Pablo’s eating!!

I haven’t blogged about this, but I have been extremely worried about Pablo Picasso. Ever since I’ve had him, when he would eat, he would get the food in his mouth, look like he was trying to chew it for a few seconds, then spit it back out. Everytime. I even tried switching to the little flakes instead of the Bio-Gold, but he still wouldn’t eat. Well, finally, last night I watched him grab a bite of food and chew it and he didn’t spit it back out, at least while I was standing there. He ate another piece this morning, so I am feeling much better about my little friend.

Yesterday was Decoration Day at my Mom’s family’s cemetery. I don’t know how common or widespread this tradition is, but every year, people buy new flowers and place on the graves of their loved ones. Then everyone comes to the cemetery on Decoration Day to visit and such. I don’t want to say I enjoy visiting the cemetery, but I find it peaceful and maybe even a little therapeutic sometimes. It is a good place for me to clear my head and remember loved ones and think back to when they were alive. Something I think about almost everytime I am there is that my grandmother let me borrow money to pay for prom one year and I never got to pay her back. But what is the lesson here anyway? Spend time with people while you have the chance.

The rest of my weekend was pretty busy. Ran my race Saturday morning, then came home showered and had to be at work at 11:00. Stopped by the Dancers, Inc., recital Saturday night. I don’t really remember much about Sleeping Beauty, so it was all new to me. Went to eat afterward at Logan’s, where I offered cool names such as Haggai Glenn for Tag’s next child. Then Lee, Kyle, and I headed over to the Jazz Factory around midnight to shoot pool. Wow, that is late for me. Roy (aka Marty McFly) is now working security there. I got home a little after 2:00 AM. If only the DeLorean was working, we could’ve zoomed back a few hours, and I could have been in bed by 9:00 PM. Did laundry and stuff around the house yesterday. Went to Wal-Mart. Finally bought the Killers CD. Just had to see what all the (hot) fuss is about. I went for a short run after church last night.

“So long ago, I don’t remember when, that’s when they say I lost my only friend. Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease, as I listened through the cemetery trees…”

Something I ate?

Well, I ran my race yesterday. Finished in 15:57. I placed 31st out of 140 runners in the 2-mile run. Of course, if you take away women pushing strollers and everyone over the age of 75, I probably only beat like five people. I implored a NASCAR restrictor plate strategy, which was to lay back and wait for the big one, then zoom by for a top ten finish. Unfortunately, the big one never occurred. Anyway, the best part of all was that my knee didn’t hurt one bit. Considering that fact alone, I was pleased with the run. I didn’t wear my knee brace during the race. Perhaps that was doing more damage than good? Hopefully, I can run some longer races in the near future. I really need to find a cute female running partner.

Last night during the dance recital thing, it felt like World War III was going on inside my stomach. Then I started thinking about everything I had eaten up to that point yesterday. It consisted of the following: A slice of watermelon, a hot dog, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a honey bun, three Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies, some corn chips, and some popcorn. No wonder. Geesh.

“Clutching your pillow and writhing in a naked sweat. Hoping somebody someday will do you like I did…”

Movin’ on

Tomorrow, a girl I dated for a little over two years will get married. That was the second-longest relationship of my life. (I was with the girl I was engaged to for a little over four years.) Obvious commitment issues and questions aside, it is just a little weird for me.

We started out in a long-distance relationship, about six hours apart. We would drive to see each other as much as possible (part of the reason I have driven my truck over 167,000 miles). Things were really great. We were just too far apart. The worst part about a LDR is that moment when you’ve been together for a couple of days or whatever and you have to leave, and you know you won’t see each other for awhile. It breaks your heart all over again every single time.

Anyhow, after 18 months of that, she transferred schools to be closer to me. Yep, it was serious stuff. For the majority of the relationship, I thought this was it. We got into that comfort zone in a relationship where you just know neither of you wants anyone else. There’s seemingly no danger of either one of you leaving. It’s just assumed you’re gonna be together. It’s a wonderful place to be.

Well, somehow what we had always wanted to happen was not as good as we had always thought it would be. Now less than an hour away from each other, we just weren’t getting along. Our biggest obstacle had been taken out of our way, but for some reason when things should have been easier than ever, they were harder instead. Long story short, things went wrong, and they never got back again. I blame only myself. Sometimes I think that I was discontent during that time with my own life and it affected our relationship. Sometimes I wonder if on some subconscious level if I was still afraid to completely commit. I honestly don’t know. I felt incredibly guilty about the whole thing ending. But she always had this amazing ability to find happiness no matter the situation. So that’s what she did. She stayed around here, met her soon-to-be-husband, and I’m extremely happy for her.

That’s life, I guess. Things change. People move on. I’m still here.

“I hate summer, winter, fall and spring, red and yellow, purple, blue and green. I hate everything…”

Comfortable shoes

Cheers!
Twelve years ago today (May 20, 1993), the final episode of Cheers aired. It was viewed by an estimated 93 million people. (Isn’t that how many miles it is to the sun? Coincidence? I think not.) I can’t remember for sure, but I think I watched it with Alison. I was very sad. I was a big Cheers fan. I didn’t think I’d ever get over it. However, I had begun watching Seinfeld, and soon, I would grow to love it even more than Cheers. Oddly, that sorta serves as a metaphor for my love life… although I’m not quite sure how. Sounded like a good thing to say. Anyway, if you’ll recall near the end of the finale, they are talking about the meaning of life. Cliff says it’s comfortable shoes. Norm says it’s to find your one true love, whether it’s a person, place, or thing. I’m not sure what my point was. Oh well.

Preservation of the species
Found out yesterday that one of my good friends and his wife are expecting their second child. Due in November. It will be their second in fourteen months. Apparently, when we were chasing hotties in high school, I failed to share some vital information with him. I called him to congratulate him yesterday, and he said something about a godfather. My cell signal sorta crackled right at that moment, so I’m not sure exactly what it was. I’m sure it was nothing important.

Run a mile in my shoes
Ran a mile yesterday. Played some tennis. Had dinner at Applebees. This dude next to me starts talking to me and turns out he works for Petty Enterprises. So we start talking NASCAR. I expressed my concerns about the frequent knee-jerk rules changes and the convenient mysterious debris cautions, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing some changes soon.

I have a race tomorrow. I think I have decided to run the 2-mile run, because of my knee problems and the gangrene on my foot. I know it’s wussy, but I figure it’s better to finish the 2 mile than have to stop and take the decrepit runner bus back to the start/finish line in the 10K.

Amy called to tell me about a card game tomorrow night in Arley. lol Wow. Will I drive an hour just for something to do? We shall see.

“Now that I know what I’m trying to find, there’s only one place it could be. So I’m lookin’ ahead. I’ve stopped lookin’ behind for someone who’s lookin’ for me…”

Then there were three

Do you realize I just titled this blog entry using only six different letters to make up four words? It was down to the final three on American Idol last night. Each contestant sang three songs, one chosen by the judges, one chosen by music producer Clive Davis, and one of their own choosing. Then they decided to assign two different non-sequential phone numbers to each contestant, while leaving each with only one text messaging number, which probably only served to confuse half the audience. Anyway, on with my rankings…

1. Bo – Before last night, I was thinking to myself, I would not be interested in purchasing CDs from any of the remaining contestants. Bo Bice changed my mind last night. He was just about flawless on his first two selections. When Clive announced he had chosen “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” I was doubtful Bo would fare very well with it. But he nailed it. As good as that was, he stole the show, the entire season, by singing a capella on his second song. After that, Carrie and Vonzell were vying for a distant second. Bo did not appear the least bit nervous, and showed some versatility by singing an Elton John, a Rolling Stones, and a Bad Company song. It was definitely Bo Bice night.

2. Vonzell – She was shaky on the first song, but I thought she improved as the night went on, and built to a nice climax by her third song. She was really in her comfort zone with the last two songs. Simon picked a great song for her. She kinda reminds me of Donna Sommer for some reason. To me, there wasn’t much separating Vonzie and Carrie for second. I could have gone either way.

3. Carrie – I thought Carrie sang a lot better last night than she has for the past several weeks. Still, there were some holes. I thought she overdid it a little on the Air Supply song. And she didn’t convey the meaning or emotions of the first song at all. And when she sings low, it comes out as a flat almost-growly sound. To wit, the first part of the Shania Twain song last night.

So who will be gone? I think Vonzell will probably get cut, just because no one seems to have the huge fan base that Carrie does. Carrie seems to have the largest number of fans who will vote for her no matter what. I wasn’t totally sold on Bo when I first started watching this show. But I am now. He really impressed me last night especially. Talent will have lost out to popularity if he doesn’t win.

“And even though the moment passed me by, I still can’t turn away. Cos all the dreams you never thought you’d lose got tossed along the way…”

The Beaches of Alabama ’05

Figured I’d better blog now, since the Seinfeld Season 4 DVD’s come out today and American Idol is on tonight. I’ll be watching lots of TV.

We decided to meet at Kyle’s parents house, because of the reason, Friday afternoon. I was coming from work, so I was gonna be wearing jeans. He said he was gonna wear shorts. Well, I decided to change into shorts before I left work. So when I arrived, Kyle walked out in jeans. He was like, “I thought you were wearing jeans.” I replied, “I thought you were wearing shorts.” And on that oh-so-hetero note, we were off.

Left Decatur shortly after 2:30. Arrived in Gulf Shores around 8:30 after about a 45 minute traffic delay in Bham. Turns out there was only one hotel open on the beach in Gulf Shores. It was $182 per night. After Kyle asked for a government or Asian immigrant discount, we were off to Orange Beach. There were three hotels open there on the beach. One of them was full, so we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. $169 a night. Ouch. Now I think I know what the Abu Ghraib prisoners felt like. Our first room smelled like a sewage. However, we did entice two hotties to come in and smell it, so it wasn’t a total loss. After they left, we got another room, and for some reason, didn’t give them our new room number.

By this time it was about 9:15 on Friday night. I called around to see if I could find a restaurant open. Lambert’s had already closed. Hazel’s closed at 8:30. What the crap? It’s Friday night on the beach. This should let you know how sparse the crowds were. Now, about 3 months ago, while I was watching the SEC men’s basketball tournament, they interviewed our governor, Bob “tax-increase-our-beaches-are-back-to-normal” Riley. He gave the impression that everything was open for business. Well, take it from me, it’s not. I was wondering why there were so few people on the beach, yet the few hotels and condos were almost full. I realized later that the rooms are mostly taken by workers and construction crews. I also figure that’s why the rooms were higher than normal, because the hotels know the construction companies will have to pay whatever they charge.

Anyway, we ended up eating at a new place called Gulf Island Grill Friday night. It was good. The weather was nice the entire weekend. Drove over to Pensacola Saturday morning to check out more storm damage. It appeared to be much more back to normal there. Came back to Foley and ate lunch at Lambert’s. We got there right at Noon, and there was no wait at all. So there’s another sign of how few people were there. Spent the afternoon on the beach, where we tried unsuccessfully to pick up two girls who unfortunately turned out to be lesbians. At least that’s what we told ourselves. The water was fairly rough, so I played in the waves for awhile. The beaches were easily the best part of the trip. They’ve put a lot more sand out. I guess that was the easiest and quickest part of rebuilding. However, late Saturday, during some ultra-intense frisbee, I stepped on something sharp (a seashell, hypodermic needle, or something) and cut about a two-inch gash in my right foot. When I came to (j/k), Kyle had some plastic gloves on and was administiring some alcohol to the open wound. I was thinking, “Dude, do you know what the crap you’re doing?” I knew he wasn’t certified in first aid, then I remembered, we did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the night before. So I felt much better then. Or no better at all. You can see a picture of my wound below in the beach pics post. It looked much cooler when it first happened and blood was pouring out.

Had dinner at Hazel’s Saturday night. Made sure to get there before 8:30. Hung out at The Track for awhile with all the teenagers and cute single mothers. Or all the mothers who I just imagined were single. Stopped at a couple of souvenir shops. Got up Sunday and went back out to the beach for a bit, packed up, checked out of the hotel, then went to Sea-n-Suds for lunch. Stopped by the outlet mall for just a bit, then headed home.

So, what’s open and what’s not? Well, if there’s a particular restaurant or attraction you have a question about, just ask me and I’ll tell you if I know. I would say maybe 30-40% of the beachside condos are open. And like I said, four hotels on the beach are open in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach combined. The Pink Pony Pub and Sea-n-Suds are repaired and open. The Track and Waterville are open. The State Park resort and beaches are completely closed. The Gulf Shores public beach was open, but all the restaurants right in there are closed. The Spot and Fat Tuesdays, if I recall, were a couple of those. And there are cranes and heavy construction equipment almost everywhere along the beach. The Hooters in Gulf Shores is closed, which was really disappointing. The Holiday Inn at Gulf Shores is gone, and the Best Western is heavily damaged. The Flora-Bama is closed, which really put a crimp in our normal late-night freebasing lifestyle. Or had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Once you get off the strip and start back up 59, the majority of those businesses are open. So, my advice? Number one, don’t listen to anything Bob Riley says. Number two, I would wait until next year to visit Gulf Shores. If I were going to plan a beach trip, I’d check to see about Destin or Panama City. It’s a little sad to see so many places I’ve hung out at and stayed at closed down or gone completely. It was worth the trip just to see for myself though. And the beach was there. That’s all I really go for anyway. I can only imagine what it must have been like eight months ago. But if you’re looking for people and night life, definitely go somewhere else, at least this year.

Oh, here is a good article about the beaches and rebuilding which came out Sunday.

“I know you’re gonna keep turning away. But I’ve been there and if I can survive, I can keep you alive. I’m not above going through it again. I’m not above being cool for awhile, if you’re cruel to me I’ll understand…”

The weirdest thing

The weirdest thing happened this evening. I took about a 90-minute nap and I had a dream. A guy that I grew up with, who I probably haven’t seen in at least 10 years, was in the dream. Anyway, I forgot all about it when I woke up. Later, I go to Subway for supper and he is there. The instant I saw him, I remembered that he was in my dream.

What could that possibly mean?

“There ain’t nobody who can show you how, to find the surface when you’re underground. There ain’t no blanket that can hide this cold. There ain’t no memory that ever gets old…”

Beach pics

And we’re back. I’ll blog more tomorrow. For now, here are a few pics from Gulf Shores/Orange Beach ’05:

Wish you were here. 

The pink pony… repaired and open for business. 

And the frisbee game was no more :-( Just a little tetanus. Maybe a little gangrene. 

Gov. Bob Riley: “Everything is back to normal. We welcome everybody down to Alabama’s beaches.” Errr, yeah. Sure. 

I’m not sure why I would have taken this picture. Hmmm. 

If only. What? 

There would normally be lots of people in this shot. 

The view from our room… if you craned your neck around the corner and held on to the balcony with one hand while singing Camptown Races. 

“You can run and you can hide, but I’m not leaving ‘less you come with me. We had our problems, but I’m on your side. You’re all I need. Please believe in me…”

Frisbees and tankinis

Well, boys and girls, I’m off to the beach! I’m trading in my tennis shoes for some sandals and heading down to Gulf Shores for the weekend. I can’t wait feel the warm ocean breeze and bury my feet in the sand. There’s always that old familiar feeling when I get there. It’s like the ocean is asking me why I’ve been away for so long. Always feels like comin’ home.

I’ll leave you with a beach flashback from 3 or 4 years ago. Shane and I were throwing frisbee on the beach, and we were probably about twenty-five yards away from each other. After awhile, I threw it and it started heading directly for this couple who were walking down the beach. It was like the entire thing was happening in slow motion. It was heading directly for them, like a heat-sinking missile and I could tell there was no way it was going to miss them. They didn’t see it at all, because they were a good ten to fifteen yards off to the right of Shane. Well, at the last minute it began to sink. The girl was carrying a camera, and it was dangling on a strap from her left hand. Amazingly, the frisbee clipped the camera, knocking it right out of her hand without touching her. Well, my first thought was… lawsuit. But they were cool about it and everything turned out OK. Whew!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I’ll try and bring back some pictures, and maybe a new girlfriend… or just some pictures. Whichever.

“Take me down to the Paradise City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Take me home…”

Deforestation?

I’ve debated on whether or not to pose this question here, but as usual, posting it has won out over keeping it to myself. The thing is, I have been thinking about shaving my chest, at least for the summer. I’ve never done it before, so it is a major decision for me. I mean, it’s the nineties, right? I know that better than anyone. It’s Hammer time!

So I am looking for any opinions you may have on the subject. I am especially interested in the female response. Would you date a guy who shaves his chest? Do you prefer him to shave it? Perhaps you prefer a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Or could you not care less? To shave or not to shave, that is the question. I would like to know what you think. Thanks.

“Now and again, I still hear some old song I don’t want to. Is it the same over there where you found your new friends? Sometimes at night I still wake up and feel something missing. Maybe I’ll never believe in forever again…”