Justice...

I know that violence doesn't solve EVERYTHING. It solves a few things, and it can't really be considered violence if you think about it.... Follow here... I am a big supporter for the death penalty. Probably more so than your average American. I think of it this way. Murderers? Death. Rapists? Death. Child molesters? Death. You get the idea. Fine... Go through the trial thingy if it makes you feel better, but in all honesty? How well did it work out for say... Caylee Anthony? Was justice really served? No. Did Caylee get justice and find peace? No. That baby killing bitch Casey should have fried. Slowly....And painfully, while gagging on her own bile. Nicole Brown Simpson? She will now be the butt of every Pez dispenser joke ever and her killer is free and laughing at those jokes. Awesome, isn't it?
Why is it that criminals who have broken laws, some of them rather in a heinous manner, have more rights than your regular law abiding citizen. Then to top it off, if caught, tried, found guilty and sent to prison, they are given a roof over their heads, three meals a day, access to work, education, "rehabilitation", free medical, dental... Care above and beyond what most of those scumbags deserve. And then guess what... As law abiding citizens, we pay for all of that for them. (We also do that for illegal immigrants and whatnot, as they get free food, free housing, free money, free education, free health care and just about everything else handed to them, but that's a whole different rant that I shall save for a different time....) We would save a whole lot of time, energy, money and aggravation with a simple bullet to the head for these fuckers. No, they do not deserve our sympathy, our empathy, our pity nor our mercy. None of this soft handed, namby pamby, whiny baby shit about "the death penalty is cruel..." crap.
If we were to handle criminals with the proper bitch slap ranging from a good ol' fashioned debilitating beat down to two doses 230 grains of lead delivered to the cranium at 850ft per second. Done. People might reconsider the life of crime and perhaps not partake. AND the more serious offenders wouldn't be able to become repeat offenders now would they? If you have a defense attorney who wants to claim that it was some kind of sickness that made the asshole do it, well then, what better cure than death? Case closed. Done. The end. Justice served. There wouldn't be an overcrowded prison problem, we wouldn't be shelling out tons of money to take care of these assholes and there would be less scumbags in the world breathing my air. Not politically correct? Pfft! F*ck you!
A scumbag is a scumbag is a scumbag is a scumbag. They should not be treated with kid gloves. They should be treated accordingly. They should be treated as the scumbags that they are. The world needs a culling of the population. Why not start at the bottom of the barrel. Just sayin'....

Farewells....

People often take for granted the time they have on the earth with their families, friends and the things they have that are yet to be done. Things we want to accomplish, things we want to do... Things get put off to the wayside because "there's always tomorrow". You never really think about how fleeting life really is until you are faced with a moment in time when the reality of it all slaps you right in the face. To be faced with the fact that there may not be a tomorrow and things may be left undone.
Lucky's department lost their dispatcher. He was only 53 years old leaving behind a wife, two daughters and a son. From what I could tell, he was loved by everyone. The type not to have an enemy in the world. Basically, an all around good guy.
I watched as many of the men and women from the PD came in, uniformed, coming together to pay their last respects to this man. (And what exactly do you say to a grieving family whose world had just been turned upside down so suddenly?)
His life in pictures, as a tribute to him, was simple, but it told of a man who  loved his family and loved life... (And fishing...) Always with a warm smile and good intentions. As a dispatcher, he was apparently one of the best and it was a devastating loss to the department. It was more of a devastating loss of a friend to those who knew him. A man with depth of character who had many facets in his life that made him the brilliant gem that he was in the lives of his family and friends and co-workers.
The wake held for him was beautifully done. Tasteful and warm. The color guard showed, officers dressed in their shiny and spiffy duds, with a "changing of the guards" every fifteen minutes throughout the wake. The weeping family, the misty eyes of friends... And there laid a man, tan and wearing a  (for all intents and purposes) short sleeved "fishing" shirt, looking for all the world like he was going to be going fishing after all was said and done. So many thoughts will run through a person's mind when being so close to someone so many are saying farewell to. I looked upon the faces of his young boy, his girls and his wife and felt a sorrow for them despite the fact that I didn't know them. They had lost a huge chunk of their lives. I felt a sorrow for the man laying so peacefully in his casket as he had literally lost a huge chunk of his.
On the ride back to the house, I thought. So many thoughts ran through my mind. I thought about this man, who would be missing out on so much more of what potentially could have been "the rest of his life". I thought about the family he left behind and how much so many more of their "firsts" they would miss him at in their lives. I thought about his many friends and how they wouldn't be able to call him up and say, "Wow! Dude! That sucked! Hey, let's hang out..." after the wake. His sudden death was such a shock to everybody. Quite literally a "one minute he was there, and the next minute, he was gone..." and that was it. A single moment in time when everything changes. Shattering, altering, jarring... Whatever you want to call it. A single moment and the world changed for those closest to this man.
As much as I try to make sure I am "fixing" things in my life, living it to its fullest and making sure that my children and Lucky know that they are loved, I'm sure there will never be enough time for me to finish everything. I continue to make sure that I fill my life with the positives and not dwell on the trivialities that I come across. I live, I love, I laugh, I fill my life with good people, good food, good fun, good friends, good times, good music. I get things done, I say what needs to be said and I keep moving forward. It is a solid and almost tangible need to make sure that I do.
It all stems from a reality based lesson that I re-learn from time to time and I'll admit, some hit harder than others. The effects of seeing tragedies, whether they are grand scale or not, affects me in a way that it causes me to think seriously about the course of my life. Sometimes I linger too long in the shallows, where negativity and bad feelings fester in the cloudy pools of muck, when clearer waters lay so close. All it would take is to tromp away from the muck and ooze and clean off in the clean waters and wade out to a nicer place, but I have to ask why it is that I linger a little too long in the shallows. Then I have to ask myself why it is that I keep coming back to everything that should mean so little and not concentrate on the things that aren't trivial. Deeper thoughts reveal a guilt I sometimes feel that needs to be rectified, deeper insights may reveal an anger issue I thought I had rid myself of. Self introspection is something one cannot run away from when everything gets thrown onto you all at once and trying to sort through everything can sometimes seem overwhelming. That's when I strap up my ass kicking boots and clear away the crap with a sledgehammer and a shovel and deal with what I can. I deal with the things that I "own". I can't help some of the things I don't since some of the problems I got thrown into was not necessarily mine. I was tossed in, without warning, without a word... Thrown into the lion's den with no weapons in the first round, into someone else's crap so that they wouldn't be the only ones drowning in their own troubles. But through much thought and rationalizing, I always come to the same conclusions and I end up crawling out of the muck and walking away from what ever self induced misery that others seem to put themselves in and stop letting them drag me in to drown me in their sorrows along with them. Life is too short and I haven't the time to wallow in someone else's muck when I'm doing my best to wash away my own.
I will never have a problem with someone coming to me and asking for help. I'll always be willing to lend an ear and listen, offer advice, be a shoulder to cry on... But when it really comes down to it, I'll not be someone's flotation device at the risk of drowning myself in someone else's sorrows, especially when that someone seems as if they enjoy being there. Hey, there are people who just like to be miserable and enjoy making other people miserable too. It's just important to make sure that you don't get caught up in all of it and BE dragged down.
I re-learned some valuable lessons there at the wake. Cherish your loved ones and let them know that they are loved. They should never question your feelings for them. Let go of the things that are trivial and stupid. Dwelling on them does you no amount of good. Although making enemies can be fun sometimes, making friends is more valuable and is time better spent. There really is no need to make enemies where enemies don't need to be made. I'd really just prefer not to be bothered with people I couldn't care less about anyway. Do the things that you enjoy and live in the moment. If life is going to be a series of events that lead you to an end, why not make them positive and worthwhile? And the hard hitting reality that life is terminal. It does and will end and it's never certain when, where or how.
So now, I pray that Steve has found peace and sanctuary in the arms of his Savior in heaven and I pray that the loved ones that he left behind eventually find peace and comfort themselves.

"When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do. You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears, but be happy that we had so many years. I gave you my love. You can only guess how much you gave me in happiness. But now it's time I traveled on alone. So grieve a while for me if grieve you must, then let your grief be comforted by trust. It's only for a while that we must part, so bless the memories within your heart, I won't be far away, for life goes on . SO if you need me, call and I will come. Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near and if you listen with your heart, you'll hear all of my love around you soft and clear. And then, when you must come this way alone, I'll greet you with a smile and say, 'Welcome home.' " (As written on the back of Steve's memorial service card.)

Rest in peace and may your family and friends find comfort and peace.

Ungh....

Getting back into the groove of things is always difficult after a nice long relaxing vacation. Puppy Guts and I spent the most amazing week and change enjoying each others' company while taking part in various activities both in and out of the bedroom and we experienced a different adventure every day. No schedules, no commitments (for the most part), nowhere to HAVE to be at any given particular time (99% of the time), not a thing but just to be.
The abruptness of the end of a vacation is a rather harsh slap in the face, especially when it's time to go back to my not regular, regularly scheduled program since my children are away at their dad's for most of the summer. Sure, I took  a day to re-cooperate and now, it's back in the saddle once again. :Sigh: Without my children here for another couple of weeks, I suppose I can get to some yard work, house work, cleaning, sorting, organizing and other stuff and getting it all done so that I can concentrate my efforts on the kids when they get back from their dad's.
The one thing I can say is that I can't wait for next year. We've already made a new list of stuff we'd like to do and I'm looking forward to doing the vacation thing with Puppy Guts again. Thank you so much for an AWESOME vacation. It really IS about the company and the quality of time spent. It was perfect. :)

My Vacation with My Puppy Guts.......

We had nine and a half days of vacation to ourselves (with one where Lucky spent unencumbered and focused quality time with his children)and a very limited budget to do so, but we managed to have the greatest time of our lives. It turns out that one does not need to go far or spend a whole hell of a lot of money to have a great time. We've proven that in spades in our lives when we are able to spend time together on our "dates" and we proved it once again on our vacation. We scoured the internet for things to do, every bargain we could find, and figured out the perfect way to plan out our vacation by not planning it out at all. We flew by the seat of our pants, not sticking to some schedule of what to do when and rolled with the punches and took each day as it came at us. It worked out well. We accomplished much, made time to spend with friends as well as made sure that we had plenty of time to spend with each other engaged in serious activity both in and out of the bedroom. It also seemed to work well with the budget we had as well.... Let's break it down:

Our first night was spent in a hotel (finding a bargain AND a coupon online) at a pet friendly place and had a White Trash Garden Party with Mitchie. Price? $45 for a room, $24 for hooch, diner noms at $30 and some groceries for about $25. We kicked off our vacation with a hoot and a holler and spent time with our bestie. A great time had for $124.

Our second day/ night we went back to Lucky's parents house, cooked up some food bought at the grocery store at $ 20 (to bring to a party), another room at a different hotel in a different town (again, found at a bargain AND coupon online) at $55, and we went to a party at a friend's house for food and drink. Another great time for $75.

The third day/ night, first thing in the morning, we shot down to my parents' house and since mom is in Japan and the cranky old git is always holed up in his fortress of solitude all the time, hey why not. Then we hopped onto a train to go into the city for $37 (round trip for the both of us). We had purchased a bottle of whiskey for a friend for his birthday at $26. Once in the city, the only thing we paid for was lunch at about $50 for the three of us as we mostly walked around and toured the city, which was the best time! When we got back and walked Otis. Chinese take out for $13, ate in bed in our jammies, in a bed we call "ours". An awesome day for $126. We went out to get some snacks for the next day's adventure for $11 too. No need for hotel costs, we went on the cheap and stayed "home". Total this day? $137.

Day/ night four turned into a rather blah day. We hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and we were up at 5AM to attempt a fishing trip. We got to the boat and it turned out to be a wash... No fishing that day. We went to "home base north" (A.K.A. Lucky's parents' house) as it was closer than "home base south" and ended up napping for about four hours. When we got up, we shot back down to my parents' house, watched a movie, and we decided to go to the grocery store and buy stuff to make for supper (since we were staying at my parents' house again) for about $15. Supplies to make wraps for a light dinner. We watched another movie and decided to attempt a second go at fishing the next morning. It was a nice relaxing and unencumbered day including mutual footie rubs and back rubs that we would have paid an arm and a leg for somewhere, but we got it all for $15.

Day/ night five brought another failed attempt at going fishing, so we went zip lining instead. Since we weren't scheduled until the afternoon, we went fishing for free at a lake nearby, had a light lunch for $14, and went zipping through the tree tops for two hours for $94 for the both of us. For supper we bought different innards for a different kind of wraps at the grocery store at $10 and spent another night at my 'rents' house. Unbelievable day for $118.

On day/ night six, we finally got to go deep sea fishing. A local party boat at $50 a head. THAT was a hoot! We caught our supper and cooked it up, spent another quality night at my parents' since the old git was nowhere to be seen for the most part. Ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery for $10... We rocked that day for $110.

On day/ night seven, it was a recoop day. Life needed to be handled and Lucky needed to spend time with his children since they had returned from vacation the night before. He had things to do to be ready for them and I had laundry, dishes, garbage, bills, cleaning, and all around general shit that I HAD to get done. I drove up to see Lucky and the kids at his parents' house. Another bottle of hooch was purchased for $24. We did a little WTGP with Mitchie after the kids went to bed. Another fun night for $24.

Day/ night eight,we went to an indoor water park with Lucky's children (with coupons) @ $19 a head totaling $76. We had lunch at McDonald's with coupons and gift certificates, with money left on the gift certificates, so no money spent there... Dinner with Lucky's family chipping in $10 for pizza and ending off with a quiet evening back at "home base south". It was hard to see who had the better time at the water park... The adults or the kids... It's still rather up in the air  for a total of $86 spent on what turned out to be another AWESOME day!

Day/ night nine, our last day was spent deep sea fishing again on the same boat we went on some few days ago. Another $100. Lucky caught a rock... Yes... A rock. Hey! Anyone can catch a fish! It takes a real special sort to hook a rock AND reel it in to the surface! Yes, we took it home. We named it Kevin and he lives outside in the yard under a bush. It was about the only thing we caught, but we still managed to have a great time on the boat. Both of our lily white selves ended up with  very nice tans too! Dinner at our favorite Thai food restaurant for $45 and ended the evening off with a DVD marathon.Total this day was $145 for a nice relaxing day AND a great souvenir named Kevin!

In the morning when we woke up, we ate a hearty breakfast at our favorite diner totaling $20, fixed a door in the house, managed to get a few other things accomplished, a few things around the house that needed some muscle and Lucky had to go back "home" to get some sleep before his shift later in the evening. I met him at his parents' house late in the afternoon, picked up his children and went to a family function at his aunt's house and thus concluded our vacation. Total spent? $20.

Total in gas for the week topped out at about $120 since we stayed pretty local (and Lucky's vasectomy was probably the GREATEST investment EVER! We didn't have to worry about prophylactics... (And considering the fact that we were on vacation, that could have eaten WAY into our "vacation funds"...) and adding up the odds and ends from "stray receipts" that totaled $23. Total spent on/ for our vacation? $997. The most perfectly relaxing, non-stress, exciting, fun, perfect vacation that I had EVER had for an RCH less than a thousand dollars. We managed to accomplish everything that we wanted to do on our list, spend amazing quality time with each other, and had an absolutely phenomenal time with each other no matter what we were doing. Otis got the care he needed from us rather than from a kennel and we were never really far from the "creature comforts of home". Like I said, perfect.

It seems to me that it boils down to a couple of things here... There really is no need to spend an outrageous amount of money in order to have a good time on vacation AND it really is about the company with whom you go on a vacation with. I went on a vacation with my partner in life, my soulmate, my best friend, my ultimate lover, my backup in any situation, my support system physically, emotionally and mentally,and lucky me, he's all that in one. We could have taken on the world last week and won.
Thank you Puppy Guts, for the hands down, most awesome vacation, bar none. It was the most incredible week and change! And thank you for everything that you are to me, including the incredible things that you don't see in yourself, but I do. I will come to make you see them too. Even if it takes me a lifetime. ♥

Deep Sea Fishing!

The Snow Goose 2

Another "adventure" we went during our stay-cation was deep sea fishing. We were on board an open party fishing boat that sails Long Island Sound. Three days in a row, we attempted to get on board a party boat to go fishing. The first day, we woke up at 5AM, drove half an hour away to be told, "Sorry! We're doing a private charter today! You can't come on board..." We had a nap/ quiet day. The second day, we woke up at 5AM again, drove half an hour away to be told, "Sorry! There's only four of you! (Puppy Guts and I and two guys looking to do some fishing) We're not taking the boat out!" We went zip lining instead. (It actually worked out better in the long run considering the heat. We would have fried out on the water had we gone out. Zip lining kept us relatively cool since we were in the treetops in the shade... Go figure! Someone was looking out for us, making sure we had an awesome vacation I guess!)

FINALLY on board a fishing boat!

This was getting ridiculous. We wanted to go fishing, but we weren't going to keep doing this getting up at 5AM thing only to be told last minute that we wouldn't be going out... So the next thing to do? TO THE INTERWEBZ! After a few quick searches, we found a different open party boat that was closer to "home base south" (my parents' house) as we referred to it as and guaranteed that they would be going out no matter what. YAY! So we got up at 6AM, went to the boat, and jumped aboard the Snow Goose 2. Right on time, we left the dock and off on another adventure we went.
It was a glorious day. The weather was freaking beautiful and here we were with the sea breeze, blue skies, the calm waters below, chugging around Long Island Sound. We saw some unbelievable beachfront estates and I really can't even begin to tell you how freaking beautiful the day was. It was perfect fishing weather. We had a few clouds and we had a chance to fish in drizzling rain for a little while, which cooled everything down some, and it cleared up again. It was a milder day than the one before and slathered up in some sunblock, Lucky and I were totally set. We were chillaxing in between stops having a grand old time. We hugged and kissed and talked to each other as well as those around us. We told them of our awesome vacation so far as they relayed stories of  the nightmares of theirs. We were referred to as the "coolest couple EVER" and we were told we were so totally and perfectly matched "it's scary"... Go figure! Strangers can see it too! We took it as a compliment.
The day before we had set our adrenal glands into maximum overdrive, this day we got our mellow on. The waters were calm and pretty steady... Perfect! We spent an awesome day of fishing together, laughing with the other passengers and crew on board. We munched on light fare (beef jerky and cereal bars), kept well hydrated and spent a solid 6 hours cruising around Long Island sound dropping lines into the water and doing a bit of fishing.

At the end of the day, between the two of us, we caught five fish, which honestly? It was just the whipped cream to an already fantastic day. They filleted the fish right on board for us, and as we got off the boat, we were handed our nice weighty Ziploc bag of fresh fish to take home, topped off with some ice. Back at the house, we rinsed off the fish fillets, tried some "sashimi" style (DAMN was it ever awesome! Fish don't come fresher than THAT!) and pan fried up everything with a little bit of butter, olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice. One word... YUMMY! A perfect day with my Puppy Guts, a perfect fishing trip including fresh caught dinner... BLISS! Vacation ROCKS! We are SO going to go back....

Addendum: We DID go back! We decided that for our last day of vacation, as a last hurrah, we would do the fishing thing again. We got back on board the Snow Goose 2 three days later on our "last OFFICIAL day of vacation" and it was AWESOME! If you're ever in our neck of the woods, you should definitely check this crew out. Bar none, the greatest time you'll ever have whether you catch a fish or not! Bliss! Thanks for another VERY awesome day, Puppy Guts! I love you with all that I am. Always.... XOXOXOX

Zip Lining!

It may or may not be common knowledge, but I don't like heights too much. Well, maybe it's not so much the height thing, but the rapid deceleration after potentially falling from said height. Whatever the case....
So on our vacation, we went zip lining. (HUH??!??) I know. You would think that someone who is uncomfortable with heights would do everything to avoid being up so freaking high, right? Uh-uh. Not THIS girl. Since our deep sea fishing trip got nixed for the second day in a row, Lucky and I decided that instead of calling the whole day a wash, we would try something exciting, new, fun and different. (Besides, it was still only 7AM...) We shot up about half hour to forty-five minutes on the highway and flabammo! We get to our destination. Of course we were about two hours early for our time slot, so we got some lunch at a cute little local diner and got in some freshwater fishing in a lake nearby. It was a lesson in futility really and all we did was feed the fish the worms that we had dug up.... And I got bit by a horsefly and came away with a pretty neat looking bruise about the size of my hand on the back of my leg.
Our allotted time was rolling around, so we packed it up and headed to the place. Now... I have to tell you... Waiting around for two hours KNOWING full damn well that you were going to do something involving something you're not quite comfortable with, gets a mind going. But I quickly came to one single conclusion. I was either going to have a really great time or I was going to be THAT guy who was the wet blanket, ruining everyone elses' day. I opted for the first. My fear of heights wasn't going to stop me and with Puppy Guts by my side telling me that I was going to be just fine, I had no fears. No chastising, no teasing, no laughing, no joking, he was thoroughly supportive and so sweet about it!
So we went through the spiel with the tour guides, get all dudded up in our helmets and gear and we take our first picture as a group. I have to tell you, there were a couple of people there who were MORE fearful of the heights thing than myself, so I KNEW Puppy Guts and I had to step up our game and make sure that we brought the good time with us. You get a group where there's one "fun person", everyone has a great time. Get a group with TWO "fun people" and it's a party waiting to happen! We were bound and determined to be the "fun people" in the group and Puppy Guts and I were ready to bring it.It was on like Donkey Kong!
We approached the ladder to get up to the first perch and the guide asked "Who's going first?" No one stepped up, so I elbowed my way to the front, "YAY! ME!!!!!!" -ed and started up the ladder like I had done it a hundred times. Got up top (ten feet or so) no big deal. At this point, I had set the bar and I had to live up to the  "Oh... She's THAT gal!" It was balls out all the way or nothing. A prideful "THAT'S my girl!" from my Puppy Guts and a big broad smile from him made me feel great.
The guide did her thing, clippity clip with the thing and I let her loose! LATER!
What a friggin' HOOT! After that, the rest of the group came one at a time until we got to a lady who was terrified. So, I said, "Come on guys!" to the group and started to cheer for the woman to come on over... Bless her, she took that leap of faith and zipped on over as we all cheered for her... Yeah... It was on! This was going to be a fun time for everyone even if it was going to take every bit of energy I had to quell the fear (which strangely, I really didn't feel... Go figure!) and MAKE it fun! Party in the treetops baby! We went across rope bridges OR a cargo net and then a tight rope about 50 feet up and it was awesome. Strangely, I wasn't scared at all. I was having a blast! I was given the nickname "Jungle Jane" so now I REALLY had to show I had earned it... But I didn't feel pressure from anywhere or anyone. I was having too good a time! Puppy Guts joked and kept the mood light, I went totally balls out and "fearlessly" paved the way. It worked out great! (My plan was working! Mwa ha ha ha ha!)

At one point we were about 70 feet up from the ground. Looking down didn't seem so bad to me. I actually stood on the edge of the perch and peered over the edge. It was beautiful! ("Hey look! A chipmunk! ...Yeah, sorry.... A.D.D." got a round of chuckles) I couldn't believe the view! It was fantastic! We were in the shade, there was a nice breeze (although it was hot as hell that day) I was having the time of my life! Puppy Guts knew I had a few reservations about this whole deal, but his quiet encouragement and full on support made it so easy. He didn't give me any more reason to feed my phobia and made me feel comfortable just by being there, smiling down all the warmth in his heart and quietly letting me know how proud he was of me. My backup for me as well as backup as I played the role of "YAY! She's FUN!" girl.

Two hours we spent up in the trees zipping and crossing and by the end of our "tour" our group was probably ready to pick a fight with some mama grizzly bears and call Mike Tyson's mom a fat, ugly broad. We were all feeling it. Accomplishment. All in our own way, of course, but I can't describe it as anything but a feeling of accomplishment. Whether it was getting over a fear, feeling the exhilarated rush of adrenaline or getting through a physically, emotionally and mentally taxing adventure, it was there. It's rather hard to describe really, but it felt good... No, it felt AWESOME. Taking a chance and conquering a fear, taking (quite literally) a leap of faith and stepping off a platform 60 or 70 feet from the ground and doing something that most wouldn't even consider. I pity those who won't step out of their own comfort zones to experience life somewhere outside of their "norm". Life is short and it will only be what you make of it.
Our vacation "list of things to do" wasn't very long, but zip lining was on it and it was done. It was done well. And it felt GREAT. THAT was one of the "things to do" on the list that we were both glad we accomplished. ...And we're ready to do it again soon! WOOT! BRING IT!

NYC....

One of the first adventures on our "stay-cation" was going into New York City. It was something that we wanted to do together for some time, but the opportunity never really came about. And with us being "on vacation", it seemed to be rather stupid being so freaking close to the city and NOT tool around NYC together, making a day of it and having a grand old time.
As it worked out, we also have a friend who lives in the city, that we hadn't actually met in real life. Perfect! We called up our buddy and told him that we would be on vacation and we would love to see/ meet him and chill and talk and whatever. Plans were made and we went into the city to meet our friend Kenny.

 We hopped onto the train and forty or so minutes later, we're at Grand Central Station seeing, in person, Kenny for the first time. (Just like we'd imagined him to be like!) He greeted us like old friends that he hadn't seen in a while despite the fact that, really? We were nothing more than strangers to each other. But as it were, our adventure into the city began and it was starting off great.

We tooled around a little in the train station to figure out the "plan". Honestly? We didn't have one and it wasn't exactly our "stomping grounds" anyway... Kenny took the lead and we got the most amazing tour that we could have possibly squished in to an afternoon of rabble rousing in the city on our own. Honestly? If it was just Lucky and myself, we would have gotten lost coming out of Grand Central station....


We did as most New Yorkers do. We walked. Walked down a few blocks, across, up and back, just to get a feel of the city. It was a weekend afternoon and the place was crowded and active, just like you would picture New York City to be. Our own personal guided tour of everything. We saw the Naked Cowboy, we saw the Bronze Man, (we saw the Naked Cow GIRL and OMG we all REALLY wish we hadn't....), we randomly came across a "Japanese festival" where people were doing odori (traditional dances) and others were playing the giant taiko (the giant drums). We attempted to follow along when the crowd was asked to join in, but were asked to stop IMMEDIATELY as they were afraid we would hurt somebody or ourselves (well, not really, but I looked bad.... It was bad.....)

Lucky took his first NYC cab ride and got to experience first hand REAL NYC cab driver driving. We went to the Metropolitan Museum and saw all manner of things. It was unbelievable seeing the artistry and craftsmanship put into some of the things we saw, from pictures, paintings, swords, stone statues, furniture, weapons of every sort, gilded this, carved that, chiseled, hammered, hand done everything. We are talking back during a time when there weren't machines and drills, machines and crap and junk to get it done. These are things artfully crafted by hand with small tools.... Everything from Ancient Egypt to more early 20th century... Just amazing. Of course, what made it even better was the fact that Kenny used to work there and was able to give us a guided tour of the museum as well. DANG!  Then we sat and ate and jabbered on in a nice cool cafeteria and shot the breeze for some time. Walked around and found ourselves in Central Park.

Seeing all of the life happening there. People walking or jogging, playing ball, watching ball playing, sun worshipping, chillin', relaxing, whatevs! Seeing the city skyline behind a wall of green was pretty cool too. We just kept walking around all over the place, talking and hanging out. We saw pigeons and crazy people and the tall buildings and the hot dog stands and the street vendors and rennie fair kids beating the crap out of each other with plastic swords and people dressed up in clown outfits or Hello Kitty (I swear we saw a woman dressed up as Hello Kitty, giant plush head and all.... Dang I thought I like Hello Kitty!), horse and buggie riders and NYPD officers everywhere and streets filled with people and the bucket drummer guy and signs and Spiderman talking on a cellphone... We experienced all sorts of sights, sounds and smells of the city and it was AWESOME!

The end of the day came quicker than we had expected, but Otis was needing to be fed and let out back "home" and left for too much longer and he would have taken the matter into his own paws. It would have been bad. So, we thanked Kenny for touring us around (we are SO going back soon!) and said our "see ya later" s... :(  And on the train ride back (after we stared at the sixty something :at LEAST: year old guy in spandex, and punk rock gear, topped with "devil's horns" hair do that stood at least ten inches from the top of his head...) we discussed out trip into the city. We realized and came to the conclusion that our day in the city was awesome because we had Kenny. There is NO WAY in hell we would have gotten in that much stuff in our day, seeing everything that we saw and having that much of a hoot!

I know I've mentioned it time and time again. I'll mention it again. If it were not for the internet, we never would have met Kenny. We're so glad we did AND got to meet him for really REAL! As an added bonus, we had the most amazing time in the city and we took in so much. More so than we would have thought possible.
Thanks so much Kenny! Hope to do that again soon. If you're ever up by our neck of the woods, give us a holla and I'll bake you your cherry pie! :)

"Stay-cations"....

This year, Puppy Guts and I resolved to do a "vacation" during the summer when the collective kids were away on their own vacations with our respective ex spouses. The kids would be having a great time and we decided, why not take the time to have some fun ourselves doing some of the things we knew we wouldn't be able to do with the kids.
We knew damn well that our finances would be tight at best so we opted for a "stay-cation" . What is a stay-cation? Well, we wanted to be available for friends and family should they need us, our financial status would have prevented us from going anywhere anyway, so we stayed local. Within our own state (for the most part). In short, we were never really more than 60 miles away from "home". We planned out a few things that we thought we might want to do that we wouldn't have been able to do on a "rabble rouse" kind of day (when we have a rare weekend when neither of us has our kids AND Lucky's not working), which included things like staying a night away in a hotel and sneaking the dog in without getting caught, partying with friends, hanging out with people we hadn't seen in a while, meeting people we had yet to meet "in real life", going in to NYC, fishing, zip lining, chilling out and relaxing, cooking together, spending quality time together, making love whenever we felt like it and having the time of our lives with each other. A couple of the things having been done with each other before, sure, but not straight through for days on end.
THIS was no doubt, bar none, the MOST relaxing and fun vacation I think I had ever had. No stress, no schedules, no nothing. Sure, we had general ideas as to what we were going to do the next day, but whatever. And the way everything worked out despite a few "schedule changes" (as we did plan to go fishing one morning, but the boat didn't sail and we went zip lining instead) and it turned out to be better that we had to change stuff around! The weather worked in our favor, we made some new friends, we laughed, bonded, loved, shared, and had an amazing time. It was an extended "Rabble Rouse version 2.0"... We hopped around from place to place bringing the good time with us wherever we went. We stayed in various locations in hotels and "home" and had the time of our lives! I can't even remember a time I was away on a vacation and NOT stressing about something... Come to think of it, I don't think I ever have. This was BAR NONE the greatest time EVER!
We want to plan out a "family rabble rouse" for us and all six kids for something similar to this experience. We would LOVE for them to have this kind of stress free vacation, flying by the seat of our pants, non-scheduled, cross off a list of stuff we'd like to do adventure... So we are starting the plot and plan process.... THIS is going to be a hoot!  :D
Stay tuned for more "vacation adventures"!

Some people...

I don't get how some people could argue a point knowing full damn well they're wrong. With facts laid out and points clearly made, they'll argue that they're right when it's painfully obvious that they aren't. Spitting out some poorly concocted lame ass excuse for an argument that doesn't make sense. Not exactly fun or challenging when debating with people like this. There's no reasoning with them. There's no logic, there's no intelligent banter. Just excuses, bullshit and finger pointing with liberal use of the "I know you are but what am I?" defense. <Sigh> Goosfraba... They are not worth my time.... I have wasted enough energy, time and thought on this. I move on....

Fisticuffs...

Out and about one day, I wound up on a one way street behind a couple of real winners... The lady right in front of me was driving along and some other woman who was parked on the side wanted to cut in front of her so that she could go. We were in a line of cars about to be stopped at a red light...
Woman #2 cuts out of her spot to cut in front of woman #1.  They beep back and forth, exchange a few rude hand gestures which quickly went to name calling and insulting each others intelligence. I put my car in park and I sat back. (Yeah... I knew...)
Woman #1 throws open her door and "moo" s out of her car. Upon seeing this, woman #2 manages to squeeze her fat ass out of hers. Thankfully, they crossed in front of woman # 1' s car instead of behind it, otherwise, this would have been a different kind of post. I'd be complaining about my car being crushed by two thunderous cows instead of what it was. A round of fisticuffs between two very large women in a traffic dispute.
Anyway, they go charging towards each other as we felt the earth quake and when they clashed, I swear it was like listening to two sides of freshly butchered meat colliding. It was followed by the hand slapping, hair pulling and further name calling as I and other fellow witnesses laid into our horns. A store owner came out to see what the ruckus was about and threatened to call the cops. As soon as it began, it was over.
Woman #1 got back into her car and sped off. Woman #2 got into hers and waited for someone to let her cut in to go. I have no idea whether anyone did... Hell. She could still be there now for all I know.
Was there a winner in this fight? No... Not really. I mean is there really a "winner" in a situation like this? Would it really be something that you would want to admit to or brag about? Seriously? People make me sick and I have a new dislike for single lane one way streets. I refuse to go down that road any more...

I Google-d myself...

Yeah... I did. Just to see if I showed up anywhere. I Google-d Mia Tanaka. I Google-d Mia Tanaka book. I Google-d Mia Tanaka author. I Google-d menotyou45. I Google-d everything that I could that could come back to me. Is that wrong? It may have gone beyond curiosity... Yup, I Google-d myself. Yeah I did. I admit it. I wanted to see if I showed up. I do.... My blog posts, my book, my Ebay shit, my Facebook thingy.... Vanity? Perhaps. Curiosity? Definitely! But yeah... I did it. What can I say? What possessed me to do it? I don't know. At first, I guess it was curiosity, then after seeing that my name leads a "searcher" to ME, it turned into a vanity thing. You know, "I show up on GOOOOOOOGLE! I'm Google-able!" Yeehaw!" It's when I start searching further and delving deeper into the bowels of Google searches that I discover that there is a porn star who shares a similar name.... Yeah great. JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW? IT'S NOT ME! I AM NOT TIA TANAKA and I am NOT a porn star.... Just a clarification....Maybe there was a little ego thing going on there, especially when I kept on popping up as me and not some porn star or whatever... (Apparently, there is a porn star that goes by Mia Tanaka too... No relation and no, it's not me.) Me, my book, my blog, my FB... It was kind of cool. What can I say....

Go be shiny and happy elsewhere!

Not that I fault people for having a great day or anything, but there are just certain days when I don't want to know how awesome someone else's day is. I don't need to know. I just don't care enough.
Think about a really crappy day that you had. Me personally? I would much prefer to be left alone to go pout about whatever brought about the crappiness of my day and sort through it and deal. Sometimes, I will have to deal with other people during the process... Sometimes that's unavoidable. It sucks, but what am I gonna do. And there's always just that one person who seems like they're having the greatest day ever. I swear sometimes I want to trip them and take their lunch money or something... Yeah... That's the reason why I feel it best to hole up somewhere until my mood improves because my luck, being what it is, I would run across that one happy happy yip skip dippity doo dah character with the shiny happy hurray kind of day... I'd show him... :p

Thank you for your "support"......

It's something that I haven't posted about in some time.... As I check through the "stats" of my blog here and see the breakdown of where all my "hits" come from (you'd be surprised how narrow the fields get... Right down to areas of cities, states, countries... Some, rather surprising... Or maybe it isn't... Whatever...), the various pageviews and whatnot  and I have to say "THANKS!" to fans and anti fans alike. I'm serious. Like me, love me, hate me, tolerate me, whatever. You're here reading what I have to say for whatever your reasons. Maybe you find it amusing. Maybe you find it downright funny. Maybe you find it informative (What? There are times when I've posted stuff that was kinda informative... No?), gathering "intelligence", gathering not so intelligence, you needed a laugh (sometimes at my expense), whatever the case, you stopped by. 8,000+ unique visitors and growing, worldwide! Awesome! Didn't think it'd ever be like this, but, gosh darn it, it's cool! Thanks!

"Date night"...

Our less than conventional dates have always lead us to some very interesting places. We've rabble roused at various shopping centers, malls and department stores, we've toured around various parks, we've made numerous interesting friends like skaters, cops, random folks whom we thought were interesting, we've discovered many new things, we've been to a shooting range, we've experienced life and discovered new things about stuff we didn't know about as well as stuff we didn't know about each other. Every time we have the precious few days where we are able to spend time together and go out and do something, it has been quite an adventure. I'm not talking harrowing Indiana Jones type shit, it's just "discovering new things with each other" type stuff. I never realized how much stuff I didn't know about the town that I lived in. All the little nuances that make it so unique. It's a town like any other, don't get me wrong. I am talking about the little things that makes it unique that most may not know about. Follow here.
I suppose there are many things that make every town unique in its own right. NO two towns are EXACTLY the same. Some have a "claim to fame" thing while others... Not so much. It may just be something else. Lucky and I have discovered a thing or two about the PEOPLE that make "my town" unique. Not a claim to fame thing, not a certain something that most would say "WOW! That's so cool..." just a certain subtlety that may not distinctly qualify the town as "unique", but certainly does give it a certain flair. We've come to know a few people around town and it's cool. They see us coming and sometimes, I can almost HEAR the theme song. Granted it's probably something along the lines of the Romper Room theme song or like Pop Goes the Weasel or something, but still.... THE best dates.

My luck...

It's not to say I have "bad luck" per se. Sure there are certain situations and happenstances in my life that could be considered to be "hard knocks" or not exactly lucky... My trips and falls are usually greeted with the standard, "Ooh... Are you okay? That was some luck, you finding the only pebble on the ground and tripping on it..." If there is a flock of birds flying overhead, it will be sure that I will be the only one wearing bird poo... If it's the last anything drinkable or edible, I will drop it or spill it... Favorite anything will rip or snag and I NEVER leave a pen in my pocket. You get the idea. I've been known to say "...that's just my luck!" and throw my hands up in the air, roll my eyes and give the exasperated sigh. So, the last time this happened, I stopped and gave it some thought. (Yes, I do it a lot... If you've been following along, you'd know this about me by now...)
What is luck really but a success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions. It is neither good or bad. They're happenings. We live a series of them every day. Some are good, some are bad, some just are. The good things? Celebrate them. Whether small or large, hey? Why not? Whether it's an occasion to throw a party  or maybe it's just an occasion where you do a little "YAY ME!" dance... It could be as simple as celebrating with a smile. And when you're dealt something not so great? You either roll with the punches and see it through and make the best of whatever or wallow in it and miss out on everything that could possibly be better or even great. There are those instances when you need someone to lean on too. Regardless of what gets thrown at me, I know that there are a great group of people, a wonderful man and "family" that I can turn to, that I can always lay my trust in that will see me through. Isn't THAT what I should see as lucky?

Dancin' and groovin'!

Okay... So I can't dance and I have no rhythm... It doesn't mean I don't do it anyway... Do I feel  the music? I guess... I have the imaginary brain iPod that generates random songs at weird moments and sometimes I dance along to the songs playing in my head. Sure, I listen to music on the radio or to cd's in the car and junk and stuff and listen to stuff on my laptop of doom.
I'll admit that there might be an occasion that I might start tapping a foot or something.... (That's not where it goes wrong...) Maybe I start to bop my head or shake my money maker a little... (Starts to be an issue...) But then, reality collapses in on itself because sometimes I start to dance. It's bad. Frog in a blender, "Oh my GOD! I think something may be wrong with her! She may be having a seizure!", the kids run away and hide their faces in shame kind of bad.
I do it anyway. What can I say... I can't sing either, but it doesn't stop me from doing so... And loudly!

Hi!

It's funny to me that I thought myself such an antisocial and solitary creature... Lucky and I had a discussion about this some time back and I gave it some thought and an introspective look inside myself... It's really isn't that I'm solitary or antisocial per se. I don't necessarily like people, but I don't have problems striking up a conversation with people or making friends. Yes, there are times when I like to be by myself to do whatever, but it's not to say that I don't enjoy the company of others. I suppose it really depends on the environment that I'm in, who it is that I am amidst and the reasons for my being there. In a situation where I feel repressed and am not allowed to be myself, I get pissy, sulk and become antisocial. When I'm just me... Not so much. If I'm surrounded by people that I really couldn't care too much about, I am moody, sarcastic and rather abrasive. Among people who are comfortable being themselves, I'm okay.
So guess what? Yeah... I gave this one some thought too. Maybe it's not so much ME being antisocial. I am what I am, who I am, yada yada... My belief is, it's those who put up the false pretenses and basically have to lie about who and what they are, whether it's playing the role of the victim or the martyr or the saint (when really? Pfft!), the ones who feel the need to put others down or ruin things for others out of spite, just to make themselves feel better (some sick way to entertain themselves and giggle), or how about taking delight in other peoples sorrows and misery or wishing sorrows and misery on someone... Not exactly "social" behavior. Not the sort of people I would want to seek out and be friends with and honestly? It would make any normal, rational- thinking person not want to be anything less than discourteous around persons of that nature. (Though, I've also noticed that that type of bird tend to "flock together"...) True antisocial bullies...
You know what? I'll not think myself solitary but exceptional and unique. And not antisocial but "selective" about the type of people I associate myself with seeking out a certain quality of character. Yeah... I like that. I like that a lot....

Ya know what?

Yeah... Yeah you do. Poring over everything, all over the place... It's okay. Keep denying it. I'll keep pretending that you don't, but know in the back of your mind that I know you do and that's why I'm smiling. Whatever... It's cool.

Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes I find great amusement in providing WAY too much information about something because I know it makes the person I'm talking to's sphincter pucker. Oh come on... You know what I'm talking about.... Talking in great detail about a severe wound where you saw things you should NOT have seen or providing excruciating blow by blow of a knee skinning incident (or some other kind of injury)... It's fun to watch the expressions on people's faces as you relay to them in almost visual details about something that makes them cringe... Sphincter puckering, wince inducing details that make people go running away covering their ears... Yeah, it's a quirk... Sigh.....

Waiting...

Payback is a bitch. There is no arguing that. There are so many ways to deal out payback. It truly depends on the type of person you're dealing with and thereby determining what would be the best dose of what kind of medicine. I'm not talking about vigilantism. I'm not talking hurting, maiming, killing a person. I am talking about seeing a person suffer some kind of public humiliation of the worst variety. An indirect action that exposes deceit and lies. It may take some effort and time, it may take a little thought and planning, but easy and simple best describes what payback should be. The hardest part? Waiting.... For the perfect time, place, moment... Sort of like sniping..... It needs to make itself known and of course, in order to best serve up a nice plate of payback, it really has to be done right, causing the most amount of "damage" as possible where the only casualties are the targets themselves. See, I wouldn't want innocent bystanders to get caught up in the mix. That's not what I'm about. NO... it is NOT just a game of Battleship! ...Okay... Yes it is, but still.... B-3?