Wedding Fun

We're back. WDW was a hoot. You'll have to forgive me for not blogging over the past week, I've been busy. You don't have to forgive my blogging habits from before last week though, I was slightly less busy then. Still, I'll work on it. It's good to be home. I was tired and cranky last night after flying all day, but I'm better now.

Thanks to everyone who travelled in for the big event. It means a lot that you were all able to make it, and it was good to see you. We'll have to all get together some time when I'm not all busy getting married. MJ says she loves you all, and she liked meeting you.

I've seen the outside of the trailer I'll be calling home very shortly here. It's in my new neighbor's backyard just now, and will be in my new backyard once my new neighbor's wife gets her crap out of it. She's had a few days, and more than a couple offers from strong nearby men-folk to help move it all, but she wants to do it herself. Not enough to actually get off her butt and do it herself, though. Who knows though. I hear she'll likely have it done today. I'm not holding my breath, but my next post may likely be coming to you from a camper. I'm still not loving the idea, but I've come to accept it as a temporary solution.

That aside, I'm liking this whole married thing so far. Looking forward to finishing off some debts and looking for a slightly more average housing arrangement.

Rough couple of days

Work's been a hoot lately. While I love driving all over the city checking fire extinguishers as much as anyone, it hasn't been quite as good lately. There's a new person working in the office. She's not all that bad on a personal level, but it's not so great having someone new over me, telling me what to do. It's worse that she has no idea what it's like doing the job. I've never had an employer question me so much about what I'm doing. She'll ask me how long I thing a job will take, and then ask me if I'm maybe being a bit generous with the time I tell her. She'll ask me if the hours I've put down on my time card take into account that I'm not paid for lunch, and then ask if I'm sure when I tell her I've already excluded that time. It will be nice when either she's gotten used to how things run, or I've moved on to better things. Also, she's decided not to give me all the work orders that I'm supposed to do at once, she'll hold on to them, and just give me what she thinks I'll get done in a day or two. This way she can keep better track of me. Wha?

So, yesterday I was walking down the stairs to the basement in the dark. I noticed the smell of crap. If you ever find yourself walking around in the dark and you smell crap, you should turn on the lights quicker than I did. I next felt a couple of strange lumps on the floor under my sock-clad yet unshod foot. There were four piles in the one room, joined, to my dismay, by five larger piles and a large spot of urine in the next room. All this, done by a single dog while I was off at work. I put her nose in the piles, yelled at her, and she still isn't on friendly terms with me yet.

Today, The ceiling in my room leaked. Never mind that there are two floors above me which don't have leaking ceilings. I've got one. There was water all over one side of my desk. My monitor still has some spots where it got splattered, but at least my computer is dry. That's more than I can say for all the paperwork all over my desk. It gave me a chance to go through it all. I threw away anything that wasn't important, dried a few things that were. It's been a hoot.

Here's hoping that nothing sucks for the next couple of days or so.

New Blog

I've made the addition of a very nice blog. Okay, it's not very nice yet, but its owner is, and it has potential. MJ has a blog now, much like mine with links to everyone I know. It's just more pink, and doesn't have any DaVinci artwork.

Wedding plans are still going along nicely. I've finalized the engagement picture and announcement, and if I ever get around to getting them off to the printer's, you all will know for sure that we want you here, instead of just having to guess. I'm not really a jerk, I promise. I just am not as punctual as I should be.

I'm making this post from my brother's computer, as I am here watching his dogs, and I have noticed the Home, Insert, End, and Delete keys are not in their correct positions. It's wigging me out a bit. A couple of other keys are malfunctioning as well. I'm not trying to rag on his computer too much, but if anyone has an extra keyboard, and wants to find a good home for it, I know someone who could use it. Just let me know, and I'll make sure he gets it.

That's about it for now. MJ has to get up early for work tomorrow, and I have to get up at a sane hour, although still early, for work tomorrow.

FUBAR

Okay, I have seen the most amazing tool in the world. It is called a Fubar. I'm sure most of you are familiar with F.U.B.A.R. the acronym, now for the tool. It's something like a crowbar, except on one end it has this spike/jaw/gripping/hammer bit. I'm seeing where they came up with the name. I don't know what exactly one is used for, but I want one. If only I was one of those people with too much money, or if I could only think of a reasonable excuse.

In other news, I got caught behind a train. Not a big train. There were seven cars. Including the engine. I was at the far north end of a small city about an hour north of here. This was the middle of nowhere. I could see the tracks running off into the distance in both directions, and not a crossroad either way. This seven car barricade couldn't seem to find one of those bits to park on, just the few yards of track that I was planning on using. Eventually, the train moved, as they tend to, the gates went up, and traffic moved. It was my turn next, and the gates came down for no reason. I sat there for a bit longer, and the gates went up again.

I thought the whole thing was funny. I'm just glad I wasn't in a hurry, or a bad mood. I don't think I would have caught the humor in it. Really, it's almost too bad that the gates went back up. I almost had my excuse to buy a fubar.

Dog Glasses?

I didn't know they made glasses for dogs, but someone does. I'm driving along and I see a bulldog-type dog sticking its head out of the window. Then I do a double take. The dog has some rather stylish, lightly tinted glasses. They're not exactly sunglasses, and they're staying on a bulldog with it's head out of the window, so I can only assume that they are prescription glasses made for dogs. Either some people out there just have too much money, or I just don't have enough.

The Vincent Black Shadow

I can add another one to my concert count now. I recommend The Vincent Black Shadow to anyone. They've got three brothers on drums, guitar, and bass. Then, there's Cassandra Ford on vocals. I've never seen such big sounds come out of such a small person, but she's really what makes the band. I've got the CD, and got it signed by the band. They've got a bit darker sound than most, and for style I'd place them somewhere between early No Doubt, and Garbage. They're still pretty small, but I could see them going somewhere.

I've been working on fire extinguishers for a few weeks now. I really don't like the job some days, but it's going to pay for the honeymoon, Disneyworld, so it can't be all bad. My boss wants me to take an overnight trip some time this week to some of our more distant clients. I can't imagine that they have no better alternative for their extinguisher inspection needs, and I don't understand why he takes jobs that involve four hours of driving before we get there, but he's the boss, and I get paid hourly, so I can't complain too much. I can complain a bit though. Especially when it involves a night away from home in a city I don't know. I'm sure I'll find something to do, but I'd rather be around people who I know.

The plan, professionally, is still to find a job at a hospital as a tech. There are a few snags though. Seems so far that I've got a bit of a knack for starting to study professions which dry up once I've finished getting certified. I think I'll be heading back to school fall semester though. This time with student loans most likely. I can look for medical jobs or volunteer work while I do that to work up some experience. MJ says she's fine working while I'm in school. I'm hoping she can find an alright job, the kind with benefits, good pay, and regular hours. She's currently delivering pizzas, which has none of these.

I think finishing off my bachelors degree should help open a few doors. I'm hoping that once I have a bachelors I'll be able to find one of those programs where a small town pays for you to go to medical school, and then you have to work there for a few years. I know a small town in Nevada that's done this a few times in the past, and there could be otheres. At that point, if I choose to move back to somewhere that has stoplights and more restaurants than I can count on one hand I'll be an experienced doctor.

Tying the Knot

Yes, the title says it. I'm getting married. While this may not be the biggest news for those who know me personally, it's high time I boast about it a bit here. And as for Wudan watching Oprah, I owe you a bit of an apology for giving you a hard time about it. I haven't sunk that low, but I have watched Dr. Phil already, and I've only been engaged for a short while. I'll hold out as long as I can, but when I inevitably start quoting the show, at least I'll have an old friend to talk to about it.

So, bad television programming aside, here's the bragging. She's MJ, from my previous posts. I've known her for a few years, but we've only been dating since mid-November. She says I crock potted her. I didn't know what it meant, but apparently it means that for a long time I've been a friend, hung around her a bit when she was around, dated some of her friends, and then when she least expects it, I move in. I guess so, but that was never really the plan. In real life I was just a bit scared of her. I liked her, but didn't make any really good moves until recently.

So, about her, she's a lot nicer than some of the girls I've dated lately, she's cute, and she makes me rather happy. Her whole family loves me too, which makes things a bit easier around them. My family seems to like her quite a bit too. Especially my mother.

So, that's the big update my mother has been bothering me to put up.

Dancing Cop

So, I saw this cop dancing in the middle of the street the other day. By the other day, I mean yesterday, but honestly the days are a bit blurred together right now. I only slept for a few hours, and what sleep I got was about airplane quality sleep. Still, it was a good Christmas Eve, and a good Christmas.

So, about the cop. I don't know if she was just feeling the Christmas spirit, or if directing traffic around minor accidents is just that boring, or if she had a bomb strapped to her waist, and Santa, with the detonator switch, was playing her like a puppet. Whatever the case, I thought right then that I've got to tell someone about it.

I was up north of here, just south of where all the real houses stop and the farm type houses begin, heading home from church. It wasn't my home, or my church. I was spending Christmas Eve with the girl I did the movie/old chicago/stargazing thing with. We'll call her MJ. Her extended family was over, and I was let in on a couple of odd family traditions. They have a toy police car they keep re-gifting to anyone who has recently gotten a ticket or a licence, or an accident. They have a big pile of boxes, each containing a towel. Everyone picks one. The only surprise with these gifts is what color your towel will be. Mine was yellow. There was a big dinner, and I threw her cousin in the snow, with a bit of help from the other family members he had been throwing things at, and then we watched the RM. I don't recommend it. MJ fell asleep right away, I watched the entire thing. While some Mormon movies are really quite good when you consider the budgets they're working with, this one isn't. Oh well, good night anyway.

Apparently MJ got the third degree from all the old ladies at church when they saw us together. I didn't notice. I was talking with a guy up there who gets together with a bunch of people every Saturday, and plays with fake swords. They have banquets and dress in medieval gear. The best thing about this group though, is that it is not the SCA. I might have to check it out this weekend. If anyone in my area is interested, I'm sure he won't mind a couple more people. He's got a ton of fake swords and shields.

Well, I'm off to bed. I'm still pretty tired, and she'll be coming over for Christmas dinner with my family later today. I guess Berserk and Valkyrie can meet her. I hear they'll be coming over too.

Snowboarding

I've lived in Utah and Colorado all my life, or at least all my life that I actually remember, and I've never gone skiing or snowboarding. Until today. It's strange, but every part of me hurts. Also, I totally sucked. For the whole first third of the mountain I was basically sliding on my butt more than I was standing on the board. I thought I wasn't going to get the hang of it. Thankfully, I went with someone who has had a little experience teaching others to snowboard, and a little more experience snowboarding himself. He had a few pointers, and I was looking like I was snowboarding on purpose before I got too far down the mountain.

Still, it's amazing how much snowboarding hurts. It was mostly in the feet. There was a lot of leaning towards my toes, which they didn't mind at first, but it's kind of like the feeling when your climbing shoes are way too tight, and are cutting off the circulation, or the bizarrely strong muscle fatigue you feel in your feet when ice skating, or rollerblading. I think it's because I unconsciously clench my toes to try to hold on a bit better. It can't just be the shoes, because I once felt the same thing while riding a segway. It's a strange vehicle, one that I recommend trying out if you get a chance, and you stand on it wearing your regular shoes. My feet were killing me by the time I got off, not much more than ten minutes after I got on. Also, the rented boots were plenty comfortable when I was not attached to the snowboard.

Well, that's all that hurt then, but everything hurts now. Maybe it was all the falling and pushing myself up. Maybe it was some unconscious clenching. I don't know.

If anyone is thinking of trying this out, I recommend going with a friend who can tell you what you're doing wrong, grabbing a can of Lysol to kill the mildew stink in your rented boots, and wearing not just snow pants and goggles (and yes, regular clothes), but a coat, and some good gloves. I got snow in the rudest of places, sneaking in down the back of my pants, and you do not want to fall into a big deep bank of powder with nothing good between your long sleeve shirt and your crappy small gloves. The good part is, once your skin gets numb it doesn't hurt anymore.

All that aside, I really didn't get too cold, and it was a blast. I've got to go again some time when I have some more of that green paper stuff in my wallet.

I know a giraffe has to pee too, but...

I finished the last of my tests for the last of my classes for a while. The plan at this point (seeing as I'm an EMT-Basic, and I've got the IV and EKG down, and I've finished all of my paramedic prerequisites) is to actually get a job doing something that I've gone to school and trained to do. This is something I've never actually done. I've applied at one of the big hospitals in town. They're well known for getting a lot of the trauma cases around here. I'm hoping that goes well, but not hoping so hard that I'm not still looking for other places to apply.

Also, I went to the zoo with a bunch of people from church tonight. We went primarily to see the Christmas lights that have been set up, but I saw so much more than that. Until now, my best zoo story has been about the time I went to Anchorage, and saw an elephant poop. They were big, and they made a thud when they hit. And then the elephant peed, and it came out all at once in a torrent of urine. That was my best story. Now, it's the giraffes.

The big draw in the zoo this time of year, and this time of night is the lights they've got set up, but they still have some of the indoor attractions open. This year, the giraffes were included. Now, when a giraffe pees it's not like an elephant. It's more the way I, or any guy, pees. It's just a big stream. Bigger in this case, and certainly higher. People stop and take notice. The good part though, is a second giraffe bent down, and started drinking the pee midstream. It was like a big nasty drinking fountain. I know urine is fairly clean, having just been filtered out of the bloodstream and all, but still, I rarely ever (never) drink urine myself. The second giraffe drank a bit, stood up, drank a bit more. Of course the whole crowd seeing this was totally mature, and didn't erupt in disgust. Or, it did. Either way.