Here Be Ghosts Or Bigfoot.

One of the reasons I find Halloween to be the best time of the year: ghost tours. A dark moonlit night, a crisp and cool wind, a spooky Victorian era neighborhood, and a creepy dude in a trenchcoat as a tour guide. Oh yes, this would be so good!

I saw the blurb in the paper and quickly texted some friends. Luckily T and the Lady D could come. They were surprised such a neighborhood existed in Big City. You go around the suburbs and yes you get lots of vinyl villages, apartment complexes, and commercial corridors filled with strip malls and megamalls. This was a neighborhood with Victorians, Tudors, Arts & Crafts style homes with 2 or 3 story buildings housing pubs, coffeehouses not named BuckStars, non-chain style restaurants, non-chain bookstores, a Masonic temple, and a scooter store. Ciao baby! A quaint village only a few miles from downtown Big City, but in some ways a world away. Of course this village has a deep and dark side perfect for ghost stories.

The wind blew as the guide told of chess pieces that would move on a chessboard, before the coffeehouse opened up and the owner was by himself. A little cottage had cats disappearing into a drawer full of socks with no way for the drawers to open up by themselves. The same cottage supposedly had an evil force outside trying to get inside while the catnapping good spirit kept it at bay. Another house of a famous murderer supposedly would have smoke rings from a cigar appear out of nowhere. The murderer was noted for his fine cigars. One basement stairs would have the presence of a small cat rubbing against your leg, but don't reach done to pet the cat or you'll be shocked when you find nothing.

Wandering around the neighborhood with over 50 people I wondered if we would find any ghosts or at least Bigfoot. I told T and the Lady D we shouldn't mess with Sasquatch like those idiots in the beef jerky commercials. Some of the trees were very large and could hide something big. The highlight of the evening for most people was the tape recorder. The guide played a tape with a child's voice during a conversation with a homeowner. The homeowner had no children and the ghost that supposedly haunted this house was a child. People were surprised to hear the voice. The only problem I had was I never heard the voice.

I never heard any spooky voices. I never saw any spectres. I never saw any chess pieces move, and I never saw any random Bigfoot wandering around. Okay the tour never advertised Bigfoot, but hey you never know when you'll run into the big fella. I had a fun time. T and the Lady D had a fun time. They thanked me for inviting them. You're welcome. I love showing off the interesting sides of Big City. Even if they are the creepy and spooky sides of Big City.

Boo!

The World Turned Upside Down.

I had a 5 game lead in the pool until this weekend. Thankfully North Carolina and Navy are doing as well as I expected and they won this weekend. Now I know South Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Louisiana State University are all ranked in the Top 25, but are not invulnerable. But did they ALL have to lose in the same weekend? Even my boat anchor Kent State Golden Flashes WON this weekend!

The League Commissioner will provide updates by Tuesday. I could still be in the lead, but even if I am still ahead my lead got crushed like an empty beer can. At least I don't have money invested in this pool. I just want the bragging rights baby!

Spend It Like There's No Tomorrow!

Paycheck comes in and bills go out. At least for the past few paychecks there has been some leftover. Gasoline getting well below $3.00/gallon really helps on that. I've had a job for a year now. That helps so much it isn't funny. I've paid down my VISA by over a third. I've been paying off that bitch Sallie Mae with no problems. I've been slowly paying off other people too.

Even discounting student loans I still have a metric buttload of debt, but at least it is coming down. Provided I can keep my job (I don't see it going away), and gasoline doesn't do extremely ballistic curves on the price chart I should be able to pay off all my debts, except ol' Sallie, by spring 2010. Unemployment debt sucks. That's all the analysis I need to provide.

At least I have some hope now, and that's better than I had a year ago. I honestly didn't know how much longer I could last. I honestly had no more plans or ideas. I needed a job, and finally I got one. That glimmer of hope was hard won. That's why I hold on so tightly. I know all too well how quickly hope can turn to ash. Though a bit early for new year's resolutions, perhaps I can resolves to finally relax a little bit next year.

Nah!

How Did I Not Ace This One?

You Scored 60% Correct

You are a solid child of the 80s. You'd never confuse Tiffany from Debbie Gibson! And while you may not know Prince's first #1 hit... You know every word to Little Red Corvette.

How Much Do You Know About 80s Music?

Don't Bring The Silver Bullets Please

You Should Be a Werewolf

You are seen as a bit tough and quite unpredictable. You follow your impulses. You see Halloween as a time you can go a little crazy. You love to scare people, and people are quite scared of you. You tend to be intimidating - and not just on Halloween!

What Classic Halloween Costume Should You Wear?

Army Of Darkness Explains So Much.

One friend of mine fails onto the Democrat side of the political spectrum. Our collective has a wide range of political views. Our collective is also full of smart asses. Combine those two traits with my friend and he came up with this little gem of political analysis. I don't care what your politics are you have to admit this is funny.

PS: If you haven't seen the Bruce Campbell classic Army Of Darkness you won't appreciate this as much.

John McCain (gesturing to the Bush administration): "You gotta believe me...I never even SAW these assholes before!"

Sarah Palin: "You found me beautiful once."
My Friend: "Honey, you got reeaal ugly."

I Shouldn't Watch Certain Shows.

We're getting near Halloween and History Channel's Mosterquest is always a good creepy show. Between the Yeti show, the Bigfoot show, the Skunk Ape show, the Ohio Strawman show, the Bigfoot in New York show, and who knows how many other variations of Bigfoot there is, and it'll creep me out. I blame this fear of Bigfoot on the infamous episode of the Bionic Man vs. Bigfoot.

We're also getting all the shows about ghosts now too.

October is a good month to creep me out. The last thing I need to watch now would be a marathon run of Seasons 1 through 3 of The X-Files.

To my limited audience, is there anything that goes bump in the night that will creep you out?

General Stupidity Or Targeted Hate?

I get out of my car and notice the window has some waves in it. Wait a second, it has several curves in the dust and grime. Hold on, someone has written something onto the window! My window wasn't very dirty so it was hardly visible at all. I had to stand at just the right distance and at just the right angle to make out the text: like cock.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't there this morning. I had a little bit of dew on my windows so it would be more obvious if something was written. Most likely this occurred at work in Small Town. I was a tad angry, not upset, not concerned, but angry. Who dared screw around with my car? Then my thoughts drifted into a more analytical mode. Was the message meant specifically for me, or was it some wannabe graffiti artist with no sense of morals who randomly saw a slightly dirty window as a blank canvas?

A random act of stupidity I could almost accept. A targeted gripe would concern me more. Who would have done this? Was it one of my "clients" and if so how did they know which car was mine? I don't share very much of my private life with people outside my office, especially not with our clientele. I deal with the flotsam and jetsam of our society. I have no doubt I upset people often due to my position. If you're seeing me in my legal duties, then something is very wrong most likely.

I don't intend to become paranoid, but perhaps a little more vigilance on my part wouldn't be a bad idea, especially in Small Town.

I Guess I Can't Fake It Anymore.

Quote #1:

Fellow Club Member: Wow Wolfrham, you look exhausted!

Me: Is it really that noticeable?

Quote #2:
Clerk: I don't know how these files are getting legs and walking out of here. I can't do my job when I can't find the damn file.

Me: I can't do my job when I keep helping you look for the damn file either.

Farewell To Opus

I love the character Opus, but I'm not fond of the comic Opus. Bloom County was awesome. Outland was simply a weak shadow of Bloom County. The third Berkley Breathed iteration was simply weak. Still it's nice to see Opus and Steve Dallas for a bit.

If you've been reading the comic you've been feeling the end coming. Perhaps it's time to finally say good bye. The Opus and the Shuttlechair Challenger must fly off into the sunset.

Just Wing It With My Mad Oral Skills.

The judge had all the attorneys write a motion. It was interesting to take opposition's case law and work it against him. I figured the judge would rule on the motion and take things from there.

NO!

The judge wanted oral summations of our motions, the case law, the potential testimony from witnesses (I didn't know we had any witnesses), and then he would take it from there. What I anticipated to be a 30 to 45 minute hearing at most was instead around 90 minutes. I wasn't ready for a oral summation. Luckily my motion only referenced two cases so I compared and contrasted the two cases with the situation at hand. I also invoked equity. When in doubt invoke the secret judicial power of equity and fairness. At that point the judge asked everyone a question, and no one had an answer. It was such a minor procedural question it wasn't even in our files. It was minor to all, but the judge. Oh crap!

I've been stalled for over 3 months. I want this case to move forward so I can finally do something one way or the other.

This Makes So Much Sense For The Cubs

I'm not even a baseball fan. Yet if you're familiar with the Chicago Cubs, their history, their fans, their culture, their very frickin' obnoxious yuppie fashionable fans, then this will make sense. So I'll share this with you:

As I was explaining to my neighbor Joe, the beauty of this postseason defeat for the Cubs is that for Cubs fans it ruins next season as well. While they were swept in last year's playoffs, they weren't expected to do much in the post season. This year, they were the team to beat, at least in the NL. Now, even if they win the division going away next year, everyone will be worried about yet another postseason debacle. Cubs fans won't be able to enjoy the regular season success of next year until it is validated by post season success. In other words, the Cubs have already ruined 2009, and the 2008 WorldSeries hasn't even started yet.

A complete thing of beauty.

I Always Thought I Was The Philosopher-King.

You Are the Philosopher

You love thinking things over and developing theories. Learning is very important to you, and you pursue knowledge relentlessly. You love to talk about the things you know, often in more detail than people would like to hear. And you know a lot! You're always taking on new subjects, interests, and hobbies. You are at your best when you are left alone to ponder your newest ideas and experiments. You tend to withdraw from environments that are loud, contentious, or passionate.

What Role Do You Play?

Tell Me How You Really Feel.

This $700 BILLION bailout package of Wall Street isn't very popular. Everyone has an opinion on the subject. The fact the vote failed and the Dow Jones went down 777 points (is that 111 points better than expected) elicits various responses.

A wee bit blunt, but I kinda agree with my friend. I'm such a sick, sick boy.

Quote One:
"Whoo-hoo! I want to see suits diving out of skyscrapers before Congress says boo with MY money. More billionaires need to become paupers before we as a whole pony up $700 billion."

Total Brain Fart

Nope it wasn't mine, though I do that all the time. My boss had the total mental meltdown. We thought we would be smart and swap a few files so we wouldn't have to travel to different courtrooms. I could take all the cases in one court, and the boss could handle all the cases in another court.


It seemed like a good idea at the time.


It was supposed to be an even swap with one file apiece. Yet somehow one or two more hearings were scheduled than what appeared on our calendar. Of course those hearings belonged to the boss, but they were mine now. I provided the boss with my single file. The boss later gave me three files.

I was in the middle of one hearing and the boss suddenly appeared looking for something. He rustled through the files on the table and grabbed at least one file. WTF?!?! I had the files I needed, but he mumbled he was looking for something. Did he somehow insert some extraneous files when I wasn't looking? A few minutes later the next case come up and suddenly I didn't have that file in my stack. WTF it was here when I came into the courtroom!?!?!?

I went into my office to look for it. I went into the file room to look for it. I went into my boss's office to look for it. I couldn't find the damn file and I printed off some data from the computer. Though incomplete at least I could do something at the hearing. The boss came into our office saying he couldn't find the file I gave him. WTF? I gave that file to him just before lunch!

I went into the courtroom he was at. I stared at the table and immediately realized what the problem was. Our filing system is based on a primary name; however, at times the person involved is the secondary name. Usually that secondary name is printed somewhere on the file, but not always. I flipped open the file and pointed out to the boss there was the name he was looking for. It was right there on all the paperwork I prepared for this hearing. He knows this system. From who was in the court that day he could easily tell it was a secondary name. Yet somehow he just totally spaced it.

I glanced at the pile of files and noticed the file I needed was right there! WTF, it was in my possession about 45 minutes earlier! Why did my boss grab this, no wait there was a second file I would need later!!! Between finding the files, looking at the calendar, switching files to be with the proper person BEFORE the hearings I spent easily 15 minutes making sure everything was right. Thanks to my boss's bumbling we both looked like idiots in front of two different courts!

The reality is my boss is burned out. He needs a sabbatical to recharge his legal batteries. A shame sabbaticals only exist in academia or high end private practices. His complete exhaustion affects his work, our office, and at times my work. I don't know what to do. I can only control my boss so much.

This Night Isn't Good For My Football Pool!

Okay on ABC I have Georgia beating down on Arizona State badly. Arizona State is my PAC 10 team. On ESPN I have Auburn laying the smack down on LSU. LSU is my SEC team in the pool.

I doubt I'll be first place in our division by the end of tonight.

At least Notre Dame lost. Michigan State isn't my Big 10 team, but I simply hate Notre Dame. I hate them like I hate the New England Patriots.

Football is life and I'm having a heart attack right now.

EDIT: Oh praise my picks. At least LSU mounted a comeback to win the game. Of course with 4 minutes to go Arizona State isn't doing too well right now. Eh one out of two isn't bad.

9-21-2008 EDIT Part Duex: Note to self: I need to make sure I know who my teams are. I have ARIZONA, not Arizona STATE!!! Gargh, all the fretting for nothing as Arizona beat UCLA 31-10. Okay I had 7 out of 11 teams win yesterday with one team having a bye week. A good week, but not a great week. I don't even have any money on these games. This is pure pride and ego!

Money, Money, Money....MONEY!

If more people had a philosophy like this, our country wouldn't be having a financial meltdown right now.

Your Money Personality is Healthy

You have a good relationship with money. You don't spend wildly, but you're not opposed to treating yourself on occasion. In general, you save some of what you earn. You know the importance of a nest egg. You aren't afraid of being financially literate - you embrace learning more about finances. From a retirement plan to having an emergency fund, you know what you need to have to be safe.

What's Your Money Personality?

Rock God In My Own Mind.

Your Taste in Music:

Eighties: Highest Influence Alternative Rock: Highest Influence Classic Rock: Highest Influence Adult Alternative: High Influence Country: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

I Don't Want To Wait Until 2010.

Season 5, or if you're British Series 5, teaser for the return of Doctor Who. The ol' Doc gets another companion again. I love the power of the beats and the fiery looks. Sometimes less is more.

Where Is My Passport?

I get around a bit, but I need to relearn my Spanish.

You Are Quite Worldly

You've done a good bit of worldly exploring, and you have an international perspective. And you're definitely looking forward to your future adventures abroad. You've got the passport, the desire to travel, and maybe even the language skills. Now all you need are the means!

How Worldly Are You?