It's-a me! Mario! ...no, that's not quite right. but I am blogging again. To start things off, have a survey that one of my friends took that's all about getting to know me:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:20

2. How do you like your steak? Medium to Medium Well

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Probably Captain America, I’ve been meaning to go for a while, but haven’t gotten there yet.

4. What is your favorite TV show?  The Black List

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I’d really like to visit Montreal, but as far as living somewhere, maybe Chicago.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Nothing yet, gotta let my Prilosec kick in, but probably coffee and a frozen ham and cheese omelet and toast.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I’m a total omnivore, I’m even trying seafood, now that I’m an adult; my favorite though is good old American, with a Southern comfort-food bent. This question’s making my mouth water thinking about it.

8. What foods do you dislike? Calamari frightens me, I’ve never eaten it, but the mental image I have of it seems gross

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Famous Dave’s BBQ. Now I’m really hungry!

10. Favorite dressing? I forget what it’s called, but recently I had one with bits of feta cheese in it that was delicious

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? A black Saturn Ion sedan

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans and a long sleeve shirt worn open over a t-shirt

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Montreal

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 Full, of coffee!

15. Where would you want to retire? Suburb of Pittsburgh

16. Favorite time of day? Morning, so much potential for the day

17. Where were you born? Boston, Massachusetts (thanks spellcheck!)  

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? In person, hockey; on tv, baseball

19. How many siblings? One younger brother.

20. Favorite pastime/hobby? Reading, board games, computer games

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? whoever

22. Bird watcher? I love watching the birds at the feeder from the kitchen window, as do my cats and niece!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning. 

24. Do you have any pets? Two cats

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I just joined a gym, and it’s taken a week for my muscles to stop shouting at me when I try to move. I’m gonna go back today, though

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A mechanical engineer like my dad; he got to draw on such BIG sheets of paper!

27. What is your best childhood memory? Being onstage with my high school choir, I think that counts as childhood once you hit 30.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Both.

29. Are you married? Nope, someday, hopefully.

30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes indeedy

31. Been in a car accident? Yeah, gave my brother a close-up view of a semi-tractor’s grille while trying to drive in front of him while he was maneuvering to park in a crossing alley

32. Any pet peeves? When someone scrapes their teeth along their fork after they put a bite into their mouth.

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? The meats, ALL THE MEATS!!!

34. Favorite Flower? lillies.

35. Favorite ice cream? Moose Tracks.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendy’s.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None, but I almost hit a cop car when I was leaving with my license.

38. From whom did you get your last email? Google Calendar reminder (to go to the gym)

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Apple.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? nope.

41. Like your job? I’d like to have a job

42. Broccoli? tasty

43. What was your favorite vacation? Flying out to Spokane, WA.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? I had lunch with my brother, his wife and my niece a week ago.

45. What are you listening to right now? The Rend Collective Experiment, a new-to-me Christian group, they’re pretty good

46. What is your favorite color? Light forest-green

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 9:45 am

50. Coffee Drinker? Yes indeedy!

Please, feel free to take this survey yourself!

Round To-its

Been sleeping odd times the last few days, but had what I consider a socially normal night's sleep between 11pm and 8am. Did my usual blog/website sweep with my coffee, then made a ham McMuffin for breakfast. Instead of my usual pattern of continued web surfing and/or streaming tv watching, I got some of my round to-its done this morning; first, I vacuumed the car out, along with wiping out the cup holders (eww!) and the little dust accumulators in the door handles (what else are those things for, anyway?).

Also started poking around with my bicycle, to identify the problem so I can get it looked at professionally. The gears don't shift like they should, and don't always stay where they're shifted to. In order to diagnose what's going on though, I had to put air into the perfectly flat tires. I looked around for the manual pump in the garage, but couldn't find it, methinks my brother's got it at his place, presently.

"No problem!", I say to myself, I'll put my bike in the car and go to the nearby gas station and fill'er up there. No problem, except I don't remember how to lower the back seats in my car. Luckily, I keep the manual in the glove box. Sure enough, there a nice little picture showing where the release levers for the seats are in the trunk. So, seats down, trunk open, I wedge my bike inside, except the trunk isn't tall enough to accept the handle bars/front wheel. I got the bike inside such that the handle bars/front fork are pressed to the edge of the opening and tie in the bike with some string and bungee down the hood, good enough for the short trip, anyway. The bike survived the trip, got air in the tires and is ready for a trip to the doctor, but don't tell it that! :)

[EDITED TO ADD]
Took my bike to the shop, it's getting a full tune-up which includes making sure the shifter cables are properly adjusted, and other related drive train issues. Probably the best bang for my buck since I haven't had a professional tuneup on my bike in probably forever, so that's nice.

Another out of doors stop was to acquire a new coffee maker, since the carafe on my current one just cracked, and the coffee maker I currently use is part of a toaster oven "breakfast machine" combo. It turns out I don't really use the toaster oven like I thought I would, so I graduated to a single function machine. He/she/it is black with chrome accents, and even has a delay timer, so once I have a regular morning schedule, I could prepare my caffeine in the evening and wake up to the excellent aroma of java in the morning.

Also went shopping for some new shirts, since I noticed several of my T's were getting ratty, and also got a few polo shirts for those casual, but not t-shirt casual, times. It seems I timed my shopping well, since the fall season stuff is arriving, and the summer lines are on sale. I even got a Steelers t-shirt that went on sale this very day!
[END EDIT]

Next, my car's due for inspection this month, and as I was cleaning the car, a few other car maintenance items that need looked at with it made themselves aware to me, nothing that affects the ability to drive, but (for example) I'd like to be able to open/close the driver's side back door window with the switch I've got up front, you know?

So, I feel good that I got up, made a real breakfast, and did some stuff that needed doing. Don't ya just love that feeling?

What's one thing on your "Round To-it" list that you can tackle today, and how did it go?

Chicken-Fried Steak

The Dish

Last night for dinner the family tried a new recipe I found in the New Doubleday Cookbook:  chicken-fried steak, which is a fried, breaded round steak,  that dad was able to cook. Additionally, we had sides of mashed potatoes and pickled beets. A little additional Google-Fu found me a McCormick mix of country gravy, which was a lovely white gravy with lots of pepper in it. The steak recipe allows for using lard, butter, or margarine for the cooking fat, so lower calorie options are available. Also, several breading options are available, with a simple egg, milk and flour batter, or you can use bread crumbs, or in my case, corn flake crumbs.

Thoughts

Everything turned out very well and was delicious; the recipe was straightforward to prepare, but the length of cooking time for the steaks was a bit of a surprise: after some browning in fat, the steaks cooked for about 45 more minutes. Hard for a hungry man to deal with, but the result was quite worth it. The mashed potatoes and steaks were done close to the same time, the gating element was cooking the gravy so it was properly heated but not scorched. 

Not bad for my first find from the New Doubleday Cookbook, I'll definitely keep looking for more to make from it. It makes me hungry for some fried-chicken now

My ultimate goal is to do the cooking myself, but at this point, just to be expanding our repertoire of recipes is exciting too.

Chicken-Fried Steak Recipe (adapted from the New Doubleday Cookbook 1985)

serves 2-4

• 1 pound top or bottom round steak, pounded thin or it's pre-flattened cousin cube steak (flattening the steacks can be quite the tension-releaser!)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs lightly beaten w/ 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cracker meal
• 4-5 tablespoons lard, meat drippings, butter, or margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cut steaks into squares about the size of your palm; dust with flour, dip in egg, then crumbs to coat evenly. Heat the lard in a large heavy fry-pan over medium-high heat. Brown steaks 2-3 minutes per side. Sprinkle the browned meat with salt and pepper. Cover the pan, then over low heat, continue cooking 45 minutes until tender.

Re-re-reloading

I'm going to attempt to blog here, again; this time using my adventures in the kitchen as a step stone into my life in its entirety. You see, I really enjoy cooking, but don't do it very often. Hopefully, sharing my experiences in the kitchen will keep me motivated to cook, and blog as well. I'm taking a good bit of inspiration from The Pioneer Woman, both by using her recipes and the way she shares recipes and takes us into snapshots of her life in her blog. We'll see if I'll take many process photographs of my cooking process as I go along.

Directing my cooking efforts will be the many cookbooks which found their way to my family through the years, as well as recipes I find online.

Moving forward, I hope you enjoy what you find here, and hopefully I can inspire you to try something new as well.

My Favorite Fortunes 2

Actual fortunes from cookies served with recent take-out Chinese food.

"All the darkness in the world cannot put out a single candle."

My Favorite Fortunes 1

Actual fortunes from cookies served with recent take-out Chinese food.

"The time is always right to do what is right."

Create a random album meme

Rules:

1 - Go to “wikipedia.” Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to “Random quotations” or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop (or similar) to put it all together.

5 - Post it to Facebook as a note and tag the friends you want to join in

My Results:

Adventures in City 17

I've been playing Half-Life 2 lately. When the game first came out a few years ago, my computer wasn't up to the task of displaying the graphics, or even loading levels in an un-agrivating amount of time, so I only played probably the first 25% of the game. Now that I've got my brother's pc, which is a few years newer than mine was, I'm able to enjoy the full experience. Lately, though, I've been stuck where I had to defend myself in a static location from waves of bad guys for several minutes, and surviving the whole encounter wasn't going well. I found a walk-through video on YouTube, which suggested a few tweaks to my strategy, and managed to survive by using that knowledge and the technique of frequent saving so I'd have to replay less if/when I died. Luckily you can save anywhere/anytime in HL2. Getting through that, and a similar game mechanic to a really great story scene was really exciting, and in the next level I'm starting squad combat, with several human allies, not just Alex or Dog.

Even though it's been a while since the initial excitement for HL2 died down, I'm really enjoying my play experience; the same way I enjoyed playing and completing Portal, and watching old episoded of Lost online. I may not be with the crowd, but I'm enjoying myself just the same, in my own time.

Rename Me Blog, Matey!

Now that I'm updating this blog again, I think it's time to give it a new name. Back when I started it, in 2003 (wow!), the Matrix movies were big, and I was trying to reinvent myself as a philosopher, so that worked for a title. Now I'm just being me, and don't necessarily want to tie myself to a pseudonym.

Any suggestions for a new blog title are graciously accepted.

Thanks
Matt

Dr. Strangegobble: Return of the Jedi

Part Three: Saturday – Hockey Redux

Saturday was a pretty lazy day, spent mostly in front of the two glowing picture boxes. I was being torn in a few directions at once. Part of me needed some time on my own to chill out after seeing everyone at my reunion, while another part of me wanted to go to the Otters hockey game that evening. Another part of me wanted to save up my cash for less ephemeral things than a sporting event. All my concerns resolved themselves later in the afternoon, when a friend from church called, saying he had free tickets to the game, and wanted to invite me along. About an hour after I’d made plans to go with M, my brother called, saying HE had free tickets, and was inviting some college friends, and wanted to know if I wanted to come along too, and invite some people. After a series of phone calls, we decided to combine our tickets into one big group.

I was stationed on one side of the lobby, waiting to meet up with my friend and my brother’s group, I met up with M easily, but my brother entered from the other side of the lobby. I crossed over to meet him, and met with S to get our tickets, which were down low, in the corner where the players used to enter and leave the ice, and we would defend that goal twice. It was a nice change of pace from my usual seat, on the same long side of the ice, but different end, and much lower down than usual. I liked being closer to the action, but the metal rails that hold the glass get in the way of some sight lines, especially around the penalty boxes, where there are a lot of joints and corners. Maybe someday the arena could afford the “seamless” glass, if it fixes that problem like I think it does.

The game was the second half of a home and home series with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. The Otters beat the Majors the previous night 4-3, and Saturday’s game got off to a violent start, with a fight immediately following the opening face-off. Two other fights occurred; the referees let a lot of chippy play go without calls. The Otters got the scoring started not long afterward, scoring two goals in the first six minutes, but gave one back late in the period on the penalty kill. The Majors tied it up in the second, and the teams traded goals in the third, forcing overtime. The Otters seemed to have a hard time staying energized, and giving up the game winner less than a minute into OT showed how well the Majors stayed in the game, and took advantage of their better work ethic.

Since I was with a bunch of people who I met while my brother was in school, and see at church, I wanted to give them a chance to take part in the special fun of a hockey game. During the second period I bought Chuck-A-Pucks for everyone, and when the intermission came along, I explained the object of the game: to throw their numbered pucks over the boards and onto the ice, hopefully into the plastic barrels, to win fabulous prizes. As I had hoped, everyone seemed to get a kick out of the game, and got a little thrill at the bending of the convention not to throw objects onto the ice. Sadly, no one won anything, though I think my brother came close to a barrel with his throw.

After the puck-chucking, I got to share my hockey-knowledge with some folks, and one of my friends even mentioned part-jokingly that I had talked more in these few minutes than he’d heard in the past several months. This is probably true, but being able to share my love and knowledge of hockey is something that comes easily and I hope to use that experience to feel more comfortable opening up about other topics in the future.

Even though the game didn’t end well, spending time with friends at the game was a fun and exciting experience, one that I hope to repeat often in the future.

All in all, this was an excellent weekend, spending time with family, sharing a great meal and giving thanks for all God has done in the past year; continuing the tradition of holiday hockey; getting back in touch with my high school past, and being accepted back into that family after being away for so long; having an opportunity to have fun with my newer friends. I think God was really with me at that time, celebrating where I’ve come from and where I’m going in my life. Here’s to a great holiday weekend, and to the opportunities I’ll have in the next few weeks.

Dr. Strangegobble, Part Deux

Friday - 10-Year Reunion

Most of Friday before the reunion was spent in bed with achy joints, from napping on too-short couches, though I did manage to crawl out of bed after having sufficient levels of pain-killers in the afternoon. Had a second TG dinner, from all the leftovers, and got all dressed up for the Reunion. When I first heard about the reunion this summer, I was 85% certain I’d go, but I’d put off sending in my reservation until the weekend before, since I was nervous about how I’d be received after my unusual departure from school one semester from graduation, and didn’t feel confident comparing how my life had gone since then compared to the imagined lives of people I knew from back then. I finally decide to go, since I’d probably feel worse for not going because I felt sorry for myself and missing the chance to see how I was really received versus my own preconception. I had missed the five-year reunion, since I had really isolated myself after Joanne died, and wasn’t able to be contacted by the organizing committee, but thanks to Facebook, and its search by classmates function, I was found this time around.

The reunion was held at the Erie Yacht Club, right on the bay, though I couldn’t see much, since the evening was dark well before the start of the event. When I arrived, a few minutes late, there were quite a few people there, in groups of 3-5, with a constant intermingling, as people caught up with one-another. The room was decked out in blue and white covered tables, with balloon centerpieces. In the center, a table was arranged with snacks, and along one wall, beverages were available.

There was a good mix of people I recognized, and those I didn’t, though I probably did recognize about 2/3 of my classmate’s faces, if not names. The good thing about reunions, is that, I think anyway, you aren’t expected to remember everyone, since people change as time goes on, and people you saw every day in their school uniforms were now dressed up in more formal wear, and you can ask the person next to you if they remember, and they can ask you for someone they need reminded of.

A few people were in grad school, of those, one was working on developing a mind-computer interface out in California. Others were living in the Carolinas, or NYC. Many were still living and working in the tri-state area. A majority of folks were married, and a few had children.

When I explained what I was up to lately, I explained that I had a computer programming degree, but that I wasn’t working with it right now to act more as a live-in nurse to help care for my mom. They responded exclusively positively, remarking how good it was that I was there to support my family that way. I mingled for a couple hours, bouncing from group to group, and meeting newcomers as they arrived. After a couple hours, a group photo was taken of the whole class, and I joined a group of two other Matt’s (yes, there were three Matt’s in my class along with a half dozen or more Kate’s, Katie’s, or C/Katherine’s). Matt Y. is another Programmer, developing the Verified by Visa software used by businesses to cover losses when sales go wrong. I’ll have to talk to him and get some practical insight on designing software for the business world. Matt K. has held a variety of jobs, but his time in Maine building boats was quite impressive to me. Also in our group was Matt Y.’s wife whose name escapes me right now. The other Matt’s started a discussion on reason and religion, which was quite insightful to listen to, and then moved on to the technical aspects of ring forging and nuclear reactors. We’re quite the technical group :).

Around eleven o’clock, a few of the musically-inclined folks started singing the alma mater, and plans were made by some to move the party to a local bar. I declined that opportunity, and said my goodbyes, exchanging email addresses with a few folks, and looking forward to increasing my friends list on Facebook.

I did feel a little alone, being single, and following the pattern of high school of not really clicking into any of the social groups that had developed, but the fact that I was accepted back into the group was quite exciting.

Dr. Strangegobble or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Thanksgiving

I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a while; I enjoy the pageantry of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, helping dad prepare the feast, and sharing that feast with my family, then going to the hockey game that evening, getting together with friends over the long weekend. This year would be extra special, with my 10-year high-school reunion held Friday night.

Part the first: Thursday

I woke up Thursday morning and made a big cup of coffee and curled up on the couch with the dog and cats nearby and tuned in the parade. Watching the marching bands reminded me of the good times I had performing in my high-school choir. I feel a kinship with performers of that age-group, and have some sense of the preparations that go into performing, and the excitement of performing in front of a crowd. I got a kick out of the Cartoon Network float, which was based on the recent cartoon series “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.” The characters were “life-sized” puppets, and were performing a song about friendship. In the middle of their performance, however, there was the sound of a record needle scratching, and Rick Astley came out and sang “Never Gonna Give You Up,” essentially Rickrolling the parade. (For those of you who now have the song stuck in your head, you’re welcome :P.)

After a late breakfast / early lunch, to get the cooking started, I put a crumb-topped cherry pie in the oven. Here’s a tip folks, don’t wait until the day before thanksgiving to buy your pumpkin pies. On the bright side, the cherry pie turned out really well, with the crumb topping staying crispy to the last piece Saturday night. Once the pie was done baking, dad and I prepared the bird for its turn in the hot-box. A secret blend of herbs and spices went inside and out, and then into the oven it went. Once the bird was cooking, there wasn’t much to do for a while but watch the AKC dog show, then football, and taking a little nap. Sometime during my nap, my brother made his appearance. He worked on the computer and napped a bit too, I think.

Apparently, I needed a little more nap than I had thought, since I slept through the preparations of the many side dishes. I had intended to give my dad a hand with this, but he managed ok on his own I guess. Dinner was superb, the turkey was golden brown and delicious, juicy and tender, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, toasty-warm rolls, and jellied cranberry sauce. My brother’s plate was piled to the sky, and I had a couple pretty big plates of my own.

After everyone had eaten their fill, and the leftovers had been put away, my brother and I drove downtown to the arena for the annual Thanksgiving hockey game. The place was about 2/3 full, which is about what I’d expect since the team isn’t doing that great, but I longed for the days earlier in the decade when the team was great and the game would be a sellout. The Otters were in their red 3rd jerseys, with the Belleville Bulls in yellow and black.

The Otters seemed out of sorts early on, giving up two quick goals, then snapped out of it and responded with two quick ones of their own, only to give up one more goal in the first period. The second and third periods were a real struggle, first just managing to get shots on net, then getting those shots that were close blocked by the Bulls goalie. In the 3rd period, the Bulls got an insurance marker, doubling up the Otters 4-2. Even though we lost, getting to watch the game with my bro was a lot of fun, I hope I can continue the tradition of attending Thanksgiving hockey games for a long, long time.

Back at home after the game, I served up my pie, with whipped cream (store-bought, sadly; someday I’ll use home-made). Even though it wasn’t pumpkin, the pie was really good. The filling was tart, not super sweet, and the crumb topping was just superb. After the pie, my bro left to spend time with his girlfriend, and I spent time with my parents and played on the computer.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and Bring a Towel or Two

I've been meaning to get to a Seawolves game all summer, but either they've been out of town when I had the time to go, or I was busy with other things, or I just let time go by without thinking of going to a game. So, since this week was the last games of the season I made a concerted effort to get to a game.

When I checked their website to see what promotions were coming up, I discovered that Country Fair sponsored a ticket buy-out for Thursday games. Anyone going to Country Fair could ask for a coupon for free reserved seat tickets to be redeemed at the park. Now 'Wolves games aren't expensive to begin with, but you certainly can't argue with free. When I visited my local store, I asked for two coupons, figuring that one coupon = one ticket, and I was going to invite my dad along, for a guy's night out. I discovered, after getting the coupons, however that 1 coupon = 2 tickets, so I could invite my brother Andrew along as well. *happyclap* It turned out, though, that my mom wasn't feeling well enough to be left home alone for the approximitly 3 hours for the game, so Andrew volunteered to stay home, which worked out since he's not the biggest baseball fan, and appreciated my need for some father-son time.

Another wrinkle in my plan was the weather. I was watching the remnants of Hurricane(?) Fran(?) pass well to the east of Erie, with what appeared to be just clouds directly over the city this evening. It turned out, though, that a steady mist began to fall after the first inning, but it didn't do much to dampen our spirits. [Sorry about the pun Sky, if you read this :) ]

The Wolves gave up a few runs in the top of the second inning, but scored 7 of their own in the bottom of the frame; They loaded the bases with no outs and kept getting singles and doubles to drive runs home, 'twas very exciting. After the inning ended, I went to buy some peanuts and soda. I've been craving the "eating peaunts at the ballgame" experience ever since my braces came off. Since that time, I've had my share of peanuts, and mixed nuts, and popcorn at home, but watching a ballgame, with a fistful of peanuts, shelling them, and tossing the shells at my feet is something that cannot be replicated at home. As an unexpected bonus, the bags of nuts were kept in a warmer, which was a nice touch on the cool, drizzly evening. So, dad and I split the bag of peanuts, and settled in to watch the game unfold.

After the early explosion of scoring the teams settled down, with a few scoreless innings, and a few more with only 1 or 2 runs scoring. After the 5th inning, I was getting hungry, and walked over to the picnic area to order a sausage sandwich. Right after I placed my order, the light mist turned to drizzle, then quickly from drizzle to a steady rain shower. A delay was called, and the tarp came out. I ate my sausage in the concourse with my dad, then when the rain subsided, wathced the crew remove the tarp and prepare the field to resume play. We returned to our seats, and watched another inning, before the rain strengthened again. An executive decision was reached. The Wolves were winning, we were cold and damp, we had seen enough.

Even though we only saw six innings of the game, my dad and I had a fun time, enjoyed the game that we did see, as well as our time together. It's too bad that the season's over this weekend, but hockey season's less than a month away and then it'll be all Otters, all the time. I may even check out the new basketball team that the city got for this fall.

Pic-a-nic baskets

I've been thinking lately that I need to have more things to do during the week that are me-time, to give me a break from the seemingly always-on-call nature of taking care of mom during the day. My initial thoughts were toward doing things in the evening, after my shift, so to speak. But looking around the kitchen today, searching out some lunch, my prospects weren't that great, so I pondered where to go out for lunch. I could borrow Andrew's car and drive to KFC for their sauceless hot wings I've been meaning to try, or maybe try the Greek food shack at 6th and Peninsula. I also thought of walking to Avanti's to try them out, seeing as I've lived a block and a half away from them for 20 years and could probably count the number of times I've eaten there on less than one hand. As I pondered, I recalled a craving I've had the past couple days for chili dogs, and it dawned on me that I could walk to Country Fair, acquire said chili dogs, as well as a slushy and a bag of chips, then go eat across the street in Frontier Park, taking a little walk through the park afterward. This accomplished four things: 1) got me a little break from caretaker duty 2) got me walking, I could use the exercise, after all 3) got me a little treat for lunch, and 4) got me out of the house, breaking the rut I've been in lately, and into the world. I think of this was a step toward working again.

About quarter to one, I let mom know of my plans, and took care of what needs she had before I left.. Right as I stepped off the porch, a rain shower started, but it only lasted until I got a block or so away from the house. Shortly thereafter, the sun came back out again. As I walked along the south edge of the park and neared the line of parking spaces, I noticed a dark blue van with a familiar-looking person inside. As I came alongside, I saw that it was indeed my dad, who had a similar idea for lunch, and stopped at the CF and enjoyed the scenic park while eating. He and I chatted a little about his work, he's having computer issues, having difficulty getting some software licenses to work. After I said goodbye, crossing the street worked out really well; right as I pressed the walk button, the traffic light changed so that it was walkable in my direction. The store was active, not busy, but enough activity so that the employees were working diligently, and my food was ready quite quickly. I was able to get my lunch for under $5 which was a nice surprise.

Traffic was in my favor again, crossing back to the park, and I headed toward a little gazebo with benches near the creek to start eating. As I ate my first dog, I could see a bit of the creek, but lots of shoreline vegetation left me a little underwhelmed. I decided to head over to the sideways tree, and nearer the creek to look for a rocky spot to sit on, right on the shore. I found a really nice spot right across from where I came down. Balancing on the slick rocks with a tray of food in one hand and a slushy in the other was a fun challenge, and I perched on a nice rock in the sun to finish my meal. In the distance, I could hear kids playing in the water, and I spent several minutes watching the water pass over the gravelly creek bed and scattered rocks. It's hard to explain, but the enjoyment I got from watching a little canoe-shaped leaf drift along the water, around the rocks, and past my feet was a lot more that you'd probably expect. I really am an outdoorsy person, and having such a great park with woods, a marshy area, grassy fields and a creek running down the center isn't something to take for granted, not to mention the Peninsula just a couple miles away as well, but I fear that familiarity does breed contempt, and I haven't been taking full advantage of my surroundings the past few years.

As I finished up my lunch and walked home I realized that I could adapt this excursion into a regular lunch break, not necessarily every day, sometimes walking, others biking, and not always buying lunch, most times just bringing something from home out to the park Maybe Fridays I could eat out, from CF or Avanti's, and the other days “brown bag” it. Being outside, in the rain and the sun, getting to walk through the park, and having a tasty, if not especially healthy, lunch really made this a great experience, worth doing more often.

Adventures at Justin and Sally's Wedding

Saturday, July 19th was Justin and Sally's wedding. Since Andrew was his roommate at Behrend for so long, he got to be one of the groomsmen. Leading up to the wedding day, I wasn't specifically invited, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to attend the wedding and reception. I wanted to go since I'd gotten to know Justin a bit through seeing him when I'd visit Andrew, and also at church. After talking things over with the rest of the family, and believing that the dinner was a pre-ordered affair, I decided finally that it would be acceptable to attend the wedding ceremony, and pay my respects, then not crash the reception.

So I got all dressed up in my dark khakis, blue oxford shirt, with blue tie and suspenders, and drove to the church. I arrived about 15 minutes early, so I sat in the van and listened to the radio until it was time to head in. Walking through the parking lot, I met up with James and Andrew Law, which was a relief, since I could sit with them and didn't feel so odd to be by my lonesome. In the church foyer, Sky and Melanie were greeters, and in charge of the guest book, which people were signing as they entered. I forget now if I shared hugs with the girls then, but at least I recall that I was greeted warmly Sitting nearby on the groom's side were many other Behrend folks, including Meghan Gearhart, Nicki, James and Andrew Law, Brad and Ashley; Sky and Melanie sat behind me once everyone had arrived.

As the wedding party processed in, Andrew looked really sharp in his tuxedo, with amethyst/purple vest and bow tie. The groomsmen were Aaron Wood, Andrew, Brian Baldwin, Brandon, and one other relative/friend. The Bridesmaids were Liz, Amanda Placek, Meg Marong, and Sally's sister, and one other woman. John Wagner's daughter Hannah was the flower girl. Justin was quite handsome in his tux with white vest and bow tie, and Sally wore a beautiful, flowing gown with quite a long train. Pastor Lynn wore a dark suit to officiate. The mothers lit the tapers on either side of the unity candle, Justin's dad read a scripture. The newlyweds lit the unity candle after taking their vows.

At the receiving line after the ceremony, I had an awkward convo. with what turned out to be Sally's dad when I introduced myself, but Justin's parents remembered me from move-in days. As we waited outside for the tossing of birdseed, Meghan G punched me in the shoulder a couple of times, until James turned up. It was decided that several of the IVCF folks would go to Dairy Queen for a little ice cream while we waited for the reception to start. Without really being invited, I decided to tag along, to hang out with the folks I knew.

I had a peanut butter cup Blizzard, and sat with Nicki, Megan G, and James. Brad and Ashley sat at a table behind us. Nicki and Megan kept stealing James' fries and later his Blizzard. They egged me on to take a bite as well, starting a chant of “Do it!” which some teenagers at a nearby table picked up on, so I took a bite, to much laughter, and probably some surprise. Earlier, as we were giving our orders, then again as we were finishing our snack, I made mention that I wasn't planning to attend the reception, and asked if it would be okay if I came. When I first asked, there was a general affirmation of the acceptability of my attendance, the second time Nicki said that she wanted me to be there. Therefore, I decided to go, and see what happened, maybe I could get an extra meal if someone couldn't attend or some-such.

As we entered the reception hall, there was a table with name cards arrayed over it, with each individual's name and table number. All the IVCF folks were sitting at tables 13 and 14, and Brad found a card with my name on it as well, sitting at table 14; the size of our group worked out though, we could all sit at one table. Our table was in the last row from the table(s) of honor, but alongside the dance floor, so I got a front row seat for all the cool stuff like the procession of the wedding party into the hall, the fathers' speeches, the toasts, the first dances, and the cake-cutting.

Dinner, it turned out was buffet style, Andrew probably got confused about the rehearsal vs. the reception. The menu included sliced ham, meatloaf or fish; side salad or antipasto-like salad; cheesy potatoes; and dinner rolls. There was also a table with a variety of large and small cookies; and coolers of water, juice, pop, and coffee. For the toasts, each table got a wine-bottle of sparkling white grape juice. It would have been nice if that had been able to be served cold, but one takes what one can get. Speaking of warm things, the weather was quite warm that day, with only a slight chance of showers, but the hall was nearly stifling, even with all the windows and doors open and three large fans blowing. After dinner and the ceremonial activities, the tossing of the bouquet and garter took place. Melanie caught the bouquet, and Brad got the garter.

The extended families/friends of families/Grandview church people left pretty quickly into the dancing, so the college folks made a large circle where one of the viking helms from the bachelor party made double duty as a selector for dancing exhibition. Anyone wearing the helm entered the circle and did a little dance, then passed it off to another for their turn. I ended up doing a little John Travolta finger-pointing disco maneuver, which got some surprised compliments from a few folks afterward, and Andrew did a really great Robot, and Sky and he did a little gun-slinger number. Dan and Aaron were among the better guys, with someone I don't know doing a lawnmower that I got a kick out of. Meg Marong did some pretty good semi-pro dance moves among the better lady-dancers. Amanda dragged me out to do the Electric Slide, and the dance from the BK commercial, as well as something else similar. Later I joined the YMCA circle on my own. My slow dance card included Melanie, who asked me to dance, which was nice, and later I even got up the courage to ask Megan G. to dance, which was fun too, I think I danced with her at the Valentine's day dance earlier in the year as well.

Around 8 pm, I'd guess, things started winding down, tables and chairs were broken down, leftover food was packaged. I was putting away chairs when a jazzy tune came on, and I started head-bobbing, shuffle-stepping, and finger-snapping, to see if anyone noticed my fun-having-ness, plus it was just fun to do. Brian asked if I would be able to drop him and his leftovers off at the church, where his truck was, and I, being the helpful white knight, immediately accepted. Goodbye hugs took longer that I would have liked; I've got to be a bit more assertive, less afraid to interrupt, I think, without being too aggressive. Eventually we got the van loaded and took off. There were a few cases of pop, trays of food, and a bakery box with an extra cake. Brian asked if there was anything there that I'd like to take, and I selected the cake, since Mom requested I bring her home a piece, but hadn't. It turned out to be a large 8” round, with a pretty purple flower on the top-center. It took about a week to polish off the whole thing.

From a personal growth standpoint, this was kind of a coming out party for me. I'd been sort of familiar with these folks for a couple years, hanging out with Andrew at Behrend, and in the last year, becoming closer to them at church. It's been close to a year for me attending Grandview Alliance, and the social aspects of dancing at the reception let me show them a bit more of my personality. The snapping of my suspenders, and being on the receiving end of Megan's punches are physical signs of my being accepted into their social circle, and Nicki saying she wanted me to come to the reception was another highly evident sign of my being accepted and included into their group. Comments at the reception by Brian, and afterward by Amanda, alluding to my joining the dance circles and otherwise becoming more comfortable around those folks, are a sign to me that they notice a change in my mood and comfort level around them, so the counseling and medication are working.

almost graduated

When I picked up my cap and gown, and graduation announcements at school today, it finally began to sink in that I’ll be graduating in eight days. I mean, yes, I saw the days of the term ticking down on the calendar, and yes, I knew when graduation was, but holding the wrapped and folded gown in my hands was a tangible sign that the graduation is almost here, it’s not just a day on the calendar. I’m still stressed out about how much I still have to do with my COBOL program, but I’ve gotten all of my other homework done; all that I have left are chapter tests in SQL and systems analysis, and a final in tech writing. By approximately 7 pm Thursday, December 15, I will have received my diploma for an Associates’ Degree in Specialized Business, with a concentration in computer systems. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, I’m still too involved with classes to look at life after graduation, but that will come, I’m sure.

Looking back, the past two years began with a new year’s resolution to go back to school, with my first class in February of 2004. I wanted the practical education from an associates’ degree that I could get in two years’ time, without all the enriching classes and extra time of a four year degree. I would like a bachelor’s degree or higher in computers, but I wanted to take a step that would get me into the programming world in as short a time as possible, to ensure that was what I really wanted to do. I’ve learned a lot about programming, what I enjoy doing, and what I do not, and I look forward to working and honing my skills. My ultimate goal is still a job in the gaming industry. I’m not there yet, but I am much closer than I was.

We Are... Penn State!

I got to go to the Penn State game against Minnesota on Oct. 1. Now that it’s been over two weeks since the event, I thought I’d better get to writing about it, since I had such a great time. Things didn’t get started too smoothly, but everything worked out in the end.

Thursday morning, my mom woke up with trouble breathing, and the symptoms of high blood pressure. She went to the emergency room right away, and after several tests and hours of waiting, and a cocktail of blood pressure medications, she was stable that evening and improving all day Friday. The rapid improvement of mom’s condition, while very much appreciated, made arrangements for going on a four hour drive to a football game challenging. The good news was that the doctors wanted mom to continue her adjusted dialysis regimen at the hospital for another day, and would be able to come home on Sunday.

After confirmation of this plan by 9 am Saturday, dad and I were on the road by 10 am. We stopped at Country Fair for coffee and breakfast sandwiches, then took the non-Interstate, old school highway route to State College. I mentioned the fact the when I think of highways, I think of the Interstate system, while my parents, who grew up in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, thought of the state routes as highways. I must say that the older system is much more enjoyable to drive through, scenery-wise, and the shorter mileage made up for the faster speed of the Interstate. Around 12:30, we got to the traditional half-way stop, the MacDonald’s and truck stop just off I-80.

We took I-80 the rest of the way to State College, and followed the electro-signage onto some new-to-us interstate, and cruised down nearly-empty roads to the parking areas near the stadium, arriving shortly after 2 p.m.

We sold the extra ticket we had to a scalper, wandered through the Centre County Visitor Center, dad bought a PSU hat with the ticket money, and we made our way into Beaver Stadium (*snicker*). Just inside the stadium, we stopped to inspect the curious nature of the stadium’s architecture. Back in the 70’s(-ish), the existing bleachers were jacked 10-15 feet into the air, and in place of the running track, new seats were built to meet the newly raised bleachers. Over the years, additional decks and suites were added, as well as two large end zone scoreboards.

We made our way up to our seats, which were in the corner of one of the end zones, not too far above the Minnesota cheering section, but far enough to be surrounded by Penn State fans; it made for some entertaining moments, though. We arrived early enough to watch much of the pre-game warm-ups, the two head coaches meeting and shaking hands, and the various and sundry exercises and drills both teams performed. I especially enjoyed the one where a line of players stretched across the goal line, who proceeded to maneuver in a cross between goose-stepping soldiers and the Rockettes. When the first line got five yards away, a second line began moving in the same fashion, followed by a third and fourth.

The game itself is a blur. There was much standing, and sitting, and yelling. It was truly inspiring to hear a stadium with over 100,000 people in it chanting, “WE ARE!… PENN STATE!” We probably did that a dozen times. It was an amazing game, with good offense, great defense, and opportune scoring. PSU won, 44-14, moving them to 18th in the polls (they’re 8th now, WooHoo!). After the third quarter, I was getting sore from being crammed into the bleachers, as well as repeatedly swapping between sitting and standing, so dad and I walked to the other end of the stadium, and stood at the base of the upper deck of the student section until there were about five minutes left in the game when we returned to our regular seats.

After the game, the Blue Band came back onto the field, having also performed during halftime, and performed again, a tradition at PSU and presumably at other universities as well. They were quite entertaining, and a good way to complete an official PSU football game. All that remained was to walk back to the parking field, err… lot, and find the van. The parking wasn’t as far away as I had feared, and was easy to get to after the game. What was difficult was finding a silver minivan in a dark field, among hundreds of cars SUV’s and silver minivans. After 15 minutes of patrolling the lanes of vehicles, we were able to find our car and make our way to the road. Traffic on the way out went as smoothly as I could have hoped, since the police here have been managing football crowds every fall for decades now, and had it down to a science. We drove into State College proper, looking for a place to eat that wasn’t packed to the gills, and found a little sports bar with outdoor seating right on College Ave.

Dad and I had cheese steaks and split an order of onion rings, and watched the cars and people go by on the street and listened to a guy argue with his girlfriend over a cell phone and drinks. I kept thinking about missed opportunities and how my life could have been different had I gone to college right out of high school instead of after a few years of diving a depressed and grief-stricken life. To get back on track here, I am glad to be where I am now, and look forward to my opportunities, but do feel that I missed out on a great collegiate experience.

After dinner we sought to make our way toward our hotel, some 30 minutes away. Due to the darkness of night, and the fact that we’d been on the road since this morning, then experienced the exhilarating event that is Penn State Football, road signs were misinterpreted, and we ended up a winding two lane road going down a mountain. An intersection was reached, which led to the proper road, and we were safely ensconced in our hotel room without further incident. Some teevee was watched, then we slept, for the road was beckoning us on the morrow.

Sunday morning we awoke to a dense fog, which made the drive back to State College and adventure. We intended to partake of the institution that is the Waffle Shop, among other stops. The location next to Scott’s motel was as packed as we remembered, but the dining area was slightly larger. I had a blueberry waffle and coffee; dad had a sausage and cheese omelet and coffee, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Once could taste the absolute freshness. After the Waffle Shop, we located a grocery store where mass quantities of the delicacy called Tastykake were procured. Our odd shopping selection was marked upon by the check-out girl, and was answered by my favorite traveler’s phrase, “We’re from out of town.” Our next stop was the Creamery, via a short driving tour of the campus, where three half gallons of ice cream were purchased, with complimentary dry ice to preserve our catch through the journey. Cones were reluctantly bypassed, due to the recent taking of breakfast. Our last stop in Happy Valley was Penn State Sub Shop #1 for three traditional classic Italian hoagies to eat for lunch as we drove and as needed later.

The Interstate was chosen as our route home, and the drive was begun before noon. Around two, we reached Cook Forest, where we ate our subs in the company of the park office cat. I slept for a time during the drive, and we got back to town at a quarter to four.

end of days, monitoring things, game on!

There’s lots to talk about, relatively speaking. I’ve started my final semester at EBC, and begun working as a computer lab monitor there in the evenings. The Otters’ season began last weekend on the road. This weekend’s the home opener; that Saturday, I’ll also be attending my first ever Penn State Nittany Lions football game in Happy Valley. You can’t imagine how excited I am about that. I’m also looking forward to watching the Pittsburgh Penguins (The NHL’s Back!!!) on tv in just a few more weeks, and watching Sidney Crosby make his way among the pros.

The end is in sight, for my programming degree. December 14th is my last day, with graduation closely following. I’m going out with a bang, language-wise, Advanced COBOL, and SQL, with Advanced Systems Analysis and Tech. Writing rounding things off. It’s not a bas schedule, but my COBOL class is and independent study course, which makes finding computer time a hassle, as only one room of computers has a compiler on it, and I don’t want to have to buy a suite of software for home, which I should at least give a little thought to, I suppose. I’m enjoying SQL, since it’s quite intuitive to code, and making charts and graphs for tech writing is fun. I’ve definitely seen my courses come together in the past year, using programs and skills from earlier courses to complete projects for later ones. It also seems that I could get a job with Erie Insurance as a COBOL programmer pretty easily. I should get a resume out to them soon, as a matter of fact.

Working as a lab monitor is going well so far. Fourteen hours a week at minimum wage. So, I’m not in it for the money, more to get experience solving computer problems, and to say that I held down a job while at school for at least one semester. As for the work itself, I’m pretty much left to my own devices, and get paid to do homework. We’ll see how that goes as time goes on, and more people are in the labs asking questions, and I’ve got bigger projects to do myself.

The Otters Season opened as well as could be expected, with a win on Friday, and a loss on Sunday. They’ve got a couple overage players too many, so the next few weeks or months will be exciting to see how the rosters shake out, and how we do with trades.

sunset walk

Went for a walk with the dog as the sun was setting this evening. As I was standing at the bluff, admiring the colorful glow that remained after the orb of the sun crossed the horizon, the firefighters from the station a few blocks away drove up in their pumper. Four men got out to view the fiery sky. Shortly thereafter, a family of mom, dad, infant son and grandmother reached us. I walked Russell over and he got his head patted, and sniffed the knees of everyone. As I walked away from the bluff, another pair of women walked by, one of which asked to pet Russell. Now I just have to take Russell for a walk near a college campus or something, and I'll make all sorts of new friends. :) I've got to keep up on my walking now, I'd done quite a bit while my brother was home for the summer, and we walked together; the air and exercise perk me up after school days.

Momspital

At 5 am on Monday, February 28^th, I was woken up by my mother, whereupon she said that she was having difficulty breathing and dad would be taking her to the emergency room to get checked out. The initial thought at the er was that fluid had built up and dialysis would help settle things. In the course of coming to this decision, a CAT scan was taken, and after mom finished dialysis at the regular clinic, the hospital called, saying that a second doctor looked at the scan and thought he saw something on mom’s brain and would like mom to come back to hospital for an MRI. Mom and dad waited the rest of the day for the MRI, and when it didn’t look like it would happen that night, dad stayed at hospital with mom overnight, hoping to get the MRI in the morning.

Eventually, the MRI was taken Tuesday afternoon. I was called at home around 3:30, with nothing resolved. It’s now quarter to 8 pm, and still nothing new to report from the hospital from dad. Monday evening, the words “mild stroke” were used to describe what the doc might have seen in the CAT scan, but no other symptoms of stroke were evident. Mom’s been oscillating between resting and vomiting at the hospital, though I think her breathing did improve.

As of 9:30 pm Tuesday, no evidence of stroke was found in the MRI, the prime suspect now for what happened is excessively high blood pressure (like over 200, normal around 120). They’re giving her some new medication for that, and depending on how that goes, she may be coming home in the next day or two. So, good news: no stroke, blood pressure can be managed with medications. I’m feeling much more in control of the situation, now that I know a little more.