Simple America

Trick or Treat all of you merry Chuppers! October’s just flew by. I’m so dazed and tired. More than ready for the holidays of November and December. Talking major resting here.

But this post ain’t about that. Somehow I managed to get ten posts done this month. Some of this was made possible by the virtue of that Baker’s cyst. I intend to find better excuses in the future for posting. My leg is almost back to normal. I can even manage a short burst of speed now and again. Disappointed to see that Halloween showed up and I did not get a chance to post any of my old short stories. The scary ones of course. Just no time to find them. Hope I did not lose ‘em. Maybe next year I’ll post ‘em.

October was quite a battle among all the chuppers. It was interesting to sit around and watch the comments come in collecting those blue, red, and white ribbons. The winners have been on top before. Allow me to present a Lone Star to BKworm. This is her first time on top. Congratulations and well done.

The Yellow Rose was quite a battle this month. Two chuppers could not have been more fierce in pushing those post buttons. I thought we were going to have a knife fight to determine the winner as there was a tie. But the Yellow Rose goes to the individual with more Red Ribbons and that individual is LB. Congratulations and a big damn hug to you sir.

It should not surprise any one that, Little Miss May completes this top three. Congratulations to you madam. I think after a good foot massage you will be ready to get some quicker chups for next month.

And it was close all the way down the line. A few more posts and who knows what might have happened. Angel was breathing down the winner’s neck. Just one more Blue Ribbon and she would have been a winner.

And here are the point totals for October.

Bkworm 18 (3-1-0) 

LB 15 (1-3-1)

May 15 (1-2-4)

Angel 14 (2-1-1)

Candi 5 (1-0-0)

Daphnewood 5 (1-0-0)

Socialpest 5 (1-0-0)

Chen 4 (0-1-1)

Abaniko 3 (0-1-0)

Alisa 3 (0-1-0)

Cockadoodle 1 (0-0-1)

Shoshana 1 (0-0-1)

Wuching 1 (0-0-1)

Winn gets special points for the Hug Hug Club this month for being the fastest meme writer. So bonus point and bonus hug to her. Ooops. Bonus scratch behind the ears for Liucas too.

I just discovered that Chen tagged me. Plus I promised mistipurple that I would do this tag also. So I need to break my lethargic chains and post this entry.

9 weird things about me.

1. I like to follow the candy season. It starts with Halloween and those corn oil candies like mellowcremes and candy corn. Then it goes to Thanksgiving with those candy pumpkin candies. Next is Christmas with those hard candies. The old fashion kinds that swirl and have all those Christmas candies. Valentines Day has the next offering with those conversation hearts and chocolates. The season ends with Easter which sees the candy marshmallow eggs. I love to eat the candy shell first  and then let that marshmallow melt in my mouth.
2. I don’t care about going to festivals in town or Houston, but I like to go to similar things that are require some travelling to get there. Especially, air travel.
3. Movies can tear me up so easy. Chick flicks. Romances. Star Wars. Serenity. I can cry for about any genre. *snif  snif*
4. I get upset over very little things. An insignificant thing can totally set me off and gets me to shouting and yelling. Totally pissed off. Some one fixes the problem, removing the reason for me to be upset and I immediately turn off the fire. It’s like nothing happened.
5. I love museums and historical markers. I have to read everyword when I find them. My kids can finish a museum in 30 minutes. I take at least a five times as long trying to get it all understood.
6. As a writer I talk to myself a lot. To create better dialogue I will speak lines aloud. Sometimes I get loud and my kids think I’m talking to them or join my conversation. My missus recognizes this quirk and she just ignores me now.
7. I love Halloween so much. But I don’t have any costumes or decoration. I guess it should come as no surprise that I have a lot of candy. 
8. I always get embarrassed when people thank me for having served in the Army. I just don’t think I did anything worthy of the accolades. Wish it would be focused on those that have risked their life, died, or have become incapacitated. I’m not worthy considering those who have truly suffered and sacrificed.
9. I hate my job but I just keep going. Instead of looking for a new position or writing a blockbuster novel I just keep on doing the same old thing. That’s gotta change and soon.

These are my 9 weird things (for the moment). I think I did this post a long time ago too. Sure was hard to come up with 9. I know after I hit the publish button, more ideas will sprout. 

This was an active weekend. Played D&D with my kids and their friends. We went to the Texas Rennaisance Festival on Saturday. Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. I had a grand post planned in my mind. But I have insufficient memory and could not download my photos.    Still fighting for space.

 Still dealing with auditors, so posting time is getting crushed. Picked up a couple of meme’s from Abaniko and since time is short, let me fill it out.

3 smells I love:
1. The missus just out of the shower
2. Steak on the grill
3. Starbucks coffee in the morning

3 smells I hate:
1. Melted plastic
2. Chemical and oil refineries
3. Crap

3 jobs that I have had in my life:
1. Internal Auditor
2. Cost Accountant
3. Food and Beverage Controller

3 movies that I could watch over and over:
1. Serenity
2. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. Spiderman

3 fond memories:
1. The day I married the missus
2. The day my daughter was born
3. The day my son was born

3 jobs I would love to have (wish! wish!):
1. Author
2. Screenwriter
3. Video Game Designer

3 things I like to do:
1. Play games
2. Travel
3. Blog

3 of my favorite foods:
1. Dim Sum
2. Peking Duck
3. Crab Cakes

3 places I would like to be right now:
1. Home
2. Kay El
3. Singapore

3 things that make me cry:
1. Good movie
2. Sad story
3. Bills

First meme done. One to go!

1. How often do you blog?
I am so sporadic lately. I would like to blog at least 4 times a week. Lately if I can get 2 posts a week I’m doing good.

2. Online Alias:
Simple American

3. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
All the time. I get attached to people rather easily. Sometimes that’s not so good.

4. What do you do most often when you are bored?
Work on a game design. Write, edit. Whatever will progress an idea.

5. When bathing, which do you wash first?
I clean my face first.

6. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
More than a few times. I worked in the army and hotel biz. Both jobs require a lot from a person.

7. What color looks best on you?
I look best in blue. I loves blue. BLUE! BLUE! BLUE!

8. What’s your favorite alcoholic drink?
Frozen Margarita.

9. Do you believe in heaven and hell as real places that we go to after we die?
Yes.

10. Do you find that you have more online friends than offline friends?
No.

11. What was your favorite subject in school?
Band. In high school at least. Had a lot of fun and travelled some too.

12. Are you a perfectionist?
Only in my mind. Once I return to reality I can find all sorts of flaws.

13. Do you spend more than you can afford?
No. But I seem to be pushing it. Need to find another job with better pay.

14. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before?
No pain. No gain. No chance. No bliss.

15. Do you consider yourself creative?
Yes.

16. Do you give yourself the credit you deserve?
I don’t care about kudos.

17. Do you donate time or money to charities?
I do.

18. Have you recently done something to yourself that you’ve criticized others for doing?
Sure. I know what I should do. It’s just damn hard to do myself.

19. What’s on your mind right now?
The audit.

20. Say one nice thing about the person who tagged you and the five people that you are going to tag:

Abaniko has been a great link. In the beginning I thought he was a female and he has never held that error against me. I hate it when I assume and make such a stupid  mistake like that.

No tagging. I gotta get back to work. Missing everyone. 

The LAN is down at work. All I can do is blog and tell the auditors I am an idiot without the LAN. Cool, huh? Shoshana has tagged me and since I cannot be productive I might as well play. muahahahaha This tag consists of 27 questions. So no more delay. Let’s answer em.

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Osama Bin Laden.

2.You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?

Dixie Chicks.

3.Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Whoever thought up this question.

4.What is your favorite cheese?

I like Mohawk Valley limburger cheese. That and some crackers are so good. Had not seen this in years, but I found the grocery store stocks it now.

5.You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?

I going to have whole wheat bread with those ground nuts on it. I will use mozzarella and provolone cheeses. The meats will include smoked roast beef, honey ham, and chicken breast. Have to have shredded lettuce, tomatoes. sweet dill pickles and sliced white onions. To complete this sandwich I’ll need some dijon mustard. I’m hungry now.

6.You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?

Dang this is a toughy. Gotta tag Hsu Qi. She wants me anyway. *rolls eyes*

7.You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?

I have to really think about this one. How about Shonen Knife? Japanese Female metal band for those that don’t know.

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy shit, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?

Being a geek, I will proceed to the nearest game store. There I will purchase the new Ravenloft Campaign book, and the Complete Mage book. Also see if the Dragonmarked book has arrived yet.

9.You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Kuala Lumpur. From here I can get to all of the other places I want to visit by bus. And there are so many people I want to meet in Kay El too.

10.Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Shit! Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?

Gonna go eat. That seems to be the thing to do in this city. So I will comply. Hopefully, surrounded by the good company of the Malaysian bloggers.

11.An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?

I’ll be happy with Corona. Not that much of a drinker any more.

12.Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?

I want to go to the time of the Antoinine Ceasers. This is one of the best periods in history to live. So I would go there to stay.

13.You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

No clothes. Lets all be equal. *peeking* *staring* *drooling* “Where’s everybody going?”

14.You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?

Pinebox is the name of the show. It’s a horror theme. A lot like the games I write.

15.What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck. I’ve said this before. Well, you know what I mean.

16.One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

They aren’t doing anything? Roll over and go back to sleep.

17.Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely.So what’s the item?

People. Then I try to save my dice. Though I wanna get as much game stuff out as I possibly can. Some cannot be replaced. Insurance covers the rest.

18.The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?

Play cards with the kids.

19.You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?
Regeneration. So I can recover from my injuries and stop falling apart. Maybe regain some youth.

20.You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
I would like to have sex with that German girl in Frankfurt’s Crazy Sexy one more time. But now me knowing what the hell I was doing. And without being drunk too.

21.You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Miss Jin.

22.You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?

Singapore. I think I would exist there a lot better. Though I can still go visit people I like a lot next door.

23.This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. Check it out. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?
I don’t go to bars any more. I really don’t care. Cut me off from all of em.

24.Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Check it out… Suddenly, you have gained the ability to float. Who are you going to show this to first?

I would float to College Station and show my partners.

25.The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?

I would bring back the Apostle Paul.

26.The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

My mom. She wanted grandkids so much and never got to see em.

27.What’s your theme song?

Bad Company

And that my friends is that. Hope ya liked it. Not in the mood to tag anyone. But that does not excuse those of you that would like to do this. Pony up.

Well mistipurple got tagged and in turn she tagged me. No complaints here. Getting tagged is one of my many unpaid jobs. And sometimes it’s actually fun. I assure you this tag should be fun. 

This tag requires that the writer define love in three ways. But how? How can I limit myself to just three? I will do my best, but prepare for things to get out of hand. Ready?

1. Love is something that cannot really be defined.
2. Love is something that requires reciprocation for it to be completed.
3. Love is sometimes ignoring the things that might irk you or ruin your day.

What in the hell did I say? What did I mean? Should I elaborate? Well thank you, I think I shall.

When love first hits us a person get all of those chemical reactions. The birds sing. The bees buzz. The heart beats quicker, especially when the mind focuses on the one. And because of this chemical mixture bathing the brain, emotions rule the roost. Infatuation is another word for this. Infatuation makes a boy silly and girl swoon, or vice versa in these modern days. This infatuation feeds and feeds until the chemicals are used up and that other one no longer can spark the infactuation as before.

This is where reciprocation is so important. Now your minds must complement that of your partners. Because if the one thinks one thing and the other thinks another the relationship can be a disaster. Particularly if one of the thoughts is that the other is an idiot, silly, or just a bit too quick with a swoon. Thoughts do not have to be equivalent, but the pair needs to challenge each other to be better, together. Real love happens in the brain with thoughts that transform into thoughtfullness.

Love is toleration. This love comes naturally with your partner. Unless you think your partner is an idiot, silly, or swoons too often. I think a lack of toleration repels partners. Toleration is important for third party relationships too. Vital in fact. The relationships that are kept at an arm’s distance need toleration. Otherwise a person will slight someone that is different just because they are, different. Instead imbrace the difference, or at least ignore it. Love the variety and grow a bit. Just don’t expect the vulgar and extreme to be considered merely different. Sorry. Crap is crap.

These are the three definitions of love I try to use for those I know and meet. But I am also a bit of a materialist too. And I love some things so much!!!  I love my books. Give me a good story and leave me be to read it. I love my DVDs. Another great source of story. I love my roleplaying games. Because I control the presentation of the story as the players join me to complete said story. But most of all. I loooooooove my dice. But then again, I’m a geek.

We docked early in the morning at Skagway, Alaska. I was going on a train ride to White Pass. This required that I get moving quick. The missus and the young uns were going kayaking a little later. I headed down to the International Dining Room for breakfast. Joined #3 and his wife who were also riding on the train. Breakfast was real nice. I had a fruit bowl as well as an order of two over easy eggs with sirloin strip. They added some mushrooms which were just divine.

So after two days on the water I stepped off the Sapphire Princess. The train tracks were right by the docks and then a fellow came by with a golf cart and geve the three of us a ride to our train. It was one of four trains to make the trip to the top of White Pass. There were three other cruise ships in port and each had their own train reserved I assume.

You may be wondering what is a Skagway? I have no clue what it translates to in English. But I know there is a town and a river. The water seen below looks pretty rough. And yes it is. You won’t see any boats or rafts in this water as it is a Class 6 rapid. A little too much even for an extreme person.

The train would take us 20 miles from Skagway to Whitepass and briefly into Canada’s Yukon Territory. It was beautiful ride. Have a few nice shots. Would have had more if somebody named me had charged the battery. Dang!

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

After the train ride I went and charged my camera. Then it was off to the International Dining Room for lunch. I had rabbit for the first time in my life. Very nice. And the presentation was so cute too. They sliced the rabbit and all the garnishes so they looked like a bunny. And of course no pic as the camera is charging.

After lunch the three of us went to Skagway. I was searching for charm from this one jewelry store for my daughter. I also wanted to check out the Phillip Stein watches I had learned of during a shopping lecture on board. That’s right. They even had lectures to help you with shopping. Like these people need help. haha

Skagway was an interesting place. The population triples during tourist season. Folks migrate there to work and they live in mobile homes, trailers, boats and tents. There is not enough permanent structures to accomodate them all. Not a lot of trendy food either. I did not eat there, as I had a ship full of free food to rely on. Save my money for tourist trinkets. Ha!

I found the stick building to be really interesting. It had a creepy Pinebox feel to it. If something evil did not reside in there, it should. muahahaha

Went to the doctor’s office at 10:55 for my 11:00 appointment. Checked the little paperwork and all was cool. Then the receptionist warned me that I had a wait in store.

That was no problem though. I brought my iPod with me and I finally had a chance to watch last week’s Lost. In fact I had enough time to watch all of Lost and one episode of Ask a Ninja (2 min 36 sec) before they called me in.

They weighed me and took my vitals. BP is 120 over 80 which they said is good. Yay! Waited a few more minutes and the doc came in. He seemed quite concerned. He thought it might be a blood clot. If I made an appointment with the radiologist it might be two days until they could fit me in. He suggested that I go to the Emergency Room, where this test could be done right away. He even waived the fees for my visit to his office. Of course the ER will pick up the slack there I’m sure.

I got to the ER and kind of dreaded the potential wait. I remember taking my daughter there last January and it was crowded. Today there was no one in the lobby. I filled out my paperwork and watched one and half episodes of The Daily Nut before they called my name.

The aide took my vital stats again. My blood pressure was a little higher. I wonder why?
Then she took me to a room and told me to put on the no-back blouse you wear in hospitals when they anticipate sticking ya full of needles and such. I was unbuttoning my shirt when the doctor walked in. And I mean walked in. No knocking, no hello can I come in? Glad he did not catch me with my pants down at half mast. He saw I was not ready after yakking a bit and left so I could finish changing.

When he came back he looked at the leg. He was concerned about the infection and potential blood clotting as well. He prescribed antibiotics and an ultrasound to investigate for clotting in my left leg. He left and shortly a technician arrived with a pair of 5cc syringes of anitbiotics. I just confirmed that she knew I was allergic to peniccillin and she assured me there was no penicillin and jabbed me twice in the right buttocks.

She left and a pair of cute technicians arrived with a wheelchair to take me to the ultrasound room. Once there they had me lay on a bed and exposed my entire left leg and covered it with ultrasound goo. She must have taken 15 or 20 minutes to run that thing from damn near on top of my testicles all the way down to the lower calf. I was so scared I was gonna get a woody and then I felt gay for not doing so. Talk about a no-win situation.

Once the reading was complete they left me alone, while they took the reading to the radiologist. The technician that had been mostly watching everything came back first. She started cleaning off the ultrasound goop. But she let me finish the job. That stuff stays wet a long time.

Then her compadre came back and they put me back into the wheel chair for the ride back to my exam room. I waited for an eternity it seemed (15 min real time) and the doc came. He was all happy and pleased. No clot. He explained that I have “Baker’s Cyst”. This forms when you have past injuries and they can reside hidden for years. Then they can leak or burst and that is what happened to me. All of this poison came from this cyst resulting in my pain.

So he prescribed more antibiotics as well as anti-inflammatories for me. Then he sent in the nurse with the papers and prescriptions to fill. She also had a note that gives me the rest of today off and the following two days off. When I go back to work I am supposed to limit my walking. So dang. Now I have totally lost control of the audit. Oh well. I never liked that job anyway.

Got a little concerned at the pharmacy. The antibiotic comes from the same family as penicillin. I asked the pharmacist to double check with the ER doctor and she did. He seems to feel I’ll be alright. I sure hope so. Penicillin put me in the hospital for three months when I was a teenager.

As I left the drug store I saw a pair of semi-trailers hauling a pair of trucks each. New fangled army trucks. These are too new  for me to recognize their nomenclature. All four are painted for the desert, so I imagine they are on their way to Iraq. I said a quick prayer for the driver’s safety and for the men that would benefit from those trucks. I don’t have it near as bad as those boys. God bless ‘em. Keep us free.

I been in a lot of pain recently. But being a guy I just ignored it. The audit has priority. Last night it came to the oh shit what’s wrong with me stage. Thus I cannot ignore the discomfort another day. Planned on having a check up after the audit, but I am scared to wait any longer. Nothing like being an old fool.

My legs are where most of the pain is. It is isolated below my knees. My left calf has swollen and I pulled my Achilles tendon in the other leg. Been looking like a cowboy when I walk as I must bow my legs when walking. haha

Last night when I got home from work I changed to shorts and the left leg was swollen horribly and dotted with a thousand thousand red spots everywhere. Reminded me of an allergic reaction without the hives. So this is what scared me. I’m thinking I might have burst a blood vessel and it’s causing all this havoc. Why did it happen? I don’t know as I never struck anything hard or heard any burst like I did when I tore the other calf last year. Was it because when I hurt my right knee, I abused the left leg with the burden of walking? Not been a good year for my legs.

Called to make an appointment with the doc this morning. They can get me in at 11. When I described what happened to the person on the phone, she asked if I was a diabetic. Crap! Does not surprise me if this is the case. I think diabetes killed my mom though it was never confirmed. All of those years of giving into my sweet tooth are going to turn on me full circle I guess.

Will post as I learn more.

Will let you know when I know. Audit is still going to happen. It just better continue to flow until I get back.

I am hitting a wall at work. Normal for this time of year, so no need to be wondering or worrying about where I is. Next week I have company at work of the most burdensome nature. Auditors. It is an annual thing. So I must make sure all is prepared for them. Thus I ain’t going to be very visible. Not my normal blog hopping self.

Wish you all well. I may peek, but I may not post.

Let me get my rope out, so I can make it over this wall. Hope I don’t hang my dang fool self.

I was at Kimananda’s blog and realized that I missed her latest post. Perhaps inactivity caused bloglines to kick her off my list. I don’t like that. Let me choose when I remove blogs please. Glad I maintian my blog roll or I could have had a hard time to find her. 

Her recent post included this meme. To repent for my absence I decided to take on this meme and just have some fun with it. Here we go.

ARE YOU:
1. A Cuddler? Oh yeah. I love hugging my honey or a pillow or the mosquitos. Whatever is in the bed. I’m gonna hug them/it.
2. A morning person? I’m ugly in the morning. Give me some coffee and stand back for a cup or two.
3. Are you a perfectionist? Yes, and its sad. Because I can talk the talk but I cannot walk the walk. Life is a big blur.
4. An only child? Negative.
5. Catholic: Negative.
6. In your pajamas? I’m at work. I think not. keke
7. Currently suffering from a broken heart? Nope.
8. Okay styling other people’s hair? I’m thinking about shaving it all off. Me and hair just don’t play well together.
9. Left handed? Negative.
10. Addicted to MySpace? I love my office. Wait this is that internet thingie? Duh is all I can say. Negative not addicted to MySpace.
11. Shy around the opposite gender? Scared shitless is more accurate.
12. Loud? Negative. Unless I’m with friends or playing a game or yelling at my kids.

DO YOU:
12-and-a-half. Bite your nails? Used to, but not any longer. Glad I stopped. Biting my nails caused ingrown nails. They hurted.
13. Get paranoid at times? Not since I quit smoking stupid stuff.
14. Currently regret something that you have said/done? Yes. And it won’t do any good to talk about it here. Lets just say I could be more honorable and act like I have common sense.
15. Curse frequently when you get mad? Only if I’m breathing.
16. Enjoy country music? Yuck!.
17. Enjoy jazz music? Snore! I wanna rock!
18. Enjoy smoothies? I like to make these at home. Get some yoghurt and blueberries or raspberries.
19. Enjoy talking on the phone? Not really. I’d rather be with people. Though I like Skype with cameras. Something about seeing who you speak with seems better.
20. Have a lot to learn? About what? Joking. There is so much I want to know.

21. Have a pet? Fish. Hard to pet though.
22. Have a tendency to fall for the “wrong” person? No. I have the right girl. Thank God I’ve not fucked this up.
23. Have all your grandparents died? Affirmative.
24. Have at least one sibling? Two to be exact.
25. Have been told that you are smart? Yes. And I invested all the money I earned from people that told me that and now I am living in a palatial mansion getting a pedicure. *sarcasm alert* But I wish I would use my smarts so I had the money to buy the mansion.
26. Have had a broken bone? Negative.
27. Have Caller I.D. on your phone? Affirmative.

HAVE YOU:
28. Changed a diaper? More than I care to count. Did not save any for old times sake.
29. Changed a lot over the past year? Yes I have. I hope I’m better, but at one time I could have been worse. All my fault and no one else’s.
30. Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? I’m old. Most of natural color is long gone.

31. Had surgery? Affirmative.
32. Killed anyone? Negative.
33. Had your haircut within the last week? Negative.

LAST PERSON WHO:
1. Slept in the bed beside you? The missus.
2. Saw you cry?: My kids saw me cry when they were laying Ronald Reagan to rest.
3. Went to the movies with you? The kids.
4. You went to the mall with?: The family.
5. You went to dinner with? My family, #4 and her boy friend.
6. You talked to on the phone? The Dean of Student Services.
7. Said ‘I love you’ to you and meant it? The missus

8. Broke your heart? I’m not going to say. Shouldn’t have let it happen. But I’m so stupid. Thank God for the ocean.
9. Made you laugh? Wuching. His blog always cracks me up.

WOULD YOU RATHER?
1. Pierce your nose or tongue? WTF!!! Put a bullet in my brain first.
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny. You have to pay me to be serious.
3. Drink whole or skim milk? Skim milk, cuz I’m damn fat.
4. Die in a fire or drown? Drown. Finish the job that started when I was 12 or 13.
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents. What kind of question is that?

ABOUT YOU!
1. What time is it? 5:33 p.m.
2. Name? Simple American. Duh!
3. Nickname(s)? SA
4. Where were you born? Phoenix, Arizona.
5. What is your birthdate? March 4, 1958.
6. What do you want? The time to write a book and a willing publisher. A nice fat advance would be cool too.
7. Where do you want to live? I’m really juggling between K L and Singapore. Would not mind looking at New Zealand either.
8. How many kids do you want? Two. I’m there. I’m happy. Nada nudda. Finito completo. I’d die if I had another kid.

I usually don’t tag people. But I’m feeling bad for almost missing Kimananda’s post. Therefore I am going to tag a few of you. I am going to pick 13th Panda, Angel, Chen, Pink Cotton, and Winn. I have only IM with Chen before but not that much would like to get to know all of you a little more, please.