Day 31
Last day in the series!
Today I went to a concert held by the Decatur County Historical Society and the Greensburg Public Library as part of their "5th Sunday Musicals" series. This was the first one I went to, (There was one in January but I didn't attend) and had to introduce the artist, Emily Ann Thompson, as well as make sure she got her paycheck.
Overall the music was good, not something I'd normally listen too but it definitely did make you think of Ireland and Scotland as well as her playing some Canadian music (sorry Canada other than O'Canada I can't think of any music that makes me think of you, and she didn't play O'Canada). My only complaint is she made funny faces as she was playing, but that was because she was concentrating so hard on the music. She also tapped/stomped to go along with the music, which I imagine to be very difficult to do while playing the fiddle, as well as playing a piece on the piano and banjo.
She was classically trained in violin and while I liked the Celtic music, I think I would have preferred some classical pieces.
It was a nice performance for Decatur County though in an effort to help broaden the culture of the county.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thoughts - history
Day 30
So today I was looking up some information on Decatur County history for some projects I've been working on and thought I'd just share some interesting things I found out while skimming through information...
in 1876 there was a Guy Fawkes style gun powder plot when 3 guys placed a keg of Gunpowder against the courthouse, appears to be no real damage though as they were arrested and then released
St. Paul had an anti-spooning" club at one time, which stood against flirting
I wish I could find out anything more on the "Raven Club" other than this picture of them in the Elk's parade
Contrary to some people's beliefs... there was only one lynching in Decatur County, it was in 1879 and the man was White, he was accused of murder.
St. Omer had their hopes up in the early 1830's that they would become the county seat of a new county carved out of Decatur, Rush and Shelby counties. They even picked a place to build the proposed court house. Politics never worked out and the railroad bypassing the town meant that St. Omer never rose to the prominence that its citizens thought it would.
Decatur County was the setting for a semi-famous book called "The Hoosier School Master" in 1871
1852 was the first county fair, they continued until the 1890's when they were discontinued because the lost money, then a fair board was formed in the early 1900's and rand 5-6 fairs again before they disbanded due to lack of popular support.
Just some random facts
So today I was looking up some information on Decatur County history for some projects I've been working on and thought I'd just share some interesting things I found out while skimming through information...
in 1876 there was a Guy Fawkes style gun powder plot when 3 guys placed a keg of Gunpowder against the courthouse, appears to be no real damage though as they were arrested and then released
St. Paul had an anti-spooning" club at one time, which stood against flirting
I wish I could find out anything more on the "Raven Club" other than this picture of them in the Elk's parade
Contrary to some people's beliefs... there was only one lynching in Decatur County, it was in 1879 and the man was White, he was accused of murder.
St. Omer had their hopes up in the early 1830's that they would become the county seat of a new county carved out of Decatur, Rush and Shelby counties. They even picked a place to build the proposed court house. Politics never worked out and the railroad bypassing the town meant that St. Omer never rose to the prominence that its citizens thought it would.
Decatur County was the setting for a semi-famous book called "The Hoosier School Master" in 1871
1852 was the first county fair, they continued until the 1890's when they were discontinued because the lost money, then a fair board was formed in the early 1900's and rand 5-6 fairs again before they disbanded due to lack of popular support.
Just some random facts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thoughts - Walmart Matching
Day 29
So Erin and I both have been on the look out for deals at grocery stores like Kroger and using them at Walmart. Its a simple process really, you just go up to the cashier and tell them what the other store is offering the product for and they match it... easy as that. Only draw back is you have to wait in line at a human station and not a self-checkout.
You might wonder how trusting Walmart is... the answer is pretty trusting. Erin and I were debating this so I tried a fake deal and saved 50 cents on a product that I just said was on sale. I'm sure they'd ask questions if you tried a bigger discount, but you never know. I wonder how many people rip of Walmart like this?
I was thinking about this today because Erin did find one thing that doesn't work, she tried a buy one get one free deal she found at Kroger and Walmart does not match buy one get one free's
So Erin and I both have been on the look out for deals at grocery stores like Kroger and using them at Walmart. Its a simple process really, you just go up to the cashier and tell them what the other store is offering the product for and they match it... easy as that. Only draw back is you have to wait in line at a human station and not a self-checkout.
You might wonder how trusting Walmart is... the answer is pretty trusting. Erin and I were debating this so I tried a fake deal and saved 50 cents on a product that I just said was on sale. I'm sure they'd ask questions if you tried a bigger discount, but you never know. I wonder how many people rip of Walmart like this?
I was thinking about this today because Erin did find one thing that doesn't work, she tried a buy one get one free deal she found at Kroger and Walmart does not match buy one get one free's
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thoughts - Window
Day 28
Every night when I drive home from Erin's I drive past the old Sandusky high school and look at the windows in the back of the building. There are a couple of the windows that don't have curtains covering them and for some reason I expect that I'm going to see someone standing at the window one of these nights. So every night I look and of course have yet to see anything. Which is good I guess as it would seem kind of ghostly if it happened. Just the way the building looks and everything it would certainly be creepy to see someone standing there looking out at me.
I must say though that since the house is now used as a residence there is somewhat plausible chance that this could happen. I was just thinking its sort of weird that I feel compelled to look up at those windows every night I drive past. I don't think I really believe in ghost, but I won't rule out the thought they could exhist and even have a little story that I can tell about the window in my dorm room opening itself when I was a Freshman at Purdue.
Must just be another strange thing I do
Every night when I drive home from Erin's I drive past the old Sandusky high school and look at the windows in the back of the building. There are a couple of the windows that don't have curtains covering them and for some reason I expect that I'm going to see someone standing at the window one of these nights. So every night I look and of course have yet to see anything. Which is good I guess as it would seem kind of ghostly if it happened. Just the way the building looks and everything it would certainly be creepy to see someone standing there looking out at me.
I must say though that since the house is now used as a residence there is somewhat plausible chance that this could happen. I was just thinking its sort of weird that I feel compelled to look up at those windows every night I drive past. I don't think I really believe in ghost, but I won't rule out the thought they could exhist and even have a little story that I can tell about the window in my dorm room opening itself when I was a Freshman at Purdue.
Must just be another strange thing I do
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thoughts - stumbling through the internet
Day 27
So today Erin asked me to cook dinner and I was going a seemlingly innocent google search for side dishes to go with what I am thinking about making as the main course: Lemon Pepper Chicken.
I click open several tabs of message board conversations and begin glancing through them, most have the same old suggestions of garlic mashed potatos and rice. But as I was beginning to close out all of my tabs I noticed that the one I had been reading the most had a logo that talked about White Pride...
I told Steve I thought I had stumbled upon a White Pride website while looking for cooking advice... he encouraged me to look further into the site and yes, I had infact stumbled upon a White Pride community with a message board they bragged had over 7 million post.....
Looking through their topics it looks like they discuss just about anything and everything... but its funny to think that its so easy to stumble upon these whole other worlds on the internet, it really does open up worlds people might not find otherwise.
I guess White people really like Lemon Pepper Chicken?
So today Erin asked me to cook dinner and I was going a seemlingly innocent google search for side dishes to go with what I am thinking about making as the main course: Lemon Pepper Chicken.
I click open several tabs of message board conversations and begin glancing through them, most have the same old suggestions of garlic mashed potatos and rice. But as I was beginning to close out all of my tabs I noticed that the one I had been reading the most had a logo that talked about White Pride...
I told Steve I thought I had stumbled upon a White Pride website while looking for cooking advice... he encouraged me to look further into the site and yes, I had infact stumbled upon a White Pride community with a message board they bragged had over 7 million post.....
Looking through their topics it looks like they discuss just about anything and everything... but its funny to think that its so easy to stumble upon these whole other worlds on the internet, it really does open up worlds people might not find otherwise.
I guess White people really like Lemon Pepper Chicken?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thoughts - Ice Machine
Day 26
So todays thought was inspired by a lady at the Circle K trying to buy a polar pop... and the thought is wow... some people are desparte to get the good "crunchy" ice in their poplar pops here in Greensburg.
So I walk into the Circle K planning on getting a polar pop, and notice a lady trying to get ice out of the one side of the machine... though the sound I hear is that it is out of ice. (like usual, the good side is almost always out of ice or out of order) I stop to look at the potato chips, Molten Lava Buffalo Wing Ruffles in particular, and begin to debate if I just want to grab a bag of chips for lunch, or head into town and grab a sandwhich.
Meanwhile, this lady is still trying to get ice out of the machine... she'll press the cup to the ice, grrrrr the machine grinds for about 5-6 seconds and you here maybe a piece of ice fall out into her cup, and she waits for 10-15 seconds then once again presses the cup to the machine grrrrrr it grinds again... and repeats this process over and over.
I finally grab the bag of chips and walk down the next isle slowly and then take my place in line to get a drink, and hear her talking on the phone to someone about how she is at the Circle K and they are out of ice as usual... and has a grumpy look on her face... all the while trying to squeaze some more ice out of the machine... seriously she could have maybe 7-8 pieces of ice in there total and I'd guess she's been trying to get ice out of it for 5-6 minutes by now as she was there before I came in.
Eventually Its my turn to get a drink and I fill my cup with some diet Pepsi and am putting the lid on when she turns to me and says "stupid things out of ice"
to which I reply... it says its out of order... pointing to the red sign that does infact state the machine is out of order...
However, she just continues "It always says that" and gives a sigh of displeasure as I walk away thinking how sad is it that you keep trying to get ice from the machine that is clearly out of it....
I wait in line to pay for my drink and chips and she is still there trying to get ice as I leave the store...
Just a sad waste of time really... what did she expect to happen? it magicaly start working and produce some ice for her?
So todays thought was inspired by a lady at the Circle K trying to buy a polar pop... and the thought is wow... some people are desparte to get the good "crunchy" ice in their poplar pops here in Greensburg.
So I walk into the Circle K planning on getting a polar pop, and notice a lady trying to get ice out of the one side of the machine... though the sound I hear is that it is out of ice. (like usual, the good side is almost always out of ice or out of order) I stop to look at the potato chips, Molten Lava Buffalo Wing Ruffles in particular, and begin to debate if I just want to grab a bag of chips for lunch, or head into town and grab a sandwhich.
Meanwhile, this lady is still trying to get ice out of the machine... she'll press the cup to the ice, grrrrr the machine grinds for about 5-6 seconds and you here maybe a piece of ice fall out into her cup, and she waits for 10-15 seconds then once again presses the cup to the machine grrrrrr it grinds again... and repeats this process over and over.
I finally grab the bag of chips and walk down the next isle slowly and then take my place in line to get a drink, and hear her talking on the phone to someone about how she is at the Circle K and they are out of ice as usual... and has a grumpy look on her face... all the while trying to squeaze some more ice out of the machine... seriously she could have maybe 7-8 pieces of ice in there total and I'd guess she's been trying to get ice out of it for 5-6 minutes by now as she was there before I came in.
Eventually Its my turn to get a drink and I fill my cup with some diet Pepsi and am putting the lid on when she turns to me and says "stupid things out of ice"
to which I reply... it says its out of order... pointing to the red sign that does infact state the machine is out of order...
However, she just continues "It always says that" and gives a sigh of displeasure as I walk away thinking how sad is it that you keep trying to get ice from the machine that is clearly out of it....
I wait in line to pay for my drink and chips and she is still there trying to get ice as I leave the store...
Just a sad waste of time really... what did she expect to happen? it magicaly start working and produce some ice for her?
Monday, July 25, 2011
Thoughts- Days of the Week
Day 25
I was thinking about the names of the days of the week tonight, I was remembering how Thor's day became Thursday and was based on that mythology/religion and I knew that the other days names had a significant tie in as well. I was vaguely remembering/thinking something about Zues and Tuesday (however this proved to be a false/made up memory). So in order to satify myself I had to take the time and look up the connections again.
Sunday - The Sun's day... wow should have remembered that!
Monday - The Moon's day
Tuesday - Tiu's Day - god of war/sky for enflish/germanic peoples
Wednesday - Woden's Day - Leader of the hunt
Thursday - Thor's day! the one everyone knows...
Friday - Freya's Day - goddess of love/beauty
Saturday - Saturn's Day - Roman god of agriculture
Stolen from a website as I did more looking into this...
"The Greeks named the days week after the sun, the moon and the five known planets, which were in turn named after the gods Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronus. The Greeks called the days of the week the Theon hemerai "days of the Gods". The Romans substituted their equivalent gods for the Greek gods, Mars, Mercury, Jove (Jupiter), Venus, and Saturn. (The two pantheons are very similar.) The Germanic peoples generally substituted roughly similar gods for the Roman gods, Tiu (Twia), Woden, Thor, Freya (Fria), but did not substitute Saturn."
http://www.crowl.org/lawrence/time/days.html
So its intersting that the three major European groups picked what ideal each day stood for and basically plugged in their god for that ideal... we just happened to use the germanic/english/norse gods because we speak English.
I was thinking about the names of the days of the week tonight, I was remembering how Thor's day became Thursday and was based on that mythology/religion and I knew that the other days names had a significant tie in as well. I was vaguely remembering/thinking something about Zues and Tuesday (however this proved to be a false/made up memory). So in order to satify myself I had to take the time and look up the connections again.
Sunday - The Sun's day... wow should have remembered that!
Monday - The Moon's day
Tuesday - Tiu's Day - god of war/sky for enflish/germanic peoples
Wednesday - Woden's Day - Leader of the hunt
Thursday - Thor's day! the one everyone knows...
Friday - Freya's Day - goddess of love/beauty
Saturday - Saturn's Day - Roman god of agriculture
Stolen from a website as I did more looking into this...
"The Greeks named the days week after the sun, the moon and the five known planets, which were in turn named after the gods Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronus. The Greeks called the days of the week the Theon hemerai "days of the Gods". The Romans substituted their equivalent gods for the Greek gods, Mars, Mercury, Jove (Jupiter), Venus, and Saturn. (The two pantheons are very similar.) The Germanic peoples generally substituted roughly similar gods for the Roman gods, Tiu (Twia), Woden, Thor, Freya (Fria), but did not substitute Saturn."
http://www.crowl.org/lawrence/time/days.html
So its intersting that the three major European groups picked what ideal each day stood for and basically plugged in their god for that ideal... we just happened to use the germanic/english/norse gods because we speak English.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thoughts - Water
Day 24
So today was our big canoe trip day! We had a few people back out at the last minute on us, but we still had a great group and excellent time. Erin, Joe, Scott, Kris, Katy and myself made up the adventuring party. I'll probably take time to write up a whole post about the trip here in a day or two though saddly I don't think we will have any pictures.
Anyway my thought for the day is how people aren't grossed out about some of the junk in water as long as other people are swimming it... I mean really that water isn't that clean... I'm sure kids pee in it, fish poop in it, other wildlife poops in it, there was a lot of beer poured in it by those drunk kids, moss, algea, trash..... you get the picture. But people go running out of a pool if its a little bit dirty... or if someone urinates in it.
Why is this?
Is it because we can't see the dirt? Doubtful because you can...
Is it because this is more "natural"?
Is it because we can just forget about it if others are having fun?
I don't know... just my thought for the day
So today was our big canoe trip day! We had a few people back out at the last minute on us, but we still had a great group and excellent time. Erin, Joe, Scott, Kris, Katy and myself made up the adventuring party. I'll probably take time to write up a whole post about the trip here in a day or two though saddly I don't think we will have any pictures.
Anyway my thought for the day is how people aren't grossed out about some of the junk in water as long as other people are swimming it... I mean really that water isn't that clean... I'm sure kids pee in it, fish poop in it, other wildlife poops in it, there was a lot of beer poured in it by those drunk kids, moss, algea, trash..... you get the picture. But people go running out of a pool if its a little bit dirty... or if someone urinates in it.
Why is this?
Is it because we can't see the dirt? Doubtful because you can...
Is it because this is more "natural"?
Is it because we can just forget about it if others are having fun?
I don't know... just my thought for the day
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thoughts - Wallet
Day 23
So I can't find my wallet today, ugh, it pretty much upset my entire afternoon and unfortunately lead to Erin and I being grumpy with each other tonight.
I've never lost my wallet before, my phone yes, but wallet no.
I'm not even really worried about the money that was in the wallet (60 odd dollars), its just the pain in the butt it would be to replace my debit card, the fear that the debit card is going to get used before then if it was found by someone else, have to replace my SS card (yes I know I shouldn't have it in there). I don't think there is anything else important in there, but it'll just be a pain as its probably things I would miss until I need them.
Anyway I have run around the house searching multiple times, checked Erin's car, called Love's gas station where I last had it, all to no avail. I've had the wallet since I was 16, bought it from a black guy at the Brookville fleamarket. I'll admit it is falling apart and I need to get a new one, I guess this is just the sign that I should.
UPDATE: So when I went out this morning to feed/water the chickens I saw dollar bills on the sidewalk, after a long walk all around the yard I was able to find all of the contents of my wallet and eventually Sparky even brought my wallet to me... it must have falled out when I was feeding yesterday morning and he found it last night and "played" with it.... I think I found everything, I might be missing a dollar or two but no biggie there I'm just glad I got all the contents back! I will need a new wallet though.
So I can't find my wallet today, ugh, it pretty much upset my entire afternoon and unfortunately lead to Erin and I being grumpy with each other tonight.
I've never lost my wallet before, my phone yes, but wallet no.
I'm not even really worried about the money that was in the wallet (60 odd dollars), its just the pain in the butt it would be to replace my debit card, the fear that the debit card is going to get used before then if it was found by someone else, have to replace my SS card (yes I know I shouldn't have it in there). I don't think there is anything else important in there, but it'll just be a pain as its probably things I would miss until I need them.
Anyway I have run around the house searching multiple times, checked Erin's car, called Love's gas station where I last had it, all to no avail. I've had the wallet since I was 16, bought it from a black guy at the Brookville fleamarket. I'll admit it is falling apart and I need to get a new one, I guess this is just the sign that I should.
UPDATE: So when I went out this morning to feed/water the chickens I saw dollar bills on the sidewalk, after a long walk all around the yard I was able to find all of the contents of my wallet and eventually Sparky even brought my wallet to me... it must have falled out when I was feeding yesterday morning and he found it last night and "played" with it.... I think I found everything, I might be missing a dollar or two but no biggie there I'm just glad I got all the contents back! I will need a new wallet though.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thoughts - Sweet Corn
Day 22
With my parents leaving tomorrow morning for Disney World and my Grandparents leaving for Michigan as well I'm being put in charge of feeding all of the livestock this week. Not that big of a deal really, as we don't have very much livestock. Just feed/water the chickens, plus collect the eggs. Take care of our Dogs and Cats, and then for Grandpa I have to feed his mule and horse and his cat.
I was up at my Grandma and Grandpa's today having him show me what he wanted done to take care of the horse and mule while he was gone and we walked down and looked at his garden, (his garden was looking pretty good, he was proud of his tobbacco plants). and then out to the corn field to check on the patch of sweet corn. The sweet corn wasn't looking that good because the coons have been in it, which is usually the problem since they don't have a dog up their to keep them out.
Anyway the sweet corn got me thinking about how my Dad's side of the family used to go crazy for that stuff, my dad talks about how when he was little they'd have days where all that Grandma cooked was sweet corn and then tomatoes on the side.... so he and his brother would eat 18-20 ears a piece. That seems crazy but when I was little I remember us being out in the front yard shucking a ton of corn and then having meals of just sweet corn ourselves though I never got close to 18 years I used to do over 10 easy by myself.
We don't eat that much sweet corn anymore, seems like we are busy when it comes on in the summer, and I know my mom, sister and myself don't like it as much as Dad. But being out their just brought up some good memories.
With my parents leaving tomorrow morning for Disney World and my Grandparents leaving for Michigan as well I'm being put in charge of feeding all of the livestock this week. Not that big of a deal really, as we don't have very much livestock. Just feed/water the chickens, plus collect the eggs. Take care of our Dogs and Cats, and then for Grandpa I have to feed his mule and horse and his cat.
I was up at my Grandma and Grandpa's today having him show me what he wanted done to take care of the horse and mule while he was gone and we walked down and looked at his garden, (his garden was looking pretty good, he was proud of his tobbacco plants). and then out to the corn field to check on the patch of sweet corn. The sweet corn wasn't looking that good because the coons have been in it, which is usually the problem since they don't have a dog up their to keep them out.
Anyway the sweet corn got me thinking about how my Dad's side of the family used to go crazy for that stuff, my dad talks about how when he was little they'd have days where all that Grandma cooked was sweet corn and then tomatoes on the side.... so he and his brother would eat 18-20 ears a piece. That seems crazy but when I was little I remember us being out in the front yard shucking a ton of corn and then having meals of just sweet corn ourselves though I never got close to 18 years I used to do over 10 easy by myself.
We don't eat that much sweet corn anymore, seems like we are busy when it comes on in the summer, and I know my mom, sister and myself don't like it as much as Dad. But being out their just brought up some good memories.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thoughts - Asian Massage
Day 21
So many of my readers may know that Greensburg, Indiana has an Asian Massage place... for those of you outside the Greensburg area may be thinking... so what? Well Greensburg isn't exactly the type of town where you would expect one to be... let alone the fact that it is located behind a trucking company. The whole thing just looks shady. I've often pondered if it was a legitimate business while driving down Lincoln and noticing its sign. Well I just recently saw that they now have a billboard ad on I-74... The whole thing just seems like its a police trap or a underground ring of some sort. I wish I had the extra money to go investigate this, as it is making me wonder more and more about it when I drive past now that I know they have a billboard.
So many of my readers may know that Greensburg, Indiana has an Asian Massage place... for those of you outside the Greensburg area may be thinking... so what? Well Greensburg isn't exactly the type of town where you would expect one to be... let alone the fact that it is located behind a trucking company. The whole thing just looks shady. I've often pondered if it was a legitimate business while driving down Lincoln and noticing its sign. Well I just recently saw that they now have a billboard ad on I-74... The whole thing just seems like its a police trap or a underground ring of some sort. I wish I had the extra money to go investigate this, as it is making me wonder more and more about it when I drive past now that I know they have a billboard.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thoughts - Harry Potter
Day 20
The last week or so Facebook and other social media has been flooded with post from people in my age range and younger lamenting the end of the last of their childhood now that Harry Potter is over. Maybe I'm insensitive because I wasn't a big Harry Potter fan growing up, but all this just seems silly to me.
First, the last book came out over 5+ years ago (too lazy to look it up)... so shouldn't they have felt this way then? Maybe they did and it was just that facebook wasn't that popular then so I didn't have to read about everyone complain about it.
Second, why can't they go back and still remember it just as fondly? I mean I have went back and watched all of the G.I. Joe series from the 80's because I liked G.I. Joe when I was a kid. Sure some things are best left in nostalgia... but books tend to hold up much longer, and if its truely a classic it can stand the test of time.
Finally, I'm usually pumped up for the grand finale of things... it seems like the Harry Potter fans where pumped up until about 2 weeks before the movie came out then turned into a bunch of depressed woe is me, my childhood is gone, babies who need attention and condolences from other fans that they are all in the same boat.
Blah sorry todays thought was a rant.
P.S. the movie was pretty good, so this shouldn't be taken as an attack on the Harry Potter series.
The last week or so Facebook and other social media has been flooded with post from people in my age range and younger lamenting the end of the last of their childhood now that Harry Potter is over. Maybe I'm insensitive because I wasn't a big Harry Potter fan growing up, but all this just seems silly to me.
First, the last book came out over 5+ years ago (too lazy to look it up)... so shouldn't they have felt this way then? Maybe they did and it was just that facebook wasn't that popular then so I didn't have to read about everyone complain about it.
Second, why can't they go back and still remember it just as fondly? I mean I have went back and watched all of the G.I. Joe series from the 80's because I liked G.I. Joe when I was a kid. Sure some things are best left in nostalgia... but books tend to hold up much longer, and if its truely a classic it can stand the test of time.
Finally, I'm usually pumped up for the grand finale of things... it seems like the Harry Potter fans where pumped up until about 2 weeks before the movie came out then turned into a bunch of depressed woe is me, my childhood is gone, babies who need attention and condolences from other fans that they are all in the same boat.
Blah sorry todays thought was a rant.
P.S. the movie was pretty good, so this shouldn't be taken as an attack on the Harry Potter series.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thoughts - library
Day 19
I had to go to the library to set something up for work today and was thinking about how long its been since I have used the Greensburg Public Library. I really like the idea of the library but I don't read that much and most of my reading is actually done through audiobooks. Most of the people I work with though are regular patrons of the library and thus huge advocates. I was thinking maybe I should try reading more real hard copy books?
Though I guess I should pay off my 10 cent fine I have from a couple years back :|
I had to go to the library to set something up for work today and was thinking about how long its been since I have used the Greensburg Public Library. I really like the idea of the library but I don't read that much and most of my reading is actually done through audiobooks. Most of the people I work with though are regular patrons of the library and thus huge advocates. I was thinking maybe I should try reading more real hard copy books?
Though I guess I should pay off my 10 cent fine I have from a couple years back :|
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thoughts - Cursive
Day 18
So if you haven't heard Indiana is dropping the teaching of Cursive writing from its curriculum, this is a decision that has been in discussion a lot recently at work. As a lot of our regulars think that dropping cursive is a horrible thing. This means I've been defending the decision a lot lately, as I don't find it to be a big deal. I honestly haven't written in cursive as a regular thing since Jr. High, I guess the easiest way to best cover this subject is to list arguments I've heard and what I consider a decent rebuttal to them.
*note these are all real questions I've defended
1.) How will people sign checks?
Checks are quickly becoming a thing of the past with online payments, debit cards, and many businesses refusing personal checks... but even if you have to write a check... banks will accept a printed signature, I've seen it done before.
2.) What about just signing their names for legal documents?
A signature is just a personal mark that is unique to you... people used to sign with just an X, infact not that long ago they did things like that. Also a lot of banks do thumbprints and such on important documents/big checks now days so I could see that becoming a quick easy replacement, which is even more secure... that more complicated would be the governemnet computer chiping us! (just kidding)
3.) Cursive is faster way to write.
So was shorthand, but no one teaches that anymore... Also most people who have grown up typing all of their lives can type just as fast if not faster than they can write.
4.) What are kids going to do carry a computer with them everywhere to type?
Well with tablets like the Ipad quickly catching on, whats hard to image about all the kids carrying one to school like a notebook or slate (if we are going way back for a reference) here in 15-20 years?
5.) How will kids read cursive?
As I've heard the Declaration of Independance was written in cursive... how will kids read documents like that! Answer is that if its really important it'll be translated into print form... if its not that univerally needed it'll be like any other research project, if you need to know you'll make the effort to learn how to read it. Try picking up and reading some handwritten notes by famous historical figures who wrote in script... won't be that easy. Honestly working at the Historical Socierty and having to decipher writing from just 100 years ago isn't that easy and has a bit of a learning curve to it, this is something people will figure out if they need to know how to read cursive. In your daily life you probably don't read any cursive writing.
6.) We are losing a language!
Cursive is just callagraphy of the roman alphabet... so its just drawing letters all nice looking... we aren't losing a language.. we are losing a font. If Helvetica disappeared I don't think people would be crying... and some people already hate Comic Sans...
7.) Cursive is an art form!
Dang, you got me there... yes it looks prettier to some people? It is a type of calligraphy and thats never really died out.
So if you haven't heard Indiana is dropping the teaching of Cursive writing from its curriculum, this is a decision that has been in discussion a lot recently at work. As a lot of our regulars think that dropping cursive is a horrible thing. This means I've been defending the decision a lot lately, as I don't find it to be a big deal. I honestly haven't written in cursive as a regular thing since Jr. High, I guess the easiest way to best cover this subject is to list arguments I've heard and what I consider a decent rebuttal to them.
*note these are all real questions I've defended
1.) How will people sign checks?
Checks are quickly becoming a thing of the past with online payments, debit cards, and many businesses refusing personal checks... but even if you have to write a check... banks will accept a printed signature, I've seen it done before.
2.) What about just signing their names for legal documents?
A signature is just a personal mark that is unique to you... people used to sign with just an X, infact not that long ago they did things like that. Also a lot of banks do thumbprints and such on important documents/big checks now days so I could see that becoming a quick easy replacement, which is even more secure... that more complicated would be the governemnet computer chiping us! (just kidding)
3.) Cursive is faster way to write.
So was shorthand, but no one teaches that anymore... Also most people who have grown up typing all of their lives can type just as fast if not faster than they can write.
4.) What are kids going to do carry a computer with them everywhere to type?
Well with tablets like the Ipad quickly catching on, whats hard to image about all the kids carrying one to school like a notebook or slate (if we are going way back for a reference) here in 15-20 years?
5.) How will kids read cursive?
As I've heard the Declaration of Independance was written in cursive... how will kids read documents like that! Answer is that if its really important it'll be translated into print form... if its not that univerally needed it'll be like any other research project, if you need to know you'll make the effort to learn how to read it. Try picking up and reading some handwritten notes by famous historical figures who wrote in script... won't be that easy. Honestly working at the Historical Socierty and having to decipher writing from just 100 years ago isn't that easy and has a bit of a learning curve to it, this is something people will figure out if they need to know how to read cursive. In your daily life you probably don't read any cursive writing.
6.) We are losing a language!
Cursive is just callagraphy of the roman alphabet... so its just drawing letters all nice looking... we aren't losing a language.. we are losing a font. If Helvetica disappeared I don't think people would be crying... and some people already hate Comic Sans...
7.) Cursive is an art form!
Dang, you got me there... yes it looks prettier to some people? It is a type of calligraphy and thats never really died out.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Thoughts - Drive-In
Day 17
Last night Erin and I went to the Skyline Drive-In to see Harry Potter and then the second feature which was the Zookeeper. This was my first time ever going to the drive-in, lots of people have told me throughtout the years that I should go sometime and that its a good experience. I had mostly resisted knowing that the picture quality/sound quality is better in a movie theatre. However, the skyline is a really good deal price wise and Erin didn't want to go to a crowded theatre since this was Harry Potter's opening weekend, being the final film we knew it would be crowded.
The website said to get there at 7... so we did.... and well we had a nice long wait, since we had to wait till it was dark (9:45ish) before it started. The quality of the movie was better than I thought it would be and the speakers in my car hold up well soundwise. One thing you don't really evade is your neighbors... Erin was worried about being in a crowded area... it wasn't crowded but we could hear the people on one side of us talking/opening their car door a lot and the people on the other side chain smoked the whole time, though smoking doesn't really bother me I could see it really bothering some other people.
My only real complaint was how late it is when that second movie ends... We didn't get back to my house until after 2 A.M. but as the year goes on that will change once its get dark sooner... I will say Erin and I will go be going back in the future, on nights when they play 2 movies we want to see... well we just can't beat that value.
Last night Erin and I went to the Skyline Drive-In to see Harry Potter and then the second feature which was the Zookeeper. This was my first time ever going to the drive-in, lots of people have told me throughtout the years that I should go sometime and that its a good experience. I had mostly resisted knowing that the picture quality/sound quality is better in a movie theatre. However, the skyline is a really good deal price wise and Erin didn't want to go to a crowded theatre since this was Harry Potter's opening weekend, being the final film we knew it would be crowded.
The website said to get there at 7... so we did.... and well we had a nice long wait, since we had to wait till it was dark (9:45ish) before it started. The quality of the movie was better than I thought it would be and the speakers in my car hold up well soundwise. One thing you don't really evade is your neighbors... Erin was worried about being in a crowded area... it wasn't crowded but we could hear the people on one side of us talking/opening their car door a lot and the people on the other side chain smoked the whole time, though smoking doesn't really bother me I could see it really bothering some other people.
My only real complaint was how late it is when that second movie ends... We didn't get back to my house until after 2 A.M. but as the year goes on that will change once its get dark sooner... I will say Erin and I will go be going back in the future, on nights when they play 2 movies we want to see... well we just can't beat that value.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thoughts - Lazy Days
Day 16
So I slept in really late today... it wasn't until noon that Erin and I were both up and moving. I like feeling really well rested and it seems like that has to mean sleeping in some days since I prefer to stay up late than to go to bed early.
It just seems like so much of the day is wasted when you aren't up in the morning, however, on morning I don't have to do anything I often just waste them watching TV and playing on my computer. So I guess I really shouldn't feel like sleeping in so late is a waste of a day.
So I slept in really late today... it wasn't until noon that Erin and I were both up and moving. I like feeling really well rested and it seems like that has to mean sleeping in some days since I prefer to stay up late than to go to bed early.
It just seems like so much of the day is wasted when you aren't up in the morning, however, on morning I don't have to do anything I often just waste them watching TV and playing on my computer. So I guess I really shouldn't feel like sleeping in so late is a waste of a day.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thoughts - County Fair
Day 15
So yesterday I was thinking about how big of an event the County Fair is here in Decatur County. It is the one event that pretty much everyone in Decatur County attends the fair at least one day. Even some of the people who I work with who claim they hate fairs attended the fair at least one day this week. It's interesting how everyone (for better or worse) comes out to the fair. I was thinking that there isn't really another event like it that could even really be created around here... People come to see and be seen... but you have to have a lot of people showing up for that to happen... it happens at the fair because of tradition, food, and stuff for the kids... what else could do that in Decatur County? I don't know.
So yesterday I was thinking about how big of an event the County Fair is here in Decatur County. It is the one event that pretty much everyone in Decatur County attends the fair at least one day. Even some of the people who I work with who claim they hate fairs attended the fair at least one day this week. It's interesting how everyone (for better or worse) comes out to the fair. I was thinking that there isn't really another event like it that could even really be created around here... People come to see and be seen... but you have to have a lot of people showing up for that to happen... it happens at the fair because of tradition, food, and stuff for the kids... what else could do that in Decatur County? I don't know.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thoughts - netflix
Day 14
Netflix has announced a price increase, which was a topic of discussion between Erin and I since we both have Netflix accounts and were trying to decide what route we should take with our subscriptions as we both are on a tight budget. As it is now we both have 2 disc out subscriptions with unlimited streaming for 15 bucks a piece but that will go up to 20 . I don't stream so I could cut that out and drop my price, but I want to make sure Erin can stream so we talked about me keeping streaming and going to one disc and her staying at one disc. She doesn't want to lose all of her Que so doesn't want to lose her subscription. I'm thinking of just canceling my account and giving erin a few dollars everymonth to keep some of my movies on her list and share he subscription. Choices Choices.
Netflix has announced a price increase, which was a topic of discussion between Erin and I since we both have Netflix accounts and were trying to decide what route we should take with our subscriptions as we both are on a tight budget. As it is now we both have 2 disc out subscriptions with unlimited streaming for 15 bucks a piece but that will go up to 20 . I don't stream so I could cut that out and drop my price, but I want to make sure Erin can stream so we talked about me keeping streaming and going to one disc and her staying at one disc. She doesn't want to lose all of her Que so doesn't want to lose her subscription. I'm thinking of just canceling my account and giving erin a few dollars everymonth to keep some of my movies on her list and share he subscription. Choices Choices.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Thoughts - Haircut
Day 13
Today I got my haircut for the first time since April (before Easter), yes I was long past due. I hate paying $12 + tip for a haircut that is so simple to do (takes like 5 mins). So I lost like an inch and a half to two inches of hair in one quick swoop of of a clipper. To be honest I had started to like my longer hair... now that its buzzed down I don't know if I will go this short again for awhile. Maybe this will be a big shift in my hair styles? I guess I'll see in a month or two when its time to get another haircut. I won't be able to wait as long between cuts if I decide to let it stay longer. Last hair style change I made I guess would have been 2 years ago when I decided I liked my sideburns.
Today I got my haircut for the first time since April (before Easter), yes I was long past due. I hate paying $12 + tip for a haircut that is so simple to do (takes like 5 mins). So I lost like an inch and a half to two inches of hair in one quick swoop of of a clipper. To be honest I had started to like my longer hair... now that its buzzed down I don't know if I will go this short again for awhile. Maybe this will be a big shift in my hair styles? I guess I'll see in a month or two when its time to get another haircut. I won't be able to wait as long between cuts if I decide to let it stay longer. Last hair style change I made I guess would have been 2 years ago when I decided I liked my sideburns.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Thoughts - Grants
Day 12
So at work I was printing off this Grant Completion form I need to fill out and send in so that we receive the Grant money the Historical Society was rewarded to host the Appraisal Show last month. While doing this I was thinking about all the different viewpoints I have heard about Grants the last few weeks.... and I think I can break them down into 3 different ways of viewing grants.
1) The are free money!
This is true sometimes... but most of the time this is false. If they come from a charitable foundation then yes they are free money, well maybe not free but money an individual, group of individuals, or a business has provided with no direct cost to you or your neighbors. Most of the time though this is just plan false and that grants are paid for by taxpayer money thus... we are all actually paying for the project. Take the project on the Greensburg square on Broadway. That is being funded by a State grant, everyone in Indiana who pays taxes helped pay to redo that section of road.
2) Grants are bad! We all pay for that!
As i said there are quite a few grants funded through community foundations and charitable organizations and I don't think these are bad at all... in fact they are quite helpful for small organizations to provide events and services to the community. That said we probably spend too much State and Federal money on some of these projects. It seems like some of these projects should be high up on the chopping block in the current budget deficit talks. I know many people who come in here would like to do away with all government funded grants, and I agree that a lot of them should be cut.
3) We paid for the grant so we might as well spend it on something stupid here, rather than on something stupid 2 hours from here.
This for the most part is where I fall... sure the City of Greensburg sign that just went up on Lincoln street may not have been the wisest way to spend some of the grant money. (I'll stand by the fact that I like the sign, just not the post on the other side of the road) However, I'd much rather have paid for that sign that a sign in Elkhart, Rushville, or French Lick. If the grants are out there I'd like them to go to things that affect me.
So at work I was printing off this Grant Completion form I need to fill out and send in so that we receive the Grant money the Historical Society was rewarded to host the Appraisal Show last month. While doing this I was thinking about all the different viewpoints I have heard about Grants the last few weeks.... and I think I can break them down into 3 different ways of viewing grants.
1) The are free money!
This is true sometimes... but most of the time this is false. If they come from a charitable foundation then yes they are free money, well maybe not free but money an individual, group of individuals, or a business has provided with no direct cost to you or your neighbors. Most of the time though this is just plan false and that grants are paid for by taxpayer money thus... we are all actually paying for the project. Take the project on the Greensburg square on Broadway. That is being funded by a State grant, everyone in Indiana who pays taxes helped pay to redo that section of road.
2) Grants are bad! We all pay for that!
As i said there are quite a few grants funded through community foundations and charitable organizations and I don't think these are bad at all... in fact they are quite helpful for small organizations to provide events and services to the community. That said we probably spend too much State and Federal money on some of these projects. It seems like some of these projects should be high up on the chopping block in the current budget deficit talks. I know many people who come in here would like to do away with all government funded grants, and I agree that a lot of them should be cut.
3) We paid for the grant so we might as well spend it on something stupid here, rather than on something stupid 2 hours from here.
This for the most part is where I fall... sure the City of Greensburg sign that just went up on Lincoln street may not have been the wisest way to spend some of the grant money. (I'll stand by the fact that I like the sign, just not the post on the other side of the road) However, I'd much rather have paid for that sign that a sign in Elkhart, Rushville, or French Lick. If the grants are out there I'd like them to go to things that affect me.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Thoughts - Apartment
Day 11
So today I was chatting with my friend Steve about how he and his girlfriend were apartment hunting and how much he was hating the search. I was thinking back to when I had to find an apartment a couple years ago for when I was working at the Candlewood Suites in Indianapolis. To be honest I didn't really hate looking that much, I just hated the thought of having to spend all the money for some place to live. The looking around wasn't too bad... I did most of it online and then mapped it out and drove around, most places I didn't even go to the office at after seeing them in person.
I did have a major advantage over him though in that I was moving to Indianapolis and he is looking in Franklin so less options and probably more individualy owend properties, which means less stuff listed on the internet.
What I found to be the most frustrating thing was that the prices weren't always as listed.... they'd often be sold out of that type... or only have that rate for low income renters... which those did suck because you went out there listened to their talk and then get hit with what you weren't expecting.
I wish him the best of luck in his quest though.
So today I was chatting with my friend Steve about how he and his girlfriend were apartment hunting and how much he was hating the search. I was thinking back to when I had to find an apartment a couple years ago for when I was working at the Candlewood Suites in Indianapolis. To be honest I didn't really hate looking that much, I just hated the thought of having to spend all the money for some place to live. The looking around wasn't too bad... I did most of it online and then mapped it out and drove around, most places I didn't even go to the office at after seeing them in person.
I did have a major advantage over him though in that I was moving to Indianapolis and he is looking in Franklin so less options and probably more individualy owend properties, which means less stuff listed on the internet.
What I found to be the most frustrating thing was that the prices weren't always as listed.... they'd often be sold out of that type... or only have that rate for low income renters... which those did suck because you went out there listened to their talk and then get hit with what you weren't expecting.
I wish him the best of luck in his quest though.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Wonderful Week
So a week ago Sunday, Erin and I headed to the Indianapolis Airport to pick up her Mom and Step-Dad who were visiting her last week for her birthday. I'll admit that I had been getting nervous about meeting her Mom as the week approached, as her Mom is her favorite person in the world I wanted to make sure I made a good impression. However, though I was nervous I think Erin was even more stressed out, which did make it kind of relieving when we piled into her grandparents car with the dogs Jude and Juno and took off towards Indianapolis with fireworks shooting off in the horizon as we rolled down the interstate.
After picking up her parents and driving back down to Greensburg we had to stop at Walmart for them to get some supplies, which was fun running around Walmart as they grabbed different things they thought they'd need (they used maybe 25% of what they bought during their stay). Once we got to Erin's grandparents and sat around to talk it was 4 am before I went to bed, and even later before Erin and her Mom called it a night.
The next morning was the 4th of July and I was the first one up in the house as I had to head out the door to go to the Museum as we were open during the parade and had a recent MLB draftee Alex Meyer in to sign autographs after the parade (he was the grand marshall). We had a good turnout for the event and then I headed back to Erin's place around noon, just as Andrew was heading to his family dinner. I sat around with Erin and her Mom for awhile as they discussed the closing arguements of the Casey Anthony Trial and then rushed around trying to get ready for Andrew's family dinner.
It was around 2 when we finally got around to heading to see Andrew's family and it was a nice dinner and they are all really nice people. After a few hours of sitting around their talking and eating we went back to Erin's to get some swimming trunks so that we could swim in the pool at the party, which once we returned we did for several hours. I had a lot of fun, and Erin and I debuted our new sport of water dancing in which we dominated the other competiton in the pool that night. After we left the party we grabbed some Pizza King pizza to have for dinner with Erin and her parents and I headed home.
Tuesday I had work all morning and then headed to Erin's house. Andrew was busy doing stuff with his family, all day so it was just Erin and her Mom. They were disappointed by the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial and talked about that for awhile. Erin and I played some Mario Kart on the N64 before going out to eat with her Mom at El Reparo. It was a pretty laid back and nice day.
Wensday was exciting as we had planned to go canoeing... though the trip was a little delayed (we didn't get down to Brookville until after 2pm) because of how long it took everyone to get ready ha ha. We stopped at the Hearthstone resturant in Metamora to have lunch, and then at CVS in Brookville to get some drinks before we pulled into the canoeing place. We were only in the water for about a quarter of the mile before I was blamed for flipping Erin and my canoe and then had my steering privleges taken away, but it was still a great time. We bottomed out a few places and got stuck once, but after that flip we stayed dry! At one point we stopped to just play in the water and throw rocks. Really the canoe trip was great all around.
After we got back from Canoeing we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and then drove to Shelbyville to go see the movie Bad Teacher. The drinks for the movie were the first thing her parents let me buy all along and I'm really thankful they helped pay for our way to do all the fun stuff we did while they were here. The movie was good, and was a nice ending to the day. I had driven seperate to Shelbyville and went home after the movie. Since I had stayed a couple nights with Erin it sort of made it easier to leave when she had to ride home with her parents. It always sucks leaving her after we have been together for a long time, so maybe it was an ulterior motive in me driving seperate. Either way it was a stupendous day.
Thursday I had to work again and it was Erin's Birthday. Work was uneventful for the most part, I had a board meeting that night so I had to hurry and get ready everything for that. Erin's parents showed up to look at the Museum around 4, but I wasn't able to give them a tour as the board meeting was getting ready to start. I wish I had been able to show them around myself, and felt bad that I was sort of ignoring them so hopefully the understood I couldn't because of the meeting.
After the meeting I went straight to Erin's and gave her the birthday present I had bought and card I had made. The Birthday present was a Roku Box so we can watch netflix movies together via streaming on her TV instead of on the computer with its weak speakers. We watch a lot of movies/tv shows together on netflix so I thought it would be something nice that she'd use. I get to say I "made" her card because I glue maccaroni on it.... It is sort of a joke that I told her months ago that all of the best cards had maccaroni glued on them and that I would do that for her... so I had to buy a box of mac and cheese so that I could make her card..... I think she liked it.
For her choice of dinner we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner, it was an intersting experience. As I said in my "Thoughts" blog the prices surprised me a bit, but the food was great. I wished the chef knew a little more English so that we could have interacted with him a bit more. Erin got shrimp tales dumped on her plate which was funny because she despises fish off all kinds. I actually ended up eating the shrimp for everyone in our group since I was the only one who would eat it. The dinner was a fun experience that I'd like to try again and a different Japanese Steakhouse sometime.
On our way to dinner
After dinner Erin had wanted to go putt-putt golfing but when we showed up to GreaTimes, the putt-putt place, they were closed. So we wandered over to the bowling alley that was next door and played a couple games of bowling. We can safely say that no one in the group is going to become a professional bowler anytime soon... I won the first game and Andrew won the second game, but I think everyone had a good time. After we left bowling we got some drinks, which involved some illegal u-turns and a tacobell that was out of Mountain Dew (Erin's nectar of life) before we headed home.
Friday afternoon Erin's parents picked me up on their way to have dinner with Andrew's mom and then take them to the Airport. We ate lunch at O'Charley's and the food was ok... and then we were off to the races to get them to the airport in time. We droppd them off with only a little over an hour to get through security but they weren't worried. (We later heard that Erin's mom had to get the full body scan and the pat down!). It was sad seeing them go even though I had only just met them 5 days prior. Erin even took saying good-by to them really well, I was bracing myself for an hour long ride home with her being very sad and me trying to cheer her up. (Erin when you read this I meant that in a positive way)
Her parents want us to come visit them in Flordia sometime, which I hope we can do maybe sometime this winter to stop in and see them. I had a Wonderful week getting to meet her family and enjoying all the time we spent together.
After picking up her parents and driving back down to Greensburg we had to stop at Walmart for them to get some supplies, which was fun running around Walmart as they grabbed different things they thought they'd need (they used maybe 25% of what they bought during their stay). Once we got to Erin's grandparents and sat around to talk it was 4 am before I went to bed, and even later before Erin and her Mom called it a night.
The next morning was the 4th of July and I was the first one up in the house as I had to head out the door to go to the Museum as we were open during the parade and had a recent MLB draftee Alex Meyer in to sign autographs after the parade (he was the grand marshall). We had a good turnout for the event and then I headed back to Erin's place around noon, just as Andrew was heading to his family dinner. I sat around with Erin and her Mom for awhile as they discussed the closing arguements of the Casey Anthony Trial and then rushed around trying to get ready for Andrew's family dinner.
It was around 2 when we finally got around to heading to see Andrew's family and it was a nice dinner and they are all really nice people. After a few hours of sitting around their talking and eating we went back to Erin's to get some swimming trunks so that we could swim in the pool at the party, which once we returned we did for several hours. I had a lot of fun, and Erin and I debuted our new sport of water dancing in which we dominated the other competiton in the pool that night. After we left the party we grabbed some Pizza King pizza to have for dinner with Erin and her parents and I headed home.
Tuesday I had work all morning and then headed to Erin's house. Andrew was busy doing stuff with his family, all day so it was just Erin and her Mom. They were disappointed by the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial and talked about that for awhile. Erin and I played some Mario Kart on the N64 before going out to eat with her Mom at El Reparo. It was a pretty laid back and nice day.
Wensday was exciting as we had planned to go canoeing... though the trip was a little delayed (we didn't get down to Brookville until after 2pm) because of how long it took everyone to get ready ha ha. We stopped at the Hearthstone resturant in Metamora to have lunch, and then at CVS in Brookville to get some drinks before we pulled into the canoeing place. We were only in the water for about a quarter of the mile before I was blamed for flipping Erin and my canoe and then had my steering privleges taken away, but it was still a great time. We bottomed out a few places and got stuck once, but after that flip we stayed dry! At one point we stopped to just play in the water and throw rocks. Really the canoe trip was great all around.
After we got back from Canoeing we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and then drove to Shelbyville to go see the movie Bad Teacher. The drinks for the movie were the first thing her parents let me buy all along and I'm really thankful they helped pay for our way to do all the fun stuff we did while they were here. The movie was good, and was a nice ending to the day. I had driven seperate to Shelbyville and went home after the movie. Since I had stayed a couple nights with Erin it sort of made it easier to leave when she had to ride home with her parents. It always sucks leaving her after we have been together for a long time, so maybe it was an ulterior motive in me driving seperate. Either way it was a stupendous day.
Thursday I had to work again and it was Erin's Birthday. Work was uneventful for the most part, I had a board meeting that night so I had to hurry and get ready everything for that. Erin's parents showed up to look at the Museum around 4, but I wasn't able to give them a tour as the board meeting was getting ready to start. I wish I had been able to show them around myself, and felt bad that I was sort of ignoring them so hopefully the understood I couldn't because of the meeting.
After the meeting I went straight to Erin's and gave her the birthday present I had bought and card I had made. The Birthday present was a Roku Box so we can watch netflix movies together via streaming on her TV instead of on the computer with its weak speakers. We watch a lot of movies/tv shows together on netflix so I thought it would be something nice that she'd use. I get to say I "made" her card because I glue maccaroni on it.... It is sort of a joke that I told her months ago that all of the best cards had maccaroni glued on them and that I would do that for her... so I had to buy a box of mac and cheese so that I could make her card..... I think she liked it.
For her choice of dinner we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner, it was an intersting experience. As I said in my "Thoughts" blog the prices surprised me a bit, but the food was great. I wished the chef knew a little more English so that we could have interacted with him a bit more. Erin got shrimp tales dumped on her plate which was funny because she despises fish off all kinds. I actually ended up eating the shrimp for everyone in our group since I was the only one who would eat it. The dinner was a fun experience that I'd like to try again and a different Japanese Steakhouse sometime.
On our way to dinner
After dinner Erin had wanted to go putt-putt golfing but when we showed up to GreaTimes, the putt-putt place, they were closed. So we wandered over to the bowling alley that was next door and played a couple games of bowling. We can safely say that no one in the group is going to become a professional bowler anytime soon... I won the first game and Andrew won the second game, but I think everyone had a good time. After we left bowling we got some drinks, which involved some illegal u-turns and a tacobell that was out of Mountain Dew (Erin's nectar of life) before we headed home.
Friday afternoon Erin's parents picked me up on their way to have dinner with Andrew's mom and then take them to the Airport. We ate lunch at O'Charley's and the food was ok... and then we were off to the races to get them to the airport in time. We droppd them off with only a little over an hour to get through security but they weren't worried. (We later heard that Erin's mom had to get the full body scan and the pat down!). It was sad seeing them go even though I had only just met them 5 days prior. Erin even took saying good-by to them really well, I was bracing myself for an hour long ride home with her being very sad and me trying to cheer her up. (Erin when you read this I meant that in a positive way)
Her parents want us to come visit them in Flordia sometime, which I hope we can do maybe sometime this winter to stop in and see them. I had a Wonderful week getting to meet her family and enjoying all the time we spent together.
Thoughts - Canoeing
Day 10
Just a quick thought today, last week when I went Canoeing with Erin I had such a great time I know I wanted to do it again so I was thinking about getting a group of friends together to go Canoeing. I hope this works out because I think it will be a fun event.
Just a quick thought today, last week when I went Canoeing with Erin I had such a great time I know I wanted to do it again so I was thinking about getting a group of friends together to go Canoeing. I hope this works out because I think it will be a fun event.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Thoughts - Fair
Day 9
Today Erin and I drove by the fairgrounds just to see how busy it was (we didn't go in tonight) and were talking about how intersting it is that the Decatur County Fair is still such a big event in the community. Erin was talking about knowing people who spend a bunch of money there instead of going to a vacation. I have heard stories of people taking the week off work and just using the fair as a family vacation, I mean it is sort of a budget saving thing.
The draw of the fair is certainly big though, the rest of the town was dead for an average Saturday night, and I know Erin and I will go to the fair atleast one night this week. I was telling her how when I was in 4-H I was there more than I was home that week of the year since I had so many projects and showed so many animals. Thursday projects went in, Friday projects went in, Saturday rabbits, chickens, and goats checked in, Sunday hogs checked in, Monday was chicken show, Tuesday was rabbit show, Wednesday was hog show, Thursday was goat show and Friday was the livestock sale... so yeah I was there a ton of time.
Today Erin and I drove by the fairgrounds just to see how busy it was (we didn't go in tonight) and were talking about how intersting it is that the Decatur County Fair is still such a big event in the community. Erin was talking about knowing people who spend a bunch of money there instead of going to a vacation. I have heard stories of people taking the week off work and just using the fair as a family vacation, I mean it is sort of a budget saving thing.
The draw of the fair is certainly big though, the rest of the town was dead for an average Saturday night, and I know Erin and I will go to the fair atleast one night this week. I was telling her how when I was in 4-H I was there more than I was home that week of the year since I had so many projects and showed so many animals. Thursday projects went in, Friday projects went in, Saturday rabbits, chickens, and goats checked in, Sunday hogs checked in, Monday was chicken show, Tuesday was rabbit show, Wednesday was hog show, Thursday was goat show and Friday was the livestock sale... so yeah I was there a ton of time.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thoughts - foursquare
Day 8
There is an application called FourSquare for smartphones that I downloaded onto Erin's Iphone and have been making her use when we go places together. I downloaded it a couple weeks ago, but today I noticed i have actually been using it more and more and really like it. I wonder how long it'll take before Erin gets fed up with me stealing her phone to make us check in places.
If you don't know what FourSquare is, its just a simple application that logs in different places you have visited via GPS. If you go to someplace more than anyone else you recieve the title of "Mayor" of that place. There is a whole marketing side to the system where they try to give you special deals and things to visit different places, as well as badges you can earn for doing certain things like visiting so many resturants and other little challenges.
So far I've only really got us signing into places where we visit, we have yet to be named the Mayor of anywhere or even use any of the discounts/advice they offer on the application but maybe someday I'll get us more involved... I mean after all we logged into 6 different places today.
There is an application called FourSquare for smartphones that I downloaded onto Erin's Iphone and have been making her use when we go places together. I downloaded it a couple weeks ago, but today I noticed i have actually been using it more and more and really like it. I wonder how long it'll take before Erin gets fed up with me stealing her phone to make us check in places.
If you don't know what FourSquare is, its just a simple application that logs in different places you have visited via GPS. If you go to someplace more than anyone else you recieve the title of "Mayor" of that place. There is a whole marketing side to the system where they try to give you special deals and things to visit different places, as well as badges you can earn for doing certain things like visiting so many resturants and other little challenges.
So far I've only really got us signing into places where we visit, we have yet to be named the Mayor of anywhere or even use any of the discounts/advice they offer on the application but maybe someday I'll get us more involved... I mean after all we logged into 6 different places today.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thoughts - japanese steak house
Day 7
For Erin's Birthday we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. This was my first time ever going to a place like that, and It was an intersting experience. I was a little surprised when I first saw the prices, it was what I think the 3rd most expensive meal I've ever had, but the food was good. One thing I don't like is that since everyone sits around the gril your group has to sit next to strangers, but that doesn't bother me too much and it is really neat to watch them cook your food in front of you. I wish our chef had spoken a little clearer English that way his jokes would have been funnier... (you lose a little bit of the humor when you have to try and comprehend it for a few seconds).
I got to eat 4 servings of shrimp since Andrew, Erin's Mom and Erin all refused the shrimp the chef dumped it on to my plate. I'm not a huge shrimp fan, but as Erin can confirm I hate seeing food go to waste and if its on my plate I'll eat it, so all the shrimp was ate lol. It was pretty good though. The shrimp tales got dumped on Erin's plate and she hates seafood of all kinds! plus she got hit bya shrimp tail that was tossed by the chef at the other grill, but she took it alright.
Overall it was a good time and I'd love to try another Japanese Steakhouse sometime.
For Erin's Birthday we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. This was my first time ever going to a place like that, and It was an intersting experience. I was a little surprised when I first saw the prices, it was what I think the 3rd most expensive meal I've ever had, but the food was good. One thing I don't like is that since everyone sits around the gril your group has to sit next to strangers, but that doesn't bother me too much and it is really neat to watch them cook your food in front of you. I wish our chef had spoken a little clearer English that way his jokes would have been funnier... (you lose a little bit of the humor when you have to try and comprehend it for a few seconds).
I got to eat 4 servings of shrimp since Andrew, Erin's Mom and Erin all refused the shrimp the chef dumped it on to my plate. I'm not a huge shrimp fan, but as Erin can confirm I hate seeing food go to waste and if its on my plate I'll eat it, so all the shrimp was ate lol. It was pretty good though. The shrimp tales got dumped on Erin's plate and she hates seafood of all kinds! plus she got hit bya shrimp tail that was tossed by the chef at the other grill, but she took it alright.
Overall it was a good time and I'd love to try another Japanese Steakhouse sometime.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Thoughts - family
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 6
Today I went to Brookevillw to Canoe and to a Movie "Bad Teacher" with Erin's family who are here to visit her for her birthday. Its just really nice and really a blessing that we both have supportive families who are there for us. Looking back (I'll admit I'm doing this blog a little late since I was so busy with everything this week), we wouldn't have been able to have nearly as much fun as we did without her family paying for it. They were really nice and I feel sort of guilty about how much money they spent on us this week but I had a great time. It will certainly be nice when we are making more money, and I hope that we can someday be as supportive/good parents as what we both have.
Day 6
Today I went to Brookevillw to Canoe and to a Movie "Bad Teacher" with Erin's family who are here to visit her for her birthday. Its just really nice and really a blessing that we both have supportive families who are there for us. Looking back (I'll admit I'm doing this blog a little late since I was so busy with everything this week), we wouldn't have been able to have nearly as much fun as we did without her family paying for it. They were really nice and I feel sort of guilty about how much money they spent on us this week but I had a great time. It will certainly be nice when we are making more money, and I hope that we can someday be as supportive/good parents as what we both have.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Thoughts - Surprise
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 5
It's intersting how everyone has a different take on "surprises" today at dinner with Erin's mom and her at El Reparo we were talking about Erin's upcoming Birthday on the 7th, and how she hates not knowing what she is getting as presents. Personally I prefer not to know until I open the gift, what I'm getting... it just makes it more exciting to me. I guess Erin always tries to open her presents as early as possible.... like when her Mom had them mailed to her last year in Texas, she opened one a day every day untill she only had one left for Christmas to open. She claims that its the only way she can act happy incase she gets a gift she doesn't like.
For me a lot of the thrill is in opening the gift, so I like to have that kind of surprise.
Other kinds of surprises... the unexpected ones that make your life a lot harder... not into those however, I like things I have planned out to go that way... so I guess this just applies to presents.
Day 5
It's intersting how everyone has a different take on "surprises" today at dinner with Erin's mom and her at El Reparo we were talking about Erin's upcoming Birthday on the 7th, and how she hates not knowing what she is getting as presents. Personally I prefer not to know until I open the gift, what I'm getting... it just makes it more exciting to me. I guess Erin always tries to open her presents as early as possible.... like when her Mom had them mailed to her last year in Texas, she opened one a day every day untill she only had one left for Christmas to open. She claims that its the only way she can act happy incase she gets a gift she doesn't like.
For me a lot of the thrill is in opening the gift, so I like to have that kind of surprise.
Other kinds of surprises... the unexpected ones that make your life a lot harder... not into those however, I like things I have planned out to go that way... so I guess this just applies to presents.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Thoughts - Connections
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 4
Today was the 4th of July and since Erin's Mom and Step-dad are in town visiting her we went to a family get together with her stepdad Andrew's family. Throughout all of the talking and general conversation it is intersting to think about how intertwined everyone is in the world. Its probably more so in Decatur County where his family could sit there and talk about all of my neighbors and who farms what field and so on, but still look at how far there familys had branched out. Erin's mom and Andrew had went to school together here in Indiana but wind up meeting each other again in Flordia and getting married. Crazy how things work out and even with billions of people in the world, we seem to move in such tight little groupings.
Day 4
Today was the 4th of July and since Erin's Mom and Step-dad are in town visiting her we went to a family get together with her stepdad Andrew's family. Throughout all of the talking and general conversation it is intersting to think about how intertwined everyone is in the world. Its probably more so in Decatur County where his family could sit there and talk about all of my neighbors and who farms what field and so on, but still look at how far there familys had branched out. Erin's mom and Andrew had went to school together here in Indiana but wind up meeting each other again in Flordia and getting married. Crazy how things work out and even with billions of people in the world, we seem to move in such tight little groupings.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Straw Season
Pictures from the first day of baling straw!
Taken June 30th 2011
The Field
Mom Driving
Day 2 - July 1st 2011
Unloading
House near the field
Day 3 - July 2nd 2011
You can sort of make out Scott Geoff in the window
Taken June 30th 2011
The Field
Mom Driving
Day 2 - July 1st 2011
Unloading
House near the field
Day 3 - July 2nd 2011
You can sort of make out Scott Geoff in the window
Thoughts - Grandma's Shed
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 3
Today I went up to my Grandmas to visit and help her clean out this storage shed that sits next to her house. The shed was actually originally built for my Great Grandmother. Inside the shed was a mess because the roof had been leaking for years, magazines and boxes littered the ground in various stages of rot. We knew it was going to be a big/dirty job as it was something that had been put off for a long time, but we made quite a bit of progress. Cleaning this out though is what spurred on my thought topic for the day.
1. The main reason we got work today was because we were trying to dig out this old rug loom that belonged to my Great-Grandmother. It is going to be display this fall at the Museum as part of our "Life before Electricity" exhibit. It looks like it took an extraordinary amount of time just to thread the loom, while the actual process of making the rugs wouldn't have been that hard. So I'm not sure if we will ever get it re-thread correctly again. Also it is in great shape considering how horribly everything else in that shed held-up over the years, it wouldn't take much to get it running again.
2. We found this skeleton in the shed and we all had a big debate as to what animal it might have been.
I am going with a raccoon.... but John was thinking it was a cat.
Day 3
Today I went up to my Grandmas to visit and help her clean out this storage shed that sits next to her house. The shed was actually originally built for my Great Grandmother. Inside the shed was a mess because the roof had been leaking for years, magazines and boxes littered the ground in various stages of rot. We knew it was going to be a big/dirty job as it was something that had been put off for a long time, but we made quite a bit of progress. Cleaning this out though is what spurred on my thought topic for the day.
1. The main reason we got work today was because we were trying to dig out this old rug loom that belonged to my Great-Grandmother. It is going to be display this fall at the Museum as part of our "Life before Electricity" exhibit. It looks like it took an extraordinary amount of time just to thread the loom, while the actual process of making the rugs wouldn't have been that hard. So I'm not sure if we will ever get it re-thread correctly again. Also it is in great shape considering how horribly everything else in that shed held-up over the years, it wouldn't take much to get it running again.
2. We found this skeleton in the shed and we all had a big debate as to what animal it might have been.
I am going with a raccoon.... but John was thinking it was a cat.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Thoughts - Money
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 2
So today I was thinking that this month I need to fill out a money spreadsheet to track my spending. I used to do this fairly frequently, but haven't in over a year now. Basically I have a few Excel spreadsheets I designed to track all the money I spend/make/waste over the month and break down how I stand for the month.
I haven't done it since I worked at the hotel and had that income/expense reports to deal with and was living in my apartment in Indianapolis, I used to think this was fun to do so I think it'll be worthwhile to do one again just to see how I am doing.
I guess this came up because I was thinking about how to budget the money I just made working for my Dad the last few days on baling straw. There are several things I need to get such as new glasses that I have been needing to take care of for a long time that I think I'll buy with that money. As well as making several small adjustments with my spending habits such as cutting back to one movie a month on my netflix account.
Day 2
So today I was thinking that this month I need to fill out a money spreadsheet to track my spending. I used to do this fairly frequently, but haven't in over a year now. Basically I have a few Excel spreadsheets I designed to track all the money I spend/make/waste over the month and break down how I stand for the month.
I haven't done it since I worked at the hotel and had that income/expense reports to deal with and was living in my apartment in Indianapolis, I used to think this was fun to do so I think it'll be worthwhile to do one again just to see how I am doing.
I guess this came up because I was thinking about how to budget the money I just made working for my Dad the last few days on baling straw. There are several things I need to get such as new glasses that I have been needing to take care of for a long time that I think I'll buy with that money. As well as making several small adjustments with my spending habits such as cutting back to one movie a month on my netflix account.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Thoughts 1 - Captain America
So for a blog series this month I thought I would just mention or talk about one thing that crossed my mind each day.
Day 1
So while I was driving the baler today during our epic straw baling madness (1700 bales the last 2 days), the radio was talking about what movies where coming out this weekend. None of the new releases really jumped out at me as something I had to see, however I was surprised that "Captain America: The First Avenger" is not coming out this weekend. Fourth of July weekend seems like the perfect weekend for a Super Hero named Captain America... right? I looked it up and the film doesn't release till July 22nd.
The only reason I see for not releasing it is that maybe the 4th of July weekend is a bad weekend for movies due to people going to cook-outs and fireworks instead of going to the theatre? Movie producers love having huge opening weekends so I guess this is a legit reason to hold Captain America back...
Though a negative thought might be.... that if the people who did go see movies this weekend liked it they could generate a lot of support in the following weeks to keep the movie #1, so maybe they aren't releasing it this week because they are afraid it won't get the support to hold multiple weeks at #1 and thus need to have the great opening weekend. Marvel already gave Thor the better release date in May (seems like a lot of the summer blockbusters release in May) so maybe Marvel isn't expecting a lot from the Captain?
Day 1
So while I was driving the baler today during our epic straw baling madness (1700 bales the last 2 days), the radio was talking about what movies where coming out this weekend. None of the new releases really jumped out at me as something I had to see, however I was surprised that "Captain America: The First Avenger" is not coming out this weekend. Fourth of July weekend seems like the perfect weekend for a Super Hero named Captain America... right? I looked it up and the film doesn't release till July 22nd.
The only reason I see for not releasing it is that maybe the 4th of July weekend is a bad weekend for movies due to people going to cook-outs and fireworks instead of going to the theatre? Movie producers love having huge opening weekends so I guess this is a legit reason to hold Captain America back...
Though a negative thought might be.... that if the people who did go see movies this weekend liked it they could generate a lot of support in the following weeks to keep the movie #1, so maybe they aren't releasing it this week because they are afraid it won't get the support to hold multiple weeks at #1 and thus need to have the great opening weekend. Marvel already gave Thor the better release date in May (seems like a lot of the summer blockbusters release in May) so maybe Marvel isn't expecting a lot from the Captain?
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