James Blunt 'Back To Bedlam'

The busy week is over and I can now concentrate on getting back to my slacker-like ways.

Last Thursday, I had two different remotes. The first one was a Grand Opening of Sheetz in Mebane. I have never gotten gasoline at Sheetz, but I do know that the food is excellent and the coffee is even better. Mmmmm… An extra vanilla latte with whipped cream… Damn, that’s good!

I’m very impressed with their pump your gas and order your food concept. One of these days I’m going to have to try it. I don’t have a Sheetz near me and I tend to purchase fuel near my home. One day… ONE DAY… Fuel and food in one stop at the pump and there will be no stopping me.

For now, my dreams will suffice.

It was cold that day at Sheetz, but I was prepared and layered appropriately. Then I helped Knock Out (Katie in promotions) at the Portrait Homes / Yes Weekly remote that night. Everyone else was dressed casual business and I’m walking around like a warmly wrapped rodeo clown. I was wearing my white camouflage pants with a burgundy T-shirt. And if that weren’t enough, I brought my brightly colored Washington Redskins coat along. Needless to say, I felt a little out of place and no one seemed to care.

Friday night, I got together with Kim Thore (www.strutteronthetown.com) to say our “so longs”. Kim has moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to be amongst the snowbirds and pursue other job interests.

I met her and some of her Greensboro co-workers at Steak Street in High Point. That was the first time that I had eaten there and the cheeseburgers are delicious. That night was also the first time that I put my Beam and Coke plan in action.

If you missed it the first time, here it is: When the high temperature is 50 or below for the day, instead of beer, it’s Jim Beam Bourbon and Coca-Cola.

I have the same rule for coffee. I like coffee and I could like it too much, but I don’t want to end up like my grandparents. They can drink coffee on the front porch in the middle of an August heat wave. And if I’m not mistaken, they drink coffee right up until bedtime.

I will miss Kim and she says that she’ll be back in the spring. We shall see.

On Saturday, I worked the remote at the Piedmont New Car show at the Showplace in High Point. Two Guys Named Chris and Deidre were there to sign the new Junior Cardboard Box Set collection. There was a tremendous turnout and I got to meet 2 time NASCAR Nextel Champion, Terry Labonte. That was REALLY cool and I’m taller than he is. Just about every racecar driver that I’ve ever met, I’m taller than they are. They're really not that much different from horse jockeys.

Then I hit Jimmy’s Pizza in downtown High Point to pick up one of their FANTASTIC pizzas and visit with my friend Jeff Baker.

Bake and I have known each other since we both attended Northwest Guilford Junior and Senior Highs. I don’t get to see him as much as I’d like to but I know that if I ever need anything, Jeff will be there and I’d do the same for him.

And for some reason, Baker has started jumping out of airplanes for fun. I personally don’t get it because I would only jump out to avoid dying in a crash.

If you’re down in High Point on Main Street, drop by Jimmy’s Pizza, get something to eat, and say “hello” to Jeff Baker.

When I got the time over the weekend, I watched a few discs from Netflix. Preston and I watched ‘Fantastic Four’ and from the reviews and word of mouth over the summer, I was under the impression that it wasn’t very good. We both liked it and I gave it four out of five stars on the Netflix grading system.

I also got two of the three discs that make up season one of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. The show really isn’t knocking me over as one of the greats, but my friend Christine says that I need to seem them for character development and plot histories for the future episodes.

I tried to catch all the Buffy’s when FX started showing them, but since I didn’t catch them in order, I felt completely lost and gave up.

A few years ago, I briefly went out with a girl who LOVED ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’. She showed me a couple of ‘Angel’ episodes and I had no idea what was going on. And, to be quite honest, I didn’t like the ‘Angel’ series. It seemed like a weak siphoning of ‘Buffy’ and the only reason that it lasted so long (my opinion) was because of the man-candy actor in the title role of Angel. I saw a handful of episodes and I didn’t like any of them. But, who knows, I may just dig them once I see ‘Buffy’ in its entirety.

The invitation to be Netflix buddies is always on the table… eugenebsims@yahoo.com

I have finally figured out how to give Preston his own queue. That way, if I have to keep his picks a little longer, then it won’t logjam my picks.

I’ve put the first season of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ on his list. What’s not to love in that show for a kid his age?

He’ll love the General Lee flying through the sky and spinning around Hazzard County at breakneck speeds. He’ll like the comedy between Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coletrain. AND… He’ll LOVE Daisy Duke!

Did I tell you that I liked the new ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ movie?

I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow because there are so many things that I didn’t really care for in the remake.

Until then… Eat at Jimmy’s Pizza and drink coffee at Sheetz!