menomenom

well, tuesday was a really good day. it was really slow at work so my colleagues and I just sat around talking a lot of the day. somehow or other, the jingle for cherry dr. pepper got stuck in my head and I successfully got it stuck in everyone else's head. if you don't know what jingle I'm talking about, you can check it out here. just click on the drink cherry vanilla dr. pepper icon. so now, we walk around the floor just singing menomenom. since we were so slow, I got to go home early which was great because it meant that I got to go to get my oil changed and get my tires rotated a lot earlier than I had intended. after that was done, I stopped by the games workshop store here in lawrence (I didn't know we had one either) and picked up some high elf spearmen and silverhelms as well as the warhammer starter kit. so I've been working on those the past couple of days. I've been trying to paint with the paints that I've had for awhile but either the paint's too old or it's just not formulated for painting on metal or something because it's starting to flake off. guess it means I'll have to invest in some quality paints. well, that's about it. I'm leaving for scuba certification so if I don't update this blog in a couple of months, it'll be because I've drowned at the bottom of the lake.

I painted good

I had forgotten how relaxing and peaceful painting could be. I worked on painting my dragon princes tonight. I didn't get very far but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I plopped two of my tv tray tables open and set my models on one and my painting supplies on the other. the only thing I really accomplished was that my horses are painted white now. I'll probably have to use another coat or two of paint but that's all right. I still have to paint the heads and the riders anyways so I'm looking forward to that. I'm not sure why I find painting so relaxing. it's not just painting models either. I get the same feeling when I'm paintin cels. I think it's just the joy of taking something that was already there and making it better so that others can take joy in looking at it. which brings me to an interesting question: do people paint (artistically) for themselves or for others? do people paint because they take joy in the act of painting itself or do they paint because they take joy in being able to bring joy to others?

recap

yesterday was spent in manhattan. it was lots of fun. I got a squad of dragon princes for war hammer. they got assembled and primed. word to the wise, if you have to glue something pewter to something plastic, make sure you have some sculpting tacky stuff. I don't know if I could've gotten the heads of the steeds onto the bodies without it. after that was done, we (shannon, nette, chris, and I) went to applebees to eat while the figures dried. we went back to shannon's and played some hocky on the game cube. then we played frisbee golf on the k-state campus. it was pretty fun. lot less water hazards than I'm used to having on a golf course though. I wound up losing. shannon wound up winning. and everyone else was in between. then we went fooding at carlos o'kelly's. pretty good food. I'd suggest the cinco sampler platter. then we got back and played warhammer. chris and I played the good guys (high elves and lizardmen) while nette, shannon, and aaron played the bad guys (orcs, undead, and dark elves). chris and I wound up winning pretty easily once we got rid of the stupid scorpion that wound up eating everyone and the chaos knights. by the time the game was over, it was 5 AM so I thought sleep would be a good idea. woke up at noon this morning. shannon and I fooded at planet subs and then I left for lawrence. my only other accomplishment today is that I practiced scuba stuff. well, that's enough recapping for now.

the past 24 hours

well, to start off, I hate having games at 11:15 PM because 1) it's pass my usual bedtime of 10:30 2) you feel like you don't have any energy 3) if you win, you'll have too much adrenaline and can't fall asleep when you get home 4) if you lose, you still won't be able to sleep when you get home. so, quick recap, I hate having games at 11:15. luckily, that's the only one we have this season. most of the others are at 8:15. we have a couple at 10:15 but I don't think those'll be as bad. in case you're wondering about the outcome of the game, we wound up losing by one which is pretty good considering the refs didin't call any (I strongly stress the word ANY) penalties against the other team even though the other team was slashing, hooking, high-sticking, and cross checking most of the game. the only penalty that was called was called on our team. a boarding call which is pretty impressive considering the guy that had the penalty called on him was the one closest to the board (explain that one to me). well, because the game was so late last night, I got about five hours of sleep and had to go to work this morning which made for a very long day. it was really slow at work, just very long at least until half an hour before we close (as is generally the case). I can understand if you don't get out of work until 5:00 or so and then come and donate. it's just the donors that are at the center an hour or before we close that just sit outside smoking and then have to wait awhile before they can sign in because their pulse is too high that bothers me. when I left, there were still over 10 donors that still had to be stuck. then I taught my two classes which went pretty well today. the classes were a bit smaller than usual and the kids in the 6:00 PM class were a lot better behaved than they generally are. after that, I came home and got ready for poker night. I finally won! :) only six people showed up tonight (as opposed to the usual eight or so) but it was still fun. I made a whopping $30 (the 2nd place finsher gets their $5 back and somebody had a re-buy). so here I am typing in blogbert before I head off to bed. my knee's been bothering me most of the day today. I'm not sure if it's just because I was standing all day at work today or if it was a combination of that and hockey yesterday and tae kwon do tonight. hopefully some sleep will help it. it seems like a lot has happened in the past 24 hours but it really hasn't. I just use a lot of words to say it. good night everyone.

a very busy day it's been

today's been a very busy day for me. I had it off which meant, as is usual, that I had all sorts of things to do. I washed, dried, and ironed my laundry, dropped off the recylcing at walmart, got a hair cut (same hair, just less), got an atomic clock (I think it's the same one shannon has) because I got tired of using my kitchen timer to see what time it was, stopped by the bank, and gassed up the car. plans for the night? hockey and maybe clean the car if I get motivated enough. that's it for now. ja

Your Expression Number is 3

A natural performer, your destiny lies in writing, speaking, acting, or teaching. Imaginative and unique, you have a natural creative talent in the arts. You're also a natural salesperson. You can easily sell your ideas and yourself. A total optimist, you are enthusiastic about life and living. You are friendly and social - and people are taken by your charm. Your role in life is to inspire, motivate, and raise others' spirits. At times, you can seem a bit superficial. Sometimes you're a bit unfocused and too easygoing. You're best off when you don't dwell on trivial matters, especially gossip.

What's Your Expression Number?

like star wars? like m&ms? well then, this site is for you.  

that's the last time I use a flare gun on a person...

well, yesterday was spent going to church and buying lots of things (for no particular reason). after church, I went to walmart. I needed paper towels and after seeing batman begins the night before, I had to get the orignal batman movie to remember what all happened. I found it in a boxed set for only $25. they also had just the original batman for $7 but I figured four batman movies for $25, I can't beat that. went to best buy (because that's the kind of thing I do). wound up buying WAY more than I intended. I got a multitap player adapter (yea! four people can play NHL Hitz now!) and, to go with that, two extra controllers. I also got this game called Time Splitters. pretty fun. only problem is that it's one of those first person shooter games which gives me headaches so I can only play it in ten minute intervals or so. you get to travel back in time and use all sorts of futuristic and pasteristic(?) weapons. the reason for the title of this blog was because one of the guns you get is a flare gun. I think I was supposed to use it to signal for help or something but I accidently selected it from my weapons list and used it on one of the guards. he burned pretty nicely but I think that'll be the last time I use a flare gun on a person. after playing the game for a while, I went to dillons to get stuff for an ice cream float (because nothing goes better with charred flesh than an ice cream float). I made a mango vanilla banana ice cream float. recipe:

torani mango syrup
1 whole banana sliced in half vertically
Sprite
milk
vanilla ice cream

dir: fill the glass a quarter of the way with the mango syrup. add milk until the glass is halfway full. add the two banana slices. stir. add one (or more) scoops of ice cream in between the banana halves. add Sprite until glass is full. stir. enjoy.

it was pretty good. actually, it wasn't bad at all, especially for something I made up. off I go now. work should be pretty fun today. I'm in reception so I get to ask questions and play with blood.

short blerb

well, today was really busy at work even though we were fully staffed. we just had a lot of alarms that went off at the same time. I don't think I really had a chance to rest from the time we opened till I left at about 2:30. plans for the night include going to Olathe to some italian restaraunt and then watching batman begins. I'm looking forward to it. also, my AC is broken which sucks but I think they said they're going to try to send someone today to fix it which would be nice. well, off I go to do other things.

just a thought

I was reading the paper at work today and I came across an article about the Massachusettes governor trying to ban gay marriages and even civil unions and this got me to thinking. most christians dislike gays because it breaks up the christian "family", right? well, doesn't Jesus tell his disciples to leave their families and follow him? I find it hard to believe that that is a viable reason to hate gays. maybe there's something else in the Bible that I'm missing. perhaps from a book I haven't read yet. let me know if you find something.

two firsts

well, two firsts happened at work today. first off, I did my first sample today up in processing. it's a little bit different from taking samples on the donor floor in that I have to use a tourniquet to palpatate the vein instead of using a cuff and the needle for samples up front is smaller. the second first I did today was that I did my first finger stick today. we have to do them to get the hematocrit and protein level from the donor. we had to do it today 'cause the doctor that does the monthly evaluations came by today so I basically got a crash course in finger sticks. the doctor that did the evaluation was pretty nice. his name was dr. hughes (sp?) and he was really cool about it. apperently, he's a lot more friendly than the other doctor that usually does the evals. anwyays, I got his approval to continue doing finger sticks so I can continue with my training in reception. well, I'm off to go enjoy the night. andrea's supposed to be here any minute now. we're gonna have dinner and watch Hitch with Will Smith in it. sounds pretty relaxing.

I hate automated systems

well, I recently got a bill from sprint (my former wireless company) saying that my bill was ready. I found this rather interesting considering I switched to another wireless company two months ago so I went online to check my balance. unfortunately, I couldn't because my number, obviously, was no longer on file with them. so then I called their number. got their stupid automated system. after fifteen minutes of going around in circles on the automated system, I finally figured out how to talk to a representative. two minutes after talking to a very pleasant and courteous rep, my problem was fixed. that, ladies and gentlemen, is why automated systems will never fully replace people.

as for the rest of my day, it was fairly uneventful. at work we got our annual evaluations. looks like I won't be getting fired this year.

classes went all right. kinda strange though. as a student, I used to look forward to the first class after a belt test because I got to learn a new form. as an instructor, I dread it because I have to spend the whole class working on teaching new forms and figuring who to assign to teach which student their new form. also, the first class after a belt test is usually more full than normal because, obviously, everyone wants to promote as soon as possible which means I have students in class I've never even seen before. arrgggg!

after class, I came home, had lasagna for dinner, watch a little tv, took my nyquil and am getting ready to go to bed. hopefully when I wake up tomorrow this cold'll be all gone. I'm feeling a lot better than I did earlier this week though. on the bright side, I'm only work from 8:30 to 4:00 tomorrow. hmmm...it seemed shorter than the 7 1/2 hours it was when I looked at it on the schedule. I guess it just seems shorter compared to working from 10:00 to close (anywhere from 8 to 10 hours). well, off to bed for me.

its been an all around good day

well, today's been pretty good. work went well. hockey also went well. we won our game which is really good for us. we're now 1-0-1. I didn't score any goals but I did have a couple of assists and stole the puck a couple of times and generally became a nuissance and got in the way. got knocked down once. guess that's bound to happen if you get in the way. also got hit with the puck. luckily, I was wearing shin guards and as an added bonus, it stopped the shot from going into the net. after hockey, andrea and I went out to 54th street brewery and had dinner there. the food was pretty good and the waiter was really nice. I'd highly suggest stopping by there the next time you're in olathe. we fooded and decided that going on a walk sounded fun so we went to the park and walked around the lake and watched the sun set. so, all in all, it's been a good day all around.

as well as could be expected

work went suprisingly well today considering we were well understaffed and I was left in charge. we were fairly busy and only had a few errors which is pretty good. tack on top of that the fact that we didn't have any CCLs and you have a very good work day. there was only one dark spot on this otherwise awesome day at work. I stuck this donor who only had one usable vein in her arm. well, I couldn't get it the first time so I had to dig around. I finally got it but by that time, her arm started swelling up a bit so I told her she couldn't donate. she asked why and I explained to her that if I connected her, it would be a CCL because we couldn't give her red blood cells back to her. I don't think she understood me because she wanted me to connect her anyways and got mad when I refused to do it. I just saved her from being deferred for over two months and she gets mad at me. guess there'll always be people like that in the world *mental note: when I rule the world, have people like that shot* :) well, off to relax a little bit before I leave for hockey :)

quick update

well, to start off, I caught a cold on friday and am still trying to recover from it (not fun). I took my temperature tonight and it was 99.7 so not too high but still higher than normal. other than that, yesterday, I went to the belt testing at my school. I held lots of boards and got to spar with the black belt candidates. that was fun (for me, not for them). the head instructor even let me lead one of the groups of people testing. I got to lead the brown belt test which was fun because it they are the group just below the black belt candidates so I got to make them do all sorts of things (some of which they apparently hadn't even seen in their usual classes before. I don't think they liked that). well, I'm off to bed now to try to recuperate my strength. I've got to work from 10 to close tomorrow so I'll probably need it.

all is right with the world

I have a powerade slushie in my hand and the fifth season of frasier. all is right with the world *end transmission*

well, I started screening in reception yesterday which was lots of fun. I get to put info in the computer and give donors a survey. so basically, I can do most things in reception except the finger stick that we use to figure out people's hematocrit (ironic since the needles we use for that are a LOT smaller than the ones we use for venipuncture and we don't have to worry about getting it into a vein) but oh well. other than that, work was really busy for some strange reason. I don't think I had more than two minute's worth of free time all of yesterday. after work, I went grocery shopping. I think it's true what they say: you shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. I left checkers with $118.70 in groceries so most of my paycheck from last week is gone but at least I won't be hungry. andrea came over and we decided that steak with watermelon with dessert sounded good. and it was.

on a totally different subject, I've been trying to wake up earlier in the summer (I'm not really sure why) but since I have, I've had a lot more energy (I think it's because I'm going to bed earlier rather than it having anything to do with my waking up earlier). so for those of you keeping track, I'm going to bed at midnight and waking up at around 7:00 AM-ish. off I go to get ready for work, I guess.

Mission:Frasier

well, the fifth season of Frasier was supposed to be released today so I, being my usual self, decided to go out and get it. the first place I looked (as per my usual routine) was best buy. no dice. not a single copy. the guy there did tell me that the oak park branch has two copies though. that trip being completely useless, I went to wal-mart. at wal-mart, they had a slot for it. a Frasier hole if you will. the only problem was that there was no Frasier to fill that hole. they seemed to have misplaced a whole shipment of their dvds or something. so off to target I go. no Frasier in sight. my last ditch attempt was Hastings. once again, I was thwarted in my plans to obtain a copy of the fifth season of Frasier. so, I cut my losses and went home and cleaned my hockey equiment to make sure the wheels haven't fallen off the skates or anything since last season. I left for hockey at about 4:30 and got there early. the game didn't start till 6:00. seeing as how I had a little free time and I was only five minutes away from the Oak Park branch of best buy, I thought I'd drop by and pay it a little visit. once again, disappointment. it seems they sold their only two copies. my only solace was that hockey was only moments away. the game went pretty well. I'm playing on a house team this year and the teams are very well matched. we don't have many good shooters on our team but our goalie's probably the best one in the league. I think that's why we were able to come out with a tie game tonight (6-6). andrea and I then had dinner at Chile's which was pretty good. afterwards, I left for lawrence. surely, they must have found that missing shipment by now, I thought. so I headed back to wal-mart. well, they hadn't. so, here I am Frasier-less and tired so I guess I'll go to bed now.

another wonderful find just wandering the internet

well, I was visiting random blogs and one blog had 43things.com on it. basically, it's a place for you to make long-term goals and it lets you keep track of them, add to them, or just check them off when you're done with them. it's kinda fun. you can also cheer on other people's goals.

an interesting little flash movie I found at Every Topic in the Universe(s?) blog. take a look at it at billy blob. it'll make you think. 

NPR

sometimes I like to listen to NPR. not necessarily for the music (although, sometimes, after a long day of work where there are constanlty alarms going off, there's nothing better than a nice piece of classical music) but more for the news and for prairie home companion (a radio sketch show). well, anyways, I found their web site and it has their whole program on it so you can listen to it from the comfort of your computer. stop by prairie home companion if you have time. I highly recommend the May 21, 2005 show.

I survived

well, to aleviate all your fears and asuage your worries about any mishap that may have befallen me, I survived the tournament. I got third in sparring and third in board breaking. these medals didn't come without a sacrifice, however, for I seem to have injured my wrist and my hand's a little swollen. hopefully, it'll be okay in time for me to go to work on monday.

I'm singing in the rain...

just wanted to update blogbert before I headed off to bed. I don't know what the weather is like where everyone else is at but it's raining pretty hard over here. made the drive back from olathe lots of fun. now to the updating part. got back from watching "the longest yard" at the amc 30 in olathe. it was a surprisingly good movie. I hadn't seen the original but I thought the movie would be more drama than comedy. sure am glad I was wrong though. I would highly suggest you go see it if you like "happy gilmore" and/or football. off to bed for me. I have a tournament tomorrow. I have to compete in the adult black belt division so I don't really expect to get any medals. my goal's just to have fun. if I do happen to place, go me. otherwise, oh well.

two things I learned at work today

1. plasma donation + power outage does not = fun
2. according to the manual, we're not supposed to be suctioning plasma with our mouths. dang.

another wednesday

well, today went pretty much the same as every other wednesday before it. work was pretty much the same except we're slower now 'cause a lot of the donors were KU students so they're home for the summer. other than that, the only other difference was that I started my training in reception today. I get to set up appointments and things like that in the computer. it was pretty basic stuff. the hardest part would've been the computer stuff and that was pretty much the same as it was on the donor floor. I got done with the skill set for BMT I in reception in one day. I get to go back in reception again tomorrow. it's kinda fun or at least different.

classes went pretty well. the 12 + year old class went well as usual but there was even more energy in it 'cause of the tournament coming up this saturday. I guess a lot of the adults wanted to get some practice in before then.

as for monday and tuesday, shannon and nicole came up so that was fun (as always). we made sushi on monday which turned out fairly edible. I'm still alive and as far as I can tell, everyone else is too. the sushi didn't look too bad except for this burrito-sized sushi roll we made. it took a while to finish that one. the other two we made were normal-sized so that was pretty boring. we spent that night/next morning beating Gauntlet and playing NHL Hitz Pro on the PS2. on tuesday, we spent part of the day on mass st. when chris and nette got to lawrence, we left mass st. for a while to play disc golf. I think we got about four holes in before it started downpouring. we decided to give up strenous physical exercise in favor of hurling projectiles at babies and monkies in cars (we played Mario Kart). then we got hungry and apparently the call of mass st. was too great 'cause we went back there for dinner (or more accurately, Free State). I think we talked about going Pickle-wrangling either the third or fourth week of july, so if you're reading this, pickle, I'd start running. after dinner, we stopped at signs of life which I hadn't been in before. it's a coffee shop/book store/art gallery. all in all, a pretty cool place. I'd recommend stopping by if you're ever in lawrence. well, that's long enough of a post. off I go.