Scaled down wheels keep on turning

ok, so they're not really big wheels...
try 1:18 scale wheels.
even more specifically, on Dale Jr cars.

Now, at work, I've got a few friends who I honestly cannot pass the time talking with them about work where NASCAR and our favorite drivers are not mentioned.

"Hey, when you gonna stamp my paperwork?"
"When I get done doing this other stuff."
"Think your boy is gonna do good this weekend?"
"Oh yeah! Guess who's number 1? Uh huh! Number 17, boy! Kenseth is up there!"
"Yeah yeah, well, Jr's not doing so bad either. :)"
"Yeah, he's racin' alright... ok, you want your stuff stamped off now?"
"Sure!"

I don't necessarily LIVE AND BREATHE Dale Jr., but... you could say I'm getting there.
From shirts, jerseys, jackets, chairs, hats, misc. items, figures, and scaled cars... yeah, you can kinda say I like #8. That and Hailey kicks ass for getting me Dale Jr. Chocolate. Oh yeah, I gotta post those pics, huh? And Cindy even got me a Budweiser metal sign last Oct. for my Bday.

So anyways, i collect the scaled cars. I'm still missing the 1:18 2002 MLB Dale Jr car.
Hrm. I'd like to get one sooner or later, but I keep putting it off. BUT... I have been collecting his Budweiser car from 1999-2005 (except for 2001, when they didn't make one in 1:18 scale).
They usually put out several cars in 1:18 scale... beginning with his Daytona 500 "Born-On-Date" cars, followed by the normal Red Budweiser cars. But, it's already May, for all practical purposes, and NOWHERE can any 2006 Dale Jr's are found. Sure, there's always more 1:24 scale than 1:18... but not even a one!

Tonight, somehow, there WILL be a 1:18 scale Dale Jr car, and it will be in this weekend's Talladega paint scheme where his car will be black and be a tribute to Dale Sr's, since he's getting inducted to the Hall of Fame. And sure enough, I found a place that will sell it. Muhahahahhahaa! Happiness. Simple pleasures. :)

birthday friday

tonight, after work, went and did a lil gift shopping for two of my friends at work. One is turning 30, and the other is turning 25. Sometimes, it's easy to get stuff for people, even when it's not expected of you. Othertimes, it's like... oh shit... what do they like?

Me? Ha ha, it's simple. You can never really go wrong with Dale Jr. stuff. And, if you know which particular Sideshow Collectibl Premium Format I'm staring at... well... ditto. Though, that would be more of a self-gift than anything.

Anyway, so I had asked one's gf what he had as far as DVDs, and go figure... he didn't have Officespace. That's a no-no in our line of work. But, he DOES love the movie, so... ha ha, shopping made easy.

The other? She loves her car. well, she drives a red mustang, hard-top. Did I say she loves her car? So... lo and behold... i got her a 1/18 scale of her car. all red. all mustang. didn't know if she'd like it or not, but, i'm guessing from her reaction it was well received. Yay!

So at the party, ribs were served. Among other foods, but the ribs were the showcase. Jake's recipe. I'll be honest. It's not so much that I'm not a ribs person, per se. It's just that... i never really have eaten ribs before. go figure. Usually, if i order, it'd be for sirloin. forget the t-bone. extra weight, and it's just bone. ribs? little meat, too much effort. So... tonight, i had my ribs cherry popped. And ya know, if there was a way to do it, Jake's recipe was pretty darn good. can't say that other than, well, ya have to try them yourself. then you'd know. all else, they were smooth.

also saw Big Ern first time since he'd left for his new job 5 hrs drive away. Also saw H, who's back for a lil bit from abroad. She said she's gonna be back home again for good, so that's cool. :) nothing like having a crown-and-coke partner, right? Well, then again, if there's anyone for me to 'blame' for getting me started on it, it WOULD be H anyways. :)

i remember her smile

today, as i drove to work, i checked my voicemail since i had missed one of Mom's calls, and i got the voicemail message shortly afterwards. When I checked it, I was expecting her to mention something like, on the way home, to buy something, or some other thing.

i didn't expect to hear that one of our family friends had passed away overnight.
i remember Tita Lumen ever since I was 5 or 6. She'd always have a smile. I never really said much to her husband, but I knew the kids well. Sabrina was always there talking to Patrick, and her younger brother Shawn was... well, always around too. And Tita Lumen always had this smile on her face. That is how I remember her. now. tonight. In a few hours will be her service.

I don't even remember that the last time i saw her, she wore a headcover for her chemo treatments. No. I remember her smile. I remember at the church dances, grabbing her hand and asking her to dance with me. I remember helping her serve food at Galveston during some of the Santo Nino with the other ladies. I remember her smile.

Rest in peace, Tita Lumen.
You and your smile shone like a bright light.

not-so-trivial trivial things

trivial.

1. Of little significance or value.
2. Ordinary; commonplace.

Source: dictionary.com

i know i'm not unique in this. but aside from being easily amused, my memory does not let me forget certain things. certain not-so-trivial, yet...trivial things.

trivial by definition that it may seem ordinary...commonplace... but, for what it's worth, that could be enough to brighten a day, or if it was already bright,...then even brighter.

today was yet another example.
had one of those moments, and i was given a smile that brightened my day more.

:)

post-vacation catch-up

ok, so, last week, i was out on vacation
rarely happens
but it's always fun

have some relatives here for a few weeks
last week, we all went to florida.

saturday, we drove all day and arrived early morning sunday in florida. it was pouring hard from tallahasee to outside of orlando. i'd called a few friends and erin picked up and she said it was a slow, slow moving thunderstorm and it encompassed the area we had to drive through. ah, press on, press on...

sunday, we woke up and went to church for palm sunday.
after that, we went to Universal Studios Orlando. We paid a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe (like my family always does), and then checked out the studios. Twister was a cool stop, as was Revenge of the Mummy. While the older fam rode after us in the Mummy, the cousins and I chilled. I ended up listening to the Blues Brothers that they had there. Pretty cool. We kept on going through the park, through Jaws, Terminator, and the other stops. Fun day! At the end, as we were going out, I listened to this local band called Breaking Ground. They sounded really cool, and after their show, they stopped by and took pictures with me. They're gonna be great! I added them to my myspace.

monday, we went to EPCOT. while the fam looked through Innoventions, I walked the park and got some Fast Passes so we could get into the attractions quicker. SOARIN was already booked, but i got some at Mission: Space and Test Track. Afterwards, I got pics with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy, and Chip & Dale. After pics, I met up with the fam again and we went to the Mission: Space ride. it's basically a centrifuge. It was cool, but my mom, uncle, and a cousin got woozy and didn't feel all that great for a bit. apparently, a 45 yr old german lady felt ill too. news said she died of a stroke the next day. we walked around the park, saw more of the attractions like Honey I shrunk the audience, etc, and then walked around the countries of the world. Finally, we saw cool fireworks as the park was closing.

tuesday, magic kingdom. rode a good number of rides, and the weather behaved too. lotsa pictures and video. space mountain, thunder mountain, splash mountain, saw several of the disney characters.... so much fun. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride, as well as the Jungle Cruise, seemed to have changed a bit. POTC was a bit shorter in duration from what i recall...
After the night, more fireworks, care of Walt Disney.

wednesday... went to one of my versions of mecca... the daytona speedway. git 'r done!
yep, saw the speedway!!!! SO frickin awesome!

thursday, drive home

good friday, church

easter saturday, not much

easter sunday, went to church, saw relatives in houston. they're really friendly and so much fun!

:) If i ever get married, Disney World is a definite favorite.

crushin

no, not the orange drink
you know.
crushin.
as in, over someone.

is it possible?
well, considering it's me, yeah, its possible.

but this time, i'm trying not to.
not so much that it's not right or anything...
it's just that, it's more of wishful thinking,
or dreaming.

i think the person looks attractive,
witty, funny, and as a given, smart.

but, i have a track record for crushes.
0 for whatever. ha ha. makes it easy for counting percentages.
that and, i just... well, let's just leave this as wishful dreaming.

makes the days go by faster
makes me have this smile inside
i'm crushin' over someone
i'm crushin...

future fiancee will kill me

listening to those who are to be wed, and from those who've walked the line already, i've got to be curious to find out if and when i ever get to where some woman is crazy enough to think i'm marriage material... if some of the stuff i'd put on the registry will make her kill me.

granted, i've already got a good current video game system right now...what if i snuck in some Dale Jr. memorabilia like ... i dunno... race-used tire and track with matching photo, that i'd try to get autographed...

i mean, would that be grounds for her to go "WTF were you thinking? we coulda gotten towels!!!" Note to self... find a Dale Jr fanatic...and make sure she's for keeps. Like hell if i ever get rid of my Dale Jr stuff.

or even... say...what if i asked for a life-sized statue of Darth Maul? Jim said they existed, and he actually showed me some on eBay. "WTF were you thinking? we coulda gotten a full dining set!" Note to self... check to see how she feels about Star Wars.

eh, just a thought. ha ha. if i got a big and nice enough engagement ring, maybe she wouldn't care. LOL j/k.

either way, i know if i added those two, and maybe even the most current cool video game system, she'd prolly kill me, whomever she would be.

know when to say when

once upon a time, like... i think it was like a year or more ago... a family friend was more than happy to set me up with someone. well, ok, so there are a good deal number of these folks, but one actually came through. True story here, folks, so gather round.
so anyway, she says, "hey, there's this cute single filipina, currently going for her residency in Atlanta. She's Catholic, pretty, and looking for a devout Catholic flip (ok, so i say flip, she used the more proper term). Would it be ok if I introduced her to you and vice versa via email?"
What did i have to lose? Shrugging, i said, ok. Not thinking much of it, she actually did. A week or so later, she emails both the doctor and i and says, Bum, this is so and so, yadda yadda yadda, and then says so-and-so, this is Bum, he is yadda dabba doo and all that stuff.
i never really know what to say to start things off. unless it's someone i already know as a friend. feels more natural that way i guess. anyway, a week after that, the doc emails me, says hi, etc etc. in the meantime, the family friend shows me the doc's pic and i'm like, huh, she's cute. anyway, the doc asks me how devout i am, etc etc, and i explain a lil bit about my faith and all that...and also ask a few questions here and there. Ah, the Dating Game...online edition. so she responds back to my reply, asks if i went to church that weekend, and i'm thinking, huh, she's serious. which is cool. so i told her yeah, and answered whatever else she asked, and shot back a few of my own, and...for those who know me, i was actually behaving. not sarcastic or playful. her 3rd email, she gives me a link to her catholicsingles.com thing. i'm like, ok. so i go, and i'm like, hey, i'd seen this person before. small world. so i replied back, yeah, saw ya before and all that. here's my link.

cricket cricket.
cricket cricket.
cricket cricket.

3 weeks passed. no response. ha ha. another one bites the dust. so, me being me, i send a note saying hey, how's life, asking about the weather in GA, etc etc.

cricket cricket.
cricket cricket.
cricket cricket.

so, i may be slow, but i'm not a dumbass...well, ok, so i am, but still...you get the point here. i'm not the Doc's type, and that's cool. except, i dunno if i wasn't holy enough, or whatever else. it's usually the whatever else, but it sucks never knowing. anyways, why is this thing called know when to say when?

the family friend emailed today. pretty adamant about reaching me. she said the Doc was gonna be in town visiting for Easter and she wanted me to come over and say hi to the Doc. Um... this is the same Doc who never returned emails after a certain point. i'm trying to think of a nice way to tell her "the Doc's not interested. dunno why, but she just isn't...but i DO have a few single friends she might be interested in". ah, i knew when to say when, but yo, the chic's not interested, give her a rest! :)

in other news, i finally finished my frickin' term paper.

stairway to heaven

"this could be heaven or this could be hell..."

sometimes, life has a direction, i guess. even nowhere is somewhere, sometimes anywhere but here, and sometimes, it's where it's at 24/7 til you take a step. two steps back to go 10 steps forward is not a bad trade-off.

long story short, i took this pic last year in new orleans. you could be on your way up, looking back down where you were, or you're going down. either way, choice is always yours.

daydreamin of vinyl

so i'm sittin here, reading up on Ghost Recon for the Xbox 360... procrastinating putting it in and playing... listening to Willie Nelson on my myspace in another window, and ha ha ha, i'm distracted.

for some reason, i'm now imaginin' i'm on some front porch in front of a house with the same facade as the Macaroni Grill that was at Bay Area... ha ha, really. it's in detail in my mind, with that nice gentle and constant breeze blowin' by, rockin' chair right behind, and the sun is out. blue skies, shining down, and then this song starts playing. no, not like a cd and not from the myspace page... but from an old vinyl record... you know, with that distinct cracklin' sound, except it's Willie Nelson singing it... this song, You Don't Know Me. and in the imagination, there's this girl. I dunno who she is, she reminds me of my dreamgirl, and... we dance. we just dance.

lame. i know. I should just go and play Ghost Recon now. but for a few, for a brief few, i was somewhere else and had more fun.
Thanks, Willie.

Now Playing on MySpace - 4/3/06

Damn, fine song. Good to dance to.
That and, well... it's Willie Nelson.
:)

You Don't Know Me - Willie Nelson
you give your hand to me
and then you say hello
and I can hardly speak
my heart is beating so
and anyone can tell
you think you know me well
but you don't know me

No, you don't know the one
who dreams of you each night
and longs to kiss your lips
and longs to hold you tight
to you I am just a friend
that's all I've ever been
no you don't know me

But I never knew
the art of making love
though my heart aches with love for you

afraid and shy I let my chance goes by
the chance that you might love me too

you give your hand to me
and then you say goodbye
I watch you walk away beside the lucky guy

you'll never ever know
the one who loved you so
no, you don't know me

in another life

if by some chance,
i could change one thing, prolly just one since yer not supposed to be really picky and all that, and if nothing else changed...

i'd prolly wanna be a bit taller.
prolly 5'10 or 6'1.

who knows.
once in a while, i'm a firm believer in if you wish for somethin' enough, it happens.
LOL. so, dear laws of nature... fuck you. I'm getting this wish in the next lifetime.

:)

BumSpace - 0004 - A Shared Moment

1996
It was before I met KC... that much was for certain.
I had this other good friend. She had a bf.
She broke up with her bf.
She got another bf.
She broke up with that bf.
And then, she started throwing out a chic's name.
It didn't hit til the third time.
Our friends said, you should tell him.
But to me, no matter. I already knew.

So, when she finally decided to 'tell me', it was towards the end of the spring semester.
And I didn't care, especially since I had several finals that day.
But no... we chatted. She wanted to tell me, and then I cut her off and said I knew. She asked how, and I said, dude, i may be slow at times, but i'm not stupid.

And she was still a little surprised that I knew without anyone telling me.
We're still friends. We still keep in touch.

But damn. just when it was my turn to bat, maybe... the game was over. :)

BumSpace - 0003 - Ring Dunking pt3

November 1997

BumSpace - 0002 - Ring Dunking pt2

November 1997

BumSpace - 0001 - Ring Dunking pt1

November, 1997
Ring Dunking.

There's an aggie tradition.
You have your aggie ring.
You dunk it in a pitcher (full of alcohol).
Whatever your graduation year, you have that number of seconds to finish it.

I am class of 1999. I had 99 seconds to finish a pitcher.
At the time, I didn't drink much at all of alcohol.
To me, it was either Jack Daniels, wine, or beer
And those all smelled and tasted a specific way.

I went to Galveston to see my friends Jeff and Rob dunk their ring.
I was standing there quiet, congratulating them when they finished.
Rob and Jeff partied a good deal, mind you, and yet Rob, I think, took longer than 99 seconds. That was enough to tell me, not a good idea.

KC saw me, yelled to the entire pub that I hadn't dunked my ring yet, and so I was gonna have to dunk my ring all by myself. Great. So, I gave her my reasons.

She gave me Hornsby's cider.

The rest is history.

BumSpace

A picture paints a thousand words...
Some are spoken.
Some are restrained.
Some are implied.
Some...some, you just form your own little story of the given moment...all depends on the point of view.

I'm starting a new thing, called "BumSpace".
Snippets of moments in my life. Some of it, at the time, and...yet... still now,
I am left asking,
"What the Fuck?"

But more often than not, I laugh at it anyway just because, what are the odds?

This can only happen in my world.
This can only happen ... in BumSpace.

The Rules of EPO Club

1. The first rule of EPO Club is, you do not talk about EPO Club.
2. The second rule of EPO Club is, you do NOT talk about EPO Club.
3. If someone is EPO, you don't let them know they are EPO.
4. You can be surrounded by more than EPO. If so, RUN.
5. You TOO can be an EPO. So be mindful.
6. EPO can frustrate, but don't let them get to you. -They- are EPO.
7. EPO can upgrade to APO. (annoying purposes only)
8. If confronted by APO, use the buddy system. Call a friend to bail you out.
9. You do NOT let EPO know they are EPO.