Rather wake ya up than scrape ya up

At the time I wasn't exactly sure what the muffled CB radio noises had to do with the blonde or my failing attempts to pick her up. Then I realized she only existed within a dream and the radio noise was very real. So I opened my eyes, pushed my blanket to the side and looked in that direction. There was indeed a man in uniform at my window.

You see, when I travel at night and get tired I usually pull over for a quick power nap. They last about 15 minutes and then I am back in action. This particular nap was painfully near my destination but even more necessary. The nap turned out to be twice as long as anticipated. Either the length or the rude awakening made for a well-rested, raring to go, me.

We are in southern Arkansas; I had driven all night from Austin, Texas; My car and driver's license are both still of Nebraska.
I rolled down my passenger window and in my most southern backwoods drawl I say "yes sir officer" in retrospect my tone may have been lax or even unsuspectingly in a can I help you sort of way.
"Everything alright."
"Yes sir I was just taking a little nap."
"You get a little tired there did ya?" (Ever notice how we ask questions after we have the answer, almost in a Jeopardy fashion.)
"Yes, just trying to rest a bit."
"You got everything you own in there?" (I start to laugh, then he continues) "I mean I see a bicycle, seevral bags, some drumsticks...you in a band or something? (This guy was good. The bike anyone can see but the drumsticks are under a bag and at most one-thirty seventh visible. I should also mention that I am a little over zealous when it comes to being prepared. As I begin to explain this to him and my situation of not knowing the duration of my trip or where all it will take me, he gets a call on his radio. I missed what was said because I was...well actually listening to what I was saying.)
"Can I see your driver's license?" (I looked him in disbelief as I started to reach for my wallet.)
"Just procedure; not saying you've done anything wrong"
"Right;(still taken aback) You want the whole lot: registration and insurance."
"No this'll work. I'll just run it and you can be on your way. I mean you've done nothing wrong, I'm just checking on you"

As he goes back to his car, I realize the situation I have found myself in. Almost as if the creativity professor has kidnapped me and I now only exist in her world with the strangest, most unimaginable things. this officer may have thought many a thing upon seeing me on the side of the road. I was dead. I was trying to live out of my car. I was on the run. I was trafficing drugs. It kind of seemed like this was just the 8:20 wake-up call for vagrants.

"Look, I'm glad you stopped. Next time just try to find a parking lot somewhere." (I would have parked in a lot had there been one within 50 miles in any direction. While I was in Texas I had taken a 15 minute nap in a parking lot, mainly because it was available and God Bless Texas they use the shoulder to allow people to pass. Even here though I was parked off the shoulder on the grass, where a ditch would have been between the woods and road.)
"Well, I am glad you stopped." I replied, "Good to know I'm being looked after. I can only imagine how it might have looked."
Over the radio I hear a "...now hold on I'm getting a prior Arkansas DL for this guy, just wait a second"
I interject, "I'm originally from Arkansas; Little Rock and my dad lives in Warren. That's where I'm headed now."(All this is said while he dismisses the guy on the other end of the radio)
"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were breathing. And like I said, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just glad you stopped. I would much rather wake you up-"
"than scrape me up?"
"Yeah or pull you out of a tree or have to call the paramedics"(we laughed and he smiled then nodded)
"Alright, well, you don't even have to leave now; take your time; do what you need to do."
"Thank you"

Yes, thank you officer Brumley.

an answer

We all have questions that are so large and magnificent that we don't have the time or energy and often times will to answer. These questions range from the everyday why's and how's to the meanings in life and love or the possibilities of the unimaginable. Well luckily for us both, I have an answer to a question just like this(or even many questions really asking the same thing).

How does she do it? How does she maintain it: her sanity, her brilliance, her creative nature, her youth and her beauty? How is she able to overcome encounters with witches and high priest? How can she endure the attacks from lesbians? How can she help the homeless, which so happen to include a high school sweetheart? How is she so able to jump from one world to the next not only unscathed but stronger? How can she teach others to be just as great? How all of this and still a smile and more?

Quite a crux I know...

I set my mind in motion to find a solution fitting to the problem. She has secret powers, spells or some magic book that sustain her; maybe an insurmountable amount of love or capacity to love or be loved; maybe since her actions were so supernatural, then she too was not of this world; maybe she had a mentor or prestigious pedagogue that made her so immovable.

No, none of these. Not even close really. Her answer was succinct and simple; she said all one needs is...coffee and chocolate.

Girls names in songs...

I am soliciting help here; trying to find all the names of girls found in songs.
Here is what I came up with when I first made this list a couple of years ago:

Cathy
Gloria
Maria
Michelle
Misty
Cally
Beth
Sharona
Paula
Pauline
Barbara Ann
Sheila
Annie
Dawn
Donna
Amy
Roxanne
Janie
Mary
Maggie
Juana
Jainy
Hannah Jane
Jolene
Eileen
Johanna
Louise
Cecilia
Melissa
Mary Jane
Emily
Kathy
Emma Lou
Janice
Noel
Karen
Amber
Juliet
Eleanor
Alice
Cassandra
Mandy
Renee
Katherine
Sarah
Peggy Sue
Wendy
Rosemary
Judy
Sherri
Suzanna
Suzanne
Sue
Venus
Molly
Sarahjane
Billie Jean
Layla
Brandy
Charlotte
Katie
Diane
Adia
Lucy
Lydia
Bertha
Jackie
Carrie Ann
Rhonda
Jasmine
Amanda
Susie
Carrie
Cassie
Sadie
Rhiannon
Rosie
Alison
Caroline
Darlene
Nikki
Angie
Carol
Elizabeth
Bobby Sue
Laura
Rio
Jane
Jayne
Norma Jean
Alicia

There must be more. The original search started when a friend, Kelly, said her name was not in a song.

~jd

5 words or less

I was recently asked to describe myself in 5 words or less.

This was tough. Not because I do not know myself but because I want to choose the words that best describe me. Here are 4 for me, with definitions and synonyms.

Creative 1 : marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating 2 : having the quality of something created rather than imitated : IMAGINATIVE 3 : managed so as to get around legal or conventional limits ; also : deceptively arranged so as to conceal or defraud
Synonyms imaginative, ingenious, innovative, inventive, original Related Words gifted, inspired, talented; resourceful; fecund, fertile, fruitful, productive, prolific
Colourful 1 : having striking colors2 : full of variety or interest
Synonyms motley, multicolored, polychromatic, polychrome, varicolored, variegated Related Words brave, bright, brilliant, gay; flashy, garish, gaudy, loud, showy, splashy; deep, rich, unbleached; checkered, dotted, plaid, striped; colored, pigmented; dappled, shaded; marbled, mottled, piebald, pied, pinto; flecked, spotted, streaked; specked, speckled; banded, barred, brindled (or brindle)
Passionate 1 a : easily aroused to anger b : filled with anger : ANGRY2 a : capable of, affected by, or expressing intense feeling b : ENTHUSIASTIC, ARDENT3 : swayed by or affected with sexual desire
Synonyms ardent, blazing, burning, charged, emotional, fervid, feverish, fiery, flaming, glowing, hot-blooded, impassioned, red-hot, vehement, warm, warm-blooded Related Words gushing, maudlin, mawkish, mushy, sentimental; histrionic, melodramatic; enthusiastic, gung ho, zealous; enamored, infatuated, obsessed
Dreamer 1 : one that dreams2 a : one who lives in a world of fancy and imagination b : one who has ideas or conceives projects regarded as impractical : VISIONARY
Synonyms romantic, romanticist, utopian, visionary Related Words sentimentalist; daydreamer, optimist, theorist; perfectionist; thinker

That's me. I think the 5th word changes from time to time if it is there at all.
Feel free to comment should you agree/disagree with what's here or to share your own words.

~jd

Legen...wait for it

That's right, tonight is "How I met your mother" night. Good times and great fun if you ask me. Since you are the one reading, it is almost like you did ask. We will consider the question understood.

It has been quite a week.

Tuesday night, Sarah C had a few friends over. It was more like her version of the Bachelor though. We ate lasagna, watched an SNL compilation, laughed, heard Wyatt tell a story about Snook, Texas and laughed some more. We then played Mau(a card game). Brian claimed his name was John. We had several winners and of course more laughs.

Deacon, not Dylan, and I hung out during the "snow day" last Thursday. We ate at Pok-E-joes and the food was good but they had the AC on. Okay, when it is in the 20's outside there is absolutely no need for the cool conditioning of air. We then played about 4 hours of FIFA, Cameron stopped by and fell asleep. She left, Sarah C stopped in and we all went to Plucker's. Returned to Deacon's and played 4 hours of 10,000 (a 6 dice game). Classic cold day.

Friday, I went to the Texas State National Semifinal game. They lost in OT and we aren't going to talk about it.

Saturday night was the Christmas party. Food, fun, and a white elephant gift exchange. The gift exchange featured things from a catheter to a squirrel pelt to funeral soap(morbid) as well as an assortment of toys, games, and goodies. But wait, there's more. Karaoke!! James did a very impressive Can't Touch This and Cara and Sarah C showed off their "Oklahoma" teeth. I tried a couple myself and crashed and bur...crashed an...craaa...crashed and burnnnn... crashed and burned.

The way home was quite an adventure. Why do they keep moving 37 1/2 street? The lights were nice. Cameron just wanted to go home. Sarah C seemed to have a hard time keeping her attention on the driving and not the bright pretty sparkley things. Brian and I laughed to see such a sight. And the dish ran away with the spoon. Well i'm Sssp Nnt so, I don't know, you figure it out.

"Grab life by the crack and lick the crap out of it." -Barney

~jd

We are UP and runnin'

Tonight I honestly had more fun than I expected and it was the needle the destroyed the camel altogether. So here we have the blog. I haven't had a blog before on myself much less everyone else, so please bear with me. The blog will discuss the things in life that make it more fun or more interesting.

Things like:
Last Tuesday I saw Lance Armstrong at a UT basketball game and had the opportunity to shake his hand after the game.

-OR-

Spinning under the Zilker Park Lights

-But mainly-

Dylan playing Galaga almost the entire time we were at Rounders tonight. We had already ordered and even received our drinks. During a rare dull moment I had ventured to the Galaga arcade game to have a go and spend a quarter. Dylan stopped over to see how I was doing and asked if I knew any of the tricks like how to make them stop shooting. Of course I didn't and I don't think he could bear to watch, so he went back to the table. I was away for a few minutes at most. After I returned to the table, Dylan couldn't believe I had lost so quickly. I had only taken one quarter and didn't have the chance to continue my game(wasn't that good at it to begin with). We (Caley, Sarah, and I), encouraged Dylan to give it a try because we could see that he wanted to. He did and I made sure he took the extra quarter for continue. Soon there after our calzone came. We got started on it . Then the pizza came. I checked on Dylan intermittently. He was missing dinner and a wonderfully fun time with the two funniest girls in the world. His score was getting closer to the high score of 380,000 something. I thought this was amazing. 100,000's 200,000's before I new it 500,000's and the high score was growing with his. Not to mention he still had as many as 7 extra men. Sarah checked on him and she can describe that but he told her that we could go ahead and leave and that he was just having the greatest time. 1/2 hours flew by and Caley needed to get back to San Antonio. I packed up a couple of pieces of pizza and the remains of the calzone in to a box. I labeled it for Dylan with the date and a description that it was the night he had destroyed the Galaga high score at Rounders. At this point I didn't know how much of an underestimation this would be. He was reluctant to continue because he was afraid when he reached 1,000,000 it would roll over back to 000000. One of the guys that worked there witnessed and we encouraged Dylan to keep going. He passed a million and it did roll over. The guy working there said he would post Dylan's outrageous high score of 1,036,000? that could have been higher had we not rushed him away. It was amazing to say the least.

Getting in the car Dylan said, "Great, now I'm sweating and everything." Once in the car Dylan mentioned how sore his wrist/hand was and how worried he was about having to type at work tomorrow. He compared being able to finally eat to the feeling of refueling after a long hard-played soccer match. So all in all, it was a good night. -AND- I hope the girls add their perspective.

To conclude, here is a copy of his follow up email...
You guys ROCK! Just wanted to say I had great fun Sunday night. I was wondering next time if I see you, would autograph my take home container from Rounders? I just now read it!!! That's way too cool of you!!! I might frame it so I can have something on my walls at home. Kaley too (autograph, but I don't have her email address).Anyway, I appreciate yall having me along, the spinning was way cooler than whatever else I was supposed to be doing. Thanks also to J.D. for picking up the pizza. On me next time.Life is..... dizzy. Dylan and good.