Gone for the weekend...

I will be back on Wednesday Bloggerland, I am doing errands this weekend and having house guests as we get ready for the big remodelling.

Take care and see ya soon.

Janus Question answering update.

My latest offlines and emails answered here.

1. Did you get your mouth guard? Yes, I haven't been able to breath at night though due to my cold so I need to use it more. I used it for 2 days and bam, got the cold. So I am waiting to stop coughing before I really try it again. I am an air addict.

2. Did Jose move in his new place? Yes, Jose and his wife and baby boy moved into an apartment about 40 minutes away from here. Which is half the distance he used to be. We haven't had time to get together yet because he works about 4 jobs even when I don't have him doing stuff for me.

3. How is Manuel doing? He is actually doing pretty good all things considered. He is working on getting his crap together, and doing well at it. He appreciates the concern for his well being too. (Well he said "Tell them thanks for askin'" He doesn't normally say well being.)

4. How is Karl doing? About the same, keep them prayers coming.

More to come.

The joys of house owning...

Today I went to the county office and got the final paperwork needed for Ed's company and sent it via Fed Ex. Paperwork stinks, but hey it is what makes the world go around.
Tomorrow I am working the evening, and tomorrow I am doing a double on Tuesday (for the first time in quite a while), Tomorrow afternoon I am going to have lunch with my wife and look at crap for the house remodelling. Partly fun, but I have no attention span at times. Truth is my wife is much better at picking stuff out and I am there more for emotional support. I really know nothing about home furnishings, but I will be happy to help her pick things out if say we were getting a computer or something.
Anyway should be back Wednesday for a bit.

Janus returns yet again

Today was the first full day where I didn't have the nasty cough. I still have a little cough once in a while but I am back in the saddle again. Hope you all didn't forget about me.
So lemme see, updates updates updates.

Our house is getting remodelled. For people that were wondering about the offhand remodeling remark I made a few days ago. We are ripping out the carpet, having the place painted, bathroom being redone...all that sort of stuff. My father in law is out of the country for a while soon, so we are staying at his place for a month. This will allow us to function without contractors getting in the way of our normal life and we won't be in their way. In a month or so, God willing, things will be back to normal after it starts.
Don't worry I will still be blogging, I am not dying or something.

Today was my third time running video for church, and my first time on my own. Eric was nice enough to set me up so I didn't freak out and mess things up too badly. I don't relax though when I do video, but I figure that is a good thing, it keeps me alert. Er...practice will make better I am sure.

My wife and a few friends have been telling me I need to get a facebook page or something, I am considering it. I can barely keep up with the blog with my busy scheduale of ...um...playing Playstation and sleeping. Besides I am always slow for change, if it wasn't for my friend Andrea, I wouldn't even be blogging yet.

Perhaps I will who knows. Anyway it is good to be back.

Janus health and Sunny

I am still getting over the Cold, I now officially have more drugs in my daily dosage than my Grandmother did, and considering the pharmacist used to send her a Christmas card each year because he paid for his kids college bills, that is pretty bad.

I have an antibiotic, two types of cough syrup...one for the day, and one for the night with a little knock out to it. (Both of which taste like crap), an enhaler, nose spray plus all my other medicine that I already take. My doctor doesn't believe in killing the cold, he wants to annihilate it.


A good bit of news, Sunny my Father in law's dog is still with us, in fact she rallied and is looking great. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes for Sunny because they worked.

Got work in the morning, so night

Keep your eye on the wheel.

These are pretty much things that come up once in a while that have been irritating me but something else has always come up that is more important. Well today I am going to rant about the unimportant stuff so I can get it out of my notebooks.


A while back we had that crash with two helicopter flying news reporters who were following a guy running from the police.

I think the deaths were tragic and I don't want to really make it sound like I am making fun of these people but I have to say this.

What the hell were they thinking of doing reporting and trying to fly a helicopter at the same time!? Multitasking is a leading killer in car crashes. Text messaging, yacking on the cell phone, changing your radio station...driving is crazy enough without doing something else that distracts you from the 99 year old mummy in the Buick that pulls out in front of you.

Now lets talk about helicopters. When you hear about people dying in wars on the news the leading cause of death besides ambushes is helicopter crashes. Helicopters may be able to hover and land in smaller spaces, but they have a very low margin of error. If you have problem with your oil pressure you can't just pull the helicopter over on the nearest cloud and call a tow truck.

So back to my original rant. When you fly a helicopter you should be totally focused on flying and what is going on around you. Would it be too unreasonable to have a pilot and a reporter that flies with a cameraman. That way the pilot can navigate, use the flight instruments, avoid power lines and the occasional news helicopter? I know that would mean having to pay someone else to ride in the helicopter, but is that really so much to ask?

You can do this 9 out of 10 times and not have any trouble, but it is the 1 out of 10 that you have to be ready for.

Then to make matters worse, we have people wanting to sue the guy running from the police because these guys were so busy trying to get this chase on the news they crashed into each other. Now even if this guy did steal a car or what not I find that very stupid and unfair.

It is one thing if he rammed them with his car or shot at them, but if we are all going to be sued by people that get in accidents from watching other drivers or rubbernecking at accidents... I just find it a tad petty and where do we draw the line for responsibility. Instead of looking to sue someone we should see what we can do to prevent future crashes.

Keep it real people.

Early Birthday gift to my brother Ed,

I can't use my voice.
Stupid cold.

Yesterday was sneezing and a little fever. Today I am feeling better other than my throat feeling like I ate some broken glass and I think I coughed my lung up around 3 this afternoon.

Well I can at least type, but I am tired and don't have anything to say. Bella is off this weekend, so I might be back Monday or earlier.

Take care blogland.

Reality Check (Fighting addictions)

Well the 12 step program and the big idea can go through it better than I can but I will give you a little education on the addictions unit "Hooked." Actually you probably know all this stuff but I will remind you about it, since we all tend to forget this stuff. Usually on purpose.
Change is rough and habits can be terrible. I am sure you knew that already too.
Most of us if not all of us have some sort of addiction. Workaholics, Alcoholics, Chataholics, Videogame addicts (quit looking at me like that), Blogaholics, Caffeine addicts..etc. If this doesn't apply to you, sorry in advance, but if it does I hope this can help.
I know I have a couple.
Some addictions are socially acceptable in many cases like addiction to blogging, and some are a bit harder for people to understand and some are well concealed and cause silent anguish while others are so obvious that even the addict has a problem denying it.
The point is that addiction is a parasite, it takes away from you, while usually giving you a short term fulfillment. After that high is gone, you feel worse and more empty than before. Sometimes they are nice and subtle and you don't realize how deep you are into it until it is silently and sometimes loudly wrecking the world around you.
Karl didn't wake up one day with a hangover and boom he was an alcoholic. It started with a beer...and another beer. It snuck up behind him and he didn't realize what was going on until he was already on the floor and being pinned.
So what is holding you down, what is influencing you more than you ever thought it would and is killing you from the inside.
You may say "Janus I am fine, I don't got any bad habits...it's all under control, I can stop them whenever I want to."
Yeah so can I. Now let me tell you another one. The first thing you have to do is own up to your addiction. Closing your eyes and hiding under the mattress doesn't make the monsters go away, it just deludes you into thinking your safe. I am not calling anyone a liar, but everyone should check into their own heart. Frequent scans and defrags on the soul are good for you, even if you don't like to look at it. Admit the problems.
The next thing to do when you find your addiction is to own up to it with God. Don't worry he still will love you just the same, its not like he falls for the hiding under the mattress thing. This isn't to really let God know about it...(You spent all day watching TV...why Janus I am shocked, I was so busy running the universe I didn't even notice...) This is to clear the air and come clean with God and yourself. In other words this is for you.
Next is find a trusted friend that you can tell this too. I know what you are thinking...Janus you are completely insane. I can't tell anyone about this. If you want it to stop hiding in darkness you have to bring it out. I have done this before and let me tell you it was a tremendous relief to not bury it. You will find that other people are hiding things too and you are not alone and you will also find if you have that trusted person that they will still like you and love you despite your flaws.
You can hear the actual big idea message on this at CCC (See hooked part 1), and it might be a tremendous help. I hope this helps somebody though at least...
Don't hide anymore, the mattress is beginning to stink from the sweat.

Saying goodbye to an old friend. (Again)

I had something I was working on for today but I have breaking news that I have to write. I might get back to you with the second part tonight.

Sunny my father in law's pooch is dying, her condition is too painful so we are preparing to put her to sleep and end her pain. I have known Sunny since I have known Bella's parents, and we have a special bond. She likes to sit on my lap and snarls at anyone that dares try to remove her. My sister in law Lynn calls her "my girlfriend."

Tonight is my possible last chance to say goodbye to her since I am working doubles the next few days (and Saturday morning.) So I am heading off to see my girlfriend before it gets too late now that the estimates are done for the night.

I tend to bond and love animals more than my siblings and that is a blessing and a curse. I don't let go of loss very well, and I probably should learn to bond with giant sea turtles since they out live me. I am dragging my feet a little out the door, I don't know if I will be in much shape for anything by the time I get back.

When I was a kid my dad would never want to get a dog and I always thought it was because he was grumpy and mean. Only in the last few years did I hear about Barney the Golden Retriever that was his best friend from the age of 6 until just before he married my mom. He was so lost by the dog dying that he never really bonded the same with a dog ever again. Part of me thinks he wanted to spare me from that loss.

When I was about 13, I had a stray mutt that I had taken care of for just over a year. He broke out of the yard and ran out in front of car. The neighbor slammed on her brakes but the dog got hurt beyond a vets care. My dad brought the dog to the back and knew that he was suffering and beyond help. I was inside the house when he told me to stay with my mom and he went to his closet.

a few minutes later I heard the report of a rifle. my mom and I cried and held each other. Dad always knew when to let go and not to prolong suffering. He buried the dog before he came in a while later, I saw the wetness in his eyes as he came in and put the rifle away. He then gave me are reassuring pat on my shoulder and went into his room and closed the door. In the quiet house I heard my dad crying for the dog and for us.

Hearing about Sunny brings these old feelings back. When we love our pets we love them deeply, and it hurts so bad to let go.

If you never say hello...you won't have to say goodbye.

Too late for me though, I have to go now and say goodbye to my friend. Take care bloggers.

a rare photo of Janus

A few people have asked me when I am ever going to put my photo up, so here it is. The trademark bad hair, half asleep eyes, the beard and 'stache, and even the really ugly shirt that I have had way too long that I should probably incinerate.
Thanks to Lorinda for the link to the Simpson thing, and thanks to my wife for taking the time to do this 2-d thing since really I am way too lazy for that.

Thats one way to try something new.

I am trying to learn the video power point to help with the song and message cues at church, and I think I'm getting it down (It's just pushing the space bar pretty much once we set it up.) I get a bit more nervous with this despite being in the back of the room which is my preferred place to sit. (Janus doesn't like having people behind me, that paranoia thing.)
I am a little nervous (ok a lot nervous) of messing up something in a large way and ruining it for everyone. Click the space bar at the wrong time, and make a mistake and have about 10 guys run up and throw me out of the building and suspend me for 4 services and maybe a fine. Well I totally made that up, but it makes me nervous that I will make a public mistake and I won't have anyone around to blame it on. It wasn't me that accidentally shut off the video feed, it was the one armed man! Then everyone will say, everything was good except that guy working the video.
Have you ever wanted to do the shadow puppet thing like in Ace Ventura 2? Don't worry, I won't do that. Still it crosses your mind once in a while.
So yesterday I went in to work the video again, and I found out that I was going to help run the sound board instead. If you think the video makes me a little nervous with just a little space bar, the sound board looks like the firing mechanism of a submarine to my technophobic self. Beyond the sliders and the mute button it has a bunch of knobs that I have no idea what they do. Eric asked the man in charge of the sound board to teach me everything he could in the next 30 minutes because I was going to run it solo.
My eyes bulged and mouth hit my kneecaps.
"Just kidding Janus."
Thanks for the heart attack Eric.
When I went to do the video the first time I looked at the sound board and said, "At least I don't have to do that."
Next time I will shut up.

Jose on the move.

Well a bit of good and unexpected news the other day, Mrs. Jose got a new job which was about double the pay of her old one. The new job is closer to Naperville, in fact he will be half the distance he used to be from here.
So he called and said "Hey neighbor" which made me look to see if he was outside in the parking lot. Usually he says that if he is in town and seeing if I am free to do stuff and go to Mongolian BBQ. (Jose loves all you can eat and stir fry food places.)
He let me know he was looking at places at Dekalb and trying to get near the interstate if he could so he was close to work. I can't tell you how happy I am having my left hand man (not an insult, Karl is the right) moving closer in.
So if anyone finds a great deal for rental property in Dekalb/Sycamore let me know. (They will probably look to buy a place after they are certain about Mrs. Jose getting long term tenure.)

Still missing in action...

Trying to pick some writing for the journal, if you are wondering why I am so quiet.

Otherwise I am recovering from a bad bout of H.E. , so should be back in no time. hopefully.

The Invasion began already!

I went to visit my family the other day...or so I thought. I dunno if it was me changing or them changing but they are not the people I grew up with. Maybe they were being nice just for Bella or something.
I am sure the truth is worse though I think my family has been taken by the pod people from one of them really lame alien movies. Mom was not complaining about me going through my stuff and leaving some behind. Dad bought us dinner and Mom didn't say a single word or sound even though it as at those overpriced Hibachi places. My sister offered the tip?! My sister and her husband offered to clean the place in Mendota for us so we didn't have to make a trip!?!
I am not complaining at all, this is just such a change from a few years ago that my silent alarms are going off saying "They are aliens, your family is gone."
That or we are just really blessed and things have improved all around.
Just in case, remember the attack is coming from Boucanville.

The Janus official "I ain't dead", weekend report

Yes it has been a long time since I have checked in to my blog, not nearly as long as it has been since I checked in elsewhere but still...
I will still be gone another day or two (maybe four) depending on things so I will have to wait to make vows of continual updates I have several reasons for this.

1) Bella is home this weekend. When your spouse only has 4 of the same days off as you in which you are home it is not that great to insist on blogging when you should be going out for dinner and stuff. Sorry the marriage kinda takes precedence over me rambling on about me. She's sleeping now though, so I can sneak over here.

2) Busy weekend We did some good stuff yesterday, and more to come today hopefully. Yesterday my wife and I got to work at helping fix up a grade school. (More on that one later probably.) Our job was to help paint the stairwells with black "Oil based paint." Needless to say if you see me or my wife with black spots on our arms that is because of paint splatter not some rare form of measles. Today I am going to church (leaving in 20 minutes), followed by going to look at some of my wife's property from her mother and figure out what to do with it (Not fun, its a bit sad really), and then I am going to see those insane people that I love despite being deranged like me aka the family. So hardly anytime to ramble other than this post.

3) Been doing doubles The last couple days of work and tomorrow I am doing a double taking care of Telly. that means I leave at 7 in the morning and come back after 9 at night. Gather that isn't hard work really, it's just long for me. So when I get home I tend to have my half asleep, I can't write mindset. You wouldn't want me to blog when I am in that state anyway, it makes this post look like Shakespeare.

4) a little lazy Wednesday last week I just was slacking, but otherwise I haven't been home.

So I have to get in the shower now and head over to the High School, I miss all you guys of course and plan to be back Monday night unless I am asleep. Then it should take me a few days to catch up on your back posts... If I am here everyday nobody posts but if I leave for a bit all of you write a few novels. that's the breaks eh.

See you on Mondayish.