Red: (in a monotone voice) "my mom said that if she gets crushed by a pillar that she loves us"
Not what you expect to hear, though I guess I should get used to it. Both of our parents are retired and are now up to crazy things. I will attempt to keep everyone updated on the crazy things we hear about. Just stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Take it to the checkered flag!
The Purdue Grand Prix is one of the few things in college I couldn't live without. My first year I was on the crew of the Phi Kappa Theta team and scorer for them my second year in college.
Phi Kappa Theta was the best team, with absolutely no real money to spend. We did pretty amazing things with very old equipment, we could have won my second year if the team who ended up winning didn't wreck us while we were sitting in third.
After that race I met Red for the very first time. I invited her roommate to my fraternities post race party and Red came along. That is a different story though.
I joined the SWE Race Team and was the Crew Chief my senior year and Director my super senior year. This past weekend Red and I went as alumni to the race to watch our old team. SWE did not qualify for the main event in the time trials but that was no problem for Marisa, taking 1st place in her heat race putting her in the 30th starting position.
If you finish the race without getting into a wreck you end up doing very well. In true fighting fashion, SWE raced to a 5th place finish kicking 25 karts to the curb! Congratulations SWE Race Team!
Here is the video we made for the 2009/2010 Race Team
2010 Video
 |
| Phi Kappa Theta Team |
After that race I met Red for the very first time. I invited her roommate to my fraternities post race party and Red came along. That is a different story though.
I joined the SWE Race Team and was the Crew Chief my senior year and Director my super senior year. This past weekend Red and I went as alumni to the race to watch our old team. SWE did not qualify for the main event in the time trials but that was no problem for Marisa, taking 1st place in her heat race putting her in the 30th starting position.
 |
| 2011 SWE Race Team |
Here is the video we made for the 2009/2010 Race Team
2010 Video
 |
| Fight for every spot! (2010 race) |
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
This has to go on the blog
You might have seen this photo in the previous post:
In case you didn't read the previous post, this is a photo of the locked glass case in a Goodwill near Purdue. Yes, that is a box of "1 Vibrating Ring plus 1 Latex Condom". At Goodwill. For four dollars. Did I mention that this was for SALE at a Goodwill store??
Of course, like the good daughter I am, I texted a photo of the case to my dad. And now, for your entertainment pleasure, his response:
"Top Ten Reasons to Donate Your Trojans to Goodwill:
10) making up for congressional cuts to Planned Parenthood
9) girlfriend got pregnant, so these became superfluous
8) one size didn't fit all, had to get other.
7) preferred the chocolate flavor.
6) girlfriend kept laughing at the psychedelic color
5) sensu-ribs did not have the intended result.
4) "for best results use before" date had expired.
3) mom found them and one never to waste anything, made me donate them.
2) my girlfriend is a werewolf, so these were unnecessary
1) the Viagra kept making me go blind, deaf, and have an unsafe drop in blood pressure, so i can't use these anyway.
The blue pills are in the case behind you. We accept food stamps and AFDC."
When I asked him if he made this up or found it somewhere, he responded with:
"I have been working very hard on it since I zoomed in on the picture and saw what it was. This has to go on the blog."
Wish granted.
Cheers!
Red
My favorite is reason number 2 :)
Holy Donation, Batman!
Maybe it's the fact that AV and I still feel like poor college students or maybe it stems from Dad's penchant for dead men's wardrobes and Mom's refusal to pay full price for anything, but AV and I spend a significant amount of our shopping time in Goodwill stores.
Even though I usually leave these stores with an almost obsessive desire to bathe, I still shop there. As long as you wash your purchases in hot water and bleach it's really not as nasty as it sounds. Well.... sometimes it is as nasty as it sounds, but more on that later.
Our dumpster diving shopping style has really paid off a couple of times. When we first moved up here we found a Mike Knuble Red Wings jersey. Obviously, hockey is HUGE up here and I really wanted a jersey but even the local team's* jerseys sell for over $80. So when we spotted a jersey hanging on the wall in the local Goodwill we made a bee-line for it. Seven dollars. NICE.
Lookin' good Knuble
Bring it Grandma.
Even though I usually leave these stores with an almost obsessive desire to bathe, I still shop there. As long as you wash your purchases in hot water and bleach it's really not as nasty as it sounds. Well.... sometimes it is as nasty as it sounds, but more on that later.
Our dumpster diving shopping style has really paid off a couple of times. When we first moved up here we found a Mike Knuble Red Wings jersey. Obviously, hockey is HUGE up here and I really wanted a jersey but even the local team's* jerseys sell for over $80. So when we spotted a jersey hanging on the wall in the local Goodwill we made a bee-line for it. Seven dollars. NICE.
Lookin' good Knuble
The second greatest purchase (or quite possibly THE greatest) was a discovery in a Salvation Army store in Cinci. Always on the lookout for sport jerseys (AV likes how the wicking material feels) we discovered something AMAZING. A grey and blue sport shirt with a "23" and "WILSON" emblazoned on the back. But the amazing part was when we looked at the front. "Northern Kentucky Table Tennis" and a pair of crossed paddles. OMG. NKU has a ping-pong team.
Bring it Grandma.
If you can handle the motion sickness inducing 360 degree room view for the first thirty seconds of the video, you can see the shirt we found at around 0:35 in the video below.
But after our Purdue adventure this weekend, I'm not sure about Goodwill anymore...
We went down to PU last weekend to watch SWE compete in Grand Prix**. It was moved to Sunday due to the weather and we were stuck entertaining ourselves for an entire afternoon we hadn't planned on. We did what anyone would do in our situation and ended up at Goodwill. AV made a bee-line for the glass case on the front wall containing "valuables". He collects/plays/sells old video games and records and has been able to find some real gems at stores like this. As he perused the record selection I stared into the glass case.
There was a small box between some other, larger boxes. Most of the front of the box was covered by a $3.99 price tag. I didn't have my glasses on so I assumed I had made a mistake when I identified what was in the small red box.
I pressed my nose to the glass and my jaw dropped. That was NO mistake. That box was EXACTLY what I thought it was.
O_o
WHO DONATES THAT TO GOODWILL??? And maybe more importantly, who BUYS that from Goodwill???
Cheers,
Red
*The Muskegon Lumberjacks
** Winning their sprint race and placed 30th in the starting lineup of the big race, kart 44 finished the race 7th but officially finished 5th following TWO disqualifications in the top five finishers. AWESOME job ladies!
** Winning their sprint race and placed 30th in the starting lineup of the big race, kart 44 finished the race 7th but officially finished 5th following TWO disqualifications in the top five finishers. AWESOME job ladies!
Photo credits:
Ping-Pong Grandma - http://office-table.com/tag/picture-of-table-tennis-game
Northern Kentucky Table Tennis - http://www.nkytt.org/
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Orangies!
I am ecstatic! Of our cats, Jesse James is absolutely my favorite. He's got a great personality and he's totally a Mama's Boy. When he was little he used to sleep in bed with me every night and he'd sit on the couch with me when I'd do homework or watch TV. He kind of grew out of it though, like a teenager who has decided his parents aren't the rockstars he used to believe they were.
The "I'm not a fan of my mom" stage grew into a full blown "I absolutely hate my mom" stage when we brought Daniel Boone home. We were totally heartbroken at Jess's reaction to Dannie because, based on their individual personalities, we thought they would be besties. We purposely introduced Jess to Dannie first because of this fact, but when we brought them together Dannie was pretty normal (for a guy that used to live somewhere else) and Jess flipped his sh-t. He fluffed out, hissed, growled, and fled.
We've been dealing with that fall-out for months. Slowly though, Dannie has been getting more excited, friskier. He's been chasing everybody else and thundering through the house. About a month ago we caught Jesse and Dannie playing together. Roughhousing and chasing each other through the house.
This weekend Jame-o hopped into my lap as I was watching TV! This was the first time he has willingly done this since before we moved. The love is returning!! And today he came up and sat next to me even though Dannie is also sitting here. I don't know what's going on in his little furry brain, but either he's bonding with Dannie or he has determined that he's not a threat.
The last hurdle is to get Jess to sleep on the bed again. If he comes over when Dannie is already there, he freaks out and leaves. Slowly but surely I'm getting my favorite orangie back!
Cheers,
Red
In other news, I have a mosquito bite on my cheek (face not ... the other one). I'm disappointed the bugs popped out so quickly, but I guess it's the price I have to pay for sunshine and warm weather.
The "I'm not a fan of my mom" stage grew into a full blown "I absolutely hate my mom" stage when we brought Daniel Boone home. We were totally heartbroken at Jess's reaction to Dannie because, based on their individual personalities, we thought they would be besties. We purposely introduced Jess to Dannie first because of this fact, but when we brought them together Dannie was pretty normal (for a guy that used to live somewhere else) and Jess flipped his sh-t. He fluffed out, hissed, growled, and fled.
We've been dealing with that fall-out for months. Slowly though, Dannie has been getting more excited, friskier. He's been chasing everybody else and thundering through the house. About a month ago we caught Jesse and Dannie playing together. Roughhousing and chasing each other through the house.
This weekend Jame-o hopped into my lap as I was watching TV! This was the first time he has willingly done this since before we moved. The love is returning!! And today he came up and sat next to me even though Dannie is also sitting here. I don't know what's going on in his little furry brain, but either he's bonding with Dannie or he has determined that he's not a threat.
The last hurdle is to get Jess to sleep on the bed again. If he comes over when Dannie is already there, he freaks out and leaves. Slowly but surely I'm getting my favorite orangie back!
Cheers,
Red
In other news, I have a mosquito bite on my cheek (face not ... the other one). I'm disappointed the bugs popped out so quickly, but I guess it's the price I have to pay for sunshine and warm weather.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Zoom, Zoom!!
We bought two brand-spanking new Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles a few months ago (yes we were hopefully awaiting warmer weather) and it's almost time to pick them up! The store has been holding them for us (for freeee) over the winter but now the weather is getting nice and we're getting antsy! So the other day AV and I went to Harbor Freight to pick up a trailer.
The trailer came in pieces in two boxes and we'll have to put it together ourselves. The Harbor Freight guy and AV put it in the car at the store and I watched. I am an excellent supervisor, FYI. When we got home we went to get the bits out of the car and, from my supervisory location inside the garage, I heard a loud "HOLY BUGGOU OF G-D" as AV attempted to get one of the boxes out of the car. The guy at the store was apparently Superman in disguise because he did not yell "Holy Buggou OF G-d" while he was loading our car.
After we got the boxes out of the Jeep and onto the driveway we determined that they were apparently full of lead. Using mainly my superhuman strength, we managed to get one box at a time onto AV's skateboard (poor man's dolly!) and, though we thought we might snap the board in half, wheeled them into the garage where they are now awaiting assembly. Due to the trailer, Baby Car is currently enjoying the wide open spaces of the driveway. I think he enjoys it.
In two weeks we'll be bringing our new babies home! Good thing too, because gas is like 4 dollars a gallon right now.
Time to get a motorcycle temps!
Cheers!
Red
The trailer came in pieces in two boxes and we'll have to put it together ourselves. The Harbor Freight guy and AV put it in the car at the store and I watched. I am an excellent supervisor, FYI. When we got home we went to get the bits out of the car and, from my supervisory location inside the garage, I heard a loud "HOLY BUGGOU OF G-D" as AV attempted to get one of the boxes out of the car. The guy at the store was apparently Superman in disguise because he did not yell "Holy Buggou OF G-d" while he was loading our car.
After we got the boxes out of the Jeep and onto the driveway we determined that they were apparently full of lead. Using mainly my superhuman strength, we managed to get one box at a time onto AV's skateboard (poor man's dolly!) and, though we thought we might snap the board in half, wheeled them into the garage where they are now awaiting assembly. Due to the trailer, Baby Car is currently enjoying the wide open spaces of the driveway. I think he enjoys it.
In two weeks we'll be bringing our new babies home! Good thing too, because gas is like 4 dollars a gallon right now.
Time to get a motorcycle temps!
Cheers!
Red
Friday, April 8, 2011
Dress-up Doll: Part III
Mom and Dad came up on Monday and we went to a bridal store south of here. They didn't carry my dress in the store but they said that it could be ordered from the company. For nearly FOUR HUNDRED dollars LESS than where I found it back home. YAYY!
Since they didn't carry the exact dress, I tried on a couple of other dresses to make sure the style/cut of the skirt would be what I expected. And, as an added bonus, the dresses I tried on were ACTUALLY THE CORRECT SIZE! Crazy talk!! Those suckers look significantly better when you're not being clipped in like some sort of woodworking project.
After going to this store, I figured out why people say that they enjoy looking at formal dresses! When the staff is helpful and there are affordable dresses in the correct size, it's actually pretty awesome.
After all that, I ordered my dress! It should come in June or July. So exciting!!
Cheers!
Red
PS Funny story! Monday morning I called the store and asked if they could tell me the price of the dress since it would have to be ordered. The owner called me back a bit later and told me the price. I was a little surprised since most places aren't willing to give out that information, but hey, awesome for me.
Apparently while I was setting up the order with someone else, Dad overheard a discussion the owner was having. She was rather angry because someone "with a 513 area code called this morning and asked the price of a gown. I didn't want to tell her because she's obviously just shopping around". Interesting... being that I called from a 513 area code in the morning and asked the price of a gown and then I was standing at the counter ordering it. EEeentereesting....
Since they didn't carry the exact dress, I tried on a couple of other dresses to make sure the style/cut of the skirt would be what I expected. And, as an added bonus, the dresses I tried on were ACTUALLY THE CORRECT SIZE! Crazy talk!! Those suckers look significantly better when you're not being clipped in like some sort of woodworking project.
After going to this store, I figured out why people say that they enjoy looking at formal dresses! When the staff is helpful and there are affordable dresses in the correct size, it's actually pretty awesome.
After all that, I ordered my dress! It should come in June or July. So exciting!!
Cheers!
Red
PS Funny story! Monday morning I called the store and asked if they could tell me the price of the dress since it would have to be ordered. The owner called me back a bit later and told me the price. I was a little surprised since most places aren't willing to give out that information, but hey, awesome for me.
Apparently while I was setting up the order with someone else, Dad overheard a discussion the owner was having. She was rather angry because someone "with a 513 area code called this morning and asked the price of a gown. I didn't want to tell her because she's obviously just shopping around". Interesting... being that I called from a 513 area code in the morning and asked the price of a gown and then I was standing at the counter ordering it. EEeentereesting....
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Find Me a (Rental) Home
AV is currently driving an hour to work each way. We're trying to remedy this particular "problem" by moving closer.
Normally in this situation we'd just grab a rental and deal with it. But apparently, by having four cats we've branded ourselves as "TERRIBLE RENTERS" so we can't rent an apartment. That leaves rental houses. Honestly, I was never a real fan of apartment living so that's not a problem. The problem is the fact that the rental houses that are available in the area are... how do I say... pieces of sh*t.
Where we are looking to move is a summer vacation destination, or so I've been told, so many of the houses are only on short term (and ridiculously expensive) leases. So those are out. Next we have the slew of houses marked "ABSOLUTELY NO PETS". If you tried, you could probably sneak in an animal, provided it was small and quiet. We, however, house a four part vocal ensemble that doubles as a stampede. So those houses are out.
Once those houses were all weeded out we were left with some real winners. One example is the house that has a garage where "all you have to do is get a new door". Excuse me? I have to get a new door? I don't think so. Besides, even if I did get a new door, it wouldn't keep somebody from crawling in through the gaping hole in the front corner.
How about renting the first floor of a two story house? But only the first floor. O..kay? When I asked about it the realtor said that the owner didn't want to clean the second floor so they weren't going to include that part. I stopped really listening at this point because my eyes glazed over and my mind was filled with thoughts of rodent droppings, black mold, and sawdust. No, I don't know why there might be sawdust up there, but it featured prominently in my horrific visions.
The next house just needed to be painted and have the carpet cleaned. "Oh wait... No I guess he's done painting." Ah yes, what a vote of confidence.
Or finally, the house that stank. Like gas. When I pointed this out to the realtor she proceeded to SWITCH THE STOVE ON!! OMGWTFBBQ!!!! There must be a God in Heaven because I still can't believe I didn't explode into flame with the rest of the kitchen! "Oh looks like one of the pilot lights are out. I guess I'll have to tell him next time I talk to him." Looks like?? Next time?? Whatever happened to opening a window and calling the gas company immediately??
After that particular near-death experience I determined that rental houses in the area were probably not the way to go...
Cheers,
Red
Normally in this situation we'd just grab a rental and deal with it. But apparently, by having four cats we've branded ourselves as "TERRIBLE RENTERS" so we can't rent an apartment. That leaves rental houses. Honestly, I was never a real fan of apartment living so that's not a problem. The problem is the fact that the rental houses that are available in the area are... how do I say... pieces of sh*t.
Where we are looking to move is a summer vacation destination, or so I've been told, so many of the houses are only on short term (and ridiculously expensive) leases. So those are out. Next we have the slew of houses marked "ABSOLUTELY NO PETS". If you tried, you could probably sneak in an animal, provided it was small and quiet. We, however, house a four part vocal ensemble that doubles as a stampede. So those houses are out.
Once those houses were all weeded out we were left with some real winners. One example is the house that has a garage where "all you have to do is get a new door". Excuse me? I have to get a new door? I don't think so. Besides, even if I did get a new door, it wouldn't keep somebody from crawling in through the gaping hole in the front corner.
How about renting the first floor of a two story house? But only the first floor. O..kay? When I asked about it the realtor said that the owner didn't want to clean the second floor so they weren't going to include that part. I stopped really listening at this point because my eyes glazed over and my mind was filled with thoughts of rodent droppings, black mold, and sawdust. No, I don't know why there might be sawdust up there, but it featured prominently in my horrific visions.
The next house just needed to be painted and have the carpet cleaned. "Oh wait... No I guess he's done painting." Ah yes, what a vote of confidence.
Or finally, the house that stank. Like gas. When I pointed this out to the realtor she proceeded to SWITCH THE STOVE ON!! OMGWTFBBQ!!!! There must be a God in Heaven because I still can't believe I didn't explode into flame with the rest of the kitchen! "Oh looks like one of the pilot lights are out. I guess I'll have to tell him next time I talk to him." Looks like?? Next time?? Whatever happened to opening a window and calling the gas company immediately??
After that particular near-death experience I determined that rental houses in the area were probably not the way to go...
Cheers,
Red
Friday, April 1, 2011
Bathroom ReSale Mistakes
1. Do not leave a toilet to roam free in a basement. It will look lonely and distressed without a few walls and a sink.
2. Just because you have room in your basement for a shower, it doesn't mean you should have one. There is more than enogh room in my work office for a small trampoline, but trust me it wouldn't work out.
3. When selling a house, kindly removes the caved in ceiling from the bath tub, it will look like you started to put in a skylight.
4. Install the shower head high enough so it can be used as a shower and not just a very confident bath tub facet.
Lastly....
5. Some interiors should just not be decorated, maybe keep the scripture off the inside of the toilet lid and in the bible. If you need to say a prayer every time you flush I would seriously consider seeing a doctor.
2. Just because you have room in your basement for a shower, it doesn't mean you should have one. There is more than enogh room in my work office for a small trampoline, but trust me it wouldn't work out.
3. When selling a house, kindly removes the caved in ceiling from the bath tub, it will look like you started to put in a skylight.
4. Install the shower head high enough so it can be used as a shower and not just a very confident bath tub facet.
Lastly....
5. Some interiors should just not be decorated, maybe keep the scripture off the inside of the toilet lid and in the bible. If you need to say a prayer every time you flush I would seriously consider seeing a doctor.
Where the Women Glow and Men Plunder
These three songs always remind me of Australia and that makes me feel all warm and snuggly inside :D
Men at Work - Land Down Under
Florence and The Machine - The Dog Days are Over
This music video reminds me a lot of the videos from The Empire of the Sun... Except that whoever made this one wasn't on as many drugs.
This music video reminds me a lot of the videos from The Empire of the Sun... Except that whoever made this one wasn't on as many drugs.
Kings of Leon - Your Sex is On Fire
This song must have been at the top of the charts when I was over there... I couldn't go anywhere without hearing it.
This song must have been at the top of the charts when I was over there... I couldn't go anywhere without hearing it.
Cheers,
Red
Red
It didn't look like that in the picture!
Houses seem to be like MySpace. Just because the profile picture is nice, doesn't mean that the house will look like that in person. Today I looked at a house that looked like a beautiful Victorian that was painted black and white (the one below), when I arrived to take a look at it today it was definitely dark beige with green accents.
Example Of MySpace Angle at work (not recommended for those still believing in honest profile pictures).
The first house I looked at had only 4 pictures, I guess that should have been a clue in there. If you use a low enough resolution camera then all that peeling paint and water damage blend right in.
Searching for houses online definitely gives the houses the benefit of the doubt. It seems to me that hi res pictures just do not exist on reality sites. Every cheap house has benefited from a low mega pixel camera.
My humble request, reality sites should have nice resolution pictures and lots of them. Especially a picture of that thing you are calling a bathroom in the basement (like the random toilet in the middle of the basement we saw today). We would have saved a good hour in searching with a realtor just knowing which houses would never work.
House hunting continues slowly but surely, one bad picture at a time.
PS from Red - Too bad the reality sites also don't have a line stating "This house smells really, really, ridiculously bad. For serious." Or maybe just check boxes for items such as: "Smells like cat piss" "Something might have died in here" and "Mothballs are a valid form of deodorizing".
Example Of MySpace Angle at work (not recommended for those still believing in honest profile pictures).
The first house I looked at had only 4 pictures, I guess that should have been a clue in there. If you use a low enough resolution camera then all that peeling paint and water damage blend right in.
Searching for houses online definitely gives the houses the benefit of the doubt. It seems to me that hi res pictures just do not exist on reality sites. Every cheap house has benefited from a low mega pixel camera.
My humble request, reality sites should have nice resolution pictures and lots of them. Especially a picture of that thing you are calling a bathroom in the basement (like the random toilet in the middle of the basement we saw today). We would have saved a good hour in searching with a realtor just knowing which houses would never work.
House hunting continues slowly but surely, one bad picture at a time.
PS from Red - Too bad the reality sites also don't have a line stating "This house smells really, really, ridiculously bad. For serious." Or maybe just check boxes for items such as: "Smells like cat piss" "Something might have died in here" and "Mothballs are a valid form of deodorizing".
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