A Year Down...Marriage is Exactly What I Hoped It Would Be.

Greetings all!

I've been busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest...

I celebrated my one year wedding anniversary on the 20th of this month and am just now getting around to talking to you about it.

I started planning our little get-away about a month out. I decided that in order to save money I would keep us close. So, I started researching hotels, events, places of interest, etc...

Mandy and I have different interests, which was one of the first things I realized about our marriage- I've actually been paying attention to her wants and needs. Ha ha. But, really.

The first part of her celebration was an hour long deep-tissue massage at The Power of Touch in Jacksonville, NC. The staff there is fantastic and accommodating. They typically close up shop for lunch at 1 p.m., but stayed open later so I could stop by and pay for Mandy's massage so all she had to do was show up and relax.

I settled on the Hilton Riverside in Wilmington, NC. This hotel overlooks the inter coastal water way, the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge and the majestic USS North Carolina, the decommissioned battleship that bears this great state's name.

The Riverview is a block from Front St. the epicenter of downtown/historic Wilmington and a place the wiffle and I frequent often. There are a ton of bars and little boutiques to pass the time in on a beautiful weekend. The main advantage of this location is 1) we could both drink and stumble back to the room, 2) during the day we didn't need to drive anywhere, just walk to all the shops and eateries.

Here is a cheat sheet to a couple of our favorite places in the downtown.

Cape Fear Beer and Wine

Rum Runners-Dueling Piano Bar

The Front Street Brewery

Back to our room-the rooms are typically $275.00 a night for a king suite. I made the reservation online with my military ID and had a reservation for a room for $93. I was pretty excited about that, but the fine print snuck up on me, the actual room was to be determined upon our arrival to the hotel. Which wasn't a big deal, but it's our anniversary. Not just any room is going to work.

I called the day prior to our check-in and asked the nice lady at the front desk what I would have to do to guarantee we would check-in to a no kidding river-view king suite. I did mention it was our first anniversary, she found my reservation and told me that for $10 bucks she'd give me the room we got. So, for $103 we rolled into a $275 room.

Our dinner was a bit of an ordeal, because I wanted to take her to a sweet place, with nice ambiance and a place we hadn't been before. I shopped around online until I found The Oceanic .

This place was awesome! It's three stories tall, situated at the very tip of Wrightsville Beach. They have a pier that juts out into the ocean and sits a good number of people. A bar is positioned at the end of the pier right out on the water. It's such a beautiful area. I'm going to recommend the Mahi Mahi, blackened with Cajun spices. But, get whatever you want...

It might not look like this is that spectacular of a plan. It's easy to see it worked out pretty well, but I did it all for less than 3 bills. But, the money is only a perk. The real reason it was an awesome weekend was because we are both really busy people. I've got school 4 days a week, plus work, Mandy has work and the gym in the afternoon, I've been getting up at 5 a.m. and going to the gym. We see each other for seconds in the morning and then a couple of 'I love you' text messages throughout the day until about 9 p.m. By then we're pooped. We cook dinner, hit the hay at around 10 or 11p.m. That's Monday-Thursday. Heavy.

I molded this weekend around relaxation and enjoying sometime together. When we checked into our hotel we put our stuff up and walked around downtown, bought some cigars and had a beer and enjoyed being married. We walked along the boardwalk talking, laughing, smoking and meandered back to the hotel. We jumped into the shower CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED.

You're welcome. WINK*

The rest of the events are boring to you...yup...I'm making that call.

I want to mention a couple of things I've learned after having been married now, for a year.

1) It's refreshing to be in love with my best friend.

2) None of the insecurities that plague bf/gf relationships are an issue now.

3) Mandy is smarter than me and I'm ok with that.

4) Mandy is afraid of common sense. I ok with that too, because it makes me feel smarter sometimes.

5) Our future is uncertain and that's fine because it's our future together.

6) Selfishness kills marriages. I'll give you a guess why our's is ok...yup. No Selfishness.

Good luck to the married folk reading this. To the men- always put her first. To the ladies- always put him first.

Thanks for Reading,

WP

P.S. There are a ton of links in this post. Feel free to use them. You're welcome.

George Sodini Was a Basketcase...He Did Humanity a Favor by Offing Himself...The Women He Shot Didn't Deserve it...

I was directed to the blog/journal of George Sodini by a co-worker. I had heard about the event, but didn't do much research. I wrote it off as another wack-job who didn't have the gumption to make something out of himself and decided to exact his anger through shooting innocent women, who were just working out. Turns out I was right and nothing supported it more than reading his blog. http://georgesodini.com/20090804.htm. This is a tormented man.

Give the blog a read.

The biggest lesson I think we can glean from this is to pay attention to your friends. Just because they can project a confident, happy-go-lucky demeanor doesn't mean everything is ok. This guy seemed good at his job, in pretty good shape for his age, he was trying to improve his quality of life with seemingly good habits...

He needed a friend. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making him a martyr. I think he's a lunatic and should've been talking to a shrink. You'll notice a trend though, throughout his blog...he never owns his inadequacies. He never takes any responsibility for his actions or his short-comings. He blames his brother, jackass co-workers, his mom, job and it goes on and on and on...

My families prayers and best wishes go out to the families of the women who were unfairly robbed of their loved ones.

Thanks for reading,

WP

When Your Marriage/Coupling Reaches That "Too Familiar Stage"

Welcome, to a long overdue musing.

I'm throwing this nugget out there to help the wayward man muddle through his relationships. I've touched on this before in previous posts, but now it holds special meaning because I've almost been married for a year.

When asked by my waxing lady,"What's the secret to a good marriage?"

"Sh*t, that's a good one...," I pondered a bit. "Honesty, communication...don't screw before you get married so you actually get to know your potential husband or wife..."

"That sounds like pretty go advice," she thanked me.

I got to thinking in the shower, just now, those are important but not nearly as important as having ZERO expectations. I can see the scrunched up faces of women reading this just as clearly as I see the men's inquisitive ones.

Really! Keep them at zero and everything your spouse does will be a gesture of love and affection.

I expect nothing more from my wife than faithfulness and love. I don't expect her to cook my dinner, fold my clothes, match my socks or any other mundane household chore. I don't wake up expecting a fresh pot of coffee, a prepared lunch or my gym bag packed.

I'm a self-sufficient man.

I'll do my laundry how I like, I can cook like a champ and I'm up in the morning with a start! If I were to wait for the wiffle to wake up, I'd be three hours late to work every morning.

There is an inverse to this scenario: when my wife does my laundry, I thank her, I appreciate it when she packs a lunch or cooks dinner...etc.

This goes both ways, ladies. I can feel every punch in the arm you give your hubby or boyfriend as you read the first part.

How about not expecting us to do things around the house...? I married my wife not my mom. I don't expect a chore list when I wake up in the morning. The chores-before-you-play scenario went out the window with the rock music embargo I grew up with. All moms have qualities we want in our wives. My mother is very intelligent as is my wife. She's loving and caring, again, so is my wife. My mother is an attractive women, my wife is smokin' hot. My mother at one point dictated my very existence, my wife wasn't given that power.

Imagine how much you'd appreciate the laundry your man does, mixed darks and lights and all. (Tide Coldwater) Imagine how much more willing he'd be to do little things around the house if you didn't get pissy when they didn't get done? If you didn't expect him to do it and it got done...BAM! Party sex. Word.

Dudes, my last point is only in play if YOU ACTUALLY DO THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE! You can't pick and choose your way through this advice. Take it one. Take it all.

Ladies, remember when the stuff gets done, too. I took it upon myself to clean our bathrooms this past weekend...from floor to ceiling...or ceiling to floor. I'm going to call that by this weekend I'm going to be accused of not pulling my weight around the house. Not cool.

This theory can apply to anything -- smoking, don't expect them to quit. Voice your concern, offer assistance and walk away. Then you'll find yourself not mad months down the road after they don't quit and how happy you'll be if they do.

Weight-loss is another hard one for either side of the relationship. Don't expect them to have the discipline to do anything about it. It isn't an issue. Then if they stay the same...you still love them...if they lose it...you love them in dirty ways in public places...

These are just a few examples and I'm only dispensing this advice to two married people or well established couples. This advice is for the relationship that starts to get nit-picky as it ages...the relationship that's just as sweet as day one but with fewer secrets and more shared memories.

This is the advice that saves marriages because when this method is employed it gives way to less bickering and more loving.

Love the one you're with, for who they are. I'm not advocating infidelity or anything extreme. This is for the day-to-day.

I know you work full-time. Remember I do, too. I love you more than anything. Remind me you do, too.

Chicas, ease up. Dudes, put out as much for housework as you do in the sack. Chicas again, with less housework to do there's more time to vaca in O-Town.

Thanks for reading,

WP

Operation WULF

A fun little bit of Law Enforcement action in Arizona...
TUCSON, Ariz. — Drunken Arizona drivers with the late-night munchies may soon be getting more than chicken strips at drive-through windows.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has a new campaign targeting drunken driving. Operation Would U Like Fries, or Operation WULF, will put undercover deputies inside 24-hour fast-food restaurants to spot impaired drivers placing their orders.
Sgt. Doug Hanna, a DUI unit supervisor, says if deputies notice someone with classic symptoms of impairment — slurred speech, red or watery eyes or beer breath — they will have a uniformed deputy stationed outside pull the driver over.
Hanna says money for the intermittent program is coming from a $128,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

A Bit Late for Memorial Day...But I Was Out of Town....

I didn't write this I found it on a buddies blog. I'm sure some of you might have already received this is a chain letter. Please enjoy this and remember to pray for our men and women in harms way while we're at home reading about them on the internet. 

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but ol

d enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting M an that has kept this country free for over 200 years!He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember 

this shot. . .
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this on after a short prayer.
Prayer Wheel'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan , sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq , Afg

hanistan all foreign countries and those who are supporting stateside as well.
There is nothing attached... This can be very powerful...
Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine, or Airman, prayer is the very best one.

An Update so You Don't Think I Hate You...I Love You.

Many things have happened since my last update.

I'm back on ADOS orders, which means in short; I can pay my bills. Which in this day in age is quite phenomenal. I'll be employed until Sept 30, 2009 and then a couple different things could happen: I could re-enlist or get comissioned. Either one is fine, the later would put the wiffle and I in a better place. We'll see what happens.

It's getting warm here and it's about to be beach time.

I guess not that much has happened now that I'm sitting here writing about it....Hmmmm.

Thanks for reading this tiny post.

Piece.

PS: The headline may or may not be a sweet link somewhere cool.

A Sign the End is Nigh...and in Texas of all Places...

Debbie McLucas comes from a patriotic family – her husband and both of her sons served in the U.S. military, and her daughter is currently deployed to Iraq on her second tour of duty as a combat medic.
So when McLucas arrived at work at a Texas hospital last Friday, she was stunned to be told that the Stars and Stripes she had hung in her office in advance of Memorial Day were offensive, and that the flag had been removed.
“I got into work, I was met by my supervisor and told that there had been multiple complaints, that people found the flag very offensive and it had been taken down," McLucas told FOXNews.com.
"I went to the office to retrieve it and found the flag wrapped around the pole, sitting in the corner on the ground. I was speechless."
McLucas, a supervisor at Kindred Hospital in Mansfield, Texas, had displayed the 3-by-5-foot flag in the office she shares with the hospital’s three other supervisors. McLucas said one of her colleagues, a woman who immigrated to the United States from Africa 14 years ago, complained about the flag to upper management, and the hospital decided to take down the flag.
"I was told that as long as my flag offended one person, it would be taken down," McLucas said.
She said the hospital told her that the American flag flying outside the building would have to suffice. "I was told, ‘There is a flag hanging out front, everyone can see that one. Is that not enough?’"
No, she said, that wasn't enough.
"It is more than I can even fathom, that you would find the American flag offensive, in America," McLucas said.
A Kindred Healthcare spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Kindred issued a press release stating, “Kindred Hospital Mansfield has a great deal of appreciation for the service that many of our employees and their families have given to their country. We honor our veterans and active military through a variety of benefits and service programs. This was an isolated incident between two employees that we are working to resolve amicably.”
The statement went on to explain: “The disagreement was over the size of the flag and not what it symbolized. We have invited the employee to put the flag back up.”
And it will go back up and stay up, McLucas said.
"I do think they're trying to do the right thing. I have no reason to believe the flag won't remain there as long as I'm employed."

**DISCLAIMER**: The picture of Pamela Anderson was not taken by me, nor am I using it for any monetary gain. Mrs. McLucas does not look like Ms. Anderson, nor am I trying to imply she does. It is merely an awesome/patriotic photograph that features an implied nude, attractive woman covering her woman parts with the National colors.**DISCLAIMER**

Obama has 'Jesus' covered for talk at Georgetown...Didn't want his flesh to start burning off....

I'm going to have to agree with the good Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, this was a cowardly act...check this action out...from Fox News.

Georgetown University hid a religious inscription representing the name of Jesus during President Obama's address there Tuesday, FOXNews.com has confirmed, because White House staff asked the school to cover up all religious symbols and signs while the president was on stage.

The monogram IHS, whose letters spell out the name of Jesus, and which normally perches above the stage in Gaston Hall where the president spoke, was covered over with what appeared to be black wood during the address.

"In coordinating the logistical arrangements for the event, Georgetown honored the White House staff's request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind the Gaston Hall stage," university spokesman Andy Pino told FOXNews.com.

Click here for photos.

The White House said that the backdrop, which included blue drapes and a host of American flags, was standard during policy speeches and other events.

"Decisions made about the backdrop for the speech were made to have a consistent background of American flags, which is standard for many presidential events," said White House spokesman Shin Inouye in a statement released Thursday.

Georgetown is a private Catholic institution founded by Jesuits in 1789. The auditorium where the president spoke Tuesday is adorned with religious imagery, but only the symbols directly on the stage -- those likely to be picked up by a television camera -- were obscured.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, accused the university of "cowardice" for acceding to the White House, and criticized Obama's team for asking a religious school to "neuter itself" before the president made his address.

"No bishop who might speak at the White House would ever request that a crucifix be displayed behind him," he said.

The White House insisted that the move was made only to provide a proper setting for the speech -- and said that "any suggestions to the contrary are simply false."

Though his advance team asked that the religious signs be veiled, the president himself took up religious discourse and discussed a passage from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as he outlined his plans for an economic recovery.

"We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand," he said during his remarks, which came two days after Easter. "We must build our house upon a rock."

It was Obama's first visit to Georgetown since being elected president, but he also spoke at the school on Sept. 20, 2006 about the need for energy independence. A photograph of the event does not seem to indicate that parts of the stage were hidden during that address, which Obama made while still a U.S. senator.

Another Catholic university, Notre Dame, came under fire in late March for inviting the president to speak at its May 17 commencement. Obama supports abortion rights, which are considered anathema by the Catholic Church.

Carbon Leaf...Check them out...Now.

A magical band, hailing from Virginia mixing classical folk, jazz and rock and coming together in 1996.

Alan Sculley, North County Times, San Diego has this to say about the band:

Plenty of longtime Carbon Leaf fans will notice that on the group’s two most recent CDs, 2004’s “Indian Summer” and the newly released “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat,” there’s an obvious absence of the sound that once got Carbon Leaf labeled by some as a Celtic/bluegrass band.
It’s not that Carbon Leaf wanted to abandon its Celtic roots or had forgotten about that influence. It’s just that the last time the band got its “Irish” up, the results were less than enthralling.

“The albums are decidedly non-Celtic,” Carbon Leaf singer Barry Privett saidin a recent phone interview. “They weren’t intended to get us out of that
(Celtic) box so much that we had kind of grown tired of that box. For‘Indian Summer’ we had written probably 22 songs to see which ones would make the cut. A lot of the songs had that Celtic influence, but we had already kind of been mining that territory for a few years. The songs that we had written that had that influence just didn’t feel inspired anymore.”
As a result, “Indian Summer” and especially “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat” have emphasized Carbon Leaf’s rock and pop influences.

The direction is apparent with tracks such as “Learn to Fly,” “A Girl and Her Horse” and “Under the Wire,” which all feature strong pop melodies. The rootsier side of Carbon Leaf, meanwhile, shows on acoustic-leaning tunes such as “The War Was in Color” and “Block of Wood,” while on “Comfort” and “Texas Stars,” the group rocks a bit more briskly.
The more pronounced rock and pop influences surfaced on “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat” ---- the band’s seventh CD ---- for a variety of reasons, Privett said, including the fast pace that surrounded the writing and recording of the CD.
After spending January writing material for the CD, the band faced a tight schedule for recording. The band, which also includes Carter Gravatt (guitar/mandolin), Terry Clark (guitar), Jordan Medas (bass) and Scott Milstead (drums), had only three weeks for the session and a couple of weeks for overdubs.

This meant there wasn’t time to be too fussy with the basic tracks for “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat” or to do much additional recording during the overdub sessions ---- a situation that led to a leaner, more rocking sound on the CD.
This more direct sound, though, wasn’t unplanned. The group went into “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat” wanting to create songs that were shorter and more tightly constructed than on its first several albums.
They found an ally in that mission in Peter Collins, a producer whose resume includes projects with Bon Jovi, Elton John and Rush.
“He’s kind of pop oriented (in his) approach to song structure,” Privett said. “We tend to write long intros and a solo and a bridge and maybe a second bridge. We’ll add lots of pieces to songs. He kind of is the opposite. So we had to work with him (on arrangements). And we were in agreement. We wanted to try something a little different, shorter songs and little bit more focus on getting more into a smaller time frame.”

The shift toward more of a rock-pop sound should help Carbon Leaf further expand its audience.
For about a dozen years, the Richmond, Va.-based band has been used to earning fans the hard way ---- one show at a time. For the first nine years of its career, Carbon Leaf was a do-it-yourself band in the purest sense of the term. The group self-released its first five CDs and was self-managed, self-booked and self-promoted.
But things began to accelerate for the band in 2002 when it won the Coca-Cola New Music Award for the song “The Boxer,” off of the band’s fifth and final self-released CD, “Echo Echo.” Part of the prize was the opportunity to become one of the rare unsigned bands to ever play on the American Music Awards.

The exposure from the award and the AMA performance enabled the group to attract a manager, booking agent, publicist and lawyer, while extensive touring coupled with the increased media attention from the group’s AMA performance and some scattered radio play for “The Boxer” helped raise Carbon Leaf’s profile.
Eventually record labels started to check out the group, and after once again funding the recording of “Indian Summer” itself, Carbon Leaf signed to Vanguard Records, which released the CD in 2004. Privett said it was time to put the distribution and marketing capabilities of a record company behind the band.

The move so far seems to have worked. The song “Life Less Ordinary” off “Indian Summer” became a modest adult radio hit and gave Carbon Leaf its first taste of mainstream exposure.
“You probably end up making less money (than) the setup as an independent band, but you get more exposure,” Privett said. “So we were ready to take that risk, knowing there’s not a whole lot to lose. You can always go back to being independent if it doesn't work out."

I found this band while listening to a Pandora station I created around another great band; Moxy Fruvous . I was immediately impressed by their fresh, clean sound and witty word-play.

Coming up on May 19, 2009 they are dropping a new album enltitled: Nothing Rhymes With Woman.

Jamie Foxx...A High-Five, Miley Cyrus...Welcome to Celebrity

Here's a sample to kick things off...



Jamie Foxx had some not-so-nice words for Miley Cyrus during his weekend Sirius radio show "The Foxxhole," judging by a audio posted on YouTube and heard below.

During a discussion criticizing Miley, 16, for being upset at not getting to meet Radiohead backstage at the Grammys, Foxx, 41, told her to get a gum transplant and to "make a sex tape and grow up... Get like Britney Spears and do some heroin... get some crack in your pipe... Catch chlamydia on a bicycle seat."

Someone else is heard calling her a "white bitch."

Foxx has a teenage daughter.
And if you want to read it for yourself: Huffington Post


I'm sorry to all of you who have kids...because you have kids, not because I'm about to offend you.

Everyone is getting all up in arms about comments Jamie Foxx made about Miley Cyrus' Radiohead ordeal. What the uninformed public doesn't realize is that our dear Miley threatened to "ruin Radiohead."

Zimbio.com

Radiohead refused to speak to Miley Cyrus.

The Hannah Montana star is "obsessed" with the alternative rock band, but when she saw them at the Grammy Awards last month they wouldn't acknowledge her.

Miley said: "My manager asked and said, 'Miley, she's really obsessed and she'd really like to meet them,' and they were like, 'Yeah, we don't really do that.'

"I left because I was so upset. I wasn't going to watch!

"I'd already texted all my friends, we were all freaking out. This is someone who I would have cried to have met. Stinking Radiohead!"

This is not the first rejection 16-year-old Miley has suffered.

She recently revealed her school days were "friendless, lonely and miserable".

Writing in her new book Miley Cyrus: Miles To Go, she recollects: "The girls took it beyond normal bullying. These were big, tough girls. I was scrawny and short.

"They were fully capable of doing me bodily harm."

Ruin Radiohead!? After a comment like that and America getting up in arms for one of the top grossing bands in the history of bands, snubbing an upstart artist whose fan-base's collective total of high school diplomas is hovering around, what? 3-ish?

All of this and Cesar Laurean is back in our great state of North Carolina. DAMN RADIOHEAD!

Her wash-up father weighed in with this response to Bonnie Hunt “It was hurtful, there wasn’t nothing funny about it, and quite frankly, I think if I said those things about his daughter he might not find it so comedic.”

"...Wasn't nothing funny..." That breaks my achy breaky grammar heart. BRC, your ignorance is showing, you might want to tuck that back behind your ear with your shaggy-cool-dad-do.

It's painfully telling about a society who wants to fight about a whiny-snot-nosed, 16 year-old who has already made more money than Onslow County will see in three generations.

Foxx doesn't owe her anything. It shows he is a gentleman by apologizing but, he's a comedian, a comedian who has a show on SIRIUS satellite radio. It's not like anyone could've heard it. Only paying customers heard it.

Get over yourselves people.

Jamie,

Keep on truckin, Man.

WP

The AXE Effect...

I'm sure you all remember when body sprays hit the mainstream and everyone was using them. By 'everyone' I mean guys who watched the commercials and actually bought into the naked chicks appearing in the rooms of guy who sprayed-on as he dresses.

I think AXE was by far the most popular, but then TAG got in the mix as did Old Spice. While each of the brands provided solid scents, they named them hard-core things like: Vice, Pheonix, Swagger, Live Wire, After Hours, Lucky Day. Well, Lucky Day is slightly less hard, but catchy nonetheless.

I'm a body spray fan.

What I'm not a fan of is the guys that think it's a shower alternative.

I looked at the three big names in body sprays or brays as I'm going to refer to them in this story because I'm tired of writing two words to describe one thing.

The guys who'll go for a run at lunch spray on some Lucky Day and put their work clothes back on. The makers of popular brays factored in preventing stink, not how good their scent smelled when mingled with overwhelming ball sweat-stank.

The reason this post is seeing the light of day is because i purchased some AXE Clix yesterday because I had forgotten my Arm & Hammer, all natural, stick deodorant at my house and subsequently had nothing to grace my underarms with when I was done showering after my workout.

I ran over to the store before class, dashed to the deodorant aisle and saw AXE Clix on sale. I sprayed some down the aisle and stuck my nose in it, like an old Warner Brother's cartoon with the visible scent waifs coming from a pie that Sylvester follows into the kitchen. I liked what I smelled, purchased and added some AXE to my life.

So, I condone the use of these products as cologne or in some cases deodorant, but never would I allow one to use any of these as a shower substitute. That is all.

Thanks for reading,
WP

The Car is Coming Together....Expect Pics...

So, my 1995 Volkswagen GTI VR6 is slowly coming together but it's going to start speeding up.
I bought new rims from J. D. down in Wilmington for next to nothing. The only issue was the offset of my stock rims was larger than the rims I bought. I went searching for a set of 10mm wheel adapters and 20 wheel bolts in a size 10mm longer than stock. Found the spacers on the 'tex for $80 and a couple weeks later I found all 20 bolts from a fellow dubber, also on from the 'tex. The bolts were never used and still individually packaged; I picked up the lot for $55. So all in all I spent $260 to get a sweet set of Avus rims on my car. I'm pretty stoked because EuroRennen 2009 is an annual european car show held this year in Jacksonville, NC and my car though not show worthy will be complete to ferry me to and from the show. I'll post pictures as soon as I can of the new rims. For now here is a photo before the new rims and when the rear spoiler was still on.

I Love My Wife...

I mentioned in a previous post about how my wife brought me out of a depression I didn't know I was in. I'm living a more vivacious life as a married man.

I've heard all of the arguments about how being single and how playing the field is a liberating and fulfilling experience. I beg to differ.

My wife is all that is woman.

Without so much as a word of opposition or gripe she's by my side through thick and thin. Nothing illustrates this point better than my endeavour to get back on Active Duty. I've told her about the prospect of me deploying, us having to move, us having to move every three years or her having to find a new job whenever we move. Nothing filled my heart with more joy than her unflinching resolve to support me when I told her about the option of us moving across the country, leaving our little slice of beach, to take up residence in the great state of Colorado. Her response was, "When? Let's go."

When people rush into a marraige after only seeing the surface of the perks and fun of having a help-mate to traverse life's peaks and valleys with, they never anticipate the trials that lurk in the deep, dark receses of the future.

I've seen marriages dissolve after a deployment, after a reassignment or when the stresses of military life interfere with the love a husband and wife have for each other...

Marriage. It's a job. It's a hobby. It's not the place to be selfish and no one has taught me that more than my wife.

That is all.

Don't be selfish and tell the one you love, you love them. Put them first and when you take the rose-colored glasses off, you'll see the world is rose-colored....

Thanks for reading,

WP

Just A Quick Note...So You Don't Thing I've Forgotten You...

Hi. 

How's things?

I hope everything's good.

I've so much going on right now and I'm having a hard time differentiating it all into posts. I'm going to, just not right now. Keep checking back...give me a day or three and I'll have something here for you. Thanks.

love,

WP

Shameless Site Plug

I found a magical site and this site contains a magical list:

Skippy's List.

Considering some of my audience is military or military affiliated I think this list will be have you literally, wetting your bloomers.

Happy Reading,

WP

Shameless Site Plug!

I hate the idea of contradicting my Shameless Site Plugs but I'm about to.

WWW.IMEEM.COM (If you click on the headline of this story you can go to the site....)

It's like Pandora.com but it's actual on-demand and you can type in an artist or a band and listen to it right away. Check it out and let me know.

-Piece

Obama...Taking a Stand...Shirking From the Challenge...and Offering Advice

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," President Obama told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

This is classic. I just finished writing a piece about how Limbaugh needs to take action but should wait for a more opportune time to pounce and this comes out.... I love it...Follow the link in the headline...

-Piece

Rush Limbaugh...Game On...But, Not Yet...

Rush Limbaugh needs to cool his jets. I'm not a huge Obama fan. I've seen/heard him speak and I'm still skeptical. But, I think what everyone is missing is; he's the new president. We should be skeptical of him! He's new, unproven, inexperienced.

That is no reason to jump all over him and challenge him to an on-air, verbal joust. I love our first amendment right to free-speech and the like, but can we let the man get settled first? I understand there are people in America who dedicate their children to Rush, name pets after him, tune into his show as if his words were the oxygen they needed to live. Limbaugh, while a staunch supporter of the military, apple pie and baseball, he generally comes across as a tactless, baboon, who's only looking to diminish the morale of the left-wing liberals of America.

With that said Limbaugh was recently a guest on Sean Hannity's program; "Hannity" and he made some great points:

"I mean, Sean, he is our president now. And he's not black, he's not from Mars, he's not — he's our president, he's a human being. We're a country comprised of human beings that the Democrat Party and the left have attempted to arrange into groups of victims, and that's who he appeals to, and the victims are the people waiting around for some grievance to be resolved."

Obama's camp made and makes every effort to make the American public more and more dependent on the government by convincing them, they are victims of something.

He goes on to say:

"Now I look at the things that he has said, and I'm very much concerned that our greatness is going to be redefined in such a way that it won't be great, that we're just going to become average. You cannot have this large of government role in the private sector with so many people thinking that just because they're Americans they're entitled to things, that this guy is going to pass them out and keep this country great and innovative, full of entrepreneurs, and — these things concern me."

Limbaugh is right to be concerned as are we all for the simple reason the American people are getting bombarded with double-speak and conflicting statements. During a recent visit to a Camp Lejeune, NC, the biggest amphibious Marine Corps base in the world and a gymnasium full of Marines, he announced a time frame to get end the offensive military presence in Iraq and focus fully on the rebuilding and supporting the fledgling Iraqi government. Married up with that announcement is the announcement that Guantanamo Bay is closing down. Why would these two events coincide? I'm hardly saying everyone incacerated in G-bay is a terrorist but certainly there are terrorists there and once they're released to an Iraq void of a mass military presence who else is thinking this is a bad idea?

Limbaugh:

"...he plays both sides. He's going to placate the far left Fringe Kook base, his Web site people, and OK, he's going to close Guantanamo, but he's not going to close Guantanamo, because he — and he's not going to get out of Iraq in 16 months, he's going to say so, but he's not going to saddle himself with defeat of forces in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he's certainly not — I can't believe that he's — he will willingly release people at Guantanamo who will come back and revisit terrorist acts in this country.-

-Not on his watch. They would have loved for that to have happened during Bush. They would love surrender in Iraq when it's on Bush's shoulders, but I don't think he's going to do it, and I think — but he's got to say things that make his Fringe Kook base think that he is being true to his campaign promises."

However backwards his comments are and whether or not he is going to be able to please everyone I think we should give him chance to shoot himself in the foot if that is what is going to happen. I say give Limbaugh his shot...but let's even the odds and make this entertaining.

Thanks for reading,

WP

I'm Boycotting Sears Automotive...

I went on an adventure this past weekend, 28 Feb, 2009 after finding that one of the rims on the GTI was bent.

I remember hitting a pothole going about 60-ish a couple weeks back and didn't think anything about it. Big mistake. I should've had it checked out immediately. I would fill-up my tire with air to about 35 psi and by the next day it would be sitting at 16 psi.


To rectify this problem I quickly retreated to ncdubs.org to hunt down a second-hand set of rims for not a lot of money. A fellow Volkswagen enthusiast screen named: JeffyDahmer who happened have a set of rims for the right price. I made the arrangements to purchase these wheels and headed down to Wilmington.

The night prior I called Sears Automotive in Wilmington and made an appointment to have the tires on the old rims taken off, put on the new rims and put them on my car. I didn't expect this to be difficult for the technicians at Sears Automotive.

The wife and I walked around the mall for about 2 hours and found our way back to Sears to be greeted by the tech who was working on my car.

"There's a problem with the wheels," he informs me.

There certainly was a problem. The offset of the rim wasn't allowing for any sort of free motion and the rim was getting hung up on the brake caliper. I was disappointed and kicked myself for not thinking about this.

"No problem," I said, "Take two of the rims that aren't bent, put the tires back on them and put them back on the car."

After I was told it was done I went to pay and was promptly overcharged. When I brought it to the gentleman's attention he first tried to tell me I was wrong, until I showed him where I was previously charged the correct amount. He reluctantly changed it to the correct amount and I paid him.

The following days I noticed my front passenger tire wasn't holding air. I called the Jacksonville Sears Automotive and told them I went to Wilmington and I think they might have messed up my tire. They agreed to check it out for me.

I arrived at Sears in Jacksonville at 6 p.m. and by 8 p.m. only to find the retard in Wilmington put the ONE bent rim back on my car and that was the express reason my tire wouldn't stay inflated. Fortunately for Sears a fantastic individual in Jacksonville told me to bring in an unbent rim and he would get it fixed for free.

So, over the course of four days I spent $4 to fill up with air everyday, spent a combined total of 4 hours in Sears and $118 to get the work done initially and wasted a trip to Wilmington.

After I call back down to Wilmington I'll let you all know if I'm successful in either getting a refund for the work to compensate me for my wasted time or get that mouth-breather fired.

Thanks for reading,

WP

I'm now an Ordained Priest...

...In the Church of the Latter-Day Dude. Which would make me Dudeist Priest. A frame of mind lacking in modern-day society is the "Take-it Easy" mentality. In our everyday hustle and bustle we as a community are jarred and assaulted by deadlines, bosses and societal norms. Normal be damned. 

Abide,

WP

Dudeist Priest 1st Degree

Here are some of the teachings of the Dude as authored by the Dude:

BOOK 1

1. Thou shalt always use fresh creamer when preparing the sacramental beverage. To ensure its freshness, it must be sniffed and even sampled before purchase. If it is unclean, put it back.

2. Ideally half-and-half shall be used in preparing the sacramental beverage. Failing this, milk, and under the most dire of circumstances, non-dairy creamer.

3. Always write checks whenever possible, as your cash is limited and you never know when you might have to pay off roving bands of heathen Nihilists.

4. When confronted by vicious thugs demanding money, give them it. If you don't have it, employ humor to lighten the situation. Do not under any circumstances try to fight back by hurling a bowling ball at them.

5. When discussing a matter of grave importance, or even of trifling idiocy, always make sure to employ expletives as much as possible to prove your heartfelt honesty and conviction. To ensure your dudeness, all out-of-control, manic discussions should be followed with entreaties to "just take it easy, man."

6. If an adversary is clearly too uptight to see things from your perspective, don your sunglasses and intone "Fuck it." Then take something of fair value from his house as you depart.

7. Employ comfortable furnishings in your home such as reclining chairs, scented candles, Persian rugs and fanciful mini-bars with ironic posters of former adversaries. Your house is your temple and your temple should be well tied-together.

8. Always honor your landlord. Do your best to pay the rent on time. Failing that, indulge his artistic ambitions regardless of how utterly misguided they might be.

9. Never have an outward-opening door on your house.

10. When confronted by a large man with a gun who demands you mark it zero, oblige him. Otherwise you risk entering a world of pain. Ideally he will get his comeuppance from the League for contravening a number of its bylaws.

BOOK 2

1. Never trust wealthy, successful people you hardly know who want to employ you to engage in shady undertakings.

2. Money is the root of all evil. It's also the root of all good stories, so hooray for money.

3. A plan referred to as foolproof is often proved foolish.

4. Life does not stop and start at anyone else's convenience.

5. Respect everyone's point of view. It's just, like, their opinion, man.

6. Always remember interesting turns of phrase that you hear so that you can employ them in completely unrelated situations later and convincingly sound as if you know what you're talking about.

7. The ringer can't look empty.

8. Make sure to always use the proper form of the pronoun. No one uses the editorial or royal "we" in everyday exchange unless they're trying to hide something.

9. Never park in a handicapped space if you've got a million dollars in your car. In fact, never leave a million dollars in your car, especially if your car is in lousy condition.

10. If a doctor is referred to as "thorough," harbor some reservations about visiting him. Unless of course you enjoy that sort of thing.

11. When confronted by unfortunate circumstances, forget about it. You can't be worrying about that shit. Life goes on.

12. Always protect your sacramental beverage, even in times of severe duress.

13. Whenever possible, try to get paid in cash in order to avoid getting bumped up into a higher tax bracket.

BOOK 3

1. Freedom is great. Many young men have died face-down in the muck to protect our freedoms. Nevertheless, one should still be courteous and keep their voice down in a family restaurant.

2. Unless you're a high-ranking member of society, don't expect too much from the police.

3. Sometimes not having an ethos is an ethos in itself. Usually it's a bad one, though.

4. Never go into a tournament with a negative attitude.

5. Try not to use so many cuss words. Unless they're near and dear to your heart, in which case, fuck it.

6. Make sure the window of your car is rolled down before ejecting a burning object. You probably shouldn't drink beer and drive either, even though it might come in useful to extinguish the burning object.

7. When strange men show up at your house accusing you of a crime and brandishing evidence at you, it is best that you feign mental illness and don't say peep.

8. What happens when one fucks a stranger in the ass is not always what one might think will happen, nor what is necessarily fair or just to any of the concerned parties.

9. Never trust a known pornographer to whom any sizeable sum of money is owed.

10. Never trust an African-American cab driver who enjoys listening to the Eagles.

BOOK 4

1. If you are a man of modest means and charisma and a rich, beautiful woman wants to have sex with you, don't question her motives until after the act is over.

2. Avoid living in the past, even if memories can be beautiful and remind you of a time you once enjoyed.

3. Though the man in the black pajamas might be a worthy adversary, you should avoid him whenever possible. Especially if he's easily avoided. Choose instead to cling to the tree of life.

4. Just because you're bereaved doesn't make you a sap. Keep your wits about you, even when you're bummed out.

5. Take 'er easy for all the sinners of the world, dude. Abide. And amen.