Happy New Year!

I bowled my highest game on Tuesday. 160. Now why can't I bowl that good in league when it matters? Sky loves his new bowling shoes though. No more chewed up rentals.

No more sledding. The snow is melting. Our street is finally drivable and our snowpark is pretty tired looking now and nearly gone. It got a lot of good use though. It will take awhile for all the snow to melt since there was so much of it and big piles. Winter sucks if there's no snow. If it's going to be cold, it might as well do something interesting. Plus I was getting a lot of exercise sledding and walking in it. I guess it's not cold though...it's going to be in the 50's for days to come.

I have been working on my DDR tricks. I realized I am a lot more flexible since losing all that weight (go figure) and I can do that drop down move now without hurting myself, which helps me pull off some cool tricks.

We might bowl tonight then go to a party at Steve & Shawntee's. See you next year!

Christmas is for gambling

Christmas was good. We just chilled here in the morning. Since Mau had to work the next day, we took Sky over to Tami's to stay the night so he could play with the kids the next day. On the way back we stopped for some Chinese food and talked with Lisa a bit. We tried to find something to do that night since we didn't want to waste a kid-free night. We found a bowling alley that was open and were walking out the door when Ed and Dave pulled up. We then decided to gamble. Ed drove us out there and everyone did alright. It wasn't crowded but they couldn't serve alcohol until the next day. My luck turned in poker and I ended up making back what we brought in there. On the way home, Ed took 3 wrong turns including sliding across a snow bank just to get on the wrong highway while we all yelled "No!". Then after driving 20 minutes out of our way, he gets off on the exit that is sketchy as hell with ice and snow and hits the brakes. Of course we slid sideways then did a 180 and slid sideways toward the cement wall. Everyone got deathly quiet as I said to myself "Ok, we are going to hit that wall but everyone should be ok except Ed's car but it should be drivable". I believe in the chaotic moment I grabbed Ed's arm. Ed pulled the emergency brake and we stopped a couple feet short of the wall and facing the wrong direction. Everyone sighed then started laughing when we realized there was a more cleared path off that exit. It was dark and 3AM so we couldn't see it. We made it home safely after that excitement. Note to self: Don't ride in Ed's car when the roads are bad.

Mau found out he didn't have to work so we went over to Tami's on Sunday. Matt & Vicki's flight got cancelled the night before then they got to the airport that day and realized they forgot a bag at home. They thought they had left it on their porch so they went home to get it and missed their flight. They finally made it in at 4:30pm. We got to see them briefly and exchange presents then we left to bowl in our league. It was good. We won 2 games and the guys we played were pretty cool. I twisted my ankle sledding so I was kind of limping around which hurt my playing a little. Mumble John and Ed stopped by afterwards and we got a poker game going with a $5 buy in. I won a couple big pots and cleaned up with Mumble John coming in second.

Merry Christmas!

Excuse me, Holiday Storm 2004

We always laugh at the names of the winter storms every year. This year has been coined "Holiday Storm 2004"...I suppose they already used something else with 2004 and I'm sure there will be a something 2005 before the winter is over. This one topped all the others I remember though. I think they said the worst since 1998 but I don't remember a bad one that year, nothing like this anyways. I would have to ask Dementia to help me recall 1998 and if it was a bad one (or good one depending on how you look at it). I believe that to be the year we had that 4 door Honda that got stuck in the parking lot with the automatic windows down.

I think we totalled next to a foot of snow when it was all said and done this time. Our street was not drivable until a neighbor flagged down the salt truck and had him come down it. It turned out the driver lived down the street and happens to work for the city so he did it for us. It still barely looks like it was plowed. Normally we would have waited until Monday most likely (according to the news anyways). It's still snow covered but slightly less treacherous. It took Mau almost 4 hours to shovel the driveway and Kali could not go pee until we shoveled our way out the doors which had snow banks up against them (the screens open out). The city completely shut down. Even malls and such closed early on Wednesday and didn't open until noon on Thursday. Banks didn't open until noon either. It was odd. If you were caught driving, you would be ticketed and/or arrested they said. We didn't try.

Well, with all that snow we did the obvious. We built a snowpark in the front of the house. It turned out pretty nice and will be usable for days to come. We also grabbed Ryan and headed over to the park. The snow is a little crusty on top because of the sleet and so deep you sink into crevices until it's packed down. We tried a couple spots and ended up in an unplowed parking lot with a steep hill, a jump at the bottom and stairs to the top. It was a good ride. Skylar's been on his snowboard mostly and did a couple cool moves on that hill. He looks ready to try some real snowboarding now. We'll head back over there today.

Blizzard 2004 to end out the year

We have snow. Not like the last snow which consisted of a slight dusting. This is a big time snow. They are predicting 8-12" or more before tomorrow's over. I'm not sure it's ever snowed that much since I have lived here. Yay sledding! We did have to go get Mau some boots since his got peed on by Tommy last year and were thrown out. I also misplaced our snow gloves and scarves. I don't know how but I set them aside in the basement possibly and now I can't find them to save my life. Luckily everywhere had that type of stuff on sale...a bit picked over but cheap. Just so I wouldn't have to shell out $25 for gloves, I settled on little girl's pink ones with snowflakes...the point is they are waterproof.

Juan came by last night to play some poker. I don't know if this is odd to anyone else but he called his dogs on the phone. He says they can hear him through the answering machine and will stop whatever they are getting into when they hear his voice. He made a comment about me so I retorted with "Hey, at least I'm not calling my dog on the phone.".

It turns out Vicki & Matt are not due in until late on Xmas day so Tami is doing it the next day. That proposes a small problem because Mau works that day plus we bowl in league that evening. He can't really call off since we need the money and, well he requested off Xmas Eve thinking that was the day Tami was planning. We can bowl another day to make up our scores though...otherwise they go by our averages and we would lose then. Too bad because we finally bowl 2 guys we haven't played yet.

On that note, we played the blind on Sunday and won 2 games and the overall point. We lost the 3rd game by one pin...poo. Skylar's average went up 2 points to a 51. He's been bowling a lot better lately keeping it around the 70-90s. I know some adults who can barely break that so I think it's pretty good. His league is off for the next 2 Saturdays and he's off of Kung Fu too. He's signed up for the Pepsi tournament for bowling in March and there's a Kung Fu tournament coming up in January in Louisville.

More action in my neighborhood

We got a visit from HellaKitty and her new beau, Steve, on Tuesday. They came down to do Xmas. Mau got a skate t-shirt, I got a cool Asian wastebasket/box combo and Sky got a rescue playset. We got her a Hustler t-shirt. Something she couldn't buy on her own? That was the idea anyways. Myke came by too and we all went bowling. We came back here for games and fed them all spaghetti then played some poker. Gambling with the teenagers. 2 of them came in 1st and 2nd...jeez. Ok, no more gambling with the teenagers.

The car needed work again. It doesn't go long before needing something. Damn German engineering. It was just brakes, basic maintenance I know but those things are fairly pricey. It was the first time we have dealt with brake issues on this car though and it was making nasty grinding noises which, of course, meant new rotors. We slapped an oil change in there too since it was overdue and Winter now. It needs to go in for a diagnostic soon (before February) because it won't pass the stupid Echeck with the damn engine light on and we need to know what's wrong with it. I wish I could just dismantle the light then try to pass the Echeck.

Keith & Mary Jo had a get together for the neighbors on Thursday with the bomb division of the fire department and a detective. A meeting of sorts. A 3rd bomb was found but thrown away not knowing what it was. It was cool the detective spent so much time giving us information on the bombs. I'm sure it all came down to keeping us calm enough to not go to the media. She was as informative as she could be since it is an ongoing investigation and they don't want it messed up by gossiping neighbors. They did not have detonation devices, were poorly made and had no chemicals. Basically someone who didn't know what they were doing but could possibly perfect it in the future. So, any further devices are to be reported immediately, of course...not kicked aside to find your foot blown off I suppose. They also did not think it was intimidation (since they were all found in the same area). Probably just someone messing around with no real motive but it's hard to say I guess.

Real live Counterstrike in our neighborhood?

I got woken up by Mau this morning. "You gotta come see something outside.". Yeah right. My eyes are all clogged up with gunk, I'm still half asleep and Kali jammed her knee into the side of my knee causing me to start yelling aimlessly in the general direction of the dog. Then he said "It's snowing...enough to get out of bed for.". I jumped up then and he was right. Not enough to go sledding but enough to get out of bed to look at. It's the first real snow so...it's pretty cool.

The downside is it's cold now. We have gotten lucky this season so far in that it hasn't been that cold yet. It's hovered around the 40s and 50s. Not bad at all but now it's 28 with wind gusts and all that. Doesn't make me want to run out and take doggie for a walk but I will.

Keith & Mary Jo invited Skylar and I to go see some lights on Saturday night. This guy in town decorates his house to the hilt. More Xmas decorations than I have ever seen in one place ever. He even had his garage filled with a train and village and tons of other indoor decor. To say it was spectacular would be an understatement. Skylar's comment was "Get me out of this nightmare.". It was a little over the top. All the neighbors drove out there in a caravan of sorts with geocashing walkie talkies that Keith supplied to keep the group together. All the kids had a blast and got to see Santa. Chatty Kathy, I mean Keith, found out the guy spends $20 a night for electricity. Wow. I felt the need to drop some cash in the donation box at that point, even with resistance from the owner. "Spend the money on your kids." he said. My reply was "I am. My kid is enjoying this.".

I got back home to find a stressed out Mumble John sitting on my steps. He's very upset by FunkyB's midnight move while he was on vacation. Not a very manly or considerate way to move out on your roommate and childhood friend that has supported you many times. He definitely burned some crucial bridges there.

On the upside, Mumbles was over last night and Edr0 & Ted stopped by so we got a nice game of poker going with a $5 buy in. Mumbles came in 1st with Edro 2nd.

We won 1 game in league. I screwed up the 2nd game by having a terrible frame in the middle of a good game so we lost by 3 pins. Poo. The guys we played against were nice though and pretty cool to play. When we got home there was a fire truck going up to Sue & Ryan's house. Mau went to investigate and it turns out they found a bomb in their yard so the firemen told them to go away so they came by for a few while the bomb was removed/diffused by the bomb truck. Meanwhile the whole street was blocked off and neighbors gathered. It was cold so we stayed inside. Sue said this is the 2nd bomb in a week found near their house. Kind of strange. Ok, very fucking strange. The first one had nails and such inside for shrapnel and they were made out of Bud Light bottles. The work of kids Sue thinks. I am assuming the bomb division (whatever department they use for that type of stuff) will be investigating this and possibly a closer watch on this area for awhile. 14 years of living in Clifton and never a bomb? Really, it's surprising. 6 months in Price Hill and 2 bombs? Again I ask, why did we move?

Bye FunkyB

Mau works with 2 of the guys in the league and the one is that girl's brother-in-law. He says she cheats when she can in bowling. I caught her a couple times trying to...that is why Mau said something to him. Plus she added our scores wrong so they would win the overall point. We had problems like that the other times we played them too and another team complained of the same things.

Here is a slightly funny story. We took Skylar to visit Santa so he could put in his order. Santa gives him this free CD with games and stuff on it for the computer. Skylar is sitting in the car reading the outside of it and I hear him say "Oh, AOL...jeez, nice one Santa!". I don't think he knows exactly what AOL is but he hears us constantly saying "Don't install AOL EVER." to him so he assumes it's a bad thing and Santa screwed up.

FunkyB has split. He disappeared for a few days then called yesterday saying he was coming over. When he arrived he stated the car was packed up and he was moving to Indiana to live with his sister. Well poo. There goes my Karaoke partner.

He's in!

Skylar qualified for the Pepsi tournament for bowling. He was very excited to hear his name announced. The little old lady who runs the kids league told me to not tell him but he's got some awards coming too for high series and such. He bowled pretty good on Saturday...around 80 every game with 88 being his highest.

I knocked out another 152 last night first game. Mau bowled a 158 the 2nd game and we totally blew the last game, giving the other team the win. I was hoping to win all 3 only because the girl we played against talks a lot of shit and it would have been funny. Winning 2 was enough though watching her stomp her feet, sit there pouting, throw her ball purposely into the gutter just because we were winning. She then bowled a 192 and that whole game her mouth just kept going..."Haha we're creaming you guys.". Hmmm, didn't you just roll 2 games under 100 which you lost? Creaming us is a slight overstatement. Before we even started playing she was saying how they had all 3 games. Her husband is nice but she's not a very good sport, as you can see, which is one of the reasons I hate bowling against them. We play another complainer next week. 2 guys and the one is pretty cool and the other blames his poor bowling on everything but himself. "This lane is fucked up. Mom, there's something wrong with this lane, look at my score.". It gets annoying. He's that girl's brother (wow, how can you tell?) and their mom runs the league. I got my name on the sheet though for high series last week. Yay!

We got the tree and got a deal on it. It smells so so good and looks nice. We also put up half the lights outside. The rest require a ladder which Mau nearly fell off last night.

He's a cheater

Skylar cheated on his first test. It was his German test 2 weeks ago and he copied off a piece of paper in his desk. I am not sure if he knew it was wrong at the time but he admitted it to his German teacher then to us (when I asked why his German teacher called us). She spoke with him and we chewed him out and he retook the test getting a "G" (meaning gut/good like a "B" I guess). Well, last night Shi Fu calls Skylar to let him know his German teacher in this small city knows April, who of course told Shi Fu. Shi Fu discussed it with him for awhile while we tried not to laugh as Skylar kept saying "Yes sir" "No sir". Poor kid. He then asked Skylar to be in a demo next week for the boy scouts or some such group.

It's time to put up the Xmas lights. It's extremely tight this year due to Mau being basically out of work for 5 months. We really can't afford groceries, much less Xmas. His current job is getting better, meaning he's getting better shifts but it still doesn't cut it. I have been putting aside a few dollars here and there so we can get a tree and I was able to get skate shoes for Sky for half price. My dad sent money to get him bowling shoes, which I also found on sale. I settled on a winter coat for him for $15...the one I really wanted for him was $40 but he really needed a coat since the one he's worn for 2 years is too small now. Mau's shoes have holes in the bottom so that's what he's getting and I really need a shirt or 2 that fits me. Losing over 30 lbs is awesome but it's a problem when none of my clothes fit me anymore and clothes aren't in the budget. My pants from last year fall down to my knees and my belt is too big to make them work. On the flip side, Mau is gaining weight (yeah that's right, he weighs more than me now and I rub it in, trust me...I have waited a long time for this day) so he needs bigger clothes. Hmmm, maybe I should just make him wear my old pants huh? Can he pull off girl pants?