Should you be impressed by those numbers? I think not. I feel that 90% of them are spiders crawling the web. I really don’t think that stats mean much, at least not to me because I don’t try to make money of my blog (even though I do use google adsense and amazon links sometimes) and I do this blogging for totally selfish reasons. Sure it has been kind of cool to have a higher google page rank than most of my employers, but in reality it does not do all that much for me.

I have talked about the subject of why I blog before, but it boils down to two reasons.

Blogging is way better than therapy and I use it to practice my writing in English.

Recently Faith wrote a pretty good post, fueled partly by XO asking why any of us bothers. While the nicest side effect of the blogging world has been the friends I have made, one actually staying with us this weekend, I bother because in the back of my head I think I am doing something good. I hope I am sparking some people to look at a different point of view that their own.

When I started blogging I had no clue that it would actually get as many visits as it started to get. I think by my second year blogging I had become a total stats whore. I would go to other sites just fishing for more readers. Then life kind of made blogging take a different direction and it became my only outlet. I forgot about stats completely, I did not think anyone would care for vague posts that talked about almost nothing.

Moving to KC changed all of that. I had the chance to begin a new life and a lot of changes came about. Blogging was once again as fun as it used to be when I started. However, I never picked up the whole stats whore ways. I really don’t have the time, I barely get posts in when I want to… and have way too many (57 to be exact) half written and saved for another day.

If you want to be impressed by stats check out TKC. While Faith even put it simply as posting half naked woman and news links will get you there, I disagree. Even though I DO NOT share his views on many topics and he has ticked me off more than a couple of times with his borderline personal attacks (alas never on me) I do give him the credit that his writing style and good sources is what put him on the top of list of most visited sites in Kansas City. Anyone that is a stats whore would be jealous of the numbers of hits he gets. I just want to get to meet him some day, hopefully at one of our meet ups… I think Chimpo and I can do crowd control if things get out of hand. We almost thought he had shown up unannounced to our last meet up, but it was just a shy Mexican dude that sat at the bar.

Last fourth of July I had the opportunity to be a part of a bowling team to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas city. Btw, thanks again for all of your generous donations. I have been thinking of Volunteering for this program since I learned about it on TV years ago. So I asked my wife and she was all for it. Since we both work and wanted to make sure we were making the right commitment we decided to become a Big Couple.

We met the director of the program during summer bowl and started the process right away. Last night was our home visit by one of the counselors. We had been filling out forms and giving references for a little while now, but yesterday made it feel real for me. The questionnaire and home visit really made me understand a little better what kind of commitment we are about to make. We both love the thought that we might be able to change a child’s life for the better.

I feel very good about what we are doing because we have such a team behind us. The counselor and everyone we have met from that organization has been very friendly with us. I am sure they make everyone feel this way, but they just keep on saying how perfect we are for the program and how much we can help.

We are not sure how soon we will be matched up with a little, but we are hoping soon. We cannot wait to be able to mentor and connect with a child. Being a volunteer is so rewarding that I crave it from the moment I stopped doing it a couple of years ago.

Bea is a very accommodating person and she is always thinking of me. While out shopping the other day, she waited to get some new artwork until I was there to see it. We like to share our space and make it both of ours.

While neither of us is opposed to having our own bedrooms, I want one for computer stuff and she wants one for her crafts, we also like sharing spaces. Its hard to make a rented place your own starting by not being able to (or being too much of a hassle) paint the walls the color you want.

This has been one of the first times in my life where I truly felt like I have an opinion as to how the space where I live will look like. I actually look forward to being a part of making those decisions when we decide to move to a new place.

I came up with a theory, which Bea does not necessarily shares. I think that having to share your room with others growing up gave me a little more tolerance to having people in my living space. Not in a negative way, but having her own room growing up, I think makes Bea crave alone time and having a place where she can really be by herself.

Did you guys have your own room growing up? What about your spouse? Does my bedroom theory have any legs?

A raid is a type of mission in a video game, where the objective is to use a very large number of people, relative to a normal team size set by the game, to defeat a boss.

I have spent the last three months plaing WoW (World of Warcraft) and I have to say that it is the most complete game that I have ever played. It has all the elements of the best RPG’s that the Finally Fantasy Series introduced to game, the progression mechanics that make everyone want to keep going and the social and team aspect of your best war shooter. A lot of negative things can be said about the game, about how it could suck your free time dry, but the pay off to me is well worth the time and money I spend into it… it makes my stress go away.

That said, the thing I dislike about the game the most is some of the people that play it. Here is where the motorcycle riding part comes along.

I love motorcycles, but what was coolest of all was getting a group of 20+ people to ride together even if it was just to grab a cup of coffee a town or two away. Riding in a large group is one of the most exciting things because it takes tons of trust for you to ride right next to someone. You need a leader both in the front and the back of the pack. You also need great communication to transmit messages such as “gravel up ahead” by just using non verbal signals.

Bad groups in motorcycle riding cause accidents and potential serious injuries, even death. The same goes for doing a raid in a game. However, in a game you can reset the game and just come back tomorrow, in motorcycle riding might have to remember one night for the rest of your life as the moment when one of your friends lost his ability to walk.

I try to approach everything in life with respect. To me when someone is in a group and does not respect the rules (or does not even know what they are) shows lack of respect. While it is the responsibility of the group to tech such rules, it is also necesary for the person to have the willingness to learn and listen.

I am a level 60 now in the game, and soon I will be moving toward the maximum level which is 70 right now. Now we I have started to participate in groups where roles have to be followed. This week I experienced the two complete opposite experiences in the same raid. I could not help but compare it to my best and worse riding experiences.

The worse ride of my life was not even one where I got into an accident. During that doomed ride we actually had 3 riders go down out of a group of about 12. There was no mayor injuries except for one bike that kind of ended up beyond repair. My day ended when I separated from the group because one of the riders that went down was too shaken up to continue so I chose to just follow him home to make sure he was ok.

Lots went wrong that day and I might some day list everything that happened, but it was doomed because of bad leadership. The last point of this post will tell you why.

The horrible raid this week was not due to bad leadership, it was actually people not listening to the leadership. However the result was the same as that doomed ride. There was no fun, there was a lot of disappointment. An activity that is supposed to make you feel better should not become frustrating.

The best raid I have had so far (besides the ones that Wook uses one of his awesome characters to dominate the game.) was a place where you need 5 people of around my level to go in. We only had 4 and I was the lowest level, everyone else was around mid 60s. It is a hard thing to do (which I found out with a bad group) this instance without a healer. The computer monsters hit pretty hard and with a bad group you end up dead a lot. However, with this group of other 3 people and no healer we were able to clear the whole place and never had a total wipe.

The best ride of my life was a charity ride with CLSB. Riding with them is one of the things I miss the most. That day we had 40+ riders and had to go quite a ways. However we had no issues. Even stopped traffic in some places without a police escort to keep the whole group together. It was a nice thing to have that many people ride together such a long distance and keep a nice pace the whole time.

What I have learned from motorcycle riding groups is that pace is the most important thing. Your leader has to set a pace and the group most follow. Great leaders will always set a pace that the most inexperienced rider can follow safely. In the game it is the same thing, a pace needs to be set and it is the responsibility of the players to follow.

The moment you start going to fast and not checking to make sure others around you are doing with the pace, the experience stops being fun and it starts getting dangerous.

XY: Listen, are you scared of insects?
XX: … it depends on the insect, why?
XY: I just wanted to know if you can help me kill that huge bug that is on the wall…
XX: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! < - needed no translation

----

XY: Get down from on top of the table!
XX: NO!
XY: You could fall...
XX: NO!
XY: Just hand me the broom, I will kill it.
XX: NO!
XY: Why not?!?!
XX: We don't have one!... bug if you want, behind the door is the Swiffer.
XY: .....

I found it funny, but it got me thinking… when did the Swiffer (broom 2.0 wannabe) completely replace the original version?

I like old school brooms, the ones that look like a witch could actually ride, but I am not opposed to the new plastic bristle ones either. I have tried the Swiffer before when I had hardwood floors and found it just simply a waste of money and the introduction of yet another chemical in the house. You have to buy refills which by the way are expensive.

Lets see, the Swiffer WetJet starter kit is $19.54, the refills are $11.32. Now a broom, even the “fancy ones” are just $9.95 and it does not require refills. If you even want to get fancy and wash the floor, a bottle of Fabuloso (a lavander multipurpose cleaner that I like) is only $2.99. The swiffer I bought in the past broke in less than a year, and one of the refills did not clean a whole room… I think it used like 2 per room.

I have no idea what happened to make cleaning such a difficult thing. It seems like in the 90s bacteria became our number one enemy and it had to be eradicated. Germs, those evil little devils, started to invade us more so than ever before and the cleaning supply companies came to our rescue.

I am actually allergic to something they added to dish soap, I guess what kills germs also may potentially kill me. I also now have about 10 different products under the sink that serve all kids of different purposes. I remember when I used to clean as a kid there was a cleaner that smelled good (Pinesol, Fabuloso) and bleach. That was it… maybe once a year my Mom would pull out the wood cleaner at the beginning of summer vacation and made me clean the wood tables in the house with it, but that was about it.

Now we don’t even need to scrub things, there are scrubbing bubbles for that. We also want to kill not all germs, but 99.9% of them. Funny thing is that now cleaners also come with bleach… what happened to just using bleach… I am pretty sure that bleach kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria. So, have you swallowed the cool aid and buy way too many different kinds of cleaners and Swiffers or do you keep it old school?

Since being here there have been more than one elevator incident. From the construction crew dropping a container of industrial glue (probably a couple of gallons) to the elevators doors getting stuck in our floor. A little troubling was to see the repair dude not working on the doors, but on the second elevator when I saw him the next day.

I could take the stairs up, it would be great exercise, but I do not like to take the extra time that it will take me to do it or the possibility of sweating. Yes, I can probably sweat just by someone else looking at me for too long. I have however taken to parking in the far end of the parking lot for both shade and exercise.

I am a little claustrophobic. Not too much in man made structures, but a place like a cave makes me sweat just thinking about the walls collapsing, so I try have fun in elevators. I like making people a little weirded out by giving my back to the door. For some reason the rule is to face the door. I am not sure what about it bothers people, but it makes them uncomfortable, almost like I am about to trap them.

I had a couple of awkward moments in the elevator already. I do not mind the small talk there as much as I do in the public restroom. However, some people do not even make eye contact and treat the less than minute ride as an test of their powers to ignore other humans. If they could only exercise this skill in other places.

Today came the best interaction I had in an elevator. The lady who was waiting as I walked into the building to into the elevator and made no motion of holding it for me. I did not ask her to hold it, so I was not expecting it… but when I got closer she poked her head out and said, are you coming? little creepy.

When I walked in she asked where are you going, and I said fourth. “Thank God, I thought you were going to say Two.” At first, I thought that she was referring to people using proper language when asking for a button to be pushed as in second floor instead of two. That was not what she was taking about. She then started to ramble about how she cannot believe people that use the elevator to go to just the second floor (she was going to the third.)

Soup
Name one thing you miss about being a child.
Summers, being able to wake up to just go play soccer on the street every day.

Salad
Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.
Olive oil, I like it a lot with crushed pepper as a dipping sause, or as chimichurri.

Main Course
If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?
Well, I love languages and want to learn like 3 more at list. French is next on the list to learn, but also on the list is Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Dessert
Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…
In vacation for 3 weeks straight!

The last time I got a tat was in Chicago. Both of the shops that I got work done at were very accommodating. Even Jade Dragon which is one of the busiest shops that I have ever been to took care of me the day I came in. That was eight years ago when tattoos were a little less main stream. While some people might disagree with the last statement, I make it because know we have reality TV tattoo shows… and not just one, but several.

While in Michigan I visited a couple of shops, but I did not get a good vibe from either. One of the artists was very talented, I guess the itch was not intense enough back then. A tattoo is something so permanent that you have to trust that your vision and the artist’s talent do match.

I did not expect to walk into a shop here and get a tattoo, I don’t want something that simple. I also know that price has to be figured out once the details of the piece are decided. This is not my first tattoo, but every shop I walk into treats me like a number. I never got a corporate feel from a tattoo shop before, but I am getting that feeling more and more from the shops that I have visited in this city.

I was able to get the name of a couple of artists and I have not had a chance to meet them yet, and maybe that will be my “in.” I almost feel like a weekend warrior on the land of ink. Did everyone getting tats mean that now we are going to have MacTattoo Parlors?

A couple that we are very good friends with invite us to a BBQ at their house for the Fourth of July. Their identity is going to be protected for various reasons. The promise was an exorbitant amount of fireworks (I am not even exaggerating) that by 10 P.M. was not even half way finished. I mean they have a spreadsheet used as a checklist as to what to buy next year.

We have hanged out with this couple plenty of times. They come over, we go over there and always have an excellent time. We have developed a closeness where we certainly consider us family. We just were not prepared to be considered family as well. I initially thought the party was going to be a big group of friends, and maybe some family… but the ratio was completely opposite.

There is an expression in Colombia about a fly landing in a glass of milk, I think here people say in a bowl of soup. I certainly felt somewhat like that at the beginning of the BBQ. Even though our host introduced us to everyone, I felt awkward breaking the ice. After feeling a little out of place I remember that I am great at breaking the ice, and why not do it with the loudest person at the party.

Since Sally had arrived at the party she had not stopped talking about her sister Susy who was absent from the party. Her tongue was sharp towards her sister so my wife was surprised at my first poke, but I just had to do it… I had to survive… at least until the fireworks and to me it seemed entertaining.

I started to ask about this sister, and if she disliked her so much, why was she talking about her non stop?

Everything stopped and the crickets started their concert. Everyone at once looked at me with big eyes, but at this point I was committed and even after a couple of more colorful comments about her sister, I said tell me more. All the lady wanted was to have someone validate her feelings, it seemed the everyone regardless of the side they took on the situation kind of ignored her.

I wanted to hear her story, I wanted to provide her with an outlet, I wanted to give her a free therapy session… everyone else called this selfless act as me egging her on! can you guys believe that. Ok, maybe I was egging her own for my entertainment, but that is besides the point.

The whole incident started with a 13 year old and her sister Susy who is a grown woman. Susy who is a wiccan seems to be in touch with the universe and willing to educate everyone on its ways, even a 13 year old. I am not sure if she is truly wiccan or not, but I have not met any militant ones, militant atheist, all the time, militant wiccans, no so much.

From what I understood the 13 year old was curious about ghost and other stuff. His inquisitive mind lead him to ask her about the subject of energy and forces. At first Susy welcomed the questions, but then everything went very wrong. The 13 year old made the huge mistake (which I had not been aware of before, and I will take with me as a lesson learned) of using the word paranormal.

Uh Oh, Susy’s main button seems to have been pushed right at that moment. The kid did not know it, but that word brought on the kind of argument that is as important in her life as life and death. Susy proceeded to tell the kid, “THERE IS NO SUCH F#@$ING THING AS PARANORMAL, EVERYTHING IS NORMAL!” Yeap, she yelled, and according to Sally, she continued on to “cuz” the kid out.

Sally told Susy there was no “cuzzing” in her house, Susy initially apologized but later denied the whole incident and the whole family feud had begun. I tried to make the point that she should not be mad at someone that obviously thinks that arguing with a 13 year old is even remotely productive. I explored the anger she felling a little deeper and came to find out that the problems between the sister started a long time ago and all due to a coloring book. I did my best to try to help her overcome her emotions, but I think she is still a little pissed off at Susy.

Among other things in this fun filled weekend I agreed to help a friend out with a bowling event for an organization I actually believe on. Big Brothers Big Sisters. So yes, I am going to ask you for money, but it is not for me, it’s to help the children. So go donate!

As soon as my goal of 125 is reached, I will tell a very funny story from the 4th of July BBQ.

Then imagine that a presidential hopeful, and even though I want to use Hilary but I do not find her as eloquent or as loved as maybe Obama is, is kidnapped for 7 years. Then imagine the U.S. military rescuing the presidential candidate along with 14 other people that had been kidnapped without firing a single shot. That is what happened yesterday in Colombia. No big Hollywood production with a Rambo mowing over rebels left and right, just a well planned operation were everyone left alive.

Que Viva Colombia, Que viva la Libertad!

They wear a facade of anger, but internally they are happy, happy that they can tell you no, happy that they have that power, happy that they are making you have to take a little number again and wait for the seemingly random order you are being called on.

That’s right, even to have a question answered you need a number. Why, because again, the interaction that most business have handed to machines to deal with it is still kept alive at the DMV. Instead of being in an endless loop of number pressing, you have a warm body in front of you ready to tell you, get back to the line.

There is simply nothing you can do about it. You need your license or your vehicle titled, you have to go to them. Even though it would seem to be a simpler process handled online, they still want you to come in and bring as many documents as you can so they can have the pleasure to tell you none of the 26 exhibits you have brought are sufficient. And no, it is not allowed to have something faxed, even if it is from another state department, even if will take 3 weeks for it to be obtained by mail, even if you were willing to give a DNA sample.

It is futile to deal with them, it is futile to try to reason, it is futile to try to resist… you don’t even know it, you have already been assimilated.

In other news, I have a Kansas license plate now, YAY, no more dealing with Michigan!

Sunday we did Dim Sum with some of the usual suspects from the blogsphere, Eric, Michelle, Nuke and the organizer Toast. I had never been to Dim Sum and I am not even sure why… it was a great experience that will have to be repeated again soon.

We also went to see Wall.e and had a good time watching it… beside that, I am getting my brain ready for the work week… what did you guys do?

I used to follow another meme back in the day, like 2 years ago, called the Wednesday Mind Hump founded by my friend Fridays Child. With their meme they helped spark the idea of Mood Panties. I even helped write some of the questions at one point… this week their questions are way better so, no Friday Feast, welcome to the late Wednesday Mind Hump.

Wednesday Mind Hump

Hello humpers! Sadly, George Carlin died this week. I think a good way to honor him would be to discuss comedians.

1. Who is your favorite comedian (stand-up or otherwise)?
It has to be Eddie Izzard, because of his smart comedy. That and the Riches.

2. What is your favorite comedy movie?
It used to be There is Something about Mary… but there has been some good ones from the 40 year old virgin crew… I cannot decide which one just yet.

3. Which comedian do you just not get?
Not sure, I actually appreciate most comedians, it takes huge cojones to get up there.

4. If you were a fan of George Carlin, what was your favorite bit he did?
Oh, I could not pick a favorite… I love his English language jokes as much as I did his fart jokes.

Thanks for humping, and rest in peace, George!

I also had to bring the little dancing robot in BDInsanity honor.

I have issues with stopping my brain sometimes. I keep on thinking and thinking about things, and if I catch a bad train, it seems to just take me to the land called the funk.

My grandfather passing away is one of the hardest things I had to go through. I cannot even imagine how hard it is to lose a parent or a sibling. My wife and some of my friends have experienced this and I cannot imagine doubling, let alone multiplying the pain I feel for that loss. Losing loved ones scares me, my Mom being sick recently scares me… but she herself told me that we must enjoy the time we have together and not think of the what ifs.

I don’t want to waste my time here on earth. I also don’t want to not enjoy it by over thinking everything.

Yesterday I realized how lucky I am. I have been learning a lot from my wife on how to deal with situations. She has many good things to say about her father and how he dealt with what life sent his way. That helps. In fact, it helps a lot. Also knowing that she has gone through some difficult losses in her life and she is still able to smile gives me strength. She is a good listener and has the ability to process information that sometimes comes out of me all jumbled and still make me feel understood.

A conversation with my friends at lunch yesterday, one with my Mom, another one with my sister and then with my wife really broke me out of the funk. I was able to get off the wrong train, that as one of my friends put it made me all “Emo.” I saw how lucky I am to have people that care so much about me. I might have lost the greatest cheerleader of my life when my grandpa passed away, but that does not mean that I still don’t have a team of them behind me.