Happy New Year

Well one of my resolutions is to actually blog more!

More changes to come. Hope you all had a great Christmas and happy new year and I got to go home and feed my wife.

Caio

J.T.

Great gifts for under $30 dollars.

Yahoo had an article today called Great gifts under 30 dollars. Besides a puzzle and a magic 8 ball they didn't have much beyond makeup and exotic soap which is usually put in a drawer somewhere. As an act of community service I am going to give all of you some gift ideas for the holidays.

Gift Certificates For the movies, for the mall, for a good dining place, or even a taxidermist as far as I know. When in doubt give them something they can spend their own way. Impersonal it may seem, but would you rather have soap shaped like zoo animals?

Money The universal gift certificate. I never hear anybody go...Oh man do I have to have money again? I was hoping for a new party girl clutch. (I thought a clutch was a car part, until yahoo opened my eyes.)

Wine You can get an average drinkable wine for under 30 dollars or far less. If the wine is cheap get a few of them. They might not use them every day but it still beats a soap on a rope and Mr. Potato head.

Games Board games can be fun if they like games. Something that kids and adults can both love.

Do something nice and personal Make a special dinner or 5, make something (good) that you are able to, fix that stupid screen door. Something meaningful that they appreciate. Note. If you are supposed to fix your own screen door and she has been asking you to do that for 3 months, it doesn't count. I am talking about someone elses screen door.

Janus and his wild holiday weekend

Friday: Vegged. Wish I didn't looking back

Saturday: Went to evening services, ran the camera, went out to eat and watched "The Bank Job" with Bella.

Sunday: Bella and I went to visit my parents and sister's family. Sammy (the dog) went swimming in the lake while I avoided bees for a while. We went out to eat at the slowest service dining experience that I ever went to (Even worse than the Ruby Tuesday incident of '97, which is a story for another day) Which gave us more time to talk. Left my parents at midnight or so, had to fight our way to the door to escape the family.

watched "21" when we got home. I hope if they ever make a movie about me they will find someone that doesn't look anything like me to do the part. Hollywood can make card counting almost interesting.

Monday: Went swimming with our friends at their apartment centers pool. The water was great. Got to hold a newborn a bit and play with a excited 3 year old. Lucas and I got to play with an adult level erector set, one of those BBQ grills you can buy at the store that has about 50 small parts to put on it. The store clerk said it takes a half hour, it took us 2 hours.


Tuesday: Back to reality.

Yeah it really was my birthday

Well no, I'm not dead.

Not yet at least.

I did just have my birthday yesterday, and I am 25 again. I will remain 25 until I have kids in the house, then I will move to 31 or 32 or something.

Alright, bad joke, I am 31. I am not afraid to be 31. What I am afraid of is my Dad telling me that from now on life is going to go really fast. Thanks for the warning Dad.

I am already noticing it in fact, today I went to work...for too long... and then I went to "The Box" to do some errands and answer some calls. I was on the way home when Rob called me up and said "Hey you fancy something for dinner" so I went out for dinner...and somehow it is 11:20 pm now.

Where did the day go? Time flies when you are having fun and all, but work wasn't fun and driving around isn't either. So I guess it is Rob's fault for buying me a delicious dinner for my birthday since I enjoyed that.

He made me age faster...drat.

Anyway I missed you all, I will try to be good and do this blog thing a bit more often and it looks like I will be here for a while.

Hope to talk to you soon, at least not another 2 months...sheesh.

Thanksgiving...the day after report

This time of year (At least in the United States) people generally get together with friends and family and cook up more food than they can possibly eat and have enough left overs that people will never eat turkey again for about a year. That is Thanksgiving.
I won't bore you with the origins of Thanksgiving but I will try to remember the meaning of it.
We generally have so many blessings and good things that we tend to not even think about (Unless one of them is gone.) Thanksgiving is a single day out of 365 other days that we spend with our family and share a meal and hopefully remember all those good things.
So I feel like writing this sappy post and sharing with you somethings I am thankful for.

1. My God (and my relationship with him.) I don't know how I would have survived many of the things the last few years without him. He comforts, provides, cares, and shows his love for me even when I don't see it right away.

2. My wife, Bella. She helps complete me, and she is frequently strong when I feel weak and vice versa. She gives me a reason to come home at a decent hour, listens to me whine all the time, and does more than I can fit on this post really...save it for Valentines day.

3. My Friends and Family A few years ago I didn't think I had so many of you, but now when I look at my email and phone list I realize I just was not paying attention. People have been wonderful to us and have helped keep us strong through the trials. A special mention to Rob who will drive through snow to join me for a talk and a beer at 9:30 at night. He reads this but doesn't say much...so say hi to Rob guys.

4. A roof over my head I would have said a warm home, but I am glad my house isn't a burnt pile of cinders. Having a fire, even a little fire, is great for realizing what you have.

5. My work. I complain and joke about it here, but I am grateful for my job and my other work. It gives me a bit more meaning and purpose throughout my day, and yes getting paid is good as well.

I could make this list more complete or longer, but this is a post not a novel. Thanks for all these things and thanks for you for reading Return of the Janus.

A very scofflaw Fourth of July to you all.

Happy Fourth of July, even though it will probably be the 5th of July when you read this.
Today I will remind you of why not putting my name on the site is a good idea, because I am going to talk about a fine family tradition today. That is going to Wisconsin and buying illegal fireworks.
I live in Illinois, I admit that in several places. I actually like living here despite the fact that my team never wins any baseball championships, despite the insane cost of living compared to the mountain states, and despite the fact that air conditioner isn't working today. (Why does it break on a holiday when you can't call to get it worked on and has to be about 90 degrees in the living room.)
I can forgive all these things about Illinois but I hate the fact that fireworks are illegal here and I have to smuggle them in.
If anyone says "Janus they aren't illegal, I see them in Jewel all the time..." I will reach into that screen and smack ya around. Smoke bombs, those annoying snake things, and the little popper things you throw on the ground are not fireworks.
If the fireworks that are so illegal that you need a fireman to use them are Nascar fireworks, and the ones in Wisconsin are Mustangs street racing cars...the ones you buy in Jewel in the state of Illinois are the moped of fireworks. You might think they are great if you didn't know any other fireworks existed...but honestly you wouldn't be caught dead with them if you got the good stuff.
So about everyone in the state of Illinois is a law breaker this time of year. I can hear people firing bottle rockets outside my window as I write this. I don't have a thing about breaking the law so much as the fact that the law is kinda dumb. If you can afford to buy fireworks, you can send someone up to buy them just across the border. They make sure you are of legal age, and you show them your drivers license that says "Hey I am from a state where this is illegal" and they sell them to you without any trouble. If you think that is a bit hypocritical I can tell you about the time that we had a block party and the two local cops brought some great illegal fireworks to the party. So why is it illegal?
My theory is to keep Wisconsin from going broke.
Now I am not for unsupervised kids playing with fireworks, honestly some kids shouldn't be allowed to handle tree branches because they are so stupid. You also shouldn't handle fireworks when you are drinking. People are stupid enough, but drinking and playing with things that explode is a really dumb idea.
The danger with fireworks is that they tend to get less exciting if you light them one at a time like they recommend. That is why I call bottlerockets the "gateway" firecracker. They aren't very dangerous really unless you stick it your mouth and light it off, but as people light off a few dozen they start trying to make them more exciting. Light off three at once, five at once, before you know it people are sticking dynamite into the exhaust pipe of a car because they need something exciting. It gets crazy!
I wish to close with the Janus Torrell Historical Grand Finale of 1995, which I can now share because the statute of limitations is on my side. One year I bought about 300 dollars worth of fireworks (This is in 1995 mind ya, so you can get quite a bit) and we brought them back down
to one of the tenant farms (No one lives for a few miles in any direction.) I lit a bottle rocket to kick things off, and it shot straight up...and fell straight down into a the big crate of fireworks while it was still lit.
I spent the next 20 minutes on the ground watching the most colorful display of fireworks shooting all over the place above our heads. We managed to survive it without any injuries though. God Bless America.
P.S. My English friend Rob told me about Guy Fawkes night on November 5th, in which England burns a bonfire of a dummy of Guy Fawkes and sets off fireworks. I am only about a 1/10th English due to my mongrel family, but I believe in tradition so I am trying to organize our own bonfire and party out in my hometown where it is easier to do that sort of thing. I also believe in the tradition of fireworks for any damn reason I can.
God Save The Queen!

Getting back on track and consumption of books.

Well the wedding went well, though I never really relax at weddings. My wife and I kept smiling at each other during the ceremony and reception, it brought back some nice memories.
Though I enjoyed myself I felt good after I got home from the wedding and went to bed.
My church CCC has been doing a series called "Eat this book." which is about Bible reading and gathering insight from God. I actually will admit that I am terrible at this one. I don't read the Bible every day sometimes I take a long stretch at a time. So I have started doing reading everyday again this week and trying to stick with it. They also want me to journal, but other than my occasional blogging I am terrible at journalling, sometimes I barely can squeeze in the reading.
So that is something for me to work on.
Fathers day was spent with my Father in law, his wife and my sister in law but also my parents came by and we had all the dogs running in the yard. Quite a day and we had a great cookout with some quality cookin's though it was a bit warm.
On a school note this week gave me double assignments, which figures since I was gone most of the weekend. I finished a 7 page short story and wrote a class activity. So that is why I have been AWOL. Got to turn in and get ready for class.

To My Mom

I was going to write a big complicated piece for Mom today, but I decided that I would rather see my mother today rather than spend the day writing about her. So I just got the bullet point Mothers day post today.

1. For giving me life 30 years ago, despite me being a pain 9 months even before it happened.
2. For making sure that I had good food to eat, and not just Payday bars and Coke.
3. For keeping me safe from snakes and wild dogs, and not being afraid to use a bat to do so.
4. For teaching me to spell Encyclopedia and Dictionary...and other big words, sometimes until 9:00 at night.
5. For encouraging me to read a lot, and also to write. You were always a big fan.
6. For volunteering at my school, Boy scouts, and 4-H club, to be close to me and to learn things yourself.
7. For taking in all my friends that didn't have good moms.
8. For the annoying spit wipes, hand on forehead thermometers, and hydrogen Peroxide on my cuts and scrapes.
9. For knowing when I am the author of something no matter what it is and where you found it, because I can't fool you with an assumed name no matter what. You know me that well.
10. For all the things that I could mention that I don't have time for here and would make this post really just too long.

Thanks Mom, happy Mother's Day.

Rabbit Day memories

Easter was a great holiday growing up, but I had no idea what the point was to be honest.
That was one of holidays that actually had us go to church when I was a kid, until my mom and dad started going on their own when I was about 9 years old, my parents only went to church on Easter, Christmas Eve, and if one of us had something special going on in Sunday School and they had to see it.
Why those days and no other I couldn't quite figure out. My parents didn't really like going back then, but I guess they figured they should go for Jesus's birthday and the day he rose from the dead at the very least. My dad wanted to sleep in a bit on Sunday (he worked all the other days, 11 hours a day) and my mother mainly went to church on those holidays because she didn't want to make God mad (she calls it her Ex-Catholic guilt.)
I remember not understanding Easter at all, because to me it was just a day to get candy (like Halloween which also doesn't make sense) find eggs that a rabbit hid in your house, eat ham at some relatives house, and go to "big person" church one of the three or four times a year.
I didn't make the connection that Easter was the day that Jesus rose from the dead for a while, so as a kid I thought it was all about the rabbits. I mean if it was about Jesus, why didn't they put his name on the holiday like Christmas?
Easter didn't make sense, but God didn't make a lot of sense back then either. I asked my parents what "Good Friday" was, and they said it was when Jesus was put on the cross. I didn't understand atonements or how that would be good in any way back then, so I asked "Why didn't they call it 'Crappy Friday' since I didn't see what was so damn good about nailing a nice guy like Jesus onto a cross for doing nothing wrong?" Ok so I was 7 years old back then and not very tactful, I remember asking that because my dad didn't know if he should laugh or yell at me for that comment. I don't think he understood it either. He told me to ask my mother.
So for me Easter was Rabbit Day. I had to go to bed early, like Christmas because Omnipresent rabbits can tell if you are not sleeping yet for some reason like that Santa guy. When I woke up some rabbit broke into my house somehow and took all the eggs that I dyed a couple days before out of the fridge and hid them around my house. He also left me a lot of candy in a little basket.
Cadbury cream eggs are my favorite, and you can only get them around Easter time, which makes it a special treat. I remember thinking that the Easter Bunny actually owned Cadbury's candy company growing up. It was proof that the Easter Bunny was real to me, since who would have a factory that made candy only one month out of the year. I figured the Easter Bunny had a little workshop on the South Pole and he had his own elves or something. I have since figured out Cadbury is from England, which means I can just ask Rob a billion questions about it sometime when we are trying to read C.S. Lewis at small group. (Asking questions inappropriately is still a bad habit of mine.) I did find this neat English store researching Cadbury so maybe I can order Rob a birthday gift from here.
I got other candy of course like Peanut butter cups, M and M's, and those peanut butter egg things. For some reason the Easter Bunny knew that I was the only kid in my family that didn't like jellybeans and malted eggs, so Ed and Caroline got those and I got more M and M's (Thanks Mom, you always remembered stuff like that.) We also would get basket stuffers like blowing bubbles, silly string, yo-yos and the like, and the big thing was we would get a kite and a mega-spool of kite string.
The kite was my favorite, I would race across the street to the (currently empty of corn in April) cornfield to fly my kite with my brother and sister. The cornfield was perfect because it had a lot of wind, and no trees and power lines. We loved our kites, but my family was really bad at flying them, in truth they spent a lot of time nosediving into the ground. The average life span of a kite was about 2 weeks and by the time it was done it was covered with duct or electical tape to try to hold together. That works out though because we got another one the next year...
Happy Easter or belated Easter everyone

Janus Returns to Return of the Janus

I decided to write a title today that would make my old English teacher cringe.
Yep I got in safe and sound to Chicago Saturday night. Yesterday we took a breather, and spent time with the kids (That is the dog and cat if you were wondering if I was leaving out exciting details.) A week's worth of honeymoon laundry, some thank you cards, and putting away some of our wedding gifts.
Today is the first day back to work. Bella and I both didn't really want to go back of course, but that is normal. Just like when I was a kid and I would always hate Sunday evenings because it meant back to school the next day. It doesn't matter if you are gone for a day or gone for 15 years, you always feel a bit sad going back to work. This is from a guy that loves his job too.
Today I tried to get some work done at the bank, but I forgot today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. That's another thing about school, I remembered when holidays were. Tomorrow I will have to go back, or maybe Wednesday.
As for details about my wedding and my honeymoon, well that will have to wait. I have to go to work. I just wanted to let you know I am back safe and sound.

Happy New Years

Happy 2007 to all of you!
It will take me til about May before I stop writing 2006 on everything probably, but while I am concentrating on it happy 2007.
I had a wild New Years Party last night...well no I didn't. I had a fun night anyway though. I went over to my brother's house, even though he wasn't home. Spent the evening with my parents, my nieces and my nephew. Didn't drink anything but water, since I didn't want to drink and drive, and I was around children.
I got greeted at the door by three very excited children who yelled "Uncle Jay...Uncle Jay." So I still have the distinction of being the "fun uncle." My brother is the "Be quiet and just play over there uncle" and my brother-in-law Tony is the "I'm tired, go away" Uncle.
So when I called my mom and told her I was running a bit late because of phone calls and stuff, she said "Hurry up, the kids are antsy." It's nice to have people looking forward to seeing you.
We played an exciting game of Bingo, which the kids thought was great. I won such prestigious prizes like bubble bath, a coloring book, and some other dollar store specials. My nephew is five years old and doesn't know his numbers yet, so he keeps asking me if he has the number on his card.
"B-9."
"Do I have that Uncle Jay?"
"No."
"O-71."
"Do I have that one?"
"No."
Well Bingo really isn't that exciting, but the kids like it, and I do got a spiffy bag of little stuff.
They also made me Sushi. (That's licorice, gummy worms, and jelly lifesavers mixed together and tossed in a ziplock bag, I have no idea why they call it sushi, maybe because Lee my nephew has seen his dad eat Japanese food since he was a baby and just thought it looked like it.)
We then played a few games of Clue the board game, after I explained to everyone how to play. My mom helped Lee since he can't read but wanted to play too. The kids really enjoy playing an old boardgame when we get all of us involved, and Clue is a shorter and less cutthroat game than Monopoly. (Besides, if you think its awkward teaching kids how to play Clue, try explaining Mortgages to a five year old boy who's dad owns a mortgage company.)
My youngest niece apparently is a serial killer, since no matter what character she picked she ended up being the murderer in clue. Talk about unlucky. Got to love Clue, you can be a murderer and not even know it. That kind of sounds like the plot of a bad soap opera.
We all gathered around the television to welcome in the New Year, screamed Happy New Year and hugged each other. Then we tried to get them settled for bed, which just doesn't work when I am there. After Lee came down for a drink of water for the third time, and the kids kept trying to sneak out of bed, I decided to head home.
Good start of a good year.
I don't believe in doing resolutions, so I won't ask you what yours are. I do daily resolutions and try to keep things up.
This year I am hoping to be more of a good hubby, a better role model, a good uncle, and son. Also want to be a better friend and keep finances in control. Be a better man for God and my faith be a better person in general...not just nice, but a good guy.
Hope you have a great New Year, and talk to you later. Time for bed.

The first dinner, and the last of shopping..Janus Holiday Tour 2006 Begins

Yesterday was the last official gift stop, we had to get a gift certificate for Bella's cousin and her husband to be. (Yes, we really stuck with the gift certificates still.)
I like food gift certificates the best, because that means I will usually eat at where we get them at. (Have to make sure the food is up to quality...yeah...something like that.) So lunch at the Firkin Fox in Glen Ellyn. Chicken fingers very good...tea was above average. I would buy gift certicates there again...oh and eat there too.
Last night we went to Bella's dad's house. (Double possessive noun, doesn't that get me more points in scrabble?) We had a Polish style Christmas, since his new wife is Polish, which means we had enough food on the table to feed all the animals and support staff in the song of the 12 days of Christmas.
I got full after the Potatoes, Brocoli, and Ham course, and managed to eat a meat wrap that was offered to me because she made it special for me without mushrooms. (How can I not appreciate someone making something just for me.) It took me about two hours before I could eat dessert.
We exchanged gifts, talked and caught up, looked at some pictures, and went home around 10:00. This kicks off the Janus Torrell Holiday Eating Tour. Tonight begins day two, which is dinner at my brother Ed's house and more talking and gift exchange followed by a candle service at church , and tomorrow night it ends with dinner with Bella's aunt's house for dinner, gifts, and social activity.
Then Tuesday evening its back to the grind, and getting ready for New Years.

Janus goes Shopping

One advantage to not having kids around is that you can buy everyone gift certificates. I don't do one stop shopping, I do four or five stop shopping, that way I can stop shopping for the rest of the year.
But Janus, those are so impersonal! It's better than getting something that personally stinks that I selected for you. My family has long understood that I am a much better man when I am impersonal. Even my nieces and nephew love it when I get them a gift certificate that way I don't buy them something from the clothing department that makes them look like a color blind circus clown.
With small children and most men I prefer to get them something fun, so I get them an EB Games card, Bestbuy card, or Toys R Us card. The girls seem to like clothes in my family, so Old Navy. People that don't like either get something from a Resteraunt, this year it was Famous Daves. Here you go Dad, here is a card for 30 dollars of BBQey Goodness. Merry Christmas, and glad we made it through another shopping season.
They give me Gift Certificates too, so it's not like I am being unfair. It beats my old tradition of shopping on December 24th with all the other single and divorced men that go to the mall the night before and grab anything on the clearance rack that looks wrappable.
"Look Mom, I got you some bright orange oven mitts for Christmas."
"These say Happy Halloween?"
"Look they were the only thing left on the rack and they were 98% off...JUST USE EM. If you don't want them we can give them to Karl, since that way he could cook in his oven while deer hunting and not have to worry about getting shot."
"Thanks Janus, what a nice present, by the way we are taking you out of the will. Have a Happy Halloween you little jerk."
Gift Certificates require no wrapping, which I couldn't do to save my life. I could use 4 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper on a Hot Wheels car and it would still have gaps where you can see the car in the package. Now I just slap em in an envelope. May I point out also that I can bring all my gifts in to my brothers house with one trip and never have to do a few trips in the snow.
Finally it lets you spend the same amount on people, so no one feels shorted. If you give one kid a UNO card deck and give another kid a DVD Player, it tends not to be fair. Even if you give them exactly what they ask for. Since nothing anyone wants is the exact dollar amount you want to spend, make them worry about it.
I might be drifiting in and out once or more over the weekend, but in truth it's a holiday so if I don't see you, don't worry. It just means I got busy. Merry Christmas just in case.

Trust...its harder than it looks

Today was a rough one. I had a little meltdown, not a "Hollywood Access ruin my career when it finds Youtube" meltdown. So mine is more of a "Christmas and Wedding in less than a month and I don't know how I am going to take care of it all"meltdown, I am sure it is not nearly as interesting for Youtube. I generally lounge around and feel crummy.
I am frustrated at myself for getting sick a while back and going to the ER. The hospital bill and the week off of work really set things back. I am getting over it though I realize that the thing I have to learn is trust.
I trusted God with my father's life and he healed his cancer, I trusted God with Bella's mother's soul, and I know he took her home. So why can't I trust God to get me through these busy times?
So I guess what I need is prayer, and I need to focus on trusting. I have seen and felt the power that God has had in my life the last year or so, I need to remember that and not let all these crazy things going on once take me out of control.

Thanks, its not just for November.

Yesterday I went to the Alpha retreat, and let me tell you, even though I woke up at 6:00 in the morning, it was worth every minute of it. Though I must regret and say we didn't get to go outside and see God in nature, since nature was not being very Godly and it was really lousy between the snow and ice and all. We did fine indoors though, still had some time to reflect, and had good meals and great times together.
The message at church service was nice this evening, we discussed about the meaning of Christmas. Not in the "Ebeneezer Janus wakes up and feels like giving Jose a raise and buying a goose for his family" sense either.
Christmas is, of course, when you strip away all the displays and commerical stuff really about about Jesus Christ. Otherwise they would call it Santamas or Presentukuh. Of course it is hard to remember the meaning of Christmas with all the insanity this time of year.
Pastor Dave's message talked about people either trying to control the holiday and going nuts from trying so hard or people ignoring the holiday either and waiting for it to go away.
I would be the guy that is hiding under his bed until January. I will admit that I don't really think about Christmas any more than I have to. That is because all of it quite overwhelming, and that is usually why on Christmas Eve I am actually starting my gift shopping. You can see me at the mall or Walmart or so, trying to find out if my dad would like Yosemite Sam Mudflaps for Christmas, so I can can buy it and go home. If you are in Walmart and see a frustrated looking man in a black coat shopping, just say "HI JANUS." If it is me I will probably answer you back.
I am getting a bit off track though...
Since I am talking about overwhelming things let me spit out in Janus-layman terms what Christmas really is about. We all fall short of the glory of God, every one of us. God loves us so much that he makes himself a person, to be with us, show us how to live, and die (and rise again...very important you know that) so that we could be friends and forgiven with God.
Now I know that's probably not the best explanation, but even if my explanation is not very amazing, who Jesus is and what he did IS amazing. I have gotten some pretty neat gifts on Christmas over the years, but Jesus is the one that offers you friendship with God and adoption into God's family. Beats a G I Joe. any day.
So this Christmas season, which is only just beginning. Don't panic or hide, do somethings to help make the season a better experience for you, God, and probably even the people around you.
One of the things that Pastor Dave suggested that is a good idea is to read the Nativity story (poke around the book of Luke for starters.) Don't just gloss over it and skim through it, take the time to read it and pray on it while you read if you can. You may have new appreciation for the love of God. Don't read it like a short story you picked up in a store, remember that you are reading about God in flesh (human) existence.
The second thing that was mentioned that I think anyone could benefit from is to have a sense of thankfulness this season.
I know what some of you are saying...Janus, Thanksgiving was last month...you should go to sleep, you are getting holidays confused again. Actually I am not. A reflection on the blessings you have can help you get through this crazy busy time of year.
When most people talk to God, they seem to only talk to him when they need something. While it is good (and important) to tell God the things you need, it's also good to tell him you love him (he likes hearing that, as much as anyone), and it is good to thank him for the blessings you receive. I may not know you that well or everything about you, but most of us if we think about it have some great things to be thankful for. (For example you either have a computer to read this blog which may be a blessing, or you may notice that today's blogging is almost done...which may also be a blessing.)
Share the things you are thankful to God and to others, it will bring meaning to this holiday. It will bring meaning to the one that this holiday is named for. It might make the time til January comes go a little faster at the very least.
Thanks for coming by.

Just a few things...

I have a shorty rant today, since I have to clean off my car and go to work tonight. I will not swear about it this year, which would normally be my traditional holiday custom. I love nature, I love driving sometimes, but I hate snow if I have to drive in it.
Since we have no place to go...let it snow let it snow let it snow. Well I do have a place to go usually, so you can let it snow but put it kindly on the lawns if you don't mind. And no one sings about ice for a good reason.
So instead of complaining too much I am going to add a few things to my Christmas list today...besides money...which if anyone was planning on it...is still ok.
1. I would like the snow this year to only be in peoples yards when I have to go to work, with the exception of the area around Lorinda's area and the school she works at, that way she can have a day off at times and get her knitting done. Her kids want a day off too, so hey let it snow...as long as it's there.
2. I would like a trip to some place warm...but I don't think anyone has the cash to send me to Florida. Fortunatly when I work for Telly and I take him downstairs to watch Wheel of Fortune, it is warm enough to be a tropical island....just not quite as scenic. They really need to fix climate control in that retirement home.
3. I would like the computer game Civilization 3 Complete. Not really productive, and I would probably spend way too much time playing it, but hey I would like it anyway. I can't ever feel justified in the 20 dollar purchase of a game right now, got to think of weddin's and all that. Besides I am a game addict anyway. It's probably a bad idea or something.
4. I would like to get a dvd or video tape (an official one, NOT A BOOTLEG...don't even think about it Nick) of the "You Can't Take It With You," the theater production that was done at my favorite Yellowbox. Eric and Janet's husband Troy were two of the members of the cast, and they did a great job. I was very happy to have loitered around a bit and was able to get a ticket and see it on Thursday evening. If you are in the area and can see it please do, it is a good show. Bella doesn't have any weekends off though so I can't take her to the show, so I am hoping I can get the official recording if they have one instead. Besides I want to see it again too.

With that I am off to clean up, get the car ready and head in for work. Thanks for droppin by, and for tolerating my whinging about things I want.

Giving Thanks

Well it is officially Thanksgiving day where I am , so Happy Thanksgiving.
This year I am going to the house of Bella's aunt for my feast and family time. My parents and my brother are down at St. Bart's this year, enjoying the nice tropical climate. Man that makes me a little jealous, but just because I love the warm climate. My sister and her family is going to Iowa for some exciting event with crafts and stuff...which I am not jealous of admittedly. (Though maybe one of you might be possibly.)
So what do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving?
I think of pie. Lots and lots of pie. Mashed potatoes and gravy by the truckload, and normally being so tired that I can't move by about 15 minutes after dinner. I remember my Grandma making this green jello salad that I would not eat to save my life, but that she made every year. I remember having to sit at the kiddy table, and being mad because I wasn't grown up and could sit with the adults, and now wishing I was still young enough to be considered the "kid" somedays.
Even though it is a stretch this year I want to remember the meaning of Thanksgiving (no, not football.) Normally I take for granted the loving company and the meal. My Grandma is long gone for almost 6 years now, my own family is scattered to all corners of the world, and Bella's mother passed away in July and the table will seem emptier without her. I don't say this to be depressing, it makes me realize that how special it is to see loved ones and have a meal with them.
It's not just a day, my family doesn't even have Thanksgiving on Thursdays. We normally have ours on a random Sunday sometime in the fall/winter these days. It's about the company and the meal and spending time for each other and realizing what you have and taking a day to enjoy it and think about it.
I am very grateful to have Bella, and my pets and to be adopted into another family this year and invited to share a meal with them. That I live in a place with Supermarkets and Jewel Grocery store pies that I do not have to make. That I have made it another year. If you celebrate Thanksgiving every day since you were a toddler you tend to forget about the special meaning, you just think of it as an ordinary holiday.
Don't just eat the meal, savor it. Don't just show up at your family's house, celebrate the day. Why do people get up at some ungodly hour in the morning to start cooking dinner and make the kitchen a madhouse while they prepare for this day. It's an act of love, and it brings people together.
Bella's sister Lynn is coming down to eat dinner with us, we don't see her that often so it is always a special treat. I know that Bella misses her sister alot, and I miss her too. It will be good to have her down here.
I have a brother named Ed, that lives 20 minutes away from me, and why do I only visit him on major holidays I ask myself. Why don't I make those phonecalls more often and just say "Let's grab lunch today." My dad is cancer free for almost two years now, and I am thankful to have spent another year being with him.
My friend Rob is having his parents visit him from over the Atlantic, and has three out of four of the kids home this Thanksgiving. I would imagine that his house is bursting with activity today.
One of the church campuses is having Thanksgiving for people that have no place to go for Thanksgiving. Imagine those wonderful people giving of their time and sharing this day with others who need to be shared with and have something to be thankful for.
So whenever you have your Thanksgiving, whether it's tomorrow or some odd Sunday. Enjoy it, savor it, and see you soon.

Have a good turkey day

Happy Turkey Day. I hope that most of you are too busy, to come by here today. I shall return fridayish. Busy week, so not entirely sure, but keep checkin' in.

Election Meewsday,

Tuesday every week I get up at the crackish of dawn time, and then I am gone pretty much until 9 pm so I occasionally combine Monday and Tuesday postings at the same time. Thus I have invented my new day, Meewsday sometimes I have the same problem with Wednesday night/Thursdays...so I will call them Wursdays.
Tomorrow (or today depending) is election day at least for the U.S. readers. I am looking forward to not getting anymore recording phone messages from people running for office, party committees, and people not running for office that feel they should call me to tell me about how evil the other political party is. Other than saying that I got a call from The Terminator, I have been as good of a sport about this annoying telemarketing recording thing as I can.
Last night at work, Telly answered the phone when he came back from watching Wheel of Fortune. He tried to talk to some lady, but she wouldn't shut up so in frustration he handed me the telephone. I found out it was a recording of Laura Bush, so I tried not to laugh and told Telly that it was a recording of the presidents wife. He just gave me an annoyed and puzzled look and told me to "Tell her to go to hell!" So I did, though I don't think the tape recording felt it, but it seemed to make Telly feel better. Some nights I really love working for Telly.
It may shock you, but once I was a politican. That's right I was a candidate for "Road and Public Works Commissioner of Bouncanville." (That means I would fill in potholes with gravel, and complain that I need more road salt.) I am proud to say that I was in 3rd place out of 4th, and I really did not know what to do if people took me seriously and voted for me. The best part is I really didn't run.
We thought it would be funny to get me campaign signs and pins back in those days. I had such great signs like "Vote for Janus Torrell for public works commissioner, he will fix the sewers" and "When you think of raw sewage and road construction, think of Janus Torrell." friends of mine put the signs up in their front yards, I had a political rally and BBQ at the tavern on all "make your own taco night", and I loved it when people stole one of my signs to hang up and show their kids someday. My former school guidance counseller was gone for his vacation, so we put about 20 various signs in his front yard. My signs got stolen even more so than the guy that had posters that said "Tough on crime," which was just begging for people to steal the sign just to see how tough he was.
I of course was not on the ballot since I didn't really run, but a few of my friends said they would vote for me anyway because we had a place to write in votes back then. The result was 108 for Orville Irons, 73 for Salavator Welsh, 32 votes for me, and 11 for Mickey Mouse who always got a lot of write in votes. I was kind of impressed since I stole at least 20 votes from Mickey Mouse who normally had better voter turn out. I knew 12 people that voted for me, which made me wonder who these other 20 poor sad sad folks were that thought I was worth writing in.
They didn't ask me or Mickey mouse to give a concession speech, but we had a nice party anyway. This is why you don't vote based on name recognition otherwise you might get a young college guy who is just bored or a talking mouse with shorts and white gloves. See ya sometime on Wurzday.

Night of the Pumpkins

Welcome to the late night Janus Halloween/Intermission post, their will be no Janus tomorrow since I will be out of town. I hope you all had a good Halloween if celebrating Halloween is one of the things you do. I don't really do much for it anymore, because I get no tricker treaters and my nieces and nephews live to far away, but I like it when circumstances permit.
I am a bit apathetic this year, because I had no party to go to and 30 year old men generally shouldn't go trick or treating unless they are taking kids along, otherwise people tend to get nervous and check locks. I am even getting too old for the "my sister" is sick line, though I suppose I could say my daughter is ill and my wife is making me do this or something. (Yeah I know...lying is bad...now quit looking at me like that.) People don't know me well enough here to catch me on that, though, back in Bouncanville they would figure it out too fast.
Some people don't like Halloween because they think of it as a paganistic holiday, but I really just look at it as an excuse for people to wear costumes and mooch candy off people. Really what is evil and Satanic about a kid dressed up like Dora the Explorer?
My friend Jose wasn't allowed to trick or treat growing up because his parents told him it was evil, so he holds the record for being the oldest kid to trick or treat the first time. We took him when he was 22. Some Neighbors rolled their eyes, but when I told them why a bunch of guys in their twenties were trick or treating they were touched and usually gave us extra Milky Way bars. Jose was in heaven, this was back before we found out he was diabetic. We drove around and the four of us (I took two of my cousins too to share in our fogey trick or treating shame) went all over the place that year. We finished with about 7 plastic grocery bags worth of sugar that year. I guess we call it or local Make A Wish Foundation event.
After we went trick or treating until way later than is customary, we went out to the Rockford nightclub (Closest club to Boucanville.) Jose entered the costume contests and won 500 dollars for the scariest costume. (He was dressed up as a vampire, he called himself Count Hispanicula on the registration form.) Needless to say we spent that money like good stewards, and we recycled all the bottles when we were finished. (I told ya, we were in our early twenties.)
So now for a few random thoughts on Halloween before I go to bed.
1. I don't find Halloween really evil or that scary, but I try to keep a light side on it anyway. I never really go as anything scary (at least not intentionally...me dressing up as an old woman is scary for different reasons.) Normally I make myself elderly, do clowns (not scary clowns, but friendly approachable clowns), or go as a hobo or something. One year I combined my elderly costume and the dirty hobo costume and made myself a dirty old man. Well anyway, yeah just make it fun. It's only as evil as ya make it.
2. Pumpkin carving is pretty cool, I love the salt and bake the seeds up. I admit though my pumpkin carving skills are rather...er lousy. I tried to do a really cool pumpkin one year and everyone thought my pumpkin was made by my non existant 4 year old daughter that was too sick to trick or treat. They are just that bad.
3. Does anyone bob for apples anymore? I tried it once and found it really stupid. Let's see if we can give everyone in the party my cold. Just buy a stupid apple and eat it.
4. I inspect the candy, and I don't eat the stuff that isn't properly wrapped. But short of commericals and email forwards has anyone ever heard of a "real" person that got poisoned or found razor blades in their apples. I would imagine even if someone did want to harm children this would be kind of stupid since kids and parents would probably remember the guy that handed them razor filled apples in retrospect. What is the guy going to do, say that it was his identical twin that decided to break into his house to give out tampered candy?
5. and finally, I realize that trick or treating is kind of stupid when you get to my point in life, because I can go to Walgreens, pick up all about 20 lbs of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups tomorrow when they go on clearance and I don't have to walk about 300 square miles to get that much candy.

See ya Thursday. Be good! Be Safe...Save me some Reeses!