Normal Entries Below. Let me know if you like this new feature.

for those who don't go to the JerseyCam website, I thought I'd eliminate the middle man. The larger versions can be seen at JerseyCam.

ok, I didn't really go on vacation this weekend. I mostly just stayed around the house. Boring, I know, but hey. At least I got some cleaning done on top of some other things. I managed to fill out all of my rebate forms and get them ready in their envelopes. Now I just need to get the UPCs, and I'll be ready to scan and mail them. One of them is for the new webcam I got, so that I am up to three cams at JerseyCam. The only bad part is that Juliet, my Mac, seems to be very sick. I was having problems with files and her system, and now she seems to be down for the count. I think the problem is a bad battery, so once I pick up a new one, I will try that out and we will see what happens. Since I never really shut her down, I can understand how the battery lasted 9 years, and I'm hoping that being off and not plugged in for a few weeks is the cause of it. Since she is down, Cam 1 is down as well, as the picture isn't the same when I run it through my PC. Hopefully she'll be back up and running soon, as I miss her, and while I'm not a shortage of places to find parts, I've never had any of my macs get so sick they couldn't be repaired. So head on over and check out the new cam, which is for the living room, and tell me what you think.

So on Saturday, I decided to use the veal sausage I got from the store to make a big pot of gravy. I also threw in some yummy pork pieces, but forgot the loin end, so there were no bones to really flavor it. Oh well. It cooked very well, and I was snacking on it all day as it cooked. I even had it for dinner tonight, along with some pasta. I also made some meals for the next three-four weeks, so I'm good in that arena.

After last weeks fiasco with the septic system/ground hog, I finally got some laundry done. For those that don't know, I had a clog in my septic line. This caused the water to back up and there is an ingenious pipe below my porch that will dump any backed up water, rather than it backing all the way up to a sink or toilet. This is a good system. Except when a groundhog.woodchuck decides to build a nest under your front porch. What happened was all the water went into his hole, and since he was right next to the foundation of the house, the water found a easy route, and came in through a hole in the foundation into the basement. So when I went downstairs to get some food last Saturday while doing laundry, I see water just pouring into the basement. This left me in a pickle, since it was late Saturday, and Sunday is $$$$ for a plumber. I came to the conclusion that the problem was the septic tank being full, as I have been asking for the past three years to get it pumped, and it never has. So Sunday I went to Home Depot and purchased some pipes so that I could divert the water away from the hole, and have it head towards the street. It would at least allow me to shower, which was a good thing, and since it is considered "gray water", it's good for the lawn, which sucked up most of the water. Of course, since Mario designed the porch, it was a pain to remove all the lattice work to get under the porch. On a lucky note, after deciding to purchase some Tyvex jumpsuits for my car, in the off chance I needed to do something while wearing nice clothes, they came in very handy while crawling under my porch to attach the pipes. Monday the septic guy came out, and pumped the tank which was only half full. They then ran a snake through the main pipe, and found the clog, which was the main culprit. At least I know that after 6 years, during which the house was occupied by two people for three years, I only managed to half fill our, and I quote the septic guy, "huge" tank.

So this weekend I did some more laundry, and the lines seem to be very clear now. Now for those who may not know, I picked up a little friend two weeks ago. He doesn't have a name, as I haven't thought of one. He is very helpful around the house, and cleans up after me. What is he? He's a Roomba! Here's a picture:
Say what you will about these things, but they are GREAT. The biggest problem I have is the hair, dust, and hay that I bring in from outside. Well, this little guy just goes banging around and finds all the crap, and cleans it up. When he's done, he travels back towards his charging baselin, lines up, and parks himself to re-charge. I mean how cool is that? I decided he was a guy b/c he likes to drive headlong into everything. He does it so much, I sewed him a little bumper guard to prevent any scrapes. The cats hate him, but they will come from upstairs to follow it around, then run+jump away when it comes near them. I think Dummy is starting to realize it won't hurt him, and has let it get closer. Some users report that their pets learn how to turn theirs on, and run around an play with them, so I probably have to look forward to that.

Other than those bombshells, nothing much has been going on. OK, it's near 12:30, and I have to be up in 5 hours. Talk to you all later.

for what, you may ask? Well, it is tough to explain. But as much as I despise other people's children most of the time, sometimes they are just so cute. Glenn and Tracie had their baby just a little over one week ago. I still stop over and see them every now and then, and I usually head out that way when I go out for Happy Hour, I'm the one who usually finds out what's up for Bob&Family. It was funny. I stopped by last Monday, and Glenn had told me that Tracie was scheduled for inducement on Wednesday(it was originally Thursday, the 11th, but she didn't want that day). I was just about to leave when Gillian made Tracie take her outside so she could say bye to me. I mean, if that doesn't melt your heart a little, I don;t know what can. After I found out they had the baby, I didn't stop in b/c I didn't want to start the Cole and Simba barking and possibly disturb the baby. But yesterday, while I was removing the headliner to my car(more on that later), Glenn and Gillian stopped by. Gillian loves all the animals we have here(and who doesn't?). It's so funny watching her pet the horses. She was making Glenn walk her up and down the barn so she could pet each horse like 5 times. So today I was passing by and I saw Glenn in the driveway with a stroller. I stopped quickly and went down the driveway. He is SOOOO cute. This Glenn is Glenn V, which is just so cool. Another thing I didn't mention yet is just how tough Gillian is. Today she was trying to catch a cat that has taken up residence in Glenn's area. Well, she grabbed a thorn bush. Now most kids would cry, but she jerked her hand back, and just kind of looked at it, then went on playing. She came up to Glenn about two minutes later, and she actually had a thorn in her hand. Glenn pulled it out real quick, and she kept on going. The last time she was here, she took a small fall in the mare barn. Most kids would start bawling, but she got up, said "ouchies" and took off running again. So I left Glenn b/c it was getting late, and I like to be home by 8pm when I go out. Well, later on,m after Glenn's, I passed a mother who was with 3 kids. I said "howdy" to them all as we passed, and as I got further away, I heard one of the kids start going, "WOW(not World of Warcraft, BTW), he was nice!".

So what am I accomplishing by all of these stories? I guess I'm trying to give some reasons as to why I think I have been feeling the urge to have kids. Maybe it's b/c I'm getting older. But for some reason, I kind of get all optimistic about what my kids will be like. I will never say I want them to have what I didn't, b/c I had everything I needed as a kid. I do hope my children aren't struck w/the same burdens I had/have to deal with. As much as it makes me who I am, there are times I wish I wasn't who I am. Times I wish I could just be "normal". Not have to deal with all the repercussions of having ADHD, amongst my other problems. Be the person people need me to be. It's so painful to see what you had, but lost, and the only reason for it is you. Especially when you can remember doing things so vividly, and it just drives the stake in deeper. When you walk around an empty house, a house you swear you can feel the energy a family once provided it with. But now the house stands empty. Only one set of footsteps echos through her halls now. And it looks like that's the way it's going to be for awhile.

OK, I need to hit the hay. Try to go to bed not completely depressed.

everyone made such a big deal about me being early yesterday, I decided to be late, which gets less attention.

i actually was early today. It frightens me a little.

it's a frakkin holiday. I didn't even have to come in. But I did.

i have been at such a deficit since last weekend. Just for a catch up, about two weeks ago, I received a call from one of my best friends from college, Leah. She informed me she was going to be a Benny for a few days, and wondered if she could see me. I said sure. The only caveat was that to do so, she would have to sleep over. No problem I said. I always keep a spare set of sheets and pillows on standby for unexpected guests, as there are a few people who have carte blanche to stay at the farm if the need ever arises. I pulled my sleeping bag out from under the bed, and all was set.

Leah arrived a little earlier than expected, but it was cool. We fed the horses, then toured the farm + house. We then went out and did some shopping for some supplies she needed and also I picked up a few things, such as food. We went back to the house, and I fixed up some of my seasoned corn on the cob, with a main course of seasoned London Broil and pan seared veggies. After dinner we talked and watched TV for awhile before it was time for bed. It was really cool catching up on old times, and it was also nice having someone else in the house, even if for only a few hours. Cynder finally warmed up to Leah, which was cute, and of course Skeeter walks up to anyone. The next morning, I fed while Leah got ready to continue her voyage to the Jersey Shore. As was said so deftly in Dogma, "I suggest you not underestimate the staggering drawing power of the Garden State, and show up two hours in advance." Of course, I was late for work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now if I could get Molly and maybe some others to stop by, we could have a party!!

In the form of bad segues, I just mentioned Kevin Smith, or more to the point, one of his movies. This leads to another problem. Mr. Smith is coming back to Red Bank to do An Evening With Kevin Smith show. I REALLLLLLY want to go, but I'm stuck with the fact that I won't go alone. So here's an open call to anyone out there: If you have nothing special planned for November 7th, wanna catch a show? Being a Kevin Smith fan is preferred, as it will be multiple hours of hearing him speak, but not required. I'm hoping there might be some afterwards meet and greets/autographs, as I just got my 2nd set of "Clerks" celluiod frames, and it's from the "Juxtaposition" part of Clerks. It's a shot from behind the counter in which you can see Dante, as well as Jay and Silent Bob. I am totally psyched about these frames. But it would be so much cooler if I could get the card it is attached to signed by Kevin Smith, and possibly even Jason Mewes or Brian O'Halloran. A man can dream.

OK, that's about it for now. Even though tomorrow is a holiday, I will be going to work. It's nice to have a "lazy day" to catch up on projects I have been slacking on. I really need to come home and work on the house, as I have been running ragged since last Sunday, and haven't had the time nor the energy to clean the house/clothes. I have been using the mower all week to get the paddocks cut, and I made a failed attempt at getting the computer I promised to my neighbors son up and running. As it is, it's 00:09 on Monday, and I have to be up in a little over 5 hours to feed the horses. On that note, see you all later.

i took the dualie to work today, which required me to move stuff into it, and I also forgot my phone in the bathroom.

i had to go to the bank to make a deposit.

i had to stop at the bank.

a smoke detector was beeping upstairs and I couldn't figure out which one it was and I was stuck behind a Benny who went 10-15mph below the limit.

in an effort to organize my life more, I decided that I will now name my relationships past. So far, I have come up with the following. If anyone has some suggestions, I welcome them. I will update the list as I come up with names.

1. The Sarah Trilogy
2. The Michelle Minute
3. The Psycho Paradox or The Kristen Kalamity
4. The Molly Era

i think it's understandable why I feel how I do about the dentist. Now I don't hate dentists, just the work they do. It started way before I lost my teeth, though, so it's not that. I have just never enjoyed going to the dentist. I think it stems from my past non-habit of brushing my teeth often. Now please don't think I have a gaping maw of rotting teeth. In fact, the only things that have ever removed teeth from my mouth are the medieval tools of the dentist and plastic pool toys thrown by former hot GF's. I had very strong teeth for someone who did not brush much. But anyway.

So today I got up and did my morning thing. It was a bit tough today as I was sore from trimming the fields w/ the RedMax last night after work, and also from smacking my hand with a mallet while constructing the tarp slide for the sawdust pit. It seems whenever I construct a PVC device, I invarably end up hitting my left hand with a hammer. And no, by Hammer I don't mean my penis, I mean a real hammer(if you don't understand that, you must be living in a cave or living in an online world of fantasy. If that applies to you, check here). I then took off to see Dr. Li. I got there 5 minutes late b/c I was stuck behind a funeral procession. I mean, who plans on running into that? So I got there, went in, and expected the worse, as usual. Instead, I was told I'm looking good, and for an adult who drinks coffee, my teeth were not stained. I explained to him I try to keep my teeth a little stained to match my partial. I left there, headed to Wawa for some gas and grub(BTW, their new mint chocolate chip milkshakes are good), then I went home. Since I took the day off, I decided to get some stuff done that I had been putting off. I cleaned out the cabinets of old stuff, or stuff that only had one or two uses left in it. It made a lot of room for my growing shaving den. I then worked on my office for a little bit, organizing everything back to where it should be. Next, I assaulted the slow drain problem I have been having with the washing machine lines. I got a bottle of some nasty cleaner from our plumber, and tried that out. It seems to have worked, but I think my problem is a combination of a few issues, which I should resolve soon, i.e. running some new PVC pipe, eliminating some extraneous angles from the set up, etc... It should be easy, as I am skilled in the art of PVC. Once I cleared the drain, I did some laundry that had been sitting around waiting until I had cleared the drain so i didn't have to watch it drain and stop it if it flooded. I was doing that for the rest of the day until it was all done. I now have a lot of clean boxers, exercise stuff, pants, and dress shirts. YAY! In addition to all of the tasks I completed, I became ambitious and field stripped the vacuum. I washed all the parts, rinsed out the filters, and dried everything out. I also cleaned the pet carrier I found on the road the other day (I think I'm up to 3 hard carriers now), vacuumed both floors of the house and also Huck's rooms. The only room I skimmed over was the cat's office, as it's always full of hair from them lounging in there. The room that looked the worst, but was the easiest to clean was the Kitchen. It's usually done last b/c I follow the up to down, left to right philosophy of cleaning. It applies to rooms, houses, cars, etc... It makes it so much easier to clean. I was really happy to clean the dishes, as I had some sitting in there from Sunday, and I hate when dishes sit in the sink(except if they are soaking). It's so easy to clean them, so there's really few reasons why they aren't done. But I did all of them, then took some vinegar to the counters to get them nice and white. I was pretty much done then, so I finished folding clothes, then decided to relax by paying my bills for the month, and writing this entry.

OK, that's it for now. I'm tired and should get to bed. I'm still sore, so a nice sleep in this cool weather feels so nice. It's been cold enough upstairs lately that I need to use my comforter at night when I sleep.

Nighters----

oK, you're wondering what the heck the title means. OK, I'll explain. Friday morning, I was buzzing around online, and I saw someone with a Clerks scene in their online signature. I did some searching and found the online version of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. I found some items I wanted, most notably a Dante inaction figure, a dual set of Fanboy and Steve-Dave from Mallrats inaction figures signed by the actors, and some celluloid frames from the original Clerks. I was about to place my order when I saw the shipping charges and got a little miffed. I decided then and there to head on over to Red Bank after work and then to the Verizon store afterward. So I turned on my GPS, and punched in silent bob. About 15 seconds later, my GPS was locked in to the Stash East store. I saved it for later and did the work thing. So I get to Red Bank and head over to the Stash with an hour to spare until closing. I wandered around and took in all the Kevin Smith/View Askewniverse goodness and eventually picked some choice swag and went to check out. While I was waiting to check out, I see some guy walk up. Who was it? Why Bryan Johnson. Why is that so cool? He plays Steve-Dave in the View Askewniverse. At one point someone addressed him and said "Steve-Dave", at which point I almost turned around and went "wha?", but I realized that they weren't talking to me ;) . So that is my story for the week. I am tired and the drugs are kicking in, so I will stop writing while I'm still barely cogent.

Nighters all.