"The Wife"

I've had to answer this question twice in the comments section about why I refer to my wife as The Wife on this blog, instead of by her real name. Figured I might as well make a post and get it out there. The simple answer is that this is my blog - whatever is said here represents my opinion alone. It's not like I say anything inflammatory, but I don't want to put her actual name on this thing, nor think that I can speak on her behalf in a forum like this.

I frequently tell stories on here that involve both of us, so I needed to find a way to mention her somehow. Calling her simply The Wife seemed like the easiest solution. I assure you it's not meant out of disrespect to her or our relationship whatsoever.

Munday

Let's say you get away for the weekend with The Wife and have a totally awesome time. You have a lot of good laughs. It's fun, it's relaxing and you feel a combination of refreshed and tired on Monday morning when you wake up. What would you say is then the best way to wake up on Monday morning? A little action first thing in the morning? Finding a breakfast burrito waiting for you at work? Either one of those would have been preferable to finding your bicycle stolen, your passenger car window motor (I think) on the fritz and being late to work. Fuck you, karma.

Walking the Room

Amongst the intense boredom at work, I enjoy the welcome distraction of a good podcast. Previously, I recommended the Adam Carolla podcast on this blog, but I may have to issue a semi-retraction. It's hit-and-miss these days as he's gone back to the format of his old morning radio show. They still have a different guest each day but they rarely leave any time to get into anything in-depth as they did when it was just Adam and a guest. There are enough funny moments to make it worth my while but it's no longer the podcast I most look forward to listening to.

That distinction now belongs to Walking the Room featuring Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony. It's hard to say what the podcast is about...since it isn't really about anything. What it is is two very funny and clever comedians bantering back and forth about anything from Greg's neighbor's death to Dave's story about "comedian" Ant. These guys clearly have a friendship and camaraderie that stretches back many years and it comes through on each episode. Plus, there is only one episode released each week so it's not like it requires a daily commitment like some other podcasts I listen to.

Check it out at the previous link or over here on iTunes. Download. Enjoy. New episodes are posted each Sunday.

Anyone out there have any good podcast recommendations?

Dual Dukedom

I've been trying to use Yelp on my phone more - to post reviews of restaurants we eat at, but mostly for taking / posting photos of food. One function I was fairly unaware of was the ability to "check in" when you are at any location. I don't think there is an overall goal to checking in somewhere, other than to tell Yelp where you were.

I recently discovered if you have the most check-ins at a location, you become the Duke or Duchess of that place. I'm happy to say I am currently the Duke of a sushi restaurant near our house. The place is kind of small and has become The Wife's favorite sushi place so it was pretty easy to achieve Dukedom.

The new goal I've set is to become The Duke of Ikea. The current Duke has 4 check-ins there, so it will be easy to revolt and topple his regime. We get a lot of our furniture there, and it is always our meeting spot when we see the in-laws. The running joke between The Wife and I is that we go to Ikea more often than we go to church. So keep an eye on the local Ikea page on Yelp, and remember you knew the Duke of Ikea before he held dual Dukedom.

Food Nights

I've never proclaimed myself to be a scientific expert, but I have observed something from the world of entertainment on two occasions. Once I have a third example, I will consider this to be fact but in the meantime, I present a tentative hypothesis - designated food nights may contribute to sour relationships.

In the episode of LOST titled "I Do," Kate tries to settle down with a normal guy and live a normal life. She goes to the grocery store to pick up stuff for "Taco Night" and ends up crying, leaving her fiancee and admiting that she "just can't do Taco Night."

In the 1986 movie About Last Night..., one guy teases another about becoming domesticated and having a weekly Sandwich Night in their meal plan. I believe it comes up later in the movie as a point of contention in his relationship.

Personally speaking, I think food nights sound like a good idea since it's planned ahead and takes the guesswork out of planning at least one meal a week. I believe these examples from entertainment media had both of their food nights take place on a Wednesday, so perhaps that is the point that leads to conflict.

Further research must be done.

Forward Back

I was recently contacted by the first company that I worked for. It seems the manager of my old department will be leaving soon, and they were discussing how to proceed once he's gone. My name came up and someone I was close with at the company got in touch via Facebook. I told them I'd like to stop by and see what their plans are. Part of me still thinks it's pretty bizarre (in a good way), though.

I certainly left on good terms, and I even told them I would come back to work for them if the circumstances were right. I just wonder if you can move forward in your career by going back...?

I'm not positive what type of new work would be involved but it would certainly be more creative than what I have going on right now. Intriguing - we'll see what happens.

Random Celebrity Sightings

I had two very random celebrity sightings recently. First up was Nikki Sixx at the Topanga Mall. I was 99% sure that was him I saw in the food court but when I walked by again, he'd up and gone. A few minutes later, he was standing by a kiosk so I went up and asked if it was really him. I told him I was a fan and asked for a photo, but he said he was trying to spend with his kids, so he'd rather not. No problem, Mr. Sixx! I only wish my phone would have rang at that moment since my ringtone is "Kickstart My Heart."

The other sighting was at the Natural History Museum as I spotted one Diedrich Bader, of Drew Carey Show and Office Space fame. He was hanging out in the Insect Zoo portion of the museum with his kids, as a live animal presentation was about to start. Weird and random on both counts.

Smith

A female friend of mine whose maiden name was Smith got married recently. At the reception, her Dad got up to give a speech and his opening line was something like, "Well, we're all a little sad there's going to be one less Smith in the phone book now." I have to give him props as that's probably one of the funniest lines I've ever heard.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Wife and I were curious to watch the television Avatar: The Last Airbender since the movie is coming out soon. I had read really good reviews of it and luckily, the entire series is available to stream on Netflix. After plowing through all three seasons in about two weeks, the verdict is - this show is awesome. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon and its three seasons compose the entire arc of the series and characters. It is currently heading to the big screen this weekend, as adapted by M. Night Shymalan and hopefully he doesn't mess it up.

Back to the original, though - the story is about a 12-year old boy who is the current Avatar, the only person who can master all four elements (Air, Earth, Fire and Water). He's been missing for over 100 years, during which time the Fire Nation wiped out all of the Air Nomads, and is laying siege to the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom. Two teenagers from the Water Tribe discover Aang frozen in ice, and help him out in his quest to master the elements and restore balance to the world.

Yes, the cartoon aired on Nickelodeon and I guess it's aimed at kids, but both The Wife and I were enthralled with the story. It's easy enough for kids to follow, but it isn't dumbed down to the point where adults would get bored with it. On the contrary, the story is engaging and I enjoyed many of the shows funny moments. Overall, this is a very clever and original television series, and with only three seasons to watch, it's a short term commitment. Check out an episode or two and judge for yourself.

I got that pretty cool wallpaper image from this site.