NORWEGIAN BACHELOR FARMERS AGREE

"It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown, out on the edge of the prairie."

I'm always shocked to learn that someone doesn't know about Prairie Home Companion. What would Saturday afternoons be without Guy Noir or Powder Milk Biscuits?

Beginning in 1974, the radio show has, literally, been around my entire life. I've decided on a new dream job: I'd take Garrison Keillor's place as host when he retires.

So, Sarah, LISTEN TO THE SHOW ALREADY! What've I gotta do...put the radio to your ear?

Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor, originally uploaded by kosts.

UPDATE

Been wondering what's become of me? When I returned from WA, I found myself in a bit of a family crisis. Dad will be out of the hospital today; thanks to all who lovingly prayed for his heart health. What a relief to have him coming home tonight!

xaust.com

GO, HICKS, GO!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!, originally uploaded by peggy..

Hope you had a good one...

ON MY WAY

British Airways 777 G-YMMA, originally uploaded by caribb.

I'm on my way to Washington state to meet Pauline and her family. Thanks to everyone who is praying for me to have a safe flight. I'll let you know when I arrive and how the trip is going. Just in case I don't get to tell you later, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

OLD SKOOL

OLD SKOOL, originally uploaded by Patrick Q.

Here's my desktop. Like my vintage lego figure? I think he's confused; is he teaching geography or addition? My workspace is pretty sparse: count the icons. How many icons do you have? What kind of wallpaper? How often do you change it? What do the answers to these questions say about you as a person?

COUNTRIES I'VE VISITED/LIVED IN

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

STATES I'VE VISITED

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Well, I haven't technically visited Washington state yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and check it. Try this out. It's fun to see a map of where you have been. (Gasp! Did I just say that maps were fun? Dad would be so proud!)

MY FLICKR BADGE

MY FLICKR BADGE, originally uploaded by Patrick Q.

at least I have a fun hobby to fall back on...

MESS

I can't function in this mess anymore! I'm tired of living in piles of crates and boxes. Everything I own is stored in the room where I am sleeping and I can't take it anymore! [It is a very big room but the boxes are piled to the ceiling.] When I moved back in with my folks after Katrina, we just piled everything up helter skelter. But the haphazard mess makes me feel like a mess, myself.

So this week I'm moving out of the grief stage and into the anger stage. And I'm channeling that energy into unpacking and organizing. After the storm, I wished that there was nothing to salvage. I just didn't wan't to deal with stuff at that moment. Isn't that terrible; I felt a little guilty about wishing I had lost everything and gotten an insurance check. Oh, well; can't deny my failings.

So I'm getting it organized so that I can sell all of it; I don't want to see any of it ever again. When I start to auction it off on eBay, I'll put a link here so you can bid on it. LOL. Just think, someday you might own my lamp or spatula... You could say, "Hey, this used to belong to Patrick before he pulled a Dave Chappelle and ran away from his mess of a life; I got it for next to nothing at auction."

I'm not trying to be negative in this; just honest about where I am right now. I read back over the last entries I've made since returning to America and realized that I have been talking about pop culture because I didn't want to face the real issues I need to deal with. But here they are in black and white. That's as good of a first step as I can make.

ARTIST TRADING CARDS

resolution-atcs, originally uploaded by kaleidoscopic-kris.

Have you ever heard of Artists' Trading Cards? I hadn't until today, but I'm hooked. I can't wait to find an old deck of cards and start making my own. If you designed one, what would you put on it?

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT IDOL?

Well, so far I've narrowed it down to my top four. Here they are for your viewing pleasure. Let me know which you think should win the title. By the way, I used to make fun of people who watched this show, but I really think these 4 have talent, so they've won me over...

HOPEFUL #4

HOPEFUL #3

HOPEFUL #2

HOPEFUL #1

CRYIN'

cryin', originally uploaded by goodbyepisces.