**

so what the fuck else is new?

First I need to give a big laurel, and hardy handshake to Native, a new reader. Welcome aboard! I'm glad you got something out of the entry you found and hope that if nothing else, you get a chuckle now and again from dropping by.

Next to Michelle (Rose Princess.) *sniff* I have been remis in catching up with you IRL. I'm sorry. Remind me to let you spank me the next time I see you. 'kay? MUWAH!

Third, the other Michelle, the one that puts the M in "M&M", Lime, posted this yesterday and I cheated and did it ... NOT AT WORK, IN CASE THERE ARE ANY BUSYBODIES LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT ... AT WORK!

Hmmmm: Note to self. Talk to therapist about paranoid delusions and check whether thorazine prescription is up to date.

Anyway, here is the challenge:

Here's how it goes. You are about to have your own band's CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. It's fun and requires no thought at all. Go to......

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it's more amusing that way.

Here is my result:

Kind of apropos, I thought to myself as I was putting it together and basking in the warm glow of the initial effects of the thorazine.

Now, go have fun with it ... BUT NOT AT WORK! NEVER AT WORK!

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First the tidbits: Dad is okay so far. I (and Mom) think that the doctor is flummoxed as far as what is wrong with him. Every test has come back clear but he has lost 20 pounds in the past month or so. They took a gallon of Karo Syrup-thickness fluid out of his stomach and sent that off for testing. They say there is no cancer apparent and that he does have gall stones, but I talked to him alone recently. He said that the fluid was not the disease, but just a symptom of something else wrong. (DUH!) He also talked about his liver. If there is cirrhosis of the liver, he said, there is a one year waiting list for a liver transplant and the average transplant candidate only has a 1-2 year life expectancy. He knows the doctor seems to be confused and seems to be worried. He will be going to get a second opinion next.

Now ... Miss Utah. I don't know if you know, but last night was the Miss America Pageant. Miss Utah looks like this:

This is the cover of the Dec. 2007 issue of "Soldiers" magazine. Stevens is a Sergeant in the Utah National Guard. She is a medic who has served a year-long tour in Afghanistan. She has also completed her college degree, passed the "bar" to receive her registered nurse certification and recently submitted the paperwork to become an officer.

She said that prior to this, she didn't own a pair of high heels and didn't know where to go to buy a pair. The self-described "tomboy" was the only contestant that chose to wear a one-piece bathing suit during the "fitness" competition.

Here is a picture of her in Afghanistan with a little girl she calls "my Cinderella":

The girl, an Afghan citizen, had eye problems. She was cross-eyed. Stevens talked to several doctors at the Army post she was at and got the girl the operation she needed to correct her eyesight Stevens has run in a dozen marathons and rode in the Miss Utah parade in her military uniform. She is a TRUE role model for little girls everywhere and an example to all that women in the military are NOT all uneducated bull dykes that have no other option than trying to be a man. You may think that is hyperbole, but I have actually heard people say that.

She didn't win. She was eliminated in the final round but she did win the "Peoples Choice" award, awarded by people that went to TLC.com. (the network that aired the pagent.) When they announced her name, she dropped down in her gown and heels and did about 20 push-ups. What was more impressive to me was that six or seven girls that hadn't been eliminated yet, dropped down and did them with her. WHAT THE FUCK? A bunch of vapid airheads getting down in gowns and high heels doing push-ups in solidarity with a loser chick that had no other option but to join the National Guard? No.

They respected her.

So does her commander:

"Obviously she is bright and attractive, but most important, she's a terrific soldier."

Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet
Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard
On the Crowning of Jill Stevens as Miss Utah
July 2, 2007

I respect her too. Congratulations Sgt. Stevens!

Wanna read more about her? Check out this site: Gateway Pundit
.
And check out her blog: GI Jill

Congratulations Jill, and thank you for your service. The Army loves you and I appreciate you ... now how about an interview?

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I turned 46 today. Thank you Michelle for calling and singing to me. It made my day. My mom bought me a cake when I went to have lunch with her today (we eat lunch together every day because we work so close to each other). When I walked in, her whole office sang "Happy Birthday." It was priceless. Oh and I also got an LSU National Champions T-shirt too. w00t!!!!! Other than that, it felt just like any other day. Kinda like yesterday ... only 24 hours later.

Dad's procedure went well today .. not that we learned anything, but the scanner worked as it supposed to. We'll find out what all the tests add up to tomorrow. I did talk to him today, and he said he was feeling MUCH better. He also told me that he had been hurting since before Thanksgiving. I got one word for that ... DORKBUTT!

Currently, my two favorite songs are "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie and "Nothin' Better to Do" by Leanne Rymes.

Finally everyone at my office got BRAND SPANKING NEW IMacs today. I think I'm still tingly from the multiple orgasms. Speaking of, I need a cigarette. Talk to you later

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

So it looks like dad DOESN'T have gall bladder problems after all.

He went in to the doctor for a preoperative sonogram, so they could see what was up inside him and figure out the best way to correct it. What they found was a mass of fluid in his abdomen and a liver that wasn't working quite right.

He was immediately given an MRI. The MRI showed polyps on his stomach but not much more that the doctor could use to make a firm diagnosis with.

They did another round of blood work and tomorrow, he goes for a CT scan. That should give the doctors a clue as to what needs to be done. He has another appointment to discuss the findings Thursday. At a minimum, they plan to tap his stomach and drain some of the fluid out of his abdomen which should provide some relief to his pain.

We don't know much more than that, but hope to soon. Needless to say my mom is freaking.the.fuck.out. She is holding together, but just barely. And I can't do anything for her, so we sit and wait.

It feels like shit and I just want to throw up.

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

... of the college football world!

Louisiana State University ... 38

NATIONAL CHAMPS, BABY! YEAH!

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

... and I finally had to go back to work. **UGH** Everything I typed today, every page I laid out, felt like I was working my way through quicksand. It was miserable.

On the other hand, I am pretty much over my sickness but need to get back on a regular sleep schedule. What's that you say? Why is my sleep schedule off? Two words: ROCK BAND! Oh ... and I guess Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Mass Effect MAY have something to do with it, but I wouldn't swear to that.

For those of you that don't understand that, I'm talking about the X-Box 360 and the three games we (I say we, but the GM bought Rock Band for the boys and I bought "them" the other two) got for Christmas. Rock Band is like Guitar Hero on steroids. It has a guitar, drum set and microphone. You form a band and play song to gain stupid shit like a van, bus, jet, manager, bodyguards and P.R. firm while trying to gain as many fans as you can. Sounds stupid, but it's fucking addicting. Anyway, Ryan and I have formed a band called Tinmen (an homage to the Sci-Fi channel's mini-series of the same name) and are kicking ASS! Unfortunately, sometimes we kick ass until about 3 a.m., hence the sleep schedule problems.

Oh yeah! Ryan also got his for-real drivers license. No I'm not crying cuz I'm proud of him, I'm crying because my insurance went from just over $200 per half year to just over $800 per half year. Could someone please call the Waaaaaaaaa-mbulance?

Next, my dad, just like Biscuit (albeit his is not nearly as serious the malady that could have killed her) started feeling pain between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He bloated up after eating and his stomach got hard as a rock. The pain grew and shifted to new locations as time went by. So he went on the internet and looked up his symptoms. They all pointed to gall bladder problems and my mom started harassing him (in a loving kind of way) to get his ass in to the doctor and have it checked out. She finally nagged lovingly coerced him to get off his ass and go, and, whadya know? He has to have gall bladder surgery. Like I said, nothing major but if you would send some good vibes his way, I would appreciate it.

Finally there is a small contest tonight ... maybe some of you have heard about it. My LSU Tigers, the number two ranked team in the nation, are taking on the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes for the BCS National Championship. At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers are losing by a score of 10-3. But tigers are patient creatures and I am confident we are gonna win the National Championship. GO GEAUX TIGERS! And as for YOU? I'll catch ya on the flip side.

Update: LSU just tied the score at 10-10 in the second quarter. GO GEAUX TIGERS!

Update: LSU 24 Ohio State 10 (edit:) in the second at the start of the third. GO GEAUX TIGERS!

Update: LSU 31 Ohio State 17 in the third quarter. GO GEAUX TIGERS!

To all my fellow Cajuns, sorry about the lack of coonass in my exhortations as the Tigers forged on to victory. The problem has been fixed. That is all.

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm hoping this year will be much better than the last one. Every year we say that this is the year of the Gunn, and every year we have been disappointed. I will be 46 in 4 days and am tired of the same old shit year after year. I am truly ready for some change.

I don't know if I will be doing a lot of blogging this year. I mean, my comments are being deleted from some blogs just for saying "Happy Thanksgiving," "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year." Imagine that. I may try to get off the internet and actually get a life. We'll see. I just want you all to know that I do appreciate you and love you and have made some damned good friends here. I have also (almost) thrown my life away with this medium and that will always be on the top of my mind. I can't imagine NOT having a presence on the web, but I really want to get my shit straightened out, too.

I don't know what 2008 will hold for us, but I know it will be different than previous years. I just hope that it will include the friendships and loves that I have found here. I know it will, but it may be different. I hope you understand and sorry about sounding like a whiney-assed beeyotch.

I hope that all of you have a very Happy New Year and that all your wishes and dreams come to fruition this year. Talk to you in a bit.

Love,
Me

Posted by Tommy Gunn at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)