Behind the looking glass

Yesterday Wendy, Joy, and I went to the zoo along with Wendy's brother, sister in law and their 3 year old. It was an okay time.

We left the house around 8 am because the zoo did not open until 9. The drive down is not bad, from our map, it is basically down 64 west. We get to zoo about 9:30. Already I see a bunch of cars in the parking lot. I say that it looks crowded, but Wendy says it does not too bad. We park in the Africa lot because that is the part of the zoo that Wendy had heard it was best to start with.

After bathroom breaks, we make our way through the trails. Strollers were pushed uphill and then glided downhill. I have no idea how far we walked. I could not even tell you the animals we saw. Most of them had their butt to us.

Once we finished walking through Africa, it was time to come to North America. We stopped for lunch at the area between Africa and North America. It was crowded and we scrambled to find a table. Fortunately, we found one and it was somewhat out of the sun. Wendy's brother and I hunted down our lunch. We picked up chicken tenders for the ladies and guys had burgers. I had contemplated getting a salad and muffin, but the muffin was $3. So I thought no way. I was going to get a chicken sandwich, but one was not in the line. The moment I picked up my burger, the server came by and asked if anyone wanted a chicken sandwich. Oh well, the burger was cheaper. We eat our meal and get some ice cream cones.

Wendy's nephew wanted to see a Dora show. So they stand in line for an hour to see a 10 minute program. They said it was worth though. The line was in an open area and people, mainly small children, are expected to stand in it?

Wendy, Joy, and I venture off to part of North America to an exhibit we thought we missed in Africa. After visiting that, we came back and still wanted a few minutes for the family to get out of the show.

Then we take a tram to North America, to see the bears. By this time it is almost 4 and the zoo closes at 5. We walk around more and then it is time to go. We talk about taking the tram, but figure we will walk since the line was long. We make it back to the car and head home with our safari ended.

It did not rain on us, I was surprised. The kids hung in there. Joy only took a 20 minute nap while we waited for them to get out of the show. I was shocked there was so much to do. We were out all day and on the move. It was pretty good to see nature in a manufactured natural way.

A picture is worth a 1000 attempts

I have to respect the people who take plenty of pictures and are able to upload them. Then use the pictures in creative ways or as their avatar for the social media of choice.

Most of the time I leave a picture in place for a long period of time. I do not take many pictures personally. Wendy is pretty good about taking pictures. Sometimes I will snag one she took and use it for desktop at work.

However, some pictures I have the hardest time formatting with the screen. They look stretched or blurry. Is it something I am doing wrong. I have for the past two recent pictures tried to set them as my background. It is not working like I want. I am not sure if the resolution is off. If so how do I fix it?

So I still have on my computer a semi recent picture from Easter. That one formatted without any trouble. It has become my stand by for now.

I figure a picture with me in needs all the help it can get.

Trippin'

Wendy and Joy are visiting Wendy's parents for a couple of days. It has been awhile since they have since Joy. Granted they saw her on Mother's day, but that was a few weeks ago. Plus it will be a few weeks before we could make it that way.

My brother left last night to go to Florida and Alabama. He is watching some kind of big concert.

The farthest I am probably going in the next few days is the three miles to work.

Pym and proper

For those that do not get the reference I will talking about ants! Henry Pym is a character in the Marvel universe known as Ant-Man.

Just another creature that has taken residence near our building. I guess with all the rain we have become Noah's Ark.

Ants have invaded and are just hanging around. Maybe with high unemployment rate they are looking for jobs too.

You don't like me when I am angry...why I have no friends

That is an extremely long title so I apologize about that.

I am having one of those days when I am not happy. It is one of those days when I feel frustrated. I admit I am overreacting a little bit.

I pull into the parking lot at work and realize I forgot to bring something for my brother, whom I am meeting after work. Good news is I only live a few miles away from the building. Still a hassle. How do I forget to do the one thing I have been thinking about doing for days?

At work while opening up the building one of the lights in the kitchen area is out. SO I proceed to change that. The screen in the frame starts to slide out of the frame. Fortunately, it did not come all the way out. But I have to replace the frame. The bulb was hard to get out of the socket and put back in. However, it did come on. So for the most part, there were hassles, but they were overcome.

Recently I have not felt satisfied. Things are getting more on my nerves. I feel like I am not communicating well with those around me. Like what I am saying is not making any sense. I am sure it is my delivery. I do not have the greatest diction or thought pattern. Evidence 1A for the jury.

The easy thing is the I can control my actions, the hard thing is controlling my actions. I am pretty influenced by external sources. So if things do not go well, then I do not go well.

You last your whole lifetime, circumstances last about two minutes. A good life is what is put into it not taken out.

Will I still mope and need to be slapped around a little bit? Probably. The good news is that I am not as alone as I sometimes feel and I have someone to slap me around.

Black and blue

I often, okay always, get dressed in a hurry. I try to not spend too much time looking at the clothes I put on. There are special occasions when I choose more carefully what I wear, mainly when Wendy happens to see what I previously put on.

The other morning I grab a pair of socks from the drawer. Then I get to work and glance down and see that one is blue and one is black. My pants covered the mix up and I sit behind a desk, so no one commented. The pathetic thing is that I have done that before. Because I know I washed this socks. This means I put the wrong pair together at least twice!

Well if you cannot be good, then be consistent.

See snake

It is another case of Hiss and Hers. That is right it is that time of year for the serpents to slither forth. At my place of employment there is woods behind us. Plus we have bushes and pine straw to surround our landscape. So each year around this time snakes come up and suntan out on our sidewalks. So when the employees come in and out they are greeted with a new lawn ornament.

Then it is up to my department to drive them away. I am not a big fan of snakes, but I do what I can. The other day people saw two. The first did not put up much of a fight. My supervisor kept an eye on the snake while I got a shovel and yard rake. If you do not watch the snake, it will slither away and hide. Then we have no chance of finding it. So I return with the tools. We prod at, pick up (with the tools), and shoo the snake. We send it back to the woods, since it was a black snake and can help control the vermin population. This was first thing in the morning.

Later in the morning, someone gets me and says there is another snake. The first was on the main sidewalk. This was one was on another sidewalk. By the time I got outside it was already in the bushes. I tried to get it with the rake, but could not. So I lost that one. I searched for a few minutes, but it was gone.

Then after lunch someone called saying she saw a snake reclining against the building. By the time I was out there, it was gone.

It might be time to incorporate snake handling into our Baptist worship. Either that or learn how to cook them and have that for our next staff luncheon.

On a semi related topic of wondering animals. We have geese that keep leaving deposits at our front door. Fortunately, they have not learned to lit it on fire yet.

On the shopping block

Yesterday Wendy, Joy, and I made up with a friend at one of the malls. We have not been to this mall in quite awhile. Now I think I know why. It felt packed. The parking lot was full and it took us awhile to find a place. It was one of those parking garages. At one point we had to wait about two minutes for a person waiting to get a spot. We made it into the mall and there were more people. I doubt it would work, but they need devoted mall lanes of traffic, like the HOV lanes.

We spent most of the afternoon walking around. Better than spending money I guess. Not that we could afford too much. We did take advantage, along with several other people, the half price frappuccino deal at Starbucks.

The part that was a little irritating about the mall, besides the crowd, was the search for the restroom. I had to walk the mall just to find a restroom. I must have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. One time when I had to change Joy's diaper I had to walk down four hallways to get to the restroom. I told Wendy I should write that thank you for having such long hallways, now I can pee and just float down the hallway. The family restroom was locked and you had to be buzzed in. I thought that was not worth it. One good thing was that the changing table in the men's restroom was out of the way and I did not have to stand in a urinal.

Who knew that people liked to shop on a Saturday? The malls apparently.

Then Wendy, Joy, and I went to a discount place and bought some clothes for around 3 dollars a piece. Now that is retail therapy.

Limited site

You never realize how much you miss something until it is not there. A couple of websites I visit have been down. I keep trying and thinking that something will change.

The question is am I going to the website more since I am trying to get it to work or do I really visit those sites that much?

Stay tuned for an impotent message

I had a horrible day yesterday. Now granted it was probably my attitude. I am sure that I was not at my happiest. It was one of those days that you actually think, "Wow, it something happened to me, it could only improve."

It started off with something I had planned to do not working. Then it deepened into a desire not to be at work. While at work everything I touched seemed to go kaput. I felt like I had no answers for the questions people were asking. Mercifully the day ended. I am in one piece. Who knows about my psyche?

Attitude does have a lot to do with the outlook on the day. If I am in a bad mood, then it does not take much to set me off. If I am in a good mood, then it takes a few more things.

Today has been better. Which is bizarre because it is Friday the 13th, seen as a bad luck day. So far so good anyway. Or bad for the 13th.

The mother of all tributes

I know I am several days late with this...

Happy Mother's Day! They say better late than never.

I hope if you are a momma or have a momma that you/she had a fantastic day. It is a day when we joke about having to get cards, flowers, and other gifts. Because we know if we do not give those things...well if momma ain't happy, then nobody's happy.

Most moms will tell you the material things don't matter. Sure they love receiving it, but who wouldn't. I think, now I am a male so my opinion of women is often wrong, that spending time with the family is gift they enjoy. For women who have children outside the home this most applies. For the women who spend everyday with their family, they enjoy seeing the dad in a feeble attempt to care for the children.

Mother's Day is special because the majority of mother's get the treatment, only temporarily, they deserve. They are honored and celebrated. We love it because seeing the smile on their face...well it beats the alternative.

Hypocritical oath

I promise to do no harm....to myself.

I promise to change my mind constantly.

It is only a problem if it affects me.

When it comes to posting information I know I am a hypocrite. I constantly check for updates on websites that I visit. Most of the time they do pretty well about staying new. I have a hard time updating my own information. Fortunately, I do not have a multitude of readers waiting to see what I have to say.

Most of the time I feel like I have nothing to report. The other times, I feel like I have something wonderful to share, but I forget what it was. Most of been really important then?

With a face like that you need talent

Wendy and I were halfway watching American Idol last night. She was on the laptop and I was reading. Who did they drag up to "guide" the contestants? Lady Gaga. She would not even make it own the show as a contestant and yet because she has eight number ones, there she is. Anyway, what is the deal with her face? I know she is infamous for her outfits. But in my opinion, she looked awful. The getup sure went on that outfit. It made her face look like she was 80. Her eyes and teeth looked awful.

I know I am not one to judge on appearance, but Lady Gaga wanted to make me Really Gaggag.