Wild Ferret Tamer

Wild Ferret Tamer

Originally uploaded by readwl.

Crazy Sign + Flower = Win. Tonight I went to the Java Roaster in Downtown Lafayette. I was armed with a lavender rose and the cardboard sign you see above. As it turned out, the Java Roaster was hosting a band, so it was a bunch of family and friends at the place, and not too many single women. But I got a hot chocolate and sat down. Soon after a mother joined me. Her son was visiting from San Diego California and they came to see the 13 year old drummer the paper had mentioned. So I talked to her and her husband and son for a while after explaining my sign. Then I moved over to Chumley’s (the bar & grill next door).

I came in and sat down. The place was slow, and my waitress quickly brought me a Woodchuck hard apple cider. A few other members of the wait staff stopped by and asked about the sign and the flower. I ended up giving the flower to a cute blond, Christina, who ended up buying me a shot. I also had the chance to chat it up with Megan, a short brunette, who later gave me her phone number. So ya really can’t beat a night like that with a stick. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be wearing the sign to the Cactus tomorrow night just to see what comes of it.

Theif

Someone keeps stealing my Netflix returns and it pisses me off. The last two returns never made it and this morning I found a piece of the movie I was trying to return in the mail today.

So I’m considering several options:

1. Sit up with a fake DVD sleeve in the box, snap a photo of the perp and hand it in to the police. The problem here is that I’m not sure the police will be able to identify and locate the perp. He/she may continue.
2. Leave the porch light on. The higher the visibility, the greater chance the perp has of getting caught, but since I usually find an alcohol container along with my sleeve renants I imagine this perps judgement is imparied.
3. Install a new mailbox with a lid so the perp can’t see what is in it. I doubt this will work because lately I’ve been folding the sleeve so the perp can’t see it from the street.
4. Set up a door bell that the perp hears and scares him off. Pretty good.
5. Set up a door bell that I hear and then go scare off the perp. Better… if I had a shotgun.

Got any other suggestions?

Dickerson Asks, & Receives

Dickerson Asks, & Receives

Originally uploaded by readwl.

Last time I saw the GD he said I needed more photos on my blog. So now that Christmas is over I’ve got a new phone (Motorola RAZR V3m) which has a built in camera. Flickr also has a nice feature where I can email my photos to my account and it’ll auto-publish them on my blog, right here for you to read. This particular photo happens to be my brother’s dog Kali unwrapping her Christmas gift.

My only beef right now is that Verizon disables the OBEX profile of my phone’s Bluetooth capabilities, meaning I can’t easily transfer my photos from my phone to my computer. I also can’t send a message from my phone to Flickr. I understand Verizon’s need to make me use their add-on services so as to have a healthy business which provides me with great coverage, but the process is tedious.

The phone itself kicks ass and is really the closest thing to an all-in-one. Clock, phone, messaging, camera (still & video), voice recording, music player, calendar, contacts, even GPS and maping stuff (for an extra charge). I’d want a better keyboard and ability to edit web pages before I dumped my computer, but it’s damn close.

In summary, enjoy the pictures.

Jon, Kali, & Will

Jon, Kali, & Will

Originally uploaded by readwl.

Jon snapped this one of us in my car on the way to Angola, IN

Anne & Heather

Anne & Heather

Originally uploaded by readwl.

From a mongolian BBQ out near F-Town. This picture is crazy.

Shakes your feet…

Shakes your feet…

Originally uploaded by readwl.

…and a whole lot more

Ah, Family

Ah, Family

Originally uploaded by readwl.

Jon tries to put the moves on me with his wax lips, gross.

New Year’s 2007

My new year shtick is to review the past year and peek ahead at the future. No resolutions, no empty promises because I always have goals. There’s no need to make up something on the spot just because the calendar said it is time to do so. Last year, I wrote about life in Cincinnati and hinted at moving back to Indiana. So on to this year:

• Last year I was big-time single. This year I’m big time single. There was a 6 month chunk in there where that wasn’t the case, but such is the past. Since then I’ve hit on several married women, sent flowers to a woman with a boyfriend, and gone out for coffee with a girl with a mustache almost as thick as mine. 2007 ought to be better, but my [mis]adventures sure do keep the masses entertained.
• I’m self-employed (which I’ve learned is often a term used to mean “just above homeless”). While the job is very rewarding, it isn’t bringing in the bacon so I’m currently looking for a second job. I’m also considering ways to expand the fencing club.
• Over the Summer I was certified in the other two weapons, so now I am a three weapon coach. The club now has 20 regular members and four coaches. Two fencers that I’ve trained are on their way to Junior Olympics in February.
• I still live alone, but I am now in a house. I like having a garage and being able to improve my living space without worrying about pissing off the landlord.
• This past year I have also learned to lean on people a little more than I otherwise would have. I still have a long way to grow here, but I also discovered that there are lots of good people in my life ready to catch me and lift me up when I do stumble. That is really the best feeling in the world.

I haven’t made any plans to abandon my current job, so that’s a big change since it has been a while since I stayed at one place for more than a year. I even moved back to Lafayette and I really like it (save the datable age demographic). I’m looking forward to earning my second level coaching certification this summer and thus continuing to grow with my fencers. By this time next year I’d like to be saying that the fencing club is making plans to move to a custom built facility, but realistically that may be two or more years off. Stay tuned!

No Risk Too Great

Today I was a “Wild Ferret Tamer” for hire, and by that I mean “I went on a date”. While you scratch your head, let me explain. I met a woman though OkCupid, and I wanted to meet her. She said she was busy, I insisted that I see her before the holidays, so she said we could do coffee while she was out shopping with her friend on Friday(today). So I went with a cardboard sign around my neck that read “Wild Ferret Tamer”.

“It’s weird to wear a sign Will, let alone one that says that.”

Well yeah it is. Unless of course you’re going to meet someone who had a ferret follow her cat into her apartment and keep it. She’s got a “wild” ferret on her hands and I had imagined taming said ferret with a little whip and tiny doll house chair in hand like a lion tamer at the circus. She was very amused (and impressed at my indifference to the opinions of others, which was really the point). I also had a flower for her and chocolates for her friend. So I give myself an A+ for this date.  

Fetching

It is another word for “beautiful”. I’m making a point to add it to my vocabulary.