Preparations are under way...

We are now four days out from Sunfest and the Margarita Lounge is fully stocked for the comng festivities. Plenty of food and drinks have been procured for the visit of Ms. Greenough from Raleigh. Cheryl and I spent all day yesterday cleaning up the house and getting things ready for the big arrival on Tuesday.

I got a chance to see the Senator and Chad last night. While it was much calmer than some of our previous nights out, we managed to make the most out of it. Cheryl and I have been in full lazy mode all day today, listening to Jimmy Buffett and sitting in the sun for a while. Cheryl just got off the phone with The Princess Dawn herself and it looks as though it will be an early afternoon arrival on Tuesday. More to come as the week develops...hopefully I will have some good pictures to share with everyone.

The songs tell the story...

I know that I promised not to harp on the Michael Jackson trial anymore, but I need to make a small exception. I was surfing the internet today and decided to do a search for "Michael Jackson Songs". Here are six of ol' MJ's songs from his (now non-existant) career. Note: these are the ACTUAL names of the songs:

1) "Dangerous".....you aint kidding there MJ...if you touched my kid you'd get your ass beat.
2) "The lost children".....lost in his bedroom and the victims here.
3) "Smooth Criminal".....pretty self explanatory.
4) "I can't help it".....once again pretty self-explanatory. Refer to song #1.
5) "Give in to me".....I think I'm gonna hurl

Yes, that's only five songs. I was debating on whether to even include #6 as it was really sickening, but what the hell, huh?

6) "P.Y.T(Pretty Young Thing)".....That sums up everything right there.

I was pondering today what ever happened to the old fashioned assassin? JFK gets shot, John Lennon gets shot, even Ronnie Reagan and the Pope got shot. We need someone to take care of Michael Jackson and all these child molestors they let walk the streets. To hell with three strikes and all that "the poor criminal" crap they practice in California...string 'em up!

On a different note...Sunfest starts in six days and I'm starting to get fired up!

You've gotta be kidding me...

In case you aren't aware of this story, the above picture shows a water stain found on an underpass in Chicago. Yes, I said a water stain. This is a very common occurance as water runs off concrete in every city in every country all over the world every day. After a while, the rain causes a stain on the concrete. Pretty simple, right? Well, I guess this one looks like the Virgin Mary...at least thats what the story says. I don't see it myself, but perception is not my strength. Actually, I dont see any resemblance at all.

Now, everyone has a right to beleive what they want. In reading the article, I discovered there was a piece of popcorn auctioned on Ebay in November 2004 that also was supposed to resemble the Virgin Mary. And lets not forget the Canadian woman who saw the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus on a Lays Potato chip. I am not making this stuff up..check out the article yourself if you want to.(article)

Does anyone else think it's coincidence that this was noticed on the same day a new pope was elected? Just some "food for thought" for all you heathens going to hell with me. I'll save you a spot at the bar...

Droppin the F-bomb

Please make sure to file this post under "completely useless information". That being said, I have never watched an episode of Deadwood, but I know at least one of my loyal readers is a fan. This is a funny article I just read yesterday about the series:

The Number of Fucks In Deadwood
HBO's series Deadwood had a reputation for salty dialogue even before the first episode aired. It was nearly impossible, they said, to keep count of the number of f-words spoken during each program. We took it as a challenge.


Total fucks in series: 1519
Cumulative series FPM: 1.45

Total fucks in Season Two: 688
Average fucks per episode: 98.3
Cumulative Season Two FPM: 1.84

Total fucks in Season One: 831
Average fucks per episode: 69.3
Cumulative Season One FPM: 1.23

Go out and buy this wine

Cheryl and I had Sue and Gary over last night for their birthdays. While Cheryl is still in bed, I actually don't feel too bad myself. I decided to stick with wine while Cheryl decided to mix gin-and-tonics with wine...not a good combo. In any case, it was good to sit down and relax with my parents and just catch up on whats happening.

We went to ABC liquors yesterday and bought a bottle of this wine on a suggestion from their wine expert. While I am by no means a wine expert (yet), I can tell the difference between a decent wine and a good one. The bottle we had last night was excellent. It's a 2003 Seghesio Zinfandel, and in addition to being a great wine, was reasonably priced at about $18 a bottle. If you like drinking Zinfandel (not White Zinfandel in the box K-Delish), go out and get a bottle of this...you won't be disappointed.

Here he is!!

For all of you wanting to see the Hickmans new baby, here you go. With all these baby pictures floating around I'd better watch out cause Cheryl's clock might start ticking! Cheryl and I are heading out tonight for some chillin' and a pizza at Sals (jealous Tracy?). We are also planning on entertaining Gary and Sue tomorrow night here at the Margarita Lounge. I guess I'd better stock up on the Vodka.

Alexander the Great

A big welcome to Alexander Jeffrey Hickman, who was born at 10pm last night. At 9lbs 4oz, it looks like the Hickmans have a little linebacker on their hands. When I have some pictures to share with everyone, I will make sure to post them. Best wishes to the Hickman family from the Margarita Lounge.

Thanks for the Love

I was beginning to worry the last few weeks. I hadn't seen many postings on my blog and was concerned that nobody really gave a shit anymore about the Margarita Lounge. Either that or my postings were garbage and nobody wanted to say anything. It was a relief to see a few postings recently..thanks to Gunther and Scott for the love. That didn't sound quite right.......

Anyway, an early congrats goes out to Mr and Mrs Hickman. Ann is at the hospital as I type this starting the induction of labor on young Gunther. If you check out today's posting on frotuss, you can almost hear the excitement in Chris's voice. Hopefully my next posting will be a picture of the young lad. Don't forget to teach him golf, Gunther. Tiger and Phil make a lot more money than ANY of the Cleveland Browns and they don't have to worry about blowing out their knees while at work. Lots of love from the Margarita Lounge for a healthy baby.

Damn you Tiger!!

I am sorry to report that Tiger Woods broke my heart this weekend and won another major tournament.(I'm sure you are happy he is out of his own "personal hell" K-Delish). Now, Tiger is a great player and already at 29 one of the best of all time. I just love seeing the underdog "journeyman" win tournaments, and nobody deserves a major title more than Chris DeMarco does. If Tiger doesn't get lucky and chip in on 16, DeMarco wins it all when Tiger choked it on the last two holes with bogeys.

In addition to breaking my heart, Tiger also made me wonder about some other things this afternoon. After winning the tournament, he immediately hugged his caddy. This is always OK and perfectly acceptable in golf, especially at such an emotional time. He then proceeded to hug Steve(the caddy) two or three more times. Hmmm. Then he leaves the green, walks through the crowd, and hugs his mom. And then, only AFTER hugging the sweaty caddy (repeatedly) and his mom, does he proceed to hug and kiss his beautiful Sweedish model wife. Does anyone else find this odd? The wife should be kicking his ass for that because that shit wouldn't fly at my house!!

In any case, me and my beautiful wife spent the late morning and early afternoon at the beach today. We both got a little red, but no major burns. Half of Delray Beach was closed for sand replenishment, and it was a little too crowded for our taste. Back to the grind tomorrow.....

Drinkin' with the Boys

I ended up meeting the boys from Erie at the Palm Beach Ale House last night for a few cold drinks, some greasy bar food, and some long overdue catching up. It's always great to see guys that you grew up with and always interesting to see where the world has taken them. Chris and Tim are in Atlanta, Joe in Boston, and Kirk and George still in Erie. Everyone still gets along and everyone still gives Mark a harder time than they should.

We are planning on hitting the links around 1pm today out in Wellington. Since I haven't played a round of golf in 5 months, it could be any ugly display. The good news is that the Masters should be on after we are done, so at least I can watch somebody who plays better than me.

Good Morning

In a rare move on my part, I decided to get my ass on the treadmill this morning before work. Not that this in itself is odd, as I do get up in the mornings to work out a few days a week. But after drinking beer last night, it is quite an accomplishment. Even though I didn't have enough beer to warrant a hangover, I'm usually pretty lethargic in the morning after drinking a few.

I went to the QD to meet Mr. Golden last night and had a few colbeers with him while watching the first round of the Masters. Since Cheryl took today off work, she joined us as well as Jen, one of Cheryl's co-workers. Mr. Golden is heading to Augusta for the weekend to play and watch golf, while I will be here catching up with some old friends from Erie. The senator was scheduled to pick them up at the airport last night. I guess they are down here to play some golf and relax for a few days. Knowing the way that Joe and the crew are, I will be out both nights this weekend catching up. Wish me luck.

Sometimes there are no words....

I found this on a website named allfunnypictures.com. After the past two days I have had at work, a little comic relief is in order.

Delray Affair

Well, it looks like the Delray Affair ended up saving the day. I finally got off my lazy ass around noon and did some yard work. Cheryl called on her way home from the baby shower and we decided to spend the afternoon in Delray for their yearly festival.

We met Chris, Leslie(his mom) and his step sister Fran around 6pm for a few drinks. After we "dropped Anchor" for a while and badgered Douglas (Pittsburgh got three inches of snow last night...poor bastards!), Cheryl and I went to Rotellis for dinner. We just got home...I'm loving that extra hour of sunshine that Daylight Savings brings...let the summer begin!

In a Rut

I have been stuck in some sort of rut since my last posting on Wednesday Night. It's not that I've been really busy or depressed or anything. Call it writers block or whatever, but for some reason I haven't found the time and effort to sit down and post anything. It's not like there isn't enough out there going on:

The Pope, Terri Schiavo and the very funny Mitch Hedberg all died this week.

The Final Four games last night ended up with the much anticipated matchup we all wanted for the National Title.

The Masters starts in 4 days, the baseball season starts today.

Colleen left the company yesterday to move to "greener pastures" in Boca.


It just feels like one of those lazy Sundays where you don't even want to get out of bed or acknowledge the outside world. It's cold today..I think the high is only supposed to be about 70, which is way too cold for April in Florida. Maybe that contributes to the lazy feeling. I need to wash my truck and move a few sprinklers in the yard, but I'm not sure if that's even going to happen. I can't even blame my laziness on partying too hard as my last drink was over a week ago. Hopefully motivation will shake me from my slumber sometime today. Developing......

Jesse is the Man!

I just got done watching "Predator" for the first time in years. Jesse Ventura's character really makes this movie. Who can forget such great one-liners as "I ain't got time to bleed" and "This stuff will make you a sexual Tyrannosaurus...just like me." For those of you not familiar with the picture from the movie I posted, yes this is THAT Jesse Ventura. The one time pro wrestler, part time actor, and one term governor of the state of Minnesota.

I think it's kind of funny that three of the stars in this movie ended up in politics. The obvious second was no other than the Governator himself, Ahnold. But I found out tonight that one of the more obscure guys in the movie who played Billy (the tracker who helps hunt the Predator) ran for governor of Kentucky in 2002. Makes all you aspiring politicians wonder, huh?

Yes it was a slow news day. That's OK..you might have learned something new. At least it isn't more news about the one hundred and twenty eight thousandth failed appeal by Terri Schiavo's family...appeals that are wasting the taxpayers money and slowing down an already backed up court system.

The Biggest "Dead Horse"

From time-to-time my friend Gunther over at frotuss.com mentions his "top five dead horses" that the media just HAMMERS to death. Thanks for the inspiration Gunther. For the last two weeks the horse has been Terri Schiavo. Now, this story originated here in Florida, so in addition to the two week circus of national media, I have had to hear this for months locally. No matter where you sit on this fence, you have to be just as sick of it as I am. Yes, it is a tragedy, but life will go on people. Tonight it's looking like Johnny Cochran might be a small distraction for a day or two, but trust me, it will only be temporary.

I think the media is convinced that we are all stupid and need to be force fed the same old crap. God forbid we might have to THINK FOR OURSELVES once. One of the most interesting stories I read today was about the problems the new Iraqi government is having electing leaders. Unfortunately, this story was buried somewhere underneath Jesse Jackson supporting Terri Schiavo. If anyone wants some good stories and commentary about whats going on in the rest of the world and outside of Terri Schiavo, I encourage you to check out this website: www.worldtribune.com.

End of Sermon.

Uh....my head hurts

This is the sight I saw walking into our kitchen this morning. The final tally was 12 beers, 2 bottles of red wine, and a small dent in the Bombay Sapphire "tanker". While this may not be up to par with many drinking binges, it's pretty good work for someone semi-retired such as myself.

Cheryl and I had Scott and Robin over last night for dinner and a few(too many) drinks. They both live in New Jersey and were down here for a long weekend seeing Scott's parents. Scott recently popped the big question and Robin accepted, so we decided to have a celebration for them. It was nice to catch up as we don't get a chance to see them very often. After much discussion on the subject, Cheryl and I were forced to accept the reality that they weren't going to move to Florida anytime in the near future.

Today is the last leg of the Easter Whirlwind Tour 2005 with Easter dinner at Mom and Dad's place. I think Cheryl and I will be drinking Diet Cokes all day and taking it easy...sorry to disappoint you K-Delish.

Barbara the Prognosticator?

Barbara Bush recently stated that she thought Hillary Clinton would run for President in 2008 but would end up losing. I sure hope she is right. Hillary is right up there with Teresa Heinz Kerry on my list of disliked people. While I consider myself a moderate Republican, it actually has very little to do Clinton's party affliation and more to do with the fact that she is just plain annoying.

We all know people like this. The person may be a friend of a friend or someone you see once a year when you are out to dinner. As soon as you see this person, you think to yourself, "Oh No, there's ___....I can't stand him". Most of the time you don't even have a reason, you just don't like the person. That's how I feel about Hillary. The picture above is also hilarious, so I had to post it.

And now for something completely different. Sorry, I had to throw in an obscure Monty Python reference..those guys were hilarious. Special thanks to Mr and Mrs Hickman and the Quig for their warm hospitality last night. It was nice to see the new castle of Gunther (quite literally..the place is HUGE) and we hope to be invited back to the next party.

Summer Heat Already?

It looks like winter ended and went right into summer here at the Margarita Lounge. Today its a nice humid 87 degree South Florida day and this weekend is going to be around 90 both days. Fortunately, the markets are closed today, so I get an extra day this weekend. Unfortunately, the slavedrivers at Cheryl's employer (who will remain nameless here) have her working. I've actually had a pretty productive morning getting all the yard work done and sweating my ass off(jealous Tracy?). Actually, I really like the hot weather and wish it was hot and humid all year. Sure, it takes some getting used to, but it beats the cold.

It's shaping up as a pretty busy weekend for Cheryl and I. Mrs. Hickman and Cheryl are working out the details so we can go see the new casa-de-Hickman out in Wellington tonight. Tomorrow night we have Scott and Robin coming over for steaks, and Sunday is Easter dinner at the Original Margarita Lounge (see archives if you are unfamiliar with the terminology or drank too much last night and forgot). There is going to be hardly any time for me to watch hoops this weekend!!

Something to Remember

I was surfing the internet tonight looking for something to add to the blog when I came across this picture. Needless to say, it stopped me in my tracks. It is a picture taken on Monday of a family in Bangladesh after a tropical storm destroyed most of their village. It reminds me of a trip I took when I was in high school to Southeast Asia. During that trip, I was able to go through a small, impoverished fishing villiage in Malaysia. The things I saw on that trip were things I could never read about in a book or understand until I saw them myself. I will never be able to thank my parents enough for the education.

Looking at this picture took me back to that fishing villiage and made me realize how lucky I am to have what I have. In this country we worry about things like buying new cars or having nice clothes..these people worry about simply surviving another day. We worry about making more money....they wish they had money. We have people with eating disorders...they go hungry.

My father always told me to be thankful for what I have. I guess that many of us (me included) forget this from time to time as we drift through our "daily grind". Occasionally we all need to take a step back and remember what is really important. Just something to ponder the next time you want to complain about something.....