Simple America

Where in the world did January go? Somebody help me here. It just blew right by me. That means one thing. TAXES. The four letter word that is so bad it stole another letter. That is how greedy taxes can be.

I think this will be an interesting year. I plan on changing jobs some kind of way. The job market appears too good for me to ignore it. I have two interviews this Friday and waiting for another company to call with a third meeting. Losing the drive is as valuable as a pay raise. And I am pretty sure I can up my salary. Hope it can cover these High School tuitions. Why are kids so expensive?

But you guys are here for the Hug Hug Club. Who won now that May stated she is no longer chupping like she used to? Is L B ready to dominate the Hug Hug club scene this month? Will we see a new face (or imagine a new face for those anonymous bloggers) this month? No more suspense. No more drama. No more sentences. On with the tally!

December saw a fewer people win ribbons than December, down by one to 16. So who rules in January. Little Miss May once again is the numbah one chupster. She scored 24 points, 5 more points than last month. Imagine how many points she might have scored if she tried. May has anudda big Blue star!

Lormaikaibinge (aka L B) comes in second place this month. Again!!! And a very decisive second as he had 21 points over the next best score at 14. Good job my friend and president of the World Wide Hug Hug Club International.

So who had 14 points? Well actually two people had 14 points. What to do? I must consult the Texas Hug Hug Club rules. This situation is covered in the rules. The two chupsters have tied in every single measurable category. This means the winner is to be decided by a knife fight.

So who will be slicing and dicing for the White Star? Chen of Penang, Malaysia and Angel of Kuala Lumpur shall square off against one another. Who who can win this battle? Chen could be an odds on favorite with her surgical background, though a Bowie knife is a lot heavier than a scalpel or Ah Boy for that matter. Of course Angel comes in with a few assets herself. Like heavenly divine intervention. Who shall pervail? Or they could just be the sweet girls I know they are and share share.

So much chupping this month as I could post more it seemed. At least it felt like I posted more. The rest of you visitors were so close and I really thought some new faces were going to show up. Maybe I am boring some people with certain posts. Perhaps some analysis is in order?

The point totals for January are:

May 24 (4-1-1)

LB 21 (2-3-2)

Chen 14 (2-1-1)

Angel 14 (2-1-1)

Daphnewood 8 (0-2-2)

Bkworm 7 (1-0-2)

Hijackqueen 6 (1-0-1)

Angeleyes 6 (0-2-0)

Kat 5 (1-0-0)

Hijackqueen 5 (1-0-0)

Cocka Doodle 3 (0-1-0)

Fishtail 3 (0-1-0)

Kenny Ng 3 (0-1-0)

Domesticgoddess 1 (0-0-1)

Pink Cotton 1 (0-0-1)

Huei 1 (0-0-1)

Jo 1 (0-0-1)

Was that the sun? Dang I missed it. After so many overcast miserable days, we had a beautiful weekend. How did I spend it? Closing the books of 12 to Midnight and getting the taxes completed that need to go out this Wednesday. Crap! Had to take a personal day Monday to get it all done.

Just before I submerged myself from all things fun, like blogging I recieved a tag. This one came from a little lady from Malaysia called Huei. This tag requires that I pick my five most favorite Malaysian bloggers. This is so difficult. I like all of the Malaysian bloggers I visit. How can I do this?

So this is in the back of mind as I toss in the debits and offset them with credits. Which bloggers do I pick? As I seek out the reason my A/R ledger does not agree with my general ledger figure I make the first rule of this pick. The blogger has to be physically living in Malaysia today. This eliminates some quality bloggers, but makes it easier on me. (Hmmm… I wonder if this meme makes me a Malaysian blogger) A quick look at inventory and haiz. It is out of balance too. Should I write some of this crap off. Is there an easy way to plug this. Plug?!?!?!?!

But back to the bloggers. The Malaysian bloggers that is. Fortunately, I just eliminated LB, Fantasyflier, Simmie and a few others. How can that be fortunate? Okay, it is just they are no longer qualified for this meme. Sounds better liao (finally).

Who to pick? I have such a good time visiting the Malaysian blogs. If only that big damn ocean did not block my car I could make a better decision. I must pick somebody. And I’m gonna list my choices in alpha-ma-betical order cuz I already going to catch hell for my answers. Really getting a headache trying to make the right choice. It’s easier to write about Miss Jin than pick the top five. Can I do some more taxes? Can I? Aiyah! Choices must be made.

1. Little Miss May. That should be a no brainer for anyone that visits the Malaysian blogs. Presentation. Wit. Humor. Food. Girl has got it going on. And in one more month she will not qualify to be on this list as she moves on to Oz.
2. Plink. She does not blog as much as I like. More, more! I find her writing rich and creative. She truly has made a plink on my conscience.
3. Titoki. She is damn funny. This lady not only laughs at the world, she tweaks at some of the injustices out there and she really goes quite deep if you pay attention. Super smart. Don’t tweak her, unless you can take the tweaking back.
4. Velverse. This is a very talented blogger. She creates picture collages are so nicely done. She never stops eating and partying. I’m lying. She does stop eating long enough to create artwork, and push forward other creative agendas. Did I mention she provides in depth movie reviews? What can I say?
5. Yng Lyn. She is my first Malaysian blogger. Though at the time she was still a student in UK. I enjoy her because she is quite cheeky and she does not think like any other Malaysian I have encountered. Really hope I can do a writing project with her someday when she slows done.

It’s done. But I am not happy. As there are others that I enjoy as well.

For instance there is my Malaysian mother’s society:

1. Angeleyes. Here we can watch the adventures of Darrius as this little guy grows.  Plus his mom has a nice cooking blog too. So you can have a happy tummy while ya read.
2. Bkworm. I enjoy my book worms. It is so neat to read how close Bkworm is with the Little Bkworm. I often find books I need to read on this blog so come here with your thinking cap on. Be ready to read a good book and share a cuppa.
3. Hijack Queen. This lady is so funny. But she can cook up a storm and she has the cutest little ones too. Many an evening I come home tired and grumpy from work and a quick IM with her or glance at her blog sets me in a better mood. 
4. King’s Wife. You have to come here and hope to catch a glimpse of one the prettiest bloggers on the web. And it is neat to watch her kids do the things they do as they are quite close to my own children. I can compare and see what my children would do should they find themselves on the Malay Straits. 
5. Zara’s Mom is one of my favorite people to chat on IM or go read about the escapades of her little Zara. And things are becoming more interesting as little Zaria arrived last month. ZM takes lovely pictures of the family outings and trips.

And there are still more people that need to be mentioned. This has to be the most difficult of tags for a guy that likes all of these blogs or he would not have spend so much time there. My traffic runs 20 to 40% from Malaysia.  

I left off Mama Kat. She has the cutest couple of kids. I have enjoyed IMing with her on many mornings that would have been boring without her visit.

There is Angel How many folks know a heavenly blogger? Speak up! Angel has many adventures to blog about, not to mention shopping and eating. And I always look forward to her hugs.

I enjoy Cyber Red a great deal too. I am attracted to her blog because she works for a Malyasian magazine and that requires her to be out and about more than the average leng lui. Allows me to see more of the Malaysian scene and I like that.

Winn took me to the wonderliu world of, eh, Liu. Still not sure what it means but it feels good when I say or think it. And if you read Winn you will laugh. Sometimes you will scratch your head. Then maybe cry some more until you laugh again. Winn is just a Greek comedy posing as a Malaysian blog.

JJ has been one of my favorite sites forever it seems. She exudes cuteness and I have only seen half her face. When I refer to cute I really mean her attitude about the world and life. I see my daughter in a few years when I look at her and I just want to give JJ a huggy wuggy and tell her to get back to her chamber. Oh! I forget to mention she works with snakes all day.

Pink Cotton is another blogger that exudes cuteness. I kind of think of her as an anime that has come to life. I think her icon helps build that myth. Despite employing my spy drone I have yet to see if my mind’s eye is accurate or not. She has put Kuching on the map for me. A place I never heard of until last year.

Doc Chen has added Sarawak to my vocabulary. She travels so much and so far. The best part is she takes lots and lots of photographs so i can add more watering holes for my travel iteniary.

All of these bloggers and I have not mentioned any guys yet. Except for the guys I would not qualify like LB and Fantasyflier. See what happens when you leave Malaysia?

Laymank has a great blog. I like it as he is in on a spiritual journey and this permeates in his posts. There are also some great places to eat. I can hardly wait to visit KL and his aunt’s food stand.

Kenny Ng has to be one of the coolest bloggers out there. And he is a hot rocker too. Each week I look forward to see what the band of the week is. If there is one Malaysian I want to go to a concert with it is Kenny.

Now we gotta have some Ah Beng listed here too. After all I is an Ah Beng too hor? These two guys are really funny too. Lin Peh and Cocka Doodle. They have a nice rivalry which is why I list them together. Both tweaking each other as the have their Yamada college and provide various social services to the bloggers of the Malay Strait. Lin Peh is also the man behind the music scene that produced the Rudolf classic I posted before Christmas. Get ready for another tune as Chinese New Year draws near.

I know I left folks off. Dang. I like you. Taxes have zonkered my memory. And now I must get back to work before they fire my useless butt.

Huei! See how much trouble you got me in girl. haha

Really have had a lot going on. Tax time again, so I’m busy with that. Having to do taxes for three companies that I am a part of and I contracted to do another company and a few individuals. I hate paying taxes, but filling out the forms is kind of fun. Like a game or maybe a puzzle. What number goes here? What the hell do I stick on this line? hehe Not really. But I wonder why a nation would want taxes to be so difficult. Guess accountants have a pretty powerful lobby that fights to make things difficult.

The partner from the CPA firm that audits the college came over this week to do some early planning for the next audit. He talked about how difficult it is to hire accountants now. Especially a CPA. There are fewer graduating now that the degree is a five year plan. He said he hired a non-certified person to do some payroll and payables. A company came and hired her away for US$70,000. Firms in Houston are hiring as many accountants as they can find as there is no problem billing their hours. I had to play poker the entire time he spoke. My thoughts are, “Why am I here?” All this money to be made and I’m pissing my time away here. Gonna change that and quick. I hope. *crosses fingers*

Really tired of politicians playing with words, telling half truths and lies. But it really infuriates me when they compromise the ability of law enforcement. The police have a difficult job without political interference, but I think their hands are getting totally tied. There are two Border agents in jail now, and I doubt they would be there had they been given a fair trial. With a fair trial their names would have been cleared and they would be back at work along the Rio Grande River.

For some reason the US District Attorney chose to go after these men instead of the drug runner that they wounded in a chase. In fact the drug runner became the star witness to put these men in prison. This is despite the drug runner’s history of being in this criminal business from age 14 to now in his 30s. Even his family omits that this thug always carries a gun. While waiting for the trial the drug runner was caught running drugs again. But this arrest indictment was sealed by the judge and gag orders placed on everyone that could have mentioned these facts. Thus it was not entered into the court case of the Borger Agents.

The Border Agents were accused of many things. You can read more here as I’m getting pissed the more I write. All of the documents supporting the accusations against the agents have not been made available to the public. Even Congressional requests were ignored. The trial ended last August, but to date no trial transcript has been provided. The excuse is the court reporter is ill. August? Sounds like the reporter is at death’s door after all this time passed.

This same DA has put a Sheriff’s Duputy in jail in Del Rio, TX too. Why? He protected himself from a coyote (person smuggling in illegal aliens) who tried to run him over. The deputy shot out the rear tire and the bullet ricocheted, striking an illegal in the cheek. These illegals were laid in the vehicle like logs so it is unclear whether the deputy even knew these folks were in the car. Hope the truth becomes evident as this young deputy has a wife and baby. The DA has ruined this young man’s entire life.

How can America attract good people to law enforcement if they keep encrimating them? Why bother being a law officer. The risk is too high. And why does the US DA care more for the criminals than the those that uphold the law? It really smells to me.

My wish is that the truth becomes evident. My dream is that those who lie against someone and that lie places an innocent in jail should suffer the same punishment once that lie is recognized for what it it.

Another rediculous thing is the National Guard on the border. So what? When armed thugs came to the Arizona border, out National Guard’s Rules of Engagement are to retreat. Are the French writing the military’s new standard operating procedures? To make it even more of a joke, these Tennessee National Guardsman are going to receive comendations for abandoning their post. I would rather die than get something so embarassing.

Does anybody in the Bush government have balls? Somebody tell the Emperor he is fucking naked.

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts on my iPOd. In fact, I rarely listen to music on it anymore. One of my favorites is the Pritzker Military Library podcast. They have authors of various books come and discuss it, followed by a question and answer session. Lately, they have had a number or Medal of Honor winners come and speak followed by a Q&A. I’m truly impressed by the integrity of these men. Their love of country and God. Sometimes it tears me up to recall these men’s sacrifice and that of their comrades. They win the freedom I enjoy. Government is only too quick to legislate it away.

I saw this test at the blog of my partner Flametoad and I just had to take it. Not bad considering I do not believe in reading the Bible just to read it and have not visited church in a couple of years. So I’m delighted with this score. I do listen to some MP3s of the services from my church. Which reminds me that I need to order some new disks.

The 3 X 3 tag is one I did last year. I liked it so much that I choose to do it again this year. I’m tagging myself as I have not really addressed the change of year.

• Three 2006 achievements you’re proud of, no matter how small.

1. 12 to Midnight sales increased quite well last year.
2. My son did not have to become grounded from the basketball team. Finally, being more responsible regarding his school work.
3. Made it to 20 years of marriage and we never had a fight. All right, all right. Move on to the next point. No questions on this one.

• Three 2006 events that delighted you, no matter how small.

1. Alaskan cruise really made my year. So much food, fun, and family.
2. Having three titles published by 12 to Midnight last year. 2007 belongs to Ed. Get ‘er done dude.
3. Getting the XBox 360. I’m such a geek.

• Three 2006 events that appalled you. Excluding meteorological events like tsunamis and hurricanes.

1. Losing the right to have a complete slate of candidates to vote for in my Congressional District. There should have been a Republican listed but stupid laws, inconsidate incumbates, and jackass District Attorney disenfranchised me. Bastards! Bitches! Whoever!
2. The entire national elections pissed me off. I hate seeing the Democrats in control. But the Republicans deserve a kick in the crotch for acting like liberals.
3. Iraq pisses me off too. Kill the damn enemy should be the “Rules of Engagement”. If you don’t wanna do that then bring the troops home. Then watch Iraq turn into the Killing Sands, Khmer Rouge Take Two. Oh. And watch the suicide bombers head over here. Fucking cowards.

This was supposed to be a nicer post. Oh well.

Hey hopefully 2007 will be a special year.

So much to blog. No mind power to blog with. But then I remembered I owed Serendipity a meme. Almost clean forgot. *Slaps forehead*

1. Grab the closest book to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the 4th sentence.
3. Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog.

Jaime’s phantom fingers twitched as he said, “Get Osney and Osfryd down here and clean up this mess you’ve made. And the next time my sweet sister commands you to kill a man, come to me first. Elsewise, stay out of my sight, ser.”

4. Name of the book and the author.

5. Tag three people.I’m too lazy to tag anyone. And honestly I tagged myself. So you, you, and yeah, you too. Do this tag. It took 15 minutes. But that is because I am IMing also.

Chen tagged me again. Hmmm! May have to get a tattoo if this keeps up. haha

Okay this tag is also a list of five things. Only this time it has to be five things done for the first time. So many things are done the first time. What should I pick? Okay. Lets try these:

1. Love. In first grade I fell in love with a brown haired, brown eyed beauty by the name of Kim Rene Jansen. I proclaimed my love shortly thereafter and I considered her my girlfriend for the next four years. Though we never did any of that yucky kissing or holding hands stuff. She came over to my house once and when it was time to go, I wanted her to stay. She stayed a bit more and this got her in trouble and she could never come over again. See what being possessive gets ya. In fifth grade I actually fought another guy for her and lost. Silly looking fight too. She came by and watched. After sixth grade she moved to Seally, Texas and I never saw her again. I pass through Sealy every now and then. I often wonder if I pass her home.
2. Kiss. Well actually I was a bad boy in Third Grade and had a second girlfriend. Her name was Sandra Hernandez. She was a cute little Mexican honey with a beautiful tan and long black hair. We used to pass notes and hold hands when no one was looking. The two of us even kissed in class. Very sly little couple. Then the teacher caught us passing a note. Sandra cried from embarassment after it was read aloud and she hated me from that moment forward. The girl even stole my baseball glove.
3. Away From Home. As a youth I never stayed at other people’s house for the night or had them over at mine. Boy Scouts was the first time to spend the night away from family. I remember we went to Sam Houston National Forest and camped at a place called the pipeline. I remember the sandy road we hiked across and the backbreaking load I carried. I must have brought enough stuff to last me a week on this overnight jaunt. There would be more campouts with the scouts. But after a while the backpack either got lighter or I became stronger. Really thankful for my Scoutmaster as he never let us just camp by the car. If we did not walk at least a mile then it was not worth pitching a tent.
4. Operation. When I was 14, I became suddenly ill. Totally feverish and ill at my stomach. The shool nurse called my aunt and she picked me up and took me to the family doctor. He sent me straight to the hospital and later that day I had an emergency appendectomy. He cut a large vertical slit on my tummy as he liked to do exploratories and it left a long scar. I stayed in hospital for two days and the next week I was back in school. I even played basketball despite having a large padded bandage over my belly. Some kid even elbowed me there. What a dummy I was.
5. Date. This was a blind date arranged by a buddy of mine. I do not even remember her name. We went and saw one of those Airplane movies. Not the comedy ones but the disaster kind. Do not remember most of the movie, as I spent the entire movie learning how to French Kiss. After that we went for pizza. Never saw her again after that. I must of been 17.

Chen has cursed blessed me with the five things tag. So I can talk about 5 random things. I choose to keep this on a game focus. Cuz I am still thinking about games now.

1. 12 to Midnight had it’s shortest annual meeting ever this weekend. Only two and half hours long. Some of our past meetings lasted all day. What is the most part of the agenda. Getting things set up so we can go to Origins 2007 this July. A premier gaming convention and all five of the partners are going to attend. Woo Hoo!
2. I played roleplaying games for over 20 hours this weekend. It was crazy and wild fun. We playtested Ed’s 12 Hours to Midnight. A game that works on the premise of Supernatural meets 24. The kids enjoyed it and could follow the story. So we know that adults should be able to get it then too. Yay. Very fast moving adventure. Gamers will love this. Went home and my son’s friends came over and I ran them through some more Eberron adventures. They loved it. Lots of game love going on here.
3. I played my first roleplaying game in 1978. The same year my partner Ed started though I did not realize that until this weekend. A pair of lieutenants introduced me to the game. I remember orcs, wizards, and black puddings.
4. The first wargame I ever played was Napoleon at Waterloo. I received it when I paid for a subscription to Strategy and Tactics magazine. The year was 1972 and I was 14.
5. Some of my fondest memories are playing games with my mom and sister. We played a lot of Scrabble. We were so poor when I was younger I could not afford a Monopoly game. So I made one with typing paper and a lot of scotch tape. I found it years later as my mom kept it in a memory box.

It is freezing all over Texas. I hear Oklahoma has closed shop and pulled in the sidewalks because of the winter weather. I went out and bought groceries and rented some videos in hopes that it will be too frozen to leave home tomorrow. Why couldn’t it do this Christmas? Oh well. Hoping they close the schools tomorrow so I can stay home.

Also someone help me please. Somebody had posted about a website that lets you send SMS over PC. I thought it was Chen but I did not see it when I went back. So I must have my blogs mixed. Little help finding that link please. Thanks.

Well I have been thinking about plugging some blogs that I enjoy and are deserving of more traffic. I will do this without warning and as it fits my mood. Cannot do everyone and face it, some of you are already getting visited by everyone that visits me already. Thus this kind of post does not help you a bit. This is more like a match making service for deserving bloggers.

My first victim blogger is PY who has a blog titled with the same name. PY is located in Singapore and I met her in 2005. At the time she was posting about a trip to Scotland that she made with the NUS Symphony Orchestra. PY plays the double bass and if you want to see her play then go here. She perfomrs on the double bass here with a quartet from NUS symphony. PY is the player on the far right. Don’t they look like they are having fun. This is so cute.

Why should you visit PY? If you want to learn about classical music and theory, history (with an emphasis on Singapore), and the culture of Singpaore you cannot find a better place. PY even takes reasonable efforts to answer questions on these topics. If you plan on visiting Singapore you can look at some of her walks around Singapore to pick some nice sites to visit. She also blogs about food and this can be vital for pleasing you tummy on a trip to Singapore.

So no more delays. Give her a visit. PY’s interesting and deserves a bigger audience.

Edit:  Thanks for a reminder from Cara! Doh! *pounds forehead* PY takes great photographs. Reason enough to visit PY. 

YL of Passing Sights has tagged me. The first meme of the year. Lets see if I can remember how to do this still.   

1) Are your parents married or divorced?
Deceased.

2) Are you a vegetarian?
Only if you consider that cows eat grass and hay. I eat cows. So yeah. I’m indirectly a vegetarian.

3) Do you believe in Heaven?
Yes.

4) Have you ever come close to dying?
I almost drowned once when I was a canoeing. Really was a stupid kid.

5) What jewellery do you wear 24/7?
My wedding ring. That’s it.

6) Favourite time of day?
I like the night.

7) Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
Yep. Though I prefer the flower.

8) Do you wear makeup?
I don’t think so.

9) Ever have plastic surgery?
Nope. But I could be due for some.

10) Do you colour your hair?
I have before. Not currently.

11) What do you wear to bed?
A t-shirt and underwear most days. If it gets cold I wear pajama pants and a sweat shirt.

12) Have you ever done anything illegal?
yep. It’s the American way.

13) Can you roll your tongue?
Sure thing. An important part of any sex life.

14) Do you tweeze your eyebrows?
Nope… I just yank out hairs with my fingers when they bother me.

15) What kind of sneakers?
Reeboks.

16) Do you believe in Abortions?
I believe in preserving the life of the mother. I do not believe a fetus becomes a baby until the Holy Spirit gives the child a soul at birth. I do not approve of aborting for the safe of convenience.

17) What is your Hair color?
It was blond, and then brown, and now it has a lot of gray.

18) Future child’s name?
No more children. Next kid will be Boo Boo.

19) Do you snore?
So they tell me.

20) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
Southeast Asia. Duh!

21) Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
Nope. Trying to ruin my macho image.  0_o

22) If you won the lottery, what would you do first?
Pay off my mortgage.

23) Gold or silver?
Gold.

24) Hamburger or hot dog?
Hamburger.

25) If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cow.

26) City, beach or country?
City.

27) What was the last thing you touched?
My knee. It just popped and hurts like hell. Hate getting old and fat.

28) Where did you eat last?
At my work desk.

29) When’s the last time you cried?
When my brother died.

30) Do you read blogs?
Excuse me. Hello!!!

31) Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
Hell no.

32) Ever been involved with the police?
Great band. Just love Sting, but I never saw him in concert. Oh those police. I spent one night in jail for public intoxication many moons ago.

33) What’s your favourite shampoo conditioner and soap?
That minty stuff that makes my head tingle. Like that Rainwater stuff too.

34) Do you talk in your sleep?
Negative. But i walked in my sleep before.

35) Ocean or pool?
Pool.

38) Window seat or aisle?
Window. I like to spit out and see if I can hit somebody. No luck so far.

39) Ever met anyone famous?
When I was at the Holiday Inn Downtown Houston I met Ray Charles twice and another time I met Tommy Chong.

40) Do you feel that you’ve had a truly successful life?
No. I am underachieving. 

41) Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirly! Twirly!

42) Ricki Lake or Oprah Winfrey?
Oprah Winfrey. Does Ricki Lake still have a show?

43) Basketball or Football?
Basketball.

44) How long do your showers last?
Usually ten minutes as I like to feel the hot water pour over me.

45) Automatic or do you drive a stick?
I can drive both. All of my current vehicles are automatic.

46) Cake or ice cream?
Give me both. Jeez!

47) Are you self-conscious?
What do you mean? Are you implying something? 

48) Have you ever drank so much you threw up?
I want to forget those times. Yeah. More than once. Phbt!!!

49) Have you ever given money to a beggar?
Yeah. But I won’t do it any more. Rather give it to a charity that assists the homeless.

50) Have you been in love?
Sure thing. Am in love.

51) Where do you wish you were?
I want to go home. Hate my job.

52) Are you wearing socks?
Yes. Wanna smell?

53) Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Yep. In the army I got in trouble, so I was “volunteered” to help the medics with a training exercise. I simulated a spleen injury. So I rode in an ambulance and then was medevaced on a helicopter. That was cool. Though I worried about the straps coming undone and my flying out of the chopper. haha

54) Can you tango?
Negative.

55) Last gift you received?
Chocolates and fudge from Kimananda. 

56) Last sport you played?
Ice hockey.

57) Things you spend a lot of money on?
Video games, roleplaying games, books, CDs.

58) Where do you live?
Texas, baby!!!

59) Where were you born?
Phoenix, AZ.

60) Last wedding attended?
College friend.

63) Most hated food(s)?
Brussels sprouts.

64) What’s your least fav.?
People that endanger my brothers in arms.

65) Can you sing?
Heck yeah. You know if you cannot sing good, just sing loud. 

66) Last person you instant messaged?
Bkworm.

67) Last place you went on holiday?
Austin, TX.

68) Favourite regular drink?
Corona beer.

69) Tag 3 friends:
So I have to tag folks. Well I usually do not do this, but what the heck. I am going to tag Huei, Loving Each Day, and Kenny Ng.

70) Current Song?
Not listening to any music now. Listening to Treks in Sci-Fi, a pod cast that covers science fiction topics with an emphasis on Star Trek.

I scheduled December 29th, the Saturday before New Years day, to scatter my brother’s ashes. I made a pdf of the iteniary and forwarded it to my brother’s friends and neighbors when I could identify them. His neighbor offered to print out some of the fliers and drop them off at the beer joints he frequented.

Originally, I had considered a Memorial service at the church my family attended as a boy. But they never called back and I just took that as a sign that this was not meant for him. Plus I never thought of his friends being a very reverent lot. So I figured we could just share our memories of Mike and that would do well enough.

His ashes were picked up the Friday before Christmas. This consisted of a white cardboard box that held a sealed black plastic box. Inside, a plastic bag held the ashes. A metal clasp fastened it as well as a twistie with a circular tag that identified the remains as those of Mike. It is surprising to see how little of a person is left after they have been cremated.

When I considered spreading the ashes I was at a loss on how to do it. To be more precise, what tool should I use to spread ashes without being disrespectful. My first consideration was a garden trowel, but that just did not seem good enough. Then I went through my brother’s belongings and I located a cup. My brother had wrapped this cup so tightly in bubble wrap that it would have survived all but a direct nuclear strike. I could not even discern the logo on the cup. I figured it sported a favored railroad company logo, but this assumption proved incorrect. When I unwrapped the cup I found an anniversary mug for International House of Pancakes or IHOP. How fitting. Many a time I met Mike for breakfast and lots of those early morning meals were in an IHOP. There would be no better receptacle for the spreading of his ashes.

The first stop of the day occurred at our mother’s grave. She had died 20 years earlier also in November. Funny enough they were both born in January too. I drove there with the missus, both kids, and my best friend Ed. One of my brother’s friends, M1, from since the 1970s waited there for us. His wife, L accompanied him. I felt a little bad as they had dressed up nicely. Should have told them to dress casually, but I had dropped the ball. My brother used to wear blue jean bib overalls all of the time. I actually joked that I should have required us all to wear those for this occasion.

After a bit another couple arrived. K (the wife) and M2 (the husband) were good friends to my brother since he returned from Hawaii. Mike had Thanksgiving dinner with them the week before he died. This couple joined us for the long day that I planned for remembering my brother. We waited a bit more and when no one else arrived, we drove on to the gravesite. This location is quite beatuiful. My aunt bought several plots in this area when her husband died in World War 2. When my mother died, my aunt let us have one to bury mom in. We brought two bunches of carnations and these were placed on my mother’s grave and that of my aunt. We chatted a bit, sprinkled the ashes over mom’s grave, and then had a moment of silence.

From there we drove to the High School that Mike graduated from in 1966. I would follow him there but it would be 10 years later. K and M2 did not go here as M2 had bad memories of this school. We would meet them later in the day. I saw one of my oldest friends, R, waiting for me as I drove into the parking lot. He knew my brother from the neighborhood when we were just kids. Every now and then he would chat with my brother. After a few minutes passed another vehicle showed up. This carried R’s father, S, and his brother, H. I had not seen the Dad since 1996 when H’s son graduated from the High School we were standing at now. And H had just returned for the holidays, as he works in Los Angeles now. I had not seen him since the late 90s.

We chatted with each other about this and that. Then M1 had a phone call. Another fellow coming to say goodbye. This chap, B, came all the way from Lake Charles, Louisiana. That is a three hour drive to Houston if the construction does not slow you down too bad. After the introductions were made, I asked if anyone had anything they wanted to say. A few folks spoke. I spread the ashes under a beautiful live oak tree. A place a young student might like to sit and reflect upon what might be forthcoming in his life. Once again I allowed for a moment of silence. And then we chatted some more. I hated to leave my friend, H, as I wanted to catch up. He had been my classmate from the second year of primary school to graduation from High School. We would just have to meet another day.

The missus needed coffee and the loo. She and L moved across the street to a cafe bakery. We joined them in short order and munched on some baguettes. Then Ed and I snuck off to Baskin Robbins and were discovered by the kids.

Once we finished the ice cream cones we departed for the next part of the iteniary. We left everyone else here as they did not plan on going the entire route with us. From there we drove to Navasoto, Texas were we met up with M2 and K at LaCasasita Mexican restaurant. Mike loved their cheese enchiladas and I ate a plate of them in his rememberance.

Why did we come this way? The answer is Mike was a true blue Texan and he loved this land. Our family came to Texas and settled in Grimes county back in the 1850s. And the Brazos River borders a portion of the county. I remember my aunt saying you cannot go anywhere in Texas without crossing the Brazos. This is really true for me today as I live on the Brazos River. But I wanted to pick a more meaningful site for Mike’s ashes. I decided on Washington-On-the-Brazos, which is the first capital for the Republic of Texas. Grimes County can be seen across the river from this location so he is back with our ancestors and spread across Texas in a sense.

The spot I spread his ashes used to be a ford for settlers in the early days of Texas. I hope the first good rain carries his ashes down to the river and across the state. Maybe a nice wind can blow him west across the hill country. This location held great beauty with pecan groves, chestnut trees, and more oak. Here we could not help but shout out our farewells to Mike.

But that was not the end of the day. We had one more stop. Another place that held meaning to my brother. Some of my family worked the railroads. I missed out on their influence being younger, but they deeply affected my brother. He loved trains. As I went through his notebooks I found page after page of data he wrote in his imaculate, orderly handwriting. These pages discussed tonnage and power and what it took to move a load over steel rails. When we saw a train, Mike could identify the engine, chassis and all kinds of other information that never sunk into my head. He would even stalk trains on his vacation. Sounds funny, but he would drive up to Montana and Wyoming and find a pretty location. There he would set up his camera on a tripod and wait for the trains to pass.

I remember riding with him to Dallas occassionally. Most times he would stop in Teague, Texas and go look at the old train station. You could see the Burlington Northern Railroad working on the adjacent tracks. But this old train station is a beauty. Built in 1903, today it functions as a museum.

We arrived after dark and the museum had been tucked in for the night. The hotel looked spooky and we took pictures hoping to catch some ghostly orbs. I spread ashes over the tracks. I wish a north bound train can catch some of those ashes and carry them back to Montana and Wyoming. Maybe Nevada where I believe his father is buried.

With that done we drove home. We bid farewell to M2 and K. They had been good company on this trip. When we parked at the house fifteen hours had passed since our departure. Now my brother was gone. Well except for one jar that I kept for his neighbor. She could not attend and I asked if she wanted some ashes and I think it meant a lot to her. I suggested she go to the bayou where he used to jog.

In retrospect I am disappointed that none of his friends from the bars showed up. Perhaps they were not that good a friend in the end. But I cannot judge them, as I do not know their commitments either. In the end I can only be satisfied that I treated my brother right and hope he approves of what I have done.