What a great few days it's been

I obviously need to have birfdays more often. In the last 72 hours...

* Shared lunch down at Toast with Jooj

* Been congratulated by dozens of people, both verbally and virtually

* Met with Home of the Innocents and am going to be working on some artwork for them

* Spent time with my side of the family and shared pizza and cake

* Sported monstrously, ridiculously-sized balloons out at work

* Played hours of video games with Will and his Xbox Live buddies (and held my own for the most part)

* Ate five and a half cheese coneys from Skyline (one sitting, mind you)

* Received a totally unsolicited, paid-for-with-her-own-money gift from Kels

* Gifted a bag of Modjeskas by some peeps in the office

* Rocked out some Java

* Bar-tended my wife's 31 party and slipped in shots and margaritas the whole time

I could make the argument that these last three days have been one of the best run of days in my entire life :)

100% | 175.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 49.59% (181 of 365) | 112/50/20 lbs

"32 Flavors" by Ani Difranco

Squint your eyes and look closer, I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster, I am thirty-two flavors and then some
And I'm beyond your peripheral vision so you might want to turn your head
Cause someday you're going to get hungry and eat most of the words you just said

Both my parents taught me about good will and I have done well by their names
Just the kindness I've lavished on strangers is more than I can explain
Still there's many who've turned out their porch lights just so I would think they were not home
And hid in the dark of their windows ‘til I'd passed and left them alone

And god help you if you are an ugly girl, course too pretty is also your doom
Cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room
And god help you if you are a phoenix and you dare to rise up from the ash
A thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy while you are just flying back

I'm not trying to give my life meaning by demeaning you
And I would like to state for the record I did everything that I could do
I'm not saying that I'm a savior I just don't want to live that way
No, I will never be a saint but I will always say

Squint your eyes and look closer, I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster, I am thirty-two flavors and then some
And I'm beyond your peripheral vision so you might want to turn your head
Cause someday you might find you're starving and eating all of the words you said

100% | 176.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 49.32% (180 of 365) | 112/50/20 lbs

37 Years

Been on this earth for 37 years today. Here's hoping for another 37 more!

100% | 177 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 49.04% (179 of 365) | 112/50/20 lbs

"I'll be 37 in 8 minutes"

During a task force last night with the Twilight Avengers* I was asked, among many other questions, how old I was. I responded with "I'll be 37 in 8 minutes" and was then met with hearty congratulations from people that were barely anything more than strangers 40 minutes previous. It was very sweet and made me grin ear to ear :)

<nerd alert>
* I began the application process to become a member of the Twilight Avengers, a well-organized and very active group in City of Heroes (actually spans beyond just that game). I am in the "appy process" and ran my first task force with them last night during which I met several new members. During this upcoming two-week period I will meet the members and they will determine whether or not they want to admit me into the group. I was kind of nervous last night but I felt like I connected with a few members so felt pretty at ease by the end of it all.
</nerd alert>


100% | 174.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 48.77% (178 of 365) | 112/50/20 lbs

Got weights for the bench

Picked up bars and weights for the weight bench. Had a good work out afterwards too. Back in the day (you know, when I was a beefcake... LOL) I used to bench 160 pounds. Today I benched 92 pounds. Hey, it's a start. I curled 60 pounds and pulled 22.5 pounds over my head for a lat and deltoid workout. I also threw in some sit-ups for good measure. I did 3 reps of 10. And man-o-man, I am already feeling pretty tight.

So I'm going to keep track of what I'm lifting down there in the footer. With Will sharing the bench with me we will probably be switching out weights pretty frequently. And honestly, I'm going to forget what I lift if I don't.

100% | 176.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 48.49% (177 of 365) | 92/60/22.5 lbs

My day in single-word sentences

Pool. Lunch. Errands. Yard. Nap. Dinner. TV. Work. Play. Sleep.

100% | 177 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 48.22% (176 of 365)

Murray State Summer O

Summer Orientation started bright and early yesterday morning. After waiting in line, testing, browsing the bookstore, getting student ID picture, and sitting through a few morning sessions it was time for Kelsey to break off into her little groups. We would spend the rest of the morning and afternoon without her as we attended parent-oriented sessions. When we arrived she had been pensive. As the morning drew on her mood seemed to worsen. By the time she was to leave us she almost seemed apathetic, lethargic, regretful.

"Whatever you do today just try and have fun doing it," I encouraged. We had already given her speeches about the social aspects of college, expanding her horizons, keeping an open mind, staying positive, blah blah blah. I wanted her to get off on the right foot and really make the most of her college experience.

Well, the day drew on. We saw plenty of kids with their groups but never saw Kelsey. We skipped a session. Went to lunch. Sat through more sessions. And then my phone buzzed. It was KBear. Honestly, when I got it, my heart dropped. I just had this feeling that something was wrong.

"I'm making friends :D"

Jooj and I almost teared up. It was *that* moment that I knew she was going to be okay!

Looking back on the morning, and remembering the other kids, they all had that terrified regretful look on their face. Kels was just like the rest of them - except she, like many others (and unfortunately unlike some), did something about it. Yay!

100% | ??? lbs.* | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 47.95% (175 of 365)

* No scale at Holiday Inn

Sitting in Murray, KY

I'm blogging from my hotel room in Murray, KY with my two favorite gals, Jooj and Kels. We have college orientation tomorrow at Murray State so we rolled down today and are spending the night. We had dinner at Jasmine (recommended by a former Murray resident) and then drove around the campus. It is very nice. I told Kels I was very excited for her - and I am! I have a feeling she is really going to love the next four years down here. I'm so proud and happy for her.

100% | 174 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 47.67% (174 of 365)

Wall Clouds vs. Funnel Clouds... I Know the Difference

Did I just earn my online meteorology degree? No (not yet!).

Last night a serious storm came rolling through L'ville. Things were fine and calm... and then the sirens started blaring. It was so strange 'cause things looked fine outside, even with the sirens blowing up outside. In fact, our neighbor was mowing his lawn unaware of the impending storm.

I was looking skyward out the back door. The sky was white with clouds hanging high in the air. A spiraling, wispy, lowering-hanging, starfish-shaped cloud quickly spun overhead. It wasn't necessarily scary but seemed very odd. I felt like I was watching something happening, for real. It was only later that Jooj told me that the news said it was called a Wall Cloud and normally proceeds a funnel cloud which can then in turn find it's way into a tornado.

I ran across the street to alert the neighbor. He saw me running and was startled by the sirens once he could hear them after the din of the lawnmower faded. I ran back to the safety of my home. The cloud passed. But more were on their way.

Shortly after, I was looking out the front door and saw huge, dark, greenish gray clouds menacing over the northeast. I watched fingers curl down and pretend like they wanted to be tornados. Those clouds, unlike the wall cloud, were quite terrorizing. They looked to be hanging over the houses of my sister and in-laws. We found out later that those were funnel clouds. And those things were scary shit!

100% | 174.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 47.38% (173 of 365)

Triple Species Clean-up, Last Days, and Good News for Kelsey

I woke up this morning to quite a situation. On the heels of cleaning up Jooj's mess off the carpet from a stomach bug, I woke up to cat puke on the carpet and dog poo in the basement. Faaaaaantastic.

Today was the last day for two people at work. One, the CEO, was bittersweet. He's moving onto a better position on the board of directors and passing the torch to another able-bodied replacement. The other was... weird and wrong. It felt as if I was seeing the plot of "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" unfold before my eyes. Several of us agree that the situation is Viked up. Wish them both the best of luck.

Took Kels to the neurologist today and received the best news we could get. It turns out that she was misdiagnosed with juvenile frontal lobe epilepsy 2 years ago. The ticks she suffered may have been a combination of puberty, poor sleep, too much caffeine, and... well, people just have ticks. I am so happy to hear this for her.

100% | 175 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 47.12% (172 of 365)

RIP Ryan Dunn

Ryan Dunn, of Jackass fame, died last night along with his passenger when his Porsche lost control and ran off the road. I saw the pic of the car. IT WAS TOTALLY FUCKED UP! I'm sure his friends are shocked and sad, but they can take some comfort in knowing that he was killed instantly. Oh, did I mentioned that what was left of the car was on fire when emergency crews arrived? Yeah, no walking away from that one.

Sorry to see you go, Ryan. You made me laugh in the Jackass movies. I never would think someone could stick a toy car up their ass had you not pioneered that one, buddy!

100% | 176.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 46.85% (171 of 365)

Happy Father's Day (and something neat in City of Heroes)

To all the fathers out there, I hope your day is going as you hoped it would.

The party the night before was a success. Everyone had a blast. After a good night's sleep, I started the morning tending to a wounded* Jooj. After making sure she was going to survive I collected the kids and headed to Selena's for Father's Day brunch with her side. It was deeeee-licious!

The rest of the day was just bumming around and chilling. I played on my laptop while Will played Mass Effect 1. Kels took Will back to their dad's a little early. I grabbed some dinner for Jooj and me and chilled some more.

While playing City of Heroes last night I had something neat happen to me. I had played with my buddies for a while. Then we all joined a group to work on the hardest Task Force in the game - the one where the group fights ALL the major villains. We kicked ass and that was fun.

Later, after everyone else had logged off, I walked into a shop to sell some junk. Somebody was in there already. He buffed me. I buffed him. He paused and then messaged me something about how he liked the powers I had - his favorite combination. We went back and forth just a bit before I asked...

"NO WAY!!! Are you Local_Man?"

He answered that he was. OMVG**!!!

You see, like any other thing on the Internet, there are forums dedicated to City of Heroes. In it there is a section for each hero/villain type. Under each section there is a link for user-created player guides. For one particular toon of mine, the one I was playing last night at the time (and one of my favorites at the moment), I have used the well-written guide "A Local Guide to the Illusion Control/Radiation Emission Controller". That guide, a well-regarded and thorough piece, was written by Local_Man.

So we chatted about this and that. I told him that I relied heavily on his guide. He gave me a pointer. I told him that I was thrilled to meet him in-game. He said that made his day. We said goodnight. And I fell asleep with a big nerdy grin :)

* "wounded" meaning hungover

** Oh My Viking Gawd

100% | 173.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 46.58% (170 of 365)

Kelsey's Graduation Party

Today is the day. We've worked our asses off for weeks upon weeks, spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on landscaping and home repairs, have food, drinks, sushi, cake, beer... we are ready to party!!!

100% | 173 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 46.30% (169 of 365)

Will's Gamestop Trade-in

Will had a fistful of games he wanted to trade-in at Gamestop in hopes of getting him enough store credit to buy some Microsoft points. He wanted some Microsoft points to buy a new add-on coming out in 2 weeks and also wanted some DLC's for Fable 2. In my head I was thinking he would get $30.

Before we arrived we stopped at mom and dad's to switch cars. Dad asked him why he had so many games and Will, after putting on his best puppy dog eyes, explained that he was poor and was trading in the games to buy some other stuff. Dad fell for it and gave him $11.

On the way there Will reminded me that I owed him $20 for work he had done around the house. I assured him that I would be good for it.

We got to Gamestop and the guy behind the counter made remarks leading us both to believe that he would be earning more than $30. I hoped he was right and wasn't just building us up. He totaled it up and, after applying the 30% bonus for being a Power Up member, it came out to be...

$95.20!!!!!

Wowza! Needless to say, Will couldn't believe it. After he put his head back on he went on a spree: put $5 to reserve Skyrim coming in November, bought the not-yet-published strategy for Skyrim, purchased the add-on, purchased 4000 Microsoft points, bought a used copy of Mass Effect 1, bought a used copy of Mass Effect 2, and bought a used copy of Dragon Age 2 (the Buy 2, Get 1 Free deal racked us up that last one). After all of this he came out of the store owing me $4.

That lucky little shit! :)

100% | 177 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 46.03% (168 of 365)

Changing of the Guard

During a short ceremony today the guard was changed. And by "guard" I actually mean the window decal on the CRV. The Meredith-Dunn decal was removed and replaced by a St. X decal.

It was (not) worth noting that my dumb ass put the silly thing on at an uneven angle. I'm such a maroon!

100% | 175 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 45.75% (167 of 365)

Super 8

Saw Super 8 tonight with the kids and it was SUPER GREAT! I wish Jooj would have gone but I won't mind seeing it again with her. And I *will* see it again. It simply rocked.

Going into it I didn't know as much about it as I normally would. I decided a while back to stop reading up on it. I wanted some surprises and didn't want to know spoilers beforehand. I was expecting something like a scary E.T.

What this movie is is actually something along those lines. It tries to capture the magic of E.T. and The Goonies with a little touch of The Thing. But it's not horror. At it's core, Super 8 is a coming of age flick. And it has tons of heart. I love the kids and how they interact with one another. It's just a feel good movie... that happens to have a pretty nasty alien and stuff in it.

I consider it a hit and think it will join the aforementioned classics. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Go see it with your kids and/or loved ones.

Quick note: the deputy and father of the main kid has a striking resemblance to Uncle Pat :)

100% | 175 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 45.48% (166 of 365)

Early Father's Day Gift

I came home from work and the fam had an early Father's Day gift for me - 3 tickets to go see Super 8 tomorrow night! The kids and I are going to the 7:15pm showing. Yay! I'm so excited. And that is all I could ask for. I love those guys!

100% | 175.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 45.21% (165 of 365)

Biggest Loser = Me!!!

It's official. I was/am the Biggest Loser for the second year in a row. While the payout wasn't what it was last year, it was still a small wad of cash. And besides the cash winnings I am also happy that I lost 12.0 pounds over the course of the 13 weeks. Now I can *finally* stop tracking my Biggest Loser weight and concentrate on some of these other stats :)

100% | 175.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 44.93% (164 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Kelsey's Last Day at Little Caeser's

It's Kelsey's last day working at Little Caeser's Pizza. She's had the job for a year and I'm proud of her for hanging onto it through the good times, the bad times, her Senior year, and through two halves of summer. I drove up to see her and get a pizza to commemorate the occasion. She was out front, shaking that sign like a champion. I snapped a picture of her to add to her graduation video, which I also finished today. I hope she likes it.

Last day at work. Graduation video. This grrrl is soon to be off to college. There is nothing we can do to stop it, is there? I guess not at this point. Love you Kels!

100% | 177 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 44.66% (163 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

"Everyone needs a Woody!"

I kid you not - these were the exact words spoken by my sister's sister-in-law Sissy (LOL - sis, sis, Sissy) at Emma's birthday party. My eyes bugged and I flashed a startled face before doing my best to hide it all. But the couch full of ladies, which was made up of my 2 cousins, my aunt, and my MOTHER, started cacklin' like old hens. An uneasy laugh echoed through the room following that.

Granted, Sissy was talking about the gift Emma had just opened - Woody, the Pixar-created cowboy from the Toy Story movies voiced by Tom Hanks. But the words were already out there and could not be taken back. They were penned in the metaphysical family history book scant milliseconds after the words were uttered.

Happy 3rd birthday Emma!

100% | 176 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 44.38% (162 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Perfect timing

We had another four scoops of mulch delivered today. It was supposed to come tomorrow but they said their driver situation was sketchy and may deliver it today. They did. So I was inclined to spread that shit (pun intended) tonight. Jooj wanted to relax so we resolved to do it in the morning.

Well, news of possible storms renewed my interest in getting it done. Either that or buy and tarp and cover our pile of pooey goodness. Jooj caved so we started the task of scooping, wheelbarrowing (I can't believe that is an actual word), dumping, spreading, and repeating ad nauseam. We managed to cover the back and nearly all of the desired garden area before running out. It was hard work - no doubt about that. During the last leg of it the thunder began to rumble, reminding us that we had made the right decision.

We took our dirty asses upstairs to shower. Moments after I walked out of the shower the rain started coming down. Ah, perfect timing. To quote the great Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, "I love it when a plan comes together!'

100% | 174.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 44.11% (161 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Not feeling well

I've not felt well over the last 48 hours. Meh.

100% | 173 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 43.83% (160 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Therapists shocked by my improvement

The doctor was happy with my progress this morning. But the real surprise was the shock and dismay expressed by my therapists at the improvement in my finger mobility. I only spent 30 minutes with them before they sent me on my way with some new exercises to try.

The doctor explained that an injury like this takes 2 years to heal. He said that I could experience pain and swelling for the next 6 months. And he stressed that I shouldn't perform any heavy-duty physical exercise for a month. But he took me out of my splint and I'm happy about that (also haven't taken any pain meds today yet... maybe I won't!).

100% | 176 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 43.55% (159 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Tired of Killing the Pain

I'm tired of the painkillers. I'm tired of needing to kill my pain. I'm tired of being in pain. I'm tired of the feeling of having a headache in my finger. I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of complaining now.

100% | 176 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 43.28% (158 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Why do I allow myself to get excited?

How many times have I blogged about the vaporware Star Wars: Battlefront 3? A dozen? How many times has my heart been broken? Every time. Why do I keep letting George Lucas play with my emotions? 'Cause I'm a sucker.

Anyway...

This year's E3 has two Super Secret Sequel announcements on Wednesday, June 8th, at 4:40pm and 5:40pm. All of the Star Wars fanatics are speculating that one of them could be Star Wars: Battlefront 3. Some of the real hardcore fanatics are hoping that one is Battlefront 3 and the other is Star Wars: Republic Commando 2. While I would love for that to be the case I am trying to convince myself that the odds are monumentally stacked against either being a Star Wars title.

Fool me once, George Lucas, shame on you. Fool me twice... well, shame on you again. Fool me twelve times? Well, sir... well... super shame on you, you bastard! SHAME!!!

100% | 176 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 43.01% (157 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Lazy Sunday

No, I'm talking about "Lazy Sunday", the track by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell (although that is totally worth its own entry... so many great lines... "Two no Six no Twelve - Baker's Dozen!", "True dat, double-true!", "Snack Attack Muthafucker!", "Mr. Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious", "It's all about the Hamiltons baby"). Ah, always makes me laugh. But alas, no, I'm just blogging about a Sunday that was lazy.

So yeah, lazy Sunday. I got my chores done early and spent the rest of the day vegging on the computer and playing video games. Reminded me of my bachelor Saturdays when I'd start an epic game of Galactic Civilizations 2 in the morning and try to finish it in one sitting before midnight. Ah, those were the days (Were they though? Sounds kind of anti-social, nerdy, and generally unhealthy!).

100% | 176.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 42.74% (156 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Busy Saturday (this is a reoccurring theme for Saturdays)

Woke up at 7:40. Still was in a drug haze. Woke up again at 8:40. Doorbell was ringing. Mulch guy was here. Moved cars in driveway. Texted my work buddy Brandon. Started the mulch spreading process. Jooj helped. Brandon helped. Will even helped. Picked up lunch from Jersey Mike's. Dropped Will off. Nearly fell asleep driving home. Showered. Took my first sh!t since Wednesday morning. These drugs constipate me. Lost over 2 pounds in one sitting. Sweet relief! Popped pills. Napped. Picked up Will. Went to grocery. Forgot dog food. Went to Katie's graduation party. Came home. Stopped by Walgreens and got energy drinks. Popped pills. Hung out with Will. Goddam he's annoying on energy drinks. Why did I do that? Played City of Heroes. Popped pills. Went to bed.

100% | 177.5 (175.5) lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 42.47% (155 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Horrific Injury

"Mr. Brinley, you have suffered a horrific injury."

These exact words were spoken to me this morning by the hand specialist. Fortunately, he only said this to discourage me from trying to rush back into sports or hard work. He didn't follow that statement with anything like, "... and we're going to have to remove the digit." In fact, to my surprise, I was sent immediately from my appointment to physical therapy. I think it was at that point that I realized this injury isn't just something I'm going to just shake off.

100% | 176 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 42.19% (154 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Congraduation!

I had a blog entry with this same title on May 19th for Will. Today I am proud to announce that today's entry is for my not-so-baby grrrl Kels! She proudly accepted her high school diploma from Atherton's principal this evening in a surprisingly concise ceremony. She has come a long way and I have done my part to guide her down the right path. I hope for nothing but the best for my gal!

Oh, and sorry for the late post. I have been drug-addled for the last 24 or so hours. This finger thing is cramping my style :)

100% | 175 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 41.92% (153 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)

Finger Dislocated - Not Broken

I got home from the ER at 3am last night. The good news is that it wasn't broken - just dislocated. I got a copy of the Xray and was showing it off all day. It is quite impressive! The section of my finger above the first knuckle is COMPLETELY floating in my finger, utterly separated from the rest of the bones of the finger. More good news is that I was prescribed Oxycodone and I LOVE THEM!

Bad news is that I could have suffered tendon damage. And that, despite these lovely Oxycodone, my finger still hurts pretty bad. I'm going to a hand specialist on Tuesday to find out more.

100% | 173.5 lbs. | 0% (0 of 128) | 14% (7 of 50) | 41.64% (152 of 365) | 6.444% (12 lbs.)