C Note(s)

My favorite Christmas Tradition isn't the tree selection, decorating it, or the music, the gift giving and/or receiving. My fav is to watch Die Hard and Die Hard 2: Die Harder , actually! 2017 will mark silver anniversary of this tradition. That's right! The 25th consecutive year of watching Die Hard and Die Hard 2: Die Harder at some point in month of December. You'd think (if you knew me) it would be something lively activity neighborhood Christmas caroling with my friends. Nope! My Favorite Christmas Tradition It didn't start out that way, though. My high school best friend, Chris, had bought me one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever! It was the two VHS cassette tape of each movie, and it was packaged like the Nakatomi Building , too. I loved it instantly as I am a ginormous fan of Bruce Willis, and those movies.  Once I've completed my favorite Christmas tradition, I might move on to other Christmas movies. But I'm not referencing the classics lik...

Merry Christmas: My Fondest Memory of Mom! December 2017 will be the 20th year that my Mom passed away of gastric cancer. I decided to that the best way to say Merry Christmas was with my fondest memory of Mom. That ended up being more difficult than I thought. Even after chatting up my little sister about her favorite / fondest / funniest memory about Mom, she asked, which one, Los? We have tons. I settled on the category of emergency situations and response plus Mom. Merry Christmas: My Fondest Memory of Mom If there ever was a crisis, she is the last person you wanted to be on scene or supporting you. I'm confident that her easily rattled psyche, and her queasiness at the sight of blood are the main reasons that she wasn't a nurse even though 80% of Filipinas end up as nurses. Ahem! I digress . Merry Christmas: My Fondest Memory of Mom - was an innocuous afternoon during school break. She asked me to find the week's newspaper for the coupons. I had already bundl...

When I ask what's that smell: call a mechanic - I usually don't. One aspect of car ownership is repairs and fixes - no one really likes them because they tend to be expensive, and you couldn't do the work yourself if you wanted to. Most people, at least Americans, don't want to do much more than gas and go with the occasional oil change thrown in.  Especially when I was young and brash with my brand new car, a 1997 Honda Civic. The following is the funniest car service call I've had about any vehicle I've owned and/or operated. What's That Smell: Call A Mechanic I prided myself on my ability to do my oil changes, and other regular maintenance tasks. There was one however, that I simply couldn't figure out. One summer day, I got a whiff of fuel, and thought, What's that smell: call a mechanic - before it's too late. I loved and cared for my car because this was the first one that was brand new, no one owned it and I'm making payments tow...

This holiday season reminded me of the story when I was thrown completely  under the bus by my "uncle" Steve at an Outback Steakhouse in Spokane. Wait! What happened is probably what you're asking me, or yourself? I'll tell ya in the following passage. Wait! What Happened You need some background information in order to truly appreciate this story. Charlene and I had been dating a few years when this occurred. Her "family" in Spokane invited us over to enjoy the holidays - pretty sure it was Christmas. We always drove over to them, and in return they would host us while we were there. The collection of us is a epicenter of funny inside jokes, sarcasm, and physical comedy. Every visit had a " Wait! What happened " moment, too. This visit was no exception! Aunt Nancy usually cooked for us, but this particular night she didn't want to cook, and neither did anyone else. The suggestion and what we landed on was the Outback Steakhouse off of ...