I'm not a comedian, but....

Actually, I do enjoy good stand-up. Case in point: When Geogal and I drove to Palm Springs a couple of Saturdays ago, the entire four-hour journey consisted of us listening to Blue Collar Comedy, Channel 103 on Sirius Satellite Radio.

We laughed out loud numerous times.

Anyway, why does the National Weather Service feel the need to issue a "heat advisory" for the Arizona desert in late August?

Just wondering.

Return to sanity, return to the keyboard

The computer keyboard, that is.

Today marks the end of vacation time for us. Geogal and I enjoyed sunny Palm Springs while little Geoana had a great visit with her grandparents in the Lone Star State.

Speaking of which, yesterday was one of the longest days the little one and I have spent, due to having an early flight out of Austin. After factoring in the drive time to the airport, we determined we would have to arise out of slumber at 4 a.m.

4 a.m. Texas time. 2 a.m. God's time.

An uneventful flight, no problems with getting the luggage, and driving home in a rainstorm found us back at the Geohouse, where Geogal informed us she had not slept well overnight due to the thunder and lightning.

Needless to say, none of us needed to be rocked to sleep last night.

And we all reposed well. The moods are better today, not a minute too soon. Geoana is performing in a church musical this evening. (I am shooting video of it for posterity. I will provide all of the family members with a DVD copy once it's edited to my liking.)

How was the vacation, you may ask?

Very relaxing. We didn't do anything. (Isn't that the purpose of these times away?)

Now, back to the old grind...

Flying light and eating heavy

And yesterday went off with nary a hitch as well!

Did I forget to mention that this week is an unusual one for me?

It is. Yesterday morning, little Geoana and I boarded a plane for Austin, Texas. We then met my mom and dad, and the little one is now in the throes of enjoying a stay at the grandparent's house.

What about me? I boarded a return flight a few hours after arriving in The Lone Star State and was back in Phoenix before suppertime.

And today, considering the weather concerns from Tropical Storm Erin, I'm glad yesterday was the cheap airfare day. Going today would have been horrid for all involved.

The only thing that went awry yesterday was being unable to visit with my folks over the noon meal. We intended to patronize one of the restaurants at the Austin airport. However, it turned out just about all of the eateries were inside the terminal (that is, beyond the security check). So, we finally decided to have Grandma and Grandpa take the little one, visit a fast food place, then head home, while I would have a little time to myself before again taking flight. My only hope was to find some true “Texas” food.

I didn't have to look far.

Strolling among the eateries, I noticed one called “The Salt Lick.” Eureka! BBQ!!!

You see, I was secretly hoping to enjoy the slow-smoked meat for which Texas is known worldwide. And The Salt Lick did not disappoint. In fact, the platter I purchased was so loaded with vittles I wondered if I would even finish it.

I did. (But I sure didn't have to eat again for many hours.)

After eating, I walked around the terminal for a while. Then I saw it.

Harlon's Barbecue.

Not one, but two BBQ joints in the airport. And Harlon's actually had two eateries in the terminal. I had to laugh out loud. Here I was, hoping to find one place with BBQ, and this airport has two.

Only in Texas.

An antidote for worry

The people who follow the 12 Steps have a saying. The axiom is so old and so popular that even many people who never darkened the doorstep of an AA meeting know it: "One day at a time."

Meaning: Don't dwell on the future, on what may happen days, weeks, or years down the road. Just take care of today's stuff today.

Some folks have even taken the slogan one step further. Such as "one hour at a time," or "one minute at a time." Whatever it takes.

I think I said the "one minute at a time" to myself numerous times yesterday. It was a packed day and filled with tasks that were outside my normal routine. Take the car to the body shop, secure a rental car, take little Geoana to grandma's house, participate in a professional function, retrieve Geoana, work out at the gym much later than usual (meaning more crowded), then prepare the evening meal.

And guess what? It all went off without a hitch. I need to take yesterday and file it in the "make sure you remember this" part of my mind for use in the future. To be sure, you the reader might not think that what I just listed entailed any type of stressful day, but remember you were not in my shoes! Plus, I have a strong sense God is using my experiences to break me of my worry habit.

Moving along and improving

Just a quick look over the posts of the past week or so could lead one to assume I am in need of antidepressants.

Not so. While I do have occasional bouts of melancholia (probably due to my Irish heritage), I am usually not dysphoric. I must thank my older sister and mother-in-law for their kind words of sympathy in regard to my friend's death (see previous post).

Plus, the past couple of days seem to have been just what the doctor ordered. First, Friday evening I enjoyed fellowship with other guys from my church. We spent a few hours eating salty and overall unhealthy food and watching Looney Tunes DVD's. That evening, one of my friends there, Jim W., asked if I wanted to go with him on Saturday to Northern Arizona. Evidently he needed to reconnoiter an area where he secured a deer hunting permit. He presented this to me in the context of: "You have that truck. Have you even taken it on a serious off-road excursion?"

How could I say no?

We had a great four-wheel-drive trip yesterday. I took some photos, and I will post those with some narrative detail in a future blog entry.

Needless to say, my mood is better. And not a minute too soon. This week will be unusual and therefore stressful. Yet it could also be enjoyable as well.

For those who think I do a little too much whining and self-pity in this blog, remember what a blog is. In its most simple definition, it is an online journal. And many times I find the written word to be helpful in processing my own internal junk.

A new phase of life (and not one I want)

I'm hurting.

A week ago a colleague and good friend died. Yesterday afternoon I attended her memorial service. No doubt she was loved by a great many people.

If you're wondering about the particulars, her name was Sherry. She had two children and five grandchildren. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in early July. In my conversations with her since that time, Sherry was determined she would beat the illness despite the grim prognosis by the medical professionals.

And within the span of two days last week I received word that she was back in the hospital, not doing well. The next news was of her death.

“How old?” you wonder. Only 60.

To me, that's just not very old.

And during the last few days I also have come to the realization that I am entering a new phase of my life. One that I didn't expect.

I am now reaching an age and a point in my life where people close to me will die. With regularity.

Before now, I always equated death of contemporaries and friends to be the realm of my parents. And 20 to 25 years ago, the latest news of family friends who passed away was delivered by grandparents.

But this situation is different. Sherry and I worked in the same department. We fought the same professional battles. And while there was a difference in our ages (I will turn 42 this fall), at work we were equals in many ways.

Sigh. And so it begins.

As noted above, I wasn't expecting this to hit me so hard, particularly right now. But as I get older, I have to face the inevitable. I will be saying many more goodbyes in the coming years. And a lot of them are going to hurt, just as this one does.

Random stuff

Sometimes there are just things that pop into my head, things that I know I should note on this blog. Not big things, just paltry and humorous tidbits.

So, nobody asked me, but....

There is again a lot of excitement surrounding the Cardinals this upcoming season. Yet I predict another 5-11 or 6-10 season. Still, things could be worse. At least the local team is not the Browns. With each passing day I am laughing more and more over the Brady Quinn holdout...

Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures occurring around the Valley right now. And you know what? In almost every case, the foreclosure was an example of a person or persons who could not afford a house and had no business purchasing one. And shame on the lenders who worked up all of those sub-prime deals. Just another symbol of today's "Buy it now (why wait?) and buy it on credit" philosophy...

I am willing to trade some bright sunny days when the temps are hovering around 110 degrees for a number of days where the thermometer may not even get over 100 but the humidity will remind me of Houston. Increased cloud cover doesn't hurt, either. Course, a steady month or six weeks of sticky, gray days may well have me longing for the scorching sunny days...

Remember the saying on that famous "Murphy's Law" poster of yesteryear? "Anything you try to fix will take longer and cost more than you thought." The same holds true for starting a business...

Last but not least: I hope the "Doctor Who" scripts begin to improve.

Reflecting

I don't need to restate the facts involving yesterday's tragedy in Phoenix.

And I don't even need to provide hyperlinks this morning. All of the national (and even some international) media are covering the story.

For me, perhaps the most upsetting was seeing the video from ABC 15's chopper. Now, as all of us watch the video, we are aware we are hearing from the pilot the last moments of his life. And his last words apparently being "Oh, geez."

In an instant his life, together with three others, ended.

I won't waste space here waxing about the brevity of our earthly lives. Yet in the context of my entry from a few days ago, my professional risk now seems more agreeable to me. Why spend most of my days in jobs I dislike for one reason or another when I have the ability and the means to strike out on my own?

Whatever happens, I will have no regrets. Plus, given the stark reminder from yesterday, I am well aware I have no idea how much time I have left. Maybe I won't see the end of this day, or of this year. Or, I might be around for the next forty years. So for now I will close out this entry and life my life today.

Whaaaaaat?

In the "did I just hear what I think I heard?" category, I was listening to Sirius NFL radio yesterday afternoon and they aired Billy Martin giving Michael Vick's prepared statement to the public. As I was behind the wheel, I was not paying full attention to the audio, but the phrase "spring training" came from the mouth of Mr. Martin, Esq.

Huh?

Later on the NFL Network's Total Access program, they showed the text of the statement with the phrase "training camp" in brackets.

Hmmmm.

This morning, a quick Technorati search shows I indeed heard correctly. I think this guy is right on. As Vick has played football since the age of 8 or 9, there's just no way he would ever use the term "spring training. Just goes to show that a law degree and knowing one's way around a courtroom is no assurance of total accuracy. You would think Vick would have at least one lawyer on his team who is familiar with the NFL.

Catching up on some stuff

It's been a busy, and somewhat unusual, July. The biggest reason for this has to do with my decision to plunge into the Great American Dream.

That's right. I'm starting my own business.

Since I want to maintain my anonymity as it pertains to this blog, I will not go into any details about what I do for a living or what business I will be creating. And those details should not matter anyway as any new business endeavor has elements of risk, excitement, fear, and courage. Come to think of it, those descriptors could apply to any area of life that is new and worth having.

Let's just say I am now working harder now than I ever have before in my life. But I'm certain the end result will be worth all the sweat.

__________________________________

I took a break from my entrepreneur-oriented activities late last week and joined my daughter, her teachers, her classmates, and other parents in the Friday summer swimming time. What a blast! The school goes over to a nearby junior high, which has its own pool. With three diving boards, one of which is a high dive.

Little Geoana asked me to jump off the high dive. And I did.

This was not an act of courage, dear reader. You see, I grew up jumping off the high dive at the community pool just down the street from my house in Houston. And this high dive at the junior high was about the same height as the one from my childhood. However I haven't jumped off a high dive since moving away from Houston in my teenage years.

Turns out the experience of jumping from the high dive is really no different all these years later.

But in the eyes of my six-year-old daughter, the act of jumping off a high dive that to her must look higher than a five-story building, made me cool. For perhaps the first time since she developed her little attitude (all of you who are parents know whereof I speak), she
was very impressed with me.

Now the swimming was fun, but her awe made the effort even more worth it.

Even if my back did end up getting very sunburned. (Note for the future--have Geoana put the sunscreen on my back--she's up for the task!)

It coulda' been worse

I am by no means a grillmaster. But I do take pride in my creations that come forth from the combination of flame and gridiron.

And for today, the Fourth of July, custom almost demands that I cook something outside. This morning Geogal told me salmon was her meal of choice for today, so to defrost status the fish went.

Zero hour. Fish is ready. Cedar plank is very wet. Time to go live.

Start propane grill.

See grill go cool within a minute or two. Diagnosis: empty propane cylinder. No backup.

Plan B: Light charcoal grill.

Learn the hard way that Kingsford Match Light Charcoal will not exactly light easily if it's somewhat old. No lighter fluid on hand, either.

Try to coax fire from a pseudo-chimney setup of newspaper, cardboard, and dead leaves and twigs from the yard. No go.

Almost admit defeat. Go inside and set oven to 375.

Last ditch effort: Cover most of charcoal grill with lid, hoping that heat (from the few briquettes that lit) will make the difference.

A few minutes later--success! Glowing coals. Turn off oven.

The salmon ended up cooking well and tasting pretty good. Nice smoky flavor, for which I was hoping.

Yet, I can look at this with humor. Especially since we had no company for this meal. My wife and daughter tend to be very forgiving.

July rolls around

It's going to be an interesting month for me. Staking out new territory. I will share more details in the near future.

But for right now, it's hot and lazy around here. So much so, that today I am entertaining thoughts about jumping the fence of the house across the street. It's empty. The new owners do not appear to have taken possession just yet. It has a swimming pool, albeit a very shallow one. I can see me and Geogal taking a cue from a "King of the Hill" episode and sneaking over for a swim.

But, the monsoon will begin soon. And NFL teams will head to camp around month's end. And maybe I will figure out a remedy for the Sunday afternoon blues.

Hello, Mister Homer..

Just too funny to not include in my blog.

I guess this week I'll need to darken the doorstep of a 7-Eleven, although they are actually not ubiquitous around here (Circle K has a much larger presence in Arizona).

And, I likely will not go see the movie. Rather, I'll just wait for the DVD.

____________________________

Regarding my question from Friday, the iPhone does have a camera. 2 megapixels. Gotta be better than what I have now. I still won't be getting one anytime soon. One article I read stated it will cost the user about $1,000 per year to own and operate. Of course, they might have been referring to just the first year, including the $500 or $600 that you plunked down to take possession...

Having a laugh

Some of my readers may be wondering, will Geoguy be getting an iPhone? After all, anyone who reads this site knows of my affinity for Macs and other Apple products.

My answer, in short, is no.

Two reasons:

1) I can't afford it.
2) My current cell phone works just fine.

While on the subject of my current cell phone, I visited Chandler Fashion Center in the late afternoon yesterday to take a look at the line for the Apple Store. Just for kicks and giggles, you understand.

Longer than I expected. Way longer. All the way back to Pottery Barn.

Took out my cell phone (an LG model I've had since 2004) and snapped a photo of the end of the line. I meant to show the length of the people in queue, but my phone's camera is of minimal quality, as you can plainly see. Still, not a bad pic.

Hmmm, does the iPhone have a built-in camera? What's the quality? Me thinks I'll surf on over to Apple's web site for the specs.....

Hog Heaven

Just this morning I was at the gym, whiling away the time on the eliptical while my iPod pumped a recent Dave Ramsey podcast into my eardrums. One of the e-mail questions he fielded during that hour had to do with how he and his wife ate during the time they were serious about getting out of debt. I won't go into detail about Ramsey's answer, suffice to say he does not care for tunafish even to this day. He did stress the importance of eating at home as much as possible, making the point that in most restaurant settings, 80% of your dollar goes to entertainment while the other 20% goes to the actual food cost.

In most restaurant settings. Not all.

Tonight, we in the Geohouse decided to eat out. BBQ. A place called Waldo's, which opened a location closer to us (cut about 8 miles off the trip to the original location).

Even though I heard what Ramsey said, this eating establishment was one of the exceptions. I don't think I could ever make ribs that good, even if I had the best equipment. Money well spent.

And we paid cash! (See, we do heed Ramsey's advice.)

Little Geoana did well with the wait. Makes me remember a trip in my much younger days, to a fine restaurant called Hausner's. If I recall correctly, it was in Baltimore. Hmmm, let's see.

It was in Baltimore. But it exists no longer. (Look at the entry about a third of the way down the page.) I recall the wait for the table was a long one to my six or seven-year-old mind. Yet the burger and fries I ended up consuming was worth the wait. It had to be burger and fries. I ate little else at the time.

And what did Geoana eat at the BBQ joint? Burger and fries.

Somebody get this guy a map!

Yet another bizzare NCAA-to-pro-back-to-NCAA coaching game of musical chairs, except this time the ball is orange and perfectly round.

Yet I have to laugh when I read his quote: "My heart is in Florida."

Couldn't he have said the same thing if he ended up in Orlando? Which, last time I looked, was also in the Sunshine State.

Notes from the North

If one were to ask me to name my favorite spot in Arizona, I'd be hard pressed for a quick answer.

However I should say that Flagstaff would count as one of the top five, easily.

Geogal suggested we go there this weekend, so here I am, typing this blog entry from our room at the Little America Hotel. Drove up from Chandler this morning. Walked a two-mile trail out behind the hotel this afternoon. Then Geogal continued her immense wisdom by suggesting I go four-wheeling while she and Geoana make use of the hotel's swimming pool.

Didn't have to ask me twice!

Thought I would post only one of my pics from today's drive to whet your appetite. I'll soon post a narrative on my Apple-hosted blog.

An exciting weekend for sports?

Not in the Geohouse. Here is today's poll from ESPN.com:

Which Memorial Day weekend sporting event are you most excited about?

-Nextel Cup series at Charlotte

-Indianapolis 500

-NBA conference finals

-UFC: Liddell vs. Jackson

-Stanley Cup finals, Game 1

Too bad I can't vote "None of the above."

Hey, training camp for the NFL can't be too far off, can it? Or the time of the season when baseball really gets exciting. Patience, patience.

Music to my ears

I read this with some interest.

Makes good sense for Amazon to try this. Since there are three iPods (one Nano and 2 Shuffles--a first and second generation) in the Geohouse, iTunes is the music provider by default. Yet to have to buy the music exclusively from iTunes is sometimes limiting. Since I lean toward tunes that are older and sometimes obscure, not every song I desire is available through iTunes.

Now, if Amazon will offer music I can buy, download, and play on my iPod, they'll get my business. (Not exclusively, mind you. iTunes will still be my music store of choice. But having more than one choice, plus some competition is definitely helpful.)

And the argument about file sharing? Steve Jobs addressed that one in this posting. Good point. I buy my CD's legally, and they are not protected.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. It looks like the large music companies will have to defer to the changing times.

In the meantime, I plan to spend some time this weekend using my USB turntable to digitize some tunes from my vinyl collection. No copy protection there, either.

I've come to the conclusion...

...that I am, in fact, not a redneck.

Given that I was born (and lived some of my formative years) in Texas, and exhibit a "glorious lack of sophistication," (Jeff Foxworthy's definition of redneck), I vacillated between whether I was one or not. Sometimes I took one position or the other, depending on how I would benefit.

But this week, I am convinced I do not fall on the redneck side of the line.

The defining moment? When I saw Dale Earnhardt, Jr's news conference a few days ago (the one where he announced he is leaving DEI.) My reaction: Who cares??

Actually, nothing about NASCAR interests me. I've never watched one of their races, I don't follow the standings, and I could only name a few drivers off the top of my head.

That seals the deal. I remain more comfortable in jeans than wearing a tie, I enjoy outdoor activities, I drive a pickup, I continue to consume beer, and I am often caught listening to country music.

But I am not a redneck.

I'll settle for being a good ol' boy.