Me at the Magic Kingdom

Me at the magic Kingdom
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

So much going on. I don't even know what to write about, so I'm just going to start typing and see what comes out. This picture was taken a little before Christmas on a trip to Walt Disney World with some close friends. As soon as I got back from that trip, I left for Kentucky to spend Christmas with my extended family. It is so much better to spend the holidays with ones family like I did this year, as opposed to last year, when I spent them all working 7000 miles away in a country where a good many of the citizens not only HATE Christmas, but actively seek to commit terrorist acts against countries that celebrate it. What a difference a year makes, hmm?

After Christmas, I stayed up at my grandparent's house along with some of my brothers and my dad and we helped my grandfather work on this little house that he bought. It was in bad shape, some people don't know how to take care of what they have. We hauled away a huge trailer load of trash that was scattered around a shed and all around the house. It was hard work, but it was good. I stayed up there about a week after Christmas, then drove my brothers and my aunt back to Chatt Town and my dad stayed up there to continue helping. We also did a lot of electrical work on the house. I learned a little bit, which always happens when one is doing work on a house that has not been built by professionals. Anyway, then my aunt came down with us, and since she hadn't been to visit in about six years it was very good to hang out with her some. She's been through quite a lot in the last few years, but I think she's finally on the way up slowly. She and I spent New Year's Eve at Fathom, then we went to a family New Year's party. I got to go visit another family that I've known a long time that same night, and ended up only getting about 3.5 hours of sleep before I had to get up to take Aunt M. back to Kentucky. On the way back I met my dad who was on his way to Bowling Green to visit my other grandmother, so Aunt M. took her car and went home and Daddy and me went on to Bowling Green.

Once I finally got done with visiting and travelling, my brother and Jesse were preparing to go on a trip to Colorado. They spent inordinate amounts of time working on Jesse's 4runner before they left, because Jesse wanted it as close to its Alaska configuration as possible in order to test all his gadgets and stuff.

Oh yeah, for anyone that hasn't heard, Jesse, myself, my brother J. and our other friend Jesse C. are planning a road trip to Alaska late this coming spring. We'll be taking my truck and Jesse's 4runner, and the single word I can think of to describe it is epic. I've got a feeling we'll never be able to take a trip like this again, so we're going to make the most of it.

I've been doing a lot of work at Fathom here lately, lots of little piddly stuff like putting new latches on the paper towel dispensers, changing light bulbs, and planning future projects with Sharky, another guy who helps out a lot down there. Just this evening I finished putting up plywood over all the walls in the guys bathroom. All these little heathen punks with no respect for other people's property come in and are either pissed off at their girlfriend, or depressed, or some other silly excuse, so they get mad and punch or kick holes in the walls of the bathroom. Am thinking they'll consider other outlets for their frustration once they slam their poor little knuckles or toes into some half inch plywood a couple of times. Anywho.

I've been messing and fussing with my truck, trying to get it the way I like it. I had these awesomely heavy bumpers installed, and the bloddy shackle rings were just a hair too small for the shackles I wanted to put on it, so I had to drill them out some. Three-and-a-half-hours-in-the-cold and one $40 drill bit later, I was able to install the shackles I wanted. Maybe I have a pride problem, but I'll bet you my shackles are bigger than yours.

Had the transmission, transfer case, and differential oils changed the other day. The transfer case oil was a milky white, which the mechanic said was because it had water in it. I don't think there was any damage, but it definitely didn't get it before it needed it. I also wired two 100 watt off-road lights to the front bumper, which made me happy(just for comparison, your standard brights are 60 watts apiece). When I get the roof rack mounted and all the rest of the auxilary lights put on top, you'll be able to perform surgery under all that wattage blazing into the night. I'm looking forward to it.

At this moment I'm sitting in a coffee shop with free wireless internet, and have seen some friends come in that I haven't seen in a couple years. One of them got married last spring while I was gone. That guy Ian, and I have had some wacky times together. We worked at this little central vacuum business for awhile, and have numerous misadventures and at least one genuine adventure where we and a few others were nearly electrocuted and drowned in this crawlspace we were working in. Now that's a STORY there, but it's for another time.

I missed about five or six weddings while I was gone, which stinks. C'est la vie, I suppose. It's so fantastically great to be back. So many wonderful friends,a great family, such a beautiful city I live in, my kick-butt truck. It's very humbling to look around and see how richly God has blessed me. I know I didn't do anything to deserve it, so I guess I'd better just make sure not to take it all for granted.

Thank God for the United States. We as a nation have so many problems. We're overweight, lazy, whiny, and so myopic to the incredible problems faced by 97% of the worlds population. We sit and watch CNN or Fox, and think we're well informed. We sit and watch Fear Factor, the MTV Music Awards, the Super Bowl, and American Idol, and listen to the Pussycat Dolls sing such "hits" as "Don'tcha", and Green Day sing such "anthems" as "American Idiot", and we think we're cultured. What's so incredible to me is that even as bloated on our own success as we are, we are STILL the most benevolent country in the world, and STILL so much happier on average than practically any other country in the world. God help us realize how favored we are, and knuckle down and take responsibility for the consequences of out actions. We are so blessed as a Nation, but I seriously wonder just how much longer it will last if we keep regressing at the current rate.

It's depressing to keep thinking like this, so I'll go back to my normal mode of just doing what I know is right to do and trusting God to take care of the rest. I'm am not nor will I ever be perfect, but I'll keep trying to get there.

Since I've been posting so infrequently I tend to ramble on whenever I do make a post, so I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with all the details of my mundane little life. To be honest, there's a lot I'm leaving out. If you read all the way to the end, I thank you for your loyalty, and I hope you don't leave disappointed. I think I'll go take a shower and then go out again, and see what's going on out in the town this Friday night. I hope you all have a great weekend, and that your New Year is going as well as mine. May God bless you and keep you encouraged, healthy, and give you people to love and to love you back. Until next time, Razorsedge out.

PS: You can click on this pic to see others. I haven't posted any new ones recently, but if you haven't seen the old ones they're still there. Godspeed...