The Weekend To Relax A Bit
I drove home from Friday with only two objectives. Go turn in my shirts to the Dry Cleaners and visit the Scout Shop and get a lad registered for Boy Scouts. Picked up the mail and went inside my house for a bit of lunch before dealing with those chores.
One letter got my attention. The addressee was the VA (Veterans Administration) and I wondered what they wanted. I had not really used any benefits since I graduated. I read the letter and I could not believe what I read. No it was not Miss Jin searching for me through the VA it was even worse than that.
National news had reported where a VA employee had taken home a computer or some digital files. Some kind of records. Thieves broke into this individual’s home and they gained access to the private records of over two million veterans. And I am so luckly to probably be one of them. Though the VA is not certain of course. Having access to these records opens up all of the veterans involved to identity theft by anyone that knows how to do that sort of thing. The VA’s letter tried to assert that they did not believe the thives know what they have. Thanks. I can sleep now.
I could wait until I got screwed or I could act. So I called one of the major credit bureaus and had them put my credit on a national fraud alert for the next 90 days. This group would also pass the information to the other two major credit bureaus. Well I am safe for the next 90 days. But I am going to have to monitor my credit pretty closely. Pain in the ass. Hate thieves.
With my credit watched over, I went out to carry out my chores. My first stop was the bank as I needed a little cash. My turn came up and the machine would not let me make a withdrawal. I could pay bills, transfer cash, print statements, play tic tac toe, but I could not get any cash. The first thing that crossed my mind was the fraud alert call had killed my ATM card. I went in to the back. I’m on the verge of panicing as I need cash for both of my chores. Turned out the ATM was out of order. Damn I felt stupid. Fortunately, they had another machine as I did not have a check on me.
Made it to the Stafford Scout Shop and I had no problem getting the boy signed up. He is squared away for camp. I had an Adult Leader that needed to be registered also, but I need our Charter Representative to sign before they would process it. Bummer. Made a quick stop at the American Automobile Association (AAA) and picked up some maps of Vancouver, British Colombia, and Washington state. Need those next month. Made it to the cleaners and headed home.
I stopped at the grocery in the neighborhood and picked up a movie. We watched The Producers after supper. Mel Brooks is so funny. I really love his humor. The missus doesn’t get him though. My son and I were dying laughing.
Saturday we had a lot of chores on tap. We dropped my son off at Tae Kwon Do and the missus and I went to Sams. We picked up some essential things for the home and bought some new sunglasses. Then we rushed back for the boy.
We planned on going to dim sum but the day was still young. So my missus wanted to go to the Sams that is located near the restaurant. The boy and I were drooling over the video games, while she went looking for some skirts for the girl (who is still hiking in South Colorado). We found a copy of the latest Ghost Recon game. I agreed to split the cost with 50%/50% and we looked at the computers. More wishing to no avail.
Went to dim sum and it was nice. I really enjoyed my jasmine tea too. The missus and I must of drained three pots of tea.
From there we headed toward Borders. Actually the boy askede to go there. He wanted to purchase the new Naruto book. I escaped with nothing more despite the cries of numerous books that wanted to go home with me.
Our next stop was a teacher’s supply store. My kids never get the summer off totally. We went and purchased some books to help the son with his reading comprehension, and math. I have also assigned him some reading. Currently he is reading Michael Moorcock’s Elric series. Would like for him to read more quickly. When I was his age I could read the six Elric books in two or three days. He thinks manga is critical reading. I got news for him.
We left there and I gassed up the Impala and ran her through the wash. Then we made a stop at Best Buy. The missus needed some DVDs for recording. Of course we drooled all over the video titles before we left.
On the way home we talked about Xbox and Playstation systems we had at home. I was thinking about selling the Playstation as the only time the kids play it are when they have friends over. Then they break out Dance Dance Revolution and the Dance Pads. Then my wife surprised me by telling me to go to Game Stop and see what kind of money we could make on selling the Playstation and Xbox in order to get a Xbox 360. I missed the turn but hard no problem circling the block in this noble cause. We hit the right day too. The store was extending bonuses for both game machines. The missus asked me if I wanted that for Father’s Day. What kind of question is that?
Went home and carried our purchases into the house. Then I gathered all of the XBox games upstairs. Some Xbox games are backward compatible, while others are not. So I went through the games and seperated those that would work and those that would not. I am quite disappointed the Spiderman 2 does not work. But I am sure they will put out another for 360. Once we figured out which games we would keep it was time to gather the game machines and all of the peripherials and go.
The boy went with me. He had his own games that he wanted to sell also. And I feel really good about this deal. They took all of my games, video game systems, and stuff except the dance pads. After all was said and done I bought an extra game pad, rechargeable battery system for the controllers, and the latest Ghost Recon.
We been killing bad guys at my house.
Sunday I woke up early because I wanted to make a Strawberry Chiffon Pie. Some of you may remember the recipe I posted. I remembered the demand for pictures. This post make things right. Oh I also woke up because my lawn guy decided to mow the yard too. Argh!
I pulled ingredients and realized I had no lemon juice. So off to the grocery store. I also picked up some Canadian Bacon and Orange Roughy. Returned home and I had all I needed to get this pie made.
You’ll notice that I opted to use Splenda rather than sugar. I eat enough sugar already.
I am not going to repost the recipe. Heck, I gave you a link that will pop it up for ya. Here are the strawberries getting crushed and smushed.
I added the splenda and lemon juice to this strawberry pulp. Might be useful as prop for movie blood too.
Then I had to whip some evaporated milk. I felt bad for kicking its butt. But it’s all for the pie.
Then I had to beat it up with strawberries. Damn I can be cruel.
Once it is subdued. Then you SPOON it into the crust.
Then I realized that I had enough of this mixture to fill two pie crusts. So back to the store. Bought the pie crust, eggs and milk. This store is too convenient. Filled the other pie plate and stuck it in the fridge for six hours.
I was hungry by then and the missus made a lovely breakfast.
Spent the afternoon editing a freelancer’s module. Damn this is going to be one scarey heebie jeebie adventure. I hope we can do some neat stuff like we did for Ed’s Last Rites.
Finally got to be supper time and the missus cooked that orange roughty with Caribbean spices. Just yummy.
Then I pulled out the pie. Okay one of the pies.
I liked the coloring. But the gelatin did not do the trick. I made an error in that part of prepatation. I may have cooked it too long I suspect. There was no firmness whatsoever. Was more like a pudding than a pie. My missus did not like the Splenda after taste. I did not notice any myself. My son had no complaints. Mr. Finicky just asked for another piece so that is all I needed to hear.
Note I have auditors at work the last week of June. I looked at the list they sent and just kill me. They want both my balls by the end of the month. So needless to say I am going to have to work work work. My blogging during the week will not be near my usual level and I may have to stop entirely if I run into some audit issues in my preparation. Free time has to go to editing first and then blogging.
I’ll be around and I may stick my chup in because I wants my Hug Hugs.
June 12th, 2006 at 12:12 am
there’s a booby trap in here!!! slowed down everything… slow motion…
but that pie is good enough for me… heheh!
June 12th, 2006 at 12:29 am
chup 2nd!!!
June 12th, 2006 at 12:40 am
Breakfast & supper look yum yum! The pie… errrr… errr… LOL! Okaylah, gib you an 8/10 based on the color!
A hip hop happening weekend there!
And next, comes Monday… *wailssss*
Okaylah, hughughug!
June 12th, 2006 at 12:47 am
cool! u can cook!
June 12th, 2006 at 1:15 am
Agree with May… its kinda slow.. scrolling down.. wonders why.
Anyway, the breakfast and supper your missus whipped up looks absolutely mouth watering *drools all over here*
And your tart, looks pretty. I can imagine the texture since you said the gelatin did not do its job. Too bad. The taste should be good though for the finicky boy to ask for second helpings! *grins*
June 12th, 2006 at 1:36 am
You got an Xbox 360! Aaaaahhhhh. You got an Xbox 360! Aaaaahhhhh. You got an Xbox 360! Aaaaahhhhh. Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. I want one too
June 12th, 2006 at 2:23 am
I heard about it on NPR a couple of days ago. What an unfortunate thing to happen! Maybe it’s a sign not to take work home! LOL
June 12th, 2006 at 3:41 am
You call this relaxing??
The colour of the pie looks a bit Barbie dollish.. hee hee..
What is orange roughty? A type of fish?
June 12th, 2006 at 4:20 am
Hmm, something here made my computer crawl to a standstill, so that must be the way to get me off those Ribbons fora change!!! LOL, I don’t mind. I just needed some legitimate excuse..
June 12th, 2006 at 4:35 am
Whoeeee!! Chef at work. Not bad, not bad. I’ve watched The Producers at least five times already. I am crazy about that show and I can’t get the tunes out of my head!
June 12th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Hmmm… I’m not sure what it is May May. I went looking through all of the html and saw nothing extraneous. In the img code I even removed the id tags and alt tags. Don’t think that helped.
Wish I could give you a bowl of this. It ain’t made for plates. And of course you have the Blue Ribbon Hugs.
Angel with the Red Ribbon.
This was a fun post until someone mentioned Monday. *nudge nudge* * 8 out of 10, Just cause of the color. Next time I add food coloring for you. Yeah the missus some great meals. She cheated using all that experience stuff. kekeke
Oh yeah Wuching. I had to learn when I was a kid. My mom was not a very good cook, so I got rather adventurous. Next weekend I’m going to make humus. You have earned the White Ribbon.
Thanks Jomel. The missus makes it all look so easy. Ate some more pie for breakfast this morning. Found a couple of gelatin chunks. Have to read up on how to spread it through the mixture more consistently. Should I do this again.
The X-Box 360 rocks M. The graphics are so realistic. So much more going on too.
Hey Simmie I was thinking the same thing. Some of the stuff I deal with has information a thief could use for stealing an ID.
This is about as relaxed as I get ZM. Barbie doll pink. LOL Orange roughy is a fish. Very nice and tasty.
I don’t know what happened L B. Really disappointed by the drag. Must learn html soon. But hey it is a valid excuse. But four hours to load after May?
Thanks Bkworm. Me and my son were singing those tunes all weekend. If I ever spot it in the bargain bin I am going to get it. They use this script in a lot of writer’s workshops as a model as it contains so many important writing elements. I may buy this script as well for that reason.
June 12th, 2006 at 8:03 am
hairy arms with kitchen equipment!! I love to see that!!
hehehehehe…
June 12th, 2006 at 8:06 am
LOL, no, no, I had to Force Quit my Browser when it couldn’t take the strain anymore, and then I had to go work too… Monda, you know, that kinda day.. But somehow, it’s loading not too wicked on the browser at work… Hmm.. *clueless*
June 12th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Thanks Jane.
I guess I better not shave those arms. hahaha
It took me a little while to load at work too L B. Maybe I need to find a better way to compress my pictures. Currently I use Adobe Photoshop to prepare my photos for posting.
June 12th, 2006 at 9:24 am
gee… bad timing to look at desserts… it made me drooled… dammit!
oops! sorry…
I’m going to hunt for some supper now!
And it’s all your fault! hehehehe… (what a good excuse)
June 12th, 2006 at 9:29 am
thanks for dropping by the blog and visiting. i think I will try the pie recipe now that i am a bachelor and have found cooking kind of fun.
June 12th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Yummy food. I can’t figure out why I can never get to be the first 10 commentors on this blog lately. Anyway, the Strawberry Chiffon Pie looks yummy.
June 12th, 2006 at 9:54 am
And send you some virtual hugs from the oceanskies’ Teddy Bear.
June 12th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Ah, I just looked at an example of one of your pics (Spoon-in-the-crust.jpg).. I checked at its Image Size, and it is H U G E..
Try this in Adobe Photoshop:
Set the Image Size to Width 500 pixels, at Resolution 72 pixel/inch..
Currently your Width is at 3072 pixels, which is just totally massive. Multiply that by all those pics you have on this post, and we have Traffic Jam status..
Hope that helps..
June 12th, 2006 at 10:17 am
I have been known to corrupt people like that Laymank. Come back and let us know what you had for desert?
Give it a shot Mark. Just make sure you post pictures if you mention it. I learned my lesson the hard way.
Thanks PY. Have you subscribed to bloglines? Go visit www.bloglines.com and this can help you know when your favorite bloggers post.
Looks @ L B’s comment. *pengsan* How do I do it? (Not the Adobe thing) But how do I make such a goofy mistake. Slowly climbing up the learning curve. Thanks L B.
June 12th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Oh PY. Your hug got stuck in spam. I rescued it and hugs back to you too.
June 12th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I see a strand of hair in that mixture. From your hairy arms, perhaps?? LOL
That strawberry pie looks deliciously yummy.
great for food fights in the boy scouts campfires, no?
June 12th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
I had not considered pie fights. Hmmm…
The evil thoughts are compiling Cocka.
Not hair. Personalized seasoning.
June 12th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
chef’s special? LOL!
June 12th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
Yep. Though My son has dubbed my dessert to be Strawberry Slop.
June 12th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
i love the look of your strawberry pie. bet it tastes yummy too. and your wife cooks good. you’re a lucky man!
June 12th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Thanks Misti. The pie tastes great I tell ya. And the missus is a dynamite cook.
June 13th, 2006 at 2:18 am
Most welcome!! I see the traffic is sliding along much more smoothly now too!!
June 13th, 2006 at 5:29 am
Wowwwwww~~~~
They seemed yummy lei >v
June 13th, 2006 at 6:33 am
You know May pointed that out to me last time I was dragging as well L B. I need to make a checklist for image uploads. At least this time I did not upload a bunch of thumbnails. Wonder if I can fiddle with the defaults in Photoshop?
There were Ivy. And how have you been. Long time no see.
June 13th, 2006 at 6:59 am
Do you think it’s worth waiting for the playstation III? Or should I go out and buy the Xbox? Then we can play online against each other. hahaha.
June 13th, 2006 at 8:48 am
I really don’t know much about Playstation 3. I don’t regret getting the Xbox 360. I need to get a modem for this beast. Maybe I should move the modem and wireless router downstairs?
June 13th, 2006 at 9:27 am
If you’re very familiar with Photoshop, you can set the entire process as an ACTION, meaning one click does it all for you. But, it’s very complicated and confusing, if you are not..
June 13th, 2006 at 10:30 am
Considering that I am on the quest of Fat Hao bloggingness I must figure this out. But now I have the buzz word I want to see in any Photoshop 6.5 book that I buy. ACTION please!!!
June 13th, 2006 at 10:40 am
You are as hard to find as me! Seeing those strawberries made me break out into hives! I gots the allergy n shit! How you dooin’ SA???
June 13th, 2006 at 11:51 am
Hey Candi. I’m doing great. You disappeared on me there. Hope you’re doing well.
June 13th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
thanks alot, i’m just STARVING NOW!!!!
btw hint….be poor and creditless like me than you have no worries, i pity the sucker that steals my identity! :O
June 13th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
That looks so amazing…I will have to try it. And take care in your busy period…I look forward to seeing you around later on!
June 13th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Hey I can bring you a piece Mitzee. It’s not that long of a drive. What’s a couple of days between friends. Sonofabitch would probably steal my identity and boost my credit rating. LOL
Thanks Kimananda. I am trying to get it done.
June 13th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Yum, that pie looks great!
Shame about the possible identity theft, lets keep our fingers crossed, eh?
June 13th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
mmm..yummy foods, adopt me!
June 13th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
Yeh B. It was good. Rugrat has been eating it and not leaving me too much. Wanna a kid cheap?
I’m not that worried. Hell, it could only ruin me. I do that every day already. haha
Christine it is good. Should I adopt you? Would be ironic considering I found you on msfeline’s blog and I adopted her already. hehe Fill out the paperwork in triplicate.
June 14th, 2006 at 1:22 am
I still do not understand how identity fraud can take place in spite of seeing so many cases of it.
Did the VA leaked out the credit card number and the security codes?
By merely having the name and driver license or social security number, without the actual documents proof, can some one do anything illegal?
June 14th, 2006 at 6:07 am
The pie looks great. I would like to have a piece
Any leftover for me ? 
June 14th, 2006 at 6:50 am
A VA employee took a database home that has all the information you need for a credit card application. If they knew what they were doing they could sell them to people that wanted false identities. The could use the information to forge documents as well. Robin nothing has happened yet beyond the theft. But the potential exists.
Chen my son did not even leave me another piece!!! Haiz… What did you say about a double post? Where?
June 14th, 2006 at 9:24 am
wah.. must be so delish that your son finish all..
err.. the double post disappear already
someone must have perform a magic just now
June 14th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I did not even get a piece of the second pie. Wahlau!!!
Magic. No way. I used the Force. It is strong with this one. hehe
June 14th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Xbox! C was sulking over it… he wanted one for himself…
You won’t believe this if I were to tell you tat I tot u have not been blogging cos I find no new updates every time i refresh your url. Not til I come here by clicking on your nick @ py’s, if you get wat I mean… tot what happened to you… ha…
June 14th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Sorry Pinkie.
So you missed that I changed URLs? Sorry lah. You have a lot of catching up now.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:04 am
i am probably the last, but i dun care.. all that matters is i have time to read this one through!!!
June 15th, 2006 at 9:10 am
oh my..what a bz weekend…
BOH OH BOY…xbox 360!!!!!! I have yet to see one of those over here
It would be super expensive too … *sigh*
nintendo revolution should be a good buy too!
June 15th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Aw Cat. You know I don’t put a timer on these things. The important thing is you visit when time allows. HUGS!!!
I was surprised when the missus seggested it Pink Cotton. They sell for US$400 right now, but selling my old systems made it more affordable. I just wish I could buy the time to play.
June 15th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
yea, xbox 360 cost about S$640 here!!
*drool*
June 15th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
You can come over and play Cat.
June 16th, 2006 at 12:57 am
I heard that the database was on a laptop and it got stolen from his vehicle. Of course you know how the rumor mill is… who knows. Sucks though. Big time.
You got an Xbox 360 AND an iPod!
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
And you live so far away! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Do you think your missus could have a talk with my missus? Obviously I am doing something wrong…
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
June 16th, 2006 at 6:25 am
Sure. Just have her call. (And pray it does not become a comparison match on us two. He spends all his time designing games and gripes because he never plays. blah blah blah)
Got the 360 and iPod. Now I’m working on a new computer. Wish me luck.