Monday - Yup Monday

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Monday, February 18, 2008



TIME TO DONATE SOME RICE TODAY!
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Build your vocabulary, feed the hungry...
19,013,326,390 grains donated at this point!


We saw this question posed somewhere recently and will repeat it here...

Why do the low/mid-level motels (Hampton, Red Roof etc) offer free internet and the high-end hotels (Marriott, Hilton, etc) charge between$10 -$12 per day for internet access?

We are in a $200+ hotel room and have to pay additional for internet access....Of course it is a business expense, but you would think that it would be just the opposite...weird...

Spent the day with MATT and went to nephew Joseph's swim meet. Joe is a hell of a swimmer. He raced in two events. The first was the 50 meter free-style, where he placed 6th out of 29 swimmers.

The second event was the 200m Individual Medley, where they start off with the butterfly, then the backstroke, followed by the breast-stroke and finally the free-style swimming 2 lengths of the pool (50 meters) for each stroke.

Joe was first seed, so swam in the last grouping. He led the entire heat and took first-place overall in the event. It was the first time we have gotten a chance to see him swim and it was wonderful to root him on the entire race.

Then Sister Lynn, niece Candice, Joseph, Matt and I went out to a place called Ciao Baby in the shopping center which is located 200 yards from the home we grew up in - BIL Kevin was home with the flu. As kids, it used to be a Chinese restaurant located next to the movie theater we frequented as kids - the theater is now a huge Chinese buffet.

The nice thing about Ciao Baby is that it serves food family style..huge portions that the whole table shares. We dined on a Rice Ball (risotto wrapped around ground beef and peas and then deep-fried, served with a marinara sauce and a Gorgonzola Salad, followed by a huge bowl of Ziti with a pork gravy and a Skirt steak wrapped around garlic mashed potatoes.

HUGE YUMMO

We left Lynn, Candice and Joseph after dinner, then drove back to the hotel with Matt where we had to say good-bye to Matt...we did not want to let him go when we hugged and kissed goodbye and - truth be told - we shed a few tears after he left...



Tomorrow, our plans are to try and hook up with Doc B...but a little snag had occurred back at the office and we may have to be available for a couple of conference calls which would make our going into the city impossible. We will know better in the morning...


Hope all y'all had a great Valentine's Day...we certainly did...darlin' Nancy gave us a cool gift...it is a book she had made online. It is a true paperback, where our names and certain facts about us have been incorporated. The back cover even has a color picture of us and all...We will post a picture of it when we get back home from our trip...


Just got a call and Matt made it home safe...sigh - we miss him so much.....we actually also talked about his sending in an application to University of Memphis for next semester...not sure it is what he would do...but we did discuss it...



Gonna check out "Dexter" tonight...show about a man who works with the police to catch serial-killers...simple enough, except he is also a serial-killer who kills serial-killers...has been on Showtime, but CBS scheduled it to fill in a need when the writers went on strike...

OK...we are totally without music other than the songs uploaded to lifelogger already...

So this will be a repeat...now we have to decide which to use...

OK...we just scrolled, eyes closed and The Rolling Stones was the choice..."Brown Sugar"...enjoy







21 Of Your Sparks

  1. good points about the internet in the hotels, tell them i said it was tacky. really. ha ha ha...

    glad you got to see your people bond... nice!

    smiles, bee

     
  2. Travis Cody Says:
  3. Sounds like a great visit with family. Too bad it was so short with Matt, but at least you got to see him.

    But swimming in February? That just seems wrong.

    Good luck with the rest of your trip.

     
  4. Dexter is hands down the best thing on TV. But I BEG you, get the dvd from netflix. They are gonna chop the hell out of it, no pun intended. Plus they cut the original opening sequence which is the best opener on tv. Trust me on this, get the dvd!

     
  5. Anndi Says:
  6. Congrats Joseph!

    Glad you had a chance to spend time with Matt... I know you miss him much.

     
  7. DrillerAA Says:
  8. I've asked myself that same question regarding the hotels and internet access. In fact I even filled out a Hilton comment card. Their customer service staff tried to contact me, but I wasn't available at the time.
    My office laptop now has a phone card installed, so I don't have to worry about where I am when I need access to my e-mail or I'm just killing time in the airport or having a sleepless night at a hotel 500 miles from my own bed.

     
  9. TopChamp Says:
  10. Good choice of repeat song!

    That internet question is an interesting point.

    I am pleased that you have enjoyed yourself - and it is great that you got to see Matt.

     
  11. Schmoop Says:
  12. Glad you had such a good time Vin. Cheers!!

     
  13. BEE: It was a great time and I plan onasking the question

    TRAVIS: Yes, it was short - but SO worth it..and this was actuallly a CLUB meet, which is a winter activity...indoors of course

    STARRLIGHT: I presumed it was cut (pun intended) and will grab the DVD...

    ANNDI: TY my friend

    DRILLERAA: Was it YOUR blog where I saw the original comment? I have been considering getting the internet card, Saturday I spend 4 hours in the airport and refuse to spend the money for access for that short of a time - I also wonder why internet access is free in most airports in Florida, but in other states it is not...

     
  14. DrillerAA Says:
  15. Unfortunately both of my computers are less than a year old, so they both already have Vista installed. I'm still on the Windows Media Center learning curve.
    About that phone card, I don't think it was me that wrote about it, but I love mine. It seems to be as fast as any dsl or even cable connections. Mine is a Sprint card. As much time as you spend on the road I would think you would really enjoy the anywhere, anytime access.

     
  16. Hubby got sick of the spotty coverage of the so-called high-speed internet services in hotels, so he got himself a Verizon wireless card for the laptop. Saves us lots of grief.

    Your nephew did very well - congrats to him. I know how painful it must be for you to be apart from Matt. I hope he strongly considers that application to Memphis. That would be a big highlight for you, my friend.

    Have a great week.

     
  17. You will like it, I promise. The books are wonderful too, but in this case I think the show ups the ante. It is a rare case of a video topping the written.

     
  18. Tug Says:
  19. I'm glad you had such a great time with your family!

    Is it just me, or does Ciao Bella sound like an Italian restaurant??

     
  20. Sounds like you had a lovely ime visiting with family... and the food sounds DELICIOUS!

    Nancy gave you a great valentine! I can't wait to see it!

     
  21. Meribah Says:
  22. Wooo! Glad to hear you had a great time with your family! Here's hopin' Matt transfers to Memphis! **Crosses toes** :P
    That book Nancy gave you sounds cute. I look forward to seeing a picture of it. :)

     
  23. AtriaBooks Says:
  24. I'll catch ya next time, VinBo

     
  25. Oh, oh, oh... Matt would LOVE the University of Memphis... he really would. Would you like for me to call him and talk him into it? I have a way with words you know..

    ;-)

    I look forward to seeing the book that Nancy gave you.

    Have a good week.

    SMOOCHES~

     
  26. DRILLERAA: Actually I meant you mentioning the hotel internet thing

    SONGBIRD: seriously considering the internet card... It is his decision to make...he will do what he feels is best for him I suppose

    STARRLIGHT: Consider me convinced

    TUG: umm yes, except I got the name wrong it is CIAO BABY...still Italian

    KYRA: You will see it when I get home

    MERI: TY Dear one...I can not wait to read it...I promised we would read it together next weekend..maybe in the hot tub with champagne

    DOC: I Promise dude

    DIXIE: We will see what he does...fingers crossed he at least sends in an application...SMOOCHES

     
  27. The Teamster Says:
  28. sounds like good travel....mine will be the third week of april....jetting through saucier (near gulfport) mississippi.....then to milton (near pensacola) florida....I have a brother in each....

    then 3 days in washington dc...

    how far are you from the gulf coast?

     
  29. TEAMSTER: About 7 hours from Gulfport to Memphis...

    Gee..your trip will be ending just about in time for Memphis in May...

    LOL

     
  30. katherine. Says:
  31. I am not the only one who makes their kids call to say they arrived safely.....

     
  32. Mimi Lenox Says:
  33. Internet service in hotels is generally a joke.

    If Matt moved to Memphis you would be in heaven. I hope that happens!

     

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