Two years and counting...

Today Jooj and I celebrate our two-year anniversary. We're going to Havana Rumba for dinner - the place where we shared our first date. The kids have graciously decided to stay home for this one (they're going to be watching Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits DVD).

I hope to celebrate this date each year for the rest of our lives! Love ya, Jooj!

Just stand up, dummy!

So I've been skating since about May of 2006. I feel like I have done an admirable job for starting my skating career later than everyone I skate with. I am not quite as bouncy and injury-resistant as I was back in my youth. I've taken some falls but I wear full pads and a helmet so I ain't skeered :)

So I have some tricks under my sleeve or up my hat... er, whatever. I like the park and my specialty is speed. I like to rip through the 'crete as fast as my little butt can crank it through the runs.

One trick that has eluded me is a good 50/50 grind. This is when the trucks of the skateboard (the metal that connects your wheels to each other and the board) "lock" into the coping. You slide on the coping, metal against metal, and then drop back into the bowl. It's a balancing act since your wheels aren't really coming into contact with anything... it's your axle against the metal coping of the bowl.

I've attempted this trick as long as I've skated. And I finally got it today. I just decided to stand up. And voila! I nailed it. And I kept nailing it. I was leaning into the bowl a little too much every time and it was sketchy - even when I did manage to kinda hit it.

So yay me :D I can't wait to try it at the Barnacle and next weekend at the park.

Those Catholics are fun!

I just got back home from an evening out with the wife, Jooj. We went down to the St. Joseph picnic. Her parents were there, and my parents showed up with little Emma. We had ice cream, corndogs, french fries, a few beers... it was loads of fun. Little Emma caught a second wind and starting dancing to the music. It was adorable.

Jooj and I left the fun and went to Dundee for some beer, white zin, salad, and cheese balls. Delicious!

So I have a little buzz and will probably go to bed early. Hooray!

The Days of the Jeep...

... may be drawing to a close.

On the heels of the battery trouble I noticed a new problem. I jumped in her today to go check on my wife and noticed that I had no gas. That isn't normally a problem except that she had a 1/2 tank just the other day. When I drove back into the driveway and into the garage I hopped out and looked under it. Shit. Gasoline was just pouring onto the ground.

It may be something easy to fix. But it's not getting fixed now. And if she keeps this up, she's going to get the boot.

Life After Michael

Michael Jackson is in the ground. His memorial was yesterday. I did not watch it, but it was only because I was not in a room with a television. It was covered by every network. Seriously? When was the last time that happened? The State of the Union doesn't get full coverage like that. Fox doesn't carry the president's speeches. It leaves those to the big three networks. So what gets that kind of attention? The only thing I can think of is when two little planes rammed into our beloved trade center. And is this really impacting us like that? I mean, seriously... let's not be ignorant (vague South Park joke there) :)

Jooj pointed out that at 12:34PM today it was 123456789...

12:34:56 on 7/8/9

The Kings Island Trip

The kids and my cousin Matt went to Kings Island on Thursday. Wow! It was a blast. We had so much fun. We arrived at the park right at opening and left around 9PM. Here is a rundown of the trip...

Started the day with The Beast
Vortex
Flight of Fear (better than I remembered but kinda lame)
Zephyr (ya know, the swings? So relaxing... love that ride)
Subway ($35 for subs? Ouch!)
Firehawk (WOW!!! Maybe my new favorite!)
Racer (no more backwards Racer??? Lame!)
Adventure Express (lame)
Viking Ship (it was pretty weak... the smaller one at Kentucky Kingdom goes higher)
Invertigo (fun but short)
Flight Deck (formerly Top Gun)
We stopped and had some Dippin' Dots... yummy!
Diamondback (the new coaster... this thing is bad ass!!!)
Hand Dryers (we all went to the bathrooms and the hand dryers in the bathroom were just utterly amazing... you put your whole hand in them and they were dry in a matter of seconds)
The Crypt (Will didn't know what the ride was [none of us did] and he did not like the idea of riding some unknown ride... he freaked a little but it turned out to be a weak ride)
Train Horn (as we left The Crypt we turned a corner and the park train blew its horn... Will jumped high off the ground and suffered his biggest shock of the day... hilarity!)
Vortex
La Rosa's Pizza in front of the fountains
Ended the day with The Beast

Firehawk and Diamondback are two contenders for my favorite right under The Beast. Some of the rides suffered from having the brakes applied a little too much (Vortex and Viking Ship!!!). We didn't have the group's Go to ride Drop Zone or the evil-looking Delirium. Maybe next time ('cause there will certainly be one)...

"Honey, I never drive faster than I can see. Besides that, it's all in the reflexes."

I just dropped a can of Coke. I get on Will about that all of the time. He drops things like it's his job. I don't. But I guess we all have a case of the dropsies from time to time. And, ya know, as I kid, I think I had some grip lapses myself. But I am getting off subject...

I just dropped a can of Coke. It dropped, bounced off my office leather chair, and I caught it in mid-air. Sure, some Coke spilled. A few drips on the desk. Drips on the mouse pad. Drips on the plastic mat. Drips on me. But it could have been a lot worse. It could have been disaster.

But it wasn't because I caught my Coke on the bounce. I feel like Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China (hence the quote) after he snatches the bottle that Wang shot his way after his failed attempt to slice it in half. Yeah...