Monday, February 28, 2005

caught in the rain without an umbrella

I hate doing laundry. I guess that's why I ended up going out in only my underwear - although I did have on a big fleece top as well, so it's not like I was naked - just a little exposed - but no worse then short shorts or mini-skirts! Nonetheless I felt a bit exposed after being out - so during a break I decided to run home real quick and grab some pants.


When I get to my brothers house - the front door is wide open and my brothers friend who was supposed to be watching the kids is lying on the front step tied up inside a plastic grocery bag (he's kind of a little guy - I wouldn't call him a midget, but pretty darn close) So I run over and rip open the bag - he's still breathing, he's not hurt other then just being a bit traumatized - but he doesn't know if they took the kids, or hurt them or where they are - so I run into the house screaming their names. Cory! Erin! They're both there, back in their bedroom just quietly playing a game - they had no idea that anything was wrong. They knew that someone had come over to visit - and they told me his name, I knew who he was, he used to be a friend of my brothers at one point when we were younger - I wonder if he knew he was back in town.


About that time Steve and Cesar came by - they were on their way back and stopped to see if I needed a ride. I was going to be really late so I jumped at the chance - meanwhile forgetting to ever grab any pants. But they had some sweats in the car so I put those on and was good to go - especially now 'cause it was starting to rain and I'd be cold. We pull around the corner and Cesar notices that the travel agents office is open now - but Steve tells him that they'll have to stop on the way back - they needed to get me back before it was all over. That was cool of him, cause I get there just in time. They were passing out umbrellas that other people have left behind, to anyone that didn't have one, before we headed off. I had left one there earlier thinking that I could just pick it up again - but I couldn't find it and since I was late I figured someone else must have taken it. But Miriam had one of her own - and being that cute French girl that she is - convinced them to give her another one, so we were all going to be fine.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

smokin' with dad

I'm with my dad in a convenince store, and he's pointing out the CD's they sell at the counter - you know those cheesey compliations of "greatest hits of the 80's" or "all time country favorites" - well he tells me that his barbershop quartet was going to make CD's and sell them at c-stores, but that they all have to be produced through this same label - so we buy a bunch of 'em to figure out how he can get his music onto a CD and into the hands of those desperate for barbershop whilst traveling the great highways of this land.


Meanwhile, back in the parking lot he's having a little trouble getting the car out of the parking space and almost sideswipes the car next to us - now I know the guys in the car - I went to high school with 'em and they were all complete assholes. You know the type; lots of money, little bit of althleticism and no brains. So I yell at dad to stop before he does and my friend Jill Callies jumps out of the car, now I guess calling Jill a friend mught be a strech - we were friends at one point, but rather then realizing what these people were like, she wanted to become one - so we said poilite hellos and moved on our way.


So now we're on our way - but we've got Jill's mom in the car with us and we need to get to Susan's place. Susan sub-let an apartment that Jennie and I lived in for a few months after we left until the lease was up. It backed right up to a KFC drive though, and well that was convienent on occasion, it was also really irritating when someone had to keep reapeating "I want a 3-piece chicken and biscuit with a side-a-potato" 'cause the workers couldn't hear through the bad speaker, but we could hear 3-floors up and across the parking lot. So while it was a decent place, I'm not sure why Susan wanted to move back there, but she was going to and we needed to get to her place quick.


So dad's driving, Jill's mom is in the front seat and he's explaining to her how you can smoke secretly if you crack the car window open in the front and the back and blow the smoke out the window. I'm sitting in the backseat and they're paying no attention to me so I pull out a box of Marlboros and give it a try myself. Well look at that - I'm puffing right out the window next to my dad's head and he doesn't have a clue. Guess that's what being "an adult" means - you realize your parents do know something afterall.

Monday, February 21, 2005

flag on the play

Time for flag practice again this year. But we needed to raise some money for new flags and such so we decided to take part in the big flag and drum corps show. But as is typical with this group, no one really communicated much very well and I suddenly get a phone call that I need to go down to the show, and take the snacks that we were selling - and that I need to get there ASAP. I check the boxes of snacks that had been delivered to my house early - and I all I find inside are a bunch of half empty chip bags and cookie boxes. Great. Now I needed to stop and get more, as well as go pick up Tami and then get to the convention center. Now Tami was the friend that I did flags with in high school, so while that would be fun, I haven't seen her in probably 10 years and as far as I know sh estil lives in Kansas, so I decide that it doesn't make any sense, so I call Gretchen instead. I let her know that I'm on my way and she needs to be ready. Being Gretchen of course when I tell her I’ll be there in 10 minutes she says it'll take her at least 20 and that really means 30. URGH! So I need to call the folks working at the booth right now and let 'em know that we might be a tad late. Of course my mother is on the phone and she's talking to my little niece (who by the way is less then a year old and therefore can't really talk on the phone.) and she won't hang up. I let her know that I really need to use the phone and she just won't do it and tells me I'm being selfish - I holler at her a bit but it does no good. Someone else turns on the TV to check out what's going on at the convention center at the moment (have you ever watched the convention center channel - it's pretty amusing sometimes) and I see that the crowds are already showing up getting ready for the show - damn - we're too late!

Thursday, February 03, 2005

amazing what you can find in the backyard

It’s good to have your friends along when you’re looking for houses; they find things you might miss. We were out looking at this place and Spencer was with Noland checking out the basement (gotta see what the band practice space capabilities are ya know) while Steve and I are wandering around outside. It was kinda out in the country, so it had a huge lot and there was this big area of brush in the back – it’s near the property line and there are woods behind it, so at first I just figured it was a bunch of overgrown trees and bushes that the previous owners hadn’t bothered to keep trimmed down. But Steve thinks that he sees something back there, so we traipse back to take a look – he digs in under the branches a bit and comes up with a piece of blue tarp – we hack at the branches a bit – of course I happened to be carrying a machete – and pull them back…lo and behold there’s a hot tub there! We get all of the branches pulled back and the tarp off (considering how thick all those branches were it only took us a minute or so to do all this – we’re pretty amazing!) and it’s not just a hot tub, there’s a complete Olympic sized swimming pool as well. Now it’s kind of a weird pool – cause it’s an above ground one with aluminum sides – like the one we had in our backyard when I was a kid – but it’s full sized and has a diving board and everything. The tarp on top is sagging and it’s full of green mucky water – but it seems like it should be salvageable. The best part is – since it wasn’t listed in any of the amenities of the home – the people selling it probably don’t know it’s there, so it’s not included in the assessment of the price of the house. Ya know, they didn’t know they had a basement either until Spencer and Noland found it; they’re not really very bright. Well hey – we’re not telling.