Water? What Water?

Sunday:

Sharkey- JP I think somethings up with the dishwasher
JP - Nah Honey it's fine I don't see anything wrong with it

Monday:

Sharkey - JP I think the dishwasher leaked water on the floor last night
JP - Sharkey I think maybe it's just a spill from Maggie or when I was taking the dishes out. Let's give it another try tomorrow

Tuesday:

JP - Sharkey I think there's something wrong with the dishwasher the hardwood l00ks wet
Sharkey - Yep

Tuesday Night at Lowes:

Salesman: Yes we have that Whirlpool in stock and we can install it within 72 hours.

Friday:

Lowes: Yes Mrs. JP we can schedule that dishwasher to get installed shortly
Sharkey: Um, what about the guarantee you have for installation within 72 hours if the appliance is purchased Mon.-Fri.?
Lowes: Um, well, um, that's for other appliances, yeah that's the ticket, other appliances
Sharkey: No it's not. If you walk out of your office to appliances, that's advertised 2-3x above all the dishwashers and it is also on your website
Lowes: Oh, well, I'll have someone call you today

Saturday:

Installer: OK, all done she's ready to go.

JP: =)

Sharkey: =)

The TV at 3AM

Sharkey and I are on different sleep schedules now that I am not working virtual anymore and she is virtual. My Sharkey is a bit of a night owl, so it is not uncommon for her to go to bed at 1:00 AM or later. When she comes to bed, she usually will turn on the TV, put the sleep timer on it and drift off. One night last week I woke up to the TV on and showing some really, really bright show. I looked at my clock and it was 3:17 AM. I thought Sharkey had forgotten to hit the sleep timer, so I got out of bed went to hit the button on the front to turn it off, and when my finger got within 2 inches of the button, the damn TV turned off. Clearly Sharkey went to sleep around 2:17 AM. So I dropped some colorful metaphors lurched back to bed, put my arm around Sharkey and fell back to sleep.

Whack a Ball in a Gopher Hole

It is that time of year again. The flowers bloom, the grass greens up, the days are warmer, the nights are shorter and I am out in search of perfection. I play that silly sport where you take a bunch of crooked sticks and try to get this tiny, hard, pock marked ball in a hole, while avoiding sand, water, trees, and high grass. It is my obsession. I started playing out as something I could do with my Dad to make him happy. Now I am hooked. I think about my swing. I work on my short game. I look at all the golf magazines. I wear the clothing. I watch it on TV. I spend countless hours at the driving range where the guys at the counter know me by my first name. I am like Norm from Cheers walking in there. I take lessons. I watch the Golf Channel. But what can I do? "Golfus Ergo Sum = I golf therefore I am." JP out....

Meet the Bloggers 08'

So last night Sharkey and I went to meet more of her "internet" friends (aka bloggers). Sure I suppose I am a blogger, technically, since I have been writing posts monthly since 2006, but I do not really feel like I am part of the blog community. Mostly I think that's because I only read and comment on Sharkey, Kranki, Q's, and Character Builder's blogs with any kind of regularity. I haven't really gone out and found any more blogs that interest me. Maybe it's also because I am old fashioned in that I sort of think I should know someone before reading and commenting on their posts. Although I must admit meeting Q and the Hubs totally did not turn into the axe murderer, stalker, weirdo encounter I thought it was going to be, so perhaps I need to be more open minded.

The evening started out with Sharkey and I meeting Mainline Mom & her husband. We met at JB Dawson's in Plymouth Meeting for dinner. Again, like the Q and Hubs encounter, both of them were totally cool (no axe murderer, stalker, weirdo vibes detected) and dinner was yummy.

After we finished, it was off to location #2. William from Poop and Boogies had a role in a local community theater play, and Sharkey really, really wanted to meet William and see this play he was in, The Philadelphia Story. We get to the place and I think it is a renovated church building. It was pretty cool though. It had some great local art pieces and a portion of their proceeds go to charity, so hey win/win, right? We find some seats (seats are not assigned there) and wait for the play to begin.

Act I. begins. OMG!!! I was going cross eyed and was having issues focusing. It's not that the play was bad, but the dialog used references from the 1930's and it was going way, way over my head and I was having a hard time interpreting what the heck the actors were talking about? During this time, I was thinking, "I love my wife, I love my wife, I support my wife, I love my wife." Also during this time, my mind drifts a bit and I zone off thinking "I wonder if Sergio Garcia is still leading the Players tournament" and "I tee off at 8am tomorrow, I need to get my balls marked and into my bag before morning" and "I hope Tivo records my Battlestar Galactica episode tonight." (....WILLIAM IF YOU ARE READING THIS POST PLEASE DO NOT STOP HERE....)

Intermission hits and I go out get some water stretch the back and neck out and shake my head back and forth to get some blood flowing back. I give Sharkey the "No really Honey I am having a fine time" smile and then back into the theater we go. Act II starts and then something interesting and unexpected happened. I started to follow the dialog and really was getting into the depth of the characters. I was totally engrossed at this point and I started to think about how Tracy and Dexter's marriage was and how she totally was not right for George, and I wondered if Mike will see through all the superficial layers of Tracy. Needless to say I was enjoying the play at that point and William did an awesome job in the character of Dexter. The play ended and get this, I liked it so much, I was thinking I want to see the version with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Catherine Hepburn.

We stayed a bit for a reception after the play. Sharkey and I were able to meet William and he is true to how he writes in person. He was freakin' hilarious. Sharkey and the others spoke their blogging language, traded ideas for future local gatherings and in short a good time was had by all. JP out...

Superman has Kryptonite, JP has...

Pollen!! It's that sucky time of the year where my eyes itch, my nose runs, and I sneeze out of my shoes. Yes my friends it is springtime and the trees are mating and giving off all of the wonderful pollen that coats everything, turns pools of rainwater into bright green puddles and that wonderful substance turns me into a quivering, miserable mess. Thankfully, I practice better living through chemistry, so I pop one of these every day:



It works pretty well, but I cannot wait until everything is leafy, because once the leaves are out I know the pollen is not being mass produced anymore and I become a sane person again. But for the time being, I'll medicate myself and just deal. JP out...

Vacation in The Magic Kingdom

Vacation started last Sunday at about 5AM. Sharkey and I had to catch an 8:30AM flight so we had to be at the airport by about 7:00AM.



Our flight was "mostly" on time and we landed in Orlando and met up with Character Builder and family around 11:00AM.

Day 1: The Magic Kingdom

As we arrived in Orlando we stood in our first line for the week, for the Magical Express Bus. I think the most impressive thing was that I was in like a 5 queue line, but only had to wait like 5 minutes before I was checked in.



The Disney Cast member told me they were going to transport 1200 guests in one hour. My head spun with the logistics of that, but hey they are Disney. They have their stuff together. For anyone going to Disney, the Magical Express is awesome. You check your bags at the airport and you do not see them again until you are in your Disney hotel room. And from the time you board the bus, you are inundated with Disney media to get you into the vacation mood. Even the seats on the bus have magical, sparkly patterns. (Wide Eyed JP--Disney is great... great.... I love the mouse... mouse....)



We arrived at the Port Orleans Riverside resort and checked in. We were able to get adjoining rooms with Character Builder and family.




After a quick lunch at the resort, off to the Magic Kingdom we went. After a few rides, viewing a parade, and getting through what I will refer to as "The Dumbo Incident," we had dinner at the Crystal Palace. The kids were able to see their first characters for the week up close (i.e. Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, and Piglet):



(um, guy in the right part of the picture is a "passerby")


After dinner, all the girls went back to the hotel and CB's hubbie Jason and her son Alex and I went on all the "big boy" rides. You know, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and The Haunted Mansion. After our "boys night out" we caught the buss back to the resort and turned in after a long day.

Day 2: Animal Kingdom & The Magic Kingdom take 2

Our next day we were off to the Animal Kingdom and to get anywhere from our hotel you have to take a bus or a boat. So here's Sharkey and Lauren sitting at the stop:



Upon arriving at the Animal Kingdom we saw the Tree of Life:



And after viewing that architectural marvel, we quickly realized everyone needed food, badly. So we stopped at Pizzasaurous for lunch, and while everyone was sitting down, I beat feet over to get a fast pass to the safari ride. As a Disney veteran and knower of everything Mouse related, I knew that a fast pass was a great idea for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. So after lunch, we decided to split into girls and boys groups again so the boys could go on the thrill rides and the girls could find some other less adrenaline pumping attractions. So Jason, Alex and I headed to Expedition Everest:




The girls went to the Finding Nemo stage show and take a few pictures with Lilo and Stitch and we were able to get in the Dinosaur Countdown to Extinction ride:



We also were able to take the self guided safari tour and saw lizards, bats, monkeys, and tigers up close:






The tiger was the coolest! Not sure what they use, but I was a foot away from the big kitty. I was thinking I wonder what this glass is made out of. And why does the tiger keep pacing back and forth in front of me?

We headed back to the Magic Kingdom to meet our dinner reservation time at Tony's Restaurant. Before dinner we were able to fit in the Buzz Lightyear ride. After dinner we did the Monsters Inc. comedy room and got our place for the nightly fireworks extravaganza. Then after that show was over, the kids still had pretty good energy and since all we'd be doing is wait for a bus anyway, we decided to go on some rides. So we all went on the Indy Speedway Motor Cars, the Dumbo ride, and then Sharkey, CB, and the kids went on the Tea Cups several times, and the Carousel. And after a very long day, we went back to Riverside and all crashed.

Day 3: Hollywood Studios

Day 3 marked Character Builder's birthday and my 8th anniversary with Sharkey. We were off to Hollywood Studios, formerly known as MGM Studios.




Our first stop was the Indiana Jones Stunt show:



After that show, we went and grabbed fast passes for the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster



Soon after we took the Backlot Tour and saw a few neat props:

This is the bone cage from the Pirates of the Carribean 2 movie:



This sci fi looking piece is from none other than Star Wars: Return of the Jedi:



And the piece de resistance is Ear Force 1, Walt Disney's personal aircraft. Way cool!




Our day ended with dinner at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Sharkey and I love this place. We had a few alcoholic beverages, and enjoyed a dinner with abuse from our server, Aunt Memory. Yah, we pay money to get slapped around at dinner. She even force fed Sharkey the green beans she didn't finish, before she could get dessert.



And so day 3 ended.

Day 4: EPCOT

Day 4 marked the other big occasion for the week, CB's daughter Lauren's 5th Birthday! So off to EPCOT we went because we had made reservations to have breakfast with the princesses.




This breakfast was like the best idea ever. Not so much for the princesses and breakfast, but we were able to get into the park before it was opened and walked around like we owned the place. It was awesome! I was able to snap some photos without gobs and gobs of crowds in the picture.





After breakfast we did more pictures with characters and rode on Soarin', Mission Space, and Test Track. After our rides in Future World, we walked around the World Showcase so Alex could get his EPCOT passport stamped in each country and grabbed lunch around the world in different countries. You know, quiche in France, udon / snowcones in Japan, burgers & fries in the USA, pretzels/bratwurst/chocolate in Germany, and snacks in a few other countries. While in Japan we also caught the Taiko drummers:





By 8:00PM we were all spent, our dogs were barking, lower backs were aching, and energy was reaching a low level, so we went back to Riverside for a low key night and grabbed dinner at the Waterwheel food court there.

Day 5: Downtown Disney

Our final day was our shopping day, so off to the docks we went to catch the boat to Downtown Disney:





We arrived and had lunch at the golden arches, Mickey D's:



We then went to shop at the World of Disney store:



And then hit the Disney Pin hut for Alex and into another shop where I found a Jedi Mickey figure for my work desk and the mystery bag of Disney goodness. Sure it was a bag full of a few clearance items, but the mystery bag could have contained anything. It was too enticing to pass by. Yeah, Sharkey didn't get it and berated me for falling for the marketing, but who am I? What's my name?

The only thing at Downtown Disney that was disappointing to me was that Ghirardelli's ice cream fountain was closed from remodeling. So NO HOT FUDGE SUNDAE!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! Well, I guess that means we'll need to return soon for my sundae fix right?!

And so ends the Disney Vacation for 2008. It is back to work tomorrow, and I do wish I had like 5 more days to just decompress, golf, and sleep, but I figure I have 20 more days of vacation for 2008 so there's time!!

JP out....

I Made It...

FINAL SCORE:

Ginormous Project - 5
JP - 0

Well, the "ginormous" project is finally wrapping up! And none too soon. I am fried. Spent. I got nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. So I finished my 5th straight Saturday this past weekend and today I turned over my part to the "ongoing" people to handle today! It felt goooooooooooodddd to perform that handoff. So I made it... I think I made it... Oh God please let this mean I made it!! So now I am trying to wind down and finish up the last few things I need to do before we fly off to Disneyworld to meet CB and family. I actually was able to sit down and eat dinner (which I cooked instead of bought) with my beautiful Sharkey. It was a bit surreal like, "Hey Honey where have you been, it feels like I've been away forever."

So things to do on vacation.... Well first of all, I am thinking we have to make our way to Downtown Disney and have a Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae....


If you think the picture looks good, it's got nothin' on the REAL THING. Yes it is true, there are few things ice cream and fudge cannot remedy.

Next. Buzz Lightyear Ride. Sure it is for kids 4 years and up. But it is a BLAST! Sharkey and I always see who can get a higher score. And we have been known to go on this ride a few times.

I am going to wear shorts and short sleeve shirts all week. And I am going to try to recharge and relax. For no less than 216 hours I will forget all I know about technology and work thingy's... And who knows, maybe I'll squeeze a round of golf in there somewhere too. Next post will be from the Magic Kingdom folks. JP out...