Leftover Chinese, Bikes, Prom, Raquet Sports, etc.

That sums up the extended weekend. The weekend was a departure from the norm with things popping up all over the radar. Friday I saw Ms. B's students at their prom. Saturday day, I took Brooke to see her prom date from 1997 play drums with his band. During the days I rode my bike to the lake, and drove my car to the tennis court. When I wasn't cooking bratwurst (Saturday and Sunday) or sitting outside watching backyard badminton, I was taking a nap. Welcome to Summer. Etc.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese: Yesterdays News Today



- I shallow fried pork battered in a seasoning packet I bought a long time ago. It was good.
- After watching MASH, I have chorus to "Suicide is Painless" stuck in my head. I enjoyed the movie way more than the television show.
- Tennis might make a comeback in my life. It's a convenient sport that combines my alternating cardiovascular/anaerobic phases. Might as well reward the sport after watching my parents throw a lot of money into my tennis education.
- Summer season starts this weekend. Get ready. This will be a fast one.

. . [~] . 2 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese Commends Progress


Socialization experiment deemed a success on day 22.

(No more cats for a while. Seriously.)

Other signs of progress:
- I got new glasses.
- The Brewers have only a week of hell left.
- I rode my bike twice this weekend to attend to social matters.
- It's almost summer.

. . [~] . 1 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese and the Out-of-Market Baseball

Though it's somewhat excessive for me to shell out a few extra bucks to watch out of market baseball games, I find that the entertainment goes beyond the game of baseball. It's not just balls, strikes, and falling asleep on the couch. There a few things you never see on national television.

One nice perk is seeing the different commercials in different markets beyond the pizza and beer commercials. Kansas City fans see plenty of ads for tourism. I'm guessing the bulk of the fan base lives out in the rural towns. Cincinnati is fed a steady diet of chili commercials. I'm guessing the chili competition is pretty heated. Los Angles...well, they must drive a lot of Trucks & SUV's. Between innings it becomes an auto show for big, big cars.

Another perk? Types of regional dialog during games when the guys get sick of talking about baseball. Mark Grace in Arizona talks about partying and picking up "chicks." The guys in Minnesota enjoy discussing Bert Blyleven's marriage. Tonight the hosts in Seattle discussed the midwestern practice of deer reproduction using the terms "semen" and "bulls."

Thanks to baseball, I feel like I know America just a little better these days.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese Finally Gets some Peace and Quiet





This isn't probably news to you, but it is to me. Since I moved into my current building there has always been a sink quietly running. The wasted water is definitely not a good thing, but something we accept with the decent rent.

When I found out the sink across the hall (my old apartment) was repaired, I stood there and turned the sink on and off in disbelief. At my current apartment, both bathtubs and a sink ran to the point the quiet drip or running faucet was a part of the apartment landscape.

I guess it was to the point Torri (who used to occupy the apartment) was afraid that she would fall through the floor. Well...finally the running has stopped. My apartment is considerably less humid as a result. Falling asleep to the silence could get some getting used to...but now I can rest assured that gallons and gallons of hot water won't be flowing through my abode.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Shopping at Costco With Leftover Chinese


Not pictured: Big bottle of Tabasco brand Pepper Sauce, 15 Cans of Penn Tennis Balls, 15 rolls of Charmin toilet paper, and a semi-pointless home office peripheral

I've crossed the line and added another notch to the consumerist belt. In what turned into an exhausting 90 minute Saturday afternoon bonanza, I picked up a lot of things I use. How often I use or how necessary the purchase remains to be seen. In honors of Mothers day, I paid homage to my mom's "spend to save" philosophy by "breaking even" on the membership fee. Good times.

My boss used to preach about the store's value and we'd roll our eyes. The guy sure loved everything about this store. I guess I finally get it. If you based all of your spending habits on single units consumed, this is the place to be. There's a catch: You'd better buy a shit-ton of stuff at the favorable per unit price point.

. . [~] . 2 (Grumble) Grumbles .

What the Hell is Leftover Chinese Doing?

Leftover Chinese has been thin on material and fat in the cat department lately. Don't worry, I'm still finding ways to entertain myself on the internets with the following things:

- The Answer Site. Yahoo.com has an answer forum where anybody (dare I say, a yahoo) can ask about anything. Other folks chime in and pass on answers based on their life experience and/or their seriousness about the topic in general.

With the help of my buddy Jacob I've been asking questions that are clearly jokes, but written in such a way that people give very serious answers. This has been an unexpected study into the minds of the afternoon internet population. There is a credibility issue with each member, so I make sure to ask earnest questions as well.

If you've ever wondered if a man should supernaturally haunt his ex-wife after he dies, then check my questions.

- Imitating my heroes in the daily comic strip blog universe, I've started a web blog about the strip FW. What was once a happy-go-lucky strip in the '70s matured into something that tackles serious issues and takes a lot of heat for it. The characters are drawn in such a way that gives the air that we're all doomed.

That's not to say there is no humor left. The feature is still printed across america's funny pages, so there has to be some comic value...right? I'm still finding my way on the strip blog, so I'll keep trying until the lawyers find me out.

Stuck Funky

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese Has Never Played a Game Like That Before


ugh.

According to my opponent, this happens quite often. It takes some luck to get this frustrated.

. . [~] . 1 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese is on Your Monitor. Showing You Cats.

Socialization: Day 5


First cat: Still suspicious. Jealous at times.
Second cat: Competing for place in order. Figuring out the house.


Sort of friends. Not enemies.
(Photo by Ms. B)

Making cats co-exist is advertised as a time consuming process requiring plenty of patience. So far, so good.

. . [~] . 1 (Grumble) Grumbles .

Leftover Chinese Probably Misses its Glasses

I got my first prescription in 1998 and changed frames in 2000. I lost those frames last summer and vowed to get by without wearing the original frames as long as I could. Round frames remind me of that guy who kind of looked like my brother (back in the late 90's, that is). I'm far-sighted and slightly astigmatic, so I don't need the glasses for much more than staring at things nearby. It's been eleven months since I lost the frames. I think I'm finally due. Reading hurts.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .