"It's Alive!!!"

Yes, our beloved computer, antiqueness notwithstanding, has been resuscitated back from the dead. With some help from Navid AKA our tech support at reasonable prices, we were able to re-install XP! I think we're both agreed that a new computer is in our short-term plans, we need this one to function for at least 3-6 months. I have a Spy-sweeper and Norton on full-blast to prevent whatever got a hold of it last time from happening again. Why do people think creating viruses is fun? Nitwits.

Went to the Ranger game Friday night! We took Mom there for her birthday and what a great game to go to. We hit two home runs, actually pitched well enough to win it, then got to see fireworks afterwards! We stopped by one of our favourite burger joints, Bentley's, beforehand, and since they're a "bar" then they let people smoke. Ugh! I swear I still smell it everywhere. But they make a good burger. Here are a few pics:



Rangers mascot: "Hey kids, wanna see me jump off the railing and land on the third baseman?"

Me: "Um...won't that kill him?"

Rangers mascot: "Your point being?"

Zach: "Eh, he needs to be traded anyway..."


Fireworks!! Love em love em!! Kids like the almost as much as me ha ha.

It is finally cooling down around our fair city, and not a moment too soon! Six months of constant heat and humidity tend to take it out of you. I love this time of year. Let's get it chilly, less humid, the smell of fireplaces in the air, and I am money. One of my most favourite memories growing up was walking around the neighborhood with the family and looking at the Christmas lights that were put up (with love, of course) and it was always just the right coolness outside. I try to pass these things on to my kids whenever I get the chance. Zach is in this zone lately where he wants me to play with him all the time and has become a little…mmm…I have to use the word "clingy" because he really isn't. Sometimes I'm beat and just not up for it. Then I start thinking, "Boy, I'll really regret not spending time with him when he's older and thinks I'm lame" ha ha. So I try to keep that in mind whenever they want me to take them to the park or to 7-11 for a Slurpee.

Gonna be 35 this year. My my how time does fly. I know the saying goes "You're only as old as you feel", but at some point in our lives we get too old to enjoy the things we do while we're younger. Driving, walking, even sleeping become more of a challenge. Now I'm okay with living till 85 or 90, but why do our motor skills and cognizance have to deteriorate to the point that we're nearly useless to everyone? I see old people walking around, esp. at Walmart, and it just looks like so much work to even get around. I tell myself to stay in some kind of shape so that when I get to be in my old age I won't be using a cane or walker or God forbid an oxygen tank. You ever see those things? I'm sure they weigh like 30 pounds and you have to have it with you ALL THE TIME. The last time I had trouble breathing was when I tried to use our vacuum cleaner (which doesn't work at all) and it was releasing dust in the back and I was just breathing it in and breathing it in. I had to go to the doctor and get an inhaler! Now I only use our Shark vacuum which is lighter and seems to get up more dirt. The point is, I have to really pay attention to how I function and my health now because if I put it off until I'm 50 or 60 it could be too late to really do anything about it.

I told Grandpa that I predicted he would live to 100. He responded "Oh boy, I hope I don't live that long." After seeing him in the hospital, I see what he meant by that.

"That's Gotta Hurt."

What hurts, Mike?

Well, calm down and I will tell you. My beloved grandpa, all 87+ years of him, was involved in a bit of a fender bender last week and had to be air-lifted to the hospital! He was in the ICU for a couple of days but eventually was stabilized and moved to his own room. We went and visited him Sunday and boy, it wasn't pretty. He had wires connected to him and was kind of bandaged up. Plus, he didn't look like he was having the best time. Then again, who would, right? He kept his spirits up though. I thought it was just going to be the four of us and my sister. Then my aunt showed up. Then my uncle and my grandma showed up! Kind of a family reunion of sorts. But it was a real nice time all things considered. Zach and Emmy were really good. They looked out the window since we were on the 6th floor and looked for "banana cars" which is their new word for yellow cars. I don't have a lot of memories of Grandpa that are really specific to just me, which is kind of a shame. He was never one to share his feelings much, which I guess was the style back then. There was one day, though.

It was in May 2007, and I had a day off because I had to work that Saturday. Since I was kind of in his neighborhood, I decided to stop by and visit. Now, bear in mind, it seems like every time I tried to pay an unexpected visit, no one was home. There were like three or four visits in a row where I would leave a note and go back home. But, being the eternal optimist that I am, I kept going back and trying. Well this time, his car was actually there! Grandma was visiting her family in Venezuela so I knew she wouldn't be there. So I go and knock on the door…no answer. I knock again…no answer. The feelings of dejection start to creep back in again. Then, I see him come out of his garage and go to the mailbox. So I'm standing there, waiting, watching him go through the mail. About seven minutes pass, as now he is looking at the new phone book he got. Then, miraculously, he glances over and sees my car, then starts looking around. I'm just standing over there watching him look for me, and started laughing. Then he hears me THEN he finally sees me. We talked about different things and I learned some things about his life that I had no idea about. Nothing bad, mind you. Maybe I'll share it someday.

It rained HARD last weekend! It started Friday and did not end until Monday! I know we had to have set some kind of record. I always feel bad for the people who own homes along some kind of creek or riverbank because their backyard ends up crumbling and washing away. There is this one woman whose house always shows up on the news because her backyard ends up sinking a lot during these rainfests. She has this black iron fence that on sturdier ground would be very tough to get past but the ground collapsing literally has pulled the fence and it looks like a bunch of toothpicks connected by a string. The city did end up building a retaining wall along that creek so hopefully nothing bad happened this time. But it sure isn't fun being at the mercy of Mother Nature.

We could see rivers coming from people's yards PLUS it rained more on Wednesday! Hopefully this isn't God's way of cleansing the earth just like he did with that Noah fella.

"Here Comes The Sun..."

By sun, I mean that Beatles: Rockband is about to make its presence very known across the universe when it is released on 9-9-09. If your girlfriend gives this to you as a present, take it on good faith the she loves you. I remember my first girlfriend. I saw her standing there and knew she was the one for me. If I ever get back in the U.S.S.R. I will look her up. I gave her all my loving and I love her still. Tomorrow never knows what the future will bring and a day in the life is just the beginning.



I met with Doctor Robert (after making an appointment with his secretary Michelle) and he said it won't be long until my baby's in black if I didn't take better care of myself. "I'll follow the sun if it gets to that" I said. I left the doctor's office thinking I'm a loser; but it won't be long until I'm better then the night before yesterday. "You're going to lose that girl" I kept telling myself. I knew I needed help. I decided to drive my car to see a special girl. If I needed someone it was her.



What goes on from here in my life I would wish for no one. I want to tell you so bad…and yet…you won't see me if I do. Your mother should know that all you need is love. I went to visit the fool on the hill via the long and winding road. Once I was on the hill I could see strawberry fields forever. It reminded me of Penny Lane when I was a child. The fool said good morning good morning how can I help you? I mentioned this girl who meant so much to me and what the future holds for us. She said things would be getting better and if she's leaving home then it was her loss.



Well, I felt like this long long day would be turning into a good night. I arrived home and found her there. "I want us to come together on some things" she said. She said "You never give me your money, so give me money; that's what I want." I said "Because…?" She said "Because Her Majesty insists! You always get to carry that weight and now it's my turn." She is something, isn't she? I knew then what she really wanted from me. So I let it be. But I've got a feeling I haven't seen the last of her.



Okay, if you haven't figured out yet, the preceding story is a lot of nonsense. However, there are a total of-count 'em-39 Beatles songs listed in this little spiel. Can you find them all? Be sure to look everywhere (including the title of this post!). I am reading about the release of Beatles: Rockband right now and it is truly mind-blowing. Now I'm not a big fan of the Rockband games. I tried to play a Metallica song at Best Buy one day and even though it was set on easy, I stunk! Plus, my hands and wrists were throbbing so much! I was like "Gee Wally, what's the point of all that?"

Emmy has actually really gotten into the drums part of the game. She begged me to download Eye Of The Tiger on my iPod Touch, and when she asks me for something (which surprisingly isn't that often), I try to be at my most accommodating. So I did. Now when we go somewhere, that's all I hear ha ha. But I don't mind. She is starting to learn that being in 3rd grade means a lot more responsibility. They make them carry these huge binders that separate all their work from the day plus a section for homework. Plus, they have different teachers for a few things. We've kept her up until like 9:30 or 10pm at night finishing things that should have gotten finished at her friend Amanda's house but didn't because they have something in the backyard that is the end-all-be-all of human existence: a trampoline! Hopefully she will condition herself to do these things first and play later. Can you imagine any kid wanting to play first instead of doing all their homework? It's unheard of. My sister and I always did our homework at 5pm. And why did we do it at that exact time? Because The Brady Bunch came on at 4:30 and our mom, nice as she could be, let us watch it first. Good quality values every day at 4:30.

I have been a huge Beatles fan ever since I was 9. My mom had the blue set and red set of cassette tapes (anyone remember those?) which were the Best of 1966-1970 and 1962-1966 respectively) sets that the Beatles released. To this day it is still hard to believe that only four people (plus George Martin-yes he deserves props) came up with that many songs and with only a couple of exceptions, they all have their own distinct sound and feel. There are two connections that me (or my family) have to them as well. On December 9, 1972 (the day my parents got married) Paul McCartney went on Good Morning America and announced that the Beatles would never perform together again. Ha! See how well that turned out with the Anthology series that came out in 1995? The 2nd is I was born on December 8, 1974, and six years later to the day, John Lennon died. That…didn't work out so well. The world really lost a little that day. So far I have the 4-disc Capitol Records set that came out, the Anthology hardback book (it's huge!), and 300+ tracks in MP3 format that I ripped off the discs that I owned at one point but sold. I used to be sad about that until I found out theu are re-issuing each album in a box format which I will acquire, believe you me. Love me some Beatles!