Traditionally, a red eye, is one shot of espresso in a cup of coffee. I’ve never been one for such weak traditions myself though, which could be why I usually throw three shots into it.

Why am I writing about this? Well, after a few years of diligent service my poor ol’ coffee pot finally stopped making coffee like it used to. I had to put paper towels under her to keep her from leaking all over the counter, the basket drip was pretty much shot and wouldn’t hold if the coffee pot was pulled out from under it, and she’d just seen better days. I’ll still keep a hold of her just in case I get an office somewhere at some point. She’ll do just fine for little jobs, but not the normal wear and tear I put her through.

So we bought a new coffee pot/espresso maker combo. Now I’m not really much for those emasculating European coffees, but a red eye is a pretty nice way to start the day if I do say so myself. So, while it does have the steamer and all that good stuff on it, I think I’ll save those things for making the wife some fancy coffees. I still remain a fan of the black and bitter usually, although I have been known to put cream and sugar in my coffee in my old age…at 26. Don’t get me wrong, she likes black coffee too she just can’t drink that much of it.

While it was a little more than your standard run-of-the-mill coffee pot, $100 isn’t bad at all for what we got. I don’t usually like Bed Bath & Beyond because I’m not into decorating and things of that nature (anyone who has ever met or seen me in real life can attest to the fact that I have no fashion sense), cooking is something that I do like to do and they have some pretty handy stuff there…sometimes.

I just thought I’d share my new morning company with you all. I should probably dial back on the coffee, but if I did that I wouldn’t get done with half my days workload. Besides, it just tastes so darn good.

Well, as promised, I’ve got a picture up of my tattoo. I know I said “pictures” but I decided to only get one because A) I don’t see the point in taking multiple pictures of the same thing and B) this isn’t MySpace and one picture of a random body part is enough for anyone thank you kindly.

At any rate, here’s the picture. It’s based off a painting of the USS Constitution. I’ll post the side-by-side so you guys can have a comparison.

All in all I don’t think it was bad work for just over an hour in the chair. This was the first tattoo shop I’d ever been into that had TVs set up in the workspaces so you could watch a movie while the artist worked, very weird.

I like it, and I’ve already found out that if I flex my bicep it looks like the ship is running with full sails, so that’s always fun to show people. I’ve never had a tattoo that did tricks before. I’ve already had it compared to Little Pete’s tattoo of “Petunia” on ‘The Adventures of Pete & Pete‘.

Okay, so it was more like 24 hours without power, but you get the idea. We were completely without power all of yesterday because of a HUGE storm that hit us. Debris is still in most of the roads and we just got power back about an hour ago, crazy stuff. Most of the surrounding areas were out of power too, except for one of our friends houses who had power because they’re on the same power supply as the gas station and commissary on base housing. It was good times had by all, thank goodness we can open the fridge again or shower with the lights on without worrying about running out of hot water.

I’m finally getting around to getting my first tattoo in over two years. I stopped by the tattoo shop today, dropped off my artwork, and I’m slated to get the new ink done on Saturday. I’m pretty excited, quite a few people have ships but not everyone has the USS Constitution on their arm. Turned out to be much cheaper than I had expected too, which is always a pleasant surprise. Pictures will follow after I get it done.

Also heading out to see the new Aliens vs. Predator on Saturday, so that should be a hoot. I’m not expecting a grand cinematic masterpiece here, but it would be nice if it were better than the first one. A lot of folks I know had waited for a long time to see an AVP flick get made, and most of them were pretty disappointed when they saw what it had become.

Anyway, pictures and my impression of the movie will be along shortly, probably Sunday. Until then, I guess you’ll have to use this post to keep you warm. No worries, it shouldn’t be too long.

Wasn’t a particularly overwhelming haul this year as far as numbers goes, but it was still a very good Christmas. Andrea got me a $100 gift certificate for one of the tattoo parlors in town. I got her a copy of Office Space on DVD, Rayman: Raving Rabbids for the Wii, and I picked up a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer for the house.

We’ve definitely gotten our money out of the mixer so far. Making breads, cookies, french toast batter, you name it. I haven’t managed to get my hands on any of the attachments for it yet, but one of these days I’ll be able to grind my own sausage and what have you. That’s when I’ll acknowledge that I’ve truly evolved from the animals, when I can make processed meat products in my own home.

I let Andrea open her present on the 23rd, we started playing the game on the 26th, and we beat the game yesterday. Fun, tough in spots, but a good game to play between two people. We haven’t unlocked everything yet, but beating the game in under 24 hours is nothing to really sneeze at, I suppose.

Looks like now all I have left to do is celebrate New Year’s Eve (this year wasn’t my best), plan for a massive hangover on New Year’s Day, look into some tattoo designs, and work on making 2008 better than 2007. I’m not sure, but I might even have Chad do some video for the tattoo and we can release a video podcast of my being branded like a steer once again. Who knows.

I know it’s been a while since I updated this, so I thought I’d let you all know what was going on in the world o’ Jerry. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Oh, and thanks to everyone who sent Andrea and I holiday well wishes. It was very much appreciated, even if I didn’t send a reply text or phone call. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel the same or that I don’t care for you guys, I was just up to my armpits in busy.

So, happy belated religious holiday of your choice, happy New Year, and may 2008 be better than its predecessor.