Carp Dime

That Time I Went to the Beach

2012-01-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

So, did I ever tell you about the time I went to the beach? I should probably be specific. I've been to the beach more than a couple times. I'm specifically talking about the time I went right after high school.

Senior Beach Week was this mythic thing. I'd heard the kids in school talking about it before we graduated. But I really didn't think I was gonna go. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly back at the Patrick Henry High. I'm not exactly one now either, but I was less so back then. So I didn't think I was close enough with a group of friends that would be going down to Myrtle Beach.

Somehow, it happened. I don't remember if someone in the group invited me or if I invited myself. Whatever the case, I ended up driving down to South Carolina as a part of a caravan that may or may not have gotten slightly lost. All I'll say about the road trip itself is that we missed our exit at one point. And then, for some reason, the lead car decided to pull a U-turn through the median on the highway. And for some reason I decided to follow. I pulled through the median on the interstate. Let us never speak of it again.

Eventually we made it to the beach, where about thirty of us packed into a three bedroom, co-ed condo. It wasn't really thirty... but it was close. I think. I know I was one of several who found themselves on the floor due to a lack of actual beds.

We played it pretty smart. We weren't the crazy high school graduates who felt the need to party excessively, and none of us experimented with the alcohol that week. At least, I don't think any of us did. We ate most of our meals there in the condo, which saved us quite a bit of money. Don't get me wrong, we did explore many of the fine establishments that the Myrtle Beach area had to offer in the summer of '98.

We went to Planet Hollywood but skipped the Hard Rock. We went to Dick's, hoping to have a great time getting insulted by a jerk waiter, instead we just got a guy who made dirty jokes. And they weren't even at our expense. People at other tables seemed to be having a much better time than we were. Oh, and Broadway at the Beach was a lot of fun.

A couple of our guys decided to get some fireworks and set them off on the beach. This was probably illegal, but we'd been driving through medians on the interstate and refusing to wait in line at tourist traps. We were rebels. Most of us stayed back and watched from our balcony while they lit fuses near the water. The display was cut short when a stray bottle rocket shot down the beach and nearly killed a couple taking a romantic moonlight stroll on the shore. Let us never speak of it again.

It was a long week. But at the time, it just didn't seem long enough. I'm not sure I walked away without getting sunburned. Generally, as a rule, I get pretty fried whenever I visit the ocean. It wouldn't be my last hurrah with this particular group of high school friends, but it was the final one before I moved on to the college years.

Question of the Week: If I Had $1,000,000

2012-01-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

You are given $1,000,000 to donate anonymously to charity or a stranger. How would you dispose of it?

Tens and Twenties. And I can't tell you to whom it would be given... then it wouldn't be anonymous.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Action

2012-01-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to take cover behind a wrecked Corvette. Yeah, I'm the one that wrecked it. But that's not really important right now. What is important is the heat from the explosions that are rocking my world right now.

I sneak a peek over the hood of the car and see little more than balls of orange flame and black smoke rising high into the air. I duck back down and take a deep breath. I reach into my pocket and pull out a picture. The girl in the picture? She is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women on the planet. But I'm not doing any of this for her.

I'm no hero. I'm not doing any of this for the love of the woman in the picture. It isn't for glory or honor or duty to my country. I'm doing it for money.

Try not to judge me too harshly, okay? Everyone has their motivations. Mine just happens to be dollar signs. And let me tell you, the paycheck I get at the end of this gig is well worth the heat and frustration that I'm feeling at the moment. And the girl? You could say she's just a bonus.

Get your head out of the gutter. It's not like that.

It's time for me to make my move. Another deep breath and then I'm on my feet. I jump across the hood of the car. I don't see how it's any quicker than running around the car, but it looks cool. Not that anyone is really paying attention to what I'm doing right now. Things are exploding. Fireballs tend to be eye catchers.

I'm running about as hard as I've ever run. Another explosion goes off somewhere to my right. That's when I feel the sharp pain in my thigh. I stumble a bit and look at my leg. From what I can tell, I've been hit by some shrapnel. This wasn't part of the plan.

I was just supposed to move from one point to another. Sure, it's across something of a minefield, but it was supposed to be that simple. Now I have this thing sticking out of my leg. I'm not bleeding much, so I keep moving.

With each step, I wince. I'm trying to hold back. I don't want the pain to show in my face, but it's realistic, right? You have a sharp piece of metal sticking in your leg, you're gonna feel it. Especially if you try to keep moving.

Suddenly the explosions seemingly stop. Things calm down all around me. I collapse to the ground, breathing heavily. And then I hear it.

"Cut!" yells the director.

I'm quickly surrounded by a couple producers, the stunt coordinator, and the medic that's always on set for these big action sequences. My agent told me I should try to avoid doing my own stunts, but I always think it's fun. Besides, why pay someone whose face you can't even show on camera when I can do most of the physical stuff myself anyway?

The EMT is examining the injury to my leg. I really don't want to pay attention to what she's doing. I can hear the producers asking if I'm okay and they yell back at the director that my leg is in bad shape. At least I think that's what they're saying. I'm in a lot of pain and everything is kind of a blur right now.

I hear someone suggest that I take a ride in an ambulance. "Is this really necessary?" I ask.

"We need to get that metal out of your leg," says the lady wearing the latex gloves. "You'll definitely need stitches. When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?"

"I don't know, a few years ago?" I'm really not sure. Now come the profuse apologies from the stunt guy. He tells me he's gonna have a talk with the guys with the explosives so they can get to the bottom of what happened. They seem to be worried that I could have been killed.

The woman from the picture stands off to the side. She hasn't taken her eyes off me since the director stopped the shoot. She hasn't taken her hand away from her mouth since the shrapnel hit me. She's my co-star, Maria, and she looks genuinely concerned. That, or she's a much better actress than she lets on when she's on camera.

"Adam," says one of the producers as he puts his hand on my shoulder, "we're gonna get you taken care of, okay?"

I just nod. I kind of just want this to be over with so I can get back here in time for the director to shout action again.

This prompt brought to us by Sunday Scribblings. Go see how others were inspired by "Action."

Blue

2012-01-26T23:12:00.001-05:00

You know, there have been a lot of ups and downs over the last few months. Not to be a downer, but it kind of feels like the downs have outweighed the ups. I can live with that. But I won't lie, it's been kind of rough.

In short, the dream job that I accepted a few months back turned out to be less dreamy than initially expected. I've since chosen to accept another position with a different company. This new position is, in fact, an old position that I held years ago, pre-NC. As an added bonus, I'll be using my degree again. A welcome change.

In between jobs, I've been given some unexpected time off this week. On impulse, I decided to embrace my impromptu vacation and have visited Bluefield, the home of my alma mater.

Wednesday evening I made the trip up in time to have dinner with Mark, Andy, JMitch, and a few new friends that had made the trip from Richmond for a concert on campus. Once we finished our Mexican treats at La Fiesta, we attended the campus concert which featured All Sons and Daughters.

To describe this time as a concert would be completely inaccurate. I knew nothing about this duo before coming to Bluefield this week, so I had no expectations. I just made the decision to made the trip because I knew I'd get to see a lot of my old friends. So arriving in the Student Activities Center and participating in some genuine worship was a welcome event. It was something I desperately needed. God knew that and He used it.

Something else I needed? Time with friends that I haven't seen in years. Mark, Andy and JMitch I've seen recently, and I always have a good time. But there are others that are here in the Bluefield area that I haven't seen in several years. To catch up with them and share about where our lives are these days was just as much a blessing as singing praise songs with All Sons and Daughters.

I've always looked back on my time at Bluefield College with a fondness that will never go away. The friendships that I had in those days, in a lot of ways, are still strong. Some of these folks I stay in constant contact with. We email, we text, we talk on the phone. Others, I can go months, or even years without talking. But then, when we do talk, it's like no time has passed at all.

I cherish these friendships. And I thank God for them.

In Other News...

2012-01-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

You remember my blogging friend Amy, right? Of course you do. She's the one that won my awesome 50 Follower Giveaway a couple weeks back. She has a blog called Ha Ha. Wait. What? And she is hosting an awesome giveaway of her very own.

Even as I type this post, she is giving away two copies of The Civil Wars Barton Hollow CD.

I want to win. But I'm giving you, my readers, the chance to surf over to her blog to reduce my odds of winning. See how nice I am about that? You can thank me later if you happen to win.

But you won't. Because I'm gonna win.

Question of the Week: Entranced

2012-01-23T19:12:00.002-05:00

If you could pass your whole life cared for in every way as you slumbered peacefully, entranced by wonderful dreams, would you do so?

No. Because that would mean the machines have won and the Matrix has us. I will not become a battery that keeps the machines alive!

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Possible

2012-01-22T19:58:00.000-05:00

Pete and Kenny were killing time in the coffee shop. Pete was drinking his grande with one cream and no sugar while reading the newspaper. Kenny just flicked the lid of his tall mocha while staring at the brunette barista behind the counter. The girl noticed him looking at her, but in the split second that their eyes met, Kenny quickly looked away, as if his eyes had simply been wandering the whole time. He waited a few seconds and looked back at her. She had, by this time, looked away and continued with her work. But she was smiling.

"Pete," Kenny whispered.

"Yeah," said Pete without looking up from the Sports page.

"The girl behind the counter, she's pretty hot, right?"

Pete looked up and saw the girl as she sprayed whipped cream into the top of a customer's cup. "Yeah, she's kinda hot," he said and returned to the paper without really giving the girl another thought. "You should go talk to her."

Kenny knew this was coming. It's always so easy for the outgoing guy with the winning personality to hand out the advice to go talk to her. But for the introvert who stammers when confronted with an attractive woman, it's another story.

"Sure... and say what?" Kenny could feel his anxiety level rising and he hadn't even committed to the idea of approaching the girl behind the counter.

Pete sighed and dropped the paper to his lap. "Are we really going through this again?" he asked.

Pete had been friends with Kenny for a very long time. They'd seen each other through college, through the loss of jobs, and even the loss of loved ones. Each of them knew that the other would always be there for support, no matter what. But Pete just couldn't understand Kenny's lack of self-esteem.

"Going through what?" Kenny asked.

"You're gonna make me give you the 'good enough, smart enough' speech again, aren't you?"

Kenny just sat there. He knew this was coming too. A part of him wished Pete would just stop right there. He wasn't fishing for compliments, but that's where Pete would go next.

"Dude, just go talk to her. She can't be that intimidating. I mean, yeah, she's attractive, but so what?" He just looked at his friend, waiting for a sign that he was getting through.

"You think it's possible a girl like that might respond to me?"

"Of course it's possible!" For a moment Pete forgot he was in a quiet coffeehouse and didn't realize his voice was raised. He looked around at the faces that had suddenly turned in his direction. Embarrassed, he lowered his voice, "Of course it's possible... But only if you take the initiative to walk up to her and introduce yourself."

"Kenny, you're a great guy. Everyone else sees it. Why can't you?" Pete said as he stood from his seat. He dropped the newspaper back on the table and put on his coat. "I've got to get to work. Next time I see you, I expect you to have the hot girl's phone number."

"But--"

"No buts," Pete interrupted. He didn't want to hear Kenny's excuses. He wanted Kenny to take control of his own life for once. He wanted Kenny to stop floating along like good things would just come to him. He wanted Kenny to take the reins and make good things happen for himself. He figured that approaching a girl at the coffee shop would be an excellent start. "Go. Talk. And remember to smile. Girls like that sort of thing."

Pete walked out of the coffeehouse and headed to work. Kenny continued to sit on the sofa for a while, flicking the lid of his tall mocha while occasionally stealing glances at the brunette barista behind the counter. He didn't even like coffee. He couldn't quite figure out why he wasted five bucks on this mocha that he knew he wouldn't drink. He came here to hang out with a friend. Now he was sitting alone, wishing he had the courage to say hi to a pretty girl.

"Are you all right?"

Kenny looked up from his cup and saw the brunette barista sitting on the arm of the chair that Pete had been sitting in. She was smiling sweetly at him, a look of near concern on her face. Kenny opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Sorry," she said, "I know it's none of my business, did you and your friend have a fight? You look like you're kind of lost in thought over here."

Kenny laughed to himself. "Oh, no, there was no fight. He just had to get to work. I was kind of lost in thought."

From the back of the store, a voice called out, "Rachel, can you clear some tables?"

"I'm on it," the brunette barista called back. "That's right. My name's Rachel and I work in a coffee shop. No Friends jokes, please." She smiled as she stood up. "Can I get you anything? A refill?"

"No, thanks. I'm good for now."

"Well, if you change your mind, or decide you want a break from your thoughts, you know where to find me," said Rachel as she pulled a washcloth from her apron.

"I do?"

"Yeah, behind the counter," she said, lightly slapping Kenny on the arm, "I work here, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," said Kenny, feeling embarrassed by his lack of cool, "I'll try to remember that."

Rachel laughed as she walked away. Kenny couldn't help but watch as she cleaned tables and returned behind the counter to help the new customers. They smiled at each other whenever they made eye contact. Kenny never once took a sip of his tall mocha. He simply threw it in the trash when he left the sofa and walked to the counter. He got to thinking, if he could get her to smile just by smiling himself, maybe asking for her number would be possible too.

This prompt brought to us by Sunday Scribblings. Go see how others were inspired by "Possible."

AFI 64 - Network

2012-01-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

Network

1976

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Netflix sleeve: When network new anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) loses his mind on the air, his outrageous rants reach viewers at home, boost the ratings and intrigue cutthroat network executives Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall. William Holden contrasts their avarice as an old-school TV journalist hopelessly out of step in writer Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning masterpiece, which predicted today's rash of trash television and shock-laden news broadcasts.

Well, it's nice to finally say I've seen the actual source of the line, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" I think that's one of those lines that's been used and parodied over and over again. On the whole, this movie didn't really do much for me. It was kind of bizarre in my opinion. Not one I'll be watching repeatedly.

Factory Settings

2012-01-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

Back in November I got my very first smart phone. I confess that I think I love my smart phone. It's a Droid X2 and I'm fairly certain that it does a lot more than I'm even aware of. Thus far, I pretty much use it to send text messages, check my e-mail, and keep up with the Twitter and the Facebook. I mean, there are a few other things I've discovered, but those are the most common uses.

Up until yesterday, things had been going great for me and my Droid X2, which I have officially named Artoo.

I'm glad you asked. Things just stopped working yesterday with no apparent explanation. It was working just fine, and then just before lunch, I went to check it to see if I'd gotten any messages and the power button wouldn't turn the phone on. Generally, I'm able to just press it and it'll come on and show me that it's locked. But at this point, even holding the button down did nothing.

So I removed the battery. This is the correct answer to most problems in life. Remote not working? Remove the battery. Smoke detector beeping incessantly? Remove the battery. Got a headache? Remove the... wait... maybe it doesn't solve all problems. But it seemed to work for the phone. I took out the battery, waited a minute or so, then put it back in. And voila, it turned back on.

But it wasn't long before it started having the same issue. I hadn't been doing anything out of the ordinary with it, and the battery had a full charge. It just didn't seem to want to turn on when the power button was pressed. Confusion and frustration set in.

What would I do without my cell phone? It's the only way anyone has to get in touch with me. Well, there's email, but if I'm not at home and my phone isn't working, even that becomes a moo point. Also, my phone is my alarm clock. If I don't have my phone when morning comes, how will I know when to wake up? The correct answer is: I won't.

So I took a trip to my local Verizon store when I got off work last night. In the car, I kept checking the phone to make sure it wasn't coming on. I just knew that once I got to the store, the guy would have no problem getting everything to work and then he'd just look at me like I was crazy. Sure, the phone wouldn't come on when you hit the power button. We're busy here, sir. Come back when you have a real problem and not just the ones that you make up to get attention.

Luckily, the phone was still exhibiting the same problem. My sanity remained intact in the Verizon guy's eyes. He couldn't figure it out. He said that the issue was probably a software problem. His suggestion: restore the phone to the original factory settings. I had no problem with that. I've only had the phone for two months and there really wasn't anything that I couldn't afford to lose. After all, my contacts were all backed up on the internet, so I wasn't losing any phone numbers.

The only problem was, he couldn't get the phone to power up so he could perform the necessary steps to restore the phone. So we very nearly had to have a replacement phone sent to me. I wasn't too keen on that idea though. That meant I'd have to go a couple days without a phone. I think I would have a serious breakdown if I had to go a day without being connected. Though, now that I've said that out loud, maybe it would be something that would be good for me.

Miraculously, he was able to get the phone turned on and he did finally restore everything to its original settings. It was a little inconvenient to have to go through and change my settings again. Oh, and I had to re-download the Twitter and Facebook apps. But I've got it back to what I'm comfortable with.

The biggest issue I now have is that I lost all my progress on Angry Birds. I was doing good too. And I had three stars on a lot of those levels.

Just a Test

2012-01-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

I've often been called a "Cesspool of Useless Knowledge." Okay, it's possible that I'm the only one that's ever referred to myself in such a way.

Whatever the case, I do have a lot of random facts rattling around in my brain. And night after night, I watch Jeopardy and convince myself that I could be on that show. Tonight, I decided to put my money where my mouth is. I took the online test to see if I could even qualify to get on the classic game show.

The test consisted of 50 questions, each to be answered within 15 seconds. That's a lot of pressure to type fast and accurately. Luckily, I not only know a lot of trivial crap, I'm wicked fast typist.

Sadly, there were several questions that I just didn't know the answers to. I started out pretty well. I nailed the first 10 questions. Then it's like they decided to throw in the stuff that I would have needed access to Wikipedia to know.

I don't know how well I did. I'll never know what kind of score I got. All I know for sure is that the Jeopardy people will get in touch with me if I qualify for a personal audition. I probably won't hold my breath on this thing though. Guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

Question of the Week: Premeditated Plans

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

You have arranged an evening with a friend, but on the day preceding your date a special opportunity arises to do something much more exciting. How would you handle the situation?

I would not break plans with this friend. No matter how exciting this "special opportunity" may be. It's happened to me before. I had plans with someone but then something came up and they decided they wanted to do this other thing instead. Look, I'm sorry I'm not the guy you really wanted to go to the prom with. Whatever. Don't get me wrong. I got over it. But it kind of stings when it happens. So, yes, I would continue to keep the plans that had already been made previously with my friend. I don't care how bored we're both gonna be. I mean, I can pretty much meet Community's Alison Brie any time, right? I'm assuming that the "special opportunity" in question is a face to face meeting with Community's Alison Brie.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Tribe

2012-01-15T19:26:00.000-05:00

I've never been known as a patient man. I was sick of waiting for an answer and I grew irritated. I quickly packed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. Without looking back, I walked out of my home and out of my village. I wasn't sure if I would ever see my people again, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me. I needed to find out what exactly had fallen from the sky.

The people of my tribe believed that it was a star that had fallen out of the heavens. But they haven't studied the stars as I have. They don't understand that the stars are not just twinkling lights in the sky that can come loose and move from their place. But without exploring the fallen object, no one could offer a better explanation. And this is where the tribe finds its biggest problem.

Everything that happens has to be discussed in a meeting of the Council of Elders. The old men in the village have to come to a decision. What is best for the tribe?

Don't get me wrong, I respect our tribe's elders. But their committee just takes too much time. Three days had already passed. I did not want to risk another tribe finding the "star" and claiming it for their own. I wanted to find it and I wanted to study it.

I decided to follow the advice of my uncle B'Lairo. When I was a kid he told me, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." At the time I think he just enjoyed watching me get into trouble. But those words certainly applied to my current situation. If this is a trip that I survive, it's possible I'll return to the village a hero. Of course, it's also possible that I'll be ostracized for disobeying the Council. But it's not as if they explicitly told me not to go.

I walked all night and found the site of the fallen "star" just after dawn. I was completely unprepared for what I saw.

It came as no surprise that there was no star lying in a crater. What did surprise me was the sight of strange people walking around. These weren't people from a neighboring village. These were people that I wasn't sure I could actually call people.

Their skin was smooth and strange color. They didn't have the scales that were typical of our race. Their faces were oddly shaped. If I wasn't mistaken, it looked as if their nostrils were just above their mouths, rather than above their eyes. The longer I watched, the more I got confused by these creatures.

From what I observed, they were responsible for the fallen "star," or whatever it was. It was larger than any of our buildings, and they kept walking in and out of it, carrying boxes. I could tell that they were speaking to one another, but their language was strange to me. And then I noticed that one of them saw me.

Quickly, I attempted to hide, but I knew it was too late. I could hear the footfalls of several of these creatures coming my way. I was scared and suddenly wished that I had waited for the Council's decision.

Soon I was faced with three of the strangers. They were yelling at me and I tried to calmly explain that I couldn't understand them. They just kept yelling. One of them brandished a strange looking stick. I could only assume it was a weapon of some kind. I put my hands in front of me, hoping they understood that I meant them no harm.

This action on my part did nothing to calm them down. They grabbed my wrists and pulled me up and forced me to walk toward the rest of their tribe. One of them shouted something and I saw another come toward me with a length of rope. They planned to tie me up, as if I was a threat to them.

They carried me into the inside of their "star" and threw me into a small, dark room. After tying me up, one of them said something before slamming a door shut, leaving me alone. I couldn't be sure how long they would hold me hostage. I could only hope that the rest of my tribe would eventually decide to come and find me.

This prompt brought to us by Sunday Scribblings. Go see how others were inspired by "Tribe."

I Am Number Four

2012-01-14T14:38:00.001-05:00

Title: I Am Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore
Published: 2010

I've been reading this book for a while now. I know that, for the most part, when it takes a long time to read a book, it means that the book isn't holding my attention. It isn't causing me to turn page after page to find out what happens next. It's kind of boring.

That's not the case with this book. My reading of this book was interrupted by a great deal of illness. December got kind of rough there in the health department. I'm not saying I was at death's door or anything so dramatic as that, I was just kind of miserable. And when you're miserable and taking a number of sleep-inducing medications, well, it's kind of hard to focus on the words on a page.

But it's a pretty good book. I actually saw the movie before I read the book. But I honestly don't remember much about the movie, other than it had the girl from Glee. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention when I watched the movie last year. I got it from the Redbox when I was still living in North Carolina. It's possible that I had every intention of watching it, but ended up having it as background noise while I did other things in my apartment.

I think it's a good thing that I forgot most of the basic plot threads. It helped me to read the book with a fairly fresh outlook on things. Basically, it's about a kid and his guardian. They just happen to be aliens from the planet Lorien. They're being hunted by a different, brutal race of aliens called Mogadorians. Their home planet was basically destroyed by these Mogadorians. Now, John and Henri have taken refuge on earth, along with eight other specially powered kids and their guardians.

For the Mogadorians, there are certain rules when it comes to hunting down these special children, known as the Garde. While they can all eventually be killed, they must be killed in order. As we begin the story, the kid described as Number Three is found and killed. John is Number Four and becomes aware that he's next on the list.

John and Henri make their way to Paradise, Ohio, where they attempt to once again create a normal life for themselves. All they while, they learn more about John's developing powers, or Legacies. He discovers that he can create light with his hands, is impervious to fire, and has powerful telekinesis. Apparently, this is just the beginning.

As is usually the case, just when things seem to resemble a normal life, things get shaken up and they are discovered by the bad guys. Chaos ensues and it makes for a pretty exciting climax for the novel. During the battle, John is discovered by not only the Mogadorians, but by another member of the Garde, Number Six. Together they drive off into the sequel, prepared to join the remaining four Garde members to take the fight to the Mogadorians. Their eventual goal is to return to their home planet and rebuild their civilization.

That last part is an assumption on my part. I guess I'll find out more when I read The Power of Six, which is the next installment in the series. Hopefully it won't take another month to read part two.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2012-01-11T20:03:00.000-05:00

So here's the thing. I was going to do this as a video blog. I really was. I know I've made empty promises about video blogging in the past. But this time, it was for real. I turned on the webcam and tried to do this thing right.

Part of my reasoning was so that you could see that I was doing this drawing on the up and up. I was going to show on film how I put the contestants' names on little folded up pieces of paper and put them in a hat and shook it around and then drew one out at random. Now you just have to take my word for it.

The footage was jumpy, I could barely be heard... it was a mess. The lesson that I'm taking away from this whole fiasco is that if I'm ever to really start video blogging, I'm just gonna need a better camera. 'Cause the one that came built into the laptop kinda sucks.

But I digress. This post is supposed to be about who won the awesome prize pack in my Fifty Follower Giveaway. I know that each and every one of you is on the edge of his or her seat. Even the ones who failed to enter the contest. I don't hold it against you for not entering. I'm just glad you still follow my blog.

I do want to thank each of the followers who did decide to enter. To Zac, Brandon, Jessica, JMitch, Aubrey and Amy, I really do appreciate you guys taking the time to play along and fuel my ego just a little bit. And so, without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I present your champion...

AMY!!!

Congratulations, Amy! You will soon be the proud owner of the most awesome movie ever, the first season of the smartest comedy on TV, and a t-shirt that just might make you indestructible. You may not want to test that theory about the t-shirt. In fact, the S is really just for show.

Well, that's it for now. Thank you again to all who participated. I hope you enjoy Carp Dime and continue to be regular visitors. I'm sure that everyone will have a chance to win something again someday. After all, I'm sure hitting 100 followers is an inevitability that cannot be denied.

Last Chance!

2012-01-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

Hey there sport! I just wanted to post this little reminder that today is your last chance to enter your name in my completely awesome Fifty Follower Giveaway! As of the time that I'm writing this post, I have five entrants. FIVE! Out of 51 followers.

That's right, I got another one!

It won't be too late to enter until midnight tonight. That's the cut off time. Tomorrow a name will be drawn and a winner will be announced. You can't win if you don't enter. Need a reminder about the prizes? Here you go...

Click here and enter!!!

Question of the Week: Disturbing

2012-01-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Of all the people close to you, whose death would you find most disturbing?

I'm not sure I can pick one person. I'd be disturbed by any unexpected death of anyone that's close to me. It's been over five years and I'm pretty sure I'm still not over losing Dad. Losing a loved one is a difficult thing to deal with. I know it's something that will have to be dealt with again at some point. It's a natural part of life. Okay, I'm done thinking about this.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Don't forget to check out the contest that I've got going on right now!

Normal

2012-01-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to check out the contest that I've got going on right now!

They're just lying to themselves, she thought as she stared at the doctors with contempt. They stood on the other side of the safety glass, conferring over what had just happened. They were undoubtedly trying to decide the best course of action for her. After all, it was her words that sparked the outburst in the common room. Therefore, the powers that be would hold her responsible.

Ella could never take this place seriously. Her doctor and her therapist both told her that she was only here so they could help her return to normal. She always laughed at that word. Normal. Such a thing did not exist. And when she tried to point that out, it only led to an argument. It wasn't worth Ella's time or energy to attempt a serious conversation with these people.

They considered "normal" to be anyone who was like them. As she watched them, she smiled when she realized that they were more like her than they cared to admit. Yes, they were on the other side of the glass. They worked for this wretched hospital and could come and go as they pleased. But deep inside, they were just as tormented as the patients they so desperately sought to cure. They just weren't as honest about it as she was.

To the outside world, she and her fellow inmates were deemed insane. They were viewed as abnormal. All because they did not conform to the things that society defined as normal. All because they weren't as comfortable, or may have been unable to disguise their abnormalities as all those "normal" people.

The thing Ella came to realize, however, was that all those "normal" people were just as sick and depraved as she was. They were just able to put on a smile before they left the privacy of their homes. The face they showed the world was the mask that convinced everyone that they too were normal.

But she could see past those masks. She could see the abnormal behind the normal. The hospital staff didn't take too kindly to her referring to them as insane in front of the other patients. They didn't like it too much when others started agreeing with her and laughing at the doctors. They were embarrassed. And now someone needed to be punished.

Ella had rocked the boat. She knew she wouldn't be sitting in the common room for much longer today. She wasn't sure where they would take her, but she knew it would be unpleasant. In a normal place, those in authority would never have been able to get away with the things she knew were being planned for her. But this was not a normal place.

This prompt brought to us by Sunday Scribblings. Go see how others were inspired by "Normal."

Dirty Santa

2012-01-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't really talked much about my job. And I'm not gonna talk about my job in this post either. At least, not really. I really just want to focus on the office Christmas party.

You know how these things go. Food, music, socialization with co-workers in a non-work setting. And, of course, there's the gift exchange. You know how awkward this little game can get, right? People draw numbers, then they choose gifts. They can pick something that's wrapped under the tree or they can steal an opened gift from someone who went before them.

I rarely have good luck with these things.

My first time out, I picked a gift under the tree. Of course, I was number 9 of 43, so there weren't many opened options at that point. I opened my choice and revealed a nice travel coffee mug and coffee from Starbucks. And, as a bonus, it came with some fancy chocolates taped to the package. This is a problem for me because A) I do not like chocolate and B) I do not like coffee.

So I sat there for a while, hoping that someone liked coffee and chocolate just enough to steal it away from me. Eventually, that's what happened. I waited a long time for it to happen, but it did.

Then I opened a gift that was apparently a highly coveted commodity. Maybe it was my emotional state or my complete lack of sensitivity to things people typically care about, but I honestly couldn't have cared less. When I looked at it, I saw an awkward looking calculator. Everyone else looked and saw a beautifully handmade wooden thing built around the awkward looking calculator.

As I made my way back to my seat, I heard all the people around me telling me how last year this was the thing that everyone fought over. That told me I wouldn't keep it very long. That was fine. I don't need a handcrafted calculator holder.

Meanwhile, I'm listening to the guy next to me talk about how no one is going for the gift he brought. "I bet it's because it's not wrapped to look nice." He said this over and over again. Every time someone went up to pick a gift, he repeated his tale of woe. He even went so far as to tell me exactly what he brought. I'm not sure if this would entice me to pick it when I inevitably lost my fancy calculator or what, but that's exactly what I did.

Believe me, it wasn't because the gift he brought was the most amazing thing ever. It was an obscure movie that I'd never heard of along with $5.00 gift cards to McDonald's and Little Caesars. I was not enticed by his description. But I did take the misshapen green gift bag containing the gift he brought. Why would I take something I knew I wouldn't really want? Mostly to get him to stop complaining that no one was taking his gift. It was like sitting next to Charlie Brown during the worst Christmas ever.

And I thought I could be negative.

But here's the kicker. I finally decided to use that Little Caesars gift card today. I was near the Little Caesars and thought I pizza sounded pretty good for lunch. I went in to get my Hot-N-Ready pepperoni pizza and handed over my gift card. And then the girl behind the counter kindly let me know that the card had a zero balance. Real funny, Charlie Brown. Apparently my lucky streak with the Dirty Santa game continues.

I have yet to watch the DVD that came in the bag. The way things are going, I'm fairly certain I'll put it into the DVD player only to have the display read that it's a blank disc.

A Friend Request

2012-01-06T18:42:00.000-05:00

Remember my manager from when I used to work at the bank? It was a long time ago, back when I lived in the Raleigh area. Way back in 2011. Anyway... He's put out a plea via Facebook to help out a friend of his and has requested that I share the request on my blog. This is something I'm happy to do.

Here is his request, taken directly from his post on Facebook:

I have a friend that is 3 months behind on his/her mortgage. This is not some drug addict or someone that has a spending problem. He/she has fell on some very hard times and now faces foreclosure. I would like to reach out to everyone I know to offer some annonymous help. If 150 people could offer $20 this would bring him/her current. Contact me directly if you would like to help. I am using facebook b/c it is the fastest and easiest way to reach a lot of people. Thank you in advance

To contact Charles, you can reach him through his Facebook page.

Fifty Follower Giveaway

2012-01-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hey gang, I just wanted to post a reminder that I'm holding a giveaway as a celebration of having 50 followers. Thus far we have three entries. Be sure to go back to Tuesday's post and leave your comment, entering your name into the drawing.

As a reminder, the prizes are DVDs of Back to the Future and the first season of Community, as well as a Superman t-shirt.

Also remember, you have the chance to have more than one entry in the drawing. If you have a blog, just post a link to it in your comment. You can get a third entry by linking to the contest post from your blog.

Look, I would love to have 50 people enter the contest. Heck, I'd love to have even more than that. But if you guys want to give the contestants a one in three shot at winning, that's cool too. I just want to have fun with this. I hope you do to.

Sneaky Sneaky

2012-01-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to check out the contest that I've got going on right now!

Saturday evening, while I was sitting at home not celebrating the New Year's Eve, I got a text from my mother inviting me to church the next day. How could I say no? Come on, can you say no to your mother when she asks you to go to church?

So I responded with a positive answer. It wasn't as if I had made plans for my Sunday morning. I had no reason to say no.

And then Sunday morning came. It was a new day, a new month and a new year. I showed up at church right on time. It's the church where I grew up. A church I've only visited a handful of times since I left it in high school. Mom and my sister have started going back there in the last few years.

I walked into the sanctuary and really didn't see too many people that I recognized. But that's how it goes in life. People change and the ones that I did recognize, I honestly couldn't remember. Sure, there were a few people I genuinely knew. But it was a little awkward. So I stood in the back, waiting for Mom or April to walk in. I definitely needed someone to sit with.

April got to me first. And she handed me a book. I was taken a little off guard by this sudden generosity. I mean, Christmas was the previous week and my birthday is three months away. New Year's gifts are not a family tradition that I'm used to. So here I was, holding this book that I had done nothing to deserve.

"Yeah, I had an extra one, so it's yours," she said. "We're going through one chapter a week for the next 31 weeks."

"Oh, cool," I said, kind of thinking it was a Sunday School thing. No... turns out it was a Big Church thing.

The book is The Story. From what I can tell, it's kind of an abridged NIV Bible. It's compiled in chronological order. And I'm not sure I'm a fan of it.

Honestly, my thoughts on this The Story is that it's a lot like the original book version of The Princess Bride. Written by William Goldman, it's written as if it's an abridged or "good parts version" of a novel by S. Morgenstern. I hate thinking that The Story is the "good parts version" of the Bible. But it kind of seems that way.

It has selected passages of actual scripture with italicized paragraphs bridging the gaps between the interesting parts. I've only read through the first chapter, which covers creation and the fall of man. Oh, and the flood. So yeah, I'm not sure I like it much.

I can understand how it would be a good idea for new Christians. 'Cause yeah, there are a lot of places in the Bible that are difficult to get through. But is this the kind of book that should be used week to week for the Sunday morning worship service? I'm not sure I think it's a good idea.

Maybe I'm just making excuses.

Also, isn't a 31 week study kind of a large commitment to ask one to take? I get a six week series. 31 weeks carries you all the way to the end of July.

Crap... I am just making excuses to not get involved.

I got a free copy of the book that the church is using for the next 31 weeks. And by having me there for the first part of the long series, I think my family is hoping that I'll show up week after week through the end of July. Seems kind of sneaky if you ask me.

I made no guarantees about committing to 31 weeks. Maybe I will. This week will be very telling. I haven't been to the same church two weeks in a row in a long time. It may say a lot about me if I go back for week two.

It Finally Happened

2012-01-03T22:03:00.001-05:00

I'm secretly an attention seeker. A "glory hound" if you will. I probably wouldn't necessarily describe myself that way, but some might. Those same people might not think my attention seeking tendencies are so secret. While I don't often point out the number of followers I have on this blog or the amount of comments my posts receive, I love seeing those numbers rise.

I'd love to get more comments. But I know that door swings both ways. There are a lot of times when I think that I should be commenting more on others' blogs, then maybe what goes around would come around. But I have such a hard time coming up with witty things to say in response to blog posts most of the time. Hard to believe, right? Me? At a loss for something witty to say? I can hardly believe it myself, but it happens.

As far as followers go, I've been sitting in the high forties for months. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated that number. I really do appreciate the fact that 48 of you had been following my random ramblings for as long as you have. But last night I noticed that I had crossed the threshold. I now have 50 followers.

This is the part where we cue a certain Miss Jessie Spano...

That's right. I'm excited about having 50 followers. But I'm kind of scared too. The more followers I have, the more popular I feel. But on the flip side of that, I run a serious risk of letting someone down. And then what if I lose a follower or two... or fifty. I've lost followers in the past. I assume that kind of thing happens when I write something particularly cynical or sarcastic and it's taken the wrong way. I never mean to offend, but I'm sure it happens from time to time. I tend to sometimes not think before I write.

But let's not focus on the scared part. Let's just zone in on being excited. Because I now have 50 followers! This is a number I've been hoping to reach for a long time. And do you know why? Because I've been planning to do a giveaway when I hit that magic number!

Now, before you all start hyperventilating, keep in mind that I'm not Oprah. When I do a giveaway it isn't a favorite things kind of day. I'm not gonna stand on the sofa and scream, "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car!!!" I'm sorry, that's just not gonna happen. My excitement is much more subdued. So is my wallet.

So what could you win? The winner of my Fifty Follower Giveaway will win three prizes. First, they will receive the greatest movie of all time on DVD. That movie, of course, is Back to the Future. Next, they will receive the smartest comedy that is currently not on television. That comedy, of course, is Community. Specifically, the first season. Finally, the winner will receive a Superman t-shirt, similar to the one worn by your friendly neighborhood Single Guy.

This giveaway is full of all kinds of awesomeness. You might have to shield your eyes. If you need to get your sunglasses, I'll understand.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "How can I win these awesome prizes?" I'm glad you asked. It's fairly simple, actually. First, you must be a follower of the blog. If you're not already one of the 50, just look over at the right side of the page and click the button that says "Join this site." Point, click, bam... you're follower number 51. Once you've done that, leave a comment on this post. It doesn't have to be anything awe-inspiring or tear-inducing. But it must make me laugh. That is key.

Okay, it doesn't really have to make me laugh. But if you leave a comment, your name will be entered into the drawing for the awesome giveaway. Would you like to have your name in the drawing multiple times? Of course you would. To increase your odds of winning, all you have to do is include a link to your own blog in your comment. You know, if you have your own blog. I'm not trying to be discriminatory or anything, I'm just trying to help my fellow bloggers with some advertisement of their own blogs.

Would you like a third entry? Well, for that to happen you just need to link back to this post in your own blog. I'm just trying to get crazy popular. What part of glory hound didn't you understand? With your help, we can get me my own sitcom on NBC. I figure they're pretty desperate, right? I mean, have you seen Whitney? I rest my case.

The winner will be announced next Wednesday, January 11. So you have up until Tuesday to get your name in the drawing.

And there you have it. You could potentially have three entries in this contest. A contest where you can win three prizes. Anyone else get chills? Couldn't have just been me. Okay, here's a reminder of what you could win...

You know you want it.

The Single Guy and the Milkshake

2012-01-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

The End of Year/Beginning of Year Weekend was pretty low key for the Single Guy. It probably didn't help that he had been dealing with a pretty bad case of bronchitis. The coughing and hacking kept him from having a very merry Christmas. His medications caused him to enjoy the warmth of his bed well before the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. But New Year's Day brought him a healthier outlook.

He had started feeling better a couple days before 2012 officially began, but Saturday morning was the first time he had woken up with the ability to fully take a deep breath in weeks. The Single Guy figured that was a good sign. But he still wanted to take it easy.

But New Year's Day gave him a chance to hang out with Subway and his family. They broke bread at Panera and then decided to head over to Macado's for milkshakes. Honestly, the milkshakes weren't that great. Well, they were milkshakes, so they're a little hard to mess up, but the Single Guy had had better in the past.

Once the shakes had been ordered, Subway and the Mrs. both pointed out that the waitress was flirting with him. The Single Guy isn't great at picking up on these things. Sure, he realized there was some giggling at the things he said and there had been a significant amount of eye contact happening, but did that constitute as flirting? The Single Guy wasn't so sure.

And even if the waitress was actively flirting, would the Single Guy really be interested?

The evening progressed. Conversations carried on. Over time it was determined that the waitress was a student at Lynchburg College, making her roughly ten years younger than the Single Guy... red flag. Her cute giggling became full-on laughter, and her laugh turned out to be loud and obnoxious... red flag. Oh, and she might have been a little racist... red flag.

Needless the say, by the end of the night, the Single Guy felt no compulsion to ask for this girl's number. He walked away from Macado's feeling good about his decision to pursue absolutely nothing. The way he saw it, there had to be older waitresses out there who weren't racist and had much nicer laughs.

New

2012-01-01T16:31:00.000-05:00

The bus pulled into the station at exactly 7:03. The sun was long gone and the tiny town was lit by street lights and blinking traffic lights. Kathryn stepped off the Greyhound and closed up her jacket. She had forgotten how cold this place got on a January evening.

She walked over to the side of the bus and searched for her bag. Once she had it, she threw it over her shoulder and made her way through the small crowd inside the station. She knew she was supposed to wait here for her brother to pick her up, but she rarely did what she was supposed to do. She wasn't supposed to come back home while their father was still alive, yet here she was.

It had been a long trip and Kathryn needed a drink. Okay, she may not have needed a drink, but she certainly wanted one. She hoped The Root Cellar was still open on Main Street. She didn't think Harry would be too happy about seeing her come through the door, but he wouldn't turn down her money if she was willing to pay for some whiskey.

The walk from the bus station to the bar wasn't terribly far. The wind was cutting through Kathryn's jacket, making her wish the walk was shorter. She walked into The Root Cellar and was surprised at what she saw. She wasn't expecting any fanfare upon her arrival, but she certainly hadn't expected the place to be this dead on a Saturday night.

"This is new," she said to herself. When she was younger, using a fake ID to get into the bar, The Root Cellar was a pretty rowdy place on the weekends. She wondered what happened to this town. What could make the people shy away from the only place that didn't lock up at 8pm?

Kathryn dropped her duffel bag on the floor and unzipped her jacket as she took a stool at the end of the bar. She looked and made eye contact with Harry at the cash register, but she knew he hadn't recognized her. Her hair was a lot longer than it used to be. "He'll make a fuss when he gets closer," she said.

"What can I get you ma'am?" asked Harry as he slowly made his way toward Kathryn's seat. He stopped short. "Katey? Is that you?"

Kathryn couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, Harry. It's me."

"Get out of my bar," he said as he turned to walk away from her.

She stood up to follow him. "Come on, Harry! I'm a paying customer!"

"That's good, kid. 'Cause I figure you still owe me plenty for all the damage you caused last time you were in here. What was it? Six years ago?"

Kathryn sighed, "Harry, that was six years ago. Can't you let go of the past? Besides, didn't Daddy take care of all that?"

"You think I made that poor man pay for everything that you should have taken care of yourself?" Harry was getting angry. Kathryn should have known this was a bad idea. The things one does to drown some sorrows.

"I said I was sorry," she said. She meant it, too. Kathryn stared at the old barkeep for a moment before throwing her hands into the air. "Fine, I'll go."

She turned back to her things and got ready to leave. "You know you broke your old man's heart," Harry said as she slipped her jacket back on. She closed her eyes and sighed. He just had to get in one more dig.

"Yeah, I know I did. Why do you think I stayed away so long?" Kathryn grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before walking out into the cold January night.

Out on the sidewalk, Kathryn lit a cigarette. One more bad habit she picked up in high school. She quit for a while during her six year absence, but coming back to this town made her want to revert to her old ways. She hated herself for lighting that cigarette. She hated herself for wanting a drink so badly. She hated herself for the person she was before she left this place, and for the person she became the moment she stepped off that bus.

Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was her brother calling. "Hey, Tom," she said as she answered.

"Where are you?" he asked impatiently.

"I'm standing outside Harry's place."

"Tell me you're joking!" Tom said, "You know how that man feels about you."

"I know. Believe me, I wish I'd never come here." Kathryn dropped her cigarette and crushed it under her foot.

"Stay there, I'll come and pick you up."

Within a few minutes, Kathryn was sitting in her brother's truck. She stared out the window, purposely avoiding eye contact with Tom.

"When you said you wished you'd never come here, did you mean The Root Cellar or did you mean home in general?" Tom asked, sadness tainting his voice.

"I don't know," she said. She truly didn't know. At the time, she thought she just meant the bar. Now that she was faced with seeing her father for the first time in six years, a part of her wanted to be back in her apartment in Chicago.

"I know you're not the same girl that ran away from home," Tom said, trying to shake his sister from her melancholy. "You don't have to turn back into her just because you're back in town."

"I know that."

"Then why is it so hard for you to try?" Tom asked. "Dad has really missed you. Can't you at least attempt to start over with him? Wipe the slate clean. This can be a new beginning if you'll just let it."

Kathryn kept staring out the window. She watched familiar houses go by in a blur and laughed to herself at the predictable homes that were still decorated for Christmas. She finally looked over at her brother and quietly said, "I'll try."

2011: The Year I Went Backwards

2011-12-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

2011 hasn't been a bad year for me. Sure, it started out like most years. When things started, I wasn't exactly optimistic about how the next twelve months would play out. I was in a job that I seriously did not enjoy. I was in a place that I had made into a solitary and lonely place. The best thing I had going for me was my awesome apartment. But even that was empty, because I managed to close myself off from most of the people around me, whether they were close to me or not.

I can't say that this had been a bad year. Though, in some ways, it feels like my momentum this year was somewhat backwards, rather than forwards. I say this mostly because of the fact that when I finally got away from my life in Raleigh, it was to move back to my hometown of Roanoke. I'm not saying this was a bad thing, it just seems like something of an anti-climax.

At the beginning of the year I decided I would set some resolutions for myself. As I look back at this year, I'm curious as to how I did with that list of 11 plans.

1. Read my Bible more. I can honestly say that I didn't do as much of this as I had hoped to when I set this goal for myself.

2. Spend more time in prayer. And this one is a lot like number one. That's not to say that I haven't spent a great deal of time in prayer, just not as much as I had hoped.

3. Stick to a real exercise plan. HA!

4. Read 50 books. I didn't even reach the halfway mark on this one. According to my count, I only read 16 books this year. I can make the excuse that moving in the summer messed up my schedule. But let's be honest, I was way off track by the end of January. To get 50 you have to pretty much have a book a week. That just didn't happen at all.

5. Apply for no less than 2 jobs per week until I'm hired. I can't say that I did this to the fullest extent of 2 jobs a week. But I did eventually find another job. At first it was within the bank, but it was a promotion and it was in a different area. Then I got a completely different job with a completely different company. I'd say that counts as mission accomplished. I guess.

6. Watch all 100 of the AFI's 100 greatest films of all time. Again, this is one that I didn't even get halfway through. I can blame Netflix for part of it. But I just didn't make the time to watch these movies as quickly as I could have either. I'll try to finish them up in 2012. But I've noticed that my posts about these movies are less than popular. So I may just do that one for myself and keep it off the blog. Thoughts?

7. Learn to like coffee. I bought a coffeemaker. I bought coffee. I even got a decent coffee mug. Never brewed a single pot. And then I left my $15 coffeemaker in North Carolina when I moved. Epic fail.

8. Visit, or at least communicate with my family more. I think I was successful with this one. Most of that could be due to the fact that I now live nearer to everyone on Mom's side of the family tree. But I'm gonna count that one as a successful resolution.

9. Visit, or at least communicate with my friends from college more. Also one for the win column. Need proof? Remember the epic road trip? I think that counts.

10. Completely finish writing a novel. HA! Fail.

11. Spend more time doing the visual arts stuff that I loved back in high school. Like the first couple resolutions on this list, I didn't do as much as I had hoped. Some, but not a lot.

Didn't do so well on those resolutions. I think I'll save myself the heartache and just not make resolutions for 2012. I may change my mind if I decide I need something to post in the new year, but for now, I have no plans to resolve myself.

2011 wasn't a bad year. Overall things were pretty good. Up until December. December seemed to come along and kick me in a sensitive spot, laugh while I was down, then decided to kick me again as I tried to get back up. On the bright side, midnight tonight brings a new day, a new month, and a new year. Maybe my resolution should be to be more optimistic.

This Has Lex Luthor's Fingerprints All Over It

2011-12-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

Did you see Superman: The Movie? What about Superman Returns? They both have one villain in common: Lex Luthor. And he kind of has the same gag going on in both movies. The crooked land deal.

Now, each time out, he goes about the scheme in a different way. Back in '78, his plan was to buy up all the worthless desert on the east side of the San Andreas Fault. Then, after hijacking a nuclear warhead, he would blow the west coast into the Pacific. This would cause all of his worthless land to suddenly become beachfront property. It was foolproof! And then Superman did his "turn the Earth backwards" trick and foiled his plans.

In Superman Returns, he decided to steal some crystals from Superman's Fortress of Solitude. I'm not too sure how this works, but apparently when the crystals are thrown into some water, they grow. Like Sea Monkeys. His idea here was to create a whole new continent which would take the place of North America. Seemed to be working all right until Superman came along, dug up the newly formed continent, and flew it into space.

Why would Lex Luthor go to all this trouble? Because his father gave him advice about land. He told his balding son that it was the one thing they weren't making anymore. So Lex, being the insecure guy with daddy issues that we all know him to be, spent the majority of his film career attempting to swindle the world into buying land from him. But, as it turns out, that whole "they aren't making anymore land" thing is wrong.

I read an article today talking about how volcanic activity in the Red Sea has caused the formation of a new island. Now, before you get excited and start packing your bags, there's nothing there yet. It's only 500 meters wide at this point. Granted, it is growing, but it may not be the kind of land mass that sticks around forever. The waves in the Red Sea may prove to be too much for the small island. It could disappear as quickly as it appeared.

Besides, I can't get away from the whole Lex Luthor thing. How do we know this isn't some plot being hatched by the greatest criminal mind of our time? I'm just saying. And it's not as if we have a Superman who can fly Kryptonite Island into space when things start to go wrong. So don't go buying your private island just yet.

Looking For a Festivus Miracle

2011-12-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

Today is December 23rd. According to Frank Costanza of television's Seinfeld, today is the day we pause to celebrate a Festivus for the rest of us. I'm not saying I adhere to any of Frank Costanza's fictional teachings. I don't have an aluminum pole and I don't sit around with people airing grievances (though that could turn out to be cathartic if one were so inclined).

I only mention it because I'm sick. I've been dealing with this cough since last Sunday night. Not sure where it came from or how I contracted it. I got home Sunday evening and felt find. As I put myself to bed, I found myself needing to clear my throat. A lot. I thought maybe it was just some congestion after eating something. You know how that happens sometimes? So I wrote it off as that.

Then the coughing started on Monday. A lot of coughing. And it hasn't stopped since. In fact, despite a regular schedule of Robitussin, I haven't been able to kick this thing. Yesterday, the boss heard my coughing back in his office. He called me up and sent me home. This morning I woke up with a fever. That means another day off work. This comes after missing three days just a couple weeks ago with the stomach virus from Hell.

It's funny, back when I had health insurance, I really never got seriously ill. Now that I don't have it and could probably benefit from a visit to a doctor, I'm hit back to back with diseases. Not fun.

So I'm looking for a Festivus miracle. This weekend is Christmas. Tomorrow, on Christmas Eve, I'm supposed to join my family at my grandmother's house for dinner and a gift exchange. It's a chance to see some folks that I haven't seen in a long time. One cousin and her family are coming in from Illinois. I haven't seen them in two years, since I didn't make it up for Christmas last year. Now I'm here in town and I may not be able to go anyway.

After all, I don't want to pass along my sickness when I pass out the gifts to the little kids. That is not how you say Merry Christmas to your family.

As I write this, my head still hurts. Honestly, my whole body hurts from coughing so much and tensing up so many muscles that I don't normally use. I still feel warm in an unhealthy way. Oh, and the coughing really hasn't let up.

So there's a chance that my Christmas may be cancelled this year. Unless that miracle kicks in and I wake up tomorrow morning feeling 100%.

To the rest of you out there in the interworld, I pray that you have a safe and healthy Christmas this weekend.

A Season for Slacking

2011-12-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

You know, people often ask me, "Aaron, why haven't you been blogging as often as you used to?"

To those people, I usually say, "Hey, get off my case! I'm, like, super busy right now!"

Okay, here's the honest truth: no one ever asks me why I haven't been blogging as often as I used to. No, that was a tangled web of lies. I like to pretend that I'm more important than I am sometimes. I like to pretend that my tiny little blog plays a much more important role in this world than it really does.

And no, I haven't been blogging as much as I used to. I used to make a concerted effort to post something every single day. I don't know, lately I've just been... eh... if I feel like writing something, I'll write something. I promise, it isn't really an issue of apathy. I genuinely care about what I put on here. And that, I think, is my biggest issue. I've been having a really hard time coming up with good topics to post about.

Look at me, I'm ending sentences with prepositions. I'm way off my game.

I could use the excuse that Christmastime makes things pretty busy and stressful. Last year I think I took the last week of the year off from the blog. And then I came back with some pretty good stuff in January. Don't all rush to agree, you can nod silently if you wish.

I won't make any promises about the last two weeks of the year. I won't sit here and tell you that every day I'll post something awesome. But I will do a few things. So don't give up on me. 2011 is winding down and 2012 looks to be pretty great. Despite that whole "end of the world" thing. But hey, we all survived a couple scheduled apocalypses this year, right? Is it bad that we need to have a plural for the word apocalypse? Is apocalypses even correct? I've never been good with Greek. It is Greek, right?

Anyway, try not to stress out about the holidays. It'll be 2013 before you know it. Unless Melancholia happens.

Question of the Week: Dressed Up for Nothing

2011-12-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry I'm a day late on this, folks. Yesterday was a really long day. Right after work there was the after work Christmas shin-dig. It was this whole thing. And then I didn't get home from the next county over until after 10. And by then I was about exhausted and headache-y. So I put off posting the Question of the Week. To the three of you who may have noticed, I apologize. On with the head scratcher...

Would you generally rather be overdressed or underdressed at a party?

Well, it would be a much more comfortable situation to be underdressed. And I mean that in a physical sense. Who isn't more comfortable wearing a t-shirt and jeans as opposed to wearing a tuxedo? Am I right? But it's a party. And, as Jack Donaghy once said, "It's after six. What am I, a farmer?" So when it comes to a party I'd much rather be overdressed than under. Besides, have you seen me in a tux? I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I look... well... adequate.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

The Moderately Awaited Road Trip Post

2011-12-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

Where were we? Oh yeah, Columbus. Before leaving for Indy, we needed to stop and eat lunch. Four grown men with the appetites that we have? Yeah, we're not skipping any meals. In fact, we didn't skip any snacks between meals either. Which reminds me... A quick thanks to JMitch for providing us with our snacks for the road. Particularly the Rice Krispies Treats. 'Cause it's not a road trip without Rice Krispies Treats. Just ask anyone in my family. Anyway, without her snacks we would have grown cranky and irritable mere minutes into the long drive. Seriously, thank you!

So we stopped for lunch at The Ohio Deli, known for its legendary Dagwood Challenge. Man vs. Food even did a show there and took the challenge. I can't remember the exact challenge, but it involved a gigantic sandwich, a gigantic plate of fries, and a drink. I think. I could be confusing that challenge with the challenge we came across the next day leaving Indianapolis. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

None of us took the challenge that day. We were too excited about the day that lay ahead of us. So we simply ate (some pretty good sandwiches) and then hit the road. And the road we hit was long and straight and boring. I've always said I'd love to drive across the country someday. But I'm here to tell you that the drive between middle Ohio and middle Indiana is incredibly dull. No bends in the road. No hills. Just rolling farm land as far as the eye can see. I'm not sure, but I may have been able to see the curvature of the earth at the edge of the horizon.

Eventually we reached Indianapolis. We checked into our hotel, which was overrun with fans on both sides of the Big Ten Championship. Judging by the license plates seen in the parking lot, however, this particular hotel was leaning towards the Wisconsin side of the Championship. As we made our way inside, some girls from Wisconsin invited us to the party in 104 after the game. Sounded like a good time. We all got high fives out of it.

We were only at the hotel long enough to drop off our things before heading back to downtown Indianapolis. The city, by the way, was gorgeous. And, bonus, we didn't come across any crazy rules like "You can't make a U-turn anywhere! Ever!" This was a nice change of pace from Columbus. Yeah, I could live in Indianapolis.

After a drawn out dinner at Penn Station East Coast Subs, we made our way over to Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the first ever Big Ten Championship Game. The entire place was alive with excitement as fans waited to see Michigan State and Wisconsin go head to head.

It was a phenomenal game. Now, we had all pretty much decided that we would be pulling for Wisconsin. And then we found out that our seats were nestled in between a gang of rabid Spartans. I was seated directly to a fairly drunk girl who demanded that I cheer for Michigan State. I decided to do just that, fearing for my life. Honestly, I didn't care much which team won. I just didn't want to get cut by a drunk girl.

History tells us that Wisconsin won in the end. Russell Wilson was named MVP. And the drunk girl left disappointed that her team lost, but seemed satisfied that her stadium neighbors shared in her disappointment. We were all just excited that it was an exciting game.

We didn't go to any parties that night. Though we did get a little lost trying to find our way back to the parking garage where we left the car. Shut up, Indianapolis is a big place.

After a good night's sleep, and apparently some heated argument about the BCS system (which I missed because I allowed myself to fall asleep pretty quickly), we started the long drive back home.

Before leaving Indianapolis, we found our way to the Mug 'N Bun, Indy's Oldest and Finest Drive-In. Andy and Mark decided to accept the Mug 'N Bun Challenge, which did involve taking down a gigantic sandwich, a large basket of fries, and a large root beer. Oh, and it had to be done in half an hour. I'm sorry to say that neither of my friends completed the challenge, but they put up a good fight. Andy will argue it 'til the day he dies, but I'm certain that Mark got a lot farther in the challenge than he did. Yeah, I'll hear about that one later.

This was followed by about 9 hours in Half-Pint as we made our way back to the Commonwealth. It was a long trip. It was epic.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a huge football guy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching a good game now and then. But I really don't pay attention to all the statistics and wins and losses of colleges across the country. So this trip, while the destination was a pretty awesome football game, was more about the journey getting there and back. At least, for me it was. Because it meant I got to spend a weekend with three of my best friends. It's not something that happens very often. So it's something I would do again in a heartbeat.

Rumor has it that we're planning a trip to see the PAC 12 next year. Sign me up.

The Long Awaited Road Trip Post

2011-12-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, maybe I should have titled this "The Moderately Awaited Road Trip Post." I haven't really heard any complaints about not having written anything about the epic road trip to Indianapolis that I had been promising to write about for the last two weeks. But I am a man of my word. And here is my summary of an epic road trip and an epic weekend.

It was decided before the trip began that we would take my car. Half-Pint apparently gets the best gas mileage out of all our cars. I was really okay with this because I genuinely enjoy driving places. I can't call driving relaxing, what with the road rage I suffer from, but I do still enjoy it.

So when I got off work on Friday, I met Andy (who had already driven from Richmond) and Brandon at my apartment. From there we headed for Bluefield where we would pick up our final passenger, Mark. Then came the long, night time drive to Columbus, Ohio.

For the most part, the drive that night was uneventful. Please, don't make the mistake of thinking that when I say it was uneventful that I mean it wasn't fun. These guys are three of my best friends, so hanging out with them in any situation is always a good time. We talked and got caught up on each others' lives. We listened to music thanks to our friends at Spotify and Pandora. And then we hit our first pit stop.

Somewhere in Nowhere, West Virginia, the low fuel light started blinking. It was time for our first fill-up of the trip. By the way, this was one of only three fill-ups for Half Pint. Impressive, no? So we pulled off at the next available gas station. The signs on the highway indicated that we would come up on an Exxon, so we took the exit and then got scared. There were no street lights and no other commercial buildings at the exit. And there was no Exxon station to be seen. At first we all panicked a little and thought we were about to die. Let's just say that several references were made to that movie Wrong Turn. I followed the arrow to where the Exxon was supposed to be, and there it was just around the corner. We survived our first stop relatively unscathed.

And we drove on. And on. And on. Thanks to GPS, we crossed the Ohio border in relatively good time. It wasn't long after this that we made an unscheduled stop at Ohio University in Athens. At first I didn't stop. And I got yelled at. Look, I had one voice yelling at me with GPS directions and I had two other voices telling me to TAKE THIS EXIT. I got confused. But we got to the campus. We stopped at the Ohio football stadium and took a quick look around. Let me just say, midnight in Athens, OH during the first weekend in December is wicked cold. But I will say this, Ohio University has a beautiful campus. They've got a lit walkway that runs right next to the Hocking River. It was pretty nice.

Eventually we made it to Columbus. And we pretty much collapsed. We were all tired. It was about 2am. I'm told that I snored. Loudly. But it didn't bother me. I was unconscious for the whole thing. The morning came and we were ready to face the world. We were ready to hit Indianapolis hard.

But before we left Columbus, we made a stop at Ohio State University. We took a look around their ginormous football stadium and got a few pictures. That campus, by the way, is huge.

What's that spell? Yeah, it's O-H-I-O. Get it? I thought the silhouette thing turned out pretty good. While in Columbus, I did come to the decision that I could never live there. I'm glad you asked. It's because we came across a sign that told us that U-turns were prohibited everywhere in the city limits. Really? No U-turns anywhere? That seems a bit excessive.

Indianapolis, now that's a different story. Come back tomorrow for the rest of the weekend.

The Common Enemy

2011-12-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna catch a lot of flack for sharing this video. But George Takei does raise some very interesting and incredibly accurate points.

AFI 65 - The African Queen

2011-12-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

The African Queen

1951

Directed by John Huston

Netflix sleeve: Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart), the booze-guzzling, rough-hewn captain of a broken-down East African riverboat, teams with a straitlaced, iron-willed missionary (Katharine Hepburn) to take on a menacing German gunboat during World War I. A classic study in star charisma and pitch-perfect casting, The African Queen was nominated for four Oscars (for actress, actor, director and original screenplay), with Bogart winning a Best Actor statuette.

This is one that I had never seen. Honestly, I'd never given much thought to watching this one. Not that I had any special aversion to seeing it. I've just never considered myself a particular fan of Katherine Hepburn or Humphrey Bogart. Though I will say, I've seen and enjoyed more of Bogart's films than Hepburn's. Her voice just kind of grates on me. But then, so does his. Just not as much, I guess. The African Queen wasn't bad. It just wasn't the kind of thing that managed to hold my attention for the entire hour and 45 minute run time.

Fairytale

2011-12-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, there lived an okay-looking prince named Hank. Sure, he wasn't as handsome as that charming upstart across the border, but he made up for it with a sense of humor. Okay, really he used the humor as a defense mechanism. He knew he wasn't as good looking as the guys in the rival kingdoms. In fact, on a scale of one to ten, the fair maidens in the nearby towns would only rank him a six. They might be generous enough to give him a seven if the lighting was right.

Most of the time Hank didn't care what anyone thought of him. After all, he was a prince. He was heir to the throne of a small but distinguished kingdom. But there were times when he just felt inadequate. He could generally trace those feelings of inadequacy to the parties that Prince Charming liked to hold.

Every couple months or so, Charming would have a big party in his daddy's big old palace, just so he could show off his latest conquest. Last year it was some girl named Snow White. Hank was almost convinced that was just her stage name. Apparently she ate a bad apple that nearly killed her. She slipped into a coma and Charming came along and supposedly woke her with a kiss. The only witnesses to this alleged miracle kiss were a group of miners. They were conveniently missing from the prince's party that night.

That very night, Charming met another girl. Hank was pretty sure that Charming had a bit of a commitment issue. Anyway, that night, at Snow White's coming out party, there was a blonde girl in glass slippers. When Hank heard about her, he couldn't help but think how impractical glass slippers would be. But he knew how women were with shoes. As long as they looked good, it didn't matter how uncomfortable they were. This girl was a peasant that snuck into the party. Her mother and sisters called her Cinderella.

Turns out that wasn't her real name. That's just what her family called her because they were using her as a slave. Oh, and she wasn't really related to her family. They were her step-mother and step-sisters. In reality, she was the heiress to some fortune that her step-mother hid away from her when her father died. Hank felt sorry for her, he really did. Especially after Charming got his hands on her. One more romance that Hank knew wouldn't last. And whatever happened to Snow White?

A few months later, it was another girl. Something about a chick with really long hair. Hank wasn't too sure about that one. He skipped that party, so he only heard about it through others who had been there.

So he sat in his room, kind of feeling sorry for himself. And then he heard the trumpets blasting outside. Who were they announcing? No one was scheduled to visit the kingdom this week. Hank stood and looked out the window and saw Charming riding up the road on his white horse.

Hank rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Ugh... this guy..." He turned around, walked out of his room and headed toward the main entrance.

"Hank!" yelled Charming as he walked into the foyer. He gave his fellow prince a hug. "How charming it is to see you!"

Hank nearly vomited. Why did this guy have to use his own name as an adjective all the time? It's one thing for your heralds to announce you in that way, but really, come on.

"You seem down, Hank," Charming said, holding the depressed prince at arms length. "Is this because you missed my party last month?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," said Hank.

"Well you don't have to worry. You didn't really miss anything. In fact, the girl I had there, Rapunzel, she's history."

"Already?" Hank asked. He couldn't believe the attention span on this guy.

"It's the hair. I couldn't handle getting tangled up all the time," said Charming as he paced back and forth. "And do you have any idea how much shampoo that woman goes through in a week? Seriously, my kingdom for a bottle of Herbal Essences!"

Hank rolled his eyes again. Yes, yes, you're so funny! "So what brings you here, Charming?"

"I'm here because I want to set you up with my sister."

The offer was tempting. Princess Charming was a classic beauty. But Hank didn't want any of Charming's charity. "I don't need to be set up, Charming."

"Are you sure? I haven't seen you with a fair maiden at any of my parties."

"I'm sure. I may not have as much luck with the ladies as you do, but then again, if I looked like you, I'm sure I'd have damsels in distress knocking down my door all the time."

"You think it's just my looks that helps me out?" Charming was taken aback. "That sounds like a challenge to me."

"It wasn't a chall--"

"I will ugly myself down," Charming started, "No, wait. I'll make myself positively beastly. And I will still manage to have a beautiful woman fall for me. Do you want to impose a time limit on me?"

Hank snorted, "No, take all the time you need."

"Very well! I'll see you next month with a beautiful lady in tow!" Charming shouted as he mounted his horse and rode off into the sunset.

Hank laughed out loud. "Beauty and the Beast? That'll never work." He then made the long walk back to his room.

A month later, Hank received an invitation to Charming's latest soiree. Apparently he would be introducing a French woman named Belle. Cute, her actual name was Beauty. Hank sent his RSVP. He figured he should make an appearance. He was curious to find out how Charming was able to pull off his "beast" routine. He figured he would go and see how they would start their happily ever after. Or, at least, their happily until Charming gets bored.

This prompt brought to us by Sunday Scribblings.

Question of the Week: Future

2011-12-09T19:10:00.001-05:00

Given the ability to project yourself into the future but not return, would you do so? If not, would you change your mind if you could take someone along? How far would you go?

I can actually get behind this theory of time travel. If time travel were possible, my thought is that it would only be possible to move forward in time, not backward. And I absolutely would want to make that journey, whether I could take someone or not. Sure, it would be nice to know someone once I got to the future. Either way, I think it would be fun. In fact, I'm in a pretty good position to go by myself anyway. I don't have a wife or kids that are depending on me to be in the present, which means I won't miss seeing my own children growing up. I'll miss the friends and family I have now, but I would be sure to say my goodbyes before I made my quantum leap.

Can I go ahead and assume that if I can make the jump ahead in time once that I can do it multiple times? 'Cause here's what I'd like to do: Before I leave, I'd put all my savings into an account that would gain a great deal of interest over a long period of time. This is the part where I'm planning ahead. First I want to go ahead a few months and see if Community gets a chance to finish the season, or even gets picked up for a fourth season. Then I'd jump ahead a few more years, stopping to see how all of my friends are doing and find out what I've missed in the last few years. Then I'd go ahead and jump 100 years into the future. By then I should have some pretty good interest built up. I'd say I'll have enough to retire by 2111, but with inflation being what it is, I may not be able to. I'd travel a little, read up on the rest of the history of the 21st century, but eventually I'd probably want to keep going. My curiosity would get the better of me. I'm not saying I'd want to go all the way to AD 802,701 like the guy in The Time Machine, but I think it might be cool to see what the 31st century looks like. Is the Price is Right still on? Do people even still watch TV? Are the Yankees still playing? Does baseball even still exist? These are the questions that will haunt me now until I figure out a way to make this trip into the future.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Viral

2011-12-08T17:44:00.000-05:00

Wow! It has been a crazy couple of days here.

Now, you probably read that with a note of enthusiasm. Don't let the exclamation point fool you. It was false bravado.

I've been really sick for about three days. Today I feel like I'm finally pulling myself up out of the valley of the shadow of death. Well, the valley of kinda wishing I was dead anyway. It's been rough.

I'll spare you the details. Thank you notes can be sent via the comments section below.

I know I promised a recap of the epic road trip that I experienced last weekend. It will come. I promise. But, for the better part of this week, all I've been able to think about was how sick I've been and how I wished it would just go away and let me feel better.

These viruses are not to be taken lightly. I took it lightly when I went to work on Tuesday. I wasn't feeling great, but I just wrote it off as not having caught up with myself from the weekend. You know how you can get when you spend three days on the road, right? It's not quite the same as having jet lag, but it can still be pretty rough.

And then they sent me home. That's right, I had people at work telling me how terrible I looked. When more than one person suggested that I should take a half day and leave early, I started to think it was a pretty good idea. I'll be honest, I was feeling pretty miserable. And it was starting to move beyond just being tired and lacking sleep.

So I left. And I haven't been back since. Which really sucks. Because it means that I had to quarantine myself to my bedroom for the past 48 hours. I'm sure my roommates appreciate me staying in my room and only emerging to make a dash for the bathroom.

I've made sure to keep a can of Lysol handy. I've tried to disinfect wherever I've been. I don't want my roommates to come down with what I had. 'Cause here's something I've dealt with in the past. I would be the first person in the house to get a cold, then it would make its way through my various family members, and by the time they were all done with it, it would mutate just enough to be different and then infect me all over again. That's not happening this time.

I got sick. I'm getting over it. I'm going to work tomorrow and I'm not gonna get sick again. I'm done for this cold and flu season. Do you hear me common cold? That's right, I've got your number. This flu may have kicked my butt, but I kicked back.

On the plus side of things, I did manage to get myself in the shower today. I shaved. Because I looked in the mirror when I finally crawled out of bed and realized that I looked like I was about to audition for the role of Ghost of Christmas Future. All I needed was a heavy black hood to complete the look.

A Scene From the Weekend

2011-12-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

As a glimpse into this past weekend, I'm giving you a taste with a scene from Saturday night.

During the Big Ten Championship game, the Charlatan and I decided to head down to concessions to get a little something to quench our thirst. While we were there, the Charlatan decided to get a soft pretzel. The exchange went a little something like this:

Charlatan: Can I get a Coke in the souvenir cup and a soft pretzel?

Counter Girl: Okay. Do you want some cheese to dip the pretzel in?

Charlatan: Is it any good?

Counter Girl: Oh, yeah, it's good cheese.

Charlatan: Sure, why not? (Counter Girl puts the cheese in a tiny dipping cup)

Counter Girl: Okay, that's another $1.25 for the cheese.

Charlatan: WHAT?! I thought the cheese was free!

Counter Girl: (laughing) Yeah, it's $1.25 for the cheese.

Charlatan: I see what you did there. Well played, Counter Girl. Well played.

The above exchange is not verbatim. But it pretty much went down like that. Stay tuned. There will be a more complete story of how the weekend went in the coming days. Spoiler alert: it was freakin' awesome.

Unorthodox

2011-12-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

This week has been a little unorthodox for me. And if you haven't enjoyed reading my thoughts on all those AFI Top 100 movies, I apologize. It's just that, well, I made that New Year's resolution to watch all 100 of them and I know there's no way that's going to happen at this point. I'm not even halfway there yet. So I figured that I would make a dent in it by spending a week watching and writing about them.

And then there's the fact that I skipped the Question of the Week. Not that anyone ever leaves their answers, but I always have fun responding to the questions.

But here's the thing, I'm kind of out of town at the moment.

Right after work yesterday, I drove back into Roanoke, picked up the Charlatan and Subway, headed to Bluefield to get the Other Single Guy and then made the long drive to Columbus, Ohio. Why? I'm glad you asked. Because Columbus is our midway stop on our way to... wait for it... Indianapolis.

Tonight is the first ever Big Ten Championship Game and the four of us decided to pile into Half Pint to come up and see the game. Expect a full report once I've gotten back home and had time to process things. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend. It's about time for a continental breakfast.

AFI 66 - Raiders of the Lost Ark

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-05:00

Raiders of the Lost Ark

1981

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Netflix sleeve: When Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)--the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist--is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime. Creative minds Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created a classic with this all-time favorite, which spawned a series of commercially successful sequels and a short-lived TV show.

Is it wrong that I already considered this to be one of the most awesome movies of all time? If it is, I don't care. 'Cause I do consider this to be one of the most awesome movies of all time. The guy teaches a subject that a lot of people would probably consider boring. I wouldn't, because I love history. But history classes tend to go under appreciated. But he also walks around wearing a fedora and carrying a bullwhip. Yeah, I dare you to call his class boring. To his face, I mean. And if you think you can outdo him with a sword, don't try. He'll just shoot you.

AFI 67 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

2011-12-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966

Directed by Mike Nichols

Netflix sleeve: On a serene New England campus, emasculated professor George (Richard Burton) and his rancorous wife, Martha (Elizabeth Taylor), turn an evening of cocktails into an unrelenting onslaught of wrenching disclosures and bellowed epithets. Soon, the couple's guests--junior professor Nick (George Segal) and his wife, Honey (Sandy Dennis)--get sucked into the vortex of the warring duo's unbounded fury. Taylor nabbed an Oscar for her role.

Sorry, I just didn't get this one. Maybe I wasn't fully paying attention as I watched, but to me, it just seemed to be about a highly dysfunctional couple who only added to their gross dysfunction by ingesting mass quantities of alcohol. I did feel sorry for their friends who were forced to spend the evening with them. This film just didn't do anything for me. I won't be adding it to my "must buy on blu-ray" list.

AFI 68 - Unforgiven

2011-11-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

Unforgiven

1992

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Netflix sleeve: Retired gunslinger William Munny (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly takes one last job--and even more reluctantly accepts a boastful youth (Jaimz Woolvett) as a partner. Together, they learn how easily complicated truths are distorted into simplistic myths about the Old West. Gene Hackman (who won an Oscar) and Richard Harris stand out as old foes who have an unhappy reunion. The film also earned Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (Eastwood).

There are few westerns that I can actually say that I like. This turns out to be one of them. Maybe it's just that I like westerns better than I believe I do, I just never give too many of them a shot. I liked Tombstone. I liked 3:10 to Yuma. But in all, I'd bet I've only seen about a dozen westerns. Anyway, Unforgiven is one of those movies that I always said I would get around to seeing and I just never got around to it. Until now. And I'm glad I did. Not landing in my top 10 or anything like that, but still, a movie worth seeing.

AFI 69 - Tootsie

2011-11-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

Tootsie

1982

Directed by Sidney Pollack

Netflix sleeve: Few actors go as far to bag a part as Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), who transforms himself into a woman to prove he can get hired on a soap opera. But Michael has an enviable problem when his alter ego, Dorothy, becomes daytime television's hottest ticket. His pretty co-star (Jessica Lange) has no idea that her dear friend Dorothy is a man--and neither does the actress's father (Charles Durning), who falls for Dorothy hook, line and sinker.

My mother couldn't believe that I had never seen this movie before. I think it may be one of her favorites. I mean, it was pretty good, but it won't be one of my favorites. The disc for this one actually came to me while I was still in North Carolina and preparing for my move back to Virginia. So mom was there with me when I watched it. She kind of insisted that we watch it, actually. Not one of the ones on this list I was particularly looking forward to, but you know what? It was better than I expected. I mean, what's not funny about Dustin Hoffman in drag?

AFI 70 - A Clockwork Orange

2011-11-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

A Clockwork Orange

1971

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Netflix sleeve: In this Stanley Kubrick classic based on Anthony Burgess's novel, teenage miscreant Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) wanders aimlessly amid a bleak, futuristic urban landscape, drinking drugged milk and listening to Beethoven with his fellow "droogs." But he also spends his time stealing, raping and beating innocent people in nihilistic orgies of violence, all in an attempt to get his nightly kicks.

Uh... That movie was effed up. I think that I was ill prepared for just how disturbing this picture was. Before this, my earliest exposure to Malcolm McDowell was when he was the bad guy in Star Trek: Generations. His Star Trek villain pales in comparison to the psychopath he plays in this thing. I need to figure out some way to get the shower to reach my brain so I can scrub out these images.

AFI 71 - Saving Private Ryan

2011-11-27T16:25:00.000-05:00

Saving Private Ryan

1998

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Netflix sleeve: As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain Tom Hanks and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home. Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski paint a harrowing picture of the price of war and heroism--one that netted them Oscars for Best Director and Best Cinematography, respectively.

This is another one that I've seen more than once, and I've loved it every time I've seen it. This movie is epic and gritty and, I assume, incredibly realistic in its portrayal of life on the frontlines of Europe during World War II. Not that I can authenticate its realism, I wasn't actually there. I saw this in the theater when it came out, and was actually on a blind date at the time. That really didn't help me to appreciate the film at the time. Mostly I was just hoping it would end soon so I could get on with my life and not have to deal with the awkwardness of that date anymore. I didn't fully enjoy the movie until it came out on video several months later. Still, a very moving movie.

Further Proof

2011-11-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

I've written a number of times about how awesome Community is. If you haven't seen this show, the first two seasons are out on DVD. Buy them, rent them, whatever... just watch them.

The other day I came across further evidence which proves that this is the smartest comedy on television. Watch the clip below, and I'll come back...

Did you catch that? As soon as Annie said the third and final "Beetlejuice," the ghost with the most walked through the background.

The first clip was from an episode in the first season. Next was an episode in the second year. Finally, the Halloween episode from this year. The writers of this show planned from their freshman year to have a joke that wouldn't pay off until junior year.

Yeah, tell me this show isn't awesome now. I dare you!

Question of the Week: Touch

2011-11-25T16:11:00.001-05:00

When you are with your friends, do your interactions include much touching--for example, hugging, kissing, roughhousing or rubbing backs? Would you like to have more of this?

No. Absolutely not, no. And I'm perfectly okay with not having more of this. I'm the kind of person who really enjoys that personal space. You know, that protective bubble that surrounds the body. I like that. I'm not a touchy-feely kind of guy. Now, I really don't mind the occasional hug. In fact, I'm fine with hugging a friend in greeting or when saying good-bye. Beyond that, I grow uncomfortable. I knew this guy in college who would greet people sitting in the cafeteria by coming up behind them and squeezing their shoulders while saying hi. I cringed every time he walked into the room, because I knew what was coming.

Maybe, someday, I'll be able to open myself up to being a little more touchy-feely. But I have a feeling that's a long way off and it will involve some significant help from a significant other that is yet to enter the picture.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Giving a Little

2011-11-24T18:53:00.000-05:00

But I really didn't give that much. Really, it was just a little.

When I look back at most of the Thanksgivings that I've survived, I can honestly say that I've enjoyed them for selfish reasons. Sometimes those selfish reasons involved getting to see family. Sometimes those selfish reasons involved staying away from family and simply relaxing alone. Just about every time, those selfish reasons have involved eating more than a single person should have the right to attempt to shove down one's gullet.

Today, probably for the first time in my life, I spent my Thanksgiving participating in an event that was designed to help our fellow man. Here in Roanoke, there's an annual event called the Drumstick Dash. It's a 5k run/walk that's held each year to benefit the Rescue Mission, a ministry that helps those who need a place to stay and a warm meal. The tagline for the event: "Move your feet so others can eat."

I can't say that I ran the 5k. I didn't even run for one block. I walked the entire way. But at least I can say that I've participated in a 5k. The first place finisher crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 31.34 seconds. I finished at just under an hour and 10 minutes. And now, I'm setting a goal for myself. I want to run the Drumstick Dash 5k next year. I won't shoot for a crazy time like 15 minutes. But I would be happy if I could do it in under half an hour.

Please don't think I'm trying to toot my own horn. I'm really not trying to say that I did much. I donated a little time and a little money to a worthy cause. There are people out there who do so much more in working with this worthwhile ministry. I'm just glad I was here in town this year to take part in something more important than focusing on myself during a holiday that often celebrates greed and gluttony. After all, as Barney Stinson has described it, it's called Thanksgiving, not Thankstaking.

After the walk this morning, I came back to my apartment and relaxed. There wasn't a big meal this year. And the only family I saw was my sister, who sort of talked me into doing the Drumstick Dash in the first place.

This is one of those days during the year when we remember how much we take for granted. There's so much in my life that I have to be thankful for. And, aside from the things I can consciously acknowledge that I'm thankful for, I'm certain there's so much more that's buried somewhere in my mind. I know it's only a matter of time before I start taking these things for granted all over again. I just hope it's not a long time before I receive another reminder.

The Single Guy and the Smarter Phone

2011-11-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

The Single Guy has wanted a smartphone for a while now. It isn't that he was unhappy with the phone he had. It did everything he needed it to do. He could send text messages. He could make the occasional phone call. He could even play Tetris. But he couldn't check Facebook. He couldn't post his every thought on Twitter. And he learned to live with it.

Then the Single Guy got a phone call last Wednesday. It was a telemarketer from Verizon, who we'll call Marta. Now, the Single Guy was at work and was actually in the middle of a task. In reality, he probably shouldn't have even answered his personal phone, but he had been getting calls from the cable company on and off for the last few weeks and he really just wanted to tell them to stop calling. Answering the phone to tell them to stop calling turned into a longer conversation than he anticipated.

Marta was kind enough over the phone and the Single Guy is sure she was very knowledgeable. Again, he was kind of busy, but he's pretty sure the conversation went as such:

Marta: May I speak with the Single Guy?
Single Guy: This is he.
Marta: Blah blah blah, blah. Blah blah early upgrade blah. Blah blah blah?
Single Guy: Yeah...
Marta: Blah blah phone?
Single Guy: I kinda want a smartphone.
Marta: Blah. Blah blah blah. Droid blah blah blah?
Single Guy: Mmm-hmm...
Marta: Blah blah bill your account blah blah.
Single Guy: Great. Thanks.

And that's how it went. Verbatim.

Soon after, the Single Guy received an email letting him know that his new phone would be sent to him via FedEx and he should expect it by Friday. Unfortunately, this meant that he would have to wait until Monday to actually get his phone because he would be leaving for North Carolina directly from work. So the waiting began.

Monday came and he was finally able to hold his new phone in his hands. It was everything he dreamed it would be and more. Finally, he could partake in a device that the rest of the world discovered back in 2006. Finally, he could play Angry Birds.

He took a break from blogging over the last few days. Mostly it was because he was trying to learn how to use his new handheld device. The Single Guy has since discovered that, two days later, he's still pretty much in over his head. And he's also pretty sure that this device will soon reveal itself to be yet another way to be rejected by women.

Breaking Twilight

2011-11-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

So, I'll be going to see Breaking Dawn, Part 1 tonight. Now wait. Before you go and demand that I hand in my Man Card, be aware that I probably had to turn that in a long time ago. You know, back when I took a trip to see High School Musical 3 or when I openly admitted that I enjoy the song stylings of those kids from Glee. That's right, I said it.

But with the Twilight phenomenon, I figure I'm in too deep to quit now. I've read the books, which, of course, were better than the films. And I've seen the first three. I may as well finish the movie series, right? So there it is.

Oddly enough, voluntarily seeing this movie does not necessarily mean that I'll like it. Of the books, I think I enjoyed Breaking Dawn the most. There's a lot going on and it gets pretty interesting, especially toward the end. Which apparently won't be seen on film until next year. I digress.

You may ask why I'd go see something if I don't think I'll enjoy it. It isn't that I won't enjoy it. I think I will... to a degree. But I've made it no secret that I can't stand Bella Swan. She's weak and pathetic. When comparing the series to other books, I think Stephen King said it best: "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

I had a conversation just last week about the character of Bella in relation to other literary figures. I flat out told the guy that Bella is an awful role model for all these girls out there who have devoured these novels. She idolizes this one guy and makes her entire identity about him and what he does for her and how he makes her feel. When he leaves her in the second book, she crawls into the fetal position and is inconsolable for months. Oh, and then she throws herself off a cliff. Because that's always a good idea. Is that what we want our teenage girls to do when they have a guy break up with them?

The guy on the other side of this conversation then used the argument that the books promote sexual abstinence before marriage. I'll concede that point. However, that's still not an argument for the character of Bella Swan. The whole "we're not having sex until we're married thing" was Edward's deal.

So yeah, I'm seeing this movie tonight. I'm not gonna write a review about it. I'm fairly certain that it isn't going to rock my world. I'll walk out of the theater and my friends will ask what I thought. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sum up my thoughts with a simple, "Meh..."

Question of the Week: A Van Gogh Kind of Life

2011-11-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

Would you rather be happy yet slow-witted and unimaginative or unhappy yet bright and creative? For example, would you rather live the life of a brilliant yet tortured artist such as Vincent van Gogh, or that of a happy but carefree soul who is a bit simple-minded?

I'm pretty sure I'd rather be a happy idiot. The thing is, if I was slow-witted and unimaginative, I wouldn't really realize it, would I? There's a reason they say that ignorance is bliss. If I'm a brilliant kind of person and I'm unhappy about it, I'm only going to become more unhappy due to my awareness of my unhappiness. It would be an endless cycle of depression. Give me the simple life.

As it is, I'm pretty happy with my current state of brilliance.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

The Son of Neptune

2011-11-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

Title: The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Published: 2011

I've decided that I don't like being caught up on book series. I didn't even pick up The Hunger Games trilogy until Mockingjay had already been published. It was nice to have the ability to read all three of them back to back to back, no waiting.

I remember the agony that came with waiting for each new Harry Potter book. The anxiety isn't quite as bad with Riordan's series centered around the world of Percy Jackson, but it's still somewhat felt.

The Son of Neptune is the seventh novel to be set in a world where the old pantheon of gods from Greece and Rome never really went away. They just moved along with the center of Western Civilization. As was explained in the first series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Greek gods now call New York City their home, and the myths and heroes surrounding them have been updated for a modern world.

This book follows directly from last year's The Lost Hero, which introduced Percy Jackson fans to a few new characters and left us all wondering, "What happened to Percy Jackson?" The Son of Neptune answers that question right at the start. But not all at once.

The action follows Percy as he is simply trying to survive. Nothing new for the young demigod. What is new is that he really has no clue who he is or why he's being hunted down by mythological monsters. All he knows for sure is that he's spent the better part of the last eight months in some kind of deep sleep, and his life before that is a complete blur. All he can really remember is some girl named Annabeth, and that she means a great deal to him.

He is quickly thrown into a world that is unfamiliar, not only to him, but also to anyone who has been keeping up with the adventures of the campers from Camp Half-Blood. He finds himself at Camp Jupiter, a refuge for demigods where they can train and be safe from attacking monsters. Sound familiar? It should, that's pretty much what Camp Half-Blood is for. Except it's a camp for the descendants of Roman gods. As we learned in the previous installment, these two camps have co-existed, but have been kept separate because there's a lot of bad blood between the Greeks and Romans.

So Percy's arrival at Camp Jupiter is met with a great deal of suspicion. But when Juno gives her seal of approval, and he shows off his water manipulating powers by destroying a couple Gorgons, he's somewhat accepted. He soon grows close to two other campers, Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque. Both have complicated back stories and carry their own fair share of secrets that come out as they set out on a dangerous quest together.

The quest is a continuation of the quest that Jason, Leo, and Piper were on in The Lost Hero. Gaea is waking up and is bent on destroying humanity. Her children, the giants, are putting her plans into motion. This time around, the heroes must journey to Alaska to stop a giant and free Thanatos, the embodiment of Death. Without Death, the monsters that are slain by the heroes are able to continue fighting.

While I didn't find this novel to be as exciting or interesting as previous Percy Jackson books, it was still a pretty decent read. What can I say? I'm a sucker for mythology, whether it's ancient or modern.

By the way, I'm failing at this part of my New Year's resolution. I wanted to read 50 books in 2011. If I'm correct in my count, this book is only number 15. That's pretty much a fail on my part. 'Cause I really don't think it would be possible for me to read another 35 books in six weeks. Unless they all come from the "I Can Read" section of the library.

How Soon Is Too Soon?

2011-11-16T20:26:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas music. I really do. There are a lot of songs that are played during the holiday season that make even my heart grow three sizes thanks to some pretty incredible nostalgia.

But I was a little concerned when I turned the radio on this past weekend and heard the local station was already playing the non-stop Christmas music.

I immediately switched to a CD.

But wait, didn't I just say I loved Christmas music? Yes. Yes, I did. But I am certain that if I listen to the Christmas music non-stop for two months, I'll grow tired of it before Christmas actually comes.

Look, there are only so many Christmas songs that these radio stations play. And of those songs, there are only so many different versions from different musical artists. As is the case with the current songs topping the charts, you end up hearing the same 10 songs 30 times a day.

So I'm boycotting the radio for a couple weeks. At least until after Thanksgiving. At that point I think I'll be better prepared for Christmas music on a regular basis. I'm cynical enough as it is. I don't want to become tired of something that's supposed to be joyful, that seems counterproductive.

Community Outreach

2011-11-15T18:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was quite the roller coaster for my geeky soul. First I was treated to the incredible high of the first full-length trailer for The Hunger Games. Have you seen it yet? 'Cause it's awesome. Go back and watch it if you haven't yet. I'll wait.

Are we all back? So you can understand why I was excited. But then I read the news that NBC (henceforth known as the Evil Empire) has made a decision on their upcoming mid-season schedule. Quickly, I want to say that I'm glad 30 Rock is making a comeback. But even the awesomeness that comes with Liz Lemon and her wacky crew is not enough to make up for the travesty that has occurred.

The Evil Empire has put Community on hiatus indefinitely.

Let that sink in... Indefinitely.

Now, according to the reports that announced this mid-season change, this does not mean the show has been canceled. It just means that the rest of the season has been put on hold while they give other shows a chance to shine. A part of me gets that, or at least wants to understand it. But when one of those other shows is Whitney (in my opinion one of the worst half hours of TV on the air this year), you're making a huge mistake.

Community is, in the words of my good friend Brandon, the smartest comedy on TV. Sure, he's not a television critic, but he's right. And it isn't just because the show takes place within the walls of a community college. The writers of that show find a way to spoof just about everything, and they're able to do it in such a way that it isn't completely ridiculous or outside the realm of possibility. Just look at the stop-motion animation Christmas special they did last year. Sure, the claymation thing was a gimmick for one episode, but they explained the reason behind it in a way that made sense in the real world. And the cast is a brilliant combination of people who bring the characters to life and make you want to be a part of their study group.

Community doesn't have the highest ratings in the world. Nothing on the network of the Evil Empire can make that claim. But it does have some pretty rabid fans. You've seen us at Comic Con. You know what we're capable of. We're the same people who took arms against you when you threatened to cancel Chuck. We managed to get a couple more seasons out of that one, didn't we? And if we have to, we'll do it again!

There's a petition floating around the internet asking people to help save Community. I'm confident that we will see the rest of Community's third season. But I'm a little afraid that season four will never come. I would argue that a fourth season would be vital to the life of this show. The Evil Empire can't end the show when our study group has one year left before graduation. It would be cruel beyond words. It would be like ending Smallville without seeing Clark Kent become Superman. It would be like ending Buffy without seeing the Slayer destroy the Hellmouth. It would be like ending Quantum Leap without seeing Dr. Beckett make it back home... oh, wait, NBC actually did that!

To the cast and crew of Community, maybe it's time to shop for a new network. If the Evil Empire drops you, maybe the CW will pick you up. I promise you that we will follow you wherever you go.

How can I make it without seeing this face week after week?

Hungry

2011-11-14T19:00:00.000-05:00

I was really going to write something for the blog tonight. But then I saw this. And I'm sure a lot of the people who care have already seen it. But I still wanted to post it here. I want to see this movie right now. And by right now, I mean last week.

Life Is Good

2011-11-13T19:48:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago, my sister asked me if I would be willing to come and speak to the youth group at her church about eating disorders. The idea was that it would be better to hear from someone who had actually been through it than to just give them information that they would probably forget as soon as they got home. So, of course, I said yes.

What follows is just about what I said...

When I was in the 6th grade, I weighed 135 pounds. By the time I reached the 7th grade, I weighed 85 pounds. Over the course of the summer between those school years, I lost 50 pounds.

Believe me when I say that this was not due to a conscious effort. At first, there was no explanation for why I lost so much weight in such a short amount of time. Of course my family noticed that I had zero appetite, but no one could understand why. And so I was taken to see a doctor. Actually, I was taken to see several doctors. Between Lewis-Gale and UVA, no one could find a physical reason for my weight loss. If there was a test for it, they put me through it. And test after test ruled out so many possibilities. They couldn't find any issues with any of my glands. They decided that I didn't have leukemia. Eventually my regular doctor decided that my problem could be psychological.

And that's what the problem was. Eating disorders are psychological in nature. Whether the problem is anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating, the root issue can be traced to a person's emotional and mental health.

My doctor referred me to a counselor that specialized in adolescent eating disorders. Over the course of the next year and a half, I met with her on a regular basis. I would talk to her about the things in my life that were bothering me. And each time we met, I stood on a bathroom scale and checked in to see if I had gained or lost anything. Generally, it was a good visit if I had put on a couple pounds. It should go without saying that pounds lost resulted in a pretty disappointing time. Through my therapy sessions, we discovered that my issues stemmed from my being a perfectionist. I was always very hard on myself when it came to my school work. Add to that the normal pressures of being in middle school among kids who could be very cruel. Sidebar: words hurt, so be careful what you say to people. Even if they don't show it, it could be killing them inside. And that's what happened to me when all of the weight loss began. I was an emotional wreck, but I buried it deep inside and didn't deal with it. Eventually, it literally began to eat away at me.

For the most part I was able to maintain a steady weight throughout the rest of middle school. While it was good that I wasn't still losing weight, it wasn't good enough. In those early teenage years, it's vitally important that we are receiving proper nutrition. That's when a lot of growth is happening. And when you aren't taking care of your body the way you're supposed to, things just stop developing.

See, when the body isn't able to turn the food we eat into energy, it begins using what's been stored up. It begins by using up fat. Then the body puts a stop to unimportant functions. Fingernail growth slows. Hair stops growing and starts falling out. Eventually, the body begins breaking down muscle and bone in order to keep itself alive. And this is where I had my real wake up call.

I reached high school and found a new definition for the word stress. This added stress did nothing to help my condition. Unfortunately, I started slowly dropping weight again. My hair was falling out and I had no strength. I was terrified. Just after Thanksgiving of 1994, I volunteered to be admitted to St. Alban's Psychiatric Hospital in Radford. I say I volunteered, but if I hadn't gone voluntarily, I would have been forced to go for treatment. I was told it wouldn't be that bad. I was told that I would be there for about three weeks. I figured I'd be home for Christmas and I'd be all better.

At first I hated it, but then I became comfortable with the schedule of group therapy and private counseling and art therapy. Actually, comfortable is the wrong word. Let's just say I got used to the routine. And I made progress. Then, after Christmas, I started taking steps backwards.

I can't explain why I started doing poorly during my last weeks in the hospital. But my time there reached the lowest point when I had a seizure. I was never sure what triggered the seizure. It could have been a lack of nutrition. It could have been a combination of the medications they had me on. Most likely, it was a little of both. Whatever the case, the powers that be decided that there was nothing else they could do to help me. Basically, they sent me home to be with my family before I died. And they made it no secret, they expected me to die.

But I knew better than that. The whole time I was in the hospital, I kept questioning why I was going through all this. I wasn't a bad kid. But that's where my mind immediately went: I was being punished for something. So what had I done that was so bad that God would see fit to put me through this. It wasn't until I got out of the situation that I realized God wasn't putting me through it, He was bringing me through it.

It's taken me a long time to figure out that all those things I worried about and stressed out over, they don't matter. In the eternal scheme of things, they never did. God is bigger than all of it. I've learned that, no matter what is going on in my life, God wants me to give it to Him. It's a lesson I'm still learning today.

I wasn't a typical anorexic. For one thing, I'm a guy. Anorexia is found 10 times more often in girls than it is boys. That's why it took so long for a doctor to come to the conclusion that my problem was psychological. For another thing, I knew that I looked like a skeleton with skin on. Most of the time, someone suffering from an eating disorder will have what's known as a distorted body image. The other anorexia patients that I met in the hospital described the overweight people that they saw in the mirror. I never saw that. I saw exactly what I was when I looked in the mirror. My disorder was not caused because I was desperate to lose weight. It was caused because I didn't know how to be open and honest about what I was thinking and feeling. I didn't know how to deal with stress in my life and it took its toll.

Everyone needs to find a release. Everyone needs someone to talk to. Remember, it isn't always about finding someone who can give you great advice, it's also about finding someone who will just be willing to listen. And never forget that Jesus was called "Wonderful Counselor" long before He was even born, and He was called that for an excellent reason. He wants to take on our burdens.

I don't mean to be preachy. But the only explanation I have for why I ever recovered from an eating disorder that nearly killed me is an act of God. That's the only way I can imagine going from having no appetite for more than three years to suddenly having a normal, voracious teenage appetite.

Sporadically, I've posted "Life Story" posts on the blog, taking a look at my life to try and determine why I've become the man I've become. The conclusion I've reached after examining life through the end of high school? There's really no point in worrying over things. Throughout our lives, good times are going to come just as well as the bad. There will be days when we won't feel like smiling. There may be weeks or even years when we won't feel good about life. But everything is going to turn out okay. Somewhere, at some time in all our lives, there will be reasons to smile again. We just have to know where to look.

Just One Wanted to Know

2011-11-12T17:50:00.000-05:00

Just one question for me? No one else wanted to play along? Where are my 47 followers? Did you all jump ship? Have I become that boring? No... it's fair. I have become pretty boring. Anyway, thank you to Brandon for being the one reader to take me seriously.

He asks...
Do you have a thought as to what we might experience the weekend of December 3rd? Tell me how you think the weekend's going to go...

For those who are unaware... which would be just about everyone because it's not something I've written about on here yet... During the first weekend in December I'll be going on a road trip with three of my best friends from college. I, along with Brandon, Mark and Andy, will be getting into my car and driving to the far away and mysterious land of Indiana. We'll be making the long trek to the fabled city of Indianapolis to witness the first ever Big Ten Championship football game in human history.

I believe that the four of us will experience an epic road trip, the likes of which none of us have ever seen during our years of being friends. I believe that it will be as entertaining, nay, more entertaining than the times experienced by the foursome in The Hangover, and we will be able to remember every moment of it because, unlike those guys, we won't be suffering from the effects of "floories." But, at least we'll be prepared in the event that we bump into a tiger somewhere. Thanks to Zach Galifianakis we'll know that tigers love pepper, but hate cinnamon.

I believe that we'll thoroughly enjoy watching a live football game that will be thrilling to see, but it's difficult for me to say what teams we'll be watching. That's mostly because I really haven't been paying attention to what teams in the Big Ten Conference are doing well. Now, some of you may be asking, if I don't pay attention to the college football, why would I care about paying money to go to this game?

No, I don't pay close attention to the wins and losses in college football each fall. I like watching football, I just don't get into it as much as my friends do. But that's okay by me, I mean, if it's okay with them too. To me, the important part of this trip isn't who's vying for that championship. It's about spending an awesome weekend with three of the best friends I've known in my life.

I believe that, by the end of the weekend, we'll be incredibly exhausted. I believe that that exhaustion may lead to some fairly severe arguments. Nothing serious, just those ridiculous disagreements that come up when close friends spend a lot of time together in close quarters. But I also believe that we will have laughed more in those three days than any of us have in a very long time. And I believe that we'll end up laughing about any of those possible disagreements that may come up, as well.

All in all, I believe it's gonna be epic. Now... everyone sing along...

And we're the four best friends that anyone could have...

Question of the Week: Impact

2011-11-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Do you feel you have much impact on the lives of people you come in contact with? Can you think of someone who, over a short period of time, significantly influenced your life?

Of course I impact the lives of the people around me. In fact, I'd bet real money that 86% of the people I've ever met would list me among their top 10 most influential people in their lives. True story. As for people who have influenced me, well, there have been a lot. But I can't say that I'm necessarily influenced by people who are in my life for a short amount of time. It's the folks who stick around for the long haul that really influence me.

*Don't forget to go back and ask me a question! I'll be answering tomorrow!*

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

The Single Guy Signs On

2011-11-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

*Don't forget to go back and ask me a question!*

A few months ago, the Single Guy decided it would be beneficial to sign up for an online devotional that delivers daily words of wisdom to his inbox. He was right. It was a good way for him to be reminded at the start of each day exactly why he should be thankful for all that he's been given. Not that he wasn't grateful, he just has a tendency to take things for granted. But that's really off topic.

Anyway, at some point while receiving these daily devotions, the Single Guy received an e-mail advertisement for an online dating site with Christian tendencies. At first he ignored it. Why should he sign up for a dating site, Christian or not? But then he thought about it. It's not as if he was still working the drive-thru at the bank where an endless line of attractive women would flock to him begging his help and his financially savvy mind. Or something like that.

So he signed up. Now would be a good time to point out that the great P. T. Barnum once said that "there's a sucker born every minute." Actually, he never said that, but it's always attributed to him, so let's just go with it. Again, way off topic.

Signing up for this website seemed to be a waste of time. Occasionally the Single Guy would get an e-mail alert letting him know that the magical gnomes inside the internet had possibly found "the One" for him. Generally, he ignored these e-mails. And then one day he decided to open one of these e-mails. And he was taken to the profile of a woman to whom he felt oddly drawn.

He saw her pictures and read her profile and kind of wanted to take a shot. But he couldn't really explain why. After all, she lives two hours away and has two kids. Would it make sense for a Single Guy who has never been in a grown up relationship to try to connect with someone who obviously has been in a grown up relationship?

Okay, looking back, there is something that the Single Guy is aware of. One specific thing about this woman that draws him in. He's pretty sure her smile reminds him of the Hostess. Remember her? Yeah, it's been a while. Anyway, he's probably a sucker, but he decided to take a chance and send a message. All based on a nice smile.

Let the mockery begin.

My Boring Life

2011-11-09T22:04:00.000-05:00

Hey kids. I need to address something. It's come to my attention that my blog posts are not as entertaining as they once were. No one has actually brought this to my attention. I'm just making that assumption by the fact that I have fewer visitors these days and, for the most part, have fewer comments on the things that I post.

I've mentioned before that I thrive on getting attention. Not in real life, just on this blog. I'm not saying I need your approval or affirmation in order to make it through my day, but it sure doesn't hurt.

The truth is, I'm having a hard time coming up with interesting things to write about on a daily basis these days. I think it could have something to with the fact that my career has so severely changed. I don't have any more Legends of the Bank Teller to tell because, well, I'm not a bank teller anymore. And these days, I still really enjoy my job. So does this lack of conflict mean that I've become a more boring person? I certainly hope not.

So I have this problem. It's the same one I mentioned a while ago, in case you weren't paying attention. It's that problem where I have a hard time coming up with things to write about. So I'm open to suggestions.

No, really... I'm open to your suggestions. What would you like to see me write about? I sincerely want your opinions on this. There's a handy comments section below this where you can share your thoughts.

Also, don't forget about yesterday's post where I put the call out for your questions. You have until Saturday, at which point I'll answer all the questions I get. So far I don't have any questions in the comments. Pretty sure if I don't get any, my feelings will be kind of hurt... I don't think I'll cry or anything. Ever since I had my tear ducts removed, crying has been a non-option.

Who Wants to Know?

2011-11-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've done something like this. But it's happened a couple times in the life of this blog. I'm giving my readers the opportunity to ask me any questions that you would like to have answered. They can be personal questions or they can be trivia questions. I promise, whatever the question, I will answer it to the best of my ability.

All you need to do, assuming you want to play along, is leave a question in the comments. I'll accept any questions between now and Friday night. On Saturday I'll give my answers.

Simple enough? So, who's gonna play along?

Zombie Apocalypse

2011-11-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

I've never really considered myself a fan of the zombie sub-genre of the horror genre. I've never seen the original Night of the Living Dead or any of the copy cat films it spawned. In fact, I'm fairly certain the first traditional zombie movie I saw was probably Shaun of the Dead a few years back. And I thought it was okay, but it really didn't rock my world or make me crazy about zombie movies in general.

And then I saw Zombieland a few months ago. I kind of thought it was awesome. But that's not the point of this post.

The point that I've been trying to get to is the awesomeness that is AMC's The Walking Dead. Have you seen this show? Okay, if you don't like zombie stuff, you probably won't like it. But do you know for sure that you don't like the zombie genre? Give it a shot, maybe you'll like it.

The thing is, it's not just about a zombie apocalypse. It's about the people trying desperately to survive a zombie apocalypse. I guess it could be argued that most zombie movies are about the regular people that are still around when the dead rise. But with a TV series, we're able to really examine these people's lives and how they react to the world falling apart around them.

The show is based on a comic book series. Of course, this speaks to the comic book geek that resides somewhere inside my soul. Apparently, this series has been around for a while, but since it's published by a company that isn't DC Comics, I really didn't know it existed. Now I know and I kind of love it.

I've started reading the trade paperbacks collecting the early issues of The Walking Dead. The story is slightly different from the way things have progressed on the TV show, so I'm able to read things without really knowing what's going to happen next. And, when I get caught up to where they roughly are on the show compared to where I've read in the graphic novels, it's different enough that the show will still surprise me with each new episode.

BTW... Last night, after the new episode of The Walking Dead, I watched the live reaction show, Talking Dead. One of the guests was a guy from the Zombie Research Society. Yeah, it's a real thing. And yeah, they truly believe that a zombie apocalypse is a true threat to humanity. The way governments and researchers mess around with viruses and biological weapons, apparently it could happen.

Time to start preparing, people. My plan: rent a storage unit nearby and start filling it with useful things like bottled water, canned goods, candles, flashlights, batteries, etc. You know, end of the world stuff. Also, it's time to take that archery class I've always wanted to take. It will be nice to be handy with a weapon of some kind when the attacks begin.

Question of the Week: Do What You Say

2011-11-05T21:34:00.002-04:00

Sorry this is a day late. Got busy yesterday... ended up staying out late...

Can you be counted on to do what you say you'll do? What does it take for you to trust someone?

I'm pretty sure I can be counted on doing what I say I'll do. I don't have a perfect memory, so there will be times when I'll screw up and forget to do something when I've said I would do it. But I wouldn't tell someone that I'll do something and then purposefully not do it. I'm not that big of a jerk.

As far as trusting people, it's not something I'm very good at. That whole "opening your heart" thing, I'm not good at that either. It's on my list... I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I figure that will tie in real close with the trust issues.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Deflated

2011-11-02T20:08:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned that, since moving back to Virginia, I've been sleeping on an air mattress? It's true. I've been sleeping on an air mattress. For five months.

It hasn't been great.

At first it wasn't bad. But I'm now of the belief that air mattress are meant to be used in moderation. Those rare occasions when one goes camping or needs a place to crash when visiting relatives out of town. But every night for five months? I'm not entirely sure that these inflated wonders were designed for such prolonged usage.

As I said, at first it wasn't too bad. In fact, for about the first two months, I never had to re-inflate it. It stayed firm and full of air all day and night without the need for a refill. These days, I have to blow it up every day.

Don't get me wrong. I'm appreciative to my mother and step-father for the use of the air mattress. After all, it belongs to them. And they've let me use it all this time, rent-free. But I'm pretty sure I'll owe them a new mattress by the time I'm done using this one. Not sure that I've actually done anything to it. But considering the fact that it once stayed fully inflated on a constant basis and now it absolutely does not, they'll be needing a working air mattress.

But before that can happen, I really need to get a big boy bed. Oh, to sleep on a real bed again. To lie down on a soft mattress that cradles me as I drift off to sleep. My dream is to make it through an entire night and wake up in the morning, fully refreshed and without an aching back.

I pray that this dream can become a reality.

1700

2011-11-01T22:49:00.000-04:00

According to legend, November is a magical month. At some point in ancient times, it became known as National Novel Writing Month. It's the time of year when a challenge is issued to writers everywhere. That challenge? Write an entire novel within the confines of November's 30 days.

The rules are fairly simple. Novels must reach a minimum of 50,000 words by 11:59 the night of November 30. So, if one does the math correctly, that means that each day a writer must get approximately 1,667 words on paper... or on the screen... whatever.

I tried to accomplish this task last year. I failed. I came closer than I've ever been to completing a novel. But I didn't quite finish it. And it was crap.

But the point of NaNoWriMo isn't to write a sparkling, polished bestseller. The organizers of this event emphasis quantity over quality. A lot of novels that are churned out during the month of November will never see the light of day. But some do. Ever heard of a little book called Water for Elephants? It was recently turned into a movie with Reese Witherspoon and the vampire from Twilight. Yeah, it was written as a part of NaNoWriMo. That tells me it's possible to get this done.

So I'm trying. And I've challenged myself to write 1700 words a day. That way I'm overshooting the minimum just a little. And in 30 days, I guess we'll see where I end up. And we'll see what happens.

Wish me luck. Oh, and along with this, there may be days that I won't feel like coming up with something to post on here. There will probably be a lot of days when coming up with 1700 words will be a struggle. So by the time I hit my goal for the day, I may not feel like racking my brain anymore. But I'll do my best. Stay tuned...

Injustice

2011-10-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

It happens all the time in this world. Criminals get off on a technicality. Natural disasters strike and leave people without homes. Bad things happen to good people.

Today, a very dear friend of mine experienced a pretty severe taste of injustice. I don't have a lot to say about this issue. It wouldn't do any good. My words couldn't effect the outcome of this situation three years ago, they won't change things now.

But to my friend, I can only share the advice that was given by my campus minister to my fellow students in the days following 9/11...

Don't stop living your day to day life. If you do that, then the terrorists have won.

And yes, I'm blatantly referring to your opponent as a terrorist. The point is, you know the kind of person you are. God knows the kind of person you are. With His grace and through His faithfulness, you'll be able to pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and keep on fighting the good fight. Never forget that you have friends and family that love you and are praying for you.

Operation

2011-10-30T18:42:00.000-04:00

Justin arrived late to the party. He usually arrived late to things. He did it on purpose. He was hoping for a spot in the yearbook as the senior who was most likely to show up late to graduation. He could have gone for friendliest or class clown, but those awards seemed too obvious. He also supposed he could have gone for best legs, but he really didn't feel up to shaving them. Really not worth it.

He made his way through Staci's house and went down to the basement where all his friends would be talking and dancing and playing slightly inappropriate games. None of them could get into too much trouble since Staci's folks were watching reruns of The Cosby Show just upstairs.

Before Justin reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped to take in the view of the room. He shouted a quick, but loud, "HEY!" His friends responded with shouts and waves and raised glasses. Staci made her way over to him and laced her arm through his. She had a thing for him and he knew it, he just wasn't sure how to let her know that she wasn't his type.

"So what've I missed?" he asked.

"Not much," said Staci, "but we're already out of chips."

"I should go then. Those chips were really the only reason I came."

Staci let out a girlish giggle and slapped Justin on the arm. "I'm sure I can find another reason for you to stay!"

"Is Tim playing Operation?" Justin asked, noticing Tim alone on the couch.

"Yeah, I had some board games out," said Staci, "I'm really not sure why he's decided to play that one by himself. For that matter, I'm not too sure why he even came here tonight. Tim's always keeping to himself."

Justin looked back over at Tim. He was hunched over the classic game, his brow was furrowed in deep concentration. "He's a good kid, just a little introverted, that's all. Come on."

Justin and Staci walked over to Tim's corner. Justin sat in a chair across from Tim and Cavity Sam, while Staci stood with her arms crossed. "Hey Tim. Whatcha doin?" Justin asked.

"I'm training," Tim said, never looking up from the game.

Justin noticed that the look on Staci's face was not a happy one. He silently nodded at her, trying to convince her to sit next to Tim. She rolled her eyes. "What are you training for?" Staci asked as she sat next to Tim on the couch.

"Ah! You made me drop the Adam's Apple!" Tim yelled as Sam buzzed at his error.

Staci immediately stood back up. "Sorry! Geez, it's just a game!" she shouted and stormed into the crowd of her friends.

Justin watched as she walked away and he couldn't help but laugh a little. He looked back at Tim, who was still huffing in frustration. "No, really, what are you training for?"

"I'm gonna be a surgeon someday."

"And you think that playing Operation at age 16 will help to prepare you for that?" Justin asked. It may have sounded like he was being sarcastic, but he genuinely wanted to understand Tim's thought process.

Tim set down the game's tweezers and looked up at Justin. "This game helps to improve dexterity."

"Dude, you're at a party and you're sitting in a corner playing Operation by yourself. That's something you could do at home."

Tim sat back on the couch and crossed his arms. He looked at his classmates around the basement with a look on his face that could almost be described as disgust. "These people don't like me," he said. He looked back at Justin, "I'm not even sure you like me."

"I don't dislike you," said Justin. "But I don't exactly know you, either. And I'd be willing to bet, not many people in this room do know you. You have to admit, you do kind of close yourself off from others."

"No I don't--"

"Says the kid playing a board game alone in a room full of his peers."

"Point taken," Tim said.

"Look, it's obvious you don't want to be alone," Justin said as he stood. "If you wanted that, you'd have stayed at home."

"The truth? I came here tonight because I have a crush on Staci," Tim said. "Don't tell her," he added quickly.

Justin couldn't help but laugh again. "You know, yelling at her for dropping an apple-shaped piece of plastic is probably not the way to win her affections."

As if suddenly realizing what he had done, Tim leaned forward and picked the tweezers back up.

"Oh no," Justin said, "Don't pick those things back up. Operation: Wingman is about to commence. You and I are going to work together to get Staci's attention. In a good way, this time."

Tim looked up, his expression unchanged. "I mean it. Stand up," Justin ordered, "And try smiling a little. It's a party."

With that, they moved toward the crowd and approached Staci and a group of her friends.

See how others interpreted this week's writing prompt at Sunday Scribblings.

AFI 72 - The Shawshank Redemption

2011-10-29T12:21:00.000-04:00

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Directed by Frank Darabont

Netflix sleeve: Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden (Bob Gunton). During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates--including an older prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman)--for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

I first saw this movie back in college, roughly 6 years after it was originally released. And it was around that time that I read Different Seasons, Stephen King's collection of four novellas that included the story on which this movie was based. Since then, it's become one of my favorite movies. It's one of those that I'll stop and watch if I happen to catch it while channel surfing. If you haven't seen it and have an extra two and a half hours to spare, do yourself a favor and watch.

Question of the Week: Routine

2011-10-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

Do you establish routines in your life? For example, do you usually sleep in the same place in your bed? eat meals at the same time? regularly return to the same vacation spot?

First of all... What's a vacation? This word is not familiar to me. Sorry... it's just been a really long time since I went on a real vacation. Hard for me to return to the same vacation spot when it's been so long since I took one. Anyway, I think in some ways I follow routines. It's hard not to. I don't know if it's a general trait found in humanity or just a personal quirk for myself, but I find myself getting into certain comfort zones. Which leads to certain routines. Or maybe the routines lead to the comfort zones.

Yes, I sleep in the same place in the bed. Occasionally I'll spread out if I feel like stretching a little, but by the middle of the night I end up back in my regular spot.

And so what if I eat my meals around the same time every day? Can I help it that I tend to get hungry at the same times? My work schedule dictates my lunch time on a daily basis. And we all know that dinner is at six o'clock. Don't question it. It just is.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

10 Day You Challenge - One Picture of Myself

2011-10-27T21:42:00.000-04:00

ONE PICTURE OF MYSELF

I thought about just posting a current image of myself using my webcam. But I really need to shave. And I should probably do something with my hair. Not that there's ever anything that I actually do with my hair. It always ends up the same way no matter what I do. But I didn't feel like dealing with this new-fangled technology. So this is a picture of me approximately 27 years ago. Sadly, I don't think this was my Halloween costume. Pretty sure I was wearing it just because...

10 Day You Challenge - Two Songs

2011-10-25T20:35:00.000-04:00

TWO SONGS

Day Is Done - Peter, Paul & Mary

Dream On - Aerosmith

These aren't my favorite songs in the world. I like far too many songs to really have favorites. And even if I could possibly choose favorites, they would change within a few weeks. I don't listen to a lot of new music these days, but when I do, I'm usually able to find something I like. And as often as I listen to old music on CDs, it's not surprising that an old song might turn into a temporary favorite.

I chose Day Is Done because it holds a special place in my memory. I would never consider myself a fan of Peter, Paul & Mary. In fact, the only other song of theirs that I'm really familiar with would be Puff the Magic Dragon. But I love Day Is Done because it's something my Dad used to sing to me. He wouldn't sing the whole thing, just enough to calm me down when I was upset or scared. If I ever decide to grow up and have a son of my own, it's a song that I'll sing to him whenever he's upset or scared...

Tell me why you're crying, my son

I know you're frightened, like everyone

Is it the thunder in the distance you fear

Would it help if I stay very near?

I am here.

And if you take my hand, my son

All will be well when the day is done

And if you take my hand, my son

All will be well when the day is done

As far as a reason for why I chose Dream On... well... it's just awesome. It's one that I love to play in my car while I'm driving. I get a kick out of singing along and wailing at the tops of my lungs on the wicked high part at the end. If I ever manage to get people to go along on a karaoke night, I'm definitely singing that one. Just gonna blow everyone away.

10 Day You Challenge - Three Movies

2011-10-24T19:34:00.000-04:00

THREE MOVIES

Remember how I've been occasionally giving my thoughts on movies from the American Film Institute's top 100 films of all time? At the same time, I've been occasionally ranking movies that I've seen through the incomparable website, Flickchart. The idea is that, once I'm finished with AFI's list, I'll have my own top 100 to share with you. And that's where my top three movies will come from today. At least, these are the top three as they are right now. They seem fairly accurate. So here goes...

1. Back to the Future - This should be a no-brainer for anyone who has read my blog once or twice.

2. The Empire Strikes Back - Absolutely the best of the entire Star Wars saga. You have Han Solo using a lightsaber for the first time. Princess Leia falling for the scruffy-looking nerf herder. And, SPOILER ALERT, the big reveal that Darth Vader is actually Luke Skywalker's father. Didn't see that one coming, did you?

3. The Matrix - While I consider the trilogy as a whole to be kind of disappointing, the original installment was pure awesome. And really, it would have been just fine as a stand alone feature. I could be wrong, but isn't this the movie that introduced the world to "bullet time"?

AFI 73 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

2011-10-22T09:48:00.000-04:00

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

1969

Directed by George Roy Hill

Netflix sleeve: Legendary outlaws Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) display their gifts for perfect comedic timing and charisma as they pull of heist after heist in this Academy Award-winning film from director George Roy Hill. To evade a relentless posse, the boys flee to Bolivia, thinking they'll find easier pickings there. But trouble finds the charming desperadoes wherever they go, prompting yet another run.

This is one I'm a little surprised I've never sat down to watch before. But it's probably because I generally do into things assuming I'm not going to like a Western. I need to stop assuming that because I thought this was a pretty great movie. I may not have seen the whole thing before, but certain scenes have been shown so many times that they're burned into my brain: Butch riding the bicycle with Etta to the song stylings of BJ Thomas, Butch and Sundance jumping off a cliff to evade their pursuers, and their last stand in Bolivia. Despite knowing the ending, I still kind of hoped that they would make it out okay. Spoiler alert... they probably didn't.

Question of the Week: Picking Up the Check

2011-10-21T20:49:00.000-04:00

In a nice restaurant, after getting the check for an excellent meal, you notice that you were not charged for one of the items you ate. Would you tell the waitress?

I don't what constitutes a "nice" restaurant, but this has happened to me on a number of occasions. And I always say something whenever I'm undercharged. If I don't say something, I'm pretty sure karma would come back to bite me in the butt. Besides, more often than not, the waitress might thank me for my honesty and then not make me pay anyway. I'm pretty sure it's only happened once in my life that I brought up not being charged for something that they actually went back and corrected my bill and made me pay for what was left off. Whether they make me pay or not, I walk out of the restaurant with a clear conscience.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

10 Day You Challenge - Four Books

2011-10-20T18:43:00.000-04:00

FOUR BOOKS

Source: google.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Un) The Wizard of Oz - This is my favorite book of all time. In fact, I probably read through the original about once a year. It spawned 12 sequels written by L. Frank Baum, as well as countless Oz stories written by other authors. And how many times has it been made into movies? Plays? TV shows? Yeah... it's that good.

Source: Uploaded by user via Renee on Pinterest

Deux) Harry Potter - Don't make me pick just one. The entire series is phenomenal from start to finish. And it's even more fun to read the second time because there are so many little things that you can pick up on that you may not have gotten the first time around.

Source: None via Zuzu's on Pinterest

Trois) The Stand - I may have had some issues with the way things ended in this book, but it can't be denied that the scope of the story is epic.

Source: barnesandnoble.com via Rita on Pinterest

Quatre) The Hunger Games - The entire trilogy is great, but I've got to go with the one that introduced us to the world of Panem and the amazing Katniss Everdeen.

Thanks to Jeff B at A Word In Edgewise and CrystalChick at Mary Says.... for linking up and playing along! Go see how they've taken the challenge!

10 Day You Challenge - Five Foods

2011-10-19T19:32:00.000-04:00

FIVE FOODS

Source: graphicshunt.com via Shelly on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Hailie on Pinterest

Source: sugarcrafter.net via Sara on Pinterest

Source: eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com via NUIC on Pinterest

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Brittany on Pinterest

10 Day You Challenge - Six Places

2011-10-18T20:31:00.000-04:00

SIX PLACES

Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that this means 6 places that I'd like to visit. I would hope it's not just 6 random places chosen with no rhyme or reason. I could see myself choosing places that way if I had a globe, which I would spin very quickly and then stop with my finger, and wherever my finger lands, that would be one of the six random places. Or if I had a huge map on the wall where that I could throw darts at. I'm putting way too much thought into this. Let's just get on with the 6 places, shall we?

Source: travel.nationalgeographic.com via Neda on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: citypictures.org via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: reverie-daydream.blogspot.com via Aaron on Pinterest

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Aaron on Pinterest

Source: photographershalloffame.blog.com via Aaron on Pinterest

10 Day You Challenge - Seven Wants

2011-10-17T21:03:00.000-04:00

SEVEN WANTS

UNO

This is the Canon EOS Rebel T2i. I mentioned that I wanted this back when I was making birthday requests. I didn't get one. I still want one. 'Kay thanks...

DOS

The Flip UltraHD Video Camera is another one that I mentioned before my birthday. I still don't have one of those either.

TRES

Yep, you guessed it. I still don't have an electric razor. I just don't ever buy things for myself.

CUATRO

The Community Season 2 DVD. For the record, I never got the first season on DVD, so I'd like both seasons. I just thought it would be overly redundant to throw pictures of both of the DVDs up there.

CINCO

Who doesn't want a DeLorean? Mostly I just want it if it's tricked out to look like this. The one from Back to the Future. I'm gonna need a flux capacitor too.

SEIS

I want a smart phone. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Droid. I won't be too picky. I'd just like to be able to access the internet on occasion. Oh, and play Angry Birds.

SIETE

If you can't tell, this is a bowl of Frosted Flakes. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to take these things for granted when you have access to your own bowls and milk. I don't have my own bowls. And I'm not sure about the milk situation. But I miss the Frosted Flakes. And I kind of miss Cinnamon Toast Crunch too.

Question of the Week: Under Strong Advisement

2011-10-14T20:52:00.000-04:00

If you decided to do something and your friends strongly advised you not to, could you do it anyway?

While I absolutely value the opinion of my friends, ultimately, whatever this decision is, it's my decision to make. I'm the one who would have to live with whatever consequences may arise. On the other hand, I'm the one who would enjoy the rewards if it turned out to be a good decision. Life is full of risk and no matter what, we are a product of the choices we've made.

I've been there, though. While I don't like to give unsolicited advice, I have been the one to give advice and not have it followed. Being that friend, it kind of makes it hard to want to help out when asked. But I don't like to say, "I told you so," either. So my hope, if I had friends who were strongly advising me to not do something and I did it anyway, and it turned out to be a mistake, is that they wouldn't hold it against me. That turned into a really bad sentence. Anyway, I hope they would just continue to be my friends no matter what.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

10 Day You Challenge - Eight Fears

2011-10-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

EIGHT FEARS

1. Clowns. I don't feel the need to elaborate on that. I've elaborated plenty of times in the past.

2. Disappointing Others. A lot of the time I honestly don't care what others think of me. But there are a chosen few that I never want to disappoint.

3. Snakes. If Indiana Jones can be afraid of them, so can I.

4. Being the Least Funny Person In the Room. Yeah, I'm sure there's an official name for that phobia, I just don't feel like looking it up.

5. Research. See what I just did there?

6. Zombies. Though I think if I were faced with real zombies, I could hold my own.

7. Foreign Currency. You should see how badly I freak out when someone accidentally passes me a Canadian quarter.

8. Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance. He scares the bejeezus out of me. His legs flail about as if independent from his body!

The Fugitive

2011-10-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up with the theme song from Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego stuck in my head. If you grew up around the same time as me, it probably just got stuck in your head too. It's that song by the group Rockapella from the PBS game show that was on in the early to mid-90s. It's kind of classic.

I couldn't understand why my mind would have this song on a continuous loop. Beyond that, I couldn't understand how it's possible that I remember so many of the lyrics as accurately as I do. I know I haven't heard that song in many, many years. And yet, there it was.

It may have something to do with this week's episode of Saturday Night Live. They did a sketch mocking Hank Williams, Jr. and the Fox and Friends incident. As part of the mockery, they ran a quick list of corrections that the fact-checkers had to come through and supposedly fix because the on-air personalities made some pretty wild claims. One of these throw away gags was "President Obama did not pardon Carmen Sandiego." That little blurb was probably just enough to plant a seed in my brain. And that seed took root.

Throughout the day, I kept thinking about Carmen Sandiego. Does anyone even remember what crime she committed at this point? She's been a fugitive for so long, maybe it's time that someone did grant her a pardon. I mean, if the president can make a show of pardoning a turkey every year on Thanksgiving, surely he can pardon this woman who has seen more of the world than any of us ever will.

What's she charged with? Theft? What did she steal, aside from the hearts of children everywhere? I believe her only real crime is a curiosity for World Geography and the ability to make that red hat and trench coat look good. If a thirst for knowledge is illegal, then you better lock me up too.

10 Day You Challenge - Nine Loves

2011-10-11T19:09:00.000-04:00

NINE LOVES

Source: img.timeinc.net via Quinn on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest

III

Source: flickr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: None via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: crisonu.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

VII

Source: graphicshunt.com via Shelly on Pinterest

VIII

Source: google.com.au via Debbie on Pinterest

Source: letsbethriftaddicts.blogspot.com via Chase on Pinterest

10 Day You Challenge - Ten Secrets

2011-10-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is another one stolen from Amy. Though, to be fair, she did put the invitation out there for other people to participate. This is me, officially participating. I really hope she doesn't mind my stealing the graphic from her site either. I can't afford another lawsuit for copyright infringement. Yeah, I'm looking at you Barry Manilow! I swear, you sing I Write the Songs at one karaoke bar in the guy's presence...

TEN SECRETS

One} I confess. It was me. I put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp. I also put the ram in the ram in the rama lama ding dong. However, I did not put the dip in the dip da dip da dip. Can't take credit for that one.

Two} I was so excited about getting a Kindle earlier this year, but I've only read one entire book on it. Waste of money? I keep telling myself I'll get into it eventually.

Three} My latest ambition is to develop a successful TV show. Scratch that... It doesn't necessarily have to be successful. I just want to sell a pilot to a network.

Four} I'm Batman.

Five} In 9th grade I forged my Dad's signature on a permission slip so I could go to the science museum on a field trip.

Six} I keep hearing about the awesomeness of cruises from friends who have either recently been or are planning to go in the near future. I've never been on one. So I've decided to give myself a cruise vacation next year.

Seven} I wish I could restock my change jar that I had counted for real cash a few months ago. But it's not gonna happen 'cause I never carry cash and, therefore, never receive change anymore.

Eight} I'm finding it really difficult to come up with ten secrets when I write about my life on a nearly daily basis on this blog. My life is an open book.

Nine} I don't make time to read as much as I used to and I really miss it.

Ten} I have a crush on a woman that I've never met and will never meet. But don't tell her. This stays between you and me, got it?

The Call

2011-10-09T16:41:00.000-04:00

Julia heard the call at the worst possible moment. She had finally been having a conversation with her father. It was the conversation she had been putting off for nearly a year. The conversation that she felt sure would finally reveal if her father blamed her for her mother's death.

But the horn sounded far in the distance and she knew she had to run. Julia made her way through the forest that she knew so well. She could read the twists and turns on the narrow path far better than she could read her father's emotional state. As she ran, she imagined the sigh of relief he must have breathed when they heard the call.

Julia dodged limbs and jumped over roots and finally reached the sunshine of an open field. In another 200 yards, she would be at the gate of the city where she had grown up. Halfway across the field, the horn sounded again. This let her know that in another two minutes she would officially be late, and the punishment for tardiness was severe.

In the year since she joined the militia, she had never been late for the call. But she had witnessed as others suffered the discipline of their superior officers. Julia was certain that she would be comfortable living out her entire life without experiencing the end of that whip first hand.

In the city-state of Answain, young people were given a choice upon reaching their 16th birthday. You either joined up for five years of military service, or you go to work in the mines for seven years. Both of these options were, of course, noble choices and helped to protect and support the society in which she lived. But Julia had an irrational fear of dark, enclosed places. So for her, the choice was a no-brainer.

Now, at 17, Julia had grown to love her new life with the militia. She just wished she could move a little bit faster. She weaved her way through the crowded streets of Answain, making her way to the Ellipse at the center of the city. The third call had not been made, so she knew she would be counted on time. She stood in line between two boys who were recent recruits. Her breathing was labored, but she felt like she could relax. She wouldn't feel the whip today.

Answain didn't have a lot of enemies. But the militia was there to protect the citizens from the few enemies that existed outside the city's walls. Julia had only seen two real battles in her time with the militia. One was little more than a month ago, when a group of spies was discovered. They hadn't put up much of a fight, and Julia was pretty sure that the few who were captured alive were held for questioning. She shuddered to think what that questioning would entail.

She didn't like to think about the first battle she had been in. It was only a month after she had signed up for military duty. Her father had told her that he was proud of her. Of course he was proud, she was following in the footsteps of both her parents. The militia was where they had met. It was where they had fallen in love. Her mother was proud too, but she was scared for her little girl. Julia understood her feelings. All she could do was kiss her mother good-bye and tell her not to worry as she moved out of the house and began her intensive training.

Julia had barely finished her training with the sword when the reports came into the barracks that the south gate had been taken down. All members of the militia, even the new recruits, were called to take up arms to defend the city. Julia's mind was filled with panic. It wasn't because she unprepared to defend her home, it was because her family's home was located two blocks from the south gate.

She grabbed her sword and shield and ran south with the others. None of them were too sure where the battle would be taking place. They just knew to run in the opposite direction of the fleeing citizens.

Julia caught sight of an enemy soldier. She recognized the uniform of the Red River military. She had heard stories about Red River. Their soldiers had no honor. This fact was clearly displayed by this man, who was attacking an unarmed woman who was simply trying to flee for her life. Julia knew that this man would be her first kill.

She charged at him, sword in hand, and ran him through without thinking. Julia turned to the woman and shouted at her to run. Immediately, her thoughts turned toward her family. Red River would spare no one in their quest for domination.

All around her, explosions were erupting. She ran through the streets, hoping to find more action, hoping to make a difference. She was in sight of her childhood home when an explosion rocked her world.

Heat and shattered glass threw her off her feet. Julia fought the urge to lose consciousness. She was a little confused, wondering how she ended up on the ground. She could feel the intensity of the fire coming from the store across the street. What kind of weaponry could Red River possibly have that would cause so much destruction?

Her body screamed at her as she picked herself up off the street. She moved as quickly as her legs would allow her, but felt as if the world were moving in slow motion. Up ahead, she saw her father and mother fighting for their lives. They hadn't been military for nearly 20 years, but they still knew what to do with a sword. In that moment she was proud to be their daughter, and she hoped that she could live up to their expectations of her.

More than that, she wished she could move faster, because there, before her eyes, she watched as her mother was killed at the hands of a Red River soldier. She watched as her mother fell to the ground. She watched her father turn to catch the love of his life. And she watched as the soldier who delivered her mother's killing blow prepared to do the same to her father.

But Julia arrived in time to save him. She plunged her sword into the side of the man who had just taken her mother's life. Her anger and sorrow mixed in a cry of agony as she drove her enemy to the ground.

She fell to her knees next to her father and grabbed her mother's hand. Julia saw the faintest smile on her mother's face and felt her squeeze her hand lightly before she passed on. She looked up at her father, who was gently caressing her mother's face. He looked into her eyes and said nothing. She could only imagine that he was thinking the same thing that she was. Why couldn't you have gotten here sooner? She would still be alive.

Without a word, Julia stood up. She charged into the fray where her sword took the lives of half a dozen more enemy soldiers. But the rest of the battle was a blur to her. Julia was numb, unsure how to feel anything else that day. The pain she felt, both physically and emotionally, was too much for her to bear. So she pushed it aside.

The sound of the third call broke her from her vivid memories. Julia stood silently as her captain walked down the line calling names. When he got to her, he gave her a slight wink. She could tell that he liked her, but he really wasn't her type. But the gesture was enough to make her smile anyway. Once attendance had been taken and it was determined that there were no deserters this week, the fourth call sounded and the troops went their separate ways to perform their various duties.

Julia made her way to the barracks, where she had been assigned evening guard duty for the remainder of the month. As she had done every evening for the past two weeks, she would stand silently, waiting for her replacement to relieve her at midnight. She knew that she only had her thoughts to occupy her time. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't think about the conversation she almost had with her father today. She wouldn't think anymore on the events of the Red River battle. She would do her duty tonight and she would worry about the things she couldn't control some other day.

See how other bloggers answered "The Call" this week over at Sunday Scribblings.

The Pain of Relaxation

2011-10-08T19:14:00.000-04:00

Thursday at work, I was invited by Tree to tag along with her and her friend, Elizabeth, to get a massage at the mall. At first I thought I didn't want to go. I was thinking that I couldn't afford it. Not that it cost all that much, I just generally assume that my money can eventually be spent on something more important than something like a massage.

But Thursday was a rough day. By the end of it, I decided, Screw it, I can find $15 dollars. So I went. It was the first and last time I'll go to that place at the mall to get a massage. I obviously had no idea what I was getting into.

Before arriving at this massage place, I was told that I only needed to choose a length of time. I went with 10 minutes, the shortest and cheapest option. It was my first real massage in a long time, so I figured I should just try and take it easy. Let me just say, the last time I had a massage was in the airport on the way back from Brazil in college. This was nothing like that.

It came to be my turn and I was introduced to an older Asian gentlemen. He motioned for me to lie face down on the table and so I did. He then proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of me.

During my ten minute massage, I resisted the urge to cry out in agony at least five times. He poked. He prodded. He rearranged my internal organs. At one point he began kneading on my skull as if the bones were actually a flexible mass.

It was an extremely long ten minutes. When I heard the sweet sound of the timer squealing next to my ear, I whispered a quick prayer of thanksgiving to God, knowing that I would never have to go through this again.

As I stood up, I wanted to ask the man what I could have possibly done to anger him so. We had just met and hadn't even had a real conversation. I only told him I wanted the ten minute massage. Maybe that's what angered him, that I was being cheap. I gave him a tip before I left. I didn't want him following me to finish me off if I left him unhappy.

Apparently I received a deep tissue massage, rather than one that brings relaxation. When I awoke Friday morning, I couldn't turn my head. When I needed to turn to look at something, I needed to turn my entire body. Even now, 48 hours after the fact, the back of my skull still feels bruised.

I haven't seen any bruises on my neck or shoulders. I'm left to assume that this Zen Master of Pain was so good at his craft that he was able to hide any marks his acupressure technique may have left. I'm just glad he wasn't so offended that he felt the need to use the Touch of Death.

Question of the Week: Outgoing

2011-10-07T19:15:00.000-04:00

What sorts of things would you do if you could be as outgoing and uninhibited as you wished? Do you usually initiate friendships or wait to be approached?

If I were more outgoing and less of an introvert, I would be a lot more talkative with people, whether I know them or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with being introverted. I'm perfectly content being the kind of person that enjoys his alone time. But I'm sure that particular trait has and will cause me to miss out on some excitement in my life. But hey, no regrets. As for the second question, I pretty much wait to be approached when it comes to new friendships. After all, once people experience my irresistible personality, it doesn't take long before they're swarming me with friend requests on Facebook. It's true. Google it.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

Five Years Later

2011-10-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

Honestly, I wasn't sure how today would go for me.

Today was the anniversary of my Dad's death. It's the first time I've been in in Roanoke for this day in four years. Over time, October 6 has gotten a little easier to get through. But I just wasn't sure about today.

I've heard that milestones can be a little harder to deal with. Five years seems like one of those milestones. And it's hard to believe it's been that long. On top of the milestone, I'm back at home. I'm back in the town where all of my memories are.

But it really wasn't that bad. Not like I anticipated, which is a good thing.

I didn't break down at any point. I went about my day like normal. There were times when I had trouble focusing on the task at hand. Kind of like now. But I promise, I got through my work day, I'll get through this blog post.

In the car I decided to pop in a CD of my Dad singing. It's not something I listen to very often. Usually, I'm afraid to listen to it. I'm afraid of what hearing his voice will do to me emotionally. I'm of the belief that driving becomes much more difficult when you try to see through a flood of tears. But today, I listened. And I did okay with that too. Again, better than I thought I would.

Anyone who had the chance to hear the man sing knows what a phenomenal voice he had. When I was a kid, I remember overhearing a conversation between a couple of the older guys at the church where I grew up. It was during a Sunday morning service and Dad happened to be singing a solo. I was standing out in the hallway listening to him over the speakers in the ceiling. These guys must not have seen me standing there, or they may not have had the conversation they had.

One turned to the other and said, "There's a guy who really missed his calling." The other just nodded his head in agreement and went on listening to the song. At the time, I just smiled, thinking this guy was right. Dad had a great voice. At some point somewhere in his life, if the right person had happened to hear his singing voice, things could have been very different for him.

As I've grown up and looked back at my father's life and the passion he had for music and his church, I'm more and more convinced that he followed his calling to the letter. Yes, he was incredibly talented. I've heard more than a few people say that hearing him sing gave them chills. And they always meant that in a good way. But to say he missed his calling because he wasn't a household name would be way off base.

He was never happier than when he was serving in the church. To the very end, he was singing to the tops of his lungs. The night that he died, he was with his church family, helping them prepare for an upcoming event. He spent his last hours in this world in a place that he loved, working side by side with people he loved, serving the God that he loved.

I miss him, and I'll never stop missing him. But I know that any tears that I shed are selfish. Those tears come from a place of wanting him back here, wishing I could hug him again and talk to him about everything that's been happening for the past five years. But he's in a better place. I realized that immediately on that night five years ago.

I can't sit here and say that I mourn his loss. Not anymore, anyway. Instead, I celebrate his life. Knowing the man that he was makes me smile. Knowing the life that he led makes me proud to be his son.

Very Vanilla

2011-10-05T19:02:00.000-04:00

Like most people, I occasionally have a hankering for the classic novelty dessert, the ice cream sandwich. Sadly, I'm not a big fan of chocolate. But I've forced myself through it so I can enjoy that ice creamy sandwichy deliciousness. Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, I have discovered an amazing product that has broken the chains of slavery to chocolate as part of the ice cream sandwich. I give you...

That's right! Ice cream sandwiches with vanilla ice cream sandwiched between vanilla cookie like whatever that's officially called. They are so very good.

Whoever came up with the idea for these things must be a certified genius. And this cannot possibly be a new development, right? Someone please tell me that humanity was intelligent enough to come up with this idea decades ago, I've just managed to miss it because I rarely took a turn down the ice cream aisle at the store.

You know what time it is? Pretty sure it's time for a very vanilla ice cream sandwich.

All This and Andy Rooney

2011-10-03T19:44:00.000-04:00

Source: news.yahoo.com via Betty on Pinterest

As a kid I never really liked watching news shows. To this day, I'm not much of a news watcher. Mostly I don't like the bad news. And it seems like that's most of what the news is. But for the last few years, I've become interested in some of the shows that come on CBS on Sunday evenings. Mostly, these consist of The Amazing Race and Big Brother. So, much of the time, I'll catch the end of 60 Minutes. Usually, I'll catch enough of the news magazine to see whatever Andy Rooney has to say that week.

And last night was the end of that particular era. Andy Rooney delivered his final last word for 60 Minutes. They showed a lot of clips of the things he's discussed over the years. And the more I've watched of his commentaries, the more I've realized, I could totally do that.

Think about it, most of what he does is give his opinion about random stuff. Occasionally he'll delve into a serious topic, but most of the time it seems like random thoughts about random occurrences. It's as if he's been writing a blog similar to this, and then just reading them out loud on camera.

So, CBS, if you're looking for a replacement for Andy Rooney, I formally submit myself. Just take a look at some of the things I've written on this blog and imagine someone reading them out loud with a mostly sarcastic kind of tone. Yeah, I could do that.

Present

2011-10-02T20:28:00.000-04:00

"Present!" yelled Kimberly, just loud enough for her elderly home room teacher to hear her. After hearing her name called, she decided to tune everything out until first period. She had a lot on her mind and really didn't want to deal with anything until she absolutely had to. If she could have, she probably would have tried to lock herself in a sensory deprivation tank for the next half hour. But she wasn't that lucky.

"Pssst!"

Kimberly ignored the attempt to get her attention. She knew that Sam wanted to talk to her, but she really didn't want to talk to him. It wasn't that she didn't like Sam, she just wanted to be left alone for a while.

"Kim!" Sam whispered, though it was the kind of whisper that everyone in the classroom could hear. She turned, giving Sam a look beyond irritation, making him jump back a little in his seat.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked, clearly not taking a hint.

"About what?" Kimberly asked, honestly unaware of what Sam meant.

"Are you gonna go out with Jack or not?"

"How is that any of your business?" she asked, becoming increasingly annoyed, especially considering that this conversation consisted of nothing but questions with no answers.

"Well, it's not," Sam said quietly, unsure how to proceed. "It's just that Jack's like a brother to me. I don't wanna see him get hurt."

Kimberly was a little confused. She couldn't understand why Sam would bring this up, or why Sam would think Jack would get hurt by going out with her.

"I don't get it," she said, "Are you afraid that I'll hurt him by saying yes or by saying no?"

"I don't know. Maybe I just--"

"Samuel Dewey!" said Mrs. Caldwell over the hushed conversation.

"Here!" said Sam. "I just think you should be careful about everything. He really likes you, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said, unable to help but smile. The truth was, she liked Jack too. But she couldn't just come out and say that. She had to play hard to get, right?

"See, that's just mean."

"What are you talking about?"

Sam huffed, "You smile when you say you know he likes you. It's like you're just playing with him."

"You don't know the first thing about me!" said Kimberly. At this point she was having a difficult time keeping her voice to a whisper. Sam was really starting to piss her off. "What happens between me and Jack is between me and Jack. If he wants to talk to you about it, that's on him. But you and me: not friends! You don't get to ask me personal questions about who I'm dating!"

With that, the conversation was over. She knew Sam well enough to know that he would go straight to Jack before first period to tell him not to go out with her. But she also knew Jack well enough to know that he would ignore Sam's advice. Yeah, they were friends, but once Jack set his mind to something, he did it. At that thought, she smiled a little again. Sam would misinterpret her current facial expression, but that was mostly because he was stupid and assumed whatever he wanted to assume.

Mrs. Fields had finally finished taking attendance. For the next 20 minutes, homeroom would be dull. Kimberly really did have a lot on her mind. It wasn't just whether or not she would accept Jack's invitation to dinner and a movie. She had a paper due in her World Lit class tomorrow. She had a pretty big test in Calculus that afternoon. She had to finish putting her portfolio together for Photojournalism by the end of the week.

On top of her schoolwork, she had soccer practice every afternoon. She loved playing the game. It's just that, with everything else going on, it seemed like one more thing to deal with.

After what felt like an eternity of boredom and annoyance, the bell rang to signal the end of homeroom. She made her way to the restroom so she could make sure her hair looked okay. A part of her didn't really care how her hair looked. But a bigger part of her knew that she'd eventually see Jack and she wanted to look decent, just in case Sam was able to plant the seed of doubt in his mind.

She made her way to first period History, but was really not paying attention to the world moving around her. Throughout her classes, and even during her Calculus test, she remained preoccupied. She may have been present in body, but definitely not in mind.

This week's topic inspired by Sunday Scribblings. See how others interpreted the prompt by clicking here!

AFI 74 - The Silence of the Lambs

2011-10-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Directed by Jonathan Demme

Netflix sleeve: In this pulse-pounding adaptation of Thomas Harris's novel, FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer; unfortunately, her Faustian relationship with Lecter soon leads to his escape... and now, two deranged killers are on the loose.

Here's one that I had probably seen about a dozen times before I ever thought about doing this AFI thing. It really is a great movie. It's creepy, it's suspenseful, and it introduced the world to Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. The guy gets less than 20 minutes of screen time, but how many people think of Buffalo Bill as the primary psychopath when they think of this movie? How many of you out there just asked, "Who's Buffalo Bill?" He's the one that demands that the girl puts the lotion on the skin. You probably don't want to see this late at night. That stuff will mess with your head.

Question of the Week: Complimentary

2011-09-30T21:41:00.000-04:00

When you are given a compliment do you usually acknowledge it or suggest that you really do not deserve it?

Of course I deserve it. I'm awesome.

Okay, really, it all depends on who is paying the compliment. If it's a close friend or family member who truly knows my dry sense of humor, I play it off an pretend like I've got a huge ego and they're just fueling it. If it's a co-worker or superior or just someone that I don't know very well, I typically say thank you and move on. In reality, I don't let compliments go to my head. I do the best I can at whatever I'm trying to do and if it catches someone's attention, so be it. If not, at least I can get a good night's sleep knowing that I did the best I could.

And that's... one to grow on.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

The First Timer

2011-09-29T19:18:00.000-04:00

For a long time I've been calling myself a fan of Virginia Tech. Don't worry, it's been going on longer than a lot of people might think. I'm not one of those guys that jumped on the Virginia Tech bandwagon back when Michael Vick was playing. I'm just not the kind of person that gets openly excited about football.

Don't get me wrong. I like football. I just don't follow it closely enough to have a decent fantasy team. I like to watch a game, but if Tech isn't playing, I generally don't care who wins. I don't pay attention to rankings. I don't pay attention to what a certain team's win-loss record is going to do to how Virginia Tech rises or falls from week to week.

Despite my apparent lack of enthusiasm towards sports in general, I do call myself a fan of the Hokies. But I had never been to a game at Lane Stadium. Never, that is, until last weekend.

A few weeks back I got a text message from Kelly, a friend from the Bluefield days. She let me know that she and a couple of her friends had a fourth ticket for Tech's game versus Arkansas State. Since I had never been to a live game, I jumped on it. I'll admit, I was pretty excited.

I hitched a ride from Roanoke to Blacksburg with Kelly's friends Lesley and Adam. They were the real connection to the tickets, so if they're reading this, thanks again for bringing me along for the ride. Not only did we have incredible seats (I'll get to those later), we had a parking pass for Lot 2. This put us approximately nine parking spaces away from the stadium.

You know what a great part of the fun of going to a football game is? If you said tailgating, you were right. We grilled burgers and dogs, played some Cornhole, and pretty much just had a swell time.

Eventually the time came for us to make our way inside. Our seats? Just to the right of the 50 yard line. We were about midway up the home side. Oh, and we had cushions and seat backs. That's right, we didn't have to sit on the cold, metal bleachers.

I guess I got kind of spoiled with my first game. I'm going to expect an awesome parking space and awesome comfortable seats the next time I go to a football game. And I'm sure that's not how it will happen. I'm sure I'll end up parking on the other side of town and I'll need to walk all the way to the game. I'm sure I'll be stuck on the bleachers surrounded by drunk guys who spill beer all over me and my friends.

My only true complaint about my first time home game experience is the old folks that were all around us. There was an old lady in front of me that kept leaning back on her seat back and shoving it into my knees. Every time she leaned back, she pretty much hyper-extended the seat back. It's okay though, I wasn't using those knees anyway. And let's not forget the elderly man sitting next to me. I'm pretty sure he thought I was his grandson. He kept explaining things to me. As I said above, I'm not the most sports-savvy guy, but I know what it means when someone is off sides.

Okay, sometimes I have a hard time understanding off sides.

And, of course, Tech won. It was a pretty good game. And I had an awesome time. I want to go again. I'm not saying I'm ready for my own season tickets, but I could handle another game.

AFI 75 - In the Heat of the Night

2011-09-28T07:53:00.000-04:00

In the Heat of the Night

1967

Directed by Norman Jewison

Netflix sleeve: Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) helps a redneck Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) solve a murder in this fascinating study in racism that still strikes a resonant chord today. Steiger won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the put-upon sheriff who comes to respect Tibbs's professionalism and ability. Norman Jewison directs this dramatic tale with a feeling for the cultural and social atmosphere of the time.

Growing up, my only exposure to In the Heat of the Night was the TV series starring Carroll O'Connor. And when that show was on, I was just a kid and I remember always being disappointed whenever it came on. Because it came on during the day once it hit syndication. So during the summer, when I was home to enjoy daytime TV, I was just met with disappointment when I saw that it was coming on. If I'd had any clue how awesome the original movie was, I'd have probably given the show a shot. 44 years later, the movie still has a relevant message. And even if the problem of racism didn't still exist, the movie would still be worth watching. For one thing, it shows an accurate portrayal of a small town in the deep south in the mid-1960s. For another, it's a great murder mystery with an exciting ending. If you've never given this movie a chance, give it a chance. Definitely worth it.

So... Yeah...

2011-09-27T19:56:00.000-04:00

I've really been slacking on the blogging. I don't have any real excuses for my slacking.

No, that's a lie. I do have excuses. And they're decent excuses. They mostly revolve around the fact that I've been staying busy. I'm still getting used to the new job, even though I'm almost a month into it. It's great, but there's a definite learning curve here that I'm adjusting to.

What else? Well, the social life isn't lying dead in the gutter these days. I go out with friends. I visit my friends' homes. I go to Virginia Tech football games. I drive to the Richmond area for surprise birthday parties. I drive to my old home in North Carolina to participate in a Heart Walk with a company for whom I no longer work.

So yeah... I've been kind of busy. But I promise I'll get caught up. I just need to find a new groove. Maybe that new groove will mean the elimination of the daily post, as I've tried so hard to be faithful to in the past. But I definitely want to have a regular schedule. Stay tuned kids. Don't forget about me. Don't stop following me. I promise to do better.

Question of the Week: In God's Hands

2011-09-23T19:14:00.001-04:00

A cave-in occurs while you and a stranger are in a concrete room deep in a mine shaft. Before the phone goes dead, you learn the entire mine is sealed and the air hole being drilled will not reach you for 30 hours. If you both take sleeping pills from the medicine chest, the oxygen will last for only 20 hours. Both of you can't survive; alone, one of you might. After you both realize this, the stranger takes several sleeping pills, says that it is in God's hands, and falls asleep. You have a pistol; what do you do?

Wow... that's a really long and involved question. Okay, where did I get this pistol? Why isn't this listed as one of my assets at the beginning, along with the sleeping pills? Why do I have the pistol? Why doesn't the stranger have it? This is just an unlikely situation. Obviously, I wait for the stranger to fall asleep, then I shoot him in the head. But then I make it look like he committed suicide because he panicked and couldn't take suffocating to death. I'm totally kidding, by the way. I'm not a complete psychopath. I wouldn't be able to kill a stranger who just took a handful of pills. Depending on how many he took, he may have just accidentally OD'ed. But I guess that would be the part that's in God's hands. On the other hand, I couldn't use the gun to kill myself either. So I'd take a sleeping pill too. Guess I'll be putting it in God's hands too.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

I Totally Could've Done That

2011-09-21T19:36:00.000-04:00

Just when you think I can't possibly find anything else to say about the awesomeness that is Back to the Future, someone comes along and makes a YouTube video like this. By the way, I'm pretty sure I could do something like this. Except with the entire movie. 'Cause I've seen it that many times. Enjoy.

Legends of the Bank Teller: The Last Laugh

2011-09-19T20:39:00.000-04:00

What's that you say? You thought the previous legend was the Last Legend? Yeah, so did I. But this is just too blogworthy to let slide by.

So, remember how I used to complain about how stupidity seemed to run rampant in the world of banking? Not so much with me or my colleagues, but with the every day people who came across our paths. I'd cite examples but I know there are far too many to go around. Turns out that there's a really good chance I need to lump myself in with the rest of humanity. That's right. I'm one of the stupid ones.

For nearly four years I worked for the bank. And for nearly four years I lived my life under the belief that I was living each pay period one paycheck behind. Boy, was I wrong.

When I quit, I left believing that I would receive my final paycheck in the mail, and I was okay with that. Especially when I believed that my last paycheck would consist of two days worth of work and would arrive a month later. Little did I know, that last paycheck would arrive in my bank only two weeks later.

Under the umbrella of ignorance, I firmly believed that two weeks after I quit, I would receive a paycheck that reflected the second half of the month of August. So when I checked my account on the 15th of this month I received a nasty shock. The automatic deposit that went into my account was roughly $600 less than what I had expected.

That's the part where I threw up a little and panicked over how I would pay my bills for the second half of the month.

So I did what any other average American would do. I got a cash advance on a credit card, throwing myself deeper into debt, and found a way to pay my bills. On the bright side, I was able to make ends meet, allowing me to breathe again until I get paid at the beginning of October. The bad news is that cash advance comes with a wonderful 8 billion percent interest rate. I really look forward to paying on that for a while.

So I may have left the bank without giving a full two weeks notice, but it would seem that the bank had the last laugh. Well played nameless banking corporation... well played.

Easy

2011-09-18T21:53:00.000-04:00

Usually I take a Sunday Scribblings writing prompt and try to make myself come up with some fiction for my post. But I'm not doing that today.

I'm one week away from participating in the Triangle Area Heart Walk down in Raleigh. So I'm using the writing prompt as my last ditch effort to raise awareness and funds for the American Heart Association.

A few weeks ago I first mentioned that I had committed to walking with a team of my former coworkers at the bank that I left in Raleigh. And now the time is upon us. When I registered, I set a personal fundraising goal of $250 and at this point I'm a little more than half way there.

I can't meet the rest of my goal without your help. Donating is just about the easiest thing you can do. On the right side of my page, just above my picture, there's a link to my donation page. If you want to give, all you have to do is click that picture and you'll be taken to the site that lets you decide how much or how little you want to give. Remember, every little bit helps.

What does your money help the American Heart Association to do? Well, here it is in their words:

Improving patient care - We're improving the quality of health care by creating best practices for treating heart disease and stroke. Our Get With The Guidelines hospital-based quality improvement program helps heart and stroke patients get the best treatment consistently. Mission: Lifeline helps patients with the most severe kind of heart attack get the specialized emergency services they need to survive.
Advocating for better health - Our nationwide volunteer network, You're The Cure, advocates for key issues at the national, state and local levels such as requiring physical education in schools, clean air legislation and making AEDs mandatory in public buildings.
Reaching out to populations at risk - Blacks have higher risk and higher death rates from stroke than whites. Our Power To End Stroke education/awareness initiative helps African Americans share information to reduce their risk of stroke. More than 23,000 key opinion leaders, including mayors, professors, ministers and celebrities, have been recruited to be ambassadors working within their own community.
Raising awareness - Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women over age 25, but many women don't make their own health a priority. Through Go Red For Women, we're raising awareness among women about their risks and empowering them to protect their heart health.
Protecting the future - Nearly one in three children and teens in the United States is overweight or obese. As a result, more kids than ever before are developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. We are helping kids develop lifelong healthy habits and working to make sure that today's children can grow up to be tomorrow's healthy adults.
Educating Americans - We save lives every day by offering information and education. We pioneered CPR and millions of Americans use our patient education materials and online tools to help themselves and their loved ones live longer, healthier lives.

And I'm not just doing this because it gives me an excuse to go back to Raleigh to visit some friends that I've left behind. That's just a happy side effect. This is a cause that I can believe in. It's a cause to which I have a personal connection. My Dad had a lot of health issues during the last 10 or so years of his life. Heart disease was among those issues. When he passed away, the only physical explanation that a doctor could give was that his heart simply gave out. This was eight years after he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

We're coming up on a full five years since the night he passed away. And I can't think of a better way to honor his memory than to help an organization that is working to improve the lives of fathers and mothers and grandparents and grandchildren across the country.

To those who have already given, thank you. And to those who have yet to give, thank you in advance. After next week, I'll gladly share with you just how the Heart Walk went. I'll even upload pictures.

Question of the Week: Envy

2011-09-16T20:05:00.000-04:00

Have you ever disliked someone for being luckier or more successful than you?

No. I can honestly say that I've felt a certain sense of envy for people who have enjoyed success in their chosen fields. But that envy has been fleeting and it's never led to dislike. Whatever the case, I'm always happy for friends and acquaintances who do well for themselves.

*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

The Dark Side of Community

2011-09-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

We are officially one week away from the season premiere of Community. I'm kind of excited about it. To get you ready, here's a taste of what you've missed over the last two seasons... if you were foolish enough to not watch it...