Category Archives: Uncategorized

Husband’s Office

Guest Post from Author: Joseph Sandoval

My husband’s office is a pretty big place. I am amazed at how many people work there. I went there to meet him to go out to lunch last week. I had to pass office after office to make my way down the long corridor that goes to his personal office. On the way I saw probably three different conference rooms that were equipped with all this high tech equipment like Smart Boards and cubicles that looked like a big college classroom. They had different stations where they could all bring their laptops to meetings. At each station there were places to plug in the computers if needed. I was talking with my husband over lunch about how it must take a lot of electricity to keep all that equipment running all the time. He said he got their electricity through electricity providers in Texas and that they did use a lot. It is hard for me to believe that he works in such a high tech office. I mean I barely know how to email and get on Facebook. He told me that now if you don’t have some knowledge of computers, then you probably could not work in the business world. They use computers for everything.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

New laptop

Guest post from: Denver Stephens

I’m ashamed to say that I bought a new laptop late last year, and it has sat collecting dust on my kitchen counter. It was still in the box! I am ashamed for a couple of reasons—one, I do not live in a mansion, so I have no business wasting that counter space, and two—who spends a thousand dollars on a new laptop and keeps it in the box for months? I bought the laptop because my old one finally decided to stop working after years, and I felt like that was the logical next step. The problem is, I’ve become so reliant on my cell phone that I don’t ever think to use the laptop. I decided last week that this insanity had to stop. For all the convenience of using a cell phone, there is something to be said for having a screen larger than five inches and a legitimate keyboard. I decided to break out the laptop, only to realize…I have no internet connection. I’d been “borrowing” my neighbor’s wireless for as long as I can remember, but my neighbor moved out a couple of months ago, so I needed to get some internet, pronto. I did a quick search for West Jordan wireless internet providers and was shocked to discover how affordably I could get internet and (hold on to your seats) take it anywhere with me! Guess what guys, I just took the convenience of a cell phone and combined it with the functionality of a laptop. Is your mind blown? Because mine was.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

American Pickers

Authored by Rickey Combs

Something that I have recently discovered as a hobby of mine is finding cheap old furniture and fixing it up to resell. I really like finding something that has so much potential and then cleaning it up sanding it down and putting a nice coat of paint on it so that it is shiny and new and someone will want to love it again. I guess that is the reason why I like the show American Pickers so much. I really like how Mike and Frank get to drive around the beautiful American countryside for a living and buy antique items that someone used to love and has since forgotten. They get to pick something out of a barn or attic and sell it to someone who will cherish and love it. I have personally purchased several pieces of furniture for my own home that I have refinished and I am constantly getting compliments on them from people who come over. Check out DIRECT TV Specials to find out when you can get the History Channel so you can watch American Pickers too.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

On writing

When I was in college I took a class called Advanced Composition. My first assignment was to read Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life” and write a paper in response to it. My paper started out with the basics: I wrote my first short story at age 7; went to my first writing workshop at 12 (a summer-long playwriting workshop at the Cleveland Playhouse); participated in the Power of the Pen essay competition at 13 (and didn’t win squat); blah blah blah… The gist of it is, writing for me is like breathing. It’s just something I do.

Since I have minimal drawing skills and a very weird imagination, if I weren’t a writer, I probably would’ve turned to crime or something. :-)

Seriously though,  it makes my day when I get a bit of recognition. Like when this happens: Original Steaks and Hoagies (the restaurant I reveiwed last month for the Examiner) put a link to my review on the home page of their website. Check it out here. It’s the little things and small accomplishments that make my day.

I figured out long ago that writing fiction isn’t for me. I’ve tried to write short stories (actually, I’m not fond of reading them, let alone writing them) and it’s just something I can’t do. My attempts at fiction stand out like personalised number plates in a parking lot. Not particularly good, not horribly bad – just different! 

I’m more of a non-fiction/memoir/news story/article/blog person. I’ve been writing for over 20 years (that sounds scary, until I realize that I’m only 31 and am some sort of weirdo “prodigy” or something), and I’ve only recently been able to admit that to myself. Imagine what I’ll be writing 20 years from now!

 (We’ll probably all be “wrtng n txt spk” by then.)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized, writing

Random thoughts

I received my car registrations renewal on Saturday. I’m tempted to upgrade to the new Beautiful Ohio plates even though they cost more. I think they’re pretty, and I’m tired of my old ones. Josh was picking on me, because every time a new style comes out I have to upgrade to it. Oh, well.

I’m going to have to dig up a picture of my old car, because all of this talk about license plates makes me think of her. Yes, my first car was a Her, and she was named The Ladybug. She was a bright, bright red Ford Aspire with a swooshy pinstripe down each side.

I  wound up with a new cat a few weekends ago. She was thrown in a dumpster by her former owners and was rescued by my husband. We wound up keeping her in the bathroom, away from the other cats for about a day, and since we didn’t find her another home during that time frame, we got attached to her. So, she’s staying. Her name is now Isis, which sounds better than Bathroom Cat (BC).

Al, my Work Pet, has started hanging around a lot more. There’s some speculation that he has lost his mate and is lonely, so he adopted us. All I know if that when he sees someone standing by the front door, he comes running over all excited. Here’s a picture of him:

Leave a Comment

Filed under random stuff, Uncategorized

Ohio Sports Journal

My new column on the Ohio Sports Journal is up and running. I am going to be covering the Cleveland Indians and Browns. Check it out here: Tribe drops second game in row.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for my Beginning Blogging column on SeededBuzz.com and my Restaurants column for AltOhio. Links to them will be posted when they’re up.

And yes, I know, I work too much!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized, writing

Al, my “work pet”

Before you read the title of this post and start thinking that I’m insane, last summer there were two Canadian Geese that hung around the building that I work in. I (or one of my co-workers) would feed them daily, so they just wandered around the area. One of them even stood outside my boss’ office one day and honked at him in search of food. I named them “Al” and “Timmy.” They vanished last September, and I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them until last week.

I have no idea if it is the same goose or not, but I’ve convinced myself that it is. After all, when I go outside to feed him, he doesn’t fly away – he actually moves closer to where I’m standing, almost like he recognizes me. It more than likely isn’t the same one, since any goose that is getting fed will move towards the source of the food, but humor me anyway.

Leave a Comment

Filed under random stuff, Uncategorized

Abby, the “Loner Cat”

All poor Abby wants is to be left alone. Instead she gets chased by the younger cats and hunts for a hiding spot. I feel bad for her sometimes.

Leave a Comment

Filed under random stuff, Uncategorized