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Quit smoking log - DAY 1

Michael Stephens — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:47:47 +0000

Day 1 is today. I decided to quit smoking. Not because I care about my health, or any other unforseen consequence of the future I cannot see, but because of my own reasons. It stinks, costs money, gives more money to an inefficent government.

Not to bad today. Pretty easy mode. People don’t bother me any more than usual. Eating sunflower seeds pretty much nonstop, and using the patch!

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People LIVE in Wisconsin?

Michael Stephens — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:03:15 +0000

Kathryn’s grandmother died last week. Crazy lady, but very cool. It’s weird to know that I saw this woman not even a year ago and she seemed to be going strong, and had quite a bit of life left. Her funeral is on Tuesday (I thought this odd as she died on Thursday, and 4 days of a dead body just hanging out didn’t seem quite right - then I learned she was cremated. I suppose leaving ashes around isn’t as creepy as a body…). Of course, Kathryn requests I go with her for the funeral. Despite my best ideas for an excuse not to go, I accept with relatively little resistance.

So it’s off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin we go. Until I met Kathryn, I didn’t even realize that anyone even lived there. Why the HELL would anyone live in tundra-esque weather for 9 months out of the year?

Anyhow, we roll up to Hartsfield-Jackson completely prepared (I never leave on time - yet always arrive on time, go figure). Flight 2626 US Airways is delayed for 1 hour. Ok cool, let’s go look at what random crap I can buy for super inflated prices! Nothing, just a Nathan’s chili-cheese dog (just a pre-plotted revenge for Mr. I eat peanuts and must SMACK on them for hours afterwards, in case he is next to me this ride).

Recheck flight. My Blackberry says 7:53pm (the time is now 8:00pm), the sign on the gate says 7:40pm. Amazingly, there is no one near the counter to answer the obvious question. The maximum time I can wait to catch my connection in Charlotte is 8:45pm.

8:10pm cursing of not only this airline, but Atlanta in general ensues. Gate attendant shows up at 8:30. As I blabber to this woman, she getting us a ticket for 9:15am on Air Tran (I told her that we both know that we wont get to our connection on time). Being friendly, I say something about her badge. Keep in mind, we have like 5 people behind us. She stops what she is doing on the computer, and happily chats about how it keeps the water out when she takes it to the beach. I immediately regret speaking to her, and mental images of me grabbing her head and pointing it at the screen while screaming “FINISH THIS WHILE YOU TALK” overwhelm me.

They say that our bags will get to the Milwaukee airport after we arrive… this is going to be interesting. Ill try to sneak a few photos in of the trip (not the funeral, I’m not that creepy).

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Someone made a video about my days at work!

Michael Stephens — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:56:36 +0000

Courtesty of break.com, whose bandwidth I am mooching by not hosting this myself.

Office Air Horn - Watch more free videos

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Another dog post

Michael Stephens — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:52:44 +0000

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that Nala’s hip would pop every now and then. So I think to take her to the vet and have her checked out (and get her fangs cleaned - the smell of dead possum begins to wear on people over time).

I want x-rays, dammit! Knowing that German Shepards are prone to having hip issues, I opted for the kind folks at Butler Creek Animal Hospital to send some radiation her way to see what could possibly be the trouble.

On Tuesday, I drop her off and head to work. On the way home, I pick her up. The doctor tells me she has hip dysplasia. Now, I didn’t know very much about this condition at first, and it sounds really bad. All I know is that she could potentially not live as long and could eventually have troubles being mobile. A far cry from the happy-go-lucky attitude and carefree way she lives now.

After reading as much as I could get my hands on, it appears that while she will require some maintenance, she should be able to live a mostly normal, happy and full life. Damn dog, she is costing me a fortune, with no end in sight!
She’s lucky that she’s cute, or else she would be someone’s Moo Shoo Pork after I sold her to the Chinese restaurant.

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So my dog is a bit impatient, wonder where she gets that?!

Michael Stephens — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:58:47 +0000

Had to add a very large video clip of day-to-day operations with Nala.

Notice Darcy sitting in the back all nice and proper. Of course, she also happens to be the first one to reach the beloved din-din.

Is it just me, or does my dog sound like effing Chewbacca

d2-mvi_0339

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