I am a very lucky guy. Normally when I get a little grief at home, it is about things most people would love to get grief about. Recently we needed to buy a new TV. The only one we owned is a 12 year old 19 inch mono tube TV that I bought right after high school. Up until now I have always had roommates with much larger nicer TVs so why buy my own? I just used theirs. Well finally the last roommate/renter was moving out and we would be going to the 19 inch with rabbit ears and digital tuner box thanks to the government’s digital TV switch program. We COULD have gotten along fine with this. It is all we used for almost a year at one point.
In fact RG watches very little TV; most of it on the weekends when I am home and then it is mostly movies. In fact the only show she watches religiously is house and I think ½ the time she gets the DVDs or watches it on her computer. In fact I think she watches her computer more than the TV. But still I thought it would be nice to get a nice new modern TV. I mean I am over 30 and have a pretty good job so getting a nice TV is not that huge of a deal. Of course it hadn’t happened for over a decade mostly because I was cheap and as mentioned above there were free options! Heh.
So we talked it over and decided we would get a new TV. RG didn’t have a ton of input she wanted an LG but I wanted a plasma, but LG stopped making Plasma in the sizes we were thinking about so we settled on a Panasonic mid-line model. The reviews were really good so I talked her into that brand. So I started watching the market and found some pretty good deals. Of course the part that really made it possible was that RG got a new job so we felt we had a little money to burn after being on a tight budget for 7 months. So a couple weeks before our renter moved out I found a great deal online. I was at least a hundred bucks cheaper than I had seen before so I talked it over with RG and ordered it.
As I normally do I sent the purchase confirmation and email invoice on to the wife and didn’t think much of it. A few hours later I got a call from her when she saw it asking what the heck I was doing? What—What—What!? What was she talking about we talked about getting this TV for months. How could she be upset. I was thinking. So she asked what the heck are you doing – I thought we were getting a BIGGER TV…. Huh? Really? You Think? I thought. I had always figured the size we ordered was plenty. Our living/family room isn’t that big. So we talked about it and yep she was sure we should go bigger… So while we were on the phone I looked up the bigger models of the same TV on the same website. We could go up 1 size for ~$150. So that sounded good. Then I started to joke that we should go up 2 sizes because the next size was only ~$50 more than 1 size up. I was joking.
She wasn’t she said buy it! Crazy, how many wives would tell their husbands to go out and get a bigger TV, 2 sizes bigger even. Well I wasn’t sure that a TV that big would fit in our family room but I had to call and change the order within 24 hours. SO off I went to Wal-Mart, the only place open at 10 at night to look at the different sizes of TV. I also called up a few friends for their advice. I didn’t get much advice beyond Get the biggest TV you can afford. Huh. Well that is one way to go. I thought about it and even though I thought we should go smaller I got the biggest one we were looking at. It is a good thing we didn’t go bigger yet! This one fits with maybe ¼ inch left on either side. the neighbors can watch our TV from a block away, and we sit close enough to this one to see too much detail on HD feeds. So it was a good choice.
A strange and unexpected side effect of the new TV was more space in our living room. All the previous TVs had been tube or projection TVs and this one is a flat screen. So we actually gained 15 inches of floor space in front of the TV. I’ll tell you what – it is great to have the problem of the wife thinking you ordered too small of a TV, even if the bigger TV doesn’t get used any more than the little one!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Lawn
Ok Ok I finally got a little embarrassed - about the state of my lawn. After living in the house for 8 and ½ years I finally decided, or rather it may have been decided for me, that it was time to do something about the state of my lawn. Of course my house is now 104 years old and I bought it in a state of somewhat disrepair. So I always have a long list of to-dos on the house. Up until now I have focused mostly on the interior of the house; repairing cracked walls, restoring the wood work, restoring the wood floors, and basically fixing it up one room at a time. The yard was always on my list but pretty far down.
This year though it just looked miserable in the spring. I normally would through some fertilizer out and some fresh seed twice a year. I also mow and line-trim it a few times a month. Last year as I was out of the country I could do these things. Instead I ended up hiring a service just to keep I mowed. Partial to keep my neighbors happy and partial to make it look lived in to keep criminals from thinking it was vacant. Last year must have been pretty dry and I don’t think the service took into consideration the state of the grass, because along one side of my house I have steep hill along the side walk where 60% of the grass had been tore up. I believe this was probably an affect of the large mowers used by the lawn service paired with dry grass and the incline of the hill. At any rate it was an awful mess.
So we decided to see if we could green things up again. Of course I have to give most of the credit to my lovely wife. While I may have come up with the how to fix things she had to do most of the work. All summer long we have been seeding, watering, and fertilizing the grass. We have tried several different seeds and methods. But really the best thing seem to be to use a certain Minnesota grass seed mixture, put an 1/8 inch of dirt over it, and then water it 4-5 times a week (I should say that RG was the one doing all the watering and care taking as I typically am gone all week). In fact we paid easily 2.5 times as much for the water bill as the last few years. But it has been worth it. After about 5-6 weeks our lawn was easily the nicest on the block! Who knew it could happen so fast. Plus we put in a flower bed, two planters, replaced a huge ugly old bush, and replaced some other bushes with more seed. It looks great.
I’m certain glad I didn’t wait until everything in the house was finished to work on the lawn. It really does feel good to come back to a home with such a lush flower filled. Someday I actually hope to put in a retaining wall and I know next year RG is going to demand more flower space and planters. So of course I can feel the continuation of domestic life to impress itself on me someday soon I think I will become a stereo typical family man. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
This year though it just looked miserable in the spring. I normally would through some fertilizer out and some fresh seed twice a year. I also mow and line-trim it a few times a month. Last year as I was out of the country I could do these things. Instead I ended up hiring a service just to keep I mowed. Partial to keep my neighbors happy and partial to make it look lived in to keep criminals from thinking it was vacant. Last year must have been pretty dry and I don’t think the service took into consideration the state of the grass, because along one side of my house I have steep hill along the side walk where 60% of the grass had been tore up. I believe this was probably an affect of the large mowers used by the lawn service paired with dry grass and the incline of the hill. At any rate it was an awful mess.
So we decided to see if we could green things up again. Of course I have to give most of the credit to my lovely wife. While I may have come up with the how to fix things she had to do most of the work. All summer long we have been seeding, watering, and fertilizing the grass. We have tried several different seeds and methods. But really the best thing seem to be to use a certain Minnesota grass seed mixture, put an 1/8 inch of dirt over it, and then water it 4-5 times a week (I should say that RG was the one doing all the watering and care taking as I typically am gone all week). In fact we paid easily 2.5 times as much for the water bill as the last few years. But it has been worth it. After about 5-6 weeks our lawn was easily the nicest on the block! Who knew it could happen so fast. Plus we put in a flower bed, two planters, replaced a huge ugly old bush, and replaced some other bushes with more seed. It looks great.
I’m certain glad I didn’t wait until everything in the house was finished to work on the lawn. It really does feel good to come back to a home with such a lush flower filled. Someday I actually hope to put in a retaining wall and I know next year RG is going to demand more flower space and planters. So of course I can feel the continuation of domestic life to impress itself on me someday soon I think I will become a stereo typical family man. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
When We are Married
Simply put I don’t go out and enjoy all that life has to offer. One thing I could use a little more of is the some exposure to the arts. We are lucky in that Minneapolis has one of the greatest art scenes in the country. Boasting many museums, theaters, music venues, and anything else you could want only New York, Chicago, or maybe LA could compete. Recently one theater the Orpheum built a new 3 stage building along the river. It is a strange blue and yellow building that has a skyway jutting out that goes nowhere and yellow towers the size of chimneys sticking out of the roof. It also sports a large vertical marquee that scrolls the names and dates of upcoming or current shows. Are the theaters is a large park with circular sidewalks and curvy hills that provide a nice place to lay in the grass and see the river. All of this on the edge of down town close to the center of the city.
The building has been open for a couple of seasons and only recently did we get to a show there. A wonderful British show called “When we are Married”. RG received the tickets for being a volunteer for the local ALS society and we went the other night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The inside of the theater is almost as strange as the out. The main lobby is kind of narrow with white walls the ticket counter is toward the back and it is a little disorientating. Once you go up a two story escalator there are some hallways to roam with leather chairs facing out so you can see the view through yellow tinted windows. Most of the second floor is taken up by a bar and restaurant that is open to everyone whether attending a show or not. On one side of the building one can walk out onto the skyway to nowhere to an observation deck that gives a great view of the river. Though I suspect it is usually windy there.
Once inside one of the theaters the presentation is quite cozy. The seating wraps around 3 sides of the stage and the walls are painted warm reds, yellows, and oranges. It is a very comfortable setting. There is a main floor and a balcony. We were sitting on the left side of the stage midway back on the first floor. At first I thought the view was going to be to the actors backs but this was not the case. They made sure to constantly move around facing all sides of the stage so the entire audience was addressed.
The show itself was great. I didn’t know any of the actors but they did a great job. The story is placed about the turn of last century, around 1900. It is about 3 established society couples. I won’t give too much away but the men are muckie-mucks in the church and want to fire the new organist who is seen out late at night with a woman! When they confront him he delivers a bombshell that the 3 men are not actually married because the priest who married all three of them was not licensed. This does not go over well because it would mean they had spent the last 30 years living in sin. The rest of the show goes on to explore their various lives and relationships through various conversation about what they should do about their situations. Of course the wives find out and the plot takes off from there. It is a great piece of British comedy and I would easily go see it again. My single complaint, having just spent 10 months in Britain, was how bad the actor’s “British” accents were. They sounded more Irish than northern English. Other than that it was a great show and we had a great night out.
The building has been open for a couple of seasons and only recently did we get to a show there. A wonderful British show called “When we are Married”. RG received the tickets for being a volunteer for the local ALS society and we went the other night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The inside of the theater is almost as strange as the out. The main lobby is kind of narrow with white walls the ticket counter is toward the back and it is a little disorientating. Once you go up a two story escalator there are some hallways to roam with leather chairs facing out so you can see the view through yellow tinted windows. Most of the second floor is taken up by a bar and restaurant that is open to everyone whether attending a show or not. On one side of the building one can walk out onto the skyway to nowhere to an observation deck that gives a great view of the river. Though I suspect it is usually windy there.
Once inside one of the theaters the presentation is quite cozy. The seating wraps around 3 sides of the stage and the walls are painted warm reds, yellows, and oranges. It is a very comfortable setting. There is a main floor and a balcony. We were sitting on the left side of the stage midway back on the first floor. At first I thought the view was going to be to the actors backs but this was not the case. They made sure to constantly move around facing all sides of the stage so the entire audience was addressed.
The show itself was great. I didn’t know any of the actors but they did a great job. The story is placed about the turn of last century, around 1900. It is about 3 established society couples. I won’t give too much away but the men are muckie-mucks in the church and want to fire the new organist who is seen out late at night with a woman! When they confront him he delivers a bombshell that the 3 men are not actually married because the priest who married all three of them was not licensed. This does not go over well because it would mean they had spent the last 30 years living in sin. The rest of the show goes on to explore their various lives and relationships through various conversation about what they should do about their situations. Of course the wives find out and the plot takes off from there. It is a great piece of British comedy and I would easily go see it again. My single complaint, having just spent 10 months in Britain, was how bad the actor’s “British” accents were. They sounded more Irish than northern English. Other than that it was a great show and we had a great night out.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Different Paths
When I was in high school there was a core group of friends that I ran around with. I think this is pretty common for most people. What is not as common I think is that most of us still see each other on a regular basic. But there are a few people I lose track of from time to time. One of my friends, RJ, signed up for the army right after high school. We kept in ok contact with him seeing him a few times a year, when he finished his tour he went to school out in Madison WI and we saw him a little more often. During college he was in the National Guard and before he graduated he was activated. At that point we kind of lost track of him. Seeing him for briefly when we found out he was married and he had a reception back home, again a couple years later at my wedding, and then again a few days ago. It was great to catch up with him but what really struck me is how different not just RJ’s but everyone’s paths through life have been over the last 12 years or so.
RJ is the most striking. He spent years in the military, first in the infantry (airborne) and then learning Arabic and join counter-intelligence. He has been in all those places we see in the news and I am sure done things that most people would only see in movies. He now lives on the beach – ala Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon just on the opposite coast – and works for a military contractor training forces around the globe in counter intelligence. He has a bull dog and wants to be a teacher in a few years when he gets out of his current business. Many of the things that he told us about his life certainly raised our eyebrows and had quite a time finding out about his adventures.
Thinking about it we were all in the same place at one time or another. But each of us has made a range of decisions that have taken into drastically different direction. Some are now business owners, some have moved out of the state, many have college degrees or a couple degrees, some didn’t finish college and have found other paths, some have families while some don’t. It didn’t seem like time moved that fast. It didn’t seem like anyone was changing that much at any given time. In fact it is only in the aggregate that people’s lives strike me as having gone through such amazingly different paths. I don’t know why I never saw this happening at the time. I guess it feels normal not to talk to someone for a couple months, then a year, then maybe two. But so much can happen in those years; marriages, divorces, kids, jobs, adventures, illness, creation of business, schooling, or any other of the events or endeavors that humans participate in.
I am glad though that my friends are strong enough to bridge time and that I seem to be able to pick up with most people at the same place we left off. It make my life that more interesting to hear and join in on their adventures as well. Hopefully our path’s continue to cross.
RJ is the most striking. He spent years in the military, first in the infantry (airborne) and then learning Arabic and join counter-intelligence. He has been in all those places we see in the news and I am sure done things that most people would only see in movies. He now lives on the beach – ala Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon just on the opposite coast – and works for a military contractor training forces around the globe in counter intelligence. He has a bull dog and wants to be a teacher in a few years when he gets out of his current business. Many of the things that he told us about his life certainly raised our eyebrows and had quite a time finding out about his adventures.
Thinking about it we were all in the same place at one time or another. But each of us has made a range of decisions that have taken into drastically different direction. Some are now business owners, some have moved out of the state, many have college degrees or a couple degrees, some didn’t finish college and have found other paths, some have families while some don’t. It didn’t seem like time moved that fast. It didn’t seem like anyone was changing that much at any given time. In fact it is only in the aggregate that people’s lives strike me as having gone through such amazingly different paths. I don’t know why I never saw this happening at the time. I guess it feels normal not to talk to someone for a couple months, then a year, then maybe two. But so much can happen in those years; marriages, divorces, kids, jobs, adventures, illness, creation of business, schooling, or any other of the events or endeavors that humans participate in.
I am glad though that my friends are strong enough to bridge time and that I seem to be able to pick up with most people at the same place we left off. It make my life that more interesting to hear and join in on their adventures as well. Hopefully our path’s continue to cross.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Long Drive
So as noted in the last post R and I drove from Arkansas to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Now to be honest this was done completely because I am a cheap skate and didn’t want to use up our miles to fly R to VA and then spend money to rent a car on top of that. I had a perfectly good company car and while it would mean 250% more travel time it would save us hundreds of dollars. So that was the plan. Well I wasn’t sure how long the trip would take, Google maps gave me one time and Mapquest another. They basically said 16.5-17.5 hours. But I figured if I could keep my speed up and we didn’t stop unless we needed gas we could easily break those numbers.
To continue my cheapskateness (new word) I purchased a cold bag from Wally-word and a bunch of groceries. The week before I stored ice from the ice maker in my corporate apartment in a bag (to say $2 on store bought Ice) and saved some of my groceries from my meal allowance for the trip. So just prior to 5am in the morning, after going to bed just short of mid-night, we got up and packed the company car with our wedding best, luggage, food, soda, and snacks then headed out. R was good keeping me company for about 5 min then she went straight back to sleep. So I started to clock the miles as best I could.
In all honesty the trip went surprisingly smoothly. We were in Memphis in just over 5 hours (should have taken 5.5-6 per Google) and so we got in to see Graceland early. Of course I took longer at Graceland than I planned but it worked out because we arrived early. After lunch I took the first shift driving and after a few hours right before twilight R took over for a while. At which point it was my turn to sleep which was a good thing. R and I have very different styles of driving. I tend to be more aggressive and a bit heavier on the pedal and she like to stay in the same lane as long as possible. So the few times I did wake up I decided while she drove it was better if I slept to avoid the aggravation. She is better at putting up with my driving than I am with hers.
All in all it took from 5am to 11pm to get to my Grandmother’s house in VA. Of course we did stop for 2.5 hours at Graceland and again for a Blizzard in the evening. I figure if you remove the stops that is less than 15 hours of driving. So we did beat the internet times.
The drive on the way back seemed much longer because we didn’t take a break to see anything. We started out mid-morning and drove straight through. There are really only 3 things to mention here. 1.) The KFC we stopped at just outside of Little Rock is the most disgusting place I have been in recent memory. We will not be stopping at a KFC again. I’d rather go hungry. 2.) At twilight in Arkansas you will crush no lest then 10 gazillion bugs in ½ hour. I have never seen so many bugs over the road – the next day the car looked like it was covered in fur. 3.) We made it in 14.5 hour further beating both our previous time and crushing the internet times. W00T! But it was a long drive and honestly I think we spent as much time in the car as out of it that weekend.
But that was ok with me cuz I had my wonder wife next to me the whole time and that made the trip interesting. Well that and the mountains, Graceland, and some other sights and sounds. I get a greater appreciation for this country every time I take a road trip.
To continue my cheapskateness (new word) I purchased a cold bag from Wally-word and a bunch of groceries. The week before I stored ice from the ice maker in my corporate apartment in a bag (to say $2 on store bought Ice) and saved some of my groceries from my meal allowance for the trip. So just prior to 5am in the morning, after going to bed just short of mid-night, we got up and packed the company car with our wedding best, luggage, food, soda, and snacks then headed out. R was good keeping me company for about 5 min then she went straight back to sleep. So I started to clock the miles as best I could.
In all honesty the trip went surprisingly smoothly. We were in Memphis in just over 5 hours (should have taken 5.5-6 per Google) and so we got in to see Graceland early. Of course I took longer at Graceland than I planned but it worked out because we arrived early. After lunch I took the first shift driving and after a few hours right before twilight R took over for a while. At which point it was my turn to sleep which was a good thing. R and I have very different styles of driving. I tend to be more aggressive and a bit heavier on the pedal and she like to stay in the same lane as long as possible. So the few times I did wake up I decided while she drove it was better if I slept to avoid the aggravation. She is better at putting up with my driving than I am with hers.
All in all it took from 5am to 11pm to get to my Grandmother’s house in VA. Of course we did stop for 2.5 hours at Graceland and again for a Blizzard in the evening. I figure if you remove the stops that is less than 15 hours of driving. So we did beat the internet times.
The drive on the way back seemed much longer because we didn’t take a break to see anything. We started out mid-morning and drove straight through. There are really only 3 things to mention here. 1.) The KFC we stopped at just outside of Little Rock is the most disgusting place I have been in recent memory. We will not be stopping at a KFC again. I’d rather go hungry. 2.) At twilight in Arkansas you will crush no lest then 10 gazillion bugs in ½ hour. I have never seen so many bugs over the road – the next day the car looked like it was covered in fur. 3.) We made it in 14.5 hour further beating both our previous time and crushing the internet times. W00T! But it was a long drive and honestly I think we spent as much time in the car as out of it that weekend.
But that was ok with me cuz I had my wonder wife next to me the whole time and that made the trip interesting. Well that and the mountains, Graceland, and some other sights and sounds. I get a greater appreciation for this country every time I take a road trip.
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