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 Name::Bradley Reid Freeny II From::Clinton, Mississippi, United States View my complete profile  Mr. Bean Moment #1 Feed Bags New Column Flickr As easy as A+B+C=D I'm BAAAAAACCKKKKK! NYC Here We Come! A Wii Problem A Menagerie of Three Nickel Creek 3  July 2006 September 2006 October 2006 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 September 2007 January 2008 May 2008 June 2008 September 2008 |
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Monday, September 01, 2008Mr. Bean Moment #1 I'm not really sure where I am with this blog. I've had ideas for columns, and we see how that has gone. The School Bus Diaries were good while they lasted, but I've had so many behavior problems this year with the kids that I hardly let them talk anymore. That has hurt my source material. I thought blogging about things I love and things I hate would work. Obviously it didn't. My next idea is to write about my "Mr. Bean Moments." We'll see how that goes. If I can just discipline myself to one post a week, at least that will keep the blog alive. You see, I have decided that I am Mr. Bean. You know, the bumbling yet adorable idiot portrayed by the great Rowan Atkinson. I constantly find myself in awkward and confusing situations that would make great episodes of his television series. The example that follows happened while Britney and I were in Scotland this summer. It was a rainy day, and Britney and I had just hiked into town from our hotel. The hotel was, by the way, owned by Scrooge McDuck, but that's an entirely different story. As we entered the town, we decided that a cup of coffee and something to snack on would be a nice treat. After walking a bit longer, we entered a small cafe that seemed promising. It was a self-service establishment, complete with its own fancy coffee machine that typically would be found in a place like Cups. It seemed oddly out of place in this small Scottish village. As it turns out, I was the one who was out of place there. Britney filled her coffee cup with no problem whatsoever and proceeded down the line. I took a coffee cup from the counter and placed it under the machine. After pressing the appropriate button, I waited as my cup slowly filled up with hot, steaming coffee. And kept filling. And kept filling. And kept filling . . . Little did I know that I had chosen the cups for tea, a cup that is half the size of the coffee mugs! The manager saw what had happened and offered to clean up the mess. I thanked her and said that I would clean it. She also offered to allow me to fill another mug with coffee at no extra charge. I thanked her and politely refused, accepting the consequences of my idiocy. She returned to her register as I continued to fix my coffee. It was then that I saw what I thought was a steamed milk dispenser on the coffee machine. I was excited about this, as the thought of adding steamed milk to my coffee made me think of the delicious coffee from Spain, where we had been only the week before. I pressed the button, giddily anticipating the foamy, frothy milk. Except milk did not come out of the attachment. Oh, it involved steam alright, but not milk. Just steam, and lots of it! Hot, wet, steamy air loudly shot out of the attachment, much to my horror and embarrassment. And kept shooting. And kept shooting. And kept shooting . . . The manager rolled her eyes yet remained polite as she stepped over to help me once again. I apologize profusely as I explained what I was trying to do. She kindly dealt with my idiocy and explained that this was a new machine and that she did not know how to turn off the steam. In fact, she said that they needed to cover up the button, as they had never used this button before and prior to this occasion did not know its function. She suggested that I go ahead and pay for the coffee and see if the machine would stop on its own. I paid for the coffee, but the machine did not stop. I asked if I should press the button again to see if that would shut it off, and the manager replied that she did not know if that would work. I could see her grimace as I reached out to press the button anyway. Can you guess what happened next? Well, it stopped. I know, I'm as surprised as you are! 
Monday, June 09, 2008Feed BagsNew Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less
Sunday, May 18, 2008New ColumnI'm starting a new column for the summer. The title . . . "Things I Hate . . . Things I Love" This is to give me a chance to rant about things that really get my goat. I threw in the love part to balance out the negative energy from the hate part. Thing I hate #1 Calling a person only to hear an annoying song instead of the traditional ring. Now I know the rave is to create ring tones from your favorite songs. That's fine--I have a couple of my own. But when I call someone, I do not want to be subjected to a song that has to do with what a sexually frustrated young man wants to do with his ho. I mean, what is the point of this? It's not like the person whose phone has this feature can hear this song, unless said person is calling himself or herself. Do humanity a favor and leave it with the simple ring we have grown to love so much. Thing I love #1 My wife, Britney. She is the most wonderful woman in the world, and I love her with all that I am. Thanks Britney for being the person that you are!
Sunday, January 06, 2008FlickrWell, the first post of the new year . . . or since September 2007 for that matter! Just want to let everyone know about my flickr site -- just some photos I have been tweaking. Take a look HERE to check it out!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007As easy as A+B+C=DI finally got around to putting together the wheelbarrow that we bought about a month ago. Now, I could have bought the model that was already put together, but I don't think it would have fit in my car, and it cost $10 extra. This particular wheel barrow came in three main pieces: the large part that contains the load, the two handles, and a box of parts. When I opened up the box of parts this afternoon, I was dismayed to find that there were no instructions on how to put the wheelbarrow together. Britney then pointed out that the instructions were printed on side of the box, as seen here. Yes, that box in step one is the box of parts. Brilliant. Of course! Why wasn't it obvious to me? Needless to say, we both had a laugh about the incredibly detailed instructions. Thankfully there was also a picture of the real wheelbarrow completely put together that helped me guesstimate where things were supposed to go. With Britney's help, we finally finshed the job.
Sunday, September 16, 2007I'm BAAAAAACCKKKKK!Well, it has been quite some time since I have updated this blog. Shame on me. I had all summer to write witty quips and insightful observations, but instead I chose to sleep late and play video games. Oh yeah, and there was that whole moving thing too! As my last entry was about my reservations regarding the New York subway system, I think it only appropriate to let everyone know that Britney and I made it just fine, thanks to some expert advice from Tim Krason. By the end of our stay, we were something like experts ourselves. To say the least, we walked a lot in New York. But that is the way I like to see a city—by walking. You really get a feel of where things are, what the people are like, and you simply get to see so much more than if you were to ride a tour bus or take a taxi. It is also great deal cheaper. We did so much while in New York that it would take forever to talk about everything in this post. A few of the highlights were seeing Amy Poehler, Rachel Dracht, and the driver from the “Two Guys” Sonic commercials in an improv show call ASSSCATTT 3000 put on by The Upright Citizen’s Brigade. Also, we finally saw Wicked, which was incredible. For those of you who don’t know, the story of The Wizard of Oz has been following, or should I say haunting me, since I wrote my Bib and Research paper on the novel Wicked. Seeing the musical had been something Britney and I had wanted to do for about 4 years! For pictures of the many other wonderful things we did, check out my Facebook page. I have about 8 albums full of pictures! Oh yeah, and stay tuned for my next post---The School Bus Diaries will be back!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007NYC Here We Come! On Saturday Britney and I will be traveling to NYC. That's what cool people call New York City. We are really looking forward to this trip, as Britney has never been to the Big Apple, and I have have only been there briefly on a band trip in high school. As I said, we are both very excited about this vacation, but there is one thing that I am a bit nervous about. Having lived in London for three months, I feel that I became a pro at negotiating the Tube as I traveled to and fro within the city. The London Tube system is conveniently color coded and easy to navigate. Their indivual lines are given simple names such as Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly, and Victoria. The New York subway system is at first glance not nearly as simple. Instead of the 11 or 12 lines listed on the map of the London Tube system, New York lists each of its individual stations its map. Next to the stations are various numbers in letters within a circles and diamonds of a variety of colors. I can only assume that these shapes, numbers, and colors refer to the trains that run through the stations next to which they are written. My question is, how do I know which train to take once I am in the station? I know that it is probably much less complicated than it looks, and that I will probably figure it out once we have tried it out a few times, but it just seems to me that they have made things much more complicated than they need to be. My biggest fear is trying to get to our hotel from the airport, as this will be our first time to use the subway system. This would not be so bad, but we are going to have our luggage with us at the time. I know I could have come up with a more simple system. As everyone knows, if people would listen to my opinions and worldly wisdom, the world would be a much better place. So, if we are not back by the evening of Friday, July 6, call the authorities. Britney and I will probably be huddled in the corner of some dirty subway station. I will be mumbling random numbers and letters while Britney tries to ration out our last stick of gum. Picture us there, scared to move because we are afraid of getting on the wrong train AGAIN, wondering if we will even be able to find the exit and be blessed with the rays of God's sunlight once more. If you don't call the authorities, we will be forced to beg for food from passers-by or attempt to catch the occasional subway rat for dinner. Hundreds of years from now, our bodies will be excavated from some futuristic archaeological dig, and the humans of the future will see my skeleton, subway map between my bony little fingers. Britney's skeleton will be facing the other way, somehow expressing disdain in her skeletal facial features. They will put our bones in a museum as an example of how even back then, men did not like to ask for directions. On the other hand, I think if it comes down to eating subway rats, I will just ask for help. Pray for us as we are on our trip next week. We truly are excited, even in spite of the subway thing. If I'm honest with myself, I have to say that I'm even excited about that adventure too.
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