Posts from — April 2002

OK, I haven't posted anything for a while. Thank you for the emails politely asking me, "What the hell?" I really appreciate such heartfelt sentiments.

The truth of the matter is that I have just been too consumed by life. At work, I am putting in more hours than I ever have and coming home exhausted every night. (I guess I know how Merrin feels now!) My car has been in the repair shop all week, so Merrin and I have been sharing a car. With our schedules, it is an incredibly difficult proposition. On top of that, the repair shop is charging us our first born child, plus one month of A-Rod's Texas Ranger salary, plus a hair from an elephant's tail. Oh yeah, plus tax.

I'm off to LA for 5 days tomorrow for a company sales rally. Should be a little reprieve from all the storm clouds surrounding my head. But, as fate would have it, I will miss my second wedding anniversary.

So, even though I'll be away for a few days, I'm still thinking about you guys and missing my wife. In the words of the great Jimmy Buffett, "If the phone doesn't ring, it's me."

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Thank you to all who have inquired so far. Yes, we're fine. There was a tornado in another part of town, but we didn't get much of the storm. Everything here is okey-dokey.

More later.

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Another rousing verse of "getting to know you" courtesy of Friday Five:

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why?
This changes from time to time. Right now, I'd say my favorite restaurant is Uncle Julio's, a Tex-Mex favorite here in Fort Worth. In general, my preferred restaurants tend to be local spots with great food. Most of the time, they look like abandoned buildings from the outside, but the food is great!

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to?
This one never changes. I'll drive 10 miles past every other place just to visit Chik-fil-a. And, it never fails that I'll be out on a Sunday afternoon and think, "Hmm, how 'bout Chik-fil-a?" And, after all these years I still drive there expecting it to be open on Sunday. Ah, the delusions of hunger.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping?
The sales tax here is 8.25% so I usually double it and round up. It works out to 18% most of the time. In one of our restaurants (Westin Hotels), I always tip 25%. If we have great service in a restaurant or the staff is exceptionally courteous, I'll tip 25%.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert?
If a restaurant has particularly good appetizers, I might order one. We rarely order dessert.

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant?
In order of frequency: iced tea, Dr. Pepper, Coors Light, lemonade, a good bottle of Merlot.

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I cannot begin to express how incredibly urgent this is. Please read this and DO SOMETHING! We need to act together now to save this planet!

CNN.com had a report today that showed that the Amazon rivers are producing excessive amounts of carbon dioxide. As all Greenpeace wackos and Californians know, carbon dioxide is one of the main reasons that this planet is doomed. I believe if we act know, we can stop this process.

The facts are simple: The Amazon river valley produces 20% of the world's carbon dioxide. 20%! Scientists say that the rain forest is emitting 2 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide every year! That's one fifth of all the carbon dioxide emitted worldwide!

Something must be done and I think the solution is obvious: We must take immediate action to eradicate the Amazon river valley and the surrounding tropical forest. Cut it down, pave it under, open a nuclear waste facility, something - but we must act fast!

Once we eliminate the Amazon river and rain forest, we have two courses of action: 1) live free and clean with 20% less carbon dioxide every year, or 2) increase our SUV output to drive down the cost so that everyone can afford a Ford Expedition.

I think you get the message, people. Now go do something!

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I saw this in the local paper and thought - Wow, have we really gone all the way off the deep end? It appears that we have indeed. A new company called Timelessmail.com will take your email and save it until your demise, then send it to your loved ones or whomever you direct.

Great. Just what we need: d-mail.

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"Does anyone at your work ever say, 'Looks like somebody's having a case of the Mondays'?"
"Hell no, man. If they did, they'd get their ass kicked!"
–Office Space

Yeah, I guess I'm having a case of the Mondays. But I'd kick your ass if you said that to me. Why? Well, for starters — IT'S NOT MONDAY, it's Sunday. Here's a list of things I currently hate:

I'm slowly starting to recover from the hijinks of Brian & Courtney's visit. We had the greatest time! Thank God the trashmen still come twice a week to wade through the mountains of longhorns, fishbowls, Rangers tickets and beer bottles that were tossed about like confetti.

What's next? I don't know exactly. Let's take an inventory: We've got yet another sold out week at The Westin Beechwood, the Texas 500 NASCAR race, Opening Day @ the Ballpark, Opening Day @ Lone Star Park, and much, much more.

Now, I'm wondering if wifey will read this and find the subtle hint for a Friday night out!!

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The Fort Worth Star Telegram had this love test in the paper. It's pretty interesting. Enjoy!

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