what i did on my first day of vacation.....

ready for this one.....

So today's my last day in the office until the Monday after Thanksgiving. I've really been looking forward to the time off.

Ever notice that everything happens right before you plan to take a week off? It's been one of those weeks. I went to bed last night with so much on my mind, things I knew I had to get done before leaving. I woke up early, couldn't go back to sleep, and ended up coming in about 2 hours early. It wasn't all bad. The interstates were clear and light snow was falling. Looked great in the headlights.

I think I'll be ready for this vacation at the end of the day.....

city government at work.....

Austin American-Statesman - 10/8/08

Residents of an Austin, Texas, neighborhood undergoing a federally mandated sewer replacement noticed that, for several weeks starting in September, the work crews would spend the first three hours of their 12-hour days digging a huge hole in the street, and the last three hours re-filling and paving over it (repeating the process each day). The 20-by-20-by-20-foot hole in Monroe Street was too big to be covered with metal plates, and the city's "policy" of minimal traffic disruption required repaving for nighttime use, at least doubling the cost of the work.

different format, same thing.....

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and that means we get an updated Christmas gift list from Sara at least weekly. She'll usually come into whatever room the bride and I are in, smiling from ear to ear, and hand it to us without saying a word. Then it goes up on the refrigerator.

The list isn't your standard list. It's just pictures of the things she wants that she's downloaded from Safari and pasted in Word. A digital camera. Some green Chuck Taylors. And a few other things I can't remember.

I guess she comes by this naturally. I did the same thing growing up. Except without the use of a computer. I remember taking notebook paper, a pencil, the JC Penney and Sears catalogs, and laying in the floor to make out my list. (I remember asking for an OJ Simpson poster one year. Who knew back then, huh?) I knew about what Santa's budget was, so I was sure to stay under that amount. And to help him out even more, I figured the tax and wrote the full price out on my list. Just doing my part to speed things up, that's all.

The things our kids inherit from us.....

someday to today.....

A few months ago, our church did a series based on the song "Live Like You Were Dying". Michael Neale, our worship arts pastor, co-wrote a song during that time called "Someday". I won't be surprised if it's on the radio sometime soon. Great song.

The intro to the song begins at 28:40, and the song starts at about 29:18 when you click on the 11-16-08 video right here.....

they just keep going and going and going.....

I just about gave up on the Titans at halftime. Their defense almost looked confused. Their offense was practically non-existent. And their play-calling was horrendous.

But they came to life during the last 30 minutes of the game. And they looked like an undefeated team was supposed to look.

One of the things that makes this team so good is their ability to make adjustments at halftime. That's a major component of a winner.

Looking forward to Bret and the Jets this weekend.....

just a reminder.....

41 days until Christmas.....

the other, other, other white meat.....

Chicago Tribune - 10/15/08

In September, despite an increasing chorus of complaints, Peruvians celebrated the annual Gastronomic Festival of the Cat in a village just south of Lima, serving a variety of feline delicacies (fried cat strips, cat stew, grilled cat with spicy huacatay). For the most part, according to a Chicago Tribune report, the dishes are made with specially bred cats rather than street prowlers, and are consumed for their health benefits, though centuries-old tradition is the likeliest explanation. Said one Peruvian, such cultural events "are our roots and can't be forgotten."

in case you ever want to feel really dumb.....

As we were finishing dinner the other night, the bride told me that Sara needed me to go over her math homework. My entire body clinched. Algebra.

Math always came pretty easy to me, at least the basic stuff. And I liked it. Then algebra came along and the love affair ended.

So Sara brought her 50 problems to me. I asked for the book. She said that they don't have a book. Great, budget cuts prevent books in the classroom. She did, however, have a "rule sheet" for the different types of equations. There were about 6 problems that were, I guess you could call them, hybrids. They didn't fit into any of the rule boxes. I felt as helpless as Carl "Sling Blade" Childers trying to eat french fried taters without mustard. With no math book, we went to the Internet. After about 20 minutes, we found the rule and finished the problems.

Wonder if Sara would mind me going to math class with her so I could be better prepared to help her with homework.....

see, this kind of thing doesn't just happen in the south.....

Post Crescent (Appleton, WI) - 9/24/08

A 38-year-old man was cited for disorderly conduct in Fond du Lac, Wis., in September after he bought a beer for his sons, ages 2 and 4, at the county fair. He could not be cited for providing alcohol to minors because, under Wisconsin law, parents are exempt, but he was written up for swearing at police.

so this is what the absolute bottom looks like.....

I never thought I'd see a Tennessee team with 7 losses in my lifetime. I may see a 9-loss Tennessee team this year. You know you're in trouble when your best player is your punter. I hate to say it, but this may very well be the worst Tennessee team ever assembled.

I can't believe I'm dreading the Vanderbilt and Kentucky games.....

i feel violated.....

According to Section 1702 of the Postal Code, it's a federal offense to open mail that belongs to someone else. Don't believe me? Here it is:

Sec. 1702. - Obstruction of correspondence

Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Wednesday I received a piece of correspondence that contained an offer for a free pair of panties from Victoria's Secret. The bride opened it. She already had one of her own but, no, one wasn't enough. She had to take mine, too. She's selfish like that sometimes.

She brought the card to me. It had a scantily clad woman on the front. She said, "Who would carry something like this around?" I took it, looked at it, and put it in my pocket, proving that someone might keep such an object on their person. Flame shot from her eyes, puffs of steam poured from her ears. "GIVE THAT BACK TO ME RIGHT NOW!" Because I like walking without a limp I quickly handed it over.

How did she know that I wasn't going to take that card to Victoria's place and bring back a surprise for her? Why would she assume that I wouldn't want to do something like that?

I'm mad and I don't know what I'm going to do about it. No, I won't have her imprisoned because the girls need a mother. But I can tell you this much - she won't ever get another leopard-print article of clothing from me again.....

do-over.....

One of my employees told me a story about her drive into work on Monday. She thought her daughter had an ear infection so she was going to bring her into work, get a few things done there, then take her to see the pediatrician later that morning. Here's how the conversation in the car went:

Daughter: "Mommy, my tummy hurts."

Mom: "It's because you haven't eaten. We'll get some breakfast when we get to work."

Daughter: "No, Mommy, it really hurts. I don't feel good."

Mom: "You're just going to have to be a big girl and wait until we get to Mommy's work."

Suddenly Barfzilla showed up. In a big way. Twice.

Daughter: "See, I told you I didn't feel good!"

On the way home, they stopped at Publix and the daughter threw up again. This mom wanted a do-over for her day.....

things to do today if your candidate didn't win last night.....

a. Spray paint "(candidate's name) Rulz Anywayz!" on the nearest bridge, overpass or water tower

b. Forward the latest unconfirmed, scathing email about the winning candidate to everyone in your address book without verifying its validity

c. Pray for the new guy in charge and trust God to take care of the stuff over which you only think you have control

it's for the best, but emotions are mixed.....

I got an email from Dad around 10:00 yesterday morning. ESPN was reporting that Phillip Fulmer would step down as Tennessee's head coach Monday afternoon. For the next hour or so, other emails and text messages from friends followed.

I listened to the press conference on my way home. I truly felt for Coach Fulmer. Here's a guy who invested a good portion of his life to the University of Tennessee. This isn't going to be an easy transition for him. He hinted that his coaching career may not be over, but it sure would seem odd to see him on another sidelines.

Do I think this is a good move? Absolutely. Do I wish Coach Fulmer had been able to win another national championship and then retire? Yeah, I do. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The program needs new direction. Now Mike Hamilton has a huge task ahead of him. He needs to find the next "Bruce Pearl" for the football program.

Thanks for the great ride, Coach.....

sorry about that.....

The explosion you heard Saturday night around 7:00 came from my house. It was right after Fulmer put Crompton in at quarterback. The bride called me down right after I screamed. If Fulmer's trying to get fired, it appears to be working.

I won't say UT has hit a new low because the season's not over yet. That could happen with either Wyoming, Vanderbilt or Kentucky.

I turned the game off and went downstairs after Crompton's first series. Yeah, I checked in on it every now and then. But that's the first time in years that I've walked away from watching a UT game.

At least the Titans stayed undefeated. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it was a win. The problem with the Vols is that it's not only ugly, it's almost always a loss.....