Eloise

I finally mailed a birthday card and small present to my sister Eloise. In the card, it asks how someone can be so wonderful. Eloise or El or The Kid as I call is just that. The transition from military to civilian life has been very hard for me. My life in the Air Force was very predictable and stable. Now, nothing is predictable or sure. I'm scrambling to make a new life for myself and it isn't easy. El has been a huge blessing. I can't tell how many times her phone calls have cheered me up when I was really stressed about the future or down about things. She has always been upbeat and positive. Compared to her, I've been having a cake walk though I haven't seen it that way. She went through months of scrambling to find a job in Seattle. Finally, after many ups and downs it appears she has found her niche at Trader Joes Supermarkets. She's in training to become a manager. She should be a really good one. I'm happy that she has finally found what she wants to do job wise. By all accounts, Trader Joes is a great place to work. They apparently take good care of their people and pay them well. One of these days, I'll have to go find the Trader Joes in Annapolis just to check it out. El bought a bunch of stuff from them for the family Christmas grab bag. The grab bag is a huge Christmas stocking where all members of the family drop in various items they've bought for it. On Christmas day, the stocking is emptied on the floor and family members take turns picking an item from the pile. This last Christmas, I got some salmon jerky and pepper cashews that El bought from Trader Joes. They were both pretty good. I'd definitely like to see what other stuff they have.

Back to the main point of this post. El is a neat sister and the only one I helped raise as a baby. I was 15 when El was born and I got tagged to change diapers (barf! gag! and SERIOUS YUCK!), baby sit, and watch over her (one time I didn't keep a close enough eye and when I went to find up what she was up to, I found her drinking SHAMPOO! I must have 9 lives because I swear I lost at least 3 of them that time from heart attack. I remember reading the ingredients of the shampoo and finding out it had formaldehyde in it. They use that to preserve things. I thought great, I've pickled my sister! I started pouring water down her throat to dilute the shampoo, she starting spitting up BUBBLES! I was ready to have a nervous breakdown. My Dad has arms like tree trunks and I could imagine what he was going to do to me when he found out (it was 2 years before I had the nerve to tell him what she did). Fortunately, kids are pretty indestructible at that age and maybe she didn't drink much of the shampoo. I don't know. I just know she survived and didn't appear any worse for wear.).

Last year, I got to visit El in Seattle. It was a neat time. We had lunch at the top of the Space Needle, got to see the Science Fiction Writers Hall of Fame, did a 2 hour cruise through the locks and harbor, got to see the famous fisherman's market where you better watch out for the flying fish, got to see an impressive waterfall, play some pool, meet some of her friends, and see the latest Batman movie which was really good. It saddened me when it was time to fly back to Maryland. Seattle was a very pretty city and I really enjoyed myself there. I hope to make it out there sometime to see her again. We'll see on that. Hopefully, like her, I'll find my niche job wise. As she says, something will work out. I just have to be patient and stop worrying. Not easy to do considering what a numbnut I am. Hopefully, everything will turn out well and El will be able to kid me for worrying so much about it. I in turn will give thanks for having such a great sister. As the birthday card asks how did you turn out to be so wonderful? I don't know sis but I'm very glad you did. Thanks for being there. Love, Bro.

Elven War Sword

Yesterday, I received the Elven War Sword I'd ordered. It was the last sword I wanted to own from the Lord of the Rings collection. Sadly, it my opinion, it is the worst. The handle on the sword looks Mattelish i.e. it looks like it's made of plastic. It should look like it has leather wrapped around possible a wooden handle. To make matters worse, there are clearly visible lines on the top and bottom parts of the handle. The reason for this is because the handle was made of two parts and then somehow welded together. Because of this, the blade is purely display. If you actually tried to hit something with it, you would split the handle. Another problem I have with the handle is it's too big. I think it should be smaller and more slender. I suspect they did this so they could make it easier to manufacture.

The blade part of the sword looks good and is a good copy of the blades that were used in the movies. Overall, the sword does more or less look like the blades that the Elven characters used but, I still think that if they couldn't make the sword properly, they shouldn't have made it at all. From what I've heard about engineering and manufacturing problems associated with the blade, this is one sword United Cutlery shouldn't have made. All the other blades I bought in the Lord of the Rings collection were superb, some extremely so. There are a lot of really crappy and kitschy looking swords out on the market. In my opinion, the Lord of the Rings swords were the exception. They are blades that a person would want to own simply because they are beautiful and high quality swords (as far as wall decoration swords go). It saddens me that the final sword in the collection ended up being such a poor representative of the collection.

Procrastination

One of my worst traits is procrastination. If there is something I really don't want to do, I'll put it off till the very last possible moment. Such was the case with two essays I needed to write for the college class I was taking. The part I hate worst about the college classes I'm taking is writing the papers. To make matters worse, I'm majoring in English. If you major in English, you are guaranteed to have to write a LOT of papers.

The class I was taking this spring wasn't that bad. All totalled, I had to write 4 essays of between 3 and 12 pages in length. Still, I hate doing the assignments. Miracles of miracles, I actually got the first assignment in on time. I wasn't to be so lucky on the second assignment. I kept putting it off until I ABSOLUTELY had to do it. I actually managed to knock out the first essay in an hour though it helped that I'd already marked the parts in the book that I was going to use.

The second essay ended up taking a LOT longer. I had to analyze two mother-daughter relationships in The Joy Luck Club. I'd read the novel twice but, I had to re-read the parts on each mother and daughter that I was going to analyze. I also take to take notes on those parts and note what page or pages I took those parts from. It was a very time consuming task. Not surprisingly, I didn't meet the deadline for the second essay. It ended up taking almost an entire day to do the research and write and then re-write the paper. I finally turned it in approximately 18 hours late (which isn't bad for me) (which also doesn't speak well of me either).

I should still pass the class. I got a "D" in it the first time and that's without doing any of the papers. We'll see what happens. If I do by some chance fail it, it'll be my own stupid fault and sadly, it won't be the first time. Perhaps, one of these days I'll learn though I doubt it. I can be a real dipshit when I have to do stuff I don't care to do. Just ask my parents how I was when I had to my chores at home. They know!

The Da Vinci Code

I recently got to read an article on The Da Vinci Code novel. I'd heard about the book and how supposedly it was filled with inaccuracies and false conspiracies. Because of that, I wasn't in any hurry to buy it. The article by www.catholic.com confirmed what I'd heard. According to the article, the Da Vinci Code book and forthcoming movie states that Jesus was an ordinary man, that he married and had a daughter with Mary Magdalene, that Mary Magdalene is to be worshipped as a goddess (yah, right, NOT!), that daughter gave birth to a family line that continues to this day, that Mary Magdalene was directed to create the church instead of Peter, a secret society was created that worships Mary Magdalene to this day, Catholic Church has done whatever it can including murder to destroy that secret society, and that the Catholic Church has tried to wipe-out the family line that originated from Jesus and Mary's daughter.

While the Catholic Church has not been the most saintly organizations throughout the centuries, I can't believe that it would murder those who found out about the so called secret or try to exterminate a family line. I have to suspect the author of The Da Vinci Code has a serious grudge against the Catholic Church. It also seems to go with a number of articles now a days that try to deny Jesus's divinity. I suspect the articles are because the faith of Jesus doesn't play well with the anything goes crowd. No matter how you play it, Jesus and the Christian faith don't approve of sin. They say we should try to avoid sinning though if we do, we should repent of what we've done i.e. acknowledge what we did was wrong before God and through Jesus's saving work on the cross, we will be forgiven. The anything goes crowd don't care to admit they did anything wrong at all.

Based on what I read on the article: http://www.catholic.com/library/cracking_da_vinci_code.asp, I'm going to pass on The Da Vinci Code book and movie. I'd recommend other Christians do the same. It sounds like just another attempt at attacking the Christian faith which sadly seems in vogue today.

Groceries

I got to ring up and bag my own groceries yesterday. I decided to run out to the Base Commissary and buy some milk, Sunkist orange soda, and gala apples. I've developed a real liking for orange soda lately and have been making the soda machine folks at work rich. I like the taste of gala apples and the Base Commissary has the best price on them. Compared to other places, the commissary can save you a $1 a pound on them. I also wanted to see if they had any luncheon meat ends for sale. Luncheon meat ends are the leftovers from the loafs and rolls of luncheon meat the delicatessen sells. I like to munch out on them. The Commissary sells them $1.29 a pound which is more half the price the local Giant supermarket sells them for ($3 a pound). The only problem with the luncheon meat ends is other people like them too. It's always hit or miss with trying to buy them. Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes I don't. Yesterday, I didn't.

They have good prices on other items as well. I was able to buy Louis Rich turkey breast for $1.50 a pound and 7 ounce bags of Gibbles cheese puffs for 72 cents each. Whole milk is only $1.76 a gallon. In my opinion, one of the best benefits I have from serving in the Air Force is being able to shop at the Commissary. It can really make a difference on the food bill.

Back to ringing up my own groceries, I think it was last year the Commissary introduced a new service where you could ring up and bag your own groceries. I think they did it as a way to save money. This way they don't have to pay for a cashier for four check-outs or the baggers. I would guess for the customer, the benefit is they get out of the Commissary quicker. For me, I just wanted to bag my own groceries and take them out to my car. I guess I was in a cheap mood and didn't feel like tipping the bagger 50 cents a bag. It was an interesting time. I'd always wanted to try out one of those scanners and get to weigh my own apples. The only problem I had ringing up my own groceries was when I tried to move groceries I'd bagged. The sensor would pick it up and the person who overseas the four positions would have to reset the alert. Overall, I thought it was a neat service. I definitely plan to use it again when I visit the Commissary again.

My Uncle Richard and Aunt Liane

I heard from my Uncle Richard today. It caused me to remember when I got to visit him and his wife my Aunt Liane. It was an interesting visit. I was in the Air Force at the time and had just finished a one year tour in Bahrain. When you're enroute to your next duty station, you can take leave (time off) as long as you have some leave saved up. I did and I had some things I wanted or needed to do before I reported to my next duty station. I first flew down to see my friend May Jackson in San Angelo, Texas. After that, I needed to pick up my car. Before going to Bahrain, I'd placed my Toyota Camry in storage. It didn't make any sense taking it to Bahrain as I would've only gotten to drive it 6 months. It would've take 3 months to get out there and 3 months to get to wherever my next duty station was going to be. So, I flew down to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, saw my friend Jeanne Haun and her husband Rick, and then used a rental car to drive to Pensacola to pick up my car.

After I picked up my car, I drove to Jacksonville to see my Uncle Richard and Aunt Liane. I couldn't remember when I'd last seen them. It turned out it was back in 1967! I realized I had no idea what either of them looked like so it was with nervous trepidation when I knocked on their door. Uncle Richard looks like my Grandfather McCarthy as I recognized the resemblance at once. My Aunt Liane turned out to be a real sweetheart. We visited an alligator farm, Fort Augustine, and the site where a French settlement had been. He also showed me downtown Jacksonville. At the end of my visit, we visited a Hooters restaurant where we enjoyed some of their famous chicken wings.

After that, it was time for me to drive down to Sanford, Florida where I boarded the Autotrain. The Autotrain is a train that Amtrak runs from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford, Florida. It's an easy way to take you and your car to Orlando, Florida (Sanford is just outside Orlando) if you live the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. I boarded the train while they put my car on one of the special train cars for carrying cars. I arrived the next morning in Lorton and had an easy drive to my next base.

I had a great time visiting my Uncle Richard and Aunt Liane. I make it a point to keep in touch with them. I hope to fly down sometime in the future to see them. It all depends on the job situation. Hopefully, I'll get that sorted out soon and be able to make it down to see them. They're awesome people.

Ale II

This is my second post on Samuel Adam's various ales hence Ale II. Yesterday, I got to try Samuel Adams Summer Ale. I found it a nice smooth ale. On their website, Samuel Adams says there is a background of peaches and some other fruit. If so, I couldn't taste them but then I'm not a connoisseur of ales. I just know if it tastes good or not and, I think their Summer Ale is pretty good. One bad thing about their summer ale is it's seasonal brew. It's only available during the summer.

I also tried their Brown Ale. I found this ale has a harsher taste though it's still a decent brew. Unlike Adams Summer Ale, their Brown Ale is available year round. It's part of their Brewmaster Collection.

One final side note. As I mentioned in previous posts, I've allowed my hair to grow long and I've grown a goatee. When I went up to the counter to pay for the two six-packs of ale, the cashier carded me. I'm 45 years old. I should've grown my hair long years ago! (grin) Cheers!

College Books

After I finished taking the final for the college class I'm taking, it was time to sell back the books to the college book store. This always strikes me as something of a rip-off. They give you half of what you paid for the book and sell it for twice what they paid you. A nice deal if you can get away with it and they do. For the nine books I sold them, I got all of $34.25. I then walked over to the college bookstore to see about getting the two books I need for my next class. It turned out that they were out of stock. I'm going to have to buy them brand new. The total price for the two new books - $35. Some days, you just can't win. Oh well, at least I had the rest of the books for the class. I'd hate to see what it would've cost me otherwise. I'll get to drive back later this week to pick the books up. For some reason, they couldn't mail them to me. :-(

College Final

I took the final today for the college class I was taking for the Spring Semester. I hopped into my car and drove down to the College Park Campus. This time, I made sure I had plenty of time. Previously, I've been slow to get out of the house and have cut it close. This time, I arrived with over 30 minutes to spare. The final was given in the Cole Field House. Cole Field House is an indoor arena where they have various indoor sports events. I remember seeing on a board that they had scheduled flag football in it in April.

The final itself went so-so. I had to write three essays. I liked what I wrote for the first essay BUT I thought the essay was a little short. It ended up only being a little less than a page and a half. The second essay turned out all right BUT took longer than I'd planned. It also was longer than I'd planned. The third essay was something of a disaster. I didn't plan on having to write an essay on two poems so I was caught totally surprise for it. To make matters worse, the second poem I chose was never covered in class. I didn't have time to find a good second poem so I went with it anyway. Hopefully, I'll score all right on the first two essays. We'll see.

Royalty Magazines

I don't know about anyone that reads my blog but, I'm a bit of a fan of royalty. I think it started because I'm an Anglophile, a person who loves things that have to do with the United Kingdom. One of really neat things about England is the British Royal Family. To me, they have a lot of cache. One of the biggest thrills I've had on my travels was when I actually got to go inside Buckingham Palace during a tour. It was something to see the balcony the royals will come out on and wave from during various events. I also got to see the room the Queen uses to bestows honors in including knighthoods. Lastly, I got to see her backyard. You might ask what is so special about seeing her backyard. First, the backyard is in downtown London. People don't have backyards there because land is so danged expensive. I remember seeing ads where people paid over $85,000 for a garage to park their car in. The Queen has a backyard you could 20 or 30 garages in. The land value of her backyard must be ridiculous. If that isn't incredible enough, however many people do you know that have their own LAKE in their backyard? I doubt many and again remember her lake is in the middle of downtown LONDON! Unbelievable! It was truly incredible to get to see the inside of that palace.

Back to the subject, two of best magazines you can buy if you want to follow the world's royalty are Royalty and Majesty. Both of these magazines have excellent pictures on the various royal families. They also have interesting articles on them. In Volume 20 Number 3, Royalty magazine talks about the girlfriends of Princes William and Henry. It's kinda interesting to read about them. Volume 27 Number 3 of Majesty has a nice article on Princess Caroline if you're interested in Monaco royals. Majesty also gives a list of dates and places where various royals will be appearing in England. It would very useful if you've got the desire to try to catch a glimpse of one. Lastly, the magazines sell good selections of books on the royals. I remember one I was interested in but didn't get around to buying actually told how the British royal household actually worked.

If you like royalty, either of these magazines might be for you. I was able to buy my copies at Books-A-Million. They also have websites at: www.majestymagazine.com and www.royalty-magazine.com. Cheers!

Movies

I bought four movies on DVD today. Best Buy has some movies on sale for $5.99 and I decided I couldn't pass that up. I ended up buying Flashdance, Trading Places, Stargate, and The Saint. I've seen all of them except for Stargate which I bought in VHS format but never got around to watching (problems with my VCR). They should make a nice addition to my movie collection. I'm hoping Best Buy or Sam's Club will have Apollo 13 and Mannequin on sale some time. I'd like to get those on DVD too. I'm slowly replacing all my VHS movies with DVDs. DVDs in theory will never wear out whereas videotapes do. Also VCRs sometimes eat them (definitely not a good thing).

On a different note, I got to try an Orange Julius at Dairy Queen. There is an Orange Julius/Dairy Queen right across from the Medieval Times where I work. I've tried one of their smoothies and wanted to try an Orange Julius. Basically, an Orange Julius is an orange flavored smoothie. I found it all right. I plan to try out some of the other smoothies they have there. I'll let you know how those are. Cheers!

Book Review

The final book I had to read for the college class I'm taking for the Spring Semester is Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. The book tells of four Chinese women who emigrate to the United States and their American born daughters. It is a fascinating book filled joy, love, pain, and loss. It shows the differences between Chinese and American culture and the problems children of foreign born parents can encounter when they try to create a sense of identity. It also shows the problems you can have between immigrant parents and their American born offspring. One example was the embarrassment one of the daughters felt over their parents poor English. One of the problems the mothers had was the lack of attention she received from her daughter (typical now a days in the U.S.).

I personally found the book very enjoyable though I think women would enjoy it more then men. It very much hits on the difficulties of mother-daughter relationships, something men might have a hard time identifying with. The book isn't a hard read nor a long one. The paperback edition has 332 pages. Cost wise, the list price for the book is $7.99 U.S. Supposedly, the book was made into a movie. I don't know how good the movie is as I've never seen it though I may try since I joined Blockbuster video today. We'll see. As far as the book goes, I'd definitely recommend it. It is a very nice and touching read.

Samuel Adam's Boston Ale

I decided to try Samuel Adam's Boston Ale this week. Medieval Times sells their ale and I thought it would be fun to try some. I found the Boston Ale to be stronger than regular lager. The alcohol content is 5.1%. It also has a robust taste to it. It isn't a watery or weak brew. Also, it's available year round. I found out Samuel Adams has a line of seasonal brews as well as regular brews. One of these is called Summer Ale. I picked up a six-pack of that today and plan to try it out Sunday. I'll let you know what I think of it then. If you'd like more information on beers, ales, and other alcoholic brews by Samuel Adams, their website is: www.samueladams.com.

My Brother Hank

I mailed my brother Hank his birthday card today. The card is late (I'm terrible about mailing stuff) but I don't think he'll mind. The reason for that is because the card has a picture of a beautiful girl on it and Hank loves pictures of beautiful women. But most importantly, it has a $25 gift card to Olive Garden in it. Hank LOVES food and Olive Garden restaurants have very good food. I doubt there is a restaurant Hank likes more. Also Hank will also get a delight in spending someone elses money. While Hank is a wonderful person and a real character, he can also be something of a tightwad. He doesn't like spending his own money but he'll gladly help you spend yours!

While we're on the subject of Hank, let me tell you a little about him. He is pretty incredible. If ever a kid was born with the deck stacked against him, it was Hank. Hank should have been a perfectly normal kid but thanks to a drunk anesthesiologist at birth, he suffered irreparable brain damage. He subsequently underwent something like 19 operations to try to fix the damage. The last operation he underwent was the most radical. One problem that they discovered was that Hank's brain was sending to strong a signal to him limbs. When Hank would try to reach for something, he ended knocking the object away instead of grasping it. Because of this, Hank had to be strapped down in a wheel chair so he wouldn't try to grasp something when someone tried to feed him. The doctors decided that if they trimmed back one of the nerves in Hank's back, it would cut back the signal and enable Hank to grasp onto objects instead of knocking them away. The surgery worked. Hank can now push his wheelchair by himself if he wishes.

Because of the brain damage, Hank can't talk properly. However, thanks to the wonders of computer technology, Hank can communicate. Hank uses a keyboard that scrolls through words and when Hank hears a word he wants to say, he hits the keyboard. Through the keyboard, Hank is able to put together complete intelligible sentences. The keyboard has also enabled Hank to show that he is a very intelligent young man.

When you first look at Hank, you might not guess what an interesting character he is. However, once you get to know him, you might a mischievous character. I remember the time he stole some of my ice cream. I was home visiting and I decided to buy some Hagen Dazs ice cream at one of the local supermarkets. I put the ice cream in the fridge and broke it out from time to time to have some. I can't remember if Hank saw me eat some of it but he definitely knew it was there. At the time, my sister Ellie would come over and my Dad occasionally asked her if she would feed Hank. One day she came over while I was home and Dad asked her to feed Hank his lunch. Usually, Hank will have for dessert some cheap ice cream that Dad buys in large five gallon buckets. For some reason, Ellie didn't see Hank's ice cream. She did see the Hagen Dazs. She foolishly asked Hank if the Hagen Dazs was his. Hank looked around (presumably to see if I was there) and then quickly nodded YES! Ellie spooned out some of the ice cream and started serving it to him. As luck would have it, I walked out to the dining room where Ellie was feeding Hank and saw my Hagen Dazs out. I asked what was up. Ellie realized she'd been had. Hank had a big shit eating smile on his face. This was years ago but Hank still remembers and still laughs when I rag on him about stealing some of my ice cream.

This brief blog should give you some idea of what my brother Hank is like. He's a real character though also a wonderful person. He is a prime example of someone who has worked hard to overcome some terrible breaks in life. I plan to write more about him in the future. For now, I hope Bottomless Pit (as far as food is concerned) enjoys him Olive Garden gift card. Happy Belated Birthday Bro!

Post Office Interview

This past Thursday, I had an interview with the local Post Office. While the Post Office isn't my first choice career wise, it does has some advantages. Once you get hired on, you have excellent job security. Also, it pays well and my prior military service is a big plus with them. The interview itself went well though I wish I'd completed my job history before I arrived. I ended up having to rush to finish that. The Postmaster showed me what I'd be doing. Basically, I'd go in in the morning and spend 3 to 4 hours sorting the mail for my route then, I drive out to my route and deliver it. It looks like pretty simple work. It's just time consuming and dull. Still, it is a good paying job ($16.24 an hour) and has more of a future than my job with Medieval Times. The one big down side to the job as far as I can see that I'll have to work as a temporary mail carrier for a year and a half before I'll be able to get hired on permanently. One encouraging thing the Postmaster said was that I was likely to get more than one day a week. The one day a week of work was one of the biggest drawbacks I had with trying to hire on with the Post Office.

The Postmaster said he'd recommend they hire me. I asked when I could expect an answer on whether they would or not. He said I should hear from them in two weeks. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it pans out. If so, things will definitely look brighter.

Exercise

I've been trying to get myself to exercise somewhat regularly lately. I've found that my waist size has been growing and I know why. I haven't done enough push aways at the table and enough push-ups at my apartment complex's fitness center. Last week, I managed to get to the fitness center three times and rode the aerobicycle 50 minutes each time knocking 18 miles and burning at least 710 calories. I was pleased with myself. This week, I managed to get over there twice. I'm not the biggest fan of exercise but, if I don't want to turn into a blimp, I'm going to need to get over to the fitness center and ride the bike. We'll see how it goes.

Medieval Times Update

Monday, the Medieval Times I work at held their auction night. What auction night is is where employees use the medieval money they've earned to bid on items the particular castle has put up for auction. What is medieval money you asked and why does the castle put up various items up for auction? Medieval money is an incentive to get employees to a) be on time for work and have their costume or uniform look good and b) go the extra mile i.e. help set up for a special event or make your sales quota. Used properly, it is (I think) a really good reward tool for employees. Now, if you're going to give out medieval money, you have to have something the employees can buy with it. That's why the particular castle goes out and buys various items that it puts up for auction. For this particular auction, the castle I work at had approximately $2,000 worth of stuff for bid. There were gift certificates, perfume and soap sets, food, a tv/dvd player, a mystery gift which ended up being four cans of WD-40 and a bicycle, and a foldable lawn chair. The one item I would've liked to have won was the cordless power drill. I doubt I'd use it much but, it could've been handy. Overall, I think it's a nice program and a good way to reward the employees. Since I'm new, I didn't have squat for medieval money but, I look forward to the next auction where hopefully I will and I'll be able to win something. We'll see.

College

I got to meet with my college advisor today. I needed to find out what English categories (Poetry, Drama, American Authors, British Authors, etc.) I needed to take classes in to finish my degree. I also needed to know what classes the University of Maryland was offering this summer would satisfy those categories. It turned out there was only one class they were offering this summer that would help me satisfy the remaining requirements for my degree. I'll be taking 20th Century British Women Writers. The summer semester can be a problem in that the number of classes drop considerably. To make matters worse, I need classes that cover very specific areas. Luckily, Maryland did have one course that would work.

After I found out what class I needed to take, I decided to sign up for it. I didn't want to take a chance the class would fill up if I waited. That's when I got another shock, Maryland's tuition rates went up. Maryland doesn't consider me a state resident yet so I have to pay the out-of-state. For a three credit hour course, it cost me $1,348! Serious ouch! Thankfully, I'll be considered a Maryland resident next semester. That will save me over $600 per class. Thankfully too, I'll only have three classes to go at that point.

Lord of the Rings Update

I found out about two interesting webpages. The first has five pictures of the new Lord of the Rings film exhibition in Wellington, New Zealand. What is particularly noteworthy about the pictures are the ones showing the Umbarian corsair ship and the model of Minas Tirith. It would be so cool to get to see those models close up. The link to the page having the pictures is: http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/group/1888/. 

The second noteworthy webpage is one that has a short interview with Sir Ian McKellen. McKellen reveals in the interview that he initially thought Peter Jackson was over his head with the Lord of the Rings movies and he expected them to flop spectacularly. This page can be found at: http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=179288700&p=y79z894x6.

UPDATE 12/30/12: The t-shirts mentioned in this last paragraph aren't available anymore from Sir Ian McKellen's website sadly. Nor did my order go through for reasons I forget now.

Lastly, I finally ordered two Gandalf t-shirts. Sir Ian is something of an artist and did a self portrait of himself as Gandalf. This drawing was made into something that could be pressed onto a t-shirt. I thought it was neat looking plus I really liked the fact that McKellen was willing to answer questions from fans about the Lord of the Rings movies. Today was the day I finally got around to ordering a couple of the t-shirts. I plan to keep one for myself and put one in the family Christmas grab bag. The Christmas grab bag is a family tradition whereby everyone buys stuff during the year for the grab bag. On Christmas day, when we get together, we dump all the stuff into the bag. Then, the bag is dumped out and the fun begins. Each member of the family gets a turn taking something from the pile. It gets interesting when there is an item that two or more members of the family want. If you might be interested in the t-shirt, it can be found at: (DELETED).

Work

The past week has been a down and up week work wise. Tuesday, I received news that the company I was hoping to go to work for (the one I took the March 6th test for) may have dumped me and didn't even have the decency to tell me. I was absolutely floored. Dealing with civilian employers this past year has been a real eye opener. I never knew companies treated prospective employees like crap. I feel more and more that I was fortunate to serve in the Air Force. You may work some crappy and LONG hours but, the Air Force does take care of its people. I can't say the same for civilian firms.

I did get one nice bit of news. I have an interview with the Post Office this Thursday. The job pays $16.24 an hour. The drawbacks are I would only get one day a week of work. I would have to work for them for at least a year before I could have a chance of being hired on full-time and permanently, and I won't receive any benefits. Still, it would get my foot in the door with them. Supposedly, once you get hired on permanently, you have to really screw up to get fired by the Post Office. The job security is very appealing. One of the requirements of the job is that I must be able to prove that I've had a spotless driving record for the last five years. Back in September, I changed my drivers license from Florida to Maryland. Unfortunately, I forgot what my Florida drivers license was. I've been searching high and low since. I finally found it this morning and requested a copy of my Florida driving record. I received that this afternoon. Now all I have to do is fill out the rest of the forms. That promises to take a while. Still, a job with the Post Office might be a very good thing. We'll see if it happens.

My job at Medieval Times goes well. I'm finally getting the hang of it. I now know when to do various things like turn on and off the air conditioning in the arena, set out trash cans, and store chairs and tables. I continue to find the job a real challenge in dealing with the customers. Today for instance, a customer came back to see about what could be done about something they'd bought today. The particular item fell apart and they wanted to know if they could get a replacement. I had to figure out to handle the problem. I ended taking them to one of the sales people in the gift shop who did replace the item. Another problem I encountered today was people wanting to look around the gift shop. The problem with that was it was closed. The gift shop people were busy selling items to people who were watching one the two shows today (we do two shows on Sundays). I had to nicely tell them that the gift shop was closed and gave them what I hoped was an accurate time when the gift shop would reopen. Lastly, I found out what my work schedule will be like this week. To my delight, I'll get to work 37 hours this week. With the 41 I put in this past week, I should receive a decent paycheck in a couple weeks. The money I'm earning at Medieval Times is helping. I'll be enrolling at the University of Maryland for the summer semester. The paycheck I earn from Medieval Times will help me pay for the class I'll be taking. Tomorrow, the castle will be having an auction where employees can use Medieval money they've earned to win various prizes. While I won't be able to win anything, I plan to attend to see what they auction off. It should be interesting. I'll let you know what happens.

Cheers for now!

Book Review

I finished Truman Capote's In Cold Blood for my college class. The book is brilliantly written and researched. Capote tells of the murder of an entire family in a small town in Kansas. Thanks to Capote's meticulous research, Capote is able to tell the story in chronological order starting with events just prior to the murders. He then goes on to tell about the investigation, how the murderers were caught, tried, and finally hung. Capote draws the reader into the story and helps them to get to know the family that is killed. One feels acutely the horror of what was done to them. We also learn about the two men responsible for the murders. One is a man who as a child just couldn't get a break and had a very traumatic childhood. The other is a man who perhaps wasn't sufficiently disciplined as a child and got into bigger and bigger trouble. Both men clearly have problems.

One particularly interesting feature of the novel is that Capote doesn't pass any judgments on any of the people in the novel. He also doesn't try to argue for a particular cause. When the prosecution goes for the death penalty for the two murderers. Capote doesn't try to argue for or against capital punishment. He tells the story in a perfectly neutral tone. Capote does a brilliant job of getting the reader's attention and then holding it. At the end of the story, Capote not only tells of how one of the detectives involved in catching the murderers found closure, he helps the reader find closure too. The reader finishes the story saddened by what happened but like one of the girl's who knew the murdered daughter, we move on. Life is like that.

If you want to read a gripping story of murder, crime solving, and justice, you may want to read In Cold Blood. It is a superbly written story that draws the reader in, shocks and wrenches them by what happens, and leaves us a bit wiser by what happens. It is definitely worth reading.

Medieval Times Update

I drove out to the Baltimore Medieval Times where I work to try out my new Linksys Wireless Notebook Adapter with SpeedBooster on my laptop. I bought the adapter so I could take advantage of the new wireless internet service they're offering. I'd never messed with this type of wireless connection before. The way I usually hook-up to the internet is with a Sprint PCS Connection card. The card enables the user to hook-up to the internet any where in the U.S. where they can pick up a Sprint cell phone signal. It's really handy and with the EV-DO upgrade, speeds of up to 2 megabytes per second are possible. Still, the new service at Medieval Times promised a connection of FIVE megabytes per second. I found out the computer technician who told me that got it wrong. I got ELEVEN megabytes per second! I couldn't believe the incredible speed. I tested it on the trailers for Chronicles of Narnia and Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It was awesome! The trailers loaded immediately and there weren't any breaks while they played. Less demanding webpages came up in mere seconds. I was ecstatic. If you want some awesome internet connectivity and live within driving range of the Baltimore Medieval Times, you'll want to check it out.

P.S.

If you want a good tasting drink, you might want to try a Creamice with caramel flavoring. I tried one of those today and it was Good! Cost for one is $4.

Lord of the Rings Update

I found out where I wish I could travel to this summer. I found out that the Lord of the Rings film exhibition has opened in Wellington, New Zealand. You say you already saw that in Indianapolis. You're right BUT the smart people at the Museum of New Zealand and Peter Jackson updated it and they're showing new items that were never shown in the previous exhibition. For example, they show the crown that Aragorn is crowned with in the Return of the King. They also show the incredible model of Minas Tirith. The show also features the only model WETA Workshop made of a Umbarian pirate ship. WETA summarily changed the look of the model, photographed it, and combined the photos so it looks like there are five different Umbarian ships. Jackson and members of the cast also made new videos to show at the exhibition. All the new props and interviews make the exhibition sound awesome. The only problem is how far it is to New Zealand. I suspect I'll have to keep my fingers crossed and hope the new exhibition comes back to the U.S. There have to be plenty of museums in the U.S. that would be glad to host it. We'll see. If you can make it to the Wellington, the exhibition runs from April 14th to August 20th. Admission is $12 for adults and $6.50 for children 4 to 14 years of age (all prices are in New Zealand dollars). For an additional $6 for adults and $3 for children, visitors can take a one hour guided tour of the exhibition. Once the tour is over, visitors are free to see the exhibition on their own. For additional information on the exhibition, see http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/rings/default.html.

Book Review - Companion History to Gods and Generals

Greenwich Workshop Press published a companion history to the Civil War movie Gods and Generals. This history feature the art of Mort Kunstler. For those of you who don't know, Mort Kunstler is one of the premier artists who do drawings and paintings on the American Civil War. His artwork is historically correct and beautifully done. I wish I owned some of Kunstler's art as it is so wonderfully done. For now, the book by Greenwich Workshop will have to do. The book features outstanding paintings of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Union Generals Winfield Hancock and Joshua Chamberlain. The book is a delight for the Civil War buff or the reader interested U.S. history. Kunstler's drawings beautifully capture the essence of these great men as well as the incredible events they took part in. I suspect Kunstler had a big influence on the movie Gods and Generals like Alan Lee and John Howe did on the Lord of the Rings movies. If you're a American civil war buff or a person fascinated with U.S. history, this book would be for you. The drawings really capture some of the great moments during the tumultuous Civil War as well as the leaders who played such a big part in it.

Book Review - Narnia Beyond The Wardrobe

Recently, I finished reading books about the Chronicles of Narnia movie and a supplement to Gods and Generals. First, I'll review the Chronicles of Narnia book.

The book is published by Harper Collins Publishers. It is called an official guide to Narnia. It tells of C.S. Lewis's life, some of the friends he knew including J. R. R. Tolkien, and how the Chronicles came to be written. It's an interesting book if you want to know the history of the Chronicles. It also has some interesting comments by Lewis. One thing that saddened me about the Chronicles was that Susan Pevensie stops believing in Aslan and Narnia. She gets caught up in being all grown-up. At the end of the The Last Battle it is Susan who is left behind in the shadow earth. A reader mentioned how sad this was to Lewis. Lewis replied that it was possible that Susan might turn away from her new self and in time make her own to Aslan's land like her parents do. We'll never know if she does but one can always hope.

The book also has some nice pictures from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe movie. One interesting thing I found about the book is that it doesn't acknowledge all the references to Christianity in the book. This may have to do with how Disney Corporation handled the movie. Disney claimed the movie was just a fantasy movie though to other groups, it acknowledged the fact that Lewis was a celebrated CHRISTIAN writer. I suspect the Harper Collins Publishers chose to duck the issue about the references to Christianity in the Chronicles. Overall, I was pleased with the book. Page wise, it comes in at 127 pages making it an easy read. I found some of the information in it really interesting. I never know that Tolkien criticized the Chronicles because he felt Lewis wasn't consistent in his mythology. Lewis did pull parts from a number of different mythological groups. Yet, I think Tolkien was wrong in his criticism. Lewis strove to make the books fun and took bits and pieces from where ever he liked so long as it helped to make the books enjoyable and aided in the messages Lewis tried to send in the books. Also, Lewis was writing the books for children. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings on the other hand I believe is very much oriented toward an adult reader. My only complaint with Lewis is I wish he'd written more books in the Chronicles. Seven books wasn't nearly enough.

In conclusion, I want to mention one comment Lewis made about himself. Lewis believed that before he died he would be forgotten as a writer. As events turned out, Lewis couldn't have been more wrong. If anything, I think he remains more popular than ever and with more Chronicle movies on the horizon, his popularity promises to increase further. If you haven't read the Chronicles and you like fantasy, I'd highly recommend them to you. The books were written for children but people of all ages can find enjoyment in Lewis's wonderful Chronicles of Narnia series.

What I've Been Up To

Hello all, I figured it was time to update my blog on what I've been up to lately. First, there hasn't been any word on the test I took the beginning of March. That is both good and bad. Good because if I'd failed the test, they definitely would've let me know by now. Bad because I'm still waiting for word that I hopefully passed it. This makes life hard because I'm big time in limbo. I'm trying not to stress about it but it isn't easy. My friend Tami reminded me that I'm a child of God and that he hasn't let me down yet. All true but, I still don't know where God wants my life to go. That's why it would be so nice to get the test results back. Then I'd know where I'm supposed to go. As it is, I get to stumble along wondering how things are going to work out. We'll see.

I got to help out at SHARE last Friday. They were setting up for the volunteer appreciation day and so I got to help set up tables and chairs. The appreciation day was this past Saturday. I haven't heard how it went (the rain may have decreased attendance) but I hope it went well. SHARE is an awesome organization. I also finally got my official SHARE jacket while I was there. I was delighted with that. Now, I can look like an official member of SHARE.

College wise, I got to try to work with a group of fellow students on the poems of William Carlos Williams. He was an American poet who became a mentor to other American poets like Allan Ginsburg. His poems concentrated on nature, using simple language, and despair. I found I didn't care for his poetry. I also could see where it influenced Ginsburg's poetry. In regards to the group, I managed to hear from one other team member who was very anxious that the group post something. I used his input and my own and posted an analysis of William's poem The Tract. Hopefully, Professor Champ was pleased with my group post. I've found from previous experience that it is very hard to get groups to work well together in online classes. Repeatedly members that were assigned to the group don't take part and yet get credit for the work done. This time was no different. Oh well. At least my own butt was covered and I can continue to move forward in the class. I get to start reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood this week. The novel is superbly written but it is a very grim novel as it tells of the murder of an entire family in a small Kansas town. Once I finish it, I plan to post a book review on it so I'll stop talking about it for now.

My work at Medieval Times goes well. I continue to try to learn more about the job and do my best dealing with the customers. Sometimes this can be when they decide to be jerks. This past Sunday, the man who had played King Alfonso hung up his crown after three years of playing the role and moved to a managerial position at the castle. I was sorry to see him go as I felt he was the best there in the role of the king. The managerial position he took over is a tough one. He'll be in charge of the arena. What that means is that he directs all the food servers, decides when any customers can go into the arena, and he decides when the show will start. It's a very tough job though I think he'll be up to the job. The guy is really sharp and watches out for his folks. My feeling about management is if you take care of your people, they'll take care of you. I think he follows that dictum. Still, he'll definitely have his hands full.

Play Review

Last week, I had to read The Glass Menagerie. It is a powerful play that is considered a classic. It is about the dysfunctional Winfield family. It is a story of people trapped in frustrated lives that aren't going any where. The mother of the family Amanda is a woman who is abandoned by her husband and left with two children to raise. She is a woman who lives in the past as the past was a time of beautiful clothes and fun times whereas the present is one of hardship and little hope. The children Tom and Laura have their own battles to fight. Laura is crippled by unknown circumstances as a child and has to wear a leg brace. The leg brace so embarrasses Laura that it causes her to withdraw from people and ultimately from high school. Tom finishes high school and goes to work at a shoe warehouse in order to help support the family. Tom is a dreamer and poet who is frustrated with his life. He is going no where and knows it. He wants adventure but has no chance of finding it as long as he's stuck supporting his mother and sister. Amanda wants a better future for her children and is determined they will get what she considers a better future even if she has to nag and push them to get it. Amanda however fails to see how her children really are or what they want. The result is the children fight back. Laura by now is so painfully shy that she can't take the typing classes her mother pays for without getting sick. She ends up lying to her mother about going to them. Amanda ultimately finds out and comes up with a new scheme to give Laura a future but again fails to take into account how Laura truly is. Amanda tries to get Tom to give up the movies he loves so he can use the money to go to night school. She fails to see that the movies are the only escape for Tom. Things ultimately come to a head when Amanda gets Tom to introduce Laura to a friend at work. Laura remembers the friend from her school days and finds him charming. The friend flirts with Laura and for a few moments Laura leaves her self-made world for the real world till the friends brings her shatteringly down by revealing he is in love with another girl. Laura will retreat to the world of her glass animals presumably never to return. Amanda rails on Tom for not knowing of the man's love for another girl and it is the last straw for Tom. Shortly after, he is fired and abandons his mother and sister to join the merchant marine. However, Tom doesn't escape his sister for he feels guilt the rest of his life for abandoning her. We meet the older and wiser Tom at the beginning of the play when dressed as a sailor, he opens the play setting the stage for all the action that follows.

The play is extremely powerful and heartbreakingly sad. One feels for Tom who ultimately for his own sake must abandon his family if he is to avoid the same dilusionary worlds his mother and sister are trapped in. One must also feel some sadness for Laura. She is actually a very nice girl but, she has become so withdrawn that she has no chance of any future happiness. In regards to Amanda, I found I have mixed feelings about her. I admire her for wanting what is best for her children but hate her for constant nagging on her children. She wants what she perceives as best for her children and fails to take into account how what they feel or how they truly are. At the end of the play, Amanda seeks to console the devastated Laura and yet her consolement will undoubtedly ensure Laura continues to live in her make believe world. The play is a great tragedy.

While the play isn't at all cheerful or fun, it is still a great play and deserves its place among the classics. It is a gripping tale of a dysfunctional family. I would strongly recommend if you like plays, that you go see it or read the play. It really is masterpiece of modern theater.

Movie Review

I don't remember what flight it was where I first watched Secondhand Lions but I remember I liked the movie then and after watching it again on DVD, I found I still think it is a wonderful film. The movie tells of a boy (Walter) that is left by his lying no-good mother with two eccentric great-uncles. The uncles disappeared for over 40 years and had just recently returned. The uncles returned rich but gave no explanation where they got the money. All kinds of wild rumors were flying about where they got it. Walter will go through various mis-adventures with his eccentric uncles and in the process learn about values, faith, and what it means to be a man. His eccentric uncles turn out to be two extraordinary men who lived incredible lives worthy of an action adventure novel. The uncles never would've returned to Texas except that they made the cardinal sin of growing old. The uncles themselves feel they've lived past their useful time but Walter gives them a new purpose in life. They in turn change Walter for the better and presumably make him the man they would wish to make any boy into. It's a wonderful story with loads of laughs and a few tears. I would heartily recommend this movie to anyone. If you have time, rent or buy Secondhand Lions.

Medieval Times Update

I got to work at Medieval Times again last night. It was interesting and frustrating. Frustrating because I had some more learning experiences and that can be rough because they can make me feel like such a dumb ass. Case in point was they had a large group that held a ceremony before the first show. They set up an awards stand in the dais. The dais is where the King and Princess sit and perform for most of the show. I'd never helped break down stuff (not that it was terribly difficult) before for that and so was slightly lost figuring out what they needed done.

I also had a case where some folks from the first show wanted to get an autograph from the Blue Knight. Someone told them they could see the Blue Knight after the show. Whoever that person was, they got it wrong though I tried to see if we could some how accomodate them. One thing I've learned at Medieval Times is you try to keep the customer happy (within reason) if possible. In this case, it wasn't possible. On nights where we have two shows (Saturdays and Sundays), the King, Princess, Lord Chancellor, Knight Marshal, and the six Knights only come out after the second show to sign autographs and have pictures taken. On nights where there is a single show (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights), they will come out after the show to sign autographs and have pictures taken with guests afterwards. I suspect that's what the person was thinking who told the folks they would come out afterwards.

Another thing I learned was that Medieval Times has special shows for Senior Citizens. These shows are like the Matinee shows in that they start earlier in the day (11 a.m. I believe). They are different from matinees in that special procedures and arrangements are made for Seniors. For example, Seniors can go directly into the arena to their seat once they've received their seating assignment vice the normal procedure of waiting to be called in based on the color of their seat. Additional personnel are at the show to help provide assistance to any that need it to get to their seat. Also, certain lights are left on to make it easier for Seniors to find their seats. There are other things Medieval Times does to make the show easier and a more enjoyable experience during these special shows but I don't know what all those special procedures are. I'll find out this Wednesday when I get to work my first Senior Citizen show. I look forward to doing what I can to make their visit more visit more enjoyable.

FYI, seating at Medieval Times is based on color. There are six color sections at Medieval Times. The six colors are: Red, Black & White, Yellow, Blue, Red & Yellow, and Green. People are assigned to specific tables in these sections but when called to go into the arena, they are called by their color of the paper crowns they're issued i.e. Red, Yellow, Blue, etc. Each of these color sections corresponds with a particular knight i.e. if you are assigned a seat in the Red section, you root for the Red Knight.

Concerning the recently installed wireless internet connection at the Baltimore Medieval Times, I found out you may need a wireless notebook adapter in order to use it. (I know I will for my Dell XPS Notebook computer.) The adapter should be the standard one that works for all such wireless spots such as those you find in cafes, airports, etc.

Lastly, please remember any information provided here is NOT official Medieval Times information nor is it guaranteed to be accurate. Any information you use from this site is used at your own risk. I try to be as accurate as possible BUT I do make mistakes. Also, all information and opinions are my own and NOT those of ANY Medieval Times location or its parent organization. Any questions or complaints about this blog site should be addressed to ME, NOT Medieval Times. If you want the OFFICIAL or ABSOLUTELY accurate information on Medieval Times, please use their website (a link is provided on my blog), contact the appropriate castle, or the parent organization.

Apartment

I notified the apartment manager's office yesterday that I'll be renewing. I'm comfortable where I'm living at right now. The apartment is nice and the location the complex is located at is great. I can be in Washington D.C. or Baltimore in less than an hour. It's also close to the base I use for any medical check-ups or occasionally shopping at the Commissary. I do hope to eventually buy a house but that's a ways off. The job situation needs to get settled first. Also, I'm still hoping to do a Globus tour of Scandanavia next year. We'll see on that. Another reason, I decided to renew was they only raised my rent $17. I thought they were going to raise it $100 so I counted my blessings and decided to stay put.

Columbia Mall

I visited Columbia Mall yesterday. I haven't visited that mall in a while and wanted to see if there were any Pug dogs at the Today's Pet petshop. Sadly, they didn't have any Pugs. I still dream about getting a couple when I one day buy a house. I also treated myself to a smoothie at The Great American Cookie shop. They make pretty decent smoothies there. Then, I walked around the mall. In my opinion, not much has changed there. I think I got some looks thanks to my long hair. I've been letting it grow just because I can now that I'm retired from the military. It's been fun letting it grow long. It also goes well with the Medieval Times theme. If I get to go into the Air Force Reserve, I'll have to get it cut. That will be a serious bummer. Still, I'm hoping I'll get to go into the Reserve. I'm still waiting for word on the test I took this month. If I pass it, I get to go into the Reserve. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

College Update

I got some nice news yesterday concerning the college class I'm taking. I earned a B+ on my first writing assignment. I was really pleased. Now, I only have one more writing assignment to go. I promptly picked the topics I was going to write on next. I plan to write essays on appearance vs. reality in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie. My second essay is going to be analyze two of the mother-daughter relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.

Also concerning college, next week I plan to go into the University of Maryland office on base and figure out what class I'm going to take this summer. I plan to speak with one of the counselors who can tell me which ones would meet which requirements. I plan to put off taking Junior-level poetry until the last class I need. I like poetry but I hate writing about it. A lot of poetry is very abstract and I'm very literal. I remember one professor I took a class with. We had to do a paper on some poems and he slammed me for not hitting on all these themes that were supposedly in the poems. I couldn't see these subtle themes and wondered where he was finding that stuff. Because of that, poetry is going to be my last class toward my degree.

Medieval Times Update

I worked at Medieval Times today. It was kinda slow. Mondays and Tuesdays generally are. They don't do any shows on those days so it's a lot quieter. One thing of note did happen though. Today, they had a wireless internet antenna hooked up in the Hall of Arms area. What is so special about that you ask? It will enable anyone with a laptop computer to hook-up to the internet wirelessly. What is even more noteworthy about the wireless connection is the speed. Those who surf the internet at the Medieval Times I work at will able to hook-up to the internet at 5 count-em 5 megabytes per second! The only price for using this service will be buying a cup of coffee at the bar. It's a fantastic bargain. I plan to try it out myself and get to use my employee discount. I also found out today that I get to use my employee discounts now vice having to wait until my 90-day probationary period is over. I think this is awesome and sneaky of Medieval Times. Awesome since I can start saving money there immediately. Sneaky because it means they're going to get some of paycheck back NOW. I was planning on waiting the 90-days before I started buying some stuff there. Now, I 'll be able to start doing some of my Christmas shopping early. Hm. I need to get some stuff for the family Christmas grab bag stocking. I could get a couple decks of their playing cards. I could buy one of the charm boxes. I think either my sister or step-mom would like one of those. Plus, they have some nice fans which they or my other step-mom Jane might like. I also have to get one of those Medieval Times magnets for the grab bag. They also got some more daiquiri glasses in. I think those would be great for drinking smoothies in. Supposedly, they can hold over 40 ounces of your favorite drink! What could I get my brother Hank? Maybe an autographed picture from Princess Esperanza. He's a serious playboy and loves the babes. Princess Esperanza is a very nice looking lady so he might get a kick out of that. I don't know what I could get my Dad. He's not into swords. I'll have to look around some more for him. For myself, I want one of the adult wooden swords. They're pretty neat looking. That should be enough for now. I don't want to spend a whole paycheck there though it would be easily enough to do. Stay tuned for more updates on Medieval Times.

P.S.

For those who are hard of hearing or deaf, The Baltimore (Arundel Mills Mall) Medieval Times will be doing a special show in April where they'll have someone signing so those who understand sign language will be able to know what the actors and actresses are saying in the show. These special shows are done once a quarter. If you'd like to know the specific date, please leave me a comment, I'll find out the date, and post it.

Market Day at SHARE

I got to help out at Market Day at the Washington D.C. SHARE. If you haven't read my previous posts on SHARE, market day is where SHARE tries to sell the surplus bits from previous monthly specials. One noteworthy example were Thanksgiving turkeys. SHARE was selling young turkeys weighing between 7 and 8 pounds for just $6! I don't cook but, I couldn't pass up a bargain like that so I bought one as a small gift for Tami's family. I also some frozen vegetables. They were selling 2-pound bags of mixed frozen vegetables for $1. They were also selling two 12-ounce packages of bacon for $3.50. I don't know if that was the greatest bargain but I haven't had bacon in a while and so I bought some.

SHARE also came out with some new SHARE clothes. The item that particularly caught my eye was a 3-season coat. The coat has a fleece liner, zippered pockets, a hidden breast pocket, and other handy features (ok, I don't remember what the other features were). It also has the SHARE logo on it. I've been wanting something that makes me look like one of the "official" SHARE folks and this coat/jacket fits the bill. The coat sells for $48. I plan to buy mine tomorrow.

One last item concerning SHARE, early next month the Washington D.C. SHARE will be celebrating its 16th anniversary. They plan to honor the volunteers who have played such an important part in helping SHARE function. If you've helped out, you might want to come out and join the celebration. It should be a fun time.

A Long Day

I had a long day yesterday. I got to help out at SHARE and then worked seven hours at Medieval Times. It was neat to help out at SHARE. Sadly, I haven't been able to help out there as much as I use to. I've been busy with work and school. Yesterday was distribution Saturday and it was hectic at SHARE. People came in steadily till at least 9 a.m. I got busy retrieving carts and moving food with one of the manual jacks SHARE has. I also picked up a ham I bought from SHARE. SHARE was offering an 8 to 9 pound pre-cooked spiral cut ham for $20. As far as I know, that's a really good deal. I also bought one of the hams before and I was very pleased with it. In regards to helping more at SHARE, I should be able to now that my first college writing assignment is done. I hope I can get down there tomorrow and help out with Market Day.

In regards to Medieval Times, it is never a dull moment there. We had TWO sold out shows so we were very busy and very packed. I got assigned to watching one of the entrances and that meant I was the primary person a lot of folks went to with questions. I have a confirmation number, will that get me in? No it won't, you have to go to the ticket window, pick up your tickets, and then go through the tower to get your seating assignment. We're going to wait for some friends of ours and then get our seating assignments. The best option is to get your seating assignments now since seating is FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. You'll get better seats for yourself AND your friends if you go through the line NOW. Which are the best seats at Medieval Times? The best seats are in the Red and Yellow and Black and White sections. These are equivalent to the 50 yard line at football games. How long does the show last? The show and dinner last 2 hours. Can people leave Medieval Times once they have their seating assignments? Yes they can. Just make sure you have your plastic seating card so they security person will let you back in. Also, please make sure you get back before they start seating people so you don't miss any of the show. FYI, you won't lose your seats once you have your seating assignment card BUT you are paying good money to see the show. Wouldn't you want to see the WHOLE show since you paid for it? When will they let people into the arena so they can sit at their table? The Lord Chancellor will direct people to the two sets of double doors 15 minutes before the show is supposed to start. People will start entering the arena 10 minutes before the show is suppose to start. If you go the right set of double doors, the first group that will be called are those sitting in the Green section, followed by the Red and Yellow section, and lastly, the Blue Section. Those going through the left set of double doors will be seated in the following order, Red Section first, Black and White Section second, and lastly, the Yellow Section. Why does Medieval Times seat people that way? Because it is the best way to seat people. The people in the Red and Green Sections are the ones sitting in the arena farthest from the doors so it makes sense to get them in first. The people in the Blue and Yellow Sections are the ones sitting closest to the doors so it makes sense seating them last. After many years doing this, Medieval Times has their system down pat.

Concerning things Medieval Times can do for special occasions, Medieval Times has a number of things they can do for special occasions. The cheapest is an announcement during the show for $10 (not including tax). After that, it depends on how fancy you want to get. For $20 (not including tax), you can get knighted. What you get for being knighted is a picture of King Alfonso knighting you (you kneel on the royal cushion, wear the knighting cloak, and are dubbed a knight by King Alfonso with the royal sword), a scroll saying you were knighted, and having it announced during the show. It's a nice ceremony and I've done it myself. Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can also get a sword included with your knighting or a faux pearl tiara if your a lady being knighted. (I have a sword and scabbard from mine.) Medieval Times can provide birthday cakes for an additional charge. There isn't any problem if you want to bring your own cake which they will gladly cut and serve to the members of your group during the meal. The person to see if you're interested in being knighted or having someone knighted is the scroll mistress. Her desk is close to the bar (at the Arundel Mills Medieval Times, I have no idea where the scroll mistress may be located at other Medieval Times) and has the swords, princess hats, and tiaras they offer for the knighting ceremony.

Another important note, if you use a wheelchair, walker, or cane, Medieval Times can pre-seat you. I deal with this myself. One of my main jobs before a show starts is to look for and sign up people for pre-seating. What pre-seating is, is letting those people who have to use a wheelchair, walker, or cane to enter the arena and be seated before everyone else. It gives them a little more time to get to their seat and keeps them from being rushed by the rest of the guests. If you use a wheelchair, walker, or cane, I strongly recommend you take advantage of this service. It will really makes things easier for you. There is one catch with this service, we try to limit the size of the group we'll pre-seat to ten people. Once you have your seating cards, you will get to sit together so it isn't crucial everyone in your group be seated at the same time.

Concerning the meal, the meal is standardized. It is a bowl of soup, a piece of garlic bread, half a roasted chicken, half a baked potato, one spare rib, a pastry or piece of cake, and two glasses (I believe) of unsweetened ice tea or diet Pepsi. Coffee is provided free of charge at the end of the meal. All other drinks must be bought from the bar. There are other special dietary meals available such as the vegetarian plate and Kosher plate. These have to be requested in advance so the kitchen has sufficient time to prepare them. No dining utensils are provided for eating the food. All food is eaten with your fingers or in the case of the soup slurped. You can however request dining utensils from your serving wench or serf.

One last item, which shows are more prone to sell out? Survey says (stolen from the show Family Feud) Saturdays hands down. Wednesdays appear to be our least busy. Medieval Times offers matinee shows and will be offering some special shows for the hearing impaired. I have no idea what the hearing impaired shows are like as I haven't worked one of those yet.

One disclaimer, all comments posted in this blog are my own and are not the official opinions or judgements of the Arundel Mills Medieval Times, other Medieval times locations, or the Medieval Times parent organization. All information is accurate as far as I know but do consider I'm still learning and so it is possible I got it wrong. If the matter is important to you, I would check with the appropriate Medieval Times to make sure what I've said is correct. I will post corrections when I find out I've posted something that was wrong. If you know that something I've posted is wrong, PLEASE post a comment so I can post a correction. I do try to be as accurate as possible.

My Life

I can't say my life has been very exciting lately. I continue to work at Medieval Times. I'm still learning things there like what light switches affect which lights in the castle. I also continue to find it a real challenge dealing with the customers. Hopefully, I've gotten more would be customers interested in Medieval Times than I've turned off. I really do think it's a neat place.

I also continue to slog away at the college class I'm taking. I finished two essays today that were due. I don't know if they were very good but I was pleased that I turned them in on time. I've failed classes because I couldn't get off my lazy butt and get the assignments done. It would be awesome of I could pass the class I'm taking. I'd be just 12 credit hours away from finishing my Bachelor's degree. We'll see.

I bought some more movies on DVD at Sam's Club. I found that Sam's Club offers some nice deals on movies that have been out a while. I was able to get The Music Man for just $8.24. I also found out that Circuit City doesn't offer as good a deal. I checked some of the DVDs there and they wanted $15 plus.

Lastly, I finally got off my duff and mailed my tax stuff to a CPA I use. I figured it was time I got my taxes done. I'm glad I don't have to figure out what they're going to be this year. I've changed my state of residence, I've retired, and I've worked for two different employers besides the Air Force. I don't envy the CPA I'll be using.

Postal Service Exam

I received the results from the U.S. Postal Service exam I took over three weeks ago. To my disappointment, I scored 82.7. I'd hoped to score higher though I did get a passing score. According to my sister Ellie, my name now goes on a list and I'll get called once the Post Office gets down to my score. Considering how I scored, that could be a while. Oh well. To be completely honest, I'm more concerned about another test I took a couple weeks ago. If I pass that test, I'll get to go into the Air Force Reserve and return to my old job. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I passed that test. We'll see.

Updated Sealing Wax

I've discovered a better way of using sealing wax on letters. I found out there is a thing called a melting spoon. While a melting spoon doesn't look like a spoon, it handles like one and enables a person to melt enough sealing wax to do just one or two seals. The biggest advantage of using a melting spoon is that you don't have any sealing wax that is on fire dropping on to your letter. What you do is place enough sealing wax into the small metal cup at the end of the spoon. You then hold the cup over a candle or lighter until the wax melts in the metal cup. Once the wax is melted, you pour the wax onto your letter, and then press whatever seal you're going to use into the hot wax. Since no flame makes direct contact with the wax, there isn't any way for it to catch on fire and possibly set your letter on fire. This is obviously a huge advantage over using sealing wax sticks that have wicks in them. I've used sealing wax sticks with wicks and I've had letters catch on fire at least two or three times because of them.

Another advantage of using a melting spoon is that you can use sealing wax beads. The beads are cheaper per seal then sealing wax sticks. Using LetterSeals.com's sealing wax beads, the cost of a wax seal is just 8 cents vice 35 cents using sealing wax sticks.

The one disadvantage with a melting spoon is trying to buy one. I searched for one and finally found one as part of a set sold by bridal people.com (I've removed the link here). The set costs $32.25 not including shipping. (THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER VALID.) The set comes with a melting spoon, a packet of red sealing wax beads, a stick of silver sealing wax, a small portable burner so you can have something to melt the wax in your melting spoon while your travelling, and three seals (a fleur-de-lis, a fish, and an anchor). Considering that a seal alone can cost you over $8 each, the set is a good value. Still, I do wish I could buy the melting spoon separately.

Updated December 24, 2012

Since people are reading this blog entry, I decided to check it and see if it needed updating. It did. First, as far as I can tell, the bridal people web site I posted no longer sells the set I mention. Second, you can buy a sealing wax melting spoon by itself from www.letterseals.com for $12.50 plus shipping. You will need something to heat the spoon so the wax will melt. I use a small alcohol burner which does a fine job of heating the spoon. Lastly, as an fyi, if you mail a letter with a wax seal on it, you will have to put an extra 17 cents postage on it if mailed in the United States. I believe the reason for it is because it increases the WIDTH of the letter or invitation and, U.S. Postal Service does charge extra for wide/thick letters. I remember my step-mother Kay getting hit with a postage due notice from the postal service because I'd put a wax seal on the letter I mailed her. Also, you may want to put an extra sheet of paper around your letter in the envelope so, you're letter doesn't get messed up where the seal is put. I believe the wax can cause writing on the letter in the envelope to smear like it would if you accidentally poured some kind of liquid on the letter.

Disgusted with Northwest Airlines

I got an a weekly Northwest Airlines promotion email today and found out about a new deal they're offering. Northwest is going to start a test product program where they reserve 5% of the aisle and exit row seats in economy and sell them for an extra $15 each. So you get to pay to fly economy and then pay again to get a good seat in economy. Is this disgusting? I couldn't believe they would do such a revolting double squeeze on their passengers. I definitely don't plan on paying them an additional $15 each way just to get a better normal economy seat. For that matter, I may start trying to fly Southwest Airlines more often. One nice thing about Southwest is that if you check-in early, you can sit all the way in the front of the plane for no extra charge. I also suspect they're cheaper too. Northwest Airlines should dump this test program immediately! The airlines are already shortchanging customers enough.

Book Review - The Grapes of Wrath

I finished reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck yesterday. I had to read it for the college class I'm taking. The novel has become the story that has defined the Depression Era in the United States. No other novel has taken root in the American consciousness about that time like The Grapes of Wrath. The reasons may be many. It is a story about survival. The Joad family have to battle the elements on the exodus to California. Once they arrive, they have to deal with hostility from native Californians, greedy large landownders and corporations, starvation, and appalling living conditions. The novel also vividly depicts just how hard life was during the Depression. My step-mom had relatives who lived during that time and according to them, Steinbeck was smack on in his telling of how hard life was during that time. Another reason why the novel has defined the era is because it shows how the migrant families fit into the big picture of what was happening in the United States at the time. Ultimately, whatever the reason, the novel has defined the era like F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby defined the Roaring 20's.

The book itself is wonderfully written and is an easy read. My only complaint with the book is that it is so unbelievably sad. One disaster after another befalls the Joad family. They and other migrants are taken advantage of by greedy large landowners and companies who use them to make themselves rich. The books begs for justice for these suffering people. If you hate seeing people taken advantage of, you're not going to want to read this book. For myself, I didn't care to read the novel because some of the things in it hit a little close to home. I've had to deal with recruiters from various companies and like some of the agents in the novel who look for workers, the recruiters haven't been the most honest folks. Another item I discovered about the novel is that it isn't accurate or in some cases historically true. Keith Windschuttle wrote an essay called "Steinbeck's myth on the Okies." http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/20/jun02/steinbeck.htm. This essay shows that the number of Okies who migrate to California were not the number Steinbeck claims. It also shows that the Joad family would've been the extraordinary exception of those migrating. According to Windschuttle, the average size family that made the journey was approximately 4.4 members. Also, sharecroppers were far more prone to move than what Steinbeck shows. Overall, the novel can't be taken as historical fact.

Still, the novel does show how hard life could be during this great era in U.S. history. In that regard, the reader might find it an interesting read. Overall, I would say it is a great novel though one I wouldn't care to read. It is simply too depressing. I like to read more cheerful or escapist stuff. I can't recommend this novel unless you want to read something about the Great Depression in the U.S. Then, I would recommend the novel as long as you don't take it for historical fact. There is much that isn't true or is exaggerated in the novel. Also, Steinbeck was heavily influenced at the time he wrote the novel by his marriage to Carol Henning who was a Marxist as well as other Communist friends. Steinbeck talks about a future uprising in the novel. This was wishful thinking of those in the Communist movement of the time. As long as you take the inaccuracies that Windschuttle mentions, the novel will give you an idea of hard the Depression era was for people in the U.S.

Lord of the Rings

First, if you are interesting in buying one of the Lord of the Rings swords or axes, you might want to do so quickly. For unknown reasons, United Cutlery is apparently stopping production of most of the blades. I think this royally stinks as these blades are some of the finest and most beautiful that have been produced in some time. I've seen other swords at various blade shops and they look like the crap. The Lord of the Rings blades have been consistently excellent. If you want a nice decorative sword that doesn't look kitchshe, you might want to get one of the Lord of the Rings blades before they're sold out.

Second, if you haven't heard, the Lord of the Rings musical has opened in Toronto, Canada. As far as I know, it has been well recieved. I still wonder how they could do a musical based on the books in 3 and a half hours. Maybe, I'll be able to get up to Toronto sometime to find out.

Third, no word on New Line and Sony doing a deal so "The Hobbit" can be made. Peter Jackson reportedly is willing though I haven't heard how his lawsuit was going with New Line which also might affect whether or not he gets to make the movie. I'm still hoping the two studios can get off their greedy butts and do a deal so we can see "The Hobbit" made into a movie vice the cartoon that was done previously (mind you the cartoon version was outstanding in my opinion).

I Got A Job!

I finally have a job that barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be able to keep as long as I want. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I've been transitioning from military to civilian life. It has been one rough ride. There have been so many jobs that I thought I was going to get only to see them fall through. I finally got a job with the Arundel Mills Medieval Times which should be reliable and steady. What do I do at Medieval Times? I provide security. I make sure no one gets one in who doesn't have a ticket. I help pre-seat people. I make sure no one tries to through anything into the arena during the show. I make sure people don't bang the plates and cups together or against the table. I also make sure the food servers stay out of certain areas when certain events are taking place. I notify management if someone drinks one too many mugs of beer or glasses of wine. Lastly, I answer lots of questions from customers. That has been the most challenging part as I've had to learn a LOT about Medieval Times in order to answer their questions. In cases where I don't know the answer, I have to find the person who does know the answer. Medieval Times is very customer oriented and one of the most important things I do is help customers. I've found that really surprising as it isn't something you'd normally associate with security. The job has been neat in that I've gotten to interact with the people who play the King, Princess, Lord Chancellor, and Knight Marshal. I've gotten to see how things are behind the scenes. It is fascinating to see how the show is put together. Finally, it has been neat to see how much the kids that come to Medieval Times enjoy it. The little girls who dress up as princesses look incredibly cute. The little boys with their toy swords remind me when I was a kid and dreamed of being a knight. Sometimes, adults will dress the part too. One guy who inquired about working at Medieval Times looked the part already. My only disappointment of sorts is that I don't get to wear a costume. I can't in order to do my job. People have to have to take me seriously and they might not if I was in costume. Oh well. Barring that, the job has been a lot of fun and I look forward to continuing to work at Medieval Times. It is a neat place. If you like jousting, a nice story, and good food you can eat with your fingers or slurp out of the bowl, you might want to check it out. The eight Medieval Times locations (with a ninth opening in the Atlanta area in the summer of 2006) can be found at their website: www.medievaltimes.com.

Speech by President Bush

Last Wednesday as I mentioned in my blog on the Asia Society, I got to hear President Bush speak. President Bush's staff had apparently asked the Society if they would welcome him speaking on India and Pakistan before he left for his trip to those two countries. The Society gladly accepted and quickly made arrangements for the speech. It was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington D.C. The hotel is a very posh hotel and is located close to the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument.

Bush's speech was informative. He stated how important India and Pakistan are. He told about some of the things he planned to discuss with each of its leaders. He planned to further cooperation between India and the U.S. in matters of terrorism, promoting democracy, free trade, the environment, and energy. Bush urged India to allow international scrutiny of its civilian nuclear program. He also argued that a prospering India is good for the U.S. economy. He acknowledged that the U.S. had lost jobs to India in the service industries such as computer support help lines. But, he felt the U.S. should be preparing U.S. workers for jobs in the 21st century vice advocating protectionism. He also planned to talk with Indian Prime Minister Singh about Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and a nuclear Iran.

In regards to Pakistan, Bush acknowledged the great risk Pakistani President Musharraf took in aligning his country with the U.S. in the war against terrorism. President Bush wants to build on the friendship between the U.S. and Pakistan and make it a lasting friendship. He plans to continue to work with Pakistan on the issues of terrorism, democracy, a free press, and building civil institutions. Bush pointedly mentioned that the U.S. very much wants to see legitimate elections in Pakistan next year. Bush also plans to do what he can to help Pakistan become more prosperous. He feels that by making Pakistan a more prosperous country, it will reduce the appeal of radical Islam. He also intends to continue work in education including the education of girls and women in Pakistan.

Concerning the speech itself, Bush did stumble on some of the technical terms he used in his speech. Some people may say this show Bush's lack of brain power. I don't see it that way. I think the terms would've been hard to say smoothly in any speech. Some plusses I saw in Bush's speech was the very honest upfront down to earth man that was giving it. There was no mistaking that Bush is from Texas and Texas isn't slick and high falutin. It is a down to earth state that is also honest and hard working. Texas is also no nonsense. If a Texan says he or she believes in something, they do. If they say they're going to do something, they do it. If they promise to do something, they'll do their best to keep their promise. All these traits show in Bush. I personally found it exciting to get to hear his speech and see him only 20 feet away. I hope I get another chance to hear him speak.

Asia Society

Last Wednesday, I got to hear President Bush speak at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington D.C. The speech was part of the Asia Society's 50th Anniversary celebrations. The Asia Society is a non-profit organization society founded by John Rockefeller III in 1956 to increase understanding between the people in Asia and in the U.S. It also works to strengthen relationships between these countries and the U.S. Ever since its founding, it has been growing. It's now an international organization with its headquarters in New York City. It has regional branches in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Melbourne, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Manila. It'll open a new branch in Mumbai, India on March 18th. It offers speeches by various important Asian, U.S. officials, and educators on Asia, art exhibits, classes on various aspects of Asian culture, and education programs. It is a multi-faceted organization. Their website can be found at www.asiasociety.org. Membership rates start at $35 a year for students. If you're interested in Asia and its people, it is an organization you might want to consider joining.