Ithinkimgonnablog’s blog

I don't know who on Vox watches American Idol, but I do(tivoed, with quite a bit of ffwd) and shockingly enough, I really liked a few of the Dolly Parton song performances.  I didn't know if I would be feeling her music mixing with these contestants, and while some of them were predictably boring, some knocked it out of the park.  Of course, at this point I'm watching the performances with a slant towards or against those I have already formed an opinion.  But, I like to think of myself as a couch-talent-evaluator, and even if I'm not a fan of a particular contestant, I know a good performance when I see one.  Here's my take on what I saw, in order of shouldstickaroundforanotherweekness.

1. a. David Lee Archuleta -  I've cooled on him lately for a couple of reasons, but last night, he absolutely sang the crap out of an awesome song that I hadn't heard before.  Yes he still has very little stage presence, lacks any pop music style, and I have my doubts whether he could make it big time, but what he does have is a very strong pure voice that very rarely misses a note.  He's also looks like Mickey Mouse when he grins.

1. b. Michael Lee Johns -  A month ago I thought he had the best chance to win the whole thing.  He went through a few weeks of just being Ok, while some others(David Lee Cook) performed well over the same span and may well have passed him in popularity.  This week he did a good job singing the song, but more than that, the whole arrangement was awesome.  This is the last clip I'll post.  It was molten lava hot as Randy would say.

3-6 In no particular order because I thought all three were pretty good

David Lee Cook - Not too too impressed with the song, but he is consistantly good, much to my dismay as he seems to consider himself royalty. (But I hope he's well after his trip to the hospital last night)

Brooke Lee White - I'm on and off her bandwagon quite a bit, but last night I thought she was pretty darn good. Simon said the whole thing didn't work,  to me she seemed like someone who had been doing it for years.

Jason Lee Castro - Normally I don't dig his style, but last night, I kind of enjoyed his performance.  I was even compelled to vote for him,  I tried for five minutes and then realized that I didn't enjoy it enough to try any longer.

Syesha Lee Mercado - She may be in the final three tonight, but I liked it.

7-9 Also in no particular order although it may not match the actual bottom three tonight

Carly Lee Smithson - I'm pretty sure she won't actually be in the bottom three tonight, but she is in my personal bottom three.  She has a good voice and maybe it's just merely personal preference, but I don't sit through her songs and think, "WOW!".  All of the "powerful" moments during her songs tend to be screamed rather than sang and that does absolutely nothing for me.  And her husband scares the living crap out of me.

Ramiele Lee Malubay - Probably will go tonight, consistantly average.

Kristy Cook - She's pretty hot, and especially so last night, but she's just not on the same level as most of the folks that are left.  I wouldn't mind if she stuck around a couple of more weeks though :) HOT

So, as you can tell by my icon, I'm a bit of a Redskins fan.  And if the NFL is your thing, you might know that the Washington Redskins are playing their most hated rival (the Dallas Cowboys) tomorrow.  It's a game of extreme importance, because if the Redskins win they will make the playoffs, if they lose, they probably wont make the playoffs.  Having so much ride on the game, coupled with the afore-mentioned rivaly, you have a game that would easily be the most exciting game I've ever attended.  The problem is that I didn't have any tickets...  But,  I had a couple of possibilities.  I've got a friend that has season tickets and is always asking me if I would like to buy them.  Normally, I respectfully decline, because I'd rather watch the game at home with family than spend $230 dollars or so to go to the game.  This game being what it is, I was willing to spend the money to go, so I called him and asked about the availability.  He said he would let me know, but he was going to try to sell them on craigslist for higher than retail.  Well, that took him about 10 minites to accomplish.  He sold them for $600 bucks and I couldn't be upset.  I certainly was not going to spend that much, so more power to him.  My only other option was the tickets from my work.  One of the upper-ups from work had claimed these tickets months ago, but I had heard it through the grape vine that she might not go.  I let it be known that I was more than interested in going to the game if the seats became available, but I wasn't even close to getting my hopes up.  

AND THEN, THE MOST AMAZING NEWS EVER!!!

I had become comfortable with the fact that I was not going to the biggest game ever, and then, out of the blue, I get the best phone message I ever could have expected.  It wen't something like this:

One of the Upper-ups children that is already going to THE GAME and knew that I was trying to get tickets:

"Hey Gary, this is ________ and I just wanted to let you know that my mom isn't going to the game, and she said that you can have the tickets, so good news man, you and your brothers can go....blah blah blah...." *Click*

Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa, not only did I suddenly have tickets, they were free and there were three(tickets).  Well plans were made, excitement was felt, and anticipation was in full throttle.  That is, until this morning...

AND THEN, THE MOST CRUSHING NEWS POSSIBLE 

I had now become comfortable with the fact that I was going to most anticipated regular season football game in the history of our stadium, I was going to be part of the home field advantage, I was going to experience something something special.  I was also about to check my voicemail again...

The same child of the Upper-Ups that had left me the original voicemail:

"By the way, my mom called again and said you don't get the tickets, she's sorry but she's giving them to ________(her other son), she's sorry, bye."  *Click*

OOOOOOF!  I couldn't be sure if he was serious, or selling the tickets, or wrong about the situation, so I tried to call him.  After being unsuccessful, I found out the upper-up's number and called her directly...

Me:  I got two phone calls from your son.  One saying that I had the tickets for sure, and one saying I didn't.  I'd like to make plans if I were to get them, so I just wanted to make sure either way.

Her: Yeah, I'm real sorry, and I want to spare you all the details, but my son(________) is getting out of jail tomorrow and I really think he'd like to go to the game, so I'm really sorry, but I'm going to give him the tickets, I think he'd really like that.

Me: Ohhhhhhhh, gotcha... well thanks, I just wanted to know for sure...soooo...uh, thanks.

Her: Happy New Year, BYE!

Me:  Yeah thanks, see you next week.

*click*

Guess what folks, I'm watching the game from home tomorrow...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I want everyone to know that I blog just about every day, but somehow only about once per month seem to get through lately...  It's a good thing that I'm so easy going or I'd be really upset with vox :)  That being said, and assuming this post makes it on my page, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  I'll tell you what, My Christmas spirit has been running on empty this year.  I can't really explain it and what's even stranger is that many people I've talked to have had the same feeling...  The last couple of days have been a bit better... Watching IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE while eating SCHNUGGETS*tm* with Steve and Janie helped.  Also our church's Christmas musical went really well and all of the preparation and Choir practices seemed worth it with the enjoyment that folks seemed to have from it.  Even though I enjoy singing, I had a solo part, which is nerve racking and even though a part of me looked forward to it, the nervousness and dread is always hanging overhead.  So, with that having past, and shopping done, there has been a little more of a Christmasy feeling felt.  *It might have even helped a little that the Redskins gave me the gift of playoff hope a couple of days early*  But overall, I'm looking forward to tomorrow... Christmas has a real meaning that can't be ignored whether I'm feeling the "Christmas Spirit" or not.  Couple that with having family over and enjoying giving things to folks you love and I think Christmas is going to be pretty special once again.  Here's to hoping that all of you have a very special day with your family and friends, and that this Christmas is one you'll always remember. -Gary

Here you go...

Wednesday was Grandma P's birthday...  I should have posted this yesterday (oops!).  But your Birthday wishes would still be appreciated.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I ordered dinner last night from a local pizza delivery joint.  I ordered a taco pizza and a sausage and pepperoni pizza.  Last night everything was fine.  I had a couple of slices of the taco pizza, and put the rest of it away in the fridge.  Today for lunch I decided to have some more.  I took a couple of pieces out and microwaved them.  I ate one piece, no problems, ate most of the second piece, still no problems.  And then I took a bite and was chewing and thought, "this is one tough piece of onion".  As I chewed I got to thinking, "this doesn't feel like onion, this feels like something else".  I was hoping I wasn't right and I took it out of my mouth and put it on the plate.  I reached for the lamp and turned in on to see that indeed I was right.  What was on my plate, what I had bitten and chewed, was a used BANDAID. EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH.   How messed up was that?  I then went out to see that one of the brand new tires that I had put on went flat.  A fantastic couple of things to have happen today.  I guess this is the kind of thing that blogging was made for.   Here's a pic for those of you interested in chewed bandaids.

Bandaid

Important note:  NOT ACTUALLY ME SINGING, THAT'S JUST THE TITLE OF THE VIDEO.

Also found this one, enjoy the key change about 25 seconds in...

This guy does requests?????????????????

Fish had a post today that I enjoyed.  I got to thinking that some of conversations around here are pretty entertaining also, if I would ever remember them to print.

Not 10 minutes later this little gem happened...

Character list...

Jake- Big boss; owner of the company, older gentleman

Mervin- Also a older gentleman employed by big boss to do odds and ends, and to inevitably annoy Jake to the point where he screams at Mervin, but for some reason Jake loves to keep him around.  Mervin always calls Jake dad.

A couple of minutes ago...

Mervin- *Walks up to Jake's office and knocks*

Jake- Yeah?

Mervin-*Opens door and walks in while saying* Hey daddy, I need a Cialis.

*Shuts door, thankfully ending the audible portion of this conversation*

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Buddy Maxima

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

Neopolitan NutterButter (What kind of Gangsta am I?)

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Orange Eagle

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Matthew LaPlata

SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Red Gatorade

NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Willie Wilbert

STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
CK Be Take Five

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Mendenhall Miami

SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Thanksgiving Morning Glory?

CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
Grape Shirtsy

HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Crackers Dogwood

YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Poker Snow Tour