Speaking of Random Thoughts

So, this is the stuff I was thinking about while watching Episode 7 of Season 6 of "Grey's Anatomy", sitting at my table with my laptop, while The Lovely Steph Leann stretches out comfortably on the couch...

He's not Colin Firth, but he's Top Five for
The Lovely Steph Leann

She loves her some Dr. Bailey, and Patrick Dempsey is a key member of Firth's administration in The Colin Firth Club, while I think Mark Sloan rocks, and dig Arizona Robbins... wait, did I just say any of that?  Forget I wrote that...

Speaking of Disney World...

So, here's the reason I've been so lagging in blogging in the last few weeks.  About a month ago, our pastor at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and his family asked The Lovely Steph Leann and I for some pointers on Disney World.  Pastor Calvin and his wife, daughter Hillary and her hubby and 2 year old girl and daughter Alissa and hubby Joey and their two boys are all headed that way, and its a combination of "never been" and "haven't been in a few years" and "haven't been in a long time"...

Well, after a three hour lunch meeting, we were just getting going.  Alissa had written about five pages of jumbled notes and such, and I'm not sure she understood everything we were saying (she had Mickey's PhilharMagic spelled Mickey's Filler Magic... I laughed heartily) so at the end, when we were running out of time, I said, "Let me write your notes." 

And over the course of a month, I wrote some notes.  And more notes.  And more notes.  And I added sections.  And then chapters.  And then a table of contents.  And at the end, it was a 53 page not-even comprehensive guide to Disney World from our perspective. 

The Lovely Steph Leann took it to edit, and after three days of assembly, it was bound in a folder, with the great title "DISNEY ON A DOLLAR"... that was the name she created for the Disney Travel Agency that we had discussed...

Personally, I think its a great guide.  And The Lovely Steph Leann says simply, "We aren't giving this out to anyone.  If they want it, they have to hang out with us.  Maybe treat us to dinner!".  So there ya go. 

But that's a completed project, so I'm back!  Rock on. 

Speaking of syrup on the fingers...

I hate having my hands sticky.  Like, really sticky.  Or even partly sticky.  When I'm standing at the espresso bar, and I reach over and pump four shots of vanilla, it sometimes drips on the back of my hand.  Or I have mocha on my fingers.  Or moving the frappuccino pumps around, it drips on my palm.  Hate it, hate it, hate it.  I consider that to be one of the things I'd probably hate most about being on Survivor--my hands getting sticky and not being able to wash it off.

Don't get me wrong.. I don't mind "dirty".  I can put my hands in mud and dirt, I've potted many plants and cleaned many drains and scrubbed many toilets and so on, so I have no opposition to getting my hands dirty.  As long as they aren't sticky. 

Speaking of making messes...

I would love to tell you the following is a fake, but its not.  I would love to tell you that the following is needless and silly, and maybe it is... but I can see the use for it. 

Its called The Slobstopper, and its a real commercial, and sure to be found at Target, Kohls and Wal-Mart in that crazy "As Seen On TV" aisle and/or end-cap soon enough.  What is the Slobstopper?  Its a bib for adults.



Sometimes for a mid-afternoon, or an after work snack, I'll drop by Daylight Donuts and grab a donut and a small bottle of whole milk, and what I've learned the hard way is when you open the whole milk, it spills out the top.  Its done this twice, in my car as I was driving.  The first time, I had a nearby cloth towel and was able to wipe most of the mess away.  Of course, it was good that I had that cloth because I was also munching on a coconut cream filled turnover, and that cream splurted out onto my shirt, my shorts and on the fairly new seats of Red Robin. 

If I have a complaint about my Kia Soul, and I have very, very few, one would be that the seats get dirty really easily.  Just add coconut cream.  And whole milk.

The second time, I was less prepared, and though I had no coconut cream filled turnover, the milk spilled even worse, and I only had a Starbucks apron within reach.  I guess there is no use crying over it.

But had I Slobstopper?  My problems would melt away... as would the milk and coconut cream.

Speaking of being tired...

You know you are tired when you wake up at butt-thirty in the morning and are already looking forward to laying down in the afternoon for a little rest spell.

Speaking of doing puzzles...

I'm not much of a "fighting style" video game guy, like "Red Dead Redemption" and "Halo" and all that rot.  Not that I don't really understand them, its just too many buttons on most controllers.  My fingers aren't that dexterious.

However, I do like puzzles and puzzle games on video.  And in a book.  Mazes rule.  I love mazes.  Crosswords are fun too. 

Word searches are fun, but only if the list is fun.  Like, when I pick up a word search puzzle, I'll flip past "Architectural Designs" or "French Military Victories", but if I see something cool like "Russell Crowe Movies", I'm like "Where you at 'Gladiator'?!".

By the way, the "French Military Victories puzzle has like, one or two things to find. 

Speaking of holding your breath...

When I'm watching a film and a character has to swim underwater, I always hold my breath as long as they do to see if I would make it.  I usually die. 

Speaking of good food...

Had dinner the other night at a joint called Rags downtown, in the Lakeview District.  Let's be honest, I only know its the Lakeview District because when we pulled up, I was told that it was the Lakeview District by our double dates for the night, Melanie and Chris Z.  It was Chris' birthday, so he was in fine spirits, Melanie looked great as always, The Lovely Steph Leann is always nice to have on the arm, so it was a great night.

The food was reasonably priced, and the atmostphere was fun.  Its a former hair salon turned into a bar/cafe, which contains a bar and five tables.  We had to wait for a table for a few minutes, but we were able to sit down and munch on Italian type food and appetizers. 

After we all shared a big plate of fried green beans, I ate shrimp pesto pasta and it was really great.  Dinner with friends is always great. 

Speaking of The Deucecast...

In case you don't know me or haven't heard me, we done been starting us a podcasty thing.  A podcast called The Deucecast.  You can find it on iTunes under "The Deucecast" and download individual 'casts (I recommend Episode -1... that's negative one... and Episode III: Podcast of the Sith) or subscribe to all of them. 

You can also find it on our website The Deucecast, and get show notes and download shows, see a few pics, and find some other fun stuff as we progress.  Find us on Facebook and like us, too.

What's it about?  Pop culture stuff.  Movies, music, entertainment news, gaming stuff, and lots of humor.  Hosted by Mikey, Matty and myself, new episodes are usually available for download on Fridays by midday.  Come join us!

The Fans of FAN Day

Sometimes our church, Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), has some bad ideas.  Sometimes they throw some things out there, and we all sit back and say, "Wow.  That didn't work, did it?"

And then again, sometimes our church, Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), has some great ideas.  Some ideas, that when put forth are just knocked out of the ballpark.  And FAN Day was one of them...

FAN stands for "Friends And Neighbors" Day, where we could invite... well, our friends and neighbors... to come out to our church, Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), get to know us, get to know our pastor, and see what we have to offer... namely, Jesus, but there's more too.

Siran Stacy spoke at our church.  He's a former star for the University of Alabama--incidentally, they have 13 national championships, just in case you didn't know--in the years '89 to '91, and hails from Geneva, Alabama, which is 8 miles from my own home in Samson, Alabama.

In late 2007, he was driving a van with his wife and kids, and was struck by a drunk driver.  The drunk driver was killed, as was Stacy's wife, and four of his five children.   Stacy and his daughter Shelley survived, after both spent time in a coma.

When Siran Stacy hit that stage, you knew Jesus was up in this hizzy.  I mean, Siran brought it.  Let's be clear, I like Calvin Kelly... he's been my pastor for 12 years, really the only true pastor I've ever known--mine own church history is another blog for another day--but every now and then, a little color on our stage is great.  Maybe once a month or two, toss up some Antjuan Marsh, or let's catch Voddie Bochum as he's coming through town...

Anyway, Siran was a dynamic speaker, preaching on how God dealt with Ezekiel in the Old Testament, and relating it to how he dealt with his own losses.

And afterwards, we all went out to our tailgate parties.  Each Sunday School Life Connection had a little parcel of the parking lot, and each was responsible for grilling and serving up their own food, putting out their own chairs and tables, and making it as tailgatey as possible. 

I told one of the higher ups in our church, Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), that next year we need to present a trophy to the best tailgate presentation, maybe keep that trophy in the church with class names engraved on it year after year.  And of course, I only say that because of what we had....

We had Justin Fisher, about seven grills, a bunch of experienced grillers grilling on those grills, banana pudding, some little chocolate brownie balls that I had about fourteen of, all 9 of Chad & Amanda Campbell's kids, a tent, cornhole, Willis in a green The U shirt, an RV and Heather Whitley.  We win.

Here are some pictures from FAN Day.




Here is Mr. Steven Ray's Day and Mrs. Steven Ray's Mom, helping set up the big, fat buffet of cholesterol, sugar and high fructose corn syrup, along with the ribs and lettuce.  We rule.




Sitting and waiting to eat, The Freckled (re)Becca.  Her beau, Bobowen, is around here somewhere.



Jonathan Taylor, preparing the roast beast, the roast beast for the Valleydale Church
(an sbc fellowship) Tailgate feast.



The Lovely Steph Leann and our friend Heather, who's husband is away this weekend on drill and keeping our
country safe.  U-S-A!  U-S-A!



Tootie Watkins, with his gloves on, cooking up some burgers, while others, including
Steven Ray, gnaws on some ribs



I'm sure that the pastors and leaders of the church stopped by several booths, but we had a ton of people who
aren't in our own Life Connection class stop by ours.   Again, this lends to the assumption that we, in fact, had
the best set up.  I will say there was a circus tent that had a "JESUS FOR HEISMAN" sign, but in order to one-up
them, we went out and got Alissa Thornell.  We win again.



When Justin Fisher rolls down the halls of Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), little Will Fisher will run
out to meet him, and he will yell, and I quote, "Daddy!  Daddy!  Daddy!  Daddy!  Daddy!  Daddy!"  I can only
hope that Campbell Isaiah will dig his dad as much as Will Fisher digs his old man.  Little Will puts his hand
on Daddy JustFish's chair, and this is how they roll.



Calah Ray, correctly pronounced Cah-lah Rah, shows the excitement, yet exhaustion of the day



Jon Taylor and Heather Whitley view the food options, while again, Steven Ray looks on in the background.  I
think he was searching out the camera.

 


Emmy Turnbow, making a Not Emmy Turnbow Safe Face of Disapproval at her maler half, Jason


If you are on Facebook, you can search me up and look at all the pictures from FAN Day... I'm keeping them available for "Everyone" to see for a few days, then I'll take 'em down to "Friends Only" viewing.  Then you'll have to be my friend to see them... Membership has its privileges.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2009... 90 to 81

There are several videos on this post--if you reading this in Facebook, then click over to Clouds in My Coffee, so you can see everything properly. Then come back to Facebook, search Clouds in My Coffee and become a fan! We're 111 strong! Let's be 115! Yeah!

90... Dairy Queen Real Deals
Imagine my surprise when I walked into a Dairy Queen and saw a big square on the menu.  Three cubes on top, three on bottom, one on each side, and in the middle, the words, "2 for $3 or 3 for $4 or 4 for $5!".  So, for $5.40 (after tax), I can get a hot dog, a cheeseburger, a medium drink and a small sundae with anything from caramel to butterscotch (have to ask for that one) on it.  The marshmallow sundae is much better than it sounds, by the way.  I've eaten at DQ more in the last six months that I think I have in my whole life, including the year or so I worked there in 1995 at Troy's DQ. 

89... Stuff You Missed In History Class
I dig on podcasts and audiobooks.  I like listening to comedy, fiction, sports, nonfiction and... history.  There's this great little podcast from the website "How Stuff Works", which itself is a fascination podcast.  Well, "Stuff You Missed in History Class" has two hosts who essentially discuss... well, history.  In a fun way.  Usually its about stuff you dont know much about, or topics you've heard of, but don't know the whole story... some I've listened to recently include, "Why was Davy Crockett king of the wild frontier?" and "How the Berlin Wall worked" and "How the Emancipation Proclamation Worked"... now, don't ask me to remember any this stuff--I have the absorbing power of a concrete block (unless its about useless information, like what actually happened with the Montreal Screwjob), but nonetheless, its quite entertaining.

88... "Toy Story in 3-D" Double Feature
I'd been hearing about this for a long time, and thought The Lovely Steph Leann and I own both Toy Story movies, there is just something about seeing a movie on the big screen, especially a great film like both of these are. 



As far as the 3-D goes, ya know... it doesn't impress me as much.  I mean, it was good, but not unbelievable.  I sort of think that if you don't really notice the 3-D, then it might not be worth it (hence my review on "Avatar").  We saw it with family, which was fun, and its was just such a good time.  The problem came in, though, when The Lovely Steph Leann wanted popcorn and candy for the second film.  No biggie, right?  Go during the intermission... only, during the intermission, they decided they would show trivia, outtakes and other fun stuff.  So I missed a bunch of it. 

And Toy Story 3?  I'm excited.

87... Alissa & Joey's Wedding

I've known Alissa Kelly, the younger of two daughters of Pastor Calvin (Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship), for at least 10 years, maybe more.  And I knew her before she was dating Joey, and then met Joey when they finally got together.  And then watched as they got engaged, and finally as they got married.  Perhaps I've not been really tight with either for years and years, but I felt like I've watched them both, especially Alissa, for a long time.  So, naturally, it was great watching their wedding, and it was great at their reception.  Beautiful bride, great groom, hilarious minister (Andy Murry, student pastor at Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship) who said "Awesome" about fifty four times during the ceremony.  Congrats...

86... "The Smiley Face Commercial"
This ad just started coming on television not too long ago, and it hooked me immediately.  Its clever, its inventive, and it makes me think of driving... there is a semi-circle crack in the windshield of Toni Rocki Honda, just below my direct sight line of my driver's seat.  When I pull up behind someone, if I close one eye and cock my head just so, it makes a mouth to the brake light eyes, and it makes me happy.  Its the little things, really.



And I love the music.  Too bad its a great commercial concept for a credit card.  That's sort of like... well, I'll save the He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected potshot for later... Speaking of...

85... Joe Wilson Speaks What We Think
September 9th, 2009.  As He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is spouting off, declaring how his amazing health care reform plan will save this nation, I watched this clip several times, and really, even though Joe Wilson (R-SC) yells "You lie!" at the 1:22 mark, he really could have yelled it at any point.  He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is lying about "death panels" being a fabrication, about tax dollars not being used to fund abortions, about illegal immigrants not being covered under this plan and about tax dollars not being used. 



And what happens?  Wilson gets censured on the floor for "being disrespectful".  Heck, I'm glad that at least for one few shining moment, a Republican actually got passionate and stood up to He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected.  Cause in most speeches I've heard from He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected, "You Lie!" would fit.   And now you know.  And knowing is half the battle... Go Joe!

84... Paepcke Gets Told
Speaking of politics... let us turn to NBC Investigative Reporter Jon Paepcke, who is a former co-worker and a friend.  On October 28th, 2009, Birmingham's fine mayor, Larry Langford, was convicted on everything from bribery and embezzlement to tearing the "do not remove" tags off of his mattresses.  So, he does what he does best... mug for the camera.

Langford is doing a press conference about his innocense, when somewhere in there (its not in the video), Jon Paepcke actually asks Langford what he thinks this will do to Birmingham's Olympic chances in 2020.  When I saw that, I thought I was going to absolutely pass out.  Langford has been saying for years that the Olympic Games should come here--and he speaks as if this city not only has a shot, but a real shot.


(FYI... whoever loaded this video put their own commentary on screen--its the only copy of the video I could find to post, so please 'scuse)
 
So then, Langford them proceeds to go off on Paepcke, calling him a snake, the worst reporter of them all, and so on.  It was great.  I couldn't see the face of the blond reporter standing in front of Paepcke, but I can't imagine how priceless her awkward expression much be.  When he came into The Happiest Place in the Mall a few weeks ago, I ribbed him about it, and told him that video would be on this list.  He seemed proud.
 
83... "Men of a Certain Age"
I really dig this show.   And I would say the diggedness of this show is in no small part to the main three stars, Ray Romano (that "Ray" show), Scott Bakula (that "Leap" show) and Andre Braugher (that "Homicide" show), three guys I have always enjoyed in just about everything they've done.
 
Essentially, the plot is the friendship between three college friends – Joe, Owen and Terry – who are now in their late 40s/early 50s. Joe (Romano) is a slightly neurotic divorced father of two (Brittany Curran as Lucy, and Braeden Lemasters as Albert) who hoped to become a pro golfer but now owns a party store. Owen (Braugher) is an overstressed, diabetic husband and father, who is a car salesman at his dad's dealership. Terry (Bakula) is a struggling actor dating a much younger woman.



 
Ten years ago, I wouldn't have really enjoyed this show as much, mostly because I just wouldn't have understood it.  But the very first scene we see Owen in, when he's sitting up in bed, slightly overweight, looking frumpy and tired, sighing because its just another day... well, that I can identify with.   Its rated MA for language. 
 
Is it bad that I feel like in ten years, this show will be about me, my best mate Wookiee and Mikey?  With the Good Rev'rn Ty "Sharpton" Coffey tossed in?
 
82... "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"
I'll be honest, I wanted to see this film from the moment it came out.  I knew it would be bad.  I figured it would be bad.  I mean, its got Kevin James portraying... A Mall Cop.  The previews made both The Lovely Steph Leann and I laugh out loud, but they looked a little formulaic, a little cliched, and I thought, "Wow, that's going to be terrible."  And then a few weeks ago, I watched it via Netflix's Watch It Now Option.
 
...aaaaannnnndddddd........
 
I thought this movie was great, it made me laugh and was a good, shallow movie to sit back and enjoy.  I liked it because it didn't try to be anything that its not.  I liked it because Kevin James has a knack for being the guy who represents all of us kinda dorky guys who learns he only has to be his dorky self to be awesome.  I liked it because Jayma Mays, the ingenue/love interest, wasn't this unbelievable knock-out supermodel that would unrealistic to approach, she was this cute, down to earth girl that any of thinks we could at least talk to, and I liked it because the movie wasn't dirty, it didn't wallow in crude humor, it just told its story, made me laugh, then rolled the credits.  Yeah, yeah, its a little unbelievable that a group of robbers could take the mall on skateboards, but go with it...
 
...and this is unlike the other mall cop movie, "Observe & Report", with Seth Rogan, which might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen.  Here's what I said on June 5:
 
...I saw "Observe and Report" tonight at the $1 theater with Mikey. It was pretty terrible. It was a random (not in a good way) movie, it didn't go anywhere, it veered off into fifteen different directions, it wanted to be a comedy but still wanted to be taken as "smart" comedy, which it wasn't. Out of every character in that movie, including a usually reliable Seth Rogan's Ronnie, Anna Faris and several other "that guys" and B-listers, including Ray Liotta, the ONLY character in the entire movie I actually liked was that of Nell, the Cinnamon Bun stand worker, played by Collette Wolfe... otherwise, the movie was really lame...

81... The Amazing Race
This was the 15th edition of The Amazing Race, and the 11th that I'd watched.  Unlike Survivor, The Amazing Races all seem to kind of run together (ie, I couldn't name or even describe more then say, two winning teams in all 11 I've seen, excluding the last one), so it's always the contestants that make it for me.  And you're telling me that this one has two members of the Harlem Globetrotters named Flight Time & Big Easy?  Sold.
 
I would love to be on Survivor, but The Amazing Race would be awesome too, because its not so much a social game, as its a "get there as fast as you possibly can" game, which is awesome... sometimes, The Lovely Steph Leann and I will sit and watch together, usually picking out the challenges that she or I would do... though I told her that if we came to a 80 foot waterslide, one that was located in a resort, not in a tropical rain forest, and whooshed into a big pool, not a pirahna infested lake, and she refused to go down it--much like Mika did, while Canaan begged and pleaded for her to just let go of the bar--I think we'd get counseling.  It didn't help that Flight Time & Big Easy showed up, told her how scary it was and talked her out of it.  Mika & Canaan were in fact eliminated.
 
The big feud was Flight Time & Big Easy against Sam & Dan, brothers were both gay, and really, were just annoying and seriously a couple of jerks.  Naturally, though, the couple that fights and whines the most ends up winning, and thats exactly what Meghan and Cheyne (pronouced "shane", though not spelled the same for some unknown reason... perhaps they have a propencity for extra letters in their names.  Kinda like if I spelled my name "Dahyvedd".  I like it.)

Coming up...  A new "Bohemian Rhapsody"... Kate Wins... and more Pickles!  And later, could one of my friends be the next American Idol?

Picture Imperfect

We've already established that I'm a complete, foolish nostalgic person... As anyone who has talked to me in the last few weeks has discovered, I've had a blast going through all my college--and high school--pictures, sorting through the ones that I can scan, tossing some that I just don't need anymore (I'm not sure anyone needs a picture of me and fill-in-chick-I-went-out-with being cute) and pausing to stare at pictures of friends that I haven't seen in a very, very long time. Friends I miss.

And something happened that I didn't expect... I think I got caught up in all of it. The memories flood back, kinda reminding me of the Trisha Yearwood song I was singing earlier, while making perfect mochas and delicious grande lattes... "it was like a lighted match had been tossed into my soul, it was like a dam had broken in my heart... after taking every detour, getting lost and losing track, so that even if I wanted I could not find my way back, after driving out the memories of the way things had been, after I had forgotten all about it, this pic remembers when..."

Okay, it wasn't quite that dramatic. But I do love that song, and consider it to the be the saddest song ever written, though thats a complete other post... anyway, some of the memories that rushed back...

Like, there's a picture of me and Mike Brunson blowing on Allyson Guy's head, to cool her down after rock climbing. I was about as tired as I have ever been after that day, but it was awesome because I got about 40 feet up before I reached a point where I just had to leap for it. And I missed, but luckily there was a rope and beaner tying me to a safety point. Later, I screwed up my friendship with Mike, but through God's grace and Mike's forgiveness, things were settled. I dunno that Mike and I will be BFF, but at least the air is clear.


There's a picture of me and Adrianne Benton and Labett White on the beach, a trip I vaguely even remember. We were freshman, the three of us, and we were pretty tight for a little while. We even called ourselves "Threenkies", a silly nickname that only a silly 18 year old guy and two 18 year old girls could come up with. We giggled alot. Adrianne emailed me a few weeks ago with the line "I tried this once and you didn't respond, so I'll try it again"... I emailed her last night. Hope to hear from her.


There's another shot from my senior year (yes, yes, my first one) during the Farmhouse Big Barn Party. I had invited my friend Chrissy to go with me, she said sure, and in the picture, its us with Kevin Spivey and Whitley Porter, four good friends who had a great time. Actually, Spivey was in love with Chrissy's soft felt jacket, but that's another story altogether. That night was a hoot, as it was kinda cold, and for whatever reason, on the trail, my horse decided to go walking in the lake. Mind you, this was like, 9pm at night. Had my first conversation with Spivey in almost 10 years a few days ago. It was awesome.


Oh, what about this one, from my senior year in high school, when my best buddy Chris McCall and I were with my cousin April and our friend Michael down in Orlando, standing under the Hard Rock Cafe car that juts out of the front of the building... good times, all. That's Chris, wearing a shirt that says "Pump This", which at this late (early?) hour I find extreeeeeemely funny. Yeah, and I'm totally wearing the same shirt that I later wore on the beach with Labett and Adrianne. Chris also emailed me a few days back, and I need to email him. On my to-do list on Wednesday.

But the harder pictures are the ones that indicate those friendships that either no longer exist or can't. I'll be very vague here, because I'm not going to try to embarass anyone or call anyone out. One is my fault. I did something stupid ten years ago, and am still paying for it. Maybe I'm not, maybe all is forgiven, but at the same time, it pains me nonetheless. I'm a closure person, for better or for worse, and when there is none, then to me... well, there is none. That whole closure thing has bitten me a few times--I wish I didn't care, but I do.

Another is not my fault, but that doesn't matter, because through no fault of my own, we're done being friends. And that hurts to no end.

I cherish my friendships. See, I kinda have these circles that go around me... there's an outer circle, people I know, people I consider friends, but have to follow it up with an "I guess" because really, they are more like acquaintances. There's another circle, maybe a little tighter, where most of my friends fall. These are the friends that I enjoy seeing when I can, but perhaps haven't taken the time to follow up, or email enough, or haven't been on the receiving end of such an attempt. Then you get a little closer, where most of my "closer friends" lie. Maybe I consider them closer than they actually think they are, friends that I would do anything for, would probably do anything for me, and such.

You've probably heard this entire analogy before, the "outer" and "inner" circles, but its the same with me, really, cause I'm not that much different. Then maybe there are one or two people that I'm pretty tight with, that know lots and lots about me. And the funny part is, no one stays the same really. People drift in and out over the years, some people I would see every day or two for years suddenly aren't there anymore, and we lose touch. People like Sybil Johnson, McQ, The Valdmanis or Big Eddy, people that I would love to see much more of, but just aren't able to.

Others who were never a factor in my life at all, people I barely said a word-one to most times suddenly become someone I talk to on a regular basis... Erin the Marine Wife and Mindy D'A (though she never spoke to me, being the popular ADPi that she was) come to mind (mostly via online chatting), as does The Official Clouds in My Coffee Ombudsman Brad Latta.

I've mentioned before the dangers of Facebook... try it when people you are excited about talking to again decide that it would be best not too. Then again, its a joy when people you didn't think wanted to be closer decide they do. Works both ways. Or as Gloria Estefan might say, "It cuts both ways..."

Though, honestly, if I'm going with Gloria Estefan, and I'm in "I want to hear some make-me-feel-like-crap" kind of music, you can't go wrong with "Here We Are". Wow. Her voice is incredible, her emotion is strong and I can't think of many other songs that make use of the word "sublime". Late 80s/early 90s Gloria = awesomeness. Where was I?

I'm not sure why I have this need to "catch up" with people anyway... its how I've always been. Maybe I'm a friend for life or something, but when I have the opportunity, I like to know whats going on with people I know and care about. Maybe its a few weeks between "catch ups", like with my buddy KT, or maybe its a few months, like with my best mate Wookiee, or maybe even a few years... had a great conversation with Shelby last week. She pretty much called me out and told me I was kind of a terrible friend, that we had been such good friends back in the day and we never talked. She was right. So, I did my best to make it right... and I hope Shelby will be around for a long time.

The Lovely Steph Leann must be bored to tears by now, as I've been regaling her with tales of college profundaty, names like McConnell and Claire and Shelby and Melanie and Ally Song and Hinson and BCM and Yo Adrianne and Bobby Black and Spivey and AmyAlex just tossed out there, each with a hilarious or emotional moment attached to it.

Of course, at some point, I have to ask, where does it end? I mean, I've got almost 800 people on my Facebook Friend list, and I'll be real honest with you... I don't care about most of them. Somehow, if you are from a small town, and that same small town happens to be the same small town I'm from, then somehow we know each other, which means somehow we must be friends. Right? I've actually developed a system now... when I pull up Facebook chat, and it takes me longer than 10 seconds to figure out who you are and why you are on my chat list, then you're gone. Sorry. Its best for both of us, really.

I've considered doing a Top 250... pick out the 250 people that I legitimately talk to (and if you are worried about whether you'd be in that list, then that means you are reading this, and if you are reading this, that means you have enough care to be my friend, which means you'll probably be safe...) and that's my friend list. Oh, its okay to add someone, but someone has to get punted.

Found out that Chris Barrow is living here. Barrow is a buddy of mine from waaaay back in the day, when Wookiee and I lived in the Thomas Circle Apartment complex in Troy. He's the cousin of Courtney Then Shaw Now McGough, and when I wondered where Barrow was in a picture I posted, Court's hubby Michael emailed me his email address. So Barrow and I are having lunch on Wednesday to... well, catch-up.

In a random sidenote, my book idea is beginning to take shape. I've been jotting down notes and ideas for three days now--names, descriptions, places, events, etc--and I'm going tomorrow to purchase a "audio diction recorder". I want to be able to get my ideas quickly before I lose them, and by a recorder, I can just turn it on, speak my thoughts, and listen to it later. Did you know these things cost, like, $30 or $40? I was thinking $20. I went to Best Buy, and of course, the $28.99 model is sold out. I almost picked up a $39.99 Sony, but put it back, thinking I'd go to Wal-Mart later. I went after working at The Most Caffeinated Place on Hwy 280, and they had similar prices... that is, after I found it. The old Indian guy who was there when I purchased the Wii Fit was there tonight.

"Can I heep you vit sum-ting?" he barked. I told him was I was looking for, he said, "Come, come". I felt like I was being led to see The Golden Child or something... he leads me to the aisle where they were, points at three different pegs and says, "All vee have is thees, thees, thees, that ees all." Then he walked away. I left without purchasing anything. I have to get something though--I had an entire dialogue conversation with myself today in the car, about four pages worth of material that I hope I can remember again.

Where am I going with any of this? Heck if I know. Its late. Its after midnight, and my best friend in the whole entire world is laying in a bed sleeping, not more than fifty feet from where I sit. Funny thing, that Stephanie Campbell. We became really close right off the bat, and she was my best friend, one I could tell anything to, and someone I wanted to tell stuff too first... and I was that for her. She wasn't the first girl that was that way with me, there have been others that have been that close... The Lovely Steph Leann was just the first one that stayed there long enough for me to not just like her, but like her like her. Love her even.


Yours Truly and The Lovely Steph Leann, lookin' all good and stuff.... kinda reminds me of when Mater is talking to Lightnin' McQueen, saying, "I knew I made the right decision... for my best friend..."

Saturday night we were driving home after the glorious wedding of Joey Thornell and Alissa Kelley, had to make a few stops here and there to do some errands, and we decided we were hungry. It was getting late, and neither of us wanted a ton of food, so we figured Taco Bell would be enough for right then... five bucks gets us a drink to share and a couple of Tacos to split.

When we lived in that area, we used to go to the one over on Highway 31, close to The Galleria Mall, but we knew what to expect. It was terrible, and you could figure on waiting about 20 minutes for anything, which means you had to really, really have a hankerin' for a nacho bell grande. The one on Highway 280, where we live now, has never been bad, until this night. When we get inside, there are people standing everywhere. The Lovely Steph Leann asks me if we should go anywhere else, but I just say, "Nah, we'll just wait it out". The last time something like this happened, over at the other Taco Bell, I stood in line for only 10 minutes, as the people in front of me left one by one.

Not this night. We actually ordered pretty quickly, though that was the mistake... once they have your money, your locked in, you can't leave. Its obvious that they were short handed, so we just went and sat down... for about 20 minutes. Some lady started talking loudly that she wanted her money back, another guy came in and told another guy that he had ordered, left, gone across Hwy 280 to fill up his car with gas and come back, and his order still wasn't ready. The Lovely Steph Leann and I just sat there, kinda giggling.

The register guy, Maurice, was complaining loudly about lack of help-- "We ain't got nobody shown up here!" and apparently said something to his manager, who said something back. Maurice left the register and came out into the cafe to stock the condiment bar (and not back to the kitchen to help do something--dress a taco, dump some cinnamon sticks into the grease, top off a quesadilla--SOMETHING) and I heard him say, "I's a man too! I is! I's a man too!"

I looked over at The Lovely Steph Leann and whispered, "This is why I blog." She laughed. I looked at my best friend in the whole world, knowing with all of my heart that she'd never drop me from Facebook, she'd never block her page from my sight and she'll always be in that very, very inner inner inner circle of people that I care about the most, and that care about me. And that's a picture worth a thousand words.

(that last line really made no sense whatsoever, but again, its late, and I thought that would be just romantic enough to end this blog post with... Idol tomorrow! Maybe another real, non-Idol post on Wednesday!)

Taking the Mouse, Leaving the Bean Place

So... I'm a full time member of the Walt Disney World Company. The House of Mouse. By last Saturday night, maybe before Mikey's 30th birthday extravanganza, maybe after, I'm not sure, but sometime in there, I decided that I wanted to be a part of The Disney Store and the Disney Company. I'm sure its in no small part due to the little plastic card I get that allows me and The Lovely Steph Leann (and two of our closest friends) access to the World anytime. Alissa and Joey, you are on our list for next spring, after the wedding.

By Sunday, I was at peace with it. There's some turnover issues at The Disney Store, and I get the sense there's a morale or unstability issue. There was at Cahaba Heights when I went there in March of 2007... let's just say leadership there was... off. And if you are the leadership I speak of at that time, and you reading this, going nuts on me for cleaning the desk is not the way to get a favorable response on The Clouds in My Coffee Blog, read by dozens of people across this great land of ours.

Anyway, I like to think that in six months, I had helped put that team together--that team that included Peter, Chris, Katie, Greer, Tracy, Kelly, Buttahs and more--and that team rocked. I have a knack for hiring, somehow.

The fact that I'm going to get to help do the same thing at The Happiest Place in the Mall... well, thats a challenge I look forward to facing. Then a series of events happened this week, one after the other, that made me go, "Well, hey now... God might just have an idea what up it is after all..."

Monday... called The Happiest Place in the Mall, and confirmed that yes, I would be accepting the position. I now planned to be the assistant manager for the store. I had also referred My Friend Stephanie, a different Stephanie from The Lovely Steph Leann, mind you, to go apply for a job there. She applied at Target, and apparently, they have no idea whats going on... they hired her, and yet never called her, never scheduled her and told her nothing.

Tuesday... I had the evening off, and was set to put together some furniture bought at IKEA, with the help of Croyle. I was at Hallmark, shopping for a birthday card for Britlicious, the wife of said Croyle, when I get a call from another Starbucks manager. "Did you hear about the conference call?" Um... no. What conference call? "The one starting at 530..." We had one today at 3p, there is another one? "Yeah, this is being held by Special K, about store closings." (Now, she didn't say Special K, but thats what I like to call him. He's the regional director for Alabama, Mississippi and some of Georgia's Starbucks. Brilliant guy) Well, what time is it now? "Um... 512." Well, crap.

So I rush home to The Cabana, grab my phone, dial in, and hear the announcement that is currently all over the news and internet. Starbucks had already announced it would close 100 licensed stores--those are the stores that "Proudly Brew Starbucks Coffee" in Targets, Barnes & Nobles, airports, hospitals, etc--and just this instant, they were announcing the closings of 500 more stores--600 in all. Averaging 20 partners per store, there would be 12,000 positions eliminated, 12,000 partners that would either be transferred, displaced or leave the company.

Wednesday... I start answering questions to our team about the closings. "Are we on the list?" is the first question I get from everyone. The first 50 stores in the country would be closing by the end of July, but I hadn't gotten a call from our district manager to tell me our store would be one of them, so at least for now, we're safe. As a manager, I've got to do damage control, however, and make our partners and customers feel at ease. I leaned on Matt, one of our stars at the store, who I'd met with the previous night.

Thursday... My boss comes in at 9 to meet with me. Drops the news, news that didn't surprise me in the least, yet saddened me to a deep end. Our store, located at University and 20th Street, would be closing. Not now, not at the end of July, but sometime in the next 9 months. And with it, about 15 partners would be transferred to other stores, some of which will hopefully go on to be assistant managers, some of which will leave altogether. The sad part comes in when you know that many of these people have been together for a year or two, and its like a family split up. Like a foster home shutting down, sending its kids all over the place.

Bottom line is, Starbucks Coffee & Tea is fine, and will be fine. In 1999, Just For Feet was atop the world. They had just had one of the most buzzed about Super Bowl commercials in memory, and were opening franchises everywhere. Within 2 years, they collapsed amidst fraud and overexpansion. Krispy Kreme was also a media darling for a few years, but rapid expansion led to their stock price plummeting, and many franchises in the western states filed bankruptcy.

The closing of our store, plus three more stores in the city is a wise business decision. Starbucks voluntarily does it now, so they aren't forced to do it later. If I was at Cahaba Heights still, or Hwy 280, the University and 20th Store would be just another store I barely know, and I would just shrug, shake my head and say, "Too bad. But its the right choice." However comma I'm the manager of this particular Starbucks, and whether they like it or not, these are my partners, so instead I say, "This sucks. This really, really sucks. But its the right choice."

Just so you know, when you read the headlines that say, "Local Shops Run Big Coffee Giant Out", don't believe it, because crap isn't reliable. Lucy's Coffee and Tea, right around the corner from us, didn't run us out of business. O'Henry's, located in Homewood, didn't run the Soho store out of Soho. It was Starbucks stepping back, viewing their options and realizing that we have two stores that aren't quite pulling their weight, and don't seem as if they will be able to in the near future, regardless of team, manager, product or whatever. Be it a victim of circumstance, location or the terrible economy that we actually don't have, but the liberal media insists we do, there are some locations that just don't make sense. And Starbucks sees this.

Friday... I've submitted my resignation at Starbucks, stepping down as manager. I'll be taking on part time work as just a barista for a while at another Starbucks. No schedules, no deployment, no target reports, nothing to do but make lattes and talk to people, what I love to do the most.

I went by The Happiest Place in the Mall. The Lovely Steph Leann has already informed me that My Friend Stephanie has already been hired by the store, which I'm excited about. In the same manner it was great to have Lil Sister Ashley, a close BFF, working with me at University and 20th, it will be great to have a familiar, friendly face at The Happiest Place in the Mall.

Anyway, I gave my starting date as July 28th, even though I'll be picking up some shifts all along here and there, just to get acquainted with the store. I'm nervous about the new start, naturally, because who knows how they'll receive me? Even The Lovely Steph Leann admits sometimes that upon first impression, I can come off as kind of a flake. But thats okay. I'm there to see Mickey, help make Magical Moments and basically be happy... which I can do fairly well.

I came up with a list, my favorite eleven people to work with at Starbucks, spanning three stores--Vestavia, Hwy 280 and Cahaba Heights... I left off University and 20th just because if Jess or Carla or whoever reads this blog, how do I look at one and tell them they didn't make it? My list, in no particular order... Susie Franks/Weetman (Vestavia), Luna (Vestavia), Hannah (Vestavia), Megan (Vestavia) Joey Towey (Vestavia), Nall Wall (280), Rocky (280) Tiffany Alexander (Cahaba), Kelly (280 & Cahaba), Amanda (280 & Cahaba) and Schottsy (Cahaba). I'm sure another name will come up later that I'll wish I had added... Kat, maybe, or Karen, or Theresa, who knows.

Well, there's your answer. I made the decision to step away. Four days later, I find out my store will close. I would have been fine as a manager, I would have just been moved... but to who knows where, and who knows how long I might have had to share a store. Remember my blog, back on June 12th? The Virtues of Summer's weekly challenge was to take each of the fruits of the spirit, and spend a week practicing them. Love was the first week. I had to find my Joy in Him during all the chaos of job decisions. This week? Peace. Peace with my decision, peace with what's happening.

Next week? Patience. Crap.

The World's Wildest Blog Videos Caught On Tape

Hey... big ups to Joey Thornell and Alissa Kelly, who got engaged tonight! Joey is a great guy, and Alissa is a beautiful girl, and together, it seems just right, doesn't it? Congrats!!
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One of the biggest shockers in Idol's history... and I wasn't surprised. Well, okay, I was a little surprised, but inevitably, someone who could potentially win gets voted off before someone who has no business advancing.

Michael Johns fell victim to the same curse that saw Daughtry, Melinda Doolittle, Kimberly Locke, even CheezyDeezy, and countless others get the boot, while watching lesser talented (in this case Syesha Mercado) or less interesting (in this case, KLC) advance, to join Jasmine Trias, Sanjaya, Josh Gracin and even Taylor Hicks in the "Shouldn't Be Still Here" group.

I can actually agree when they say "this is the most talented group ever", because truly, when David Rob Thomas Cook, Young David Archuleta, My Next American Idol Brooke White, Irish Carly Smithson and The Dreadlocked One Jason Castro go head to head as the final five, its going to be awesome... if they all make it that far. Let's face it--I like The Black Julia Stiles. I think she's borderline hot. But she's kinda boring, really. And KLC? There's nothing interesting about her. She seems pleasant, but she's not My Next American Idol.

Bottom line is, Michael Johns deserved to stay. His version of "Dream On", while not perfect, truly wasn't his worst. But that's me.
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I do love my DirecTV. There's a Jewelry Channel. Like, really. Right now, I'm watching truTV (formerly CourtTV), some show called "Bait Car". I don't really know the premise of the reality show, or as TruTV says, "actuality show", other than... well, "bait cars" are placed out to bait car thieves. Apparently, it works, hence, the show "Bait Car".

The in-car dash cam catches this exchange between a father and son:
Son, realizing the cops are behind him: Go! Just go, dad, go!
Father, drunk: Naw, son, they got us
Son: No dad! Just hit the gas! Go!
Father, pulling over: Naw son, they got us. They got us.
Police, in the background and getting out of their car: Put your hands where we can see them!
Son, raising his hands straight up through the open sunroof: I love you, dad

No, KT, I'm not making any of this up.

Another show I dig on truTV is Panama City Beach Patrol, which is just what it sounds like. Cameras follow the Panama City Police during Spring Break. I hail from Samson, AL, which is about 70 minutes north of Panama City... actually, take a left out of my parents driveway, head down Hwy 87, which turns to Hwy 81 when you cross the Florida line, travel another 50 miles, take a left, then take a right, and 15 minutes later, you're at the water. You could literally skip school, enjoy five hours at the beach, then get back before the last bell rang. Not that I did that.

Anyway, its fun to watch Panama City Beach Patrol, because I totally recognize, and have actually stayed, at some of the hotels and motels in the background. I watch the show, and I'm like "Hey, I made out with Labett White there!" or "Hey, I danced in a fire lit circle outside of that hotel!" or "I went to that club!"

Crap like this is a guilty pleasure--though I'm not a big fan of "Cops", cause there's only so much redneck I can take. I love those "World's Wildest Police Chase" shows too... Once, while actually in Panama City, I was about to head out of the hotel room to enjoy the sunshine of a 75 degree day. One of those shows was on, and I ended up sitting down and watching it. Drew Morris came in. He started watching it. Shawn Sharp walked in, and he too was caught. Another guy came in, and was sucked in. So, at the worlds most beautiful beaches, on a nice 75 degree day, when there are scantily clad Christian girls outside in inappropriate bikinis (this was a churchy type retreat), and there are four guys, watching two hours of "World's Wildest Police Chases" on the local Fox affiliate.

On right now? "The Smoking Gun presents The World's Dumbest Drivers Caught On Video", featuring commentary by Danny Bonaduce, Tonya Harding and Leif Garrett. I love my life.

Watching this show, though I did flip through the channels though, and on certain settings, you can see the information about a show as you continue to watch the original show. This is important to know the channel never changes when I tell you that right now on Cinemax is "Bikini Girls From Lost Planet". I only mention this because the info says "Scantily clad women are pleasing to the eye". I laughed.
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I just realized that I've got 9,830 files on my iPod, a collection of songs, videos, TV shows and other fun stuff... and nowhere is Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife". This is a travesty that must be corrected immediately.

I'll download it tomorrow, at the same time as "Over the Rainbow", the version by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, as peformed by The Dreadlocked One this past week on Idol. I'd heard this version behind some commercial, but didn't know who was singing it... now I know it, and I'll own it. I rule.
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Seems I have lots of C-list celebrity friends... many of you readers know that Ambre Lake and I, from "Rock of Love 2 with Bret Michaels", were friends in college, went out once, and did children's theater together. I'm also friends with Michael Warren, local musician and on the verge of breaking it big. And now, my buddy Bobby Black (turn up your volume, then click on the top section... its priceless) found me on Facebook, and not only has he done some successful cruise work, he's been headlining with his group The Las Vegas Tenors.


Bobby is the one on screen when you see "A Night To Remember!" splash across the screen.

He also told me he's friends with Paige Davis. I love Paige Davis. Seriously. Now I'm jealous.

Which brings me back to The Panama City Beach Patrol... they rescued some kid from alcohol poisoning at the same Holiday Inn that Miranda Bryant, Mandy Stewart, Bobby Black and I stayed in, when... you know, this is where the circle of fire comes in... you only thought I was kidding about the part, didn't you?
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Last summer, I worked really hard on assembling my favorite 100 movies of all time, in list form. I called it The Dave100. Then, I set out to list them, one by one, starting at 100, all the way to my favorite movie ever. Well, life caught up, as it tends to do, and I never got past the first ten movies or so... in that time, I've managed to see a few more films, such as "The 40 Year Old Virgin" that I absolutely love, and films like "Enchanted" that I know I'll be able to watch over and over and over...

And I've reviewed my original list, and seen a few movies near the bottom that, last summer, I really was crazy about, but upon further review today, perhaps aren't as good as some. I watched half of "To Kill a Mockingbird" today--my pick for the Greatest Film Ever Made--and realized it should be ranked higher. I love that movie.

And... my number one has changed. I have a new favorite movie, really for the first time in about, I don't know, 18 years.

So, with all that in mind, plus a few new people I can call on to commentate, such as KT, or Jason, or even DeLisa and husband DeNick, I'm going to restart the list this summer... restart and finish the list this summer. That's my pledge.
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On the "The Smoking Gun presents The World's Dumbest Drivers Caught on Video", just saw a clip of guy who had stolen a car, veered off the road and jumped out to surrender. Only, he forgot to put the truck in park. He leaps on the ground, puts his hands behind his head, and the truck proceeds to roll over his leg. The funniest thing was, the guy kept his hands behind his head when he started screaming in pain, and rolling around, and the cops just ran up and planted their feet in his back.
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Okay, I just flipped through the channel guide, and saw that "The Last of the Mohicans" is coming on Starz! tonight, at around 130am. I don't plan on being awake, but if I am, I'll end up watching it. "The Last of the Mohicans" is not only in the Dave100, (Spoiler Alert!) its in the Dave25... just an incredible movie.

When Daniel Day-Lewis is holding on to the then-hot Madeleine Stowe in the waterfall cave, you hear one of the greatest Pimp lines ever... "No, you submit, do you hear? You be strong... you survive... you must stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you."

It's God's will that I didn't deliver these lines to Kathy Hollingsworth my freshman year of college, because she would have totally been mine had I done so. I'm okay with how it turned out, ya know?