mybaddy's Xanga

Spank Me I'm Giddy!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:55:49 GMT

There was this guy named Scott

Made xanga friends he enjoyed a lot.

They helped him through thick

And they helped him through thin.

He got everything and much more than he sought.

Spending SO many nights

With our hearts on our sleeves

And even the odd email

Explaining our pet peeves.

I remember the warmth

Of nights spent on a virtual “beach”.

And the flip-side of that

A good lesson she did teach.

Some pondering of God

With a minister to boot

Someone I could relate to

Not only football we did root.

And a virtual family

That is second to none.

Gave me instant credibility

With the xangans who have fun.

This poem never ends

Just as my thank-you’s never stop.

To the ones listed above

And the others who bop. ;)

We bonded through sorrow,

We bonded through pain.

We worried and wept

Yet never missed the “laughter train”.

While farewell this is not

It is definitely “best wishes”

You’re still thought of often

So don’t go sleeping with the fishes.

And tonight right before

You “lay you down to sleep”

Be thankful for the xangans

That are caring and deep.

(‘Cause I sure am grateful! How about you?! ...btw, one last note ... YOU are one of the ones I am thankful for! )

Peace

Scott

GOD AND FOOTBALL

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:44:12 GMT

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned the movie Rudy before and I just saw that it was on tv last night. I’m not disappointed in NOT seeing it again, but it brought to mind a scene from the movie, which is one of the best “underdog-win” movies, imho.

Of course, that might have something to do with me being a fan of football.

Add to that my belief in God but my disgust with “religion” and you get the following …

In the movie, Rudy is in the chapel and speaking with the priest, wondering whether he has done “everything” he can to achieve his goal of being accepted into the University of Notre Dame, his life-long dream. (i.e. “Do I have to pray more?”)

To his queries the priest answers … (as best as I recollect)

“In 35 years I have come upon only two incontrovertible facts;

One, there is a god.

And two, I’m not Him.”

Today I’m thinking that if all religions agreed on that as a major principle of their manifesto, we would have a big step taken towards world peace.

Yes, I may be pushing it a bit, but let’s move on to a “Happy Easter” greeting to all who are recognizing it.

Peace

Scott

Into The Night

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:05:26 GMT

I'm prepping for St. Patty's Day, and since I've got some friends that haven't heard of this girl, I thought I'd pass her on to you. She is NOT a one-hit wonder, but she is fairly fresh! Indie-like at the least, dontcha say??

Basia Bulat ... say hello to xanga. (She's a myspace girl, but hey, everybody's gotta make a living. :) )

In The Night (click to listen)

Scott

Care Packages

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:37:45 GMT

Note the date on the blog below. While I was recovering from a hectic work schedule, that is still no excuse for leaving it as PRIVATE for over 6 weeks... especially since I thought I had published it (PUBLIC)back then!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, December 27, 2007

"Care" Packages

It's sorta neat when I have to go through the protestations that follow the offer of sending me along my merry way with a "care" package.

At this time of year, it happens almost everywhere I go. At least everywhere a husband and wife reside. Some of my single friends are NO help at all, and I guess it follows that I return that hospitality. Not because both sides wouldn't LIKE to do it. We just always order takeout, so the extras naturally stay with the host. An unwritten, unspoken rule of sorts, for the young and useless... umm... you know what I mean. If there is no BBQ possible (snow and ice), then there is no at-home cooking for me!

BTW, what does "care" package MEAN, anyway?

Anyways, home cooking is a regular occurrence these days, with those "care" packages being put together for me. I go through the "oh, don't be silly, I eat very well. (which I do, just not "home-cooked" very often in the winter).

Usually the people know exactly my favorite foods, and fill the package with my favs. But the odd place that doesn't know me well will give me a sampling of ALL the dishes, which is probably the "thing" to do, but for which I must hide my disappointment at having things like cooked broccoli, squash, carrots, etc. taking up space that could be inhabited by my favs.

So it's taken me a couple of years to perfect this. I NOW take a date to people's places that I don't know that well. After we leave, when I split the "care" package between the two of us, I GIVE HER ALL THE FOODS that are nutritious. Thankfully, I very seldom hear an argument!

I suffer with "the rest"... (***drooools***)

Naturally, I TRY to go it alone to all family and long-time friends places that are serving me dinner.

What, share the "GOOD STUFF"??!!

When I was five years old my one aunt was in the habit of buying me something "special" that I hadn't "asked" for, for my Christmas present. My mother knew I was not interested in clothes, as I HAD LOTS OF THOSE, so the beautiful, expensive sweater that my aunt bought was sure to get an adverse reaction from me. It seems I HAD a habit of speaking exactly what was on my mind, despite my having been punished for being rude from day one.

I was clearly told to say "Thank you very much for the ...", no matter what it was.

I ripped open the packaging, saw it was a sweater, and said, "Thank you very much for the sweater Aunt B.", and then looked at Mom and said, "But it isn't a Truck, IS IT MOM?!!"

So I'm a spoiled little brat. But I just paid off my sizable student loan, even though I didn't even have to even HAVE a student loan (as in parents wanted to pay, but I didn't want that "influence"). I did it by taking on a job that was brutal in it's hours, and difficult in that I was the only certified person out of the 120 people that worked on it. And THAT part of it was as hard to deal with as any other.

But we got through it. And the bonus was worth the sacrifice. My Mom's expression, and her inability to speak sorta shocked me at first. In your typical "guy thing", I asked what was wrong, as she had started to accumulate water around her eyes at the "news" of my loan being paid off and my car free and clear too. As soon as I said it, I realized it had to be Dad she was thinking about. He had been happy to see me take on the responsibility of paying for my education, even though Mom wanted me to allow them to pay for it. He wasn't cheap. He just believed in me.

I know that the SAME pressure isn't there for someone who has that sort of backing if things don't work out, compared to the person coming from a household with limited funds. But there is still pressure to do what you say you will do. Pride is involved as well.

Aside from that, I can definitely say that I'm happy that THAT part of my employment "contract" has been fulfilled.

And if you're still with me, let me wish you a 2008 that fulfills every wish and dream that you have!!

Peace

Scott

Scott The Coach-Who'da Thought

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:31:39 GMT

I’ve decided to relay a story, merely for the simple reason I think there are some out there who will “understand”, and probably laugh at my decision-making when people ask me to get involved in something I had no intention of ever having anything to do with said subject. And during the busiest time of my life, by far.

My big boss (majority owner) at work came to me and asked if I would mind “helping” him coach his daughter’s hockey team last fall, as their coach “had to leave”. “Had to leave” meant “he got tired of the girls act”, but I didn’t find THAT out until the first practice I attended.

I obviously agreed to do it “for a couple of weeks at the most”. FYI, these girls are 13 and 14 years of age.

When I got to practice the first time, I found my owner could hardly stand up on skates. I wasn’t the best player growing up, but I had had good coaching, and had coaches, for the most part, who pushed me to be better all the time. So I get around okay, and have a pretty good understanding of the game itself. Still, football was always my passion, but hockey would be second to that.

Anyways, my boss was standing by the boards holding himself upright, so I finally decide to call the girls over, introduce myself, joke, and then ask them to work hard and not waste my, and my owner’s time. After answering 100 questions, I start to explain the drill I want them to do, using a big board with a rink drawn on it. As I’m turned towards the board while “dry-markering” the path they need to take, I was shocked when I turned back around, towards the girls, and they ARE LYING DOWN ON THE ICE! Watching, yes, but chatting and propping themselves up on their elbow like some pajama party.

I couldn’t help but laugh, before I asked wtf are they doing. (no actual swearing)

I was told that that was how they’ve been doing things for 5 years, and that’s how they wanted to continue to do it. “Can we negotiate on this?” Some said maybe, most said no, and none of them got up from their prone positions. So, as I had been smiling most of the time thus far, I skated the perimeter , silent but smiling , then stopped suddenly, and yelled at the top of my very loud voice, while raising my stick and slapping it very hard on the ice. “Get you’re a….self up off that ice and along the boards … NOW!!!!!”

I skated them for the rest of the practice, over one hour, without them getting to touch a puck, which is the fun part of hockey. No puck, and it’s just figure skating. When I say “just” figure skating, I do not mean to diminish that sport one bit. It’s just that hockey players are used to chasing a puck around the ice, and aren’t enthralled when one isn’t present on the ice.

I’m going to fast-forward from that first practice, in the hope that you understand why I’ve used a fair bit of space setting the stage.

I’ll sum it up. It was supposed to be “helping coach for 2 weeks”, until they found a full-time coach. It took 8 weeks to find one!! Obviously, any job concerns weren’t relevant, with the big boss’s daughter on the team. This situation had us delay our project 5 or 6 times. Crazy to some, but I saw another side of my big boss here. It cost him a good chunk of money when I was delayed in my travels due to this hockey club.

The girls instructions from that point on were that they don’t have to like each other away from the rink (the backstabbing of that age-group still stays with me), but they MUST RESPECT THE TEAM AND THEIR TEAMMATES WHEN THEY HIT THE ARENA.

I had many conversations over the 8 weeks with these girls. Often they were short and to-the-point, as I, a male, can’t go in the dressing room until 5 minutes before we go on the ice. You can try other numbers, but girls this age are best at 5, I found.

So this group of “bad-ass” girls, who were about to be suspended, as a team, from the league, since no one could control them, ended up going undefeated for over 2 months, with team-play becoming their priority, and the girl who I was told was the biggest puck-hog anyone had ever seen ended up being the leading assist girl in the league, while not dropping even a goal off the pace she had set goal-wise.

On the “other” side, I had to deal with 2 girls that bawled their eyes out because they panicked and shot the puck into OUR net. EVERY player tried to console them, but couldn’t. Somehow, I was able to get them back, after a whole lot of explaining, about life, liberty and the pursuit of … ;) . Believe me, it wasn't easy... :)

It’s funny though. When they finally found a full-time coach for the team, I was ecstatic. Even at that, my employer tried to keep me in town and finish the season. The girls made videos, pleading with me to stay. Ones that their PARENTS followed up on, begging me to finish the season. I found this both touching and a bit crazy. I’m no super-coach. Billy B.-now there is a super-coach!!!

But I have to admit the girls got to me. Not WITH THE VIDEO, NOR THEIR PARENTS SUPPORT.

They “GOT” to me because of their drive, their competitiveness, their willingness to lay it all on the line for the team. And of course I’m affected, honored actually, at the quickness of their acceptance of my “program”.

They will hopefully continue their success. I told my boss he could never do that to me again. I understand fully, in fact he gave up a bunch of money so that his daughter would have me as her coach for a few months. She is better for it. So am I. But it's hard to stop right in the middle of winning, where EVERYBODY is happy.

My boss is now getting heat for sending me "home", to complete a huge project, and after he delayed it many times to help the hockey club out. I feel terrible for him.

So even the best of intentions ... :)

Gotta love the the girl's attitudes and fortitude!

Peace

Scott

And it will not surprise me if a couple of those girls are playing in the Olympics some day.

I can’t think of anyone more deserving…

Peace

Scott

A Little Vodka Helps The Preacher Preach :)

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:11:24 GMT

Yep, I'm still "good to go" whenever friends have a suggestion. Especially if there's a little history with us. Had a great holiday with my same ole pack of college buddies and buddettes... and we even picked up three more... but that's a long story... and for another day.

But let me tell you about a sermon we attended in upper state New York... or was it South Carolina??? ... oh well, here we go again!

SIPPING VODKA

A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak.

After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done.

The monsignor replied, "When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip."

So the next Sunday he took the monsignor's advice.

At the beginning of the sermon , he got nervous and took a drink.

He proceeded to talk up a storm.

Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:

1) Sip the vodka, don't gulp.

2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.

3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.

4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.

5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass.

6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.

7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook.

8) David slew Goliath, he did not kick the sh*t out of him.

9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don't say he was stoned off his ass.

10) We do not refer to the cross as the "Big T."

11) When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, "Take this and eat it for it is my body." He did not say "Eat me".

12) The Virgin Mary is not called "Mary with the Cherry.

13) The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God.

14) Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at St.Peter's, not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy's.

A minister with a sense of humor. Refreshing indeed!

Peace

Scott

Not MY Confession; but ...

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:05:18 GMT

I get an inordinate amount of email every day, even after multiple firewalls and anti-spam programs have their say. As 99.99% of the mail that makes it to me is something I need to read I don’t get a lot of joke videos, etc. on my work pcs.

However, this time of year brings out all my friends, family and acquaintances and a plethora of email, some very funny, some funny, and a lot not funny at all, on the personal computers. As many of the senders are Americans I get a lot of Bin Laden and friends stuff. And I also get a lot of emails that decry the proliferation of the anti-Merry Christmas crowd. The problem with a lot of it, and it is often forwarded without the sender even reading it when they receive it, is that it often sounds like the KKK is in charge of writing the “rant”. SOME of these people sound worse than any thing I’ve heard from the crowd that kicks God out of schools, and basically wipes any visual celebration of Christianity from the map.

I guess I should remind people of my belief in God, but my total distaste for religion. Yet here I stand, and my take on this is that EVERY body should be able to celebrate what they believe in, and should not have to analyze the religion of each person they pass, and THEN decide to say “Merry Christmas”, or some other religion’s greeting.

Within reason. And isn’t that all it takes? Reason and common sense seem to work well in other areas of our life.

I gotta run. Thanks for letting me blow off a little steam, if anyone is even out there anymore! I hope all my xanga friends have great health following them everywhere. I leave you with this “confession” that seems a tad more reasonable in places. What do YOU think?

I think this message made the rounds awhile back, but it's worth reading again.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And

it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit

up, bejewelled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel

discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to

me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a

ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and

sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all

that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach

house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is

the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't

think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think

people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,

period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an

explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't

like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from

that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship

God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But

there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from

and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh,

this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not

funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and

Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"

(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful

response.

She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we

are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get

out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman

He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us

His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings,

etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her

body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and

we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The

Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your

neighbour

as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children

when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience,

why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to

kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can

figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE

SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder

why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers

say, but question what the Bible says . Funny how you can send 'jokes' through

e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages

regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd,

crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public

discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to

many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or

what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think

of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard

it... No one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process,

don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best

Regards.

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Amen

Ask Not For Whom ...

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:21:00 GMT

“Ask not for whom the blog posts, it posts for thee”.

List the parameters that define "thee" ...

And when you are done that, tell me what (or who) you're dressing up as on Halloween.

Not doing H this year? Pretend then!

Are you a giver or a gatherer?

You ALL know who I am. I'm a jackass! And now I'll sign off with my signature wave.

Good night from the White House, who live next door to the Blacks.

Peace

Scott

The Key To Getting Control Of, and Enjoying Life!

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:45:07 GMT

I don't like doing this (posting, or even visiting xanga during the work day), as it is I that implements bans on 90% of the sites used by workers, usually at my bosses insistence.

Some day I must remember to relay to you the conversation I had with the heads of our departments, in which I defended the internet as an invaluable tool that all businesses should be taking advantage of. The owner finally stopped me, saying I was "full of shit". A person that has become a friend piped up, about to defend me, or so I thought... She said, "Scott, that was the most eloquent recital of absolute crap that I've ever heard in my life." Feeling I had to make some sort of rebuttal, I said, " I 've always said that one should never argue with experience, and since the two of you combine for over 120 years of it, you must BOTH be right!" The conversation was then joined by others. "How old are YOU?" my friend was asked, and that carried the rest of the meeting. The fact was, I had a serious expression on my face while defending the 'net's honour, but it was all tongue-in-cheek." Bluffed and got called on it. :( :)

Anyways, ALL I was going to do today was pass along the key to a happy life, as it was recently passed to me.

Handle every situation like a dog.

If you can't eat it or hump it,

piss on it and walk away.

Today has been a very wet day for some of my "friends" at work... :)

Peace

Scott

The Main Reason I Don't Fool With Married Women!

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:30:00 GMT

I seriously doubt that it's funny to THIS guy!

Ever shower with a cat? Poooor kitty! Clean kitty, though!

How about a humble, shy dog...

All together now... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Peace to all, from my little friends... well,

the guy caught with his winky in the wong ho,

I do not kno.

If you haven't already done it, stop by and wish

Good Guy along on his recovery...

NO, THAT'S NOT HIM! That's the

"Other Guy".

Still, Good Guy took a couple

and could probably use the support.

Or maybe I've read the situation wrong,

and am about to have MY face reassembled

like above...

It could be worse. I hear they haven't cut

down Saddam yet...

Last one. THIS dog is not so cute,

but must be one tough mofu...

I mean, if he takes a big bite out of

his target, his breeding days are over!

Of course, should that happen, Michael Vick

will surely come to his rescue... or maybe not!

Later, Boys and Girls...

Thanks for your kind thoughts while

I'm dropping off xanga's radar.

Peace

Scott

P.S. George Bush still sucks! hehe!!!

If you're speakers have been turned on, you've been listening to For The Love Of A Princess, by Yanni.