time to get back on track

i think it was around my birthday when i was actually starting to make some strength gains and lose some fat. this momentum was short-lived and i have since lost some visible muscle and gained back a bunch of body fat. i'm sure most people don't really notice and just look at me regardless and think, that guy is short and stocky, both back in early september and currently. but when i look in the mirror, i notice.

while i can only truly blame myself, there have been some external factors that have caused some admittedly avoidable roadblocks, but roadblocks nonetheless. i went on a trip where i ate a ton of bad food. i also joined a kickball league, which meant tons of drinking and eating out in the middle of the week. on top of that, i managed to severely injure my ankle, as i have done about 4 other times in my life, during the final kickball game. being an idiot, i kept on playing and as a result, could not put any pressure on it for the next 2 days, hopping around like lisa turtle during the dance competition.

this ankle injury has left me with another sad realization, in that 2 weeks later it is still not even close to being 100%. when i injured it in high school i was running around without issue 2 days later. this was definitely a good marker for aging and could be a seemingly insignificant moment i wistfully look back on 20 years from now as when i truly realized i was no longer a kid. i am already imagining this being one of those injuries oldies bitch about hurting just cause the weather changed...ugh.

anyways, the swelling has gone down and is still there, but much better. my range of motion is slooooooowly returning. i can walk without any sort of limp, but can't really even jog on it without a few sharp pains. overall, i would put the ankle at about 70%.

i am anxious to begin reversing the doughification that has been going on with my body the last 10 weeks and while i certainly need to get my diet back on track, getting back to the gym will help keep me motivated and just feeling better as a whole. so i am thinking tonight is the night. i should be fine with most exercises and will generally ease my way back into the swing of things, hoping to do about 70% of what i had been doing prior. i am most concered with squats and power cleans. i hope my ankle and foot are stable enough. i hope i don't reinjure it. i hope i don't get sloppy, turn it a weird way, get a sharp pain and collapse under the bar. i just have to put my ego aside and be cautious in my return to the gym.

another one bites the dust

this weekend coming up is a doozy (i don't usually use words like that). my good friends dan and laura will be setting up a joint bank account...actually they probably won't because, even though i wouldn't understand, it is somehow smarter not to. that and they are getting married. i have known both for a very, very, very long time and now i get to be there on the special day that they ruin each others' lives.

i have many memories of both. let's start with laura. we had supposedly been going to the same camps (evergreen, then sunshine) since we were 7. laura says she remembers me, but i don't quite recall knowing her then, probably because i was so popular and she was not really cool enough to hang with me back then. fast forward a few years and thus began our back and forth prank/dumb stuff kids do war. she put dirt in my backpack, i hit her with a pink towel (not filled with rocks), she mashed a banana into my shirt, i ordered bacon to put a crayfish in her hair, etc. it was pretty ridiculous and hilarious. this of course led to laura becoming my first girlfriend as i basically had her friend ask her out for me because i was too scared. yes, i was quite the ladies man even back then. it seemed like it would last forever but instead it was more like 3 months. following that, laura and i remained friends up until now with many fond memories like me hurting her hands in hot hands, the florida road trip, and filming "murderer?".



this may bring back frightening memories for laura





i have known dan since we were in nursery school together at the univeristy of maryland, so i have technically known dan for over 25 years. we didn't go to the same elementary school (he probably went to some nerd school for super smart nerds), but we did play on the same flag football team where he was somehow qb1...who knew? i know dan also went to camp sunshine, but i don't think we really hung out at that point...again, probably because i was too cool and he wasn't able to associate himself with me. we started hanging out again in high school and in theater. i remember dan's awesome indiana jones-esque hat. i remember cutting his hair and accidentally cutting the sides too short. he was mad and happened to be spending the weekend at my house. he threatened to shave my eyebrows off when i slept, but thankfully did not. i also remember hanging out in laurel (isn't it weird that we hung out there even back then?) and we started laughing when we saw the barrel of monkeys game in toys r' us. the laughing continued for like 2 nonstop hours and i am pretty sure my parents thought we had done drugs or something. like with laura, dan and i have also remained friends through the years.



yeah...looking back, i'm not quite sure what we found so funny about this



so now these 2 losers are ruining things and getting married. i am looking forward to the events. here are some things that i think or hope might happen:

• i will get drunk
• somebody else (chris?) will get even more drunk, make an ass out of themselves, thus making me seem "not too bad"
• louise will declare herself "wasted" after 2 beers
• people will not be impressed with my new suit as it looks exactly like my old one
• things won't be as awkward as i am expecting when i see and talk to my ex (i am trying to downplay this but am feeling quite anxious)
  
• louis will have coupons for discount drinks at the turtle after party
• dan will begrudgingly dance
• jill will want to organize some sort of choreographed dance routine that i will refuse to be a part of
• heather will give birth during the ceremony
• eskay will pick up a girl or 4
  
• nam will be caught posing multiple times
• many lame jokes will be made about phil bringing bub
• laura and dan's moms will cry
• the after after party will in fact not be in the hotel lobby, but probably at our house

i was looking through my pictures to post some nice, respectable ones of them on this blog. below is the most recent and boring picture i have of them and also the only one where laura is not drunkenly screaming hateful slurs and dan is not doing various illegal things. cheers! see you tomorrow.

other stuff

there are a few more things that i wanted to blog about as i have not been very active in that department for a while.

the input on my ipod is broken. when i told this to louise and dave i received two very different reactions. dave gave me a look of sympathy and was like, "aw man..i'm sorry, that sucks..." louise flashed a joker-esque smile and pretty much was like "told you so..." her hatred of apple is so strong that it actually made her visibly happy when something bad happened to me, just because it involved apple. this led to discussions with dave on turning our house into an apple household, which was actually helped by his purchasing of an ipod nano. i had this ipod for over 2 and a half years and used it constantly, while often treating it pretty roughly, so overall i am not surprised with it's current problems and feel like considering those factors, it performed pretty well. i am not sure what i am going to do next, because i could send it away and get it "fixed" for like $100. i could go and buy some new non-ipod mp3 player and make louise happy. or i could just bite the bullet and get a new 80 gig ipod for $250. i am leaning towards the 80 gig...but we'll see.

my roommate nicki is off to honduras today to do volunteer work, working with iguanas. she will be gone for a month and i admire her ability to just jump into something like that without any experience. i have a feeling she will do good work and really enjoy her time down there. i know she has thoughts of singing up for the peace corp, and i think that this is probably a good way for her to realize whether being away from home for a long time in some foreign country is right for her.

my brother's wife's sister is having a gigantic indian wedding in a few weeks. they are all very nice people and i think that this wedding will be quite spectacular in every sense. safely assuming that nobody reads this, specifically not my brother, his wife or her relatives, i can complain that they are having way too many events...at least for my liking...for this wedding. there's like 3 other seperate party/event things prior to the wedding. the wedding day itself starts early in the morning, breaks at noon and then reconvenes for various other events later in the afternoon. this will go for who knows how long. i will know like 5 people there. i will have to wear a suit. i am very happy for the couple, but it will be a long day. also i should note that i will be missing my friend sean's wedding, which is also that day. oh well...i know i will at least be getting my fill of delicious indian food, instead of the steak or fish options provided by sean. also, the groom will enter the ceremony on a white horse while carrying a giant sword...

for once i am excited enough about some new movies that i will probably see them in the theater. these include the new batman movie, pineapple express and stepbrothers. movies that i will not see and that actually cause a bad physical reaction whenever i hear about them or see their previews...love guru and that eddie murphy movie. you can add mike meyers to that list of people that i do not find funny...he's seriously awful.

i don't think i had blogged about it before, but i have developed an interest in foraging. something about going out into nature and taking plants to eat for free is very alluring to me. i purchased a book on foraging and have discussed going out into the woods with dave to retrieve some edible plants and fungi. i still want to do this, but it is the middle of the summer and thusly too hot for me to be outside for long. also, the story about that family that started going crazy and having convulsions after mistakenly eating some weed instead of mint leaves me a little wary.

there are a lot of 30th birthdays on the horizon, including mine. it sort of sucks leaving my 20's, but i tend not to dwell on it...as i've stated to my friends many times, 30 is the new 12. chris' birthday is coming up soon and he is having a party, which i am looking forward to and hoping that there is a lot of drunken stupidity.

90210 is coming back this fall...and i am especially excited about this...why? you ask? the wonderful lori loughlin will be in it...sigh...

maybe i need to start web 3.0....

i was listening to my favorite podcast, the cagcast, on my drive to work this morning. they are redoing their website to make a cheap ass gamer 2.0 which i guess is to fall in line with all the web 2.0 terminology...i dunno...maybe it's just cause it is the 2nd iteration of the website. whatever. well the old site does look outdated and something more along the lines of what i might see while still in college.

they were discussing some of the changes and they, like all new web 2.0 stuff seems focused on social networking. honestly, i just don't get it. i have a myspace account, which i rarely use, and never talk to people that i don't already know in the actual, physical world. even then, i don't really send messages via myspace. it's more like i log on and find a bunch of stupid surveys and lists about what people ate today that never fails to make them seem annoying to me. maybe if i was in a band or something it would feel more worth the time and effort. there's tons of other similar social networking services out there and now it seem like every other website is including this aspect to their functionality.

again...i don't really get it. could this be due to the fact that i am just not very naughty social by nature? i don't put forth the effort to meet and communicate with strangers over the internets and therefore i don't realize it's value? that's probably part of the issue, but this also leads me to more upsetting realizations...

i am getting old. this stuff is more for teenagers, and i am pretty much out of the loop. am i becoming that 90 year old guy that doesn't understand what the big deal is with this e-mail stuff? is this the beginning of the end? i am already way back at the tail end of blogging. does my refusal to shift along with everyone else towards social networking mean that i will never again be part of the relevant demographic? it sure feels like it.

i would rather not go down like that. i guess the cheap ass gamer site could be cool, and will probably serve as a final test for whether or not i can finally jump on the soc-net bandwagon. i plan to make a go at it and converse with other nerds who don't realize that i am quite the noob. hopefully i don't get pwned. lmfao! i sounded pretty young and "with-it" right there...right? but yeah, we'll see how it goes.

in conclusion, here is a picture that amused me:

back at work which means more bloggin time

i admit it. i have seriously slacked on my blogging. my main excuse is that my computer had some ridiculous virus on it and i had to go to work to get a windows disc. my other excuse is that i am lazy.

winter break was pretty good. as i mentioned before, we had lots of presents, eating and drinking during christmas. louise and i took a nice trip up to philadelphia which i will recap soon. i also managed to achieve a non-embarrassing amount of my winter break goals.

here's an awesome anticlimactic tale for you. i got my oil changed and also took my car in for emissions inspection. nevermind that i was a little nervous that my accord wouldn't make the grade, the main thing to take away from inspections was the old man in the little car in front of me. he seemed harmless enough...kind of looking like an older, grizzled anthony bourdain. well we were sitting there in line...all the cars are in park....or at least i assumed they were. when all of a sudden, i notice that his geo metro is slowly getting closer to my car. i assume that he was trying to....hmmm...i dunno what i assumed, but i didn't think much at first. well he kept getting closer and closer. my brain reacts with a quickness normally associated with animals that react quickly. i start honking my horn. he keeps on keepin on. my horn honks get more and more rapid along with my heart beat. i give him the wtf look he glances in the rear view mirror and gives me a shoulder shrug...as if to say "not my problem". i cannot believe we fucking make eye contact and yet the issue is unresolved. i can only assume that he is approaching me with the obvious intent of property damage. the whole thing is reminiscent of austin powers slowly rolling over that henchman with the steamroller. i check behind me and there's nobody there. i again react with razor sharp reflexes. i put my car in reverse and back up at least 10 feet. he continues to slowly come at me like an angry senior citizen but then eventually stops about 5 feet away from me. well now i am more confused than angry but am considering getting out of my car to act tough and yell at him...hoping he's not actually like that giant man in the tiny car that teaches nelson a lesson on making fun of others. just as i am about to do it, an mva employee comes running out to our lane and begins to yell and chastise the old man. i end up changing lanes, giving him a dirty look as i pass him by. my lane moves fast and i am out of there before him. my car passes the test and i leave satisfied.

i managed to maintain a reasonably healthy existence while on break. i didn't drink nearly as much as i might have a year ago. i made it to the gym 3 times during that 6 day period...didn't reach my goal of 4 trips, but i am feeling ok with 3. i ate reasonably healthy except for the giant stocking full of candy that was constantly tempting me. i didn't get my windshield crack fixed...but that can wait. i did reinstall windows and thusly fixed my computer. i cleaned out my closet and while i didn't throw much away, i at least moved a bunch of clothes i don't think i want to the basement. i sorta cleaned out the fridge.

i met up with jevon up at his place in baltimore. i tried to get in touch with eskay but never heard back. either way, i am really glad that i got hang out with him. like eskay and amanda, he's definitely somebody who i don't see as much as i should. i seem to always have an interesting time with him. he still has that political fire and idealistic outlook that i formed along with him back during our towson years. so discussing politics and the like always kind of recharges me a little. he is also living with froilan and phil that round out the towson crew that i know. this paragraph doesn't make much sense as i read it, but i guess i was just mentioning that i had fun and also pwnd jevon in cod4. froilan pwnd us both.

all in all, it was a pretty good winter break. i didn't get everything done. i should have blogged more and i should have started some sort of art or music project. but i also didn't have that bad, regretful feeling i can sometimes get when i am just wasting my time off. this will be a winter break to build off of so that next year's will be fitter. happier. more productive.

wwedmption

dave and i were chatting online today when he passed along this video gem:



it got me thinking...what are most of these guys up to these days? we should propose a show about old wwf wrestlers from the 80's and 90's living in a house together working on making comebacks to vh1. they have done very similar shows, and i could very easily see them putting this show on the air. with the writers' strike continuing with no end in sight, the demand for addictive reality shows is high.

preliminary pitch:

a group of 6-8 former wwf/wwe stars sign up to live in a mansion in an effort to revive their wrestling/entertainment/other careers. along with general training, they are put through a series of varying (and sometimes comical) tasks and competitions that show the home viewers new sides of the former wrestlers. it helps humanize them to their fans and viewers.

all of this progresses as the former wrestlers work to reach their own specific goals. some of the younger wrestlers would obviously want to return to the ring. some may want to pursue acting or some other profession. some may want to simply be of relevance again and enjoy the media exposure. others (and this may be a bit of a stretch, wishful thinking...i dunno) may want to use their publicity to bring a cause/charity/issue to light.

potential wrestlers i would want in the show:

• the ultimate warrior
• the honkey tonk man
• the iron sheik
• the junkyard dog
• jimmy superfly snucka (sp?)
• koko b. ware
• rowdy roddy piper
• bam bam bigelow
• big john stud
• ricky the dragon steamboat
• rick flair
• jimmy hart
  

potential hosts

• jim mcmahon
• the fabulous moolah (i have a sneaking suspicion she is my next door neighbor)
• that old wwf ref with the moustache
• some current wwe superstar
• the rock (he would be the #1 option i think)

tasks/competitions

• dance contest
• working with kindergarten kids
• baking competition
• karaoke
• debate
  
• other dumb stuff that is funny since really big wrestlers are doing it

ideally there would be a good blend of drama, fighting, hilarity, bonding, heart-warming moments and silliness. many people who grew up in the 80's and 90's would want to revisit their favorite wrestlers from back then. others would simply tune in to watch people with crazy personalities clash and argue and compete. as i mentioned before, i could see this as a show on vh1, and i have no doubt that it would be very successful. phil and dan have already raised their eyebrow in skepticism, but that's all phil knows. hate hate hate. i know i would watch every episode. dave and i will need to tighten up the premise and details and then submit it.