Tuesday Morning . . .

One the things listed in the disclosures for the condo was that the property was next to an active train track.

On one of my many visits to the sales office I inquired about the train track and just how "active" was "active"?

My sales agent said that she only saw the track being used on Tuesdays at noon.

That didn't bother me because I like trains and I would most likely be at work on Tuesdays.

So being on vacation this week I was checking email when I heard a train whistle.   I looked at the clock and it was NOON ON TUESDAY!  

I ran out of my unit to the common area that overlooks the street and sure enough there was a locomotive parked outside!

Cool!

The Song Of The Day - Tuesday Morning by Michelle Branch

So This Is Christmas . . .

So this was Christmas, by the little tree I scored Dec 22nd for half off.   It may not look like much, but for $10 I am not going to complain.

Christmas morning my parents and I headed off to the only mass being said on Christmas day; the 9am bilingual service.  And just as I was welcomed into the community a few weeks earlier,  the parish clapped for all those visiting the church that day (insert my parents here.)

The bilingual mass had a little Tejano flair where Jingle Bells made a surprise visit during the most sacred part of the mass.

After mass we returned home for breakfast, presents, and of course the cooking of the next meal; dinner.

 

As this was the first time I (meaning my Mom) had used the oven, shortly after the first casserole was placed inside the oven we set off all the smoke detectors in the unit because the "new" oven smell started burning itself off.  Windows were cracked and fan vents turned on and all order was shortly restored.

 

Here's Mom and I getting our "cook" on.

And dinner is served!  Turkey, Corn Casserole, Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, and Gravy - YUM!

(And yes, every plate is a different color on purpose.)


The Song Of The Day - So This Is Christmas (War Is Over)  by John Lennon

You Just Lost One . . .

This is the tale of the modern day Christmas Miracle.

On Christmas Eve my parents and I returned home after a long day of shopping.

Mom was boiling water on the stove for pasta and super excited to try the "Power Boil" feature on the range top.

Dad was sipping Dewar's White Label Scotch on the couch and I said I was going to run downstairs and get the mail.

On my way back into the building I spied a brand new unwrapped iPad 3G sitting on the staircase outside.

There was no tag on the iPad.

Oh Santa, you do exist and you brought me another better iPad than the one I already have.   You left it here on the staircase for me to find.  I knew you were real!

Then I snapped back to reality.   Sort of.

At first I was going to bring the iPad inside because I figured someone had accidentally left it outside.

Then I thought that maybe one of my neighbors who was having a gathering that night had purposely put the iPad on the staircase and it was part of an elaborate gift scavenger hunt.

Yes, that was definitely it, if I took the iPad inside it would ruin the whole Christmas Eve scavenger hunt for everyone.

I couldn't free my mind of the iPad.  So every few hours I would go back and check if it was still there.

Nightfall came and the party guests were leaving one by one and the iPad still sat on the stair case.  Now I figured that the party was so good that the guests must have had too much to drink and had totally forgotten to open the gifts which included the iPad.

I went to bed.  (I am not going to lie, when I woke up at 1am I checked on the iPad again.)

First thing in the morning I went downstairs; saw that the iPad was still there and grabbed it.

I placed a note in the parking garage that said "If you lost an unwrapped Christmas gift with a bow on top, I found it outside on Christmas Eve.   Call me."

The hours ticked by Christmas day and the phone never rang.

By 9pm I was pretty sure I had just inherited an iPad 3G.

Then I looked over at my phone and saw one missed call from a number I did not recognize.

I listened to the voice mail and it was a gentleman who was hoping that the gift I found was an iPad.

I called him back and told him that it indeed was an iPad and that he could come over and pick it up.

So a little more than 24 hours after iPad 3G entered my life it was gone!  Gone that is to make someone else's Christmas just a little bit better!

The Song Of The Day - Lost Ones by Lauryn Hill

Happy Holidays . . .

May the Spirit of the Season be with you and your family during this Special time of year!

Merry Christmas from Just Jon!

The Song Of The Day - (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag by Kay Starr

He Calls Us Each By Name . . .

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Church is not a building; it is people."?

Well I think I have found this to be true of the church in my new neighborhood.

I have never experienced a Catholic church as welcoming as the one in this community.

My first experience at St. Paul of the Shipwreck was several months before I moved into the neighborhood when I was still "checking" things out. I stopped by to see if it was a Catholic church and to see what the mass schedule was.

Out front I met a man sweeping the sidewalk. I introduced myself and he offered to open up the church so that I could see inside and pray if I wanted to.

I was pleasantly surprised by the multicultural representation of Jesus hanging above the altar.  It beautifully represents the community at large.

As i was leaving the man said that he hoped to see me again.

Two months later I attended my first service.

I was 30 minutes late because I forgot what time mass started.

At the Sign Of Peace the entire community stepped out into the aisles and shook hands, hugged, and kissed.

The man whom I had met a couple months back was coming down the aisle and he beamed with delight when his eyes landed on me.

One women held my hand and said, "It's your first time isn't it?"

I said, "Yes, it is."

She replied with warmth, "Well, welcome!"

At the end of mass the priest asked if there were any birthdays being celebrated.  When no one responded he started the closing prayer.  A woman yelled out, "Father, we have someone new with us," as she turned and pointed at me.

The priest stopped the closing prayer and asked me to introduce myself to the congregation.

When I said I had just moved to the neighborhood they all smiled.

Last week I missed mass because I was not feeling well.

This week at the Sign Of Peace the priest grabbed my hand and said, "Peace be with you Jon."

Now I have a terrible time remembering people's names, yet after only meeting me once he was able to address me by my name.  I was impressed.

I was impressed that is until after mass when I was leaving the Priest saw me and said, "We haven't seen you in a couple weeks.  Nice to have you back."

"Oh Jesus!" I said in my head.

Out loud I said, "Oh yes, I wasn't feeling well last week, so I missed mass."

Really!  I only missed one week and I was sick.

I guess I won't be able to miss mass anymore or the Catholic guilt will really get to me since the priest will notice that I am not there.

The Song Of The Day - He Calls Us Each By Name by Santa Sophia Catholic Church

Eat More Cake . . .

It has been brought to my sweet tooth's attention that Jack In The Box has updated its dessert menu to now include the "Chocolate Overload Cake."

This means I need to update Jack In The Box's standing on the Just Jon Fast Food Dessert Ranking chart.

As previously reviewed in April 2009, the Double Fudge Cake that used to be on Jack In The Box's menu paled in comparison to the Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese frosting from Carl's Jr.  What I failed to include on that blog review was the Chocolate Bundt Cake from Quiznos.

In order from best to worst they would have been:

1.  Carl's Jr.
2.  Quiznos
3.  Jack In The Box

However, now that Jack In The Box has introduced the Chocolate Overload Cake, they have risen in rank.  They are now tied for second with Quiznos.

The two cakes are very similar.  In fact they may be the exact same thing.   The only difference in the cakes is that Jack In The Box's appears more moist.  This might be because I don't think it came straight from the freezer like the Quiznos cake (allegedly).

Congratulations on elevating your game Jack In The Box!

The Song Of The Day - Kandi (Eat More Cake Mix) by One Eskimo

Long Time Coming . . .

I'm Back!

It's been a long time coming Loyal Readers!

In fact it has been so long since I have written a real blog post, I am a little nervous.

But after 26 days of battling with AT&T, I finally have my Internet connection!  WOO HOO!

In all seriousness, you never realize how much you use the Internet for EVERYTHING until you don't have access to it.

The whole moving process is stressful, and when the first answer to every question is, "Please refer to our website for additional information..."  my response was, "I can't!"  Then, the challenge of trying talk to a live person at any business is like finding a needle in a hay stack.  Good luck!

But we are out of the woods and on to bigger and better things!

Like LAUNDRY!

In the twelve years that I have lived on my own I have used public laundry mats.  I never felt that my clothing smelled as fresh and clean as when my Mom did my laundry for me.

But now that I have my own washer and dryer, my clothes came out smelling just like when Mom does it!  Woo Hoo again!

And the other night, I used my dishwasher for the first time.  Believe it or not, I had never used a dishwasher before.

All in all I am having lots of "first" experiences and it is exciting.

So here is a little of what has been going on the last four months...

The Song Of The Day - Long Time Coming by The Delays

Shine . . .

This is The Sequin Jacket. It has consumed my life for the last three weeks.

That makes it blog worthy.

P.S. I still don't have Internet service at home thanks to my friends at AT&T. Please forward all complaints about missing Just Jon to AT&T.

The Song Of The Day - Shine by Cyndi Lauper

Under Pressure . . .

New TV Haiku

Stopped into Best Buy
With no intention to buy
Sir, "Sale" ends tonight

The Song Of The Day - Under Pressure By Boys II Men

Train . . .

Muni Haiku

Identify line
J K L M N and T
Last to transport me

The Song Of The Day - Right Track Wrong Train by Cyndi Lauper

Wash . . .

Naive Laundry Haiku

Standing And Staring
At My New Washing Machine
Where Do Quarters Go

The Song Of The Day - Come Clean by Hilary Duff