Chasing the Mailman

So, I was coming home and in my car when I saw the mail truck heading my way. I on the service road going to my home. Suddenly it occurred to me that I may have a Netflix DVD in my back pack. I had a split second to put the window down and wave at the mail man (actually, woman) to stop. But I let it pass.

I looked in the back pack, and sure enough, there was a DVD from Netflix. I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to ship it. As I looked in my back mirror, I saw the mail truck waiting by the light. I thought, I could try to catch it, but what are the chances? Maybe the light will turn green before I do a U-turn.

Testing my luck, I decided to chase after it. After I made the quick U-turn, I followed the truck, and by this time, the light turned green and the truck made a right and went on the road. I followed it, hoping for a red light. The truck was ahead of me. How was I going to give her the DVD? The mail truck driver's seat is on the RIGHT, that's so they can deliver the package to the mailboxes. So, I needed to be on the truck's RIGHT side, but I was currently behind it. I knew I didn't want to follow it all the way to the post office because that would defeat the point.

At the next light, luckily, the light turned red, and more luckily there was a special right lane! I pulled up next to the truck, put the window down, and waved. The woman driver wondered what I wanted and slid open the door. I said, hi, can you take this, as I handed her the package. She was flabbergasted as I gave it to her. With that mission done, I said thank you and went back home.

I was happy, and felt elated and a winner! Yahoo! :)

Hearts of Space

Do you like ambient, new age, meditative music? Well, I've got a real good recommendation for you. Try Hearts of Space.

I discovered HOS in 1991 when I was living in Ranch in N. Potomac, MD. One late Friday night, I just happened to have the radio on in the living room, and it just happened to be on the right channel, when suddenly HOS began playing. I must have liked it because I tuned in every week since then. The channel was WGMS 90.9 at 11 PM on Fridays.

For the next few years, I bought a few one hour tapes and recorded the show every week. Not every one I kept because I didn't like every single show, but overall it's a great program. I did not record while I was in Taiwan for two years. When I came back and briefly stayed in Los Angeles, I started recording again (luckily they aired there, too - it's a national radio program).

Once back here, I noticed that HOS was not one that original radio station anymore. So, I wrote a letter to the radio station program manager. They put it back on for me, albeit this time on Sunday nights. It was on for a few years and then they dropped it again.

I haven't recorded for a while until I found out that they streamed their music on the Internet. They used to stream their weekly program all week, but now they limit it to Sundays only.

They have their radio like show, and their weekly program.

If you like ambient and space music, and generally music from other countries, then try HOS. Their website is www.hos.com. Listen in on Sundays. Highly rated.

Thanks for the music all these years, HOS!

Bike to work week

This week I biked to work every day. My trusty old bike took me there and back. It was refreshing and invigorating to breathe the cool morning air, to feel the wind on my face, and the sun in my eyes. It always felt like being on a scooter (like when I was in Taiwan) when I went down the hills. It's great for the body, good for the planet, and good for my wallet (no gas to spend!).

Here's part of my bike route:


Originally, I took a route which was much more difficult (hills) and longer than my current route. I decided to try a new way, and found it was not only easier but shorter. It's almost the perfect route because it's just long enough to give me some exercise but not to tire me out too much. With all the lights in my favor, it takes about 15 minutes. I ride on the side walks.

I cross over the highway. As I bike over, I sometimes slow down and watch the cars go by. As it gets darker, the white and red lights streak by.

Morning Squirrel

This morning I saw a squirrel outside from my bathroom window. The squirrel cautiously climbed up the telephone poll, eventually reaching the top. It stayed up there, thinking like it was the king of the hill or something. It scratched it's tiny head, wondering what to do. It decided to jump to another pole right next to it, a pole that reached higher than the first one. It started to climb, and then suddenly decided to go down another diagnol pole. Perhaps it thought it wasn't worth it, he was king of the first pole, and that was good enough.

Family (Katie) at the Dentist

It was family day at the dentist. Actually, I didn't go because I had an appointment on another day, but Mandy and the two boys had a dental cleaning appointment. Bob seems used to it now as he has been going for quite some time, and I don't need to mention Tom who has been doing it even longer. They both started pretty young. I can't seem to recall, but it was probably when they were three.

So, I was really surprised to hear that after everybody got their cleaning done that Katie also wanted to do it! I wasn't there, so I don't know how long her cleaning lasted, or whether it was just for fun, but I am sure some of her teeth got clean. And I've a picture to prove it. I am really amazed she sat through it.

I am told this attracted a lot of attention from other nurses who want to so see. Notice someone standing behind the dental technician.

11th Wedding Anniversary

Wow, it's been 11 years since Mandy and I got married. We got married in 1997. We tied the knot in the government center on 2/21/97, and we had a wedding ceremony at the restaurant reception on 2/22/97. It's probably easier to remember 2/22 as the wedding date (that's the date Mandy prefers). Now, we've got three kids!

We went out on Saturday to celebrate. We usually meet my parents on Saturday, also. So, we went to Manassas for some Old Country Buffet time. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed! Probably not enough business. That's what I liked about it - no lines. Pretty quite and homey. And that was the cause of its downfall, I suspect.

So, we went to a Chinese buffet restaurant. My parents did not even know it was our anniversary until I told them. They were surprised.

The restaurant really had lots of desserts, especially many assortments of ice cream flavors.

Happy Anniversary!!!

WGMU, Blue and Gold Banquet

We went to George Mason University today for a radio tour of WGMU. We met the other Cub Scouting families at school around 1 PM, and got to the university around 2 PM. The radio station is inside the student union. I was quite impressed with the place, it had a bank, and a food court, as well as the school store. The radio station itself was very small. It consisted of two rooms with radio equipment, computers, and CDs on the walls.

Since it was so small, the group was split into two groups. We were in the first group. The tour person answered our questions, and we all got to announce our pack/den on air! I think it's an Internet broadcast, so the whole world could have heard us.

GMU looks like a nice university I would go to.



The following week we had the Blue and Gold Banquet to celebrate some anniversary for Scouting. Each family brought in food and it was nice. We made our own food mats, and had plenty of food. Dad and mom joined us that day for dinner, which was held in school.

Year of the Rat

Happy Chinese New Year of the Rat! May you all be blessed and have a wonderful year!

Cold February

It's been pretty cold in the early parts of February (2008). One night, it rained and it was so cold that everything froze up in the morning, creating icicles to form. The grass was frozen, as were the trees. The whole car was frozen.

I didn't not like winter before, but now it's OK, and found these pictures to be quite amusing.

I am going to miss winter: the darkness at night, the stillness of the cold air...the warmth of the blankets surrounded by the coldness.

Bob's Go See It - Bicycle Store

In January, Bobby's Cub Scout group had a "Go See It" to the local bike store. We all went and learned about bikes and stuff.

The bike store had really expensive bikes. Like $500 or more. Too expensive for my tastes, and my regular bike is just working fine.