The Bosque

What I am about to say will shock, sadden, and surprise all 5 of you. But I have to say it…

I started a MySpace account this past weekend.

I know, I know…”Why T-Money? You already have a blog, a forum and a whale penis site…why would you do such a thing?”

The truth is…I don’t know. April and I have friends that are on it and it’s easy to use…that’ll work.

And it’s so addictive! I could probably play around there for hours if I didn’t have other things to do.

Of course, this fad will pass like all the others, and I’ll eventually settle into a slower regular frequency. But it is pretty righteous, so if you’re ever out in MySpaceland, look me up: http://myspace.com/sicomoro.

...than I did in the previous 5.

I can name the movies I've seen since 2000:

--Shaft (July 2000)
--Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Sept. 2001)
--Team America World Police (Nov. 2004)
--Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (July 2005)
--Art School Confidential (May 2006)
--Clerks II (2 weeks ago)
--The Lady in the Water (today)

I dunno...I've always been more of a music fan than a movie fan. I love movies, but I don't see them in theatres much. When I spend $15 on a CD, it's mine forever. When I spend $8.50 on a movie, I can only retain it in my memory.

But April and her family see movies fairly often...probably one or two a month. As a result, my moviegoing is likely to rise. I should be up to one every 3 months in the not-too-distant future. :) We'll see...

From MSNBC: TomKat's daughter, Suri, hasn't been seen in public since her April 18 birth. But a second sighting has been reported, this time by Jada Pinkett Smith.

"She's one of the sweetest babies I've ever met in my life," Pinkett Smith tells People magazine. "She's an absolute beauty and she's Daddy's little girl."

I didn't trust Leah Remini, given that she's a Scientologist like Tom Cruise. But now Jada Pinkett Smith has seen the child...I'd say she's a reliable source.

From MSNBC: If you’re looking for happiness, go and live in Denmark.

It is the happiest country in the world while Burundi in Africa is the most unhappy, according to a report by a British scientist released on Friday.

...

At the bottom came the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Burundi. The United States came in at 23rd, Britain was in 41st place, Germany 35th and France 62nd.

Ya know, my friends Frank and Stephan (who lived in Aalborg, Denmark, IIRC) were quite friendly...and they weren't gay.

I'm surprised that we're as high as we are...that's good.

Of course, if Sycamoreland were a country, it'd totally be #1, since it's the happiest place on Earth, followed closely by Disneyland (if it too were a country).

I finished my marketing class tonight. Budgeting starts next week.

My head and heart just weren't in this class, even though I did well. I struggled to finish papers, and our presentation was so-so tonight...though everyone else's presentations were as good/bad as ours.

Oh well...it's over. On to the next class. A chance to start fresh.

From the BBC: Three weeks before his 80th birthday, Cuban President Fidel Castro has joked that he has no plans to be in power when he is 100 years old.

I want to go to Cuba before it's completely destroyed...our government and many members of the Cuban-American community are retarded.

On Thursday night, my study team is supposed to present our "new product" to our class. I say "supposed to" because last week's storms have totally fucked up the final week of class.

Our class project was to come up with a new product, write a proposal on it, and give a presentation on it. My friend Tracy came up with a TiVo that allows file-sharing of shows and movies...we call the service TiVoMail...real fucking original, right? :)

We were originally going to film a commercial to go with our presentation, but last week's storms also fucked that up. So I decided to throw together a couple of print ads. The plan is to have these blown up on a piece of foamboard or posterboard in time for Thursday's class. I may have to be really really nice to April to ensure that these birds fly. ;-)

Anyway, here at the ads...very simple...and stupid. But effective:

Ad 1

Ad 2

Wish us luck!

From the AP/KSDK-TV, St. Louis (full article follows): A Macon (Missouri) woman has been charged with trying to force her three-year-old child to smoke marijuana.

Eighteen-year-old Thea Allen is charged with distributing a controlled substance to a minor, and two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The Macon Chronicle-Herald reported that three witnesses told police that Allen kicked the child last week, then tried to force the child to smoke a marijuana cigarette. Witnesses said she threatened to punish the child if the marijuana wasn't smoked the right way.

I'm not supposed to think this is funny, am I? I find it horribly sad but incredibly funny at the same time.

Howdy, all! Back at another Bread Company, this one near my school. I got an outlet this time...whoohoo! Currently, I'm just piddling around, adding album covers to my iPod.

The power came back on at April's house last night around 11pm. We were in bed by then, though. I'm gonna miss having her over...it was nice. Makes me want to get married and buy a house tomorrow.

Of course, that'd be insane, but it sounds romantic, doesn't it?

I'm still without internet, but I'll live. I'll probably call the cable company tomorrow to ensure that I get a credit on my bill.

I don't know if my work has power yet...guess I'll find out tomorrow. And I haven't heard from my professor (who lives in Granite City, IL--an area that got hit hard Wednesday night). My school was closed Thursday and Friday...I might drive by the library today to see if that's open. Did I mention we're supposed to have a final and presentation this Thursday night? Fun stuff.

Time for lunch...but again, I'm not hungry for BreadCo. Until tomorrow...

Wolf here...Sycamore is still without power and internet service, and admits to being too cheap to go back to Kinko's.

Just when you think they've run out of things to sue for ...

Ken Rigsberg of California finds a new one. He has brought suit against Pacific Reproductive Services after finding a pinhole camera concealed in a ceiling tile of the "donation room" at the Los Angeles Sperm Bank where he receives $100 per ... uh ... deposit.

He claims to have suffered fear, shame, humiliation, and chagrin, and is so "emotionally traumatized" by having found the camera, that he is no longer able to donate sperm as he fears future illegal surveillance of his private acts.

Could have been worse. I mean, what if he were on the phone with a foreigner plotting a terrorist act?

That's not a typo...another storm rolled through town about 2 hours ago. And another one is on the way.

Greetings from my local St. Louis Bread Company...folks outside of St. Louis know it as Panera Bread. My cable internet service is down, and BreadCo has free wi-fi. Put two and two together.

The latest storm was brief but powerful...more damage, more customers without power. Currently, the number stands at 400,000 and change.

Now keep in mind, that's customers, not people. So, figure about 700,000-1 million people are without power. That's about 1/4 to 1/3 of the population in metropolitan St. Louis.

My company lost power as the storm hit...we were sent home at 11:45. My mom's company still doesn't have power, and she was sent home around the same time. My school is also without power...I didn't have class last night. Two of the pizza shop's locations were closed last night, including the one I work at.

Apparently, those businesses that are open are doing well. April said there were people angry at a QT over a lack of ice yesterday. Apparently, there were also angry people at a Lowe's over incoming generators. I stopped at a gas station last night for gas and soda...there were quite a few people there, but everyone was in decent spirits.

Ya know, this shit sucks, but it could have been a lot worse. All you can do is roll with the punches. Getting pissy mad and taking it out on others isn't going to help. And it's simply not warranted.

Mayor Slay and the City of St. Louis must be given huge props for their work during this crisis. They've worked tirelessly to make sure that people are safe and cool. In my 30 years of life, this is the best mayor St. Louis has had.

Time to go...I'm not hungry for BreadCo and lunch is calling me. More tomorrow...

Wolf's in charge today

in Saint Louis.

Nope. Not as catchy. Won't sell like the song about Georgia did, even if I sing a lot damn better than Vicki Lawrence. But this is why there is a guest manifesto tonight. Apparently all of Missouri's Power Repair Guys headed over here to Pennsylvania to deal with our outage before they knew that they were going to get macked by a storm too. We're still not done here. I was without power for about 18 hours, I understand that several of my coworkers have been told that they will have power in an "undetermined" amount of time. One of them has secured a couple generators, to power the important household appliances, including several freezers full of meat (dad's a butcher) and the television. The cable is back up before the power. Go Comcast!

So, as I sat wondering what to write about today, I considered the saga of my mother's illness and today's surgery. The doctor was very encouraged by how things proceeded, and mom is sufficently feisty that her first conscious, or rather semi-conscious act, giving her the benefit of the doubt, was to attempt to extubate herself. The ICU nurse has given her extra pain meds and put her in soft restraints. Hopefully, she'll have the ventilator tube taken out by sometime tomorrow. I've been posting about this elsewhere, though, and I try to keep my Manifestos fresh. Other stuff I'll do as a repost, but typically not Manifestos.

Luckily, I happened on this little item ...

Biodiesel is the big thing lately. Sycamore has even talked about the possibilities of converting to it.

Do-It-Yourselfers Turn Diner Grease into Biodiesel.

I was thinking that biodiesel only remains a viable alternative fuel while restaurants think of their used oil as trash, rather than treasure. As soon as they start charging for it, the benefits decrease. I checked the Acme website ... around here a gallon of Acme store brand vegetable oil is going for $4.15. That's already higher than the price of a gallon of gasoline, and I'm sure you don't get a gallon for a gallon following the processing.

From KSDK, St. Louis: Storms came tearing through the St. Louis area Wednesday night, causing damage, accidents, and several power outages.

The storms came from the northeast, heading in a southwest direction.

There was at least one report of a tornado sighting near Jefferson Barracks, and there were several accidents, many of which involved tractor trailers that were turned over by high winds.

A lot of people here in the City of St. Louis are without power, including some here in my neighborhood. There are trees down everywhere. Stoplights are dark. It's a real mess...I haven't seen damage this bad in quite some time...probably since the Great Flood of 1993. I'll see if I can get some photos tomorrow.

Howdy, peeps! 2 in a row...and I already have one in the can for tomorrow and one for Thursday. I know, I know...you're ridiculously impressed. And skeptical. But I'll show you!

From MSNBC: Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it was recalling 418,570 vehicles globally, including some Echo and Prius models sold in the U.S., over a faulty engine part.

The faulty part is the latest in a string of problems requiring recalls by Toyota, raising doubts over whether the automaker can maintain quality standards amid booming sales.

IIRC, Mercedes has also had some quality issues recently. Add that to the recent Toyota recalls and improved American vehicle quality, and it brings some interesting questions to mind?

--Are all cars really equal in the end? Are they mainly good cars with some issues here and there?

--Were these problem vehicles made in the US?

--Are these recent issues just hiccups?

--Can a big car manufacturer be that consistent with quality (which the article kinda asks)?

As a whole, I'm satisfied with my Malibu. My biggest complaints are the seat cushioning and the paint job. I had some electrical issues during the winter, but they were gone after one repair.

I have to have my seat restuffed tomorrow. Granted, I'm fat, but my stepdad had to have the seat in his '01 Monte Carlo restuffed last year--and he's not fat. I think my mom has had issues with the seat in her '02 Malibu as well...and she's not fat either. And she barely drives her car.

The paint job is just cheap, IMO...it chips off easily. I might have it repainted later this year--don't think I'll stick with the gold color though. Maybe black or forest green. Something that will properly match the tan interior.

I'm going to trade it in next year, and I'm not sure what I'm going to purchase next. I'm considering anything from a Honda Accord to a Chevy Impala to my new favorite vehicle, the Toyota FJ Cruiser. I'd like to purchase a GM car (because the last thing this country needs is for GM to go to hell), but I'm not going to limit my search to just them. I know for certain that I will buy nothing smaller than a sedan such as the Malibu and will not buy a Camry--I'm just not that impressed with it.

We'll see...in the meantime, I gotta baby Malibu Barbie.

So, I planned to write a Manifesto last Monday, but then I forgot. Then I was sick for 2 days. And I had a lot of school work to do. And I wasn’t feeling inspiration.

But you’d think I would have had some inspiration, given recent events:

--Hezbollah decided to one up Hamas and kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers. Israel responds by bombing Lebanon back 20 years. The president of Saint Louis University was trapped in Beirut as of Friday, but is safe.

--Terrorists bombed Mumbai commuter trains during evening rush hour.

--Two wildfires joined in Southern California, and have torched over 100 square miles of land.

--It’s been super hot here in St. Louis and in other parts of the country the past few days. We’re under a heat advisory here until at least Friday…it started last Friday.

--Creg Williams was forced out as St. Louis Public Schools superintendent on Friday. He was the fifth superintendent in 3 years, and had only been here 15 months. Mayor Francis Slay is apparently going to push for the State of Missouri to take over the district.

--A UN resolution condemning North Korea’s missile tests passed over the weekend. North Korea responded by saying, “Fuck you!”

--I got a 44 cents an hour pay increase...in fact, I got it in May. But I just noticed it last week.

--The 8 biggest players in the world met in St. Petersburg this weekend, but their original plans were totally fucked up by the events in the Middle East.

--Tim, April and I are attending a wake tonight…our 3rd in 6 weeks. His gf’s granddad died Friday. 2 weeks ago, a longtime family friend passed away. And a month before that, my aunt’s father-in-law died. Don’t none of you fuckers die any time soon, you hear me?!

--A tsunami hit Indonesia today…the death toll is currently at 69.

Needless to say, shit’s nuts right now. Are we headed for WW3? I don’t know. I don’t think Hamas and Hezbollah can be eradicated. The best we can hope for is an uneasy peace a la the Greeks and Turks.

I think everyone just needs to step back for a moment, take a deep breath and move a bit more slowly. We’re going so fast right now that if we don’t chill, someone’s gonna fuck up and ruin it for everyone.

That’ll do for now. I’m back on the daily wagon…for good…maybe. :)

From CBC British Columbia: An animal protection group is organizing a boycott of the Greater Vancouver Zoo after the recent death of a baby giraffe.

Liberation B.C. spokesperson Jan Olson said members of the group planned to protest in front of the zoo on Sunday over what she alleges is a long list of broken promises from the facility located in the Fraser Valley community of Aldergrove, east of Vancouver.

iPod: You have to have good tunes. Last week, I had it on shuffle. The weekend before, all Miles.

Cell phone: Good to have if a customer won't answer their door...or if the shop needs to get a hold of you.

$19: I could get money for making change from the shop, but it's just easier for me to bring my own.

Off to the shop...I got pizzas to deliver and money to make, yo...

Frum th AP: When "say," "they" and "weigh" rhyme, but "bomb," "comb" and "tomb" don’t, wuudn’t it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound?

Those in favor of simplified spelling say children would learn faster and illiteracy rates would drop. Opponents say a new system would make spelling even more confusing.

Eether wae, the consept has yet to capcher th publix imajinaeshun.

Kud yoo imajin if wee akshulee roat thee Inglish langwij fonetiklee? It wud bee lyk reeding poasts from Zippyt all th tym. :lol: Whyl we're at it, let's swich ovir too th metrik sistem foar shits and grinz.

America...
America...
America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the mother fucking day yeah,
America, FUCK YEAH!
Freedom is the only way yeah,
Terrorist your game is through cause now you have to answer too,
America, FUCK YEAH!
So lick my butt, and suck on my balls,
America, FUCK YEAH!
What you going to do when we come for you now,
it’s the dream that we all share; it’s the hope for tomorrow

FUCK YEAH!

McDonalds, FUCK YEAH!
Wal-Mart, FUCK YEAH!
The Gap, FUCK YEAH!
Baseball, FUCK YEAH!
NFL, FUCK, YEAH!
Rock and roll, FUCK YEAH!
The Internet, FUCK YEAH!
Slavery, FUCK YEAH!

FUCK YEAH!

Starbucks, FUCK YEAH!
Disney world, FUCK YEAH!
Porno, FUCK YEAH!
Valium, FUCK YEAH!
Reeboks, FUCK YEAH!
Fake Tits, FUCK YEAH!
Sushi, FUCK YEAH!
Taco Bell, FUCK YEAH!
Rodeos, FUCK YEAH!
Bed bath and beyond (Fuck yeah, Fuck yeah)

Liberty, FUCK YEAH!
White Slips, FUCK YEAH!
The Alamo, FUCK YEAH!
Band-aids, FUCK YEAH!
Las Vegas, FUCK YEAH!
Christmas, FUCK YEAH!
Immigrants, FUCK YEAH!
Columbine, FUCK YEAH!
Democrats, FUCK YEAH!
Republicans (republicans)
(fuck yeah, fuck yeah)
Sportsmanship
Books

written by Trey Parker

Oh, lime green Beach style Crocs...you served me well. We delivered pizzas together...walked laps around Francis Park...went to work some days...confused and piqued the curiosity of people of all ages.

But it's time for you to go to the great Crocs retirement home in the sky. And a new pair must take your place.



You will be missed.

I find myself regularly saying, "I'm dating April?! What the fuck?! This is nuts!"

That's not a bad thing, mind you. It's just that I never thought in a million years that I'd be with April. This started as a mild crush a few years ago...it was basically the same as my 16-year crush on Mariah Carey.

But one day last April (Ha! April in April! Anyway...), the crush just popped into my head. And I happened to be single again.

From my 7 years of friendship with her, I knew her as a quiet yet strong person who was a management whiz, had a good heart, and had a deep relationship with her family. I knew we had some similarities and thought she would be a good counterweight to my over-the-top obnoxiousness.

Little did I know that we would be sickeningly perfect for each other. We have a shitload in common, but enough differences to make things really neat. We truly enjoy each other's company, and constantly communicate, to the point of ridiculousness. She is beautiful inside and out, and I am so very lucky and blessed to have her in my life. And I can't wait to make her my wife.

Happy anniversary, baby! I love you so very much! Thank you for making me the happiest person on Earth.

Love,
Terry
xoxo

So, I had to put Barbie (my 2003 Chevy Malibu) in the shop Thursday. She was hurting a bit, and I had to give her some TLC.

Normally, I'm really good about getting oil changes at the proper intervals. Unfortunately, it had been 7000 miles since her last one...whoops! And I hadn't gotten the tires rotated in I don't know how long. Not that long...maybe 15,000 miles. I think normal is 12,000.

Then there was the windshield:









It seems like every day, some sort of pebble or rock hits my windshield. And it seems to happen around the same location: on WB I-70 between Lambert Airport and Lindbergh Blvd. It seems to either come from a large truck or fly up from the pavement. Normally, the rocks make a startling noise, but cause no physical damage. But not last Wednesday.

Lastly, there is the driver's seat. I'm fat and I plop into it a lot, and when I deliver pizzas, I'm in and out all the time. I'm basically sitting on the steel frame now, plus I've apparently bent the upright portion of the frame. The dealership didn't have the parts available, so they had to order them...the newly-refurbished seat will have to wait until next Friday.

Now I just need to go out and Armor All the inside and tires...