Quack Quack Dash

Every year in Knoxville there is an event that almost everyone in the city has heard of. It is called the Great Knoxville Rubber Duck Race. Each year they drop 40 to 50 THOUSAND ducks of the Gay street bridge in Knoxville.

To say the least it is a really fun experience to watch those ducks drop and race a mile down the river. These are small rubber ducks. You can compete to win a slew of prizes. This event is special to me because I have been going since it began. My dad plays a large part in planning and arranging this event.

I saw all of that to share a link to the race website. If you have time please click on the commercial with Bruce Pearl at the bottom. I promise you will laugh...

http://www.knoxvilleduckrace.com/

Sick again

Wednesday afternoon at work I noticed that the bank felt exceptionally cold. It is generally cool in our branch but for some reason I was cold, and that never happens. By the time I got home from work I was shivering. It was 98 degrees outside and I had our air kicked up to 80, and was under blankets on the couch shivering. That is when I first realized I was sick.

It turned out I had a 103 degree temperature. I later talked to my mom and we determined the last time I had run a temperature was 7 years ago, my freshman year in college when I had the flu. I thought that maybe I would be able to sleep of this little illness. So I went to bed and woke up Thursday morning feeling even worse and still with the temperature. Unfortunately I had to call in to work again and head to the doctor.

The doctor first thought I had the flu. Yes, the flu in July based on all my symptoms. It turns out it was a bacteria that caused all the same symptoms of the flu. So he gave me some medicine and told me I would feel better in a couple days.

So I went home and started taking the medicine. I noticed no change until Thursday night. That was at the point when my stomach became effected. I wore a trail out to our bathroom. I won't go in to any further detail. So Friday, I still feel bad and now I have this additional problem. The doctor prescribed me some additional medicine to help with the stomach issues.

So Friday afternoon I started feeling a little better and then my stomach started to cramp. Because now I have the exact opposite problem. However, at least I'm getting my strength back. My boss was nice enough to tell me that Saturday at work was covered which I was supposed to work. Nobody really wanted to risk contracting what I have. And I would feel pretty to give it to anyone.

So I've been at home bonding with the dog and the cat for a few days now. They have been really good to keep me company while Jen was at work. Jen has taken good care of me too. I worked at my last job for 2 years and never took a sick day. I've been at the bank three months and I've had to take 3 sick days. I hope they don't start to think I'm illness prone. At least I have the doctors note to prove my legitimacy.

3.75 College Graduates vs. The Kitten

As many of you know, after college your weekend typically is not what it used to be. You may go out to dinner or even catch a movie, but late nights are a thing of the past. Well, Jen and I had a late night on Friday....

Friday evening Jen and I heard a strange noise coming from the bushes below our apartment. We didn't think much of it until our neighbor came over and told us it was a stray kitten. At this point Jen and our neighbor (also named Jen) decided that they had to save it. This of course involved me and Matt (other Jen's boyfriend.)

Armed with a broom, two flashlights, a bowl of milk, and some dry cat food the four of us set out to get the kitten. The Jen's wanted to rescue it, take it to the vet, and find it a good home. All this began around 10pm.

An hour and a half later we decided the kitten had outsmarted us. Three college graduates and one almost graduate (Matt) could not outsmart a 9 week old kitten. We tried to coax it out the bushes, we cornered it under a car, we even touched it but no one could get ahold of it. This went on for about two hours.

Distressed and discouraged we thought we would try again in the morning. Saturday morning I took Jen's cousins, ages 6 and 8, to look for the kitten. We heard it under an SUV in the parking lot. Our other neighbor came up and told us how she had left it food and tried to capture it the other night as well. She has a law degree and couldn't outsmart the cat.

Later that afternoon our neighbor along with a few others were able to apprehend the kitten. He has since been to the vet, had his first round of shots, been flee dipped and bathed. He is 9 weeks old and needs a good home. If anyone is interested please let me know. He is very affectionate and is litter trained.

He is also apparently pretty smart. We all realize we are not cut out for animal control. We could not catch this little kitten, but now that we have we want to make sure he has a good home. So apparently it takes a kitten search party to keep me and Jen out on a Friday these days.

That's Profilin and that's wrong

There have been a few times in my life when I have been moderately discriminated against. Typically they have happened in jewelry stores or car lots where people don't think I have the money to buy things. However, last night I think I uncovered a group of patrons that were being profiled and discriminated.

Jen's family is in town for the weekend. By family I mean her grandmother, aunt and two younger cousins that are ages 6 and 8. Last night we decided we would have dinner at a large chain Italian Restaurant. I won't name any names but it rhymes with the golive arden. We were told the wait for six would be 30 minutes which is average on a Saturday night.

Once we were seated in the restaurant I began to look around and notice one common factor around all the tables in our section. They all had multiple children under the age of 10. Some of the kids around us were loud and some were even screaming. Our family was one of the quietest in the area.

I think that the restaurant had purposely sat all the children in one area as not to disturb the other patrons. So, yes we were profiled at dinner. Since I grew up an only child and so did Jen we have never witnessed this injustice before. Even if you have quiet kids you are thrown in to a chuck e cheese like atmosphere for reproducing multiples. Coincidence? I think not.

Played a Fool

As most of you know a few months ago I changed jobs from the transportation industry to banking. After three solid months in the bank I can say that I am happy for the change. I like the hours, the type of work I do, talking with people every day and working in a more professional environment.

One of the main reasons I took the bank job was based on the amount of time I would have off. I would have more time in the afternoon/evening and I would be on a Saturday rotation to where I would only have to work one Saturday every 4-5 weeks.

I worked at my previous job for two years: first in Knoxville then in Birmingham. In Knoxville I worked several different schedules, but for the most part I worked 6-4 M-thursday and usually 6-12 on Fridays. It was one of the perks of being the senior guy in my position. So needless to say I loved having the afternoon and a three and a half day weekend. However, when I moved to Birmingham I was told that everyone in this district works one day out of the weekend. I was not thrilled about that, but being newly married and having a wife that was accustomed to eating hand having heating and air, I tolerated the change and gave up my Sundays for 5 months. Then it switched to me giving up my Saturdays and ultimately I gave up the Mondays I was told I would have off to work at a satellite location.

I made the best of the situation and went to worked and earned my paycheck. When I got the chance to change jobs I jumped at it. Before I left our district manager asked me point blank what it would take to keep me. I said the main thing I would want is time. Weekends off in particular. He said I can't guarantee you that because we are a retail establishment.

I say all of the above to tell you of an eye story I heard yesterday. A lady I works with has a son that works at the exact location I used to. The one where I worked six days a week and every Saturday until 3pm. I asked her what schedule her son was on. She tells me he works Monday through Thursday. I said excuse me, what is the fifth day? "He works monday through thursday for ten hours a day and they give him Friday, Saturday and Sunday off." WHAT? I put in a grueling year of weekends and holidays and leave only to find out the brand new guy is pulling three day weekends.

Do I think it will last? Not at all. The turnover is way too high for anyone to actually get to keep a good schedule. But still, how does that work. If anyone knows please tell me. I told the lady I work with that I was impressed and amazed he pulled off that schedule.

Dog Days of Summer

This was a pretty eventful weekend for Jen and I. I will give the rundown of the events.

Saturday morning I went to the eye doctor for my annual exam. After waiting 45 minutes for the doctor to see me, I finally had my exam. I found out that I have healthy eyes, but still have horrible vision. My contact perscription got stronger. I also had the joy of having my eyes dialated. I looked like a stoner for the next four hours.

After they uncharacteristically long doctors appointment we headed up to Huntsville to see our good friend Kendall. Since Kendall is not allergic to dogs we were able to take Taylor to meet her "uncle" as well. We had a really got time in Huntsville. We went to a couple malls, ate at this great little Mexican place called Rosie's cantina, and hit the sonic for a blast. We ended up watching "The Bucket List" which was suprisingly dissappointing in my opinon.

We headed back to Birmingham this morning and I went for a run and Jen went to the gym. At the gym Jen said there was an overweight old man on the elliptical not wearing a shirt. She said his fat jiggled and he was covered in sweat as he kept riding the elliptical. This afternoon I attempted to hit the pool while Jen did some grocery shopping. Of course 10 minutes after I get there the sun goes in and it proceeds to storm.

More Poop to scoop

Here are some pics of our animals:

my resume

The other night I was having some trouble getting to sleep. For some reason I started counting the jobs I've had, and apparently I've had several. So I thought I would list my jobs in the order I had them, and right what I really did at each one.

Dry Cleaners Clerk - Basically I watched tv, listened to cd's and did my homework the majority of time I was working.

Bank Teller - I read a lot of Cosmopolitan magazine and heard way to much about ladies "cycles."

Tennis Club sub lifeguard - This was in the summers when I wasn't working at the bank. I got a really good tan.

Public Relations Firm Intern - I was a glorified errand runner

Parks and Recreation Intern - A lot of web surfing

Athletic Department Intern - I did a lot of writing that was work related.

UT Pool sub lifeguard - Got a really good tan when I worked.

Human Resources/data entry associate - Sat on the couch, entered data and watched a lot of Magnum PI.

Truck Rental Associate - Got cussed at by rednecks, learned to drive a semi truck, watched MacGyver at one of our locations, updated my blog almost daily, Used instant messenger

Banker - This is my current job and I actually stay busy enough that I don't get "off task"

So I have had roughly ten jobs since I was 16. I think I was surprised that I've worked so many places and didn't realize it. Nonetheless as you can see not all the jobs required my full attention. I was not a total slacker at all these jobs but a lot of them came with dead time and the boss was aware that other stuff was going on.