Flotsam & Jetsom

Back in September whilst shopping for a gift for my mommy, the Mrs. Koko accompanied me and we perused some wedding bands. You see, hers had sad date with Mr. Garbage Disposal a couple of years ago and mine became too uncomfortable to wear as I wear all my beer weight in my fingers. So while we both got sized (in a place recommended by DarkWings, thank you), I passed a discrete word to the salesgirl to pull some 1/4 karat solitaires. Whys so small, you ask? Cuz that's what Mrs. Koko has before she bent the prong and lost her diamond and I don't know WHAT ever happened to the ring! Plus, frankly money is not flying out my cornhole so we gotta be a bit practical (and if I can seal that in a romantic "how it used to be" wrapper, all the better). Bit of an ordeal navigating RT to get to the jeweler during lunch break...somehow was able to keep it to myself...finally I totally surprised her with the ring on the 20th anniversary of our first "date". Yes, she was quite smitten all over again.
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Major hailstorm a couple of weeks ago. Man, the hailstones were easily about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter and it lasted for about 10-15 minutes. The rain continued to downpour for another half hour after that. I went out in it just to experience it (and to look for one of the two stray cats we've semi-adopted). Man, I got soaked but I love to experience the fullness of what Nature can bring.
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Was called upon for a couple of solos for church choir 'cause the teen girls weren't paying attention and Chris, the leader, was getting a bit frustrated with them. I did okay. Got a nice compliment on my Psalm bit. We do it to very AME-style gospel (damn but I wish I was born a black woman sometimes) which I love and even added a little "Mmmmm-mmmmmm" between the lyrics. Got a nice compliment for it afterwards.
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My daughter's soccer team WON! I coached many of these girls two years ago--turns out both them and I too last year off--and we went 0-10 then. So this was our first victory of this year AND before. Now, if I could just get my assistant coach to shut up during the game. He is so damn negative, especially with his own daughter. They've got enough pressure out there, dammit, they don't need to hear complaints and whining from their coaches during the damn game. They're only nine and ten years old!

One of the new girls (new to me anyway) asked if I was going to coach next year so that she could ask for me specifically. That really was sweet.
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Y'know...there was something else...something I've been meaning to share for a couple of days now...but I just can't think of it. Damn!
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Couldn't order the tickets ahead because Koko has absolutely NO credit whatsoever. Couldn't get to the box office because they're only open during my work hours Monday through Friday. And I told this to my oldest daughter, a fifteen year old who is borderline GATE qualified but lacks the common sense God gave a goat. At 6:10pm tonight as I come through the door after over an hour's commute home, the rest of the family is at the table, halfway through their dinner. My daughter asks me about the tickets. I explain that, as I told her I was unable to get them. She asks me when the concert is and I tell her it is scheduled to start in about an hour. Bit of panic and last minute prep and we're out the door about 20 minutes later.

We hope to be able to by tix at the door...I explain that this may not be possible. Furthermore, I explain that while I know the name of the venue and that it is on the UCDavis campus, I do not know exactly how to get from the freeway to the concert hall. We pick up her boyfriend (he is begining to wear on me not because he is her boyfriend but because he is her first boyfriend and has been her boyfriend for many months now--it is time to move on!) and after a few last minute words with his stepmom (that dad and stepmom are cool, the mom is flake-a-zoid supreme) we're off. Long story short: the concert is sold out. Oh, why such the hue and cry for this concert? It was the "Nintendo Fusion" concert and Sonic Youth were supposedly going to perform music from Nintendo games. THIS is what my gamer daughter was all hyped up about. On the way there, her and her BF were discussing Final Fantasy characters and comparing the various incarnations post FF7 and how they stacked up. I mean they were even critiquing the costuming and the depth of the NPC (which I take to mean "non-primary characters"). These are real gamer geeks. But you know what? They applying legitimate critique and analysis to their world; as a former Star Trek geek, I gotta respect that.
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I know there was something else...something I wanted to relate...oh well...maybe later.