Heroes

Monday nights are usually a slow night around the Palmer house when it comes to watching TV. Rachel started watching "Prison Break" when it first came on, but I never got into it. I would usually take that time, and play "Guild Wars" or download music. I started to watch with Rachel eventually and got hooked on the suspense, and the writing on the show was fantastic. You just never knew from one episode to another who would survive, or where the story was going. Just an amazing job of creating suspense. So, when this new show came out called "Heroes" on NBC (of all places) - it seemed hokey. Not to mention the fact that it came on at the same time as PB, we just never watched. Even as the series exploded among fans and critics, we still were oblivious to the hype. So, summer came, and there happened to be a marathon on the SciFi channel of said show. There was nothing else on, so I watched an episode at midnight. Boy, I got hooked. I watched the next one, then the next one, then the next one, until 4 AM. That's when SciFi decided to sell their time to the assorted wares of juicers, pasta makers, speed reading, and Showtime Rotisserie Ovens. Yes, the set it and forget rage overtook the marathon and I had to get ready for bed in any case, since Church was right around the corner.

The marathon began again, but I was only able to watch one or two more episodes. I decided to set the DVR to record all upcoming episodes. In all, I probably watches 9 or 10 of them. One would think that I wouldn't have been so late on the uptake with this show. It's a match made in heaven for me - in an X-Men kind of way. Well, the inevitable DVD was released on Tuesday. Rachel and I had a rebate coupon from Costco, and we chose to buy it. I am so glad we did, but we've only made it through the first two shows so far. NO RUINING IT FOR ME !! NO SPOILERS !!

My favorite character is Matt Parkman, the LAPD officer who can read minds. Of all the powers on the show, that would be the one I'd like to have. To be able to read people's minds would pwn. The other power I would like to have, if mind reading was taken, would be invisibility, but who wouldn't like that one. So, I'll close with a hearty "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" and switch my laundry over to the dryer. Peace.

A Proud Father

Mark it in your journals - August 26th, 2007 - Allison Palmer starts her journey into sports.

Yes, it's true. Allison had her first Pee Wee Soccer game today. Now, before anyone jumps all over me for enrolling my child in a league that plays games on Sunday, let me say " I DON'T CARE. " Daniel played in this league in the Spring, we were impressed by this soccer club and decided to have Zach, Daniel, and now Allison play for the fall season. Part of your enrollment fee includes the jersey, the matching color socks, which is pretty cool. Daniel and Zach were both red teams last year, and now Allison has joined their ranks. Just so funny to see.


We hurried over to the field after church let out, as church is done at 1 PM and they start at 2 PM. We brought lunch with us, and we able to get Allison partially dressed, as their jersey's weren't done printing yet. This year, all the teams got sponsors on their jerseys, to help defray the cost of "upgraded" uniforms. This year, Zach and Daniel have actual soccer jerseys instead of a T-shirt with a screen printed number and logo on it. One of the teams that were playing on the pee wee fields were green, and sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods. That's right, there was a large DICK's logo on those poor kids shirts. I was laughing. Anyway, here's Allison all decked out for her game:

I definitely teared up at the sight of this. She's getting so grown up, and is really starting to explore the world around her. I am so proud of her, she's my little angel and gift from Heavenly Father. So, the game went well, Allison was having so much fun. They don't keep score, but try and teach the kids basic skills for a few years before moving them up by age to their next level. Allison is 4 and will be able to play pee wee for another 3 years before she is forced to move up. That's if she wants to keep doing it. Rachel and I have decided to expose our kids to as much extra-curricular events as we can until she finds something she likes to do. Maybe this will stick, maybe not. In any case she's just so cute in her uniform, a few more pics and I'll stop my head swelling with pride.

One last thing: Allison knew from past experience with her cousins that after the game was over, that the players got a drink and a snack. So, after the game was over, we looked over at her and saw her surrounded by a bunch of blue jerseys. She followed the wrong team back to their coach, and was digging into their treat bag. It ended up working out better for us, because instead of a Tootsie Pop, Allison got a Sunny D and some cookies. No sticky suckers !!

I don't get it, Maw

I'm sitting in front of the computer tonight, kinda watching what is on TV right now. It's NASCAR Primetime, some sort of "behind the scenes" summer show filler. So, a commercial comes on, for the umpteenth time tonight, for the DVD release of "Blades of Glory". Now, I love movies. Besides video games, movies are probably my second great hobby. I love going to the theater to watch, I love the home delivery that Blockbuster has now, and I love getting movies for gifts on birthdays, Christmas, Anniversary, or just because. I love all kinds of movies, with the notable exception of the British period pieces (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion,etc) that just annoy me. I must have missed the boat entirely on Will Ferrell, though. I just don't find hardly anything he does funny, as a lead actor. I loved him in Old School, I will admit that, but he wasn't really a lead in that movie. "Elf" - BAD "Anchorman" - Atrocious "Talledega Nights" - hokey and stupid "Zoolander" - weird. One of the newer movies he's tolerable in is "Stranger than Fiction", mostly because he isn't trying to be funny or cheesy. I didn't like him on "Saturday Night Live", either, to be fair. The cheerleader sketch was overplayed, although one of the most well known of his many less than funny parts. I just know that whenever he's in a movie, to avoid wasting money seeing it in the theater, or buying it from the store. I just don't get why people think he's so funny.

Granted, I think a lot of what is considered "potty humor" is funny. I just laugh when someone gets covered in poo in a movie from an exploding port-a-potty. I also love "America's Funniest Videos" because people get hurt on there all the time. I told Rachel a long time ago, that I hate when people fall down in front of me, because my first reaction is never "OMG - are you okay?" it's almost always "BwaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" and then I come to try and pick you up and see if you're okay. Doesn't matter if you're 16 or 60, people falling down is funny to me. We went to Hershey this weekend, and I was standing in line for the virtual tour of the chocolate factory. Rachel took Allison to the bathroom while I stood in line, and held Ryleigh. While in line, I look down to my left and see a woman on the ground who slipped on what looked like a shake of some sort. I had to stifle myself, because I just kept imagining her face while biffing it onto the ground. That in turn made me want to laugh, but I didn't want to appear to be more of a douche than I already do. So, I just kept eyes front and centered and cleared my mind. Just a little insight into my mind. Sick, aren't I ?

Fare Thee Well !

Okay, so ..

I am sitting at home last Monday, and I get a phone call from the Bishop. Now, this is almost never a good thing. Not that I don't like the Bishop, just that a phone call is usually a harbinger of change. Well, after talking to him, he told me that The Smiths were moving, and he wanted to get some people over to help load the truck on Wednesday. I was like, "okay, what time" and "how many people you want", stuff like that. We ended the conversation, and then it sunk it. The Smiths? No way. I was kinda shook up, and afraid that I had not listened to the Bishop properly. I called Dee Gallion, to see if she heard anything about this. I figured if anyone knew this bit of information, it would be her. Well, for the first time ever, I scooped Dee Gallion. I asked her to call the Smiths, to see if they were moving, otherwise I would have to call the Bishop back and tell him I wasn't really paying attention to who was moving. Dee called back, and sure enough, they're leaving. What a crappy week, first the Hassells leave, and now the Smiths. There will always be a special place in my memory of Phil Smith. He and Paul DeNys showed up at our doorstep on the evening of our first official day at church to welcome us to the Ward and to see if we needed any help or anything moving in. It was a nice gesture. Phil and I have been friendly since.

I wish you luck, Phil and Tracy. I hope you find what you were looking for in Utah, and that you keep in touch. We'll miss your spirits, and I'll miss finding new ways to shock Tracy with my colorful metaphors and crude tongue. Ask me about the last time I made Tracy blush, it's a good story, but not to be shared in the pages of this blog. Love you guys, and the primary program just won't be the same without Matthew. Fare thee well.

Our Weekend

I love going to Renaissance Faires. I love them. There is just something about the whole experience that I get caught up in. Maybe it's the food, there is nothing like chowing on an oversized smoked, grilled turkey legge while watching human chess or the joust. Maybe it's the people who work there, dressed in traditional attire and affecting an english accent. It could be the atmosphere of the tents, selling everything from hand fired, hand made silverware from a blacksmith to those selling attire of the period. A lot of it is encompassed in the attendees, those that dress up for the fun of it, or people like us who just go and want to bathe in that whole affair. We try to go once a year, and it's getting more fun now that Allison knows more about what is going on. More on that later.

We arrived a little later than we usually go, since Rachel wanted to stop at the Carter's outlet in Lancaster to try and get some more accessories for an outfit that she picked out to take the baby home in. I was a little annoyed, since it took us a long time to get to the outlet due to traffic. Neither of us knew how to get to the Faire from the outet, so I decided to stop at a hotel and see if they knew. Yes, I stopped for directions ... sue me. Rachel popped in, and they actually had directions typed out for people. I was impressed. The Faire is held on the grounds of Mt. Hope Mansion (http://www.parenfaire.com/ if you want to check out the site), and once we were inside and got a schedule of events, we found that the first joust was just about to start. We meandered over, and found seats on the ground. Allison loved the horses, and Ryleigh loved that she was able to run around for a little bit, free of the stroller. After that was over, we went to find the childrens area for a show that Allison would like. There was a guy dressed in a jester's outfit who was doing some fire-eating. Allison was a little freaked, she turned to Rachel and said, "Mommy, he shouldn't play with fire like that." We chuckled, and assured her that nothing was wrong, and that it was safe if you knew what you were doing.

We checked out a black-smith demonstrator, who was showing people how to do make some basic items using iron and a simple coal forge. He was good, we saw him make a toilet paper dispenser and he was also refinishing a knife, fork and spoon that he made the previous year. Allison and I were mesmerized. She loved the hammering mostly.

Before we arrived at the Faire, Rachel and I discussed what we had to do while there. Rachel wanted to see human chess most of all, and I wanted to see the Ultimate Joust. Well, it was time for human chess once the blacksmith guy was done with his project. We got there, and found a perfect spot for viewing. Basically, human chess is pretty self explanitory, it's a large chess board with the pieces being humans. Every year there is a theme to the Faire, this year being Sir Walter Raleigh and the Duke of Essex quarrel and Irish rebellion. Last time we went, the theme was the feud between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth, before that it was Queen Elizabeth against the Spanish something or another. It's always been Queen Elizabeth, though. So, human chess pitted the Duke of Essex against Sir Walter Raleigh. It's a predetermined outcome, and the pieces have set-piece fights as they fight over spaces on the board where they've been moved.

The end came when the Duke of Essex demanded that Elizabeth name him as her successor, and Raleigh defended the Queen. The outcome of this disagreement would be determined during the final joust of the day. We never stayed long enough for the Ultimate Joust, as it takes place at 6 PM, and the kids are usually wiped out or we are after that long out in the sun. Well, we decided to stay this year. I'm glad we stayed. It's a full on joust, albeit with-out the full armor. I am assuming later in the year, when it's cooler, the Knights probably wear more armor as heat exhaustion is less of an issue.

They have special effects and everything, I wish I had known that the English Knight, Sir Lucas, was going to enter through wall of fire caused by burning hay and gas. It was sweet, and would have made a great picture. So, they have the joust between the 4 knights, and at some point the Duke of Essex gets pissed and decides to storm the throne and take by force. There ensues a battle between forces, and Sir Walter Raleigh is successful and the Queen orders that the Duke be imprisoned in the Tower of London for the rest of his life. So, at that point, we were walking out and Allison was upset, because there were no dragons. Well, the place we told her had dragons was right outside the joust arena. They sell these dragons that sit on your shoulder, and you can animate by playing with their tail. They also have a dragon egg bazaar, where you can buy a dragon egg, and they'll hatch it by putting it through this machine that drops a cannon ball through a series of ramps and smashes into your egg. They have different size eggs, at different size prices, so Allison picked the egg out she wanted to try. Well, she ended up winning two dragon sculptures from her egg. She is so proud of them, and shows everyone. She also plays with them. It is so cute to see her tell people, "These are my sculptures. My daddy got them for me." So, she has two pet dragons now. Man, I love that kid. In the meantime, I told Rachel that I think it would be cool to dress up for the next time we go in some simple costumes. I want to have a kilt and tartan, and the girls in matching peasant dresses. Mom said she would help me work on it, because she thinks it's a neat project. We'll see though.

Hootie - Three Inch Tool

Too Funny !!

A Sad Day

Today is a sad day for me. Allow me to explain.

The end of last week marked my six year anniversary here in Pennsylvania. Rachel's is a month away, but I can't get over the fact that we've been up here that long. We spend two years in the apartment, and four here. In that time, we've always been in the Pottstown Ward, and we've recently decided that it's not such a bad place to be. For a long time, we really didn't like it at church. We were able to find little excuses not to go, or sometimes not even find an excuse. We would normally go on Sunday's I had to teach in Elder's Quorum, but that was pretty much it. We just felt very left out for the longest time. I thought it was because we didn't have kids. Here we were, this young couple, but no kids. We didn't know hardly anyone, and the people we did know never really seemed to know us. We always had people asking if we were new, up to the fourth year of our anniversary here. It was okay for a time, but after a while, we just added that to our reasons to not attend. It also didn't help that every time Rachel and I made friends with someone in the Ward, they'd move. It is still a running joke between us, that "If you want to move from the Pottstown Ward, make the Palmers your friends." It started with Mark and Natalie Edwards, to Scott and Arlene Eck, and now to Dustin and Erin Hassell. Most of our friends promised to stay in touch, but never did. We tried to keep the communication open, but either never received calls back, or emails went unanswered. That's why I am sad. I am going to miss the Hassell's most of all (unless Dee and Kirk leave, then I will miss them the mostest.)

Erin and I sat up talking last night, and just talking to her, made me realize how much I am going to miss them. Dustin is such a great man. He has a quiet, but powerful spirit to him. Just talking to the man, or listening to him teach a principal in class, just makes me envy that leadership quality he has. He was called as the EQ president like two weeks after moving into the ward, and I just couldn't figure it out. Here he was, moving into the ward, and out of the blue, he's chosen to lead the quorum. Chah, Right !! I started to talk to him before and after pack meetings, and I found him to be this really cool guy. I mean, he's not a huge pro football guy like I am, but he let me tease him about things, and never took offense to me (that I know of.) Then there's Erin: what a freaking hoot ! I didn't have a decent read on her when they moved into the ward, all I could remember thinking about her was I thought that she seemed like a Molly Mormon, goody-two-shoes lady. Well, at one pack meeting, there was cake. I love cake. A lot. Cake. One half was yellow, and one half was chocolate. Well, I got a piece of the yellow, and it wasn't very good. Erin let me taste a piece of her chocolate, and it was so much better. I made a comment like, "I should have gotten the chocolate." Next thing I know, their daughter is bringing me a piece at Erin's request. I thought that was sweet, and what Erin did was nice, too. Cake. Well, that started my thaw to her. She's such a fun loving, salt of the earth, sweet woman, how could you not love her? So, Rachel and I started to do things with them. We had dinner with their family one night, although I had to leave early because of work, but Rachel said it was nice (Erin sent home dinner for me, so I thought so too.) We sat up talking about her family and life last night, I shared my life experiences as well. We traded some of our favorite videos from the internet, and just had fun. She's nothing like I originally thought, which goes to show you that first impressions are often wrong. I completely missed the freaking target on the Hassell family, and it makes me sad to think of the time wasted because I didn't get to know them much earlier.

So, I get called to be the second counselor in the EQ presidency a few months ago. Dustin said he knew I was going to be the next one for about six months. Fetcher. Cake. The Matson's moved closer to Temple for his schooling, so we had an opening for friends. The Hassell's slid right into that slot, and fit perfectly. We were on the cusp of really becoming close, and then the phone rang. Dustin was calling me to let me know, firsthand, that he had accepted a job in California and they would be moving by the end of the month. I remember being very upset that night. I just kept saying, "it's happening again." I was almost crying (honestly). We offered our help to their family, to move, paint, clean, etc. but they said everything was fine and taken care of. Dustin left with the kids to start work, and Erin was left behind to get their house packed up and cleaned up to sell before she joins them. She mentioned she needed a place to stay for a night or two, once they packed up the furniture. We were more than happy to offer our home up to her, as one last gesture to a dear friend departing. Erin is flying out tomorrow, and we're sad. We love you guys, and hope to see you again one day. We started missing you the day you told us you were leaving.

And the Winner IS ......

Well, looks to be a 3 way tie for winner of the "Harry Potter" poll posted. Poor HufflePuff .... again they get the poopy end of the lollipop. So, thank you to all who voted ! Check out the new poll coming out soon.

*SIGH*

You know it's bad when you sit back, and think "Wow, I am surprised that I am still alive." I only say this, because now that I am a parent, there are times when I just don't know what to do when my kids misbehave. That also causes me to try and remember all the stuff that I did as a child, and also what I got away with that Mom and Dad never found out about. It's just odd being on this side of things now, and seeing your kids try to get away with things.

I grew up on Dad's Mantra "A parent is always right. Even when we're wrong, we're right." I resented Dad for that, and still have some hard feelings towards the way he decided to express that mantra to me. Even as I got older, instead of him letting go, and letting me find my own way in life, he decided to turn the screws even tighter to exert his will upon me. He always said that I reminded him the most of himself, and I think that freaked him out. I have fought against that for all my adult life, with Dad's bad habits and attitudes almost hard-wired into my head on a subliminal level. I remember when Rachel and I were in the Manassas Ward, and one of our friends were blessing their baby. I was asked to be in the blessing circle, and that was an honor. After sacrament meeting, the parents of the mother of the baby came up to me, and said "As long as you walk the Earth, your father will never be truly gone." I thought this was a curious thing to say out of the blue, until they told me that they knew Mom and Dad when all were younger, and from their recollection I was a pretty good copy. I don't mind it anymore, but that used to really frost me when people said those things. I've gotten over most of my hard feelings towards Dad, but there are some things I was to remember to help me do right by my family. Even in our family, each of the siblings have a different opinion on Dad because he treated us all differently. And, get this, there's nothing wrong with that. Don't ever let another person influence your memory.

So, anyway, back to my point. Parents are smart. They've been where the child has been before. All it takes is a little observation of a child, and you can recognize their patterns and their "tells" (to use a poker term.) I was almost always astounded as a child when Mom or Dad would know when I was misbehaving. I thought they were psychic. Now with Allison, and Ryleigh, I watch what they are doing and I know when they're hiding something. This skill has also been refined while Zachary and Daniel have been with us. Not to say that all children are demons, or that they need to be constantly monitored, but you just know when there is something amiss. That's when you look back and try to remember the things parents said to us to get us to fess up and admit to it. Funny how the mind works. Even funnier now that I'm on this side of the table. Maybe I'll have a grilled cheese with my little Aaron ghost I'm looking at, and let the memories glide between us.

"Attention, Lords and Ladies of the Ward !!"

On Friday, the first activity I wasn't in charge of in the last two years was pulled off. Rachel is still on the Activities committee, so I was well aware of the pending doom that she was predicting. Well, I am glad to say that she was wrong, and that I was jealous at how fun and successful the activity was. There was plenty of food, there were plenty of people who showed up, and there was plenty of fun to be had. They decided to do a Medieval theme, with the crowd separated into teams (colors) who sat together, and captained by Knights who would either compete in events or choose members from their team to compete in their stead. I was the White Knight, as Rachel volunteered my services. Dustin said that he was trying to give me a break from participating, but Rachel knows that I was perfect to pull off the cheesy loudness required for such the job. I wore my white Skins jersey, white turtleneck, motorcycle gloves with the gauntlets, and my fake throwback Skins helmet.

Now, when I was still the activities chair, my committee had started to tentatively plan this shindig. I had already selected Ed Ott as the King, as he had acting experience (in L.A. even) and would do a good job being over the top. We planned the menu to be finger or hand foods, and no silverware. The only thing we didn't start to plan were the activities. I wanted to do a scripted event, where the outcome was predetermined, and that way we could have a villian and a hero already thought out and all we would have to do was practice and then roleplay. Well, that never happened. They planned six events: tug-o-war, wife drag, skateboard joust, wench pillow fight, piggyback horsey ride, and the Gauntlet. The Knights only competed in the tug-o-war, and chose contestants for the other events. Apparently, the Black Knight was supposed to cheat in the events by messing with the other competitors. Unfortunately, the Black Knight was an attorney who spent half the night on his cell phone, and didn't play up the part like it needed to be done. Rachel told me after the night was over, that her and Melia thought I should've been the Black Knight, as I would have done a great job in screwing over the other competitors. Regardless of my color, I still took glee in being the villian for a few events. In the horsey race, I stepped right into one of the people who was racing and prevented him from winning. It was awesome. The guy never knew what hit him, just bounced off me. Everyone was BOOING and shouting that I was cheating - - - but Ed, in his dubious King voice proclaimed "I saw Nothing" when the Green Knight protested. The next racer I took it easy on, and gave a chance to avoid me tying my shoes in the line of racing. That was funny, but that guy's kid came up to me after the race, telling me to stay off the course so his Daddy could win. Nevermind the fact that this guy was racing a teenage girl .... I told the kid to nevermind what I did and to never speak to me like that again. (On a side note, I despise this child and his brother. They are both Zachary's friends at church and Cub Scouts, so I am well aware of their horrid behavior before this episode.) In the Gauntlet, one of the tasks was to arm wrestle each of the Knights. I licked the hands of the kids who weren't racing for my team, and generally was a menace. Like I said, incredible night. I was also the unofficial Town Crier, as my voice was the loudest, until sissy boy Dustin got a microphone.

I had people coming up to me, telling me what a great job we had done. I told them all I was jealous, because I didn't pull this one off. I guess I was kinda hoping for a stinker of an activity, so that I would be validated as having pulled off the best get togethers. In any case, everyone had a blast and was sent home with a warm belly. Our only unfortunate event occured later in the night, when Ed noticed that his iPod was missing. I bought a cable to hook my iPod to the system in the Cultural Hall for the Sweethearts Dance to play music. Ed wanted to borrow my cable to play his celtic music while we were eating and socializing. Well, some choice individual decided they wanted the iPod more than their decency and absconded with it. They took the charger and the iPod, but left my cable attached. We have suspicions on who took it, but unless decency takes over, it's gone for good. Such a crap thing to happen to such good people. Things like that have affected people's views on the Church, and have caused many a person to go inactive. Just frosts me ..... a few more pics, and this post will be done.