Friday, April 29, 2005

I Work Hard For The Money!

Donna Summer's infamous hit single was playing while I bowled last night. I'm in a weekly work league and last night was our final week. The 1st half of the season found us in 4th place. But bad luck reared its ugly buttocks during the 2nd half. In fact, in the last three out of four Wednesdays, our team lost all its matches no matter who we played against. Things turned for the better on that remaining Wednesday, when our team won all its matches. Last night was overall finals for the year and we actually managed to win all our games again. I tell you, if the Season went on until mid-June, we'd so end up in 1st place, instead of the 7th place 2nd half finish and overall finish we placed in.

Lo and behold, even when bowling, I was working hard for the money. I entered one of those pot things where you put money in and hope you wind up being the big scorer w/handicap thankfully. The way this one works is say 16 people enter the pot during Game 1. The top 8 scorers w/handicap advance to Game 2. Then the top 4 scorers w/handicap advance to the finals, where all 4 take a prize. Last place is usually getting your money back with the amount incrementing for each place.

I've had mixed luck on those, actually only winning 2nd place in the pot once. But tonight's pot had a twist. We had to pair up with a partner and if you and your partner scored the highest in the 3rd game, you win the largest piece of pot pie. So I reluctantly paired up with the top bowler on my team "Reid". I say reluctantly because Reid's a very good bowler but very cocky at times. In fact he had a 202 average as of last night. He's one of those people that finds his opponent's weakness and pounces on it. I've been the victim occasionally.

So in addition to his pressure, I added pressure on myself to perform well. We definitely weren't going to win much money for the team. 7th place, hello!! So I wanted to get a teeny weeny bit back.

I guess the pressure worked, though. Everytime I thought I'd blow the game, I somehow got a turkey or a turkey plus 1 in the last few frames. My series for the night was my best overall series for the entire season. 188, 199, 181. My average was a 159. With my scores and Reid's (257, 236, 217)....he has no handicap since his average is over 200, we easily won the top pot....woo hoo! That was the best $34 I ever made. Har, har!

Pet peeves. Every now and then when trudging through this thing called life, I stumble upon human behavior that completely makes me gag. I run into this particular peeve every now and then when driving. I hate it when I drive behind someone who's smoking and they flick their cigarette ashes out the window instead of in the ashtray that all cars come with. Then when they're finally done with their cigarette, they toss it out the window. It amazes me how folks like that don't mind polluting their bodies with carcinogens but their ashtrays are so precious that they dare not dirty it up. I know this is probably unlikely but if their ashes were to land on some loose gasoline, they could possibly cause a hazardous situation to happen.

Whew...glad to get that off my chest! I have more pet peeves where that came from.

Current mood: Relieved

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Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Skirting The Issue

I found out that "Trina" was talking about visiting me during the week. Seeing that I wasn't going to get any time off soon, I basically told her we'd have to meet up another time. Aaah, avoidance! My favorite action...*LOL*.

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Monday, April 18, 2005

The Visit!

Sunday was pretty uneventful until I got a phone call from my baby sister "Trina". Lately it's been a pretty rare thing for us to chat with one another. We're cool with each other but have sort of drifted apart over the years due to me being caught in the middle of family squabbles. Anyway, she mentioned that she had some time off and was thinking of dropping by for a couple days. I must admit I was a bit excited by the prospect since she's the only one in my immediate family that hasn't seen the townhouse I've been living in for almost five years now. It was minutes later that she mentioned the bombshell that she wasn't planning on coming alone. Apparently she wants to bring a "guy".

Being the one that avoids confrontation, I hemmed and hawwed but said some joke of 'long as there's no fornicating, it's cool' deal. But I don't know if it's cool having some guy I've never met staying at my house.

I talked it over with my friend "Sally", who's doing fine by the way. She said that she personally would have her sister stay at a hotel with the guy. She added the 'but that's just me' line. I chatted with another friend of mine "Eugene" and he basically asked me if I trust Trina's judgment. Assumedly if I trust Trina, then I should trust her judgment in bringing the guy over. For the most part I do, but I don't know about this one. I don't even want to mention it to my folks because I know they'd, meaning mostly my Mom, would be tripping.

I'm probably not going to say anything anyway but I will insist that if she does bring this guy, there can't be any nooky going on and if she can't live by that, they should stay at a hotel. Would it be too cold if I told her to just stay at a hotel?

Current mood: Concerned

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Friday, April 15, 2005

Losing the Tax Battle

I went ahead and filed an extension for my taxes. It's the first time I've ever had to do that. Fortunately I don't believe I'll owe the Federal. I don't think I owe the State but it's usually close. I may send them $50, just in case.

Filing a Schedule C for the first time has proved a bit daunting. Another first this year, I'm going to actually go to a tax accountant. I'm currently looking for recommendations. I just need initial help regarding things such as depreciation and inventory. It's not like my business is that complicated but I want to be sure I do it right initially.

I'm pretty independent and like doing things myself. That's why it took me this long to realize I need help. I was hoping to have time these last two weeks to really sit down and make sense of the C stuff but work literally robbed me of that precious time.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

The Old B-Ball Game

Yay! The Pistons managed to pull an upset over the Bulls in overtime last night. And I was there, live at Chicago's United Center! In the nosebleed section, of course. My friend "Sally" got the tickets. Originally she was hoping two of her other friends would go but one wound up being out of town and the other bailed on her, so it was just me.

It was lots of fun. I inadvertently found myself caught up in the middle of Sally's drama. Apparently she's been seeing this thug "Mooney" for the last two years. Anyway Mooney was upset that Sally was only with me last night. He was like, "If you wanna kick it with Eric, that's fine with me." I didn't hear all this since they were talking on the phone.

Sally tells me that Mooney has drama issues. He has 5, count em, 5 hoodlums from previous relationships. She assures me that they've agreed not to be an item since he has problems. Apparently some anger problems, among others. That's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one. Mooney's car basically broke down and he was staying at his brother's. So after dropping me off to my car, she immediately took off to pick him up. I'll have to call her later today to make sure she's alright.

The things we do to get a piece.

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Monday, April 11, 2005

All Gutted Out!

I wasn't even close to a 300 game. My highest score was a 156. My other two games were unmetionable. Sunday's games weren't any better.

Actually just before the third game on Saturday, I started feeling funny. I had this feeling before mid-January and wound up driving myself to emergency. I felt like my chest was tightening and my arm was getting numb. I felt like I was going to die or pass out at any minute. During that time, my blood pressure was measured at 186/102, Hypertension Level 2. They kept me overnight and did all these tests and found nothing wrong with my heart. My pressure was still elevated but did drop to 140/90 (Borderline) before I was discharged the next day.

Two days after that I was on my way to work and innocently popped some Cinnamon gum in my mouth. (And no, I won't name the brand until they give me royalties and they'd probably won't after what I say next.) Next thing I know, I was having that feeling again. I flashed back to that first incident and realized I was chewing the same cinnamon gum. I immediately spit it out and after a half hour, I was better. That was a weird connection as I've never had problems with cinnamon gum before.

So fast forward to April 9th. I was chewing some cinnamon gum that I innocently received from a friend of mine. I took it without really thinking. It was about 30 minutes later when those feelings came back again. All the while I was chewing the gum. I immediately threw it out and took some Ibuprofen. Very weird!

I have to remember now to avoid cinnamon all together. Or maybe gum in general. I haven't really chewed much gum since the first incident.

Other than that, I'm doing okay. I'm still trying to do my taxes. I'm filing a Schedule C for the first time ever. Yeah I got a fledging business. Real fledging...*LOL*. I definitely incurred a loss this year so I'm hoping to get a nice refund.

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Saturday, April 09, 2005

Why The Blogger Title?

You may be wondering why I called my blog Half & Half, Tit & Tat!

Well I was inspired by the UPN comedy hit show by the same name. The show stars the lovely Rachel True and her tatas. Trust me, she's got a full rack and she's not afraid to accentuate them. RT plays the role of Half-Sister Mona. Essence Atkins is the other half of the sisterly equation. The premise is that two half-sisters who previously became estranged suddenly live in the same apartment complex owned by their father, occasional guest star Obba Babatundé. The real highlight of the show are the sisters's Moms, played by veteran actresses Telma Hopkins (Mona's mom Phyllis) and Valarie Pettiford (Essence Atkins's Little Dee Dee's mom Big Dee Dee). Another highlight is Alec Mapa, who plays the gay receptionist Adam. He was a recurring character but by Season 3 became a regular. (Wise move!) Rounding out the equation is the proverbial annoying sidekick of Mona's Spencer, played by Theron Benymon.

Now that I explained all that, it's my favorite comedy show currently. I personally think it's better than the current crop of shows out there. They do have some occasional Plot 101 stories, e.g. Will Mona and Spencer be more than just friends?,but it's the execution by the actors that make the show a joy to watch. It's currently in its 3rd season. If UPN knows what's good for them, they'll renew it for a 4th season. If you're not watching this show, then you really need to! Stat.

Ahhh but it's close to the witching hour. I better get ready for my night of cosmic bowling. Fun! Here's to a 300 game.

The Work Out Plan

So I'm chilling at home listening to my newly purchased Kayne West CD. You're probably wondering...didn't he drop that last year? Yeah he did! But I usually wait until I hear multiple singles and when I can get them off Amazon.com used, which is exactly what I did. The only exceptions to that rule is anytime Toni Braxton or Chante Moore releases an LP, even if they're trying too hard to compete with Britney (why?) or Christina Aguilera, as was the case in both of their last albums. But back to Kayne. I'm glad I purchased it too since it's banging. It seems to be a social commentary on the college system. Going to college and obtaining the American dream is deemed as something all youth should aspire to. And there's nothing wrong with going to college, as it does teach you some values and life lessons. However, a degree is no guarantee of necessarily "making it" in life. His album pokes fun at society's notion of college.

But anyway, I titled this 2nd entry of mine (I have a lot of catching up to do), the Work Out Plan. I've been doing a bit of working out myself and I've begun to see some physical improvements. All I need to do is get some sounds for my Cavalier and I'll be set!!!

Tonight I get to do some Cosmic bowling for a company function. It's part of our two month "too long" campaign at work for Junior Acheivement, which is a program that pairs up corporate employees with classrooms all across the U.S., teaching basic finance skills. I've participated in teaching a few classes myself. JA provides all materials. My company's been heavily raising money for this with cookie dough sales, raffle tickets, and auctions. It gets pretty old fast with the daily barrage of email filling our INBOXes with the latest JA funding event. All of this concludes with the weekend bowl-a-thon, which I'm participating in both Saturday and Sunday. Hey....I love to bowl!

Anyway, works been a bitch! Let me get back into the real world. I'll have to blog about that sometime. PEACE!

Current Mood - Peachy Keen

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Saturday, April 02, 2005

First Post

Very creative title, huh? If you're reading this, you must be bored out your mind. Err, just kidding! I think.

Let me get back on track. My name's Eric & I'm a 33 year old black male currently living in the Chicago metropolitan area. I still have a lot to learn in this crazed life I'm living. Maybe I'll feel inclined to share some of it on here.

If I do post about others, I'll use pseudo names to provide some anonymity. I'm sure I'll think of other things along the way.

Until my second post. See ya!

Current Mood: Hopeful