Last week in Indy

This is going to be my last week working in Indiana. I am sorta going to miss this place. I might be able to get into having seasons besides hot and not as hot. And leaves changing colors blows my mind! I will try to get pictures of fall colors before I leave and then post them on the blog, but it wont do any justice because for one; I'm not a great photographer and two; pictures really don't show the good colors.

Another thing I'm going to miss is older looking stuff. Without the help of shows like This Old House, I would never have known that things could have been built pre 1970. Phoenix just doesn't have anything historic (except maybe the Serine House). Look how cool this rail road bridge looks. And it is still in use. They just don't make things like they used to! PS: Remember the disclaimer about picture taking from above.

I'm feeling a little Cathy today

So I have a few things I need to complain about. And one of them deals with jeans, which makes me feel like I'm Cathy's husband. AACK! :P The list is in no specific order. I have bad thoughts for each of these items equally. So here they are:

-Cat Deely How the heck did she get a job. I wonder what the requirements were? Must be fairly awkward and have an accent. Perspective employee will demonstrate lack of knowledge and proper use of stereotypical colloquialisms. Salaries will be based off of how well you can annoy 26 year old males that may watch the show with their dance loving wives.

-Football Played on a Baseball field It just looks wrong.

-Tuition Prices Com'on! Give us lower middle-class working kids a chance. And I don't mean in the form of making low or no interest student loans more available. I'm talking to you ASU. I wont be able to go to MCC forever.

-AT&T's monopoly of the iPhone Apple. If you use Verizon you will have the most grateful customer in the world. I thought I would go with a free phone the last time I "upgraded". Bad idea! I have hated every time I've used my phone. I am using that as my excuse for my extreme anxiety I get when I have to call someone.

-Being Poor Self explanatory. Those of you hard core Dave Ramsey fans (or anyone with a mild sort of financial know how) would say or at least think, "If you cry poor, You shouldn't be wanting an iPhone". I know! Stop scrutinizing me. I guess a more accurate statement would be. I hate being on a budget.

-Slow elevators I stay at this hotel in Indiana every other week, and I swear it has the slowest elevators ever. It' only a 4 story hotel but it takes a good two minutes to get to the top floor. And it doesn't help that the {push to close} button is inoperative.

-Getting less than 29mpg I know I'm spoiled(I first spelled soiled but then was informed by my sister in the comment section. Just letting you know so you can understand the comments too). Our 2000 and 2002 Mazda Proteges have been too good to us. So now when my rentals fall below the line I feel like I'm paying too much and getting ripped off.

-The fact that nice looking jeans cost way too much This one really tans my hide. Why can't companies like Wrangler or Mossimo or whatever make high dollar looking jeans? Aren't all jeans made by the same Chinese kids any way? It's not like the expensive jeans last longer. They are made of paper thin denim or at least moderately worn denim. Did they pay to take out a copyright on all stylish patterns and that's why they have the high price tag? What if the less expensive companies just didn't bedazzle the crap out of the back pocket? Would that make them different enough to comply with copyright laws?

Sorry to be such an alcoholic beverage(downer). If you want to read something faith promoting and inspiring check out my sister's blog.

Tip of the hat. Wag of the finger.

-I'll first give a tip of my hat to SnowBirds.

Why did I ever get mad at them? All they are doing is working the system known as mother earth. If I don't live in New Port when I'm old I will be joining their ranks as soon as I can. Arizona can seriously eat my shorts in the summer.

-Next tip of the hat goes to the Silversun Pickups new album.

I highly recommend this album. It's been a long time since I've purchased something and I was sorta in a music slump. I am very glad that these kids were able to get me out of the slump.
-I'm going to have to give Peggle a wag of the finger.
It has been taking up too much of my time! I guess it's good for my plane rides. But after that, I should really learn to limit it to no more than two hours a day. And I HATE how the computer cheats! I'm not one to get mad a computer games but this one could probably make my mom say a few four letter words.
-Now another wag of the finger to the Silversun Pickups new album.
It is too short! I know that it's ten songs and some of them are 5 minutes but it was so good that I wanted more. Another reason for the wag is that at first I thought it was too quiet. It may have been the 2008 Toyota Carolla that I was driving at the time but that's still no excuse. The album cover should come with some sort of placard telling you to make sure your volume is up or you will miss out on the awesomeness.
-Next up. A big tip of the hat to a Peach, Pecan Concrete.
I went through the drive thru the other day and ordered one but it ended up being a Heath and pecan. It just wasn't the same. I had to go back the next night and go inside to make sure I could partake of this heavenly treat.

-Indiana definitely gets a wag of the finger.

Why does this state have to be so far away from my lovely Nicole? It tries to make me enjoy it's beautiful green vegetation, rolling hills, and Calvin and Hobbs-esque landscape. Without Nicole here with me makes all of Indiana the lamest place on earth!

Melvin

So, I don't know if you know this, but I have the greatest dad in the universe! I could probably sing you the "My Dad's The Greatest Dad" song from the "I'm A Mormon" sound track(?) and it would be totally appropriate. My sister already gave him a good tribute on her blog. And so I should just say dido to that. I am currently reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and have come to the conclusion that I should just substitute Atticus Finch's name with Melvin. (I'm only halfway through the book so I hope Atticus doesn't go crazy and ruin my name association)

Melvin is the best person to get unbiased advise from. He quite possibly might be the smartest man alive. He is always willing to help anyone out at anytime. And has a genuine love for all living things.

Hope you had a great birthday!! Thank you for being the greatest example in the world. I hope I could be as cool as you when I turn 58!

Dear GM,

This is why everyone hates you!! And this is the reason you are bankrupt and still a failing company. I know that the business model of building a car for the baby boomers sounded like a good idea, but come on! This thing?!? I know I'm not an official Baby Boomer, but after having to drive this around last week I feel like I've walked a mile in their shoes.
Boomers are hip and a lot of them are on the prowl again; they don't want something that is going to limit our vision of all the ladies outside Costco or the golf club like this thing does. I swear! It's like you guys had a bunch of fish tanks and had this conversation:
GM Executive 1"What can we do with all these?"
GM Executive 2"Lets make them into small windshields and then design a car that looks basically like a PT Cruiser around it"
GME1 "Wont that be unsafe?"
GME2 "Nah. We'll put a mo-ped engine in it so they won't be able to go over 35mph"
GME1 "That's the best idea I've ever heard! Do you need anything from Washington while I'm there?"
GME2 "I'll take a few billion if you can get it."
GME1 "OK. See you next week."
Another thing. I don't care about cup holders! This car had ninety of them. What kind of older person needs to drink that much? That would make them have to stop every other block to use the facilities. Unless this car come with a prescription of flow max, I'd hold off on all the cup holders.
In conclusion GM, if you want me to buy some of your cars please make them normal looking and have them get good gas mileage. Because I think it's funny. You buy a small car to get good gas mileage. And you don't know what kind of gas mileage your gettin'.
Sincerely
KJ

Aging does not exist in this dojo! Does it!?!

You've had a birthday; shout hoo-ray! One year older and wiser too. Happy Birthday...to you!

Nicole celebrated her long awaited twenty third birthday a few weeks ago. And she celebrated it with class by going to DISNEYLAND! AI AI AI AI!!

Our first night we stayed at the Hyatt in New Port. It was fairly awkward because we felt pretty much out of place. It was exactly like when Danny Laruso went to go pick up Ali with an "I" on their first date. We pulled up in our station wagon and they wanted to valet it. Give me a break! I would rather be put in a body bag. I'm not paying anyone to drive my lame car.

Other than the Hyatt, a magical time was had by all! They gave Nicole a pin that said it was her birthday. It was awesome because ALL the workers wished Nicole a happy birthday by name. Even random people joined in on the happy birthday wishes. It was fun.

Here we are on splash mountain.

Here we are at the end of splash mountain. Usually splash mountain is one of my favorites but it was semi cold while we were there so we only went on it two or three times in order for us not to get hypothermia.

And that's about it. We were there for two days which was awesome but I will spare you the rest of the pictures because we went by ourselves so self portraits were the name of the game. And I seem to have a couple zits on my neck that got bigger as the vacation went on.

I love you Nicole.

I hope you had a great birthday!

I can't wait to come home from Indiana and see you!

Mother of all Snuggies!

Oh how I wish I would have saved my money and bought one of these for my mom instead of a stupid gift card.(Sorry Mom if you read this before you open your card. But a gift card is what you get when all you say you want is good kids that obey or new walking shoes from Sam's Club and I don't have a sam's club card and I don't want to obey) Talk about the Mother of all Snuggies! Maybe I'll buy a few and save them for next year. You can't beat 98% off. With my estimated math. That would mean about a buck a snug.

I almost wish Nicole was a mother so I could get one for her this year. And look how good she would be as a Mother.

Because of Nicole's help and dedication, Bruce is now reading at a 3rd grade level at the age of two. We are thinking he should be in ELP and Nicole should get a medal.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers!! And everyone else who got a candybar in church today.