Continuing in the tradition of being the busiest underemployed man in America, the blog has been falling off the plate lately. My apologies to anyone who may have missed my daily (or so) ramblings.

The position is going well – still settling into the role of prep cook – this week, with TMBWitW still awaiting the results from her procedure, and not being allowed to drive, the Chef was kind enough to let me flex my hours a bit and work earlier in the day; that way, I could drive my wife to work (the deli is in the same building she works in) and then take her home after work. TMBWitW has her follow-up visit on Friday, and she’ll be cleared to drive herself then.

MEG has developed a funny little quirk – she doesn’t like to be in a room by herself. During the day, this is not a problem. But when it’s bedtime…

I’m stealing these few moments of quiet before the house gets moving to get TMBWitW to work, then I’ve got two dogs to get to the groomer, some walnut wood samples to make, and some veneering to do on the hope chest.

Friday morning is the next installment of The “O” Word on BlogTalkRadio – I promise to have the microphone plugged in the right connection this time…

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Man, I wore a red shirt and everything.

I tried to do a show this morning. I should have known better. It’s was last December (and a different computer) since I did a show. I should have checked with a test show whether or not WinBLows Vista likes the software that BTR uses.

It doesn’t. Vista doesn’t like Skype either. Guess what I use to call in to the show?

SO – I ended up setting up in the office, in front of the old desktop monitor. I had Skype on the old machine (which doesn’t want to connect to the internet, but WILL allow Skype to work – go figure) and BTR on the laptop. Vista doesn’t like the chatroom, either. I even went so far as to use the CAT5 connection to the router, instead of the wireless connection, so I wouldn’t be running the risk of no connection. Then, to top it all off, since I was using the old computer for Skype, and it had been a while since I had to connect the headset to the sound port, I plugged the microphone into the wrong jack. Eight minutes forty four seconds of talking to myself, no one in the chat room to give me feedback, until Harvest Pastor joined the chat room, and I found out I was broadcasting dead air.

Perfect. Ship it.

I was sooooo close to not posting this evening. I was going to do a post on Tuesday. Then, I was going to do a post on Wednesday. Today, I finally told myself to buckle down a do a post, for crying out loud – my five readers would be wondering where I went!

It’s been one of those weeks – the best intentions are waylaid, and things get out of hand, and next thing you know it’s so late at night and you STILL haven’t watched the last three Sprint Cup races… or the season finale of Warehouse 13… or the season finale of Eureka… or anything else you’ve DVR’d, either. So – do you stay up late and watch one or two items? Or do you be the responsible type person who has a job to go to in the morning and go to bed so you can function? Or, as I did, do you choose to try to do both by falling asleep in front of the tv?

I gotta quit doing that.

No staying up late for me tonight though – I have to get up earlier than for work since I’m re-lighting “The O Word” on BlogTalkRadio tomorrow morning at 0700 Mountain Standard Time. Sure hope to see you in the chat room or on the switchboard – I’ll be the host wearing a red shirt!

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

It’s amazing how much more rested you feel when you don’t drive a cab for thirty six hours, trying to do the last twelve on five hours of sleep and four hours of waiting in line, then getting two hours of sleep before going to a day full of church activities.

For those of you wanting to know – TMBWitW came through the procedure with no major issues, other than a continuing feeling of dizziness and pain that seem to want to stick around for the holidays. She is resting at home, in her own bed, and doing a lot of much-needed sleeping.

I’m off today – the owners of the Paper Plate Deli are driving back from Telluride today, after a much-deserved extended weekend away from work. I’m back on the clock first thing in the morning.

Remember, “The O Word“ is back on the air on BlogTalkRadio starting this Friday at 0700 Mountain Standard Time.

How was your weekend?

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

How about supporting a pro-military, non-career, conservative-to-the-bone candidate for State Representative for the 41st District?

Then Matt Burden needs your help.

Just sayin’.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

When last we left our fearless hero, he was fuming about 9/11, starting a new part time job, and worrying about his wife’s surgery…

Hi there! You probably wondered where I got off to. Last Thursday I started a part-time job in a deli as a prep-cook/person/gopher. Basically, my job entails getting the salads ready for the next day and keeping the items stocked in between helping customers. It helps that I know most of the customers, because the Paper Plate is located in and targeted to the Arizona Republic staff. Since my wife works at the Republic, I’ve been down to visit her many times in the last couple of years (what with all the free time I’ve been enjoying). This part time gig allows me to drop the more risk-laden adventure of driving a cab. No one I’ve talked to is sorry about that. This week, the owners of the deli went on a long-postponed, much-needed and highly-anticipated mini-vacation to Telluride, Colorado, to enjoy the blues festival this weekend.

No, it’s not the first time I’ve worked with food service – I cooked for a Girl Scout Camp in California many, many years ago. I enjoyed it then, and I am enjoying this now. THe only difference is I don’t have to make supper for the deli!

TMBWitW had her scheduled procedure this afternoon (I had to go in to work this morning, and then run home, get her, and take her to the doctor’s office for the procedure and then drive her home, which is why I haven’t blogged until this afternoon) and is now at home and resting in her own bed, where she will most likely be for the rest of the weekend.

A big thank-you to everyone who held her up in prayer, and I will keep everyone posted as to updates if they should be warranted – suffice it to say that no news is good news, and unless complications develop, just assume that she is healing nicely and will be on her feet soon.

As a side note – due to my new work schedule (I will be working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday for a few hours each day [and making more than working 36 almost straight driving a cab]) “The O Word” on BlogTalk Radio will most likely resume next Friday morning at 0700 Mountain Standard Time. I will be going in to schedule the shows and if you are on the list you will start receiving notifications. Hope to see you there!

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Out of 2,996 names, only 1,211 (as of this writing) had tributes written for them. Did you forget to remember the souls lost on September 11, 2001? Out of the 1,211 tributes, many (far too many) had the same author – in other words, one blogger took on more than one victim.

I wrote three new tributes, and re-ran the original – assigned back when you had to sit on a waiting list to see if a name was available for you to write a tribute. This year, many, many people who lost their lives in the Towers, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania were FORGOTTEN.

NEVER FORGET

(in case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m pissed. I’m pissed at all the bloggers out there who couldn’t take the time to remember the ones lost that day. If I have pricked your conscious, if you feel guilty for not remembering, then this post has done it’s job. Because if you are feeling guilty, then I am pissed at YOU. Go to Project 2,996 and sign up – better late than never – but I warn you, next year there better be a waiting list again.)

From the Legacy.Com site:

The crooning ballads by Cantonese pop stars reminded Yin Ping Wong of his childhood in Hong Kong. Mr. Wong, known to his friends as Steven, immigrated with his family in the late 1970’s to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, from Hong Kong. He was 12 years old, the sixth of seven children and spoke only a little English. It was a difficult transition for a boy with a gentle soul.

At that time, Brooklyn’s Chinese-American population had not congealed yet and Manhattan’s Chinatown was smaller than it is today. But as the community grew, Hong Kong culture became more accessible, and Yin Ping would buy CD’s and rent concert videos of his favorite singers. He liked Alan Tam and Sam Hui for their poignant lyrics and robust voices. “He liked people who really can sing,” said Nicole Wong, Yin Ping’s younger sister. “He preferred voice over looks.”

Bensonhurst now has its own thriving Chinese community, but Canal Street in Manhattan remains the bustling commercial center of choice. Yin Ping would stop by its fruit stands, bakeries and video stores on the way home from Aon. His mother loved to watch serialized Chinese dramas, but when new episodes were not available, he would bring home American movies.

Another life, cut way too short. Another family, missing a piece that can never be replaced. This nation will always remember you.

From the Legacy.Com site:

At age 7, Joshua Aron would sit at the kitchen table bent over a copy of The Wall Street Journal, analyzing the stock tables with his chocolate milk. “I explained what makes it go up and down,” said his mother, Ruth Aron. “He loved to do puzzles, and to him it was just another puzzle.”

Fast forward two decades. Mr. Aron was an equities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, facing a bank of computer screens. When there was a break in the action, he sent love notes to his wife, Rachel, by instant messenger. “We were best friends,” Mrs. Aron said. “Everything just came naturally.”

Mr. Aron’s intense, childlike enthusiasm made him a blur of activity in the kitchen, on a bike, or researching new fascinations on the Internet. He delighted in life’s details, repainting his Upper West Side apartment, installing a 200-bottle wine closet and a 90- inch projection-screen television.

Even in the high-stakes world of finance, Mr. Aron, 29, remained playful, quoting liberally from Austin Powers movies (“Would they be ill-tempered sea bass?”). If Mrs. Aron was upset, he would cheer her up by promising to help get back at her tormentors. “You want to get ‘em?” he would ask with mock intensity. “Come on, let’s get ‘em right now.”

We will never forget the many lives cut short on that fateful day. It is my prayer that Mr. Aron be remembered forever as one of the first heroes in the Global War on Terror. May God continue to give your family peace and strength.

From the Legacy.Com site:

Charles Joseph Houston was 6-foot-1, weighed 225 pounds and had a thick mustache. “He had a rough exterior, but inside, he was such a mush, especially around children.” said Linda Houston, his wife.

He frolicked in his backyard pool with his 2- year-old nieces, read to his 9-year-old nephew, and in general “snuggled with them.” He went for walks with them and took them to movies and malls. “He was like a second father,” she said.

“But he was a pull-no-punches type of guy,” she added. “What you see is what you get. He wouldn’t sugarcoat on anything. If you asked him for an opinion, he’d tell you what he really thought, sometimes even things you didn’t want to hear.”

He and his brother-in-law, Otto Diodato, the father of his nieces and nephew, used to be efficient handymen in their two houses, merely a few yards apart. They’d be constantly concocting projects (redoing the kitchen countertops, building fences, changing the bathroom tiles) and actually finishing them. But shortly before the September attack, they had become more like “Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble,” his wife said. “They would joke around, enjoy each other’s company, and the projects would last forever.”

Mr. Houston worked on the 84th floor of Tower Two, for Euro Brokers, Inc. He was a member of Council 5989 of the Knights of Columbus. May God continue to give peace and comfort to his family.