Roommate From Hell

After reading SharkBoy's blog about his Evil Roommate, it made me start thinking about my roommate from hell.

This was the summer of 1991. I had been living at home after I dropped out of college. I had lost my drivers license because of so many tickets, so I needed to move into town. Plus, I really didn't want to be living with my parents again. I had already signed a lease for the fall, but I needed to find a place to live for the summer. So Jack, a friend of mine, said he had a cool 1 bedroom apartment that he was going to rent for the summer. He wanted to know if I wanted to stay there. And just for the record, Jack and I were never very close friends. We just knew each other and he often hung around my circle of friends. This was a small town and most of the gay men knew each other.

The living arrangements started off good. He worked at the restaurant/nightclub next door. The restaurant I worked for was about 6 blocks away and easily walkable. Our schedules were different with me working mornings and him working evenings, so we rarely saw each other. And for most nights, he wouldn't sleep in his bed, he slept on the couch. Life was pretty good.

Soon enough, the problems began. He never once bought anything for the apartment. He was eating my food and drinking my drinks. And he would go through toilet paper like crazy! I stopped bring food and drinks into the apartment unless I was going to eat them right then. I also never bought any more toilet paper. I was very good at holding it until I would go to work or a friend's house.

It was a very hot and humid summer that year. I walked in and the apartment was very warm. I checked the thermostat thinking he had turned the a/c off, but no, he had turned the thermostat down to below 50°! If you have never tried this before, our a/c unit was in a closet. When he cranked the thermostat down to below 50°, it froze the pipes in the a/c unit. By the time I had found it, the a/c unit was a solid block of ice. This same even happened at least 3 or 4 times that I remember. And each time, I would bitch him out and tell him that you cannot turn the temperature down that low. We would be without a/c for a few hours each time.

And then I started to notice stuff disappearing. First I couldn't find a few shirts of mine. And honestly, I thought I had probably left them at the laundromat. But then other things started to disappear. A music CD. Some food. A skillet. Some books. When I would confront him, he said he had no idea where they were. So I packed up everything I owned except for essential clothes, and stored it all at a friend's house. Jack never once said anything about how all of my stuff had disappeared.

Fast forward to the end of the 3 month lease. Jack is moving out a week before the lease is over and he was moving to his mom's house in Oklahoma. The night before he was leaving, he had to work had left all of his belongings packed in garbage bags. So I untied the bags and started going through them. Sure enough, there was all of my shirts that had disappeared. I also found my skillet, music CDs and books. I also found some of my underwear (with shit tracks in them, DISGUSTING!). UGH! I removed all of my belongings (except for the shit covered underwear, he can keep those) and tied the bags back shut. I was at work when he left town. He never once left a note or tried to contact me again. Of course, I had the last laugh. It was his name on the lease, not mine. I never bothered to clean when I moved out. After all, in the 3 months we had lived there, he never once bothered to clean anything. And he sure didn't bother to clean when he left. A few years later, my best friend Jeff ran into Jack in a St. Louis bar. Jack told Jeff how upset he was because I left the apartment such a mess. Honestly, I didn't leave it any messier than he had left it. I just never cleaned anything. He was upset of course because he never got his security deposit back. I should have been nicer I suppose, he could have used that money to buy some toilet paper to wipe his ass properly. That would have kept somebody else's underwear from being so nasty!

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Ain't No Son, My Story

The previous post is about the new song being released by the Court Yard Hounds (2/3 of the Dixie Chicks, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire), called Ain't No Son. The beginning of the song is about a gay man who tells his homophobic father that he is gay. The rest of the song is the father's angry response.

What happened when I told my father was a completely different story than what happens in this song. First off, I never had a chance to tell my mother. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was in college. This was the same time I started to realize I was gay. I kept putting off discussing this with her until she got better, but unfortunately, she never got better. My sister told me they had discussed it shortly before she died (my sister knew about me at the time) and my mother had no problems with it as long as I was happy. And I believe she meant that. My mother was an amazing person. I always had looked up to her, and I am very happy to think I ended up much like her.

My father and I were never very close. Even though we all lived in the same house, my father kept to himself quite a bit. He had built a small room in the back of the garage that was his workshop. He was an electrical genius. When I was in grade school, he built our first computer. The computer was the size of 2 refrigerators and had no memory. Every time you turned the computer on (or even worse, the lights flickered) you would have to type your program in. And yes, it only ran 1 program at a time. But every night after work, he would eat his dinner and then retire to his workshop. That was his life.

When my mother died, my father tried to be a lot closer to my sister and I. He was busy buying us stuff (a new car for each of us), giving us monthly allowances, paying for braces for my sister and contacts for me, etc. We spent a lot of time together during this period. And for the first time ever, my father and I started actually talking about things. About this time, I had started dating a guy. My father was becoming very good about asking me questions but leaving the pronouns to be very sexually vague. "Are you seeing anybody?" "Do you like THEM?" "Do THEY treat you good?" "How long have you been seeing THEM?"

This period didn't last very long though. Within a year of my mother dying, my father met a new woman. It was a very strange relationship for all of us, just for the fact that this woman he was now dating had shared an office with my mother for many years. She is a very nice person, but it was just strange that I had known her for many years already. But once they started dating, the closeness with my father started to disappear again. Only this time, he wasn't disappearing into his workshop, he was disappearing into her life.

Shortly after he was seriously dating this woman, I had started seeing a new guy, Mark, and we were getting ready to move in together. So I had decided for my father's 47th birthday, that I would write him a long letter about myself. In this letter, I told him about Mark and that for the first time in a long time, I was very happy and felt like my life was going great. I also told him that since he came from what I considered to be a very redneck and probably homophobic family, I understood if he didn't accept this, but he would always be my father. I chickened out from giving him this card personally. I left the card on his pillow right before I left his house. The next day, I got the email from him.

The email was a good email. :) He told me that he always suspected and had no problems with it. He said he was very glad I had somebody in my life, because he knew how much happiness he had with the new girlfriend. He also mentioned that even though they had never discussed it, he was pretty sure my mother would have had no problems with it either. He said the only thing that mattered was that I was happy with my life, and he would support me 100% with my decision. (Not that it was a decision.)

My father died about 7 years after that email. Our relationship was a very rocky one the last few years of his life. He had married the girlfriend, only to get divorced from her about 5 years later. He lived with his father for a while, but that just didn't work out. He bought a house close to his father and once again, he retreated into his workshop (new house). When he died, Mark and I had broken up and moved on with our lives. But Mark was very kind and escorted me to the funeral. But with all of the ups and downs I experienced with my father, I am very proud to say, I AM HIS SON, and HE IS MY FATHER!

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Enjoy the Ride

I don't speak often of personal matters, but I thought I would just throw this out there.

I have met a guy I really, really like. We've only been on 2 dates so far. Even though I am the hopeless romantic (hopefully the hopeless part is over), I am not assuming anything just yet. But I will just say, I am really enjoying it so far, and I am excited to see where this goes. If something does come out of it, I am all for that. If it doesn't work out, I think I at least made a great new friend. So for now, I am just enjoying the ride! :)

Continue reading...

Summary only...

In With The New

I have never been a resolutions type person. I often make goals, but I don't come up with a list of items that I want to change on January 1st. The best part of my New Year Resolutions, when January 2nd comes around, I am still following all of my resolutions, because there are none!

This year I am working on something different though. After the bitter end of 2009, I have decided to make 2010 totally different. I have already changed my diet and continue to lose weight slowly (being sick most of December helped too!) I don't smoke or do drugs, so no need to give them up. My drinking is so minimal that I rarely drink anymore. I think I am good on that part.

My big change for 2010 is to concentrate on the positive and leave the negative behind. I don't have an anger issue, but I do have a problem of negativity building up before I vent. And when I get upset enough, it often makes me explode!

This might seem easy, but it is a goal that I will really need to work on. Luckily, I have a few things that help me stay positive. My dog is such a sweet dog, it is hard to be mad around her. Just one look at her face and it will melt any anger. Also with all of the colorful Fiesta dishes around the house, who could be mad? Just one look at either of the Fiesta cabinets will put a nice smile on my face.

So I am looking very forward to 2010. :)

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Out With The Old

WOW! 2009 ended up in the toilet, for me at least. It all started in November. The person, that I considered to be my best friend, pretty much stabbed me in the back. Of course he didn't actually drive a knife into me but it hurt all the same. And the worst part was that he has yet to make any attempt to tell me why or apologize.

Then Thanksgiving dinner happened. After working Thanksgiving morning, I went to a friend's house to enjoy a nice dinner with their family. The next day though, the dinner wasn't as nice, I was sick. I won't go into details, but I ended up spending most of the next day on the toilet. Later on, I found out that everybody that had been at the Thanksgiving dinner got sick. Sadly, the next week I came down with the flu. Once again, I had the pleasure of spending some quality time on the toilet. I was suffering from lots of stomach issues and a fever. Luckily, this only lasted for a few days. But the real fun came about 10 days after I got over the flu. I don't know for sure, but I do believe I came down with H1N1 (swine flu). This time I didn't have many stomach problems, but I did have a high fever and my whole body was in pain. I had aches in places that had never hurt before. The fever lasted for 2 days, but the aches continued on for almost 3 weeks. So I was sick for most of December.

And to make my sickness all the more fun, my laptop decided to have a meltdown. I was watching a movie one night and the screen went green and then black. The movie continued playing for a few minutes (I could still hear the dialogue). And then there was nothing. I could turn the computer back on, but the screen would remain black. I plugged an old computer monitor in and VOILA, I could see the screen. But sadly, I was getting tons of error messages. It was unable to load Windows. It was also having problems when I tried to load up the recovery disks. When I took the computer back to Best Buy (luckily it was still under warranty) they said most likely it was the motherboard (which loves to overheat) and would take 2 to 6 weeks. The day after I took the computer in, I got an email from Best Buy/Geek Squad. It basically thanked me for using Geek Squad. During this time, I started watching more DVDs (I don't have cable or satellite tv) and reading books. I even started watching television, which is something I rarely do anymore. But since I don't have cable or satellite television, I am lucky if I can get 4 local channels. It took Best Buy a LOT longer than 2 to 6 weeks! I got a letter (snail mail) from Best Buy that said my computer has been ready since December 18th. I got the letter on January 8th! What really pisses me off is the fact I had called after December 18th, and they said they didn't have it yet. The letter said they had called on December 23rd. I never received a phone call from Best Buy (or any other unknown number) and there was never a voice mail left. Needless to say, I am very glad to have my computer back! :)

But with this posting, I am taking all of the bad and negativity that the end of 2009 brought to me, and putting it behind me.

HELLO 2010! :)

Continue reading...

Summary only...

YES or NO

I forgot to add that this came from Kelly at Comfort in Conecentrics. Thanks Kelly! :)

You can only answer YES or NO

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks. And believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming...nothing is exactly as it seems.

3. It is harder than it looks. But no explanations !!! You will want to...But don't!!!

Copy and paste the questions, delete my answers, type in your answers, and and post. Very simple!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kissed any one of your Facebook friends?--- yes
Been arrested? --- yes
Kissed someone you didn't like? --- yes
Slept in until 5 PM? ---
Fallen asleep at work/school? -- yes
Held a snake? --yes
Ran a red light? --- yes
Been suspended from school? ---no
Experienced love at first sight? --- no
Totaled your car in an accident? --- yes
Fired somebody? ---yes
Sang karaoke? --- no
Pointed a gun at someone? ---no
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? --- yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? --- yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? ---yes
Kissed in the rain? -- yes
Had a close brush with death (your own)? --- yes
Seen someone die? --- yes
Played spin-the-bottle? -- no
Sang in the shower? ---yes
Smoked a cigar? --- yes
Sat on a rooftop? --- yes
Taken pictures of yourself naked? --- yes
Smuggled something into another country? --- no
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? --- yes
Broken a bone? --- no
Skipped school? --- yes
Eaten a bug? --- yes
Sleepwalked? --- no
Walked a moonlit beach? --- yes
Ridden a motorcycle? --yes
Dumped someone? --- yes
Forgotten your anniversary? --- yes
Lied to avoid a ticket? --- no
Flown in a helicopter? --- no
Shaved your head? --- yes
Played a prank on someone? --- yes
Hit a home run? --- yes
Felt like killing someone? --- yes
Cross-dressed? --- yes
Been falling-down drunk? --- yes
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? --- yes
Eaten snake? --- no
Marched/Protested? --- no
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? --- no
Puked on amusement ride? --- no
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? --- yes
Been in a band? --- yes
Knitted? --- yes
Shot a gun? --- yes
Skinny-dipped? --- yes
Caused someone to need stitches? --- yes
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? --- yes
Ridden a surfboard? ---no
Drank straight from a liquor bottle? --yes
Had surgery? --- yes
Streaked? ---yes
Taken by ambulance to hospital? ---yes
Passed out when not drinking? -- yes
Peed on a bush? --- yes
Donated Blood? --- yes
Grabbed electric fence? ---yes
Eaten alligator meat? -- no
Eaten cheesecake? ---yes
Eaten kids' Halloween candy? --- yes
Killed an animal when not hunting? --- yes
Peed your pants in public? --- no
Snuck into a movie without paying? ---yes
Written graffiti? --- yes
Still love someone you shouldn't? --- yes
Think about the future? ---yes
Been in handcuffs? ---yes
Believe in love? --- yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed?--- no

Continue reading...

Summary only...

I'm Outta Here!

The bags are packed, the gas tank is filled up and I'm out of here! I am leaving today for the annual HLCCA (Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association) Conference.

Even though I have been chatting with some of these people for 10 years (first on MediumGreen and now CollectibleMediumGreen), I have never had the opportunity to meet any of them face-to-face. I have wanted to go to the last 3 conferences, but other circumstances have kept me home.

I am picking up my friend Val from the Indy Airport and we are driving the rest of the way to Pittsburgh. We will also be stopping at quite a few junk/antique shops/stores/malls along the way. During the conference we will be visiting the Homer Laughlin factory, where we will see our beloved Fiesta dishes being made. On Saturday, Val and I are going to be joined by 2 other CMG guys. We are going to take a little trip to go visit Fallingwater. Fallingwater is probably Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous design.

You can turn this world around
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your troubles down
It's time to celebrate
Let love shine
And we will find
A way to come together
And make things better
We need a holiday
See y'all next week!

Continue reading...

Summary only...

June 7, 1968

41 years ago today, my mom was in the hospital thinking "WHAT THE HELL AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO?" She had no idea!!! LOL

Today is my 41st birthday. :)

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Rough Road Ahead

Today was a rough day. YIKES!!!

I need to just relax and let things work themselves out. And some good old-fashioned conversation about the situation will help. It ain't the end of the world, just another pothole that I seem to like to hit.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

More Fluff

Instead of doing housework, I got this meme from Kelly.

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids? Here's questions for the people who are a little older...(Not sayin' we're OLD or anything!!)

You know what to do. Copy and paste into your own note, then answer the questions. Finally, tag your friends. But only if you want to.

1. What bill do you hate paying the most? Housing


2. Do you miss being a child? No...I really hated my childhood.


3. Chore you hate the most? Housecleaning


4. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? A long, long time ago...in a galaxy far, far away....let's just say it has been a long time


5. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be? I'm not even going to go there.


6. Name of your first grade teacher? Mrs. Johns


7. What do you really want to be doing right now? A few things.


8. What did you want to be when you grew up? I had no idea.


9. How many colleges did you attend? 1, so far


10. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? It was on top of the pile of t-shirts.


11. What are your thoughts on gas prices? Why do they keep going up???


12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? No alarm today...day off from work.  But I did get woken up by the phone ringing at 7am.  Scared the crap out of me, I thought I was late for work.  But it was a very good call...so all was forgiven! :)


13. Last thought before going to sleep last night? I wish the dog would sleep on her side of the bed!


14. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Ellen Degeneres


15. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? Yes.


16. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer? Most likely.


17. Get up early or sleep in? Sleep in!!!


18. What is your favorite cartoon character? Tigger


19. Favorite thing to do at night with a guy/girl? I am going to keep this nice and clean.  So I plead the 5th!


20. When did you first start feeling old (but never too old for this $#!@)? When I pinched my sciatic nerve in my back. I felt very old walking around with a cane.


21. Favorite lunch meat? Roast Beef or Pastrami.


22. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart? I don't go to Wal-Mart.


23. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? Outdated in that it isn't legal for everybody.


24. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about? I used to watch The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert every night for about 6 months. I can still quote most of the movie. "Listen here you mullet! Why don't you just light your tampon on fire and blow your box apart. Because it is the only bang you are ever going to get, Sweetheart!"


25. What's your favorite drink? Iced Tea


26. Who[m] from high school would you like to run in to? That is wide open since I haven't kept in touch with anybody from high school. But since I have started using FaceBook, I have started chatting online with a few of them.


27. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now? I don't listen to the radio usually..but it is probably on 94.5


28. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives? I have seen 0 (zero) episodes of the Sopranos and 1 (one) episode of Desperate Housewives.


29. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back? I would have tried harder and done many things differently. But the worst relationship mistake wasn't communicating with him very well. We were both very guilty of it and it cost us our relationship.


30. Do you like the person that sits directly across from/next to you at work school? Well, I share a room with 2 other people...not that we sit though. Yeah, I like both of them when we do work together.


31. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purposes? Nope.


32. Last book you finished reading? I haven't read in awhile. The last book I bought was Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin.


33. Do you have a teddy bear? I have one. It was a souvenir from a Bette Midler concert.


34. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth? In the shower? 99% of the time at the bathroom sink. 1% I will walk around the house while brushing.


35. Do you go to church? I haven't been in years. I am religious, I just don't believe in 99% of the churches.


36. How old are you? 40

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Me and My Name(s)

This is also from Elaine. Thanks Elaine!

This is cool...
if I go by my real name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 6 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

if I go by the name I have always gone by (which is Craig btw):

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Craigology

I borrowed this from Elaine (who is one of the many that I can't wait to meet in Pittsburgh this summer!

THE RULES: Once you have been tagged, you are supposed to wipe out my answers and supply your own. After, choose some people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If you were tagged, it's because I want to know more about you. To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note along with your answers, Publish it, go back in and edit your Note and then tag a bunch of people.Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology"

**********FOODOLOGY***************
1. What is your salad dressing of choice?
Blue Cheese

2. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Chain-- El Toro (does 5 or 6 restaurants make them a chain???)
Individual Restaurant- Farrens

3. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Lasagna, Pizza, Tacos

4. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Pepperoni and Italian Sausage

5.What do you like to put on your toast?
Butter and Peanut Butter

6. Any vegetables you don't like?
Lima Beans

7. Do you eat seafood?
NO!

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

1. How many televisions are in your house?
One, but I only use it to watch DVDs

2. What color cell phone do you have?
plain old black

3. How long would it take you to look up who invented the Rubber Band?
Just long enough to type it in Google. "But I invented Post-Its. Actually I invented a special kind of glue. Well, ordinarily when you make glue first you need to thermoset your resin and then after it cools you have to mix in an epoxide, which is really just a fancy-schmancy name for any simple oxygenated adhesive, right? And then I thought maybe, just maybe, you could raise the viscosity by adding a complex glucose derivative during the emulsification process and it turns out I was right." BTW - I LOVE that movie!

4. Have any idea how may Megahertz your computer has?
Which computer??? Both of them are very fast

***************BIOLOGY******************

1. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right

2. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
My appendix a few years ago

3. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
something at work

4. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
yes, in an car accident

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

1. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Probably not

2. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I have never been crazy about my last name...and since I am one of only 2 left with that last name, it wouldn't be a big deal to change it for me

3. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Yeah, I probably would...but since I eat hot sauce all the time, that wouldn't be a big deal...but I need the $1000 up front!

************DUMBOLOGY******************

1. How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
I think I have a pair somewhere...I never wear them though

2. Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
Had to call the cops last night on some crack whore in the store...she had a good run-in with them when they threw her down on the concrete floor

3. Last person you talked to?
Douglass last night

4. Last person you hugged?
one of my friends when I went out the other night

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

1. Season?
I like all of them

2. Holiday?
Probably Christmas

3. Day of the week?
Mondays! (I am usually off on Mondays)

4. Month?
June (My birth month!)

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

1. Missing someone?
Yes

2. Mood?
Relaxed

3. What are you listening to?
Birds outside my window

4. Watching?
The dog trying to get comfortable next to my feet

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

1. First place you went this morning?
The bathroom

2. What's the last movie you saw?
Star Trek

3. Do you smile often?
Sometimes

***************OTHEROLOGY*****************

1. Do you always answer your phone?
No.

2. It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
The only text messages I get at 4am are from this one person that won't take no for an answer

3. If you could change your eye color what would it be?
My eyes change colors on their own enough....right now they are a grayish color

4. Do you prefer cold or hot?
As in???

5. What's your favorite gossip magazine?
Don't read them

6. Have you ever had a pet fish?
Yes...I used to raise Oscars...they are such friendly fish

8. What's on your wish list for your birthday?
Money and a nice evening out

9. Can you do push ups?
probably, but with my bad back, I don't think I would try

10. Can you do a chin up?
Look are the push ups answer

11. Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Excited.

12. Do you have any saved texts?
Yes

13. Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes

14. Do you have an accent?
Nope

15. What is the last song to make you cry?
End of the World by Matt Alber

16. Plans tonight?
Work :(

17. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yes. The good thing is that there is nowhere else to go but up!

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
A charger for my iPod and lunch....2 out of 3 ain't bad

19. Have you ever been given roses?
Yes.

20. Current worry?
None

21. Current hate right now?
Not so much of a hate but some MAJOR ISSUES (almost to the point of hate) with a coworker...luckily my boss agrees with me on the issues about this guy...unluckily, the guy is still there

22. Met someone who changed your life?
Oh yeah!

23. How will you bring in the New Year?
With my friends.

24. What song represents you?
Right now, End of the World by Matt Alber


25. Name three people who might complete this?
No idea

26. Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
Of course...there are a few people I would love to see one more time

27. Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
Yes

28. Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
One of one and still planning on the other

30. Does anyone love you?
Yes.

31. Ever had someone sing to you?
Yes

32. When did you last cry??
It has been a while

33. Do you like to cuddle?
Yeah.

34. Have you held hands with anyone today?
not today

35. What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school?
Top 40

36. Do you like pulpy orange juice?
Yeppers

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Up To Speed

Here is a quick post to bring my blog up to speed. First off, let me say that I am sorry about not posting very much lately. Between my new job and this awful crappy weather, I have just been in a funky mood. The job is going okay. There has been many managerial changes at work lately, and it has become a super stressful experience. One of the things I enjoyed when I first started was the lack of drama that was always present at my last job. But this place is even worse! Luckily, I just get to stay back in my room for the most part and avoid a lot of it.

Fiesta wise, there is nothing much to report. I did get a chance to take a look at the new Square Fiesta dishes. The local store had 3 sizes of plates and the bowls in stock. The color choices were Chocolate, Scarlet, Sunflower, Peacock and Ivory (I believe). I really like the plates. The large plates will make awesome chargers for the round plates. As for the bowls, all I can say is that they looked better in the pictures. Sadly, the bowls do NOT stack. What good are bowls that don't stack??? I was very disappointed with them. And I am now not looking forward to seeing the mugs. Oh well, win a few, lose a few.

The weather has been so-so around here lately. We had a few days over 70°. Most of the days are at least over 50° which is very nice. I have been riding my bike a lot again. I can't wait for nice warm weather all the time.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

46 Questions

I stole this from my friend Terry. He originally posted this on Facebook, so I thought I would put it on my blog. And I kept his instructions, even though they are written for Facebook. And I don't tag people. Fill this out if you feel the need or desire. Otherwise just read and enjoy. And you can comment, it won't kill ya!

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile (in Notes) replacing my answers with yours.

Tag 25 people to do the same thing. (or tag the number of people you think will enjoy this the most)

If I tagged YOU, it's because I want to know more about YOU! and I am evil.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANY ONE? My first name, James, is a family name on my dad's side. It was his name and it appears way too many times in the family tree. I have absolutely no idea where the name Craig came from. And for your info, my parents, even though they named me James Craig, they always called me Craig. The only time I ever went by the name James was for a very short time in college. I hated going by James, and when the professors would call me by James, I would have no idea they were talking to me. No idea what they thought of me when I couldn't answer my own name. LOL

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sadly, every since Mikey died, I haven't had a good cry. When I am feeling sad or emotional, I get the same feelings and emotions as crying but it is extremely rare that there are any tears. Yeah, I am a freak. Thanks for asking. :P

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It is okay. It is a hybrid of cursive and printing. Plus my handwriting likes to go a few different ways from time to time. Sometimes my handwriting looks like a mixture of my grandparents. My grandmother has a very distinct and neat handwriting, while my grandfather has a very messy chicken-scratchy handwriting.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I am not very picky about lunch meat. I like turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef, pastrami, and braunschweiger.  I just don't eat a lot of lunch meat.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? I have a 2 1/2 year old pitbull puppy who is the biggest baby around. I also have a 9 year old Yellow-Naped Amazon parrot. After them, I don't think I could handle kids.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Only if I paid myself. LOL Just kidding. Hell yeah I would be friends with myself. I am the only sane person I know. LOL Just kidding again. Or am I???

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Who Me??????? (looking very angelic) HAHA

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, I keep it in a jar in the kitchen. I sure hope nobody cooks it by mistake. HA, just kidding. Yes, I have never had my tonsils taken out. I did have my appendix taken out 3 years ago.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Hell yeah, in a second I would do it. But since it is extremely flat where I live, it ain't gonna happen around here.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I don't eat a lot of cereal, but my faves are Raisin Bran or Lucky Charms. Used to be Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries was the only cereal I would eat.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope. Well, I have to untie my fireman boots that I wear sometimes, otherwise I couldn't get them on or off.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Pretty much any ice cream that has peanut butter (salmonella free of course), fudge and/or caramel in it.

13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I am weird, I just get a feeling that I notice. I sometimes remember their eyes or smile.

14. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY ONE ALBUM FRONT TO BACK FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? In this day and age...who has albums anymore? If I had to choose just one CD, it would be Pet Shop Boys Discography.

15. RED OR PINK? Sorry MsVal, but it is definitely Red. I am not a pink person.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? That I am a procrastinator and that I get so emotional over silly things.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my parents, Mikey and Jeff the most. I am pretty sure I think about them everyday.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? I am not a tagger. If you want to do this, knock yourself out. I am pretty sure a few of my blogger friends will do this. We are just that way!

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I am wearing some green and blue plaid lounge pants and no shoes. Does that turn you on??? Sick perverts.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The TV is on but I am not watching it.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? How racist. I would be the rainbow colored crayon.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? FOOD!!! Yeah, I am hungry right now. I need to finish this up so I can go get something to eat before work.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Douglass, even though he has lost his voice and can't talk very well right now.

24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Nobody sent it to me, but I am friends with the guy that I stole it from.

25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Baseball or College Basketball or College Football

26. HAIR COLOR? Brown. It is still brown (very little gray is showing up) but the hair on my head cut extremely close so it is very hard to tell what color it is. My goatee (when I had it) had a lot of gray and white hair in it. But I got rid of the goatee with the new job.

27. EYE COLOR? Green, no Hazel, no Grey. Honestly, my eye color changes every so often. Nothing dramatic but it does change between those colors.

28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes. I need new glasses, so I am beginning to wear my contacts more often. I usually only wear them when I go out.

29. FAVORITE FOOD? I LOVE food...and my waist shows it!!! A good steak or a very good cheeseburger any day, any time!  Did I mention that it is lunch time and I am hungry????

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Somewhere in the middle. I find most scary movies lack any mind captivating

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I started watching Naked Men Singing the other night, but I fell asleep. I am getting old.

32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black.

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? Even though this winter has been bad, I still prefer winter over summer.

34. HUGS OR KISSES? Hershey Hugs are the best, but Kisses are good too. And yes, I don't go crazy about chocolate. But the Candy Cane Kisses that I got this Christmas were AMAZING!!!  As for Hugs or Kisses, if the person isn't repulsive, I don't think I have turned down either.

35. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? That one and that one over there. Guess where I was pointing.

36. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Them and them. Still pointing. I guess my mother never taught me not to point.

37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? I was reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, until the dog chewed up the book when I only had 50 pages left. BITCH!

38. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The mouse! What a stupid question. Actually I am on the laptop right now, but the mouse for the desktop in on a Dell mousepad, even though the computer isn't a Dell.

39. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Sadly, I wasn't feeling 100% last night, so I slept off and on most of last night. The TV was on, but I have no idea what was playing.

40. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? The sound of dollar bills being stuffed into my g-string. Oh wait, I was having a stipper flashback.

41. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Either/Or. I like some of the music of both of them, but I don't love either one.

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Go to Google Maps and figure it out yourself. Either New Orleans or North Carolina. Yeah, I don't get around much.

43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Sure....you wanna see it? (said very sarcastically)

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a hospital.  What a silly question.  The hospital was in Monmouth, Illinois.  For those who just have to know.

45. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? The ones that answer. DUH!  Did I mention that I might be sarcastic???

46. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER? I think where we met the first time is better left unsaid. But when we first started seeing each other, we were talking online.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

43 Odd Things About Me

This meme comes from Becky's blog.

1. Do you like bleu cheese? I LOVE IT!!! I could eat blue cheese all the time.

2. Have you ever smoked? Yeah, for a very short time.

3. Do you own a gun? I have 2 squirt guns if those count. They are very sentimental to me. All I can say is June 7, 1991. For those of you who might remember. It was an excellent day for such a sad time.

4. What flavour of Kool-Aid was your favorite? Probably cherry. I haven't had Kool-Aid since I was a kid.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Sometimes. Mainly because I hope my blood pressure has gone down and I don't get scolded by the doctor again.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? A typical lunch for me.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Without a doubt, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!

8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Pineapple Orange Juice

9. Can you do push ups? No idea, haven't tried in years.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I only wear 1 piece of jewelry.

11. Favorite hobby? Fiesta dishes.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? Most likely...I am pretty sure I have had this since grade school. I never did well in school because I could never concentrate. I still suffer from this problem.

13. What's one trait you dislike about yourself? I am a terrible procrastinator.

14. Middle name? Craig. Ha...that doesn't help you out much. James is my first name.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this moment: "What am I going to eat for lunch" "How much time do I have before I need to get ready for work" "Another meme???"

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Water, Iced Tea and anything diet soda

17. Current worry? The car.

18. Current dislike right now? The fact that I really need to be cleaning this place instead of being on here. Oh well, even though I have said it for a few days now, I can always do it TOMORROW!!!

19. Favorite place to be? Bourbon Street, New Orleans

20. How did you bring in the new year? At home, I had to work that night and didn't get off work until 10pm. I know...BORING!

21. Where would you like to go? New Orleans (of course)or San Fransisco but the only plans so far are for Pittsburgh in July.

22. Name three people who might complete this? I am not a tagger. I always leave it up to other people to do it if they wish.

23. Do you own slippers? Yes, if the dog hasn't chewed them up, I have a pair of slippers somewhere.

24. What shirt are you wearing? A black t-shirt with the logo of a piercing/tattoo parlor. I got it when I got my body piercing (deals with #10).

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Not particularly. I prefer flannel sheets when it is cold and cotton sheets the rest of the year.

26. Can you whistle? So-So. Believe me, they won't be calling me to remake the Andy Griffith theme song, but I can get my dog's attention.

27. Favorite color? Blue

28. Would you be a pirate? Hell ya....that would be an awesome job. ARRRRHHHHH!

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I am not a singer. I might sing along with the radio in the car but only if I am by myself.

30. Favorite Girl's Name: Robin

31. Favorite boy's name: Noah or Jake

32. What's in your pocket right now? Lint

33. Last thing that made you laugh? I had a good laugh when I found out somebody had been fired. And no, it isn't anybody I worked with. Long story behind it, but this person got what they deserved.

34. What vehicle do you drive? Toyota 4Runner

35. What is the worst injury you have had? Either my numerous back problems or the car accident in 1990 when I suffered a concussion. I still have memory problems that I blame on that concussion.

36. Do you love where you live? Not really. It is an apartment.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1 TV and the laptop has a tv tuner.

38. Who is your loudest friend? That would be the pet parrot. It is mating season and she is extremely vocal lately.

39. Does someone have a crush on you? I think there are a few people.

40. Your favorite book(s): There are quite a few. But I love to read and will read just about anything.

41. Do you collect anything? Fiesta dishes, Tigger items and Christmas items (including Dept. 56 North Pole Village).

42. Favorite Sports Team? Used to be the New York Mets, but I haven't kept up with them in a few years. I do enjoy watching games at Wrigley Field in Chicago, so I guess the Chicago Cubs.

43. What songs do you want played at your funeral? "The Rose" by Bette Midler. It was one of my mom's favorite songs. We had it played at her funeral and every time I hear it it still brings a tear to my eye.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Work is a VERY DIRTY 4-letter word!

Work has been unbelievable this past few weeks. There are 2 other guys that have the same position as me. Don is the most experienced one of the three. The other guy is Seth. The nicest thing I can say about Seth is.......let me get back to you on that. It takes 3 of us to get everything done and cover all of the hours. Our department is open from 8am to 9 pm everyday, so there is very little overlapping in our shifts.

It has been no secret that Don would be on an 10 day vacation towards the end of January. He was leaving on a Friday and wouldn't be back until two Mondays later. Our boss was going to help pick up the extra coverage, but even he admits that he is unable to do our job very well. So it was going to be Seth and me. That is stressful enough, but it got even better when Seth decided he was going to quit. So it became a guessing game as to how long he would work. He did work 2 days of the week, so it wasn't a total screw up, but it still SUCKED!!! I ended up working 14 days in a row. Last week I ended up with between 65 and 70 hours. That doesn't include the work I did off the clock, only so we wouldn't be in as much trouble. Yeah, we (my boss and I) were informed that there would be NO overtime! HUH! AS IF!

The week started off pretty good. Business was so-so. So there were no major catastrophes. Friday and Saturday were crazy. Friday business really picked up. We knew it had to happen eventually, they hadn't been in during the week, so we knew they would hit us hard over the weekend. Saturday was INSANE!!! It started off crazy and only got worse. Business was HUGE! The sales ad we had last week was CRAZY!!! It is one of the worst sales ads out there, it takes a lot of labor to keep up with it, so it was definitely not the right week for that. And with the Superbowl on Sunday, it was only that much more crazy!Sunday morning they called all of us into a meeting. It turns out Saturday had been one of our best sales days yet. They were all impressed by how much we did and how well we kept up! And then we all had to get back to work, because with the big game later, sales were starting to build up. I only ended up staying an extra hour on Sunday. I was so sore from the previous week that I couldn't make it. I guess that the business never really died down from there.

I had to work Monday (day 13 in a row without a day off!) The good thing is that I am back to working evenings!!! The bad thing, I had to listen to the night managers bitch and moan about how poorly this place was taken care of last week during the evening shifts. So sorry, I was having to work the day shifts and there was nobody qualified to take care of it.The best news, I have 2 days off in a row!!! I can finally get caught up on bills, laundry, cleaning, dishes, mail a couple of packages and RELAX!!! So Sallie, Kelly and MySuperSecretSanta, your packages on the way. And no, I am not saying who MySuperSecretSanta is....they might or might not read this message board. Cheers!

Continue reading...

Summary only...

My meme Mosaic

Click to enlarge

Becky (Random Musings of a Deco Lady) posted this photo mosaic meme on her blog. Just like her, I have seen this one before, but I have never done it. So after seeing hers, I thought I would give it a try.

Use fd’s Flickr Toys to make a mosaic.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite colour?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

Crazy Weather and Work

I am glad I decided to leave early for work today, I had no idea that we had a thick coating of ice over everything this morning. So I started the car and let it run for a few minutes and no more ice! I put the car into 4wheel drive and off I went. Work was a madhouse when I got there. It turns out that a good-sized portion of the town was without electricity because of the ice. Our biggest competitor, Wal-Mart, was in that good-sized portion without electricity, so they were closed down. It was nuts at work. Wal-Mart was opened up again sometime in the afternoon. But until they were reopened, I was kept running around like crazy. Needless to say, sales today will be very good.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

New Year meme

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
--Lived by myself.
--Had an MRI.
--Applied for unemployment. Not a high point.
.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yes, I kept the one resolution (lose weight) for the entire year but the other resolution (join a gym) lasted for 6 months, but I had to give it up after I injured my back. (See #10) Will I make new resolutions, probably not.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No
.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No

5. What countries did you visit? United States!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A boyfriend.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? The election on November 2nd. It was exciting (Obama making history) and depressing (Prop8 passing).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Finding a new job. Rebuilding my relationship with D.

9. What was your biggest failure? Either getting fired from my job, or the second hard drive in my desktop crashing. I lost all of my picture, music and video files that was on there. The 500gb hard drive was full and now they are all gone.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I fell and hurt my back in May. I was in constant pain for 4 months until it got corrected. Unfortunately, I hurt it again in November at my new job. I am back to the constant pain.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Some Fiesta. I didn't buy much this year.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Marcella moved home. Not sure that was as much about his behavior, but it is nice to have him back here.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My ex-employers. I used to really respect the family-owned company that I worked for. But in order to save a few bucks, they decided to fire the people who made more than minimum wage. The sad thing is, I now work for a competitor of theirs and I see their regular customers in my new place of employment all the time. I am constantly being told how bad the old place is now that I am gone. I am at least happy to hear that.

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills and medical bills. And more bills.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to the HLCCA conference in Minneapolis to meet the people I have chatted with online for the past 8 years. I didn't get to go because of #10. I am planning on going in 2009.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Tom Baxter - Better

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Happier, much thinner, poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Activities outside the house

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Goofing off at the computer and procrastinating.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? On my yacht in the Caribbean....I can dream at least.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Nope

22. How many one-night stands? A couple of them.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Still LOST!

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Yeah, I can think of two people, a couple that used to be good friends of mine. Hate might be a strong word, but I cannot stand the thought of them.

25. What was the best book you read? Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Tom Baxter and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

27. What did you want and get? A new president.

28. What did you want and not get? My wish to come true, I am still holding out for 2009.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? Dark Knight was good. I also liked Sex and the City. But the best film I saw this year was a rental "Death At A Funeral". The movie is from Great Britian and came out in 2007, but I didn't see it until 2008.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I hit the big 4-0 this year. I did the ever exciting thing of working on my birthday. I might have gone out that night, I don't remember.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If Prop8 had passed. (Or the measures in Arizona and Florida too.)

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I changed uniforms. I am still a t-shirt and jeans (or shorts in summer) kinda guy. But I do clean up nicely sometimes.

33. What kept you sane? My codependent dog, Sassy.  And watching Tina Fey in her parodys of Sarah Palin.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Wanda Sykes, she stood up at a Prop8 rally and came out of the closet.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage (Prop8)

36. Who did you miss? My parents, Mikey or Jeff

37. Who was the best new person you met? Good question. I met a few new people, but I don't know if I would call any of them the best.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Don't take a job for granted. It doesn't matter that I worked my ass off for that job, I still got fired for them trying to save a few bucks.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. (See #16) Our love has changed, it’s not the same, and the only way to say it - is say it - it’s better. I can’t concede this way I feel. For all the time we spend together...forever, just gets better.

Continue reading...

Summary only...

My 2009 New Year's Resolutions

I don't believe in all the hocus pocus that people call resolutions. After all, are those people so weak that they are unable to make a change in their lives on the other 364 days? When I set my mind to change something, I don't wait until January 1st, I just start doing it. Last year I made 2 resolutions, but honestly, I had already been working on them. The first was to workout more. I did that until I hurt my back in the summer. I tried to workout (very carefully) with my back pain, but I never got very far. So I dropped my gym membership. The second resolution was tied to the first. It was to lose more weight. I did lose more weight, but I didn't lose as much as I wanted. But I am very happy. My goal is to continue with that, but of course, that is a lifetime commitment, not just 2009.

And before you start to throw shoes at me, and please, keep those shoes for your favorite soon-to-be-gone-but-not-gone-soon-enough elected officials, let's keep in mind what helped fuel the passion at the elections this past November. Change. This country is long overdue for change. Obama was elected on the platform of change. But that change began with us (we did elect him) and it will continue through us and not him. He will do his best, but nothing is going to correct itself without our help. So my resolution will be to get out there and make that change happen and to make it stick.

I am not any activist by a long shot. But the change I am talking about is the little things. Going out there and helping your neighbor. Buy a meal for a friend who needs a hand. Take some food into work and feed your coworkers. Give a gift to somebody who is sick. That is how change begins. And it is contagious. Once you begin the change, the people you touch will turn that around and pass it on to others. That is my resolution for 2009.

Have a great and safe new year. And lets hope for many more new years in the future for all of us. Have a great 2009, I plan on it!

Continue reading...

Summary only...