License Plate

Driving around this weekend, I saw a nice middle aged lady with this license plate:
LUV2COK

I'm sure she was going for "Love to Cook", but that's not how I took it.

Guilty Pleasure

Carlos, his sister Melissa and I have the same guilty pleasure TV show. All I'm going to say is: I can't believe Spinner and Emma got married!

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about...

Shopping Feedback

This summer, we stopped at a Chic-Fil-A on the way back from Florida. I was so impressed, I submitted positive comments to the store via their web site. I received back a personal email from their Regional Manager, thanking me and letting me know that the employee that I mentioned and his manager would receive my comments.

I thought I would continue my project: Instead of complaining about bad service (see this post), I would compliment good service whenever possible (but with also being honest about a less than good experience).

Today, I shopped at Pier 1 Imports and our local Rouses supermarket. I didn't make a copy of my Pier 1 comments, but they were basically "the cashier was very nice, but I really DO NOT appreciate being asked for my phone number and email address. I understand why you are asking for it, but it really feels intrusive. If I have the choice, I will shop at another store." I was asked for my phone number at Party City yesterday. That is really starting to become a pet peeve of mine.

I did copy my comments to Rouses:
I was at your Airline - Metairie location this morning, trying to find all the items to create Muffaletta sandwiches for a dinner I am attending this Wednesday. I spoke with Florence (I think that was her name) in your Deli. She was very, very helpful - guiding me through all the items I needed to purchase. She even pointed out that Rouses carried the Olive Salad (in a jar) that I was looking for, but that I had not even asked her about. Great employee!!

I also asked one of your employees in the Bread/Dessert department if my Muffaletta bread would still be fresh if I bought it today (Sunday). She told me that it would not, and then offered to bake a special batch for me that I could pick up Tuesday (for my Wednesday dinner). I did not, however, get her name. There were two employees in the department at the time. The one who helped me also wrote my name (-------) in her log.

I live much closer to Wal-Mart, but drive the extra distance to shop at your store. This is why. Keep up the great work, and please let the employees that I encountered today know that they are doing a great job.

Mixed CD: Strummin'

Tonight, I'm making a mixed CD for my brother-in-law. The theme: Strummin' Songs

When making a compilation, I cast a wide net, bringing in every possible song by every possible artist - starting with about 40 songs. Then narrowing that list to the final 15 or so (depending on the song length).

I am about half way through my initial list compilation and am stuck. Here is my current list. Any suggestions?

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town - Cake
Thought I Knew You - Matthew Sweet
I Wanted To Tell You - Matthew Sweet
Blue - The Thorns (Matthew Sweet and others - covering the Jayhawks song)
Among The Living - The Thorns
*Amie - Pure Prairie League
Gonna Make You Love Me - Ryan Adams
New York, New York - Ryan Adams
Comin' Atcha Live/Truckin' - Tesla (I've always had a soft spot for Tesla.)
Dead Flowers - The Rolling Stones
Bootleg - CCR
Cross-Tie Walker - CCR
Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - CCR
*Cotton Fields - CCR (though I think I put this one on too many compilations)
Don't Look Now - CCR
Leather and Lace - Stevie Nicks with Don Henley
I Should Have Known Better - The Beatles
The Ballad of John and Yoko - The Beatles (Can you believe this song went to #1?)
Ten Years Gone - Led Zeppelin
Gallows Pole - Led Zeppelin

Again, I'm trying to create an initial list that I can then narrow down to about 15 songs.

Suggestions?

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*CCR's Cotton Fields


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*Pure Prairie League's Aime (though the cut single version)

House Owning

Carlos is in the process of buying his first house. He has found a house and has gone through inspections. He should have ownership by the end of August.

Carlos, Jason and Julie were over last night. I have been having issues with my toilet. (The back water tank overflows at times; all the parts in the tank need to be replaced.) The toilet overflowed twice while everyone was over. Very frustrating.

Recently, my cable box went out and had to be replaced. The cable guy unhooked all my extra (read: non-Cox Cable) items - including my Wii. Since then, I hadn't figured out how to use my Wii, including watching instant Netflix movies on my TV via the Wii and my wireless router. (Getting all those items to work initially was a four hour process.)

So last night, I was warning Carlos about the perils of home ownership. Tonight, I called him and told him the good things: It took me about 90 minutes, including many breaks to calm my frustration and three trips to Home Depot to purchase the correct tools, but I fixed my toilet. With that done, I tackled my Wii - and fixed that too!

I told Carlos that one of the best things about home ownership is the sense of satisfaction of completing house projects that you didn't think you have the skills to accomplish.

Now I'm maybe ready to rip out and replace my bathroom sink. Stay tuned.

Work Update

My boss has been giving me quite a bit of extra responsibilities at work lately. He also evens it out with some gentle kidding around.

In the midst of a hectic week, he sent me this email on Thursday:
You do know that while I kid with you sometimes, there are not many people I trust as much as you to get things done properly and quickly. Keep up the good work.

I am very lucky to have a boss like that.

To Do List

Carlos is out of town this weekend, visiting his sister in Montgomery. (He isn't coming back until late Monday. I just got back from a few days in Fort Walton Beach, Florida with some of our friends so I didn't want to take any more time off.)

I guess I could have ensconced myself in porn and candy all weekend. Instead, I thought I would go through my ever growing To Do List.

Over time, as I think of ideas, I write them down on little sheets of paper, totaling around 40 right now. As I organize them, I thought I'd take you through the journey. (I'm skipping listing ones like "Call Steve back." and "Weed cucumber garden." I don't think those points are of any interest to you.)

Add to DVR:
- America's Test Kitchen (PBS)
- If you Really Knew Me (MTV) I have to keep at least one teen oriented show on my DVR list. I recently finally dropped Degrassi: The Next Generation.
- Locked Up Abroad (Nat Geo) The episode describing the true life story that inspired the movie Midnight Express is coming next week.

Visit Jeep dealerships
I think I want my next car to be a Jeep


Create menu for August Family Dinner
My younger sister Claudia and her family are coming back in town for a week near the end of July. Our immediate family rotates hosting dinner the first Monday of each month. August is my turn (with a bit of help from Carlos). To coincide with Claudia's visit, we're moving the dinner back a bit. I am thinking simple: French bread, cheese, wine, salad, potato salad, hot dogs, chili, pudding. I am still working out the details.

Add to Netflix queue:
- When You're Strange (a Doors documentary)
- Better Off Dead (for a planned John Cusack 80's teen trilogy weekend)
- One Crazy Summer (ditto) Savage Steve Holland directed both Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer - and one of my other favorite 80's teen movies, How I Got Into College, starring a young Laura Flynn Boyle and a cute Corey Parker. I wonder whatever happened to him?
- The Sure Thing (ditto)
- It Might Get Loud (to see Jimmy Page)
- Prodigal Sons (documentary - "star of the high school football team comes home to his 20 year high school reunion as a woman.")

Add to Amazon Wish List:
- 100 Greatest Comic Books - Jerry Weist and Jim Steranko
- Mr. Peanut - Adam Ross
- New Orleans Kitchens: Recipes from the Big Easy's Best Restaurants - Troy Gilbert & Stacey Meyer (Troy and I worked together at Kinko's in the early 1990's.)


To Buy:
- iPhone holder
- This Arch vase (pictured below top) that I saw in a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine
- The Pivotrim - that I saw on late night TV, to help with my yard work, but I want to do tons of research first
- Thumb Wine Decanter (pictured below bottom), that I saw at a party Carlos and I attended recently





Listen to the Paul Pena CD that Karen at work lent me.
We were listening to WWOZ at work recently and the song Jet Airliner came on. I had always assumed that The Steve Miller Band did the original version. I was wrong. Here is the original, Paul Pena version:


Check out:
- Discoveries Furniture and Finds on N. Rampart Street in Downtown New Orleans
- St. James Cheese Company

Find Pictures of Jay Hayden
He's the guy in this popular commercial:

It took me almost 2 months to research his name!

Download Songs (legally, of course):
- Dierks Bentley - Pride (In the Name of Love), a U2 cover
- Thinkin' 'Bout Something - Hansen (to sample their new CD)
- And I Waited - Hansen (ditto)
- Anything by the band Tinted Windows (From Wikipedia: "Tinted Windows is an American rock supergroup formed by guitarist James Iha, previously of The Smashing Pumpkins, singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson, bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick.") I'm curious to hear what they sound like.
- Anything by the band The Decemberists (I heard them on WTUL yesterday and really liked them.)

Okay, I have to get busy.

Gardening: Day 48

I have created a cucumber!

To follow the history of my garden:
Day 1
Day 34

This is my first year so I am still learning, but it is very exciting. (I really need to weed and water my garden more often.)

Carlos and I cut it up and ate it with a simple vinaigrette. Mmmmmmmmm Good!

Gay-Themed McDonald's Ad from France

If only our McDonald's ads were this intriguing...

Gardening - Day 34

Here is what my garden looks like - Day 34.




Here is what my garden looked like on Day 1.

Supposedly, by Day 75 I will have cucumbers and bell peppers. We'll see.