Back in August sometime I decided to use the internet to waste some time… well, to be honest – I decided to do that back in 1995, and have been carrying the torch ever since. While searching for this and that, I decided to do a Google on Garbage Pail Kids. Man, I loved GPK so much when I was a kid. Turns out that Topps (the company that made them back in the 80’s) was readying a new series for release in 2003. Fast forward a few weeks and I’ve already ordered 3 boxes of the new 16th series. They are great, and bring back so many memories. I also found a source who sells the original 1st-15th series in complete sets, and have ordered the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th so far. Sharaun kinda drew the line when I was about to cross the $100 marker on Garbage Pail Kids. Anyway, having the old ones is awesome, takes me back to 3rd grade like a rocket. On the playground at Clarence Ruth, trading stickers. Guess I still haven’t grown up right.
strange how things turn out
So, Frank called me again today – which I thought was odd when I saw his name flash on the caller ID. Turns out he was calling to tell me that JJ Pesek had died. He had seen the obituary in the FL Today and wanted to give me a ring and let me know. After hanging up, I told Sharaun and she pulled up the obit online. What a bummer.
I tried to look through my old middle school yearbooks for a picture or something I could link here, but I didn’t find any. I guess JJ and I really only hung out for about a year, the year before I met Kyle. He signed my 7th grade yearbook twice. Using the infamously funny “First to sign your crack! Me, JJ. Beatles Forever.” and “I will call you every night until you get sick of it. And you will still live at my house Fridays. JJ.” I remember I used to think that he would lose his parents young, because they were so much older than him, and how much that would suck. Strange how things turn out.
starting a tool graveyard
Spent Friday evening (while the light was still with us) diggin’ the trench in the backyard. I’ll add some pictures and link ’em soon. Basically, before we can put up the 1st course of the wall, we have to dig a trench and partially fill it with a base material of crushed rock. The rock then gets compacted (with a hand tamper) and leveled. Basically, there’s still a lot of work to be done. But, things are shaping up, and with the help of friends the digging has gone much faster. Then we hit the sushi joint for some rolls, and eventually closed down the local pub at 2am with some friends. Late night.
The PC’s in the house are acting dog-slow, internet-wise, because I’ve been roped into downloading SVCD rips of the 2nd season of Alias. Sharaun got addicted to it, thanks to the Mooney’s. It’s a good show, much better when you watch in succession and actually get into the X Files-ish plot. Bittorrent is great for TV rips.
Was talking to Bob in FL again last night, and he mentioned that he might be getting some plywood and cutting/fitting for his windows. The latest hurricane out in the Atlantic really looks like a killer, but they don’t know where it’s really headed yet. I remember when Frank and dad did the plywood thing at our house in Levitt, in FL hurricanes are a big deal. Funny being here in CA, and rarely ever hearing about them on the news. Instead we get to see Ahnold stumble his way through some questions about special interest groups. Yeah!
Well, I guess it’s time to get back to… something. Today is pretty open. Watching some football right now, and I’d like to watch the Gators play @ 3pm our time. Other than that, I’ve got several projects I could be working on. #1 would be heading to Home Depot to get a new shovel and pick… yup… the pick broke again!! And, Steve somehow managed to break the shovel yesterday also. I’m tellin’ you, this yard is pure rock, and any digging is just insane. So far we’ve been through 2 picks, 1 shovel, and 1 wheelbarrow. I’m thinking of starting a tool graveyard, but it would be too hard to dig the graves.
Bye.