Departments, Degenerates, Diagnoses, Decisions, and Diligence

So much went on today. It was a whirlwind.

I started the morning on IRS.gov getting my EIN for my LLC. Fun right? Actually, it was a breeze. I was on and off the site in a matter of minutes. So with my EIN I called up the Kentucky Department of Revenue. They encouraged me to come down so I did. Little did I know that the Department of Revenue was in the same building as Unemployment Office. Whoah, the degenerates and dregs abounded! Thankfully, the Department of Revenue was empty and full of helpful people.

Next came Jooj's trip to the doctor. He had some good news in my opinion. He seems to be narrowing down his guess to the underlying problem. Possibly some adhesion issues (which we've heard before). Possibly blocked ducts in the liver. Neither are particularly great news but neither are end of the world either. So hopefully with a little time we'll know something for certain.

Then came the phone call to Jooj's ex. I had come up with a radical idea. I proposed that we pay for Kels' college tuition and all expenses in full. In return, he was going to cover all of Will.i.am's high school tuition and expenses. What I get in return is the peace of mind knowing that I have control and that my money isn't in someone else's hands. He spazzed a bit when I spoke with him yesterday and asked if I could have his answer today. I got it. And he agreed to it.

Lastly, work was a helluva day. Catch-ups. Meetings. Work. Juggling everything else I just mentioned. I stayed 'til almost 7PM and feel like I got a lot of work done. On top of everything else, I accepted a major trade proposal from Eddie in fantasy basketball. I'm getting three top players in exchange for Blake Griffin. This will be the second superstar I've dealt him this season.

Oh, and I *finally* made a follow-up appointment for Boba. We'll find out what's up with him on Wednesday.

31 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 173.5 lbs. | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Oops

I missed my post yesterday. Too much arguing over who/how/when Kelsey's upcoming college tuition is going to be paid.

Forgive me?

30 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 172.5 lbs. | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Alienware

Ordered myself a gaming rig today - with Jooj's blessing and the promise of federal tax money returning to our pockets. It's scheduled to ship and be at my door February 8th.

Quad processors. 6 GB of RAM. Super video card. Liquid cooled. Gaming goodness!

I.

Am.

So.

Stoked.

29 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 172.5 lbs. | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Trip to the ER

Well, got our first trip to the ER of 2011 out of the way today. Julie was suffering horrible abdominal pains and had me take her over there this morning. After a quick 6 hours in the ER we walked out knowing two things: we didn't now *what* it was but it probably wasn't anything life-threatening (does knowing that you don't know count? Maybe we knew one thing then). The grrrl was in pain - for sure. But her blood, urine (all 0.6 pounds of it), and organs after a CT scan all checked out. So while I hate it that she is in discomfort I am very happy that it isn't anything serious.

Now, let's hope this will be our only trip to the ER, family-wide, for the year.

I just calculated my weight and the running average is way off. And since I don't want to recalculate it everyday I'm just going to stop showing the average and go with the daily weigh-in.

28 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 172.5 lbs. | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Double XP Weekend

It's Double XP Weekend for City of Heroes. This means my blogging will be brief and my play time will be maximized until Sunday at midnight. God, I'm glad my wife loves me 'cause I'm a very big geek.

27 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.4 lbs. (173 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Taco Bell and the Human Torch

Totally unrelated subject matters.

The Human Torch, a Marvel staple for over 50 years (and most known to be one of the four in the Fantastic Four), met his demise in Fantastic Four #587. I used to be a comic enthusiast so I am certainly struck by this news. In comics and in cartoons, Johnny Storm (the Human Torch), was always brash and hot-headed and really resounded with me. I had heard rumors that a Fantastic Four member was going to die. He and The Thing were the two that I thought were shoe-ins for "not dying". The Fantastic Four series ends after the next issue and starts back up in a few months after a relaunch.

Totally switching subjects, I read today that Taco Bell is being sued because their "beef" actually contains less than 35% beef. The rest is oats, soy, fillers, spices, and such. My initial thought was, "Did anyone actually think it was 100% beef?" Then I thought to myself, "The oats and soy and junk are probably better for you fatties than the beef is anyway." And then I thought, "Taco Bell beef... YUMMY!" I figured that I could squeeze in 5 Fresco Crunchy Beef Tacos and still make it under my calories and fat for the day. So I squeezed five tacos in my mouth and am very happy. No class-action lawsuit required!

26 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.49 lbs. (173 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

The weight...

... of urine. Ever thought about it?

I weighed in today for week 2 of the Biggest Loser competition. I clocked in at 178.0 lbs. That's 0.6 pounds more than last week. No good.

I dropped my breakfast off at my desk and went to the bathroom in the hopes that I could make a little deposit. You know, to shed off a little extra weight. Well, mother nature didn't grant my wish as I had hoped. But I did manage to pee a little. DIscouraged, I went back downstairs and weighed again.

177.4!

Seriously? I lost 0.6 of a pound by peeing? Awesome to know. So you may or may not notice that the last category in my footer did not change. It's not because I didn't weigh in today. I just didn't lose or gain any - thanks to the weight of urine.

25 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.59 lbs. (174 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Blog fatigue

I've run out of garbage to talk about. The day was pretty normal. Well, normal is a relative term. Will got a new iPhone 4. Had a great talk with Kels over cereal. The cats have officially adopted the dog beds. Jooj told me that Pat had to put poor Charlie down. Poor Pat.

I'm pooped. I didn't sleep well. Maybe that's why my brain is hazy and glazey. Mmmm, glaze...

24 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.66 lbs. (174.5 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

The Vikings didn't suck this season...

... their opponents were just too good.

I say that because the NFC Championship today was won by the Vikings arch-rival, the Greenbay Packers. And who did the Packers have to beat to become NFC Champions? That's right - the Bears. The NFC Championship was between two fellow NFC North teams. So it could be safe to say that the two *best* teams in the NFC this season were the Bears and the Packers (if not "safe" to say then at least not a terrible stretch to say).

So, as a Vikings fan, should I feel so bad that *FOUR* of my losses during the regular season came at the hands of the two *BEST* teams in the NFC? That 6-10 record doesn't really look all that bad had those four games gone our way - 10-6. Yeah, I like that a lot more.

So, while this season was filled with drama and firings and loss, I don't see the season as a total wash. Will next year be a rebuilding year? Hells yeah. But will it be as bad as this year? I don't know... and honestly, I don't think it will.

23 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.71 lbs. (173 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Busy, Busy Day

Day started off with a surprise. I lost 3 pounds overnight somehow. I'm starting to wonder how accurate my scale is. Let out the dogs. Squirted Boba's medicine on his paws. I think they are looking better. Jooj and I made another, unscheduled payment on the credit card (so close to 50%). Went to Quest Outdoors and bought a pair of boots that I could probably wear for the rest of my life. Bought two dog beds for the boys (the cats seem to have adopted them for the moment). Hit up Target. Picked up the TRON: Legacy soundtrack from Daft Punk. Went to Qdoba. Bought some curtains at JC Penny's. Jooj napped while I played video games. We watched Moon and then The Social Network. Had a bit of a dizzy spell for some reason. Now we're watching the season finale of Hoarders. Goddam these fuckers are fucked in the head!

22 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.83 lbs. (172.5 lbs.) | 47.92% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Almost forgot to blog

My streak almost ended. I'm totally falling asleep and forgot to blog. I snapped awake to jot this down - one handed.

21 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 175.99 lbs. (175.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Terrible != Horrible

This was just another day of life. Everything was pretty vanilla. Well, maybe except for the fact that 4" of snow fell today. That was cool - for sure! But that isn't enough to make a super cool blog entry so here is an insight into how this mad little mind of mine works.

So over Christmas I had a strange thought (a normal thought in my opinion but you can be the judge). The word "terrible" and the word "horrible" seem to be pretty synonymous in my book. Both mean "bad" for the most part, right? Now I don't assume to know latin word roots but bear with me on this.

Horrible means bad, right? I normally use it when I'm talking about an experience or a taste or a smell. I assume it comes from the word "horror". Seems like a reasonable assumption.

Terrible means bad as well, right? I normally use it when I'm talking about an experience or a taste or a smell also. I assume it comes from the word "terror". Also, it seems like a reasonable assumption.

So let's take this one step further and I'll show you just how weird my thoughts can get...

If "horror" is the root to "horrible" is it unreasonable to think that it is also the root of "horrific". Make sense, yes? So if "terror" is the root of "terrible" is it unreasonable to think that it is also the root of... "terrific"???

I just blew your mind, right?

I'm probably going to stop speculating and just look that up now.

20 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.02 lbs. (175.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Fear Biter

I had planned on blogging about shaving my nearly-four week old beard (the damn thing got too itchy last night). After I weighed myself this morning I may have blogged about how I gained 1.5 pounds overnight. Kels even deserves kudos and her own blog entry for her awesome report card (I suppose the "bonus" money we transferred into her account will suffice). No, today I will blog about my trip to the vet with Boba Fett.

Boba, my 2 1/2 old Boxer/Shepherd/Mutt mix, developed raw spots on each of his forepaws. Over the weekend I noticed that they had scabbed over. I called the vet and we headed in this morning.

Boba weighed in at 63 pounds. We went back into our little room. He whined like a hyena - he always does. The tech came in and Boba snapped at her... which was weird. The doc came in later and, after Boba snapped at him, muzzled my poor boy. It was very heartbreaking to see. He called him a "fear biter, the worst kind." Boba wasn't panicked but I haven't seen him that upset ever.

The doc looked at Boba's paws and was rather stumped (pun totally not intended... but you won't find that funny yet that 'cause I'm getting ahead of myself). It wasn't an allergic reaction. It wasn't a spider bite. It wasn't this. It wasn't that.

The doctor said more words but it sounded like this to me in the end...

Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Neurological. Blah blah blah. Dermata-blah blah blah. Laser treatment. Blah blah blah. Blah blah limb removal.

LIMB REMOVAL?!? Did he just say that? Did he mean to make my brain dump everything it had just heard? Limb removal?

The doc applied an anti-biotic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal concoction he whipped up and told me to come back in a week. Now, I don't think that my boy is in danger of limb removal. But he put it out there. And he doesn't know what's up with his paws. So I don't want to worry and don't think I should but... you know, right? And these sores are on both paws. What dog owner would ever let their dog lose both front legs? I'm sure it's nothing... but c'mon! LIMB REMOVAL? You had to say that?

Ugh.

19 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.05 lbs. (175 lbs.) | 39.91% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Biggest Loser - One Week Down

And the magic number is...

177.4

That's 8.8 pounds lost in Week 1 ALONE!!! Can you believe it? I'm sure most of it was water weight but shit, man. That's still a lot of weight.

I'm sure things will slow down next week and the coming weeks. I only have so much to lose, you know?

18 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.11 lbs. (173.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 4.726% (8.8 lbs.)

Heavy

Wow, so much can happen in 24 hours. I seems like last week that I made my last blog entry. And I'm talking really about anything of consequence. Just been busy. First thing is first though - no heartburn! Yay. Everything from this morning until now was important in its own right but just not really that blog-worthy. Maybe after blogging everyday for six months I will be reduced to telling you that I went to Lowe's and then the grocery... but not today. Today, I have something a little more interesting to share.

"Heavy"

This is the name of the new TV series that I think I'll be watching (Archer and Justified are on their way, mind you). This show is an hour-long show chronicling the lives of two morbidly obese folks over the course of six months as they try to find ways to lose their weight. I am guilty of watching fatties on TV - this is true. But my problem with the Biggest Loser is it is a two-hour investment every week. This show is like an abbreviated, miniature Biggest Loser season each week. I think I like!

Speaking of "Loser" and "miniature", anybody else notice that I've dropped 4 pounds in 6 days? Kinda weird. I feel like I've lost about half of what I am capable of losing during this Biggest Loser competition in the first week alone.

17 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.26 lbs. (174.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

Little Taco Caeser Bell = Heart Burn Level 10

I woke up this morning at 4:10AM with SEVERE pain in my chest. After kind of waking up and realizing what was going on I figured I was either suffering horrendous heartburn or my esophageal sphincter was slipping up and letting some stomach acid come out to play. A Zantac didn't do the trick. We are out of Protonix. So a trip to Walgreens was warranted to see how many, if any, refills I had. By this point it was 5AM. The system at Walgreens was in Update mode so they couldn't do anything besides send me home with Tums and some other meds. I ate 4 Tums. I waited 30 minutes. I took the other meds. I tried to sleep sitting up. Around 7AM I think I dozed off. I woke up at 8AM to whimpering dogs.

Don't know what brought that on. I haven't had an episode like that since living on Ellis. Maybe it was the 2 Steak Burrito Supremes from Taco Bell and the 3 Hot-n-Ready Pizza Sausage slices from Little Caeser (I know what you are thinking... "I thought this fatty was on a diet?" Yeah, I am - I worked it out and managed to stay under for both calories and fat).

Whatever the reason, I hope it doesn't happen again. I can't stomach another episode - pun *totally* intended.

16 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.37 lbs. (175.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

TurboTax Redux

Jooj got her W2 yesterday so I was anxious to get those numbers into TurboTax. We were upset that we were apparently going to owe. And while I was not convinced that we were in bad shape the thought of paying Uncle Sam was still unsettling.

On January 4th I said this: "So there is hope, I suppose, that in the end things will right themselves. We'll see."

We'll see, indeed. I compared the first field in TurboTax to Box 1 from Jooj's W2. - different numbers. JOOJ!

In the end, it appears that Uncle Sam will be handing over money to us now. I can't say for certain how much since I do not have my W2 yet. But things are looking much brighter than they were 10 days ago. We'll see once I receive my W2.

(Lesson learned perhaps - Jooj promised never to jump into doing taxes without W2s.)

15 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.43 lbs. (176.0 lbs.) | 39.91% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

Big payment

Raise your glass. Today Jooj and I made quite a significant payment on the credit card we want to pay off this year. It's nice to see that little number in the footer go up from 17.18% to 39.91% (which means that big number on the bank statement is going down). We've been living rather lean these last few weeks so it's nice to see that effort pay off.

Going to enjoy this Martin Luther the King three-day holiday.

Oh, and Jooj and I have been married today for 3 1/2 years. Yay us!

14 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.46 lbs. (177.5 lbs.) | 39.91% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

I just don't get the Prodigal Son story

So a particular bible story always perplexed me as a child. I've wrestled with it from time to time. And I must admit I still don't get it. It's the Prodigal Son story. I'm going to assume you know the story as I go on.

So the loser son comes home and begs to be taken back. The father not only takes him back but forgives him of his wastefully sinful ways and then throws a party on top of it all. The son that stayed with his father and worked the fields is a little pissed. His father pish-poshes him and argues that he is always with him and what is the father's is the son's.

Okay, so I get that the father is Gawd. The dumbass son is the common sinner. And the older son is the do-gooding, holier-than-thou Christian. The do-gooder is miffed 'cause the dumbass was wasteful and sinful and yet the family (i.e the congregation) applauds him when he "comes back into the flock." The do-gooder is jealous 'cause he is always doing good and never gets his own party. Gawd shakes a finger at the do-gooder and scolds him for not being thankful for just being close to Gawd in the first place.

I think that sums it up pretty nicely, yes? Please jump in and correct me if I'm not reading into it correctly.

So... how shall I start? Well, I don't like the dumbass - 'cause he's an ass... and probably a little dumb. Now that he is back what is keeping the dumbass from running off and doing it all over again? And if he does how many times are we going to throw a party? The penniless dumbass has come home! Let's party! How do I know this screw-up won't just screw it up? Forget that - let's move on.

So the father tells the do-gooder to take solace in the fact that he is always with him and that what is the father's is the son's. Let's hit up that first part... first. He is always with him? Yeah, maybe going out and blowing a bunch of money on bitches and blow sounds like fun - maybe it doesn't. But I bet the do-gooder wouldn't mind unwinding sometimes. Maybe heading over to Sodom and Gomorrah for a crazy weekend would be nice but just isn't in the cards. Maybe the do-gooder wants to let loose sometimes but he has no free time anymore 'cause who else is going to work the fields? Okay, I can go on but let me go on the my second gripe.

What is the father's is the son's... except now that dumbass is back it's kind of his now too, right? So the do-gooder was a do-gooder and played the responsible card. Dumbass shows up and now what? What if he asks dad for another slice of the pie?

I don't know. I guess I'm the jealous do-gooder and I just don't buy what dad is telling me about my dumbass brother. Oh well.

Oh, and I knocked out 6 paintings all at once. Nice way to start out the "Paint 50 pieces in 2011" New Year resolution!

13 of 365 | 12% (6 of 50) | 0 of 128 | 176.38 lbs. (177.5 lbs.) | 17.18% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

So many weight-related posts these days

A big reason I attribute to allowing me to win the Biggest Loser last year was the calorie and fat counting I did for each meal. I followed it to the letter. I was strict. I like to number-crunch so it makes sense that I was able to stick to it. But I had to enter all of the nutritional information myself. I had to read off the side or off the bag in each case and manually insert it. It was tedious but necessary. No more!

A fella at work showed me myFitnessPal.com a while back. I had stopped tracking nutritional information but tucked that gem away in case I needed to. Well, the need is here and I'm in, baby. This thing did everything I did on my own, while making it easier, plus more! I'm now tracking cholesterol. And I can "earn" calories back by exercising. This little puppy should help me maintain the healthy diet that I'll need to be in contention.

I'm mucking with my footer a tad more too. I'm still keeping my daily weight (in parentheses). But more importantly, I'm keeping a running average of my weight for the year. I think as I make progress on my other categories I will also convert them to percentages.

12 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 176.29 lbs. (178 lbs.) | 17.18% | 0.00% (0 lbs.)

186.2

Official Biggest Loser weigh-in was this morning. I must admit that I found out what a McDonald's McGriddle tastes like finally this morning. I think that helped put on a little weight right there at the last moment. And those two large OJs didn't hurt either. The scale said 186.2. Wow. McD's breakfast and clothes can really pack on the pounds (that was nearly 8 pounds heavier than I had weighed earlier in the morning in my birthday suit).

The winning percentage lost last year was nearly 13% (by yours truly). Second, third, and fourth place were all right around 8%. So, if I'm using that as a gauge, if I could lose 8% I could/should/would be in the running. That will be at right about 15 pounds.

Doable. I'm not looking forward to it. But it's doable.

I've added my total body weight percentage lost in the far right of the footer. It'll show my progress over the next 12 weeks. Wish me luck!

11 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 178.5 lbs. | 17.18% | 0.00%

"Big" Day

Tomorrow is the official weigh-in for the Biggest Loser competition at work. I've done my best to put on some weight before the weigh-in. That's not true. I haven't really tried all that hard. But I have STUFFED myself for dinner the last two nights. And I plan on eating a mighty breakfast and drinking plenty of liquid in the morning.

Beyond that, it's also a big day at work 'cause we're pushing out something that I've been working on for nearly 2 months now. I'm so excited. Keep your fingers crossed and let's hope that it goes out smoothly. We've had a rough few weeks at work and really need a home run.

Lastly, we may be getting a big icy winter storm tomorrow. It may wreak havoc on the school kids (and Jooj). I hope that mess gets sorted out before it actually becomes one. I just checked and so far Greyhound Bus Lines and the Great American Dollhouse Museum have closed (wtf?). I'm hoping JCPS follows Greyhound and GADM's lead on this one instead of some funky delayed opening/early dismissal routine. That would make Jooj happy.

And happy Jooj means happy me.

10 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 178 lbs. | 17.18%

Free Showtime Preview Weekend

When not watching wacky football games (Seahawks over Saints?, Jets over Colts!) Jooj and I were enjoying some free SHO this weekend. We watched "Quantum of Solace" yesterday. She watched "Twilight: New Moon" last night. Today we watched "Push" and "Knowing". I don't know when we watched movies like that. I have a basket full of DVDs that I *know* are better than any of those movies and I couldn't convince her to watch one of them - let alone **four** over them over the course of two days.

If I thought that SHO's programming was actually like this I'd subscribe. But I'm sure their schedule isn't quite so loaded with movies during their regular programming. Thanks for the preview SHO, but we'll pass.

9 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 177.5 lbs. | 17.18%

It was the best of news. It was the worst of news.

I got two calls from Kesley today.

"Guess who got into college?" was how the first one started. I knew she would. But she was fretting. And Jooj was fretting. So I was, by default, having to deal with two fretting gals - it fretted me. But, like I said, I knew she would. So I wasn't surprise but I was very proud and so, so happy to hear the relief in her voice.

Later in the day another call came through. Someone broke into her car and stole her iPod. Ugh. Seriously? You messed with my little grrrl? I passed the phone to Jooj to shower Kels with motherly love. Through their conversation I learned that her Monster cable had been snagged too. Weak. I immediately offered mine as a replacement. And the perp had trashed her car. SUPER BUMMER!

But then my eyebrow raised when Kels went on to tell Jooj that her registration and glove box had been ripped to shreds? Huh? Why would a thief, whose main concern besides the score is subterfuge, spend time doing that? My old Jeep had been broken into 4 times over the years. Sure, things were tussled about but never maliciously torn up. Maliciously... right? As if it were personal, right? My gut tells me this was someone she knows. Wickedly, super terrible.

Congrats Kels! Sorry Kels. What a meh day on average.

8 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 177 lbs. | 17.18%

"She continues to live in our memories and our stories."

Granny passed away one year ago today and I said that to mom this morning.

Jooj woke up and looked outside. She didn't see any snow on the ground. "Dammit Granny!" I laughed pretty hard.

You see, when Granny passed we had to trek on down to Muhlenberg County. Jooj prayed for a snow day. And Granny blessed us with one. Today... not so much :)

Love you, Granny!

7 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 176 lbs. | 17.18%

Rotten Day (but tomorrow may not be)

I've had some hard days at work. And I've had some long days at work. But I've never had one that was so drama-filled, mistake-laden, lunch-less, long, and hard. It added up to an overall rotten day.

I woke up in some kind of funk so it just made the day worse when things degraded at work.

But I'm an optimistic, if not realistic, guy. Tomorrow is a new day. Lunch is on the house. It's the weekend. Snow is on the way. My buddy Ted is going to get a job offer at Genscape. Jooj and I are having free PF Chang's tomorrow for dinner. The day can't be all that bad. Can it?

Should I even bother to ask?

6 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175.5 lbs. | 17.18%

Putting the "Big" in Biggest Loser (and the number 3)

Well, well, well. It's that time of year again and our Biggest Loser competition at work is about to start up. The official weigh-in is Tuesday and that means that yours truly is going to have to pack on a little weight this weekend - not to mention about 5 pounds of water that I'm going to drink Tuesday morning. McD's double cheeseburgers and breakfast burritos, here I come!

So expect that little number in the footer to start going up. But before long you'll start seeing it come down! I'm going to aim to lose 12 pounds over 12 weeks. Wish me luck.

Interesting and totally random side-note... this is my 333rd blog post. Unimaginably coincidentally enough, at one point I looked down at the number of emails in my Inbox at work (something I can't say that I've ever remembered doing) this morning and saw that I had 3333 emails. And I remember thinking to myself, "Holy shit, tonight will be my 333rd blog post too!"

This message (obviously) brought to you by the number 3.

5 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175.5 lbs. | 17.18%

Taxes... grrr

I'm sure I was going to blog about something more fun today than how the day turned out. But the day has been completely overshadowed by taxes. The day started out fine. I woke up. Blah blah blah. I sat down to Turbo Tax around 4:45 PM. Blah blah blah. Finally stopped talking money with my wife at 9:30 PM. Blech!

Suffice to say, we aren't quite as pleased with the outcome as much as we hoped we would be. Uncle Sam is dipping into our pockets a bit this year - at least seemingly so. We fudged a few numbers since we don't have W2s yet. Plus certain forms weren't available yet through TurboTax. Hell, state filings were even available yet.

So there is hope, I suppose, that in the end things will right themselves. We'll see.

4 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175 lbs. | 17.18%

Rest in Peace, Kobayashi

Pete Postlehwaite died last night from cancer at the age of 64. He was a talented actor (the best in the world according to Steven Spielberg) but will always be Keyser Soze's lawyer Kobayashi in my heart.

Kobayashi: Get your rest, Gentlemen. The boat will be ready for you on Friday. If I see you or any of your friends before then, Miss Finneran will find herself the victim of a most gruesome violation before she dies. As will your father, Mr. Hockney. And your Uncle Randall in Arizona, Mr. Kint. I might only castrate Mr. McManus's nephew, David. Do I make myself clear?

Kobayashi: One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.

He was one bad mutha. Sorry to hear he passed away.

3 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 176 lbs. | 17.18% (good Gawd, that weight has been shooting up!)

2011 FFL CHAMPIONS!!!

The L'ville Hotspurs have unofficially won the 2011 Championship over ScatteredSmotheredCovered in the smorty71 league with an unofficial score of 88.12 to 49.9!!! Hail to the victor!

(this is where you hail, loyal reader)

See for yourself here...

sMoRTy71 Home - NFL.com - Free Fantasy Football

It's been a great ride this season. And since the Hotspurs have been around the longest (around 6 years - my other two teams are both in their rookie season) it's about damn time :)

2 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 175 lbs. | 17.18%

2011 New Year Resolutions

Here are some ideas I'm kicking around in my head...

1. Pay off the Chase Visa this year.

2. Stay below 175 lbs. I started Biggest Loser last year at 188. I ended at 164. I've since put 10 pounds back on (it took 10 months so it isn't too bad but still a trend I want to reverse).

3. Finish (hell, begin!) work on my comic book idea. It will be a blast putting it together. It will be a huge accomplishment for me (that will more than likely never amount to anything other than points in pride). And Granny would've loved it. I'm thinking of a 4-part mini-series at 32 pages each. Woo... that sounds like a lot. Wish me luck.

4. Paint 50 pieces in 2011. That sounds crazy but I know it's doable. I've painted 100 pieces over the last few years and I've done it at a very leisure pace. If anything, it could get a wee bit expensive. However, I'm going to start off in good shape as I kick off this resolution with six pieces I'm finishing this week.

5? Blog more. I don't really know what that means. I was thinking initially everyday. But that's a lot. And I may even bore myself at that rate. Not sure on that one.

So I've made plenty of resolutions in the past not never amounted to anything. Let's see how we do, shall we?

I'm going to keep track of how we ("we" being me, my future self [hey buddy!], and whomever wants to come along for the ride) are doing by including the following coded footer after each post...

1 of 365 | 0 of 50 | 0 of 128 | 174 lbs. | 17.18%