Ready for the Weekend...

Once again, it's been a pretty long week at work. The schedule changed a bit so we're now done at 7pm everyday...which means that instead of 40 minutes to sit around and do nothing, we have over 2 hours to sit around and do nothing.

It's really making the days seem even longer than they were before...so, long story short, I'm really ready for days off...

Air Hockey...

So I forgot to mention this the other day...

When Cathy and I were out looking for the exercise bike, I noticed a really nice air hockey table at Sears. It was a six foot table, so it's two feet shorter than a standard arcade table, but it looked really nice and had some features that I hadn't seen on other smaller tables.

I checked out the price...$250. But then I noticed that it was on sale...for $49.

They didn't have any in stock, but I went ahead and bought one anyways. The salesman said that it should be in this coming Tuesday, so we're going to have to go pick it up then.

I've been working on getting the house cleaned up a bit, and I think that we have a couple of places now that we can put it. We'll just have to decide where we want it to go, exactly.

More Snow...

So it snowed even more today. I got the snowblower out and tackled it before we went to work...there was about 4 inches. When we got home from work, there was another 4 inches or so.

I would imagine we got at least 7 inches of snow today...and that is on top of the 5 or so that we had before this.

I had read this fall that this was supposed to be a relatively mild winter...but so far it seems like every week or so there's been a foot of snow falling. It's starting to get really annoying.

I hate this state.

Uke Tuning...

So I got my ukulele stuff in the mail today. The DVD, the tuner, and the humidifier.

I hooked the tuner up right away, and quickly came to the conclusion that my uke was so out of tune that it was actually playing notes that weren't even correct. Like when I first plucked the string for "C," it thought it was an "E." Now THAT'S out of tune.

I spent a good 40 minutes or so getting it all tuned up, and WOW!!! What a difference in sound tone it makes. The thing actually sounds like an instrument now, even though I have no idea what I'm doing still!!!

The tuner is really cool...it's digital with a gauge and it clips to the end of the uke. When the note is tuned correctly, it glows a bright green to easily show you that the note is in tune!!!

I will start watching the DVD tomorrow...it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

Here's the tuner that I got.

No More Snow...

So it's supposed to snow six more inches tonight and tomorrow. We've already got about 5 or 6 on the ground right now.

I have an idea that will make it so that it never snows in Michigan ever again...

...I'm going to buy a snowmobile. It'll just be a cheap one...like $20 for some hunk of junk that doesn't even run. But I can guarantee you that as soon as I own a snowmobile, snow will cease to exist entirely in the state of Michigan. Why?? Because that's just how it would end up working out...

Income Taxes...

It's almost income tax time. I don't know if I'll be getting much of a refund this year. This last year I adjusted my deductions to get a bit more cash on every paycheck to help me pay things off better. It SEEMS that it shouldn't have too much of an effect on what I'll be getting back, but I doubt I'll be getting back as much as I have in the past.

One good thing, though, is that for some reason the morons that are in charge of pay at work haven't figured out how to NOT take city income taxes out of our paychecks. So, even though I haven't lived in the city or worked in the city for the last year, I've still had city taxes taken out all year long. So the City of Lansing has $382 of my money that wasn't owed to them at all. Now, for some people this was a bit of an issue last year getting this money back...the City wanted some kind of letter from work stating that none of the hours worked were actually earned in the City Limits, and of course work didn't know if this was something that they could actually provide or not. In the end everyone ended up getting what was owed to them, but it was a bit more of a hassle than was necessary.

I am hoping that W2s will be issued pretty soon so that we can get the process of filing the taxes started. I'm interested to see what kind of a refund I'm going to get...

Home from Work Early...

So Cathy and I came home from work early tonight. I wanted to be able to watch the FedEx BCS National Championship Game between Florida and Oklahoma.

We got out of work at 7pm to be able to make it home in time to watch the start of the game. Cathy doesn't care about the game, so she's working out while I watch the game. We were thinking about going to see it at NCG Cinema because they were showing it in 3ality 3D...but it was $20 per ticket, and that seemed a bit expensive.

Either way, Go Sooners!!!!!!

Cathy and the Exercise Bike...Part II...

So Cathy and I went to Sears to check out the exercise bikes on Wednesday evening. They had a few different models in stock. Cathy fell in love with an eliptical machine, but it cost $1,000. After a bit of deliberating, she decided that she did in fact like the exercise bike. She ended up going with a model that was different than she originally wanted. The reason for this was because for purchases over a certain dollar amount she could get 0% interest for 12 months on a Sears Card, so she did that. It's a Nordic Track, and the guy at Sears said he had the older model and really liked it. He wasn't pushy at all about the product, he said nice things about all of their models, but just happened to have the one that we were looking at the most. It's a recumbent bike so it's got a nice comfy seat on it and it uses magnets to set it's resistance and such. It's got programs built into it so that it can automatically adjust it's resistance while you're riding it to simulate different types of things. It looks VERY similar to this one...but I think this is last year's model. The one we got has a nicer seat on it.

Started Learning the Ukulele Tonight...

So tonight while I was watching the GMAC Bowl on ESPN2, I grabbed the uke and the beginners book and started reading. I learned about how to hold the uke, how to strum it, and what all the parts are called. I also learned how to determine which fingers to use when playing chords.

After reading it for a while and just messing with the uke, I learned my first two chords. I got pretty good at playing them, but man is it ever tough to get my fingers to move the way that they need to in order to get on the strings. I had a lot of fun doing it though, and I look forward to getting my DVD so that I can really start learning. Learning by reading is one thing, but it's kind of hard to keep the book held open with one hand while trying to strum and hold chords. Basically, I don't have 3 hands so I can't do it. The DVD will allow me to follow along without having to use my hands to mess with a book.

I also ordered a few accessories for the uke that should be here when the DVD gets here. I ordered a tuner to make sure it's in tune...even after years of playing the saxaphone I still was never able to actually tune the instrument for some reason. I guess I just didn't have the ear for it. I could tell when it was WAY out of tune...but I could never get it that last little bit. The tuner will help make sure the instrument is always in tune, because it just clips onto the end of the uke and constantly measures the tune. I also ordered a humidifier to make sure that the wood stays perfect. Both things were highly recommended by several places that I checked, so I figured that they would be good things to get.

Legally Blonde the Musical

I really don't know how I forgot to post about this yesterday. On the way to work we usually listen to 97.5 FM on the radio. At about 12:05pm everyday the DJ lady, Lori, has a trivia question. Cathy and I have won several times from the trivia. We've won a couple of movie tickets, a cake from Bakin' Cakes, and some other random stuff.

But the other day we won a really cool prize. We won tickets to go see "Legally Blonde the Musical." I really like the movie, so I don't know how good the musical will be compared to the movie, but it's a really cool to be able to go see it for free. Tickets for the event in the area that we are sitting cost $63 each...so basically we got nearly $130 worth of even tickets for free. That's pretty good just for answering a question on the radio!!! It's on opening night, too, which is pretty cool.

I'll be sure to post again after we go see it to say how it was!!

Cathy and the Exercise Bike...

Cathy has decided that she wants to get an exercise bike. But then she hasn't.

She thinks that she would use it, but at the same time she thinks that it's pretty expensive. The one that she found is a model that it appears is made especially for Sears. I think it looks really nice, and it's got some really interesting features on it that I've never seen before. It's a recumbent style exercise bike, so it's not like one of the sit on top ones...it's got a seat with a back and everything.

It is currently on sale for $300. That's $100 off. Not super huge savings I guess, but it is 25% less than it normally costs. I think that she should go for it. I think that she would like using it and it would definitely end up paying for itself in the long run because I'm sure that it would get a lot of use.

It's not this exact same model, but it's really similar to this one here:

TGIF

So it's been another pretty long week at work. I'm really ready for the holiday rush to be over and done with so that things can get back to normal.

On the bright side, today is our Friday...so we'll have a couple of days off. I think on these days off I'm going to do a whole lot of absolutely nothing...it's possible I may sleep for 48 straight hours!!!! Not really, but it sure sounds appealing!!!!

Uke...Part II

So I ordered the DVD on Ebay today. I watched some clips from it and it seems like it will be pretty fun. The guy that teaches on the DVD is a uke player and he's also a stand up comedian. So it should be pretty entertaining, if it's anything at all like the clips that I watched.

I also ordered a tuner to make sure that I have the uke completely in tune. No reason to learn how to play and have it sound really bad just because the instrument is out of tune.

The uke got to me in less than a week after I bought it, all the way from Hawai'i. So hopefully the DVD will get here before next weekend. I'd like to be able to watch it and start seriously trying to learn how to play.

Well...I've Taken on a New Adventure...

So, I've always wanted to learn how to play a stringed instrument. I bought a guitar at one point in time several years ago but was daunted by what seemed to be a pretty steep learning curve. I sold it on Ebay for what I paid for it about two months after I bought it, so it wasn't really any loss. But I've still always had a desire to learn how to do it...so I figured I'd maybe give it a try again.

I took this desire and combined it with my love of all things tropical...including a place I've never been to but WILL go to one day...Hawai'i. I ordered a ukulele off of Ebay about a week ago from a guy that actually owns his own uke shop IN Hawai'i. It got here today, and it is really cool!!! It's so much smaller than I had imagined that it would be.

The nice thing about the uke is that it only has 4 strings, and most of the chords that are done with it use all 4 strings. From what I can tell, that makes it one of the easier stringed instruments to learn how to play. It came with a chord finder book that lists over 1000 chords and how to hold your hands to play them and a book and CD to help you learn how to play. The guy that sold it to me, Mike, also recommended a DVD that he sells at his Ebay store that will help me quite a bit, so I will be ordering that soon. The package came with a hardsided case to protect the instrument and a pitch pipe to help tune it. Also, as an added bonus for the package, Mike put high end strings on it that normally would add over $25 to the cost free of charge. He also oiled the frets and tuned everything all up.

All in all I'm pretty happy with it. I learned two chords tonight and was just strumming it quite a bit and I like how it sounds. Hopefully I can get a bit better at it...

I'm a Spy...

So tonight I spent some Christmas money on a really frivolous thing...but I have thought that it was cool ever since I first saw them in the store.

It's by a company called Jakk's. They make cool electronic and science type toys for kids and adults. One of their newer products is a line called "Eyeclops." The Eyeclops line are all cameras of some type that do something special, like magnify, take pictures, etc.

But, one of their newest product line is the "Eyeclops Night Vision Goggles." They are an actual working pair of night vision goggles, albeit at a bit lower quality than really expensive stuff. However, they do have two levels of vision, and two different colors. You can go compltetely stealth and see things about 15-20 feet away really clearly, or you can go surveillance mode and see things easily 50-75 feet away. The difference is how many infrared LEDs are glowing with each mode. In stealth mode, the lights glow so dimly that you can't even see them when looking directly at the thing from right next to it. But when you're in surveillance mode, some of the red lights are very slightly visible. The goggles also have two different color schemes that you can view in. You can view in "Paris Hilton Sex Tape Green" or "Black and White." Both are very clear, and the thing works really well. The only real drawback that I can find for them is that the screen inside the goggles is fairly small, and is only shown in one eye. This is okay, because the other eye can be flipped open so that you can see with the naked eye...which is important because with the NVG unit on you don't have very good depth perception because the screen is only 2d. All in all though, they are pretty cool. I plan on using them to take the dogs out into the backyard at night...instead of always only walking them down the street!!!

That's It...I'm Moving to Mexico.

So I'm sitting here watching "House Hunters" on HGTV, and this couple is looking for houses near the water in Mexico.

Let's just put it this way...they are finding places near the water that are absolutely gorgeous for the equivalent of $150,000 American dollars. So, they are effectively finding beach homes in an area that has perfect weather all year for about the price of a standard house in the suburbs here in Michigan. Amazin.

Skeg for the Kayak

So I tried to order the skeg for the kayak today. The one from Sea Eagle that I had been looking at.

Unfortunately, Sea Eagle isn't shipping any items out right now because they are doing an inventory check. The site said to stop back in a few days and things should be back to normal.

I'll try to order it again in about a week and see how that goes.

I've decided also that, if the skeg doesn't really work on the TK-1, I will probably start thinking about looking into that Stearns Cordova. I had decided that I would go with the Sea Eagle boat...but you pay a lot for the package portion of the Sea Eagle, which is all stuff that I don't need. Two paddles, two seats, and a foot pump. Those things are $400 worth of accessories that I don't need at all...but they are added to the price of the Sea Eagle package.

But I don't think that will be necessary, because I think the skeg will make a good improvement on the TK-1.

Wood Burning Clock

So yesterday I finished up the project that I had been working on for the bathroom.

It's a clock. I got a kit from Michael's by the same company that made the wood burning kit itself. The kit came with the wood and all the parts to make the clock work. It was supposed to be used to make the clock with markers and such, but the wood was the same type of wood that came with the wood burning kit so I figured it would be perfect to do a nice burning on.

So I set to work on making an original drawing. I made a pretty cool cartoon style monkey burning. It's just a monkey face, but the clock on it is pretty cool. I figure it will be a good addition to our bathroom when we get around to finally painting and such in there...which I think is going to happen sometime in the next month or so.

I'm really enjoying the wood burning. It's a cool hobby that for the most part has been really inexpensive...which is nice for a change. With all my other hobbies...video games, the kayak, LEGO, the motorcycle, etc...the cost seems to be really high. But with this, I can go spend $4 on a couple of pieces of wood from Meijer and make a pretty interesting art project.

I've completed three different projects now, and I have one that is in the works right now. I also have two pieces of wood that are blank and the box that I bought for my pen to work on. So I have three completely blank slates to work on, and one that I have started that needs to be finished.

All in all though, I've had a lot of fun with this little kit...and it's cool because I didn't even know anything like this existed before I got it.

Here is a picture of a really cool burning that I found online. Who ever made this put quite a bit of time into it!!!

Getting Sick of This Crap at Work

So work lately has been a mess. We've been pretty busy, but on top of that, the leave that has been granted to people is getting beyond ridiculous. Today we were supposed to have 21 people at work...we had 12.

Now, I normally don't have a problem with them giving leave to just about anyone that asks for it...HOWEVER...I do have a bit of a problem when they are giving out leave-without-pay to people because they can't manage their leave time well enough to actually save time for when they want to use it.

We have one part time woman that is only scheduled to work 20 hours a week. She has worked less than 10 hours for nearly every week since before Thanksgiving. All of it has been leave-without-pay because she has no leave. We have another part time woman that is 24 hours a week. She works about 15 hours it seems. We have one full time woman that has basically been taking probably 16 hours of leave-without-pay every two weeks since she started. She literally can't possibly have any leave...yet they continue giving these people this time off.

To top it off, the two part time females both got ALL THREE of the major holidays off...Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving...as best I can tell, they were the ONLY two employees on our shift that got all three holidays off. I'm not exactly sure how that's fair.

Now, like I said, I normally don't mind when leave is granted. But this is getting to the point where it's starting to upset other people. The people that show up to work everyday and only take leave when they have leave to take are getting a bit fed up with covering for these no-shows. To make matters worse, the people doing it don't seem to give a rat's ass that everyone else thinks it's a bit wrong that they are doing it.

Now, they aren't the only ones to blame. Our management has decided that this practice is okay. They don't seem to care about how much it damages morale or how shorthanded it can make us on any given day. I guess it's just another example of our management being a bit out of touch with the work force.

Happy Year of the Cow

So I know it's not actually the Chinese New Year yet, but it IS our New Year.

So, to start this animal year a bit early, Happy Year of the Cow...or Ox...whichever you choose!!!!