could carry my big flat screen TV across my yard in the middle of the day without being seen. The other good thing is that the police caught them that afternoon with some stolen goods in their car from the other houses they broke into. They caught them at a gas station. Isn’t that rule one when going on a crime spree, make sure the car has a full tank. Idiots!

So the New Year begins. The wife and I stayed up all night and played some dice game called Bunco and watched a bunch of musician we didn’t know on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve. That made us feels old when we didn’t recognize the current music and we couldn’t wait for midnight to arrive so we could go to bed. So what do we have to look forward to in the upcoming year? Well hopefully we will be selling our house and moving. That should be interesting, nothing like having strangers walk through your house when your not home. Oh wait that already happen to us, only this time maybe they will pay us to stay in the house instead of trying to take stuff out of the house. But what will be the new fad this year? What will be the new Facebook and Farmville? Because, that improved our life style a lot. What will Bill Gates come up with that everyone will go into debt buying, while it increases his chance to buy the whole planet? Will this be the year that the average American that is of the age to drive will put down the phone and use the turn signal? Looking forward to seeing what 2011 will bring to us.