content
Salem asleep in his mama’s lap.
update 120807
Christine’s parents were in town for the past week for her mom’s annual cookie bake in St Louis. While they were here, an offer was made on their house back in Charlotte. After several counteroffers back and forth over the weekend, the buyers accepted the final offer on Monday. My in-laws have to be out of the house by the 2nd week of January. So they extended their stay and spent the entire week making arrangements for movers and storage while also customizing every aspect of the house they’re building here in town. Christine and I are working on cleaning out Daniel’s old playroom so her parents can stay with us while their new home is being built (the guest room is being converted into the nursery).
Her parents bought us a new bed for Christmas; the previous mattress was so old it literally was a pain to sleep on it. And with Christine pregnant, it’s not good for her to have sleepless nights and back pain. The new bed is a welcome change; king-size and firm. We still wake up several times at night – she because of the pregnancy, me because of Salem (I’ve been told that the dog is prepping me for the baby).
for Salem's Lolo
Salem keeping cool in his short fur
18/365
warm and fuzzy
15/365
My poor puppy. He’s been going through some pain the past several days. We’re not sure what it is. Salem grunts or cries when jumping down off the bed, down from his window, or even going down the stairs. We try to keep him from jumping up (in a lot of cases, he can’t contain his excitement). We placed a temporary “bench” by his window so he can take it easy getting down.
He seemed to be worse this morning, crying when CL tried moving him on the bed. He was pretty mopey. He hadn’t gotten up to go out at all last night; we had to make him go before I left for work. Tomorrow, he sees the vet for his yearly shots; we’ll see what they have to say.
9/365
Salem, while working on a “special treat”, looks up as his mom calls him.
random 10 #100
10 songs that sum up your weekend… or were on your weekend playlist…
- “Outshined” – Soundgarden
- “Orange Crush” – R.E.M.
- “Empty Arms” – Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble
- “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” – Extreme
- “Imagine” – John Lennon
- “Jackson” – Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon
- “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman)” – Led Zeppelin
- “Only Love” – BoDeans
- “The Old Man Lives Down The Road” – John Fogerty
- “Any Time At All” – The Beatles
…and one picture that relates back.
Salem helps himself to a biscuit.
2/365
Salem was laying in the sun as he worked on what we refer to as a “special treat”. He looked cute and glowing, soaking up the sun and chewing on his treat. As you can see from this pic, he’s all done with it.
the philosophy of dogs
- The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. – Anonymous
- Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. – Ann Landers
puppy paws
Originally uploaded by Teny Jr.
Salem’s stinky feet (I say that with lots of love and affection)
on the road again
Day 1 of my 10-day weekend…
- I absolutely hate leaving Salem at the kennel (as usual, he cried). Of course, I can’t travel if I can’t board him.
- 5 minutes into our trip, I realized I forgot the tripod. Set us back by a half hour at most.
- We changed our minds in Missouri and decided to go to Tunica, Mississippi instead of Graceland. We figured we will probably visit Memphis in the near future and will save touring the King’s home then.
- Apparently more storms hit home again around noon. Thankfully, a friend checked out the house; it has power and is fine. Unfortunately, the number of those without power climbed back to over 500,000.
- Ate at the buffet in the Gold Strike casino in Tunica. Played for about an hour. We’ll probably come back some time.
- Hit a few thundershowers near Magee.
- Arrived safely in Hattiesburg.
CL and I just love saying it: “We’re on VACATION!!”
audio blog 070106
a walk in the park …
- killer chihuahua
- K2 and site design
- mexican train
- FL trip
- helpdesk – new duties
- countdown
- Busch Stadium in August
- Cardinals stink
- original Star Wars on DVD will be lame
- Superman Returns
(sorry for the thumping, jingling, and other ambient sounds)
<br /> <a rel=”enclosure” xhref=”http://www.hipcast.com/export/P873bbb31381c5dd430f2a078b35870eaZlt6QVREYmF8.mp3″ mce_href=”http://www.hipcast.com/export/P873bbb31381c5dd430f2a078b35870eaZlt6QVREYmF8.mp3″ >MP3 File</a></p>
update 051506
Comma comma down dooby doo down down …
- It’s May, but it feels like March. Temps in the 50′s and 60′s (lows in the 40′s), windy, rainy, and cool.
- American Idol – Chris Daughtry is gone, and the fans of Idol are still in shock. I still believe this “talent” show is really a popularity contest. One writer noted that maybe not enough rock fans watch the show. He’s right. Chris will move on. Thanks to him, I’ve been exposed to rock bands like Fuel and Shinedown.
- Internet Explorer 7 Beta – I’m a Firefox user at heart, but I decided to try IE’s “new and improved” version. I’ll tell you what I think after a week of use.
- National Treasure – *** – interesting, but not believable; I do like scavenger hunts.
- Twisted – ** – unusual and confusing, hence the title.
- Cold Mountain – ***** – great piece set in the Civil War, with a moving story and outstanding performances across the board.
- Did you know last week was National Pet Week? I found out the last day. Salem got a new toy for it (not like he’s spoiled or anything).
An audioblog may be on the way soon. No, really.
update 040206
It’s April, and a quarter of the year is complete.
- My hair was getting pretty thick and shaggy; hadn’t had it cut since November. Couldn’t take it anymore, so Great Clips helped me out.
- The craziest work week to date for me. Thursday I nearly let a coworker have it after he tried telling me how to do my job. Stress and frustration were getting the best of me. Thankfully, I let it go and am over the whole thing now.
- Salem is misbehaving again. Stormy night Thursday, and he had the nerve to get up and go out in the thick of it. I was so mad that at 3 AM – his third trip out – I left him out there and went back to bed. I woke up an hour later to his barking to be let in.
We leave for NC in 10 days to spend Easter at my in-laws.
That’s right; I’m counting down.
just a dog
(author unknown)
From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or, “that’s a lot of money for just a dog.” They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a dog.” Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog.” Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog,” but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a dog,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” then you will probably understand phases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. “Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a dog” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a human.” So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog,” just smile, because they “just don’t understand.” 
update 012706
Probably the busiest week I’ve ever had in IT. Of all the projects we have that go live this month, this one was the biggest. It was felt all over the organization. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s live now, and the users are learning. We’ve gotten past some of the major bugs, and hopefully, people will get used to the new system. As difficult as this week was, our director and the crew that led the command center felt it was a successful transition.
The dog was bad last night. After nearly a week of behaving, he went back to his chasing mode last night. Woke me up 3 times, and I gave it to him by way of newspaper on his way back in. I locked him in the guest room when I got home (I hate that I carry a grudge). He cried and scratched at the door. After a while, I let him out. He whimpered, almost like he was asking for my forgiveness. I kept yelling at him, and he looked dejected as he lay there. I felt so bad; I started petting him and telling him it was ok. To make him feel better, I took him for a walk (something we rarely do lately).
Buying my computer is on hold for now; not ready to fork over the $. I could easily get a desktop now, but I really want a laptop. And I can afford the models from Best Buy or Circuit City, but that would be taking the cheap and easy way to satisfy my craving. I want a good PC that will last me at least 3 years, and I will have to be patient to get exactly what I want – the Dell Inspiron 6000.
update 012206
A lot has been happening, particularly at work. I’m still trying to keep up …
Major projects are going live in the next few weeks, starting with the biggest one on Monday. I think this one scares us all the most; it affects the entire organization, and management waited til the last minute to realize how important this system is. Now the entire place is freaking out.
We’re experiencing more change. We lost our secretary at the beginning of the month; we’ll have a new “assistant” start on Monday. Terrible timing, but we need the help. We’ve been interviewing for 2 more system administrators to assist our current one. I just found out Friday that one of our techs might be filling a slot, which would open up his position. I like what I’m doing at the helpdesk, but I prefer to be running around putting out fires. Another door might be opening for me.
MIA on tenyjr.com
audioblogs (no time)
new photos (no time)
WordPress 2.0 (no time and too new)
What I’m watching:
NFL Playoffs – I like Pittsburgh to go all the way, beating Carolina in the Super Bowl (sorry to my in-laws). Highly unlikely, but that’s what I’d like to see.
Lost – you either love it or hate it. I love it.
24 – ditto. If you haven’t watched this show, where the hell have you been the last 4 years?
American Idol – I hate this show. I’m only watching because we talk about it at work.
The Godfather Part II – I remember seeing this over 15 years ago and thinking to myself, how can this be better than the first? It was so depressing. But I watched it again yesterday, and now I know. It is still depressing, but the contrasts between Vito Corleone and his son Michael make the story so powerful. If it weren’t 4 hours long, I’d watch it again today.
I visited the Dell kiosk at our local mall Friday night. I got to see with my own eyes and touch what could potentially be mine soon. The salesman was very helpful and very honest on what is new, neat, and necessary. As soon as I got home, I customized several more laptops. I’m now down to 3 candidates:
It will most likely be the 6000, but if they can knock off some unnecessary options and up the warranty, I’ll go for the M140.
The dog is going through some phase. He gets up every other hour in the middle of the night to go out and chase something. He’s been doing this for a week now. Last night, CL tried locking him up in the guest room. He barked for a good hour or so. She let him out of the room, and he went straight to the door to be let out. After he got it out of his system, she locked him back in. This time, he started scratching at the door. We finally let him loose; he slept in our bed.
He didn’t wake us up to go out again.
holiday recap
What I hadn’t blogged about for the past week and a half …
Thursday – 12-22 – “Friday” for us at work. Opened presents when I got home. CL got a new purse, D got a portable DVD player, and I got a new watch (among other things, of course).
Friday – 12-23 – Took Salem for a long walk, then to “camp”. He hated it, as did the rest of us. Flew to CT.
Saturday – 12-24 – Drove to NJ to see Dad’s family. Had dinner at the “white house” in Franklin Lakes. Returned to CT after midnight.
Sunday – 12-25 – Went to Christmas Day mass with Mom and Dad. Had brunch; my sister and her family arrived. After they ate, we opened gifts. Jasmine had a field day with her pile of presents. Everyone was happy; needless to say, I’m well on my way to purchasing my own computer
Monday – 12-26 – Day of rest. Rainy but mild. Took CL to Mohegan Sun; she made $.25! Picked up D and went shopping.
Tuesday – 12-27 – Mom and Dad took us to breakfast, then to the airport. D got sick after the first flight; he slept on our connecting flight from Charlotte. Arrived home around 6:30 pm. Got sick that night.
Skip to Saturday – 12-31 – Got sick again that morning. Went to Applebee’s for dinner (didn’t finish mine, but did ok). We played games and watched War of the Worlds; good movie, yet weird and confusing. Celebrated the New Year, then went to bed (uneventful).
Hope everyone had a nice holiday
Happy Holidays!
We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Neil, Christine, Daniel, and Salem too!
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