Thanks Pete

I am so thankful that Pete is a happy, healthy (relatively), and well adjusted dog.  I watched tonight's episode of Dogtown about the Michael Vick dogs.  It was heartbreaking to see how those dogs had been treated and the state they were in when they were rescued.  Most of them were fearful of humans or other animals which made them more aggressive.

After months of therapy most of the dogs had either found homes or had come leaps and bounds over their former selves. 

Watching The Dog Whisperer, there was a dog that would attack people if they came near it while it was eating.  Pete is the polar opposite of being an aggressive dog.  He listens to commands, unless distracted by other people or dogs around.  When I feed him, I can stick my hands right in his mouth and take the food out and he lets me.  He is quiet and loves other people. 

My dad has even commented on how much he has changed in the past year.  When I first got him he didn't know how to act around other dogs and put them into an aggressive mode.  Now, he can be around other dogs and plays with them and is submissive most of the time.

I really couldn't ask for a better dog.

Guitar Hero World Tour

I managed to get 100% on Everlong - Foo Fighters, 100% on Misery Business - Paramore, 100% on Beat It - Michael Jackson, 98% Eye of the Tiger - Survivor, 97% on Stranglehold - Ted Nugent (I didn't think that song was ever going to fucking end), and 95% on Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd.  All were on lead guitar on Hard.  While none of those songs are by any means the hardest in the game, they are pretty freaking difficult.

I tried playing The Middle by Jimmy Eat World and Misery Business by Paramore on Expert and failed miserably within the first half of each song.  I will get them one day.

There's a party going on right here...

I stayed at my dad's house this weekend.  My sister was graduating from nursing school on Saturday and they wanted me out there for a family breakfast Saturday morning.  I knew that there was no way that I was going to get up in time to make it out there for breakfast so I decided to go out there Friday and spend the night.

We got up Saturday morning and made breakfast then all sat down and ate.  My dad had to go to my aunt's and pick some stuff up for the party after the graduation.  My sister and her mom went out to get their hair done but ended up coming back to the house and doing it themselves due to not making an appointment first and there being a long wait at the salon.  My brother made it back home about an hour before we had to leave.

We got to the church and went in.  I set up the video camera and the ceremony began.  It was a nice ceremony.  My sister presented my parents with a rose for each of them for supporting her through the past 2 years of school.  My dad started tearing up.  Once it was finally over we met up with one of my step-mom's students who was coming out to the house with us that night to study for his NCLEX exam.  We got back to the house and started getting everything ready for dinner.  My other brother grilled everything up and my aunt made her famous potato salad.  Then the drinking began.

By the end of the night, and after a never-ending game of UNO, my sister finally stumbled to her room and passed out.  My brother, dad, and I were up until around 4 talking and hanging out.  I passed out around then.

We got up this morning and made breakfast again.  We sat outside on the deck and talked for a while then I had to pack up and get Pete wrangled in the car to get home.

After I got back, I ran up to GameStop to pick up the copy of Guitar Hero World Tour that I had reserved a couple of months ago on the PS2, but wanted to exchange it for the full band kit for the Wii.  They didn't have any extra copies so I went ahead and got the PS2 version.  I ran by Target to see if they had it.  They did.  I purchased it and ran back over to GameStop to return the PS2 version.  I got home and unpacked it all.  It is a lot of fun.  The drum kit for Guitar Hero is a lot nicer than the one for Rock Band.  Instead of having 4 pads and a foot pedal, there are 3 pads, 2 cymbols, and a foot pedal.  They aren't as loud as the Rock Band drums either.  I got about 12 songs into career mode before I decided to shut it down and take a break for a bit.

I need to get a new wireless router so that I can get the Wii back online and download additional content.

Overall, it was a fun weekend and I enjoyed it immensely.

More pics of Pete

 

Here are a couple of pics of Pete that I snapped recently. 

Oktoberfest 2008

I love the company that I work for.  Tomorrow is our annual Oktoberfest.  Otherwise known as "Bring your favorite beer" to work day.

Mmm Mmm Good

I made a Caribbean inspired dish tonight.  I sauteed some onions and green peppers, smoked sausage and garlic.  I dredged some shrimp in chili powder and sauteed them up.  I mixed it all together with a can of Rotel and pineapple chunks.  I then boiled some rice in chicken stock and pineapple juice.  Mixed them up with a little bit of jerk seasoning and sprinkled a little bit of fresh coconut over the top.

It was mighty good.  It was kind of sweet then you bit into one of the shrimp and lit your mouth up.  Probably one of the best creative meals I have made in a while.

I made some sliced cinnamon apples for dessert.

Charlaine Harris: Southern Vampire Mysteries

Over the past two weeks I have read the first five (well, ok, four only because I can't find the second book anywhere for sale other than on Amazon) of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries(Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead As A Doornail).  I stopped and picked up Definitely Dead and All Together Dead, books 6 and 7, from Borders today while at lunch.  The 8th book, From Dead to Worse, is currently out in hardback.  I may pick that one up after I finish the 7th book, but I would like to wait for its release in paperback before I get it.  I have devoured these books lately.  Mostly reading them in one sitting.  They are not that long; 350 to 400 pages for most of them.

These books are the basis for the new HBO Series True Blood.  Which is how I happened upon the series in the first place.  The show is taking each book as a season.  They have expanded a couple of characters and made a few minor changes, but overall has stayed very close to the original story.

The premise of the story is about a telepathic waitress who gets mixed up in the world of vampires and other supernatural beings set in a time when the release of a newly developed synthetic blood has opened the doors for vampires to "come out of the coffin". 

I would highly recommend these books if you are a fan of supernatural mysteries.  A couple of the books are quite predictable in the outcome, but the first couple books had me riveted.