"IDIOT, you messed up my ORDER!!"....BOOM!

I saw something totally unbelievable today.

During my lunch, I ran a bunch of errands. Mostly consisting of stuff I needed to do for my personal business. Anyway, about halfway through my lunch, I met up with my business partner and we decided to have a corporate lunch.

lol.

So, we got to Taco Bell, just in time to see a older lady, standing out in front smoking. No big deal, right? Ya, minus the fact that she had an oxygen tank right next to her, with hoses going up to her nose, etc.

Holy shit balls!

That is SOOO dangerous! For those of you not aware... oxygen is HIGHLY flammable. I don't pretend to be fully versed in the exact contents of the that tank. I guess I would be pretty surprised if it was PURE oxygen, but STILL... you know there's got have pretty significant level of it.

Anyway... we stood back a bit.... and waited for her to pull one more time off of her stogie, and head in. (Just in case... hehe)

Once inside, she went up to the counter... rolling her time bomb behind her... and proceeded to order. WOW, she was a VERY unpleasant person. I had to catch myself from leaving my mouth hanging open. I was totally appalled at how rude she was to the chick ringing her up.

I think my Mom told me once,

"You can tell a persons TRUE character by how they interact with a Waiter / Waitress."

It's actually pretty surprising. You should try it sometime... pay attention the next time you go out with some people. Watch carefully how they treat the waiter / waitress. You'll be surprised.

Anyway, this lady was a total bitch. I mean, she just acted VERY condicending to the girl trying to help her. It almost seemed that the cashier was new at her job, and slipped up on something, and this lady just RIPPED her a new one. Amazing...

She acted like she was pissed off at the world for her "condition." What better person to vent her anger? Of course the innocent High School girl trying to check her out.

*Sigh*

People are so damn stupid.

*V*

Pay the Slave 3%

I got a raise! OMG I'm soooo happy! I mean after over a YEAR of hard work, determination and going above and beyond my job requirements, they finally saw fit to give me an AMAZING raise!

I mean, it's almost exactly what I asked for.

3%

They gave me a 3% raise. I simply asked them to offer me a competitive wage (About $10,000 more a year), and instead they gave me a $1000 more a year.

Just another little tid-bit to motivate me to get the hell outta here.

*V*

My Dream

I had the most vivid dream of my life last night.

I'm not sure I believe that dreams have a purpose, but if one ever did - This'd be the one.

***

So, the beginning of the dream is a bit fuzzy, but some how I was in this abandoned subway tunnel. There were no cars, or people, etc. In fact it appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. So after a quick comb of the subway I realized that there is no way out. The only path I can take is along the rusty tracks.

As I start to make my way down the tunnel, I begin to come across some structures. At first I thought that it was construction scaffolding. I had to climb up these initial structures, in order to continue. When I got to the top, I realized that there was no way that these structures were the result of construction. In fact it was a massive obstacle course.

By massive, I mean that I could see it fill the subway tunnel wall to wall, floor to ceiling, as far as the dim light would allow me to see. The structure offered a number of different challenges, ranging from climbing, swinging, crawling, dodging, etc. It was definitely some sort of obstacle course.

It was actually very weird. As a worked on progressing through the tunnel, I felt like I got into a sort of trance. I found that I was making my way through this tunnel really fast. I was nearly jogging, and I would solve the problems that the course offered, so quickly that I wouldn't even need to stop. I was in this tunnel vision (no pun intended), problem solving focused conciseness that allowed me to essentially sprint through this crazy collection of obstacles.

Well, I worked my way through this subway tunnel, with an amazing determination to get to the end. I was convinced that there was an end to it, despite the fact that there was no apparent end in sight.

It seemed that at least a day and a night had passed. By this time, I'm ripping along... in fact it seemed like I was going faster then I could actually sprint out in the open.

Then, without warning, I burst out of the tunnel.

I stood there in a daze... confused at my abrupt change of environment. It was really bright, and I was standing at the entrance of this totally abandoned cave. In front of me there was a very busy town square with a large fountain in the middle. There were people all over the place, and they all stopped, dropped what they were doing, and stared at me in awe.

I was greeted by an old man, who shook my hand furiously. He was congratulating me for making it through the tunnel. He said something about having waited for a long time for someone to make it through.

It was at this point that I noticed that, is seemed that these people were totally from a different era then me.

((I'm a little confused at this point... mainly cause I can't place the era. As weird as this may sound, the appeared to be from a Western movie. But, I knew for a fact that they were way more advanced. It was really odd. Almost like they were modern or potentially future based people pretending to be from a Western.))

Anyway... the old man continued to congratulate me, but encouraged me to walk around and relax a bit, but to come back soon. Him and the rest of the townsfolk were going to prepare the tunnel for my return. They were going to "set-it-up" so I could go back through it... in the opposite direction.

Anyway... this seemed to make perfect sense to me, and so I walked down the walk, past shop, after shop. There were TONS of people walking around me. All with a purpose, eyes straight ahead, like they didn't have time to enjoy the day or the shops, cause they had somewhere they had to go.

Suddenly, I ran right into *B*. She is an old friend of mine... that I've known for since I was about 11 years old. She is someone that is very important to me. Circumstances have left us in a position where we hardly have spoken for the past 5 years or so. She had her son with her. ((Weirdly enough, he didn't look anything like he looks in RL))

I was like, "Hey... what's going on here?"

She had a HUGE grin on her face, almost like relief. In retrospect, it seemed like she was relieved that I had made it. Like there was chance that I wouldn't make it. All she said was,

"Hurry, Follow me."

I followed her. She quickly made her way past all of the crowds of people on the sidewalk, and before I knew it, we were entering another subway tunnel. At this point I noticed her son was not with us anymore. This tunnel was fundamentally the same as the one I had spent so much time in before. Instead of an obstacle course, the rusty rails faded into hard packed, yet damp dirt.

The dirt was made into varies hills. Some of them were gradual rises, while other were steep inclines, that nearly reached the top of the tunnel. She was running VERY fast over these hills, I had to struggle to keep up with her. It was like she'd been through this tunnel, hundreds of times. She knew just when to exert herself, and when to conserve energy.

I managed to keep up, but on occasion she would stop and wait for me to make it to the top of a significant rise. Whenever I'd get to the top of a gnarly hill... that she had to wait for me on, she would give me a hug. ((I know... I know... very odd))

She wouldn't say anything either. Actually now that I think about it, neither did I. We just worked our way through the tunnel, in silence. Only stopping to hug. ((OMG, this sounds retarded)) The hugs were very purposeful. Almost like, each hug was saying, "It's REALLY good to see you again. I missed you."

***

That's it. That was my dream. I never got to the end of the tunnel, I never found out WTF was going on. Any takers on an explanation?

*V*

Little Man with No Pipes

Well, most of my time has been dedicated to working on the Mustang. I have a lot of fun with it. With any luck, I'll be starting it up again tomorrow.

Since then I've replaced most the engine gaskets, fluids and tightened everything down. I even repaired the brakes. (With any luck)

Work has been REALLY slow. I'm surprised. Usually I'm slammed from the minute I walk in, to the minute I leave (which is about an hour past 'go home time.')

I applied for two other jobs. The looked really promising, and offered a frankly obnoxiously huge pay increase. I interviewed for both of them, and felt like I'd nailed them.

But, I received to rejection emails on the same day. It was actually really surprising because I'd felt so confident. One of them had a pretty legitimate excuse. Apparently they were hiring an internal employee instead. But, the other one was particularly surprising because it was a new position, and I felt like the only person that interviewed for the job. They gave me the typical, "We're going in a different direction..." shit.

Oh, well. I'll just keep my eyes open and keep sending out the 'ole resume.

Dirty and his wife took off for the week... since they're jobless for the time being. Really no reason to stay.

I've had a pretty gnarly cold / sore throat the past month I swear. I really think it's been a reoccuring thing, because I never really take care of myself when I'm sick. I just keep doing the same thing. If I DO take some time off, I just fill that time with catching up on things that I don't normally have time to do. haha. Mr. Efficient.

Well, I took a couple days off, and sat inside one of the days. (Naturally the other day was all Mustang... haha!) I think that helped a lot, cause I feel tons better. Granted, I totally vegged and played a computer game the entire time, but at least I wasn't out and about.

My buddy -G- came over yesterday, and we took the mufflers off of his motorcycle. HAHA! Now THAT'S funny. You'd be amazed hat how gnarly a 800cc motorcycle can sound once you pull all those restrictive mufflers off, etc. It was awesome!

My sister is pregnant, and found out that she's going to have a little boy! YAY! That's cool because they'll have one of each! I know that they're very excited, and so am I. It'll be nice to have the little guy around.

*V*

American V8 Power - Patriotic or Scary?

Well, I got it!

The Mustang has arrived! It's awesome! I'll run through some of the details.

I found the 1969 Mustang on the Internet. Actually it was on a local classified page. The price was pretty reasonable, so I called about it, in an attempt to find out what kind of shape it was in.

It's has a 351 Windsor V8, very little rust, and it runs! There was some body damage when tree branch fell on the roof. But supposedly it has been repaired. The engine is mechanically in good shape. It just hasn't been maintained in 10 years. Need some TLC, but nothing major.

Well, like I said, the price was close to right, and so I went up to check it out. I was surprised to find that it was in pretty startling shape.

Apparently the seller, drove it to his house from about an hour south of him, parked it, and never started it again for 5 years or so. Well, I told him,

"I'll buy this from you for $2500 cash ($1000 less then the asking), if you can get it started and moving, so I can drive it home."

Well, right then he sprinkled some gas (the gas in the tank was bad by then) on the carburetor and I turned the key....

"Lo and behold," that sucker fired right up. Five years of sitting idle, and it roared to life like it'd been driven everyday for 5 years. Then it died. lol (Still pretty impressive)

He replaced the battery, both fuel filters, and the air filter... and I drove it home the next day. Put some good gas in there to dilute the stale gas.

I drove it for an hour in the following state:

• No License Plate
• No Brake / Turn Lights
• No Brakes (4 Wheel Drums, with no power assist and ....uh... no brake shoes)
• Out of Control Steering
  

WOOHOO!

What an experience. My buddy's wife drove behind us to ensure that we didn't get into too much trouble.

Needless we made it to my Apt. It was bleeding oil like a stuck pig, and the front right brake was grinding BAD, and the big engine was smoking from a gaping exhaust leak combined with burning oil.

I gotta admit... I didn't exactly drive it hard, but I drove it on the freeway... 65 - 80 mph, the entire way.

It has power buried somewhere in the sludge build-up, cobwebs and old stale gas. I could feel it wanting to go fast. It was like olympic runner trying to go full speed, with two broken legs. lol

Did I mention the exhaust note? You have to give credit to the loud, obnoxious roar of a good 'ole American V8. WOW... It's somewhere between a patriotic sound and a sound that causes you to tell your children to run for their lives.

I'm bringing my camera home tonight to get some good pictures.

I'm thinking of starting a blog to document it's progress. I'm not sure how much I would keep up on updating the pictures... so I'm not sure I'll stick to it. We'll see.

*V*

Epic & Contemplative Thoughts

I've heard it said that every few millenia something so epic occurs that the earth trembles with such a force, that the effects never cease.

I completely believe this. I also believe in events that are just as rare, and just as powerful put produce much less drama to the surrounding environment.

***

A soul mate is someone that we may never meet. They may live in a different part of the world, speak a different language, and could very likely live during a different time in history from each other.

I believe that it's possible for two people to be so compatible and so well matched, that when presented with the opportunity to have a relationship, one of these epic occurrences can take place.

It amazes me how you can feel so 'complete' about someone else. You can feel so in tuned and so connected to them that its beyond being a feeling.

It's like corny romance novels you read about. "Time stood still as I gazed into her eyes."

That really happens.

When you've met that person, you can feel so intensely towards them, that your thoughts are so focused on this person, that your environment completely fades away, and you can only see them. You can only hear them, and you can only feel them.

Simply put, it's "impossible to describe." Meh... I'll try anyways.

This is more then a feeling of "love." Like I said, it's more then a feeling. It's a state of existence.

It's important not to confuse this with loving someone. I believe we're all capable of loving many people. We can live a totally content life; happy, rewarding and successful life, having never met our soul mate.

Despite your current situation, married, dating, or in love, meeting this person doesn't replace those feelings. It doesn't nullify them, it doesn't change how you feel about others. Rather it enables you to feel as if you've opened your eyes for the first time. It engages a portion of your mind that most people spend their entire existence never knowing existed...

It almost seems like this is a connection that we were never intended to use. It's something so powerful that our inadequate bodies were never expected be able to acknowledge its existence. Yet, despite that, some people are lucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time.

Here you are given the opportunity to meet the one other soul that was forged from the same mold as your own.

This ability isn't limited by anything in the physical world. It's not limited by distance, language, culture or even gender.

This is a connection beyond that.

You're BLIND! ....Wait... I'm BLIND TOO!!

I just remembered something that totally blew my mind today.

We've recently hired this company to install a Security / Proximity Lock system on our building.

They came out and gave us an estimate, etc... and we gave them the green light. First off, they told use that it would only take them 4 days to wire two office locations, and install the locks everywhere. At the time, I sorta thought that was a little optimistic, but I figured, "Well, it's likely that they have a better idea then I do... considering they do this everyday."

Anyway, 2 months later... it's still not done.

LOL! Are you kidding?

Two of the doors that they installed stick. One of the doors stick badly enough, that some of the smaller female employees can't open it! In addition, one of the security pads doesn't inform you that they alarm is going to go off if you don't punch in your code. The other panel, beeps to let you know that no one else has disabled the system, and you need to punch in your code. Lastly, all the panels have "Trouble" lights blinking.

Well, our accountant asked me if he could pay them yet. I don't think that I'm very out of line to say, "We can pay them when the job is complete."

Maybe that is unprofessional... but it just seems to make sense to me.

If I order a service.... with an agreement to pay when it's complete... I should pay when the service IS complete.

Well, the company called, and had a shit fit with me cause I didn't authorize payment. It didn't matter WHAT I said to them, they refused to see it from my perspective.

People are so blind sometimes.

Or is it just me?

*V*

Stretched Thin Moostang

Ugh...

I had a flat tire today. What an obnoxious way to start the day. LOL. Les Swab totally plug / patched my tire for free. That was cool of them.

Anyway, I'm working with this guy up north in an attempt to sell me his 1969 Ford Mustang. It's pretty cheap, and I'm hoping to go up and check it out soon. It's only $3K, and he said that he's flexible on the price.

Lately we've been working on Dirty's BMW, and that's really got me thinking. There is really no reason for me to not have my own car to tinker with. I don't need to blow a lot of money on it... just something form to mess around with. I don't want to rush it either.

That's the nice thing about having it as a second vehicle... you don't have to worry about how you're going to get to work the next day.

I'm going to get a hold of him again, and try and schedule an appointment when I can go up and see how bad it is.

Doesn't look to bad, does it?



We'll see.... he said there's some sort of issue with the roof. I guess a tree branch fell on it, and it was repaired in a pretty flaky manner.

Although over all life has been good the past year or so, I'm starting to feel a little stretched out. Plus, I'm really burned out with my job. Once again, they're full of promises that just seem to be put off.

I'm not getting any younger, and frankly, I'm sick of people treating me like I have all the time in the world to make a career for myself.

I don't wanna sound like an ass... but shit. Pay me what I'm worth, and don't promise me a bunch of crap that isn't going to happen.

ROFLMAO

Ok, I know I don't normally post links up here, but this is a riot.

Laughter

If you don't laugh at that... then get your head checked.

*V*

Bleached and Loaded Bimmer

So, lately I've been getting sick of sitting around every weekend and totally vegging out. Granted it's a VERY effective way to relax after a long week, but at the same time... it's just as effective at wasting nice weather and my life in general.

So, I've been trying to find more and more things to do during my free time... that way I don't get burned out with life again.

Last Saturday I had TONS of fun. I went to a Car Auction AND a Gun Show. Woot.

Unfortunately... I'm an idiot - and didn't bring my camera to either of them. So, there's no proof that what I'm telling you isn't a buncha shit. lol.

Anyway, the Car Auction was a beautiful thing. There were so many beautiful cars all at different stages of restoration. There was a surprising range of vehicles too. Everything from a 1911 Ford, to relatively modern cars.

Since it was an auction, it was very interesting to see how much money some people were willing to offer for some of these cars.

There was a Pierce Arrow that was GORGEOUS. It was a massive vehicle. It's overall dimensions were really impressive. I'm not too sure about model specifics, etc. It was a 1941 I believe, and had a V12 engine. The back see was about the size of the entire cabin area of my Jeep. It was awesome. I believe it sold for $165,000. Amazing.

Anyway, after the Car Auction, I went up to a Gun Show. *Sigh*

I have a disease...

You surround me with beautiful shiny guns... and I'll buy one. lol! I bought a Springfield Armory XD-9. It's a 9mm, and it's sexy. It'll be a lot easier to shoot, and MUCH cheaper to shoot. (Ammo costs nothing compared to my .357)

Ok... done with guns... I know that about 0% of you are interested in that crap.

So, DirtyScurty told some Internet scam artist to drink bleach yesterday. LOL! OMG I don't know where that kid comes up with his material, but he makes me laugh so freakin hard.

Also, Dirty got a "new-to-him" car the other day. BMW for that matter. He got it for REALLY cheap cause it had some minor engine trouble. My co-worker actually rebuilds BMWs so, it wasn't a big deal. We spent like 4+ hours working on it last night. It was really fun. I learned a lot, and hope to tear my Jeep down, bolt by bolt in the next week or so.

Whaa Baam!

*V*