No Caffeine

Yesterday I went an entire day without caffeine for the first time in a VERY long time. I've gone deep into a day recently before grabbing a can of Pepsi or something else at home or out to dinner, but I still have had at least one caffeinated beverage each day. Until yesterday.

There were plenty of times that I WANTED to grab a pop with caffeine in it yesterday because I was dragging ass at work all morning, but I made it through the work day without having one....without having any pop at all actually, with or without caffeine. Being somewhat busy most of the day really helped me survive at work. Riding after work helped me sustain that, and it wasn't until I had my dinner at the movies that I ordered a Sierra Mist. Normally I won't drink an entire pop in the movies, but that 32 ounces didn't last til the credits.

While it was great to go an entire day without caffeine, and most of it without any pop, there was one drawback. After the movie I was completely drained and in bed by 8....well, I was actually passed out on the couch by 8. It wasn't until I woke up just before 1 am that I realized I had completely slept the evening away. Sleeping as soundly as I did on the couch also had another drawback....I am stiff as hell this morning, and kinda unhappy that I have to turn to my good friend Motrin for help again. It could be worse of course, but I hate feeling dependant on a pill.

I'm already dragging again this morning, but I am hoping to get through it without any pop. I've already sucked down about 30 ounces of ice water, so I shouldn't be thirsty much from here on out as long as I keep my water cup full. I didn't have too hard of a time staying away from the pop yesterday....I hope it's as easy today.

Picture of the Day, 7-27-2010

Seeing this on a newspaper's website

REALLY helped pick me up this morning.

Why Take a Chance?

A year ago, the 21st was a great day. One of my very favorites as a matter of fact. A month later, the 21st wasn't so spectacular....the following month, things changed around again. Anymore, I have no idea what to expect when it comes to the 21st.

I may not be the most superstitious of people, but I have to say that the date today did come into my decision making when it came time to choose which vehicle to bring to work today. By all weather forecasts, today should be a great day to ride....but I drove my truck in today instead. Hey, why take a chance?

So Much to Say....

....so few words.

All Yours

Max likes this:

Full screen it for the best view.

The Three Big Egos

While I have been pretty much sickened by how much press this has been getting, I must admit I am interested to see if this experiment works out. I'm not normally a hater but considering this involves "King" James and the Miami Heat, I won't try and hide my hater status. Normally I don't care if things like this work out or not and every sport has had something akin to this happen at one time or another which I didn't really care about....with only two exceptions I can think of.

When the Lakers geared up for another title run with Kobe, Shaq, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, and the rest in 2004 I really didn't care too much....until the Pistons signed Sheed. Then I wanted to see the LA experiment fail miserably....and it did. Before that, there was the three-headed monster of Aikman, Emmitt, and Irvin in Dallas. That "dynasty" just pissed me off, even though I really like Troy Aikman. Alas, he played for the Cowboys....one of the few teams I actually loathe.

This situation in Miami is somewhat similar to the Dallas trio. I like Bosh, I really like Wade, and Lebron is definitely an impressively rare talent (and and even more impressively rare douche) but mixing those ingredients up in the bowl that is Miami just makes me lose my appetite.

I'll be watching the standings with interest, and hoping to see this turn into a ego-fueled trainwreck.

Unfinished Business

I've started a bunch of posts over the last few days, but for one reason or another have not finished them. Looks like I have something to work on the next few days....unfortunately I don't think they are going to get finished in chronilogical order.

Happy Birthday America

Days Off

The last few years, I have gotten pretty spoiled in terms of my days off. I always had the weekends off unless I volunteered to work the OT when it was available. For the foreseeable future, I will be working just about every Saturday and Sunday, with my days off being sometime during the normal work week. I have also been spoiled in the fact that I pretty much always worked day shifts, unless I asked for/agreed to work an early afternoon shift for one reason or another. This weekend I am working three consecutive midnight shifts.

I technically don't have Saturday, Sunday, or Monday off during this long holiday weekend....in reality, I kinda do. I don't normally sleep all that much at night as it is, so working the night shift and having an option of sleeping right before or right after work isn't so bad. Truth be told, on the days that my light sleep schedule catches up with me I will often sleep right after work as well as right before work. It's pretty much the same on midnights, I just haven't had a chance to get used to it.

Today I slept on and off throughout the day, but the flexibility of not having to be at work during the day let me take advantage of the time I wanted to, and sleep at the time I wanted to. I know it wasn't as efficient of a sleep pattern as I could have had, but I enjoyed the day much more than had I just slept straight through the morning into the afternoon. I hope to do the same thing tomorrow, then with Monday and Tuesday being my actual days off, I can do whatever I please with sleep or anything else.

While I couldn't head out of town with Mark, Mike and Dave for the weekend....I'm not completely unhappy that I am here with this schedule. Things have worked out rather well so far.

The Best is Yet to Come

I had a great time at the show last night. Both bands put on a great show, and it doesn't seem like either lead singer has lost much, if any, in terms of their voice. The seats we had were very nice, especially for as little as we paid. We were about halfway up/down in the pavilion and just a little left of center and settled into the seats a song or two into Cinderella's set.

Luckily for us, I noticed that Heather was walking up the stairs next to our row at one point and ran out to say hi to her. After a big "I haven't seen you in forever" hug, she explained that her seats were too close to the stage for her kids to enjoy. Her daughter was crying like crazy on the way up the stairs. After that, she offered me two of their 4 tickets from Miro's company to go down to the seventh row and watch the rest of the show. How could I say no to that? I thanked Heather and took the tickets back to our seats, and we immediately headed down the 20 plus rows to check out our new vantage point. Much nicer.

On the walk down to our upgraded seats, I noticed they were in the row right in front of a pair of our company's season tickets (which were not available to me when I asked about them) and was very interested to see who had those seats for the night. It didn't take me long to recognize who was there, but I looked a little different than I do at work (Slayer shirt, torn up jeans, black bandana around my forehead and some crazy hair above that) so I was not recognized right away. When I finally was recognized, I got the usual "what is HE doing here?" look. Because of who I work with on a daily basis, most anyone who sees me out when they are having fun gets a little uncomfortable....as if I am going to rat them out to their bosses. The way that I was dressed seemed to lessen that effect though, and no one seemed uncomfortable after the initial recognition.

With the company tickets that Miro and Heather gave us, we were able to get into the VIP lounge where they have better food and drink than anywhere else in the venue. We took full advantage of that between sets, and ran into another person I know from work. This time, I was mistaken as someone else because of the way I was dressed (and the amount of alcohol he had consumed) and he was very amused at my appearance when he finally realized who I was. He doesn't work for our company, he just comes in a lot so I gave him a pass on not recognizing me right away. I guarantee that he would recognize Missy again though. She was away from our table when I started talking to him, and as she approached he actually turned to point her out to me. I think he said he was in love with her before she was even within 20 yards of us. I just smiled a big crooked smile.

We made it back to the seats just before The Scorpions started their set, and we thoroughly enjoyed what we saw. We ended up leaving a little bit early because we were both completely exhausted. While I was disappointed I wouldn't see Winds of Change live, we were really much better off leaving when we did. Had we waited, I'm not sure I would have had the energy I needed after the show....to give her a piggy-back ride to the car because her foot was REALLY hurting. Not too long before we left, they played a song from their new album which I really enjoyed.

The Best is Yet to Come

Across the desert plains
Where nothing dares to grow
I taught you how to sing
You taught me everything I know
And though the night is young
And we don't know if we'll live to see the sun

The best is yet to come
I know, you know
That we've only just begun
Through the highs and lows
And how can I live without you
You're such a part of me
And you've always been the one
Keeping me forever young
And the best is yet to come

Na na na na
Don't look now, the best is yet to come
Na na na na
Take my hand, the best is yet to come

Thinking of the times
How we laughed and cried
I wouldn't change a thing
I couldn't even if I tried
Through the wind and rain
The spirit of our song remains the same

And the best is yet to come
I know, you know
That we've only just begun
Through the highs and lows
And how can I live without you
You're such a part of me
And you've always been the one
Keeping me forever young
And the best is yet to come

Na na na na
Don't look now, the best is yet to come
Na na na na
Take my hand, the best is yet to come

Oh can you feel it in the air
It's in your heart and everywhere
We got to keep that dream alive

We cross another road
And face another day
Soldiers never die
They only fade away
How can we grow old
When the soundtrack of our lives is rock and roll

And the best is yet to come
I know, you know
That we've only just begun
Through the highs and lows
And how can I live without you
You're such a part of me
And you've always been the one
Keeping me forever young
And the best is yet to come

Na na na na
Don't look now, the best is yet to come
Na na na na
Take my hand, the best is yet to come

Na na na na
Don't look now, the best is yet to come
Na na na na
Take my hand, the best is yet to come

Six Months Behind Us, Six Months to Go

July 1st brings our state a ban on texting. While I like the theory of this, the practice will probably be useless unless it's STRICTLY enforced. What the law itself is going to do is stop the cautious, law-abiding drivers to stop texting. These are the folks who would probably be the most responsible of texting drivers out there, the ones who wait for breaks in traffic or optimal times to text while driving (if there is such a thing).

What it's NOT going to do is stop the ones who just don't give a f*ck from texting while driving, and these are the ones who end up accidentally sharing a lane with me on the highway when I am riding. The only thing I think that will eventually stop that crowd is strict enforcement, like the seat belt patrols you see every now and again. When the seat belt law came into effect in MI years ago, the result was pretty much the same. The responsible people listened, the rest didn't. It wasn't until it was made a primary offense and the fines were upped that it began to really make an impact on drivers as a whole.

July; The Month of Many Concerts

This month starts with me attending a concert, and will end with a concert as well. Tonight is The Scorpions and Cinderella at DTE Energy Music Theater. The 31st is Kings of Leon, also at DTE. I also have tickets for 311/The Offspring as well as the Goo Goo Dolls/Switchfoot. Both of those at....DTE of course.

From the very first concert I ever went to at DTE (it was still Pine Knob then), I completely dug the venue. I got lucky the first few years I went to concerts there because I always got lawn tickets, and it never rained. I think the first time I actually got pavilion tickets was the first time I saw it rain there and how terrible that hill can be in inclement weather. Since then I have gone to very few concerts there where I haven't been in the pavilion. I'll be in the pavilion for all four shows this month, and while I will be dry if the weather takes a turn for the worse, I'll also be a little warmer than I'd like. It always seems to get hotter the closer you get to the stage. And I have to believe tonight is gonna be a hot night. ;-)

While the concerts give me something to look forward to nearly every week, there's plenty more for me to look forward to in the coming weeks....and all of this is much more important to me than a few shows. I'm eagerly awaiting everything that will happen over the next six months.