Update Season X - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Vol. I."

[Mr. Morden]

Do you like to put fish sticks in your mouth?

They weren't the best, but when you're a little short on time, you'll take whatever is closest and most convenient.

It seems like you're "short on time" practically every night, even when you're watching ~4 hours of TV.

[Mr. Morden]

How many fast food runs will there be since Mom and Dad won't be cooking for you this weekend?

Good question.  With his parents gone, this weekend would be the perfect time for him to try cooking something on his own.  But I'm guessing that watching football on TV all day will take a higher priority.

[Mr. Morden]

So, while I watch TV, I've got to call Grandma every now and then as well as feed JJ, keep her water fresh, and clean up her stools.

1) How much TV do you plan to watch this weekend?
2) Have you considered cutting back on the TV watching at all?

[Mr. Morden]

1) 5 hours on Thursday + 12 hours on Friday + 16 hours on Saturday + 15 hours on Sunday + 4 hours Monday for a grand total of 52 hours.  All football related, both college and pro.
2) The obvious answer, as you can see, is no.  I do not feel bad about it, either.

Wow, that's even more TV watching than I thought you'd admit to.  Bushie, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about it.  I just think you should consider whether there might be other, more interesting, things to spend some time on.  Not that you have to cut it back to zero, but good grief.  Is it really that entertaining to watch every single one of those games from beginning to end?  I can't watch any sport for that kind of length of time without getting bored.

[Mr. Morden]

That amount of TV watching on an Autumn weekend is only a little more than typical of a football fan who follows both college and pro.  It's not nearly as much as it might seem.

I think the vast majority of football fans I know in the US watch their own team's game plus maybe a primetime game that evening.  I don't know anyone who watches all day on both Saturday and Sunday, but then maybe my social circle is atypical.  (Or maybe there's a selection effect.  People who never leave the house on the weekend are unlikely to make as many friends, and thus I'm not friends with them.  )

Heck, Bushie isn't even just watching the games, but also the pregame coverage, isn't he?  I mean, how else do you get up to 15 hours on Sunday?  For the NFL, there are the 1pm and 4pm games, and then SNF.  That doesn't get you up to 15 hours.  Are there any college football games on Sunday as well?

[Mr. Morden]

Well, you could burn off some of those calories by cutting back ever so slightly on your weekend-long TV marathon, and doing a little exercise!

Oh wait, never mind.  I forgot who I was talking to.

[Mr. Morden]

Seems appropriate to post this here:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-bids-tearful-farewell-to-family-as-nfl-se,33754/

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie how many heart attacks have you had?

Officially none.  What I think may have been heart attacks, two.

As long as you avoid the hospital, it isn't official!  A great strategy for eliminating heart attacks. 

[Mr. Morden]

At a 35% chance of death in his 30 years after purchasing a 30-term life insurance policy, if you ignore inflation and potential gains from investment (the former assumption is faulty but the latter is not, considering who we're talking about), he should actually be willing to pay anything under $194/month for a $200,000 policy.

Ah, but I bet in Bushie's estimation, a large fraction of that 35% comes from the possibility that the End Times come within the next 30 years, in which case the insurance company would cease to exist, and not be able to pay anything out to his parents.

[Mr. Morden]

Also, it's not like babysitting, revamping the church's website, and going to children's birthday parties are fixed responsibilities that you can't get out of.  There's nothing to stop you from taking a part time job, and then working the rest of your social life (and TV watching) around that.

[Mr. Morden]

Mind you, whatever you say is meaningless, but I want to hear it anyway.

Why do you want to hear something meaningless?

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You admit that you're doing wrong things all the time!  People ask you questions like "Why haven't you walked at all in the last two weeks, even though you've had plenty of time to watch television?"  And you give answers like "There's no good excuse.  I've just been lazy.  But I'm working on it!"  Then when people call you on other things, you answer "What I'm doing isn't really wrong.  It's just different" without actually grappling with any of their arguments.

Let me ask you something Bushie.  Approx. how many hours a week do you spend on CAD, both in the classroom and on your own at home?  Because it seems like you should be able to find some time for a part time job, but I'm curious.

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, again, approx. how many hours a week do you spend on CAD, either inside or outside the classroom?

[Mr. Morden]

I'm sure Harry can attest to this, but living in the south is much better than living in the frozen north.

I don't agree with that, but I admit that I'd change my mind if one inch of snow on the ground was enough to deter me from driving.

[Mr. Morden]

I'm sure Harry can attest to this, but living in the south is much better than living in the frozen north.

I don't agree with that, but I admit that I'd change my mind if one inch of snow on the ground was enough to deter me from driving.

We got almost an inch about a year ago and my work called us all and told us not to come in.  It's really dangerous to drive in even a little bit of snow if you've never done it and don't know how.

I could handle driving in a little bit of snow, but I certainly don't trust the masses to do so without hitting me, so on the rare snow days, I definitely stay at home.

Right, but that's not actually what I'm talking about.  I was alluding to the fact that Bushie himself seemed to have something close to a nervous breakdown when faced with the prospect of driving in snow when he lived in SLC.  And so, for him, sure, his preference for living in the South rather than the North makes sense.  But for me, that's not an issue, since I'm fine with driving in the snow.  (Not that I live in the USA at all anymore.  I was just expressing my preference for when I was living there.)

[Mr. Morden]

See you all at lunch!

How are you going to see us?

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, I think you owe it to Atlas to PM every single one of us an invitation to your wedding, whenever such a wedding might occur.  I mean, where would you be with your love life if it wasn't for us?

[Mr. Morden]

Anyway, this is the conversation that introduced Felix and Mercy and most of the Kenya story.  I found out she wants to sponsor an Ethiopian boy and adopt a Thai baby (hopefully not one of Opie's!).

Wait, what?  Too many pronouns here, and I get lost.  You're saying that in your conversation with Allison tonight, you mentioned your sponsor kids, and she mentioned that she wants to sponsor an Ethiopian boy and adopt(!) a Thai baby?  Was this convsersation over Facebook IM, or over the phone?

[Mr. Morden]

I will off Facebook and off the forum during that time, so you will have to wait until late that evening before I tell you how it went.

Don't verbiate adjectives.  Unless you're trying to talk like a hit man.

Also, I'm still curious about this apparent desire by Allison to "adopt a Thai baby".  Do you mean adopt as a financial sponsor, or literally adopt, and become its legal guardian?  She's planning to do this while single?!?

[Mr. Morden]

Funny you say that, because her birthday is in November. (I won't disclose actual date because you know her age), so while I focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have a birthday to plan, as well.

Good thing you haven't told anyone here your real name, haven't told us Allison's name, haven't made your Facebook friends list public, and haven't checked to see if Allison lists her birthday publicly on her Facebook profile for the whole world to see.  Good thing you haven't done any of those things, because otherwise it would be pretty easy to figure out her birthday.

[Mr. Morden]

I assume she means legally adopt because she used the qualifier "If I can't have children."  Plus, combine that with the phrase "sponsor a kid from Ethiopia", Its safe to assume she means legally adopt.  I'm curious how she plans on doing that.  She would likely need a husband, like I need a wife for my two Kenya kids.  We'll see.

Bushie + Allison get married, and they have a blended family with adopted Kenyan kids and an adopted Thai baby.  I see a great premise for a sitcom.

[Mr. Morden]

Also, can she can she not have children?

I don't know if she has the ability or not.  I felt it was a little too soon to ask...

Sounds like a great question for a first date.

[Mr. Morden]

Are there any non-chain restaurants in Oklahoma?

Absolutely.  They are mostly diners...

Of course.

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, since your first date will be at Applebee's, I think you'll need to step it up for the second date, and go to IHOP:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=109091.msg2332294#msg2332294

[Mr. Morden]

He really is going to to get engaged before Halloween. Then we just have to wait for the other shoe to drop.

Who knows?  If she's not bipolar, but is simply immature and reckless like Bushie, then it's *possible* that the engagement won't fall apart, and that they will actually get married.  If not with Allison in particular, then maybe with someone else at some point down the line.

Of course, there would inevitably be problems at some point along the way, even if they do crop up after the wedding.

[Mr. Morden]

First thing I want to do on Date 3 is meet her parents and get her father's blessing to start getting serious.

Lol, you haven't even met her in person yet.

I might have missed this, but in all of this planning, have you actually been talking on the phone, or did you just FB instant message, as you were doing early on?