White Noise

Last night we had Lisa and Layna over for dinner and a few drinks. After they left at 9pm, we (Cheryl, Tracy and I) watched the movie "White Noise". The movie was OK in my opinion. Like many horror movies, there are always holes in the plot line somewhere that makes an intellignet person go, "huh?". In any case, there were a few moments in the movie that scared the shit out of me.

Unfortunately for Tracy, she is the type of person who can't sleep after scary movies and gets pretty freaked out about them. I (of course) took full advantage of this after the movie by rattling the doors, turning the lights on and off, and making every attempt to scare the hell out of her. I guess I am some type of sick person, huh? It was fun though.

I know....

I'm sorry. I have been a lazy ass all week. Work has taken so much out of me this week that by the time I get around to posting something (usually 9 or 10pm) I am totally exhausted and just want to chill on the couch. News flash...looks like the door code is changing again at AG Edwards, which means the axe fell tonight. You heard it first here on the Margarita Lounge. I guess it's just a matter of economics...with five less employees than a year ago, something has to give. You always hate to see someone go, but thats life and business.

I saw the news story about the monsoon in India that dumped 37 inches of rain in a day. That's an absolutely ridiculous amount of rain. I think that Jeanne and Frances each gave us about 6-8 inches of rain last year which was a lot...I'd be swimming down my street if 37 inches fell. I got a chance to speak to K-Delish up in Picksburgh this afternoon. I'm going to visit Labor Day weekend which I am looking forward to. Best of all, tomorrow is Friday! I'm going to Happy Hour to send off one of Cheryl's co-workers who is moving to St. Louis. Saturday we are having Lisa and Layna over for dinner and a few drinks. Everyone have a good weekend.

Much respect

Not that it was a big surprise or anything, but Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France again today for the 7th straight time. I am not a fan of cycling...as a matter of fact I can't even name one other cyclist in the world except Lance Armstrong. But the accomplishment he has achieved in one of the most physically demanding sports out there is absolutely amazing. Winning 7 straight Tours is like one team winning the Super Bowl for seven straight years...it just doesn't happen. While he gets some press and mentions on the sports pages of the world, this could be one of those things that you never see again. Now he gets to go home with Sheryl Crow...lucky bastard!

Another Good Wine

I am a big fan of Zin. A few months back I mentioned the Seghesio Sonoma Zin that Cheryl and I drank that I really enjoyed. Last night we had a bottle of the 2002 Bogle Phantom. We have had Merlot and Zin from Bogle before and I think they are a pretty solid winery. This one isn't a regular Zin but a blend of Petite Sirah and Zinfandel with a small amount of Mourvedre. If you are a red wine fan or a Zin fan, you should try it. It's about $16 at the local ABC store so it won't break your wallet either. Bogle only makes it once a year, so if you want some, you better giddie-up.

Here she is...

Above is the long awaited replacement for Le Breeze. Cheryl is needless to say REALLY excited about it.

Anyone want a Breeze?

With the impending arrival of a new Honda Accord, an era will end at the Margarita Lounge. Gone soon will be the staple of beauty known to grace our driveway. Yes, the Breeze is on the auction block. Anyone want to buy it? Ill give you a real good "Margarita Lounge" discount if you ask nicely.

On an unrelated note, it looks like Daylight Savings time is going to be extended another two months soon. From what I have read, it has passed both houses of Congress and is only waiting for W to sign it. The plan would start Daylight Savings Time in early March (instead of April) and end it in late November (instead of October). Sounds good to me.

The Judge and the Good Reverend

I don't know about you, but I just can't get all fired up about the appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice. I know that certain people REALLY into politics (Senator)will analyze this all different ways in the coming days and weeks, but I just don't care. Sorry to disappoint you Senator.

On another note, I ran into the Good Reverend Frank tonight at Home Depot...my first visit with him in years. For those of you who work (or used to work) with me, you know very well about the Good Reverend and his "ways". I will leave his last name out of this posting. The Good Reverend is a converted man of the cloth who now sells annuities to the elder population of Palm Beach County. In any case, we chatted for about 10 minutes but I had to run and get something for the grill. The Reverend is the same as he always was...full of energy and ready to sell someone an annuity they may (or may not) need.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

So Tiger won the Open. Whoo-hoo. Blowout by 5 shots. No drama, no excitement, no fun. Kind of like him winning the 1997 Masters by 12, the 2000 US Open by 15, and the 2000 Open Championship by 7. I realize that this isn't Tiger's fault, it's the other hacks on the tour who need to step up to the plate and play better. It's just much more exciting when at least two people are fighting it out down the stretch. Lets hope the PGA is closer.

On a different note, I bought 2 boxes of Hot Tamales yesterday...the first one is gone and I'm already into the second one. This is after I ate the entire half pound box I bought on Friday afternoon by Saturday Night. These things are addictive...I feel like a heroin addict looking for a fix.

Car Buying 101

I hate buying cars. I think I'm in the same boat with about 90% of the public on this one...trying to walk the fine line between a fair price and gettin screwed over by a dealer. With the Breeze on her final legs, Cheryl and I went to two Honda dealerships this afternoon looking at new Accords. We are heading to two more tomorrow and hope to make a decision in the next week or two. The good news is that Gary will be assisting us by using his excellent skills in negotiating the final price. Wish us luck. Look for pictures in a few weeks.

The sign has arrived

Cheryl and I ordered a "Margarita Lounge" sign a few weeks ago when we went to Sanibel. We are both happy with the way it turned out. Above is the sign with our model Bear. Oh yeah...I figured out who you were pimpbling...thanks for the hint.

Day One Complete

Day One of the Open is done with Tiger in the lead. Even though there are three days left, Tiger is an excellent front runner and is going to be tough to beat. He is probably the only golfer in the world who leads after one day and could have things locked up. I just hope the tournament is competitive..nobody wants to see him destroy everyone by 8 shots like he did in 2000. I'm happy to see my fellow Margarita drinkers throwing in a few comments out there recently. I'm dying to know who Pimpbling is...whether you are an acquaintance of mine using a clever disguise or a new reader. In either case, welcome to the Lounge..I hope you enjoy.

Don't inconvenience the Terrorist!!!

I have been shaking my head since I saw the nightly news at 6:30. The story I am so befuddled about is the one about interrogating terrorists. Some people are "up in arms" about the way that these POOR terrorists are being treated at Guantanamo. They actually had to deal with such horrific, emotionally scarring situations as:

1) Wearing a bra. I think I wore one on my head in my drunken college days (from what I remember) and every woman in this country wears one every day.
2) Forced to behave like a dog. Any dog deserves to get treated better than these pricks do. Refer to item #1 regarding drunk behavior.
3) Having to dance with another man. Refer to item #1 again here. Not exactly what I would consider "brutal torture".

I understand that we need to be sensitive in certain situations, but isn't this going just a little overboard? Terrorists behead civilians on the internet, fly planes into buildings, and blow up bombs on buses. We take these assholes to Guantanamo Bay, give them three meals a day, and get in trouble when one interrogator yells a little too loud. No wonder we don't get much info out of these guys...they get treated better in our prisons than they do at home.

Dog Days of Summer

As many of you know, I try to update the blog daily if possible. Sometimes it's two days and rarely it drags into three days. It's funny how sometimes the ideas just flow and other times it's like pulling teeth. The last three days have been the "pulling teeth" variety. You know...the summer heat has settled itself in for a few months...people seem to be going on vacation...the news stories (and nothing in general) seems to hold your interest for very long. It's not like I haven't had enough going on recently, it just seems like the motivation isn't there to put it down in writing. How else better to describe this than indeed the Dog Days of Summer. The Open starts at St. Andrews on Thursday morning, so things should improve by the weekend. My bet is on a non-American winner this year.

Just a little wind

Things haven't really changed around here from last night. It looks like Dennis spared Key West the brunt of the bad winds. So...I still have a place to get drunk when I go to Duval Street. We had some good rain and wind come through about 7am, but nothing over about 30 MPH. I think things should die down later tonight and into tomorrow.

Besides that, nothing real exciting going on around here. Besided the bombings in London, I haven't seen anything besides Hurricane Dennis coverage around here for two days. Good news on the sports scene in that the Open Championship (known to us yanks as the British Open) starts on Thursday.

I hope Irish Kevin's will be OK!

It's looking like Hurricane Dennis has his sights set on Key West tonight. The Weather Channel is saying that it will miss to the west, but it looks like it's going to be close. With the way a lot of the houses are built in Key West, I wouldn't be surprised to see some damage down there.

Like most other people in Palm Beach County, we are just hangin out inside tonight watching some TV and relaxing. It's not like we are going to get hit here, but the winds have been picking up tonight and it will still be breezy during the day tomorrow. It looks like Fidel has been getting his ass kicked all afternoon down in Cuba. It's pretty scary to see a storm this strong this early in the year. Hopefully things won't be as busy as last year. More to come tomorrow....stay tuned.

Driving the Kia...

My Explorer's electrical system is on the fritz lately. I took it into the dealership on Saturday after the "door ajar" light came on and all the doors mysteriously started locking and unlocking by themselves. After deciding it wasn't a ghost but probably an electrical problem, I left it in their "good hands". Well, they couldn't figure it out, even saying that they couldn't "re-create the problem". Translation: I am crazy and nothing is wrong. I had the pleasure of driving a great Dodge Neon for a few days.

After Cheryl picked it up yesterday (and it started acting the same way again...just like I told them the first time), they think it's an electrical problem...no shit. I now have the great priviledge of driving a Kia Optima. While nicer than the Neon, it is still quite a step down from my Explorer. Good thing that I just finished having a few colbeers with Mr. Golden and don't really give a shit.

That time of year again

Here comes the heart of hurricane season again....July, August, and September. The Margarita Lounge's roof was slightly damaged by last years hurricanes and I'm hoping not to replace any roof tiles again. In some kind of sick way I think the whole hurricane season is cool. I guess I see it as a great adventure we embark on every year, one where the final outcome is unknown. A deep down primordial man-against-nature struggle. Am I the only one out there that thinks this way? At least it spices up the news for a few months...squeezed right between the latest unworthy child molestor (who should be strung up by his balls and shot) and the never-ending search for one person in Aruba. Thousands of people die every year all across the world of starvation, disease, and natural disasters, but we'll make sure to get to the bottom of that one white girl from America who disappeared.

A Nice Lazy Sunday

Every now and then you need a relaxing day to make you feel normal again and recharge the batteries. Today is that day. I'm heading to Sue and Garys in about an hour for a little family barbeque as well as a good amount of booze I am sure. The only thing I did all day was head down to the pool for a few hours. Unfortunately, the typical South Florida afternoon thunderstorms reared their ugly heads recently and sent me back here. Good to hear from you on the blog Gunther...I was wondering how things were going. Call me this week and we'll go get a beer after work. Everyone have a good holiday weekend.

A little porch drinking

I have been sitting on the back porch for the past 3 hours drinking red wine and chatting with the ladies (Cheryl, Tracy, and Emily). Tracy went to bed about 45 minutes ago and I decided that since we were getting close to finishing the third bottle, it was time for a little time by myself. Not that I don't like chatting with Emily and Cheryl, but after three hours of "girl talk", I was ready for something different. I came into my little cove of creativity and loud music and figured I would relax and see what was going on in blog-ville. Thats one of the cool things about Blogger...I can just click on the "next blog" link in the upper corner and it takes me to a random corner of this large yet often times small world that we all live in.

I was rather disappointed tonight. It seems that every site I came across was either depressing, incredibly geeky, or not in English. Not that the Margarita Lounge is the best thing in the world, but at least I think it's entertaining. You get some politics, some stories, some pictures, some sports, opinions, and lots of fun. Nothing too serious and nothing too focused. If I see another blog devoted to heart disease or someone's dog I might be sick. Well...that might be the wine there, but I think you get the picture.

Beer Goggles?

Princess T after a few Captain and Cokes last night. Thanks for coming over guys...it was fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep until about 3am, so I'm draggin' a little this morning. Maybe I will post more later today if I get some motivation.

An impromptu party....

It seems that an impromptu party has found itself to the Margarita Lounge tonight. Cheryl, Tracy and I will soon have The Senator and Chad the Pharmacist arriving for an evening of conversation, music, fun and plenty of booze. It always seems like the best parties just "happen" out of the blue, wouldn't you agree? After the week I've had, a nice sioree is always welcome at the Lounge. More details tomorrow if I can remember them.