I'm Always Mentally on Vacation: May 2011

For Sale By Owner

I have some fantastic news for those of you who always wanted that college degree but never could afford it or bothered to finish. You can now own a business degree worth $90,000!

I have a business degree from a real accredited university and I now find out it has a published value.

Over the many years no one has ever asked to see my degree or made me prove I actually got it. They just assume I have it.

So according to this chart my degree is worth up to $90,000.

I will consider all offers but I do have a reserve.

Questions?

© 2011 wReggie’s I’m Always Mentally on Vacation. These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to you when you view, access or otherwise use the blog located at www.wreggie.com (the “blog”). Terms and Conditions can be found at http://reghunnicutt.com/terms.html.

Three Things I have Learned That I will Share

I made a sour dough starter from wild yeast. Amazing how this works.

If you need spreadable butter but it is all cold then grab a stick and use a cheese grater. It becomes spreadable and actually presents well.

I saw this morning where a big generous line of cream cheese on a hot dog is very good. The guy was putting it on with a cake decorator gun. I’ll try this.

Gigi smelled a dead mouse in the kitchen and discovered a few days later that my unattended sour dough starter was rotten. Gotta keep feeding it I suppose.

Some Women I Admire

Some of the brightest business women I know live and work on St Croix. What they have in common is they are creative, energetic, successful, and always reinventing themselves as times change.

I always try and see a few of them every visit because they help recharge my soul with their attitude.

My list is:

Wendy Solomon – Owner, www.gotostcroix.com

Katherine Pugliese – Owner, Eat@Cane Bay

Marti Gotts – Owner, Vacation St Croix

Lesley Morrison – Owner, The Galleon Restaurant

Kim Lucas – Owner, Buyer Agent St Croix

Only because I don’t know them as well as the afore mentioned but admire their work and persistence the honorable mentions do to:

Michelle Pugh – Owner, Dive Experience

Molly Buckley – Owner, St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA)

Miss Judith Gumbs – Street vendor at local Christiansted events.

Most of these women have a partner/spouse that is either co-owner or a successful hardworking business owner in their own right. I suspect I know who actually wears the pants in the business.

I like to know people like this because their attitude is contagious.

This Weekend I Shall...

“Barbecue — it is a noun in the South, something a person eats — is known as “low and slow,” cooking at lower temperatures for longer periods. Grilling is conducted at high levels of heat for short periods of time.”

Both can be done on a Weber grill.

I shall grill this weekend and thank God for all the men and women who sacrificed protecting our great country. It is what we do on patriotic holidays…. grill ...especially in the South ... and get all mushy with God….in our own way.

Beer goes good with this too.

Goodbye

I had a childhood friend die yesterday. Apparently he didn’t make it up the transplant list fast enough.

We were never very close friends and the last time I saw him was 10 years ago at a class reunion.

But we did share some intense times together in middle school and high school.

He was the son of our town’s police chief so he pushed the envelope in everything he did just to see if dad could get him off. Most of the time dad did.

He led life fully, trust me. He even did a bit of prison time I am told.

To this day his 57 Chevy was the fastest car I have ever been in on a regular street and he was the only person I ever heard of that had a driver’s license in 9^th grade.

Oh well, we all will go down this path one day. Thanks for the memories.

Lets Kick Off Summertime!

While quiet and mild mannered on the mainland the juggernaut known wReggie is rolling ferociously toward the June 11 trip to the island.

Plans are coming together.

Flights, rental car and villa, set.

Provisions for the villa, set.

Airport greet and cold beers, set.

14 bought and prepaid boat dives that I can use until they are gone, set.

Plans to sail to Buck Island and dive, set. (You hear that Jeff?)

Spear fishing gun and tips, set.

Lobster catching Kevlar gloves, set.

Live Kurt Schindler, likely but not set.

I will spend the next few weeks packing for and stalking St Croix by the Internet and via local island radio stations so I can feel the beat of the community when I land.

People come and go down there, some just disappear. Businesses change, land changes with each storm.

But the island recovers and I try and hit it running. I love this place.

Soon after it will be time to gear up for a 10 day RV trip to Jekyll Island, GA.

Then we hope to park the RV in a stationary orbit in Southport, NC for August.

Smart Dog I Guess

It has been documented….Tanner, as in Chief of Poultry security Tanner, can open doors.

We’ve seen him open the back door (if unlocked) from both sides. There is a thumb paddle on the outside and a hand paddle on the inside.

We have a maid that comes every two weeks and she is terrified of Tanner. He decided to let himself in one day and she was mortified.

He simply jumps up and hits the opener a few times and he moves about his business.

He can even open the dog gate and let himself out of the fenced yard.

When he is missing we just go back to the chicken coop to find him.

Religious Week Continues

Of the worlds 4 great hairy religions:

1. Judaism

2. Muslim

3. Orthodox Greek

4. Rasta

Who among them has the most fun and why?

1964

In 1964, in the 3^rd grade at Club Blvd Elementary in Durham, NC, I discovered in Miss Thurston’s slow reader class that if I took off my shoes and squeezed my toes, I could get a relief by popping the joints.

I do it still to this day.

I am still a slow reader but my feet feel good.

Choosing Your Religion

Poke Fun at Muslim Week

Today we are living among the dammed post rapture according to a small group of believers. I don’t know anyone missing so I’m going on with my plans.

Isn’t wonderful to have a mainstream religion that everyone can make fun of a few of its fanatics, with out fear of literally loosing ones head?

Try that stunt openly on Facebook and Blogs in the next week with the Muslim Religion and see what kind of stink it causes. Bet cha it ain’t so funny.

Go ahead, I double dog dare you.

Here are a few to get you started on your own blog:

An atheist passes a priest and shouts "Jesus is a lie!". He then passes a jew and shouts "God is a lie!". He then passes a Muslim Cleric and shouts, "Good day Sir!".

Did you hear the one about the Muslim who won a Nobel Prize in Mathematics?

Neither did I.

Q. Did you hear the one about the violent 53 year-old paedophile?

A. Yes. He is revered by one fifth of the world's population as the one who started the world's most intolerant, repressive, misogynistic and violent religion.

Sunset

Sunset on Highway 218

This was sunset last night about 40 miles from home. This section of North Carolina is hilly farm land that supplies nearby poultry production.

It was a fitting finish to a busy work week.

Hooters

Tight, tan bellies, thick manes of hair, gelatinous breasts, support hose and calf high white socks with orange short shorts are the trademark of Hooters.

One also expects cold beer and good wings.

I ate there tonight and I must say the wings were terrible. What I ordered was a large Miller Lite and ten wings, naked, and medium hot.

What I got was ten very tough, under cooked and very greasy wings that had very little flavor.

The flappers were so tough that I could not separate the parts at the joint. The wings bled whatever oil they were fried in.

I looked around and the place was packed with single fat losers that ate every bite like it was good so I decided this would be my last trip to Hooters lest I become one of them.

I ate a few and figured I must have consumed 1,000 calories in grease alone and left.

HEADLINE - Mideast Staggered by Cost of Wheat - WSJ

SOLUTION - Drink oil. - wReggie

Number One and Two

Number One - I am not beholding to the unseen world of germs. I wash my hands, shower, and cover my mouth when I cough or sneeze but that is it when it comes to my personal battle with germs.

The problem is that a lots of people these days are becoming obsessed with germs and the rules each has in force to battle their germ fears is unknown and unseen. This makes it easy for one to break another’s germ rules by simply not knowing their rules.

Number Two - I like music but I don’t have to listen to music all the time. I enjoy long periods of silence alone with my thoughts.

Gigi and I will drive 8 hours and never turn on the radio or iPod. We just talk.

The Last Two Days

Sunday was a blast. I agreed to “tailgate” an event for my local dive shop, Diver’s Supply. It was a season kickoff at the quarry and they managed to get maybe 100 folks there with food, beer, and diving.

We had the radios blasting and the food was cooking nonstop from about 10 AM till 4 PM. I had three grills going, one spinning chicken and the rest of the food was brats, hot dogs and beans. Fantastic beans. I added sausage and a few ingredients and a gallon went in no time.

At the end there was a drawing and Gigi and I won 2 sets of top of the line fins valued at $200 a pair. We were thrilled. $400 worth of fins.

Monday I played golf in a tournament at a new money club up at the lake. You know the type….fake boobs, blondes, kids, big houses, BMWs and a new country club.

I looked like a hick pulling up in my pickup among the Lexis, Mercedes and such.

I did wear long pants since I knew this would be a more formal golf affair.

It was a nice course but I was glad to get back home to my modest home with dogs and chickens.

Life is good.

Double Tasking

We tailgated at the quarry yesterday.

Have you noticed more flies this year?

明天是大日子

明天是大日子。我打算有一個巨大的尾門事件在採石場，將燒烤了整整一天。希望有一番情趣。

Pictures to follow.

It Is Almost Time Again

The airline tickets are booked and paid. The villa is booked and paid. The rental car is booked. All three are different than usual.

I have been diving just once dive since I was down last in February.

I guess it is time to go to the quarry and blow some bubbles.

And you know me….I have a 30 day countdown routine.

New Tools of the Trade

Yesterday my game changed dramatically with the official introduction of my iPad 2 in a client presentation.

A few weeks ago I decided to buy an iPad for work and was determined to make it a portable tool capable of replacing a lot of paper and hardware that I normally lug around. After all my entire work is my computer, my forms and a pen.

What if I could shrink all that down to a tiny device the sized of half a clipboard?

Armed with downloaded PDFs and live internet on demand I set out to see some long time clients in their 80’s at their home to explain what I think is simply the Cold Fusion of income products.

I sat down and went through the customary small talk that southerners do, gave them a dozen eggs and then after a while of social debriefing we sat down to business.

They were impressed with my contraption and my passion for the investment. When asked specifics about their account I was able to pull up live data almost instantly (it doesn’t need to boot up).

After I felt that they had grasped the investment conceptually I handed then a 2 page hard copy and told them to sleep on it and left a prospectus (can’t get around that bulky monstrosity).

I headed to Pine Lake Country Club for a beer and take out for supper. The client called me while I was there at the bar with my iPhone and iPad and I was able to answer more questions on demand using the Internet connection.

Since it was my first attempt using the iPad I decided to have a back up printed just in case. I never needed it. Also I have a stylus that literally one could sign their name on an electronic document then and there, but I am not ready to expose clients to that. I’ll leave that to the Apple store for now.

Yet Another Vivid Dream

I had a dream last night where Vincent Price was taking me in a “haunted house” so I was expecting some kind of gimmick.

We walked in a huge foyer and Vincent took off up the stairs on all fours like a charging chimp.

Seconds later he came running down the stairs with a huge rabid raccoon clamped down and thrashing on his chin. He was screaming and bleeding.

That was a bit scary.

NOTE: A ham and cheese sandwich for super and two glasses of wine. I don’t know what makes my brain think up this shit but it is very entertaining.

16 Chickens and What do you get?

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that my 16 new pullets will out grow their little house well before they are big enough to join the other flock.

Saturday I set out to build a temporary coop made from panels of 3X2X8 s and chicken wire.

Once finished I bolted the panels together and added chickens.

Now I have 26 hens that will be comingled when they get bigger. Then I’ll break down the coop to use another time.

Clash of the Titans

I really liked the way President Obama handled the extermination of Bin Laden. It was so Ronald Reagan.

So now Obama has put The Kracken back in the sea and I have two things I like about Obama.

The first was him getting a dog…which we never see by the way.

Salt Dreams

Last night I had a dream where I walked to the back of my property and discover creeks with still clear water. There were fish in the water and the creeks began to merge as I walked on.

Suddenly I could feel humid warm wind and I looked up and there was a coast line…a salt water tropical coast line. The water was clear and blue.

I was thrilled to find out I lived so close to the sea and I was the person to discover this.

What is it about salt water that draws me so?

It Came in Yesterday

It took a month and a half for my 12 month tag to come in that now is only a 10 and a half month tag. Oh well....it looks nice.

Mental Vacation Exclusive

We have the picture Obama wouldn’t release. My chief of security at Duke Hunnicutt Poultry Institute got this photo from a reliable source. That is all he would say.

Rum Renaissance Festival 2011

I like Rum and didn’t realize that they have a Rum Festival in Miami each year.

Nothing like couple of bottles of dark rum to pep things up.

Morning Briefing

I like to know what is going on and there wasn’t much going on via the Internet last night. I did my morning read in record time.

I use Google Reader to tag articles and content of interest from the NFL to technology to local news, Virgin Island News, Business News, earthquakes, blogs, and a few keywords on Craig’s List.

Yes I follow earthquakes. There are about 100 each evening and mostly the same places along the ring of fire Pacific Plate and the Caribbean Plate.

Then I read The Wall Street Journal online and finally go over to Twitter for a few folks I follow there.

Finally I glance over Facebook and maybe make a few comments. I get a lot of St Croix updates from Facebook.

So when I’ve read all of that I usually put in a blog post with the second cup of coffee. Now the world has communicated to me and I have communicated to the world.

Just Love Google Maps

The Dirt Trawler

Last week I got my land trawler back (5^th wheel RV) from the RV repair shop in Indian Trail, NC. I had a lot of neglected repairs from the past summer and fall fixed and had a super duty 12 volt converter installed after two converter failures.

The last converter went out over Christmas and that took out the heater. My poor sister in law and nephew near froze to death. The heater relied on the converter to operate.

Then I had all the systems in the RV checked and pressure tested water and propane. A leak was found in each.

At the end of the week I had the exterior professionally washed and the rubber roof conditioned.

Finally I bought an ice maker for the RV. It is counter top model and puts out 33 pounds of ICE a day. Good bye to buying expensive bag ice at the campground. Hello new tailgate addition.

Hopefully I can get the old tube TV in the living room out soon and install the flat panel in its place. This alone will save a lot of weight and upgrade the TV experience. Plus it will leave a cavity in the wall that can be used for storage.

I am so ready to camp at the coast or lake. All I need to do is give the interior a good cleaning and we are ready to roll.

Life Changing Meeting

It was a fantastic trip to San Francisco. I met some super nice people both going and coming back and learned a new product that could be a game changer for me. This stuff is so revolutionary when it comes to making people income that I may have to upgrade my club membership.

I'm Always Mentally on Vacation