Merci mes amis

Pride is an interesting thing in that it can be both virtue and vice. Pride in family, country, or other accomplishments should be considered virtuous. The stubborn pride of many who look askance at offered help or refuse to lift the burdens of others because they "got where they are on their own" is certainly a vice.

I like most people possess both forms. For example I can't express how proud I am of Wife for finishing her degree while holding down a full-time job and taking care of that incompetent dolt who is her husband.

On the other hand, too often I have insisted on doing things on my own, believing in my infinite wisdom that if the instructions can be found in a book I can do whatever it is that I don't know how to do. Sometimes this stubbornness works out, sometimes I end up with my legs dangling through a hole in the ceiling.

The past few months have proved to be rather Jobian for me. Carpenter ants, broken truck, large expenses to fix the truck, dead dryer, dying car, again broken truck have all played their part to break me. In all of this I've been forced to look to others for help. I just wanted to thank everyone who's gone out of their way to help me. It proves that there are still good people in this world and to paraphrase Bilbo Baggins: "I don't appreciate half of you as well as I ought and I appreciate less than half of you half as well as you deserve". Thanks.

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One of those days

Here is a snippit of a conversation I had with a coworker about 10 minutes before I left for the adventure which was the drive home. The setting is the hallway between our offices.

Laura: FYI-I just replaced the paperclip from the inside of the toilet that keeps it flushing.

Me: You mean that it is a paperclip that keeps our toilet, which is used by several women each day, working.

Laura: Yeah, you didn't know? It rusted and broke into the tank so I replaced it with a new one.

Then we broke out laughing because that is the kind of day it was. The next time we have a problem with one of the toilets at work I am not calling a plumber, but the office supplies store instead.

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Most shameful CD ever

Okay here's the question for my movie viewing readers. How come sometimes you can assemble an amazing cast and have an amazingly awful movie. I submit to you the following cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, Val Kilmer, Drew Barrymore, and Jim Carrey. Together this is a very impressive group, a bit odd to be in any movie together but I'll give Carrey credit for what he did in the Truman show and Kilmer will always be my Jim Morrison. Yet somehow combined they produced an unsavory pimple on the forehead of the blushing bride that is moviedom. They were all in that incredibly unforgetable movie, Batman Forever. Now I will give them some of the benefit of the doubt and blame most of that pimple on Chris O'Donnell. It's a wonder they ever had the courage to do the good Batmans that they've done recently.

Now as much as I enjoy belittling movies I don't see enough to post about them very often. I do however listen to music. Since our recent purchase of a new car, yes in this economy and yes we are crazy, I've been listening to a lot more music thanks to the wonderfulness of Satellite radio.

How wonderful is satellite radio you ask? They have a Led Zepplin station!!! And a station entitle "Hair Nation"!!! Honestly I haven't heard Kashmir followed by Damn Yankees on the radio since the 1980s. You might say that's probably a good thing, but if you do say that, I say you're a communist and I think Ted Nungent would back me up with that. Don't make the Nudge mad, he's craaaazy.

To make a short story unnecessarily long, and so as to waste more of your valuable time at work, Wife and I were driving to work the other day and what came on but Seal's Kiss from a Rose, the theme song to aforementioned horrible movie. Sadly I had to confess that not only did I know most of the words but I also owned the cd! Shameful I know. In my defense though it was during my Deep Forest, Enigma, and Rusted Root phase (all horrible bands, don't look them up if you don't know them).

So what was the most shameful cd you ever purchased?

Here's something to get you guys in the Christmas Spirit:

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Calling all Bookworms

I know you're out there. Those of you who would rather read than watch television. Or read while you watch television, whichever.

I am now finding myself with more free time than I remember having in years. Yay! So I come to you all for help. I need suggestions for what to read next. I just finished the Harry Potter series but I don't really know where to go from here. It's been so long since I read for pure pleasure. I'll read just about anything that's written well but my preferences seem to be for historical accounts. I'm currently reading the Mountain Meadows Massacre book that everyone's been talking about. Please don't suggest Twilight. It took me this long to want to pick up the Harry Potter books. But other fiction is welcome.

This will also help Husband if he still needs ideas of what to get me for Christmas. I asked for books but couldn't give too many specifics.

Thanks for the help. Hopefully your suggestions will keep me sufficiently occupied until American Idol starts next month.

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