First Memories of Fishing

I have a lot of memories of fishing with both my grandfathers and my father when I was a child. I was very lucky to grow up in one of the greatest extended families on the planet. Everyone loved to camp and fish and everyone loved to invest in their kids' futures. One of the trips that stick out in my mind the most was one I took with my grandfather, Pjoe. I even wrote a story about it when I was a kid, for the young author's conference.

Pjoe had this little Dodge Dakota truck that would eventually be my first car. This truck had the distinct smell of whatever cologne or deodorant Pjoe wore and coffee. Predominantly coffee. He had a little CB radio under the console and about a million oil change receipts in the glove compartment. Pjoe had a habit of saving every single receipt related to that truck. I could never resist opening the glove box of someones car when I was a kid. I was fascinated with secret compartments. I remember how excited I was to be riding in that truck with the boat behind it on our way to go fishing. I was also very nervous because I was worried I would mess up my reel or get hung on something and lose my lure.

The next thing I remember was the boat ramp. To this day I still enjoy the process of putting the boat in the water and the spike of excitement I get when I finally see the water. Even the smell of oil burning and the little slick spot on the water get my heart beating. Even as a kid I enjoyed these simple things almost as much or more than the fishing itself. To be honest I don't remember the fishing that day as much as I do the trip to the lake itself, I just remember that my Pjoe loved me and enjoyed having me go fishing with him. I can't wait to share and experience some of these same memories with my son.

Quotes from Bloodstone

Just finished a book by one of my favorite authors, David Gemmell, called Bloodstone and thought I would list a few quote that really caught my attention. There was another one too, but I can't find it now.

"Man is capable of greatness, love, nobility, compassion. Yet never forget that his capacity for evil is infinite. It is a sad truth, boy, that if you sit now and think of the worst tortures that could ever be inflicted on another human being, they will already have been practiced somewhere. If there is one sound that follows the march of humanity, it is the scream."
-Bloodstone pg 209-210

Lowes Employees are Retards

So I had a bad Experience at lowes today. Here is the email I sent their customer service address on their website.

"I was on lowes.com and noticed a Dremel Tool was on sale for 34.97. I went to the closest store on my lunch break to purchase said Dremel and when it rang up it was 54.99. I advised the cashier that on the website it showed 34.97, and I was referred to the hardware associate. He referred me to the manager. The manager verified that it was 34.97 on the website, but that they do not price match from their own website. She told me I would have to order it on the website and come back and pick it up at the store.

I just want to express how utterly ridiculous this process was and how I feel like I have lost not only a good bit of my personal time but also part of my intelligence for even having been exposed to this level of stupidity. I went ahead and purchased the item online and I will go pick it up at the store when I get off work this afternoon. Then when I get home I will use my Dremel to carve a statue of Short Bus with a Lowe's sign on it. I bid you Good Day."

So...

Me and Devin went and saw some bands at Workplay last week and had and awesome time. I really miss being in a band and playing lead guitar. Playing in a band is the ultimate team sport, because you work as a team and almost always have that victory feeling after jamming together. So this week I have scoured ebay, craigslist, and every other musical website looking for guitars to satisfy my frothing need for song making and G-sting Bending. But I have put my family and responsibilities above my "need" for a guitar. We're caught up on everything, about to put 1000$ emergency fund in savings, and are on track to start paying off some debt.

I remebered that Mom had tried to do something very nice for me for Christmas. She had taken Dad's old acoustic from when he was a teenager and get it fixed up. Unfortunately Bebaw (My Grandad) had "rigged" it back in the day and there was no way to repair it. Mom also had an old acoustic that she got when she was a little girl in New Mexico. It was a little banged up, but still in playable condition. So she let me have it and I polished it up and replaced some broken pegs and its in pretty decent working order. And it means a good bit more to me than anything else I would have bought.