Wow, hard to believe that I have stayed away from the ol’ web log for a week… but the absence of entries should serve as a testament to the un-remarkableness prosaic nature of this past week (yes, i know that un-remarkableness is not a real word, but ‘mundane’ just isn’t the word i wanted to use). The class load at work has been low, but with the start of the school year and accompanying cheerleading season fast approaching (2 weeks away), I expect the load to gradually double.

I’ve been a homebody most of the week, but I did see a movie yesterday (Bourne Supremacy) with Beth. Also, on Friday I made it to a different movie theater to hang out with Susi and her friends. An eclectic bunch, that group. Most of them are still in school at tech. Susi mentioned that they were all taking a car trip to Baltimore next week for a convention called Otakon. Thats about a 12 hour car trip! I made the drive to MD from Atlanta once (Leila+BrianK’s wedding). Alone, but i had books on CD to keep me sane. I hope they can all get along for that much time together 🙂

Getting ready to hit the road for a multi-day adventure? Make sure that it’s a fun and safe drive no matter where you’re going with some top road trip safety tips including this article about seat belt compliance.

Although they were designed to save your life, it is possible that they could also hurt you in the process. You could suffer injuries from seat belts in a rear end accident. Seat belts are designed to tighten and lock when they are moved very abruptly, learn how you can be entitled to a legal compensation with this minor rear-end collision lawyer.

I, unfortunately, have misplaced my atm card. Poor Beth had to buy my ticket to the movie! Embarrassing, I know… I didn’t realize that I did not have it until after I tried to buy something. I’ll have to go order a new one on Monday. They usually take a week to arrive, so its leftovers and table scraps for the coming week! Hopefully, i’ll be able to avoid having to walk into a bank branch and withdraw money.

The movie was alright (my review). I couldn’t believe how packed the theater was. Natalie was invited to see it with us, but said she already had other plans. Just as well, since we couldnt’ find any seats! The 9:15pm screening we went to only had seats on the side in the third row. On a tip from another movie-goer, we jumped into a 9:10 screening down the hall. We ended up in the third row again, but this time with decent seats in the middle. The theater and screen was also smaller which eliminated the need to jack up your neck trying to see the entire screen.

Today, I went to church and back. Nothing of note to report. I’ll spend the rest of the day trying to get a trip to stone mountain together via email. Liz said that some of her folks are going there on Aug.14th, so perhaps i’ll shoot for that weekend. I think Nat said something about only being able to make it Aug.24th… i’ll have to check on that, too.

-kevin

To know the most accurate way of becoming a casino expert, you are only one step away from becoming one. Just click here and enjoy! Life has gotten decidedly more uninteresting since the start of this past week. I’m doing better about spending more time productively, but I’m getting the same end result as before; I’m a home-body that spends entirely too much time in my room. Case in point… this weekend got off to a very bland and uninteresting start with work Friday afternoon, followed by sitting around in my room Friday night. (I would have gone to see I.Robot if I’d had someone to take). Saturday didn’t fare much better. I think the only trip out of the houseI made was to the supermarket to make dinner. I sat in, talked to Sarah on the phone (i must have bored the poor girl out of her mind) and re-read Ender’s Game.

It wasn’t a total bust. I did play my bass guitar some, and in my frustration I decided that joining a band would be a good way to get out more. I sent an email to a friend in a band to see if he knows of anywhere that might take a rank amateur beginner bass player (i wont’ get my hopes up too high). I also made the decision to not waste Sunday, and that I would go play some pick up soccer games at Piedmont Park, which is located 20 min south in midtown, Atlanta.

So Sunday I got up, got to church late on account of an impromptu haircut, wasted time at Target and Old Navy, but finally headed to the park around 3:45pm.

It was the strangest visit to the park that I have ever had. I was accosted on three separate occasions by total strangers. I know that its not wierd to meet new people at the park, or the supermarket, movies, other public places, etc… but it rarely, if ever, happens to me. The first person that introduced themself was with a group lounging in the canine section of the park (you’re allowed to take your dog off the leash on 1/3 of the park). We only chatted a little while and I hiked to the soccer fields at other end of the park.

Disaster when I arrived! All the soccer goals were chained up on the edge of the fields, so I took shots at an adjacent softball backstop instead. I was joined by an onlooker who had introduced himself a few minutes before as I was approaching the soccer fields. Soon after, a woman came over to us and invited us to play kickball and so we did. I ended up on a team captained by a ChemE grad student at Tech named Jennifer. Coincidence or karma? She was very friendly and after the game we played some destiny 2 trials of the nine flawless.
So, Sunday ended up salvaging an otherwise dismal july weekend. I came home and played some more bass. I can just about play all the way through “It’s My Life” by No Doubt. The song isn’t that fast, but the fingering is tricky. I’m sure Mr. Tony Kanal could play it in his sleep. I’d like to have chops like that one day, but there is a poor likelyhood of that happening :-(.

Well, another week of work awaits. Back to the job-hunt tomorrow morning. I hope my wireless internet holds up… its been going in and out at wierd times. I think a neighbor may have bought a 2.4 GHz cordless phone or something.

Hmm. Well, although nothing supremely noteworthy has happened in the past few days, I still feel like I should write something for continuity’s sake.

Its the first full week back to work at the gym. As a result of the week off (which I did enjoy), i will have to live like a pauper for quite a while. That means more cooking my own meals. Unfortunately, the last Sunday night after I cooked I wasted about 3 days worth of family dinners due to my forgetting-to-correctly-close-the-fridge-door. An embarrassing mistake :-(.

Other than the gym, I’ve been spending time trying to get back into japanese (I have been trying to translate paragraphs from the Asahi Sinbum VOX POPULI, VOX DEI (An old proverb quoted by William of Malmesbury in the Twelfth Century… The voice of the people is the voice of God). I have also been job-hunting, of course. Its long past time for me to move on and find something, but I have yet to find out what choices or opportunities I’ll have to choose from. A fat lot of good my degree in chemical engineering is doing me. 🙁
From my perspective, noone is even remotely interested in hiring (me at least) an entrly level chem-E. Frustrating.

Maybe the reply emails i’ve sent to far-away friends Leila and Roxanne, whom I haven’t heard from in a while, will take my mind off it.

Imagine owning a business that delivers amazing experiences and never actually taking part. After 3 years of owning Frontline and never playing Airsoft I decided to try it out and then let the world know my opinion. I have played paintball for over 20 years off and on so I knew my way around the field but I have to say it was an amazing experience. It was a nice winter day but still cool. (-4°C) I grabbed one of the Frontline Rentals, loaded up 2 high capacity mags and hit the field with my team for the first game. My preconceived ideas were that my reckless risk taking style of paintball would not match well with the more strategic and defensive style of airsoft. I was apprehensive about getting hit by airsoft snipers or other players not calling themselves out when they got hit. I was also a little concerned that the rental equipment would not stand up. Boy was I wrong on all counts.

Observation 1 – You can take chances with Airsoft and be rewarded

Airsoft balls do travel further and straighter than paintball but that works both ways. We played the D-Day field twice and both times the attacking team won. I found that with suppressive fire and pushing the field, players could advance and take the objective. Building clearing and moving quickly on the field is possible and the way to win the game. (Just be careful not to hit one of your team mates when they advance too far cough..cough Tilley)

Observation 2 – Getting hit is obvious and does not hurt.

This was a big one for me. I imagined that because of the higher velocity of the balls they would hurt. I know on bare skin they can, however, with only fairly light clothing there was no ouch factor at all. That being said it was obvious when I was hit due to the impact and sound of the balls hitting me. A great combination. I imagine with a heavy pack I might not feel the balls but I think I would hear the distinctive sound of the balls.

Observation 3 – Players do call themselves out.

There seems to be an unwritten code that all airsofters follow. In paintball because the ball actually has to break to count this introduces an element of impact without being eliminated that is not present in airsoft. If you hit someone they are out and the players call themselves out every time. Great sportsmanship.

Observation 4 – Equipment is reliable but is affected by the cold

Among our group there were some equipment issues. I had not factored the effect of the cold on my battery and I chose a gun that had a small butterfly battery. It performed pretty well but I could tell it was straining to be able to shoot and other players told me my battery was dying. In hindsight I should have grabbed a rental that took a brick battery and if I had my own gear I would have a LIPO battery for the cold. I played for 2 hours without any incident.

In conclusion, this will not be my last Airsoft game. I really enjoyed the playing style, equipment and the great group of players. I now have a new appreciation for my customers and the sport. I just wish it had not taken me so long to try it. Get out and play in 2016. You will not regret it.

This entry is backdated 24hrs
Catherine Peisher is now Catherine Knight. The ceremony took place at the Milledge Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia, July 10, at about 5:30pm.

Alex was the best man. My old roommate Chris (Cat’s brother), Michael (also Cat’s brother), Iffy, and Bryan’s brother (whose name escapes me at the moment) were the groomsmen. The only bridesmaids of Cat’s I had met before were Geetha, Nikki, and Jenny (maid of honor). The reception was held at the Terrace Room of the Georgia Botanical Gardens. There was a 4 piece jazz band (replete with upright bass), an open bar (too bad i dont’ drink!), a tiny dance floor and seating both in and outdoors. Not super big, but not small either; a well-sized party. Celebrate your Atlantic City bachelor party on this location where you can have as much space as you need to host an amazing event.

The biggest surprise of the day was the attendace of Susi Rathman! Cat’s old suite-mate from the dorm whom I personally believed had tripped, stumbled and fell right off the edge of world. Noone (except for Cat, I guess) had heard from her in about 2 years but she brought the one most stunning wedding gowns in atlanta I’d ever seen for Cat to wear. Also in attendance were Eric, Angie, McGuiness, Sara (Alex’s girlfriend), and the indomitable Josh S (who knows a bit about falling of the edge of the earth himself). The reception was fun, but a disturbing trend has seemed to develop as a friend of mine at the wedding declined to add me (or anyone else) to her dance card. I was denied the same privilege last year by another friend at my old roommate’s wedding last year: that ceremony’s maid of honor. Hmm, my breath is ok and I don’t have any illegitimate children… what gives, ladies?

After the reception, I went with the bridesmaids and groomsmen to Nowhere Bar in downtown Athens (I dont’ usually hang out in bars). There was a little more red, black, and bulldog pictures than I am used to, but it was on okay way to close out the wedding trip. I left Athens at around 2AM and made it back home a bit after 3 in the morning.

Not too bad a Saturday at all.

So, I am relaxing earlier during my Friday afternoon, trying to enjoy the last bit of vacation away from the gym when suddenly i get a call from Ryan saying that the gym was in fact open and having open gym today. So, after a quick confirmation call to Erik, I get in the car and drive through Friday traffic (rush hour is always early on Fridays) to the gym. An abrubt end to my short, unpaid vacation.

But enough about work.

Tomorrow Cat and Bryan are getting married! The wedding is in Athens, and I am going to attend… though at the moment I am not sure exactly WHERE in Athens it will be. A few phone calls should clear that matter up. Athens isn’t huge, though it is an hour away via a very very cop-infested highway, 316. I will hopefully have a few nice photos to share with whomever is reading this (only me, i think). The wedding is scheduled for 5:30. I wish I knew of someone else in town that was going so that we could carpool. The two folks that I do know are in the wedding party, so meeting up would not be practical as they undoubtetdly have ceremonial duties and commitments.

Crap. I haven’t chosen any clothes. I might go khaki and black shirt. At Leila and Brian’s wedding, 3 years ago in 2001 (man, i’m getting old), I forgot part of the suit i was planning to wear and was inadvertently forced to improvise with suit pants and a black ribbed T-shirt. It actually worked out pretty well. I could probably get away with my black sneakers, but if Cat reads this and finds out I wore sneakers to her wedding then she will sic her ninjas on me! 🙂 I’ll choose clothes when i wake up tomorrow… and make sure I have my gift.

This is my third wedding in 2 years and I have yet to take a date to one.

Well, i guess i’d need a date first, eh?

-kevin

Welcome to WordPress. I made the decision to ‘go native’ with the web log. It looks pretty yucky at the moment… but I will start on tweaking the colors and template to my will.

I have no idea how to use half of the features!. This should be interesting! Beth finally put an entry on her blog. I guess we’re in the same boat until one of us figures out what we’re doing. But just for the start, we will do a horoscope zodiac signs review for you.

Tuesday July 7, 2004, 3:23AM

I didn’t run in the Peactree Road Race. The plan was for Reed to call me later the night before and tell me what time to be up to catch a ride downtown. He didn’t call, so I set my clock for 6AM and went to bed. I woke up very drowsily at 6, my sleep-logic asking why I was waking up so early just to tire myself out in the summer heat, all the way downtown no less. Reed never showed up, and so I fell back asleep… missing church in the process.

Later, at 12:22 I left and went to Iffy’s apt on Clairmont Rd for the barbecue… the barbecue which was actually being held the next day, as a very hung-over and sleepy Iffy told me. Oops. I made a very similar mistake last year for a party that Liz threw… only that time it was a 2-hour-drive-to-Liz’s-place-in-Macon mistake. Believe me when I say that A 4-hour drive is a great way to burn up not only gas, but your entire evening and afternoon as well.

Well, I did make it to the barbecue on its actual day (today), and there was a good smattering of folks there. I was pleasantly surprised to see Natalie-the-ballerina there (not to be confused with the Natalie that I saw Harry Potter 3 with). Natalie was there with Aaron’s girlfriend, Katie. We got to talk a little bit and swam around in the pool some. We raced pool lengths, and she beat me 4 times. I didn’t mind. I’m not a very good swimmer, and I was more concerned with how nicely she fit into her swimsuit 😉 (The few photos I have of the barbecue don’t do her justice). I didn’t drool or stare though, so I should be in the clear. She and Katie had a friend flying in from Vancouver who is going to be living with Katie and Aaron, and dancing at Atlanta Ballet with Katie and Natalie-the-ballerina for about a month. Apparently Aaron thinks that I’ll like her or something. She flew in tonight. I’ll have to try to drop by sometime this week and meet her. Hmmm, I don’t think i’ve ever been out with a ballerina before……. 😉

P.S. – Played my bass after too-long a hiatus. It felt good to do it. I’m going to learn some No Doubt songs all the way through… and tab The Sun by They Might Be Giants… they always perform with extremely skilled bass players with some good, tough lines.

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Saturday July 3, 8:45PM

Well, my week of ‘vacation’ off from work has begun. The gym is closed from July 2 to July 8 for Independence Day.

I started my week away from cheerleading with, what else? (sigh) A trip to a cheerleading/gymnastics equipment supplier. -More about that later, i’m off to meet Erik and Reed for a shirley temple (they’re having dinner) at Bogey’s and then fireworks.

– 10:45PM –
Back from Bogey’s and the fireworks in Duluth. Predicatbly, traffic did not move a whole lot leaving. Especially with the Duluth police department’s 15-minute-per-direction traffic strategy 🙂 Well, I’m sure their intentions were good.

…So, on friday I left the house with Erik to pick up Reed at the Atlanta Athletic Club (exclusive meets well-to-do). This accident was blocking our normal route out, so we drove past the river instead and headed to GMR in Lithonia. Unfortunately, we ventured out into Atlanta traffic on the perimter, through spaghetti junction, during rush hour, on a holiday weekend no less. Needless to say, there was lots of braking involved on our trip :-). We stuck to side roads on the way back via Stone Mountain, stopping at one point to try to get some funnel cake (we were unsuccessful).

Stone Mountain, Georgia

The funnel cake shop was closed even though we visited during working hours

The rest of my day was spent trying to clean the W32.Pinfi virus off of my computer (the scan took 5.5 hours to complete). I discovered that I was infected after Warcraft 3 stopped working properly.

In addition to the virus, I found that my one of my DDR dance pads isn’t working (sensors seem to function, but the PS2 won’t recognize it). So, today I went to find a Multimeter Expert at the hardware store and bought a multimeter and some wire. After spending 40 min resoldering/shrink-tubing the cable that I incorrectly clipped , I unsuccessfully attempted to diagnose and repair the problem with the dance mat. The circuit pathways are extremely difficult to probe, due to extreme cheap-ness. A new one will cost $20…. and replacing the circuit board with one pulled from an el-cheapo controller will cost at least $10, plus effort getting the flat circuit paths connected correctly (translation: pain in the ass). I’ll toy with the idea of constructing my own pad, but that’s more $$ than i currently want to spend on a game that should work already.

Can you tell that a chemical engineer did this? 🙂

Turns out i’m going to run in the Peachtree Road Race tomorrow with Reed and Otis(?). I’m not in running shape and I don’t have a pair of sneakers properly broken in… guess this means i’ll miss church tomorrow because Iffy’s throwing a barbecue at 1’ish… but i guess we’ll see what happens. Stay tuned to this web log!