Handyman Strikes Again:

Yeah, that's right, I did it. I changed the oil in my van all by myself. I wasn't even scared, I didn't even cry. That's right, I'm hardcore!

On that note, today was semi-eventful. I had to return the oil I picked up at Walmart yesterday because it was the wrong brand of oil. Wouldn't wanna do that to the van. So I returned it along with my handy dandy, pint-sized sidekick Gus. For those of you who may not know, Gus is my little brother. He's a cool kid, just semi-misguided at times.

So we picked it up and I had this kah-razy idea: I wonder if the tie shop is still up at the mall? I've been searching for a black and white checkered tie for a while and it has eluded me. I figured: "Why not?" I had to con Gus though... it took a cherry italian ice at Rita's to convince him, but it was worht it. I found it! Not only did I find that, but a cool Gir patch and a Decepticons wristband.

On that note, I gotta jet, Ryan just showed up... it's time for some R and/or R.

Handyman Strikes Again:

Yeah, that's right, I did it. I changed the oil in my van all by myself. I wasn't even scared, I didn't even cry. That's right, I'm hardcore!

On that note, today was semi-eventful. I had to return the oil I picked up at Walmart yesterday because it was the wrong brand of oil. Wouldn't wanna do that to the van. So I returned it along with my handy dandy, pint-sized sidekick Gus. For those of you who may not know, Gus is my little brother. He's a cool kid, just semi-misguided at times.

So we picked it up and I had this kah-razy idea: I wonder if the tie shop is still up at the mall? I've been searching for a black and white checkered tie for a while and it has eluded me. I figured: "Why not?" I had to con Gus though... it took a cherry italian ice at Rita's to convince him, but it was worht it. I found it! Not only did I find that, but a cool Gir patch and a Decepticons wristband.

On that note, I gotta jet, Ryan just showed up... it's time for some R and/or R.

Handyman Strikes Again:

Yeah, that's right, I did it. I changed the oil in my van all by myself. I wasn't even scared, I didn't even cry. That's right, I'm hardcore!

On that note, today was semi-eventful. I had to return the oil I picked up at Walmart yesterday because it was the wrong brand of oil. Wouldn't wanna do that to the van. So I returned it along with my handy dandy, pint-sized sidekick Gus. For those of you who may not know, Gus is my little brother. He's a cool kid, just semi-misguided at times.

So we picked it up and I had this kah-razy idea: I wonder if the tie shop is still up at the mall? I've been searching for a black and white checkered tie for a while and it has eluded me. I figured: "Why not?" I had to con Gus though... it took a cherry italian ice at Rita's to convince him, but it was worht it. I found it! Not only did I find that, but a cool Gir patch and a Decepticons wristband.

On that note, I gotta jet, Ryan just showed up... it's time for some R and/or R.

Handyman Strikes Again:

Yeah, that's right, I did it. I changed the oil in my van all by myself. I wasn't even scared, I didn't even cry. That's right, I'm hardcore!

On that note, today was semi-eventful. I had to return the oil I picked up at Walmart yesterday because it was the wrong brand of oil. Wouldn't wanna do that to the van. So I returned it along with my handy dandy, pint-sized sidekick Gus. For those of you who may not know, Gus is my little brother. He's a cool kid, just semi-misguided at times.

So we picked it up and I had this kah-razy idea: I wonder if the tie shop is still up at the mall? I've been searching for a black and white checkered tie for a while and it has eluded me. I figured: "Why not?" I had to con Gus though... it took a cherry italian ice at Rita's to convince him, but it was worht it. I found it! Not only did I find that, but a cool Gir patch and a Decepticons wristband.

On that note, I gotta jet, Ryan just showed up... it's time for some R and/or R.

Handyman Strikes Again:

Yeah, that's right, I did it. I changed the oil in my van all by myself. I wasn't even scared, I didn't even cry. That's right, I'm hardcore!

On that note, today was semi-eventful. I had to return the oil I picked up at Walmart yesterday because it was the wrong brand of oil. Wouldn't wanna do that to the van. So I returned it along with my handy dandy, pint-sized sidekick Gus. For those of you who may not know, Gus is my little brother. He's a cool kid, just semi-misguided at times.

So we picked it up and I had this kah-razy idea: I wonder if the tie shop is still up at the mall? I've been searching for a black and white checkered tie for a while and it has eluded me. I figured: "Why not?" I had to con Gus though... it took a cherry italian ice at Rita's to convince him, but it was worht it. I found it! Not only did I find that, but a cool Gir patch and a Decepticons wristband.

On that note, I gotta jet, Ryan just showed up... it's time for some R and/or R.

The Invasion: Phase II:

It is going to happen, whether I am looking forward to it or not. This weekend my cousin and Grandmother are coming down to visit this weekend. I’m not totally opposed to them coming because they are family and I do love them. However, I have had to cram all my stuff into one room to save space else where.

Being the quasi-disorganized person that I am, I haven’t unpacked anything. because I don’t need any of the stuff I have packed. This is kinda good because I leave in exactly 3 weeks so it’s less that I have to gather and worry about.

So I guess I should brace myself for the weekend. I haven’t any major plans, so I guess we’ll play it by ear. I’m probably going to make it my intention to play video games for several hours.

(A blog from yesterday:)

Just Like Your Father:

Ok, this blog is more directed towards guys than girls. My apologies.

Has anyone every made a comment to you about looking, acting, or sounding like your father? I had that happen to me today. A few years ago I had put in about 1000 hours of volunteer time at the local hospital and got to know a group of older ladies that helped out as well.

When I went down there this morning to pick up some films from the hospital’s radiology department, one came up behind me and said, “I know you. You’re Damien... I remember when you were this small.” As we talked on, she commented, “You talk just like your father.”

Now, I don’t know if you feel the same way when you recieve a comment like that, but I felt proud. I think my chest puffed out a little, thinking, “That’s right....just like my dad”. I bet that you know where I’m going with this.

As Christians, we have a heavenly Father. Even if you may feel like your dad here on earth may have hurt you or failed you, Father God never will. You may feel some times that God is not there or that He has failed you, but God works things out for the good of His kids.

If you’ve even felt proud being likened to your earthly father, how much more proud can we be when we ask, look, or talk like our Heavenly Father.

Reality Check:

Ok, so maybe making a bit of money has gotten to me. I’m not going to do the computer thing that I talked about yesterday. I checked into it and it would put me out about $600 on top of what I’d be getting for my laptop. So its either the computer or the amp.... and considering that my computer is still good and I need a guitar amp... survey says... go for the all tube amp. As said yesterday in reference to the G4 laptop “Mmmmmm .... power.”

I know that it can be difficult to save money when you have it. I am doing my best to hang on to as much as I can. The reality is that I can’t spend any more money than I need to. So here is the plan: I’m buying my amp and I’m going to see Five Iron Frenzy at the Purple Door Festival with Chris.

So I guess we’ll see what is gunna happen.

Great Expectations:

Have you ever done a favor for someone? Normally, they are grateful for your efforts and thank you for going out on a limb for them. Here is the next question: How many times have you done a favor for someone and then the next time that problem comes around, they expect that you’re going to be right there to fix their mistake? That happened to me yesterday.

As you may remember from a previous blog (most likely entitled “We Deliver”), I have mentioned was running films to Harrisburg for our Middleburg office. Now I don’t every remember complaining about it..... that is because I didn’t. I know that it is important for things to get done in a timely manner, because that is something that Tristan Associates is renowned for.

Being an employee that is grateful for his job and knows the importance of patient care, I offered to run films down to Harrisburg again (which is a 2 hour, one-way trip) for the Middleburg office. The problem that I was having was judging the urgency of the studies that they had on their schedule.

I’m not a tech. I don’t know what is absolutely important when it comes to Ultrasound studies. So I consulted Bill, our Tech Supervisor, to get his insight on the idea because Dad wasn’t in the office that day. I mean, I didn’t want to put out 200 miles on my vehicle if it was unnecessary. So he called Middleburg to find out what the dish was.

While in the process of figuring this out, someone in the background made a comment to the effect of, “Well isn’t that Damien’s job?”. Bill, thinking that whoever in the background said that thought he couldn’t hear, blasts back. “Damien was NOT hired to run your films to Harrisburg. He was hired to work in the file room and run films locally. Last time I checked, Harrisburg was not local.”

Now you have to understand, Bill is one of those easy going guys. But I could tell when he was on the phone that there was more that he’d have loved to say to them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to blast the people at Middleburg, but I was shocked and a bit upset at that statement.

Updates and Upgrades:

Being my forgetful self in combination with with the nasty thunderstorms that we had this weekend, I think that I forgot to publish a blog that I wrote on Saturday. It will be up, but keep in mind that was actually meant for Friday night. But that is beside the point.

So being at work... and being a tad occupied with the stuff that I was working on, I forgot to take my break.... or should I say forgot to go on break when I usually do. Which means that I started my break at 12:40 and will be done at 1:40. Oops.

While I was in the middle of working, Joe comes in and asks me to think about what I’d sell him my iBook for. Joe is a cool guy and he and I have discussed this with him for a while. This means a few things... for one, I get to upgrade to a Macintosh Powerbook G4... (mmmmm, power....) ... which means that my games will run much nicer... I mean, my SCHOOL work will process faster ;).

Granted, this means that I’ll have to put out a few hundred to get the G4, but it will be worth having that to work with.