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February 2001 Archive
March 2001 Archive
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April 16, 2001 - I had a nice Easter Weekend. I continued to go through my accumulated belongings, trying to get organized. It'll be a while longer til I get that junk put where it belongs (most of it in the dumpster!) I cleaned my gas grill. It wasn't so bad as I thought it would be. I sprayed degreaser in there and used Scotch Brite� pads to scrub it. After it dried out, I sprayed high temperature paint in there. When that dried, I put new ceramic briquettes in there around the burner. I declare, it looks like a new grill. So, I'm very happy with that. I have a Water Plant school this week on Wednesday. I wish I could have more time to get my Spring Cleaning done. It's very hard work, and time-consuming with just one person (ME!) working on it. I think sometime in May I'll be done. Then I'll be looking for stuff to do. If I could find a good part-time job, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Cause, not only am I getting my house in order, I'm also trying to get my financial house in order. :)
I had Easter Supper last night at Mamaw's. We made hamburgers. They were the thin pre-formed patties, but I still made it "KennyBurger-style" It was very good and we had a good visit. I invited Mamaw and Janice to a picnic tomorrow at Morrow Mountain after I get off work, and they are looking very forward to it. However, it's supposed to turn cold again (even calling for snow in the mountains!), so we might have to postpone til warm weather comes back around.
I'm looking forward to the professional baseball game I'm going to this weekend. It's the NY Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. I've not been to a Major League game since I was kid in the 70s when Dad & Mom took us to see the Braves and Mets at Atlanta. I always enjoy the A League Kannapolis Intimidators games that I've been to (then known as the Piedmont Phillies, later known as the Piedmont Bollweevils). So, I definitely think the sport of baseball is better enjoyed in person. It just doesn't do it for me on television. Too slow paced, which is a common complaint I understand.
It'll be nice to see Mikey & Jessica. I think I'll miss Lori though, hopefully I can keep tabs on her via my cell phone. It's a Sprint PCS� phone that has National Coverage where I can call from ANYWHERE in the PCS coverage area and am not subject to roaming charges. Should be a good time. I'm going to document this trip as an "Adventure of Ken". Stay tuned...

April 12, 2001 - The weather has been great this week. Sunny and in the 80s all week. I've gotten a lot done this week. I mowed, trimmed, changed the oil in my car, and started sifting through the mountain of junk that's accumulated in my spare room. I want the spare room to be useable. There is so much junk in there now, that I can't hardly even get in there. I'm going to take all of the stuff that I want to keep and move it to the attic. I'm either going to keep the spare room as a guest room (it has a double bed in there now), or I might convert it to my bedroom and make my current bedroom into my home office and move the computer into there. I have a lot of options. I have made the guest bathroom into my own bathroom. I can't believe how much better it is! I should have been using this bathroom all along! The shower is so much more roomier, and the bathroom as a whole is bigger and more comfortable, not to mention better lit. I also plan to take down the wallpaper in the present computer room and perhaps re-panel the room. I won't go into any further details at this time on my home plans. I'll just do it and then make a note of it here at that time! :)
I had a disturbing experience last night/this morning. I went to Albemarle last night around 10pm. On the way back home, the cars ahead of me started slowing down. The truck that passed me by, blinked his bright lights to warn me. I slowed down and noticed in the road was a HUGE black cow. My initial thought was, "Stop and advise the cow's owner that one of their cows is on the loose and in the road." Or "Stay here and try to warn passing motorists until someone else can corral the cow." BUT, I'm ashamed to say, I kept driving. I went home and hoped the cow and the motorists yet to pass by would be okay. Unfortunately, as I passed the spot heading to work this morning, I saw the cow lying within the fence, dead. It's head was folded back at a grotesque angle against it's body. There was an obvious point of impact, and a sign was smashed and bent. I have no idea what hit the cow, but I feel really bad for whoever had the bad luck to find a cow in their way as they innocently traveled Hwy. 24/27 last night. I only hope they weren't seriously hurt or even killed. You never know. That was a mighty big cow! It's a bad feeling to know that something very bad happened, and you maybe...just maybe could have prevented it with a little effort.
I'm still doctoring up my site, to keep it fresh. My new Bible Discussions are starting out well, thanks to Lori, and Mike & Jessica. Keep up the good work guys. I'm learning a lot!

April 10, 2001 - Hi! I had a fruitful day today. In other words, I got a lot done. I did my 2000 Consumer Confidence Report today at work. It was a bit of a pain, but I got it done with some good help from a state worker named Martha Moore Fillinger. It's a report I have to do once a year detailing to all of our water customers what contaminants in the water we tested for and what the results were. It's a good idea I think. We have had good test results, so it's a good chance for us at Mt. Pleasant Water Treatment Plant to "strut our stuff" and look good to the community.
When I got home I mowed the yard, and trimmed. It really looks great around here now if I do say so myself! Oh by the way, you remember when it was cold weather and I put on here how much I missed dandelions??? Well, I was WRONG!!! I hate those dadblamed things! I mow one day, and the next day they look as tall or taller than before I mowed! Isn't it funny how you miss warm-weather related things like dandelions, but then when they make your yard look crappy, you only want to figure out how to make them go away! ;-)
I also changed my oil in my Civic. I used Synthetic oil last time I changed it, and that oil looked really good! I really think that Synthetic oil burns a lot cleaner than conventional oil. I used Synthetic oil again this time. As a nod to Marlboro Team Penske, the Cart team my favorite driver Gil de Ferran drives for, I used the same materials they use. I used a Penske oil filter, and Mobil 1 oil...the official oil of Penske Racing. Hyuk! I'm such a race fan!
I had a KennyBurger for supper tonight. Just for fun, I'm going to give my recipe to the best tastin' burger in the world! That's right I said the world!

KENNYBURGERS!

Ingredients:
+ A good size pack of fresh ground beef
+ Mustard
+ Mayonnaise
+ Hormel Chili (No Beans)
+ Fresh tomatos (Homegrown if possible)
+ Cheese slices
+ A pack of fresh, very fresh, hamburger buns

a. Form your hamburger patties, lean toward large-sized if you can spare the meat. Sprinkle a healthy dose of garlic salt on them. :) If you can, cook the hamburgers out on a grill, gas or charcoal, if not fry 'em up!
b. Slightly heat your hamburger buns (microwave around 20 to 25 seconds-not too long or they'll get hard and cruncy-but you want soft!)
c. Heat your bowl of Hormel Chili (No Beans) in the microwave for a minimum of 2 minutes. Stir.
d. Slice your tomato into fairly thick slices.
e. The constuction of the Kenny burger is as follows, and this is VERY IMPORTANT!:

1. Your lower bun portion (DUH!)
2. A healthy dose of Mustard
3. A cheese slice
4. A tomato slice
5. A LOT of chili
6. The Burger patty
7. Another slice of cheese
8. A LOT of chili (yes, again)
9. Another tomato slice
10. A healthy dose of Mayo on the top bun portion
11. The top bun portion (FINALLY!)
Then....VWALLA!!!!!!

Don't forget the chips and drink!
By the way, Lori Ann says she loves KennyBurgers, but if you add a thick slice of onion to it, it becomes the "LoriBurger" :-D Right on, babe!

Me on April 8, 2001

April 8, 2001 - Sorry no entries for awhile here. I haven't been very moved to write. Nothing really going on that I think other people would enjoy reading, or that I would enjoy reading down the road.
I've been very lazy and unmotivated this week for the most part. I think perhaps I have Spring Fever? One funny thing happened this week. David "Well, that's right" Bissette, the guy who is rebuilding our filters wanted me to work with him Sunday. I told him I would be glad to. I told him, though, that I couldn't work FOR my employer, WSACC, that day, because they can't pay for labor for a job that has been contracted. David's company, Carolina Water Systems, should be responsible for supplying the manpower. David said he couldn't make a conflict for me by paying me (in other words, he's a cheap so-and-so). He was SO generous though, and said if I would come over there and work for him on my day off, a Sunday no less, he would BUY MY LUNCH!!!! Good grief! The man can't be that ignorant, can he??
I finally burned my brush pile today. It was rough. It was a hot day anyway, but the intense heat of the fire really got to me, and I think I got overheated. I breathed a good bit...too much, actually...of smoke. I thought of Mike Skupin of Survivor 2 when I got blasted by heat and smoke suddenly. I didn't pass out and fall into the fire though fortunately. I suppose the fact that Mike had not eaten much was a contributing factor in his swan-dive into the fire hands-first. I am really happy that the eye-sore of brush is gone. Now I turn my attention to making my yard something nice to look at, not only for me, but for neighbors, family, and friends as well.
I'm a week removed from Missouri, and I have to say I miss Lori Ann very much. It's hard being apart, but we'll have to do our best. In a perfect world, I could just sell off my stuff here and move up there to start over. It's not that easy. I pray she understands that. I foolishly told her that if she can't move here, then I'll move there. She had been upset at the time. Maybe I told her that to make her happy. I don't like to think about that. It's just so hard to think of starting over. Am I a coward? Am I too cautious? I'll only go through this life once...maybe I should have the guts to move to Missouri and look at it as a big life experience. I'm so chicken, and it's starting to bother me that I'm too chicken to take a chance. I DO NOT want to be an old man and look back on anything with regret!
If you haven't done it, please go to my forum and fill out the little poll I created under the topic title of "Please respond!" It should be fun for you, but it'll only be successful if everyone does it.
I have started to read the bible cover to cover starting with Genesis. I downloaded a NIV bible to my computer both at home and at work. I have always wanted to read the bible through. Please support me, and help me stick with my goal of reading and understanding God's Word. I want to make bible questions and discussions a regular occurence on my Forum. My brother Mike can help me a lot with this. Mike, go to the forum, start a topic, and give me your opinions on a bible discussion on my website. Any ideas or contributions are appreciated from anyone. Watch for the discussions to start on my forum.

April 3, 2001 - I am back home now in NC. I had a really great time visiting Lori and her family in MO. Rather than give all the details like I did last entry...I'll just hit the high points ;) Sunday March 25 we went to Montauk State Park with Lori's aunt auncle (Jerry & Sissy). We had breakfast at Denny's and got to Montauk around noon. We went trout fishing for a little while and Lori was the only one who caught a fish. It wasn't a trout, but a very UGLY fish that looked like a cross between a toad and a fish. Jerry said it was a protected fish. We got to the cabin, and it was very nice. We had supper at the lodge at Montauk. Lori and I had bacon cheeseburgers MMMMM! That night we played games with the kids. Joey had a card game based on Survivor: The Austrailian Outback. That was fun. I played Jeff Probst and when one of us got voted off, I said his corny little sayings. After a game of that, we played a game I have called UNO Dice. It's a lot like UNO...but played with dice instead :) Lori kicked our butts.
The next morning we got up around 5 am and went trout fishing. It was 17�! Really! No kidding. The tv said the windchill was 4�. Jeepers. I'm a NC boy. I'm not used to these temperatures!! Anyway...Lori was the only one to catch a fish. She caught a good looking rainbow trout. She said she caught it by accident. But hey, she caught a fish bottomline. Her uncle tried to criticize it as being too small to cook. But, he had sour grapes in my opinion because he wanted to catch a fish so bad but didn't.
We came home and stopped at the Route 66 Mule Trading Post and Pizza Hut. It sure was fun! That night we went to Lori's brother Ronnie's house and had pizza (again) with him and his family. His wife Brenda, daughter Ashley, and sons Collin and Reese. We watched Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington. It was a really good movie. *Highly Recommended*
Tuesday, we didn't do a whole lot. Lori had to work that night, so I took the kids to the park and helped them with their homework. I went and had supper with Lori on her lunchbreak at Applebees. After she got off work, we watched The Jerk.
Wednesday, Lori had to work. I took her car and had a service done on it, including oil change. I started working on the damage on her car where she got ran into a post a couple years ago (I had been duct-taping it HaHa!!) I put bondo in the dents and started building it up. After Lori got off work, and the kids got out of school, we went with her parents to a place called the "Ponderosa Steakhouse". We had a delicious buffet meal, then went to Lori's brother Mike's house for a visit with him and his family. His wife Kim, and daughter Jordan. They had cheesecake for us and we sat around and had good conversation. It was a blast!
Thursday, we went and bought some in-line skates. I've never been able to skate, but figured I could easily. (It looks easy so it should be easy, right? WRONG!!!!!!) I fell on my butt and elbow, so we decided to go get some elbow and knee pads (Good decision, mind you). It was fun. I'm getting the hang of it slowly. I'm embarrassed to practice in front of anyone though. I think I'm going to turn my outside lights off and practice in my driveway after dark HaHa!!! After the kids got out of school, we went to Wal-Mart and got our protrait taken. They turned out super! I'll post them on my site this week sometime. :-D Lori made some mexican-style soup (talk about delicious!!) and I made a different kind of mexican soup. We had a good time and watched Survivor. I was soooooo happy Jerri Manthey got voted off. I couldn't stand her! I thought they were going to vote off sweet little Elisabeth (one of my favorites), but HA! Jerri got it. She has been a smart-aleck know-it-all since the show started. I think they kept her around to keep people interested in disliking her. She is the contestant you love to hate.
Friday, we went and had lunch with Lori's parents at Applebees. I had a mesquite chicken breast and riblet combo plate. (I ate good on this trip didn't I?) Friday evening we had a good time with Lori's brother Danny, his wife Beth, and their daughter Emily. We went to his house then he drove us all to St. Louis to eat at this big place called "Old Country Buffet" Another GREAT meal! :-D We had some fun conversation and laughed a lot. It was a really fun evening. We went back to his house and hung out a while. He had a little black and tan dachsund (sp?) The dog was named Willie and blind in one eye. He called him "One Eye'd Willie" HaHaHa!!! It was a cute little dog and real friendly. I asked Danny what kind of dog it was and he said it was a "Dickhead" HaHa!
Saturday, we relaxed. We went to a movie that night called "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" starring George Clooney. It was great! *Highly Recommended* Afterward, we went to a Mexican restaurant for supper. It was so-so. Not as good as "El-Ranchito" in Albemarle, which is the best in my opinion.
Sunday, Lori had to work so I finished the repairs on her car. After she got off work, we went and ate and then I finished packing. I came home Sunday night and am still trying to get used to the time change. I was an hour behind all week and got used to the central time zone. Then the daylight savings time change, and I'm practically 2 hours behind now. Like, getting up at 5:45am is like getting up at 3:45am to me. I'm sleepy.

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