Fish Fry Weekend

This weekend went by in a blur. It seemed like I had something planned for every single second. Fiday night a guy I work with wanted to go to the casino. We aren't addicted to gambling and luckily both of us have our heads on straight so we only take a little money and leave our debit cards at home. There are always a million things going on at the casino anyway. There are live bands that play cover songs (not bad) and people watching is one of my favorite things to do too. I didn't have any luck (not surprising) and he won a little bit. We decided to sit in the bar area and watch the end of the Kansas vs South Florida football game.

Now for the people in the casino. I hate to say it, but you can tell who are able to go to the casino and lose money and those people who are wasting their lives and money in the casino day after day in hopes of winning big. It's sad to me. Since I work at a bank I see that many of the people I speak to get social security checks. Then I see large ATM withdrawals. When they can't remember where the ATM withdrawals are I have to look up the addresses for them and 9 times out of 10 it is at a casino. I once saw a lady at the casino with an oxygen tank. I thought it was sad that she had to be around all of the smoke until I saw her light one up. I wondered if she knew how flammable oxygen was.

I don't really like to be noticed, especially at the casino. The people who sit by you are always looking over your shoulder when they hear the pleasant sounds of 75 cents being won thinking you are gonna hit it big and how they should have sat one seat to the right. I want to say that over 80 percent of the people in the casinos are giving dirty looks to everyone. They should be putting there money in a savings account or doing something more productive with their lives. Of course, I would tell them that and then they would win mutiple millions on their next spin.

Saturday, I wanted to get up early and go fishing before it rained. I went to a pond owned by a sweet lady I work with. I didn't have much luck the last time I went so I stopped by and got some minnows. I got out there a little later than I wanted but it was cloudy so I thought I would definitely catch some fish. I caught a tiny crappie and threw him back in. I wasn't having any luck so I moved to a different spot. Needless to say, I didn't catch anything else before it started pouring down rain. I sat on a bench under this little covered patio they have until it was barely sprinkling and made the 1/4 mile trek back to my car.

I drove to Shawnee to meet up with my family and some of their friends at a fish fry that they have every year. It was a pretty good time. I wasn't feeling very well so I was quiet most of the time. I am actually not that quiet when I know everyone but there were some people there I didn't know very well. We had fish, okra, hush puppies, quail, hashbrown casserole (thanks, mom!), and some other stuff. Of course I ate more than I should have but it was worth it.

Around 6:00, I told everyone goodbye and drove back to Norman to watch the OU game at a friend's house. I decided that I looked and smelled like a vagrant so I went home and took a shower real quick. When I showed up at my friend Teresa's house everyone turned and yelled out "Bri" when I walked in the door. I like these people because they always make me feel like I am accepted, and they are a lot of fun. They scream at the tv and give high fives. Right after I walked in OU fumbled and everyone thought they lost possession. All 12 of them turned and looked at me and told me to get out and that I was bad luck. They were kidding and luckily Washington was offsides so OU didn't really lose the ball... I stayed over there for a while and then came home to go to sleep. I was so exhausted. I turned on the tv and fell asleep on the couch before my movie even got through the opening credits.

I woke up earlier than I wanted to on Sunday. I stood up and made a bowl of cereal. I haven't found a church that I like yet in Norman so I like to get up and read my Bible on Sunday mornings when I don't go and think about what my grandpa would preach about certain things. I fell asleep again on and off throughout the day while watching football. Somewhere in there I ate a couple of tuna salad sadnwiches and did some laundry. Sunday was a lazy day but I had better get off here and finish cleaning up my house.

B

I Heart Wild Animals...

My Mini Wildlife Adventure

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Tiger Safari in Tuttle, OK to check out the wild creatures which inhabit it. I have always loved animals. They are like tiny furry people who can't speak human languages. One of the coolest things about the zoo or any place that keeps and takes care of wildlife is that most of these animals are from other parts of the world that we may never have the opportunity to visit. Most of the animals out there are or have been pets. Can you imagine having a pet cougar??? That's what I am talking about. Too bad they tend to go Sigfried and Roy on you or I would have a pet Tiger in a heart beat. I wish they could make a teacup tiger like the little hand held poodles.

White Fallow Deer - They really, REALLY like graham crackers.

A Ring-Tailed Lemur & baby Ring-tail who wouldn't leave his stuffed
animal behind.

Little American Alligator

A baby Fennec Fox... I love him... I want one... but I couldn't watch tv very loud. :(

Ahh, yes. The Bengal Tiger. Kid love's the chicken wings... medium raw.

Possibly my favorite animal, the white Bengal Tiger. They are inbred
and have large potential to be cross-eyed.

A Golden Tabby Tiger. About half his potential size. Loves water. Check out them fangs!

Cougar, or, Mountain Lion, or, Puma, or Panther...
There's like 200 names for this guy.

A Serval. Only cat with stripes and spots.





And then there is the most fearsome creature of all... The dreaded LARGE Mouth Bass... AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Just Kidding. I actually caught this little guy on a lure last weekend. I wish i could say that this was God's giant hand holding the biggest bass ever seen, but alas... it is my hand and this was barely bigger than a minnow. :)

Fishing

My one goal this Memorial Day weekend was to catch up on sleep and to get up early and go fishing. I suppose I accomplished both of these things. I definitely caught up on my sleep. I went fishing on two separate occasions. The first time was in the evening on Saturday night. I had the opportunity to hang out with my dad. I don't think I have ever been fishing with my dad and not caught a fish. It's the weirdest thing. He taught me everything I know about fishing: how to re-string a reel, how to tie the perfect unbreakable knot, how to hold them after you catch them so they won't make you bleed your own blood, etc.

Along with these necessities I also learned that fishing isn't just about catching fish. There are days when I have been able to cast within an inch of a fallen tree (The perfect cast) and not caught anything. Then there have been times when I accidentally cast behind my head and I caught one of the biggest fish in my life. That's what great about it. It isn't supposed to be a mentally tormenting and stressful activity. It's a peaceful time when you can let all of your troubles slide away, feel the sun on your neck, the slight breeze blow through your hair, and just relax. I'm not saying that it isn't frustrating from time to time, but one of the greatest things I learned from watching my dad fish was that I can fish for hours on end without getting a hit and still enjoy it.

I get a little upset from time to time when I fish with people who are only happy when they are "biting". I guess they just don't get it. I got up at 6:00 this morning and headed out to the lake with a couple of friends of mine. I never had a bite. I was just glad that each of them caught a couple of fish. The only thing that frustrated me was when they wanted to leave. I know it isn't their fault, but I had really been looking forward to this weekend of fishing.

I can't wait until the day when I am a father (or an uncle... Kristen) *wink wink* and I can pass on the subtle yet complex mysteries of life that are embedded in the pastime that is fishing.

p.s. My mom has caught a bigger bass than me and my dad, but don't tell anyone I told you. :)

I work at a bank, so for the past few weeks we've had a 300% increase in incoming call volume due to the Economic Stimulus payments being direct deposited into our customers' accounts. We were all so tired of hearing about it, so I decided to write a poem to help lighten the mood in my workplace. Enjoy!

Stimulus Check
by Brian B

We'll all hang nooses 'round our necks
If we hear one more word about Stimulus Checks.
The people in charge came up with great plans
To save the people of our lands.
They raise our hopes and make real our dreams...
At least to me that's how it seems.
The nation calls day after day
And what we get to hear them say
Is "When the 'blank' should I expect
To get my 'blankety blank blank' check?".
We feel their pain, we hear their cries;
We comfort them with simple lies.
We pray to all the stars above
That they will go to IRS.GOV
And see it is not we who measure
Whether or not they receive their treasure.
These past three weeks, Brian admits,
Have absolutely been the pits.
I won't be sorry, not one speck,
Once everyone gets their Stimulus Check.

Night Owl

I've always been a night owl. At least as long as I can remember. I never really thought about it much until a year or so ago. I guess when you get older you start thinking about things differently. I remember when I was little, I had friends who knew that I was scared of monsters and ghosts and stuff because I wasn't really exposed to them. They would shove me in the bathroom at school, turn the light out and chant "Bloody Mary". They would tell me that it wasn't the current in a local lake that caused people to drown, but that it was built on an Indian burial ground and the souls of the angry dead were pulling people under the water to their deaths. My favorite was when my best friend told me not to have any part of my body hanging off the bed at midnight or Freddy Krueger would grab me and pull me to Hell. Ha! Kids can be cruel, but at least I can laugh about it now. I actually think it made me a stronger person in the long run.

Anywho, the fact that I was stiff as a board in the dead center of my bed and couldn't sleep soundly until I knew that it was after midnight may have affected my biological clock to be more alert at night. I am an absolute zombie when I wake up in the morning. I basically have the exact same routine every morning and have learned to do it subconsciously. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but when I do drink it in the early morning it doesn't phase me one bit. Night time is the best time to write in my opinion anyway. The world is still and peaceful, unless it's tornado season. :) I am pretty sure I will be a night owl for the rest of my life.