What the . . .

Believe it or not, it has snowed in south Louisiana. These are pictures from around the house last week. BTW, I missed all of it because I was stuck at work while the kids and wifey got to play all day.

Shadow's Edge

I've read the second book in Brent Weeks' new trilogy and I am excited that I have found a new author to read. The first two installments of Weeks' Night Angel trilogy are great reads. The characters are dynamic and complex. Their motivations fuel the movement of the story and oh, what a story it is! For those who enjoy action as well as well defined characters, please pick up the first book in the trilogy. You may see a picture of the cover in a previous post. Also, Weeks and his publishers are using the last three months of the year in order to complete the trilogy. What an inspired concept. A complete new trilogy may be read from first book to conclusion within a three month time frame. I will tell you, If you are a fan of fantasy/SF just take a chance on Brent Weeks. You will not be disappointed.

This is my card and New Author I Found

You are The Emperor

Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person.

The Emperor is the great authority figure of the Tarot, so it represents
fathers, father-figures and employers. There is a lot of aggression and violence
too.

The Emperor naturally follows the Empress. Like an infant, he is filled with enthuiasm, energy, aggression. He is direct, guileless and all too often irresistible. Unfortunately, like a baby he can also be a tyrant. Impatient, demanding, controlling. In the best of circumstances, he signifies the leader that everyone wants to follow, sitting on a throne that indicates the solid foundation of an Empire he created, loves and rules with intelligence and enthusiasm. But that throne can also be a trap, a responsibility that has the Emperor feeling restless, bored and discontent.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

How cool was that? I didn't even have to pay Sister Chloe to tell me my tarot card was the emperor.

Anyway, you guys and girls need to check out a new author that I found last week. His name is Brent Weeks. Even though some of you all may not be into that sort of novel, give him a try. He's a very good writer with a clever story. BTW, he even admits in an interview he likes to keep the reader guessing, a la George R. R. Martin, whether this character or that one will be eliminated or seriously hurt next. Several times during the novel, I was nervous about characters that I liked kicking the bucket. He keeps you guessing. The name of the book is The Way of Shadows available now in stores. BTW, the second and third books will be released within one month of each other. Unlike other authors out there who may take years to publish several books in a series. Great read Mr. Weeks. I'll keep on reading your stuff! I'm going to link his web page to the blog, if you're interested.

Denied

I've written about my search to get out of shift work before. Well, I've received the my company's reply to my application:

Thank you for your interest and time in seeking employment with Purple Tiger Chemical Corporation. We have carefully reviewed your qualifications. While your credentials are impressive, we have made an offer to an individual whose past experience more closely meets our needs at this time.

Again, thank you for your interest in employment with Purple Tiger Chemical Corporation and wish you success in your employment search.

Well, that was nice of them to reply wasn't it? Just don't bullshit me. If this candidate has no previous plant experience, I'm going to be pissed!

Hurricane Season

I recently went through hurricane Gustav and I can honestly tell you, 'It sucks a bunch!' I've grown up with the threat of these storms for years. Until recently, I did not take them too seriously. That asshole, Gustav, scared the shit out of me.

I live in a small subdivision out in Ascension Parish. My power went out around 7AM the morning of the storm and did not come back on for about 9 1/2 days. I know that is not nearly as long as some other hurricane victims, but the old adage is spot-on, 'you don't know what ya got till it's gone.' Man, do I rely on electricity or what? My youngest daughter had a mild asthma attack the night of the storm while trying to sleep next to us. That scared me almost as much as the storm. You see, if the medicine doesn't work, where do you bring them? The hospital was probably overwhelmed (sp?) so we were on our own. Thankfully, Mrs. Purple Tiger was on the ball pre-Gustav to get refills on all the medication. So, everything turned out OK that night.

I quickly decided that my wife and kids did not need to face the days without any electricity. I packed them up on Tuesday evening and brought them to my mother-in-law's house in Houston. I left the next morning so I could come back to work. I can honestly tell you that leaving them in Houston was the most difficult thing I had to do. I really did not want to leave, but I thought there were guys at the plant who needed to be relieved and go home themselves.

I do have some pictures from Gustav and it's aftermath locally, and I'll post them as soon as I get off my lazy butt to put them on my computer.

BTW, thanks for coming to visit Colleen. It's nice to see someone comes over once and awhile.

Some Information. . .maybe

Look, for the one or two people who come back here, whether to torture yourself or to actually see if I got off my ass and write something worthwhile, there is a website you need to check out. (Whew, runon sentence over!) I haven't been posting lately due to the classwork for my masters degree, my job and my new part-time job. BTW, I don't really have time for all of the tomfoolery that I partake in, it's just pretty cool to have someplace neat to write my thoughts. Anyhoo, check out And The Valley Shook. Click on the title of the post to jump.

OHHHHHH Scarlett

This is one of my wife's female crushes. I don't think she could have picked a more attractive woman to get 'hot and bothered' over.

BTW, she is one of my favorites as well. Not on the level of Kate, but she has potential to move up!!

April Sock Puppet

One of the funniest moments in Big Brother 10 this season, so far

TDK

I went to see the new Batman flick today with my wife and let me say without any hyperbole, "This is probably the best movie I've ever seen!"

I know you are saying, "C'mon Purple, isn't that a little extreme?"

In a word. . . NO!

Heath Ledger's performance is one that I'll remember for a long time. That character was one of the most twisted individuals that I have ever seen on screen. Before you go see this movie, know one thing. This movie is NOT for kids. This film has a message and sub-text oozes from the screen. If you liked Batman Begins, please do yourself a favor and pay the money to see this on the big screen.

I think I am going to see it again with my wife and stepdaughter, who is 15 next week. I'll let you know if I feel the same way after seeing it the second time.

New Direction. . .Possibly

If any of you have read my past postings, you know about my decision to return to school and get a masters degree. I have finally started my second course in my curriculum.

After accounting finally got my reimbursement information correct.

Anyhoo, my company is searching for an Environmetal Engineer for our facility. Even though the position is not actually a safety position, I have submitted my name for consideration for this job. I really do not think I'll get any serious consideration for the job, but I felt that I had to give it a shot. After searching the 'safety' jobs on monster and careerbuilder, I have noticed that if one does not have supervisory experience or environmental experience, it will be difficult for me to receive the pay that will keep me and my family on the same standard of living we are accustomed to.

If you don't know, process technicians in the petro-chemical industry make very good money. On the other hand, safety professionals and environmental technicians also make decent salaries. Not to mention that they do not have to work shift work like I currently do.

If you have never worked shift-work in your career, try not to, if you can help it. I have noticed that my overall health is not nearly as good as it was when I hired on here. I do realize that, over the years, my lack of exercise has contributed greatly to my 'lack of wellness.' Recently, I have begun to exercise more often, and I am eating better. It is so hard to eat well, when my control tech is such a good cook. Awesome Louisiana food, man. There is nothing like it. This man is the bane of my existence here at the plant.

Fatigue is a factor that shift workers have to deal with constantly. Working three straight 12 hour nights, then getting a 1/2 day off, then returning to work on a Tuesday morning at 430AM is really tough. On the body as well as the home life. I really don't know how some of these guys will drive for 1 1/2 hours to get to work every day. Can you imagine, getting up at 3 AM in the morning to get to work at 430 AM. Then, turning around and leaving around 445 in the afternoon and not getting home until around 615. That has to take a toll.

I'm trying to get out of this shift work life any way possible. I don't know if the environmental field is worth the shot, but I've already submitted my name. I'm just hoping that I can keep sane until I finish my masters. I can't wait until the day that I will have that degree and seriously search for a job with my new career in mind. Here's to early 2010, my goal for graduation.

Sorry about the rant, I'm done now. Have a great one. I hope to have some pictures of the purpletiger family vacation to Disneyworld in July. Please come back and visit.

Spencer Hall's Article About Mascots

This article is very funny. I found this article through Every Day Should Be Saturday web page. Click on the title of the post to jump to the Sporting News article.

A Movie I am looking forward to this summer

fieldset style="padding: 10px; width: 100%; background: #fff;">Boost my Fantasy Moguls score!

Go see The Dark Knight!

Opens Fri Jul 18

Thanks for Coming Over

I just wanted to thank all of you who come here to read my nonsense. If anyone has a blog or a website out there please let me know so that I may come by and visit.

If you read my profile, you know that I am a chemical plant operator who is sometimes up at 2:30 AM browsing around the internet in order to keep from falling asleep at work. So any interesting SFW websites are always welcome. They allow the time to pass more pleasantly.

Thanks for visiting.

BTW, the reason the picture of Kate Bekinsale is on the previous post is that I needed a place for my avatar on Bigbrotherupdates.com to be located.

She is uber-hot though!

My Favorite

Ohhhh Kate!

Jambalaya Festival

I wasn't able to go to the Jambalaya Festival this year, but it looks like they had enough for everyone. Click on the title to jump to the article by The Advocate in Baton Rouge.

Freakin' Accounting Department

My employer offers a tuition reimbursement program for employees who wish to continue their education. I decided to go back to school to get a Masters of Science in Occupational Safety and Health. In other words, I want to become a 'safety man.'

Well, what is supposed to transpire, is that I submit my grades and an invoice for the payment for the class. When I attended Southeastern Louisiana University, I would send in the invoice printed off of the student access site. I always was paid within a week. Evidently, there is some chick in Dallas who seems to have a bug up her ass. I sent a pdf copy of my invoice, which I received fro CSU, to the Accounting Department in Dallas. I get an email from her stating that she needs an original receipt or invoice. WTF? I sent the lady what CSU sent me. That wasn't good enough. Anyway, I called CSU for an original invoice and the nice lady said she had it on the way to my house. A couple of days later, I get an envelope in the mail from CSU. It is the wrong invoice! Now, I have to call them again and get them to send me another invoice, so some Trick in Dallas can get an original. This process has gone on for over two weeks. All the while, I can't register for another class until I get reimbursed. Freakin' Skank.

By the way, there is a great blog out there that I began reading a few months ago and it is great. It is called 'Cajun Boy in the City.' The url is: www.cajunboyinthecity.blogspot.com


BTW, Cajun Boy every time I read one of your posts on guidos I think about that youtube video called 'My New Haircut.' If you haven't seen it, please check it out.

Freestyle Moment

Dude,

This video has all the hallmarks of a kick ass video. Of course, minus really hot chicks gyrating in tight outfits. But hey, these guys had cool hair. This is another tune that hit my prom.



The dancing skills defy all imagining!

Back from the Conference. . .

And still married! How 'bout that. Let me tell you though, I was bored stiff in the evenings. The guy that I went with was 4 for 4 on nightly companionship while we were attending. There was a respiratory therapist FOCUS convention going on while we were there. He met some young ladies from there and hooked-up.

Let me ask you a question. Is it just me. . . or is it particularly disturbing to see a respiratory therapist in the smoke bin outside the convention hall puffing away? I am the last one to judge a person on his/her habits, but that just seemed to me to be, just, wrong.

P. S. I really was a good boy while in Nashville! I learned a lot, as well.

Guess what? I have some more youtubage coming:



How cool is that video?

This is EDSBS' Best Cheesecake Post EVAR!!!!

Who would have envisioned Mena Suvari was packing that kind of rear 'heat' and What can we say about Scarlett?

Let me know what you think.

I am soooo screwed!

Let me tell you a little story:

There once was a guy named, shall we say, 'yellow tiger', who was in outside sales about 9 years ago. This dude had just begun dating a very attractive young lady named, 'attractive young lady.' Let's just call her AYL for short. Well YT goes on a training trip to the big D-town in Texas. I was to be there for about a week learning the 'ins and outs' of the corporate way of doing things.

Well, one night, the head instructor and the Managing Partner for the Dallas office decided he wanted to take us out to eat dinner, their treat. I think, this is cool. I call the newly aquired girlfriend named AYL and said we would be going out to eat and woud be calling her back when I returned to the hotel. Well, those of you who have travelled for work could probably guess what happened next. The two bosses decided they wanted to go to one of Dallas' fine establishments that happen to have 'nekid' women all over the place. When I say, 'nekid,' I mean just that. NEKID!!!!

I lost track of time while trying not to get in trouble in this fine establishment. The guy who attended the training with me, ended up at the hotel before me and answered the phone in the room. Lo and Behold, the AYL was trying to reach me for some nonsensical reason and was thouroughly PISSED when I finally called her back.

I'm thinking to myself, 'time for damage control.' I told her that we went out and I just got back, leaving out the fact that we were at one of Dallas' fine entertainment establishments. Let me tell you, AYL was not a happy camper with me at the time. Also, I did not do anything while inside this fine establishment that would have been construed as cheating. Period!!! I was only entertained visually, if you know what I mean. BTW, the Managing Partner paid in full for the nights festivities. None to the proceeds came out of my bank account. Really, I had no choice, did I?

Anyway, she got over it and that was the last time that I have been out of town for any type of work trip. Now, that I am at a different company and I have a completely different job function, I don't have the opportunity to make these business trips that I used to when I was in outside sales. An opportunity has arisen for me to go to a convention away from home. The better-half is not very keen on the idea of me going out of town. She believes there will be a rehash of the last incident.

Let me also fill you in on the fact that the guy that I am attending the conference with is recently divorced. This combination is a recipe for disaster. I really don't want to go out, because we are saving money to pay off stuff early, but I feel like the asshole who won't loosen up.

I love my wife tremendously, and she puts up with my stupid shit all of the time. But this situation is a no win for me. Therefore, I am soooo . . . . FUCKED!

Moving Forward

I know that I have been MIA for awhile now. I just have too many irons in the fire right now to keep up with everything. I have finally started my journey towards a masters degree. I am currently taking a MS level Safety and Accident Prevention course. I am excited about the challenge but also very wary about how difficult the next two years are going to be on myself as well as my family. It will take a full commitment from myself and my wife for me to be successful with this degree program. I did not realize how difficult the process was going to be. But it wouldn't be a real masters degree if it was easy.

BTW, if anyone reading this is looking for an alternative to University of Phoenix, take a look at Columbia Southern University. Their website is www.columbiasouthern.edu They have quite a few degree programs available online. I can tell you that this school is no "fly by night" operation. I did some research before I decided to give them a try. Trust me, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the degree choices offered.

As I have time and as I get bored, I'll get back to the lazy you tubage '80s junk that I used to listen to.

National Champions!!!!!!!!!

You have no idea how happy I am right now. I know that I'm being extremely lazy by posting the YouTubage, but I am physically and mentally exhausted. I'll write more later.

The Circle of Life

This is an example of the death of a THE Ohio State University fan. . .


And the rebirth into a Michigan Wolverine