My very own Cujo!

Here are some pictures of Sadie and her play date with the dog next door. His name is Osiris "The Virus". Usually they run up and down the fence chasing each other. But, we occasionally like to let them play together. Osiris is about 15-20 pounds larger than Sadie but as you can see from the pictures, Sadie is the boss. The first picture is my favorite, like a shark attacking with her eyes rolled back in her head. They are actually very friendly. Both dogs are as sweet as could be. But, as you can see from the last picture (Osiris is leaning against the fence) Sadie is the undisputed ruler of the neighborhood, and daddy couldn't be prouder.

Thats What I'm Talking About

Satuday morning before the LSU vs. Tulane game Kristi and I took Sadie for a walk up on the levee. Just to the left of the bus in the pictures is a big lot for RV's and tailgating. This guy made a wrong turn and an even worse turn while attempting to turn around on river road. He got stuck real good. Now, normally I would take this oppurtunity to make fun of the guy and LSU in general but since kristi started working there I have been trying to stop saying negative things (I don't say good things yet, i just refrain from the bad). So, I'm not gonna mention the 10 or so guys who were behind the bus trying to push it out, especially not the geniuses who stood behind the bus while it was rolling back before they put there weight into it to get it back on the road. All I will say is that they were ultimately sucessfull (as you can see from the pictures). The wording on side the bus says "that's what I'm taking about". The only way it could have been more fitting is if it said "Get -R-Done".

The Worlds Largest Lap Dog!

Me and Sadie, chillin', eating breakfast watching sportcenter. She's a good dog. the other picture is of my little lap dog. all 55 pounds and growing. Ain't she a cute little thing.

A Dirty Story of a Dirty Man

So, its been a while since I've updated this thing. But who really reads this anyway. Well, just in case there is someone I thought I might share a little with you. For the last several years I have been questioning the restaurant Chili's. Kristi and I eat there from time to time. The walls are covered with signs and pictures from various chili cook offs and there are signs warning of hot chili. In other words, chili seems to be a major theme their. Well, this has troubled me for some time now seeing as how there is no chili on the menu. I found myself at a chili's on Tuesday. Once again I began to question the lack of actual chili. I asked the server about it and he informed me that there is chili in the building. As it turns out chili is one of the soups they offer. However, they do not mention there soups on the menu. This stands out it my mind for two reasons. The first being that he brought me a sample of it and it was like hormel straight out of the can. Its not very good, it may be best that they don't tell anyone about it. Second, the olive garden(that's where I work) advertises their soup on the menu and on television. Soup and salad is the cheapest thing for the OG to produce and is where the have the greatest profit margin. $5.95 for soup and salad that probably costs $1.00 per customer. Now I'm all in favor of capitalism and if people are willing to buy it at that price then let them. But hold on my friend. I support my family by making tips. 15% of 5.95 is much lower than 15% of an entree that costs (typically) at least twice as much as soup and salad. Not to mention that people love the fact that it is unlimited which means they ask for more than one bowl. Ask any server what they hate most and they will tell you its the soup and salad. Why because cheap people come in to get it, they run you to death, and then they leave you a 10% tip on a $6.00 bill. Perhaps I can learn something from chili's, hide the soup. If you love the soup and salad that's fine. Eat it, eat it all. Just remember that the nice young man who has four other tables and a wife and dog to support is paying his rent and tuition with the 60 cents you just left on the table.

ps. If you pay with your credit card and your bill is $15.23 give your server a 5.00 tip, don't write the tip in as $4.77 in order to make it an even &20.00. its tacky and makes you look cheap and petty, uh, I mean thrifty.

Two hours of nothing!

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So, Now that school is back in session at UNO andI live in Baton Rouge, I must spend several hours a week in the car commutinng. What I have learned is what i already knew: there is nothing good on the radio. Its like cable, a hundred channels and nothing to watch. The morning is by far the worst. Not only is there very little good music but from 6-10 most channels feature morning shows. Now, there have been some morning shows that I have enjoyed from time to time (steve and DC, Rick and Bubba, even Walton and Johnson) but, a) they are not funny or even entertaining ALL of the time and, b) this simply disguises the fact that there is no good music on. SO, i have done what many of you have done, placed my faith in the CD player. Here I am the judge and jury of what rocks. What I have determioned as that even the best and most beloved CD's in my collection get old if played constantly. But, There are several discs that you can put in and listen to the entire disc, as opposed to listening to the one good song and then taking it out and replacing it. Here is a short list of a couple of CD's that you can put in and let roll.

1. Ben Harper-Diamonds on the inside. This is a great CD of rock, blues and funk fused together for something uniqely original with a light dusting of gospel for spirit lifting rock. But don't misunderstand me, this is not christian music in the contemporary sense.

2.The Black Crows- Shake your money maker. Nothing but some good ol' down and dirty southern rock and blues, you may want to shower afterwards.

3.The Beastie Boys-lincense to ill. this may not appeal to all but if you are a guy between 28-38, you know what I'm talking about!

4.Third Day-Third Day, This is there debut album from somewhere around '95-'96. If you were just listening to the music you would think it was the black crows, hootie and the blowfish or even early U2, but the lyrics make this album better than church (unless van smeltzers leading singing).
And thats just a little something to think about when your stuck in traffic.

where are we?

So, you may be asking yourself where we are. Well, we are in Baton Rouge of all places. Let me bring you up to speed (for those i haven't spoken to in a while). We were living in Metairie, La. When Katrina hit. our apartment was destroyed, we stayed with my brother Steve and his wife for a month in baton rouge. Kristi & I enrolled for a semester at LSU, it was pleasant. After Christmas we moved to my mothers house in Slidell, into my childhood bedroom which is not nearly as large as it seemed when I was 10. Her house was flooded by 7 feet of water so it was like living in the middle of a construction site. in Febuary we moved into a FEMA trailer on the side of her house. Kristi graduated with her masters degree in history in May. She got a job working at LSU so we left the trailer and found a quaint little rental house here in Baton Rouge. I have a year left before i finish school at UNO. so i make the commute from B.R. to N.O. twice a week. I looked into transferring to LSU(its hard for me to admit that) but it would have added an extra year. So, i figure it's better to commute for one year than be in school for two. Kristi is working as a publicist at LSU press and I have taken up one of my former career choices and am slinging hash at the Olive Garden.
So, now you know where we are.
We got a dog on may the fifth(cinco de Mayo) her name is Sadie. she was 11 pounds when we got her. today she has reached the 50 pound mark. Ah-they grow up so fast.

Your Fearless Leader

Before we begin I suppose you should know a little bit about me and my reason for blogging. The simple truth is that I needed a place to post pictures of my dog, Sadie. I also thought it would be a good way to let friends and family Know what I have been up to.

I am 31, ha

This is Sadie! She is a cute one. Daddy's girl. She is 5 months old now and weighs about 45 pounds-Sturdy! i am staying in pretty good shape as she wakes me at 6:00 a.m. every day for her morning walk. you'll get to know her over time, and the wisdom of the swirls(you'll see).

I love to run, but the heat of summer is a killer and there are so many good sit-com reruns on the tv that I struggle with motivation. I am fightining two battles right now. One is to run on a consistent basis. It feels good when I get out there, but getting out the door is rough. The other battle is to motivate myself for my final year of school which starts next week. It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel but sometimes I can't help but look back at the wasted years and think how much easier things would have been if i'd have just got it right the first time. But, things would have been different, I know it is hard to see it when you look back, but sometimes where you are is exactly where you are supposed to be. I have Kristi now, and Sadie. I know that I am winning these 2 battles. The victory flag is on it way up, and to the victor goes the booty-i mean the spoils.

Hello, is there anybody out there?

So, this is a blog. And it's all mine. I welcome you all into the battle. you may be asking yourself what the battle is. Life, love, laughter. Day after day we fight the battle to make it to another day after day. There are new battles around every corner, so we fight them one at a time, lauging at adversity, loving the fight and those we encounter, living life on our own terms-hoping to make it to the next battle.