Monday, January 05, 2004

Mission Accomplished I never heard the word meme until I started this weblog. I first learned about Monday Mission through Gretchen Pirillo's now defunct site. Of all of the memes, Monday Mission was the only one I found intriguing. (At the other end of the spectrum is Friday Five, which I find totally lame) I can't say that I've been diligent in doing each weekly mission. For a while I drifted away and only did it occasionally, when the mood struck me. When I found out that Promo was closing it down, I decided to finish out the string. So, here we go with... PromoGuy's Monday Mission 4.0 1. In the last week, what happened that made you feel loved beyond your wildest dreams? [from MM 1.0] My wife kissed me by the Christmas tree. We forgot to hang up mistletoe but it didn't seem to matter. 2. What was the last audio CD you paid money for? [from MM 1.3] Bruce Springsteen's The Rising. 3. Has someone you know ever told you they had a terminal illness? What was it like for you when you found out. How did that change your relationship with them? [from MM 2.45] My ex's father was diagnosed 19 or so years ago with liver cancer. He was a life long heavy cigarette smoker. The doctors gave him one month to live. He died almost exactly one month to the day he entered the hospital. It really didn't change my relationship with him since he died hating my guts, just like he always did. 4. Do you have an accent? Are there any phrases or words you say that tip folks that you aren't from around these parts? [from MM 2.38] Of course not. People from New Jersey have no accent, unlike the rest of the country. 5. What's the difference between being a Father, and being a Daddy? [from MM 3.25] Daddy says yes while Father says no. Sorry, I know it's a lame answer. 6. What is the most recent thing guilt has motivated you to do? [from MM 2.50] Almost everything I do is motivated by guilt. Just kidding. Mmm... so many choices. How about answering this question because it's the last Monday Mission? 7. How do you feel about tips and tipping? Do you feel obligated to tip even if your service is bad because you know the servers don't get paid much? If you've ever relied on tips for your income, how do you feel when you don't get any? [This is a new one, had to throw in at least one more hot topic before I sign off] I think that there's a certain minimum level of service required. If that isn't reached you are justified in withholding a tip. I think most people stiff a waiter or waitress in circumstances where withholding a tip is not warranted. That said, I've noticed that more and more people seem to expect a 20% tip rather than the customary 15%. I don't know when tip inflation started, but 15% is enough unless the service in some way exceeds the norm. As far as tipping other workers goes, I'm clueless. I never know how much to tip the maid in a hotel, the bellhop, skycap, etc. BONUS: Will you still love me for the rest of my life? Sorry, I'm already spoken for. Today's Comment Question: Your Mission is finally over, please file your report. "Saigon. Shit. I'm still only in Saigon. - I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one, brought it up to me like room service." --Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), Apocalypse Now File under Monday Mission. 10:35:20 PM

	Monday, December 29, 2003

The Next To Last Monday Mission PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.52 1. So, what did you get for Christmas? I don't know. Since most of my family is in show-biz, we don't get together until after Christmas. We're getting together on New Years Day to exchange gifts. 2. Are you returning any gifts you were given for Christmas? I don't know, but based on experience, probably not. 3. For me, the best part of Christmas being over is that there will be no more Fran Drescher "Old Navy" commercials. Ugh, bring back Morgan Fairchild! What is the best part of Christmas being over? Yeah, I'd have to agree that Fran Drescher disappearing off the TV would be the best part. I wish she'd take Kirstie Alley with her. 4. Used to be, we would always get together with friends and have Margaritas on New Year's Eve (though time has passed and friends drift apart, so not anymore, sadly). My Grandma always makes sure to eat Black Eyed Peas on N.Y.E. I know of another couple who "do it" on NYE, and time it to reach their "peak" right at 12:00 AM! Do you have any traditions each year for New Year's Eve? It's one of the ones you mentioned. Guess which one. 5. If you could go back into 2003 and change just one thing, or get a "do over," what would you do? I wish I spent less time in the office and more time outdoors fishing and hiking. 6. Is there anything you want to accomplish in 2004 that seems within reach? I'd like to get out of the legal profession and start my own magazine. I think I'd like to call it George. /getting terrible sense of deja vu 7. Is your online personality very different from what it would be like if I were meeting you in "real life?" Sorry, that information is classified. Suffice it to say that you would be very very impressed. BONUS: What you gonna do when you get out of jail? I'm gonna knock over the Piggly Wiggly and head for Mexico. Today's Comment Question: Once the Monday Mission is gone, what meme (weekly Question and Answer) will you pick to replace it? Sorry, you're irreplacable! File under Monday Mission. 10:46:27 PM

	Monday, December 22, 2003

Monday Mission It's the 2 minute warning and the Packers are beating the Raiders 24-7. Bret Favre is having a tremendous game at quarterback even after losing his father. I haven't done a Monday Mission in a long time and now PromoGuy is winding it down. Only 2 more Monday Missions left after today. So, here goes. PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.51 1. Last night, I had a nightmare that my car had been stolen. I and a female companion were leaving a party and my car, that had been parked in the street, was gone. It was so real, that my pulse was quickening. I panicked, and said to myself "It must be a dream, I have to wake up!" I crouched down on my feet, grabbed my head and with all my might fought to wake up. Finally, I did, and it really was a dream, but my heart was pounding so bad that it took a while to calm down. Have you ever had a dream so real, that inside the dream you had to fight to wake yourself up? Do you remember the dream? It's been a long time since I've had that kind of dream where I was trying to wake myself up. I've had some dreams lately, though, that feel as real as reality. Of course, how do I know that this isn't a dream and the dream isn't reality? 2. I've mentioned this before, but I really don't believe in the concept of a "soul-mate." Maybe this is because I've never really felt like I have met mine. Once I thought maybe, but she felt someone else was hers. Could be that in another relationship I met her, and for some reason it didn't work out, but then, we wouldn't really have been soul-mates, would we? So, when I hear someone say "I've met my soul-mate" I cringe and roll my eyes and mumble "yeah, right." How would you define the concept of a "soul-mate" is? Do you believe in such things? Have you met your soul-mate? My definition: my wife. Of course, I had to marry the wrong woman first! 3. What does it take to make men happy anyway? If you're talking about what does a woman have to do to make a man happy, I recall the words of an old friend: Just show up naked with a six-pack. Just show up naked. Just show up with a six-pack. Oh hell, just show up. 4. What is your favorite piece of electric hardware, and why? I take it you don't mean my Apple PowerBook. I'd have to say my cordless drill because it's so versatile. 5. Yesterday in our adult Sunday School class, a lady was telling us about a woman with car trouble she had stopped to help. Now, the lady who stopped had her own 2 small children in her car. With so much uncertainty out there, I am not so sure I would stop to help a stranger if I had 2 children in my car. Turns out though, that the motorist was a mother who had a 15-month old in the car and was on the way to church. She also had just lost an infant and was having the service the next day, but now would have no way to get there. Eventually she got the lady and her child to her church. It left me wondering how many people I had just driven by that I could have helped. But at the same time, I felt like she was taking too big of a risk stopping to help a stranger when it was just her and her children. Have you ever stopped to help a stranded motorist? Has anyone ever stopped to help you when you were stranded? Isn't there some element of risk involved when helping someone with car trouble, or is it better to just "do unto others as you'd have them do unto you?" I can't say that I've ever stopped to help a stranded motorist. I'd also rather wait for AAA than have a stranger stop. 6. Just for fun, what is the one present you'd like for Christmas, but you know there is no way you will? A PowerMac G5 with dual processors. 7. What are you thankful for this Christmas [or your current holiday this season]? My wife, my son and that I've kept my sanity these last couple of years. BONUS: Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time. Relax, you're going to give yourself a heart attack. Today's Comment Question: Did you see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King? Any good? I haven't seen any of them. I'm starting to feel this invisible peer pressure to see them though. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning. File under Monday Mission. 10:32:02 PM

	Monday, September 15, 2003

Another Monday Mrs. Hondo and I had a very nice weekend getting away from it all. We got a nice package deal at a hotel, caught Bob Golub (very funny) at Catch-A-Rising-Star and enjoyed a great brunch before returning home. Anyway, it's back to reality now and it's also time for: PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.37 1. Chrystal said in last week's Monday Mission that the chore she dreaded most was having to "fold and put away clothes." What regular chore(s) do you dread the most? I would have to agree with Chrystal. What I especially hate is matching up the colored socks. I guess second place would go to emptying out the dishwasher. 2. Have you ever tried any of the "tabbed" browsers like MyIE2, Safari or Mozilla Firebird? Do you like it better than a one-window browser? How come? I use Safari on my PowerBook and Mozilla Firebird on my WinTel desktop. In my mind tabbed browsing is much more convient than one-window browsers like IE. I don't think I'd ever go back to IE unless I absolutely had to. 3. I was told last night that normal people don't spend as much time on the computer as I do. That if I'd devote that energy toward something else, anything else, I could have probably cured cancer by now. I don't think my time is wasted when I am on-line or otherwise working on the PC, but maybe it really is more time than so-called "normal' people. Do you ever get criticized for being on the computer too much? How much time do you spend on the PC and/or on-line? Is it too much time are or do they just not "get" us? At home, I'm on the computer too much only when somebody else wants to use it and be on the computer too much themselves. At work, I have a boss that still prefers a slide rule to a calculator so what can I say. By the way, where does one go to meet these "normal" people? 4. One of the phrases I notice every week when read in the job listings is "must be a highly motivated self-starter.." I have no idea what that means. To me it sounds like what they really want to say is "must be able to take a lot of crap and not complain." That could be why I don't get many second interviews. In your opinion, what is a "self-starter?" Are you a "self-starter?" In the context of these ads it's just another cliche. I think it means, "I don't know exactly what to tell you to do, but I reserve the right to criticize your work product." Another one I love is when a job has "great potential for growth." That means they want to underpay you. 5. Let's take that thought one step further: Write a Job Ad that describes you perfectly (as you are now, not as your "ideal" self) as well as the ideal job you'd like to get paid for doing. As I am now: Seeking unmotivated complainer. Team players need not apply. Ideal job: Philosopher-King wanted. Short hours, great pay, excellent benefits. 6. As you may know, I have (Adult)ADD in a bad way, severe even. Although I'd very much like to be rid of it, I don't take meds for it because they made me very irritable and very unpleasant to be around. Do you take medications on a regular basis, or ever attempted to? Have they caused any side effects? Is it worth enduring them for the benefit you receive from the medication? I take lots of medications every day. They cause side effects like irritability, dizziness, nausea, trouble sleeping etc. I'd like to do without them but I need them to function. 7. Some things should just stay in the past, you know? I've found many memories are better as memories. When you try to re-live them they never seem to be able to live up to the memory. Maybe we glamorize them over time. Or maybe they were as good as we think, but something from "now" gets in the way and you just can't get past it. What moment from the past have you tried to re-live that has fallen short of the memory? BONUS: Didn't your mama tell you life is too good too waste? Yeah. Too bad I didn't listen to her. Today's Comment Question: What could "PG dot net" add or change to make this blog even better? I like you just the way you are. File under Monday Mission. 8:10:00 PM

	Tuesday, September 09, 2003

Monday Mission Yes I do know that it's Tuesday. But I have an excuse. It was the first Monday Night Football game and I was enjoying watching the Bucs kick the Igles' butts. Anyway, since PromoGuy plans on ending the mission this fall I don't want to miss out on any, so here we go: Monday Mission 3.36 1. How to you get motivated to do something you really hate to do? Fear is a great motivator. 2. Have you ever been hypnotized? Do you think it can really be done or is it a mind trick? I have never been hypnotized and have no opinion as to whether it is real or a mind trick. 3. Bride Magazine says that the average bill for a wedding is $22,000. No, I didn't misplace a comma, that is twenty-two THOUSAND! That sounds insane to me. I'd rather elope and put that money into a house. Or a honeymoon. If you are married, how much did your wedding cost? Was it worth it? (the cost of the wedding, not the marriage, heh) If you aren't, how much do you think should be spent on a wedding? My wife and I were actually married twice. The first time was a civil ceremony and only immediate family were invited and we had a really great reception afterwards at a local restaurant. The second time was 2 years later after my church annulment from my first "marriage" came through and we had a full wedding Mass. We had a much larger reception which was put together on the fly at our hotel because the restaurant we had hired got flooded when hurricane Floyd blew through. Our two honeymoons were in Florida and Maui. I don't think that both weddings, including honeymoons added up to $22,000. But, to each his own. 4. If you are a Realtor, I mean no offense, but these folks strike me as very sneaky. Many of the houses I've looked at have a sign up in the yard, but it has been sold for some time. Sure some are under contract, but why not slap a "SOLD!" sign up there? No, I the Realtor wants you to call anyway so they can snag you as a lead. Have you ever looked for or bought a house? Was it fun? What is the most frustrating part of the process (looking, buying, all areas)? I have bought and sold 2 houses. Every part of the process is frustrating. The worst thing is that here realtors routinely get 6% at closing just for putting the house in the Multiple Listing Service! One even had the nerve to tell me that attorneys had a strangle hold on the real estate business. With the exception of one realtor I have dealt with, you never get a truthful answer out of any of them. Also, unless you're a real pain in the ass, they will always show you the worst houses in your price range and better houses above your price range. 5. Do you have a quiet place where you can go and be alone? What's it like? Would you share it with someone or is it just yours? If I told you it might not be a quiet place where I could go and be alone anymore. 6. Summer is almost over, did you get to take a vacation yet? Yes. We rented a condo on the beach in Cape May for a week. Unfortunately, with my bout of sciatica I wasn't able to do many of the outdoor activities that I had hoped to do. 7. Do you like playing video games? What game system do you like the most (any era) or do you prefer board games? Video games bore me. I'd much rather play a board game. I did have an Atari once back in the early 1980's. BONUS: Can he do the things that I do? Who? Today's Comment Question: Are you a planner or a daydreamer? I am a daydreamer whose plans often come to naught. File under Monday Mission 7:37:47 AM

	Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Is It Fall Already? It only got up to around 65 degrees here today and it's rainy and damp. We got in late last night from our Labor Day trip out to my sister's. I'm tired from a full day at work so I'll have to post something about the trip tomorrow. Anyway, since it's Tuesday it must be time for... PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.35 1. The North Carolina Press Photographers Association (NCPPA) recently took back a photographer's three awards when it was learned that he had digitally altered some photos. I use PhotoShop or other digital editing tools all the time on my photographs. I never thought that was wrong. Do you think it is "unethical" for newspaper photographers to use PhotoShop to alter the images they capture? Should journalists be held to a higher standard? Journalists should not be inventing or embellishing the news. That's true whether they're print or photo journalists. 2. On the flip-side of journalistic integrity, several newspapers are choosing not to run the Sept. 7 edition of "Doonesbury" because it mentions masturbation. I just don't care for Doonesbury anymore, but it made me wonder how much progress we've really made as a society. Is masturbation a bad thing? Even in the times in which we live, is it something that can't be spoken of still? And just for grins, do you really believe people who say they've never done that? I think it's a personal matter which is up to the individual and isn't anybody else's business. I don't believe people who say they've never done it. By the way, did I tell you I won a contest? <grin> By the way, I think Doonesbury stopped being funny or relevant many many years ago. 3. If you had the power to be the Webmaster Almighty, what one thing would you eliminate entirely from the World Wide Web? I would eliminate child pornography. 4. Did you grow up in the same town when you were young, or did your parents move around a lot? How do you think that impacted your life? Has it had any affects on your adult life? I pretty much stayed in one town all of my childhood. I think that if it had any impact on my life it would be negative. I think it limits your perspective on things and can even make you closed-minded. I know some people I grew up with who still live there and I find that their viewpoints are extremely parochial and I have nothing at all in common with them anymore. 5. Who deserves to be called a Liar to their face? What would you say to them to publicly humiliate them? ("Liar, liar, pants on fire...") I don't think I have enough space left on this server for the list. I think that just exposing them for what they truly are would suffice as humiliation. Of course, these days no body seems to be ashamed of anything anymore. 6. How do you picture Heaven? It's not so much a picture as it is a feeling of true and eternal peace. I don't think our minds can even imagine what a place that would keep us eternally happy would look like. 7. Who do you hope to meet in the afterlife? God. BONUS: When you're gone how can I even try to go on? You've just got to "suck it up" and keep on keepin' on. Today's Comment Question: What do you do really, really well? Beat myself up. 10:00:51 PM

	Monday, August 25, 2003

Monday Mission It's Monday, so once again it's time for PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.34: 1. When was the last time you helped out a friend in need? What was going on that made you want to help? Right now I'm helping a friend out but I can't discuss it because it's in litigation. 2. Are you a "pet" person? Do you like to keep pets or would you rather not bother with them? Why? I absolutely love dogs. Unfortunately, my wife is allergic to them. 3. In a dating or married relationship, is it possible to change someone to be more like you want them to be? Have you tried to or had someone try to change you? How did it turn out? I don't believe you can change another person. I do believe that two people can compliment each other, however. That didn't stop my ex from trying to make me into something I wasn't. 4. In your opinion, why is it that some married people have affairs? Is it ever justified? I've only known a few married people who've had affairs. In the case of the man, it was for sex. In the case of the woman, it was for the gifts that her boss gave her. What amazes me is, not that they were married to each other (which they were), but that they judged me so harshly when I broke up with my ex. I guess they didn't know that I knew about their little secrets. IMHO affairs are never justified. 5. Do you tend to make the same mistakes over and over? Got any examples? I never make the same mistake twice. I always manage to make new and different ones. 6. What do you find distracts you the most when you are trying to concentrate? These naked supermodels that keep running in and out of my office all day long. 7. What do you know "now," that you wish you knew "then?" Don't put your dreams in lockboxes, and don't invest years of your life in a day job for the wad you expect to have at the end. Believe in that myth at your own peril. (from Po Bronson's, "What Should I Do With My Life?") BONUS: What's the matter with your life? If I knew the answer to that, then there wouldn't be anything wrong! Anyway, I'm still paying my therapist $135 a week to figure that out. I'll let you know when I have a breakthrough. Today's comment question: What drives you wild? Didn't I tell you about the naked supermodels? 11:01:05 PM