Whazzup With This Cold?

I cannot shake this cold. I was feeling better towards the end of last week, but through the weekend and still today, I am struggling. I missed Sunday's Chorale concert and will not go to practice tonight. Yes, I am taking some OTC medicines to control it, but it still seems to be the one controlling things.

One thing we have no control over is the arrival of a new day, this one being Valentine's day. Happy Valentine's Day, dear. Today's CoV is not meant to imply I think any of our years together were not happy. This is a comic strip, not our story.Oh, you want to hear our story? Well, that is saved for another day, but I imagine I slipped my beloved a Valentine's present even before we were officially a couple. That's just the kind of guy that I am.

Apparently, we have a chance for the last rain until monsoon season in July. Sounds nice, huh? Of course, it will be nothing like the mess that rolled through TX and the middle of the country earlier this week, but it will be good for the Valley.

Listen, you've got things to do, flowers to deliver, cards to write, chocolates to share. Go ahead. I understand. Enjoy your happy years. We'll visit again soon.

Week Seven Already

We are already into the seventh week of two thousand twelve. Can you believe it? And I think I have had this stinking cold for half of those weeks. I dosed up with Nyquil and Dayquil all weekend and laid around as much as possible. We did have the GRANDS Friday night and much of Saturday, but my wife was up to the challenge and let me sleep late, gave them a bath, etc.

Saturday, we had a party at KLIK with good food and gooder desserts and several board games. I will get off my death bed for some gaming time. We picked up a Fruit Ninja card game that Isabella could play, so we played that a bunch. She did very well and beat me several times.

Speaking of unique ways that kids (or grandkids) hear things and interpret them as best they can...No, it did not go exactly like that, but I remembered this joke when I was thinking about Bella overhearing something at brunch and asking about it. When they ask you something like that, you go, "What? Where did you hear that?"

OK, let's get this party started. And by "party," I mean workday, which is the opposite of a party. And by "started," I mean stop procrastinating all the things still left to do, which is the opposite of what I want to do. And by let's," I mean exactly what I said. All of us. See you tomorrow, which is exactly what I mean.

It's a Revelation!

Well, not so much a revelation as a reference to a verse from the Bible of Revelation chapter 13. Why did I do that and why talk about it in today's post? Read the Clarity of Vision first.Did you get it? No? I even mentioned a few days ago in my blog. Today is comic #666. I did have a suggestion from Preacher Bro about flipping the numbers over and using 999 from Herman Cain, so I gave that a mention in the comic.

Speaking of flipping over, I hope the GRANDS do that if they wake up during the night tonight as they sleepover at our house. I hope I get feeling better before they arrive. That persistent cold seems to be rearing its head again and I've got an itchy throat and some drainage.

One thing I am sure every home has is a Junk Drawer. It starts off as a useful place for things you "might" need in the future. However, it then becomes the black hole for things no one needs. It sometimes seals itself off from reality, although that could also be things shifted in the drawer that block it from opening. And we cannot clean it because we will find things that we forgot about but "might" need still so we put them back in the drawer. So, it is an endless cycle.

Hey, Lewis, did you head over for some yummy Reunion cooking? Did anyone from GA make it in?

I am delaying taking Dayquil in case it makes me a little drowsy. However, I may suck on a throat lozenge or eight. The problem with that is it makes coffee or hot chocolate taste weird.

OK, enough complaining. I have completed three of the eleven items on my To Do list (#1, 2, 4), so no time to delay. I'll work on #3, then down to #5 and onward. Have a nice weekend, and please, no goodbye kiss. I do not want to get you sick.

GS-36

Yup. You read the title correctly. No, it's not the name of a new military aircraft, nor the specs for a new camera. It means that Granddaughter Sleepover begins in 36 hours. Whoo hoo. It could involve a trip to the park with the dog. It could include brunch on Saturday morning. It will almost certainly mean Spongebob and Jake and the Pirates will dominate our television. All of this leading up to the FOURTH Annual Valentine's Day Feast-ival over at KLIK (I may have inadvertently said First Annual yesterday, but that's crazy talk. Lyndsay has engineered this fun-fest ever since Kendall was born).

The choice of another brainstorm was not inadvertent, though. I knew yesterday that this was coming because I wanted the lady to try to say something again throughout the comic and then have it be irrelevant.

A group is using my VP report as the basis for project capitalization, so I suppose that means she accepts the report as valid and complete. That's good. However, since she liked it, I probably need to update it with changes since publication. That's bad.

Did you see yesterday's comments? A parent sighting has been confirmed in North Louisiana. I knew I should have been suspicious when they said they were just taking a quick run to the gas station and would be back soon, but don't bother to wait.

I wrote out a To-Do list yesterday and prioritized the items 1-10 (yes, I actually did have 10 items. You were think maybe I prioritized 1-10, but the list had 16 items, right?). Anyway, I then needed to add an eleventh item. How would you handle that? Would you mark out the changed numbers and write in new ones? Not me. No way. I added the new item in at 2.5. Whatever works, right?

One thing that needs to work is me. Those 11 items (actually, # 1 was completed yesterday) aren't going to complete themselves. Thanks for being my sounding board for a while.

I Gots Some Ideas Now

Yup, I do have some ideas for Friday's Clarity of Vision. I may have to extend the 666 idea to subsequent comics if I decide to use all the ideas. We'll see (and I truly mean we will see since I currently have no idea what I will do).

I think the folks may be in Shreveport right now for the family reunion. I see the temp is supposed to be in the upper-50s these next few days, so perfect for sitting around and shooting the familial breeze. Hello to everyone.

Some of us are having to work everyday. Some of us may have to participate in a brainstorming session. Hopefully, it goes more smoothly than this.

You know what sounds good right now? Homemade nachos. Why am I thinking that before 7am? I don't know.

Speaking of food, though, we bought a Groupon for a local place that prepares meals and freezes them. Then, all you have to do is pop them in the oven for an hour or so and the meal is ready. We just bought a 6-meal plan to try it out. How do some of these sound? Homemade calzones. Mini Meatloaves. Parmesan Tilapia. Bourbon braised Pork Chops. Chicken Pot Pie. Brown Sugar Chipotle Salmon. Chicken Parmesan. Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas. Roasted Vegetable Lasagna. I've got to pick 6 meals from those choices (although I could pick the same one twice if I wanted). I hope they are good.

OK, I have been rambling and no one stopped me. I decided to stop myself. I will probably do so again tomorrow, but you will have to come and find out.

The Cold That Won't Let Go

Has the seasonal cold come through your neighborhood or workplace yet? It won't seem to let Kathie or I go. It is not severe enough to put us down, but the sniffling and sneezing just hangs on. It will not stop me from attending Chorale practice tonight, though.

It also did not stop me from writing today's Clarity of Vision. We had The Lord's Supper at church on Sunday and I thought about what would happen in a person had too much of the elements.

Come on, you people. I mentioned last week (unless it was yesterday. I forget) that comic #666 is coming up. What would be a clever way to commemorate that? Or maybe your silence is an indication that I should do nothing. Come on #2. You know me better than that.

The GRANDS are spending Friday night with us. Then, we will go to the First Annual Valentine's Day Party. Whoo hoo. We gets us some Lyndsay cooking again.

I guess that no news is good news about the folk's trip. They must have reached Big D OK since no one called to ask where they were.

The boss needs a report prepared today, so I need to get cracking (that's an odd phrase, isn't it? Maybe it refers to my joints?). Anyway, you go do whatever you need to do today and we'll get together again tomorrow and commiserate.

Congrats to the Giants

I must say it was a good game all the way. I chose to support the Patriots since I lived in the Northeast for a year or so, and because of the intense rivalry of the Cowboys and Giants. However, I really had no skin in the game, so I just enjoyed the game itself.

I also loved the stage set up for Madonna's halftime show. It was too cool. I heard it might have been a projection setup coming down from the dome's roof, but it did some cool stuff. And Madonna can lip-synch pretty good.

We went over to my daughter-in-law's brother's house. No, I am not saying it was a S---- B--- party, because that is not allowed and I don't want the NFL commandeering my blog. However, I can say the following....

The folks should reach Dallas today on their way to Shreveport for a family reunion. Dad was thinking the road might be clear during yesterday afternoon during The Big Game. Hopefully, it wasn't bad afterward, though.

Well, the only place I am going to to meetings today, so I need to prepare my presentations. Have a great post-S-----B--- day and check back tomorrow.

A New 666 Is Coming

Yes, you read correctly. A new 666 is coming and I don't think any of you can stop it. Today's Clarity of Vision is number 661. That means my six hundred sixty-sixth comic should come out next Friday. No, I have not even thought about what it will be about, nor if I will take on the biblical implications. Maybe I'll let it pass and comment in the following days. What would you do?

Today's CoV, though, is about the risk of not having a totally secure password. Sure, we can devise secure passwords, but there must be a point of diminishing returns.

We were thinking to have dinner with the folks last night, but Dad is fighting a cold. So, my better half was reading email and asked, "What is this about a Chorale concert tonight?" Whoa. I had agreed to be part of a small group that sang at a dinner at a local church and totally forgot since I did not go to Chorale practice Tuesday. I was a few minutes late, so I missed the first two songs, but I was there for the other six. Anyway, we will try again for dinner tonight.

What are your plans for Big Game Sunday? (I know I cannot say Super Bowl here. I hope they did not trademark the word Sunday also). I think we are going to Casey's. However, who will I root for? The Giants in support of Dave, or the Patriots from when I worked up in Providence? Right now, I lean towards the Pats, since the Giants are such a long-time rival of the 'Boys.

Can you believe it? I still have not heard from the VP. That can only mean she liked it. Well, no, I suppose it could also mean she is on vacation, or she hated it, or she is having someone else do a new version of it, or she is just really busy with higher priority activities this week. You're right. I guess it doesn't mean anything yet.

I feel my mind shifting over to work stuff now, so let's wrap up our interactions for the week. Sure, I'll have more to say next week, plus I need to think about 666. See ya.

Still a Little Cold Here

No, I am not talking about the weather, which will reach 74F today under clear skies. I am talking about this pesky itchy eye, irritated throat, runny nose cold that keeps hanging on. I don't feel really bad (at least not bad enough to stay home), but I don't feel completely well yet, either. So, I muster through it and get some work done.

BTW, no, I have not heard from the VP about the report yet. That should mean good news, right?

Finally, on Sunday, something besides campaign news will dominate the airways. The Really Great Soup/Salad Container! (Shh, I can't say Super Bowl in case the NFL finds out and takes legal action). I heard on the news that no one can say they are having a Super Bowl party, even at homes or churches. The NFL suggests calling it a Big Game Party.

Even though the TV will shift to the you-know-what, CoV still has some campaign-related comedy to impart.

OK, now that the hilarity has died down, I will shift my attention to that which pays my bills. We have one more day of work and CoV before our Big Game Party, so we'll visit more tomorrow.

Choose Your Punchline

Years ago, there was a TV program called Here Come the Brides about settlers in Washington state importing brides from the Northeast. In the intro each week, they would show a segment with the lead character saying, in a low, rumbly voice, "Choose your partners." Why did I think of that today? In today's Clarity of Vision, I was putting words into the character's mouths and it made me remember that voice.

Similarly, there was a TV program called Then Came Bronson where the lead character also spoke in a low, rumbly voice. My brother and I used to imitate him, saying "Hey, man. Give me my parts."

OK, enough reminiscing. Let's look at the CoV that got me thinking about these things.

Glee was good last night. They did a spot-on remake of a Michael Jackson video in black and white that I really enjoyed. All their other MJ arrangements were pretty good, too.

I am still getting over my cold. I am taking Nyquil each night to both clear my sinuses and knock me out. At least, I think that is why I am doing it. I hope I am not addicted.

No, I did not hear from the VP about my report. However, another group wants to talk to me about using some of the extracted data to help generate some capitalization expense numbers.

Well, the time has come, the blog author said, to talk of many things. However, they are all work-related and I don't want to bore you, so let's agree to disagree about when I am finished. I say, "Right now."