| 4/21/2008 |
Fish Don't Fry In The Kitchen. Beans Don't Burn On The Grill
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I understand that there are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to Man Vs. Woman. Women raise the children. Men are the bread winners. While a man's house is his castle, it's the woman that takes care of the house. Making sure bills are paid and rooms are kept clean. I'm not here to argue that this is right or wrong. Nor to question it's effectiveness as a modern way of living.
I'd like to add a new dimension to this. There are some tasks that fall under a certain gender to take care of. Again, let me reemphasize that I'm not condoning them, just acknowledging the existence of them. Child rearing. It is usually seen as the wife's/mother's role to raise the children. Conversely, men are seen as the repair type. The handyman around the house.
What about in same sex couples? How are things divided when there aren't gender lines to separate things? Does the person who cooked, get out of doing dishes? Are the chores separated by room? Does it even matter who does what as long as it gets done?
Discuss.Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 4/21/2008 06:08:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 4/07/2008 |
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
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I pruchased a grill over the weekend. I'd been in the mood for some grillin' and chillin' for a while. As I've joked before, the grill is the only thing I miss about something in the past. HA! I'd been eyeing a grill at Super Target for a couple weeks now. I'm sure the security folks were starting to think that I was casing the joint.
First I was debating if I really wanted to get it. Then I was holding out til my tax refund arrived. Then I wanted to get it on a weekend I wasn't working. When Mark and I finally went to go purchase the grill, it was on sale. WOO!!
Get the thing loaded up in the Jeep and get home. Mark was making lunch. It'd be ready in about an hour. I figured that would be a good time to get the grill put together. I unloaded everything outside. My thinking being that getting it out the door might be an issue. Set it up where you want it. Seemed like sound thinking. On a sunny... windy day... instructions where blowing around. Packing material was blowing around. There were a lot of small part to be potentially lost through the wooden patio cracks. It was a hassle. So I moved it inside. Mark just looked at me with part pity, part aww... I can only imagine what he was thinking.
An hour later, lunch was ready to go and I was barely done with the assembly of the legs. Seriously? Granted part of that involved me unboxing and completely moving everything, but still. I'm not opposed to reading instructions. But I'm a visual learner. Show me how to do it or let me see a picture of how it's supposed to be and I'll reverse engineer it. Looking at the picture was helpful, but the instructions themselves were slightly vague for me. My confidence in the instructions was failing.
I was on a mission. As Mark took a post-lunch siesta, I continued to work on the grill. I had to do it. Pointing out the occasional mistake, Mark was willing to lend a hand and offer his reassurance that how I was doing it was correct.
Three and a half hours later we had a grill! I'm a person of average intelligence, but this grill almost bested me. So many little screws and parts that need to go here or there. So many pieces that eventually will come together into a machine of flame and food. And they did. The only pieces I had left over were the spare pieces that the package came with. So that's a good sign.
The only issue... My faith in how I assembled it is lacking. The part where the gasline is fed into the burner tube is bothering me. Both parts are connected to the grill in one way or another, but to each other... one is inside the other. Nothing really securing them together. My instinct tells me that if this is where gas comes from the tank and that it eventually meets ignition and flame... things would blow up?
So if I try it and I blow up... If I die, it was nice knowing all of you. If I make it, but I'm horribly disfigured... Monsters need love too.
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 4/07/2008 04:47:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 3/18/2008 |
IT'S ELECTRIC - Part 2
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Ok. So we're into Day 5 of the Amish lifestyle. I've adjust decently considered that I worked over the weekend so I wasn't really home all day to have to entertain myself without TV. Now some may find TV just a noise box that is full of trash. Fine. I don't. I like TV. I miss TV. Even if I'm not watching it I didn't realize how much quieter the place is without it. Sure I've still got my computer and thus music and can watch some shows online. Which I have been doing... But The Food Network or Discovery Channel was a staple on my days off during the afternoon. I miss Paula Deen's laugh. I miss Mike Rowe and The Mythbusters (which would be an awesome band name).
Here's the latest on Surgegate. OPPD is claiming responsibility for the incident. This is what I'm hearing from the apartment manager. She told me that several residents reported losing items. Even the complex itself took a hit losing such things as stoves and refrigerators. One person reported losing a plasma TV. I'm significantly bummed and pissed off, but a fancy plasma TV going down the drain would make me call forth the fires of Hell.
Now... all I have to do is file a claim. Which means filling out a form. Which means getting a hold of the guy who handles this. Which means getting him to call me back. So far no luck. I've left him messages. He's called once, but I was at work in a 'no cell phone' environment. I couldn't do much at the time and called back as soon as I could.
My hopes, while still dashed that I lost all this stuff, are a bit better for getting it replaced. Mark and I have even done a bit of dreaming about a new TV. Obviously I won't get an upgrade from OPPD, but it will certainly help towards a new nicer one. One that doesn't weigh 80 pounds. Seriously... how did I end up with all heavy shit when it came time to move?Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 3/18/2008 02:28:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 3/16/2008 |
IT'S ELECTRIC!!
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Some may dispute this, but I don't really believe that I am a drama king. I may have dramatic things that happen, but I rarely feel that I harp on them for days upon days til everyone is sick of hearing about them.
Having said that... Expect to hear a lot of whining, bitching, and complaining about this.
On Thursday I had a note on my door from the apartment complex that said OPPD (power company) was coming to replace a transformer and the power would be out from 930a to 1p on Friday. No problem. I'd be at work then and Mark wouldn't be here yet. So all should be good.
I come home at 6p to find the power still out. As we're deciding what to do. A brief flicker of power gives me hope that things are back to normal. Alas, no... Mark and I decide to go out for dinner rather than bring back fast food. Getting back from dinner around 830p the power is STILL out... I don't know what time they arrived at the apartment, but it worries me that it's STILL out. I usually am in bed around 1030p on a night that I work. So the idea of no alarm clock or my alarm clock losing power in the middle of the night bothered me.
At 10 the power finally came on. But not all of my things come back to life. The computer starts up. The ceiling fan starts to spin. A bedroom light comes on. My cable box didn't start up. My stereo's clock didn't start blinking 12:00. I'm confused and a bit worried. I go upstairs to shut off the light and notice my alarm clock is also out. I try it in several outlets and it doesn't work. Yet the outlest themselves DO work. This isn't looking good. I'm afraid to even test the TV.
I call OPPD and report an issue. The phone jockey says that it sounds like either the breakers might have a short or that it is an internal problem and to contact my apartment maintenance. By this time I'm thinking... if maintenance comes it'll be late and I need sleep before work. I'll deal with it in the morning.
I call in the morning and they come to look at the outlets. I was at work, but Mark relayed the news I was afraid to hear. There was a power surge and I've lost some electronics. My alarm clock, 2 stereo, VCR, cable box, and TV have all gone the way of the dodo. I'm pissed... Hot pissed. But I can't do much at work. I couldn't wait in the 10-15 minute phone queue while at work.
So I call OPPD on the way home. They tell me that it's their policy that they don't take responsibility for power surges. In one of my more forceful ways I explain that if it was an 'act of God' I could understand, but when it is due to work that was being done by their company they will be taking responsibility. No question about this... The guy (who I swear is the same one from the previous call the night before) gives me the Claims Department number. I call and leave a tersely (as terse as I could) worded message. I also left a message on their customer relations line. Both of which only maintain regular business hours. Of course.... God forbid they have customers on the weekends who might have an issue. But I digress...
So this is where we stand right now.
I don't have a TV. I luckily still have a computer and my cell phone wasn't affected. I might end up workign tomorrow, but in the meantime of not working I plan on being on the phone with OPPD getting someone who will replace my lost electronics. I'm under the impression that I'm not the only one in the building who lost things. So I'm hoping they also file claims.
I'll keep you all updated.
And here I didn't think I had much to talk about a couple days ago and hadn't posted in a while.
In related news, I gotta thank Mark through all of this. On the weekends that I work he hangs out here. And usually there is enough saved programs to watch on the DVR to keep him entertained while I'm gone. I'm sure Saturday was pretty nerve wracking. No TV. Couldn't use the PS2 or watch a movie. I expected to come home and find that he'd wrapped himself in the tin foil to keep the spy beams from watching. Instead I find him making a nacho casserole.
DUDE... this is awesome! Seriously tasty stuff.
Not too mention he fielded questions from the apartment maintenance as well. Thanks hon! I TRULY appreciate it.Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 3/16/2008 06:15:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 10/22/2007 |
HOME ON THE RANGE
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My neighbor and I have developed a game. It's a game that anyone can play. All you need is a neighbor who has recently moved and a new neighbor who has recently moved in.
Here's how the game is played.
Step 1: Your old neighbor must eave a few random belongings outside his old apartment. These objects must be random enough that anyone who comes across them might think they belong to someone or that they are meant to be there. (example: a greasy doormat)
Step 2: Your new neighbor must find these left behind objects, and have no personal use for them. (example: a greasy doormat)
Step 3: Your new neighbor must put them in front of your door as they he thinks the belong to you and somehow blew in front of his door. (example: a greasy doormat)
Step 4: You then put the object back in front of his door. Sure, it's not his. But it's not yours either.
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 until one of you gets tired of the game and tosses it over the balcony for the groundskeepers to pick it up or toss it in front of someone else's door.
It's tons of fun........Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 10/22/2007 04:43:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 8/31/2007 |
MOVIN' ON UP NOW
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'Tis a sad weekend indeed. For you see, my neighbor is moving out. Now even though I've not mentioned him except for the occasionally gripe he has become quite the topic around the parts. Rarely a weekend goes by that his drunken antics fail to amuse. This is of course, as long as they don't directly affect me.
On his final days... let's take a look back at some of Matt's finer moments, shall we. Merely a week after I moved in, he moved in. I had yet to unpack. My bed was not assembled (because I didn't have a mattress). I was leaving for a 12 hour road trip to Louisville, Ky and Chicago, IL. It is on the night before I leave that he decide to have a house warming party that lasts into the wee hours of the morning. I was willing to let it go for a while. Thinking they had to tire themselves out eventually or pass out... But by 4am... I was not a happy camper.
This set the bar pretty high for what lengths he would go to when he would party. But, not willing to rest on his laurels for too long he soon found other ways to make his presence known. Races up and down the stairs. Drunken games of Catch with a softball from his balcony to the parking lot, over people's vehicles. And let's not forget the time he was pretty sure he could jump, nay... FLY from his balcony. But, in order to fly he needed to be undressed first... Tossing his clothes off the balcony to... apparently determine wind direction.
His antics were evident each morning after when we could find half-eaten grilled burgers, beer cans, and the occasional spray of vomit on the shared balcony.
But he wasn't without his sensitive moments, too. I'm pretty sure he thought Mark lives at my apartment and I'm the one who makes frequent stays. Mark has become his confidante. His guru. His confessor. Money is not Matt's God. After Matt's brother told him that flying would not be a good idea, he joined Mark for this heartfelt sentiment.
"Money is not my God," he slurs. Wise words, man. Wise words.
I can only hope that my next neighbor will be as entertaining if not a little quieter, at least in the early morning hours. Though, I'd trade a little lack of quiet for the absence of damp vomit. KTHX
You'll be missed, Matt. By the way, can I have your grill?Labels: apartment life, cute teacher, funny |
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I posted this @ 8/31/2007 09:26:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 5/10/2007 |
EVEN IF WE'RE JUST DANCING IN THE DARK
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| Nothing like one of the few days you have to be up super early also be the same day that the power goes out. Hurray for massive bevegage comsumption before bed and a cell phone alarm. A nice shower by pine-scented candle light to get the morning started. Like Mike said, under different circumstances that would be relaxing. Labels: apartment life |
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I posted this @ 5/10/2007 10:13:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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