dear crazy people...

i am a craigslist poster by necessity. i don't get my thrills or make lots of money out of it. i think that's kind of the point.

yes, i am posting an ad to find a home for my cat. yes, i prefer not to have to clean up after her anymore. yes, she is old and i know it's harder for older cats to find homes. yes, she is free but that doesn't mean you will not have to pay me in some way to take her.

do i think it's risky to post on craigslist? sometimes. am i scared someone will take my cat and use it in a weird experiment, like in "the reanimator?" it crossed my mind. do i feel bad about supposedly "dumping" my cat? um, no. cuz, duh! i'm not dumping it. i am actively finding a home you crazyface. that's what the ad is for. dumping means i am driving out to an abandoned field and throwing the cat out the door.

i like to think that if i were to "dump" the cat, she would meet a happy-go-lucky pug who would do anything to save my cat's life. they would go on adventures through the forest and meet other animals and even cuddle in the snow. there might even be a scene where my cat jumps off a cliff and dives into the frigid ocean too. who knows?

anyway, i appreciate all the time you take out of your cat-licking days to send me an email about how lame i am. it really makes my day. to make it easier for you, i can just bring the cat by your cat hotel and save us all the trouble. sound good? thanks.

sincerely,

cat dumper

new camera?

i think i need to get a fancy camera soon and learn how to use it well, so i can start taking pictures more. i say that because i always forget to bring our old point n' shoot camera when i should take pictures, and when i do bring it i forget to take it out of my bag. it's pretty silly. i missed quite a few great opportunities and people while we were in utah. it would have been nice to have pics of our friends and the fun times that were had. sorry, friends.

i only ended up taking a couple good shots of izzy riding her first pony. it was really cute, cuz she had this excited look on her face the whole time. she was also saying "wow" a bunch. btw, that's her first real word. "wow." we love it.


we did get a chance to go to byu creamery and have some delicious byu chocolate milk, which i miss a lot, and some fry sauce with cracked pepper fries. yum.



i promise i was not trying to focus in on the guy behind izzy. the camera just did that.

The Bombay House

While in Provo last week we went to The Bombay House. Amanda and I love this restaurant. Not only is the food an array of scrumptious deliciousness that intoxicates the mind, it is where I asked my amazing wife to be my wife.

We were able to go back on Saturday. The food is amazing and we got to spend the evening with great friends which made it even more awesome. Jesse, I love you man! (Sorry Brit, but this might resort to hair pulling and scratching).

Anyway, it was a fun evening, even though Izzy had to go to 7-11 to get some cheerios. Mike, Kim, Mary & Chris it was great to see you.

Thank you. Come again,

Pete

MBA Update, the government, etc...

MBA UPDATE:

This last week Amanda, Izzy and I went to Utah because I was invited to interview at BYU for their MBA program and.....drum roll please, dadadadadadadadad...I got in! So far I have been accepted to ASU, BYU, Indiana University, and U of Illinois. I am still waiting to hear from U of Texas, and I am still waiting to hear from U of MN for even an interview invitiation. I don't know why they are so slow. I did apply to Texas A & M...i guess I will tell the story.

They called me back a few days after my interview and wanted to ask me a few more questions. I guess they thought I was to vague as to exactly what kind of job I wanted after graduation and what kind of company I want to start in maybe 10 years. I am thinking of studying supply chain (operations, logistics, manufacturing) but I don't know exactly what kind of job I want yet. That is kind of what school is for, right? To figure what aspect of supply chain might fit what I like. And how am I supposed to know what kind of company I want to start in 10 years? With the economy in shambles, who could predict what the next 10 years will bring, and what will be going on in 10 YEARS? (I just said that "10 years" like Jeremy Piven in Gross Point Blank when he is driving with John Cusack. If you have never seen this movie you should unless you don't watch rated R movies.) So T. A & M wanted me to write another essay and i kindly declined and asked them to pully my application. I guess they are looking for a specific kind of student, and I don't think I fall into that profile. Se la vie!

I am super happy with the schools I got into and now we have to make a decision. We have to wait a few weeks for the official paperwork to come in from BYU and Indiana to see what financial aid packages they offer. We'll let you know.

While we were in Utah, we stayed with our Friends Jake and Sheena. They are awesome. Thanks so much for having us. Also, we were treated to some dilectable cupcakes from our friends Ange and Craig. They have their own bakery (http://www.thechocolatedc.com/) I highly recommend it.

THE GOVERNMENT:

So Amanda and I have an ongoing feud with the government right now (Well the company is called Benecomp. I am not sure if its an actual part of the gov. or some third party they hire out to deal with these accounts) and this morning it got pretty ugly. So before Izzy was born, Amanda opened one of those flex savings account where they take money out of your paycheck. The money can only go towards daycare expenses. So anyway we opened the account, and then before Amanda quit we faxed them all the information they needed to cut us a check and reimburse us for some daycare expenses. This was back in August of last year. So far, the check has not come. We have called them I don't know how many times now. They have told us multiple times that a check was in the mail. I guess they sent it to our old address. So Amanda called them to update the address. They said they got it and they would send a new check out. But they didn't. She called them again, and they said they would send a new check. They didn't. So finally i got involved.

For those of you who know me, I am pretty laid back. But for those of you who know me, I can get pretty fired up. It takes a while. It's like one of those bombs from the looney tunes cartoons with a super long wick on it, but then BOOM! So I call Benecomp. I explain what's going on. The lady there says she will take care of it. Apparently they still have our old address in the system. There are no notes attached from Amanda's calls as to what's been going on. She said she will manually enter the address and send a check. I call her the next Monday. The check is in the mail she says. I checked and it was cut on Friday she says. So I call her last week. The check was cut she says. Its in the mail she says. So I call her today. Here is the transcript more or less:

benecomp: Oh. It looks like Amanda quit in August right?

Pete: Yes

benecomp: Well she is claiming expenses after she quit.

Pete: No. Don't you have the invoice we faxed. The charges are for May, June and July. How is it when I talked to you last week the check was in the mail but I call you today and there is no check.

benecomp: Oh we stopped payment on the check. We need to investigate this a little further. We need to make sure everything is correct.

Pete: How is it that you have had 6 months to look into this and only now, after you tell me a check has been sent that only now something needs to be looked at?

benecomp: Well we need to talk to Regis and to Amanda.

Pete: Its been 6 months. Don't you have Amanda's phone #? If you need to talk to her, why don't you call her. Its been 6 months!!!

benecomp: What is her phone #?

Pete: You are the most incompetent organization I have ever dealt with in my life. I can't believe how completely terrible you are and how awful you are at your job. You better start this investigation today. I am going to call you every day, 5 times a day until you get this taken care of.

benecomp: OK.

This is pretty accurate. I did not swear ( I wanted to). And I did not yell. But holy hell I am pissed off. I am still pissed off. I am going to call her again this afternoon. And I am going to call 10 times a day. I will not be walked all over and lied to by a bunch of bafoons!! I will fight the good fight!!

Can you take a government agency to small claims court? Or sue them? I feel like they are stealing my money and it really really really pisses me off!


Anyway, that's all folks,

Pete

Movies & Music

So lately I have been flying and driving around the grand old USA and thus a lot of time has been spent sitting, flying or driving. Most of that time my Ipod has been sending some type of sound into my eardrums. Usually, I listen to a lot of audio books, but during the other times, I throw my Ipod onto shuffle mode and let the good times roll. Even when the Ipod is on shuffle, I will still skip songs that come on, but I thought I would jot down a few songs that have come up lately that no matter how many times I have heard them before I will listen to them.

1. Babylon - David Gray - David Gray is one of those artists that I don't think about that often, but when he happens into my listening playlist, I always think "I should listen to David Gray more often I really like his music"

2. Please Forgive Me - David Gray

3. John Wayne Gacy Jr. - Sufjan Stevens - This is one of the most beautifl songs. I know its about a serial killer, but I can't help but like it.

4. Glenn Tipton - Sun Kil Moon - I really really like Sun Kil Moon ( Mark Kozelek). His voice makes me feel nostalgic no matter which song I am listening to.

5. Sweet Carolina - Ryan Adams - Another song I like by Ryan Adams is "When the Stars go Blue". A lot of other people have sang this song, no one knows Ryan Adams wrote this song and his version is way better than any other pretenders. Just thought I would put that out there.

6. La Cienega Just Smiled - Ryan Adams

7. High & Dry - Radiohead - This is the song that led me to radiohead back in 96.

8. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd. I know I know. A little cliche right? But they don't make songs like this one anymore. And isn't the fact that I won't skip it a testament to how awesome it is? If you don't know this, the guitar part between the first verse and the second verse, Roger Waters (I think) is actually singing with the guitar solo. Its more apparant in the live version (PULSE) than on the album. But I think its pretty cool.

9. Shine on You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd

10. Wild Montana Skies - John Denver - I love John Denver. I grew up listening to him and I have never been able to shake my love for his music. This song especially breaks my heart every time I listen to it. Plus the harmonies are stupendous.

11. Ida - Track #14. - I have no idea what this song by Ida is called. It was on some CD that Amanda has but no labels. Here is how it starts "Like glass, shattering in a clean break..." If anyone knows what this song is called, I would greatly appreciate it.

12. Various Stages - Great Lake Swimmers

13. Freedom 90 - George Michael - Um...yeah....

14. Mad World - Gary Jules - The montage from Donnie Darko that uses this song is one of my favorite creative montages of all time. The song just nails it.

15. Chemicals Collide - Cloud Cult - Beautious.

16. Redemptions Son - Joseph Arthur

17. Homesick - Kings of Convenience

18. Read My Mind - The Killers - So here's the the thing with the Killers. I dont like all their songs, but if do like one of their songs, I could liste to it 1000 times and not get tired of it. Like when I play guitar hero, all I want to play is When We Were Young.

There are some others, but this is just the stuff that has popped in lately.


On to the next section. Underrated movies.

Here a few movies I have watche lately that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I don't know if they have gotten much buzz.

Hot Fuzz - Done by the same guys as Shawn of the Dead. Hot Fuzz is one of the funniest movies ever made. Super entertaining.

Stardust - Just watched this today.

Man on Fire - This is older, but I was thinking about it lately. I love revenge movies. Amanda will attest to this. I guess I just wish that some of the injustices of the world could be exorcised here instead of in the next life. If I were sitting on a jury of some guy that killed the dude who raped or killed his child, I would vote not guilty, regardless of what the law says. But that's just me....

fine. i won't write about birds again!

i guess pete and mckelle are the only ones who get me.

bird watch 2009

i've never really bird-watched before, but i enjoy the occasional glance at our fine feathered friends. it's so calming to watch them prance about, swoop, flit, and peck around. once, i saw a crow walking in the snow and he fell beak forward. might not sound funny to you, but it was hilarious to me.

since we live on a third floor apartment that has two giant trees in front of it, we get a lot of little guys flying about. i decided to put out some suet for them to munch on during the winter, and i have had a number of visitors. here are just some of the guys i have seen:

this guy is from the cardinal family. the one that i saw was actually more bright orange. when i saw it land on the balcony railing, i thought it was a parrot at first.


mr. jay. he's really flighty (ha!), cuz he takes off at the slightest movement within my apartment.


another cardinal dude. these guys only like to stop every once in a while, so i assume they have a busy lifestyle.


this one's name is chickadee. cute name, huh? i think this one has a family in the trees in front of our apartment. he visits often. bird economy must be down too.


haha! no, bald eagles do not like suet. i wish. i have seen one of these flying around here in minnesota. it was awesome! i think i am going to take izzy to the raptor center soon though. i hear it's pretty cool.


i've also seen a woodpecker, some finches, and then some cute little purpley-blue fat-body birds. i don't know what they are and could not find a pic on the dnr website, so you will just have to imagine in your head what they could look like.