Identity Thief...

TWO ENTHUSIASTIC thumbs up! Oh. My. Gosh. This movie was laugh-out-loud funny. If you're like me and enjoy physical comedies you are in for a treat. Both Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman are great. Melissa or "Sandy Bigelow...Patterson" was in all her former 'Bridesmaids' glory plus some, and Jason Bateman was just as funny now as he was during the Arrested Deveopment days. (Sidebar: I've read online that there's supposedly an Arrested Deveopment movie in the works starring all of the original cast members!) Strangely, T.I. was very good playing a thuged out drug dealer - whowoulda' thought?!?! I joke, but bottom line, the movie is a good mindless comedy that doesn't disappoint. If you don't make it to the theater you at least have to check it out on OnDemand or at minimum Red Box.

For the LOVE of the Trinity!

This weekend was just a whirlwind of bridge activities, Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge activities that is. 

Dallas’ newest vehicular bridge is 99% complete and set to open to traffic by month end. The bridge, designed by none other than world renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava is one of three Calatrava designs set to adorn the West Dallas skyline.

Friday night was just a buzz with droves of Dallasite’s at the private celebration to kick-off the first of three celebrations. Saturday was open to the public and included a “Parade of Builders,” and general street fair vendors, food and fun. I was at both events and took a few pictures to commemorate the event. Take a look for yourself. It’s a very beautiful bridge.

As you can see, the Friday night event was jam packed with party go'ers.

Can you believe this picture was taken with my BlackBerry?

My friend Frank and I at the event  - yes, we are "working."

View of the bridge from the west approach.

Looking up!

Happy Leap Year!

It is Feb. 29, and that means one thing—it's a Leap Year. Every four years, we celebrate an extra day in February, and 2012 happens to be one of those years.

Fast Fact:
It was Julius Caesar who introduced the Leap Year to the Romans about 2,000 years ago, but there was only one rule: to have the year be divisible by four. It wasn't until 1,500 years later that that was corrected, when it was found that there were too many Leap Years.

Mash the gas, gas pump

Am I the only one who thinks that gas pumps today have gotten ridiculously slow?  I’m not talking about the actual pumping mechanism itself, but rather the ‘pay at the pump’ computer/credit card reader feature.  I would say this is about, oh, my 10,000^th time to use a gas pump in my life; but, why are they so freaking slow?!?!  When you insert your credit card it takes forever for the screen to update…  “Select Credit or Debit,” Beep, Beep, (30 seconds) “Enter your billing zip code,” Beep, Beep, (30 seconds) “Would you like a receipt?” Beep, Beep, (30 seconds) “No.”  

It seems like I spend an eternity standing at the pump just waiting to enter my zip code, (Sidebar: 9 times out of 10, the stupid keypad hasn’t been maintained and one numeric key isn’t working – and, just-my-luck, it happens to be one of the five digits I need to enter for my specific zip code, or sometimes, I finally get the malfunctioning key to work only for it to be pressed two times rapidly thereby inputting the incorrect zip code) or to say, no, I do not want a receipt!  I mean, people can pay their bills and order pizza on their smartphones – is it too much to ask for a gas pump that doesn’t age me every time I refuel?  Sometimes I think it would take less time for Barney Fife himself to come out and fill me up, wash my windshield and sell me a Coke for a nickel than it does to get gas in 2012!  

Hell hath no fury like a parent (read: owner) scorned.

Let me just preface this blog with a disclaimer – I do not, and have never used Petco for any type of pet grooming service.  I have, in the past, on occasion, purchased pet related products from Petco.  Well…NEVER AGAIN!  Take a look at this LINK. 

It details how a Petco in Hawaii was grooming a dog and “accidentally” cut off part of its ear; and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, they glued it back on and attempted to give the dog back to its owner without saying a word!  Adding injury to insult, they had also clipped the dogs nails too short which were also bleeding. 

Wester man resting

To me, caring for a pet, whether in daycare, boarding or grooming is no different than caring for a child.  I am very particular about who I leave Weslee in the care of.  Really, the only people that I truly trust and don’t worry about while he is in their care, is my parents.  I have, on occasion, left him with my sisters and their families, but I do worry – not because I think they won’t take top notch care of him, because they would/do/have, but because they each have young children, and, after all, kids are known to be forgetful and don’t really pay attention.  He has had the same vet, with the exception of a specialist his entire life.  His vet is an hour drive from my house, but he is the only one I trust.  He has has been our “family” vet for 15+ years, and, during that time, I’ve called him at home 10+ times, about 5 of which, were between the hours of 1:00 am – 4:00 am.  He is an excellent vet and I trust him implicitly, but, I am getting off the topic of this blog. 

Had this been me, and I got back in the car or arrived at home only to find my dogs ear bloody and parts glued back on, I would most likely be in jail or at minimum facing serious criminal charges.  While I won’t go as far as saying I would have ‘killed’ someone, I most certainly would have attempted to use the clippers to trim off one of their appendages in an effort remedy the situation. This is totally, 100%, entirely unacceptable.  Let me close by saying, had I been on this jury, the plaintiff would be very, very rich.  

I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places – he told me to stop going to those places!

As much as I dread it, the time has come to find a new doctor.  Nothing bad or anything like that, my doctor is actually leaving his practice due to personal conflicts between his idea of what medicine should be, and alas, what medicine in the United States actually is/has become.  With that being said, I want to find another doctor close to my ‘home base’ that will be convenient for me to see.  I don’t want to cut ties with my old doctor all together, as he is a really good doctor, and, who knows, he may be back in town occasionally or may find out he really did enjoy his current practice (There’s always wishful thinking – right?!?).  To help you with your suggestions, I’ve devised a few non-negotiables when it comes to my next doctor. 

1 – A male, preferably someone who is younger, young enough to say:  find Family Guy funny, appreciate 80’s music and can operate a Smart Phone – on their own. 

2 – Have a good sense of humor – a must!

3 – They are located in the Dallas area.  Preferably near the Baylor, Downtown/Uptown area.

4 - He doesn't believe in shots, drawing blood, prostate exams or colonoscopies. I joke...or do I?

Having said that, I’m currently accepting new patients, I mean, doctors referrals.  

"And you can quote me on this!"

So my coworker asks me today, “what’s your favorite quote?”  Quickly, I responded, “Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of fashion” – Robert Frost.  She said, “that’s good, but what’s a shorter one?”  So after some thought and research I said, “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything” – Unknown.  So true, just think about it…

Lady in Black, more like Bitch in Black!

Against my better judgment, this weekend I agreed to go see “Lady in Black” with a group of my friends.  Any of you who know me personally, or have ready my blog for a while, know that I DO NOT like NOR do I watch scary/horror movies...  I can vividly recall the last horror movie that I was foolish enough to go see, Devil; and, let me tell you - I swear the Devil himself personally followed me home after that movie.  I didn’t sleep for three days! You would have thought that I learned my lesson, but no, I’m a total glutton for punishment.  I spent 40% of the movie staring at my hands or the corner of the wall, then about 15% of the movie taking off my glasses and cleaning them so that the image on the screen would be fully distorted and less intense.  It wasn’t the best movie ever, it wasn’t the worst movie ever, it was simply a typical horror movie. 

In true Dallasite style, let me tell you how I would have ended it, had I been the writer.  [SPOILER ALERT] In the end, I would have let that crazy ass bitch return to some sibilance of normal and have been satisfied with getting the remains of her son back in the coffin with her.  No need to kill poor Daniel Radcliffe or his little boy.  As so, at the very end of the movie, when the main character and his son wake up after being hit by the train, I would have had the wife/mother tell them that it wasn’t their time and she loved them, yada, yada, yada, and then cut back to real life where the man and his son are okay, narrowly avoiding death by the train, annnnddddddd…scene!

Gunning for change!

So you can see for yourself, the re-bluing project is now complete; and, it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  It was a little bit touch-and-go once we decided to sandblast in lieu of sanding.  Note to future re-blu’ers – sandblasting isn’t the best medium to remove the old stain as it get inside the gun and makes the mechanisms very difficult to operate due to the grit factor.  Though, with a little extra time and a ton of WD-40 and machine oil, I brought it right around.  As good as new if you ask me.  Next up…CHP.  Me and my coworkers will be applying and taking the class, together.  Word to the wise; don’t cut me off in traffic – just kidding!

Listen up, Rick Perry!

Rick Perry! Stop wasting Texas tax payer money! You are so out of touch! You're not going to win, you're hemorrhaging money and you're disgracing all Texans.  I am tired of paying for you to galavant around the United States "playing" the role of presidential candidate.  You've become the laughing stock of the nation, if not the continent or world.  You need to get a grip, get a life, and get a new job - in that order, tout de suite.  What.A.Douchebag.