Ping Goes the Garage Door

Normally it takes 3 hours driving one way from Plano to Round Rock. But this past Sunday, coming home from our Thanksgiving weekend trip, we spent 5 grueling hours on I-35S. 1 hour of that was spend on a 10 mile stretch.  After we unloaded the car with our luggage, Susan pressed the garage door button to close the garage door behind me. About an hour later, I took the dogs out through the front door so they could relieve themselves. When I turned the corner, I found it odd that the garage door was still open. When I went to close the garage door this time around, I heard a loud PING, but had my back turned to the door so I didn't investigate further because the door fully closed.

The next morning as I was about to head out for work, I pressed the door opener and the door would not lift. Straight above the door I saw that one of the springs was broken. Ugh. I swear, after all long trips, something breaks at the house. I manually unlocked the garage door and lifted the heavy panels so I could pull out our cars.

The same day I was able to get a repair company to come out and fix it. I watched the technician remove and replace two spring coils with blazing speed and ease. With the assistance of his wife handing him tools, he repaired the garage door in 20 minutes. It would have easily taken me 4 hours to figure out what I was doing, and it would have cost me several dollars finding the right tools. Even though it cost nearly $200, it was well worth me not losing a finger attempting the repair.

From now on, I'll remember to spray WD-40 on the coils each year as the old coils became brittle due to them not being greased or maintained. Lesson learned.

Added Uplights

Susan suggested that we add some pizazz to the house, so we added some uplighting to our home. We now definitely make our house known on the block. What's not pictured is the lovely new flowers in our garden, which consist of mums and margaritas (the plants, not the drinks).

The Big Day

I am awake bright an early on the Big Day. Can't believe the day I'm getting married has come by so quickly since the day I proposed. It's going to be awesome.

I could barely sleep last night but I feel well rested. Going to some stretches as it will be long day starting with a Tea Ceremony in the morning. Then the Wedding Ceremony in the evening.

Time for me to shower up and get some breakfast.

You Talking Crazy, BMI

My stupid weight scale at home is officially broken. It won't give the same reading twice in a row. It's either trying to be flattering by saying I weigh a pound less each time I step on, but I don't think my body has that kind of metabolism in which I can lose weight in seconds. The sad thing is that it's electronic and has only lasted four years.

The reason I want a more accurate scale is because I'm starting to track my weight in the iFitness app on my iPhone. Even though weight is the last thing I need to look at for an overall assesment of my goals, it still would be nice to know what I weigh. When I enter my weight into this app I can also check my Body Mass Index. For me to "Normal Weight" according to BMI, I'm supposed to weigh 164 lbs. I don't think I've weighed that in 15 years. BMI is lame and so is my scale.

iConformed

Last weekend I ordered an iPhone. I figured it was about time I had a smartphone. However, I struggle to type on the thing. I hate paying for apps, but I have bought "Flight Control", which is a simple yet addicting game. My biggest gripe is that I can't control the volume levels of certain alerts. There's only a master volume. And then don't get me started about AT&T's stupid texting plan.

Oh well. Other than that, I can see why people love their iPhones. It does many things great as it basically a computer away from my computer. Technology owns us, we don't own it.

Learn to Park, Lady

Since I haven't been feeling good for the past week, I decided to go see my doctor this morning. As I pull up to the clinic, I see that the parking lot is 75% full. After doing a loop through one section, I see a prime parking spot and pull in "legally". But halfway into the spot, a lady in minivan wants to take that same spot from the wrong side...

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Cutting through parking lots, especially a full parking lot. And pulling up through a parking space to reach the other side so you can face forward.

...I know I have every right to that spot. And more so than she does. She starts to back out realizing, she wasn't going to win this battle. But as she does, I read her lips and she mouths, "A**HOLE." Lady, learn to park and learn to keep your thoughts in your head. The sad thing is that she backed out and parked in a totally different area, when the spot directly in front of me was just as good. Some people are lazy. Some people are rude. And this lady was both.

Missing Bag

My second trip to Seattle in two years, and once again my checked in luggage didn't arrive with me. Unbelievable. I carried on a second bag but was negligent on putting an extra change of clothes in there. Packing at the last minute, I slipped in a pair of shorts and a pair of briefs for the rare case that I decided to go running, but that set of clothes is now my pajamas.

I have my fingers crossed that my bag isn't lost and will make the next leg from Oakland. Yesterday was a crazy at the Austin airport because North Texas experienced severe weather that delayed several plane schedules. Due to the delays in Texas, what was supposed to be a 3 hour layover in Oakland turned into a sprint from one gate to another as we cut our connection real close. Apparently, the baggage handlers didn't have that same enthusiasm in making that connection. About a dozen of us who had the same flights from Austin all experienced missing luggage. The group I felt the worst for was a family of 5 that included a toddler and an infant, and all their baby clothes and gear were in their checked luggage.

But I'm back home at my "Home", and my Mom is cooking breakfast! Can't complain about that. Hopefully, I just don't have to wear the same outfit ALL week.

News Flash: New Flash

This past week, I ordered an external flash for my camera because Canon was holding special rebates on many of their products. I've wanted an external flash for several months now, and patience has paid off. Many photography books I have read have mentioned the need for a good flash to get quality shots in low light situations. On Thursday, my Canon Speedlite 580EX II arrived from Amazon. Of course Sundae was my test subject as always.

The only downside to this external flash is the size. It looks gigantic on top of the camera and the stupid thing won't fit in my current camera bag with my Canon 40D SLR in it. Now I am in the market for a new camera bag. This is the price I have to pay for my latest hobby.

Going Rave Green

Susan and I both watched our first live Major League Soccer game. The Seattle Sounders FC were making their debut appearance in Texas versus FC Dallas. I was so stoked up for this game that I bought a jersey two weeks prior to the game so I could represent my hometown team colors.

It had been raining all morning. Not until an hour before game time had the rain stopped and skies became clear. Even though it was chilly out, I didn't want to put on a jacket as I wanted my rave green to show.

It was Drew Carey promotional night and the stadium was giving away free gag glasses. The irony in that is Drew Carey is a minority owner in the Seattle Sounders FC. At half time, the FC Dallas promotional staff ended up giving away 2 trips to Seattle for a future match by having two contestants play a custom made Plinko game. The first contestant won on his very first chance.

Pizza Hut Park is very intimate as it is not a large stadium so you feel really close to the action. The downfall to the park is that it is actually located in Frisco, TX, a city far north of downtown Dallas. Location, poor weather during the day and the fact that FC Dallas is the last place team in the league all contributed to a lack of attendance. The stadium seemed barely half full and we moved up a few row because people occupied our seats. The only thing that would have made the night perfect is if the Sounders won. The Sounders had an amazing first half and didn't convert good chances, but played awful in the second half. Missing some key players due to injury and prior red cards truly hurt our chemistry. Luckily (but unfortunately) the Sounders ended up with a 1-1 draw versus the worst team in the league.

My next Sounders game will be in Seattle come June and I'll be ready with my rave green jersey. It will we an entirely different atmosphere as I'll probably lose my voice that night. And hopefully the result will be a win.

More Than Just a Loss

I've just started my third season playing co-ed indoor soccer as goalie. I love playing goalie because I don't have the ball skills to play anywhere else on the field. We have a solid team, but there are a few teams in the league that are better than us. In my first game of the new season last night, we were playing one of them.

The game started off pretty even and then midway through the first half the flood gates opened up. We were already down 3-0, where girl goals count as two. Our entire team was pushed way too far up trying to get us back in the game. Their defense was able to clear a ball to midfield over our defense. I got too ambitious and though I could beat one of their girls to the ball even though I had a long way to go. When I realized I could not make it, I started to backpedal so I could try to block it with my hands. I barely got back into the box, but by then it was too late. She kicked it low right between my legs. Backpedaling and crossing my legs led to a disastrous combination. I tripped and fell straight onto my behind. And she scored. I had to laugh off my clumsiness, but my tail bone sure didn't think it was funny for the rest of the game. We went on to lose the game 8-3.

It was a tough night in goal. With a little ice and rest, I'll be ready to go for our next game. Soccer is great, there are no ifs ands or butts about that.

Pound for Pound Champion

What an amazing day for Filipinos worldwide! Going into the fight between Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao and Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, I was more nervous than I was for the Oscar De La Hoya fight. Hatton has been the linear champion in the light welterweight division, and has dominated that weight class. But tonight Manny proved why he is dubbed the Pound for Pound Champion in boxing and now the light weight champion.

Scoring a devastating knockout with his patented left hook at 2:59 in the second round. The first round was just as brilliant as Manny knocked Ricky down twice. In the end, the final blow may have been Manny's best single punch of his career. Ricky can attest to that.

I love you Manny. You were worthy every Pay Per View penny I spent on the fight.

Raise the Roof

The old roof was replaced on Thursday of this past week. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it wasn't in great shape. The roofing company was supposed to come last Saturday, but I told them to hold off when I was going to be out of town. My friend, Chris, warned me that the DirecTV satellite might get knocked out of alignment as high definition programming is sensitive. The roofers woke me up unexpectedly early in the morning as the forecast for that day was questionable due to rain. With 8 or so of them working on the roof, it was done before I got home from work.

The new roof looks great. They added ridge venting at the peaks to help with the air circulation of the home. And I got them to upgrade the roof to a 30 year grade versus the 25 year roof I had before. I'll admit the multi-layer roof looks way better than the flat shingles. The only downfall is that the satellite is out of alignment. But luckily I have a service plan on DirecTV where they will fix my satellite at no cost. Thank goodness because I am most likely going to order the Pacquiao vs. Hatton boxing match on Pay-Per-View later.

More Hail News

I thought my car was the only thing that was damaged in the hail storm 3 weeks ago. Turns out the roof to my house was damaged as well. I just had an insurance claims specialists stop by the house, and the news was not good. Turns out there was much damage to the 16 year old roof, which had a 25 year rating. I won't know the official damage cost until the insurance agent fills all the paperwork, but I know the entire roof will need to be replaced.

Sadly with my budget so tight at the moment, the repairs I wanted to make to my car from the hail damage will be put on hold. I'm going to use that money instead to pay for the deductible for the homeowner's insurance claim.

For the cherry on top of this Sad Sundae, it's supposed to rain all weekend. Sigh.

What The Hail

Last Wednesday, I offered to chauffeur my friend after work because he separated his shoulder earlier in the week. Little to my knowledge, a thunderstorm would be rolling into the northern Austin area that afternoon. Not even two miles away from our work place, the weather took a drastic turn for the worst when rail turned into pea sized hail into marble sized hail into golf ball sized hail (and in some areas into baseball sized hail). What luck.

We were on the tollway when the hail came down. And there are no overpasses on the tollway for us to hide underneath. I've driven through some hail storms before an there was no damage. This storm didn't feel any different with the exception of one thud that sounded like a baseball bat hitting my rooftop.

I didn't check for any damage that night as it was dark and I had to run errands. When I finally gassed up the car over the weekend, I was looking at the hood to only see a few dents. I began to examine the rest of the car with more detail and noticed several more dents on the hood. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it's still lousy to deal with.

The insurance company is sending an assessor over to my house on Thursday. I hope the Maxima gets its shine back after it's all said and done. I'll be sure to check the Texas weather reports more closely now.

Wedding Updates

To not clutter this Blog with wedding rants, I have created a new wedding related website for Susan and me. I have wedding blogs up there and other information "worth" reading.

Feel free to check it out in it's infant stages. Click here.

If the link doesn't work, you can copy and paste the following:
http://www.mywedding.com/susanandjason/index.html

Venue is Set

I went up to Dallas this past weekend to secure our wedding venue with Susan. It's official, we have our site for ceremony & reception. The deposit is paid. Now I have to start collecting addresses to send Save The Date cards to.

Over the weekend, we also met with 3 different photographers. I researched them all and going into the process I had my favorites and after meeting them I now have them all equal. Each has their own style and I like all three styles. It's not going to be easy narrowing it down to one by the end of the week. But that's my goal. I'm going to look at several hundred more pictures from each online during the week.

But we are happy to get the big item checked off our list of 1,001 things to do before the big day. Once we have the venue set, hopefully things get easier because we have our DATE set.

Back to the Gym

One of my few resolutions this year is to get to 170 lbs by August. I tipped the scales at 184 lbs this morning. I set the 170 lb goal because it was the weight I was at when I first started dating Susan, and I'd like to get back there again for our wedding. I think it's doable, I just have to be good about dieting. It probably didn't help that I pigged out over the holidays but it wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't indulge.

This morning, I had my first work out of the New Year. Needless to say it was a struggle. My body is saying, "What are you doing to me?" I know I'll be sore tomorrow from attempting 100 situps. No pain, no gain. My other incentive to go back to the gym is that Gold's Gym upped my monthly dues, so I need to get my money's worth. I stick to my monetary principles...then again, that's probably just another resolution in itself to break.

Knee Deep in Procrastinaton

My stupid water heater broke in my home. I was planning to replace it within the next 3 months due to finances being tied up at the moment. Now I have no choice.

I just returned home from a two week vacation. I was moving stuff into the kitchen when I noticed some water footprints as I was going in and out of the house. At that moment, I knew my water heater was the culprit. Luckily I don't think there was hardly any water damage, but still a pain to deal with as far as cleanup. The wet shop vacuum has once again come in handy. I took my last shower and shut off the main water valve outside.

I am supposed to get a call from Lowe's Installation Monday morning. Hopefully they can replace what I need the next day. Otherwise, it looks like I'm going to the gym to shower. I pushed my water heater to the limits. I shouldn't have waited to replace it. And while I'm at it, I probably should have my crystal ball fixed as well.