Coffee addiction in progress

I have always enjoyed good coffee. Lately, I have been enjoying too much good coffee and I'm about to enjoy even more.

Normally, I only drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee per week. That's not very much, and certainly not a coffee addiction. However, this week, I have had two or three times that amount.

Take last evening for example. I was driving in Lackawanna County toward a Dunkin' Donuts that always mixes the perfect blend of sugar and cream in my iced coffee. I go out of my way to stop at this particular Dunkin' Donuts because they always get it right.

Last night, there was a major car accident less than one block away from Dunkin' Donuts, seemingly blocking access to my beverage haven. I went out of my way to navigate unfamiliar streets for quite some time in an attempt to reach Dunkin' Donuts from the other direction. My attempt was successful, so I ordered a Large as my way of rewarding myself for a job well done.

Then I felt guilty for enjoying it while an accident was being cleaned up right across the street.

That sounds like an addiction.

Dad

Last evening, I spent a few hours talking to my Dad. Dad and I pretty much have the same conversations over and over, with slight variations. We talk about family, finances, faith and real estate. It's fun.

My Father is an opinionated man and when he sets his mind against something, you would think he was on a divine mission to eradicate it from planet earth.

In just a few short hours, my Dad powerfully declared his outright hatred for the following:

1. Plastic silverware
2. Low-talkers
3. Mashed potatoes WITHOUT gravy
4. Incorrect amounts of sugar in his coffee
5. Honda Civic's
6. How I celebrate Christmas

And the king of all annoyances......

7. People who scratch someone else's back during church

Therefore, even though my Dad reads this blog every day (because I made it his homepage and he doesn't know how to change it), I am secretly hatching a plan to serve him dry mashed potatoes that he must eat with a plastic spoon and wash down with an over-sweet coffee while sitting in a Honda Civic as I mumble a "Merry Christmas" to him.

Spring break at Wal-Mart

More extensive post coming later today. In the meantime, I thought you might find this interesting.

Jr. High

Last evening we took a group of "loud" Jr. High-ers to our annual Swim & Gym. My ear drums felt like they might literally burst before we arrived. I think I forgot just how loud this group can be.

Sometimes, however, in the midst of their excessive volume, they actually say something entertaining. Here is an excerpt from last night's trip.

As we drove by a store that said, "Wine & Spirits," on the sign, I heard this......

James: Hey, let's stop at the "Wine & Sprite" store. I hear that place is nice inside.

Mike: It's not, "Wine & Sprite." I think it's said, "Wine & Spritz."

Me: It's not Sprite or Spritz. It's said, "Spirits," and we're not stopping there.

James: Spirits? Why's it called that?

At that point, I could have answered his question, but chose to leave the issue at that. It's actually possible that more was said about the matter, but my ears were ringing and prevented me from hearing anything further.

Unbelieveable sign 2

Another stinking lawsuit

News of the Weird
By CHUCK SHEPHERD

Homeless New Jersey man Richard Kreimer said in February that he had settled, on undisclosed terms, part of his most recent lawsuit, against a transit company and two drivers, for having denied him rides because of his foul odor. Kreimer's history includes a $150,000 settlement in 1991 with the public library in Morris County, which had tried to keep him out because of the odor, and, by his count, $80,000 in additional lawsuit-related income (though some went for legal expenses). Kreimer dropped another foul-odor lawsuit in February, against a transit company and a train station in Summit.

Thank you

About ten years ago, when it started to become standard to pay at the pump with a credit card, one particular gas station I frequented had a pump with an interesting feature. Since actual people rarely pump our gas today, and since paying at the pump removed all human interaction from the gas-pumping experience, their pump would beep at you after you finished filling your tank.

The goal was to make you look back at the pump to see why it was beeping. When you looked back, you would see a flashing screen that read, "Thank You!" In a strange way, that seemed nice.

I was reminded of that last night as I pumped gas into my Miata. Habitually, I always look back at the screen once I put the nozzle back to see if it says, "Thanks." I'm happy to say that the pump at Sheetz does just that.

Of course, when I come across the occasional pump that doesn't say "thanks," I take the liberty to place a plastic shopping bag over the nozzle so potential customers will assume it is broken.

And truthfully, it is broken if it hasn't learned to say "Thank You."

Behr

Over the past few weeks, much of our spare time has been spent with painting projects at the camp and elsewhere. Painting can be tiring. It tends to make my back hurt. My wife admitted today that it even makes her un-naturally hungry.

But there is a bright spot to our painting. We have discovered Behr paints. I do believe that I used this brand many moons ago, but now I'm learning to love it all over again. After painting with a bunch of cheap brands, I decided to splurge and buy something a little better, largely because I wanted to use their color "Harvest Brown," (and I had a gift card).

Behr goes on evenly, and barely needs a second coat. That is RARE.

I have also discovered that Behr paint makes an excellent cake icing. You would love the semi-gloss carrot cake my wife made a few days ago. I would also recommend her all-weather exterior pretzel dip. It's to die for.

Chubby Pigeon

Yesterday afternoon I drove to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital to visit a member of my church who is having health problems. It was a nice day. A little chilly, but still sunny. I was enjoying my drive and as I pulled in to the parking garage I noticed that the hospital had installed a new ticket machine and a new gate. "That looks nice," I thought to myself.

As I searched for a parking space, I wound my way to the upper levels of the parking garage. Turning a corner, a chubby pigeon looked up at me. It seemed like he was eating something behind a sedan and I may have startled him.

After my visit was over, I made my way back down through the parking garage. I came back to the same corner where I saw the pigeon a little while earlier. This time, something was different. Scattered all throughout the parking area were feathers. "Is that chubby pigeon shedding or something?," I wondered to myself.

Then I saw the pigeon, although this time he wasn't quite as chubby. In fact, now he was flat as a pancake.

Apparently the car he had been snacking behind backed up over him.

Note to self: Weight loss idea #34: "Eat lunch behind the mini-van."

Unbelievable sign

Ice cream (updated)

On Thursday evenings, Andrea and I like to have a snack of some sort and watch Survivor. Tonight we have settled on ice cream. My job is to go out and buy some. She wants butter pecan, but I'm not sure what I'm having yet.

to be continued.....

Update: 3/3/06

I was hoping that Turkey Hill had some good Ben & Jerry's flavors. I figured that since I was eating something fattening that late in the evening, I might as well make it good. Unfortunately, they don't carry Ben & Jerry's. I guess they prefer to sell their own brand of Turkey Hill ice cream, almost exclusively. I settled on Mint Chocolate Chip.

It's pretty sad that it took me two days to post this entry. Sometimes it's a little too obvious that I'm saving the rest of my creativity for Spring.