Month: June 2008

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Annoyances Blogging Driving Food Humor Internet Money Music News People Television Travel Weather

Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts

It’s the most anticipated blog entry of the week. This is how we roll on a Tuesday night in Homestead Florida !

1.  George Carlin died over the weekend at the age of 71. While I didn’t agree with virtually all of his political viewpoints (as he identified them in public) he was still one of the greatest and funniest comedians in American history as far as I’m concerned. I will miss his LIVE HBO specials every few years.

2.  I ate Chinese Food for Lunch today. I picked it up from Shanghai & Tokyo in Homestead’s Waterstone Plaza. I’m a semi-regular there. They usually give me two fortune cookies to go along with my ‘Lunch Special’. Later tonight I’ll have your special ‘double feature’ edition of ‘The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club’. Don’t miss it !

3.  Earlier today I went to annualcreditreport.com and I printed out three full and complete credit reports for me from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. annualcreditreport.com is the only site that is legally able to give you free copies of your credit report from all three of those credit bureau sites. I did all of this in less than 45 minutes this morning, and I got over 30 pages of important credit information spanning virtually my entire adult life.

4.  I thrive in a hot and humid environment (such as Homestead). I could not live happily ever after in a cold and dry environment – or a hot and dry environment for that matter. It’s hotter in San Antonio (where I’ll be next week) than it is here in Homestead, but it’s less humid over there than it is over here. I’d rather have the extra humidity rather than the higher temperatures.

5.  I’ve become a semi-regular of the new Starbucks in Homestead. The people that work there are now starting to recognize me and my car. So far I have received consistent great service from them – inside as well as via their drive-thru. Let’s hope that it stays that way.

6.  The following 5 things kept me preoccupied for 7 hours yesterday at my Saturn dealership in Cutler Bay:
a.  My iPod Shuffle
b.  The latest edition of ‘Entertainment Weekly‘ (magazine)
c.  The Miami Herald (newspaper)
d.  TV Guide Crosswords & Sudokus
e.  Life Pointe Church follow-up spreadsheet (printed out)

7.  Some people have a chronic addiction to their cell phone. They just can’t stop calling people all over the free nation and sharing their private lives in public via their loud cell phone conversations. No wonder identity theft exists. Remember the good old days when telephone conversations were done in private inside the home ?

8.  Homestead Trivia – How many miles apart are Speedway Boulevard (SW 137TH Avenue) and Krome Avenue (SW 177TH Avenue) ?  The answer – exactly 4.0 miles. In Miami-Dade County each numbered avenue is exactly 0.1 miles apart to the grid. 40 avenues apart = 4.0 miles. It’s that simple my friends !

9.  Me, My Brother, His Wife, & Fuddruckers – That’s the plan for Lunch as soon as I touch down in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex this Saturday. After that we will all go and play a round of minature golf. I totally dig that plan !

10.  Next week your ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ will come to you LIVE from the River Walk in San Antonio. I’m also planning at least a couple of special editions of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. You’re not gonna wanna miss it my friends.

Categories
Blogging Driving Food God Internet

Blatant Promotion

WELCOME to a fresh new week here on the big blog. TODAY – Monday June 23RD 2008 – turned out to be the busiest Monday in the history of this blog. You crazy cats shattered the previous Monday record (set back in April) by a mind-boggling 28.7%, and you did that without me. I didn’t even touch my blog until after the day had officially ended (at 8 PM EDT / 12 AM UTC).

Last week we enjoyed our busiest Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday EVER, and it was also our busiest (Monday to Sunday) week EVER by a whopping 15.5%. Keep on doing your thing on here – reading and commenting. It’s all part of the overall concept of blogging. You are all bloggers, and together we are keeping in touch with each other when we can’t be right next to each other physically. It’s like a ministry of fellowship on here. This is how we take our faith public via modern electronic means in the 21ST Century.

I was at my Saturn dealership in Cutler Bay for nearly 7 hours today waiting on my car as it was getting nearly $1,100 worth of repair work done. Luckily I didn’t pay that much (because there were exactly 3 days remaining with the original 5-year extended warranty for the car). During those 7 hours I scribbled down a few rough notes in preparation for tomorrow’s ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. It’s the most spontaneous blog entry of the entire week, and you’re not gonna believe some of my thoughts tomorrow. It’s what everyone will be talking about around the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday on Wednesday. Don’t you dare miss it. You won’t regret it pal.

Later this week you may not want to use your cell phone ever again once you see the most SHOCKING ‘Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame’ to date !  This is the one that could really frighten you to bits and make you tremble in fear, or it could all be an Internet HOAX !  You decide – Thursday night.

So that’s what I’ve got for you tonight – an obvious ‘Blatant Promotion’ of this blog and all of you who are an important part of it. Without you this wouldn’t be. I’ll catch you all back here tomorrow – same time – same channel. Have a great evening everyone !  Good Night Friends. Good Night Gricelda.

Categories
Blogging God

Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

1.  Anne J. was the first to arrive at the movie theatre this morning, and she greeted me with open arms once I arrived. Actually she greeted me and told me to open my arms so that she could put stuff on them that came out of her car. Anne’s car is a ‘Mobile Life Pointe Church On Wheels’ at 7 AM every Sunday morning. I’M SAYIN’ !

2.  Richie Nieves and Mark Martinez (in his final LPC appearance) put up Pastor Paul‘s Information Booth this morning. It only took them about an hour and 15 minutes to do so. Pastor Paul can usually do it blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back in about 15 minutes or less. OK I’m exaggerating here, but the point that I’m trying to make is that only Pastor Paul can put that thing up and make it look great within a minimal period of time. That’s why everyone refers to it as ‘Pastor Paul’s Information Booth’.

3.  Pastor Travis took a well-deserved break this week to allow Pastor Paul to lead this week’s message. As part of our extended ‘Got Funk ?’ message series Paul spoke on ‘The Funk In Death’. I don’t have any of my notes from this morning’s service because of what happened this afternoon following the services. Pastor Travis and Pastor Paul are expected to post their ‘Sunday Wrap-Up’ and ‘Sunday Stew’ respectively. Additionally Marcela is substituting for the working LL Phil J, and she admitted that there could be trouble if she doesn’t follow through with her promise to post the ‘Sunday Talk Soup’. Look for those synopses to appear at a blog near you later tonight or early tomorrow.

4.  At 12:15 this afternoon I went out to my car in the movie theatre’s parking lot, and it would not start. The battery was low, and it wouldn’t crank. ‘Service Vehicle’ appeared on the computerized display on the dashboard. I ended up riding with Paul and Nathan in the ‘Hollifieldmobile’ over to the LPC offices, and then we picked-up the rest of the Hollifields and ventured east over to Homestead Bayfront Park.

5.  If you’re looking for a down-and-dirty scandalous report from the beach regarding our baptisms then prepare to be disappointed my friend. Everything went fine and dandy at the beach. One of the lifeguards that was a huge part of the April 13TH melee even came over to us and very politely asked us to move slightly over to the left-hand side of the beach area so as to not block the front side of one of the lifeguard stands. We did so, and then we proceeded. About a dozen new believers went public with their new faith in God. We had an audience in excess of 100 including virtually every other soul that was in the water looking on from beyond. It was a beautiful picture and a beautiful event on a beautiful day at the beach. God was smiling down at us, and the devil was running away from the scene of the crime as fast as he possibly could without even looking back.

6.  I won’t be at Life Pointe Church next Sunday morning. In fact I won’t even be in Homestead or Florida. I’ll be on vacation elsewhere. Be sure to check out the previously identified blogs for the happenings of next Sunday morning. I’ll be back with your next exciting edition of the ‘Tossed Salad’ on Sunday July 06TH. I’ll see you cats then !

Categories
Commerce Shopping

Homestead Pavilion

Here’s what’s definitely going in to Phase 1 of the nearly 400,000 square foot shopping and entertainment complex that is currently being built north of Campbell Drive at Florida’s Turnpike in Homestead:

Circuit City
Kohl’s
Mattress Giant
Michaels
Ross
Sports Authority
Staples

Negotiations are currently ongoing for the following businesses:

LongHorn Steakhouse
Olive Garden
Petco

Most of these businesses plan to have their grand openings during the month of October 2008 (weather-permitting). A few of these businesses (such as Ross) will delay their eventual opening until the early portion of 2009.