Sweet Catastrophe

I have nothing to say other than yes, this is real.

…was successful, I suppose. Not a whole lot actually happened, but at the same time I think there were some significant accomplishments. Daddy was supposed to come to town Saturday to fix the ac in the car and then go out to eat with me, instead, the ac decided it didn’t want to be fixed so he had to take it back to Douglas and take a rain check on dinner. Unfortunately, I had sat around waiting to eat until 5pm. Grumble.

Sunday went a little better. Another minor setback with the car, but everything is either fixed or about to be fixed now, so eh.

We rode around and looked at cars so Daddy could get a better idea of what I’m interested in and what I just really don’t like. It was frustrating to begin with because he thinks out loud and doesn’t always absorb what I’m saying right-off, I have to repeat myself a lot, but in the end, I think he got the idea and I feel good about having a car soon. I’m being really impatient, but now that he really knows what to look for, I’m confident that it’ll end up being worth the wait ’cause I think I’ll get a car I like for a really good deal. Being a truck driver he really has a lot of opportunities to really see what’s out there and not be limited. Also, I love my daddy, he’s a great father, but he can kind of be an asshole when he wants to be so he has no problem really getting down to business when negotiating. I’m no good at that. I take things at face value and just consider myself lucky if I get some sort of deal.

Anyway, we have some leads and I’m supposed to go tomorrow to look at a Dodge Caliber that’s a pretty good prospect. Maybe I’ll drive one and get a better idea.

I took him out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. I hated having to pick the place ’cause he’s picky as hell and doesn’t hesitate to complain at restaurants, but he actually really liked everything he tried and was really impressed so *whew*

So Father’s Day was successful. But his Birthday is in August so now I gotta start thinking about what to do for that. The sooner I come up with something, the better chance I have of catching a sale, ya know?

I don’t think he has the lighter I got engraved for him anymore so I was thinking of maybe getting him a new watch and getting that engraved. It’s tricky though ’cause he’ll need something really sturdy, but practical. ‘Cause he’ll wear it all the time. He might be interested in something like a good Timex, I’m not sure about the band though, I only really ever remember him having metal bands like this one.

I’ve got time though. And if I really get stuck, there’s always the standby fishing gear.

What’d you get your dad for Father’s Day?

And hey, keep sending those good car vibes! I’ve already got a cd put together for my first drive, now I just need the car!

How many times have you seen this logo and thought, “But it’s orange…”?

Well, I’ve done it too many times to count so today’s the day I solve the mystery! And believe it or not, I’ve only even found one place on the web with the answer. There are quite a few places questioning, but only the company’s website has the answer:

…1924, when A.J. Harrell, an Oklahoma City entrepreneur, founded a bus and taxi service that he named Yellow Cab Transit Co. He shortened the name to Yellow Transit Co. in 1926.

Back in those early days, Harrell hired chemists at E.I. DuPontTM to determine the safest color on the road. Their research led to Swamp Holly Orange, the natural color of berries on the Swamp Holly shrub. When he was told Swamp Holly Orange was the color most visible from the greatest distance, Harrell didn’t miss a beat. “All right,” he said. “Then that’s the color for Yellow.”

Mystery solved! Still seems silly to me, but I suppose they certainly created a buzz for themselves.

Now, seems the logo has changed to show some subtle yellow shading, which is much less perplexing, but recently Yellow and Roadway merged and will soon have a whole new logo for the new company.

Seems odd to think of a time when you’ll no longer see orange Yellow trucks on the interstate!

Be The Match is the national registry for bone marrow donors.

I’m not sure why I haven’t joined before now, but I did today.

June 8-22nd it’s free to register. Normally, registration is $100– “This tax-deductible payment covers your registration kit and the tissue-typing needed to add you to the registry.”

Joining means I’ll get a kit in the mail in about a week to basically swab my cheeks and send it back to them in the postage-paid packaging and they’ll do a tissue-typing and add me to the registry. If ever I’m listed as a match for someone, I’ll go through a physical and either sit through a process similar to giving platelets or a general/local anesthetic will be used on my back and bone marrow drawn directly– which would at most cause me only a minor back ache for a few days.

Can you imagine doing something so small on your part could actually save someone’s life?

Adding yourself to the registry doesn’t mean you’ll be required or pressured to donate if you’re found to be a match for someone, you’ll simply be contacted and asked to give a timely decision.

And registration took me less than ten minutes–that was reading through the medical requirements and answering a few quick questions about my health.

Again, registration is free until the 22nd, or until funding runs out (your registration fee is being covered by donations).

While I know it’s not something everyone may be comfortable with, I think everyone should at least consider it.

Sunday is usually my lazy day. I go to work for five hours, in which time we don’t do much business, then I come home to have lunch, nap and just be laid back for the rest of the day.

I had yesterday off though, so I’d planned to head to Douglas so Daddy could fix the breaks on the car.

I made it about halfway when the car just started decelerating. There were no indicator lights coming on, no change in any of the gauges and no odd noises–it was just slowing down. I had to make a split decision on just trying to see how much further I could push it and pulling over. Luckily I chose to pull over and the car completely shut off as I was letting it roll into a safe spot.

I don’t know how, but my call to Daddy went through just fine, but after that I couldn’t even get a strong enough signal for long enough to pull up any websites. I barely even got 3 or 4 text messages to go through. I just sat on the side of the road in 98 degree heat, earning about 15 ant bites and some of the largest mosquito bites I’ve ever had. I swear South Georgia heat is the best natural fat burner ever because I know I lost a few pounds in water weight just sitting there for half an hour.

It sucked but it turned out that, as usual, I was actually really damn lucky. It was only a loose cable, but it would’ve come loose sometime this week anyway and when I called Dad, a family friend was actually just arriving with his tow truck, bringing a car they were planning on pulling parts from. Not only that, while working on the car he found that something was seriously wrong with one of my tires and I would’ve most likely had a blowout this week.

In all the repairs, the air conditioner got killed *sigh*, but I can deal with that if it means my brakes work and my tires aren’t about to explode.

And I got to spend a lot of time with my babies as well. For once, when it was all said and done, they were just as exhausted as I was! Ha! I spent a lot of time with one or both of them attacking me from behind and trying to drag me down. I’m so, so, so sore today but it was all worth it.

I wish I could relay some of the more hilarious points of my day, but they’re all sort of, “you had to be there” moments. Suffice it to say that those babies are ten kinds of hilarious, and they know it.

So certainly no lazy Sunday, but I’m more than making up for it today.

I had to share this with you guys. So Mark-Paul Gosselaar was on Jimmy Fallon and he interviewed as Zack Morris!

I don’t normally watch Fallon so I had no idea he’d decided to push for a Saved by the Bell reunion on his show, but it looks like everyone but Tiffany Thiessen and Dustin Diamond are the only ones who haven’t agreed yet. I have a feeling Dustin would be the last to agree since I think I remember reading that he doesn’t really get along with the former cast anymore.

I haven’t really seen many of them in the ‘news’ lately so it’d be great to see them all now. I’m sure some of them will jump into a new diet pill before they make another appearance, but damn if Mark-Paul doesn’t look the same! He’s barely aged!

Oh how he used to cover my walls…

I’m still working on my Johnny Depp dvd collection! Right now I have 22 of 36. So I’m officially over the halfway mark and still keeping my eyes peeled for any dvd sale that might have some Johnny Depp goodies hiding. The ones in blue are the ones I own, so if you see any of the others at a good price, give me a heads up, will ya?

I think we could all use a lil more Johnny Depp in our lives ;)

And okay, yes, I do very much enjoy ogling the man, but come on, he picks the best roles! And I love them all! He’s been creepy, goofy, sexy, dorky, scary, even animated. He’s got it covered. I still haven’t seen them all, but there still aren’t any I flat-out haven’t liked. There are some movies I don’t love, but I like them enough that I won’t say no to watching them.

Anyway, on with the list!

1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) …. Glen Lantz

2. Private Resort (1985) …. Jack

3. Slow Burn (1986) (TV) …. Donnie Fleischer

4. Platoon (1986) …. Pvt. Gator Lerner

5. Cry-Baby (1990) …. Wade ‘Cry-Baby’ Walker

6. Edward Scissorhands (1990) …. Edward Scissorhands

7. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (as Oprah Noodlemantra) …. Teen on TV

8. Arizona Dream (1993) …. Axel Blackmar

9. Benny & Joon (1993) …. Sam

10. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) …. Gilbert Grape

11. Ed Wood (1994) …. Ed Wood

12. Don Juan DeMarco (1995) …. Don Juan

13. Dead Man (1995) …. William ‘Bill’ Blake

14. Nick of Time (1995) …. Gene Watson

15. Donnie Brasco (1997) …. Donnie Brasco/Joseph D. ‘Joe’ Pistone

16. The Brave (1997) …. Raphael

17. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) …. Raoul Duke/Hunter S. Thompson

18. The Ninth Gate (1999) …. Dean Corso

19. The Astronaut’s Wife (1999) …. Commander Spencer Armacost

20. Sleepy Hollow (1999) …. Constable Ichabod Crane

21. The Man Who Cried (2000) …. Cesar

22. Before Night Falls (2000) …. Bon Bon/Lieutenant Victor

23. Chocolat (2000) …. Roux

24. Blow (2001) …. George Jung

25. From Hell (2001) …. Inspector Fred Abberline

26. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) …. Jack Sparrow

27. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) …. Sands

28. Secret Window (2004) …. Mort Rainey

29. Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d’enfants (2004) …. L’inconnu
… aka …And They Lived Happily Ever After (International: English title)

30. Finding Neverland (2004) …. Sir James Matthew Barrie

31. The Libertine (2004) …. Rochester

32. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) …. Willy Wonka

33. Corpse Bride (2005) (completed) (voice) …. Victor Van Dort

34. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) …. Captain Jack Sparrow

35. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) …. Captain Jack Sparrow

36. Sweeney Todd

I’ll get ‘em all! I promise! And it appears Buy.com already has the right idea on pricing. I might even be convinced to buy 21 Jump Street at that price.

I don’t know how, but for the next two weeks I’ve got an awesome schedule. I had the weekend off and now I only close Monday and Friday. Tuesday through Thursday I work 2-7, which means I don’t have to get up early, nor do I have to close!

Then Saturday I only work 5-10; I’m off Sunday and Monday and Tuesday through Friday I work 12-5. Again, I don’t have to get up early, and I still don’t have to close!

Not quite as many hours as I wanted, but it’s close enough and I’m not going to complain with pretty hours like that. And if I want, I can stay late some of these days to do some work on the computers….though I can’t imagine wanting to stay ;)

Today sorta sucked though. When I work a mid-shift like this, I usually move around to cover breaks in different areas. Today I seemed to keep taking over just in time to get stuck with huge messes. I didn’t get my break either and got stuck staying late.

But as long as the rest of these awesome shifts don’t go this way, I’ll be happy.

How’s your week looking?

Wow….just….wow

I still haven’t decided if I’ll continue on with the Sookie Stackhouse novels before season two of True Blood starts. The first book was definitely different than the first season, but there were key elements that were the same and I don’t know if I want to know what’s coming before it happens on the show, ya know?

I’m also intrigued by what’s going to happen to make me prefer Eric over Bill… I mean right now that’s not even an option, though the actors who play them both on the show are equally tasty. I’ve been told by multiple people that I’ll definitely switch teams soon.

I also really wanna pick up the DVDs and have a little Season 1 marathon before Season 2 begins. I don’t know if I’ll have time for that though.

I might have to hit up this sale and splurge a little.

Have you been watching True Blood? When we all started watching here, we just laughed– it’s a little bizarre and the accents were way over the top, but they eventually evened out and it’s just a damn good show. Being an HBO series, there’s sort of an excess of sex and violence, but it doesn’t kill the story.

I hate that anything and everything ‘vampire’ has become the trend now, but at the same time, it just gives me more good material for a subject I’ve loved pretty much my entire life.

I was a vampire for Halloween every single year for at least 10 years growing up, no joke. I’ve worn more than my fair share of pointy teeth!