Archives May 2006

My Memorial day weekend went by very quickly.  It was scorching hot here over the weekend, at one point on Sunday the thermometer outside read 99 degrees, whew.

On Saturday I had my first volleyball action of 2006.  My knee had been aching pretty much all week so I knew it would be an issue throughout the day.  I kept feeding myself a steady stream of Advil throughout the day.  It was extremely humid but luckily high clouds hid the sun for a good portion of the day.  My play throughout the day was decent in most regards, especially considering I didn’t touch a ball since late 2005 and my bum knee.  My knee made hitting a chore, I couldn’t get a decent approach so I could count the amount of above average hits on one hand.  In pool play we finished 2-1 and came off our net 2nd.  

Our first playoff opponents were weak.  They were both nice guys but neither of them were very good at any aspect of the game.  We won the game by 8 or 9 and should have won by more. Our semi-final game was against two older guys from our pool.  The came back and beat us in pool play after we had them down by 5 or 6.  The one guy could not hit at all but did this 2 hand placement shot thing that he could put almost anywhere.  The other guy could hit if he got a good set but he was 40 pounds overweight.  We had bet a beer with another team on our net that we would beat them in pool play so the loss to them was amplified.  In the playoff game we played better and handled them, winning by 4 or 5. We made it to the finals.

The finals were against another team from our net (the other net sucked) We had beat this team in our opening match handily.  However as the day progressed these guys had been gelling and steamrolled the teams they played in their first two playoff game.  The finals were a joke.  They killed us.  Randall and I both made too many unforced errors and our opponents made practically none.  We got steamrolled something like 25-12 or 13.  It was a bummer losing that badly in the finals but I focused on the fact that we got to the finals and in the semi’s we avenged our pool play loss.  Even though I had my fair share of obscenities blurt out, overall I was really mellow throughout the day.  I was just happy to be out there playing and much less concerned with if we won.  That is a big change in attitude from me during my vball prime when every win and loss was like a real time measurement of my success in life.  During some of the downtime between games I took a moment to just appreciate the fact that I was sitting on a beach in Florida playing volleyball.  It’s surprisingly easy to take it for granted.

During the day my knee got progressively stiffer and more sore.  When I got home that night I iced it up.  On Monday even my “good” knee felt stiff so I iced both of them.  However while they feel stiff I don’t have any sharp stabbing pain and can walk more or less without a limp so I guess I will call that a win.  I would like to be able to play one more tournament down here before heading up north to play the Pottstown Rumble with Charlie in late June.  The results from Saturday are here.

Saturday night Ali and I watched the 2nd Charlie’s Angels movie that I had tivo’d earlier in the week.  It was pretty lame.  I mean of course like any man I appreciate the gratuitous T&A that was in ample supply throughout the movie but it was just so dumb.  I mean the stunts these women did made Spiderman look like a chump.  Demi Moore is in this one.  For a mid 40’s female she is incredibly well preserved.  If I had to guess her age blind I would be somewhere around 30.

Sunday was the day for me to knockout chores.  I spent 5 or 6 hours working on stuff including this month’s cleaning project, the living room.  The biggest part of cleaning the living room was organizing what has become a clutter filled mess, the media cabinet.  The media cabinet has vhs tapes, cd’s, dvd’s, xbox games, camcorder tapes, cameras, photos, photo albums and more stuffed into it.  Since it has doors, it was easy to hide the monstrosity that lurked behind them.  So we gutted it, separated stuff into keep, sell and throwout piles and then put the keep stuff back in.  It looks much better.

  Another nasty job was cleaning the bear collection Ali has over a long Ikeas shelf we installed over the one doorway.  There are literally 50+ bears on it.  As I pulled the step ladder towards them I got an eyeful of dust covered bears with a nice dab of cobwebs to boot.  It was gross.  I pulled the bears down and handed them to Ali who gave each animal a thorough vacuuming.  Once all the bears were down I swept up the dirt, dead spiders and other assorted bugs that had accumulated.  I think in the 5 years we have lived there this was the second time we actually cleaned the bears, it needs to be done more.

Sunday night we went over to our friend’s place for dinner.  She is almost 8 month’s pregnant with their first child.  We talked about the prospect of upcoming parenthood and briefly tied it into our situation.  We are asked often about procreating and when we plan to have kid(s).  It’s a question I have become adept at diverting.  I just see example after example how kids absorb every ounce of energy you possess, sucking out your sense of individuality.  Then once they get out of diapers there is maybe a 10 year period where they are cute and innocent and love you like a puppy.  Then they become teenagers and disobey you at every opportunity, challenge your authority, act stupid and generally dislike you.  Then they become adults and go their own way and call you once in awhile, mostly when they need something.  Of course not all situations are like that but I see a lot of it and based on my own personal experiences growing up, it has guided me towards that mindset regarding kids.  Of course my sister just found out she is pregnant so that makes me the only kidless holdout at this point. 

Anyway, we ate pizza, admired their 37 inch LCD HDTV (first time I saw HD in use at a home) and played Balderdash, a fun game that encourages you to be a bullshitter.  We got out of there a little later than we planned.  Ali was running a 5k at 7:30 Memorial Day morning so we had to get up early.  We got to bed a little after 11.

We crawled out of bed unwillingly to the alarm at 20 till 6.  Since I wasn’t running we decided to bring Nicki with to cheer Ali on.  Nicki had never been to a run before.  This one was held at a golf course in Fort Myers.  Nicki was hyper with all the activity around but she was generally well behaved.  Ali enjoys having me at the finish to cheer her on but I feel like a bit of a loser sitting on the sidelines not running.  One thing being a spectator does is allow me to observe all the different running styles.  Damn some of them are funny as hell.  I shouldn’t talk because I have been told that I run like a roadrunner, however some of these people just make me laugh.  I don’t know how they are able to run distance in that manner.

Ali crossed the finish line just over 30 minutes.  About half the course was run through grass and even at 7:30 am it was humid and warm, slowing her down some.  Ali was disappointed that she once again finished 4th, just missing out on what was nice trophy.  The third place finisher ran it in about 29 minutes.  Ali’s best time in a race is around 28:30 so she is capable of getting into that area.  I feel frustrated for her.

When we got back I walked around the property and took some pictures.  I realized how there were quite a few things that went down over recent months that I didn’t document so I took some pics.  I’ll have them up later today.  The rest of the day was low key.  I played WoW for awhile then we went over to the neighbors and hung out.  While we were out on the lanai we saw a small tornado form and then dissipate not very far away.  Ali was freaked out.  They had lots of food and then I showed them how to play Texas Hold Em.  It was a marathon game that we played to completion and I came out on top.  Ali was getting pissed at me because I was bluffing people out of big money.  I told her that is how the game was played but for some reason she found this annoying and said I was being cocky.  Whatever.  By the time we left, it was after 7 so we had to wrap up our remaining things to do and then go to bed.  Weekend over.  It went fast.

I added a few pics to the Nicki page.  This one is one of my favs.

The American Idol finale was entertaining.  I was glad Taylor won, out of the two he was the one that deserved it.  Katherine was almost like a she-bot, she looked great but had nothing that made her unique from all the other female performers on the scene today.  Taylor has a unique style and personality that made him popular.

  There were many strange moments throughout the show.  Some of the pairings with current artists made no sense.  Mary J Blige looked like a freak and totally drowned out Elliot.  Her stupid gyrations were much more distracting than entertaining.  Toni Braxton butchered her performance with Taylor. When was the last time anyone even cared about Toni Braxton? She was acting like she was still super hot, but she isn’t.  I love Meatloaf but his performance with Katherine was horrid.  He looked like a bum in a suit. Ali thought Dionne Warwick looked great, I didn’t.  She sang well enough though.

  The funniest moment of the night was when the dorky Clay Aiken wannabe kid came out and they had him sing and then surprised him by bringing Clay Aiken out in the middle of the song.  The kid was so surprised.  Then he continued with an impromptu duo with Clay even though they turned off the dorky kids microphone.  Eventually Ryan told him to sit down but he kept singing along.  It was hilarious.  Clay’s new hairstyle is disturbing.  Every time I see him I can’t help thinking about the interview I heard on the Stern Show with a guy that swears Clay picked him up off the internet and had some very rough gay sex with him.  He just seems very phony to me now.

It was interesting seeing Prince trot out there.  Even though he is well into his 40’s he looked ok besides the bufont hairstyle.  His performance was good although I would have rather saw him perform one of his old hits.  It was interesting how he strutted off the stage immediately after his performance, ignoring Ryan Seacrest.

Of course the best moment of the night was when an astute camera man caught David Hasselhoff tearing up as Taylor was announced as the winner.  Damn he must be pissed, good luck living that down. Funny, funny shit.   

I went to Planet Fitness last night with Ali since I was doing back and abs and could still do that with the equipment they have left.  There were a lot of pissed off people there.  I talked to a guy about the gym BS for a good 10 to 15 minutes before I even got started.  They were playing ridiculous music.  It was easy listening mixed with golden oldies.  I had a hard time focusing to do anything.  I found myself laughing in the middle of most sets when I heard one silly song after another come on.  I was doing back rows to “Dancing in the Moonlight”.  One of the “lunks” who still has his membership at PF but also joined Powerhouse told me a funny story.  He went to Planet Fitness earlier in the week but wore a Powerhoue Gym shirt there as a big FU.  Well as he was on the cardio machine the gym owner asked him to come to his office after he was done.  The guy went in and was told he wasn’t allowed to wear a Powerhouse shirt there, it was disrespectful.  This guy also like to wear a bandana under a baseball cap when he works out. He was told that was no longer allowed as well tank tops and big gallon jugs of water on the gym floor, all forbidden.  I am surprised the owner didn’t get his neck snapped as the guy he was chastising is as strong as an ox.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  I said how it sounded like he was being scolded in Junior High by the principal.  That place will be out of business within a year, guaranteed. Dumb f’rs. 

I was a bit disappointed that the show last night had the singers doing songs they did previously.  The 3rd song for each was an original song that is going to be their first single.  Katherine sounded like shit on that 3rd song and didn’t seem like her heart was into it.  Taylor conversely did a good job on his final song.  Even though I am sick of hearing “Soul Patrol!” I would much prefer to have Taylor win out of the two that are left.  Chris is the one who deserves to win.  I thought it was an odd moment in the beginning of the show when Ryan had Chris stand up for a second only to tell him to sit back down.  You could tell Chris was thinking they were going to exchange a few words but Ryan shoo’d him away.  It was strange.  Why is it that each year during the finale they pull out the choir to assist the singers?  Enough of that already, it isn’t church, it’s a pop singing show.

After work last night I used my roller blades while Ali ran.  She did a long 5 mile run.  It was the first time she did 5 miles in quite some time.  I thought roller blading would be a painless way to accompany her but the wheels rolling over uneven sidewalk, rough road and other bumpy objects left me this morning with more deep aches in that wonderful joint of mine.  I am playing volleyball this Saturday regardless of how my knee feels. 

I am going to try to stay positive about Powerhouse so I am going to report the good things I experienced my 1st time back there.   They have better barbell neck pads than JFZ does and I got to pick up an 85 pound dumbell for the first time in over two years. That’s it.

When you become a veteran in WoW you learn a second language.  That language is filled with bad grammar and acronyms.  If I said to you “LF1M ZF, have healer, need TANK, CAN SUMMON PST”, you would have no idea what the hell I was talking about.  However to the WoW faithful it is easy to see that there is a group of people going to the Zul Furak instance (a level 43-50 instance) in Tanaris on the western continent of Kalimdor.  Of the 5 spots they have in their group, four are filled and they have either a priest, paladin or druid as a healing character.  They need one more person to fill the group and it needs to be (in order of preference) a warrior, a feral druid or a paladin. They have a warlock in the group that can summon you directly to the instance to avoid the travel time to get there. If you fit that description, please send a whipser to the person posting the want ad. Simple stuff……

Even though I joined Powerhouse gym on Thursday I still went to JFZ on Friday.  I was doing back and abs and could still do that reasonably well with what equipment is left there.  It’s entertaining seeing all the people coming in with bewildered looks on their faces.  The transformation and prejudice against physically fit people was never more apparent than Friday.  Instead of playing music off their satellite system they now are playing canned easy listening type music off a cd.  The CD includes little ad for the gym that goes something like this – “JFZ gyms, no pressure, no judgement and NO BODYBUILDERS” WTF is their problem? The hypocrisy of a “fitness center” discriminating against people that take fitness seriously is overwhelming.  If you have nothing better to do go to www.planetfitness.com and tell them how full of shit they are. Listen to this radio ad off their website, it gives you a clear idea of their mindset. Today will be my first workout session at Powerhouse, wish me luck.

We had a nice weekend.  I spent a lot of time still working on getting the pool swimmable.  It’s a cycle of cleaning the filters, dumping chemicals, skimming, sweeping, etc… that doesn’t seem to end.  The rain we got last week was enough to kick start the grass so we mowed and weed whacked the patches that started to grow.  It looks much better now.

  Three years ago I bought a Magicolor 2200 color laser printer that has served us well.  However a few weeks ago it came up with a “Replace OPC Drum” error that prevented it from working.  I looked into the price of a replacement opc drum and after seeing the 100-125 dollar price tab I decided to just replace the printer since it also would start needing toner cartridges as well.  I tried listing it in the paper for 75 bucks and indicated it needed an opc drum and got zero calls in a week.  So I did some digging and found out that the OPC drum error is simply caused by a fuse popping that is designed to fail after a certain amount of time.  It doesn’t mean the opc drum is bad.  So I bought the fuse for 5 bucks, installed it this weekend and it’s back in business.  I’ll try to sell it again, this time with no disclaimer.

My video card in my home pc went out this weekend.  It locked up in a game of WoW and then was causing the pc to lock up, black out and just be generally disagreeable.  At first I saw this as a reason to finally replace the pc which I have had for I bet close to 4 years which is an eternity for me.  I told Ali I could either spend 300 on a video card or just buy a new pc.  Ali was not thrilled with either idea and asked if I could get less expensive card to get by until xmas time when she could get me a pc as a present.  I did some digging and checked prices and saw I could get a decent card for less than 150 bucks.  So we compromised and I went out and snagged a card at Best Buy, installed it and all is good with the world again.  It would have been a huge pain in the ass to reinstall all of my applications/games anyway.

Saturday night Ali and I had a nice time out.  First we went to an early showing of Mission Impossible 3.  It had some good action although there were some holes in the story that made little sense.  During one scene where Tom’s objective is to steal an item that is in a building with supposedly impenetrable security, they show him running in the door on the roof and then the next shot is him breaking out a window and parachuting to safety with no details about how he managed to steal the item.  That was lame.  Of course the plot went far above the line of remote reality and bordered on ridiculous at times.  I walked away from it feeling lukewarm.  I’d give it a B-.

After the movie we wnt to Carraba’s for dinner.  While we were waiting for a table we were talking to two older ladies whom were friends.  One was from Spain the other was from Venezuela.  Their thick accents coupled with the background noise made it hard to understand them but we did the best we could.  One thing we did understand was how they both viewed America as too worried about work and money.  They said in both of their home countries people are much more laid back, much more interested in enjoying life in the here and now and less worried about working like a dog for 30 years so you have adequate retirement funds to “enjoy” when you are too old to have much fun.  It was interesting hearing their perspective and made me think how right they were.

Sunday morning Ali and I went to the track.  My knee was in no shape to run so I brought my rollerblades to use while Ali ran.  The oven has been turned on down here and even at 9:45 in the morning the heat was oppressive.  As we went around the track, two mexican soccer teams showed up to get ready for their 10am game.  The heat sucked Ali’s energy quickly but her first interval run started very fast.  She really has great speed for short bursts.  She could stay with me stride for stride if I was going all out.   Rollerblading is definitely much easier than running, other than my feet hurting in the blades, I was hardly winded after rolling for a half hour.

I downloaded Pirates of the Caribbean which we watched Sunday night.  Both Ali and were very tired.  I was dozing off repeatedly during it so it’s hard to give it an accurate review however what I saw was decent.  C+ to B- We saw the preview for the next one that is due out soon and the trailer looked awesome.

I’ve been reading a lot of horror stories about people and their WoW addictions.  These stories make me seem like a casual player.  Some lose it all as a result of their single focus of this game. 

I went to JFZ yesterday at lunch and entered a gym that had been gutted of most of the equipment I used.  I laughed as I walked in and saw the sloppily scribbled sign they had up front that said “Franchise rules, new equipment coming in June”  Luckily I was doing biceps and triceps so I was able to make do with what was left.  It was amusing to see people come in and look around in bewilderment as they saw the carnage.  So after work yesterday I stopped in at the shithole Powerhouse and signed back up.  As I glanced around I saw a few faces that used to go to JFZ only a few days prior. Oh well, it will have to do.

Last night I ran with Ali.  Even before I started my knee hurt a bit but I was going to run anyway.  Every stride of the 5k we ran hurt a bit but I didn’t care.  My elevated body temperature did a good job of masking the pain.  I iced the joint last night but this morning it felt like shit again.  I am supposed to play volleyball next weekend with the ultimate goal of playing the Pottstown Rumble at the end of June.  I think I am going to have to just not run if I want to be able to do these events.  It really frustrates me.  I’m pissed at myself.  I was at the point where I could run without issue and now my one month creatine binge set me back miles. 

Last night at the gym Ali noticed that some of the equipment had blue tape on it.  We quickly figured out that blue tape = equipment that is getting pulled out.  It’s amazing that they are removing this stuff that you see people constantly using.  The owner is just ignorant.  Not only are they removing the dumbells over 55 pounds, they are removing curling bars over 50 pounds as well.  I mean what the hell?  I have never seen such hypocrisy in a gym I was a member of.  This place is called the “Judgement Free Zone” yet if you are an individual that can lift more than 50 pounds you are judged as being too threatening for the facility.  I also found out that the Lunk Alarm is something that they install at all JFZ gyms.  That idiotic device is reason enough to write off this place.  I just wish I had a more viable option than returning to the dirty dungeon of a gym that I went to before.

Ali and I didn’t get home last night till 9pm.  We both were tired from the long day.  Imagine my anger when the first thing I spot after cleaning up half a dozen barf spots early that morning was another 4 fresh spots, including a nice vomit coating on the legs of my computer chair.  I was so angry.  Again I ranted how I just wanted the diabetic cat to die.  After Ali and I cleaned up the mess, I punished the cat by refusing to put down any wet food that evening.  At 2:30 in the morning  I woke up to the sound of the cat once again getting ready to throw up.  Ninja style I quickly grabbed and launched a pillow in her direction, scaring her out of the room.  However all it did was relocate the barf pile to outside our bedroom.  At this point I have my hopes up that the cats GI system is failing.

Last night after work Ali and I walked into the gym and I immediately did a survey.  Gone was a squat rack, decline bench, flat bench and a bunch of the plates.  The owner was still there and I approached him and asked where the benches were (even though I knew what was in the works)  He told me they were gone and in addition they were removing all dumbells heavier than 55 lbs, the weighted curling bars and all plate based benches and equipment.  With a look of disbelief on my face I asked him why in the world would he want to do that. I asked if they were trying to turn the gym into a rehab center?  He said it was being forced upon him by corporate, he said that they are mandating that these changes be made (which is a lie)  I told him he was going to lose a ton of members as a result of this.  He said he figured on losing 150 to 200 members.  He apologized and that was it.  I was pissed.  I talked to a few guys there and filled them in on the deal as there was nothing posted about it, no letters to the members, he just is pulling stuff out.  Some already knew and were super hot about it as well.  The one guy who is a real big dude said that he heard that the owner already had a cancellation agreement made up with his name on it, as he is exactly the type of person that is being discriminated against.  He said he is going to remain a member to spite the owner and come in there on his light days so he can continue to “scare the old people”.  The others I told had no idea what was going on and were equally angry. 

So on our way back to pick up Nicki I stopped at the old shithole gym and found out their rates.  It looked as shitty as ever and we saw a guy we knew from our last go round there hanging around the counter like he always did.  We related the bullshit going on at JFZ which they said they had heard about as many people have already jumped ship.  So I think what will happen is I will join the shithole and Ali will stay at the old place since she has no need for the stuff they are pulling out.  I’d like to make a statement by pulling both of us out of JFZ but I don’t feel right making her work out in the shithole as well.

The whole drive home last night I was griping about how ridiculous the gym situation was. Then after getting home I got another treat as I looked out into the pool and saw something floating in it that was definitely bigger than a leaf.  I went out and found a dead field mouse who evidently drowned.  I felt bad for the thing and disgusted at by the sight the same time.  I initially scooped him out with the pool skimmer and just chucked him towards the one landscaped area.  Ali thought it was a bit cold of me to just chuck him like that.  So I went down and retrieved his rigamortis afflicted body and put him in the ditch under some freshly cut palm fronds.  Poor thing probably was looking for a drink and fell in.

After a restless night sleep where I had a bad dream involving Nicki, an alligator and my subsequent fight with the alligator, I stumbled out to the kitchen.  Every morning I scan the floor for dark shadows which almost always mean our wonderful cats have decided to vomit at that spot.  Well this morning was especially vomitous.  In total I cleaned up 6 different spots of vomit.  I was besides myself with anger.  I am yelling at the diabetic cat about how I would love to grab her f’in neck and snap it.  My threatening tone of voice scared the dog and she cowered thinking I was mad at her.  I continued with various outbursts about yearning for the cats demise whenever they came into my view. I’m just so sick of it.  The idea of putting the cat to sleep without her being on her deathbed seems cruel to me during most waking moments but between the vomit and the ass wiping stains on the carpet, at times I am literally inches from breaking the cat’s neck with my own two hands.    

Yesterday afternoon the pain in my lower left back had worsened and started to wrap around my side a bit.  Most of the time it was just a dull ache but if I moved the wrong way I would get intense stabbing pain.  I started to wonder if I had a kidney stone thing going on.  Years back I had what they thought was a small one.  I told Ali about it and she thought maybe I should head for the doctors but I told her I would let it ride.  Last night I drank a lot of water and went to bed early.  I woke up today with less pain and feeling better.  Hopefully I can avoid a doctor visit. 

If you haven’t checked out youtube.com yet, you need to.  They have and endless supply of short videos spanning any and all categories you can think of.  I contributed my 2 cents by uploading some of my volleyball videos. It sucks that they have to be compressed to make them suitable for web viewing, it really hammers the video quality.  I may try to resample them at a higher rate since my youtube videos can be up to 100 meg big.

This morning I woke up to no water in the house.  Our well pump is flaky, sometimes it will kick out if it is used too much.  Well evidently it did just that last night while the water cleaner was going through it’s recharge cycle.  So I went outside with the flashlight this morning, in the rain and reset it.  The tank started to fill.  However when I turned on the faucet in the bathroon, dark brown muddy water flowed out.  It continued to flow even after letting it go for 5 minutes.  The toilets were filled with the same nasty water.  Finally after 15 minutes or so it started clearing up.  It’s part of the joy of living out in the sticks with a well and septic system.

Man I feel like shit today.  The weekend was a rough one.  It started out well enough. Friday night we went over to our neighbors house for dinner.  They also had some friends of their’s over so it was a nice little group.  Saturday morning Ali and I went to the track for “speed work”.  The object of speed work is to improve your overall cardiovascular conditioning by running fast intervals.  I had not run since my knee started hurting almost 2 weeks ago so I was nervous about starting up again.  So we ran 2 slow laps and then did our first interval lap.  I let Ali set the pace and she was fast, fast enough that I doubt I would have been able to go much faster if I wanted to.  I was really surprised she had that sort of speed in her.  Well by the time we finished the lap we both were sucking major wind.  We ran 3 slow laps, another fast, 3 more slow and then one more fast one.  It was a good change of pace from our normal running routine.  My knee that felt ok during most of the run had that deep burn by the time we were done.  So when we got home I iced it up.  It felt tender for the rest of the weekend but feels somewhat better today. 

After I got done icing it was time to dig into my outdoor projects.  My primary mission was to get the pool cleaned up and suitable for swimming.  I started dumping chemicals in it earlier in the week so the deep nasty green was now only a pale green.  I had the pool cleaner in there but it kept getting clogged by the pile of debris that had settled in the corner of the deep end.  So I decided to don my swim mask and manually clean the crap out.  Ali thought I was nuts going into the greenish water but I assured her I would be fiine.  Visibility was very limited, I could only probably see 3 feet in front of me.  I came to the pile of junk and grabbed at it but discovered that the movement of my hand stirred up the water, launching the twigs, leaves and other assorted flotsam into the water.  So after grabbing a couple small handfuls of junk and sending the majority of the rest of the junk back up into the water I abandoned my underwater mission.  I instead grabbed the skimmer and scooped out whatever I could.  Then I pulled off the dirty, disgusting pool cover, hosed it off and stuck it into the shed.  Then I clumsily jammed the pool cover reel, which is a good 15 feet long up into the rafters of the shed.  Getting it up there required some creative pulling, pushing and jamming.  I pulled out the shop vac and vacuumed up some of the crap on the pool deck and that was the end of it.  As the weekend progressed the green faded and now the water is just cloudy which should clear in a few days. 

After I got out of the pool I never bothered to put my shirt back on the rest of the afternoon.  I don’t really know why I didn’t put it on, my recent skin cancer incidents makes me more often than not chose to leave clothes on than off.  So for 4 or 5 hours I was out in the yard watering, trimming and putting stuff away.  I could feel my back starting to sting yet I did nothing about it, stupid. 

So by the time Saturday evening came around I was a mess.  My knee hurt, my lower left back hurt, my skin stung from sunburn and the moon was at it’s fullest, shining overhead. It was miserable. 

Sunday was Mother’s Day but Ali had to work.  We made plans with my mom to take her to Cheesecake Factory.  She had never been there.  The pain in my back/side had gotten worse.  Even though I didn’t feel like it, I told my mom the last time I saw her that I would haul out her computer and computer desk that she never uses the next time I came over.  So we took the party van to pick up my mom so we would have room to haul the stuff back.

I had the bright idea that if we got to Cheesecake Factory early, like 5pm, we would miss the big crowd.  Well evidently everyone else had the same idea.  I was surprised when the hostess told me it would be a 10-20 minute wait.  45 minutes later we hear our names being called, yes called.  Cheesecake Factory recently changed their procedures for people waiting.  They used to have the pager system that has become very popular.  You check in, they give you a pager and when your table is ready it lights up and buzzes.  When they first opened they used this system and it worked fine.  However the last two times we have gone there they have abandoned the pager system.  Instead the for some reason think it is better to have someone walk around the lobby, outside and to the bar yelling someone’s name, hoping they hear them.  It is so stupid.  The last time we were there we missed our calling.  I had to go up and ask what the deal was to which they said they called for us.  I told them that we heard nothing.  Some genius must think it is more “personal” to have someone screaming your name.

The meal itself was very good and our waiter was first class.  He was well spoken, attentive and made our meal much more enjoyable.  The menu at CCF is huge, it is at least 15 pages long and the portions are huge.  If you clean your plate you are a first class pig. I like CCF but Carraba’s still is the leader in my favorite restaurants clubhouse.  We took mom home and loaded up the stuff in the van.  My back pain made it very difficult to load the furniture into the van.  If I turned a certain way I would get a stabbing pain that made me wince badly.  Ali had to give me more than a little of a helping hand.

I woke up this morning feeling horrible.  My back still hurt, my sunburn still stung, my mood was still dark and to top it off my stomach felt like it was jumpping through hoops.  I feel old and broken down.

Last night we watched all three hours of the Survivor finale.  Again it was a disappointment.  I was glad that Danielle lost.  She flat out lied to Terry three times.  Terry deserved to go to the finals, he kicked ass like no other Survivor I saw.  Other people have had good fortune with winning a lot of challenges but Terry did it with his back against the wall.  The second he screwed up they were going to get rid of him and he just kept winning.  I don’t know why but it seems far more often than not, the person at the end that gets to choose who they go to the finals with makes the wrong decision and winds up losing.  I think Danielle would have had a better shot against Terry.  The final tribal council was very lame.  Everyone threw out softball questions except for Shane, who was great.  He was brutally honest and said what Ali and I were thinking, Terry was the one who deserved to be there, not them.  Overall this cast was not great, I would probably rate this season in the bottom third of all of them.  We’ll still be watching next season. 

I put an Epic quality rifle up on the auction house in WoW (Precisely Calibrated Boomstick – http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=2100).  I stole it from someone for 95 gold and have it listed for 350 gold. As you can see the median price is 300g so I am going for a homerun. I was debating equipping it on my 44 hunter but the stats while good (+14 agility) weren’t enough to make me not try to flip it for a 250 gold profit. Yesterday I got into an argument with another hunter in Zul”Furak when he told the group to roll NEED on an epic pair of gloves that would have been perfect for my feral druid.  At first I let it slide but then I got more and more angry.  I eventually hearthed out of the instance which hurt them since I was the healer.  I then totally f’d them when I disbanded the group (I was group leader) which caused them to get booted out of the instance and have to redo it.  I told the hunter I was going to write about him on the WoW forums telling everyone what a ninja he was. (which I didn’t) but then I logged into my other characters and told the guy that how I just read about him on the forums and how he was an ass for stealing the stuff.  He kept asking where it was so he could read it.  Eventually he logged off after I badgered him 3 or 4 times.