2010/07/06
I had set up today to introduce Ale to Joel. When we were all still in high school he was the one that drove us down to the big city on the weekends because he knew all the roads. I was using this as my thinking when I figured maybe he could take us somewhere that was a little hidden, a little under the radar but still cool. His idea was different. He works at the Tribune Review so he got discount tickets for the Carnegie Art and Natural History Museum so we went there. Not my original idea but still cool. We did stop at my work on the way past so Ale and Lana could meet but Lana didn't have her phone on her and we couldn't get a hold of anyone so we waited 10 minutes and just left. Her loss.
Joel's discount was buy one admission get one free but due to some snafu with the lady we ended up getting buy one get all the rest free so that was cool. We had a good time. First we saw the Natural Museum side, the old architectures, the dinosaurs and gemstones then we saw the Art Museum side. I've been here a bunch of times but not for a while so it was nice to check things out again. I think Isaac had came here recently with Penn Pals because I remember him telling me how awesome he thought the dinosaurs were.
When we were done the plan was to go to Schenley Park and play some disc golf because I borrowed some discs off my friend Billy (Carl) but the consensus was that it was far too hot to do anything outside if we could help it so Joel suggested we check out the new Rivers Casino. I had never been there before (gambling was not really my thing) so we thought why the hell not. On the way over we stopped to check out where the Pens play. She got to see and get a picture taken in front of the old Civic Arena before they tear it down so that was cool. Next time she comes here that building will probably not be here anymore. She also got to see the new arena but it was not done yet and we couldn't check it out as much. At least that one will still be here when she comes and I'm sure I'll end up taking her to a lot of games and events there.
It's funny that almost the exact same thing happened here as the last time I went to a casino. On my honeymoon in Niagara Falls Lisa and I went to a casino and for some reason she didn't bring her ID so when we tried to walk in they said she couldn't enter. We continued walking around until we came upon another entrance and no one said anything. We walked right in. So when we parked in the parking garage and took the elevator down and the guy carded us to get in and he (for whatever reason) didn't accept Ale's foreign ID as legitimate I knew exactly what to do. We took the elevator back up one floor, got out and took the stairs back to the ground floor and walked around to the main entrance. No one was standing there and we walked straight in. Yay slot machines. We texted Joel that we made it in but he said he had already lost $5 and was on his way back to the car. Lol. That didn't take long. We saw a complimentary drink machine so we got some pop and then we did a quick look around and I made sure we walked out right past the guy that wouldn't let us inside in the first place. We met up with Joel and by that time he needed to head back to start getting ready for work.
We went back to my mom's and she cooked us a nice home cooked turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and all the good stuff. I don't think she and Ale talked all that much. It's funny that people think they have to say different stuff to her or something because she's from far away. I don't get that. She's as normal and awesome as anyone from around here. Since this was the first time she was at this house I gave her a tour. I wanted her to see it because we may end up buying this place from my mom when she moves away. We thanked my mom and went back to Jim's to crash until the next day.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
uwvark27's Favorite Movies Of All Time
Here is a partial list of some of what I think are the best movies of all time. I'm sure I can work on this more in the future but I just wanted to get this out here as a start.
- Anchorman
- Back To The Future (series)
- Billy Madison
- Crank (series)
- Death Wish (series)
- Dude Where's My Car
- Freddy vs Jason
- Grandma's Boy
- Harry Potter (series)
- Iron Man (series)
- James Bond (series)
- Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2
- Lord Of The Rings (series)
- The Matrix (series)
- Mr. Deeds
- Old School
- Porky's
- Saw (series)
- Scott Pilgrim vs The World
- Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny
- The Big Lebowski
- UHF
- You Don't Mess With The Zohan
Monday, October 18, 2010
History Was Made
This past weekend seemed to fly by. I can't believe it's Monday morning already. Now that I think back I guess we did do a lot but it seems like I should have at least one more day to rest and recover here. That is disappointing. What isn't though is the fact that Isaac came with me to the Pens game on Friday night to kick off our weekend and the Pens made history. They got the first ever win in the new arena and we were there for it. Now Isaac can tell people when he gets older and all the kids grow up and forget there even ever was a Civic Arena that he was there for this historic victory. I'm super happy about that. (you can read more about the game here)
He was very good during the game although he did get a bit delirious towards the end. We went right to bed when we got home because I thought I had way too many things we needed to get done on Saturday. It turns out I was wrong. My mom was supposed to go with us to the toy store to see what kinds of toys Isaac wanted for Xmas and to get him something for his birthday but she was too busy. I think she's taking him Monday while I'm at the game with Joel. We also skipped grocery shopping because I couldn't figure out how to fit it in without having to leave the stuff in the car while we did other stuff.
So Saturday morning he ended up playing video games all morning for the most part. He did take a birthday call from Pappy and open Aunt Autumn's card to him. I talked to Chuck about various things including some interesting information about his house and he helped me look at my car again. There was an issue with the battery light and so far I got a new alternator and battery but it still flickers on every once in a while. Hopefully that doesn't turn out to get more serious. Once that was fixed, we took off. We needed to work on his Halloween costume so we were headed out to Greensburg to find the Halloween store. On the way however we made a bunch of stops because I discovered a new pastime that I wanted to share with Isaac, Geocaching! We ended up stopping a bunch of places that day and while we did experience some frustration finding the one we did find all we attempted. It sucks that it's almost winter or we'd be out more often looking for them. No hurries I guess. They ain't going anywhere.
We found one cache and then made it to the mall. I could have sworn there was a Halloween store here behind the mall but I was wrong. I decided to try our luck and actually go in the mall. Maybe it was in there so we went inside and did find it. Whew! Why is it half toy store though is my question. The whole front end of the store was toys, not just Halloween toys but regular toys. That was confusing. No good costumes here either for kids here unless you want to be Spiderman or a fireman. Looks of sexy adult costumes though. Isaac wants to be a zombie so we did find fake blood capsules. That was all the good this place was doing us so we left. On the way out of the parking lot we found one more cache and then another down the street further. We stopped Arby's to get some food as we headed out to Nate's to watch the Pens game. I got us there a bit early so we could walk out to the lake to find the one cache we couldn't find last time I was here. That's 4 total for the day. Good job us!! The Pens destroyed the Flyers and we had a blast hanging out with Nate and the family and then we went home.
The next morning we went over to Brandon's again to watch the Steelers game and played a little frisbee after. For dinner he had his favorite meal of tacos and afterward we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and ate chocolate cake. Yes, these will be the time I will love to remember when I'm older.
He was very good during the game although he did get a bit delirious towards the end. We went right to bed when we got home because I thought I had way too many things we needed to get done on Saturday. It turns out I was wrong. My mom was supposed to go with us to the toy store to see what kinds of toys Isaac wanted for Xmas and to get him something for his birthday but she was too busy. I think she's taking him Monday while I'm at the game with Joel. We also skipped grocery shopping because I couldn't figure out how to fit it in without having to leave the stuff in the car while we did other stuff.
So Saturday morning he ended up playing video games all morning for the most part. He did take a birthday call from Pappy and open Aunt Autumn's card to him. I talked to Chuck about various things including some interesting information about his house and he helped me look at my car again. There was an issue with the battery light and so far I got a new alternator and battery but it still flickers on every once in a while. Hopefully that doesn't turn out to get more serious. Once that was fixed, we took off. We needed to work on his Halloween costume so we were headed out to Greensburg to find the Halloween store. On the way however we made a bunch of stops because I discovered a new pastime that I wanted to share with Isaac, Geocaching! We ended up stopping a bunch of places that day and while we did experience some frustration finding the one we did find all we attempted. It sucks that it's almost winter or we'd be out more often looking for them. No hurries I guess. They ain't going anywhere.
We found one cache and then made it to the mall. I could have sworn there was a Halloween store here behind the mall but I was wrong. I decided to try our luck and actually go in the mall. Maybe it was in there so we went inside and did find it. Whew! Why is it half toy store though is my question. The whole front end of the store was toys, not just Halloween toys but regular toys. That was confusing. No good costumes here either for kids here unless you want to be Spiderman or a fireman. Looks of sexy adult costumes though. Isaac wants to be a zombie so we did find fake blood capsules. That was all the good this place was doing us so we left. On the way out of the parking lot we found one more cache and then another down the street further. We stopped Arby's to get some food as we headed out to Nate's to watch the Pens game. I got us there a bit early so we could walk out to the lake to find the one cache we couldn't find last time I was here. That's 4 total for the day. Good job us!! The Pens destroyed the Flyers and we had a blast hanging out with Nate and the family and then we went home.
The next morning we went over to Brandon's again to watch the Steelers game and played a little frisbee after. For dinner he had his favorite meal of tacos and afterward we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and ate chocolate cake. Yes, these will be the time I will love to remember when I'm older.
HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY ISAAC!!!! :D
Monday, October 11, 2010
Stupid But Funny
There was an email going around in my group today about the boss's birthday. You know the usual stuff, everyone give $2, when is the best time to present the cake to him, can someone stop and pick out a card, etc. I don't know what grabbed a hold of me but I decided I needed to reply using old timey speak so after taking a few minutes to decide what I wanted to say and how to phrase it I replied:
I made myself laugh with that. Why don't people use these crazy words anymore? We need to start a wiki or something to catalog this stuff. Lol
That’s a humdinger of an idea! :D
I vote the 15th, I reckon that’ll send him into the weekend as happy as a dog with two tails!
I vote the 15th, I reckon that’ll send him into the weekend as happy as a dog with two tails!
I made myself laugh with that. Why don't people use these crazy words anymore? We need to start a wiki or something to catalog this stuff. Lol
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
PennDot is an embarassment
Let me explain how I saw this whole deal go down and you can make your own conclusion.
Nov 2009
Changed insurance companies
Nationwide -> Liberty Mutual
Jan 2010
Involved in a fender bender where another driver struck me
Police were called
Claim filed at both insurance companies
No questions if I was insured or not.
April 2010
Renewed License plate registration (which involves sending them insurance info)
PennDot sent me my sticker no questions asked
2010/08/09
Cop pulls me over after running my plates says I don't have insurance
Showed him insurance card
Advised me to call insurance company to get this straightened out
2010/08/10
Called insurance company they told me that they sent them proof in Nov when I switched and they can send it again.
A woman who worked there, Tanisha, faxed it to them again
They told me to follow up next week with PennDot to make sure it was okay
2010/08/17 Called PennDot to verify receipt
They told me my license plate registration was suspended since March? for failing to provide proof of insurance?
Did not receive any of the multiple correspondence sent to them proving that I had insurance
According to Adam (who dealt with the phone call slightly better than I hoped) the PennDot person I talked to said I needed to fax my Identification Card with the date that my insurance started that I'm sure they received at least once before.
I'm not to fax it to any specific person either which I'm not sure very productive.
He told me they sent a letter to me in Dec and another in March. I do not have these letters in anywhere that I see and I save and file things like that. I do sort of remember something about this. I am pretty sure I called PennDot in March about this letter and they told me that registering on-line would be fine. Adam says because the proper forms were not filled out nothing counted yet. Who am I supposed to believe. What if the story changes again after I fax this info?
2010/08/18 [1029] talked to Stacy at Liberty Mutual to tell her what PennDot is doing do me. She apologized several times but I told her that it wasn't her fault.
She can resend me identification cards and she will fax 1 copy of every form she can find to PennDot to make them accept it. I gave her the same information that PennDot gave me. Send my Insurance Identification Card showing the date (2009/11/09) that my policy was effective to the fax number 717.772.1550 and put on that Attn: URGENT VEHICLE UNDER SUSPENSION. She will also send me information down to her underwrites and they will also contact PennDot and send them the forms too.
2010/09/27 I had to go to my hearing to fight the traffic citation I was issued. Again I had to explain and explain that I have insurance. I had insurance the whole time. Their argument was that anyone could sign up for insurance, pay the 1st month and get the insurance card saying they were covered for 6 month or a year or whatever and then just cancel or not pay anymore. All I can say is :|
The magistrate made me call my insurance company (AGAIN) and fax them ANOTHER letter saying that I had insurance on the date I was pulled over. I did all that right there before I left and made them do it now. She poked her head thorough the window thing and said they got it and it was good enough. I guess when they send me back my $50 (cost of fighting ticket) this whole affair will finally be over with.
I don't know what kind of outfit it going on over there at PennDot but it seems to me that there is no accountability. Nobody feels like doing their job anymore and that's okay because it is the common person that will have to suffer the wrath of their incompetence.
Nov 2009
Changed insurance companies
Nationwide -> Liberty Mutual
Jan 2010
Involved in a fender bender where another driver struck me
Police were called
Claim filed at both insurance companies
No questions if I was insured or not.
April 2010
Renewed License plate registration (which involves sending them insurance info)
PennDot sent me my sticker no questions asked
2010/08/09
Cop pulls me over after running my plates says I don't have insurance
Showed him insurance card
Advised me to call insurance company to get this straightened out
2010/08/10
Called insurance company they told me that they sent them proof in Nov when I switched and they can send it again.
A woman who worked there, Tanisha, faxed it to them again
They told me to follow up next week with PennDot to make sure it was okay
2010/08/17 Called PennDot to verify receipt
They told me my license plate registration was suspended since March? for failing to provide proof of insurance?
Did not receive any of the multiple correspondence sent to them proving that I had insurance
According to Adam (who dealt with the phone call slightly better than I hoped) the PennDot person I talked to said I needed to fax my Identification Card with the date that my insurance started that I'm sure they received at least once before.
I'm not to fax it to any specific person either which I'm not sure very productive.
He told me they sent a letter to me in Dec and another in March. I do not have these letters in anywhere that I see and I save and file things like that. I do sort of remember something about this. I am pretty sure I called PennDot in March about this letter and they told me that registering on-line would be fine. Adam says because the proper forms were not filled out nothing counted yet. Who am I supposed to believe. What if the story changes again after I fax this info?
2010/08/18 [1029] talked to Stacy at Liberty Mutual to tell her what PennDot is doing do me. She apologized several times but I told her that it wasn't her fault.
She can resend me identification cards and she will fax 1 copy of every form she can find to PennDot to make them accept it. I gave her the same information that PennDot gave me. Send my Insurance Identification Card showing the date (2009/11/09) that my policy was effective to the fax number 717.772.1550 and put on that Attn: URGENT VEHICLE UNDER SUSPENSION. She will also send me information down to her underwrites and they will also contact PennDot and send them the forms too.
2010/09/27 I had to go to my hearing to fight the traffic citation I was issued. Again I had to explain and explain that I have insurance. I had insurance the whole time. Their argument was that anyone could sign up for insurance, pay the 1st month and get the insurance card saying they were covered for 6 month or a year or whatever and then just cancel or not pay anymore. All I can say is :|
The magistrate made me call my insurance company (AGAIN) and fax them ANOTHER letter saying that I had insurance on the date I was pulled over. I did all that right there before I left and made them do it now. She poked her head thorough the window thing and said they got it and it was good enough. I guess when they send me back my $50 (cost of fighting ticket) this whole affair will finally be over with.
I don't know what kind of outfit it going on over there at PennDot but it seems to me that there is no accountability. Nobody feels like doing their job anymore and that's okay because it is the common person that will have to suffer the wrath of their incompetence.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hiiiiii-ya!!
Isaac started karate lessons through the PT community program this week. He has it every Tues & Thurs for 4 weeks. For some reason I have been gung-ho on him doing karate for a while now and I'm glad we finally got this chance. What I'm even happier about though is that after both classes so far he has run up to me when it was over and exclaimed how much he LOVES karate!!
He seems like he is the youngest one in the whole class and he's not doing all the things right yet but he is learning. That's what this is for. It's good for him for many reasons. He will get exercise out of it and be physically fit and healthy and another main reason is learning discipline. He will learn to follow the strict commands of his Sensei. He will learn to sit up straight and tall. He will learn to be confident in his responses and actions. This is what I was hoping for and it seems I hit pretty close to the target on this one.
We'll keeps tabs on this one and see how it progresses.
He seems like he is the youngest one in the whole class and he's not doing all the things right yet but he is learning. That's what this is for. It's good for him for many reasons. He will get exercise out of it and be physically fit and healthy and another main reason is learning discipline. He will learn to follow the strict commands of his Sensei. He will learn to sit up straight and tall. He will learn to be confident in his responses and actions. This is what I was hoping for and it seems I hit pretty close to the target on this one.
We'll keeps tabs on this one and see how it progresses.
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