Catching Up
I haven't been very good about keeping up with my blogging lately.
Oops.
It just seems that there are a zillion and one other things to do as of late. None of which I've actually completed, of course – but still… In between the holidays and the new job and trying to figure out which light switches do what in our new house, I'm surprised I've got time to breathe.
So to catch you up on the last couple of weeks, I'll give you the "60 Second Review" summary of what's happening at the all new (& improved!) Casa De Gressel:
The New House: I mentioned above that I still don't know what all of the light switches control. It's a real pain sometimes – you flip it on, expecting to have some lovely 60-watt light flood the room, but nothing happens. Or the garage lights up. Or the ceiling fan comes on. I'll get the hang of it one of these days. Either that, or in the words of Stephen Wright, I'll get a letter from some guy in Germany telling me to "knock it off". Still, I'm loving the new house. It really feels like home.
Unpacking: I'll give her full credit - the Lovely Mrs. G. was very good about handling this. She unpacked about 90% of the stuff, leaving me a small portion to finish. Which I still haven't done yet. I have an excuse though – a lot of it is my Disney Crap, which needs a display case to go into. I've ordered a curio cabinet, and it won't arrive until the 24th. So until then all of my D.C. will remain in their semi-protective tubs. And the books? Well, it's just a matter of putting the book shelves back together first. I have 3 done, with 1 to go. But I really have no excuse for the boxes of computer cables and CDs that litter the corner of the basement. I'll have to chalk that one to laziness.
Cable TV: Our new Omaha cable system is FREAKING AWESOME. 300 channels? HBO on Demand? Get out! Of course, there's nothing good on TV, and with Mrs. G. glued to the VH1 "America's Next Top Model" marathon (gag me), there's nothing good on the TiVo, either. But one of these days the writer's strike will end and we'll all go back to being properly entertained. Or as "properly" as possible by the boob tube.
Football pick 'em: Last fall before I left my Employer Who Shall Not Be Named Because They Suck, I joined several of my co-workers in playing the ESPN "Pigskin Pickem" contest for the NFL. It was an easy contest – every week you pick with team you think would win. The person with the most correct guesses wins. Simple as that.
Well, I was on a team with my former manager Skippy Whitebread (remember him?) and about a dozen other football fanatics, who'd spend HOURS (literally) analyzing their choices for the week. Me? I'd just randomly choose a team. My only hard & fast rule was to never bet against the Seattle Seahawks. (Aside: I probably would've been better off making that rule for the Patriots instead, but it's too late now.)
Anyway, the regular season ended over the holidays, and guess who won the damn thing? That's right – your old buddy Thomas J. took home the gold, baby! Break open the Bud Light and the 2008 new flavor of Doritos – I'm going to Disneyland! Frankly, I really don't care who wins the Super Bowl, but for the chance to whomp those football freaks at their own game? It was worth it.
Iowa Caucus: We moved from Iowa to Nebraska 3 weeks ago, right before the caucuses (Cauci?). Before moving we'd get at least 5 flyers in the mail every day, and a minimum of 3 phone calls every night, either from candidates or news polls asking us who we were going to support. The airwaves were filled with nothing but political ads, and you couldn't go 24 hours without at least one candidate or their spouse/children/D-list celebrity supporters in town. It was annoying, to say the least. I knew a long time ago who I'd support (Obama!), but that didn't keep the others from hounding us. Even Mitt Romney's people called – boy, did they have the wrong number.
Anyway, Mrs. G. and I moved to a state that's pretty much a Democratic wasteland. Nebraska is as red of a state as there is, which is sad in oh so many ways, but it's nice that the pols will leave us alone for a while. I'm glad Obama won in Iowa, and I would've caucused for him if I was there, but since I now have a Nebraska driver's license I'm no longer considered an Iowan, and committing voter fraud is something I'd rather not get involved in. But go Barack anyway!
Migraines: They suck. If you've never had one, I hope and pray that you won't. If you have, you have my sympathy. I spent 6 hours in the E.R. last week dealing with one, which included the blinding headache AND half of my face going numb as a bonus. Didn't I tell you that they suck? On the bright side, the shot of morphine they gave me was…interesting. Not bad, not good. But interesting. It was like every nerve and vein in my body instantly sat up and said "hello". The good news though is that I haven't had another migraine since, and the CAT scan and MRI I sat through came back all clear, so it's good to know that your old pal Tommy won't be having a major stroke anytime soon.
Britney Spears: What a damn train wreck. Part of me wants to feel sorry for her. It's only a small part, mind you… I do feel bad for her kids, though. She's going to make Joan Crawford look like Mother of the Year.
The Melting Pot: Do you…fondue? Mrs. G. and I went to The Melting Pot restaurant last night to celebrate our new home. (We'd promised ourselves that we'd go there after moving.) The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, where they'll melt your choice of cheeses for bread dipping, then bring you a pot of hot oil to dip & cook meat and veggies in. It was groovy, man! Actually, The Melting Pot is a very classy joint, and is a wonderful way to spend a long dinner (2.5 hours for us) together. But the best part is the dessert – dark chocolate fondue, served with brownies, cheesecake, pound cake, strawberries, marshmallows, rice krispy treats, bananas, and cherries. It's like Heaven in a pot of bubbling hot chocolate. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth it. Four thumbs up from Mr. & Mrs. Gressel.
So there you have it – everything you've wanted to know about my world in one mega-long post. Hopefully I'll be better about keeping up with my paperwork from here on out.
If not, then Happy Groundhog's Day! C'mon, you fuzzy rodent – no shadow! No shadow!
Oops.
It just seems that there are a zillion and one other things to do as of late. None of which I've actually completed, of course – but still… In between the holidays and the new job and trying to figure out which light switches do what in our new house, I'm surprised I've got time to breathe.
So to catch you up on the last couple of weeks, I'll give you the "60 Second Review" summary of what's happening at the all new (& improved!) Casa De Gressel:
The New House: I mentioned above that I still don't know what all of the light switches control. It's a real pain sometimes – you flip it on, expecting to have some lovely 60-watt light flood the room, but nothing happens. Or the garage lights up. Or the ceiling fan comes on. I'll get the hang of it one of these days. Either that, or in the words of Stephen Wright, I'll get a letter from some guy in Germany telling me to "knock it off". Still, I'm loving the new house. It really feels like home.
Unpacking: I'll give her full credit - the Lovely Mrs. G. was very good about handling this. She unpacked about 90% of the stuff, leaving me a small portion to finish. Which I still haven't done yet. I have an excuse though – a lot of it is my Disney Crap, which needs a display case to go into. I've ordered a curio cabinet, and it won't arrive until the 24th. So until then all of my D.C. will remain in their semi-protective tubs. And the books? Well, it's just a matter of putting the book shelves back together first. I have 3 done, with 1 to go. But I really have no excuse for the boxes of computer cables and CDs that litter the corner of the basement. I'll have to chalk that one to laziness.
Cable TV: Our new Omaha cable system is FREAKING AWESOME. 300 channels? HBO on Demand? Get out! Of course, there's nothing good on TV, and with Mrs. G. glued to the VH1 "America's Next Top Model" marathon (gag me), there's nothing good on the TiVo, either. But one of these days the writer's strike will end and we'll all go back to being properly entertained. Or as "properly" as possible by the boob tube.
Football pick 'em: Last fall before I left my Employer Who Shall Not Be Named Because They Suck, I joined several of my co-workers in playing the ESPN "Pigskin Pickem" contest for the NFL. It was an easy contest – every week you pick with team you think would win. The person with the most correct guesses wins. Simple as that.
Well, I was on a team with my former manager Skippy Whitebread (remember him?) and about a dozen other football fanatics, who'd spend HOURS (literally) analyzing their choices for the week. Me? I'd just randomly choose a team. My only hard & fast rule was to never bet against the Seattle Seahawks. (Aside: I probably would've been better off making that rule for the Patriots instead, but it's too late now.)
Anyway, the regular season ended over the holidays, and guess who won the damn thing? That's right – your old buddy Thomas J. took home the gold, baby! Break open the Bud Light and the 2008 new flavor of Doritos – I'm going to Disneyland! Frankly, I really don't care who wins the Super Bowl, but for the chance to whomp those football freaks at their own game? It was worth it.
Iowa Caucus: We moved from Iowa to Nebraska 3 weeks ago, right before the caucuses (Cauci?). Before moving we'd get at least 5 flyers in the mail every day, and a minimum of 3 phone calls every night, either from candidates or news polls asking us who we were going to support. The airwaves were filled with nothing but political ads, and you couldn't go 24 hours without at least one candidate or their spouse/children/D-list celebrity supporters in town. It was annoying, to say the least. I knew a long time ago who I'd support (Obama!), but that didn't keep the others from hounding us. Even Mitt Romney's people called – boy, did they have the wrong number.
Anyway, Mrs. G. and I moved to a state that's pretty much a Democratic wasteland. Nebraska is as red of a state as there is, which is sad in oh so many ways, but it's nice that the pols will leave us alone for a while. I'm glad Obama won in Iowa, and I would've caucused for him if I was there, but since I now have a Nebraska driver's license I'm no longer considered an Iowan, and committing voter fraud is something I'd rather not get involved in. But go Barack anyway!
Migraines: They suck. If you've never had one, I hope and pray that you won't. If you have, you have my sympathy. I spent 6 hours in the E.R. last week dealing with one, which included the blinding headache AND half of my face going numb as a bonus. Didn't I tell you that they suck? On the bright side, the shot of morphine they gave me was…interesting. Not bad, not good. But interesting. It was like every nerve and vein in my body instantly sat up and said "hello". The good news though is that I haven't had another migraine since, and the CAT scan and MRI I sat through came back all clear, so it's good to know that your old pal Tommy won't be having a major stroke anytime soon.
Britney Spears: What a damn train wreck. Part of me wants to feel sorry for her. It's only a small part, mind you… I do feel bad for her kids, though. She's going to make Joan Crawford look like Mother of the Year.
The Melting Pot: Do you…fondue? Mrs. G. and I went to The Melting Pot restaurant last night to celebrate our new home. (We'd promised ourselves that we'd go there after moving.) The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, where they'll melt your choice of cheeses for bread dipping, then bring you a pot of hot oil to dip & cook meat and veggies in. It was groovy, man! Actually, The Melting Pot is a very classy joint, and is a wonderful way to spend a long dinner (2.5 hours for us) together. But the best part is the dessert – dark chocolate fondue, served with brownies, cheesecake, pound cake, strawberries, marshmallows, rice krispy treats, bananas, and cherries. It's like Heaven in a pot of bubbling hot chocolate. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth it. Four thumbs up from Mr. & Mrs. Gressel.
So there you have it – everything you've wanted to know about my world in one mega-long post. Hopefully I'll be better about keeping up with my paperwork from here on out.
If not, then Happy Groundhog's Day! C'mon, you fuzzy rodent – no shadow! No shadow!
posted by Tommy G at
4:39 AM
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