I wouldn’t say it was an unlucky day.

Friday the 13th, for me, has always been a good day. This time, it was shaping up to be an awesome, fun-filled day. Sara and Adam had agreed a while ago to come with me to the gay bar to see the annual drag pageant. One of our classmates, Jon was supposed to be competing and they wanted to see him all decked out. A couple days ago, it looked like they were going to back out as Sara claimed that she could only get a babysitter for her son up to 2300. But then in the morning she texted me saying that she was going so I assumed that she was good to go for an all-nighter. She even asked if I wanted to catch dinner and some bowling. Sounds like fun to me. Also in the plan was to meet Lee and Jamie, who are coworkers of mine, at the bar.

So things went to hell.

I was anticipating meeting up at 1830 for dinner but we had to wait for Adam who didn’t show up until 1945. That was pushing the time since it was would be another half hour to get to Mishawaka for dinner. That wouldn’t leave much time for bowling, so dinner was scrapped for some finger food at a bowling alley in Niles. I believe I have said it before on this blog, but I don’t bowl very often. I’d say more than five, but less than ten, so I can still use my hands to count how any times I’ve done it. We ended up playing three games. I won the first and last but we all suck so that’s not saying too much. I did bowl my best ever. 110. Woo hoo. I finally broke the triple digits.

When we were done, Sara asked me if there was anyone that I was planning to meet up at the gay bar. She needed to know if I had a way to get home. Errr… Sara was my ride home. Turns out that she still had to get her kid by 2300 and that she was planning to just sit there for a few minutes to check out Jon and then go home. I was pissed. It was around 2130 and so I told them we needed to book it back home so I could get my car which would put me at least 45 minutes late to the pageant. So since she had to drive me all the way home, she just thought it best that she not go—but that I should take pictures and send them to her.

Ugh.

By the time I got home, got my car, stopped by the gas station and ATM, I was nearly an hour late. I had estimated that the pageant would only be two hours or less. Really. The ones on television are only about that long and they’ve got like 50+ contestants. This place would have three maybe four. Thankfully I was wrong as it ended up going for almost four.

It turns out that our classmate, Jon, wasn’t in the show as I spotted him in the audience with his friends. I had a little short chat with him. He told me that he was going to do it next year. To be honest, I’m not sure he quite remembers me. He never did use my name and never asked me anything more than my general welfare. I took an empty seat near the side bar but still within earshot of him. I was ignored for the rest of the show. Ass.

While I did see Jon, Lee and Jamie were nowhere to be found. They skipped out and I wasn’t too happy. Jon, the only person that I know, didn’t seem to care that I was there and there was no one else that I knew. The best conversation that I had was with the lesbo next to me while we were making some snarky comments about a contestant (who seem incapable of smiling).

The pageant itself was very entertaining. I think that my only gripe with it was that so much of it was lip-synching and trolling for money. Seeing a drag queen shaking hips, lips, and pointing to people can only last so long before it gets boring. But there were a few numbers that seemed more creative and even artistic. The person that I thought did the best job ended up winning. It was very much deserved.

So this may be my last posting for a while. I am about to upgrade my computer. It’s no spring chicken and it has plenty of programs on it. I heard that it can take up to a day. Geeze, I hope it’s not nearly as bad as that.

Yeah, they suck because God abandoned them.

I've been fed up with Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis for a long time. Not that I'm really complaining that the university is hanging on to him. I'm not exactly a fan of the Irish. I like them but I don't cheer them on unless they are playing Michigan or Purdue. Rumors are going around that Weis will be fired at the end of the season. Maybe if they're spanked by Pitts it'll be even sooner.

There was a minor article and unsurprisingly there were negative comments of the coach and ND. A lot of those comments, I thought, were reasonable. One I thought was ridiculous:

ND is not and will never be the same university that won all those games in past years. Not because of coaches or players. It's the university that has changed. It has lost it's grounding in God's word. That is the reason for it's failure. It was once great because it was good. It is now a liberal Politically Correct Program, not a university.

I really hate it when people try to infer that when things happen in this world, it is because of God. God is blessing you when good things happen (because you're good too) or he's cursing you when bad things happen (because you're behaving like the devil). It's like when that televangelist (I forget his name at the moment) blamed Hurricane Katrina because of America's sinful behavior. Or how about the Phelps clan thanking God for dead soldiers because of all the homos. If that were true, you'd think that God could have better aim and actually flooded the French Quarter instead, of you know--EVERYTHING ELSE. Or maybe God could actually strike down those queers with lighting bolts instead of straight soldiers being torn into by IEDs.

So hear that ND people? Behave yourself and God just might come down from the sky and help you win a game. I have it on good authority that he's an Irish fan.

Bad Times for Work, Food, and Play

There’s been a lull at work lately and they have been giving the option for people to leave early. I was asked if I wanted to go home but I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. So it’s been pretty nice to catch up on some work and if this continues into next week, I can probably start implementing some changes to a few spreadsheets that I compile.

I’ve experimented with going to the Y before work versus going to the Y after work. I haven’t been liking either option. In the morning, I’m so dead tired. Also when I get there, the only people that are there are the old people or the gym rats. Both crowds make me uneasy. The plus side is that the place isn’t crowded. The evening is the pits. People are everywhere and so are those damn kids. Mostly I don’t like it because I end up having to wait until 8pm until I can get dinner at home.

I started running again. Okay “run” might not be the best word. You should see me. I’m sure it’s funny looking. So far, it’s been short as my side feels unsure and it tires me out pretty fast. Still, I manage to walk for about 40 minutes.

Last week I vowed to cut out fast food and managed to keep away until this evening. Here’s what happened: My exit was closed on the freeway so I had to take a detour through Buchanan. As I was driving through the business strip there, I got a craving for a coke. Without even thinking about it, I swung in and got myself a combo meal. Scary. I crave fast food and my body automatically takes me to it.

DC Sniper Execution

Back in 2002 there were a series of sniper shootings in and around Washington, DC. Over the course of a few weeks, the area was gripped with fear and ten people ended up losing their lives. John Allen Muhammad and his teenaged accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo were caught and put on trial in Virginia. Muhammad was found guilty in his trial and sentenced to death. Maryland also found him guilty of the murders that he committed in their jurisdictions. Apparently his convictions and sentences handed down by these two states were enough and no other jurisdictions sought to bring him to trial. This evening, John Allen Muhammad was executed by lethal injection.

Michigan does not have the death penalty and it’s a point of pride that we were one of the earliest to reject it. Attempts to introduce the death penalty have always been defeated and I have said that if it were to ever be put on a ballot, I will vote no. But while I can make that decision based on my personal beliefs, when I hear of John Allen Muhammad and his predicament, I have very little sympathy. Considering how monstrous some people can be, I would even say that their execution is deserved.

OJ With Pulp

I went grocery shopping after work on Friday and while I was near the dairy case, I was looking over the selection of orange juices. There's a brand that I normally pick up. It's slightly more expensive than some of the other brands but they provide more of what the others do and that is... pulp. I love pulpy orange juice. But on that day, another brand was being sold at a significant discount. Oh it has pulp in it and it will do and it still tastes great.

For now, there's a poll to the side. Do you like orange juice? If so, how do you like it?

Came This Close to Another Blogger

Like I said previously, I don't blogroll every blog that I visit. There are actually a couple people around these parts that I do read. One of them is Mo. Now I have never seen any of these people, at least I'm not aware that I have but this evening I realized that I may have been standing next to Mo a number of days ago at the Niles Walmart. Normally, I use the self-check out lanes but I opted that time to use the regular checks stands toward the grocery end. He was there with another gentleman and I kept looking at him because he seemed familiar but at the time I couldn't place him. Now that I just checked out his site, it hit me--I had the opportunity to meet another blogger and I missed it. Okay, even if I did realize who it was, I might not have actually said anything. It would be cool to have someone come up to me and say that they read my blog. It would also be a tad horrifying because they would have me at a disadvantage. I dunno... it's just weird. Maybe next time though.

PostSecret at Western

I don't blogroll every blogs that I visit on a regular basis. One of my favorites that is not listed is PostSecret. Basically, people send in postcards containing one of their secrets to the site owner, Frank Warren. A selection of these secrets get posted on the site on Sundays. It's hard to put into words just how much some of these secrets affect me so if you haven't already seen the site, please check it out.

Last night I went to Kalamazoo as Frank was speaking there. My sister goes to Western Michigan University so she was able to get me a ticket. It was a very enjoyable event and it seemed entirely too short. Plus, it was nice to have a little more information on PostSecret--how it came to be started, how it has affected Frank's life (and even his mom's), and even the carrier who delivers these postcards. At the end of his presentation, Frank invited members of the audience to come forward and confess their secrets. Some of them were heartbreaking and some hilarious. I'd repeat them here but there not my secrets to tell.

Election Day 2009

Today is the first Tuesday in November which means the polls are open all across the country. I’m staying up late this evening to watch the numbers come in for some interesting races and referenda. I did not vote today. While I will not miss an election that deals with a political office, I tend not to vote in off years. Usually the only thing that will be on a ballot will be a request for millage increase or some other such nonsense which usually gets voted down anyways. This year, was pretty much moot as there was nothing on the ballot this year. But let’s get to some of the local stuff.

The RTA tax was voted down overwhelmingly in St. Joe County. The proposal was to raise the local income tax another quarter percent. Folks around here are already pissed when their local income taxes were more than doubled beginning last month. I, too, was included in that because I work in St. Joe. Whether or not I would be exempted from this hike, I’m not sure. The tax was basically about upgrading and consolidating the South Shore Line which is the rail line connecting South Bend and Chicago. 95% voted against raising their taxes.

Galien’s Road Millage Proposal passed with 85%. I don’t know what plans they have but if puts an end to all this chip n’ seal, I’ll be happy. Best part is that while I use the roads in the township, I technically live just outside the borders so the millage wouldn’t affect me. Oh wait… I don’t own property so it doesn’t affect me anyways. Yay!

Mike Nofs took Michigan’s State Senate seat for the 19th District. It’s a sweet piece of candy as the Republicans only have a hold on the Senate. The governorship and the State House of Representative are firmly in the grip of the Democrats. Could this be a sign of what’s to come next year when all senate and house seats come up for grabs?

One of the more interesting races was, or rather still is as of this posting, New York’s 23’rd Congressional District. They are having a special election as the seat was vacated by Congressman John McHugh (R) to serve Obama’s administration. Local Republican party leaders chose to select Diedre Scozzafava to run against the Democrat’s Bill Owens. Now this district has been firmly in Republican control in the past but the Dems have been eyeing it. If the Dems win it, it would reduce the Republicans to only two seats in the state’s Congressional delegation. Scozzafava was probably chosen in hopes of capturing the moderate to liberal vote, keeping the district in the Republican column. She has been known to be on the liberal wing of the party with her support for same-sex marriage and abortion. This caused some outrage with the party base and Doug Hoffman came up and ran under the Conservative Party hoping to bump off Scozzafava. A split between the Conservative (Republican) and the Liberal (Republican) would have seemed disastrous for the party as Bill Owens would be able to swoop in. Scozzafava, the other day, chose to suspend her campaign but in a spiteful move to her party, she threw her support to Democrat Bill Owens. Last report has Bill Owens taking NY-23.

The Republicans are having better luck with the New Jersey and Virginia governorships. Virginia was a knock out with Republican Bob McDonnell defeating Democrat Creigh Deeds with 60%. Virginia has been as sore spot since the normally Republican state was secured by Obama in the last election.

New Jersey was setting up to be a nail biter. Polls up to election day showed Rep. Chris Christie and Dem. Governor Jon Corzine virtually neck and neck. New Jersey is a Democrat stronghold--the bluest of the blue and the fact that they would vote a Republican almost makes you do a double take. Perhaps if Corzine wasn’t seen as an epic failure, he could have kept his seat.

I suspect that I will be going to bed without knowing the results of Maine’s Question 1. A Yes vote would cancel out the legislature’s act to allow gay marriage. After a despicable campaign ad focused on scare tactics, the anti-gay marriage groups were able to close the gap. Exit polls are showing the YES and NO side at half and half.

Although President Obama is still polling with a relatively high approval ratings, there are questions about whether or not these races are a sort of referendum on him. The White House has already made sure to insulate itself as much as it can from this. The standard line will be that these are all local races made with local concerns. Perhaps that is true but then again there’s seems to be a larger backlash against all the policy points that are coming out of the White House and the Democratic Party. Bush’s economic mess has now become this administration’s and I think that people aren't getting or seeing the changes they were hoping for.