George Lopez & Nasty Noodles

Yes, here we are, it's late August and I'm tired of this heat. I know people in crazy hot areas are laughing that someone in West Virginia is complaining about the heat, but I do. The past week it has been nothing but around 90 or more, not fun times for me. I'm serious when I say bring on my cold weather and snow. Being outside running in this is tough. I still get it done, but it's time to drop the temperature anytime now. Other than that, we have a lot of topics in this one to get through, so that is always easy to write up. It takes time, but I'd rather have a lot of topics to go through instead of coming up with things that might not be as good. This paragraph is getting long for an opener, but we'll talk about terrible peanut noodles, back to work, Valley Falls, Coldstone, George Lopez, softball and reunion action, new CDs, and some truly great gems from Corndog and DerekHood to look forward to.



As expected, my zombie schedule began last Wednesday. I always say before work starts each year that the week or so before, I will go to bed early to prepare for a "normal" schedule. Guess what, you already know, it didn't happen. I think I was up till daylight a day or two before I went back to work. During school, I'm still up late and if I get 6 hours of sleep on a work night, I'm pumped. I can handle it till the middle of the week, then it's tough and I catch up on the hours in the weekend, that's the way it goes. I do like the job a lot though, the only complaint is waking up early of course. The kiddies start back on Tuesday, so that should get things interesting. I could write a book on some of my kids, but I never really like to mix work and the blog together.

I'm not one to ramble on about stories of going out on dates, because honestly, most people could care less about that stuff. I'm a great listener, but you know how it is. Nobody wants to hear nothing but stories of how great their dude or chick is constantly. Sure, it's fine to a degree, but mix it up with some other topics, you know? I will throw in some if it's necessary though and can make a good story without getting into any major details to bore you with. I got to hang a good bit with Shawna again most of last week as she was back in town. A few places I haven't been to I got to experience. I need to get out more I guess, but that's the small town guy in me.



For the locals, and not sure why I've never been in my life, I went to Valley Falls as a surprise on Wednesday. I should've taken the cam with me because the scenery along with the little waterfalls isn't too shabby of a place. There was hardly anyone out there, but was fine to eat on the rocks by the water, watch the kayak people, and whatever else went down. Say what you want about West Virginia, I know the rep we have nationwide for people that don't have a clue about our state, but as far as scenery goes, it's top notch around here if you ask me. If you're one of the 8 people in my area who haven't been to Valley Falls yet, you just may like it to see something different and it be all peaceful out there.

I'm a big ice cream guy, most people know that on me. Actually, as I type this part, I just got off the phone with Clark and he was in the store buying some Breyer's. He asked what my favorite flavor was and although I like Breyer's, I don't know it well enough to have a favorite other than some strawberry stuff. I told him I usually like Cherry Garcia from Ben & Jerry's as my favorite pick. Since we're into ice cream, it was time to hit up Coldstone (Shawna, it was my 2nd guess, not first, so I didn't win, hah). I went with a cup of Berry Berry Berry Good that has strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries mixed in with vanilla ice cream. Along with those fruits, earlier I had some kiwi, more strawberries, and pineapple, so I went wild on fruit for the night. The funny thing to me about Coldstone is how the workers there have to sing and dance. Apparently, and I didn't have too much of a clue, if you throw money into their tip jar, they do a little deal. Shawna ordered something with bananas in it and I guess if you do that, they also have something to go with it and so on. My question was what if these people go to work pissed off or with no sleep? I know they take the job knowing they have to be social, but that'd be tough to be all energetic and acting happy the entire time. They should just explode and have a roid rage every now and then to switch things up and have customers always wondering what's wrong. It'd be entertaining to me anyways.



Now we move to The George Lopez Show. I never watched it when it was around. After weeks of hearing from The_Freak and Shawna of how good it was, I'm finally watching the same reruns on Nickelodeon. The_Freak always would send messages on how hot George's TV show wife is and he's right. She'd be Constance Marie and she's of high quality for those keeping track at home. Also, the shows are easy to get into as they're quick and don't drag on. I like cussing and over the top humor as much as the next guy on shows, but they don't make too many good series type shows that everyone of any age can watch like this one is. It's funny stuff and if you're one of few like me who hasn't checked it out before, flip onto Nick at 10:00 and 10:30 each night, with the same episodes on again at 1:00 and 1:30. If I see another commercial for the Gym Teacher movie, I may have to shoot my TV. I guess they really want us to know that on September 12th it'll premiere, we know already after the 2034th time.

Saturday was part of tradition. Every year on the 4th Saturday of August, Cork and his family have their big reunion. Last year I couldn't make it since I had my high school class reunion, but I've been part of it now for probably the past 6 or 7 years anyways. They were bummed I didn't make it last year, so I guess I'll be an honorary family member, even if I'm really not. We start the evening off with a few big softball games on spacious Wallace Field. The field was cut nice and then before everyone got there, we lined off the bases with chalk and all of that. It's pretty detailed, we even keep book and had a nice turnout. My crew won, I believe by the score of 17-16 after 10 innings of ball. I got to rock out centerfield and at the plate all day, I got on base every time, so I'll take that. We were done after that and it was time to eat.



I was ready to get inside for one as it was scorching hot. Once inside, the ladies had all the food ready to roll. You can't beat some good southern hospitality. No family drama, the food was great, and that's about all you can ask for. I did joke with Jason that some TV crew needs to produce a reality show from Wallace. People would watch that for sure as you never know what will go down with the cast of characters there. People came out of the woodwork once they saw us playing on the field. Some of those same people joined in our game and since Cork's family knows how to make everyone feel at home, they even drove down to eat with us at festivities. You think people in New Jersey would do that for regular bums that just stroll on in? No way.

Now it's time for the Corndog section of the blog. I've said before that at random times, Corndog will send emails out about the sights he sees or if something is on his mind. The last few I got were from 4 in the morning a few nights ago and I'm sure he figured I was still online, which I was. He was making a late night Wal-Mart trip and fires off this question: "Why do people bring babies out at 4 in the morning to go to Wal-Mart?" That's a pretty good point actually. Maybe that's the only time they can go, but that does make you wonder. Then an email after that he sends one of his photos. You never know what you'll get with the photos, but they usually have a good story with them. The body of this email was written as "Check this guy out. The guy and girl with him were cuttin' on his head wrap." I had to bring the pic on the blog to help set the scene there. That's a funky contraption they have on that guy's head.



Onto another funny thing I stumbled across in our message board. It started with TyLaw, our resident lawyer, talking about finding a great deal on a nice briefcase. To make a long story short, apparently the briefcase has the wheels and all of that Something about DerekHood's comment with the dolly has me going good, I can't be the only one. Derek wanted to give his two cents in on Ty's buy (rhymed) and this is the conversation they had:

Derek: you got a briefcase with a telescoping handle and wheels? You are an old woman's vagina.

Ty: I think you may be underestimating the size of the briefcase, using the wheels would be gay, and while I admit that I will probably use them sometimes, I deny that it's on par for gayness with a wheely backpack.

Derek: I hope it's a briefcube, something you could haul a 1980s-era microwave in. A few times a week we can look out our office windows and see this lady from the business department wheeling her laptop-sized briefcase across the parking lot. It is utterly damn ridiculous. You can't put more than 10 pounds worth of shit in there to begin with, and usually the thing doesn't even look full. Rolling it and its tiny little casters over a bumpy parking lot and curbs has got to be more trouble than it's worth. It just looks funny as hell seeing a 4-ft. handle extending out of a foot-tall bag/case/backpack. I think as a joke I may start wheeling my laptop bag around on a dolly.

Here's some food advice. I think food gets a good representation in here and I can come at you from all angles. I might not have a huge appetite as far as one sitting goes, but I am the type that is going to munch throughout the day and like to switch things up on the food scale. Everyone can relate to food, so maybe this will benefit some of the readers. I was at Wal-Mart the other day and needed to load up on some quick and easy food. I can be a decent cook if need be, but I usually take the lazy man's route and just whip something up quick. I go to the asian section and see some thai goodies. On Saturday night, it was time to make a box of peanut noodles. They are from A Taste of Thai and come in this big yellow box. Inside the box is noodles, peanut sauce, coconut, and peanuts. The microwave directions wanted you to put water into the actual box and go that route, but I felt more comfortable on the stove. As I got it going and threw the ingredients in, it was time for the taste test. I like hot stuff to a degree such as peppers and the like, but this stuff was insanely hot and spicy (Curry Man for the wrestling fans) to the point it was no fun to eat. Also, it was terrible in taste, to me anyways. I ate about a fourth of it and tapped out and had to toss it. Dad was still awake, so as I went to throw it away, he was curious to how bad it really was. He took a few bites and thought about what it tasted like and he agreed, brutal. To make a big circle, buying that was a complete waste of money. It was nothing like the awesome sandwich I made in the last blog, not even close.

It's time for the latest batch of CDs to the collection to review. Most of the time this is always rap, you know how I do around here.



Ice Cube: Raw Footage. One of my all time favorites is back in action. Cube keeps his style the same as he did 20 years ago, raw and rugged. If you're a Cube person, no way you won't like this one. Or at least that's what I think anyways. Singles that are out there that you probably have heard are Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It and Do Ya Thing, which has a great Dre sounding type beat. Others to go out and get are Hood Mentality and Tomorrow.

Nappy Roots: The Humdinger. Where have these guys been? It's been a while, but the boys from Kentucky have another out. Their style? It's southern/country-fied rap. It's similar to a Bubba Sparxxx type of storyline in that it's nothing gangsta, just them doing their raps on what they do on a regular basis. My favorite on the album would have to be Good Day. Trick Daddy and Nas style, it has kids as the chorus, that usually works for some reason.

ONYX: Cold Case Files - Murda Investigation. Another one of those, where have these guys been? I'm not sure how much relevance ONYX holds today, but 15 years ago or so, they could bring it. Sticky Fingaz with his unique voice and screaming always seemed to work for me as he brings about a touch of meanness. Is that even a word? It will be here. I haven't checked this one out yet.

Yung Berg: Look What You Made Me. Another I haven't popped in yet since I just got these, but we go the R&B route on this. A lot of names appearing here such as Ray J, Twista, Trey Songz, Lloyd, Amerie, and Eve just to name a few. The thing on Berg this summer created a controversy. In short words without posting the entire deal, he basically called out the black girls and says he's not into them at all. Then he had everyone all over him and he had to make up this fake apology. We'll see if that affects his CD sales.



Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: This dirty is also a Bears fan, so she can't be too bad. she's one of those who puts up a zillion pics that we always joke about. But here ya go, http://www.myspace.com/kjl81

Bird's Video Moment of the Week: Another one where I could be the only one laughing about it, but it's worth a try to post:



3 Quick Thangs:

1. Tuesday, August 26th. That's what birthdays we'll conquer today. One of my favorite guys, Celtics announcer and Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn, 71. Saxophonist Brandon Marsalis, 48. NFL running back and cokehead Jamal Lewis, 29. Michael Jackson's buddy Macualay Culkin, 28. Talk about falling off the face of the earth, Macaulay is a total mess right now. That's about all we can do for today though, nothing too amazing.

2. No idea how it was figured out, but we'll roll with it as today's weird fact. If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would be seven feet, two inches tall. I think she'd be crossed off my list, the giant amazon girls can be for someone else, even if it is Barbie. :)

3. The Olympics have ended. We all know what countries did the best and all of that. I'll list a few who I was surprised on the final medal count who even had something: Togo, Moldova, and Mauritius all received 1 medal. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan each had 2. I'd venture to say that 99% of people couldn't pick these places out on a map. I know I couldn't. I mean, I know the general area of some, but that's about it.