Ours read 'Roberts Dairy'.

This is our actual TV model...

I’d plop down in front the Sylvania and watch the last 5-10 mins of ‘The Edge of Night’ – mainly because there was nothing else to do and I didn’t want to miss the opening score/scene of the 60′s BATMAN which was what I was waiting for.

The Edge of Night

So I sit there and watch this drama unfold and see the beautiful women with long flowing big banged hair talk, kiss and slap men with big moustaches. I knew my Mom loved watching these shows and often wondered why. The show ends and I watch my BATMAN with Adam West, immediately clean up my mess then go outside and play til my Mom yells for me – usually right around dusk time. Golden days.

Flash to my College days. I work and go to school and get a job at a reservations center for Hotels – Carlson Travel Network. My hours are such that I’m able to watch ”The Young and the Restless’ followed by ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. on my 1 hour break. Yes..1 hour. The ladies also monopolize the break room with me for the ONE TV so we pretty much own the break room. I catch up and learn all about the characters, fall in love with Hunter Tylo. This goes on til I land a job as an intern at The Garden Cafe as a graphic designer. My schedule isn’t working for daytime soaps. I forget about them. Sorta.

Hunter Tylo before her plastic surgery super disaster.

Few years down the road I’m working 2 jobs – 2nd and 3rd shift back to back – to take care of my soon to be born first child, my son! My schedule is 2:30-10:30 then Midnight til 6:30. One as a Graphic Designer for ‘Pull Tabs’ – think scratch offs for the Lotto and the other is for a company called ‘Black Dot’ which works with large publications to produce magazines. I’d work in the photo dept touching up images for 6 hours straight. Course I’d get home when everyone was heading to work and could really only sleep 4-5 hours but when I was awake I’d catch up on my Soaps. This lasted 6-7 months. I missed Hunter.

Now – my soaps aren’t daytime Soaps. Mine are prime time shows and most recently ABC’s REVENGE. I recently had 2 weeks off of work and during that time – experimented with new shows via HULU plus and Netflix. Revenge caught me because of the whole Soap Opera feel.  My wife and I enjoy dramas a lot. This one fit the niche and hopefully will fill the Daytime Soaps – although I could DVR the daytimes….. =)

This is my 2nd or 3rd phase of juicing, I think I maybe addicted to it. Not the beginning the middle and especially the end. It starts out like someone took away your fav drugs, candy, toys, etc. After awhile it becomes a dull sensation and on the 3rd or 4th day – I’m currently on my 3rd – it feels…BETTER. I’ve written about this before from the summer but the process is one of transformation. My wife and I took a break from the ‘good healthy eats’ during the months of November and December, we felt it was too much to ask of ourselves to be that boring when it came to socializing and eating with friends and family. That…and we LOVE food. LOVE IT. Our weekends usually revolve around places we explore to eat, try a new dish or visit one of our normal eateries.

During the Nov-Dec months we both gained a few – for me it was 5 lbs…not sure what she gained. 5 doesn’t sound like a lot but it is. It was/is solid fat gain. I usuallu fluctuate 3-4 pounds but this 5 pounds stayed on for several days in a row – to me that was the barometer for gaining weight, if it stays on for 3+ days. So – we talked about our own plans….

Alix is going for 15 on and 15 off. 15 days of pure juicing and 15 days of pure raw/cooked veg and fruit solids. Makes sense. =)  I will be doing the 30 days juicing of only veg and fruits with ONE exception. Since this isn’t necc. a cleanse or detox I decided to keep Coffee in my diet. Non-Dairy cream like soy or coconut or almond for the replacement. Coffee just makes me feel good and satisfied. My own liquid comfort food. =)

I started out at 222.2 pounds on Monday and as of this morning Wednesday the 4th am at 219.4 – I’m on target. Judging from my last successful juice run I will consistently lose 1 lb a day around the 5 or 6th day. The middle part is the easiest. Exercise will consist of non impact swimming, biking, eliptical and spinning. We also walk the dogs but that’s normal. Next chance I get I will be getting a trainer for my bike.

My end goal is to hit 30 days or 195 lbs. I figure once I’m off the juice I will gain back +5-6 lbs as normal so I will be happy with 200. I’m very excited to be on this path again. Chopping at the bulge in bursts like this with immediate results is so much better than ‘dieting’ or trying to do a fake diet…. knowing what to expect also helps me with future run ins with foods and smells. I need to forbid the kids from making popcorn though…that’s a killer smell….and noodles….oh my god I love asian noodles…or japanese noodles to be more specific. I plan on posting weekly or sometimes daily updates on this process. If you have any questions for me please feel free to post here or you can email me at ntknight3@yahoo.com

iPhone 4s

I was on ATT my wife was on ATT then I switched to Sprint (homer) she moved to T-Mobile then realized it was a mistake and now is with me on Sprint. I talked her into an Apple product. My wife at her core being is a non-conformist and seeing everyone loving Apple products, especially her husband who basically makes a living off of his  has resisted the change. She had a BlackBerry and loved it (I bought one for her last July)- and loved the QWERTY keyboard vs. touch screen. Eventually the BB broke- the ball kept sticking. We decided new phones for the kids for Christmas and my iPhone 3G contract with ATT was over this past summer. Blah Blah Blah.
Now she and I both are drinking the kool-aid of the iPhone4s and Siri……and Siri being the reason why my wife decided to make the change. I showed her the wonder of Siri, texting without using the keyboard, finding places…basically the commercial you see on TV but Siri can’t do it all but it’s a very good beginning. I also felt good making the switch from ATT to a hometown company of Sprint. I know Sprint is still a huge conglomerate machine but in my mind I think I’m helping my neighbors and friends who are employed by Sprint.

My new years resolutions are basics but important – spend more time with my kids. They are both in their teens and as such don’t spend much time with me as it is but I know from Alix’s experience that they will want to be on their own, make stupid life changing decisions and I want to be able to share THIS time much more with them before they’re thrown out into the world of shit (life). They will have to deal with enough crap out of our home that I want their time with us that much more enjoyable or in some cases for them – more tolerable. My others include better money management which will take care of most everything else. =)

Happy New Year to my faithful 3 readers and 4 randoms!

Things I’m Thankful for 2011

• My Health : taking control of what I put into and around my body has made my mind much clearer and a goal to try and live a longer one…while blocking out the negatives like If I live longer I’ll endure more pain. Funny how that works huh?
• My Wife: Cliche as it is but she puts up with my bullshit. My mood swings, my gas, my temper tantrums when I drive my minivan. My wanting of sex at the most in opportune times. My wanting to go on fasting diets in the middle of Thanksgiving (who does that?). She’s my love who I found in of all places Leavenworth(less).
  
• My Kids: The reason for getting up everyday. The reason I work harder, eat less and spend more. It’s hard to explain to a non-breeder but having a kid(s) changes you quickly and slowly – you realize the remnants of you will go on…the good and bad. I have tons of fears when it comes to their future..so much so I may need to see a therapist. I care too much I think.
  
• My career: I cannot help but realize on a day to day basis that what I do in my life since graduating college was easy. Cake. I don’t struggle or hate what I do. I may not like certain situations or things that I have zero control over but overall I love what I do and am proud to be a creative person that was passed on down to me from my parents. I have a ton of freedom. One could say I’m lucky and in some areas I am but I strongly believe you make your own luck and pretty much in control of your own happiness. I also have the lil devil on my shoulder whispering to me about how all of this could end today and I’d be back on the internet looking for another ‘job’….I’m fine with that.
  
• Lacking jealousy: This un-redeeming quality is something I only have when it comes to the fantasy world. In reality I’m never jealous of the good or better things other people have or situations that are better than mine. Thru the years of my life I’ve seen relationships in my family and friends fall apart because one or both didn’t like what the other was doing based solely on jealousy. Even in small things like clothes or gaming friends…it’s very strange to me to not like someone for this reason. This also comes up to me in thinking about the 99% people squatting and trying to make a point about big biz. I think the underlying basis is righteous however it comes down to personal responsibility. Don’t have a job? Get one? Want to do better in life? Work for it. Don’t blame the 1% for your life decisions. Corporate greed will exist and greed itself is the driving force for life itself…It is true what Gordon Gecko said about greed being good. It’s essence is what drives people to work, get that bigger TV, the phone, education, etc. My philosophy on the ‘rich’ is without them most of todays society and infrastructure would fall apart in weeks.
  Weeks. Kill the Rich and you kill yourself. It would be a world full of Wal Mart shoppers without a Walmart to shop at….It’s all linked up. I do agree that the bonus’s and bail outs weren’t right – I wanted the banks and car companies to fail…that was the essence of capitalism that quickly turned into nationalism – thanks Bush and Obama…I could go on.
•  My mini van:  It’s a 1995 Ford Windstar White Mini Van. I bought it with Enron money and paid it off with Enron money. My first wife wanted something to hold our two kids and tote shit around in. I got it in 1999 – thinking that once 2000 hit and everything goes to shit because of the Y2K bug – all payments and bills would be erased. I was wrong. I’m not a Ford fan and won’t ever be. I was forced to buy it under duress. It’s lasted 12 fucking years. Thats like 250 years in other car company years. It’s had it’s engine rebuilt thanks to some minimum wage ass hat at the 119th and Metcalf Walmart employee forgot to put my oil cap back on while some cheap idiot was the one who brought it to them in the first place because an oil change was $15.95. Walmart paid for my rebuilt engine because the Ford dealership said they ruined it. So I have a van bought with Enron money that Ford Co. intimidated Walmart to rebuild it’s engine. This van is destined to be great. In it’s current state the windshield wipers engine is broke, the back window that is supposed to slightly open hinge broke so is now held together by a rope. This past summer my daughter slammed my passenger door so hard it refused to shut so now thats held closed by a belt. The internal light in the floor boards will stay on for around 2 hours anytime you run it. THere’s a car door bell that stays on if it’s over 32 degrees and the car lights are on when your under 15 mph. It’s transmission knocks and sounds like a sledge hammer whenever I put into drive or go from 2nd to 3rd gear. There’s an ever growing rust wheel well growth on both sides of the rear tires. The AC needs recharged.
  Now the things that are good about it: It’s been paid off since 2002 – I cashed in some stocks of Enron to pay it off…before the debacle. It runs. I have no car payments of any kind for over 9 years! The heater works. It has cheap tires. It hauls shit. It holds my bikes. You can fuck it in without pulling a muscle. It gets stares from soccer moms in the golden ghetto like no other vehicle. These stares aren’t ones of envy but laughter. My driver side electronic window still works. The middle console lighter thing still works to charge my iPhone. It runs.
  
• Being a Native American: It’s simply…Awesome. Besides mezzicans – which we are very closely related to besides the work ethics on gardening and road work – we are true americans. Yes, I’m a half breed much like a muggle but I consider myself a native. I mark all those census and applications as such. Why is it awesome? Self tanning.
  
• Technology: gives me something to do other than read books.
• America: The best country in the world and beyond. The ones who migrate here legally or otherwise are here for a reason.

• Playing WoW again – I took up Druid tanking. Fredler likes women with bewbies, Maji is a machine, the Fat Colombian (LOGTAR’D) lost his kingdom and some friends and I just got my Tyrael Mount! SWTOR is next month!
• I have zero respect for anyone able bodied that lives off the Gov’ment and other people – namely  my step daughter’s boyfriend.
• My daughters middle school ‘Blue Valley Middle School’ prefers to sweep bullying under the rug vs. taking actual action against the parents/children of the Golden Ghetto.
• Time for another visit to Jersey!

That about sums up my hacked deleted post. It could either be my wife for naming her daughter’s boyfriend for being a deadbeat leech or Fredler who has man sex with Logtard and is protecting him from a mean American Indian. I think it was Obama.

So now I am re-evaluating my next step in my dietary journey of looking like a non-native american.

I am scheduled to pickup my first ‘real’ bike tonight. !!!! Very excited. Very.

I read some other friends of mine are on their own personal goals on weight loss and makes me smile and happy for their choice to change themselves. It seems there are a ton of talkers and just a handful of do’ers. Reading some formerly prolific bloggers who post they are going to do this and that then they never follow thru….you set yourself up for fail that way I think. That would be something that goes for many. Me included…but I’m a real work in progress. Dammit Mr. Miyagi!

Rooting for oneself is a given isn’t?

Yes. It. Is.

Gaming:  I am currently on a gaming hiatus. I don’t know why. I am creating more stuff, drawing more, photoshopping just because. I wouldn’t mind tea bagging some Horde but my PC simply hates Blizzard. Once I give enough blood I’ll be able to afford a ProMac. I love Macs.

My lovely daughter is once again the star of her Volleyball team. This year is different, it’s the first year she isn’t playing for ‘Holy Cross’. She’s playing for her school again but a new school and it’s level of play is about 5 shades higher in skill level which is perfect for what she needed to grow and learn the game. Her season is half-way done and I haven’t missed a game! My father set the precedence for going to almost all of my sporting events. He’d show up dressed in his Art Director suits and cheer me on. I do the same for both kids. Just that now my son has lost all interest in sports besides watching it. It’s the age of his youth I guess. Sucks. Video games, movies, TV = no real motivation…and I can’t relate – even when I was his age….fuggit.

This week’s fall line up summary.

The Office: Yes.
Charlies Angels: No.
Big Bang Theory: No.
Modern Family: Yes. Colombia S.A. has an uncanny …uncanny I say way of producing amazing females.
Any CSI: No.
Community: Undecided.
TOSH.O: premiere had it’s moments…most of it sucked.
Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Yes.

Happy Autumn!

Our first drum circle and other ones she attended I simply watched or didn’t go. As the changes in my physical weight changed so has my attitude about trying new things and making it a conscience decision to do so – weekly. The ability for me to not just ‘SAY’ I will do something but to actually ‘DO IT’ leads to more opportunity for me (at least) and I get to see the world in a more wider vision. Wow..I sound like a hippie. I plan on purchasing a used one or maybe a new one depending on cost – and sit along side my wife and drum away. Once I get my feet wet my leading goal is to see about getting in locally with another tribe and drum for them. There are some tribes that allow inter-tribal drummers but it’s certainly not common.

My biking adventure is also started – I’m training myself at the gym via spinning/cycling stationary as our last bike pretty much fell apart and we returned it with a bad taste in our mouth and I felt like I really failed by not doing my own homework. This is an excuse and perhaps it’s true – but I can’t really take impact sports very well. My body reacts kinda weirdly lately. Impact like running, jogging. I can do it but the results after are not worth it – cramping, pulls, etc. However, I will hit the treadmill and give it a go considering the last 5k I ran I weighed an extra 35 pounds. I’m focusing on non-impact exercising – cycling and swimming. Less stress on my fragile body. 

All these new endeavors should be fun and entertaining. A body in motion as they say…

I’ve posted in the past my change of lifestyle over the past 18 or so months, I worked out 3,4, 5 times a week. I was tired of looking in the mirror and not recognizing who that was. I KNOW I’ll never be the person I was but I can build a better me NOW. I started the fasting coming in at 235 pounds – which to me is still HUGE. Consider I weighed in at the Doc’s office at 256 pounds back on Jan 6th, 2011… so a week later from the ending of my fasting I gained 1 pound which fluctuates +1 or -1 this past week. Essentially it’s what ever is in my system be it water or food. Last night I started my physical routine once more but moved up from our small local gym Planet Fitness – which I will miss…to Lifetime Fitness – the grand daddy of inclusive gyms. My son and I shot hoops for 1/2 hour then I did some circuit training with halving my normal reps (15 x 3) then finished off with cycling (spinning) with a goal of 15 miles. I had to stop at 6.5 due to my nips being slowly chewed off by my shirt.

So here I am sitting/standing/biking at a weight of 209-10 pounds. My 9 month old pregnant belly has been reduced to a slight / small / ish version of a muffin over flowing. My pants went from 40 to 34. My goal now is to focus on my cardio and heart health. Stamina coupled with a wide range of sports – that would be cycling, swimming and light jogging. Stuff I can do on my own or with others…

Other changes include less gaming. Sitting on ones ass for more than 2 hours a night is a waste of my time. Sure I still play games but I’m balancing it with hitting the weights, walking the dogs, riding a bike….simple but easy transitions in my life are making huge impacts on my overall attitude as well. I’m looking very forward to the new MMO for Star Wars, more EVE online and soon – Diablo III. Once I get my ProMac set up I’ll also play some WoW. I miss Fredler and his English humor even though he’s a bonafide hick. …

Another cool thing? I have actually influenced a couple people I work with to try certain aspects of my fasting. One even went out and bought a ‘Juicer’. I get almost daily questions about how I did this and that. It’s one thing to see commercials and ads on TV and the Web but it’s entirely different if you see first hand someone you know personally have actual transformations. Some real world advice I give is that if you do plan a fast is to first speak with a doctor. I think a 5 day fasting wouldn’t need a consultation provided you don’t have any preconditions (but what do I know) but beyond 5 days -see a doc, do some homework.

Ever fasted before? Essentially your body will feed off fat stores after 4-5 days of fasting. Your hunger pains will almost cease. Your environment HAS TO BE FRIENDLY. Meaning, don’t go with your friends to a BBQ, Pizza Place or places you would normally go to drown yourself in food. Defeats the goal. My wife tried it for 11 days and lost 10 pounds but once she was off she made food I could see, smell and hear cooking and I had to leave the house. She plans on doing some future cleansing too. I plan on quarterly fasting of 10-15 days as needed. My next planned fasting will occur a week after Thanksgiving. =) good timing!

Here’s a good flick to view too – which also was some inspiration….

I read several blogs, websites, WebMD, etc. to do my own research and then watched a pretty inspiring movie on Netflix called ‘Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead‘ – about a guy my age, Australian, successful in many aspects in life sans being healthy. He decided to go on a 60 day juice fast – the movie chronicles his journey and people he meets along the way.

Lastly — pix coming soon to show the transformation!

It’s now mid summer and having celebrated a pussified fourth of July in Overland Park with my ladies. I say ‘pussified’ because the city ordinances of OP are that it’s illegal to light up fireworks in the city limits. Being an American is illegal. Yay. So I lit things up anyways in my drive way. Not a single person on the entire block was celebrating the 4th by lighting black cats. Not a single. Very sad.

My summer movie reviews short version:

• Green Lantern: sucked ass. I don’t care if you read all of the comic books. You know it sucked. Acting, CGI, story line….all sucked ass. Luckily we didn’t pay to see the movie, now that would have sucked. I don’t even recommend renting that POShit. Ryan Reynolds best performance to date was his maybe 10 mins in X-Men Wolverine Origins when he dashed into the African dealers building with his swords deflecting bullets. Please…don’t see this.
• Super 8: Fantastic. A throw back to E.T./Stand By Me. This case could be the next gen of actors and actresses if Spielberg has anything to do with it. You won’t be disappointed. See it in the theater. Rent it.
• X-Men First Class:  Another great flick. Seeing the origins of the X-Men – albeit really only focusing on a mind-date raping Xavier and Emo Magneto it’s a perfect summer movie. Visuals, acting and basic storyline. Who knew Kevin Bacon was a good at being bad.
• Thor: discounting The Green Lantern entirely, this movie would be last on the best list of Comic Book driven movies which isn’t a bad thing. Thor actor was good but certainly not directly cast from the comic book, sure they have to keep him updated but if you ever read Thor you’d know he was very dry. Dry. Like watching a BBC show at 1 pm. You also get a nice bonus with my favorite Israeli actress Natalie Portman. Watch it in the Theater and Rent it. Not so much own.

That concludes my current movie review….I do plan on seeing Captain America and Harry in a few weeks.

Gaming:  

Star Wars Galaxies is finally coming to an end. 8 years running I’ve made my estimated 5 billion in credits and thrice that in loot. Mastered all but 2 professions simply because they eliminated them before I could master them. Managed 4 guilds. Was there 3 months in and will be there til they pull the plug and kill the hamster.

WoW: what’s that? Cancelled accounts months ago. Call me when they make it more indepth, challenging and not when some 5 year old can play it and get to level 85 in a week. Not saying I won’t be back, I will…just currently I like things a bit more sandbox’y.

PS3: Love it. Netflix, Renting games, etc. We even have the eye thing – could be very interesting to record some stuff with…afraid of what my son does with it. GT5 I’ve lost pretty much all interest- without DLC most games are meh. I like new content. Played Brink for 3 weeks and even bought it full retail – how dumb… – and most recently my wife and I have been playing Soul Caliber IV. Still need to finish Heavy Rain.

SWTOR:  Can’t wait…but will.

EVE Online:  restarted my free trial. Changes occured from 2 years ago – almost sim like now sorta. Still shitty tutorials. I think they do that on purpose to weed out those without a lot of gaming patience – (me). Still…I see this as my filler til SWOTR.

LIFE:

Kids growing up too damned fast. Is this what my parents experienced? They seemed so professional and composed compared to me.

CAREER:

Very busy! New hire for my assistant and she’s working out so far (knock on wood). I love what I do. I just, at times wonder if it’s appreciated…then I realize it is appreciated  since I’m still getting paid. My creative juices are squeezed by other means; freelance, quid qou pros and self promotion. It’s a fine line.

FAT ASS’NESS:

I’m still less. More muscle. More stamina. Less gut. Less man boobs. I sweat more. I get more injuries. I still eat better. I do have bad days. I still go 3-5 times a week to the gym. I am noticing that I have a growing disdain for those that don’t care for themselves. I see them destroying their bodies and cringe. I don’t say anything verbally or give anyone ‘looks’ but I see their own pain and don’t like it. I want to yell something to the effect that you can change your habits. You can live to see your kids’ kids grow up. You can wear those jeans, shirt and bathing suit. I’m trying very hard to not just do what I say but also pass along those actions to my kids – my son and daughter now frequent the gym more and more with me. My wife also goes and just last month alone last 10 pounds. She’s happier. Small steps indeed.

Happy Day.

I’m about as random as a Mexican at a Magic The Gathering Tournament.
You see, the term ‘random mexican’ we believe derived from a “Dojo” tourney report from the 1990′s. It was said in reflection that a top 8 usually had a random mexican who made it that far in the tournament. A token, if you will. Kinda like having a token black person on an MTV reality show unless it’s dealing with Teen Moms. Black Teen Moms apparently isn’t as glamourous as White/Mixed/Mostly White Teen Moms. Yes, today I’m playing the card.

I can pass for nearly everything except Black or Japanese/Chinese (100%). I’ve been mistaken for a lot of races. When I tell them I’m Native American they get a ‘ahhh…’ look. I’m actually pretty rare. Well..not as rare as full blooded Native…I’m a half-breed. Since I can pass for anything it provides me opportunities that wouldn’t normally be out there for me. Like making a top 8 and being called a Random Mexican. Mainly by an old friend we all called ‘Negator’. (magic card reference). Best of buds until he was going thru his own divorce, we all know what a time and focus sink divorce can be! Anywhoo- he was the one whose karma smacked him up like a little red-headed step child from Colombia (S.A).

It was just prior to my divorce and we made a trip to Lincoln Nebraska (inorite?) for a MTG tourney. We drove up the night before and got a room downtown. We decided to hit the strip clubs which in Lincoln, it’s going to be an adventure. Midwest women are corn fed. This means one of two outcomes. If they aren’t already fat now, they will be later…so you have to catch them in the middle.

Our first trip was to the ‘Night Before Lounge’ in downtown Lincoln, it was a Friday night so it was a mix of Frat, Locals and Trucker/Farmers. Pretty packed (no homo). We sit 2 tables from the main area. This is a strip club with alcohol. No juice bar. For those strip club virgins – in the midwest/bible belt – strip clubs means topless only. Juice bar is nude 100%. It’s called Juice because they don’t sell alcohol due to the locals being stingy on sex. Most places that are Juice bars allow YOU to BYOB. I’m more of a non-juice bar visitor. You can see most everything you’d want to without them being 100% nude. One more note if your new to clubs. Never sit at the stage tables directly infront UNLESS you plan on shelling our dollar bills to every dancer in the place. It’s expected that you do if your sitting at the front seats. Sit 2-3 spots away. Better yet, case the place before sitting down. Go to the bar with your wife/gf/buds and order a drink….then casually spot the business expense patrons or bachelor party. That’s where you want to sit. Lap dances(good ones) tend to take up a good 5-7 foot radius…as such you can get pretty much a lap dance for free.
Last tip (maybe), bring a least $100.00 broken down into 20′s and 1′s…I usually did 20′ 1 dollar bills then twenties the rest. You don’t ask Strippers for change. And most importantly, don’t ever get too drunk at a club unless your jobless, credit cardless and with friends.

So back to my karma story.

Negator goes to the champagne room with a local farmers daughter who happens to have a LED hood clit strobe light. I’m able to see thru the thinly veiled curtains and see something blinking as she’s working it. Sure enough it’s a tiny purple light going ‘blinkity blink’. I chuckle. My tournament report is going to be stellar. I buy a souvenir tee shirt and we move on to a bar. Then another. Then finally it’s around 2:30 a.m. bars in Lincoln close later…
We find something off of Cornhusker Hwy and see there’s maybe a dozen cars…walk into a very dimly lit strip club and one girls on stage another lapping and a big neon sign saying ‘shower dances downstairs’. We head on down to see this– and just as advertised it’s chicks in a shower….I chuckle again. Negator nudges me and says he’s hitting the head. I go back up to our table where it’s ‘menu’ shows you what the ladies will do and prices.

Five mins pass and no Negator. I think he’s taking a dump but who takes a shit at a strip club? Then I think, maybe he’s gawking. After I finish my first PBR…he comes up, sits down and were watching the lady on the main stage. Looking around there’s maybe 4 guys in this room. All solo.

What seemed to be a long 8 seconds, a guy on each side of us stands up and yells “Lincoln Police! Everybody STAY SEATED!’. I had a nice buzz going on but was quickly snapped to. 4 more of Lincolns finest show up thru the basement and front door. It’s a bust. It’s 3 a.m. and I have a tournament I need to be at by 8:30 am. I have kick ass blue deck.
What seemed to be the leader of this band of let’s raid a strip club with 3 patrons in it and 8 strippers takes command. He asks for everyones ID…but were to remain seated. One of the policemen from downstairs points towards our table. I’m thinking…’I'm gonna be picked…some random mexican in a danky ass strip club is gonna be profiled!’. The leader walks over and says ‘Stand up!’ I start to get up when he tells me to sit my ass down. He points to Negator and says ‘YOU! Get up!’. he does….they handcuff him. Handcuff another and take 4 strippers in cuffs. I ask very politely…’Officer can I ask what’s going on?’ he replies with ‘Your friend is going to jail for lewd conduct’. I refrain from laughing. I follow him out the the squad car and take a picture of him. I smile at him as he sits in the back seat…I ask the officer what now, bail, etc. He says to follow them to the station. I do.

2.5 hours later, bonded out from his only monies (I wasn’t gonna bail his ass out..,I’m going thru a divorce…fuck that.) As I sat there waiting, I got to know 3 other strippers in the waiting area. Apparently they get busted every few months, especially when the officers see the license plates of out of towners. It’s bread and butter for them. They’re pimp..errr…manager shows up and bails out the rest. I shake hands with him. Nice gig.
Negator steps out, I shoot his pic as he puts his belongings together he’s not happy about the pictures being shot.

During my gaming hey’day I had a website where I was able to get most of the local KC area players together online with forums, reports, etc. This was for the website. =D

We make it back to the hotel to sleep for what amounted to be 1.5 hours rest. I ended up 9th place by making a mental mistake on a key play. Negator punked out early. We met up with a good amount of KC folks. Made it back to Overland Park’s Battlezone where the stories were told all night of our time in Lincoln.

After that weekend, Negator never called me a ‘Random Mexican’ because I mentioned to him on our way back from the Jail house that, that was karma speaking to him directly. What were the odds the policeman WOULD NOT pick me over him (he looks like a spitting image of Steve Buscemi).

True Story.

Work, as in the past has been very different. My secretary left for another venture in assisting others with pie charts, reservations and data entry. I quickly forgot how much of a time sink data entry and mundane but important duties one has in administrative things. It’s really not for me at this stage in my life, it’s more of a beginning thing or ending thing in terms of career choices. I’m right in the middle of my career. However, it takes time to hire people now a days. It takes weeks almost months before one can get past all the committees of people who need to review, interview and give the green light on people you feel maybe a good fit. I get it. I understand the why’s and reasoning to not just find a qualified candidate and hire them…….(pausing for effect/affect). So here I am juggling two jobs as one with my endless amount of Jedi prowess and recent influx of energy*. I do her job, I do mine. Whence I worked at a place called ‘Swingster/American Identity’ I juggled 3 people’s jobs for 6 months. I was the Graphic Designer/Job Executioner/Art Director. After 3 months of my boss taking his time ‘hiring’ a replacement I went to his office with a written proposal that I take on the full responsibility of the ‘Executioner’ which paid at the time 25k….they could eliminate the  job position and simply pay me 25% more. I was getting the hang of the job – that included vendor quotes, job work flow assignments, logo library, digital asset management, invoices and billing. My boss read the proposal…looked up at me…and laughed. He said “are you kidding me Nicholas?”  I didn’t blink an eye…”Yes, 100%” it makes sense does it not?” I went on for a good 1 min pleading my case stating I’d save them 18k-20k a year plus health, training–etc. He laughed more and then said ‘You’ll do both jobs for the same pay, if you don’t agree you can always leave…anymore questions?’.
One month later they hired a replacement for the position…they quit a week later…hired another…they quit 2 days later…hired another and quit 1 month later…I laughed very loudly each time.
My former boss is now retired from the design business and is now in the Lake of the Ozarks with his wife and kid – they have a Fishing company where they get hired out to show tourists good fishing holes.

So as I done said I’m getting used to what she done did in my department. I have maybe a dozen good candidates…we shall see. It does make me appreciate MORE what my secretary did. Flip side is I don’t think she ever appreciated what I did. Youth.

My fatness update: less is more! Just over 230 now…I go to the gym 3-4 times a week now, still eating right with an occasional splurge (no homo) like BBQ. My clothes fit better, jeans I wore years ago are wearable, I’m wearing ‘Large’ vs. 2-3 XL’s. It’s amazing the energy I have. Sex 4-6 times a week with some more than once excursions in one night!! I KNOW RIGHT?? It’s pretty amazing what I’ve been doing, the habits being normal now – with eating good quality food. Apples, oranges, nana’s, strawberries over chips and cookies. It’s also an environmental thing where my son and wife are also working out with me and eating right. I know I sound like a broken record but I can’t help it. I wish I did this 15 years ago….

Politics: My cynicism knows no bounds. Obama maybe the ultimate fucktard and having the uncanny ability to do so without so much the media making light of his actions. 2012 is his unless the lesser of 3 evils has a good candidate not named Palin. The Government as a whole pretty much doing what they’ ve been doing since the dawn of Democracy- bickering, blaming and not actually doing anything beyond their own self interests.  Nothing changes. Where is all the CHANGE Obama? I had a fleeting moment of 1/2 hour back in October 2008 that maybe you’d be different….you are simply, no less no more than a packaged politician who can speak well. Period.

Religion: Meh. Although I did explain to my kids the lovely history of Catholics and specifically the decades cover up of the child molestation by it’s clergy and it’s awesome ways of ignoring the crimes of it’s top members and leaders against innocence for years. Catholics certainly don’t have a monopoly on rape, it’s everywhere…it’s just the plain hypocrisy of the Catholics and it’s outdated ‘rules’ it imposes on it’s followers. It’s the acceptance of what it has covered up and continual cover up that reinforces my opinion on organized religion. I believe in a higher being but not under duress or coercion based on man’s ideals. No thanks.

Gaming! :  My mage Husker hit 85 a month ago. My Dreaming is almost 83. I play maybe 6 hours a week now. I play my PS3 less since it’s nice out but when I do fire it up it’s usually Netflix. My guild is still alive ha ha – with 3-4 of us playing weekly. Joined up with Fredler’OhNoez’Logtar’sWifePM’sHimOverHisChoiceofPetNamesOMGREALLY?
Guild. I almost, almost re-upped for EVE online but then remembered the long ass learning curve, hours and hours mining….I’m now waiting for Diablo 3. It should be a nice refreshing game. Blizzard rarely does gaming wrong.

Guess I’m done. Good Night Ladies. Oh I’ll leave me with one of my favorite eye candy goddess’sszzzzzzz! Monica.

I lost more fat. Jan weighed 255. Now this morning 230. Still high but I’ve made a lot (kek) progress. Mainly food constriction and starving myself but without the pains. I also DO eat healthy. Not going to be one of those ass tards who post about their weight loss and all gung ho about it on their blog then continue to eat Donuts, Pizza and Waffles and never speak of their efforts because they talk the talk but don’t do something about it. Noticed Tony of Kansas City has been putting on the pounds. Read his The Pitch article last week…and I’ve seen him in RL at the station and occasional self promotion snapshots..months back and he was a lot less of him back then. Maybe it’s the sweatshirt, unkept hair and dreadful baseball caps? He has to know chicks don’t dig big ass guts….well maybe his girlfriend does..or at least doesn’t say anything to his face. I was ashamed of my ‘baby’ belly and still am…but motherfuckindammit I ain’t gonna be that person, that walking cliche of fatness. I want to live longer than you. I want to be around for my family. I want my kids to be proud of me. I want my wife to be able to put her arms ALL around me. I want to see my dick.
Thank god – wait..should I capitalize god or leave it non-caps? It is a title…but it is also an adjective and could be a noun. The word god has so many meanings and context and subtext. I’ll go with god. Not some intimidating like GOD. Where was I….yeah Thank god I have support to continue with my goals in losing the fat.

Welp I think I’ve done the duty. Wife is prepping the room for sleep. That means turning the fan on. Turning off her computer. Washing her hands. Putting things away. I sit here listening to Ben Folds wanting to play and write longer but my domesticated husbandry kicks in and feel guilty and will lay down with her…….

p.s. Hope you like the new look and banner.

Sketch by Wook.

A short while ago my PC went Poop. I’m very anal retentive about “My Stuff” which encompasses : My electronics, tools, car, collectibles & stuff. That also means no one is allowed to use/play/touch any of the things listed above without explicit permission. Mainly, my computer. This particular one is just over 18 months old. I bought it off Woot.com at the suggestion of John Guzman (former coworker and ex-friend (haha). He was literally shocked at the time anyone would listen to his advice on a purchase like this. It was a really good deal and still is. It’s a med range gaming rig as far as one could be with a model off the shelf – this one being from Gateway.  Don’t laugh…this fucker is the bomb.

I believe it’s one of three things gone wrong or a combo. My gut feeling is it’s a bad HD followed by a very bad virus (I have 3 up-to-date virus/malware/internet security programs that tend to catch most everything) or bad memory stick. We shall see. Having local company pick it up and do it’s diagnosis (free).

In this time of being without a regular PC (I have a laptop but …. it’s a lap top) – I haven’t logged into WoW, played SC2, played SWG, played LOTRO or done freelance work (just had a request yesterday…). Instead my time in the evening has been more interactive with my wife. Playing my PS3 or Wii. Reading. Sketching. It’s like having no electricity…you find other more tangible things to do. Things you used to do 10 years ago. More productive would be a good word to describe the past 2 weeks.

I’ve also been recovering from a bad flu I had which started on Christmas Eve. I coughed and sneezed so much it triggered my umbilical hernia to get all pissed off at me. If my devoted readers read last year, I lost 20 lbs in about 4 weeks..which resulted in my stomach having issues – basically the muscle on the outer wall was weak from years of stretching (getting fatter) and when it had less pressure my intestines were ‘free’ so to speak. Soooo….one week ago today, I sneezed and felt a ‘push’ from within my belly area. It hurt. It hurt to sit upright. I went to my Doc and he poked and shifted my belly contents around and determined that I’d have to have surgery if it ever has anymore sharp pains. That’s not a good surgery. Period. His answer (besides surgery) is to simply lose the weight.
So here I am again back on the boat of watching what I eat. Been here before. Tired of it. I beat smoking. I beat my 2 week addiction to pain pills from my ankle surgery. I beat Defender. I’ve played Galaga for 2 hours straight. Why can’t I break the eating thing?

Anywhoo.

Moral of my blog post is to try new things. Disconnect for a week. Or a day. Do something other than sitting in front of a screen. Go fuck your wife or girlfriend.  She’ll appreciate your undivided attention.

The birds – well reports initially were inconclusive but more recent ones say they didn’t die from falling to earth but had ‘hit’ something in the air.– some explanations so far are high altitude hail and lightning. For me, the hail makes more sense than bolts of lightning. None were reported being ‘fried’. Blunt force trauma. Hail makes sense except they were flying at around midnight, these birds do NOT fly at night unless provoked. This lead speculation that fireworks drove 5000 birds as a flock to fly very high…then get hit by lightning or hail.

I’m naturally a skeptic. This, to me is very skeptical based on the scientists proposed excuses….The proximity being under 200 miles of eachother on the same 24 hour period is what it is…a mystery.

I believe in Ghosts, A God, Spirits, After life, UFO’s and that our Government is highly secretive. In this case, I believe it to be a UFO. Yes, I’m crazy.

Speaking of…I have had 3 close encounters. Once when I was 6 years old going to the bathroom sometime after midnight I looked out the window as something caught my eye. It was a light hovering over Maple Street in Omaha. It was the summer because our screen window (2nd floor) was open and it was cool out. I stood on my tipee toes and stared at this light for what seemed to be a good 10 mins. So long that my mother woke up and asked what I was doing. I pointed to the light and she too stared with me, not saying a word. She then went to the back porch and lit up her cig and I followed. The ‘light’ was orangish and didn’t blink and was rather bright. As a kid I didn’t know ‘distance’ but it would be maybe 2 miles away. The light shot straight up into the blackness of the night..my mom finished her cig and told me to go to bed.
Second time was same house but I was now 9 years old – same bathroom, same scenario…except I actually saw ‘something’ in my back yard. It looked a lot like a muppet from Sesame Street…like Cookie Monster but with legs and arms and hairy and glowed orange. It looked right at me at the end of our back yard which led to a small lot of trees. It scared the shit outta me when it took a step forward. I screamed bloody murder and woke my family up. I was hyperven-talating’ing…ing… but like most parents, they summed it up as me sleep walking and having a wild imagination.

The most recent run in- so to speak was 9 years ago, Winter before getting divorced. Living in Overland Park, wife and 2 kids….it was January, at least 1/2 foot of packed snow on the ground and maybe 9 degree’s outside and around 10 pm on a week night. I stepped outside for a smoke. Walked toward the street on my driveway when I heard a noise across the street – what seemed to be coming from in-between my neighbors houses. The sound was similar to a high pitched whirling noise. No one was outside, no wandering pets or neighbors. No one. I stepped once and saw from right above me about 40 feet in the air a black spherical ball. As I turned to look at it it made the same whirly noise and shot straight up into the air where I coudlnt see it but heard it’s doppler effect.

My heart raced. My eyes bugged out. I just had an encounter with something….something remote. I slipped on the snow as I raced inside the house to let my wife know- she seemed taken aback by my appearance and excitability. Let alone me telling her what I just experienced… she has known me as a true non believer of anything close to being ‘kooky’ or far out ‘der. IDK if she believed me but I didn’t care.
She went outside with me and of course nothing was there. The next morning I went over the area across the street and there was no new snow and as such no ‘tracks’ of anything where I heard the noise. No prints below where I saw the object. Nothing.

With all that said. I think the birds that died simply slammed into a UFO. They were spooked by it’s presence and flocked together and slammed head first into it/them. The fish kill was an alien experiment. One species. One kill.

The truth is out there.

In this change in my attitude his seems to be changing too. Albeit he makes up his work at the last minute under threats of grounding from his beloved PS3 & Phone…I only hope he comes around sooner than later to the benefits of ‘good’ grades. And don’t think I’m some Grades Warmonger – by good I mean ‘C’ student in Math, CA and Science. Core subject should be C and above. He does excel in Music and Art. Go figure. He is also exceptional with Piano and especially Guitar. He is self taught on both and makes his own music up and is able to ‘learn’ a song/melody simply by listening to it a few times.

So, back to the subject at hand. Our relationship would be called typical. I’m the mean old Dad and he’s the don’t care teen. Typically when I get home he’s sleeping or playing PS3 (Black Ops) with his friends. I check in and ask how his day was then go upstairs into my little world. I see him when it’s dinner time – but even that is closed in that most of the time he takes his food to his room. I then say good night by visiting his room along the night or text him. Yes…I text my son who is literally 25 feet away.
Recently – my son took the initiative and downloaded Magic the Gathering Online for the PS3. He grew up around me playing, collecting and having friends over for gaming time. He’s traveled with me to Missouri States a couple times when he was 5 or 6…so he knows of the game. I say initiative because to me he was making an effort to ‘be’ with me. To share a common interest. He asked me to teach him a real game. I gave him some cards and told him some basic deck building ideas.
Low and behold we had a match a couple weeks ago. MtG does take some time to learn the rules and spells and isn’t something you can learn in an hour. So, he continued to play the PS3 version on his own. In this time we talked Magic. His likes of Red and Green and Black. His dislikes and annoyances of Blue and White. I was warm inside each time he came to me. Me.

He actually got me the full version of the game and himself one too so we can play eachtother online…tho honestly I prefer LIVE in your face Magic Games. We played 5 matches over Christmas break and had a great time.

Another move he made was to make an entire Star Wars Little Big Planet level and he asked me to come see it. To those who don’t know what Little Big Planet (LBP) is it’s a PS3 game that is the most original fun game mirrored off of the traditional ‘save the princess (mario)’ genre game. Making levels is very very time consuming. He spent hours and hours on it and in my deep seated egocentrism believe it was for ME. He wanted to share this with me. I thanked him and was again…very happy inside…and I gave him a big manly hug for his efforts.

I sincerely hope this continues as he approaches being 16 just around the corner. Shit…I need to take him on the road again for lessons. We did several times this past summer…and it was…ummm…hair raising. Not for the feint of heart. At least I drive an automatic.

I plan on making 2011 a year of ME making more of an effort to be a part of my son & daughters lives.

My friend Fredler got offended last year when I was making fun of New Jersey people — this just before the whole Jersey Shore Phenom (if you can call it that) took off. Well this time around I didn’t see many ‘juice heads’, or ‘guidettes’. A few appearance of the stereo types but not so much this year. No, this year was my dealing with Union labor. I deal with Union labor at every show but it’s level of bullshit varies. First, let me say that I do believe in Unions in regards to the employees being treated unfairly by the ‘Man’. Job security and a sense of self worth is what Unions are supposed to do, a brotherhood. Well…in modern society as far as Unions that deal with Electricians and Carpenters at trade shows is simply fucked up. It’s a scam through and through. Kicker being I have no choices in getting my booth set up, I have to hire union labor otherwise it wouldn’t be set up. Period. I have to use their electricians. Period. I have to use their warehouse shipping. Period. No freedom of choice. Not unless I want a teeny tiny booth then I can have myself work the booth…however If anything I bring into the show floor has wheels on it besides my luggage I’m charged 300.00 fee. Heres some things I CAN’T DO at this particular show.

• No plugging anything electronic into the power outlets
• Mouse/Keyboards all have to initially be plugged in by an Electrician, after Yes.
• Not allowed to use any ladders
• Not allowed to move anything over 30 lbs without assistance
• Can’t touch any of my monitors on initial set up. After..yes.

What I CAN DO.

• Turn On my computers for testing and usage after set up
• Clean up after my labor. i.e. packing materials, pop cans, water bottles

I don’t pay for labor out of my pocket obviously but it does come out of my bosses pocket. It’s a matter of common sense and principal that upsets me with the mentality of Union labor listed above. It serves no purpose other than to rob me of my monies. I can do everything myself except lift the 42″ plasma TV onto the tower display. Granted it would take a little longer…maybe 2 hours more…it’s a fucked up system.
Interesting and ironic story I heard from several people in the business is about Chicago’s Unions. Any prominent trade shows (over 10k attendance) for the past 2-3 years avoided, cancelled, boycotted Chicago shows. The vendors were being bullied (like me) into unfair prices on labor, show floor space priced at an avg of 35% MORE than other shows all topped off with Labor that demanded OT, Bad attitude and also charged 50% MORE on shipping from Warehouse to Show Floor. About 15 large name vendors got together after this went down several times and boycotted any future shows in Chicago. FREEMAN – is the big dog in shows/labor in Chicago and are also based there. After these vendors threatened and followed through with canceling several big events the Unions finally relented. Prices came down overnight, literally. It took a UNIONIZED effort of us vendors to BREAK a UNION on price gouging.

Greedy bastards.

So…Fredler….I didn’t slam New Jersey peeps…I slammed Union Laborers. I think New Jersey has enough TV reality shows to do enough damage to it’s reputation. =)

Onto Cata and my thoughts.
I’m just not feeling it currently. Maybe it’s because of my ADD in gaming. Maybe it’s all overwhelming to take in. Maybe it’s because I literally have no friends I play with anymore in WoW. I don’t know but I maybe burnt out on the game.

I did the starter quests for both areas for newbie players – Goblin and Worgen. I like the Worgen like much better. Seemed the Goblins were slapped together without much though. Cram together a weird storyline and add a Hot Rod and we’ll be happy. *meh*

Both of the toons are pushing 20 soon but I just can’t focus. I only have one 80 toon working in Hyjal and WookieLuv just started the undersea adventures. And my lack of enthusiasm has nothing to do with Cata– I really do see where Blizzard does what they do best- make WoW fun and interesting. Still batting 1000.

I think  I may need to simply make an effort on finding a couple new friends to game with in WoW. That may do the trick.

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Hope my 3 readers/visitors all have a fantastic Christmas or whatever you celebrate this month. My plans include lots of family time in KC. Playing WoW, Playing Magic the Gathering, Playing Flower, Playing LOTRO, Playing Gran Turismo 5 if I ever get to rent it…. thanks for stopping by my lil world!