It was bound to happen ...

Yesterday my uncle had a big Labor Day get together at his house. There were probably nearly 100 people there at various times of the day. There were five four wheelers at the party, including my dad's and my mom's. My two cousins and I were out riding (I was riding my dad's and one cousin was riding my mom's and the other cousin was riding a dirt bike) and one of them said we should race. So, we raced. There was a big open field that made a good race track. Unfortunately, we didn't designate a finish line, so by the time I started breaking, I realized that in front of me was a treeline and then a creek. Well, being the quick thinker that I am, I decided that hitting trees or flying into a creek 12 feet down were not good options, so I continued to break as hard as I could (the grass was wet, so I wasn't getting much traction) and once I knew for sure I couldn't stop, I turned the handlebars to the right. I was thrown from the four wheeler and it turned over on its side and nearly flipped over on me. Luckily it stopped and just ended up on its side rather than squashing me. I stayed on the ground for a minute, making sure I wasn't hurt badly and then got up to see what kind of damage I did. As far as I went, the only thing that hurt was the shoulder I landed on. My cousin and I flipped the four wheeler back over and it seemed to be okay. I just stood there for a few minutes, calming down and then got on the four wheeler to take it back to the house. It wouldn't start. I tried again - still wouldn't start. Finally I gave it some gas while I hit the ignition switch and it started right up. I drove it back to the house and that was the end of my four wheeling for the day. I did learn some valuable lessons from this experience. First, always have a finish line with enough braking room. Second, it is better to flip the four wheeler on its side rather than crashing into very large trees. Third, victory is sweet - that's right, I won the race!

An update - for Adrianne

This blog update is brought to you by Adrianne and her request for me to update my blog so she and her co-workers at my former place of employment will have something to do this evening.

Ohio has been pretty calm this week (all the weeks since I've been here actually). Let's see - on Monday I once again cut down trees and burned wood all day long. We're having a contractor come in to put in some new parking areas at my folks' house, so we needed to get these darn trees out of the way. There are only about 2 million trees left on the property now. My uncle, aunt and two cousins as well as my grandparents came down on Monday as well. We put them to work also, so it is doubtful that they'll want to come back any time soon.

Tuesday was much of the same, but we actually quit the yard work at about 5 so we could all go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (a little bit of that Texas flavor I was missing). We had a nice dinner and called it a night.

On Wednesday, my mom and I signed the lease on the antique/collectible mall spot where we're going to try to sell some stuff. We've been going to a bunch of garage sales trying to find some more inventory for the store. We'll probably start going to some auctions as well. We've got my grandpa making some shelves for us and we start on Sept. 1.

Didn't do a lot today - just went to town to run some errands. Another aunt and cousin are here now (out shopping with mom) and they're staying over tonight. Sometimes this place feels more like a bed and breakfast than a house, but it's pretty cool getting to hang out with so many relatives that I haven't seen much of over the past 15 years or so.

Tomorrow night, my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and three cousins are all going to an outdoor drama about a bunch of indians. Didn't sound like too much excitement to me, so I declined the invite. Not sure what I'll do instead, but I'll figure something out. Two of the cousins are coming back here after the show and they'll be spending the weekend with us - again - just like a bed and breakfast.

Next week I'm thinking about going down to the town where all of my extended family lives (about an hour and a half away) and spending a few days. That's about all that's going on here.

Great News!

My mom went to the doctor on Monday to get her two month CT scan (it's been a little over two months since she went off chemotherapy). She went in today to get the results and there is still no sign of the cancer that was in her liver. Basically this means she doesn't have to do anything else until the end of October, when she goes in for another CT scan. This is awesome news! She said that since Monday she's felt like she had to put all of her plans on hold until she knew for sure she'd be able to do what she wanted and now the hold has been lifted! That's all for now. Still not working (and barely looking at this point). Until next time!

Animals I've Seen

Today I feel like blogging about all of the animals I've seen in the wild since I returned to Ohio. I don't really have anything specific to say about them, so I'm just going to put them in list form. Here goes:

1) squirrel
2) chipmunk
3) mouse
4) deer
5) rabbit
6) groundhog
7) turkey vultures
8) wild turkey (the bird, not the drink)
9) raccoon
10) hawks
11) finches
12) hummingbirds
13) woodpeckers
14) opossum

That's all I can think of right now, but there could be some more I've forgotten.

On a different note, today was a fun day of cutting down trees and brush and burning it all in three different piles. It was loads of fun. I think I'm working harder (physically, not mentally) now that I'm unemployed. That's it for tonight!

My first steer show

So, the county fair is taking place this week in the town where my parents grew up and the rest of my family still lives. My cousin had a steer in the steer show, so my parents and I decided to drive down this morning to watch. This was my first steer show. They had ten groups of exhibitors with ten people in each group (they were divided by weight). My cousin was in the second class and ended up placing first! It was pretty cool. She is this tiny 16-year-old girl and she was trying to make an 1,100-pound cow do what she wanted. I was really impressed. I probably wouldn't go to another steer show (unless another relative is in one), but it was an interesting, new experience. Well, that's it for tonight. See ya!

DVD Review - Failure to Launch

Watched Failure to Launch with the parents tonight (ironic considering my current situation huh?). I had kind of wanted to see this flick at the theater, but never got around to it. At least it was a movie that translates well to the smaller screen (not a lot of explosions or fighting). I thought this was a pretty good movie and I don't even really like Matthew McConaughey that well. I could have done without seeing Terry Bradshaw's butt, but I guess you sometimes have to go through traumatic experiences in order to see a good movie. I give Failure to Launch three out of four stars.

Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires ...

Today was another first for me. My dad was cutting down a bunch of brush and small trees (something tells me that will be the order of the day for some time to come with all of the brush and trees around this place) and I was in charge of watching the fire. I've been around fires before and I was in the scouts, so I know a few things about them, but you've got to understand, our fire ring is about 7 feet from a forest, an honest to goodness forest. Luckily there were no issues and I had the rake and the water hose, just in case, but it is kind of intimidating knowing that all that stands between the fire and a raging forest fire is you and your rake and water hose. So, that's about all for now, but who knows what tomorrow may bring. I think we're going to go to see my cousin show her cow at the county fair on Thursday and we may be going to a real-life auction (not ebay!) on Saturday (another first for me). Until then, adios!

Pics from trip

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to South Carolina. Enjoy!

Another trip

Went to visit my grandparents and various other relatives Tuesday and Wednesday. It is about an hour and a half to get to their town, much better than the 17 hours it used to take by car to go visit them. I got all of my pictures from the trip to SC developed, but unfortunately left the picture CDs at my aunt's house, so I don't have them in digital form to place on here. Hopefully someone will come up and visit soon and they can bring those darn CDs to me, or I might have to break down and scan them in the old way. Well, raining here again today, so I guess I'll be hanging around inside mostly. Might try to go see Superman Returns tomorrow. Adios muchachos!

Procrastination

So, I think I've figured out that I can sometimes be a procrastinator. I bought a really nice 35mm film camera late last year, thinking I would make it my hobby and I'd get really into it and become this great photographer or something. Well, to do that, it seems you have to actually get the film developed. I shot five rolls of film from last November through June and I never got any of them developed. I took my camera with me to South Carolina and actually shot another four rolls there. I took the nine rolls of film to CVS yesterday and I get to pick them up later today (did you know that 1-hour developing is now actually cheaper than the two-day type?). I fully expect to pay at least $100 dollars for this (If I had been getting them developed all along, this vacation film would have only cost me around $40). Oh well, I guess you live and learn. I hope I get some good pics. I plan on posting some of the better ones on here once I go through them all. That's all for now. See ya when I see ya!

I have returned!

Well, the family and I made it back from South Carolina at about 3:30 or so yesterday afternoon. We had a blast and it was great getting to spend a week with my brother (who for those of you that don't know, still lives in Texas for now). We left on Sat., July 15 at about 5:30 a.m.

We stopped in Gallipolis, Ohio to meet up with my aunt, uncle and three cousins. We were in a caravan with them until we stopped again at Statesville, North Carolina (the trip consisted of the following states: Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina). We had what I consider one of the worst meals of my life at a Burger King in Statesville. We also met up with my grandma and grandpa at the Burger King and they joined the caravan the rest of the way.

We arrived at Brosnan Forest in North Carolina at about 5:30 p.m. After checking out the cabin and unloading the car, we went over to one of the other cabins to see my aunt, uncle and cousins. Come to find out, my aunt had broken her foot on one of the bikes provided for the cabins. She had managed to break her foot in the first hour we were there. During the course of the week, she had a cane, crutches and a wheelchair at various times. After the visit, everyone got to their vehicles and we all set out to buy groceries. The closest store was about 15 minutes away from the forest. While we were out, my immediate family went to Pizza Inn so we wouldn't have to cook the first evening.

On day two, we got up and cooked bacon and eggs over an open charcoal grill. Good stuff. Day two basically consisted of getting to know the forest and figuring out a schedule for the rest of the week (which come to find out would not be followed at all!). It was about 97 degrees and I swear the humidity had to be 95%. Every time you walked out of the cabin, you would immediately be wringing with sweat. I did manage to play a little basketball with three cousins and my brother on day two, which was fun. We got a free dinner for watching a safety video in the evening. It was a nice BBQ dinner with a lot of great deserts!

Day three was a lot of fun. We went to Isle of Palms beach and enjoyed a nice day at the ocean. I hadn't been to the beach in about 15 years, so it was pretty cool to get to go. I stayed in the water for about 2 and a half hours and managed to get a really nice sunburn (my face is peeling as I write this).

Day four was another trip into Charleston. We headed into town in the evening and had dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant. We then wandered around town a bit and then went on a haunted Charleston ghost tour. There were several options and I decided on the Haunted Jail tour, which was touted as being the most scary of the tours. Come to find out, the "haunted" jail is now home to the American College of Architecture, so how "haunted" can it really be?

Day five was a day to recoup at camp. I didn't get out much due to the sunburn. The sun had become my enemy and I didn't want to allow it the satisfaction of seeing what it had accomplished. During the evening, they were having a hamburger/hot dog/chicken buffet, so the group did all get out to do that. We also went for a nice swim at about 10 p.m., which was nice (although the pool water was about the same temperature as bath water).

Day six was to be our last day in Charleston. We went to the South Carolina Aquarium and spent a couple of hours there. We were going to go to Fort Sumter, but realized that it was going to take more time than we wanted to spend, so we skipped that. I took a lot of cool pictures at the aquarium. I hope some of them turn out! After the aquarium, we went to Folly Beach (which is on an island) and checked out their big fishing pier. There was a nice patio seafood restaurant there, so we went ahead and ate. After lunch, we went to their gift shop and then walked down the pier. After Folly Beach, we went back into Charleston and went by the big outdoor marketplace. My brother had seen something he wanted there, but that particular vendor wasn't there when we went back. We were supposed to be back to camp for "Italian Night" dinner, but we didn't make it, so it was another trip to Pizza Inn for us (not many restaurants in the area). We also went back to the pool for another late night swim.

Day seven was a hang out at camp and clean the cabin day. We did have a big dinner with all of the family and we celebrated my dad's 53rd birthday as well. Lots of food and lots of picture taking were the way of the day.

On the last day, we had to check out by 8 a.m., so we decided to just get up really early and get on the road so Dusty could come back to the house and shoot guns and ride four wheelers (his flight back to Dallas was at 8:30 the next morning). We ended up leaving at about 5:15 a.m. and arrived home at 3:30 p.m. All in all, it was a fantastic trip and I really enjoyed getting to visit with a lot of my family I hadn't seen in some time. I plan on visiting with them all a lot more in the near future now that I'm back in Ohio.

Unemployment: Day 18

Another day, another rain storm, another day of shopping. Didn't get much accomplished today. Managed to get my dad's b-day gift taken care of, so that's good. Maybe tomorrow will be a bit more interesting. Only two more days until vacation. My brother flies in on Friday - it will be good to have him in town and riding down to South Carolina with us. I'm really looking forward to the haunted Charleston tour during my vacation. I plan to take lots of pictures - maybe I'll capture a ghost on film! Hasta la vista!

Unemployment: Day 17

Today was another rainy one here in Ohio. We headed over to Columbus for some shopping this afternoon and met up with my aunt, uncle, three cousins, grandma and grandpa at PF Chang's this evening for my cousin's birthday dinner. It was my first time at Chang's - good stuff. After dinner, we went to my cousin's apartment in Columbus and had cake and ice cream. Good times were had by all. That was about the extent of the day. I did manage to find some sandles and hiking boots in Columbus. Tomorrow is tennis shoe hunting day and haircut day. Gotta get the hair short for vacation this weekend! That is all.

Unemployment: Day 16

Here we are with another day on the old homestead. Went four-wheeling through the woods again today. We've created a pretty nifty trail back there. It is a lot of fun and I've started trying to go a little faster to amp up the excitement a bit. Besides that, my mom and I worked on the media room some more. We're done with the riser platform for the theatre chairs and we added lights to that yesterday. Today we hung some big movie poster/board things to add some entertainment flair to the room. The picture on the HDTV looks great. Well, I'd better be going now. I've got lots of country-type stuff I should be doing. Keep looking up - unless there are birds flying overhead!

Weekend Stuff

So, last night I helped my dad build a platform to put raise two theatre-style chairs in our basement media room. That's right. I did some carpentry. Tonight I tried my hand at laying carpet as we carpeted said stand. So, in the last two days, I have learned two new trades. Good stuff. That's about all we got done today as the DirecTV guy was here installing HDTV for the better part of four hours. Tomorrow may include a trip to the outlet mall about 45 minutes away. That's all, that's all, that's all folks!

Unemployment: Day 15

Another day of country living. Today started out with some garage sale action. Didn't buy anything (probably not unexpected, since I don't have a job currently). We then went to Roots Restaurant in Lancaster. This is a pretty funny place. It is a country cooking restaurant in an old converted house. Lots of old people like to eat there (my grandparents suggested it today). We then went to some more garage sales and followed that up with a visit to the local ice cream parlor. It was good, but not great. I prefer Cold Stone Creamery myself.

When we got home from the long day of garage sales, my grandpa and I got on the four wheelers and worked on the trail through the woods behind my parents' house. He had and ax and I had a machete. We cut down small trees and other weeds and bushes. We also moved a few logs off the trail and removed a post that was in our way. We've got a trail that goes all through the woods and back out to the main road to the house now. Good stuff. Well, that's it for now. To you and yours - goodnight!

Unemployment: Day 14

This is some country living! Today I spent an hour and a half doing the following:

1) stringing fresh green beans on the front porch
2) picking wild raspberries in the front yard
3) reading the paper on the front porch

Did you know that wild raspberries are black and not red? Well, that's about it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll burn some brush or something. Until then, over and out!

Unemployment: Day 13

Not much to report today. We've got some crazy red-tailed hawk that likes to chill in the tree next to the house and scream at us when we come outside. He thinks he's pretty cool with his big claws and beak. Well, actually, he is pretty cool, and pretty endangered. It is amazing seeing all of the wildlife around here. Haven't seen anything dead lately, so that's good. Still trying to get the room in order, but who am I kidding? I was still trying to get my room in order at my apartment and I lived there for almost three years. Until tomorrow, adios muchachos.

Unemployment: Days 11 and 12

I've been away for the Fourth of July holiday (visiting relatives), so I wasn't able to update yesterday. Nothing too exciting going on. I got to visit with about 40 or so relatives over the past few days, so that was cool. Today I don't really have too much going on, so I think I'll be working in the garage, trying to get everything sorted out. I need to figure out what all goes needs to stay out there. I've also got a bunch of boxes to break down. Should be fun - it is raining like crazy here today. We got over two inches of rain last night.

Accomplishments

Finally got some stuff done today. Got my address changed with the bank and ordered some new checks. I also got my cell phone changed to a local number and picked up a new phone while I was at it. I got a nifty little Samsung camera phone. It's my first camera phone. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure something out. My folks got their big TV delivered today so I had to hook that up for them. Next step is ordering some DirecTV HD service. This TV is too sweet! Off to visit the grandparents tomorrow and Monday for the holiday and my grandma's birthday. Should be fun visiting with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Until we meet again. Hasta la vista.