Was That A Compliment?

* As I was waiting in the parking garage for my truck to come down, a very respectable looking man in a business suit approaches me and nods his head, so I politely nod back. He casually comes over and stands next to me with a smile on his face. I don't feel threatened and he doesn't even seem like a weirdo...maybe just one of those real nice guys who doesn't know a stranger. He says "How's it going?" like we've been friends for some time. I politely say "Good. Glad the day's over." Then, he asks me if I'm an attorney. I tell him no, and he says "Really? You look like an attorney." He's being friendly and a little soft spoken...so I think he was just simply trying to strike up a conversation...maybe a new guy in town trying to meet people...but it was kind of weird. Luckily, about that time, his truck is brought to him so he says "See ya later man" and leaves. So of course, my mind is racing, overanalyzing this encounter, and I think...is that a compliment? What does it mean to look like an attorney??

* Question. Can you lose your man card if you get a pedicure? A very clean cut guy I work with admitted today that he went with his wife to get a pedicure. He said he sort of felt uncomfortable, like he was gay or something, but he actually really enjoyed it! He's definitely the metrosexual type, so maybe pedicures are ok for those types. However, picture this...I'm out in the woods somewhere with some buddies of mine, and we're all decked out in our camo hunting gear (I've never been hunting) with face paint, the same underwear we had on 3 days ago when we started the hunting trip, all carrying guns and wearing deer urine scent on our clothing...spitting in the fire, scratching ourselves, lettin 'er rip, peeing on trees...ya know, acting like guys do when the girls aren't around....and then I pull off my boot and sock and show a perfectly pedicured foot and I say "Hey guys, check it out. I got a pedicure and it truly felt sensational!" I believe I'd be staring down the end of 3 rifles listening to threats and being called names I think I'd prefer not to be called. I don't know...what do you think? Can you lose your man card over something like this?

* Last Friday night I went with my uncle to Texas Motor Speedway. WOW! I was truly in awe the entire 4-5 hours I was there. When we first arrived, Danika Patrick and the rest of the Indy cars were practicing. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw how fast those cars drive, with such amazing skill to be going around a corner at 215MPH only 3 inches away from another Indy car going the same speed, and they don't touch each other!! It is impossible to appreciate the speeds that these cars travel from watching it in tv. Also, if you don't wear some sort of ear protection, it is so loud, I think your ears would literally be bleeding by the end of the night. We had headphones and a radio so we could hear the drivers and announcers. It was very cool! After the Indy cars practiced, we saw the NASCAR Trucks race. Man, that was so much fun!! I loved it!! Jack Sprague ended up winning (Jeff, you may be the only one who even knows who that is), but for probably 90% or more of the race, Mike Skinner was leading by a mile. I was cheering for Ron Hornaday ( I think he races for Kevin Harvick's team?? If so, I think I will start following Kevin Harvick in the Nextel. Is that respectable Jeff?). Ron started out in like 20th place, and the whole race I watched him work his way up, and he was the only car to finally beat out Mike Skinner and then stay ahead until he had to pit. Anyway...I HIGHLY recommend going to a race. It is awesome!! Bring some ear protection, and bring your own beer. It's a good thing they don't do sobriety testing when you leave the parking lot...I dont think anyone would be allowed to leave!

* Last Saturday, I took my family to Cabela's...an outdoors store like Bass Pro Shop. It is a really cool place. If you're ever in the area, set aside an hour or two to go check it out. It's fun for all ages and genders, whether you're interested in hunting/fishing/camping equipment or not. There's so much other stuff to see! They have taxidermied animals in various exhibits all over the place...and I don't mean they just stood a deer up in the middle of the aisle. It's like going through a museum. The kids loved it!! The have a stream in the middle of the store with trout sitting in the current trying to catch food to eat. It's really neat! They also have a huge aquarium exhibit you walk through and see all sorts of game fish.

* Jenn and the girls have been in Wacky Falls since Tuesday. Her dad had heart surgery to clean out one of his main arteries that was clogged over 80%. He's doing good and will most likely go home Friday. So I've been a bachelor almost the entire week. I miss my four girls (and baby Favre in the oven) and I'm ready for them to be home, but I also enjoyed the brief time at home alone. Tonight I cried. Twice. Why, you ask? Well, when I got home from work, I sat in my recliner in the living room in front of the TV and I watched the rest of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again. Oh my gosh...that is some of the funniest stuff I have heard in a while!! Larry the Cable Guy made me cry TWICE I was laughing so hard!! I won't repeat the jokes that made me cry, but if you've seen that...you probably have an idea of what I'm talking about. I like Ron White too...I laughed pretty hard when he said his dog ran away for ten hours...gone all day long...so when he finally came home, just to piss him off, he took him for a walk!! HA! GIT 'ER DONE!!!!

Some Thoughts and Highlights

*I started the week off with a fun-filled visit to the dentist in hopes of curing my excruciating toothache. First thing Monday morning, Dr. Beck drilled a hole in my tooth and dug the nerve out! Root canals are awesome!! Just kidding. In all seriousness, they really aren't bad. I've had two now (because I grind my teeth and kill them) and I've gone immediately back to work afterwards, pain-free! If you ever have to get a root canal, don't sweat it. It's not really that big of a deal. I did start to get a little paranoid about cleanliness at the dentist office. I noticed that Dr. Beck didn't wear gloves, and he seemed to go from room to room without washing his hands. I hope I'm wrong... :)
*A few weeks ago, Cara, all by herself, said I could throw her pacifier in the trash and she hasn't asked for it since!! Amazing!
*I finally fixed my AC in my pickup, so I'm going to sell it and buy a Jeep Wrangler or CJ-7. Wahoo!
*We've decided to decorate the baby's room in farm stuff. My brother is a very talented artist, so I want him to come over and paint a barn and some tractors and some farm animals on a wall in the nursery. Whaddya think?
*We still haven't come up with a name for our son. I'm predicting we will decide in the first few moments of his life outside of the womb. AGH!!
*Is it just me, or do those membership cards at grocery stores make you uncomfortable. I don't like the idea of them tracking my purchases. I'm anti-Big Brother. I would rather pay more for my groceries than give in to that invasion of privacy. For the record, I have NEVER signed up for one of those, and I never will.
*My free 3 months of movie channels on DirecTV is about to expire...I'm somewhat depressed over that.
*What is the deal with modern day cartoons? Every single one of them is about people and their lives with all of this drama and stuff...or they're about fighting the bad guys in outer space...or the characters speak rudely enough that you don't want your young children watching them. Whatever happened to the good ol' cartoons? As I was watching Tom & Jerry the other night with my kids, I realized how incredibly genius that cartoon is! The central theme is very simply...comedy! You don't hear words and you don't have to try to figure out who is who. It's a simple game of cat and mouse with perpetual mishaps, one right after the other. Colorful and very funny. But why do kids watch cartoons more than adults? And why do most of today's cartoons seem to be adult cartoons? I think adults see things from a conceptual basis and kids see all the details. Think about it. When you read a child a book, you see a nice picture and when you finish the words, you just turn the page and look for more words, not paying much attention to the pictures. However, when you try to turn the page, the child is still fascinated by the details in the picture. We just see an overall picture, but the child is fascinated by the tiny raindrops on the grass and the prickly caterpillar on the leaf. Maybe we think the old concept of cat-and-mouse chasing is boring, so we think we have to create a new cartoon that is more advanced, but what we end up with is a cartoon that doesn't hold the attention of our children. There are some good modern-day cartoons and Disney movies (cartoons), but MOST of teh time when my children watch one of these, they must also have toys to play with to help keep them stimulated. However, when I watch Tom & Jerry with my kids, their eyes are glued to the TV, they don't blink, and they laugh every few seconds. It is awesome! I think I will introduce them to the Looney Tunes! Does any of this make sense or am I just rambling? The next time you watch a cartoon, try to imagine how a child sees it, and see if you don't find more humor in it!