A Day Without Facebook

Today I am taking the day off from Facebook. Anyone who is my friend on said application knows that I am a consistent “status update” kind of guy. I do it possibly 6-10 times a day. Now you would think that because I update my status so much that I would just Twitter and be done with it. However I find Twitter to be…I dunno…impersonal? All of the people on Facebook are my friends. Not that the few followers I have on Twitter aren’t my friends, but everyone on Facebook who hasn’t hidden me yet are DEFINITELY my friends or coworkers or people that I have met or want to meet or whatever. And I assume that they find my updates to be amusing. And I can be creative on Facebook. I can’t seem to find anything I want to Twitter about because it seems that all of my friends are on Facebook. And even my friends on Twitter know that I don’t tweet(?) that often so they don’t even look for me there anymore (right DL?).

So anyway…today I’m going Facebook-less. And so far I’m not missing it. As a matter of fact, I’m getting a lot done! I’ve done my banking, had some breakfast, set up the Christmas tree, done some packing for the weekend and now I’m gonna write some blogs and then make a trip to the store for some shopping before I get the kiddies from school and then start our Christmas decorating! It’s been nice not updating my status every 30 minutes or so.

But truth be told…I do kinda miss all my friends.

Now…I wonder if they miss me?

Blogging 101: Thick Skin & Lady GaGa

Or…How Lady GaGa taught me how to love my blog…

I recently had a friend ask me about starting a blog. She asked me…”What should I know?”  Well…a long, long time ago, I kind of made a list of what you should do when blogging…but that was before Lady Gaga. And what does Lady GaGa have to do with blogging? Well…if anything, she has shown me that you have to be very thick-skinned.

On March 27, 2009, I read an article in now-defunct “Blender” magazine that was an interview with pop singer Lady GaGa. In the article, she was quoted saying several things that I found to be somewhat obnoxious for an artist just getting out of the gate. I called her out on it in my “What The Heck…” series (one of my favorite series’ of posts, I might add). Since then, not only have I gotten a shitload of hits (I went from averaging 450 hits a day to over 1,500) from people “Googling” her image which I posted with the article, but I’ve also gotten a boatload of comments from people who either agree with me or who think I’m a complete woman-hating schmuck.  I have re-read the post and I still don’t disagree with what I said, but it is interesting other people’s interpretation of it and THAT is where I would tell my friend to be careful when blogging.

Initially I was taken aback by what some people thought of my comments. Then when all the hits started, I figured I didn’t care. Then I took it personally. Then I thought about it and decided that this was good for me. It keeps me in the mindset that everyone has a different opinion about things and as it has gone along, I have actually learned a few things about myself through that blog. So…in a way, Lady GaGa has taught me a few things about myself. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson about blogging…you gotta have thick skin or else you will get eaten alive.

There are people out there who have strong opinions, whether you feel they are right or wrong, and they will comment and they will say rude things and they will rain on your parade. It’s in our nature to want to be heard and some people will say anything just to get on your nerves. It’s also in our nature to want to be able to say anything just because we can. I admit, sometimes when I write a blog, I write it without thinking about it. Sometimes I just let it out without much thought to who would care about WHAT I say. But then you find out that sometimes it’s best to save your post, then come back and re-read it later to see if what you wrote actually conveys what you are trying to say. I have been guilty of publishing something too quickly and then wishing I hadn’t. Although I admit…the Lady GaGa post is NOT one of them. Anyway, in order to enjoy the process of blogging and being creative, I guess the most important rule is to understand that not everyone is going to agree and they will argue and call you names and they will leave rude comments and it’s all up to you to decide how you handle that kind of criticism.

I am a blogger. I write down my thoughts and my ideas and I post pictures because I enjoy it. If some people find what I write to be offensive or disparaging they don’t have to return. They can continue on their merry way and I won’t care one way or another. But occasionally there is an interesting debate that comes along and I find it fascinating. And THAT is the reason I blog…to make a connection. Not to be argumentative or to be bitchy. I do it because I can connect with my family, with my friends and with the occasional stranger who passes by and actually reads what my thoughts are. Maybe they agree, maybe they disagree, but either way…they are reading and hopefully enjoying what I put out there. But really…it’s all about me and my thoughts & ideas. And it doesn’t really matter what they think of me…because it’s MY blog and I can do what I want with it.

So there’s my advice…do what you want and say what you want. But be aware that not everyone will agree with you and if you can accept that…you’ll be just fine.

Have fun typing Julie! And let me know if you need any help!

I’m A 2 Star Blog With 5 Star Potential

Why only 5? Why not 12?

I started playing around with WordPress the other day (because I had nothing better to do and I was all caught up on reading my friends’ blogs and doing all the OTHER stuff that fills my days) and found that I could actually allow people to give me a Star Rating on each individual post. I didn’t know I could do that! So now it is up to you…

1 Star = I suck big time and I should give it up.

2 Stars = This blog had so much potential but missed it by thaaaaaaat much.

3 Stars = Not bad, but I obviously missed a critical point in the storyline and you have no idea what I am talking about.

4 Stars = Nicely done. Well organized and thoughts were written coherently. Also a couple of funny moments that wrapped the story up neatly and without ambiguity.

5 Stars!!! = I am awesome.

So whaddayasay? Do I have what it takes to survive in this dog-eat-dog blog world? Or is this site another Cracker Jack site with the occasional cool prize but usually they all suck and are thrown away 3 minutes after they fall out of the box?

I give my brother 5 days before he finds this and marks every story with a 1 star rating…

Ramblings From A Round World

I don’t have a coherent thought in my head right now, so I figured I would just put together an “overall thoughts” blog (like so many of us do) to entertain those few of you who actually stop by here from time to time…

1. Seat Belt Car Alarms
Seriously…I have enough people in my life, from kids to co-workers, who boss me around, the last thing I need is my car yelling at me. So why do the car companies continue to install those damn alarms that continue to go off until I buckle my seat belt? I’m an adult…I’ll buckle up when I’m good and ready! You stupid car horn! I can’t concentrate on my texting/eating/talking on the phone/fixing my hair/changing the station/driving while you’re making that godawful sound! Damn alarms…

2. Forgotten Items
Why is it when I go to the grocery store I can’t just bring a pen? Because my wife hands me a list and I walk down aisle after aisle grabbing stuff on the list except for that ONE item that I totally missed and now I gotta go back to aisle 2 when I’m in aisle 15. So now I have to swim upstream past everyone to get to that item! Damn lists…

3. My Daughter
I love her dearly but seriously…I have no idea what she is talking about half the time. When I take her to school, I listen to her the best I can but mostly it’s just her talking about whatever random thing pops into her noggin and I can’t keep up. For example…today…

Ava: “Daddy…did you know that Michelle and Thomas go to the same school? I don’t think they are in the same class though. I think they are in different classes with different teachers. Who is older? Michelle or Thomas?”

Me: “I’m not sure, honey. I think Michelle. But I don’t know.”

Ava: “Well…who was born first?”

Me: “Well if I knew that I would know who is oldest…right?”

Ava: “Yeah…but I still don’t know who is oldest. If I knew who was oldest I would know they aren’t in the same class but they still go the same school…right?”

Me: “Uh….(long pause)…I think so?”

After 2 or 3 more conversations like that, my brain is mush for the rest of the day.

4. My Wife’s Memory
I think I must be losing my mind because my wife can remember just about every detail of her childhood where I remember almost nothing. Today she told me a story about something that happened to her in the 3rd grade. The THIRD grade. I can’t remember past 2 years ago…let alone what happened when I was 8. Is this a guy/girl thing? I mean…I try to remember what I was doing in early September in the 3rd grade and all I can come up with is an empty part of my brain where there is a monkey sitting in a room who is looking at me and eating a banana. Is that weird? Stupid memory…

5. There is a great need for sarcasm font.
My friend Kim sent me an email with some funny “Random Thoughts” which could have very well been written by myself. I know at any given time I have THOUGHT these things but didn’t have a pen to jot them down with (hence the need for a pen at the grocery). There were so many funny ones that I HAD to share because I’m friendly like that. Here are a few that I thought pertained to me pretty well…Enjoy!

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.

How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous?  Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

“Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that? (See above story)

Aaaaaand…that’s all I got. Enjoy your Tuesday everyone! (I hate Tuesday…)

Today I Read A Sad Post

For the most part, I don’t read a lot of blogs. I have my select group of sites that I visit all the time and that’s pretty much it. I don’t scan the world wide web for other blogs (unless I’ve got nothing else to do, which is not that often) and on that rare occasion that I do find myself with nothing to do, I usually go to sites that my blogger friends recommend. So imagine my surprise this morning when I went to one of my favorite bloggers’ site and it basically said that she was shutting her site down, password protecting it and that “her world has been ripped apart.”

Now the first two I find to be fine. I completely understand if someone decides that they no longer want to do this. It’s time consuming. It can be frustrating. And it can be a huge nuisance when others come to your site and start acting like asshats, leaving angry and sometimes vulgar comments for no reason. So if that is the case, I get it. For me, I started this site not for those few readers who actually do read my blog for social commentary, movie reviews and my appreciation of music (and you both know who you are). And I certainly didn’t start it for the entertainment value (which is about 3 cents on the open market). I started it for my parents & siblings and a few friends who come here to get caught up on my family and what we’re up too. And trust me…I’ve thought about shutting it down several times.

But what I’ve found is that through the last couple of years, I have developed some really good friendships through blogging. Many of the people who I correspond with are really good people who (I imagine) I would really like if I were to ever meet them in the “real” world. And the person who is shutting down her site is one of those people. I’ve never met her, never talked to her in person, never met her husband or kids. But over the past couple of years I’ve seen her kids grow, I’ve read how her life can be wonderful & frustrating all at the same time and how much she enjoys the outdoors. At one point I even allowed this person to take an old high school photo of me and write an entire blog about what a complete goofball I might have been in high school. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me and I got a great laugh out of it! So now that she is going to be gone, I will miss her dearly.

Blogging is such a tough gig. At some point you start to wonder if anyone cares and then you get a comment from out of nowhere that makes it all worth it. When I got started I didn’t even realize what I was getting myself into. But now that I do it, I think I could never go without it. And if I ever DID quit, I know I would miss the friends that I have made here on the world wide web. So today I am sad that I am losing a good friend. She didn’t say what her situation is but it sounded quite desperate and I am worried about her and her family. But even not knowing her situation, I understand what she is doing and I hope & pray that she is okay and maybe someday she’ll open up to us and let us know that they are doing well.

Best of luck Ashley. I will miss your writing and your friendship and if there is ever a time when you need a friend or an ear to bend, consider me here for you!

-Alan

My Daddy Blog

Wow. So…the whole reason I started blogging in the first place was so my Mom & Dad & siblings could keep up with me & my family from afar. I mean, they all live 2.5 hours away and rarely do I get to see them in the winter months, so I figured this would be a good way to communicate and share pictures. So ORIGINALLY that was the plan. And then I got writing about anything and everything on my mind. And then I started sharing my opinions about all things whether I really gave a crap or not. And then…I came full circle and now I’ve almost become a fulltime “daddy blogger”. GAH!

Not that there is anything wrong with that, I suppose. I mean…it WAS my original plan. But geezuz how I’ve been slipping! Nothing new except for pictures and protective cups and music?!? WTF???

So it seems I am in need of a good kick in the butt. But for the life of me I am not feeling the urge to give my opinions on much of anything. My summer has been filled with kids, money anxiety, no travel and lots of work being done on my house. Other than that? I seem to have nuthin’.

So… I ask you…what would you like me to write about? You want a story? I could make up one. You want my opinions on sports? Walter Cronkite? Michael Jackson’s lawsuit? The economy? Hell…ANYTHING? Because I got some serious block going and haven’t been feeling the love. Except for all the wackos who keep badgering me on this stupid blog about Lady Gaga (seriously stupid name folks. Don’t care if she has talent.), I’m getting very few hits. Apparently everyone is busy, including myself.

So give it up! What would you like me to write about? Anyone? Hellooooo? Is this thing even on…?

I’ve Been Down…But Not Out!

I’m not gonna lie…it’s been a mess here lately. I’ve had work issues and house issues and kid issues and “it’s summertime and I have to be outside” issues. But everyone has issues and so you don’t need to hear all about mine. Life can just get crappy sometimes but ya continue living and move on. In MY case, one of those things HAS moved on and now I’m hoping that I can get at least a little peace of mind. It’s funny when something disrupts your life to a point where you become a whiny little bitch. And I was for a while and I got a little mired in it. So I want to apologize to everyone I’ve been ignoring, which is mostly my blogger friends. I haven’t been reading much lately, even though I have been writing some (but not nearly as much). So I wanted to highlight some of my friends here who I have not been ignoring exactly but not exactly tearing up their websites as of late either. You guys are my favorite people I don’t know (except for you, Kim) and I truly do enjoy your work. So last night I took some time and got caught up, and here’s what I know…

Suzanne of Twenty-Four At Heart…I know you got some things going on right now, but you are so great at looking at things from such a unique & funny perspective. Some of your exploits have left me in tears (of laughter) as you deal with your life in the OC. I see you are recovering from your surgery and I wish you all the best with your new…uh…additions?

Mel over at Blah la Blah Blog is busy as well, but she has taken a boatload of pictures! She has the cutest group of rascals and seems to be having a pretty fun summer so far! She has become quite the Facebook friend and lives within driving distance. Maybe some day we can get the kids together and our families can hit the hiking trail!

My friend Kim at The Vocabulary of My Life has had a lot going on in her life, with competitions and travel and…oh yeah…a little surgery that basically went a little haywire. But all is good (I think) and I wish her a speedy recovery as well!

My friends Holly & Danielle-Lee (from Why Mom Drinks Rum & A Little Left Of Lost respectively) who have not only been writing quite a bit, but who have also been taking care of their kids, updating their Twitter & Facebook pages every 10 minutes or less AND starting up a new blog with their pal Grace from Ms. Grace’s Disgrace that showcases…um…girlie parts? Anyway…I try to keep up with ‘em but damn if they aren’t plugged in somehow. I’m imagining a computer chip in their heads or something…

My friend Nathalie from Nathalie With An H who has seemingly disappeared. Could she have made a quick jaunt to another part of the world and forgotten us? I don’t think so. Every now & then I catch a Facebook update in french…so I know she’s out there somewhere!

My friend Tammy over at The Color Of Home has been busy taking pictures of tornados, turkeys and writing blogs about…YIKES!!! What the hell is THIS?!?! Warning…don’t look if you are easily grossed out or offended! Yeesh…

Over at The Incredible Woody’s site, there has been blood spilled, awesome pool pictures taken and a trip to Bonnaroo which she has neglected to blog about. But I’m sure she’ll hook us up with bootleg copies of the shows here soon…

And The Vinyl Villager has been busy trapsing all over the country. From San Fran to who knows where, this guy gets around. Except…apparently NOT in an airplane. His TMI Tuesdays always seem to tell me a little more than I really want to know. Which is probably why they call it TMI…

Ashley over at …is this thing on? has been busy also. Being a mother of 2 seems to do that to a woman and then with her scrapbooking and purse-gazing, she manages to go plate shooting (what is that called again?) and really has some very funny parenting blogs that ALWAYS crack me up! She and my wife would be best friends…except for the shooting part.

And then there’s Heather over at Bacon Is My Lover who is, without a doubt, one of the most under-appreciated friends that I have. I think she must type til her fingers fall off and she has some of the most interesting…uh…friends, family and neighbors. Plus she “thinks” she may have finally given birth to her kidney stones. No actual proof of that yet, but apparently she’s not in as much pain and has plenty of time to rail on the crazy people in her life again. Seriously…this woman needs her own t.v. show. Someone get me a producer!

And my last stop last night was the ”other” Suzanne of the OC at Alive In Wonderland. Dunno where she gets her free time to write with all the time she spends at Disneyland, but the woman takes some AWESOME pictures and has a couple of sites she writes for. Busy, busy she is, but she still is one of my favorite guilty pleasures…especially since she has great taste in music…

So I just wanted to say thanks to those friends of mine who still continue to come around here from time to time. We all get busy and have our days where things get a little heavy, but I always enjoy clicking on a site and catching up. It’s like I’ve known you guys for a long time, and without you, things would be a little lonely. Keep writing, I’ll keep reading. Even if it IS a little later than usual!

-Alan

Apparently “Butts” Are Out Now…

The definition of “breast” is: Either of two milk-secreting, glandular organs on the chest of a woman; the human mammary gland.

What is it with boobs? I mean really…all women have them. They can be big or small, perky or swingin’ low. There are all kinds and we men find them…fascinating!

But wait! It’s not just MEN who are completely enamored with boobage…WOMEN are just as interested as well! Not to mention gay guys, gay women, children and infants.

Truthfully, infants should be the only ones fascinated with them because if you look up “breast” in the dictionary it states: “A source of nourishment”. Now I imagine that it says this because the mammary glands are truthfully in place to supply a child with nourishment. And really that is all they’re there for. Right?

OF COURSE NOT! Of course we like boobs! Here’s the deal…if you’re a guy you like them because you don’t have them. If you’re a gay man you like them because you don’t have them. And if you’re a woman you like them because they are AWESOME! Wait…no…actually, I have no idea why women are as into them as they are. But they are. So much, in fact, that they are willing to share them with you and I during Mardi Gras, at Aerosmith concerts and at NASCAR events. And on websites. And I’m not talkin’ the dirty websites that pop up when you type in “White House” or “butt” into your web browser. No sir…I’m talking just regular blog sites like this one…and the women who operate it are my blogger friends. And now I’m stuck.

I love all my blogger friends. In a little under a year I have developed friendships with quite a few people around the world (including Canada) who are some of the most awesome people I don’t really know. As a matter of fact, they probably know me and my family more than most of the people who are my friends on Facebook! They have followed me through good and bad times, read my ramblings even when they were stupid and left comments on all the pictures I tend to post of my kids and the side of my face. And now…they have a boobie blog site. And I’m gonna promote it…just for them…because I like THEM that much!

So if you are so inclined…please visit Boob Emancipation. It’s a site dedicated to boobs. Of course I won’t be visiting there because I love my wife. And her boobs are enough for me.  And I respect her and love her and wouldn’t want to…well…I wouldn’t want to piss her off by looking at other women’s boobs. Although I am allowed to look at her friends boobs. Actually…I can even comment on them as long as it’s done in a joking manner. So maybe she wouldn’t mind so much if I just took a short peek…

Not too long though…right? That’s okay…right?

Boobs are so cool…

You Might Not Know Me But You’re My Friend Anyways…

Do You Know Me?

Lately, I feel like I’ve been spending more time on Facebook & Twitter than I have concentrating on blogging, and I don’t know if that is necessarily a bad thing. I mean…with Facebook I get to see what all of my friends are doing and make quick status updates (usually something snarky or sarcastic). And with Twitter…well…no one really cares so I don’t spend much time on there. But both are a lot easier than writing a blog, where I have to actually set up my thoughts, organize and put a “story” in writing.

The other day on Facebook, I took a couple of “How Well Do You Know Such-n-Such” quizzes and was very disappointed in myself. After answering the 10 stumpers, it turns out I don’t know “my friends” very well at all. So I wanted to apologize to them (they know who they are…probably) for being a terrible friend. And to keep anyone else from feeling this way as well, I figured I would jot down the answers to my quiz for all of my OTHER friends who may take the quiz on me, this way eliminating any bad feelings that the quiz might evoke and we can all walk away from the Facebook experience with our heads held high and a happy feeling in our heart (I have no idea what I am talking about). Anyway…here’s MY “Cheat Sheet”. Use it when appropriate!

1. What color best suits me?
This is an obvious choice if you know me at all, and most everyone who has taken my quiz has gotten it correct. However if you think about it, it’s an easy answer because I have blue eyes…so BLUE is my answer because then everything matches! (Or so I tell my wife. She just thinks I’m lazy and I don’t want to color coordinate…)

2. My favorite alcoholic beverage is…
Sure, I like beer. Beer is great on a summer evening while chatting with friends. But for my true alcoholic love, it has to bring a happy thought into my head everytime I drink it. And nothing evokes better images than the drink I had every second of my honeymoon back in 2000. The pina colada is cool & refreshing and brings back great memories. What more can a person ask for? (Besides a cheap buzz and nausea?)

3. My favorite flavor of ice cream?
Hands down, Graeter’s Raspberry Chocolate Chip. With HUGE pieces of chocolate and the sweetest raspberry ice cream ever. But it is now being tested with a new Graeter’s flavor called “Elena’s Blueberry Pie”, which is downright DELICIOUS!!!

4. How many times have I travelled out of the country?
Surprise! Only twice. Oh sure…I guess it’s true that I have been over the Canadian border a couple of times to Windsor and Montreal. But for the true travel experience, I have only been to London & St. Lucia in the carribean. That’s pretty much it. And I didn’t even need a passport to get me to St. Lucia…so maybe that doesn’t count. I dunno…

5. What is my favorite movie?
If you don’t get this one, then you really don’t know me at all. “Grosse Pointe Blank” has been my favorite movie for about 8 years now. John Cusack, great soundtrack, awesome dialogue. My favorite easily!

6. What is my middle name?
I forgive anyone who missed this one because, quite honestly, middle names are dumb. Not that they aren’t necessary, but if you don’t know that I share “Thomas” with my Dad, I won’t hold it against you…

7. What song would I choose to sing at a karaoke bar?
When choosing to sing a song in public, the first thing I think about are the high notes. ‘Cause I can’t reach them. So then I shoot for something with low notes. And nothing says low notes like “Jet Airliner” by The Steve Miller Band. And to my friends who chose “Close To You”? You are fired…

8. What city was I born in?
Trick question because I was raised in Zanesville, OH. But my parents got me from an adoption agency in Columbus where, apparently, my maternal parents went to school. So Columbus, OH is where I am from originally.

9. Who is my favorite Disney character?
Who cares really? Well…I think the character you pick shows what kind of person you are. So in MY mind, I am forever young. So Peter Pan is my favorite character!

10. At a party, what would I be doing?
The answers are drinking, chatting, sitting in a corner by myself or sleeping. If I’m at a party (which is rare), my wife does all the chatting but I would never be sitting in a corner. I would probably be walking around, sipping a drink and listening to everyone else’s conversations. So drinking is my answer!

So there ya have it. If you’re on Facebook and you are gonna take MY quiz, you now know all the answers! And if you’re NOT my friend on Facebook…um…well….WHY NOT??? Get with the times! Everyone is doing it!

Alan Out!

So I’m off to the Big Apple. Work has to be done. And the hotel I am staying at probably isn’t gonna be giving me any free internet service anytime this week. So I’m thinking now is a good time for me to take a break anyways. I’ve covered a lot of topics recently and I could use a rain delay. Plus…with New York calling, I think I would rather be out smelling the sights and seeing the smells. So…for at least a few days (unless I get crazy and actually submit a post through my ITouch at work. My mini is still in the garage!)…I’ll smell ya later!

Spring Cleaning

833 Posts. That’s how many I’ve had since I first started this whole blogging thing back in October of 2007. That is a lot of crap flowing out of my brain to my fingertips! And I’m thinking it might be time to do a little spring cleaning. Lots of things that I’ve written are simply off the cuff and out of date at this time, so I don’t think any of  it will be missed. But as I’m skimming through older posts, I have come across some things that, if you haven’t been along with me for the entire year & a half or so, you probably blinked and missed. Here are the links! Enjoy some of the older musings!

My daughter learns where babies come from:
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/storks-dont-really-bring-babies/

Have a quick trip to my favorite city!
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/seattle/

Cootchy on my face (not what you think):
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/cootchy-on-my-face/

My son learns where cows come from:
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/cows-are-from-china/

Iceman rules:
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/i-want-to-be-iceman/

My cooking ability…in pictures:
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/just-a-man-and-his-meat/

Funnier more for the comments than the actual blog:
http://alntv.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/yeahim-such-a-guy/

So I got it down to 594 and had to call it a day. Trying to delete stuff is a slow process on WordPress and I truthfully like having this site as a “diary” of sorts. So I left a lot of the pictures and family posts up but deleted many of the news headlines & Idol posts because they just seem dated. I got a lot of stuff in the hopper waiting to be put out there, so thanks for visiting! 

A Post You Should Read

I have a few bloggy friends who are very good writers, and today, as I was trying to catch up with all of them after a long absence, I read THIS post by Mel over at Blah La Blah Log. It’s a very well written post and it made me think even more about how short life is and how we should be thankful every day for what we have. Go check it out and let her know what you think!

-Alan

Hello? Blogger.com? WTF?

The competition…

Just so all of my blogger friends who use “Blogger.com” know…every time I try to leave a comment on your site, I get a message that asks me if I really want to leave the site. And then if I press yes OR no, I get an error message. What’s up with that?

So…I AM visiting! I just can’t seem to respond to your stories! Which totally sucks. Am I the only one experiencing this?

Naked, Boobs, Hot Chicks & Angelina Jolie

This is an experiment…

BareNAKED Ladies

Be Aware!

Ain’t they cute?

Eh…kinda…I guess…

NOW let’s see who decides to stop by…

(Dad…it better not be YOU!)

Results coming soon!

Good Friends, Good Times

Me & Anne now…

and back in the day…

As I travel around, I am lucky that I get to see and hang with good friends from my past, present and future. I get to visit so many different places and cities where, inevitably, there is someone I know living where I am going.

My college friend, Tom, in San Diego (rocking it out in the middle!)

Today I am in Tampa and I had breakfast with a friend that I used to work with. She is 8 months pregnant and we had breakfast at the Crack Whore Barrel this morning. I love being able to see my friends that I wouldn’t normally see if I were to have a desk job somewhere. This works well for me because I work in television, and television people move around a lot. Even if you work at a news station somewhere (which I used to), you keep moving in your early years so that in your later years you can settle someplace where you can pocket some money (good luck in THIS business! But it IS better than radio!), start a family and look ahead to retirement. You wouldn’t  believe how many times I’ve been somewhere, flipped on the evening news and I know the news anchor from someplace else!

Friend & co-worker, Ginger, on in Dallas

In the past 4 months, I’ve seen a college buddy in San Diego, a high school buddy in Chicago and now a former co-worker who was a part of a rowdy band of friends that used to work for a show called “The Daily Buzz”. All of these friends I stay in touch with because of my job. And a lot of them I keep in contact with through Facebook. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a lot of friends find me and renew our friendship and I just think its great. Seeing as how I am constantly on a computer and how I don’t get to have a normal social life (I work a lot of weekends), this way of  “keeping up” has worked out well for me. Facebooking and then, if I’m in town, a quick visit and then on to the next gig. It’s great!

My friend from high school, ABC

So today I just wanted to give a shout out to all of my friends who I have gotten to see again or who have renewed my friendship via the world wide web. It’s really cool to see so many of my friends doing well for themselves and who have moved on to be so successful or who are striving to do so much with their lives. Seriously…I am a very lucky person to have so many great friends back in my life! And to my newer friends who I have come to know by this blogsite, I appreciate your friendship as well and maybe someday, you and I can meet for some lunch and a drink! And, for the record…I always buy the first round!

My college friend, Ed, in Seattle 

My best friend, JT, in Memphis