Mood For The Day Update

After reviewing everything that happened in the course of yesterday, I would have to go with the "this could be hell" part of the song I heard when my radio alarm went off. It wasn't that it was a hellish day, it was just a lot of little things combined. Up until yesterday afternoon, things were leaning toward the "this could be heaven" but things took an ugly turn when a problem happened that neither me, my boss, and another department managers could figure out how to fix. Plus I had a couple of calls from friends who were having major problems, so I combined their bad luck with my problem at work and came up with the "this could be hell" day. That having been said, today was an awesome day. It was filled with problems, but it was a fun day all in all.

This Sure Sets The Mood For The Day

When my radio alarm went off this morning, it was in the middle of one of my all-time favorite songs, "Hotel California." The first thing I heard when I woke up was "This could be heaven and this could be hell." I hope this is not an indication of how this day will be. I'll keep you posted.

Way To Go, Bellarmine

TWIT would like to congratulate our hometown Bellarmine Knights on their NCAA Division II championship. This was the university's first national title in any sport. Today, I had the awesome honor of meeting one of the players on the championship team, none other than number 14, Keiston Jones. To me, he's just little KiWi. Keiston is the nephew of my good friend and coworker aka Grandmother. The last time I saw him, he was about 4 or 5 years old, and his family called him by his knickname of KiWi. When I saw him today, he still had that same smile, and he said he still liked to be called KiWi by his family. KiWi has turned into a fine young man, and I commend him for his accomplishments in his freshman year at Bellarmine. I wish him the best of luck in the rest of his college days, and would like to say once again way to go, Bellarmine, for brininging home an NCAA championship for Louisville.

Way To Go, UK

TWIT and I would like to say way to go, UK Wildcats on your awesome win over the North Carolina Tarheels yesterday, putting you in the NCAA Final Four. It was one hell of a game, and both teams gave it their all.

Anyone that knows me well knows that I am a huge Tarhell fan, and though I don't get into the state rivalries, when push comes to shove I will pick UK over U of L. And even though I don't get into college basketball that much, I was all into yesterday's game.

Earlier today, the 'Rents went out doing their usual Monday errands and bought UK t-shirts for us to wear this week to cheer on the Wildcats. And for the record, Mom was wearing one of my old Tarheels sweatshirts yesterday. But I digress.

TWIT wishes UK much luck this coming weekend, and we hope to see you bring home the NCAA champion trophy to the state.

Link of the Week

A while back, some friends and I were talking about how much we missed the Sizzler restaurants. And during our conversation, we didn't talk about the steaks at Sizzler; we talked about how much we missed their Malibu Chicken. We knew it was a boneless chicken breast with slices of ham and Swiss cheese on top, and with an awesome mustardy sauce to dip it in. After our conversation, we all got online and tried to find the recipe for the special Malibu Chicken sauce but had no luck. It wasn't until last year when I found out from Diva Stacy that the special sauce was just regular mustard and mayonnaise mixed together. Who knew? But I digress. For all of you restaurant fans who want to find out the recipes for your favorite restaurant foods, have I got a site for you. Visit http://topsecretrecipes.com and search until you can't search anymore. And while you're at the site, sign up for their free weekly Top Secret recipe.

Happy Birthday, Diana Ross

TWIT would like to wish a very happy birthday to Diana Ross. The superstar turns 67 today.

I don't think I've ever mentioned her in TWIT before, but Diana Ross has always been one of my favorites. I've had the pleasure of seeing her in concert twice - once in Lexington at Rupp Arena, where they carried her out on stage like Cleopatra, and once here in Lousville.

I wasn't a big "Wiz" fan, but I wore out my "Lady Sings The Blues" album and had to replace it. It's interesting to me how every now and then you'll hear some Idol or other contest wannabe sing "Good Morning, Heartache". It's good to know that song can still move people. "Swept Away" from an album in the mid-80's is still my favorite song by Miss Ross.

I regret not being at her famous concert in Central Park back in 1983. The concert was to celebrate her 25th year in show business. The planning for the concert took over a year, and it was so disheartening when the big rainstorm hit and the show had to be cut short. But I still remember seeing video footage of Diana Ross on stage singing in the blowing rain, just to make her fans happy. You are one of a kind, Miss Ross.

Flashback Friday

News From the 'hood

In the past twenty-four hours, the local TV news crews have been all over our peaceful little 'hood. About a mile from The Compound, even. Last night, there was a standoff situation at a house that had a meth lab. The SWAT team was even there, and had set up their command center in the front parking lot of our old church. The guy gave up early this morning and then the news crews left, only to be out there again just hours later when a bank just across the street from the alleged meth lab house was robbed by three armed gunmen, two of which are still loose supposedly in the area.

In case you've been keeping tabs over the past couple of years, this meth lab is the third one to be busted in our 'hood -- and all three have been within a half mile of each other.

And as if things weren't dangerous enough around The Compound, we had another very very dangerous and deadly thing happen less than a mile from work. Late Monday afternoon there was an exlposion at one of dozen-plus chemical plants in our work 'hood. Two workers were killed and the plant has been shut down indefinitely. The explosion happened at around 5:30 on Monday - after everyone had left work. But I did find out that they evacuated the area at the time of the explosion.

So as you can see, it's been a wild week. I'm just thankful it's peaceful here at The Compound tonight.

Spring Has Not Sprung

It's another crazy weather day here in the Ohio Valley. The high today was 79. And it's supposed to be down in the low 40's tonight, with highs only in the upper 40's tomorrow. People won't know whether to wear the big coats or flip flops tonight.

File Under: WTF?

I've been busy doing laundry and running an errand tonight, and while I've been at home I've had on a show on ABC just for background noise. They've been showing the top five movies in a bunch of different categories. I have to say that I shut the TV off after hearing the top five musicals. My beloved "Music Man" was not even mentioned. All I can say is WTF?

Welcome, Spring!

TWIT is very happy to welcome spring to 2011. It's been a long time coming, let me tell you.

In honor of spring being here, I urge any of you reading this right now to get off of the computer and outside and enjoy a few moments of spring before it gets too dark. I know that's what I'm getting ready to do.

Link of the Week

With the recent raccoon problem we've had in the garage, a friend sent me a link to a very funny video - it's footage of monkeys at a zoo in Great Britain dismantling a car. Yep, a car. They also rummage through some suitcases, too. Now, after seeing what one raccoon did to our garage, I can totally believe that a group of monkeys like this could tear off the side mirrors and hubcaps, but I think they might have had some help with the tires. Anyhoo, it's pretty funny. Take a look at http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/19/monkeying-around-primates-dismantle-car-at-zoo/?iid=nfmostpopular

Quote Of The Week

This installment of Quote of the Week is brought to us once again by my sweet Mother.
Background: We've been getting tons of marketing phone calls lately. I couldn't remember when our Do Not Call Registry thing expired so after getting annoyed I signed up again the night before last just to make sure. Anyhoo, the following is a transcript of a telemarketing phone call and an awesome Quote of the Week by Mom. They were calling to try and sell us a home security system.

Mom: We already have a home security system.

Telemarketer: May I ask who provides your security system?

Mom: Smith and Wesson

Flashback Friday

This week's Flashback Friday memory doesn't really flash back all that many years - less than 20, to be exact, but it's still something I was reminiscing over today.

My aunt and uncle moved back to Louisville in 1992 when my uncle retired, and the house they bought was less than a half mile from where they used to live. But I digress. My uncle Roy was the biggest sports fan that there ever was - he watched the Braves, Cubs and Reds everytime they were on, and he was a diehard UK fan. And March was his favorite time of the year because of the NCAA basketball tournament. He would fill out a bracket every year and I would pay the $5 to enter into the bracket contest at work, and we would shake hands on splitting the pot if he won. Well, he never won but he always did pretty good. It's no secret that I don't get into the March Madness, but when we had money riding on it, it made it bearable to watch.

On Monday, I was chatting with my cousin in California (uncle Roy's daughter) about how much her dad loved the NCAA tourny. One thing led to another and I suggested that in memory of uncle Roy, she should fill out a bracket and scan it and email it to me and I would pay the $5 and if she won anything, we'd split it. She was all in. Then the rest of the day she and I reminisced about how her dad loved this time of year.

As I checked my brackets and scores for the past two days, I couldn't help but think of uncle Roy and the fun times we had with the NCAA tournament. I know he'd be happy over us entering a bracket and carrying on the family tradition.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Stop The March Madness

It's no secret that this time of year is one of my least favorite times -- NCAA March Madness. I don't get into all of the NCAA tournament games and it just irritates me that they interrupt my favorite TV shows to show all of the basketball games. I guess I won't have any peace until the first of April. All I can say is I'm thankful that ABC doesn't show any of the NCAA games and I can watch "All My Children" episodes in their entirity unless we have a Special News Report that breaks in.

Until then, let me officially say that TWIT does NOT like the NCAA tournament March Madness.

Happy Belated Potato Chip Day

TWIT sincerely apologizes for being a day late in wishing everyone a very happy National Potato Chip Day. It was yesterday, March 14. In case you are just finding out that you missed National Potato Chip day, please take a few minutes later tonight and grab a snack of your favorite potato chips to celebrate. The 'Rents and I will be having some Grippos later on this evening as our snack to celebrate a belated National Potato Chip Day. Please join us in celebrating.

Monday Updates

First and foremost, I'd like to give an update on little Brooklynn. She'll be 8 months old in a couple of weeks and she's doing great. She visited a preemie specialist a few weeks ago who did some tests and other than her being a bit small, everything is ok. Her motor skills are right where they should be and her organs and other parts are growing and developing like they should. From the reports I've gotten, she's eating pretty much anything that isn't nailed down. The family wanted me to thank everyone once again for their prayers for Brooklynn, and they asked that you just keep the prayers coming up.

There's lots of other sad news I could tell right now on Monday Updates, but I'm going to just leave it at it is, and instead be very thankful for little Brooklynn.

Link of the Week

I'm not ashamed to say that I have a fear of losing my cell phone and other electronic gadgets. Fortunately, I've kept them all in my purse or briefcase and am happy to say I've never lost them. I found a site this week that will help me if I ever do lose my cell. It's a site where you can register the serial number of your cell phone, and if you lose your phone, hopefully someone that finds it will look at this site and enter the serial number and find you to give you back your phone. I know, that's a long shot, but it's a pretty good idea. You can check out the site at http://www.serialkiller.mobi.

Phase Two

As I mentioned yesterday, the Master's Degree program is over. And I'm very happy to report that I am entering in what I call Phase Two of my life. I'm going to put my security knowledge and skills to use, and I am in the process of starting my own security consulting business. No, I'm not quitting my day job; this is just something I'm going to do on the side. My emphasis will be on helping churches put together security plans and programs. I won't be doing actual security work; I'll just be telling churches what I think they need to do to keep their congregation and church safe.

It's been a very exciting week for me as things have started to unfold for my business. I've got a name and a logo (I'll be unveiling that in the next couple of weeks), and I've got appointments with a CPA and with the Small Business Development Center next week so I can do all of this the right way.

A lot of people have the big dream of being in business for theirselves, but I can honestly say that's never been a dream of mine. I just feel the need to use my skills and knowledge to help churches be safe. So that's what I'm going to do. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Final Final Project Update

We interupt Flashback Friday to bring you the final Final Project update. Grades have been turned in and I got a 97 on my Master's Thesis. After all those weeks of agonizing and stressing and dealing with the smartass remarks from the professor, I got a 97 on the final project. And final grades have been posted, and I ended up with a 98 for this class. I don't mean to sound uppity or anything like that, but honestly with the way the professor was, I was hoping and praying for a C just to pass the class.

And final final grades are in - I've finished this Master's program with a 4.0 GPA. You have no idea how happy I am tonight and how proud I am of myself. Thank you all so very,very much for all of your support, encouragement and prayers over the last two years while I was working on this degree.

This schooling phase of my life is over, and now the next phase begins.

How High's The Water, Mama?

I couldn't help but quote a Johnny Cash song, "Five Feet High, And Rising." It's very apropos tonight here in the 'Ville and surrounding areas. The Ohio River has risen so much, and will continue to rise until Monday when it is expected to crest - so much that the Horseshoe Casino has evacuated the hotel last night and have closed down the casino this afternoon. So you know there's going to be flooding when they shut down all operations at the casino.

Thank the Lord we're safe and dry here at The Compound. We only had our usual trickle of water in the basement last night; which to me, is a major miracle considering we had 3 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

I'd wanted to go over to the casino boat next week, but with all of this flooding, I'm going to save my money and instead, go buy some Porterhouse steaks and a bottle of good tequila.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Well, we had two days of rain here in the 'Ville. By our estimates, we got over two inches here at The Compound. And just last Monday and Tuesday we got over three inches here. So we're pretty soggy right now. No, not soggy - we're down right wet.

The Ohio River is dangerously high, and yesterday they blocked the road going over the flood wall that leads to the boat ramp. My guess is the water is up over the parking lot at the boat ramp.

But I can't complain too much because of all (key word: all) of the pumps we've sold at work in the past few weeks. Last Monday we had a record day in the history of the company - we had a one day sales of over 23,000 pumps. An average day is less than 2,000. Sure we're swamped (no pun intended) but we're happy. Every time we hear rain drops falling on the roof, it's job security.

Let The Good Times Roll

Today was Fat Tuesday - the day before Ash Wednesday, and down in New Orleans, there's all kinds of debauchery going on today. Here at The Compound, we had our own version of Mardi Gras. Sorry to disappoint, but there wasn't much debauchery going on. In fact, here at The Compound we call it the annual Fat Tuesday Pancake Party.

Here is none other than our favorite canine, Rocky, proudly sporting his Mardi Gras beads at the Fat Tuesday Pancake Party this morning. As you can tell by the look on Rocky's face, a good time was in deed had by all.

Quote Of The Week

Background: We're in the middle of getting everything ready for the annual Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday Pancake Breakfast at The Compound. The table is set, the fancy gold-plated flatware has been shined and polished and set out at the place settings, and above all else, the kitchen and dining room have decorated. I'd venture to guess there are over 100 strands of Mardi Gras beads of all shapes, sizes and colors decorating the kitchen and dining room.

Dad: "This looks worse than a New Orleans whore house."

Mom: "Just how do you know what a New Orleans whore house looks like?"

Nuff said.

Link of the Week

It's that time of the year again, faithful readers. If you've been to the grocery, bank or just about any retail establishment in the past week or so, then you know what I'm talking about: Girl Scout Cookie time. A lot of people don't know that Girl Scout cookies are made at a cookie factory that is about a half mile from where I work. It's normally called Mother's Cookies, but for a few months a year, it becomes Little Brownie Bakery. If you'd like to find out some more info on Girl Scout cookies, visit: http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_history/ and you can read all about the history of the Girl Scout cookies. Now time for a Do-Si-Do.

Security Tip Saturday

Since I'm finished with my Master's Degree in Security Management, I thought I'd put my knowledge to good use for you, faithful readers, so today we begin a new recurring feature in TWIT: "Security Tip Saturday."

The first tip has to do with protecting you and your family with your cell phone. First of all, I will you some things to do, and then I will explain why you need to do them.

• If possible, don't store text messages or voicemail messages on your phone; delete them as soon as you can.
• Clear out your phone history daily.
• Go through your cell phone contacts and change any generic name like "home", "work", "husband/wife", "sweetheart", etc.

If your cell phone is lost or stolen, the thief can read your texts, and if they are good at hacking, can access your voicemail messages. Using that information, they can piece together parts of your life and cause you and your family more trouble. If you haven't cleared out your call history, a thief can see all of the people that you frequently call, and will be able to figure out that those calls are usually to a loved one or place of employment; once again, more information about you falling into a thief's hands. And though it might be far fetched, a really hardcore thief could go through your address book and call your "home" or "work" and tell them that you've been kidnapped, and demand a ransom. Like I said, it seems far fetched but it does happen.

Please take a few minutes today and practice good cell phone hygiene. You'll be glad you did.

Flashback Friday

Freaky Thursday

Something happened this afternoon, faithful readers, that I really didn't see coming. This afternoon at work, I freaked out. Yes, freaked out. I freaked out over the fact that my final exam and my Master's thesis is due soon. Very soon. Very, very soon. After I freaked out in my office and had time to calm down and think, the first question that popped into my mind was "Why didn't I freak out earlier?" The answer is I guess it's because I was too damned busy. Not what I wasn't busy this week -- this was the busiest week at work that I've had in months. So, I guess I really didn't have time to freak out this week.

I guess it was just a culmination of the past two years and a few months of working on this second Master's Degree. I was stressed over classes along the way, but today when I actually thought "it's just about over", I freaked out.

The freaking was unnecessary; at the time I freaked out, the project was about 99% done (all I had to do was insert some things in the Appendix and modify my Table of Contents) and my final exam (which turned out to be 20 pages) was about 90% done. But I freaked out nonetheless.

I called the one person that I knew who could calm me down: Mom. And sure enough, she was able to calm me down in about a minute and a half. And somehow I've managed to stay calm since then.

Final Project Update

I'm not ashamed to admit that I panicked this afternoon when I realized that my Master's Thesis project and my final exam essays and test are due Friday at 1:00, EST. Yes, I knew all along that was the deadline but somehow this afternoon when I was reminded, I had a small anxiety attack, and then gathered my wits and jumped back in.

As I type this, my goal is to have the thesis completely done by the time I go to bed tonight, leaving me only two more questions to do on the final exam tomorrow.

Of course, I'm not saying when I will go to bed. But rest assured the thesis project will be done before I go to bed tonight. Or early tomorrow morning. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Happy March

TWIT would like to wish every one a very happy beginning to March. Here in the 'Ville, March came in like a lamb. If it had come in a day and a half earlier, it sure would have been different, with the storms and tornados we had early Monday morning. Since it came in like a lamb, I don't even want to think ahead of how it could go out like a lion. Till then, I'll just enjoy the nice calm weather.