25% off and Free Shipping at CoolCrappyStuff.com

Hey there.  I started an ad block where advertisers can purchase a 125 x 125 ad space.  Initially, I was expecting to get offers from other blog writers, such as myself, but I was surprised to see that I received a few offers for online stores.  Well, I was contacted by the owner of CoolCrappyStuff.com and advised that any one that uses the ad above to reach the store will receive a 25% discount and free shipping ($10 min purchase).  How cool is that?!  I know that many of us are still trying to get that last minute shopping done and if we can get it online and avoid the malls, we might as well get it online at a discount.  So what kind of goods does CoolCrappyStuff sell?  Well, let's see....  blankets, backpacks, stickers, purses, totes, lunch boxes, hats, to name a few items, and the majority of them feature some of today's most popular cartoon characters.  Looking for Hello Kitty tote bag? A Tinkerbell backpack?  Or a Jack Skellington messenger bag?  You can find it at CoolCrappyStuff.com.  Check it out friends and before I forget...  Use the discount code CRAPPYDISCOUNT to get your 25% off and free shipping.  Later!

I Love The Office

Hey there. What is it about The Office that I find intoxicating? I cant seem to get enough of Dwight, Jim, Michael and the rest of the crew. I've found myself watching nothing but The Office and sports. lol I have been recording the episodes on DVR since they started showing them on TBS and UPN. My Comadre let us borrow seasons 1 - 4 and we went through those right away. The jokes are hilarious, the facial expressions are indescribable, and the opening sequences are some of the most funniest clips of TV that I have ever seen. Whether it be Dwight starting a fire to "simulate" a fire drill, or when Dwight demonstrates how to defend against the throat punch. I just can't seem to get enough of this show! I'm now looking for the DVDs so that I can watch them with the commentary. I started to watch them with commentary on the DVDs but quickly stopped since I wanted to get through the season since I had to return the discs. Now, I'm on a mission to find the first 5 seasons and submerge myself in The Office. Later!

Love the Symphony of the Rain

Hey there.  Today it rained in Los Angeles.  May not be a big deal to a lot of people but we don't get much rain here.  It's funny because most of the world experiences 4 seasons, we only experience 2.  And even then, I wouldn't call them seasons, I'd say it's more like 2 climates.  Here in Los Angeles, we only experience hot or kind of cold.  That's it.  Temperatures range from about 60 degrees to over 90 here when across the country, there are cities that are experiencing temps in the low 20's.  So a little rain is always welcomed.

I sat in my office listening to the sound of the rain drops hitting the roof.  There is something about this kind of weather that brings out my creative side.  I started thinking of music, of what I want to play, of what I can create.  As listened to the concerto that the heavens rained down on us, inspiration showered over me.

As I drove home, music played in my head.  When I got home, I pulled out my guitar and rocked on some songs.  I still feel as if I haven't made my contribution to music.  I haven't left my mark.  Maybe I need God's Opus to rain down on me before I do.  Later.

Motivational Sunday - Procrastination

Hey there.  We've all done it at point or another.  We put off that school report til the last day, we returned that book or movie minutes before the library or store closed, or we've put off mundane tasks that we say will be done but continue to be put off.  This my friends, is procrastination and I swear to you that I can be a huge culprit.  I've put off many small projects that I regularly said I'd do but would continue to be put off (to the dismay of my wife).  I know that one day I'll conquer this demon, but I don't feel like taking care of it now, so I'll just do it later.  Later!

The Artistic Side of Metallman

Hey there.  Last night, I heard from a good friend of mine that I have not heard from since forever.  As we chatted about how life's been treating us, she asked whether or not I continued my drawing.  Now, this was back in elementary and JR high school where I would draw all the time.  Well, I would draw during my down time from video games.  lmao  And even then, a good chunk of my drawing were of video game characters.  Whether it be Mega Man or Ridley from Super Metroid, I would draw away on those 3 X 5 index cards that we always seem to have in abundance at home. 

Anyways, I told my friend that I haven't really drawn anything since JR high.  I picked up guitar in my first year of high school and that was pretty much that for my drawing career.  I spent too much time trying to learn Metallica songs than to focus on my drawing.  Well, she then mentioned that she has stuff from high school in a special box at home and said that she has a drawing of mine in there somewhere.  I was like, no way!  I asked that she send to me.  I must see what I drew back then.  This morning, I received the drawing.  Check it out.

So what do you guys think?  Yes, it's the Lion King, as my wife pointed out.  lol  If I remember correctly, it had just come out that year, or maybe it was when the VHS movie came out.  I don't remember.  Honestly, I don't even remember drawing this.  lmao  But the writing near the top resembles my writing.  It looks like my writing stayed the same throughout the years. 

I'm looking at it and I'm thinking to myself, "not bad".  lol  Maybe I should have kept it up.  But if I did, would I be the bad ass guitar player that I am today?  lol  Yeah, I like to toot my own horn sometimes.  lol  Later!

The Kids and My Father's Presence

Hey there. My pops passed away when I was 9 years old. I grew up without really having a father figure in my life and it was pretty tough. My mother was rarely home so my brother and I practically raised ourselves. I guess that's why my brother and I have a pretty close relationship. Anyways, I always told myself that I would try to be the best dad I could. I am now the dad of 4 and I do my best to provide the best I can. But sometimes... I feel like I'm getting a little help from my pops.

There have been some pretty strange occurrences involving my brother and my kids. First off, when my dad first passed away, my brother would say that he would see him in his dreams. Mind you, my brother was 4 years old when my dad passed, so it's not like he would be making stuff up like that. I'm sure that he was too young to really know what was going on. Then, when our oldest son was born, more weird occurrences started happening. My son would be in his swing, and the swing would inexplicably move on it's own, the TV would turn on and off on it's own, and we would hear some pretty weird noises coming out of a radio that wasn't even plugged in. When our oldest daughter was born, more of the same went on. The same with the swing and I started to hear voices. It never really freaked me out, but it did raise my curiosity.

With our youngest daughter, we didn't have much in that kind of activity, but we did have one huge one. My wife set our daughter down on the couch and she went off to the kitchen. My brother in law was in his room, my wife in the kitchen, and our daughter in the living. Then, my wife hears the sound of someone giving someone a huge kiss. You know, that puckering sound. So she goes over to the living room, thinking that it was my brother in law kissing our daughter. Nope, he was in his room, semi-asleep. My wife freaked. She's never really dealt with anything of that sort so to hear "someone" kiss our baby frightened her. The other night, as we were having dinner, my daughter says to me that she remembers seeing "little daddy" when she was born. I asked her who that was and she said that it was my dad, that she likes calling him "little daddy." It threw me in for a loop but I continued along with her to see what else she would say. She says she remembers seeing him when she was born and that now she misses him. My wife and weren't sure what to make of it. We were not talking about my father so it was extremely odd that she would just throw that idea out there. Now, things are happening with our youngest son.

We find that our son loves to stare at my pop's picture. I have a picture (drawing) of my father in the living room. When we sit on the couch holding our son, we see him stare at the picture and then laugh and coo. Another instance involved footsteps. I was at the store and my wife was sitting with my baby son on the couch. Again, he looked at my father's picture and laughed and cooed and smiled. Then, my wife heard footsteps in the hallway. She freaked. She called me to ask me to hurry home. I check it out and the kids were asleep and I as I stand in the living room, talking to her, we both hear the footsteps again. Pretty intense stuff. And that leads me to the bouncer. Our son loves his bouncer and we believe to have found out why. When we place our son it, we snuggles with his blanket and then drifts asleep. Nothing weird, right? WRONG! That is until you see that the bouncer is rocking itself, even though it's off! It's happened on more than one occasion and I point it out to my wife each time I see it happening. So what are we make out of this?

I say, it's my pops helping me out. It's always happening around our kids, and it's usually when we're trying to rock them or soothe them. I joke around with my wife and tell her that it's my pops doing all the crazy things around the house. The corona bottle, Odin, and since the kids' birth, them. Just the other night, I placed our son in his bouncer and as I was walking away, my wife noticed that the swing was pushed by no one. Yup, it was swinging on it's own. We both just looked at it and said, "Dad, he's in the bouncer." I smiled at wife and she still looked a little freaked out by it. Well, at least we know that my pops is still around, helping out. And if one of the kids start to complain that their head hurts, I'll know it's him... giving them a noogie. lol Later!