Mixed Day

So, this morning started off well, with me getting up feeling rested and relaxed, which was great, considering I had stayed up 'til midnight, last night, teaching my son some Math lessons that he chose to ignore or forget... Anyway, so I got up and there was snow all over the place, outside. Arrgghh!!! I just want it to warm up a little and stay that way... C'mon, is it too much to ask for? Bah! Well, it was PT day, so there I was, in my PT gear, outside, sweeping the sidewalk, cleaning off my car, and getting wet... So, that's not too bad, but it started to irritate me a little. I attempted to keep a good attitude, though... So, now I zoom off to the base for PT, or rather drive off cautiously, to the gym and get in a little late, of course, but that's no biggie. Now it's racquetball time... I do well at that, no hits, no sprains, but I'm not at my best... I wonder why? Huh, so this has me upset a little, but not enough to make the day bad... I could just have had an "off" day...Now I drive back home, because I hate showering away from home or at a public facility, rather... I just don't feel comfortable... So, I drive home, and on one of the many tight turns to get to my home the car decides that I'm going to fast to make the corner and slides straight into the mini-curb. Not a big deal, but now I have to worry a little about my alignment and the tire... Ughhh...Now, I'm all done showering, get dressed, head back to base and get myself a cappuccino from the Shoppette... I'm standing there for a moment, pondering on the positive-to-negative aspects of getting a bag of donuts to go with the cappuccino... Hrmmm... I decide, "What the hell..." and grab 'em, pay for the lot, and head out the door, awkwardly holding my loot. I get to my car, open the door, and decide to drop the donuts onto the passenger seat before I set my cappuccino down into the cup holder... This is what put me into a bad mood... The cappuccino tipped over, spilled onto my hand, my console, the driver's seat, and the passenger seat... I had about 1/4 cup left at the end of it all... Dammit!!!!! My new car now smells like French vanilla cappuccino. At least it's a pleasant scent. LOL...The rest of the day went OK, and the bright spot went to my basketball team that won a considerable victory tonight... Now we're playing Friday, and if we win that, then it's the Finals and we play Saturday... Exciting... Oh, and did I mention that tomorrow, Wednesday, we're going to see the USA team play an exhibition match against the Polish team in downtown Kaiserslautern? Awesome... My first professional soccer game. Expect pictures, because I'm going to take quite a few!

Mis nuevas musicas

Well now, I've been wondering what to post about lately, and I thought I'd go with one of the more joyful things in life for me... music. :) Lately, I've been giving different bands/groups/musicians a try and have so far been rather pleased with my selections... Which albums might I be referring to? Well, let me name a few off and you can decide whether I'm out of my gourd or not afterward...

Beck: I picked up the Guero album after I heard E-Pro on the Grammy Nominees 2006 compilation (yes, I usually buy those, too) and really liked a lot of the songs on there. So, I talked with a co-worker, Brooksy, and he told me about the Odelay album, which he has since let me borrow. What can I say, I'm going to have to buy Odelay and Mellow Yellow, not to mention whatever else he might have.... Beck is turning out to have some interesting music...
Coldplay: I picked up the X&Y album after reading so much about them in Giant magazine and hearing about them (not their songs, just name dropping) on the radio. I knew that I loved their song, "Yellow," but wasn't sure that I'd like anything else... But, after a little self-convincing, I bought the album and grew to love it after a few listens. That prompted me to purchase two more of their albums, which I can't find right now, since my CD collection is strewn all about my office.
Three Doors Down: My friend, Val, recommended this band to me after we met (she came from Washington state to Germany for 4 months and we became fast friends). I resisted for the longest time the urge to listen to this band, but after I bought and listened to The Better Life, I ended up picking up another of their albums and liked that one, too... New music, well, good new music, is fun...
David Gray: OK, this was a mistake. LOL... I was actually wondering if this was Craig David's new album, and picked it up.... Hey, it had a smooth look to it... LOL... But, after giving it a listen, I found out that I really liked it and that it was uplifting and relaxing. This is a great album to wake up to or just relax to... I'm seriosuly considering picking up a few more of his earlier albums...
NiN: OK, I've been a fan of theirs ever since The Downward Spiral, mainly for their song, "Closer," but lately I've been looking for something new and edgy from them. they seem to be pretty good at letting any lingering anger out of the system... especially during a gym session. ;)
Marilyn Manson: yeah, this guys is a freak of sideshow proportions, but some of his music is just downright catchy. I'd never go to his concerts, well, maybe never, but I picked up his Best Of and can also listen to this at the gym...
Jimmy Eat World: This was an introduction by Shelley, and I am grateful to her for posting so many of her blog entries as "listening to" this group, as it really made me curious as to what they sounded like... Their self-titled album, which was originally called Bleed American, is awesome. I haven't had a chance to listen to their other albums (which I bought on the merits of BA) but am looking forward to hearing what else they have to offer.

My daughter is trying to get me to listen to some of her music, but beyond the wondrous classics that I've introduced her to (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana) I can't say that there's too much that I like... LOL... I wonder if it's that Parent Gene, that makes parents genetically dispositional to think that kids listen to weird and crappy music... LOL... then again, I don't really give her music a chance, as I'm always out looking for my own thing... Well, when I'm old and wheel-chair bound, she can come visit me and I'll listen to her crazy rock and roll music then... Who knows, maybe it'll make my heart beat faster, due to fear, and keep me alive longer.

Discourse in disguise?

Discourse in disguise?

So, a few days ago we happened upon some rather offensive verbiage in a briefing on the Freedom of Information Act. The offensive word was “macerate”. What the hell is macerate? Well, I know now, but who actually uses that word? Not too many of us norms I’ll bet.That also brings to mind the word “tump”, which I encountered in a blog post the other day. So, after looking it up, I walked around work, spreading my newfound knowledge around the workplace and generally causing looks of consternation and bewilderment as I used this rather extravagant word for tip or turn something over, accidentally. And riding on the coattails of tump is the word “kibosh”, which was used in a rather hilarious episode of Seinfeld. Now, the context in which Seinfeld and his entourage use it makes the meaning rather clear, but I was struck down, once, for not knowing the precise meaning of a word, hence my penchant to continually define words. Oh, kibosh, by the way, means to serve as a check or stop for something. And what word was it that I received the smackdown for? The word was kilter… It was a phrase rather, as in, “I feel a little off kilter.” Now, kilter simply means, proper or usual state or condition, which makes sense given the context I was using it and was taught how to use… So why was I ridiculed for not knowing the exact meaning of the word when I knew how to use it correctly? Hrmmmm… Well, let’s not dwell on that so much, shall we? Instead, let me define macerate, since it was the word that brought about this post… Macerate means to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped. Why would they use that word??? Who macerates anything anymore these days???

Game on!

So, this weekend I pulled all my masterful skills as a “baller” and led my team to their first game. We totally smoked the other guys and sent them away, dejected and sad.

Actually, this was our first game, and we lost, 19-21. The kids went away a little upset, but I wasn’t, because I know that we’ll be doing a hell of a lot better as we progress, and will probably win the next game, no sweat! Go team!!!!

http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/6488/p10700326hp.jpg    

Hey 33's a good number

Hey, 33’s a good number…


OK, so today’s my 33rd birthday. Not bad…

Just getting started on my life, right? I guess…

Well, here’s to another 33 years of productive living and good times.

Cheers!

A New Type of Blog

A New Type of Blog…

So, I was speaking to my buddy, Jeff, about my “Gooch blog”, and we decided that just random posting wasn’t enough. We felt that to give the “Gooch blog” its due credit I had to do something over the top with it. We came up with a true-events-inspired blog that defies logic and is also quite entertaining.

“What,” you may be asking yourself, “the heck does that mean?”

Allow me to explain… What I will basically be doing is telling you an exaggerated story of real-life events and then afterward (format not yet determined) I will explain which parts are exaggerated and which parts are real. Now, this may create some extra burden on my mind, as I’ll have to practically make up a story to go along with the real events, but I think I’m up to the challenge. So, starting… errrrr, tomorrow, I’ll post something, at least once a week, to entertain whomever may happen by my “Gooch blog”.

Please, feel free to drop me a line or comment as you see fit… If you don’t want to sign up for a blogger account, then just e-mail your comment to me and I may just post it.

Cheers!

Ikea rocks other disinteresting news...

Ikea rocks! & other disinteresting news…

OK, so I went to Ikea yesterday, with my daughter. It was so funny watching her get all excited about the furniture, accessories, and potential combinations that could be thrown together for our basement, which she is planning on using as an entertainment room. If that ever pans out, it’ll be an awesome room and we’ll probably spend more time there than upstairs, despite the outlandish color-scheme she has in mind (think tie-dye). What did I end up getting there? Well, a little rack for the upstairs bathroom, a mini wine rack for my small wine collection, another set of drawers so that I can sort mail and hold other “stuff”, and some goods for the kitchen along with wrapping paper for the various gifts I plan on buying sometime soon. I remember my first trip to Ikea and thinking how much I was going to hate going there, but now I look forward to the once a month or every other month that I go there.

Other than that, what else is new with me? I have a chipped tooth! Aaargh! I noticed a few days ago that one of my molars felt a little sharp and upon further tongue-searching can feel a jagged outcropping where it was once smooth. Man, so now I have to make an appointment to get that smoothed off. It’s not so bad a thing, but it is a little uncomfortable and time-consuming. But I guess it’s better than having a mini-knife in my mouth, albeit in the back. Besides, left unchecked it might develop into a cavity… Gotta make that appointment on Monday! Don’t wanna be a yuckmouth! Remember that little skit? I sing that one to my son all the time, since he routinely forgets to brush his teeth. ;)