The Azevedo Wedding

Ok, well, it has been a week since the wedding, and I am finally posting about it.
Yes, the wedding was nice.
Twas sweet and romantic.

The day started with me running to Walmart to buy some new pants. All of mine are old, frayed, or too short...
I wound up buying 2 shirts for work too. I like new shirts.
Anyway, I got home, put on a new pair of pants, and got ready for the wedding. Though...it was still a while away. I do not remember what I did to kill time, but I must have killed it somehow.
Eventually, I left around 1pm.
The wedding started a little after 2.
While we were waiting on the wedding to start, Red told us another story about TW. It was actually entertaining. Erin was involved too. I got jabbed in the arm a couple of times during the story...for demonstration purposes.
Well, the wedding went off without a hitch.
Then, as we were getting up to go to the reception, I turned around and saw Nev. I have not seen her in ages. In fact, I figured I would never see her again. I guess I was wrong.
At the reception, I passed by her once saying "Hello, hello." I did not say anything else at that time, because I figured she most likely did not even want me to say that.
I sit at the table waiting for the lines to go down so I can raid the buffet.
Eventually, I decide to go for it.
I tried to take the side of the room...so as not to pass by Nev's table.
I stop off at the desert table and admire the flowing chocolate fountain.
I walk over to the buffet table and have a short conversation with the Bride's mother.
It basically started like this.

Mother: "Who are you? I don't recognize you. You must be one of Jared's friends."
Me: "Yes, ma'am."

I cannot remember much about the conversation after that. I just remember looking up and seeing Nev there. I was absolutely certain she would not want me talking to her, so I just kept my mouth shut. Then, she starts up a conversation. I was pleasantly surprised.
It was a quick conversation.
In the process, I got to watch the caterer accidentally drop a bowl of bisque into the bisque. It splashed up. It was funny. However, the little girl standing next to Nev was the only one that noticed that during the accident...she had knocked the serving spoon into the bisque. It was now buried. Heh.

I made my way back over to our table and enjoyed my food. I went to get more drink, but that was about it.

Eventually, stuff started happening, and I got pictures.
These pictures are a testament to the fact that....I need a new camera.
Still, though, for the camera I have...some of these turned out somewhat well considering how far away I was at the time I took them.

I waited around for a while. I eventually obtained the Bride's garter. I did not catch it, which was my goal, but I did obtain it....so that is....ok...I guess. I do not know if that violates some standard for luck or not.

Oh well...not much happened after that. The photographer wanted pictures. I do not photograph well. If you take Ugly and mix it with a flash of light...you don't tend to get anything other than flashy ugliness. So... Sorry about that Jared. I was just doing what the photographer wanted.

After leaving the wedding...I rushed home and got ready for Dwire's Sister-in-Law's birthday party....but that is a different blog post altogether.

Silence is a Golden Killer

Many people would have you believe that "Silence is Golden".
It may be, in fact...I shall probably start trying to stay rather silent soon at work.
The reason?
Well...it seems like even the simplest of negative comments will turn around to ravage me like a cat o' nine tails. By negative comments, I do not mean I am saying something bad about a specific person. I mean negative as in a complaint about how a particular task is accomplished.

Voicing opinions is healthy. Keeping things bottled in is dangerous.
So...it's either complain and piss off those around me.
Or...stay silent. This will keep those around me happy, but will wind up killing me.

Arrrghhhh.

Game Night at the Azevedo's

Friday night was the semi-final celebration of Jared's last days of being single.
A few of us had some drinks and food at a restaurant in Spanish Fort.
Well...I think they said it was Daphne, but the address says "Spanish Fort", so that is what I am using.
Anyway, the point...
Eventually...I wound up heading over to Jared's house...and we played Stratego!
I have not played that game in like...12+ years.
It brought back many memories.

I also got my first exposure to Tivo. It seems like such a great idea now that I have personally seen it in action. The only problem is... I was right about them canceling the Lifetime Membership option. The best deal you can get now is $16.95 a month.

.....
Random gaming memory....

I used to play an MMORPG called Ragarok Online.
It was an awesome little game...especially when it was free. (I was a beta tester at first.)
I just randomly remember sitting in one of the towns, taking a break. I was chatting with my friend. While we were sitting there talking, someone walked up and asked us a question. Well, the question related to an NPC that was standing right next to me. I kindly told the guy to "Talk to the Jewel Vender".
Well....that did not work. My statement was censored by the system and not allowed to pass through. So...I tried it again. It did not work. So, the guy thought I was ignoring him. He got angry, and walked away.
I tried to tell my friend that I was unable to say "Jewel Vender"...but...this was censored too.
Now...This NPC had her name clearly displayed above her head. It stated "Jewel Vender".
We tried many variations, and, through the process of elimination, we found that it was specifically censoring us from using the letters "J", "E", and "W" in secession. I guess the Koreans did not want people saying bad things about Jews.
I thought that was interesting.

Memory over.

Ta Muid

TA MUID
GAN AM ANOIS IS EAGLE LIOM
AR GCROI THE SNAIDHMTHE
GAN ROMHAINN INAR MBEATHA
ACH EADOCHAS DOMHAIN DO LAIGHEASTA

To Everything There Is a Season

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.

These are strong words. Powerful words. Useful words.

Many people may recognize this as a song by the Byrds.
Well, yes, they did create music to go along with this scripture.
They added some words "turn turn turn".
Here is their version......

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear it'’s not too late.

Words like this can sometimes give comfort at trying times.

Here it is divided up by verse:

Ecclesiastes: Chapter 3

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

So there....for all you heathens out there. That's your dose of spiritual guidance for today.
For all you spiritualistic people...well...there's an extra bit for you.

Why did I post this?
No particular reason.

Watch House on NOX

Ok...there is this show. It is called House.
It is actually really good.
It comes on Tuesdays at 8pm.
In my area, it comes on channel 10.
In my area, channel 10 is Fox.

I used to not really pay attention to what channel on which the show aired.
I just knew it was either 10 or 11. Typically I would switch to one.
If House was not on, I would switch to the other.

A few weeks ago, I noticed something odd.
I was nearly certain that my television was on Fox,
but after the show went off, I clearly heard the NBC call sign.
NBC is like...the only network that actually still maintains its call sign...
and everyone recognizes it because of this.

I shrugged it off.
Then, the next week...I SAW the NBC logo, and I heard the call sign.
I made sure it was Fox...and I was highly confused.

I checked it out on the Internet.
As it turns out...NBC films the show....Fox aires it.

This makes absolutely no sense to me.
NBC was/is in fourth place among the networks. This is the first time in years.
This is mainly because of them losing Friends and Frazier.
With this being the case...I would KEEP House on my own network.

Oh well...life is weird sometimes.
It is still a great show.

Joining the Union

I was thinking today...
How hard would it be for another country to just.....join the Union? You know, the United States of America? What if Uzbekistan or Djibouti wanted to become a state? Could they? What if they wanted to pull of a Puerto Rico and just become a territory? What would they have to do?
Would they have to go through a major screening process first? Or....
Would they simply have to say "We want in." then have their citizens vote on it?

As far as I know, there is no actual limit to how many states our union can have. The only thing is that we would have to spread out the representatives and senators a bit more. That is capped at 535. (435 reps and 100 senators)...so.. I am not certain how that would work out.
Depending on how many people join, redesigning the flag could be easy, or it could be hard.

Still, though, could they do it? Could they just give up their sovereignty and become a state?
This means that whoever is control of the country would have to step down. In theory, we could let them be governor until a new one was elected.

Maybe Luxembourg finds this opportunity attractive. Perhaps the Icelandics are thinking about it right now!? I mean...look at the Afghans and Iraqis...they are feeling the hurt right now of what it is like NOT to give in to our demands. I bet being a PART of the demanding side looks pretty nice at times...especially to the smaller nations.

Just a thought.

New Soda Powerhouses

Ok...so the American Beverage Association agreed to begin limiting the types of sodas that can be sold to public schools.
Their reasoning for this is to help curb obesity in younger people.
This is not their responsibility. Parents should be keeping an eye on their kids when they eat away from school, the kids should know to limit their intake when they are at school. If they don't know this, then they are not being raised properly.

The news interviewed some kids to get their opinions on this....and I was horrified at the responses I heard. "We're just going to stop coming."; "We need energy."
For one thing, if you are going to stop going to school because you want a Coke, then you have got some mental issues. If you need energy....EAT BREAKFAST! Morons.

Ok...now...to the title of my blog.
How does this effect anything? These kids are still going to eat and drink like crazy when they are away from school.
But still....

What is the American Beverage Association?
Do you have to be a member to sell beverages?
My guess would be No.

What is to stop a non-member from selling beverages to the schools that want them?
I am certain their are some schools that still want Cokes and Pepsis.
For instance, I went to a high school that had an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola. Wouldn't this agreement violate that contract? Wouldn't this mean that my old school could theoretically shop around for someone else to provide the drinks they want?

For instance...Let's just say that SAM'S decided to start providing drinks to everyone? Hmm?
What if Winn-Dixie started providing their brand to schools in this region? Who's to stop them? Is their a governing organization that prevents them from doing so?

How about Royal Crown? Could they renounce their membership to this organization and suddenly be catapulted up in sales?

This is just like when McDonald's decided to phase out Super Sizing. This royally pissed me off. I want a Super Sized Drink and a Super Size of Fries! This seemed like the stupidest idea ever until I gave it some thought. The people that were going to overeat anyway...would just buy more food. McDonald's was going to make millions on this idea.
What did I see 3 weeks later? The "Two Big Macs Meal". Yeah...that's healthy.

I would say that people should stop trying to run our lives....
but I personally do not really care on this issue.
I rarely drank Cokes while I was in school. I was, however, a fan of Sprite. It is sugary, but it lacks the caffeine. However, I did eventually start drinking Diet Sprite, Diet Coke, and Diet Dr. Pepper. I had no problems with these.
In middle school...I drank Unsweet Tea.
In Elementary school...I drank Milk and Juice.

....
These kids should not be complaining. Ungrateful brats.

Yeah, this post makes no sense.....
but neither does this idea. So....we're even.

Arm + Needle = Negative, Oh?

Ok, so I signed up to give blood at the Blood Drive Wednesday at work. Anyone is welcome to give, but I just so happen to work in the building where they are having the drive.
One of the deciding factors was the chance to win a trip for four to Disney World. I have been there once before, but I was too young to remember much of anything.
Somewhere there exist some pictures of me when I was there. I think I was like, 2.
I was wrapped in some sort of cover-all thing that must have been popular for 2-year-olds of the day.

Anyway, this afternoon, some girls came by the cube to give out stuff to people that are planning to give blood tomorrow. They checked my name off the list (since I have an appointment for 12:30), and gave me some Animal Crackers and some vile-tasting Gatorade. They said it was to help make sure my iron level was pretty high.
No one has ever done that for me before.
Typically I just get the crackers after I give blood.
I do not think I really need them, though.
However, they were good, so all is well.

I hate needles. Period.
The thought of having one go into me scares me.
SO...I always tell the nurse/assistant to make sure she does NOT let me see the needle.
I say "she" simply because it has never, EVER, been a male. No matter which state I am in.
Not to say it is impossible.
Though, I would probably be more comfortable with a female anyway. Except...for when things go wrong. The younger they are, the more apt they are to freak out. Things HAVE gone wrong before, girls HAVE freaked out before, especially when the problem results in me blacking out. It is always the older, wiser, nurse that knows how to handle the situation.
I have no real opinion as to how I think a male would handle a problem.

I think that I am done with this post now.
I'll just have to post more later.