"Oh my Gawd, that's Kelsey!!!"

Jooj and I were on our way to Vian's birfday party Friday night. We were on the expressway, I-64, heading west towards the Watterson. Traffic had slowed - typical for that stretch as new traffic patterns had introduced a treacherous bit of highway. Multiple car wrecks are unfortunately common for that segment.

I saw the blue/red flashing of a police cruiser up ahead and figured it was either a wreck or a traffic stop. As we drew near it appeared to have been yet another accident. As we passed, Jooj exclaimed:

"Oh my Gawd, that's Kelsey!!!"

Son of a... I yanked over and pulled into the emergency lane. I reversed until we were close to the accident scene. I don't know if I didn't want to believe Jooj or just flat out didn't. But my heart sank when I saw Kels' blond head in my rearview.

She was okay. All of the participants were okay. It was a four-car accident. Kels was the third in line. The back car slammed into her, pushed her into the car in front of her, and pushed that car into car in front of them. Her trunk was heavily damaged. Her hood and possibly her engine were also heavily damaged. The car looked terrible. They may possibly total it.

So she's upset but she is alive and breathing. I tell you, it was not fun going through that. As her step-father I felt shear terror thinking that she had been injured. Love ya, Kels!

92.1% | 174.54 lbs. (172.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 74.79% (273 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

401

What a great day yesterday (so great that I failed to blog... however, with the new Blogger interface I can cheat and manually set the Publish time/date... muwahahahaha!).

The morning started off with breakfast with my grrrls (Jooj and Kels) down at Toast. A quick walk to work in the brisk morning air followed, interrupted by a stop into Muth's for 1/2 pound of yummy Modjeskas. The day continued with some small yet easily identified and fixed problems - cut and dry. A scheduled floor meeting followed, during which many good things were announced. The best news came in the form of a number - 401. The Oil group's growth in 2011 was 401%. Makes a man proud at the end of the day.

The day continued rolling along. Jooj came down to work to pick me up for the Saint X v. Trinity Freshman football game. Go Tigers! They won in an exciting victory, 24-21. We went to Papalino's for pizza afterward. Delish. Then we met up with some work friends, BD and Hills, for drinks at Napa.

All in all, it was a great day.

92.1% | 174.55 lbs. (171.6 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 74.52% (272 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Darth Vader, Single Spaces, Ambien, FFL, and Kels

Remember back on August 29th when I mentioned, among other things, that my mom bought me a mylar Darth Vader balloon? And do you remember when I blogged that day that, after 2 months, it was still floating above my head.  Well, make that three months. Seriously, you need a balloon, ask me. For serious.

Also, remember when I declared that I was never going to follow a period with two spaces ever again? Well, as it turns out, that has been a much easier habit to break than I ever would have imagined.

At my wife's suggestion I took an Ambien last night to help my spotty sleeping. After taking it she warned that I had about 15 minutes. Well, about 20 minutes later I didn't really feel anything... until I stood up. Whoah, bed time! Oddly enough though I kept waking up last night. So I supposed it didn't work. But then it came time to get up this morning. And that's when I noticed the effects. It took me forever to rally myself out of bed. And I had medicine head all morning. So no thank you, Ambien. Gawd gave me gift of falling asleep quickly and sleeping hard. I guess I'll work with what I've got and not mess with it.

Fantasy Football started - three weeks in. The Wyld Stallyns in the Genscape League are 3-0. The L'ville Gunners in the GE League are 1-2. One of those teams I'm very proud of.

Lastly, Kels is home for Fall Break. She came over for dinner tonight. I'd love to pretend that I'll see her more than that but I doubt it. Still love her!

92.1% | 174.56 lbs. (171.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 74.25% (271 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

The Haps

So enough with these cryptic, one-word entries, right?

Jooj and I got into a big fight. She asked that I not blog. So I tried to sum up the following days (well, previous at this point) with a single word that conveyed my feelings or actions on that day. As information has trickled out to our friends and family and loved ones I think many people have heard pieces of the story of what's going on.  Well, with Jooj sitting at my side, we're here to set the record straight (and let me continue to use multi-worded blog entries).

As married couples sometimes do, we got into a big nasty fight. Some ugly things were said and feelings were hurt. Ultimately, over the course of the last 10 days or so, we've decided to do our best to work things out. She and I have continued to live under the same roof. We still love each other very much. She and I are speaking with a counselor together. She is also seeing someone individually. We know what is at stake. We love our kids, our families, our lives, our pets (except Toby), our house, and the whole enchilada. So we are going to fight to find that understanding that will allow us to get back into each others arms for good.

I love each and every one of you very much (yes, even you weirdos that anonymously read my blog even though I may not know you... and especially you, future self - hey there, buddy!) and hope that our bickering hasn't hurt anyone else out there. And I hope reading this entry puts a few hearts at ease.

This whole ordeal has wrecked my sleep. And let's not even begin to talk about my 14-year old complexion. My stress has decreased so my stomach has gone from "full of razors" to "full of knots". I've also heard through the grapevine that the fam took Thanksgiving away from us. Oops! Lastly, for the record, I'm not growing a beard - I'm just not shaving.

On a happy note, I'd like to welcome wee baby Flora into the world. Congratulations, Patrick and Brigid! We love you!

92.1% | 174.57 lbs. (172.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 73.97% (270 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Care

care [kair] 

noun
1. a state of mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern: He was never free from care.
2. a cause or object of worry, anxiety, concern, etc.: Their son has always been a great care to them.
3. serious attention; solicitude; heed; caution: She devotes great care to her work.
4. protection; charge: He is under the care of a doctor.
5. temporary keeping, as for the benefit of or until claimed by the owner: He left his valuables in the care of friends. Address my mail in care of the American Embassy.
Synonyms: administration, aegis, affliction, aggravation, alarm, alertness, anguish, annoyance, anxiety, apprehension, auspices, bother, burden, caution, chagrin, charge, circumspection, concentration, concern, conscientiousness, consideration, consternation, control, diligence, direction, discomposure, discrimination, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturbance, effort, encumbrance, enthusiasm, exactness, exasperation, exertion, fastidiousness, fear, foreboding, forethought, fretfulness, guardianship, handicap, hardship, heed, hindrance, impediment, incubus, interest, keeping, load, management, meticulousness, ministration, misgiving, nicety, nuisance, onus, oppression, pains, particularity, perplexity, precaution, pressure, protection, prudence, regard, responsibility, safekeeping, scrupulousness, solicitude, sorrow, stew, strain, stress, superintendence, supervision, sweat, thought, tribulation, trouble, trust, tutelage, uneasiness, unhappiness, vexation, vigilance, ward, wardship, wariness, watchfulness, woe, worry,
Antonyms: carelessness, disregard, ignorance, inattention, neglect, negligence, omission, oversight, thoughtlessness

(We are under it and it must be taken going forward.)

92.1% | 174.58 lbs. (172.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 73.70% (269 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Priority

pri·or·i·ty [prahy-awr-i-tee] 

 noun, plural -ties for 2–4.
1. the state or quality of being earlier in time, occurrence, etc.
2. the right to precede others in order, rank, privilege, etc.; precedence.
3. the right to take precedence in obtaining certain supplies, services, facilities, etc., especially during a shortage.
4. something given special attention.
Synonyms: antecedence, arrangement, crash project, greatest importance, lead, order, precedence, preeminence, preference, prerogative, previousness, rank, right of way, seniority, superiority, supremacy, transcendence
Antonyms: unimportance 

(One step at a time.)

 92.1% | 174.60 lbs. (171.6 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 73.42% (268 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Discretion

dis·cre·tion [dih-skresh-uhn]

noun
1. the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice: It is entirely within my discretion whether I will go or stay.
2. the quality of being discreet, especially with reference to one's own actions or speech; prudence or decorum: Throwing all discretion to the winds, he blurted out the truth.
Idiom
3. at discretion, at one's option or pleasure: They were allowed to work overtime at discretion.
Synonyms: acumen, attention, calculation, canniness, care, carefulness, chariness, circumspection, concern, considerateness, consideration, deliberation, diplomacy, discernment, discrimination, foresight, forethought, good sense, gumption, heed, heedfulness, judiciousness, maturity, observation, perspicacity, precaution, presence of mind, providence, prudence, responsibility, sagacity, sense, shrewdness, solicitude, tact, thoughtfulness, vigilance, wariness, warning, watchfulness, wisdom
Antonyms: carelessness, indiscretion, thoughtlessness

(Know the how behind the why of the what, when, and where.)

92.1% | 174.61 lbs. (170.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 73.15% (267 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Dismay

dis·may [dis-mey]

verb (used with object)
1. to break down the courage of completely, as by sudden danger or trouble; dishearten thoroughly; daunt: The surprise attack dismayed the enemy.
2. to surprise in such a manner as to disillusion: She was dismayed to learn of their disloyalty.
3. to alarm; perturb: The new law dismayed some of the more conservative politicians.
Synonyms: abash, affright, agitate, alarm, appall, bewilder, bother, chill, confound, daunt, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discourage, dishearten, disillusion, dispirit, disquiet, distress, disturb, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, flummox, fluster, foul up, frighten, get to, horrify, louse up, mess up*, muck up, mystify, nonplus, paralyze, perplex, put off, puzzle, rattle, scare, screw up, shake, snafu, take aback, terrify, terrorize, throw, throw into a tizzy, unhinge, unnerve, upset
Antonyms: assure, encourage, make happy

noun
4. sudden or complete loss of courage; utter disheartenment.
5. sudden disillusionment.
6. agitation of mind; perturbation; alarm.
Synonyms: agitation, alarm, anxiety, apprehension, blue funk, blues, bummer, chagrin, cold feet, consternation, discouragement, disheartenment, disillusionment, downer, dread, dumps, fear, fright, funk, hassle, horror, letdown, panic, terror, the blahs, trepidation, upset
Antonyms: assurance, confidence, encouragement, happiness

(I awoke to it, was faced with it in the morning, and ended the day struck with it by the words I heard.)

92.1% | 174.62 lbs. (170.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 72.88% (266 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Villain

vil·lain [vil-uhn]

noun
1. a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel.
2. a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.
Synonyms: antihero, blackguard, brute, caitiff, creep*, criminal, devil, enfant terrible, evildoer, heel, libertine, lowlife, malefactor, mischief-maker, miscreant, offender, profligate, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, scoundrel, sinner, wretch
Antonyms: hero, heroine

(I am truly a good and honest person but after tonight I will forever be remembered as one.)

92.1% | 174.64 lbs. (171.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 72.60% (265 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Accord

ac·cord  [uh-kawrd]

verb (used without object)
1. to be in agreement or harmony; agree.
verb (used with object)
2. to make agree or correspond; adapt.
3. to grant; bestow: to accord due praise.
4. Archaic . to settle; reconcile.
Synonyms: 10-4, accordance, concert, concord, concurrence, conformity, congruence, correspondence, deal, good vibes, good vibrations, harmony, okay, pact, rapport, reconciliation, sympathy, treaty, unanimity
Antonyms: antagonism, denial, disagreement, dissension, opposition, refusal

noun
5. proper relationship or proportion; harmony.
6. a harmonious union of sounds, colors, etc.
7. consent or concurrence of opinions or wills; agreement.
8. an international agreement; settlement of questions outstanding among nations.
Idiom
9. of one's own accord, without being asked or told; voluntarily: We did the extra work of our own accord.
Synonyms: accede, acquiesce, admit, allow, award, bestow, concede, confer, endow, give, present, render, tender, vouchsafe
Antonyms: argue, challenge, deny, disallow, disapprove, oppose, question, refuse, withhold

(At certain levels it has been reached in the house.)

92.1% | 174.66 lbs. (170.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 72.33% (264 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Calamity

ca·lam·i·ty [kuh-lam-i-tee]

noun, plural -ties.
1. a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or serious injury.
2. grievous affliction; adversity; misery: the calamity of war.
Synonyms: adversity, affliction, blue ruin, cataclysm, catastrophe, collapse, cross, curtains, distress, downfall, hardship, holy mess, misadventure, mischance, misfortune, mishap, reverse, ruin, scourge, the worst, trial, tribulation, unholy mess, visitation, waterloo, woe, wreck, wretchedness
Antonyms: advantage, blessing, boon, comfort, fortune, good fortune, good luck, happiness, joy, profit

(We are amidst it and further instances of it struck.)

92.1% | 174.67 lbs. (171.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 72.05% (263 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Vomit

vom·it [vom-it]

verb (used without object)
1. to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; regurgitate; throw up.
2. to belch or spew with force or violence.
3. to eject from the stomach through the mouth; spew.
4. to cast out or eject as if in vomiting; send out forcefully or violently: The volcano vomited flames and molten rock.
5. to cause (a person) to vomit.
Synonyms: be seasick, be sick, bring up*, dry heave, eject, emit, expel, gag, heave, hurl, puke, regurgitate, retch, ruminate, spew, spit up, throw up, upchuck
Antonyms: none

(I feel as if I may at any moment and the first step out of bed this morning was in it [of the feline variety].)

92.1% | 174.68 lbs. (173.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 71.78% (262 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Indifference

in·dif·fer·ence [in-dif-er-uhns, -dif-ruhns]

noun
1. lack of interest or concern: We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty.
2. unimportance; little or no concern: Whether or not to attend the party is a matter of indifference to him.
3. the quality or condition of being indifferent.
4. mediocre quality; mediocrity.
Synonyms: alienation, aloofness, apathy, callousness, carelessness, cold shoulder, cold-bloodedness, coldness, coolness, detachment, disdain, disinterest, disinterestedness, dispassion, disregard, equity, heedlessness, immunity, impartiality, impassiveness, impassivity, inattention, inertia, insensitivity, insouciance, isolationism, lack, lethargy, listlessness, negligence, neutrality, nonchalance, noninterference, objectivity, stoicism, torpor, unconcern, unmindfulness
Antonyms: caring, compassion, concern, feeling, interest, involvement, regard, sympathy 

(Where I should care I do not.)

87.3% | 174.69 lbs. (171.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 71.51% (261 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Misery

mis·er·ry [miz-uh-ree]

noun, plural -er-ries
1. wretchedness of condition or circumstances.
2. distress or suffering caused by need, privation, or poverty.
3. great mental or emotional distress; extreme unhappiness.
4. a cause or source of distress.
Synonyms: ache, agony, anguish, anvil chorus, bad news, blues, depression, desolation, despair, despondency, discomfort, distress, dolor, gloom, grief, hardship, headache, heartache, hurting, melancholy, pang, passion, sadness, sorrow, squalor, stitch, suffering, throe, torment, torture, twinge, unhappiness, woe, worriment, worry, wretchedness
Antonyms: cheer, delight, fun, gladness, happiness, joy, pleasure

(I am both the source and the recipient.)

87.3% | 174.71 lbs. (171.6 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 71.23% (260 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Betray

be·tray [bih-trey]

verb (used with object)
1. to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.
2. to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling: to betray a trust.
3. to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to: to betray one's friends.
4. to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence: to betray a secret.
5. to reveal unconsciously (something one would preferably conceal): Her nervousness betrays her insecurity.
Synonyms: abandon, be unfaithful, bite the hand that feeds you, blow the whistle, bluff, break faith, break promise, break trust, break with, commit treason, cross, deceive, deliver up, delude, desert, double-cross, finger*, forsake, go back on, inform against, inform on, jilt, knife*, let down, mislead, play Judas, play false, seduce, sell down the river, sell out, stab in the back, take in*, trick, turn in, turn informer, turn state's evidence, walk out on
Antonyms: be faithful, be loyal, defend, protect, support

(I am both the victim and the perpetrator.)

174.72 lbs. (169.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 70.96% (259 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Turmoil

tur·moil [tur-moil]  

noun
1. a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance;tumult; agitation; disquiet: mental turmoil caused by difficult decisions.
Synonyms: agitation, ailment, anxiety, anxiousness, bedlam,bustle, commotion, confusion, disorder, disquiet,disquietude, distress, disturbance, dither,ferment, flap, flurry, free-for-all, fuss, hassle*,hectic, hubbub, lather, mix-up, noise,pandemonium, pother, restiveness, restlessness,riot, row, ruckus, stir, strife, to-do, topsy-turvy,trouble, tumult, turbulence, unrest, uproar,violence, whirl
Antonyms: calm, harmony, order, peaceNotes: tumult applies only to people, while turmoil  is confusion and agitation for people and things; tumultuous can describe things and people

(It is happening in me and around me.)

87.3% | 174.74 lbs. (171.6 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 70.68% (258 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Please make this day go away

The eleven and a half hours at work were bad enough... what a fucking day :(

87.3% | 174.75 lbs. (171.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 70.41% (257 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

City of Heroes - Issue 21: Convergence

I started playing City of Heroes between Issue 12: The Midnight Hour and Issue 13: Power and Responsibility back in June 2008. The last major update was Issue 20: Incarnates back on April 19th of this year. Today, Issue 21: Convergence launched along with the new game model, City of Heroes: Freedom.

I did my best to act like an average person until about 7:30pm when I alerted that wife that I was going to nerd out for the rest of the night. I logged on and BLRRRK! Servers were all down. I suppose my software deploys aren't the only deploys that fail from time to time. Anyway...

Logged onto the Ustream and watched those poor NCSoft employees in their 11th hour of broadcast. Poor guys. I didn't watch for all too long before, believe it or not, servers started coming back up.

Logged on. Went straight to the new zone First Ward. Within 20 minutes a team of Twilight Avengers (including myself) took down the new giant monster, the Seed of Hamidon. First takedown of Seed on the Guardian server. We rule!

The rest of the night I've spent just overwhelmed by all of the new content. I love this game!

87.3% | 174.77 lbs. (173.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 70.14% (256 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Big News on the Nerdfront

City of Heroes: Freedom launches tomorrow for VIP Subscribers (Am I one? DUH!) along with all of the content associated with Issue 21 and all of the items available in the Paragon Market. City of Heroes: Freedom is the new incarnation of the game that is free-to-play. This means that anyone can log on to CoH and experience the fun of heroism or villainy first-hand - without the need to buy anything at all. Of course, if you stick with the game, you will want to purchase all manners of in-game items and such for any number of reasons.

I am so excited. I know people who are taking over tomorrow off to dive into the CoH: Freedom experience. I am not one of those people. But I kind of wish I could. New Issues are so exciting anyway. And this one changes so many things about the game. I am totally nerd-stoked!

87.3% | 174.77 lbs. (173.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 69.86% (255 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

9/11 - Ten Years Later

I woke up early and was sitting on a the couch in the office in Denton, TX, wondering why I couldn't log onto cnn.com when a friend called with the news that a single-engine aircraft had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. He and I had stayed there only months before and were even fortunate enough to take a stroll on a rooftop so this news was particularly poignant (little did we know how grave the situation would turn out to be).

We turned on the news immediately. I remember saying that the damage didn't appear to have been caused by a single-engine plane. The damage seemed much more severe to me. However, I had no idea what had caused it. And since the news was reporting that eye-witness accounts were claiming it was a Cessna I had no reason to believe anything else.

And then the first moment of two moments I will never forget from that day happened. The second plane hit the South Tower. It happened right there, on television, in front of millions of us. The damage to the North tower now made sense. It was no single-engine aircraft. It was a passenger jet that hit the North tower, just like the one that hit the South tower.

And then the shock hit me that this was no accident. What was unfolding on television - what we were all witnessing - was some sort of coordinated attack on American soil. I remember the shock that was just pulsing in waves through my brain. Who would have the gall to do this? And why? Why the hell would someone do this? And those people in the towers! How many were already dead? How were the rest going to get out? How the hell were those firefighters going to get that fire under control (my dad was a firefighter - I think about these things)?

I didn't have all that much time to ponder these thoughts. Not long after the towers were hit another attack happened at the Pentagon. Another plane. Jeebus fucking Christmas! At that moment, my shock turned to utter fear. Every plane in the sky was a potential weapon. And how many were there? All of the sudden I felt like a plane was going to fall down on me (seriously, I was scared of anything flying in the sky at that point). The news caught on and started reporting on how many planes were grounded, how many were in the air, and how many were unaccounted for.

And then the second moment happened. No one was watching TV with me at the time. Everyone else was either at work or in the shower. The newscaster didn't know what had happened. He said that, judging by the smoke and dust cloud, his guess was some type of explosion had occurred. But I've seen enough shows on Discovery showing the implosion of old buildings to know what I had just witnessed. The South tower collapsed. Soon after, the North tower collapsed.

Ho.

Lee.

Shit.

Shock. Fear. Horror. I can't tell you what I was feeling. I really don't know. And I didn't have long to feel it before more news came in.

A plane had gone down somewhere in Pennsylvania. I just *knew* that it had been shot down. I felt bad for the pilot(s) that had to do it. But it had to be done (I later was relieved to find this wasn't the case and am, to this day, thankful to the passengers of Flight 93 for acting in selfless bravery). I am probably in the minority of people who think that shooting down passenger planes is a good idea. But when faced with the decision of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, logic dictates the answer.

At some point after that word was given that all planes were grounded. The threat, at least in my mind, had passed. It was now time for search and rescue. I watched the television for the next 24 hours without pause. I don't remember eating. At some point during the day, among the flood of emotions running through my head, another one made itself known: anger.

Who the fuck did this? Whisperings and speculation pointed all fingers to different groups in the Middle East. What bastards? What camel-fucking fucks did this to us? I was ready to enlist before the sun even went down on that day. Some days I wish I had. I feel guilty that so many lost and gave their lives that day and here I sit living in this wonderful freedom that I've done nothing to earn (well, I pay taxes).

So yeah. That's what was going on with me ten years ago today. I was proud to be an American then and I am still proud to be one now. I am thankful for the sacrifices made that day by my fellow Americans and everyday by members of the armed forces. Gawd bless America!

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (174.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 69.59% (254 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Resolved, Resolute, Redefined, Recycled, Rewatched

Resolved. Jooj and I have resolved our differences. We had a long heart-to-heart last night about the degradation of our communication these last few weeks. We both had things to say. We both apologized. We both asked for changes to be made. The bottom line is that we love each other and we deserve to be treated with respect by one another. As long as we have each others backs we can pretty much get through anything this world can throw at us.

Resolute. With our newly found resolve we tackled a good, long budget talk. A couple months back I changed up some plans to ignore short term debt and try and tackle the long term stuff. Our spending was bordering on wild and I am just sick of paying the interest we have to pay on our largest (non-mortgage) account. Together, we reevaluated that plan and have come up with something that pays off Chase Visa, Chase MasterCard, Kohl's, Macy's, and lingering doctor bills by the end of March 2012 (in fact, all but the Chase MasterCard will be paid off by the end of 2011). After that is done we can then focus on the biggest baddie of them all... Bank of America (dun dun DUN DUUUUUUN).

Redefined. During our weekly Saturday errand running Jooj and I stopped in at Kroger. This was a special trip because Jooj doesn't normally accompany me on Kroger trips. This is by design and I actually enjoy doing the grocery shopping. Anyway, the last item we needed was some jelly. We've got nothing in this house. Walking down the jelly aisle I was faced with a decision that I've never considered: jelly, jam, or preserves? After a quick search I found that jelly is derived from fruit juice, jam is derived from boiled down fruit bits, and preserves is pretty much jam that's a little fruit bittier (OMG, "bittier" is an actual word??? Those silly Brits and their informal slang!).

Recycled. Remember the Will's Gamestop Trade-in incident when he traded a bunch of crap games for $95? Well, he got this crazy idea to trade in his old XBox 360 console, some controllers, and a single game. The suggestion was made (actually by both Jooj and Will separately) to trade in my Wii and accessories and decided that was probably for the best. Well, after nearly 2 hours and 3 trips to 2 different GameStops, Will racked up $114 in store credit and I racked up $170 in store credit from Wii games and $55 in store credit for the Wii console. With that credit Will bought 4 games and only owed $0.59. I paid off his reserved game guide, renewed his Power Up membership, paid off 2 1/2 of his reserved games, bought $50 in Microsoft points, and walked out with a $5 gift card. Not bad!

Rewatched. We capped off the evening with Jooj and I watching Battle Los Angeles. She liked it. I liked it a second time. It felt nice watching a movie on the couch with a blanket and a tub of popcorn!

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (175.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 69.31% (253 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

No More Double Spaces!

Stop reading my silly blog and go read Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period. The article was written by Farhad Manjoo and was passed along to me by my buddy Debes from work (who types on a Dvorak keyboard - INSANE!).

Starting with this blog and continuing until the day I die I will never use another double space after the period in my sentence. I feel dirty even thinking about how long and hard I've utilized and defended the practice.

Why? Because it's wrong, plain and simple. What we were taught in school was a bad habit to accommodate inferior typesetting on a soon-to-be-antiquated machine. Go read the article if you need convincing. I was a strong proponent of it but no longer! I'm through!

I admit that every sentence during the entry ended with period-space-space-backspace. It's going to be a hard habit to break. But this new trick won't go untaught by this old dog.

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (173.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 69.04% (252 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Unraveled

I'm not sure what's going on with me. I am in a perpetually foul mood. I have no problem admitting it. I don't know what to do. I'm not sure I can pinpoint what the problem is either. I mean, the problem has everything to do with me. But what is setting me off?

Work has been very tough and that is wearing me down. This is no secret. I work in a somewhat hostile situation. Emotions run high. Tempers flair. I put in 10-hour work days every other week. I feel like I have no choice but to be there everyday. I need a day off. I need to take a mental health day.

Jooj and I have been after each other. I've been on her nerves. She's been on my nerves. We simply need to enjoy a good night together. And we need to be nicer to each other, period.

Jooj just came downstairs and started the conversation by yelling at me. Awesome.

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (175.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 68.77% (251 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

I run and I'm still a fatty (and I'm in a bad mood)!

I ran 4 miles Tuesday. I weighed in Wednesday morning and registered (fully clothed) 177 lbs. I ran 4.3 miles after that. I weighed (fully clothed) 173.2 after that. What?!? Unpossible!

Not sure what's going on with my weight. I'm pretty stressed at work. I'm tired. I'm not in a good mood these days.

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (175.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 68.49% (250 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Kelsey's Big News and Dinner With the In-Laws

Got some great news from Kels today. She got the cartoonist job for the paper (kind of)! They currently have two "mediocre" cartoonists (their words, not hers) so they want her to create weekly three-panel strips to be published online. I believe I heard her correctly when she told me that the plan was to allow her to build up her stable of strips and then, more or less, "squeeze" the current cartoonist(s) out of their job. Sounds so exciting! I can't say enough that I am so proud of her!!!

Later I met up with the in-laws at Corner Cafe. I'll be honest. I don't like Corner Cafe. But the company, as always, was great. And the food actually was good. I ordered the Gyro with the pasta salad. Not bad at all. In fact, I ate the entire thing!

Probably won't be good for me tomorrow for my weigh-in...

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (174.6 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 68.22% (249 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Lazy Labor Day (Yeah, right!)

Woke up to a very lazy Labor Day.

No, wait! Why am I waking up at 7:20am? Oh yeah, gotta take Will to St. X to get ready for his 10am game. Oh well. After a little cook-out over at the 'rent's after the game I'll have the rest of the day to myself.

Hold on! Why is my boss calling me as I pull up to the game? Oh noes! Problems? Issues? Dogs and cats living together? MASS HYSTERIA! "Eddie, give me the game and I'll cancel my cook-out plans." He agrees.

The game was COLD! L'ville has dropped 40 degrees in the last 48 hours. I needed pants and sleeves. I think that chilly weather took a lot out of me. Saint X won, 31-13.

Came back home. Logged on. Stress, stress, stress. After nearly four hours the problem is resolved and everyone has been notified. Log off.

Okay, now it's time to relax.

Or is it? Jooj is not feeling well. I'm still frazzled from the earlier part of the day. Try to nap. I think I squeezed in two or three 60 second power naps. Jooj literally push me out of the bed. Run to drug store. Time to make some dinner.

Except Will doesn't want dinner. He's trying to unlock the latest Easter Egg in Call of Duty. He wants me to sit and watch him. More stress! He's such a jerk to his friends on Xbox Live, by the way. Try as they may, they fail. Dinner! Chili dogs with cheese and mustard.

Unload dishwasher. Load dishwasher. Check on budget.

It's 8:51pm. I think I can finally start to relax now :)

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (174.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 67.95% (248 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Video Game Overdose!!!

Do you know how I know that I played too many video games today? Because I can't remember a damn thing that I did besides play. I mean, I know I went to the grocery. I vacuumed. I took care of the animals. Swept the basement. Made chili. But I really had to think hard to remember those things. The bulk of the day is obscured by video game haze.

Reminds of the bachelor days a bit. I remember on Saturdays, when my cousin was living with me and would work a full 8 hours on Saturday, when I would epitomize the term "zone out". He would leave in the morning for work. I would fire up Galactic Civilizations 2 and start a Huge Galaxy map. He would come home and I would *still* be playing that same map. Epic stuff*!

* "Epic stuff" to some - "supremely geeky, anti-social introversion" to others (Holy Sh!t, "introversion" is a word?!?)

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (174.4 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 67.67% (247 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

Dinner with Kelsey!

Kelsey is in town and we met her up at the Stonybrook Tumbleweed for dinner. She looks great! Her smile was huge, she was glowing, and she hasn't put on a bit of that Freshman Fifteen (yet!). We filled up on chips, queso, TexMex cuisine, and finished it off with Margarita sundaes.

We talked for a long time. She's happy (and that's really all that matters - well, and good grades). She's dealing well with some roommate drama. She seems to have a good handle on her classes. She will find out next week whether or not she gets the job as political cartoonist for the Murray State newspaper. She's going to submit an application to become an RA even! That grrrl is rocking and/or rolling. So proud of her.

I ran her over to Sam's after dinner. She picked up 36 Mountain Dews and a combo pack of cookies and crackers. We came home and I assumed she would head out. SHE DIDN'T! She just chilled out, hung out in her room, read, and messed around on her laptop. It was nice to have her home. Kind of reminded me of the olden days :)

87.3% | 174.78 lbs. (174.2 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 67.4% (246 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

(Virtual) Circles of Friends

Just a quick note. This post is a little nerdy (Jooj, you can stop reading now). XD

You know how you have certain circles of friends in life? Like, maybe growing up, you would have your school friends, your neighborhood friends, your church friends, and your family friends. You are a member of each of those circles of friends. Sometimes, but not normally, those circles will commix. Maybe at a big birfday members from certain circles will come together. Sometimes it's weird seeing members of different circles mingle.

The same holds true as an adult. Two of these circles of mine mingled last night - the members of Red Team from the Twilight Avengers Super Group on City of Heroes and Thundarrr, an old buddy I used to run with from my old Super Group on City of Heroes, The International Ice Cream Truck Drivers and Firefighters. I have to admit - it was odd. Sure, these circles are more or less virtual circles, but the mingling was no different than seeing church friends and school friends or any other mixing of circles.

Thundarrr has admitted that not many of our older friends play much and he's been lonely. I may encourage him to apply to become a member of Twilight Avengers. I'd love to have him on Red Team with us. I do miss him. TA takes so much time that I just don't have time to split between my two virtual circles.

87.3% | 174.79 lbs. (174.0 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 67.12% (245 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.

New Year Resolution... let's be honest

Do you remember my #1 New Year Resolution? I do. And now you will too...

1. Pay off the Chase Visa this year.

Way back on April 15th that resolution was completed (First New Year Resolution Complete). Well, over the summer we realized that we were not going to be able to handle the costs of our Isle of Palms vacation, mortgage, and first payment of college tuition all in one month. Faced with a decision, we put the entire vacation on the Chase Visa with plans to pay it off in its entirety the following month.

Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, that isn't going to happen. I am going to adjust the once-proud "100%" below in the footer to reflect the situation we are currently facing. I am doing this partly for motivational reasons but mostly for my own historic record. Lastly, it's going to be nice to have that sucker paid off... AGAIN! :)

87.3% | 174.79 lbs. (174.8 lbs.) | 16% (8 of 50) | 66.85% (244 of 365) | 102/55 lbs.