Viking Dusty's "Blog Classic"

the hybrid

2009-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes individual concepts can be combined to produce something newly, wonderful. Foods have understood this fact for a long time. Coke is good, cherry is good, ooooh cherry coke! Better yet, root beer and vanilla ice cream. Both are great alone, but when they get together... WOW! Both flavors are present, but an entirely new flavor is born. Or bacon added to anything else. Sadly, there are also times where things are combined that end up creating a freak of nature that never was meant to be. The Snuggy for instance. Part blanket, part clothing, completely ridiculous. Or the peanut butter, ranch dressing, bbq sauce oatmeal concoction that i "cooked up" in my bachelor years. When it comes to hairstyles, we all know that if you want to mix business with party you go for a mullet. So what about people? What do you get when mix my sister Kristie with my brother-in-law Chuck. I was expecting... Kruck. Kruck, the first baby to born with a handle bar mustache. I could picture Kruck as a young child out walking her pet rat.

But my perception of what a Kristie-Chuck hybrid would be was a bit off from reality. No doubt Kruck would have had a huge future in the entertainment industry, but the future Carny was not meant to be. Instead they (and i) were blessed with Lilly.

....coming soon, Dethany? Busty? Nope, its Jonathan!

there... ive posted

2009-04-23T18:12:00.001-07:00

There ive posted.

My Temporary Revisiting of Bachelorhood

2006-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, after dropping me off at work (with my bike), Bethany ventured off to her parents house to help out around the house and spend some time with them. I have been on my own ever since. Do not be concerned for me; as is evident by my posting, i have somehow survived on my own. I cannot pretend that there were no moments of peril. On the contrary, when one's bicycle stops working as it was intended to, when one is only half-way-home and one's bowels seem to be celebrating the 4th of July, peril does not seem potent enough of a word to describe my situation. But... here i am. Bike fixed, bowels regular, and probably in better shape then when Bethany headed out.

I assume that the immediate problem that most of you have, no doubt, spotted is that with my wife absent, i am left to make my own "meals". Fortunately, Dominoes delivers. The pizza was able to sustain my ever insatiable appetite for 2 days. Friday evening i was forced to heat up some ramen noodles and frozen vegetables. And much to my good fortune the Cherry family fed me last night. Other than that i have been surviving off of a steady diet of dill pickles and rasberry sherbet.

Now only hours remain till i am again reunited with my beloved spouse and i must finish my writing beacuse it is past lunchtime and i need to go eat some pickles.

at least she's a popular character (and Jack was second!)

2006-05-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

You scored as Chloe O'Brien. You are akward around your co-workers and sometimes say the wrong things to them, in turn they ridicule you for it. But you get the job done when needed and help others even though you might get in trouble for it. You are smart, but weird.

Chloe O'Brien

60%

Jack Bauer

55%

David Palmer

45%

Tony Almieda

40%

Michelle Dessler

40%

Kim Bauer

40%

Sherry Palmer

40%

Which 24 Charcater Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Sorry Dusty but your job is in another castle.

2006-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you too lazy to scroll down and read what has been going on i will sum it up. Job opens up at CCLI. Dusty applies for job. Dusty is told he probably didnt get the job because he has no accounting experience. Well that pretty much brings us to the point where we last left our hero.

2 days ago i finally got ahold of Mark (from CCLI). We had been playing a bit of phone tag. He told me that as i probably had already heard, they had hired someone else, but that i had interviewed really well, it was mearly my lack of accounting experience that had been my downfall. He also said that they would keep me in mind for future openings. To some up: sorry Dusty but your job is in another castle.

No biggy. Oh and speaking of mario, check this out!
Mario Live! on Transbuddha and The Acapella sounds of Nintendo on Transbuddha

So you're tellin' me there's a chance!

2006-04-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here is what you all (or at least a couple of you) have been waiting for... an update on my interview. Why did i leave everyone wallowing in the muck of suspense? You mean other than because that's what a good writer does?

The answer is simple. Though i heard whispers of rumors about the state of my plight, they were simply rumors. I would hate to publish an update on the internet saying one thing, and then in a tragic moment of poor fortune have my prospective employer stumble upon my blog and say, "what is he talking about!?!"

This chilly morning, however, i decided to investigate my chances by calling Mark. He told me that at this point in time they are looking to persue second interviews with a couple of people who have accounting experience (not me). But their is a slim ray of hope. Apparently, (and i was informed that this has happened in the past) if for some reason my competition does not pan out, whether because they are deemed inadequate or because they have withdrawn themselves from the running, then CCLI will be forced to review other possibilities (could be me).

Am i disappointed? A little. But really this is just one marble in the oatmeal of life and if God doesn't want me at CCLI (at this point anyway) then He wants me somewhere else. For now... Walgreens, but the search continues.

Dead Man Walking

2006-04-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous day. Despite the fact that i was on my way to a job interview, i could not help noticing how beautiful it was outside. Knowing that one of the easiest ways to make a possible future employer cringe is to show up tardy to an interview i ended up sitting inside my car in the Burger King parking lot for ten minutes and spending another ten in the CCLI parking lot. Most of that time dissipated while i was attempting to anticipate possible questions that could be asked of me. Moments before i got out of my vehicle the sun disapeared. Although, i am in no way superstitious, i could not help but think that the advent of gloom may be a bad omen. A voice inside my head yelled out, "Dead man walking!" as i strolled up to the front doors. Despite my 20 minutes of loitering in various parking lots i was still about eight minutes early. After announcing my presence to the receptionest, i was informed that, Mark, my prospective employer was still in a meeting. Putting on a false front of bravery, i made my way over to one of the empty chairs in the entryway, sat down, and in an attempt to calm my nerves picked up a National Geographic and flipped through it. Twenty minutes and one article covering the swarming influx of people into the suburbs later, my interview began.

I think i babbled a lot. But i think i was able to answer his questions somewhat thouroughly if not succinctly. The discouraging points of the interview were two-fold. The first was a sudden, unexpected inquiry by Mark about the multiplication of the numeral 20 with the numeral 12. Blind-sided by the unexpected question, i stuttered for a few seconds before blurting out an answer which, though i presently dont recall, i believe to have been incorrect. The second point of discouragement came when Mark announced that there would be a basic accounting test. At first i wasn't overly alarmed because i tend to test well and if only the test contained math problems of a sort, i thought i might have a shot at logically deducing the answers. Unfortunately for myself, the nearest resemblance to a math problem was the line where i was supposed to put the date. Most of it was defining accounting terms and identifying types of accounts. A voice in my head, i believe it was the same voice that yelled, "dead man walking!" broke into a fit of laughter. Not surprisingly i felt no pressure. Pressure can only be felt in stressful situations when the person in the situation feels they have a chance to come out of the situation for the better. I was under no such delusion. So, i did the only sensible thing i could do. I made up a bunch of stuff and wrote it down. When Mark returned to pick up the test, i handed it to him and confessed that if i got a single answer correct on that test, it was by no skill or knowledge of mine, but if i made it to a second interview i would make sure i knew all the answers. On that note, i left. The sun was still hidden when i began my journey home.

My Window Results

2006-03-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your input. It was interesting to see the correlation between the traits attributed to me and the people who did the attributing. Some of the results i looked at and said to myself "oh... i think i can see what made them choose this trait" and others i had to give more thought. The big question for me is... which, if any, of these traits are designated based on isolated experiences? and which traits are given to me because of a consistent gaze at my character? For instance, am i truly a calm person or did someone see a few isolated incidents where i may have stayed calm. In the first case calm is more a part of who i am, in the second case calm is not who i am, it was simply a temporary garment. Does that make any sense to anyone else? I wonder how the test results would change if more negative traits were added and if they didnt show who was the giver of each trait?

Arena

(known to self and others)

clever, intelligent, introverted, self-assertive, witty

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

adaptable, calm, caring, cheerful, complex, dependable, friendly, giving, helpful, ingenious, knowledgeable, observant, reflective, relaxed, religious, silly, spontaneous, trustworthy, warm

Façade

(known only to self)

Unknown

(known to nobody)

able, accepting, bold, brave, confident, dignified, energetic, extroverted, happy, idealistic, independent, kind, logical, loving, mature, modest, nervous, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, responsive, searching, self-conscious, sensible, sentimental, shy, sympathetic, tense, wise

Dominant Traits

63% of people agree that Viking Dusty is clever
54% of people agree that Viking Dusty is intelligent
63% of people agree that Viking Dusty is witty

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (0%) adaptable (9%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (9%) caring (36%) cheerful (9%) clever (63%) complex (18%) confident (0%) dependable (9%) dignified (0%) energetic (0%) extroverted (0%) friendly (36%) giving (18%) happy (0%) helpful (9%) idealistic (0%) independent (0%) ingenious (9%) intelligent (54%) introverted (18%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (18%) logical (0%) loving (0%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (27%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (9%) relaxed (27%) religious (27%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (9%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (36%) spontaneous (27%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (9%) warm (9%) wise (0%) witty (63%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 1.4.2006, using data from 11 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view Viking Dusty's full data.

My Window

2006-03-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

Tre got me curious with his Johari window. Please help me with my window by clicking on this link and following the directions. Dusty's Window

Thats all for now.

Thank You!

2006-03-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, my sister got married on March 4th. Knowing the demands and stress that can accompany a wedding I asked what i could do to help. My request was appreciated and i was soon deligated to be the pick-up man for the wedding cake. Scary job, let me tell you. This was something that i did not want to screw up, so i decided that i wanted to get the cake as soon as possible on the morning of the wedding. Getting the cake extra early would ensure that i would have plenty of time in case i got lost on the way there or on the way back. Yes, i am actually aware of some of my shortcomings. One area where i seem to be substandard is the area of understanding and following directions unless they are clearly written down. Even if they are clearly written down, i have a hard time following written directions while driving. My confidence was not boosted when Kristie gave me written directions that did not include a final address and had 4 lines of the directions ending in question marks. But these factors i was hoping to control with all of the extra time i had. Also, my time buffer would keep me from having to hurry to do my job. Hurrying could be fatal to a wedding cake and the last thing i wanted was to have to tell my sister why her cake looked smashed and covered in gravel. Another advantage to going early was that Bethany would be able to help me. She was in the wedding and needed to be at the church by 9:30 to get ready, but since we were getting the cake at around 7:30am it wouldnt be a problem. This fact also meant that Bethany could be the one to drive.

Things started off a little shaky. We ended up leaving a little bit late (around 7:45am) and were having much difficulty following Kristies "directions". Finally, we asked a couple of ladies who were out for a morning jog to assist us in locating our target destination. They gladly obliged and we soon found ourselves at the Fred Meyer containing my sister's wedding cake. Our celebration was short lived. When we inquired about the cake our inquiry was met with blank stares that communicated only confusion, discomfort, and the suspicion that there was no cake waiting for us. Our suspicions were momentarily confirmed when the people in the bakery hesitantly said that they had no orders for any wedding cakes. Controling my desire to use colorful language and a loud volume i calmly gave them the receipt for the already-paid-for cake (cakes actually; 2 sheet cakes and 1 3-tiered wedding cake). Realizing they needed to move fast they said that they would have the cake done by 11am. We had no other choice but to accept. Discouraged and wrought with fear, we returned to the church. Kristie took the news fairly well. Though understandably upset she never used any of the words that we have heard mom use, but ourselves were never allowed to utter(just teasing you mom). Kristie called Fred Meyer and they told her that they would have the cake done as soon as possible and that she would also get a refund in full. We were left with one minor problem. I still needed an assistant. I called my Aunt Yvonne's house to see if anyone there would be willing to come up to the church early (family didnt need to be their till much later). My cousin Mark was sent because he fit the criteria of already being dressed and having a vehicle. Mark came and assisted and even left his own mark on the situation.

After the reception, once we finally were able to get the bride and groom off on their honeymoon (they seemed almost hesitant to leave). Bethany and i went to undertake our other important job: transportation of presents to their new home. One problem. The quantity of presents greatly exceeded the amount of space in our vehicle. My solution: ask Mark if he would mind taking a load with us. He was driving a nice, roomy SUV. The perfect vehicle for transporting presents. Mark, being the kind of guy that he is agreed to help out... again. We loaded the presents in a timely manner and set off for our destination. Bethany leading and Mark and i following. As fate would have it, we got seperated from Bethany. Yet even without her as a guide i remained confident. I had been to their house once before and i thought i remembered how to get there. All i needed to do was have Mark follow Holgate down to 143rd, take a right and we would be home free. As we ventured down Holgate we came to a grim sign: "Dead End". An ocean of unpleasant reality threatened to drown me with the knowledge that my navigational skills were tragically non-existant. Unwilling to admit defeat, I told Mark to go down to Foster. I must have somehow gotten the two streets mixed up. We went to Foster, but were again disappointed when we got to 143rd. Eventually, we figured out that where we wanted to be was 134th and Foster. Having wasted a good 20-30min, but back on the right track we continued to Kristie and Chuck's house. Bethany passed us heading the other direction (she had finally given up waiting for me and the key and was going to try to track us down). She turned around once she saw us and we finished our task without anymore hitches.

Finally, we arrived at the Cherry's house (Uncle John and Aunt Yvonne were having all of the relatives over after the wedding). There were a lot of people there that don't get the luxury of spending much time with Mark because he lives in California and they do not. But most of them had to leave shortly after we got there because they had long drives back to their homes. Mark ended up sacrificing his time with people he rarely gets to see in order to help me out. We had some great conversation during our adventures and not once did he ever complain about helping me or my inability to navigate. And well... i just wanted to say "thank you" Mark. And if there is anything i can do to help get ready for your wedding just let me know (and if it involves directions give me an assistant who knows the way).

This blog entry is dedicated to a man that I greatly admire. Mark Heatwole... this blogs for you!

James Buchanan and Kevin "Kevin" Smith

2006-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today would have been a rather normal Saturday if not for those two wonderful names. Let me tell you about them...

Once upon an earlier today, a customer came up to a photo counter in a store called Walgreens. The Walgreens that the customer had entered happened, by chance, to be the very same Walgreens at which I am employed. During the usual exchange that happens when one is dropping off film I discovered that this gentleman's name was James Buchanan.

"Like the president." I remarked.
"Yes. Its good to see someone who knows their history. Do you by any chance know which president was the only one to remain a bachelor?" he inquired.
"Could it be... James Buchanan?" I replied.
"You are correct. And do you know who was secretary of state in the year 1844?"
"Could it be... James Buchanan?"
"Right again. Do you happen to know who the next president was after Buchanan?"
Now i was excited. "Sir, not only do i know the answer, but I can list for you all of the presidents, in the order they served." And I did.
He was very impressed. We talked history for a bit longer and then he left.

That is the second time in my recent history (within the last year) that being able to list off the presidents has come in handy for me. The first time I won something (i dont remember what) at Coffee People for knowing who the 17th president of the United States was. And lets not forget the countless Jeapordy questions this little trick has helped me with. Okay, i realize for most people this story was probably not very interesting, but the next one is really funny so please read on.

A few hours after James Buchanan came in I was greeted by an Asian lady who did not speak very good English. Here was our exchange:

Asian lady (AL): "Pick picture."
Dusty (D): "You want to pick up pictures?"
AL: "Pick picture."
D: "What is your last name?"
AL: "Kevin."
D: "No, what is your LAST name?"
AL: "Kevin."
Now, was a little frustrated at her failure to grasp what I was trying to communicate, so I decided to try a different approach. This time, rather than just asking the same question again I decided to give her an example.
D: "Kevin what? Kevin Smith, Kevin..."
Before I could finish another example she interrupted me.
AL: "Yes! Kevin Smith"
Apparently, my example turned out to be correct. Kevin's last name was Smith.

New Blog is Here!

2006-02-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture/words to go to "New Blog". Don't click on the picture/words to stay in blog classic.

Need i say more?

Dreams

2006-02-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

I don't remember my dreams very often, but when i do they are usually, fairly interesting. Last night, for instance, i had a dream that i was staying in North Aldrich (guys dorm at Multnomah) in one of the upper, corner rooms. In the room next to mine Dr. Steve Patty was staying. In my dream, i heard someone say something to me, and i thought it must have been Dr. Patty. So i did what anyone else would've done in my situation: i grabbed my pillow and went next door. Dr. Patty was in his room, but his room was a pig sty. It looked worse than Cammi and Justin's room the year that Justin left his plane tickets. I want to enter, but in order to do so i have to some how get over a shoulder-high mound of garbage and stuff that is blocking the doorway. Once again, i just use common sense and figure that the easiest way to get inside the room is to fly my pillow over the pile. Yes, i did say "fly my pillow". I do a quick little run and jump, pulling my knees up onto the pillow and float my way over everything. Once inside, i ask Dr. Patty if he said anything to me (because i thought that i had heard him say something) and he says, "no". So, i turnaround and leave. As I head back to my own room, i decide that instead of going inside and setting my pillow on my bed, it would be easier if i just threw it into the room. Big mistake. I throw my pillow, but because it is a magic, flying pillow it doesn't land. The window happens to be open, but instead of bouncing off the screen, it goes through it like there was nothing there (very similar to Rage's trick for entering and leaving the guy's dorm). Worried (you would be too if you had just lost your flying pillow), i ran to the window and looked out. I thought i saw it still flying through the air, so i ran outside to get a better look. Outside, i find the pillow in the memorial dorm parking lot and some younger guys (the must have been freshman) have it. I take it back from them and that is the end of the dream. I had another dream last night too, basically it involved me beating my sister in a race, where we had to run around the inside of a huge multi-story church building.

Your homework assignment is to tell me about some weird dream that you have had.

ps...You put up a good fight Kristie, nearly beat me.

End Transmission.

2006-01-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

Me.

WAIT NO LONGER!

2006-01-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, your wait is over. Dusty is finally posting another entry. First on the agenda is the all-important update on the "New Coke" situation. I have recieved a second email from the Coca Cola company (mmm... alliteration). Much to my disappointment, all I recieved is a "thank you" for my interest in the company and an apology (ooh, more alliteration) for not being able to send me any New Coke. Micah has suggested that I try ebay.

In other news, I will commence the construction of a new blog soon. Now before you send all those nasty emails letting me know that you already love "Blog Classic" and that you want no part in "New Blog" (for clarification we are referring to my current blog as "Blog Classic" and the new one as "New Blog"), please hear me out. I refuse to repeat the mistake of a certain carbonated beverage company (you know who you are) and get rid of an American classic, so I have decided to keep both blogs.

The "New Blog" will (hopefully) be a bit more serious, since it is going to be my forum for Bible study. My thought behind this idea (do the last five words make any sense?) is that this would give me insight from people who would not normally be able to attend a Bible study with me due to distance, lack of time, the fact that they cannot stand to be in the same room with me, or any other lame excuse. Please feel free to participate by sharing comments, insights, or ideas.

I think that covers about everything for now.

End Transmission.

All i want for Christmas...

2005-12-23T23:55:00.000-08:00

All i really want for Christmas is the same thing that i want every year.
I want to be able to try "New Coke". This year i even went as far as
emailing the people at CocaCola to see if they would send me some.
I finally got a reply (sort of):

FROM DUSTY, TO COKE-

I have heard all about "New Coke", but somehow
i never tried it when it was introduced. I was
wondering if there was any way possible for me
to get my hands on some.

FROM COKE, TO DUSTY-
We appreciate your interest in The Coca-Cola
Company and will respond to your email as quickly
as possible.

Your Thread ID is 1-EKJTRA. Please refer to this
ID for future assistance on your message.

We thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
The Coca-Cola Company

Now can someone please tell me what they meant by that?
Does that mean that they will email me again?
Or do i need to await the visit of a suspicious looking guy
in a trench-coat (not Tre) and respond with
"1-EKJTRA" when he tells me that "the amber goose flys at midnight"?

Basically, i just want someone to help me get ahold of some
New Coke. Any ideas would be appreciated. By the way,
Merry Christmas!

Oh yeah, don't forget to take the Herro Kitty Psych Test

Playing Favorites

2005-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Parents always say that they don't have a favorite child. My parents said it. Just because they say it though, doesn't make it true. Take my family for instance, my sister (Kristie) and i both know that i am the favorite child in our family. In fact, she is always bringing up bitter memories of the past just to point out the fact that I am the favorite. I would like to hear from my avid readers. Were you "the favorite" or the bitter, resentful sibling, who was forced into the shadows by parents who refused to face the truth?

dusty's post... the sequel

2005-11-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my second post. Hopefully, i will actually start doing this thing with more regularity. And eventually, maybe even by my next entry, i may even talk about something of importance. However, meaningful discussion will be left for another day. Today's topic:

Why do women like the movie Pride and Predjudice? I would appreciate feedback on this question; both speculation from the male populace and answers from the female portion of my non-existent readership. And i am not talking about this new 2 hour long movie that has recently come out, i am referring to the 6 hour monstrosity.

And to those people thinking that i need to watch it before i can knock it... i have seen it and i want at least 4 hours of that portion of my life back!

Everybody is doing it!

2005-08-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well, i don't even like communication, but blogging is apparently the "in" thing to do, so just call me Viking Dusty the Wizard Pirate Ninja Blogger. I would like to thank my wife, my mom, Gandalf, the fat bully that locked me in the shop closet in 8th grade and all of the little people (Amy Wood and Venessa Nizellllly) for nothing in particular. And now, i need to get going so i can go eat at Red Robin.

End Transmission.