Perchance to cruise

So, I was just thinking (Scary thought, I know, but bear with me people.) I really do not like this time of the year and it has been so long since I’ve had a vacation. (12 years, but hell, who’s counting? Certainly not me.)

Maybe this time next year Justin and I could go on vacation. You know, sometime before Christmas. The problem is that Justin won’t fly. That’s when it occured to me. What about a cruise? I’ve never been on one before, but people are always telling me just how great they are.
We could cruise to some place that’s all warm, sandy and tropical for a week. That, and a margarita or seven could do wonders for my Christmas spirit.

So maybe, if our finances are in order by the end of next year and nothing else comes up, I could be blogging to you from paradise.

200

After looking at my stats, today is my 200th post. That’s two hundred in a little less than a year. (I started the blog in late January of this year.) That means I spend quite a bit of time with all of you. I’ve gained so many friends here in the blog world and you all mean a lot to me. Your comments and advice are something that I look forward to reading each day. I know 200 posts isn’t a lot compared to some prolific bloggers, (Mo comes immediately to mind for some reason. Hey, Morgen!) but that’s quite a bit of sharing for me. Especially considering some days I feel like I have nothing I want to write about. But then, I sit here at the keyboard and the sharing begins. Many times my posts come out in a quick frenzy, the publish button is sent and I’m eagerly awaiting your comments before I’ve had much time to think about it.

So today, I thought I’d show you some of the stats for my blog.

Pay no attention to the red line in the graph. That is simply the number of page loads per day. The green line is the number of first time visitors to my blog and the blue line, certainly the most important, are the people that return each day just see what’s going on in my world.

Over the past month I’ve averaged 65 hits a day, with 30 of those being returning visitors. That’s not a lot of hits compared to some blogs that get 10,000 hits or more a month, I know, but it means a lot to me that an average of 30 or more of you keep coming back daily. Thank-you.

This is the really neat part, folks. Although I don’t get bucket loads of hits a month like some of the other blogs, (I average close to 4,000.) I get a lot of comments. Up to 20 or more of you a day click on the comment button just to say hi or to relay your thoughts on what I’ve posted. Some of those mega-hit blogs rarely get a comment, so I’m really gratified with the number of comments I receive.

I’m really happy that you take the time out of your busy day to not only stop by and see me, but to leave a comment as well. That my friends, means an awful lot.

So, here’s to two hundred posts and to you guys for giving me the incentive to keep writing them. You really are the best and I’m proud to call each of you my friend.

Twenty-five things I believe

1. Most people are inherently good.

2. But, that certainly doesn’t mean everyone is.

3. Common sense should be more common.

4. Algebra (as I always suspected) is not useful in everyday life.

5. Being a friend is not always easy, but it usually has its rewards.

6. Sex cannot be the foundation of a good relationship.

7. More times than not, a person chooses to be republican for purely selfish motives.

8. Being incarcerated is far more frightening than any horror movie I’ve seen.

9. It’s easy to be a winner and devestating to lose.

10. Beer is an acquired taste.

11. Telephones are, for the most part, a nescessary evil.

12. Sometimes mommies and daddies do just go away.

13. I am mistrustful of anyone that reiterates over and over that they are a christian.

14. Money is not everything.

15. But I sure do try to keep it around.

16. I would be a vegetarian if I had to kill animals myself for food.

17. It is helpful in life to have some knowledge of auto mechanics.

18. Sometimes, it is true: S%*t happens.

19. Watching golf on television is less exciting than watching grass grow.

20. Ain’t is a word.

21. Working hard doesn’t always guarantee success.

22. Diagramming sentences, much like algebra, is pointless in everyday life.

23. “These are the days of miracles and wonders.”

24. Some stories are simply too sad to be told.

25. Spring is the most optimistic season.

Joke off Monday 19

The New Recruit

A man joins the navy and is shipped out immediately to an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The captain is showing the new recruit around the ship, when the recruit asks the captain what the sailors do to satisfy their urges when they’re at sea for so long.

“Let me show you,” says the captain.

He takes the recruit down to the rear of the ship where there’s a solitary barrel with a hole in it.

“This’ll be the best sex you’ll ever have. Go ahead and try it, and I’ll give you some privacy.”

The recruit doesn’t quite believe it, but he decides to try it anyway. After he finishes up, the captain returns.

“Wow! That was the best sex I’ve ever had! I want to do it every day!”

“Fine. You can do it every day except for Thursday.”

“Why not Thursday?”

The captain replies “That’s your day to be in the barrel.”

A pictorial

… of “The Frying of the Turkeys”.

Thanksgiving, Memphis style

This is the tenth annual “Frying of the Turkeys” for me this year. (“Frying of the Turkeys” – kind of Hemingwayesque, don’t you think? I came up with the name myself.)

The whole idea is that I deep-fry turkeys the day after Thanksgiving and invite friends over for a meal with “family”. No pressure at this meal. It’s just a group of friends getting together to enjoy themselves for the holiday without all of the pressures one feels the day before from relatives at the “real” Thanksgiving.

The menu is pretty standard:

Deep fried turkey(s)
Oyster dressing
Crab casserole
Broccoli casserole
Mashed potatoes

And a bunch of other vegetables that I’ll whip up.

So yes, I’ll go to the dreaded affair on Thursday, but Friday is all mine with its festivities and debauchery.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving, and if you get the chance, swing by Memphis on Friday for the “Frying of the Turkeys”. Justin and I would love to have you.

Southern drawl revisited

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South That’s a Southern accent you’ve got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don’t have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
Philadelphia
The Midland
The Northeast
The Inland North
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

I got this from Jimmi. Yeah, I know, it’s a REAL shocker, isn’t it folks?

Something else…

…that’s not funny.

I’m having a really difficult time even thinking of removing Larry, The Love Lemming’s link from my blogroll. I know it only takes you to a useless spam site now, but my list would look so empty and strange without his name over there on the left.

Larry was the first person to link to my blog. Indirectly, I met many of you through or because of him.

I miss reading his blog at the office in the mornings. It was a morning chat over coffee with a friend.

Just so you know, Tiger, you’re missed.

(Photo by Larry, spring, 2006.)

[Author's Note: Check the comments for Larry's new link. He's back.]

Something not so funny…

I don’t know if you’ve seen Michael Richards meltdown while doing a stand-up routine over the weekend, but it is just awful. If you watch the video, be prepared for racial epithets.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15816126/

I wonder what he thinks of Jews, faggots or women.

There’s a lot of hate in that heart.

Joke off Monday 18

I had an urge to post a classic “yo momma” joke. This is one of the best.

Yo momma’s so fat, when she stepped on the dog’s tail we had to change his name to Beaver.

Do you have a “yo momma” joke that you like to tell? Share it with me today.

I hope you have a great short week…