"They're Here!!!"

After more then a year of wondering, waiting, and hoping, in T-minus three days and a few hours, Transformers The Movie will officially be released in (hopefully) most theaters. Currently I am looking for a theater that just might be doing something kind of fun to celebrate this historic event in my life. Yes, I said historic. Why? Well, to really understand the whole thing, let's take a little trip back in time...

(dreamy music)

The day was December 7, 1986. It was the 45th anniversary of Pearl Harbor being attacked by the Japanese, but that was irrelevant to me. All I knew was what I had seen commercials for; my favourite cartoon of all time was moving to the big screen with new characters and new adventures. Even though the movie didn't win over a lot of critics, everyone who got to see it in the theater knew what a treat it was. We left the theater knowing we would remember this day for the rest of our lives. It was more then just seeing a movie. It was to be one of the defining moments of our youth. Everytime I reminisce about that day I always get a kind of bittersweet feeling, partly becaue I know I'll never get to relive that day again, but also I remember being one of the lucky few that knows what that day was all about.

Okay, enough chatter, let's move onto the toys! So far I has acquired five of the roughly 20 different items available so far so let's take a look:


This one I liked from the get go. A bad guy police car can't be good for the world, but it sure looks cool.


Bought this one with some leftover credit from the big "R". Something about tanks...


I have been a big fan of the Pontiac Solstice ever since Donald Trump gave on to Kendra on The Apprentice. And who better then Jazz to embody the cool sports car?


At first I thought Ratchet was going to be a Hummer rescue vehicle. Well, it doesn't look quite like what I had imagined, but the color and the size definitely impressed me.


These two I wasn't really planning on buying seperately mind you. But when I saw the package deal with a savings of over $15, I knew I had something special here.


This was the second one I had seen pictures of that I knew I had to have. I love the giant machine guns under the doors plus the fact that the detail and resemblance is just spectacular. If you remember the Ironhide from years ago, he was a little red van thing that just did not transform the way he did on the cartoon.

So, as you can see, I'm just a little more excited then most people about next week. Even if it's just a midnight showing and nothing more, that's alright with me. I sure wish Zach was a few years older so he would get as big a kick out of this as I do, but he will definitely have watched it before he starts school lol. What memories instill special feelings in you? I have an entire catalogue myself, but that's probably because I don't have much of a life ha ha.

"On The Road Again..."

That's right, at this time tomorrow we will be on the road to San Antonio! Four days of nohting but sightseeing and hopefully a little bit of fun. So far the plans include going to Fiesta Texas and having dinner on the riverwalk. If you didn't watch the NBA Finals between San Antonio and Cleveland (and from what I hear a lot of people didn't), you may have seen some panoramic shots of it at night, but in person it's really neat. There's a whole row of restaraunts and shops along this river and at night all the neon lights hit it and it's really dazzling. Plus they have a boat you can ride on and really immerse yourself in the whole thing. Emmy is already looking forward to it, and somewhere in Zach's head maybe he's anticipating it too.

For me, it is very rare when I have a dream where toys are the prevailing characters, but last night definitely took the cake. Okay, first, I think I'm watching a preview for the new Transformers movie coming out July 4th. The scene opens with a Cubs game at Wrigley Field when all of a sudden these asteroids come flying out of the sky and collide with the outfield. First baseman Derrick Lee at at bat when it happens, and he starts running away as fast as he can. This is when I realize I'm not watching the action, I'm part of it! The next thing I know, all the Transformers characters, the cars anyway, are racing down the highway in a free-for-all winner take all race to the finish line. So I'm in...I guess my car, who really knows...right in the middle of it all, when I see a Diet Pepsi van racing right up against a Diet Coke van. I guess one was good, one was evil? Then I woke up. I had to jot this down before I forgot it, as I forget so many neat dreams sometimes.

I know I posted about this last week, but just in case you were a little curious about what all the fuss is about, watch this:



I have been informed by Cari that we will more then likely be able to go see it on Opening Day!! I really hope there's a movie theater somewhere out there that will do (or give away) something special since this will be the highlight of my year lol.

I've always enjoyed road trips. Ever since I was a little kid I always managed to use my imagination to make boring things seem more fun then they really are. My motto is, "If something isn't any fun, think about it in another light". Man does this come in handy when I'm in some kind of waiting room. All my life I showed a knack for remembering the most useless information. Phone numbers, songs, movies, tc shows, insignificant events, I could go on and on. In fact, I think I have ha ha. If you've ever seen National Lampoon's Vacation, you know that something could go horribly wrong at any given time. We're hoping for a bit better result this weekend lol.

Nothing really earth-shaking to say this week. Life is good, and when we get back all my attention will shift towards being a part of movie history. You know what I mean.

"More Than Meets The Toys"

Now that July 4 is getting closer, I really think this Transformers Movie is really going to happen! For the few of you who know me...and it really is a few...I have been anticipating this since there was news about it last year. Has it already been a year? I guess it has! Anyhoo...I finally saw a commercial for it and I must say my curiousity has definitely been aroused. So I took a trip to the local Toys R Us and lo and behold, they definitely went all out to make this look like a big deal:









As you can see, they were almost as excited as I was. Of course, they stand to make a little bit of a profit from all these toys. At least I hope they do. Wouldn't want them to file for bankruptcy or anything right? I will post what I have bought either on this page or my Ultimate Toy Collection one. So far I have five of them and if I get anymore it will take some more gift cards from work.

But this week hasn't been just about new toys and movies. Back in 2005 I posted about an old friend who I hadn't seen in nearly five years. But Navid wasn't just some friend. This was someone who reached out because he saw something special in me that everyone else seemed to miss. He got me out of my hermit shell and showed me a world (or at least a metroplex) that I didn't know existed. So I decided to search for him. I actually had started in 2004 but it had been a year with no luck. So, with that, I reluctantly decided to give up. You can read the post here but here is a little snippet of that:

...I am officially giving up trying to rebuild any bridge that was ever there to begin with. I have thought a lot about Navid over the last year to the point of remorse, and life is too short to do that. As an official farewell, I will say that the times we had together have truly helped make me a better person and I wouldn't trade any of them in.

Moving on...last Sunday I was surfing when I thought about him so I decided to try one last time...for old time's sake...to see if he was out there...somewhere. And sure enough...I found a message board he had posted to earlier this year and it had a new e-mail address. So I sent him one. And not two days later did he respond. Turns out he lives not 15 minutes from me and he has been there the whole time. We met at Mimi's Cafe Thursday and it was like time had stood still. Six and a half years had gone by but we didn't feel it. We caught up about everything and as it turns out he's having a baby due next...March? Maybe April. All I could tell him was "Get ready to stop sleeping" ha ha.

Now we have each other's cell #'s and word we will never let that much time go by anymore. I don't know how many friends he has but as for me...it's not many. At least in real life. I regret many things I have said and done in my life but losing touch with Navid takes the cake. It's hard to put into words what it felt like to hang out together but I truly believe it is what made me want to be the best dad I can be. I don't have any brothers but this should do just fine.

"I'm No Angel!"

...or am I? Thanks to this lil' quiz from Lil Bit I have discovered that according to my lifestyle and preferences, I qualify (barely) as an angel. If this is the case, then I owe angels everywhere an apology ha ha.

You scored as Angel, Angel: Angels are the guardians of all things, from the smallest ant to the tallest tree. They give inspiration, love, hope, and positive emotion. They live among humans without being seen. They are the good in all things, and if you feel alone, don't fear. They are always watching. Often times they merely stand by, whispering into the ears of those who feel lost. They would love nothing more then to reveal themselves, but in today's society, this would bring havoc and many unneeded questions. Give thanks to all things beautiful, for you are an Angel.

I couldn't get the tables or whatever to align properly so I had to change the layout up a bit. You get the idea.

Zach: "Hey Dad, wanna go for a ride in my sporty new ride?"

Me: "Um, it might be a little small for both of us there son."

Zach: "No, I ride, you push."

Me: "Ohh...that sounds like much more fun."


Emmy: "You see Dad, monkeys use their arms to swing from tree to tree, kind of like I'm doing."

Me: "Um, yeah, I watch Discovery Channel ya know."

Emmy: "No you don't! All you watch is sports!"

Me: "Oh yeah...tell me more about these 'monkeys'."

Kidless tomorrow night! Going out for our friend's birthday. Who knows what we'll do. We get boring as we get older. Tomorrow I'm taking Zach and Emmy to see "Shrek The Third" with Mom. Then Emmy is staying at her house and I'll bring Zach back to stay with Cari's parents. Not that I want to get rid of them or anything.

Do angels really exist? I think so. Does Heaven exist? Yes it does, and I can prove it. All religions have one thing in common: a person's soul goes sowmehere when they die. Here's how I know for sure:

Close your eyes and pretend that you have just died. If you're really dead, how would you know? You can't just turn off your life like a light switch. But our physical selves pass away. We all know someone who has died. But we never go away. We just go somewhere else. I was raised to believe we go to either Heaven or Hell and that the only way to get to Heaven was to be accountable for your actions and to believe in God and accept Him as part of your life. Personally this sounds like a pretty good plan.

I came to this conclusion when I was five if you can believe it. I had been taken to daycare in the morning and I was sitting in this window seat, just staring outside and wondering why I was thinking about stuff like this when everyone else was playing. I always felt different from everyone else. Even today I have trust issues, especially with people who I think say one thing to me and say something else to someone else. This always weighs on my mind and I don't know how to get rid of it. Therapy would probably help but it's not like I'm unhappy with my life. I just get paranoid when I get it in my head that people talk about me behind my back and in a negative light. I guess most people are like that.

What do you believe? What would you ask God if you had the chance? I would ask Him what the point of cancer was. I mean, if making space for new people means getting rid of others, isn't there a more humane way of doing it then to have their bodies literally waste away until there's nothing left? I guess not. I'm sure there's a reason, but no one I know knows it. One day...I shall know.

Let's see how many songs I can think of with "Angel" in the title:

"I'm No Angel" by Survivor
"Angel Eyes" by Jeff Healey
"Angel Of The Morning" by Juice Newton

Is that it? (shrug)

"Remember The Ice Cream Man?"

Boy, I sure do! One of my favourite memories was hearing the familiar music jingling down the street. Usually it was "The Entertainer" or the "Popeye" theme song (eccentric choices, I know). Used to be 75 cents back in the day which was a lot when you only made $1 a week "allowance" for backbreaking chores around the house. Well, fortunately, there's a truck that is starting to come around a bit in our cul-de-sac so the kids can enjoy the magic. And enjoy they did. They ate...


and ate...


and ate...


Afterwards we hosed them down!

We have this restaraunt called the Rain Forest Cafe here. I don't know if anyone else has it. I'm sure they do, but I don't know where. Anyhoo...we went there on Memorial Day as we were all off. You can click on the link to see more but here's a few shots:


This is what part of the ceiling looks like. The flash of the camera took away a little of the 'mystique' but there's stars and some shooting stars as well.


This is a huge waterfall near the back. Emmy asked me if I had a penny to throw in the wishing pond and I said something to the effect of "Who do I look like, Rockefeller?" She then asked if I was always this broke or if I ever had money in my life to which I replied "Yeah, at one point...I don't remmeber exactly when..."


Zach: "Hey Dad, what kind of fish are these?"

Me: "I think these are the...rainus forestus fishus species son."

Zach: "Hmm...I think you're just making that up...but how can I prove it..."

Emmy: "Of course he's making that up! He can't be serious!"

Me: "Quiet you."


And finally, my mom got some kittens this week. The kids may even enjoy playing with them. Ever try kitty bowling? You need a really slick floor and some lightweight bowling pins (empty 20 oz. bottles work best). Take the kitty, slide him (or her) down the floor and try to get a strike. The way I see it, it's not animal cruelty. Ever see the look on a cat's face as they're hurdling out of control? They're havin' the time of their lives!

I still remember getting together with the other kids who lived around me everytime we heard the ice cream truck comin'. If only we had known then that this would be one memory we would take with us. I always got the Pink Panther one 'cuz it had a piece of gum waiting for me when it was all said and done. If you didn't have enough money your only choice was the FunDip where you would suck on the candy stick then dip it in the powdered stuff and get a sort of a buzz in the process. With as many diabetic kids as there are, it's a miracle there aren't more lol. Whoever thought of using sugar to eat more sugar was a genius...or Satan. What did you buy from the ice cream man?