It's the weekend!

It is a warm 62 degrees outside today, and the sun is shining brightly. While it was warmer during the week, the forecast for tomorrow is in the 70s!

I had actually posted something a couple of nights ago, but ended up on a blank page when I tried to publish it. I did try the "recover post" link, but that didn't work. I must admit to have been a little tired and very frustrated when I wrote that post, so maybe it was divine intervention that stopped it from being published! Don't get me wrong - there was nothing in that post that could even be considered inflammatory in any way - but I think that I said more about myself than I had intended to. Some things have to be kept to yourself.

Prince Charles married his other half today, Camilla Parker Bowles. It's a funny world - I lived in Wales when Charles married Lady Diana Spencer back in 1981. Out street had a party with games and food and drink, and everyone was in a really good mood. In case you are wondering why - Charles and Diana were the Prince and Princess of Wales. I even had a commemorative coffee mug - until my younger sister decided it would be fun to see if it bounced! I remember buying a small set of glasses, because they were small and cute ( I was 8 years old at the time!). It turns out that they were shot glasses, and my father's laughter at the time only became clear to me many years later!!!

If you enjoy humour, then try watching "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Comedy Central. While it is classified as a "fake news" program, I find it more informative and less biased than a lot of other legitimate news channels. In addition to that, he does put a different spin on a lot of the things that happen on a daily basis - it is good to laugh!!!

The Tar Heels won the NCAA Men's Championship on Monday night, and there was much rejoicing here! A lot of my colleagues are Tar Heels, and my manager (and friend) is a UNC graduate whose son is graduating from their business school this year. His name is Mike, and he is a retired Naval Captain, and one of the best people I have ever been fortunate to meet. His management style is unique, and his work ethic exemplary. He is the reason why, in a market so overloaded with outsourcing, I still have a job. He was in Florida last week when the Tar Heels won, and we will see him for the first time since then on Monday - he is going to be ecstatic!!!!

I have a lot of things to do this weekend, so I'll try and wrap this up. In addition to cleaning the house (groan) I have grocery shopping, need to get a desk and at least 2 bookshelves, wash the car, buy some plants for the garden - the list is just getting longer and longer!!!

Have you heard a song called "What a wonderful world" by Sam Cooke?

This is not to be confused with the version sung by the immortal Louis Armstrong.
Sam Cooke was a talented singer who was shot to death under questionable circumstances in 1964. I first heard this song as it was the music for a Levi's commercial when I was a child. When I was able to finally get internet access, searching for music that I heard when I was younger was one of my top priorities, and that's how I found out about Sam Cooke.

Here are the lyrics:

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the french I took
But I do know that I love you, and I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be.

Don't know much about geography
Don't know much trigonometry
Don't know much about algebra
Don't know what s slide rule is for
But I know that one and one is two, and if this one could be with you
What a wonderful world this would be

Now, I don't claim to be an 'A' student, but I'm tryin' to be
For maybe by being an 'A'-student, baby, I can win your love for me.

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the french I took
But I do know that I love you, and I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be.


Song for the day - What a wonderful world by Sam Cooke.

It's been a while......

Well, I haven't really posted anything here in a while. I have been really busy, and a lot of things have changed since I last posted here.
Anyway - that's enough about that.

I don't know if anyone actually reads this, but if you had read any of my earlier posts, you might have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. I must admit to have gone through a number of other people's blogs to see if I could find something that would inspire me to come up with that unique name - but as usual, I didn't. As I sat here thinking about this, I started going through the hard drive of this machine - since I haven't used this machine in over a year, I found some interesting things on it. The most interesting things were some pictures - my friend's daughter Lisa (who turns 2 on July 6th!) on the day that she was born- her parents not long after the were married - a trip that a bunch of us took to Asheboro Zoo - they all brought back some fond memories.

The best ones by far were a set of four of my brother and I. They were taken the first time that he came over here to see me. My friends were very taken with his English accent (despite the fact that it was a posh Welsh accent!) and we had a good time. My brother and I have a very...unique relationship. We do argue over a lot of things, but at the end of the day, I love my brother, and I know that he loves me. Nothing is more important than that.

When my parents came to visit last year, they were not impressed by a number of things, primarily my weight (the tenfold increase since they had last seen me!) and my hair (or lack of, since my haircut was very similar to someone who had just come back from bootcamp!). That was September last year, and I have made only one improvement on that - and you know what it is! My hair had grown so much that I looked (for want of a better word) untidy. So I went and cut it today, and while it is shorter and more manageable, I still miss my ZMH, or zero maintenance hairstyle. Just wash it, dry it and then forget about it! It was also practical, since I like to drive my car with the windows down, and the wind rushing in isn't really kind to long haired airheads like myself. I think that the next time I go for a haircut, I will go back to my ZMH. That would mean though, that I would have to lose some serious weight first. I guess the best way to explain would be to post a picture here, but in order to keep my embarassment to a minimum today, I will describe myself.

Think of an Asian version of Drew Carey who has let himself go! Another version would be Quasimodo without his hump!

My heart and soul are relatively pure, so I am not an absolute moron - just a partial one :)

So, I am sitting here, typing away, and listening to my music collection. A couple of years ago, before the music industry clamped down on online file sharing, I downloaded a ton of music - mostly stuff that I really wanted, but had no way of getting. I don't know about you, but I was getting pretty tired of spending $15 for an album, when all I wanted was one song! So I find myself back on my main "downloading" machine, with no more file sharing programs, but a lot of good music. I have the Connells singing "74-75" at the moment, and the song before that was "Anybody seen my baby" by the Rolling Stones. I really do have an eclectic taste in music!

It feels good to "blog". The words flow freely from my mind onto the screen (via my fingers and the keyboard - I am more mentally challenged than mentall endowed!). Now a song by Ten Sharp called "You" is playing. This really is a lovely song. While I can't play it for you, here are the lyrics - you can decide for yourself:

It's all right with me
as long as you
are by my side
Talk or just say nothing
I don't mind your looks never lie
I was always on the run
finding out what I was looking for
And I was always insecure
just until I found
Words often don't come easy
I never learned
to show you the inside of me
I know my baby
You were always patient
dragging out what I try to hide
I was always on the run
finding out what I was looking for
and I was always insecure
until I found
You, you were always on my mind
you, you're the one I've been living for
you, you're my everlasting fire
you're my always shining star
The night's always a good friend
a glass of wine, and the lights are low
you lying beside me, me full of love
and filled with hope....


Nice, eh?

I've always dreamed about singing a song (or a few songs) when I (more like if I ever can) get married. This is one of them. In order to do that, the following things would have to happen (and not necessarily in the same order):

1. I would have to learn how to sing without the dogs in the neighbourhood howling along in tune
2. I would have to learn how to play the piano - and I mean play, not the couple of songs that I somehow "learnt" when I was younger.
3. This is the most important of all - I would have to find someone who would love me for who I am and not what I am.

On that rather lonely note, I will call it a night. I did get my haircut a short while ago, and really could do with a shower. To you my silent and unknown audience, I bid you goodnight!