what a dreary day!

---First off, hi PJB, thanks for stoppin by.

Things here have been alright, my Moms attitude towards life has pretty much gone to shit now that Den is gone and it really scares me!Setting aside my weekly therapy sessions and time with my Ava, I am completely losing myself in music. As of late Johnny Cash has been a great inspiration to me. He went through hell before he got to where he was in his life (props to The Carter fam. especially June for saving his ass) and I look at that as a way to kinda walk away from life for a little bit through his music. I mean his version of Hurt (which totally kills Trent's version) can still almost make me cry. And the video, forget it, cant watch, too depressing to me right now.

Weather here has been so-so. Some days it sunny and around 50, others (like today) was rainy and in the upper 30s.

The kid and the ex are both well. She is getting her taxes done on Thu. and shes hella nervous, heh.


OK kids more later---

Monday Again?

How did that happen?
It's Monday, again. I think I managed to get over to this blog like once all week. And this upcoming week looks to be just as busy.
I have a laptop on the way which will help my productivity (and blogging) a bit, I can do work at the house. (I'm coming up on a big deadline with my winelist project)
I've got at least 15 bikes in the backroom that need fixing, and 10-15 bikes in boxes to get built so I can sell them.
Today is opening day at Wrigley, I'm not a baseball fan, not even a little, but it does signify springs arrival.
Busy, Busy, Busy.

Talk at ya later.
peter

Gimmie and effin break!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-qczUcQ-VjM


---Like this is gonna make ANY difference besides someones hidden political agenda behind it.---

Outlaw Music

---Hows everybody doing? Im doing pretty good, just trying to get my illegal music downloads in order and its turned out to be quite the task. I have enough Johnny Cash to drown someone in, which is a beautiful feeling. Ive said it once before and Ill say it once again, if you are male and you have a distaste for Johnny, something is way wrong with you.

Johnny's version of Hurt, kicks the shit out of the original, done by NIN. But then again, Johnny pretty much kicked the shit outta anything that got in his way. The man is legend.

Whats going on with you guys? Havent seen anyone on here in days, so Im basically talking to myself, which isnt too bad, I do it all the time, including answering myself so this means all is normal in my world.

The bottom line is dont fuck with the legend that IS Johnny Cash!---

Spider Man!

---Good Morning Geeks!

Well, the last group of bachelors that lived here left behind a pretty good sized box of Marvel comics, all in mint to near mint condition. Nothing too terribly old mind ya, but some are 1st edition. I have had NO luck finding a price guide online for them ( didnt think I would) and Ive found one decent comic book shop here in town that Im really tempted to take them to and just tell the guys that work there to not be assholes and lie to me about values and just tell me what Ive got.

Thats what makes me nervous, not knowing what Ive got. I used to collect baseball cards as a kid, Id know what to do with those, but comic books? No damn clue. For all I know I could be sitting on a tiny fortune of several hundreds of dollars to a couple grand which would make things really nice right now for my Mom and I. Id give most of it to her anyways cuz Im a nice son like that.

I would just hope the comic book geeks wouldnt lie to me and tell me I aint got shit and then I sell them off to them for a very low price when I had a fortune in my hands. Ill go back there w/ a baseball bat!

Well, thats my latest dilema, that and my Moms gettin her front end aligned on her car this morning and her damn engine light has been on for a few days, but no one is sweating that (yet) those fucking lights can come on for a million reasons.

Whats goin on with you? Hows the weather? The Kids? do tell! The ex and I made up, Ill be heading over there tonight. I miss hearing things from your side of the fence though. Scott, Hows the remodeling going??? Hows the biz PJB??? Hows school Mike??? Hows married life treating ya Mark???

My late May appearance into the Chicagoland area to catch Mike Ness does NOT look good right now. I cant get any answers from you asshats (except Scott, thank you) and the one guy I was gonna meet there to see the show with will be in a truck coming from Kenosha on his way back to Sacramento CA. and it would really put him out, so it looks like I will more than likely havta miss Mr. Ness this time 'round and just wait to catch Social D. as a whole when they get the new album out later this year and do a full on tour for that. Odds are they will hit Des Moines again during the 2nd leg, so hopefully Ill have the chance to sit down and shoot the shit with Mike again, who knows

So, whos it gonna be come November? McCain or Obama? Or maybe, just maybe Hillary or McCain? What cha think????---

GRRRRRR........

--- I swore it was Monday up until about an hour ago. How you guys doing? Im doing OK, got in a pretty decent fight w/ the ex earlier today, but I did the right thing and called her to apologize and all is seemingly well now. She was whining and complaining about all the red tape shes gonna have to cut through before she can figure out what to do. I told her she should just be happy shes getting money (100 grand). Den left us w/ nothing except 8 grand in credit card debt. Things got hot, but all is good now.

It was nice out today here but the damn wind!

I have a ? for fellow Chicago people...is the park west theater a safe area?

I hope all is well with you guys, hope to see back on here soon---

Mom

---My Mother is like a saint. Sometimes she can be a little intense, but you get used to it. Im sick and tired of seeing what little friendships she has be manipulated by everyone but her. I mean fuck, she is still getting over the loss of her husband that she was married to for 20 damn years. She put up with me when I was a junkie in the gutter and then some. Yet her friends play mind games w/ her head.

Dont make Tippy angry. You no like him when he gets angry.

Its hard to describe my relationship with my Mom. She is my best friend, that I do know. I also know I can go to her with any problem I have and her faith has taught me tons of lessons over the years.

Sure, sometimes I wanna smack her, but deep down dont we all feel that way about family at one point or another? I owe her my life, literally, her and God. Without those 2 in my life, I would have been dead years ago I think.

Gosh, at times, I display my darkest human qualities and can admit that sometimes I hate other people. Right now, this is one of those moments.---

Ness on his own

---So, he will be passing through Chicago on May 20th, which is a Tuesday evening, doors open at 630. Would ANYONE be interested in going? If I can pull it off, Ill come into town on the previous Sunday, the 18th.

So, seriously, anyone wanna go? If not, Ill get over it, I think Im gonna meet other friends there anyways, so its up to you, but it would be nice to go to a show with a handful of you guys. Tix are 30 bucks.

Let me know and then Im gonna put some plans into motion.---

Happy Easter

---Whether you look at it as a spiritual holiday or not, its still nice to spend time with family and have some good eats.

Happy Easter my brothers, I hope you enjoy yours!!!---

---So, I hear you guys got 6 inches of snow yesterday, is this true? Im not sure what our temp. is gonna be today but we have a chance for rain everyday for like the next 4 days, typical Spring weather.

Im gonna try and figure somethin out, I MIGHT be there for a very short stint in May, Ill let ya'll know. I havent been up to too much lately. Saw the kid the other night and Im going over there tonight also, to possibly color Easter eggs if they didnt do it last night and to eat pizza. They are headed up North for the holiday and the ex has to do some stuff that centers around her Dad just passing away on Monday so theyll be busy.

I havent followed much of the race for the White House lately. I think Hillary would pull off the biggest shocker in a long time if she somehow manages to get the nomination. But hell, let her and Obama fight it out until the convention and keep their party divided, itll just go to show you how selfish and ignorant the Dems really are.

Ive stumbled across some great stories and footage of Johnny Cash on You Tube lately. Some of it makes me sad and some of it makes me realize what a bad ass he truly was. Not only was he a great story teller when it came to his music, but he was just so iconic. Him and June were inseparable, he was a deep spiritual man too, he also battled his demons and over came them in his life like his rippin addiction to speed. Johnny is what men are made of. He lived, he loved and he learned. And he could kick Elvis' ass any damn day! Its kinda hard to compare the two, but Johnny's music was so much better. He has influenced so many people and musicians, especially ones I listen to.

Well, the blog has taken a nose dive again and nobody is around. This sucks, but I aint gonna give up on it. I just wanna know where the others went besides PJ and Scott...PJB has the business to run and Scott is apparently ripping the inside of his home apart. Where did Mark go? I miss Martin too.

Ah well, have a good one kiddies!---

great vid.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6klx6ViCYsw

Any MAN who thinks this man is not made of what legends are, then he must be queer.



Now I wanna clarify what I mean by "queer" before one of you guys jump all over me and accuse me of hatred towards gays. Im using the word in its old sense, as when one would be silly stupid, or just plain odd. A person who is not right, thats what I mean when I use the word "queer", so all you liberals can go back to bed now, everything is OK.

Used to love her...

Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head

Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
Made a good run but I ran too slow
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico

Late in the hot joints takin' the pills
In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown
You're the dirty heck that shot your woman down

Said yes, oh yes my name is Willy Lee
If you've got the warrant just a-read it to me
Shot her down because she made me sore
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more

When I was arrested I was dressed in black
They put me on a train and they took me back
Had no friend for to go my bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail

Early next mornin' bout a half past nine
I spied the sheriff coming down the line
Ah, and he coughed as he cleared his throat
He said come on you dirty heck into that district court

Into the courtroom my trial began
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Just before the jury started out
I saw the little judge commence to look about

In about five minutes in walked the man
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read murder in the first degree
I hollered Lawdy Lawdy, have a mercy on me

The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
99 years in the Folsom pen
99 years underneath that ground
I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down

Come on you've gotta listen unto me
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be

Hump Day...

---Well, it is a HELL of a lot nicer here today than it was yesterday. The suns out and its supposed to get to be like 55 degrees. Perfect Spring day if you will. I see that that bastard Mike Ness is gonna push back the release of the new album by doing a bunch of US tour dates with his solo band...all the way into July. It would just be stupid to release the new album with no touring support from Social D themselves. Im pretty pissed about that. He plays Chicago on May 20th, if Im really lucky, Ill be able to make it over there to see him. Ive seen his solo act twice already and its pretty damn cool and I wouldnt mind seeing him again.

I find it all interesting that Obama had been a member of that church with that Pastor who has been known to spew forth anti American sentiment up until a few days ago when the shit hit the fan and now hes on this big kick about race and how we all need to get along and what have you. I dont need some rich politician telling me I need to get along with my neighbor, I think I already know that. I guess this crazy Pastor retired a little while ago though, but now has ties to Farrakhan. Thats certainly a bad thing for Obama. I think that this whole ordeal is gonna haunt him all the way to the convention in one way or another. The black vote he gets will not approve of it because it makes them all look bad and the white vote he gets arent gonna even think about having someone like that in power with radical ties like that if they are true or not. I mean for example and this is far fetched and if he did something like this I would think some group would black ball him or have him shot, but Im not gonna follow any leader who begins to question 9-11 or something like that.I dont give a shit who did what on 9-11, all I know is nearly 3,000 innocent people died that day, most of who were Americans that had families to go home to at night and the foreign people were just here on business, they never asked for that, either. No one did!

Screw politics and the politicians that run the machine. I mean why the hell isnt Hillary out there right now burning the shit outta Obama for this whole thing, shes just being quiet. Odd. Odd. Odd.

Anyway folk. Kinda sucks here after not having a pet afterall. A dog is out of the question. Too much up keep for my Mom. Plus the security deposit for a fuzz mutt is like 450. Thats crazy. Our landlord is fucking awesome but he likes to really protect his investment which I understand.

PJB, hows the shop? How the fuck is Martin? Tell him I say hello please and that I miss him on here.

Scott, sounds like you are very busy, how do you get some of the work done with little C runnin around ya during the day? You should snap some pics of the progress so we could all see what youre doing, if you dont mind of course...

My Mom and I will be going over to the ex's place tonight for a spell so my Mom can see Ava. Im really pissed off at that situation. My Mom hasnt seen her since Valentines day!!! Yeah, theres an argument coming about that, but not now, she just lost her Dad, now is not the time, but my Mom in law has seen her tons of times since then and its not right nor is it fair. With me its different, I can see her whenever I so choose, but my Mom has to be "Penciled in". Bullshit.

I was watching some of my Johnny Cash clips last night and it hit me....why dont bands play prisons anymore? IMHO, its because the romance of prison is gone. There are no old timer tough guys there anymore. No Johnnys, no Mikeys, no Eddies. Prisons have been taken over by gangbangers and they sure as shit aint gonna let some of the subhuman rappers play a prison for entertainment.Going to prison used to be romantic. Now when I say that, I dont mean it to be between to people or sexually. Its just that youd get locked up and your girl on the outside waited for you. The boys got real tattoos of spider wed elbows and ink of the names of the loved ones they have on the the outside. There wasnt any gang shit and no Neo Nazi gangs either with knuckle heads runnin around with swazi tattoos all over their bodies. if you have it, listen to the song Prison Bound by social d. That sums up old schooler prison.And if ya dont have it but are dying to hear it now, I can email the song to you. Technology rules!!


OK, I hope I get some feedback from this post, Ill talk to you guys soon. Keep your nose outta trouble, cuz I dont wanna visit you in prison, OK? hehe.....---

Gloomy Tuesday

---Well, that about sums things up here, its definitely Tuesday and it is totally gloomy, damp and there is no shot at the sun breaking through. This is what fall days feel like, I kinda sorta like that except that its ass-backwards and should be a nice sunny wanna be Spring day. Tomorrow its gonna be 54 though, which will be nice. I can finally stop wearing thermal undershirts and let my arms be exposed so I can start showing off a lot of my new ink.

Just went shoppin and finished up gettin my kid all her Easter basket things, it was kinda fun. Of course, Im getting fucked again and she wont be here Sunday, so Im not gonna give her her basket until sometime next week when they get back home. The ex has a lot of messy details concerning her Dad's death she has to start pounding out and that will start this weekend when she gets certified as the only executor of his will. Everything, almost everything is going to her and Ava anyways. The meth head sister isnt gettin shit, which I think is best. Shes handling his passing pretty well, head on her shoulders, rationale and so on.....

Yeah, its one of those cuddle up somewhere in a corner of the house and start a good book, except I dont have anything new to read. There are a couple Biographies and auto biographies about the life and times of Johnny Cash I wouldnt mind gettin into. I know the library nearby wont have them, so Ill have to shell out the 25, 30 dollars a piece for them, which right now I cant do. Fucking student loans are killing me right now in a bad bad way!

Hows the weather there? Does it suck like it does here? What cha gonna do for Easter?---

The Offmen Archive 03-18-08

Offmen (and Rick) in Memphis, breakfast before Graceland?

Gotta love Mondays!!!

---Well, its wet and gloomy today just as the weather people had projected it to be. I like these days once in a while, but after having a winter like we did where the days were clouded up by snowfall, I want the sun to shine upon my face.

Im really worried, well, OK, not worried per say, but just generally concerned that my ex is gonna bottle all the feeling of her Dad's death up inside and its gonna get messy. She cant be doing that with our daughter running around her house. Its just not a good idea. Ive bugged the hell outta her about it and so far its working. I mean hell, I was in her shoes just a few months ago and yeah, its sucks...bad. But I told her, like I have done, you gotta work through those emotions. Shes gonna deal with anger, confusion, pain and so much more. She needs a good cry, but it may be too early for that.

So, Mike Ness is playing 2 solo dates, one in May (I think) and one in July and I cant figure out why, prolly just for fun. They are in the studio right now working on the next album, that I have been told. That makes me super excited, even though I already have 5 of their new songs that I somehow managed to have land in my lap, I still cant wait to hear them as part of the full record.

Mondays suck.

Gosh, I wish I wasnt still in love with my ex.---

yeah yeah and blah de blah...

---Got to see the kid for the 1st time since they returned home since the sadness that was their last week. She hadnt changed obviously, she just talked about "Grampa" a bit, like she did right after Den died. It was rough, made me miss Den in a lot of ways, but I didnt wanna break down in front of the little one, she had seen plenty of that last week.

It all makes me wanna listen to a lot of acoustic music, just raw stuff.

Ive fallen in love with Mr. Brian Setzer again by the way. Just him. Not him and his silly little orchestra, just him, the man. Ive been scouring the web for rare recordings half the night and have landed a few. Good Lord can that SOB play the guitar, he has to fall within the top 3-5 "Rockabilly" guitarists of all time.

Our week here looks to start out with rain and I guess lots of it. Well, only rain on Monday but its supposed to rain all damn day, but hell anything beats the white stuff at this point in time. Im ready for Spring. Im actually looking forward to going out and buying some bird feeders and plants for the place! I should do that 1st thing next month before all the good shit ends up all sold out. Listen to me, all domesticated sounding, Im a dork!

This junk concerning Obama's former Pastor has been interesting, at least they've been able to dig up something negative on the son of a bitch, gosh for a while, he was seeming untouchable! I am still not certain he will get the nomination, the Clinton machine is a tough to beat setup. Right now, Im honestly comfortable w/ McCain to be honest with you. At least the man is old school and seems to have a set of rocks in his pants.

So, I know PJB has done a great job of "checking in" and updating us on his life and even more so has left feedback to other posts, but Ima missin Scott quite a bit now. Im not even gonna bring up anyone else anymore, theres no use, this blog, for as far as I can see, has become a 3 man deal. I will say one more thing though, I miss Martins words quite a bit. I do APPRECIATE THE SHIT outta you 2 though and thats the truth!!!!!!

OK, your turn, weekly update guys!!! Love you ALL---

I tunes

So tiff got me an I tunes gift card.
Sort of a cute "Thank You Gift" for being super hubby.....
I downloaded "Free Shit" a Naked Raygun Show from 2001 in Chicago.
It pretty much kicks ass.
I know, Tippy, you don't listen to much punk any more.
But I still like a little Anger tune-age every now and again...

just thought I'd share.

XOXO


Any one else get any new tracks?

So its Friday

---And how many of you honestly give a rats ass? Remember when there was a time when Friday nights were so important to us? Man, that was ages ago. Even Saturday nights! Hell, if Im in bed by 10 or 11 on a Sat. night, Im happy now, you know? Can ya relate to that?

I just saw my first Robin of the season in the backyard, totally cheered me up and make me realize Spring is all but here! I cant wait to go out and get bird feeders and a nice bird bath. Im even gonna get a hummingbird feeder too! I dont know if they venture about this area, but people have claimed to have seen them around, so Im gonna give it a go. Ive never seen one feed before and Id really like that.

How is everyone? Scotto? PJB, hows the biz? Thanks for your kind words yesterday Scott, I appreciated it.

Where the hell is my Martin, I miss the shit outta him!!!

Well, my ex held "the viewing" for her Dad last night, guess all went well. Today they were having a private family ceremony before cremation, then they decided to hold onto the urn for a while because technically, the ground is still frozen and it costs more to open it up, so they will wait on burial of his ashes for a little bit. Practical? Yes Weird? Um, yes, that too!

They will be home sometime tomorrow and I have so missed them, I will go to see them either tomorrow or Sunday, that you can bet on. I miss my baby girl, hell both my baby girls'.

Like an asshead, I totally forgot about my meds. dr. appt. today. It was scheduled for noon and at like 1235 I looked at my Mom and was like "Did I forget something to do today" and I was all "OH SHIT!" So, it got rescheduled for the 24th. It just makes ya feel a little dumb when you cheese off something that you do once a month every month and it is something Ive been doing for almost 3 years now too. Im dumb sometimes.

Any big Springtime weekend plans? Ill either end up at the ex's shop tomorrow after if she heads down there which I think she will, or Ill just be sittin here cataloging my SD bootleg collection some more. Then if I dont see them tomorrow, Sunday, Ill be with the ex and the kid during the day for some family time.

Please get back at me if you find the time...whats your weekend consist of? And how have you all been doing?

Final note, I just found a copy of Setzer playing the song Sleepwalk all alone, its just him and his guitar and GOOD LORD, it makes me wanna weep, its that damn good!!!---

---Heres the cut and paste link for the Setzer segment if you'd like. I HIGHLY recommend it!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=B9oHghXKh0E ---

Thursday starts off crazy!!!!

---I was awoken this morning at 545 by rushing my Mom to the ER. She has a nasty, real fucking nasty case of the flu. All the symptoms are there, fevers, chills, tummy troubles, all of it. I just got back not to long ago from picking up her special cough medicine and pills. Shes gonna be bed ridden for quite a few days. We were stuck in the ER for like 5 hours too, damn are they ever slow. I had enough time to go to my therapy appt. (in the same building) and make it back just as they were checking my Mom out. Shes in bed now.

Today is the visitation for my EX Father in law. I was gonna send flowers but I thought it'd be too weird so I passed.

The weather here is beautiful, about 55 and sunny, should be that way tomorrow too. I cant wait until we get our patio set so we can all sit out there on summer evenings enjoying the perfect weather. I wanna get a fire pit, but the City of Des Moines made them illegal so its a no go there. Stupid fire codes!

I just learned last night that Social D. is all but in the studio starting pre-production on the new album which would mean we should see it by this summer! YAY!

My ex should be returning to town either sometime later tomorrow or early Sat. which means kid time soon which will be great cuz neither myself nor the kid are ill this time

Talk sonn misters---

Crown of Thorns

Pretty much been alone now, for almost five years
I could always find a way, to hide these bitter tears
And still I am waiting, and wishing somehow
I wish I knew then, what I know now

Its no bed of roses, it ain't no crown of thorns
Better than lonely, I've been there before

Gotta bad reputation, for playing with love
Gonna play again now, and beat the odds above
And still I am waiting, and wishing somehow
I wish I knew then, what I know now

Are you tired of being alone?
Or have you fallen out of love?
Do you care enough about yourself?
I have worn you're crown of thorns

Mumbles...

---I was just watching the news conference where the NY Gov. is resigning his position due to being caught up in a prostitute ring. Interesting. I guess his replacement will be NYs first ever black Gov. I dont know how deeply he was involved in this ring or anything like that, but something obviously went wrong and someone fucked up along the way or somebody dropped a dime on them. AH hell, I dont like New Yorkers anyways...

I am feeling a WHOLE HELL of a lot better. I still have a cough but it isnt too bad. If I had to go out right now and do something I could do it. I aint taking anymore of that trippy cough medicine, thats all I know. Ill be 100% by the weekend.

Nothing too political to talk about Obama and Hillary are still being big babies, fighting back and forth with each other, making their party look like shit and giving McCain plenty of ammo for when he really needs it. Those 2 are gonna end up slinging mud all the way up to the convention, making the Democratic party look like a bunch of bozos'. No unity. And maybe Obama does have what it takes to be a great leader, but I just dont think its gonna happen this time with the way those 2 are acting now. Theres always 2012. Hed run again, no problem, but so will another million people.

Well, my ex lost her Father last night. He passed on mid evening. I guess they will head back here, take care of some stuff that needs to be done as far as her business, then head back up this weekend yet again in time for any services. Im waiting for her to call me this morninig.

The weather is great right now, gonna be 58 here today, but start to slowly drop back down as of tomorrow.

What ya got going on there? Anyone?---

Man I hate being sick

---because up until like an hour ago I could have sworn it was Sunday.My Mom is sick now also, shes laid up in bed. The ex called about an hour ago to snap me out of my drug induced stupidity to let me know her Dad has been moved to hospice and has been given the Last Rites, in other words.........

It is at times likes this, when such bad news may come across and into my life that I feel the most lonely for a little while. It doesnt last long, but its there, hell, its here right now, but it shall pass. I wanted to say I really miss you guys a whole hell of a lot though, OK?

Weather wise its beautiful here. Sunny with a projected high of almost 55, tomorrow high of 57, then we drop back down into the lower 40s for the rest of the week with rain coming (I think) by next Monday and lots of it.

I hope you guys are having good weeks, Im just chillin, trying to get well is all, waiting for the next call from the ex so I know whats next and when they may be home, someones gotta get in there and feed her kitties!---

The Offical Offmen Archive for 03-10-08

Here we have John T, looking very dapper indeed. While smoking a pipe in I believe Frank's Bedroom? Its to bad he had his eyes closed.

Weekly Update

We are gearing up for another exciting week!
-This time it's puppy that's going under the knife, it's time for Barley (yes we named her after beer) to get fixed. Hopefully it'll settle her down a bit.
-Jake just brought home a permission slip for Sex-Ed... brought on a giggle or two from Mom & Dad.
-The new car is fun, it has working heat, radio, and doors, kinda cool.
-It looks like I will be doing this consulting gig, I love wine, and it's an oppurtunity for me to make a little extra scratch, sweet.
-Tiff is starting to feel a bit better, but we won't know for sure if the "Pocedure" helped for sure for a couple of months. Big draw back, for her, is she can't swim (her 1st love) for like a month. and of course, no whoopie (bummer)
-It's starting to pick up at the shop a bit, I just took in a dozen bikes to sell, and like 6 jobs over the weekend. So it's going to be a busy summer.
-Max is.... Max, trying to fly under the radar, play his video games. and enjoy his new IPod.

Monday, Monday, cant trust that day....

---Hello Gents. how are you? Ima feeling quite better than I was a few days ago. Ive been taking some of my Mom's prescription cough medicine and holy shit, that stuff is serious on many different levels. I would sleep. Have weird dreams, be awake and hallucinate, talk to myself, all kinda of crazy shit, I wish I would have known I was doing it because I bet it was a blast, but no such luck. The good news is that it has brought my cough down from a large rumble to a little grumble. The stuff works.

What did you guys do this weekend? I obviously didnt do much, still sick and the ex and the kid went up North to go visit her dying Father. Its pretty bad, I dont think he has much left in him. Id like to hope he has, but if he pulls through another month, I think everyone will be surprised. Hes totally out of it from all the comfort meds. and pain killers. My ex said he looks like he's 90, his face is all sunken in and everything. Bad deal. My daughter hasnt seen him like this, nor will she, dont wanna freak her out at such a young age. Sooner or later though, shes gonna have to see it, but not quite yet, ya know? Not like this.

Hows the biz PJ?

I watched a classic 80s movie this weekend on HBO. "Police Academy". Hah. That made me feel pretty damn ancient because I can remember when that came out when I was pretty damn young, that and I ate some damn good Matzo Ball soup. That was the highlight of my weekend. I slept a lot yesterday cuz of the magic LSD/trippy cough medicine I was on, gosh that shit was wicked, but anyways.....

Its Monday and I would like to put forth a new Loosely deemed "rule" into play here on the blog called "ROLE CALL FOR THE WEEK". What it would consist of is you guys checking in and letting the other posters know whats up with you in as little or as many words as you so choose, just so we keep this board hopping! Hopefully some of these "check ins" will continue with some conversation during the week that can carry us into the next week, who knows? Worse has happened. You like?

So, its time for WEEKLY ROLE CALL!!!!! Whats up my brothers???? Your turn!!!! Hope to get some decent feedback...---

---Hey, I just remembered something from the one and only OMI camping trip back over the summer of 1990 (holy cow 90, thats AGES ago now)where a few of you guys took some more of us naive guys, myself included until Thummy filled me in on it right before it got started, out into the darkness of the corn field to go "snipe hunting". The reason I ask, was the infamous "snipe" a land dwelling critter or was it a bird? I forgot?---

Blech!

---E is very happy the "stuff" behind the scenes has turned out to be so well!!! E is also rather ill and will havta wait until he's better before making any steps. Man I hate being sick. I got to see the kid today for a couple hours which was nice but then I had to head out, I was so cold my fingertips were numb. Thats no fun. They are headed up to Grammas for the rest of the weekend so the ex can get some answers about her Dads condition cuz no one is handing them out. I think its pretty bad.

Life keeps on rollin'...sucks, I know. E still loves his ex a whole bunch and is sad she may get some very grave news, but seeing the kid was cool w/ her SpongeBob Magazine

This DAMN weather HAS TO break soon, its pretty chilly here today, prolly about 25 and when youre sick it feels like 25 fuckin below zero! I havent eaten today, food sounds disgusting to me so Ill prolly lose a few more pounds over the next few days. I want HOT coffee, or HOT choc. That doesnt sound too bad.

PJB, Hows Tif, she doin alright man? Scott, I dont think I verbalize it enough on here about how much I look up to you because I do, for reals. You seemingly possess the mind of a steel trap to me. I just love you guys, thats all. Here I go, gettin all misty on ya, Im gonna blame the damn cough medicine, hehe......---

Current Events, Barson Style

Been a little busy latly, but the long and short of it..
-Shops been sorta busy, getting ready for for spring.
-We bought a new car, we decided on a Honda Element. It's a good car for Shop Use, and pretty OK for home use. Thanks to our good friend Jim, we got a GREAT deal. Thanks to my Mom's estate we paid cash.. so no car payments...
-We went to Dave and Busters Tues night to celbrate Max's b-day
-Tif has had some "Girl Specific" Health issues over the last few months, which have been getting progressivly more bothersome, so she went in on Wed evening for a "Proceedure" to hopefully get things working the way they should be.
- Do to some complications from afore mentioned proceedure, we called an ambulance to the house yesterday morning, fairly scarry for everyone involved.
- Do to more complications, we made a trip to the DR office this morning.
-Maxwell turned 10 today. Holy Crap, my youngest is 10! He got an I-pod shuffle, and check out his requested mix, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix, Motley Crue, Styx, They Might be Giants, and Bluestack.... he's an eclectic little monkey, like father.
-The weather still sucks ass.
-I am getting a part (spare) time job consulting for a local, budding, restaurant company on their wine program, I am VERY excited about that, since I love food and wine.

-um that's about it, I don't really have a keyboard on the computer we have at home, so I check in frequently, but responding can be a little trying.
Keep up the good work E,

Uh Oh!!!!!

---Well, the kid is doing a lot better finally and I am very relieved that she is on her way back to good. My ex's Father had a bone scan done yesterday to see if anything has metastisized to the bone by chance, he'll know tomorrow.

Gonna be in the 40s here all next week. Goodbye winter, its been real and its been nice, but it hasnt been real nice.

Strangest thing today. My 1st ex wife (hah, listen to me, my 1st ex wife, Im such the rockstar) emailed me today and told me one of the cats we used to have died at the age of 14. Martin would know her. Her name was Pandora Ruth, but we always called her by her middle name. I just thought it was weird that my ex lost one of her cats to death today and here I was returning a cat to a shelter...all kinda odd.

Well, Im about 10 seconds from walking away from this blog here for good. Im actually kinda mad. I dont wanna hear the b.s. excuse that youre "too busy" to take 2 mins out of your lives to pop on here, give a quick scan to the past couple days worths of my posts and gimmie a little feedback. I feel like a 3rd wheel around here. I know we all get busy, but I also know you guys can find 5 mins. to sit down and have a looksie at the blog too. And if you feel my stuff is too boring to reply to, lemme know and Ill stir it all the fuck up in here again. I just feel that the Offmen Blog has become a place where Tippy comes each day to write about his daily happenings so he can get them off his chest, yet no one reads them or gives me advice. I love you guys, I do, but this has gone beyond frustrating. I mean what ya want from me, I have a life too, I have a daughter I see all the time which takes up my time. I go to therapy once a week, every damn week, plus I have drs. appts. coming out of my ears!

I know you dont wanna talk politics with me, no one here likes my political standings. Im not gonna go hunting for illegal talk during the Election year, that shit gets me shot on this site! I dunno whos gonna win the white house now, thats how I feel today. I have no clue. Hillary may still get the nod. And McCain, meh. I dont listen to any of the music that you guys do so we really cant talk there,well, I used to listen to a lot of the stuff you guys listen to.....

Im just really frustrated here, sorry---

damnit

--well yesterday we go and adopt a cat. We get her home as shes totally destructive, so no cat for me, thanks. As soon as we got her in the house and let her loose, she jumped behind my Moms 1000 dollar HDTV and blew out some of the wires which caused it to lose the signal link to the dish on the roof, so we have a tech. coming today to fix that. She whined almost constantly, she fucking tore out the mesh from underneath my bed...all kinds of shit, knocking pictures off of bookshelves. No thanks. I returned her to the shelter this morning for a full refund. At this point in my Moms life, I cannot expect her to rearrange things just because of an animal that is a little brat!

No more pets for us, which is OK for me.

My kid is really sick again or still or whatever. Ear infection from hell, night fevers, sleeping like 7 hours a day, plus 11 to 12 hours at night, all the while my ex's Dad is dying up North where he lives. My ex is in overload status. I feel bad for her.

We got a new washer/dryer which rocks, no going to the laundry mat for us! Well, they are used, but still new to us. We are supposed to get 2 inches of snow overnight but by next Monday its "supposed" to be 57 here! Maybe Spring is making its grand entrance finally.---

Sickly

---Well, my daughter is pretty sick, sore throat, fevers, possible projectile vomiting and guess what Im sick too! What a great combo. I guess I wont be seeing her for a while. Life goes on.

I was watching some video of Brian Setzer just kicking back and playing his guitar for some people and he has got to be the greatest Rockabilly guitarist of all time. The way he plays, such a unique sound and the way he picks is amazing. Gotta love it. Im just mad I havent gotten the chance to see him live yet. His "orchestra" is kinda cheesy though if ya ask me.

Ill keep this short, since no one comes here to read anymore....

If you could have 3 bands from ANY era or time play a concert for you. Who would it be and where? They can be living or dead, there are no limitations on this question.....so fire away, Ill give ya my 3 picks after I get a couple from you guys first.---

Um, is this thing on?

---I first wanna say thanks to Scott for doing what hes doin behind the scenes.

The white stuff will not let up here! We are due for an inch Wed. and another inch Thu. Its all fresh snow on the ground again right now so its kinda a catch 22 for me, yeah, I am more or less burnt out on winter weather and Im sure you guys are too, but it just looks so pretty and fresh. 2 of my favorite sounds are actually winter related. 1 being the sound snow or ice makes when its being crushed under foot and 2, the sound a car makes as it whooshes by on a street that has a solid packing of snow upon it.

I think Wed. we are going to one of the local animal adoption centers to look at getting a cat. Ill admit, Im pretty excited, I love cats. It will be nice to have a furry friend around here.

Lately, I have been dealing with trying really hard to talk to my ex about the fact that her Dad very well may be nearing the end of his time here on Earth. Hes got the big C and quite a few complications from it. Hes a nice guy but a seriously stubborn jackass too, he wont bend before he'll break and "breaking" in this case could be very, very bad. My ex is a mess. Im just using what I recently learned from the passing of my Dad to try and help her out even though its 2 diff. things.

My kid is 5 now and totally amazing. She is so damn smart, it just blows me away. She doesnt get it from me. I was a bumbling dumbass up until the age of about 24, oh wait....nevermind.

So really, where the hell are you guys and whats been going on? Are you guys still out there? Is anyone taking any more time to read this, cuz I can stop at any given time ya know. What have you guys been up to, how about a quick life update from some of you guys for once?

Its 7 degrees right now with the wind chill. Will it ever end?---

The Offmen Archive

I have been feeling inspired since seeing some of those hilarious old photos that Ian brought to our last gathering, so I dug out the old scanner (which is no longer convenient and next to my desk) and added a few more to the list of “from the official Offmen Archive”. Here is one, I will let the others trickle out over the next few weeks.

feels like spring my arse!

---Yeah, we got it overnight, about 4 inches. Had to shovel and all that shit, blah blah. One of these damn days, I swear, Ill be able to give some kind of story relating to spring, I swear. Im very anxious to go out and buy a few bird houses and things like that for Spring. Plus I want my kitty to have some kitten TV. Havent gotten the cat yet, but soon enough, we will....

Its cold here too this AM. I just started my car a few minutes ago to warm her up and break some of the snow down that is all over it.

Had a scare last night. My ex calls me at like 3 AM said the kid would not stop shaking and was crying because she couldnt stop shaking, the first thing that came to our minds was fuck, she had/ is having a seizure. So, I told her to not waste time getting her to the ER and just call 911 which she did. Turned out everything was OK thank God, so today its off to the dr. to check for strep and the flu. Poor little monkey.

My day doesnt have too much planned around it, just going to the dr. myself at like 1ish I think, yeah thats right.


What kind of snow did you guys end up with? I know you got some. Its funny, I switched my online connection from cable broadband to DSL broadband and I dont see much of a diff. I did it to save a crapload of money, DSL is a lot cheaper, but its pretty much the same. Im not gonna get crazy and try to download 3 or 4 things at once like I could with cable but all in all....the same.

have a good day boys.---

Feels like Spring here...

---Man, its beautiful outside right now, actually warm, sun is out, its kinda weird, I forgot what that was like. But hell, I hear you guys are getting more snow and we are due for more tomorrow, I knew this wouldnt last long.

How has your weekends been? Mine has been great thus far. Hung out with the kid and the ex all day yesterday and for a large part of the night too. OK, so I get tired early, I was home by 10. I needs my sleep. Do you guys stay up late at all? I guess I could if I had to but I prolly wouldnt be too happy about it.

So, what your plans for the coming week besides avoiding more damn snow?

So, big change 'round here as of this afternoon. My Mom and I were in a place honestly, maybe 20 mins. and when we came back out the temp. had to have dropped 15 degrees. And now, all there is in the area is snow clouds. I guess things changed for us in central Iowa, by tomorrow AM, we will have another 4-5 on the ground. And damnit, so much of this stuff melted off this weekend too, I thought we were getting somewhere. We have a winter weather advisory from 6 PM tonight until 6 AM tomorrow morning, in other words, here we go AGAIN!!!

There is a stage play coming here soon and it is based on the songs of the legendary and worshipfulness Johnny Cash. I think if we can get someone to watch the monster that night, the ex and I are gonna go. As Mike Ness always says, Gotta know your true roots before you can go anywhere in the music business. That and If there was never any good black music, there would have never been any good white music. dunno, just felt like tossin that one in there, sorry, heh.

Both of those points are very good I think.

I have yet to see them, Im sure they will run nationally if she stays in it until the end or if God forbid, she somehow pulls a miracle off and get the nod, but I guess ole Hillary has been running a TV commercial in Texas and Ohio where "Super Tuesday" part II comes in to play this week about how we should ALL feel "threatened" by the chance of a looming nuclear war in the future and how if shes elected, she could prevent it. Fist off, she just needs to shut up. 2nd of all, I dont and never have in my life felt "threatened" by nuclear war so she is just pullin at straws now IMO. She needs to be on the level and continue to make herself look like an idiot when she attacks Obama and when she loses both states on Tues. she needs to do the right thing like Mitt Romney did and bow the fuck out and get behind Obama and show their party as united, cuz they sure the hell aint right now.

Gosh, I cant stand her. Im not saying I like him either though, but I just had to get this out there. She is a very desperate woman!---