I'm a cultivator.

**dancing**

I've had such a GREAT day. While I miss all my peeps at my old job, I'm lovin' the vibe here at my new job.

The hours have gone by so fast... I haven't had time to do anything but try to get my head in the game.

One of the first things I did was get to create my own title. Until I did, my title would be "garden hoe". YIKES. So, I reviewed the title of several other members of the team here (produce manager, head of cabedge, towerkraut, kale farmer, dot composter, etc.) and decided I needed to come up with something cool.

So, my new title, as of right now is "cultivator". (I'm in accounts management / project management) I'm trying to stick to the gardening / farming theme....

Got any other ideas?

If you do, send them my way RIGHT AWAY cause they're about to print business cards.

I Dare You

ONE-POINT DARES

1. Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.
2. To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.
3. Leave your fly open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say, "Sorry, I really prefer it this way".
4. Walk sideways to the photocopier.
5. While going in an elevator, gasp dramatically each time the doors open.
6. When in elevator with one other person, tap them on the shoulder and pretend it wasn't you.
7. Finish all your sentences with "In accordance with the prophecy..."
8. Don't use any punctuation.
9. Interrupt your conversation with someone by giving a huge dejected sigh.
10. Use your highlighter pen on the computer screen.
11. Run 3 laps around the office.

THREE-POINT DARES

1. Say to your boss, "I like your style", wink, and shoot him with double-barreled fingers.
2. Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle.
3. Shout random numbers while someone is counting.
4. Every time you get an email, shout ''email''.
5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has got over his or her caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. Call I.T. helpdesk and tell them that you can't seem to access any pornography web sites.

FIVE-POINT DARES

1. At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
2. Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.
3. For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as"Dave".
4. Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do a number two".
5. Call someone in the office, when they answer, say "I really can't talk right now I am very busy."
6. After every sentence, say 'Mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As
7. in: "The report's on your desk, Mon." Keep this up for one hour.
8. In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, damn it, all of you just shut up!"
9. At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"
10. Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now."
11. Present meeting attendees with a cup of coffee and biscuit; smash each biscuit with your fist.
12. During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
13. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
14. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.

10 POINT DARES

1. Page yourself over the PA for the entire office. (I added this one... cause DP dared iheartmyjetta to do this... and she DID. Yes she did! Rock on sistah.)

**tips hat**
Thanks to Alison for sending this laugh our way.

Celebration Cake

I'm not sure how I ended up watching this last night... but I got sucked into the Celebration Cake on the Food Network.

Basically, ten chefs were paired up into five teams of two... the twist was that the members of each team didn't actually know who they were going to be teamed up with until right before the competition began. The prize for the best "celebration" cake was $10,000. (That's a lot of "batter" to risk when you don't really have a plan or know your cake partner.)

In the first half of the challenge, they traded off working on their cakes seperately... it was very interesting. They couldn't talk to each other between shifts or communicate at all... so they were flyin' by the seat of their pants. The teams who had communicated the vision to each other best at the beginning of the competition seemed to work together the best.

During the second half of the challenge, the teams worked together to finish their creations. It was really interesting to watch. It was like sports for pastry chefs.

Once the horn blew and the challenge was complete, each team had to move their ginormous cakes from the kitchen to the display table. While the distance wasn't that far... it was a little nerve racking watching them. Some of the cakes seemed a little "leany" and I was just waiting for one of them to slide.

Anyway... all cakes made it safely to their tables. My favorites were the Green Team's and the Pink Team's cakes.

Then... it was time to find out who "took the cake".

Third place went to the Grey Team.
Second place went to the Pink Team.

And... dah da dahhhhh...
First place and $10,000 big ones went to: THE GREEN TEAM

**loud cheering**
**jumping up and down**
**dancing**

Oh... what an exciting life I lead.

Baby alligators in the cove

JTC and I only got to visit the Zoo once this weekend... but it was awesome nonetheless. We were one of the first through the gates and were able to see all of the animals as they were starting their day.

The tigers weren't even out yet, but they were in their pens. Turns out, the pens are closer to the walking path than their actual exhibit. Of course, I forgot my camera and my cell phone camera didn't pick them up well as we could only see them through the trees. Let's just say, it was amazing. They were very close and were watching us very closely. I'm sure they were thinking we looked like cool humans to eat.

Everything was wide awake. The lemurs, the markeets, the red pandas, the clouded leapords, the gibbons... spectacular. The cougar was even right at the front of his place and gave us an eery "meow" welcome. I definitely recommend getting there early, not just because it's a great way to avoid the crowds and heat, but mainly because all the animals are so active.

Anyway... back to the real reason I'm writing this post.

The Alligator Cove was officially open.

The first thing you see when you come around the path is this rickety looking "fish shack" that serves as the cove's main viewing point. Visitors walk in to a big window that opens up to see the entire area.

The alligators are just baby's... two feet long at best. Not sure how many are in there, but it looked like there were at least 20 or so. They were swimmin' around and weren't shy at all.

Then we exited the fish shack, walked around the path to the underwater viewing area. There were a couple just hangin' out down there... it was so cool.

As you can see, I was able to get some fairly decent cell phone pics of the gators and the cove.








Now... go see the alligators.
And don't forget the camera.
**heh heh**

We got TOASTED.

Yay!

They just put up a ton of new businesses (okay... it's only three) at the corner of Nolansville Rd and Edmonson Pike.

Walgreens
A check cashing place of some sort
AND...

dah... da... dah... daaaaaaah

QUIZNO'S.

That's my favorite.
WhoooHOOO.

Clocky and I checked it out on Saturday for lunch... and it ROCKED.

**dancing**

No clutch. No Fit.

So... I'm drivin' home from work last night... took Thompson Lane cause I-24 looked backed up and slow.

THANK GOD.

Cause as I was driving down the hill towards the intersection of Thompson Lane and Nolansville Rd, my clutch pedal went loose when I went to shift gears. All the gears did was grind when I tried to shift, and then the clutch pedal dropped to the floor completely.

Thankfully, I was in neutral and there was no oncoming traffic, so I coasted into the Nissan Dealership and parked.

Now what?!

So, I called Craig (at Meineke on Nolansville Rd where I take my car for everything but engine stuff... they're AWESOME) and asked him if: A) he'd be able to help me and B) what he thought the problem could be.

Well, A) they don't work on clutches (DRAT.) but Larry's Auto next door does (Whew.) and B) It sounds like your hydraulics went out and/or your clutch slave is leaking or something. (DRAT again.)

So, Clocky was soon on his way to pick me up as I went over to talk to the Nissan lot manager. He said I could leave my car in their lot overnight but that I couldn't leave it in the front of the lot where it was... so, he and a few of his people pushed my car around back to wait for its tow-truck ride to Larry's Auto this morning.

My car won't get looked at until Monday, so I'm gonna be hitchin' rides the last week of work, most likely. Help!

Sooooo, what better opportunity to seriously start looking at my next car option. After we had everything under control, Clocky and I went to test drive the Honda Fit with Gary (our sales guy) at our favorite dealership in Franklin, Darrell Waltrip Honda.

Well, here's the scoop on the Fit. First off, there is a three month waiting list for one. (Not exactly optimal at this juncture. ) And while it is really cute... it is also really small. I mean... really small. I don't think I could drive it long term. If I were ever in an accident in it... I'd be toast. It drove really quiet, shifted smoothly and even had a little punch to it... but it felt like I was driving a rollerskate.

Too make sure I wasn't judging too harshly, I drove a Civic for comparison. And, discovered, that I really want to stick to JTC and my original thoughts on my next car (which we've been pondering for about a year now)... it will probably be another Civic (I've owned two before and loved them.)

So... there's no Fit in my car future.

But... there is probably a different car in my future... most likely a Civic.

I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE 07/24/06: Larry's Auto says it is defninitely my clutch master and slave cylinder that went out on my car. So... sometime around Thursday, we'll probably have about $500 less in our checking account. Drat. Oh well, at least the car is paid for and I don't have a monthly car payment. Well, not yet anyway. **wink** Clocky and I are gonna have to do some creative car sharing for the next couple days.

Marc Broussard...

is coming to the Ryman on 8/19.

**dancing**

Alligator Cove opens this weekend!

Oh yeah... one more thing to do this weekend.

Thanks to CB's reminder, I think the Clock and I are going to be making a trip to the Zoo this weekend for the Alligator Cove opening... in the morning (we might even go Saturday AND Sunday) before the heat and the crowds get too crazy.

See you there, Chez!

Lady in the Water

M. Night Shyamalan ROCKS. Love, love, LOVE his movies.

His latest movie, "Lady in the Water" opens this weekend. And, I know a singer and a drummer who are thinkin' about going.

You can find reviews on M's site. Some are good... many aren't so good. Don't know about you, but I usually like the movies the critics hate. So, I'll probably like this one.

**fingers crossed**

We'll probably go the Fandango route to make sure we get seats if we do go. If you haven't tried it before, it is really slick. Order your tix online, walk into the theatre, pick up your tickets and see the movie. Usually, there isn't a line to wait in.

Anyone else got the bug to see this movie?

Thinking about a Mac

I spent the better part of my night and morning reformatting both our computers (PC and laptop) at home. It's like the tenth time in 12 months we've had to wipe everything out and start over.

While I'm cabable of faking it doing this, I'm sick of the viruses and spyware that end up taking them down... at least that is what I think is happening anyway.

Part of the problem is that I'm cheap frugal and we were on dial-up at home. (Hey... it was $10 a month!) Consequently, we weren't able to keep up with the virus updates and windows updates. (Who has time to wait for a 3 hour download?!).

So, last night I also activated cable internet access with Comcast. They had a special, so I finally just gave in and called. Got my cable modem hummin' along and have done all the updates, downloads and firewalls for everything.

We'll see how it goes.

Blah blah blah.

Bottom line is that we've been considering switching to Mac for several months now. I've read / heard that Macs don't have these types of problems.

Anyone have any feedback on this concept?

I'm gonna be using a Mac at my new job (which I'm pumped about) but I'm no techie and welcome any info you "mac people" (Rex) can provide.

My next car?

OMGoodness... never thought I'd want a car this small, but after seeing the Davinci Code (they escaped one scene in a little teeny car) I've been reconsidering.

Then, last night, I saw a commercial for the Honda Fit Car. It looks so fun, efficient and economical. And... the pricing is reasonable, too. Wasn't really lookin for another car payment... but... I may have to work the numbers to see if we could consider tradin' my Subaru for one of these.

Since we've already got one drum haulin' machine... this might be just what the doctor ordered for my new commute.

Whaddya think?!

Got a new day gig...

OK... It's official as of a few moments ago when I told the team here at NFIB.

I've got a new day gig working for an amazing company: Cabedge

My first day there will be 8/1.

While I'm gonna miss my buddies here at work, I'm looking forward to new challenges, strategic thinking and getting to know more cool, creative people.

Oh yeah... and I get to wear jeans to work everyday.
**dancing**

OK... now I've got a lot to do in the next two weeks.
Don't want to leave my NFIB team hangin'!

Insidious time waster

Why did I post another great online distraction?

Because it is cool and I know you want to... drive the Grizzly truck.

Plus, if you are one of the two top scorers each week... you win a remote controlled CXT.

YAY!

Now... Mute your sound and go sluff-off.
YYYYYYEEEEEEHAWWWW!

Am I in a time warp?

Right now, I feel like I've got ahold of the merry-go-round and I'm running alongside... tryin' my damndest to jump on... but it's going just fast enough that I am not able to catch-up enough to do it.

Last week is a blur. Besides being crazy busy at work we had tons going on.

John's parents were here Sunday through Tuesday. We had a BLAST back stage at the Opry on Tuesday night. (JTC played with Lee Roy Parnell.) It was amazing. Got tons of pics and hope to take time to post them at some point this week.

Thursday, John played 3rd with Lee Roy. It was a spectacular show. All cylinders were firing and the place was packed... and hot. Got pics of that as well... will post when I get them uploaded to the pewter.

Friday, a bunch of us braved 3rd (it was a sauna again) to see my buddy Bekka and her band. Fabulous. It was hot, but fabulous. Jack Bruno (plays with Tina Turner) was on drums and David Santos (plays with Billy Joel) was on Bass. They're amazing.

Saturday, I wrote most of the afternoon with Karleen and Rachel... and then had plans to melt one more time at 3rd, (Ashley Cleveland was playing) but just didn't know if I could bring myself to go. As I was at my point of indecision while driving away from the writing appointment, Bekka text'd me asking me to come over... so that is exactly what I did. Problem solved. We watched two movies, "Firewall" and "The Last Holiday" while we ate the comfort food we prepared with love... homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. Both of the movies were good, too. Definitely recommend them.

Sunday, I actually slept in (had a major headache yesterday morning). John got home around 2:30 or so. The gigs in NC and VA went well, but he was wiped out. As John left to take Charles (LRP bass player) to the airport, I left to go a little gathering of friends with Bekka. It was so fun and out in the country. Felt like home.

Anyway, that is the "reader's digest" version of my absence the past few days. It's been fun... but fast and crazy.

Now... I can't believe it is already Monday and an entire week went by so fast. This week is shaping up to be the same... and I have to admit... even though I'm a little tired... I kinda like it this way!

What have YOU been up to?!

You're invited to an XM Radio Taping TONIGHT

ATTENTION:
We interrupt your regularly scheduled post to bring you this brief announcement…

Lee Roy Parnell is performing a live XM Radio taping tonight, in Nashville, at 3rd & Lindsley.

Of course, LRP’s got a really great drummer (JTC, my better half), the band is smokin’ and Lee Roy’s got plenty of soul to send your way.

Show starts at 9 p.m.
Let me know if you plan to come out!

Now… back to your regularly scheduled reading.

David's at it again

As if the "hooked on a feeling" video wasn't enough...

Now this.

Thanks for sharing a bout of uncontrollable laughter T & Spooncat.

Yikers.

I need a drink...

Anna Fibee may have a good idea here.
Do you think they'd let me bring one of these to work?

Goin' to be backstage at the Opry...

TOMORROW.
I'm sooooo excited.
John's parents are here and we're all going to get to be there together, watching from the wings of the stage as JTC hits the skins with Lee Roy Parnell.

Looks like a pretty cool line-up for the night:

7:00-7:30
Porter Wagoner
Lee Roy Parnell

7:30-8:00
Rhonda Vincent
Steve Wariner

8:00-8:30
Bill Anderson
Aaron Tippin

8:30-9:00
Jimmy Dickens
Dierks Bentley

Hopefully, I'll have all kinds of fun stories to tell you on Wednesday!

Aren't these the Office Space dudes?

Went to Siam Cafe on Friday for a little Thai lunch with a few co-worker friends. (It was really good, BTW.)

While we were there, I swear the three dudes from Office Space were sitting just over from our table.

iheartmyjetta saw them first... then I used her camera phone to take a pic of them while I pretended I was taking a pic of DP (her shoulder is in the lower left corner).

We didn't ask them for their autographs.

Harding Mall WalMart

OMGoodness... has anyone else noticed that the Super WalMart they're building at Harding and Nolansville Road is bigger than the Harding Mall that once stood there?!

Geesz.
It's ginormous.