Exhausted!

Hey all!I just got back from a weekend in Pennsylvania, the last where Jillian's family is from. Us guys don't really mind a long drive- but it can be exhausting to drive more then 10 hours in one weekend. Here's how the weekend started out:

Friday night, Jillian's parents are already worried because Jillian and I are bringing our dog Kasey to their house for the first time. Kasey is a shelter dog with a history of getting into some pretty intense quarrels with other animals that've come into her path. From the moment we arrive, after a long, night-time, rain-filled, five-hour, drive to Macungie we are not exactly a welcome sight.

"Kasey"

At first Sadie, Jillian's parents' dog and Kasey are getting along. They sniff each other and they circle around just to get to know one another. Jillian's step father is already pissed because a water pipe has burst in the house. Once we've taken a moment to put our things away and everybody starts to settle down, KASEY (?) STRIKES!! Out of nowhere the two animals are going at it- Michael Vick style. I question it though because nobody truly saw how it started so maybe it could've been Sadie that instigated the whole event.

Jillian jumped in and seperated the two beasts---a black and blue slash in her leg to show for it. Sadie's ear was dripping blood spots onto the carpet below.

We pause here because I want you to keep in mind that the reason we went to Pennsylvania this weekend was because Jillian's mother was hosting a baby shower for her sister, Brie. So this woman is already flipped out because she's got 30 people coming to her house in less than 48 hours and so far a water pipe has burst, there's been an illegal dog fight and now there's blood stains in her carpet.

But it didn't end there.

Moments later after seperating the two animals, and putting Sadie outside. Kasey decides that she hasn't been bad enough by peeing all over the carpet.

Oh yes...that was the perfect start to this weekend. After all of that, the weekend was pretty normal. Jillian's step father wasn't exactly pleased that we were home, making her mother even more flipped out than she already was, but everything else went smoother. We kept Kasey in a barrowed crate for most of our time there, letting her out to walk and go to the bathroom. She was a big baby the entire time. But she was generally good in all other situations, including (thankfully) meeting the younger children.

On Monday Jillian and I spent the day moving her into the new apartment. From 10 in the morning to 11 at night, we moved furniture and boxes into the place that for now is hers, and eventually will be ours. I will be moving things in here and there for us to use together, but all of my wordly goods and clothes will remain at my dad's house until after our wedding in May. For those of you wondering---yes---my entire body hurts.

Now I'm back at work as I type this- don't worry it's the end of the day and I'm all caught up. So don't lose any sleep wondering if I "get anything done" at work. I thought it would be interesting to jot down some notes on all the songs that get stuck in my head on a given day. I have a very spatial personality so songs come and go throughout my day whenever I get bored enough to let one in. Here's a list of the chart-toppers that found their way into my head, and their words into my mouth today:

Kelly Clarkson "Because of You"

Bad Company "All Right Now"

Katy Perry "I Kissed a Girl"

Dean Martin “Ain’t Love a Kick in the Head”

Anita Ward “You Can Ring My Bell”

Pink Floyd “Us and Them”

Incredible String Band “Painting Box”

Of course all of these songs should be available to preview and download on itunes....but I don't work for apple so you don't have to nothing!

Takes a damn long time to import pictures into these blogs....

Long Over Due

So.

I haven't been very adamant about keeping up with my blog. But hey, I've been busy! I'm an engaged man now, off the market, no longer available to date, unattainable, no longer a bachelor, intimately involved, taken, getting hitched, and whatever other descriptive words there are out there that I can use to describe myself as no longer "single".

Scared? No.

Worried? No.

Ready? Hell yes!

Here's a glimpse of where I'm currently spending my nights:

It's not the prettiest place on the planet...but it's my dad's house and it's "home". The rent is free and I get the downstairs to myself. Also: this is an older picture, the outside has been vinyl sided (grayish) and I've done a lot of landscaping. Also- that antennae is no longer on the top of the roof...hello 1960s....

And here's a look see at the new place Jillian and I are renting together as our first home after we exchange vows:

Okay- we didn't actually rent this place, but it's a damn nice picture, no? (Just Google: "Irish Castles") The point is- I can't wait to get out of my dad's place and start my life with my new wife!

Of course, that's not the only reason I'm excited for marriage- there are plenty of others to!!

SPORTS GAB:

QUESTION: What has two thumbs and is still excited about the New England Patriots?ANSWER: This guy (points to myself).

The Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets are not the greatest two teams in the Country but let's face it: once Tom Brady went down I heard that fans were actually leaving Gillette Stadium!!! Maybe this is a good thing for everybody. Maybe the media will stop hating on the Pats and return them to underdog status. Maybe the pink hat fans will jump off the (band) wagon and give us real fans some breathing room.

The fact of the matter is we haven't faced a season like this since before the Superbowl win in 2001. Tom Brady is not the quarterback, and let's face it he won't be the quarterback forever- and who knows? Maybe even not that much longer. It's Matt Cassel's time to shine right now, and so far? 2-1. The shellacking from Miami aside- the Patriots haven't look half bad so far this year, even minus their veteran QB. With this bye week- expect coach Bill B. to make the necessary adjustments both offensively and defensively. If we lose next week, I might be singing a different tune.

And let's give a hoot to those Red Sox too. I know that we're used to them winning too- but come on, NOBODY expected the Tampa Bay Rays to make it this far. Can I be the first to admit that this match up has started to actually excite me? AHHHHHHHHHH!

Stare into the new face of evil!!!!

Don't worry Sox fans I still despise those pitiful Yankees, that won't end soon- but it's not too bad to have a new villain in town. Even the X-Men had Magneto, and Apocalypse!!! We need to give the Rays their due- they're still hanging in there, no matter how many times we're tying them for first place in these last few weeks, they keep beating us again and getting back on top.

Not since the late 90s have I been this excited to see where the Sox end up in the standings, this late into the season. Usually I stop watching in August and wait for the playoffs in October...

MOVIE RANTS:

I don't think a good movie has been released since Tropic Thunder which came out a month ago and Burn After Reading did not quench my new movie thirst. For those of you thinking of seeing this movie because you really liked Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men, think again please.

Remember that the Coen brothers got famous with films like The Big Lebowski and Fargo, and that No Country for Old Men was not one of their original works. NCfOM was from a book by Cormac McCarthy, the author of Viggo Mortenssen's next movie, The Road.

The Coen bros return to their roots with Burn and I shake my head to think that it is a welcome back. True, both George Clooney and Brad Pitt satisfied me enough to keep me watching and laughing, and true they were the primary reasons that I went to see the movie, but in the end I just didn't think the movie was that great.

It is an average tale about John Malkovich being fired from his job from the CIA and staying home to write a memoir which his cheating wife accidentally saves onto a CD as she tries to download his financial information so she can give it to her divorce lawyer. Her lawyer in turn hands the disc over to his secretary who lets it fall out of her bag at the gym. Brad Pitt works at gym, finds the disc, uploads onto his computer and the hilarity ensues as the flaky personal trainer played by Pitt tries to blackmail Malkovich into giving him money for the disc's return.

Funny characters show up throughout, including J K Simmons (J J Jameson from the Spider-Man series) as the clueless director of the CIA. George Clooney plays a private detective who's only real story-line is that he's the one Malcovich's wife is cheating on him with. Clooney does play a pivotal role in how the story-line eventually plays out, but I can't help but wonder if the movie would've been better or any funnier if what he does to Brad Pitt towards the middle of the movie never happened.

I say wait for video on this. It's worth seeing if you're at least a Coen brothers fan- but think more Ladykillers than Big Lebowski.

I myself happen to be eagerly awaiting Eagle Eye.

That's all for now- it took me 10 days to finalize this post and get it out.

Hopefully I can start keeping up with this thing....my fans yearn!