Weekend (sans Turks)

Well, unlike what I had hoped I didn't get my kiddos this weekend. Because of the amount of travelling that going and getting them would entail and the fact that the kids would be headed back to Forsyth (Illinois) today, and on a final decision from their mother -- I did not get them.

Kels had to work all weekend -- Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- and so I spent most of the Memorial Day weekend at home, playing WoW and wishing I was playing with my kids instead. In the time we did get together, we went to the Art Fest in Addison (Saturday), which was fun. We also did see "Madagascar" this weekend, which was a very funny movie, quite entertaining. Those darn penguins were just too funny...

So, that's about it. Not a very memorable Memorial Day. But it was nice to not have to work...

With fingers crossed...

I called to see if my kids can come see me for atleast a part of this Memorial Day weekend. They're in Mississippi with their mother, working on their house there. They'll be moving to Mississippi this summer, which is both good and bad from my perspective. One of the reasons it's a good thing is that they'll be a couple hours closer, which is why I'm asking to get them for a couple of days. I could take tomorrow off, drive over there, get them and come home and still have a couple of days with them -- which I would absolutely love. They'd be able to see where I live, play with Doogan and Baylie would finally get to meet her toads -- Mr. Jumpy and Ms. Jumpy (or Jumpy Jr. if we discover it's a boy).

One bad thing about their move to Mississippi is the location. It's way out in the boondocks of NE Mississippi about 40 minutes from Tupelo. The schools are some of the best in the state, but according to the National Board of Education, that ain't saying much. Nevertheless, they're moving there because Angie ("the ex") is following her parents who are finally retiring there. I don't think that she'll ever get out from under them, which is just one of the many reasons we're not together anymore. *sigh*

So...I hope to hear back from her today and hear her say "yes". I don't want to cut into any plans they may have, but at the same time, I want some of their time to be with me. Heck, I only get to see them about once a month as it is and it's killing me!

Back into the swing o' things

According to the experts (whoever they are) -- you should never be too busy to exercise. Well, I have been too busy -- or so I thought. I play hockey twice a week, I work, I play on the computer (too much some times), but I had not been making time to workout like I used to in my prime back in Illinois. In college, I worked out just about every day, having to stay in tip-top shape for cross country, soccer and wrestling. However, over the last year I've really slacked off on my workouts.

That is, until yesterday. I finally went to Bally Total Fitness, which I've been paying for anyway for the last year and man do I feel great! I just did arms and shoulders, as well as a 15 minute "run" on the elliptical machine. It's a little bit of a drive over to the Plano location, but it's a nice facility with an open area filled with cardio machines, weight machines, and a free weight area. In addition to that, they have a track, pool, spa and a mess of classes. I think I'm gonna like it there.

So...now I am motivated to workout again. Getting back in shape never sounded so good! I even figured out a good "workout" for myself, based on a number of hockey strength & conditioning programs. I'm psyched!

Vader, completes me...

**Warning: partial spoiler for SW EIII: Revenge of the Sith**

Last night I had an experience that will help to complete a cycle that started 28 years ago, when the first Star Wars debuted; changing the face of science-fiction films and the lives of many young boys and girls like myself. I was eight when I saw Star Wars: A New Hope for the first time and I was changed by it. I had all the figures, I had a Millenium Falcon, I played the role of Luke Skywalker, young Jedi and Han Solo, debonaire smuggler-guy.

After seeing Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, I am complete. Not only, do I feel like I've been given most everything I need to make the chronological ties to the original trilogy, I have a new-found love and admiration for Darth Vader. This is a strange and unusual feeling, as I always considered myself to be on the side of good (ie. Rebel/Jedi). But now I know why Vader was so focused, determined and ultimately hateful. We also finally get confirmation of the force that turned Anakin to the Dark Side. It's the very same thing that turns him back at the end. Love.

Yes, Anakin loved Padme, despite the cheesy scenes between them in the film. He loves her so much that even after the trauma that he endures on Mustafar he asks about her first when he awakens. That's love...and it was troubling to see Darth Vader (of all people) show that emotion. But, it was necessary for us to understand him and who he becomes.

Great movie, second only to Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Yup...I'm a geek

A couple weekends ago (May 10th and 11th) the first annual CAPE (Comic And Pop Art Expo) took place in Dallas at Zeus Comics. Kels and I went. Little did we know our photo would be snapped as we perused the artists tables inside "the tent." Today, while I was visiting PvP Online and catching up with the strip, I followed the blog link to a gallery of photos from CAPE 2005 and that's where I found it!


"Confirmed geeks! Caught at CAPE!"
So, to answer any of you out there wondering: YES, I AM A GEEK! I play games on the computer till all hours of the night, I read comic books and I used to play D&D...in fact I was a member of the prestigious "Gamma Geeks". One of whom I've reconnected with and am playing WoW with on almost a nightly basis. Life is good!

The path to the dark side...

So...it's been a few days since I last blogged. Life has been busy. Work has been busy. I just haven't found the time to break away from what I'm commissioned to do at work to sit down and collect my thoughts. Sad. Just plain sad.

How is it that I can love what I do so much and still dislike the work I'm doing? Perhaps it is because the work I'm doing is just not rewarding or has no end in sight. That's been work lately, and I've no motivation to continue. So, I seek out something to fill the void that's been created. I believe, as the wise Jedi Master Yoda^* stated -- "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." To fit my work environment, I believe that "Frustration is the path to the dark side. Frustration leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to loss of motivation and crappy code."

I'm frustrated. I'm working on issues that happened a year or more ago. Issues that are being re-written as new solutions in other applications that are due to release in July, but I'm still being asked to work on a solution as a "stop-gap app". It makes no sense...but what around here does?

So, I come to work and I work. I put in my time. I fix as many problems as my brain can handle in a day and go home. Rinse, repeat. The routine is frustrating...

Enough about me. What's got you frustrated?

^* Yeah, yeah. It's a muppet. But we put our trust in Kermit back in the day, didn't we? :P

Why do we blog?

For fun. For love. To sell strange junk? For lack of an audience? To show off your fancy collection of stuff?

Some do it for the love of spilling their guts in public. Others do it to make a point -- sometimes obscure, other times completely and painfully obvious. Others do it, and I suppose this is a pattern these days, just to bitch about stuff and have an excuse to curse openly. For each of us it provides some sort of personalized therapy...I suppose.

I blog because it gives me something to do with my brain, gives me a real chance to get some of the stuff that gets stuck in there OUT and on "paper" -- so to speak. I'm thinking all the time and it bugs me when I think about something most of the day, then get in the car, get distracted by traffic jams and forget about it. Blogging provides my mind an escape hatch for those kinds of thoughts. Plus I'm pretty sure I have atleast one fan -- thanks baybeh! -- and perhaps a couple of family members checking it out.

I enjoy reading other people's blogs. From the completely personal ones -- people who tell you everything about themselves and yet nothing. To the completely hilarious ones, filled with pictures, rants and silly events. For instance, whilst just ramblin' about on the net today I found this blog -- Photos of me doing things. Now that's good stuff! Simple and yet...fabulous.

I blog because I enjoy the opportunity to tell complete strangers a little bit about me, without completely opening the door. *peers through the chain on the door* "Uh...do I know you?" :P

So if you do [blog] -- why do you [blog]?

Just thinking

Today, after I posted my first post (and what might have likely been my only post for the day) I realized that this "blog" has become little more than a "What did I do yesterday/what am I gonna do today?" diary. That's NOT what I intended for it. And so today, the 2nd of May 2005, I resolve to change my habits! Sure, I'll still post about what I did yesterday or what I plan to do today -- just to keep you all jealous of my jetsetting lifestyle (hehe) -- but I'll do it less as a diary and more as a commentary on life. How the stuff I do really affects who I am and the people around me. So, with that said, on to the "thinking"...

I am nearly thirty-four. It'll happen -- like it does every year -- in June. Last night, while skating with eighteen and nineteen year-old kids (and a smattering of older guys), I realized how really young I am -- depite my chronological age. As Billy Crystal's character on SNL said -- "It's better to look good, than to feel good". I feel good, especially after the conversation I had with one of those nineteen year olds:

"You in college?"
I chuckled and said, "I went to college, but I graduated about 13 years ago."
He looked at me, stunned. "How old are you?"
With a smirk, I gladly divulged to him that I'd be thirty-four in June.
"Dude," he replied, "I thought you were like 26!"

I love to hear that! I'll be honest, some days I feel old. But, playing hockey, having Kels (who just had her 20th birthday) as a girlfriend and keeping a positive attitude about my age helps immensely.

When I was a kid I used to think that thirty-five was old and sixty was ancient. My dad will be sixty in October, and he can still probably kick my ass in a basketball game. Sixty is not old, if you're like my dad. Luckily for me, I am like my dad. Like it or not, I am.

So, when will I be old? Will I still be playing hockey when I'm my dad's age? I'm planning on it. I'm pretty sure Kelsey won't let me get old...

Another busy weekend...

It really is amazing how much a person can fit into the two days of the weekend. As I got older I thought that the weekend would be used more for "resting". Oh how wrong I was!

Our weekend started out Friday night with going to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I was pleasantly surprised! The humor was not "de-Britoned" as I expected it to be and overall I thought they did a good job keeping the film paced for American audiences. Overall, I give it a 4 1/2 stars. I laughed and the movie brought to life a few sections of the book that were extremely memorable for me (ie. Marvin the depressed robot, Deep Thought, and earth-building). Kels, having not even read the book, loved it and that made me happy. After the movie I rushed to sub in goal in Plano, arriving to find that there was already a goalie there. *sigh*

Saturday we slept in some, I played WoW and Guild Wars in the morning and then we headed out around 11am to take Doogan to the dog park in Plano. We spent 2 hours watching Doogan play with all the other pups, talking with other "parents" and having a great time. Came home, and pretty much crashed for the evening. I played more WoW while Kels and Doogan slept. Around 10pm I left for hockey practice in Frisco, which was fun. We've got a very different team this session...

Sunday morning arrived with a great surprise. Kels had to work, and I started playing when I woke up at 7:30am. Doogan layed around the house -- apparently still tired from the day before. I left to do some running around (drop off rent, pay for storage, etc) and stopped to get the mail that we didn't pick up on Saturday. Get ready, here comes the surprise! In the mailbox was an envelope postmarked from Dittmer, Missouri -- very near to my dad's house. Inside was my driver's license, which had been missing since our trip to Missouri last weekend. Apparently, some kind soul found my license (I'm assuming that I dropped it when I was getting gas at the Phillips 66 in Cedar Hill) and mailed it to me! w00t! Kels was itchin to do something so we trekked south to Waxahachie and the Scarborough Renaissance Faire. What a good time had we! After resting up, I played pick-up hockey at the ITC rink in Richardson at 10pm and had a great time. Nice ice, good competition and only $6 a session if you buy a "drop-in" card.

As you can see, weekends around our place aren't dull. Perhaps that's why I'm tired today...