The Bosque

Three years ago, I set forth from the Cellar to return to the forest. Though the Cellar is a cool place, it was time to make the Manifestos independent. And so, 3 years ago today, the Bosque forum opened, and the first Manifesto written.

(Incidentally, all of the Cellar-era Manifestos are located here.)

I'm very pleased with what this board is...a vehicle for my whims. And I'm more than happy to pay $11.01 a month to Media Temple to supply my vehicle. And I'm glad that I have a group of regulars that pop in to give their 2 cents. And the blog version apparently has lurkers...who knew?

Thanks for listening...Happy Birthday, El Ciberbosque!

May posted this on MySpace over the weekend...not sure where she got it from. Too funny...and mostly true:

A black man was talking to a white man and said:

"I'm black.

When I was born, I was black.
When I grew up, I was black.
When I'm sick, I'm black.
When I go in the sun, I'm black.
When I'm cold, I'm black.
When I die, I'll still be black.

But you:

When you were born, you were pink.
When you grew up, you were white.
When you're sick, you're green.
When you go in the sun, you're red.
When you're cold, you're blue.
When you die, you'll be purple.

And you have the nerve to call me colored?"

Looks like he came to the States, took in too much and lost his mind in Denver...from MSNBC: A zookeeper died Saturday after a 140-pound jaguar mauled her in its enclosure, and the big cat was fatally shot when it approached emergency workers treating the injured woman, the zoo said.

The zookeeper, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Denver General Hospital, where she died, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.

;-)

Last night, April and I strolled into the Leaf around 10:15. When we walked in, there was only one other patron and the bartender. We ordered a couple of drinks and sat down at one of the tables to wait for Tim and his friend. I commented on how empty it was for a Friday night, and the patron joked, "We were hoping you would bring some folks in."

By the time we left at midnight, the bar was full. And the only people I knew were April, Tim and his friend.

What can I say? I've always attracted children and crazy people...now I attract drunks.

Tonight, I was on a run in an area not too far from our store. As I tooled along Bates St., I saw cherries behind me. Motherfuck...what the hell did I do now?!

I'm not sure what I did wrong...either I was going too fast or did a rolling stop at the stop sign at Ulena Ave.

A member of St. Louis's Finest came up to my car.

Officer: "How's it going?"

Syc: "Alright."

Officer: *looks at my t-shirt...it has the logo of our chain* You work for (insert name here)?

Syc: Yeah.

Officer: Alright. See ya. *walks away*

I'd like to give a special shoutout to my friends with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 1st District...good looking out! Our shop is a 1st District substation, and many cops frequent our establishment, for which I am very grateful.

From KSDK-TV St. Louis: A group of 13 year olds in Kennett, Mo., were playing with pellet guns Monday when one of them accidentally shot another in the chest.

The teen was flown from the Missouri bootheel to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, where he underwent lifesaving heart surgery.

...

"(It was) President's Day. ... Just six friends out being boys. (They) took BB guns out and they just started shooting each other for fun, or whatever reason," said Jason's father, Craig Nadler.

I knew those folks down in Kennett were a bit odd...two of my friends in college hailed from there. But if this isn't the perfect example of the retardation of my home state, I don't know what is.

...and you all lose your fucking minds. I can understand why, but this is getting ridiculous!

Some of the stories I've read via MSNBC's Recommended Stories section this morning:

Splash-And-Grab Robbers Strike Again

Robbery Suspect's Brother Pins Officer Under Car

Flipped Pickup Clogs I-95 Near Airport

I love you all, and I want to come visit. But you gotta be cool, babies! It's gonna be awhile before we can make it out there.

Interesting to see this article from Reuters/Yahoo!: The regiment of Prince Harry looks set to be heading for Iraq and the third in line to the throne could be the first royal to see combat in 25 years.

Harry, who once sparked international outrage for wearing a Nazi uniform at a costume party, graduated from the elite Sandhurst military academy last year, saying he wanted to fight for his country as a frontline soldier.

The President of the US is the Commander in Chief of the military, but no President has been in active duty since James Madison. Perhaps having them in that spot, if only for a short amount of time, would help them better appreciate the consequences of their actions.

April and I had this discussion earlier today, and I had a similar conversation with Chris shortly thereafter.

How many people really understand Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday and Lent? Catholics know it all too well--and I suspect that most native New Orleanians do as well. But the concept doesn't seem to be as prominent in Protestant denominations...and Eastern Christianity's Great Lent is a bit different from what is observed in the West.

For Catholics, the idea is to live it up tonight, for you have to fast, abstain and give up something (not all at the same time) beginning tomorrow for 40 days. For most folks going out to celebrate Mardi Gras tonight, they'll be back at the bar Saturday night...Mardi Gras is just an excuse to get plowed on a weeknight.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining about it. We throw one of the biggest Mardi Gras parties there is here in St. Louis...usually only New Orleans does it better. But do people really know what they're celebrating? Kinda like Easter and Christmas...how many people really celebrate the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

At least the party in New Orleans seems to going great this year.

Control your temper...you never know where it could land you.

From MSNBC: To the locals, it's the "McMissile" case.

And like the name, the details of it spill forth like a bad joke: A woman is driving north on Interstate 95. Three kids squirm in the back seat, and her sister, six months pregnant and having early contractions, sits in the front. The stress starts to simmer. Traffic slows, then crawls, then creeps. More stress. A car cuts in front of her, then scoots away. A short time later, it darts in again. She can no longer take it. She veers onto the shoulder and speeds up. Wham! She tosses a large McDonald's cup filled with ice into the other car.

...

No one was injured, but the cup launcher, Jessica Hall, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged and convicted by a Stafford County jury of maliciously throwing a missile into an occupied vehicle, a felony in Virginia. The instructions given to the jury said that "any physical object can be considered a missile. A missile can be propelled by any force, including throwing."

We never got it a lot when I was a kid, but I've always liked Pizza Hut. I even worked for them for a short time in college as a driver. But the last two times I've had it, it's been incredibly disappointing.

We got it last night when May came over...one pan and one pizzeria style. Greasy as can be...I've never recalled it being that greasy before. And the toppings just don't taste as good as they used to. (And, just to be clear, I can't eat the shit that I deliver anymore...because it's shit.) And we ordered it a month ago when we had Chris over, and it was about the same then.

Perhaps it's just the location we're ordering from...it's different than the one I used to call when I lived at the parents' house. But I've never had an issue with them before...they've been around for 10 or so years, and I ordered from them on occasion before my East Coast sabbatical.

I ate the cold leftovers for lunch, and it was alright. Probably better cold than hot.

The Lesbianmobile (April's 2000 Toyota RAV4) was officially totaled this week by the insurance company after suffering extensive damage in an accident last week, at the age of 7.

The Lesbianmobile was built at a Toyota plant in Tahara, Japan in 1999 or 2000 as a model year 2000 vehicle. It was presumably bought by someone after being built and eventually wound up in the pre-owned inventory of Jerry Ackerman Toyota in South St. Louis. April purchased it in the spring of 2003, and used it primarily to go back-and-forth to work. In the last 2 years, the RAV4 made trips to Southeast Missouri and Chicago, and was utilized as a pizza delivery vehicle in St. Louis City and County.

On February 5, 2007, the Lesbianmobile was brutally assaulted by a Ford Escape during an afternoon delivery run near Tower Grove Park in South St. Louis. It suffered $7000 worth of damage, and was valued at $8400. It will now be auctioned off as a salvage vehicle.

The Lesbianmobile is survived by millions of RAV4's built since 1994. In lieu of flowers, the Sycamore family asks that you wait until we hit the wedding registries and buy us stuff from those. :)

Rest in peace, Lesbianmobile...for all the hell I gave you, you were a good little car...

Happy Valentine's Day, April! I love you so much that it should be banned by the Feds...but then I would still love you that much and then some.

Love,
Terry
xoxo

We all remember this delivery from September, right?

Their order from Monday night:

1 2 liter of Pepsi $2.29
1 large cup of ice (free)
_______________________
Subtotal $2.29
Tax $.21
Delivery chg $2.50
_______________________
Total $5.00

Their only saving grace is that it rained steadily Monday afternoon and evening...and that's pushing it hard.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The personal belongings of kidnapping suspect Michael Devlin were removed from his apartment Monday. Workers carted out boxes of toys, video games and skateboarding equipment exactly one month after police raided the home and found two missing boys.

Devlin's brother and his lawyer orchestrated the housecleaning, which three hired men carried out hurriedly in the drizzling rain.

The Dixie Chicks won 5 Grammys last night...they won every one for which they were nominated.

That whole story got ridiculous in the end, mainly because Natalie Maines just wouldn't shut up. But I'm curious to see what the country world's reaction is. I don't expect any mea culpas on either part, but it was nice to see The Chicks give that industry the finger this past year.

Wolf's in charge today.

Because I love and care about you, I can't let you be the ONLY site the the blogosphere not talking about the most important news item of the week.

Anna Nicole Smith is as dead as a doornail.

Guesses are running about 70 to 30 on "Her Lawyer Went OJ on Her Ass" vs. "She Offed Herself." Additional speculation includes "and the Lawyer Killed Her Son Too, He's After the Money."

In other news ... CNN shows Unexpected Sense of Humor.

It was a typical Monday in terms of deliveries. I was solo until 5, and taking deliveries here, there and everywhere after the other driver left at 1.

I was in a middle of a run that was taking me pretty much across our entire delivery area. I had a delivery on Arsenal St. (an E-W artery across the city), but I passed the house. So, I was going to turn left at Roger Pl. (a side street), make a U-turn at the intersection with Hartford St. (another side street) and go back up to Arsenal.

I was traveling south on Roger Pl. towards the intersection with Hartford, which is a 3-way stop (Hartford is one-way going west). After I stopped at the stop sign, I began to make my U-turn. As I was midway through my U-turn...BAM!!!







A Ford Escape that apparently rolled through the stop sign broadsided me. The Escape suffered some damage on the front end, but was okay for the most part...and the driver was not injured.

As you can see, the Lesbianmobile got whacked pretty good. We're waiting for the claims adjustor to inspect the damage to see if it's totaled or not. We're hoping not...April loves her car, and it has given us no trouble...unlike that damned thing I own.

The officer that came on the scene cited me for an illegal U-turn (which is a grey area here in the city)...I disputed this, and am going to talk to a cop and a lawyer to see what my chances are of fighting the ticket (and hence, reducing my liability).

But I walked away only shaken up...that's the most important thing. Cars are replaceable...I'm not.

Our bosses usually send out ads in the mail every month or two to the delivery areas we serve. The ads are usually the same each month, but they keep our stores fresh in consumers' minds.

This week, our ad celebrates the 10th anniversary of our bosses opening their first store (the one that my brother and I usually work at). We have some $10 special going on...I think it's two 16" one-topping pizzas for $10, or something like that. And extra toppings are only a buck each.

Business has been absolutely crazy this week, thanks to the ad and the city's deep freeze. Wednesday night was like a busy Friday. And Friday was probably the busiest I've ever seen the store. We had 40-60 orders waiting to be made and delivered for a good part of the night...and a ton of pick-ups and dine-ins too.

In 12 1/2 hours, I ran 63 deliveries...$297. A personal best in both deliveries and cash for one day. And the day went by pretty fast.

Tomorrow could be a fairly busy day at the other store, though New Year's was a bust. I'm thinking 35-45 deliveries tomorrow...about $175-225. And hopefully, it'll be less blustery tomorrow.

From MSNBC: Two men who authorities say placed electronic advertising devices around the city (Boston) were released from jail Thursday, apparently amused with the publicity stunt that stirred fears of terrorism and shut down parts of the city.

No other city tripped out over the devices...not even Philadelphia.

But Boston..."Jesus Christ! It's Armageddon!"

I'm trying to sympathize with Boston...I can understand the concerns to a point. But I'm sorry...it's just too fucking funny.

They all need to watch Cartoon Network more. When I went to the Adult Swim website earlier today, they had an apology on their first page before entering the full site.

I wonder if the upcoming ATHF movie will do well there. :)

I just got my grade for my most recent class, which ended last Thursday...an A. That's 8 A's and one A-...a 3.97 GPA...better than I did in undergrad (3.75) and high school (3.65).

And with the completion of my last class, I have only 3 classes left, one of them being my thesis. 18 more weeks plus 2 break weeks. Wow...I can't believe that school's almost over already. The last 14 months have just flown by.

This last class was the toughest yet, and between being injured and sick, I was dragging hard. But I made it through, thanks to my Pretty Lady, my peeps in the study team and sheer willpower.

I'm anxious though...I want to be done. I'm ready to plot my next move. Well...I'm doing that already, but having my degree would help.

Now, on to the next class...Total Quality Management...wheeeeeee!