I'd mentioned Together Dating a little while back. After checking them over and talking to the people there I went a head and gave it a shot. I didn't get the hard sell and there was no pressure at all to sign up. The cost was extremely reasonable, unlike the $2500 I sunk into Great Expectations for two years of nothing (if you are thinking of trying them out, don't). In fact, the guy I met with actually suggested I wait a few days. I did and it might have been worth it. Tomorrow I have a date with a lady.
It's just a simple, no strings dinner. The surprising thing was that I got this first referral so fast. It came in the mail yesterday. We're going to meet at a Red, Hot and Blue and see how things go. There's no pressure to make this date more than a meeting and "getting to know you" kinda thing. Together Dating has me confirmed for 8 more referrals of women that they matched me with. With luck one of them will be something special but at worst I'll get out and meet some women. If I end up with a few new friends it'll be a good thing.
Before that, though, I have a baby shower to go to. A co-worker/friend is going to have their first baby something around September. It's funny, a few months ago he took his wife for a cruise vacation. There's absolutely no doubt when conception happened for them. The shower is being thrown by one of his long-time friends who also happens to work with us, though in a different group. The friend just had their first baby just a month or two ago.
I remember when my ex was pregnant with our son. There's so many things happening. The most interesting, though, was the number of people who'd start out with the "Oh, that's great" then immediately go into how a friend or family member had some great problem or difficulty with the delivery or pregnancy. It's the same when you tell people that your getting married. They all have to retell some dire event like someone being left at the alter or one fiance cheating on the other before they get hitched. It's like people don't want you to be happy or something. Maybe someday someone should do a study or something.
Anyway, tomorrow promises to be interesting. I'll report back when it's all over. Or maybe I won't. Who knows?
Friday, July 30, 2004
Today sucked!
I made it to work yesterday feeling ok and figured I'd be good for today, so I could at least salvage a bit of the week. No such frelling luck.
I was a complete mess today. Didn't make it out of bed till nearly 1500. I don't know why today was so bad. I was feeling fine, even up to last night. But when the alarm went off this morning I couldn't even get up to turn it off. Had to crawl to the bathroom (thank $DEITY I made it). It's been only now that I've felt up to getting online. Hopefully this weekend I'll be better and able to get some things done. I have a full day for Saturday (see previous entry) and I would like to maybe visit the Thai Buddhist Temple on Sunday. If for no reason than to let Prah Aroon know I'm still alive. Hell, I don't know if he's still assigned there.
Maybe tomorrow will help me make a turn around. I'm really tired of being sick.
I was a complete mess today. Didn't make it out of bed till nearly 1500. I don't know why today was so bad. I was feeling fine, even up to last night. But when the alarm went off this morning I couldn't even get up to turn it off. Had to crawl to the bathroom (thank $DEITY I made it). It's been only now that I've felt up to getting online. Hopefully this weekend I'll be better and able to get some things done. I have a full day for Saturday (see previous entry) and I would like to maybe visit the Thai Buddhist Temple on Sunday. If for no reason than to let Prah Aroon know I'm still alive. Hell, I don't know if he's still assigned there.
Maybe tomorrow will help me make a turn around. I'm really tired of being sick.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Asashoryu, The Michael Schumacher of Sumo
Last weekend Yokozuna Asashoryu won his 4th Yusho (Championship) in 4 tournaments this year (This number corrected by thanks of Jakusotsu). This makes his 8th Yusho overall. Right now he is the only Yokozuna in Sumo, and it doesn't look like there'll be another one any time soon. Asa has dominated Sumo nearly as well as Michael Schumacher has dominated Formula 1.
Asa won the tournament with a 13-2 record. There really wasn't anyone who really pushed him. The current crop of Ozeki (Champion) is not likely to ever reach Yokozuna. Kaio is just to inconsistent. Chiyotaikai just can't beet Kaio or Asa. Musoyama can barely hold onto his Ozeki rank and Tochiazuma? Well, he's been injury prone lately and therefore unpredictable.
Of the young guys there's some potential. The last couple of Basho's have seen some aborted runs at making it into contention. Asasekiryu had an outstanding performance in the 3rd Basho coming in second to the Yokozuna. However, in the 4th he couldn't match the upper ranks and was destroyed. But this time there was a new rising star, Hokutoriki. He ran through the Basho winning against all of the Ozeki and even Asa fell in their first bout. On the last day of the Basho Hokutoriki had a chance to win it all but it seemed like nerves got to him and he lost forcing a playoff match against Asa. Well, toy don't beat the Yokozuna twice in one Basho so Asa took the Emperor's cup. The good showing, though, vaulted Hokutoriki up the ranks going into this last Basho. But, like Asasekiryu before him, he was decimated.
There are still some potential young guns, though. Hakuho seems to be doing very well and is steadily moving up the ranks. A personal favorite of mine is Kokkai. He's a big old Russian, well actually he's from Georgia, who has been turning heads since he's been in Sumo. His one weakness is his lack of technique. He only knows one move, the bull rush. If he hits you with it you're going down. But the more experienced Rikishi have seen this and adjusted accordingly. This last Basho he barley had a winning record. If he can learn some more Sumo he's got a real chance.
Lastly I want to talk about two ex-Ozeki's still plugging away. Miyabiyama and Dejima. About half of the Ozeki's who drop rank will retire, "going out on top" as it were. But some will keep going. They continue in Sumo until they are unable to compete. I kinda like Miyabiyama, though I don't know why. He had a very good Basho this time around so we'll have to see what his rank will be for the next one.
The bottom line, though, is that there are no Rikishi who can give the Yokozuna any kind of real competition. It's fun to watch someone dominate their sport in the way that Asa and Michael have. But unlike F1, Sumo will have a difficult time surviving with this kind of dominance. There must be someone who can take down Asa. Someone to step into the vacant Yokozuna slot. Maybe it's because Sumo is man-to-man, hand-to-hand, one guy fighting another in a circle on a raised mound of clay... It's like a gun fight in the old Westerns of Hollywood. You need a Black hat and a White hat shooting it out on the street. Right now Sumo has one guy standing in the street waiting for someone to step up and challenge him. So far, no one's been able to.
Asa won the tournament with a 13-2 record. There really wasn't anyone who really pushed him. The current crop of Ozeki (Champion) is not likely to ever reach Yokozuna. Kaio is just to inconsistent. Chiyotaikai just can't beet Kaio or Asa. Musoyama can barely hold onto his Ozeki rank and Tochiazuma? Well, he's been injury prone lately and therefore unpredictable.
Of the young guys there's some potential. The last couple of Basho's have seen some aborted runs at making it into contention. Asasekiryu had an outstanding performance in the 3rd Basho coming in second to the Yokozuna. However, in the 4th he couldn't match the upper ranks and was destroyed. But this time there was a new rising star, Hokutoriki. He ran through the Basho winning against all of the Ozeki and even Asa fell in their first bout. On the last day of the Basho Hokutoriki had a chance to win it all but it seemed like nerves got to him and he lost forcing a playoff match against Asa. Well, toy don't beat the Yokozuna twice in one Basho so Asa took the Emperor's cup. The good showing, though, vaulted Hokutoriki up the ranks going into this last Basho. But, like Asasekiryu before him, he was decimated.
There are still some potential young guns, though. Hakuho seems to be doing very well and is steadily moving up the ranks. A personal favorite of mine is Kokkai. He's a big old Russian, well actually he's from Georgia, who has been turning heads since he's been in Sumo. His one weakness is his lack of technique. He only knows one move, the bull rush. If he hits you with it you're going down. But the more experienced Rikishi have seen this and adjusted accordingly. This last Basho he barley had a winning record. If he can learn some more Sumo he's got a real chance.
Lastly I want to talk about two ex-Ozeki's still plugging away. Miyabiyama and Dejima. About half of the Ozeki's who drop rank will retire, "going out on top" as it were. But some will keep going. They continue in Sumo until they are unable to compete. I kinda like Miyabiyama, though I don't know why. He had a very good Basho this time around so we'll have to see what his rank will be for the next one.
The bottom line, though, is that there are no Rikishi who can give the Yokozuna any kind of real competition. It's fun to watch someone dominate their sport in the way that Asa and Michael have. But unlike F1, Sumo will have a difficult time surviving with this kind of dominance. There must be someone who can take down Asa. Someone to step into the vacant Yokozuna slot. Maybe it's because Sumo is man-to-man, hand-to-hand, one guy fighting another in a circle on a raised mound of clay... It's like a gun fight in the old Westerns of Hollywood. You need a Black hat and a White hat shooting it out on the street. Right now Sumo has one guy standing in the street waiting for someone to step up and challenge him. So far, no one's been able to.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
German GP comments
Another race, another win for Michael Schumacher.
From the outside Formula 1 may look boring, but if you take some time to watch it there's a lot of drama in a race. Early on it looked like there would be a great race for the lead with Kimi Räikkönen really pushing Michael hard. Then, for no reason, his tail wing just disintegrated and off into the wall he went. After that there was no one who could catch Michael. This was his 100th poll and 81st win of his carrier. His 11 wins (in 12 races!) ties his all time record for wins in a season. More impressive is the fact that Ferrari have gone 11 years without a mechanical failure. And this win also moved Ferrari past Ford for the most wins in GP history.
There were some great fights back in the pack. Starting off, poor Rubens Barrichello had some of his (in)famous luck and lost his front wing when he tried, ill advisedly, to make a pass early on and ran into the back of David Coulthard . DC was ok but it knocked Rubens completely out of contention. It also caused him to finish out of the points for the first time this season.
Juan Pablo Montoya started 2nd on the grid but the Renault of Fernando Alonso just blew past him like a rabbit past a turtle. The Williams-BMW really doesn't look good at all but JP is such a good driver he kept it on the track and finished 5th.
The story of the race, though, was Jenson Button. He qualified 3rd just hundreds of seconds behind JP but due to an engine change had to start 13th on the grid. He then proceeded to charge up to 3rd just behind Fernando. They then had one of the more enjoyable battles for position I've seen of late. Jenson made an awesome move on a part of the track that isn't one of the better passing areas and took 2nd.
I was a bit surprised that Takuma Sato was generally MIA this race.
It seems that there's nothing that can stop the Ferrari/Schumacher combination. But the BAR-Honda and Renault teams are trying quite hard. And the sleeper for this second half of the season could end up being McLaren-Mercedes. Despite Kimi's evaporating wing they could be very competitive.
Yeah, if Martians come down and steal Michael's car.
From the outside Formula 1 may look boring, but if you take some time to watch it there's a lot of drama in a race. Early on it looked like there would be a great race for the lead with Kimi Räikkönen really pushing Michael hard. Then, for no reason, his tail wing just disintegrated and off into the wall he went. After that there was no one who could catch Michael. This was his 100th poll and 81st win of his carrier. His 11 wins (in 12 races!) ties his all time record for wins in a season. More impressive is the fact that Ferrari have gone 11 years without a mechanical failure. And this win also moved Ferrari past Ford for the most wins in GP history.
There were some great fights back in the pack. Starting off, poor Rubens Barrichello had some of his (in)famous luck and lost his front wing when he tried, ill advisedly, to make a pass early on and ran into the back of David Coulthard . DC was ok but it knocked Rubens completely out of contention. It also caused him to finish out of the points for the first time this season.
Juan Pablo Montoya started 2nd on the grid but the Renault of Fernando Alonso just blew past him like a rabbit past a turtle. The Williams-BMW really doesn't look good at all but JP is such a good driver he kept it on the track and finished 5th.
The story of the race, though, was Jenson Button. He qualified 3rd just hundreds of seconds behind JP but due to an engine change had to start 13th on the grid. He then proceeded to charge up to 3rd just behind Fernando. They then had one of the more enjoyable battles for position I've seen of late. Jenson made an awesome move on a part of the track that isn't one of the better passing areas and took 2nd.
I was a bit surprised that Takuma Sato was generally MIA this race.
It seems that there's nothing that can stop the Ferrari/Schumacher combination. But the BAR-Honda and Renault teams are trying quite hard. And the sleeper for this second half of the season could end up being McLaren-Mercedes. Despite Kimi's evaporating wing they could be very competitive.
Yeah, if Martians come down and steal Michael's car.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Movies, movies, movies
The last two Wednesdays I took my son to see some of the new movies. We saw the new "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkband" and "Spiter-man 2". They were both really good, IMO. Both had a bit to much talking for my son but that's not to be unexpected for a 7 year old. Spider-man had some interesting things in it for those of us who grew up reading the comics. It did a decent job of staying with the history and there was some good background setup in there for Spider-Man 3. While Tobey Maguir seems a little bit to whiney for Peter Parker, he still did a good job of showing the tormented side of Spider-Man. As for Harry Potter, I have never read the books but this third movie was really cool. The way it seems to fit together was interesting. And the girl playing Hermione is going to be one hot babe when she gets a bit older. Next on the list of movies to see will be "I, Robot". Maybe we'll see that this coming Wednesday. Or maybe "Thunderbirds". We'll see.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Music lost in a box
Many years ago, actually 22 years to be specific, I picked up an inexpensive (not cheap) electric guitar and started playing. Things evolved and within 5 years me, my two brothers and my sister had our own band and were playing gigs on Army bases and in German clubs. We were a variety rock band, playing anything from Journey and Pat Benatar to the Scorpions and Black Sabbath. We had also gone into the studio and cut a tape of 10 original songs. We weren't The Next Big Thing<tm> but we weren't bad. Once moving to the States in '88 I didn't have much time to play, but I always figured I'd just pick it back up when life settled down. Well, life never settled down. Marriage, serious career, baby boy... Then in the mid-90's I got Fibromyalgia and playing the guitar became a permanent part of my past.
Fast forward a couplea years and I'm with my brother in a music store. He's working hard to get back into playing, he's a drummer and plays guitar, and trying to work on being a singer. While at the store with him I saw a nice blues harmonica. It hit me, I could play this. So I got one, in the key of G, and started to mess around with it. Mostly I did blues riffs and wild ass improv solos. It was fun and I like it. I'm not worried about being good or anything, just want to keep music in my life. After a while I got more harps; A, C, D and E. Five harmonicas and about $45 each. But it was well worth it.
In the summer of 2003 I moved from the apartment I was in into a house. When the movers came I had done absolutely nothing to get ready. I was pretty much in bed for the days preceding and the day of the move. With the help of my mom they packed everything up and moved me. Lots of stuff ended up randomly packed with lots of other stuff. I still haven't emptied all the boxes but, as you probably guessed, I can't find the harmonicas. That's $225 worth of musical instruments sitting somewhere in a box. Knowing my luck they are in the garage getting all rusted and corroded. Spent a couple of hours today digging through the boxed in there looking for some sign of them. No luck.
Lately I have been thinking of buying one or two again. If I get a G and an E (and maybe a C) I should be covered for the most part if there ever comes a chance to play with my brother or anyone else. Maybe I'll swing by there tomorrow and see what they have in stock.
Fast forward a couplea years and I'm with my brother in a music store. He's working hard to get back into playing, he's a drummer and plays guitar, and trying to work on being a singer. While at the store with him I saw a nice blues harmonica. It hit me, I could play this. So I got one, in the key of G, and started to mess around with it. Mostly I did blues riffs and wild ass improv solos. It was fun and I like it. I'm not worried about being good or anything, just want to keep music in my life. After a while I got more harps; A, C, D and E. Five harmonicas and about $45 each. But it was well worth it.
In the summer of 2003 I moved from the apartment I was in into a house. When the movers came I had done absolutely nothing to get ready. I was pretty much in bed for the days preceding and the day of the move. With the help of my mom they packed everything up and moved me. Lots of stuff ended up randomly packed with lots of other stuff. I still haven't emptied all the boxes but, as you probably guessed, I can't find the harmonicas. That's $225 worth of musical instruments sitting somewhere in a box. Knowing my luck they are in the garage getting all rusted and corroded. Spent a couple of hours today digging through the boxed in there looking for some sign of them. No luck.
Lately I have been thinking of buying one or two again. If I get a G and an E (and maybe a C) I should be covered for the most part if there ever comes a chance to play with my brother or anyone else. Maybe I'll swing by there tomorrow and see what they have in stock.
New face
I'm trying out a new look. I got the basic template, done by maystar, off of BlogSkins and hacked it up a little to fit what I wanted. There's a few little things that still need hacking but they should all be cosmetic (I'm really anal about this kind of stuff). Took me around two hours to get it done. Unfortunately those two hours were from 0400 to 0600. Man, if I ever get back on a "normal" sleep schedule I'll be very happy.
Welcome to Together Dating
Welcome to Together Dating. At least that's what they say.
Since my divorce, or more accurately since my separation, I have been trying out various dating services. I was completely sucked into joining Great Expectations. My advice? Don't. They took about $2500 from me and I got less than nothing from them. I had much better results from the $20-$40 a month on the personals web sites. And I didn't have much luck with them.
Finding someone to go out with on a social date, as opposed to a romantic date, isn't easy. First off, I have little time to spend "going out". Having my son with me takes up all my time and on the alternating weekends he's at him mothers I'm to tired to do anything but the laundry and dishes and shopping and whatever to go out.
Work is not help 'cause the people I work with are 98% male. Of the two women there, one is almost old enough to be my mother and the other is, well, if you can't say something nice about someone you shouldn't say anything. So I'm saying nothing.
The Bar/Club scene isn't an option. With my disability the way it is I'd be lucky if I could spend 3 minutes out before having to go home. Standing is difficult. I'm not as immune to the whole smoke and booze atmosphere as I was 20 years ago.
What else is left? Church would be a potential option but I don't go to church. Social clubs? The only ones I ever belonged to were all tech ones and the only women at these kind of things were the waitresses serving the drinks. How about relatives. There's always someone willing to fix you up with a friend or co-worker. Well, not in this family. Thank $DEITY for that. Are there any other ways to meet someone? Maybe, but I don't know what they are.
While wandering the web one day I ran across this Together Dating site. At first I'm thinking it's just another Great Expectations. "Give us (lots of) money then all you have to do is come in and look at all the books we have filled with pictures." You find someone, attempt to initiate contact and hope that they contact you back." Yeah, right. Not even if I looked like Brad Pitt. But this place promises a different approach. They will do all the matching for you and initiate the introductions. All you have to do is meet the person and see if there is any potential.
Now, they don't do this for free, naturally. And, being the kind of company they are, you won't find a price list on their web site. However, I'm guessing that they aren't looking to suck as much money out of you as they can and run like Great Expectations. OC, I could be wrong. It's an interesting premise, though. I might have to contact them and see what they have. If it doesn't cost an arm and a leg maybe I'll give it a shot. I mean, I really would like to have someone special in my life. Who knows?
Since my divorce, or more accurately since my separation, I have been trying out various dating services. I was completely sucked into joining Great Expectations. My advice? Don't. They took about $2500 from me and I got less than nothing from them. I had much better results from the $20-$40 a month on the personals web sites. And I didn't have much luck with them.
Finding someone to go out with on a social date, as opposed to a romantic date, isn't easy. First off, I have little time to spend "going out". Having my son with me takes up all my time and on the alternating weekends he's at him mothers I'm to tired to do anything but the laundry and dishes and shopping and whatever to go out.
Work is not help 'cause the people I work with are 98% male. Of the two women there, one is almost old enough to be my mother and the other is, well, if you can't say something nice about someone you shouldn't say anything. So I'm saying nothing.
The Bar/Club scene isn't an option. With my disability the way it is I'd be lucky if I could spend 3 minutes out before having to go home. Standing is difficult. I'm not as immune to the whole smoke and booze atmosphere as I was 20 years ago.
What else is left? Church would be a potential option but I don't go to church. Social clubs? The only ones I ever belonged to were all tech ones and the only women at these kind of things were the waitresses serving the drinks. How about relatives. There's always someone willing to fix you up with a friend or co-worker. Well, not in this family. Thank $DEITY for that. Are there any other ways to meet someone? Maybe, but I don't know what they are.
While wandering the web one day I ran across this Together Dating site. At first I'm thinking it's just another Great Expectations. "Give us (lots of) money then all you have to do is come in and look at all the books we have filled with pictures." You find someone, attempt to initiate contact and hope that they contact you back." Yeah, right. Not even if I looked like Brad Pitt. But this place promises a different approach. They will do all the matching for you and initiate the introductions. All you have to do is meet the person and see if there is any potential.
Now, they don't do this for free, naturally. And, being the kind of company they are, you won't find a price list on their web site. However, I'm guessing that they aren't looking to suck as much money out of you as they can and run like Great Expectations. OC, I could be wrong. It's an interesting premise, though. I might have to contact them and see what they have. If it doesn't cost an arm and a leg maybe I'll give it a shot. I mean, I really would like to have someone special in my life. Who knows?
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