Anything worth doing, is worth doing right the first time; or, it isn't worth doing at all.

Me Chow Young Fat

I have come to the conclusion today that I need to do something about my weight.  I suppose it is just like any person the has a fault in life.  You first must come to the decision that there is an issue and then you can do something about it.  I've reached that point.

I was sitting in bed reading a few chapters from Jay Leno's autobiography, Leading With My Chin, when I noticed that I was resting said book in my lap and when I got to the lower portions of a page, I was having difficulty reading because my stomach was in the way.

You have to understand, I have always been thin.  I have in the past been very active, but when I developed the ankle problems and then the kidney stone issue arose, my execise plan has mainly consisted of pushing myself away from the table a little too late.

Tomorrow I will begind in earnest to do something about this expanding problem.  Why not today you ask?  Well, that would be because I spent the afternoon at an all-you-can-eat buffet, where I was not cheated and tonight is the Spuer Bowl, Stupid!  The required fair is beer and wings.

Tomorrow, however, is the day.

  

Posted by: Aheadau at 17:40 | link | comments (1)

We got a phone call mid-afternoon that E's friend wasn't feeling well and wouldn't make the evenings gathering.  I wasn't dissapointed, but soon was at ever being involved to begin with.  5:00 rolls around and E gets a call from the neighbors, finalizing the night's plans.  She then informs them that her friend is going to be a no show, at which time the drama begins.

"Is she standing him up?', "Is she really sick?", "Does she really have other plans?", "Why hasn't she called or texted him?"  Yaduh, yaduh, yaduh...

We go ahead and have them over anyway, but invariably the conversation returns to the date topic.  I sit quietly and observe the proceeding, when eventually I'm asked for my opinion in this middle schoolesque round table.  My response:  "I don't really give a shit."

So, now I'm the bad guy.  But, that's okay.  I ate a great steak, drank a few cold beers, won the poker game, and slept comfortably with my dog laying snuggled up against me.

 

Posted by: Aheadau at 08:54 | link | comments

Mind Your Own Buisness

Tonight we will be hosting a few friends over for dinner.  We'll throw some steaks on the grill and pour a few libations, but the real story behind the scenes is the opportunity to introduce two single friends to one another.  I'm not thrilled.

They are both recently divorced.  One only by about a month, though her marriage has been over for some time.  The other has been divorced for about a year.  I like them both and I don't mind introducing my single friends to other people.  The problem is in the fact that my wife (the representative of her female friend) and my good friend and neighbor (the representative of her former cousin-in-law) can't seem to keep their noses out of their business.

If it were just a matter of introduing two people and letting things fall where they may, then that would be wonderful.  These two (my wife and friend), however, seem to be working some sort agendas that are not parallel and a collision seems apparent.  I've done the best I can to politely say: "You need to butt out", and so has my friend's husband.  Unfortunately, they don't see the train headed down the track.  In a perfect world, it would work out, but with so much interference I just see nothing but trouble.  I don't see them having a chance to hook up even if they did decide that they like one another.

I've said my peace to the wife and I'm not going to say any more or I'll be the one ending up on a collision course.  I'll just keep the beer iced down, the wine corks pulled, and the sangrias flowing.  Other than that, I'll be out by the grill, cold beer in hand, minding my own business.

Posted by: Aheadau at 08:57 | link | comments (1)

A. is sick today with a cough, cold, sore throat and I'm not exactly up to speed either.  We are both just laying around, watching television and playing video games together.  Though we don't feel well, we are enjoying the time together.

E. went to church wthout us this morning and is running a few errands in town before she has lunch with friends.  Later she'll be coming home to spend more time giving the first draft of my novel some more reading time.  So far there have only been a few small grammatical things that need to be addressed.  I'm more concerned about plot and storyline interest. 

I realize that this isn't exactly the type of thing she'd pull off a bookshelf and read, so I'm a little unsure as to how she'll approach the work, critically.  The main thing is I don't want her to hold back in her critique.  It wouldn't do me any good to have her, or anyone else, to give praise if it weren't warranted.

I've already got two more readers lined up.  I need multiple viewpoints to see what changes are substantiated. 

Okay, (cough, cough) this has drained me.  I'm going for a nap.

Posted by: Aheadau at 11:13 | link | comments

If you read my other blog, writeon, then you know that I finally finished my novel.  It has been a long road, but I feel a great deal of accomplishment in having completed the project.  It is a life dream type of thing and I am happy to have met that goal.

My daughter is going throuogh a pretty rough time right now, dealing with acne.  She is at that age where kids are most cruel and every word is heartfelt.  I wish I could take the pain away, but I can only pray for her and support her with my love.

I wish that I could place her in a cocoon and protect her from the evils of this world, but I would be doing her a diservice.  The world is cold and cruel, but she needs to learn how to deal with the shit and the filet mignon.

I'm her dad and I'll love her through this.

 

Posted by: Aheadau at 21:15 | link | comments (3)

Soccer tryouts

Today was the beginning of another new season.  Soccer tryouts took place this morning and for the first time, I'll be coaching a team that does not include my daughter.  She came out for the tryouts and participated, but it is going to be difficult not having her on the field once the season starts.  She is excited to be playing for the school this year, but she asked the other day if I was going to be coming to her games if the team I'm coaching has a game at the same time.  I was quick to tell he that is what assistant coaches are for and that I would never miss one of her games or practices is God allows.

I have a very special relationship with my daughter and I wouldn't dare waste one second of my time away from her.  I couldn't abandoned the girls on the team, though.  That is why I agreed to coach this team, even though A will not be playing on it.  These girls have given me everything they could to be a better team and better players.  They've grown quite a bit over the last year and I wouldn't like for them to think that I was only there because of A.  However, I can not and will not place them above my place in the world as A's dad.  It is the most important role in life that I live for. 

P.S. I'm in the middle of the last chapter of the novel.  I'm so close I can feel it.  Time to stop wasting and get back on it.  See ya later, as an author.

Posted by: Aheadau at 14:49 | link | comments (2)

Oh so close...

Well, tommorow we go back to work.  The time has passed too fast, even though I had an additional week.  Of course, I spent most of my Christmas break dealing with kidney stones, the surgery to remove them, and the recuperation thereafter.  It hasn't been fun and I wish I could have had a more enjoyable time off.

It seems weird to be going back; I've been gone for three weeks.  It is almost like going back after summer break, but I'll still have the same students.  Invariably, some students will change schools as they always do this time of year.  I've never understood the switching of schools that some families do every year.  There's no way that it is in the best interests of the child.

We're half way through the school year and that in itself is hard to believe.  The first half flew by and I'm happy to report that I do enjoy teaching 8th grade GA History.  It is a tough age for the kids, but I enjoy them and the subject matter that I'm teaching.

I'm so close to finishing my novel it's scary.  I would give anything to have just a few more days to spend at home writing.  I've written almost 14,000 words in the last two days, but I've got more of the story to tell.  The novel is now at thirty-four chapters and I'm in the middle of telling the conclusion.  I'm hoping to have it finished some time this week, if I ccan find the peace and quiet time to do so.

I had originally intended to complete it before Christmas and to present the completed first draft to my wife as a Christmas gift.  But, due to the kidney stone fiasco, that didn't happen.  Her birthday is around the corner and I can think of no greater gift.  Her love, devotion, and patience during its writing has been invaluable.  Without question, it will be dedicated to the woman I love.

Posted by: Aheadau at 19:41 | link | comments

Fear and loathing in the twenty first century

I read the articles in the papers and on the web and see but one headline:

Fear and loathing in the twenty first century, welcomes you to the year 2007.

Posted by: Aheadau at 15:03 | link | comments

I am in the process of healing from surgery.  Two weeks ago I discovered that I had a kidney stone.  Last Thursday the Urologist encouraged me to have it surgically removed.  The reason for this was the fact that due to the pain, by blood pressure was 153 over 102.  This was the first time I had ever had surgery and I don't want to go through the process again.  The worst part was the fact that we (my wife and I) had to remove the splint ourselves on Christmas eve.  I was previously informed that the stint would be approximately 6 to 8 inches.  However, upon extracting it, we discovered it to be 15 inches long (no wonder I was under extreme pain and was constantly bleeding).

This is one thing that I wouldn't wish on anyone.  Unfortunately, I've been told that if you get one once, you're likely to get one again.  The only thing that I've been told we help to keep one from forming regularly is drinking lemonade.  Old wive's tale or not, I'm going to do my best to do whatever it takes to stop from getting a kidney stone again.

Oh, I have now completed thirty-four chapters in my novel and I hope to finish the first draft by New Year's Eve.  You can check on updates ono my wiriting blog, Write On. 

Posted by: Aheadau at 20:40 | link | comments

Okay, we're in.  We haven't closed yet, but we are in.

Whatever you do, don't try this at home!

Posted by: Aheadau at 11:46 | link | comments