Another quiz

So false

Your Birthdate: September 7

Born on the 7th day of month gives you a tendency to be something of a perfectionist and makes you more individualistic in many ways. Your mind is good at deep mental analysis and complicated reasoning. You are very psychic and sensitive, and you should usually follow your hunches. You may not take orders too well, so you may want to work alone or in a situation where you can be the boss. This birthday gives a tendency to be somewhat self-centered and a little stubborn.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

A recent conversation...

Overheard in the Casa:

Mrs: So what do you want to do for your birthday?
Ninjamunkey: I would love to take a weekend trip, somewhere we have never been. Maybe New Orleans? I would love to site see, and get ripped on bourbon street.
Mrs: That sounds great, start shopping for the best deal...


After about 2 or 3 days, we realized that flying was the only way to do it and have time to site see, but of course, it was super expensive. So we did what we normally do with plans, and put them off. We were supposed to be there next weekend. This week, the city has been washed away, and most of it has been evacuated.

So I ask you, faithful reader (numbering 1), is that good luck that we did not go, or bad luck for the city itself. I find myself being in the former, because self preservation and safety of my family is more important that any mixed drink in the French Quarter.

Night Moves...

So this week I am working the night shift. What did I do to deserve this? Sure it is going to be slower, and in a much less hectic plant, but I am used to working 5:30am-3:30pm, and now I am getting here at 3 pm. Sucks. But I will make the best of it.

Still fighting with the insurance company over the stuff that was stolen, and it seems like it will happen for the rest of my natural life.


So the casa is just about ready for the big 3-oh shindig, and if you did not get an invite, email me. I might send one out, cause that means more presents for me. I know that is a immature way to look at it, but when your turning 30, immaturity is something you cling to.

It appears that my sister is trying to sue my parents for ruining her credit. Not that they did anything other than stop paying the bills. She is claiming that they got her the cards before she was 18 and ran them up. Only half of that is true. Who knew that she could be so evil?

Well its time to start working for a few minutes...I will try to post my activities as I go. Should provide entertainment, or at least give people reason to say "what are they paying him for?"

The cup is half empty....

"This job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers"...Randal in Clerks

So its Thursday, and I have had a week to forget. Nothing spectacular other than working that shift on Monday, only to open the next morning, 4 hours later. It was great. sarcasm on high alert today.


Sitting in my office yesterday, working on a PC, surrounded by a stack of machines, printers stacked around the room, and various electronic guts laying around. Imagine my suprise when someone came to my door and said "are you in IT?"

The paper towel dispenser in the bathroom here has a instructions on it. Not so wierd. Having an arrow pointing to a small wheel and referring to it as the "emergency release" has me wondering. What the hell kind of emergency can you have with a paper towel dispenser?

Still fighting with the insurance company to replace all the stuff that was stolen, but each phone call finds them wanting more stuff. Like manuals, receipts, proof of purchases. Yeah, like I had a "when it gets stolen, here is all the paperwork I am going to need" file on my desk.

Apparently I have the super human ability to be on time to work. My co-irkers can not seem to figure that one out around here. I had a buddy I used to work with that was on average 30 minutes late each day. It was so regular, it bacame a standard. I now have my night shift counterpart that cannot arrive before 40-50 minutes after his shift begins. HE comes in at 3pm! He only works 9 hours. I am not sure why there is a problem, and I really dont know why he is still employeed. You watch, the first time I am late, I will be willing to bet that they say something to me, and I will be forced to delete thier user accounts. Shocking abuse of authority.

Baby Munkey spent the weekend with his grandparents, and came home spoiled rotten. He does not want to mind, pay attention, throws a fit when he does not get his way, and is hellbent on destruction. Oddly, that is the yearbook description of my sister. I am beginning to see a trend. Lets just hope he knows to Just Say No.

Night Shift

so today I am covering for the night guy by working his shift. Rather, I was here at 3 and working until I can sneak out the door. Of course I have to cover my normal 5:30 am shift in the morning, so I hope I can get out of here before midnight. In the mean time, I am supposed to clean the server room, and a bunch of other crap that my boss has decided I need to do. Granted he was here all day and did nothing, so its up to me. Oddly, the guy I am covering for is at jury duty. I had not idea that jury duty ran until 11-12 at night.

I should have spent the day relaxing and resting for tonight, but instead, I worked on the house, and cleaned, and hung a misting system on the new patio.

Hopefully I can get some downtime when everyone leaves, and work on important stuff, like ipod music lists, and blogs, and email and stuff. Keep your fingers crossed.

I am a blogging, quiz taking fool!!!!

stolen from everyone else that did this before me


LAYER ONE: ON THE OUTSIDE
Name: Nathan
Birthdate: 09/07/1975
Birthplace: Langdon, ND
Current Location: Fort Worth, TX
Hair Color: Brown
Righty or Lefty: Bat and Throw Left

LAYER TWO: ON THE INSIDE
Your heritage: American Indian, Irish, welsh, Italian, corgi, Labrador,
Shoes you wore today: NB 405
Your fears: spiders, clowns, losing my family
Your perfect pizza: deepdish with hamburger, pepperoni, sausage
Goal you'd like to achieve: Be content to just be

LAYER THREE: there is NEVER a three.

LAYER FOUR: YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW
Your most overused phrase on IM: yeah…
Your thoughts first waking up: 4:40am??? Im not in morning radio!
Your best physical feature: Adonis like muscle tone
Your bedtime: Before the news, after some Tivo
Your most missed memory: Playing outside til it got dark, not worrying about strangers, kidnappers, and pedophiles like my son will.

LAYER FIVE: YOUR PICK
Pepsi or Coke: Wild Cherry Pepsi
McDonald's or Burger King: Usually Micky D’s, for consistancy
Single or group dates: single, just cause I did not have many friends
Adidas or Nike: New Balance
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton
Chocolate or vanilla: swirl
Cappuccino or coffee: which is free?

LAYER SIX: DO YOU? or ARE YOU?
Smoke: Yes, after a long hiatus
Cuss: Hell yes
Single: Proudly, no
Have a crush: all day every day
Think you've been in love: yes
Like high school: sometimes
Want to get married: Already am, so sure
Believe in yourself: nope
Get motion sickness: not much
Think you're attractive: if they like fat men in overcoats, sure
Think you're a health freak: hmmm, besides the cigarettes?
Get along with your parents: Actually, for the first time in 30 years, yes
Like thunderstorms: Love them, especially when they are violent
Play an instrument: my organ, and well guitar, and some piano

LAYER SEVEN: IN THE PAST MONTH
Drank alcohol: yup
Gone on a date:yup
been on stage: define stage…
eaten an entire box of Oreos: Nah, not for me
Eaten sushi: never
Been dumped: no
Gone skating: no
Gone skinny dipping: not yet
Stolen anything: the ladies hearts….

LAYER EIGHT: HAVE YOU EVER
Played a game that required removal of clothing: Don’t think so
Been caught "doing something:” A few times
Been called a tease: nearly every day
Gotten beaten up: yes

LAYER NINE: GETTING OLDER
Age you hope to be married: still? 80
Number of Children: only 1
Describe your dream wedding: something to look back on and smile, and have photos we could proudly display
How do you want to die: Not today, tomorrow is out too, see me in 2075
What do you want to be when you grow up: The same thing I am now, a big kid
Where would you most like to visit: Inexpensive gas station

LAYER TEN: IN A GAL/GUY
Best eye color: Green/Hazel
Best hair color: brown/auburn/red
Short or long hair: hair depends on person, some look hot with short hair, some, not so much
Height: not a concern, but shorter than me
Best first date location: NOT El Chico’s restaurant
Best first kiss location: mouth area

LAYER ELEVEN: IN THE NUMBERS
Number of people I could trust with my life: two Ali and Me
Number of CDs I own: Hmmm 50 gigs of MP3’s count?
Number of piercings: left ear
Number of tattoos: planning number 2, and covering #1
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Several
Number of scars on my body: Lets see, 100, 101, 102….not quite sure

Stolen...

From Ali, who stole it from Jodi, who stole it from someone else, who robbed peter to pay paul, Who did not get along with Ringo as first reported

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

do or do not, there is no try....

I am going to play a little bit of catch-up here, and fill you in on all the happenings of the last few days or so.


Sunday I go to get gas in the Jeep, only to find that someone had broken in, and stolen my iPod, Radar detector, laptop, digital camera, and other stuff. I did not realize how much I loved music, and the iPod until I did not have it for my 4:30 drive to work. Granted, the radar detector is still something I miss, not being able to drive 75-80mph, but at least we bought a replacement iPod, making my drive not nearly as painful.


Work has been a series of ups and downs, full of fustration, irritation, and exhaustion. In other words, another week. But its Thursday, and that is almost as good as Friday, but not as bad as Monday.
I was officially given an office, which makes things feel a little more permanant, since prior to this week, I was sitting at a folding table.

Baby Munkey is going to spend the weekend with the chainsaws, and he is excited, they are excited, and we are definately excited. See that means we get to watch TV at a normal rate, instead of taking 3 hours to watch a Tivo'd 1 hour show. There are lots of instances of "baby, dont dive from the sofa", "get out of the dog cage", "don't eat the weeks old macaroni you hid behind the curtains". Should be nice. Might actually be able to clean the house, instead of stepping over and around piles of blocks, dinosaurs, trucks, and shoes. Imagine....

Speaking of TV and all things entertainment related, here are a few to check out if you have time, or Tivo.

1) Over There-FX-I have to say, I was unsure about this one, it was brought to us by the same guy that thought Cop Rock was a good idea. Its actually a really good show, and is more about the characters and their interaction in Iraq, than Iraq and the misguided attempts being made there.

2) Family Guy-Fox-Not sure if anyone ever watched this much before it was cancelled, but I was not that impressed in the beginning. I have since gone back and watched reruns on Cartoon Network, and watch the new ones now. This show is smart, way funny, and just over the top to keep me tuning in without getting uncomfortable (see Southpark for uncomfortable jokes, yet I try to catch that too)

3) Rescue Me-FX-Not only does this have Denis Leary, one of my alltime favorite standup acts, but it constantly keeps me laughing. Then wondering if that makes me un PC for laughing. The Theme song is great, the acting is great, the characters are great, and it is something I look forward to each week.

5) New music I have recently found, for those amoung us that remember and enjoy 80's synth pop, but want something new

The Postal Service



Now everyone out there may have caught all of these items, but if not, send a check to....

Awwww, never mind, just send coffee, its still early

Catching my breath....

So this weekend, we christened the new patio cover. We had the neighbors over for cocktails (read lots of beer) and conversation. It was quite lovely, but pointed out something we have been overlooking. We have a muddy swamp for a backyard. Granted, normally, I do not water the lawn all that much. My thought process is, if it dies, I dont have to mow it. IF mother nature is too damn busy to water my lawn for me, I am not going to pick up the slack. What has resulted from that foolhearted thought process is large bare spots that turn to mud when it does rain. The dogs then run through it and create a mess, and then track the mud all over the house, and all over the patio.
Yesterday, I started working the ground and planting grass seed. I am an impatient person by default, so waiting on grass to grow is going to be like....well, waiting for grass to grow. But the end result should be a great lush yard of green grass that I will actually take the time to water. Or I might just have bigger muddy spots with grass seed sticking out of it. At least I am trying.



Getting settled into week 2 of my 5:30-3:30 shift. Its not so bad. I can avoid the traffic in the mornings, and in the afternoons, its usually pretty light as well. Morning radio is still a pain, but luckily I have the Ipod. Trying to convince myself to go to sleep before 10:30 is a little tough, might have to work on that a little harder. Exhaustion would not be a good compromise.


Looking for ideas for my 30th birthday. I am thinking of many different things, such as a new tattoo, taking a weekend trip with Ali, having a fiesta at the house, or counting gray hairs. THe latter is something I do everyday, so why should that be a special event? Gray in my beard is something special, right?


No one has still heard from my sister, who decided it was time to cut ties with her family, and move away. She apparently is working in a car dealership, and dating a salesman who may or may not know she is still married. She may or may not still be on drugs, and may or may not still have outstanding warrants. She only calls me when she wants money, and when she does not get it, I don't hear from her again for a while, so really, not loosing much.


For those of you scoring at home, I am 12 pounds lighter. It does not make that much of a difference, but I can still honestly say that I am starting to feel more motivated to loose more. Damn the FDA for removing Effedra from the market. Sure it might give you a heart attack, make your pulse race, and give you the jitters, but damn it, I lost weight with it.


And how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? The world may never know.

Nothing to see here, move along...

I have thoughts running in my head, and no where else to put them down, so they are going here.




Why is it I have such a hard time trusting people? Why do I have an issue with meeting new people, and not thinking they are out to get me? Why is it I feel like I am spending so much time trying to earn respect for things I do, only to find I am not noticed at all? Why am I afraid every conversation, meeting, anything like that is about me? Why do I fear being fired all the time?

Why do I fear loosing the ones I love? Why am I afraid I am never doing enough? Why do I think I am not good enough? Why do I have the constant nagging sensation that something in my life is going horribly wrong, with no way to stop it?

Why are other people I work with not worried about being late? Why is it I am the one covered in sweat, running around trying to get everything done, so someone else can take credit for it? Why can’t I sleep at night for more than 3 hours before waking up in a cold sweat, afraid I have forgotten something important? Why am I afraid that the something is going to cause my world to come crashing down around me?

Why do I fear my son will grow to hate me, and everything I stand for? Why do I feel my shortened stint in the USMC makes me less of a person, patriot, man?

Why do I feel the need to continually complain about every job I have ever had? Why do I do this to my wife, when our time together is limited as it is?

Why do I fear every warning light, knock, ping or shudder is a sure sign I bought a car that is going to fall apart?

Why do I think people are going to read this, and those that know me are going to pat me on the head and move around me like the crazy man in the middle of the street wearing a football helmet?

Why can’t I be anything but fat and lazy?

Why do I have fears that others would see as irrational?

Why did I even bother posting this?

Almost quick hit style...

So I have to ask. What is a fumar? There are signs all over the plant that say no smoking and no fumar. I guess if I ever spot an elusive fumar, I am going to have to shoot it on sight.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Time to vent. One thing that really irritates me: When someone with no children like to chime in with ways you are not raising yours correctly. We were told by the Munkey-In-Laws that we are blase about baby munkey's safety. Yeah when he falls and hurts himself, we usually yell "suck it up" and move on. I don't care how many degrees you have, how much you make, what you drive or where you live. My child is my child. Just because I don't dress him up in full pads everyday, a helmet for his little head, and surround him with pillows, that does not make me a bad dad. Providing that much protection will not make him a better person, it will make him sheltered. We do tend to take a "if he hurts himself, he will know not to do that next time" but not for something like juggling chainsaws. I never wore a helmet when I rode a bicycle, and I am still here to tell the tales of jumping off of homemade ramps, 8 feet in the air.
____________________________________________________________________________________

scariest thing I have heard all day:
Spoken by a coworker, who is about 5'8" and 300 pounds. "Man I really love the food from the Roach Coach. Its not horrible at all!"

You see...

There are some things in life you should never have to do. Waking up at 4:30am to be at work at 5:30am should not happen, unless you work in morning radio. But that is what I have been instructed to do. I am supposed to be here 30 minutes before everyone else, in order to verify all of the servers are running and whatnot. My boss used to have that distinction, but could not get here on time, so I was dedicated to the task. Yet he is still my boss. Not sure how that works out. Oh well, traffic is light, it only takes 40 minutes instead of an hour, and I get to see the sun come up every morning. Hooray. Note the sarcasm.


So back to my teases from a week ago...

My son is developing a foot fetish, or potential for a foot fetish. He loves to put shoes on, especially his momma's shoes. My socks, her sandles. He tries to rip the shoes from the other children at daycare. Especially the girls. he is not paying for used stocking on the internet, and he is not wanting pictures of feet, but does have a fascination with feet.


In other news, we had a patio cover built this past weekend. After I get the misting system set up, we will have a little oasis in the back yard of the casa. Of course, its only like 111000 degrees out most afternoons, so shade is not that valuable. Again with the sarcasm.

Movie that you should go see if you have a sick sense of humor: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I loved the original, and its sense of wonder and acid trippyness, but the new one is just as good, only different. Johnny Depp plays the eccentric quite well, and Tim Burton is true to form. The music is done by Danny Elfman, who I think is greatness. Just go out and purchase/download (leagally mind you) any old oingo boingo or music from NIghtmare Before Christmas. It is a very good movie and I would tell everyone of my friends to go see it

I would like to close with a thought that has bothered me for the past week. I am now only scheduled for 50 hours a week, as opposed to 75-90. It almost feels like a vacation. Time for more coffee. Have a great day.

And remember "Don't touch that squirrel's nuts, he does not like it"-Willy Wonka