RIP Uncle John

I was notified on Monday my Uncle John passed away and his obituary would be in the paper. I was unfortunately unable to attend the viewing yesterday but will be attending the funeral today. Uncle John was actually my grandfather's brother. He used to bowl with my dad and grandfather all the time when I was younger. While I worked at Blockbuster, he was a crossing guard for the school I passed every day and I would drive by honking and waving. I didn't know him real well as my family has a tendancy to not really communicate and I haven't seen him in a couple of years (with the exception of my grandfathers funeral back in November). However, I feel there is a need for me to attend the funural and so I will be there today.

Doug and Coworkers Crappy Adventure

OK, so it's been a little while since I posted and I missed the Friday's Feast two weeks in a row. Well, I sort of have an explanation.

On the 14th I flew out of Harrisburg heading to San Dimas (Go Wyld Stallyns) on a business trip. We were supposed to come back Friday.

Basically, the flight out was completely uneventful and I had great seats with my boss and my lead programmer in an exit row where I could stretch out. We landed, rented a car and drove the approximately 40 miles to the hotel near San Dimas. On Thursday we visited the client and then drove back to a hotel near LAX ate dinner and went to bed. Friday we boarded our plan and landed in Charlotte.

In Charlotte is where things got bad. Due to the big storm, all flights heading north where canceled and (I found this out Monday) all traffic landing pretty much anywhere north was diverted to Charlotte. There was a line probably 200 people deep in the gate area so we headed outside the security area to try our luck in the terminal. Bad move! The line was easily 200 yards long.

We chose to grab a car and get a hotel and come back in the morning. When we came back Saturday morning, the line was even longer (and this was at 7 AM). We spent three hours in the airport and my friend back home whom I was on the phone with found us a flight out of Greensboro Sunday Morning. Since none of the rental car agencies would give us a one way rental (threatening to charge us for the car if it wasn't returned) we took a $250 cab ride to the Greensboro airport.

We grabbed a hotel near by and went to Wal-Mart) since the lead programmer checked her bags and needed some clothes and other things. After Wal-Mart it was the bookstore where were enjoyed some coffee and snacks (I also bought a book since I finished the two I brought along). I also had to do some laundry (the woman behindd the counter didn't charge us for laundry soap after she heard our story) so we didn't get to dinner until about 8 which meant I didn't get to bed until about 11 and then I had to be up at 4:30 AM so we could catch a 5:30 AM flight.

Everything else returning was OK except the part where I thought I was going to die. Right after all the wheels of the plane touched down, the whole planed lurched to the right (the side of the plane I was sitting on) and I could see the wing get extremly close to the ground on our side and further away from the ground on the other side. Then we were righted and everything was good.

Last week was basically a blur of activity at work and at home so I didn't really have a chance to post (nor the energy).

Disappointment

Here was the plan:

• Candi and I were going to drive to West Haven, CT to stay at her sisters house on Friday (this is a 4.5 hour drive or so).
• Saturday morning I was going to drive to JFK from there (which is a 1.5 hour drive).
• I was going to pick my friend "M" up from the airport and then drive into the city (half hour) and park so we could visit my friend Jon.
• We were going to crash at Jon's house, drive to West Haven Sunday afternoon, grab Candi and then head back home.

Here is what really happened:

• Candi and I drove to West haven without incident (although the tolls getting there were just plain crazy. It cost me almost $12 to go less than 40 miles). We had no problem getting there since I borrowed one of those GPS never lost devices from my dad.
• We did have problems inflating the air mattress which meant I didn't get to bed until close to 12:30 AM.
• I woke up 4 hours later, put on the same clothes I was wearing and drove to JFK airport.
• I was there at about 6:15 AM (15 minutes after the flight was supposed to land).
• "M" didn't walk out until almost 7:15 AM (at least he had his luggage).
• M had "lost" (HA!) his wallet in Thailand so he had no credit or debit cards and only his $40 in emergency cash he had in the hotel safe with his passport.
• We drove back to West Haven.
• I bought M breakfast.
• We hung out some at Candi's sister's apartment. I thought we would go see a movie since we weren't planning on going back home until Sunday.
• The keys where locked in the car.
• I called AAA and they got the keys for me an hour later free of charge.
• M and I went to see 300 while the girls shopped a little.
• We ate at a great Mexican place called "On the Border".
• We drove home which sucked because part of the way it was raining and the rest of the way it was so foggy I couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of the car and had to drive about 40 MPH with the flashers on.

Needless to say I was pissed that M wanted to come home Saturday night and that I didn't get a chance to see Jon. Candi was pissed she didn't get to spend more time with her sister.

Friday Feast

Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime? Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

I used to go to bed between midnight and 1 or 1:30 AM. Now that I have finally taken the time to get on some insomnia medicine (Lunesta), I'm going to bed around 11 and sleeping through the whole night.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

I give to much. It's a character flaw. I like to play devil's advocate.

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you've had.

I had this giant leg of meat at a bar in Dusseldorf. I felt like a caveman eating the leg of a giant saber tooth tiger. I think it was bigger than my head. The meal was memorable not only becuase of the giant leg of meat I was eating but because of the company, the foreign country, the atmosphere in the bar and of course the local brew.

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

The Man in the Maze by Robert Silverberg kind of made me re-examine how people really are.

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Apple

TV Thoughts

Some thoughts on my current TV watching:

• Battlestar Galactica - WTF!!!!! I don't think she's really dead. I'm really hoping these last three eposides are better than the prior three.
• 24 - OK, what happened to Jack. Why are we not seeing more of Jack running around killing people. So far this season seems to be stalled.
• Jericho - This one hasn't lost my interest yet. I'm dying to know who dropped the bombs.
• Friday Night Lights - Alas, I love this show but I like Jericho better and C likes American Idol so this one has been relegated to the sidelines.
• The OC - All I can say is goodbye.
• CSI - Is it me or is Sarah getting really creepy. Someone over at TVSquad seems to think she is the miniature killer.
• Survivor - So far this is a snooze fest. I'm hoping when it comes down to the individual challenges things will get better.
• Num3ers - I enjoy this show but don't follow it every week or even record it even though I should.
• Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy - Still got game.

Lunesta

As far back as elementary and high school, I have had a bit of a sleeping problem. I always had problems getting to sleep (sleeping was fine since once I'm asleep WWIII could start and stop and I would never know). I would be up until 1 or 2 in the morning go to bed and then wake up for school or work. The only time I slept in was for delays at school or weekends.

When I worked at Blockbuster, this worked out great because I would work some shifts where I was in the store until 1 AM before I left for home and wouldn't need to be back until 4 the next night.

However, now that I'm older and have kids and further responsabilities, It's starting to wear me out. I was having problems getting up in the morning and starting coming to work slightly late. I would be tired the whole day but still not be able to get to sleep at night. So now my doctor has me on Lunesta. Last night was the 1sy night and I got to bed and asleep by 11:15 and had no problems waking up in the morning. We'll see how it goes from here.

Friday Feast

Appetizer - What does the color pink make you think of?

Elephants. my 3 girls or newborn baby girls.

Soup - Name something you thought you had lost, but later found.

A friendship.

Salad - In 3 words, describe this past week.

Sleepy, Wet, Busy

Main Course - What are you obsessed with?

I don't really know what I'm obsessed with. I can tell you that I can't miss an episode of Battlestar Galactica and 24. I can't stand my ears being dirty and probably clean them twice a day. I'm also obsessed with Sudoku and crossword puzzles.

Dessert - What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?

I don't wear cologne too often. I prefer the scent of Dove soap. However, when I do it's usually something someone else asks me to wear or it's one of those Axe Body Sprays.

Special Report

I was watching Dateline, 20/20 or some other similar show and they were doing a segment on online predators. I'm talking about those creepy guys who stalk young girls in internet chat rooms and try to have sex with them. Now I find this extremely nausiating (particulary since I have 3 girls) but some questions flashed through my head.

This sting was done by having someone pose as a 14 or 15 year old girl in an adult chat room. The guy they busted was in the adult chat room looking for some action (sick fucking pedofile he is). He talks dirty with this "girl" and plans on meeting her. He meets her (or the police decoy in this case) and is busted.

Now the questions I have are:

1. What is a 14 or 15 year old girl doing in an adult chat room? If it was a real 14 or 15 year old girl, you have to wonder why she's there in the first place. Maybe she needs some counseling or other help. If it was just curiosity, how did it get so far in certain cases.
2. If this was a real underage kid and she was in the chat room, where are her parents? Shouldn't they be monitoring her internet use and putting some locks on these things. Should there be some sort of punishment for parents allowing thier kids to participate in adult and potentially harmful online situations? I don't know. I do know it scares the shit out of me how lazy some parents are when it comes to internet usage. I barely let my kids on the computer at all and even when they are, I have the thing locked down so tight sometimes they have to get me just to get to some kids site because of a particular word on that site ("nuts" seems to be one that constantly blocks pages even though the page is only talking about peanuts or something equally unharmful).
3. Are there even still chat rooms out there? I use the internet a lot particulary with my job but the only chat I participate in is with my google account which means everyone I'm talking to I know already.
4. Maybe there should be some education for kids. When I was little we got all sorts of speeches and school assemblies about strangers. "Just Say No!", "Don't talk to Strangers!", Officer Friendly and so on. So why is there no education for these kids about the dangers of online predators? Hell, I hardly even hear anything about or from my kids regarding regular strangers.

Now, don't get me wrong, I definately think the ass hat who was busted deserved to be busted and he wasn't talking to a real girl, but in order to minimize the overall situation, shouldn't we be better armed?