Rain, rain, go away?

It's raining outside.

Forecasters are forecasting that their forecast will say it will rain all day tomorrow.

I for one am enjoying the possibilities of a throw away weekend in front of the TV watching football and letting my worries and cares dissolve into nothingness just as the trillions upon trillions of rain drops Tropical Storm Hannah will no doubt produce.

So its raining, its pouring, but no old man is snoring... yet.

What this storm HAS made me realize though; is how low key a city Richmond is. Here I am stuck on the inside looking for something, ANYTHING to do... and quite frankly I am stumped as to what the city could possibly offer me that would resemble anything even close to what I would call "fun".

So here's to you Hannah. You might not be able to rain on my parade... but you damn sure can make Richmond a drag.

The Moment All Boys Dream of...

I beat my dad in golf the other day.

On a short par three at the local golf course, I hit a beautiful nine iron pin high that landed about six feet past the hole. My dad, an above average scratch golfer countered with a bit more errant tee shot that landed to the left of the green in the rough. Chipping out of the rough, my father missed the green again and had to settle for a three putt that put him at five strokes for the hole, or plus two strokes overall.

This was my chance, the chance all boys dream of; the day they finally beat their dad in something meaningful. With nerves of Jell-O, I moved over my putt with shaking arms and sweat dripping down my face. I lined up the putt, brought my putter back and let forth the smoothest stroke I could muster.

Before I continue with my story, I think a little backstory is needed to explain why this was such a big event to me.

My dad and I have been playing golf together for years. I've never once beat him on a hole. He's always been more athletic than me, playing point guard in college, QB in high school, throwing multiple no hitters in little league; while I on the other hand rode the bench in basketball and football in high school and had a decent, yet unspectacular career in high school baseball.

We've both loved golf from an early age, and as all fathers do, my dad passed on his love of the game to me. So finally after 10 years of playing rounds of golf together, this one putt would potentially change everything in our father/son relationship.

Slowly the dimpled ball rolled towards the cup. What seemed like a lifetime to me, I’m sure happened in an instant; the ball calmly dropped down in the center of the cup and I had done the impossible; I had beaten my father.

I had crossed the final frontier. I mean, that is the holy grail of a young man’s life right? The day you final defeat you father in a sport you both enjoy? If that’s the case, why did the feeling of joy, like the moment of the putt dropping in the hole, only last a second? Shouldn’t I have felt a wave of joy and accomplishment like no other before it?

I have my theories of course as to why I wasn’t overwhelmed by the moment… Maybe it was because I am 23 years old, and beating my father, now 52, does not hold as much weight as it would have when I was in my early teens. Or maybe it’s because as time has passed, I, like all others have unfortunately begun to see my father as not a god like I once thought, but just another man trying to do the best he can with what he has been given.

Whatever the case, I have finally beaten my dad in something we both enjoy. The moment may have lasted an instant; but the look of pride on his face will be a memory I hold on to for a life time.

Weekend trip to NYC!

Not having posted in months, I thought I'd kick off my first blog post back with 15 or so photos I took with my camera phone while visiting New York City this past weekend. (August 1 through August 3).

Here's a photo of Times Square Meag Board all lit up!

To see the rest just click on the link below and check out my Facebook photo album! If you're not my friend on Facebook, a.) why aren't you? and b.) leave me a friends request and I'll Facebook friend you!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024359&id=31300282
(The link to the Photo album!)

Enjoy!

The evolution of me... through the magic of photos!

I'm back!!!

After a long spring/summer layoff I'm ready to dust off the keyboard to give you guys another glimpse into what makes me... me!

Before we start, I have a confession to make.

I write in journals.

And I write a lot.

But only in sporadic spurts.

It's weird...

I have to have about 10 or 11 of them lying around, each with pages half full of rambles, scribbles and horrible penmenship... the other half of each journal is almost always categorized as "white space".

I have a really bad habit of starting up a journal, getting bored, and then moving on to the new one. In all actuality, I've probably got about five "full" journals worth of material with the rest being blank loose leaf paper.

So I confess, I'm causing Global Warming by not fully using my notebooks.

Wow! That feels so good to get off my chest.

As for what I really want to talk about today...

Originially I had wanted to make my return blog a look into the past with a journal entry from one of my many journals lying around the house. I had planned to post an entry that I had wrote while sitting in class during the fourth grade. This particular entry is special to me because its the first time I ever remember touching on multiple subjects all in one entry. On that page held the following topics:

• Complaints about having to go shoe shopping on a Friday.


• The virtues of red power ranger vs. green ranger.


• Why this girl named Casey was taking such an interest in me... and how much at the time that scared me (girls...cooties...yuck!).


• Did the soundtrack to the Lion King really win over all girls hearts?


• And last but not least, I wrote a brief, albeit, very descriptive summary of a recess football game we had just played. I remember writing that I caught the winning touchdown and was mobbed by all my friends. You could tell I was excited by how my writing style changed... all of the previous topics are a jumbled mess until you reach the football recap which is written with extreme caution and attention to detail. I must of wanted to make sure that memory would be one that I could look back on 14 years later and still remember it as clearly as the day it actually occured.

Unfortunately, as cool as all of that sounds, I can't seem to find that journal at the moment... but as luck would have it, I found something else that I thought would make a cool little blog post.

I found photos...

Lots of them.

And the neat this is, there were tons of them, all spread out across the timeline of my life. Baby photos, elementary school photos, awkward teenage year photos, high school/college photos, and yes, even more recent modern photos.

With all that being said, I decided to pull four photo from the stack I found and want to put them online as a sort of visual representation of how "I" became "me".

Enjoy!

The Birthday

This first photo is a good 17 to 18 years old. It was taken at a birthday party for (at the time) my best friend Johnathan Hall. He's the one in the middle with the toy gun. I love this photo, and I actually think it makes a pretty good artsy photo as well.

You've got me looking all model-ish by not looking directly at the camera (and sporting some nice threads as well! Sea green polo... badass!)

You've got the sun positioned just right to catch that golden hue in my hair and you've got awesome props! The theme of Johnathan's birthday that year was Ghostbusters! As you can see there are two seperate guns in the shot... and one awesome fire fighter plastic hat! If you look real close, you can see a very young Michael trying to make his way into the photo... but really... no one tops my uber-sexiness in this photo. Admit it. Baby Gap would kill for a model with my playful looks at the time.

*Sigh* What could have been.

Mall Santa



This photo was taken a few years after the birthday photo, and I happen to think this one is also by far the funniest photo out of the bunch... Take a glimpse and I think you'll agree... Here's why:

First, look at Mall Santa, could the guy be any less excited to be there? I'm sure he was hungover, or something, but man, do some method acting! You're Mall Santa! Wear that badge proudly!

Second, look at me! I am pumped to be sitting with Santa! Notice the goofy facial expression and the tiny index finger pointing at Mall Santa. Obviously I was in awe of Mall Santa and his coolness. Ironically, I still am in awe of Mall Santa's... but for a totally different reason. Heh.

Friends for life?



This third photo comes about 10 to 11 years ago as I was just starting to enter my awkward tween years. To the left of me in this photo was my good friend Ben Moore. I'm kind of creeped out by how skinny I am in this photo, but I'm also extrememly envious of my former self. I was so naive, so happy, so skinny! I hadn't yet met the heartless she-devil known as metabolism... What a sad day that must of been when we first came in contact.

I'm not really sure what Ben is doing anymore... even with Facebook and Myspace its pretty much impossible to track him down as his name is so common, I could search for days and never find the right Ben.

The Party



The last photo that I'm going to share today comes all the way back from sophomore year in college. This photo was taken on Halloween night at a JMU frat party. Looking my best in my nerd costume (which I pulled off amazingly btw!) my friend David O'Brien and I were set to conquer the party and find us some girls! Sadly, David ended up making out with three girls at the party, I kissed none...

BUT, BUT, I did come up with "The Nerd Dance". I don't claim to be a genius very often, but "The Nerd Dance" is just that. Genius!

Pointing my fingers to the sky, I would slowly rock my torso back and forth with my arms pumping like a madman. The desired effect of course was to look like a total geek on the dance floor, and from all accounts I totally succeeded.

But once again... aren't I just the coolest/sexiest/hipest nerd you've ever seen?!?

Well that's it for this blog... I'll be sure to post one of my journal pages in the coming days... especially if I can find the one from that fourth grade class.

Have a good one.

My LITTLE brother is 21!

Amazing... Mike's 21 and I feel old. Here's some photos from this morning.

Mike blowing out candles as my mom and his girlfriend Olga look on.


Mike and Olga. Cute.


Me and Mike.


The family!

So sore!

Spring has come and once again I am sore! After months of hibernation inside my comfy home I have resurfaced to the outside world as pale, out of shape and overweight!

Generally every year around this time I try to hit the gym looking for some miracle exercise routine that will blast away the fat and give me those six pack abs I so dearly want. Of course, three weeks later I've usually given up and am back on the couch eating Ben and Jerry's at 2 a.m.

Another pastime I partake in when spring hits is outdoor sports with my friends. Today was no different... Zach, one of my close friends turned 24 today (happy birthday BTW) and we all headed out to Windy Hill to play some golf, hit balls in the batting cage and do whatever else we guys like to do at sport parks. While I loved hanging out, and crushing baseball in the cage after taking four years off *Dominated the 85 mph machine! :-) * I'm paying for it now as I am as sore as I can be!

Every muscle aches! My shoulders, pecs, triceps, biceps...etc. etc.

I'm walking wounded and there's no cure.

Then again, it wouldn't be spring if I wasn't sore and loving the outdoors.

Spring has come... where's my ice bath?

What I'm listening to...

Lately I've been heavy into exploring music, some from my favorite bands like 3 Doors Down, The Frames, Chevelle, etc. and some from new bands I've never heard of like Flobots and Rilo Kiley (actually saw them in concert opening for Colday now that I really think about it).

Since Wednesday is my really slow day at work, I've been surfing Youtube for music videos and I've come up with a few videos I think everyone should check out. Each song is from a different band, one is from 3 Doors Down (love!), one is from Flobots (cool, but are they a one hit wonder?), Death Cab for Cutie (always heard of them, this is the first song I've ever HEARD from them..) and the final one is from Panic at the Disco (still need to pick up the second album).

So check it out, this is what I'm listening to...


Death Cab for Cutie - "I Will Possess Your Heart"



Flobots - "No Handlebars" - I think they have a shot at being huge!



3 Doors Down - "It's Not My Time" - This group is my favorite band of all time, I cannot wait for their new album to drop later this month!



Panic at the Disco - "Nine in the Afternoon" - Love the song, question the video... seems like I'm doing that with all of their songs...

Thoughts for the week

Monday has come and gone, and with it, a new week has once again begun.

Had dinner with the parents and family friend Mr. Slagle. Had two pieces of cake... And got some financial advice... All in all it was a pretty good night.

As for what's on tap for rest of the week? A variety of things actually...

Gotta go to the bank sometime this week to drop off the check so I can pay student loans (joy!)

Need to call the SAT people to get them to 'unarchive' my SAT scores from just 5 years ago and pay them 20 bucks to ship the scores all of a few hundred miles.

Put some gas in the Civic... Gas man, that'll be $50 bucks on my tab please!

Somehow make time to go back to ACAC. Supposedly I have this crazy notion that if I start exercising it might actually do me some good. I'll investigate that claim further a bit later this week.

Read some pages out of a few books... I've got so many sitting around my room, I'd love to start knocking out some of the pages.

Respond to work email!!! I had 54 emails waiting for me when I signed in from the Times Dispatch building this morning. Mainly this is my fault as I've pretty much ignored email for the last couple of weeks... but come on people, 54! Do you really need to reach me that badly?!?

Take a breath, and be thankful for all God has given me... I know this should always be first on the list, but I thought I'd mention it anyways. God has been so good to me throughout my entire life; from protecting me through accident(s) to showing me kindness and love unlike any other, God has blessed me and I cannot thank him enough!

So that's my week, what are your plans for the week?

Cutting the fat

I love food.

My body on the other hand doesn't seem to agree with me.

Checking the scales the other day, I weighed in at 215 pounds. The most I've been since late August of last year.

Not a good sign.

To make matters worse, the 215 pounds is 16 pounds over what I weighed just four short months ago on January 1, 2008.

Obviously something has changed in these past four months... but what?

Two things.... Diet and Exercise.

Or more specifically, total loss of any dietary boundaries... and a dramatic decline in anything even remotely resembling physical activity.

Sue me, I got lazy.

Of course I can drop these 15 pounds in no time flat, but I'm worried what happens when I hit 200, do I yo-yo right back up to 215 or do I actually have the will power to win the battle of the bulge?

My end goal is one day to be able to take my shirt off at the beach and show off my great beach body... I'm a long way away from that goal right now, so I've decided a better short term goal would be to concentrate on my diet and exercise habits and look to make vast positive improvements in both areas.

Starting with my diet, I found a website this morning called FitDay. The site, which has a free online service helps you track the foods you eat as well as a variety of other little goals such as weight loss, calorie intake, calories burned... etc. etc. It's a free program so it's pretty basic, but for what I'm trying to accomplish, fancy isn't necessary... just need something to track my results.

The second thing I did was to involve a friend in the accountability of my weight loss. She doesn't have to keep on me about losing weight; I just simply decided I'm going to send her a chart each week that tracks my weight, waist line measurement, and my BMI. Once again, something small and simple, but something I think will provide big results. If I keep sending it, it'll be motivation to continue to post results, and to get in better overall health.

Unfortunately the fat I already DO have is in the worst possible place for a guy. The abdomen. While your looks suffer from the fat around the belly, what's actually worse is what we can't see when we look in the mirror. Excess belly fat is known to be a huge factor in increasing your odds for a litany of health problems including heart disease, diabetes, arteries blockages and premature death.

That doesn't sound too cool.

So I need to drop those pounds. For my looks, for my health, and for the future.

After all, the last thing America needs right now is another pale, out of shape, (clinically) obese guy blogging away behind a computer screen, right?

Yeah, I thought so too.

Highlight of the week?

Goochland can be a boring place.

Shocker right?

Anyways.... Maybe that's why I'm not surprised to have my boss come in from a mid-morning mail run proclaiming that the highlight of his week is "running to the post office and checking our mail box".

Of course I'm sure he was being just a slight bit sarcastic, but it got me thinking... what is MY highlight of the week?

Do I have a set highlight each week, or is it a constantly changing event that makes me smile just a bit more than everything else that happened those seven days?

After some close self introspection, a mere 20 seconds of thinking, and one extremely satisfying turkey sausage biscuit, I've come to the conclusion that my highlight of the week is an ever changing thing. And I'm totally cool with that.

Take the wonderfully delicious turkey sausage biscuit I just had. So far, that meal was the highlight of my week.

That sounds pretty pathetic right?

Nope, not to me.

That little biscuit just provided me with more happiness than any other event I've experienced this week... and you know what? I think that's completely normal.

If the small things in life can't also sometimes be the very best moment of your day; then what's really the point?

Sure, the big moments in your life (wedding, first child, retirement) can all be the highlight of your week, but I think its just as important to recognize that some of the best moments in our lives are those small, deeply personal moments that we’ll never forget.

I think if we all just took a little time to enjoy the mundane, the everyday routine… we’d all find little joys that are big pick-me-ups during the stressful work week. And really, who wouldn’t want that?

So take time to cherish the small joys in life, they just might be the highlight of your week.

Awesome

Just filled up the Civic today... not only did I get the pleasure of watching my car waste vast amounts of my hard earned paycheck as it refueled, I also got this pretty picture out of the whole ordeal.

Awesome.

Must love coffee

Thought of the day: The first thing I need to look for in a potential girlfriend is her love of coffee.

An odd request for sure, but if she can't appreciate a good cup of coffee, what good is she to me?

I must admit...since taking my job with the Mechanicsville Local my love of coffee has reached dizzying new heights. The news room is filled with coffee addicts; each one looking to get their precious fix as the morning turns to afternoon, and hard deadlines come and pass. I joined the rank and file sometime during my second week of duty.

I never really planned to become addicted; although I suppose no addict ever really does. Yet somehow, try as I might to resist it, the seducer in the pot by the sink drew me in with her strong aroma and unforgettable taste.

It’s been nine months now, and I see no end to my addiction in sight. I tried decaf but it’s just not the same. Nothing gets me going like a good cup of coffee in the morning.

Come to think of it, what is exactly wrong with me having an explicit love affair with coffee? It won’t leave me for another, it will always meet my needs, and it never lets me down. In a way, coffee is the perfect mate. And no perfect mate will be complete in my eye without a love of coffee.

That’s not too much to ask… is it?

The Weekend ends... and I'm still standing!

Long weekend. Some good, some bad; heck most of it was bad but I did get some cool photos out of the trip to Nationals Park in D.C. Now if only I could have avoided the "talk" with a former flame, nearly running head on into a D.C. police cruiser and an awkward house party on Saturday night.

Here's a few photos of my friend Kat and I at the park on Friday, April 11, 2008.



Kathryn standing in the concourse of Nationals Park!



Our seats down the left field line!


Look at the massive scoreboard!


Although the Nationals lost, we were still treated to a cool fireworks display!

All in all, the weekend wasn't a waste, but it definitely would not be up there on my list of all time favorites.

24,267!!!

And so it begins! Today is the start of what many consider the greatest sporting event our country has to offer, March Madness! Since I'll be at work all day I won't have access to a TV... but I will have March Madness on Demand thanks to cbssports.com!

This little invention allows me and I'm sure countless others to waste away their Thursday and Friday work days watching college basketball when we're supposed to be doing work. I've always heard that the first Thursday and Friday of March Madness is one of the biggest drops in work production in businesses around the US every year... sitting at my desk with MMOD on my desktop, I can now see why. Currently I sit at 24,267 in line to get my ticket for all the digital goodness CBS can offer! I'm pumped, and why shouldn't I be? I'm getting paid to watch college basketball!

Excited about watching some good old roundball yet? I know I am! So get to it!

But, if you've read this far, I've only got one question for you and that is why are you reading this blog when you should be watching basketball?

March Madness > A Square Guy.... book it.

Hank Steinbrenner says something stupid; the sky is blue

In the "what else is new?" section of sports news, it seems that Yanks boss Hank Steinbrenner has opened his mouth, and once again, nonsense has coming flying out. This time ole Hank wants to cut revenue sharing to any team that competes, or plays rough with his Yanks. He's joking right? According to this quote he's not....

"I don't want these teams in general to forget who subsidizes a lot of them, and it's the Yankees, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets," he said to The New York Post. "I would prefer if teams want to target the Yankees that they at least start giving some of that revenue sharing and luxury tax money back. From an owner's point of view, that's my point."

- Village Idiot

Sorry Hank, but that's not how the MLB works. Believe it or not, teams are paid to try and win... they're not paid to cater to you and your fans wishes...

Everyday this guy just says something dumber and dumber... Personally, I can't wait till this guy drops his next "pearls" of wisdom on the waiting public.

Oh wait, yes I can.

Don't compete against us bro!

Little girl does a killer James Lipton impersonation

While cruising Will Ferrel's site late last night I came across a hilarious video of a little girl doing an "interview" with Al Pacino as if she was Inside the Actors Studio's own James Lipton. This girl is spot on... she has the hokey facial expressions, the mannerisms and even the obviously doctored black beard. Heck her "beard" may be more authentic than Lipton's.

So check out this great performance... between this video and Pearl McKay as "The Landlord" Ferrell and his audience seem to have a knack of finding young talent and putting it on display for the world to see.

You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you don't check this great video out. It's worth a laugh at least... and in today's world, who couldn't use one of those?

The Biggest Whiner

The Biggest Loser is a must see show in the Lint household each week... unfortunately as time has gone on the show has changed from being more about the triumphs of the contestants to the bitchiness of all the female contestants and how the show has turned against them.

Note to all the women on the show... no one likes a whiner, especially a pleasantly plump one.

Get your ass in gear and shut your mouth... in front of the cameras and at the dinner table!

Simple right? So get to it already!

Gnarls Barkley "Run" video banned from MTV

Word going around the net is that the latest Gnarls Barkley video "Run" has been banned by MTV and it's not because of the video's content. MTV banning a video? What year are we in again? And what exactly could cause a video to be banned when it has nothing to do with content? Apparently the Gnarls Barkley/Justin Timberlake collaboration has the potential to induce seizures in some people due to the strobe like effects running rampant through the video. No word yet on what if any fixes will be made so that the video can hit the airwaves, but I have to imagine that anything featuring Justin Timberlake won't stay "banned" for long on MTV.

To get prospective on the news, I called up Japan. Yes the country. They offered no comment and claimed to not have a clue about this so called "seizure gate". Sadly our interview was cut short after the person went into epileptic shock after turning on the TV. Go figure.

But fear not loyal readers, I have procured the dangerous footage and am prepared to share it with you... ready?




So there you have it. If it induces seizures don’t blame me; blame Gnarls, or Japan. Pick your poison… it’s all deadly (literally).

Friday Night Lights lives.... Maybe.

Hey there sports fans, cruising the net I found some great news about a little show called "Friday Night Lights"... and it's positive news! FNL MAY be returning for Season 3 afterall! That's right, the little show that could seems to be getting new life in a pending deal between NBC and DirecTV. Basically NBC will agree to air FNL on NBC and a specific DirecTV only channel, in exchange, we the fans get another season! Great news indeed!

"What in the wide wide world of sports is going on here?"

Another day and it seems another UVA football player making headlines for the wrong reasons. This time it is redshirt junior DB Mike Brown (or as my brother and I liked to call him "Lil Wayne"). Brown was busted on larceny and other assorted charges over this past weekend. With his departure from the team a near certainty, UVA has now lost four starters to suspension this off season alone! QB Jameel Sewell, CB's, Chris Cook and Mike Brown, and DE Jeffery Fitzgerald. Factor in the graduation of All World DE Chris Long, and starting DT Allen Billyk as well as OLB Jermaine Dias and Safeties Nate Lyles and Jamall Jackson and UVA looks like it will be hurting this year. Not to mention 3/5 starting linemen are gone as well as our two top TE's and its easy to see Al Groh has a hell of a challenge ahead of him... Good luck big man.

What exactly is in the water up in The Hook? We used to be a very clean program... now it seems we have become Virginia Tech, without the success.

Oh yeah, here's the link to Brown's arrest.

http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354831241&path

Grapes are fattening?

Grapes are fattening? According to at least one of my coworkers they are. Now I usually dismiss idle office chatter but this little nugget caught my ear. Where in the world did someone hear grapes of all things were fattening? If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure grapes are 75% or more water. Sure all fruits contain a good amount of sugar but in my opinion nothing that comes from God's green earth is going to be that unhealthy for you... especially when it's a fruit!!! I'd also like to point out the woman who made this comment smokes two packs of cigarettes a day! Yet grapes are too fattening to eat? Unbelievable.

Priorities, people.

Technology is not my friend...

For my inaugural blog I thought I'd introduce everyone to my little slice of the working world. Currently I am a reporter for a weekly newspaper that reaches over 28,000 people. Being a community newspaper, we are not staffed as well as, say, a daily or a monthly magazine... that means in addition to my normal writing/reporting duties, I also have to lay out (put the paper together for print) about 30 pages weekly. Starting at 9 in the morning this job is not usually complete till about 5 in the afternoon... and that's a non stop process. Thankfully once all the heavy lifting has been done on our part, we send the paper off to the printers and get it back early the next morning. So imagine my surprise this morning when I open up the paper today to notice that on the page with my biggest headline the font is totally haywire and extremely unprofessional looking.

Obviously thinking I must have made a mistake in the layout yesterday I went back and checked... to my surprise, I actually had not made any mistakes on the proof or the PDF I sent to the printer... So we come to find out that the printer actually had many mistakes this week... but the question is how?!? We send them the PDF and they simply print it... how hard can it be?

It's not easy being a weekly paper, it’s even harder when you have incompetent associates. Thankfully our agreement end with this publisher next week and we move downtown to print with the big boys...

Just for comparisson's sake, here are the two copies... the one on top is the PDF I sent to the printer... the one on the bottom is what they sent us in return.

What a sham.

Test...

Just testing a few things out on the site...