The Cowardly Lion

What happened to me over the last 6 months? Simply put, I'm at a loss for words. I reverted into exactly the opposite of what I was doing the first half of the year. My days have become parodies of themselves and I'm disappointed in what I haven't become.

My never-ending story goes something like this:

7:00 A.M. Get up & get caffeinated.
7:30 A.M. Post news to my site and respond to publisher emails.
8:00 A.M. Go for a run and general exercise.
9:30 A.M. Shower and eat.
10:00 A.M. Search the new job listings. Follow up on sent resumes.
11:00 A.M. Review material for site, make sure my writers are on track and write some material of my own.
12:00 P.M. Lunch & Arrested Development (ironic, I know) on HDNet.
1:00 P.M. Post / Upload video & media for the day.
2:00 P.M. Second run of the day, usually 3 miles.
3:00 P.M. Shower again and start testing new games.
5:00 P.M. Dinner
6:00 P.M. to Midnight: A combination of more job listing stuff, Ebaying, internet surfing, catching up on primetime TV and checking out video blogs.

I'm not saying that I haven't done anything new over the course of the past 6 months, but my days have been dreadfully similar to each other. I did get a promotion at the site I write for, from writer to Chief Editor. I revamped my sister's website into complete Flash. I also got up to NYC for a contracting job with MTV, but that fell apart incredibly quickly due to a girl with a drinking habit. At least I got a free trip up there, to see my sister and stargaze at Vic effing Mackey. I think I've been a help around the house as well during a troubling family crisis.

By all accounts, the gumption that got me to quit my job has rapidly diminished and I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I keep telling myself that I'm going to just leave, which I have the finances for, but I think I lack the courage. I'm the Cowardly Lion and there is no girl in ruby slippers that's going to help me get the hell out of the funk that I'm sinking into. (I credit the OZ references to the horrible Sci-Fi mini-series "Tin Man" that I sat through over the weekend. Boy it really sucked for the cast that they had.)

So that's where I'm at right now. Comments?

Day 173 - 179: Holy Hell.

Again, I'm doing terrible on the updates. I promise to return to a regular schedule soon. Escaping from one's life is a massive undertaking. But on to the past week:

Friday: I met up with an old high school friend and I went to GottRocks for the first time. We shot pool for a while and caught up on each other's lives. It's a nice little place to chill out, but kind of skeasy at the same time.

Saturday: I snubbed a child trying to tell me about Jesus. I'm amazed that parents force their kids to approach strangers and offer up the word of God. Holy hell, can I enjoy my sandwich and drink out on Main Street without having to read passages of the Bible?! I have no problem with whatever religion people want to practice, just keep it away from me while I'm eating. And don't use a little kid to do your dirty work.

Sunday: I posted something on Craigslist for the first time. Actually, my entire furniture collection. I needed to get rid of everything quickly and that seemed like the best solution. Plus it's freakin' free.

Monday: I managed to complete an entire day of work without doing anything productive. While my old job was certainly super easy, I always had at least one thing to do each day that qualified as work; even for a few minutes. Today, I spent the entire day playing flash games on my computer. What are they going to do, fire me?

Tuesday: Today, I gave a crapload of kitchen appliances to a few people that are less fortunate than myself. I needed to get rid of such things before I make my grand exit and it was certainly more productive than throwing it away.

Wednesday: I never drink too much. In fact, I've always been able to hold my liquor. But not tonight. I spent the late, late evening praying to the porcelain god after drinking far too much vodka at my going away party. That's the first time I puked, caused by drinking anyway.

Thursday: As I woke up on my ghetto yoga mat bed around 11.a.m (the mattress sold quickly), I hopped in the shower and strolled down to Tsunami for lunch. Fuck me if I didn't run into Tabatha. We got to talking for about 10 minutes about pointless chit-chat and she wanted to know if she could call me again.

Considering my current situation, I probably could have been a real asshole and got away scot free since I'm leaving town. But there is no way I'm going to get involved with that crazy, crazy girl again. I told her about my plans to relocate and she was shocked. We parted ways after lunch and I won't be seeing her again thank goodness.

Day 168 - 172: Wrapped up in change

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. After I quit my job last week, I've been engrossed in moving on. That basically entails getting my finances in order, searching for a new job, researching places to relocate, and clearing out of my apartment by the end of the month. I've barely had time to breath.

Anyway, the following are very brief descriptions of the new things I have done for the past few days.

Sunday: I donated blood for the first time at a downtown blood drive. I've needed to find out my blood type anyway since my parents haven't the slightest idea.

Monday: I listed an entire hobby on Ebay. Video games have consumed endless hours of my life over the past couple years and made me a hell of an introvert. While I still like to write about the industry, I'm obliterating something that never made me truly happy.

Tuesday: I accidentally disrupted a shot on an amateur movie set because I was in need of some coffee. Some asshole college kid yelled in my direction, but shut up when I stared him down.

Wed: I threw away about 10 30-gallon garbage bags of my life. Useless electronics, stacks of paperbacks, sacks of clothing, piles of paperwork, and endless items that somehow seemed worth saving for years. I'm keeping truly important pieces of my life from now on; childhood memories, gifts I treasure, etc.

Today: The news of my departure went public today and I spent the day fending off folks who were mad I didn't say anything. I'm surprised how many people were shocked that I was leaving. I must have given off the vibe that I was a lifer.

Day 167: Boo!

Today, I scared the living hell out of a runner in the park; completely on accident. It's standard to let someone know you are running up behind them when passing another jogger on the skinny trail out in the woods. I must have waited until I got far too close to her before I let her know I was passing her. She freaked out and did one of those "I've got a spider on me" moves. We both had a nice laugh about it. She must have thought I was a crazy mugger or something.

Day 166: Blew off a coworker

This was a little bit mean tonight. I went tonight to meet some friends down on Washington and got a call some someone I knew from work. I haven't been on good terms with this guy for a while, but made plans to meet up with him later. Anyway, I said I would meet him down on the West End, but changed my mind after I hung up. It may have been the alcohol, but I just didn't want to mess with that at all.

Day 165: No worm for me

Branching out on the alcohol repetiore, I tried tequila for the first time tonight; specifically a tequila sunrise. Orange juice and something else I think. It smelled ridiculously awful, almost like a weak paint solvent. But I did like the mixture.

Day 164: Barefoot leaps.

Today, I went out with the girl from yesterday's update. We stuck around downtown, got some coffee and wandered around the park. I got the strange feeling that she was trying to figure out my dating situation, even though she said she had a long term boyfriend. I remained coy about my status and that just seemed to make her want to know more. The mystery, I suppose.

But on to the new thing. We ended up hopping the giant rocks on the Falls section of the Park. That's something I've always wanted to do just for fun, but never took the time. I have no idea how some people take a kayak down that drop. It's all jagged rocks at the bottom.

Day 163: Two-fer

Today, I did a couple exciting firsts.

Yesterday, I ran into a girl from my old high school who's in town for the week. She was definitely in the clique of popular kids way back when and she's still cute to boot. We talked for a while and then I kicked myself later for not taking it a little further. Today, I got a second chance. We chatted for about 20 minutes about Charleston, college, and we made plans to go out this week. Not too shabby. :)

Secondly, I ran in a hailstorm after work. The sky ripped open about halfway through my run and drenched me to the bone. I dodged golf ball sized pieces of ice and made my best attempt to not trip on the way back. That was just crazy fun.

Day 162: Quitting Time

Hmmm, today I quit a job without having a new job waiting in the wings. Typically a horrific idea, but I want to escape to a new city. It went relatively smooth, but I didn't leave much room for response. The uncertainty is a bit of a bitch, but it's exciting at the same time.

Day 161: Clean Shave

I shaved off all my chest hair just for the hell of it. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but it is silky smooth now. I was trimming the body hair and just kept cutting until I had nothing left. I don't remember having this many freckles on my skin though.

I'll just let it grow back out as it's far too funny looking.

Day 160: Spoons

I tossed some money in a street performers hat today. I've never given a bit to those types of people, but this guy playing spoons was pretty good. He probably makes more than I do.

Day 159: Typed it up.

What? My first resignation letter. I haven't delivered it yet though. I taking a final weekend to deeply ponder my options. I'm thinking Seattle is my best bet this time around. It's well versed in the tech industry and I think I could pick up an editing job. If not, I have about nine months of savings to keep my company until I land a job I'm actually passionate about.

It was actually enjoyable to write that resignation letter. I feel like nothing is left for me in Greenville. Everything that meant something to me has moved away.

Day 158: The Moviegoer

I was told to read this one over the summer since I'm supposed to be exactly like the main character. I've got to say I'm pretty darn close. Binx is a guy who glides through life without seeking honor, fame, or fortune. He meets a girl that's similar to him, but needs direction in her life. Rather than taking a backseat to his own life anymore, he changes his entire outlook to keep the girl and direct his own destiny.

I'm kind of shocked how close it was.

Day 157: Artistic night

Sorry about not updating these days on time. My mind has been pondering some big questions lately.

Today, I perused all the little art shops at the bottom of the new west end Riverplace development. I walk past there everyday, but havn't taken in the time to check out the local art. Most of it was pretty horrific. I wouldn't display anything on my blank walls. Hell, my wall looks better blank than some of that kitchy crap. Needless to say, it wasn't impressive.

Day 156: Synchronized running

I've been running around the park at the same time lately after work. I also run in the mornings, but I like to loop down by the zoo and the tennis courts after I escape from my job.

Anyway, I met a fellow runner at the water fountain and she started talking to me about jogging, exercising, etc. Anyway, we decided to run together for a while back up to the front of the park. I suppose that's my first running partner. We are going to meet up again tomorrow about the same time.

Day 155: Brown Street

Tonight, I went out to the Brown Street Jazz club for the first time. It's a very slick place to kick back and chill out after work. The bar was surprisingly packed for a Monday night. Besides the alcohol, I split some potato wrapped shrimp with the friend that I met there. All in all, a fun little Monday night. I liked it a bit more than the Roper Jazz Caverns.

Day 154: Running fool.

Today, I just started running and didn't stop until I had polished off 7.63 miles. That's the furthest I've ever gone in one constant jog. I really don't know what came over me. I just found my stride and ran all the way out to Haywood road and back. That's a new record for me.

Day 153: Saturday Morning flirting.

This morning, I strolled across the street to the always empty Joel's Java and picked up some caffine to start my day. I sat down and perused the paper while people gazing the folks at the Saturday Morning market. After about 5 minutes, a strikingly attractive woman walked in, got some coffee, and sat down at the table right beside me.

I have no idea what came over me, but I started a conversation and began flirting with her. With all of the shit going on in my life, approaching this woman seemed so insignificant that I didn't even need courage. We must have talked for 20 minutes about a million different topics. After I got a text message from my sister, she started perusing my cell phone pictures and ended up calling her own cell phone for obvious reasons. I'm going to call her tommorrow, I think.

Day 152: Jimmy Johns

Sorry about being slack on the updates this week. I've been dealing with alot of stuff, the good with the bad.

Today, I ate at a new sandwich shop called Jimmy Johns. Appartently, it's a chain, but I've never heard of it. It's a bit off the beaten path, ala Main Street. But still close to my abode. Anyway, I tried the Gargantuan which wasn't really that big. But it was ridiculously fattening and just the treat I needed after my run. I won't be eating too many of those 1000 calorie monsters though.

Day 151: New Music

I hit up downtown Alive today and checked out a musical performer I hadn't heard before. The guy's name was Nathan Angelo. He kind of looked like a fatter version of James Blunt and he sounded like Coldplay. It was ok, I suppose. It got me out of the house.

Day 150: Yoga Master

Not quite, but I did teach a couple poses to some girls down in the park today. I was laying out down by the river reading some short stories and caught myself eavesdropping on a flippant conversation on the subject. I schooled them on the basics; vinyasas and a few basic poses. I had them tumbling and crashing all over the place. Perhaps not the best teacher, but it was very entertaining. Nearly as much as when I took a tumble a few months ago.

Day 149: Tried Hummus

And it was just plain gross. I think it was the cumin in the dish that I gagged on. Oddly, I liked all the ingredients. Just not mixed together in that horrific blend. I didn't even finish the pita bread. I just trashed it all.

Day 146 - 148: Memorial Day Weekend

No, I didn't forget about this. I just didn't have internet access out at the lakehouse this weekend. I was lucky enough to get invited down to Lake Murray this weekend by a very old college friend. She just got married over a month ago and threw a huge get-together this weekend at her parent's house on the lake.

Anyway, let's get into it. On Saturday, I rode a jetski for the first time; specifically a Kawasaki XR something. That's the first time I've ridden one of those suckers. It's a little frightening at first. But after about 10 minutes, I was racing around like a pro. I even caught a little bit of air in the wake of a speedboat.

On Sunday, about 15 of us went out on a pontoon rental and fished in a quiet section of the lake. It's the first time I've ever tried fishing before and I can't say I'll want to do it again. It's so insanely boring that I gave up after about 30 minutes of not catching anything. I just don't have the patience I suppose. I also learned how to bait a hook properly. Whoop-de-doo.

Today, I drank Long Island iced tea for the first time. It was definitely the southern version of it. I think there was a 5-pound bag of sugar in that concoction. I also saw the new Pirates tonight when I got back from Lexington. It was a decent ending to the tale, if you stayed to the end of the credits.

Day 145: Pub Crawl

I went on the annual pub crawl this year after work. We went to several places over the past several hours, but I did get to visit a new bar down on Coffee Street called Eddys. It was a cool little hangout down by Corner Pocket. I'm definitely going to return to it some time soon. Anyway, I'm far too buzzed to keep typing.

Day 144: Extra Crispy

Ha, I was finally roasted by the students today. My crazy antics finally caught up with me. Several of the creative writers and a couple visual artists did a very entertaining skit about my pension for sarcastic commentary and obvious lack of interest in my job. It was superbly accurate.

Actually, I'm surprised I wasn't toasted by the drama kids. I certainly provided them with enough bootleg episodes of The Office this year.

Day 143: New running route.

I upped my running regiment to twice a day this week and I think I'll keep it going from now on. I've been feeling a little lethargic lately, so I thought it would be best to boost my metabolism. Today, I started exploring a section of the city I haven't been to and found a third park to romp around on the north end of downtown. It seemed secluded, basically surrounded by an upscale neighborhood. Anyway, good for me.

Day 142: Whistling Dixie

I went out for sushi last night and decided to wander into Dixie's Tavern tonight. I'd never been inside since it was opened, so I figured it was time. It gives off a Barley's / Wild Wing type of vibe. I didn't hang around for too long, but I did see a couple people I knew.

Day 141: Running barefoot

Or close to it. I found a pair of Nike "Free" shoes on clearance today and snatched them up. They are the barefoot running shoes, essentually designed to act as if you are running barefoot. This will build up the muscles within the foot when I run.

The shoes are different than anything I've ever seen. The soles bend in any direction. If I flex my toes, the shoe flexs with it. There is also tons of ventitalion within the shoe to allow for airflow on my bare feet. No socks with these obviously.

Anyway, it will be very interesting to run with these in the morning.

Day 140: Mallard Crossing

Today, something new happened to me rather than something I decided to seek out. A giant duck decided to cross paths with my Buick this afternoon while traveling on the Interstate. It flew directly across my windshield and seemed to smash both of its feet onto the metal and glass. I watched it crash into the grassy side of the road as I flew away at a breakneck (no pun intended) speed. I either crippled or killed the poor creature and I feel terrible about it. It took about 10 minutes before the adrenaline wore off.

Day 139: Cooked dinner for my family.

I've never actually done this for the entire fam and I was looking for a way to pitch in this weekend. I whipped up a little strawberry spinach salad, grilled lime garlic chicken over a bed of Spanish rice, and chocolate trifle for dessert. I figured it was the least I could do.

Day 138: Took a nap at an airport

Late again, sadly due to lack of internet access.

While sleeping isn't such a monumental task, I actually konked out at the airport while waiting to pick up my sister. Her plane was late by an hour and I just fell right asleep. I'd usually be wary of sleeping in a public place, but my local airport isn't exactly the pinnacle of crime. Hell, I don't think there are more than 10 gates in the whole place.

Day 137: Brazilian Lunch

I went to a new place to eat today, the Rio Grill. It's down in the West End. I noticed it during a run last week and made a note to try it out soon.

The serving style is quite unique. You pay a blanket price for the meal and the waiters walk around with giant skewers of meat; anything from chicken to pork to steak. I have a chip on my table that indicates if I want a slab of the meat. I just flip the chip back and forth depending on my specific tastes. It's basically a nonverbal indicator. There is also a salad bar for the veggies, which seems very out of place in that restaurant.

Anyway, it was something fun to do today. I needed a little bit of that.

Day 136: Toe Armor

This is a bit of an odd one, but I decided to take a little better care of my feet today. I tried out a pumice stone on the thick, hard shell of skin on my big toes. It's the only place on my feet that seems to build up layer after layer of skin. I like to call it my Toe Armor. I could imbed a thumbtack down there and not feel a thing.

I also slapped a layer of vaseline on the soles to soften up the skin. It's all gooey in my socks right now.

Day 135: Spent the night in the hospital.

Sorry about being late on this one, but the title says it all. I slept very poorly on a couple of chairs while covered by a thin jacket.

Day 134: Discovered Threadless

Where have I been since Threadless was created? I bought two new shirts today, the one about Haikus and a cool artistic one called Holding Pattern. I'd elaborate more, but I'm dead tired.

Day 133: Sugar high

Oh, I'm about to explode with chocolatey goodness. As a general rule, I never buy any pre-packaged sweets at the grocery store. Too much saturated fat and calories. But I made an exception today due to a shitty couple of days. Dopamine and Serotonin are having a party inside my brain due to a new flavor of Ben & Jerry's I tried; New York Super Fudge Chunk. It's basically chocolate ice cream with white/dark chocolate chunks on the inside.

Manufactured bliss in a cardboard package, even if it's just for a few hours.

Day 132: Not much to say

I went to a new restaurant in Sparkle City today as well as trying bananas foster for the first time, but I'm not sure I was even there mentally. Most of the day has been a blur. I tried to get my Mom's mind off the impending operation by introducing her to the world of Lost, plus it will be fun to watch during her recovery. But anything she wants to do this weekend is fine with me.

Day 131: Cancer

When I was ten years old, I remember being taken to the hospital nearly every night for a couple of weeks while my Mom was being treated for breast cancer. I can recall being scared all the time, but pretending to act normal so my sister would feel more at ease. I also remember crying while praying every single night, desperately trying to barter a deal with a God that I didn't understand. After extensive chemotherapy, she recovered and has been cancer free for the past 16 years. She runs 5 miles a day, eats healthier than me, and has been the model of health for quite a while.

Today, I found out my mom has a cancerous mass in her uterus and has to have an emergency hysterectomy right after Mother's Day. This is something I never wanted to face as an adult. I almost envy that kid, clueless to mortality rates and stages of growth. I'm so fucking numb right now.

Day 130: Watched a street performance.

During my very lengthy run this afternoon, I passed by a theatre troop performing down on Main Street. It wasn't the folks from the Warehouse, but rather a traveling type of troop. I always blow by these sorts of deals, but I decided to stop and watch for a bit as a change.

Sadly, it was too windy to hear half the lines. But they certainly put their all into the performance, even if the crowd was fleeting.

Day 129: Getting my Cubano groove on.

I tried a mojito for the first time today. I've wanted to try one just for the hell of it and decided to make it my new thing for today. I watched the bartender assembly this one for future reference. It looked like Bacardi rum, juice from a fresh squeezed lime, a few mint leaves, and a dash of sugar drowned in a bath of club soda. The drink looks ridiculously stupid, essentially appears like a cup of tea leaves.

But, I really did enjoy it. So much so that I may switch to it for a while.

Day 128: Career thoughts

I took my first career aptitude test today. I've been searching for something else to do for several months based on my job skills rather than matching myself to a job. Anyway, it didn't tell me a damn thing I didn't already know. It recommended a career in Human Resources, which is what I specialized in during college. I was half expecting some sort of revelation, but I wasn't rewarded with one.

Here was the synopsis conclusion: "You will speak your mind when you have to, but you are really more of a follower. You always try to make everyone happy, which usually leads to your own unhappiness. You have goals, but don't have the killer instinct needed to reach them. You will always work for someone else, but at least you can pretend you have power by doing the hiring and firing."

Day 127: Don't drop...

This might sound odd, but I've never actually held a newborn baby until today. As I was walking back to lunch today, I ran into an old friend from high school that was taking her new baby on a stroll through the park. We got to talking for a while and she asked me to hold the little guy while she grabbed some coffee. I pretended not to freak out and kind of just cradle him in my arms. But seriously, I was afraid a million different things would go wrong.

But after a couple minutes, it seemed to get much simpler. The little fellow grabbed onto my pinkie a couple times and wouldn't let go. He just kept smiling up at me and laughing as well. In the world of babies, my appearance must be hilarious. All in all, it was a very enriching experience. Almost too cute for words.

Day 126: Lacrosse

I got a chance to play lacrosse today down in the park today (which was a perfect 70 degrees) and it's quite entertaining. The toughest part seemed to be catching that little ball in the net most of the time. After I learned the basic rules of the game, we had a little 4 on 4 scrimmage; which my team won despite my worst efforts. The rules are very much like hockey, but playing on grass seems much easier. I never learned how to ice skate properly.

Anyway, it was a hell of a workout. I think I ran more today than I have in my combined workouts for the week.

Day 125: Hollywood

Or as close as you can get to it in Greenville. I perused the Hollywood Gallery for the first time today, kind of looking for some small black & whites for a framed grouping of photos. They didn't have exactly what I was looking for, but I did see a couple excellent Marylyn Monroe prints that would look great on my walls. I also found a hilarious picture of Jack Nicholson with a goofy smile staring into a magnifying glass.

Still, I'd be shocked if they stay in business for long. Many of the prints are very overpriced, reaching professional gallery prices. I'll probably just find the prints I want on the net and frame them myself.

Day 124: Crashed a luncheon.

For some reason, I felt really confident today. One of those types of days where everything just clicks. I pulled off an excellent prank on a couple students this morning, solved an "enormous" (according to the perception of ignorant people) problem at work, and even coaxed a free coffee out of my favorite barista girl all before lunch.

Anyway, there was a large shin-dig setup in downtown as a precursor to Cinco De Mayo. Similar to St. Patrick's Day, it's a weekend celebration rather than a single day around here. So, I snuck a nametag from the main table and dished myself up a plate of fine hispanic cuisine. I believe it was a city sponsered event as I saw folks like the mayor strolling around the area. I must have looked like I fit in with my dress clothes.

As long as you look important enough, I guess you can blend in anywhere.

Day 123: Broadway

Today I bought a birthday gift for a lovely young lady who truely deserves such tokens, specfically a ticket for a Broadway show. While it was the first time I purchased a birthday gift for her, it's actually the first time I've ever bought a ticket for a Broadway show. I've saw Phantom & Les Mis in the late nineties along with Chicago & Avenue Q a couple years ago, yet never paid for anything myself.

Anyway, it feels good to give. I've been on an altruistic high all night. :)

Day 122: Change

I've always been a bit of an asshole when it comes to the homeless. For some reason, I get asked for change all the time. I'm not sure what in my face screams "Free money", but it just does. I always see some of the same people walking the streets every day, but I avoid all eye contact. Hell, that's partially the reason I shove headphones in my ear on my daily commute.

Anyway, my frozen exterior melted away a bit today and I emptied my pocket to a lady that's been sitting on the same bench for a week, all day. Just a trifle though. And I'll still wake up as an asshole tomorrow.

Day 121: I hate squash.

I actually hate the vegetable too, but I'm referring to the game. I played my first (and last) game of squash down at the Y and I really stink at it. I couldn't tell if it was poor eye to hand coordination or just a limited range of motion. I was leaping all over the place trying to smack that tiny rubber ball, but wasn't having a bit of luck. I know I'll be sore all over tomorrow as well.

I'm just going to stick to tennis for now.

Day 120: Tiramisu

I've never had it before, so I decided to make it myself. It's actually really easy to make one of these. It's basically just mixing a coffee flavor with a light cheese, a bit of vanilla, and some sugar. I skipped the coffee liqueur, mostly because I didn't have any, but I did toss in a load of cocoa powder.

Still, I would be just as happy with those chocolate covered strawberries that I made a couple months back.

Day 119: Free Ride

Today was an easy one. I rode a full loop on the Greenville Trolley, just for the hell of it after lying around in the sun for a couple hours. Today was the perfect day for it. 80 degrees, sunny, and windy.

Not that I'm counting this one, but I also saw Stranger Than Fiction for the first time. Wonderful flick, but Harold Crick eerily reminds me of myself. I just need to find my Ana Pascal.

Day 118: Fruit that gets you drunk.

I haven't found it yet. :)

But I did try a few different types of fruity shots tonight at 221 that I've never had; namely the lemon drop, apple jack, and an orange crush. My rampant need for a little excitement tonight kind of came together at the last minute. I got a text message from a friend of my tennis coach, so I wandered down the street to join the party.

I can't say that I enjoyed any of the shots, but they sure as hell got me buzzed in a hurry. Nothing else really came of the night beside a girl at the table asking for my number. Whatever. I feel like I have so much shit on my plate right now that it's not even worth starting something again.

Day 117: My ears are still ringing.

I went to go hear my Dad play with his band for the first time over at the Wild Wing Cafe in Sparkle City. The music was pretty darn good, mostly covers. They played everything from Audioslave to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Unfortunately, I arrived late and had to sit right next to the band. My ears just finally started popping a few minutes ago, thank goodness. I did miss the no-smoking policy that Greenville adopted though. I reek of cigarette smoke. Bleck!

Day 116: That Bill Shakespeare is pretty entertaining.

But Arthur Miller, not so much. I went to see the Crucible tonight and almost dropped dead of boredom. Perhaps it was the constant screaming or the oddball mesh of old & new wardrobes, but it was just god-awful. I was literally attempting to find a way to fall asleep with my eyes wide open.

At least I tried.

Day 115: Simian Chedda'

I polished off a book in one sitting today, completely out of my apartment. Half laying out in the sun and the other half at Coffee Underground. The book is called The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.

It's quite the funny tale about a college age kid entering college back in the late fifties and declaring his major to be art. He despises art, but needed something to major just for the sake of a major. The writing reminds me of David Sedaris, but with a Dennis Miller speed of jokes flying at you. Quite the entertainment.

Day 114: Oops.

After a two episode Shield marathon, I got into a long conversation about skinheads, drunk midgets, and college life with a friend of mine and completely forgot to update last night before I passed out. Anyway, my bad.

Yesterday, I walked in the perhaps-polluted Reedy without shoes for the first time. Nasty, I know. But I couldn't help myself. I've been heading down there to lay out recently for a bit of color on my pale hide and I just had to finally do it. I may do it again today after tennis.

Day 113: Hispanic Health food

I ate at Cantinflas (the health-oriented, Mexican joint on Main) for the first time today. I had a portabella mushroom pizza and some black bean soup. It was surprisingly good and reasonably priced for Main Street. Anyway, it's worth a return trip. I had always wondered how the food was there. Now I know. :)

Day 112: Bubbling crude.

I spent half the day outside today, partly playing frisbee and just chilling out in the sun. But there was actual work to be done. I decided to change the oil in my car all by myself. It's something I've always relied on others to do for me and perhaps a decent skill to learn. It's pretty cheap when you do it yourself, less than $10.

Unfortunately, a bit messy. I didn't get the oil pan underneath the car in time, so there was a nasty stain on the concrete. I soaked up most of it with some cat litter though. Although I had absolutely nothing to do, it really wasn't worth my time; especially not with the quickie oil joints all over the place.

Day 111: Mooooo.

Holy crap, I ate at Charlie's Steak House for the first time tonight. I had dinner 4 hours ago and I'm still full. I had a kickass Tenderloin Filet (Medium Rare) with a heavy mushroom sauce and some grilled onions. I haven't had a really delicious steak in ages, probably since last year. And oh my god, the dessert! Homemade Baklava with some vanilla ice cream.

All I know is that I'm going to have to run my ass off in the morning. But it totally worth it. Yum!

Day 110: Unexpected.

I got a call out of the blue today from my new tennis coach, Jennifer. It turned out we knew alot of the same people from that yoga class I take. Long story short, she wanted me to come out with her friends tonight, but specifically more of a setup. The cool thing about it was she was straight about the whole thing. No stupid games.

Anyway, I met them for dinner at Cheeseburger's in Paradise (which I've been to before). The Chocolate nachos and mini-cheeseburgers are scrumptious, btw. Due to the college age of the crowd, we stuck to the movies, which was perfectly fine with me. The girl that Jen set me up with was very cute, but sadly a borderline ditz. Trudging through a conversation with Katie was next to impossible and she just wouldn't shut up during the movie because she didn't get half of the jokes.

But I digress. It was an absolutely entertaining evening and it got me the hell out of my apartment on a Friday night. That the important part. FYI, Hot Fuzz (the movie) is bloody hilarious. The flick has an excellent mixture of British and American humor going for it.

Day 109: Alive in Downtown.

I wandered down to Downtown Alive tonight, listened to a very under-whelming band called Obsession Day, and hung out for a while before it started to pour down rain and thunder down lightning from the bleak sky. The band seemed like a Coldplay knockoff, which is already a pretty shitty place to start.

Anyway, it was slightly entertaining. I'm trying to get out more to these sorts of events. Circulate among the young crowd I suppose. I also peeked my head out the door for the fireworks tonight. The city shot a few packs of colored gunpowder in the sky to kickoff the mediocre display that is Artisphere. At least the food might be decent.

Day 108: Accosted by Squirrels

I spent half the day outside before my long night at work, some of which was getting some sun down in the park. I drifted off into that half-sleep dream state at some point and woke up to see 2 squirrels about 1 foot from my head. They were poking through my gym bag that I use to hold my towel and bottled water. I did a freakout jolt maneuver, partly because I still thought I was dreaming and perhaps a bit because I was frightened by small woodland creatures.

They scampered off insanely fast and my heart finally slowed down about 2 minutes later. I just hope to god nobody was filming that embarrassing moment.

Day 107: Sampras, I'm not.

I took my first tennis lesson today. I bought a racket about 5 years ago, but never did anything with it. I broke it in after work though and what a kick ass day for it. 75 degrees outside and sunny. So nice.

Anyway, one of the fitness instructors at my school hooked me up with a local Furman girl that offered cheap lessons. We mostly worked on returning lobs with my forehand & backhand, but had me do some serves as well. She also blasted a couple serves past me to give me an idea how fast my reaction time is supposed to be. I was having a hell of a time getting the timing down for serving, but it started to click at the very end. I definitely have the stamina for the game. She had me running all over the court grabbing the errant shots and I didn't have any problem keeping up.

All in all, a pretty entertaining afternoon. I scheduled another for next week.

Day 106: I hate folding paper.

Origami stinks. Probably because I don't have the slightest bit of patience for it. I tried to teach myself a bit about it today in the spirit of newness, but failed miserably. The beautiful swan I was supposed to be folding looked more like a mutant camel-giraffe. The wings were deformed and the neck appeared broken. A 3-year-old Japanese child could have created a nicer looking swan than me.

From this day forth, all animals created by me will have to be doodled or formed out of a ball of tin foil.

Day 105: I'm skipping right to chainsaws.

There's a guy down in the park who I see on a constant basis. I have no idea if he has a real job or not as he is always down there juggling. Sometimes I'll see him when I go to lunch and when I go home on the same day. He spends hours upon hours juggling under the sun.

So, I decided to give it a shot. I've never tried to learn how to juggle properly. There's actually quite a bit of technique involved for the novice. I started with two rubber balls and worked my way up to three. The trick is to kind of turn your brain off and focus on the rhythm of the throw. I had a heck of a time training my brain to throw the third ball when the second was in the air. I also learned that you should practice in front of a wall when starting to avoid walking with the throws.

I won't be joining the Ringling Bros. anytime soon, but it was a fun first today.

Day 104: A Night out.

I strolled down Main and tried out Tassey's Tavern tonight for the first time. I can't say I really enjoyed it. While it's marginally better than the Bait Shack, the clientelle left much to be desired. It almost seemed like more of a rednack bar than a downtown hangout. On the plus side, the drinks were really cheap.

I also have really bad timing. My exit from the bar was greeted by the kids leaving the Hyatt from their prom. Hopefully, my drunk stagger wasn't too prevalent.

Day 103: Expanding my palette

I've never been a wine drinker, mostly due to me ignorance on the subject. After dinner, I trotted over to the Cazbah to try a few different wines. I'll never know what I like until I try new types of wine. I tasted a french merlot, a tuscan cabernet, and an italian pinot grigio.

I liked the cabernet the best. It had a smooth fruity flavor while the other two seemed far too bitter for my taste buds. I doubt that wine will replace my drink of choice (Vodka & Cranberry), but it's nice to have the option in case I'm in a situation that requires such knowledge.

Day 102: A comical night

So, I bought a cheap ticket for David Sedaris at the Peace Center a couple weeks ago and the show was tonight. He's a heck of a storyteller, much funnier than his sister in my opinion. He used a variety of the stories from Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim along with some of his other books. All in all, it was a hilarous show. I kept laughing so hard that my sides started to hurt. I'm actually surprised some of the material went over with the Greenville crowd as well.

Day 101: Yeah, I'm silly.

Today, I chased around ducks in the park. I had a few minutes during lunch after I picked up a cup of hot chocolate (It was freezing today), so I took the long way back to work next to the river. I came across a flock of 6 ducks grazing by the riverbank. I looked around to make sure no one was looking and I chased them all the way from the Riverplace development to the waterfall area.

Just felt like being foolish today. :)

Day 100: Very relaxing

Wow, it's been 100 days already. The year is flying by. I'm finally starting to feel better today. Just getting rid of all those nasty fluids.

Today, I got one of those quickie public chair massages, oddly enough at Whole Foods. I drove over there after work to pick up some fresh shark to celebrate my freedom of germs and they had a booth setup. The lady giving the massage was very good. Just enough pressure to be comfortable and stimulating at the same time. I left the chair feeling so good that I almost forgot to buy the shark.

Anyway, it was the first time for something like that. I'l probably go to one of these spas around here and get a longer massage soon. Plus it will help in my massage studies. I've gotta learn how to do it right.

Day 99: Spent 15 minutes at a Greenville Drive game.

So, I was given tickets to the opening game for the Greenville Drive, the minor league team here in Greenville. I never went last year, so I gave it a shot tonight. Wow, what a snoozefest. I already knew I disliked the pacing of baseball, but watching that game was ridiculously boring. I spent a few minutes talking with a couple people I knew there and excused myself asap. Perhaps if I was in a mood to drink heavily, I might have had a better time.

So I jacked myself up on cold meds and spent the rest of the night getting rid of this darn thing. Plus I've been playing the hell out of some Guitar Hero. Whoever created that game was a friggin' genius.

Day 98: Tried a little meditation.

With all of the gadgets and entertainment I surround myself with, I never really take time to just think. I can't remember the last time I produced a truely creative idea. So I read up on a couple different meditation techniques and gave it a shot this afternoon. Much of what I read about was far too new age for my tastes, but the core of the idea is pretty solid. It's very similar to clearing out my head before falling asleep. More specifically, just switching off my brain. I managed to pull it off for about ten minutes, then my brain told me that I was really bored.

Anyway, it was very relaxing. I might toss in a few minutes every day.

Day 97: Dessert at Devereaux's

Still stinkin' sick today, but I'm fortunately functional. I've got a nagging cough that feels much like my bout of bronchitis in college. Yuck. But I do have an extra deep, raspy voice. That's kinda cool.

To more delightful topics, I ventured out into the unusually chilly night air and went into Devereaux's for a little dessert. It's very cool being able to cook my own dinner and walk 100 feet away to get my sugar high on. Plus that's about all I can afford at that joint. :) I tried something I've never had before, Goat Cheese Cheesecake. That actually sounded disgusting to me, but I'm open to anything. It was surprisingly delicious. It had a distinct ginger / cinnamon flavor that thankfully registered with my sickly taste buds.

Day 95 & 96: Sick as a dog.

Goodness, it's been an odd couple of days. For my new thing on Thursday, I cooked up some giant stuffed mushrooms for lunch. I saw some massive ones at the store this week and couldn't resist. I stuffed them with three different types of cheeses and a little bit of crab meats. Insanely good stuff, but probably terrible for me.

Anyway, I had been feeling a little under the weather for most of the day; lack of energy, sore throat, slight headache, etc. When I got off work at 4:30, I walked home and crashed around 5. I'll be damned if I didn't wake up until 9 a.m. today. I woke up, stumbled around like I was drunk, and stood in the shower like a zombie. I still felt like total shit, so I laid back down and passed out yet again. I woke up about an hour ago and I finally feel much more normal. All in all, I nearly slept for the entire day. That's certainly a first.

Day 94: Checked out the Jazz Caverns.

And I had a mocha filet. I've never heard of such a thing. Chocolate and steak mixed together into a odd blend. It was delicious though. I think it's because the wine bled through the mocha taste. Tonight also happened to be open mic night, so I heard some pretty crappy jazz. I'll have to go back when they have somebody of note at the place.

It's a comfy setup on the inside. Plenty of places to chill out around the bar with some friends. They did a good job decorating the place as well.

Day 93: Strange bout of morality.

I kicked my Starbucks habit a couple months ago, but I had a hankerin' for a iced mocha something fierce after laying out in the park before work. After I left the corporate coffeehouse with delicious iced drink in hand, I strolled back up to my apartment. When I emptied my pockets, I realized that they gave me too much money. In fact, I made $5 when attempting to purchase a $4 coffee. Bascially, I gave them a $20 and they gave me back two tens & a five.

So what did I do? I did something I typically wouldn't have done, I returned the money on my way to work. Does Starbucks need the money? Doubtful. Does the barista girl who rung up my coffee deserve to get chewed out by the boss for being short on the register? Not when I can rectify the situation. Anyway, my good mojo was rewarded. The manager gave me a $20 gift card.

In a totally unrelated matter, I picked up Guitar Hero II this morning and I really suck at it. But holy hell, it's addicting. I'm trying to perfect "John the Fisherman" by Primus, "You really got me" by Van Halen, and "Stop" by Jane's Addiction. If anything, it's expanding my musical interests.

Day 92: Worked for UPS for 7 seconds.

Out on my run today after work (gorgeous day!), I was racing back down Main street down by the one-way street near Atlanta Bread Company. Anyway, the UPS guy had already crossed the street with a handcart filled with packages. He didn't seem to notice that he dropped an overnight envelope in the middle of the street and he was about halfway down the next block.

So in one fell swoop, I picked it up without breaking my stride, tossed it on his handtruck, and kept on rolling. I tell ya, I'm like an incredibly weak superhero out to solve the world's mundane problems when I'm running. Then again, the package could have contained something that fate didn't want to make its destination. In that case, I shouldn't have intervened.

Anyway, I realize this isn't anything epic. But I was extra tired after my run, so I've been taking it easy tonight rather than trying something else new.

Day 91: Sketch.

I went into a lovely part of town on this rainy Sunday to hit up the closest pawnshop. I've never been into a pawnshop before. I've been looking for a place to dump my golf clubs, as I never play anymore. It's a bit of an expensive hobby and the darn things are too big to sell on Ebay. Tennis seems much more affordable and better exercise anyway.

So I checked out Luthi's pawn shop. Unfortunately, they offered me absolutely jack shit for the clubs, so they are still in my trunk. Overall, it's a nice store, just in a really sketchy part of town. It's interesting to see how Greenville starts to fall apart when you get a few blocks away from Main Street. It's almost like venturing into a separate, less affluent city.

Day 90: Legs are for suckers.

So, I got to try out a Segway today. A guy down in the park was demoing the Segway for the public. I think it was for the city, perhaps a rental service. Hoping up on that rolling contraption is kind of strange. It's like floating around on waves, like riding on a sailboat. You basically just lean foward and it automatically figures out the balance for movement. I watched a few people crash it before I hopped on. It moves crazy fast and can spin in vomit inducing circles.

Anyway, it was something fun to do. There is no way in hell that I'd ever buy on for actual movement, but I'd certainly rent one to roll around Central Park.

Day 89: Blind dates stink.

A friend of a co-worker set me up on a blind date tonight, obviously with a new girl. Holy hell, what a wrong move that was. I met Julie (the girl in question) for sushi down at the place on McBee. I wanted to go to Tsunami, but she said she didn't like the wait staff. What the heck does that even mean? Do they spit in her food constantly? That was my first warning that I wildly waved off like a rookie air traffic controller landing a 747. Yikes.

So I met here there and I met young Julie inside at the bar. She was cute in a barista girl kind of way, but not overly attractive. We chatted for a bit and grabbed a table. You know, it's really fucking telling when you see who your friends think you should be dating. I realize I'm not the greatest conversationalist, but this girl barely spoke at all. I couldn't tell if she was extremely shy or just pissed that she got stuck with me. Either way, it was a crapshoot.

Besides that, there's very little to tell. She scarfed down a plate of sushi and made a beeline out of there. Not even an offer to split the check after being a mute the whole night. Oh, and I didn't get the bartending job that I posted about a few days ago. Big suprise.

Then I return home and find another weird flower on my front steps. A few days ago it was some daisies, now it's a group of pink carnations. Crazy people!

Day 88: Awkward!

Tonight I went out to grab a cup of coffee at CU and I saw Tabatha (remember her?) walking down the other side of the street when I was rolling back. Yes, the one that doesn't care for the truth. I waved and went along my merry way.

Well, I was drunk dialed by her about 10 minutes later. This was my first time being the recipiant of a drunk dial, but I digress. She blathered on about pointless stuff she saw on the street and said she wanted to come out and see me tonight. I asked her why and she got a little vulgar. Anyway, I hung up on her and was awarded with the drunk redial. She went off on a rant about me being an asshole and rolled into an immediate apology. This went on for about 5 minutes until I hung up again and turned off my phone.

Too much drama. I'll probably have a crapload of messages in the morning. Blah.

Day 87: Dog Walker for a day.

I walked my neighbor's dog today, simply just as a favor. She had to head out of town for a trial down in the low country (she's a lawyer) and asked me to let her golden retriever (Smuckers) out for a walk in the afternoon. Even though I think I was a bit of a last request, I agreed. I'm just too nice.

It was actually pretty fun. I've never been much of a dog person, always had cats growing up. I think my parents were lazy and didn't want to take care of a dog. Anyway, we went down to the park and tore around the place. I took one of her squeeze toys and we played toss down by the river for a while. I think we tired each other out. While I would hate to clean up after a dog every day, it's fun playing around with someone else's responsibility for a little while.

Day 86: Stiff as it gets.

I tried Scotch for the first time tonight. Seems like a bit of a codgy, old-man drink, but I was interested to find out how it tasted. I've always heard about it on TV, movies, etc, just didn't know what it was like myself. So, I headed over to High Cotton, sat down at that chic litte bar, and ordered a glass. Specifically, Highland Park 12-year old single malt.

Yowsa, what a drink. My throat and tounge were on fire, but it has a smooth flavor. I suppose with years of numbing my taste buds that I could get used to it. But perhaps when I get older. For now, I'll stick with Coronas and girl drinks.

Day 85: Jazztastic.

I applied (and kind of interviewed) for a part-time bartending job at a jazz club that's opening soon on Main. I seriously doubt I'll get hired without any experience though. They are interviewing candidates for the rest of the week and are supposed to call me by Friday. Anyway, I figured on picking up some supplimental income for a while now and this seemed like a decent job. We shall see.

Day 84: Wrapped up in rejection.

My masterful misintrepretation of signals from the opposite sex never ceases to amaze me. I'm pretty sure if I start doing the exact opposite of what I think is the correct thing to do, I'll make much more impressive strives in my love life. Oye.

But to the topic at hand. I asked out a girl I've known for a while from a local coffeeshop and got turned down. I've been flirting with her for a while and she's definitely been returning it. Anyway, she looked a bit slack jawed for a moment and then basically said she had a boyfriend.

Rejection's actually far less damaging than I can actually remember. I do know it's better than wondering about it forever, even if I'm going to avoid the iced mochas for a week or two. That's a mistake I've made too many times. Especially when I should just make a damn move.

In lighter news, I discovered the new Amy Winehouse album today. It's the coolest mixture of hip-hop, 60's soul music, and jazz that I've ever heard.

Day 83: Another night out

I wandered around Main Street tonight, solo like some sort of nomad. I finally ended up at the Corner Pocket down on Coffee Street (never been in) and listened to a local band. Kind of a punk rock goove, but they were mostly playing covers. Anyway, I shoot some pool (which I'm still horrible at) and tossed some darts while knocking back a couple beers. It's pretty cozy, but I think I like Barley's for pool a little better.

No puking females tonight, so I consider that a big plus. ;)

Day 82: The nice guy strikes again.

Ugh, what a boring end to a promising night. I met a friend down at the Blue Martini tonight and we ended up talking to a few of her girlfriends down there. All of which seemed as if they had been out partying for most of the night. Anyway, we sipped drinks and lounged around on the couches for a while until everyone decided to wander down to the Bait Shack.

I'd consider the Bait Shack the exact opposite of the Blue Martini. It's like going from a semi-casual nightclub to a dirty, hole-in-the-wall bar. That should have probably been my first clue to break away from the party.

So about halfway down there, Julie, the girl I had been chatting with for most of the night, took a header into the sidewalk. She was just fine, but then she kind of started "drunk" crying and lurched over to a nearby wall for balance. And that's when it got gross. Yep, the drinks of the night made the return trip out onto the sidewalk. I ended up holding her hair back for a bit, while her friends tried to console her. I really don't know what the fuck I was dealing with at that point. She was all over the place, physically and mentally. I just made sure that they took her home instead of the horrific Bait Shack.

So, my night was spent holding the hair of a beautiful, drunken baffoon, which was new to me. I'm far too nice for my own good, me thinks.

Day 81: Hello, this is Chad speaking.

So, I got a wrong number today on my cell about noon today and I stumbled into my new thing for today. I've never let one of these calls play out. Here's how the conversation went down:

Me: Hello?

Female Caller: Hey Chad, it's me.

Me: Heeeey, What's up?

FC: Ugh, Julie is driving me nuts. She won't let up about the jeans. I'm so fried from last night too. I should have stopped at the pit.

Me: (I'm so confused at this point) Ugh, I'm sorry.

FC: It's not your fault. Hey, so how about the Blockhouse in about an hour?

ME: Yah, sounds great.

FC: Ummmm, ok I've gotta go get some coffee. See you there! *click*

Poor, poor, poor Chad. ;)

Day 80: Grew a pair

I'm generally an easygoing guy. I make things look easy at my job simply because I'm just that good. I can edit a person's film project onto a DVD while I scan someone else's slides while I catalogue 40 new movies and answer 50 questions about your inane computer problems without breaking a sweat. I'm bored to tears at my job because there is no challenge to what I do. The only challenge to me is making people think that I'm busy.

But I digress. Today, a co-worker took a real bitchy attitude toward me because I solved a problem in about 10 seconds that he had been wrangling with for an hour. Now, I don't rub someone's face in their errors. Anybody can make a mistake or their mind draws a blank. It happens to all of us at one time or another. But don't you dare give me shit for cleaning up your mess. Don't question me on my whereabouts because you can't figure out the simplest task.

At that point, I had enough. I basically kept my cool and stated that he could go elsewhere for future advice on any technical questions or any help whatsoever. I think I scared him a bit as he stammered for a minute and tried to apologize. Anyway, it's fun to stand up for yourself.

Day 79: Random act of kindness.

I went running today after work (perfect temperature lately). I ran down to my yoga joint on Stone Ave and back up Main down into Falls Park. I think that's about 3 miles in total, but I'm not completely sure.

Anyway, as I was rounding the suspension bridge and rolling back up the bank of the river, I spotted another fellow jogger stuggling to get up the stairs. Of course, she was lugging a double baby stroller, so I can see why her face was confounded with pain. So I offered to grab the other end and help her get up the stairs. She was very thankful and seemed a bit suprised. I told her to have a nice day and tore back up Main street for a nice cold shower along with a bit of sushi.

Not a major act, but perhaps tipping the scales of karma in my favor for a brief moment in time.

Day 77 & 78: Yuck.

It didn't occur to me that I had forgotten to blog yesterday until lunchtime today. Allow me to explain:

Yesterday, I met my folks for a late lunch over at a restaurant on Pelham, one of those Stax places. I had never eaten there and I wasn't going to turn down a free meal. But I will never eat there again. I ordered the salmon, which tasted fine, but I think it was the veggies. They tasted funny, like they hadn't been washed. I didn't think much about it while I was eating, but I paid for it later with a case of food poisoning. I spent the rest of the day and some of the night dispensing of this horrific affliction from both ends. Gross.

Today, I just felt straight up queasy. I haven't been able to stomach more than crackers and water today. At lunchtime, I bought a couple hotdogs from the only street vender in Greenville, but couldn't even finish one. I gave the other one to a vagrant I recognized who sits on a bench near my place. Altruistic, but more of an afterthought than a purposeful action. Anyway, he was appreciative.

So, the new things both days were going to a new restaurant, being poisoned from a public eatery, and offering food to the homeless. Not my finest days, but it's the best I can do when sick.

Day 76: Blarney Festival

Hopped outside for the Blarney festival a few times today. It's always been held near my place, but I never roll out there. Mostly because I'm not a big drinker. I wasn't very impressed. The music stunk each time and it was far too crowded. Blah.

In other news, I discovered the hilarity of Frisky Dingo and I'm in the process of updating my myspace page finally.

Day 75: The Handlebar

I went out to the Handlebar tonight for the first time. It's a local bar / concert arena that hosts lots of local talent. Tonight they had a celtic band for Saint Patty's day. The music was ok, not really my cup of tea. The place wasn't very crowded, perhaps due to the music. I had a couple of beers, saw a friend from my yoga class and chatted for a bit.

Not a bad night, I guess. Something new anyway.

Day 74: My Dreams have cliffhangers!

Holy hell, even my subconscious is getting into the spirit of newness! I had an insanely odd dream last night in 3 parts, each leading into the next. 2 sections took place overnight and the finale happened after a nap I took during the afternoon. This is easily one of the most impressive feats my subconscious has ever pulled off. The following is the best I can remember:

It started out last night with a slight nightmare. I was being chased by a pack of wild dogs on a cruise ship. The last lifeboat had been lowered into the water although the ship wasn't sinking. I was hiding from the dogs in a grand piano in one of the formal ballrooms. Strangely, the dogs knew where I was, but didn't want to attack because of all the noise emanating from the piano strings. I made a break for the helicopter pad to leap onto the chopper getting ready to take off. Unfortunately, I misjudged the leap and started falling into the water below. That's when I woke up in one of those entire body spasms, like I was falling.

So I wiped the sweat off my forehead, took a leak, drank some OJ, and hopped back into the sack. When I re-entered my dream state, I was floating around in the water hanging onto a giant amount of bubble wrap. The dogs had leapt into the water and were now paddling after me. Somehow, I started to swim incredibly fast and basically found myself washed up on an island that looked a lot like my old high school campus.

I wandered around asking people where I was, but everyone ignored me. I walked into a classroom, sat down, and started writing what had just happened to me as a story. All of a sudden, a giant air conditioning vent sucked me up and shot me through miles of tubing to an empty warehouse with gray cement floors. I picked myself up off the floor and saw a girl that looked like my 11th grade crush staring at me. She said something I couldn't hear, pulled out a gun and started shooting at me. For some reason, I thought the bullets were blanks because I snatched the gun out of her hand and pushed her to the ground. She kept saying, "We are still going to kill you.". I said "Who?” She started to say something, but I woke up.

So after a long day of real life stuff, I took a quick nap on my inviting couch after dinner and the whole damn thing picked right up where it left off. I'm back in the warehouse, but the girl had started flying around tossing rotten pumpkins at me. She starts screaming "Release the dogs!" and the same damn dogs on that cruise ship start popping out of holes in the wall. I'm freaked out, but start laughing when the dogs are more interested in the smashed pumpkin guts on the ground than me. I raced out of the warehouse in a blue PT Cruiser that magically appeared and drove to my house. When the garage door shut, I knew I was safe and then I woke up.

So, I suppose I did two new things today: Dreamed in episodes and wrote up a little dream diary about it. The crazy part is that I can remember everything about it. I usually forget what I was dreaming about 10 minutes after I wake up. But this was different. Strange.

Day 73: Barista Charmer

Today was an intriguing day. I was sitting out on Main Street today reading up on changing careers and Lindsey roamed by, a girl that works at one of the local coffee shops. We always yammer on with small talk in the coffee shop, mostly because I never want to go back to work.

Anyway, she sat down and we had a little chat about tons of stuff, books, movies, etc. for about 20 minutes. I'm not really interested in her, but I think she might be into me. At least that's the impression I got. Well, it's always fun to practice flirting, especially with those who approach me rather than the opposite. I like the days that I don't have to seek anything new, but rather it seeks me out. I just have to be open to the situation rather than shying away from it.

Day 72: My blood flows green

Keeping up with the Irish themed week I suppose. I didn't go far for today's venture, just a street away. I hopped over to Connolly's Pub after working out tonight and had a couple beers. I've been in there before, but this time I decided to some obscure imported stuff and also had a bit of shepherd’s pie. The beer, or I should really say dark ale, was good, but I didn't care for the pie. I think the flavor tasted rotten for some reason.

Anyway, I always enjoy Connolly's. It's very laid back and the folks that run the place are fairly cool. They have dart tournaments there from time to time as well as the occasional Texas Hold 'Em game. They even have a vending machine that only stocks UK branded snacks. It's a comfortable place to kick back and drink, even if alone.

Day 71: The great outdoors

I started my vacation week off with a little drive up to Paris Mountain to ride my bike on one of their trails this morning. I think it was called Firetower or something. The ride went pretty smoothly. The entire trail wasn't more than a couple miles, most of which went downhill. It looped back up to the main road and I rode back up to my car. I wish I had remembered my camera. There was a great shot of the sun's rays breaking through the trees up at the top.

Anyway, it was fun stuff. I had never been up to Paris mountain before. It's a quaint, little state park. My ass doesn't care for it though. You know that sore feeling that you get after sitting on a bike seat for a while? It's much worse after riding bumpy trails.

I also kicked off a new push on a job search. I revamped my resume and tailored it for a few different types of jobs. I applied to a few longshots today, Microsoft, Activision, Electronic Arts, etc. I'll focus on stuff more close to home tomorrow, perhaps within a few states.

Day 70: Edible green stuff

I strolled down to Starbucks this afternoon and came across the Irish festival down in the park. Why they have it a week before St Patricks Day is beyond me, but it was straight up packed. Shoulder to shoulder with drunken folks pretending to be Irish.

Anyway, I tried a couple dishes I've never tasted before, specifically lamb stew and a boxty. The lamb stew was pretty good. It reminded me of a tastier verison of beef stew. The boxty was a potato cake made from potato skins, mashed potatoes, garlic, and probably tons of butter. Way off the diet plan, but totally satisfying. I'll just have to run a few extra miles tomorrow.

Day 69: Frolf

What a beautiful day! Mid 60's all day long and the sun was smiling. I wandered down into the park to lay out and snooze in the warmth, but came across some guys & girls setting up a frisbee golf game, a.k.a. frolf. I've vaguely heard of it before, referenced on TV, but never played it.

Anyway, they needed some extra players and asked me, along with a few others, to join. It's pretty much like golf. You have to throw the frisbee down a course and try to get it into a metal basket in the fewest number of throws. If you can throw the frisbee in a number of different forms, it's quite easy.

Of course, my crap throws rarely went into the basket, probably because I only have 1 style of tossing. Still, it was fun to try out. Plus I haven't played Ultimate in ages, so it was a fun little change of pace.

Day 68: High Cotton

There is a new restaurant that opened this week down next to Starbucks in the West End called High Cotton. I popped in there tonight for a light dinner. I had a taste for something warm, so I scarfed down some Crab chowder and BBQ spiced trout. Insanely expensive though, probably for the location. It's in a lovely spot overlooking the murky, polluted Reedy. Perhaps the folks that bought those connecting condos for ridiculous sums of money eat there every night. ;)

Anyway, it was quite tasty. It's a shame I'm not in a better mood though. I've been in a nasty funk since the beginning of the week. Perhaps my little vacation will help alleviate my mood. I can't decide if I should dedicate the week to finding a new job in another part of the world or head down to Miami for a week of relaxation. I think the latter is just a temporary fix.

Day 67: Blast from the Past Day.

Jeez, everyone from the past seemed to pop up in front of me today. Former students, RLC's, etc. I think fate was trying to nudge me in the right direction.

Today, I reconnected with an friend I haven't spoken to in at least 10 years. Not just any friend, but my best friend through elementary, middle and some of high school. He would always invite me to the beach and we would have a hell of a time wandering around. He used to have the best darn backyard. It was a huge wooded forest with trails, creeks, and tons of places to mess around in. I remember we used to walk a couple mile down to a log-cabin general store and buy boxes of Lemonheads. I always liked being able to have sugary cereal at his house (my parents never bought it) on Saturday morning while we watched Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Anyway, I caught up with him today. He's married, working in another part of the state, and somewhat like I remembered him. It's odd that he looks almost exactly the same as the last time I saw him. Some of your friends from high school will blow up into giant fatasses or change their look completely. Not him, though.

Day 66: Hit up Sharkey's

I've never been into Sharkey's Pub down the street from me, so I tried it out after my workout today. I can't say I was really impressed. It's just another knockoff sports bar, pretty much empty of anyone. The Philly cheesesteak I ate was pretty bland and the general lack of patrons sent me packing early. Perhaps I should try it late on the weekend to see if it's any different.

Kind of an odd day today at work. Ever have one of those deja vu feelings? That's how I've felt about work for months. There is no challenge in what I do anymore. I feel like Tom Hanks at the beginning of Joe versus the Volcano. Ugh.

Day 65: Kickboxing on Steriods.

My pylometrics class was cancelled today, so I signed up for something knew since I had already made the trip, a Tae Bo class. Holy crap, I thought kickboxing was hard. The level of intensity in a Tae Bo class is monumentally higher than any of these class based cardio classes I've tried.

Perhaps it was due to being an advanced class, but I barely kept up. Some of the abs exercises are incredibly painful, specifically a combination of pedaling an imaginary bicycle for two minutes and then launching into a scissors move which requires keeping both legs off the ground. Yikes!

Beyond the pain, there was nothing but fine looking women in there, incredibly toned. Perhaps that's why it was difficult to keep my concentration. :)

Day 64: Upside down

Finally, all this yoga is paying off! I learned how to do something super-duper important today, how to stand on my head. :)

Seriously though, I've never had the muscle tone, power over my muscles, or balance to control my body in such a position. Plus I can hold it for about 8 seconds without having to lean up against a wall. All this new flexibility and control is pretty darn cool. Tuning your body to perfection has its dividends.

Day 63: It puts the lotion on its skin.

Holy hell, I'm having a ball torturing the stargazers here in Greenville. Seeing how Leatherheads is filming right across the street, everyone wants to get a glimpse of the Clooney. I noticed people wandering into the locked courtyard between my building and the street, so I've been having a blast messing with people all day.

1. I locked eight people inside the courtyard this morning and headed down to Coffee Underground. Someone had left the gate unlocked and people had collected inside, so I decided to play dumb. My story would have been that I assumed they had a key, once I returned from CU, but it appears as if they used a ladder to scale out of there. Hilarious!

2. After I got everyone out, I've been camped out inside the courtyard, watching the filming and listening to a little Josh Rouse on my Zune. People have been coming up to the gate and demanding entry. I'll either play dumb, like I can't hear them or turn and wave. When they try to say something, I just point to the headphones and shrug.

3. They just broke for to step up a new shot, so I've been sitting up on my balcony watching the fracas. As people come up and shake the gate, I just watch and smile. I've been coming up with real asshole responses to demands to unlock the gate. "How much of my rent are you going to pay this month?" for instance.

Oh this is fun. I think I'm going to repeat number 1 now. :)

Day 62: Proud of myself, but depressed.

This one wasn't any fun today. I'm going to avoid specifics due to the personal nature of this topic, but I will offer up the broad strokes. Perhaps some slight backstory first though. Thursday night, I told Tabatha something about myself that she didn't believe. She really reacted opposite from the way I assumed would happen when I opened myself up. It ended badly that night, but she wanted to meet me today.

So, I met up with Tabatha on Coffee Street around mid-day and we headed to Coffee Underground. We grabbed a couple drinks and plopped down on a couch in the back. After some small talk, she brought it up and it wasn't what I was expecting. She said that she was mad that I tried to use "a line" to trick her into sleeping with me on Thursday. She also said her friends have heard it as well from guys they have gone out with. But she had cooled off about the whole thing and wanted to give it another shot.

I paused for a second, kind of stunned, and tried to formulate a rational response. I looked into her eyes and said exactly this: "Tabatha, what I told you on Thursday night was extremely tough for me to share with someone. I chose to open up because I didn't want you to think I was rejecting you. If you want to rationalize the situation rather than believing the truth, I can't stop you. But I'm not going to apologize for who I am." Then, I got up and walked out.

I spent the rest of the day chilling out in the park and testing out the DS my company sent me, while trying not to think about this whole mess. I haven't heard from her, but I'm not sure I want to. Jeez, this stuff is hard.

Day 61: O

I finally went into O tonight, the upscale bar / resturant across the street from me. Very swanky joint, I must say. It's probably the closest to a New York style of resturant that we have in Greenville. The furniture is incredibly modern and the dominant color in the place is jet black. Very chic.

I had a couple $8 martinis, a key lime one and a drink specific to the place called the Otini. I think it was vodka, cranberry, orange juice, and some other type of fruit. Really quite tasty. There is something about sugary alcohol that makes it so easy to drink.

Incidently, I spotted the Clooney over there. They are filming Leatherheads right across the street from me tomorrow. They dressed up the Westin with 1920's window dressings and I think they are closing off the street. Maybe I'll peek my face through the bars out front and try to sneak my pretty mug into a shot.

Day 60: Bistro Europa

I ate at a new restaurant after yoga tonight called Bistro Europa. I've seen it all the time on Main street, just never went in. I got some sort of duck breast smothered in a raspberry sauce. Delicious stuff!

I also went through a whole bunch of other crap afterwards that I'm not talking about on here.

Day 59: The name's Bond, James Bond.

Woohoo, I got to ride in a BMW Z3 today. I'm not much of a car buff, but I do love those little BMW convertibles. The Z3 was the first BMW convertible along with being the first BMW manufactured in United States, specifically South Carolina. It's seen in the James Bond flick Goldeneye when he's driving through Cuba towards the end of the movie.

Anyway, a friend at the joint where I get my haircut just bought a used light blue one and was showing it off tonight while I was getting my white man's afro lopped off. She could tell I was interested and let me ride with her down Main Street and 385 while she tested out the accelerator. What a rush! It's like racing a little stock car down the highway.

Now all I need is 10 grand for my own. :)

Day 58: Learned how to rollerblade.

I bought some cheapie rollerblades eons ago, but never really tried to learn since my balancing skills have been pure crapola for years. Heck, the only time I tried skiing in high school, I ended going down the bunny slope either backwards or sliding on my ass. That was a really sore weekend.

Anyway, I thought I would give them a real shot today since the weather was so freakin' awesome after work. I read up a little on some balancing techniques and it seemed to work pretty well. I just needed to practice on a rough surface and get comfortable walking in the blades. I messed around on some gravel and graduated to an empty parking lot after work. I got pretty good in the hour left of sunlight and got some speed up on a nearby downhill slope.

I'll be racing around the park before you know it! I'm glad the yoga / muscle building is paying off for some fun stuff. :)

Day 57: Bruce Lee, I'm not.

I tried out a kickboxing class today at the same place I took Kenpo. Iy seemed a heck of a lot tougher, probably because the flexibility when extending my legs is subpar at the moment. I'm been making leaps and strides over the past 5 weeks in my workouts and toning my body, but my flexibility needs improvement if my yoga incident is any indication.

It was some really effective cardio though. Most of the punch / kick combos really take quite a bit of concentration and rapid movements. I know I looked like a complete moron doing the double kicks, but I did have fun. Transitioning from front, side, and back kicks is an extreme balancing act as well. You know, I'm starting to see a difference in my face. It seems a bit leaner lately and my slight double chin is disappearing. Good stuff!

Day 56: Where to begin?

I did a few new things today. I had dinner at a restaurant I've never tried, despite it being less than a block from me. I tasted lobster ravioli, something that's as delicious as it sounds. And I kissed the girl I've mentioned in the past couple days for the first time.

Tabatha actually called me yesterday and I suggested we meet at the Cazbah for a light dinner and drinks. I know I probably stuck with someplace that's comfortable to me, but the opposite of what I should do seems to be working for me lately. We met up, spilt some apps and sipped on the house wine. There's something about the conversation that attracts me to this girl. It's easy to pay attention to what she's saying, I suppose. She's very involving when she speaks.

Anyway, we finished up and headed back to my apartment (which I thankfully cleaned yesterday). I gave her the 15-second tour and we chilled out on the couch for a bit. She wanted to watch the end of Casablanca which was on AMC or some channel today. So we got comfortable with each other and watched the movie.

I've been reading this book on massage, so I've been learning quite a bit about the human body. I spent most of the movie testing out the material, but I seemed to get the best response from lightly brushing the inside of her wrist.

And that's when the movie went off. I must say, she really started to get into it. We were kind of lightly kissing each other, those kind of exploratory kisses when you get to know someone. It gradually progressed for about 20 minutes and then I eased it back. She seemed a little frustrated, but I want to take this slow and told her as much. I got the feeling that she doesn't hear that very often. We said our goodbyes, but she does want to see me again. I'll call her this week.

All in all, a wonderful way to end the weekend. :)

Day 55: Out and About.

Whew, pretty nice day today. I spent several hours today laying in the park and chilling out at Coffee Underground. I started and finished a new, nonfiction book called The Substance of Style.

It's about how our sensory experiences effect our purchase decisions and trends as consumers. For instance, Starbucks is designed to enhance the quality of what the consumer tastes, hears, sees, etc. Everything from the music, artwork, aromas, and design is formed around sending out a subliminal message that "Everything here is best-of-class".

It's pretty darn interesting, plus I got to work on my tan and get the hell out of my apartment on Saturday. Before I started all this, I'd spend nearly every weekend just sitting at home on the weekends rather than getting outside to enjoy everything around me. So I suppose reading an entire book outside my apartment was my new thing for today.

Day 54: Trickery, I say!

Well, I had an odd night. I got a call this afternoon from Tabatha, the girl I had yoga class with last night and the Bohemian afterwards. She invited me out to Barley's to shoot pool with her group of friends; some of which I already knew from class. Innocent enough, I'm thinking.

I had time for my back/biceps workout after work, took a quick shower, and trucked down to Barley's afterwards. I met up with them, ordered a drink, and chilled out for a bit. Decompressing I suppose. Tabatha pulled me away to start shooting a game of pool. I'm really horrible at pool, but it's fun and we are having a good time. After about 10 minutes, I looked up and noticed the entire group was gone. I asked Tabatha and she said she had no idea where everyone went.

Then I figured out who I was as that moment, Doyle friggin' Lonnigan. Robert Redford just hightailed it out of the joint and Paul Newman is leaning on that pool stick grinning right back at me. (That's a The Sting reference, btw.) I'd been setup. I'm on a date and I hadn't a clue. She didn't want to ask me out directly, so she invited me out with her friends. Sneaky!

Anyway, we just hung out for a while and eventually headed down to Coffee Underground for dessert. We talked for a while, but she was really trying hard to flirt with me. After chilling out on the couch for a while, I called it a night and said my goodbye. I think I left her a bit confused.

So my new thing for today was getting tricked into a date with the lure of a non-date. Hmmmm....

Day 53: Go with the flow.

After a lovely yoga session today, I joined a few friends from class at the Bohemian, a cafe next door. Typically, I would shy away from such things, but I've been feeling more confident lately. Perhaps it's due to my improved physical appearance or new outlook for the year, but I've been more self-assured in making new decisions.

Anyway, we chilled out sipping some drinks and chowing down on a few appetizers. I ate something called Tunesian cigarettes which where absolutely scrumptious. I think it was diced lamb wrapped in a pastry like wrap. We mostly talked yoga and our jobs, but I had a really cool conversation with Tabatha, a girl who I met on the first night of yoga. She's a hell of a lot more advanced than I.

So I suppose I did a few new things today; the Bohemian, those lamb apps, etc. But I'm really glad that I didn't let any lingering self-conciousness overcome opening myself to something new. Today was a really good day. :)

Day 52: Kopi Luwak

So, I got a chance to try a cup of Kopi Luwak today. It's the most expensive coffee in the world. The coffee is harvested from beans that have passed through the digestive tract of an Asian Palm Civet, which looks like a cross between a cat and a weasel. The coffee sells anywhere between $100 to $600 a pound!

Anyway, the Brew & Ewe was selling it by the cup today. Actually, it was more of a half cup for $5. It had a bit of an odd smell, but tasted very pleasant. It almost had a bit of a chocolate taste. I'm not much of a coffee aficionado though. So perhaps on the east side today, but at least it was something new!

Day 51: Tried out an elliptical machine.

I used to be a treadmill guy, but I've really started to prefer outdoors, especially since it's getting a bit warmer these days. But I decided to try out an elliptical machine at the same gym where I take my plyometrics class. It's not a bad workout, but it suffers from the same problem as the treadmill, a multitude of boringness. Anyway, it's not as fun as I thought it would be. Of course, I was already drenched in sweat from class, so perhaps I wasn't that impartial.

On a completely different note, I've also made up my mind to start carrying my digital camera with me at all times. I seem to miss out on picture opportunities, either random occurrences or out with some friends. I think that's why my walls are so sparse. I have no pictures besides the vacation stuff. Plus this blog could use more pictures.

Day 50: Shrimp Pasta Pomodoro

Tried something new in the kitchen for dinner:


Fairly simple to make, but it does take about 30 minutes to prepare. The trick is to allow the garlic and olive oil to meld into a glaze. Toss in a little broth, chopped tomatoes, and portabello mushrooms and let it simmer for a few minutes before tossing in the peeled shrimp. Once the shrimp turns pink, spread the mixture over a bevy of whole-wheat pasta and you have a hell of a delicious, healthy meal. After the strawberries for dessert, I'm sitting fat and happy right now. Yum!

I tossed in that extra cardio session this morning along with a chest/shoulders/triceps workout after work. I'm feeling that wonderful soreness only accredited to such a workout. Plus I'm having a ball seeing these new muscles pop out. My calf muscles are getting freaky huge!

Day 49: Leaving that pale guy behind

So, I have my first trip to a tanning bed today. I hit up a nearby Ultratan, which seems to be a pretty big chain around here. After all the paperwork and questions, they recommended the bare minimum for me, which was 5 minutes. I really can't disagree. I'm a friggin' ghost.

Anyway, it was one of those stand-up machines and it's supposed to be powerful than the rest. I stripped down, applied the tanning lotion, and hopped in. What an odd experience. It was like being inside a cat-scan machine while being blinded with the power of the sun. After I stumbled out, the spots in my eyes subsided after I got re-dressed. Thankfully, I haven't reddened up yet. So I suppose another month or two of treatments and I'll have a solid base tan.

In other news, I'm going to start upping my workout schedule tomorrow by adding a cardio session when I wake up, but only every other day. Everything else seems to be working for me, so I figured why not?

Day 48: Help a complete stranger.

2 strangers actually. The first was oddly by happenstance and the second was a result of someone fretting in Coffee Underground. I was at a bit of a loss today for something to do today. Fortunately, a close friend provided this solution.

I was actually going to wait until tonight to try this out, but I said what the hell and trucked out to Main Street for some coffee. I headed across the street over to Joel's Java (coffee shop in the Westin), but they closed early today. As I turned to seek another java establishment up the street, I saw a young woman loading the Twigs van (a nearby flower shop) stumble and partially spill the crate of flowers she was carrying onto the sidewalk. I helped her pick up all the roses, tulips, etc and offered to help load the rest. She was a bit flustered, but accepted and we knocked it out in a couple minutes. Perhaps if I was more suave, I could have warped that altruistic gesture into a date. But still, she was grateful. Perhaps I'll stop by the shop next week.

The second occurred while chilling out in Coffee Underground sipping a turtle mocha (my treat for all the hard exercise I've been doing). I overheard a girl (arguably very attractive) at the next table bitching about not being able to connect to the net via her laptop using the wireless connection in there. I intervened, fixed her up in about 30 seconds, and went back to my coffee. Nothing major here as the resulting conversation fizzled in about 5 minutes, but not a bad start. Plus it's typically something I would have kept my nose out of, based on anxious fear alone.

Perhaps I should have branched out to other folks beyond the attractive female realm, but who am I kidding? Practice makes perfect.

Day 47: The Brew & Ewe

Coming out of the Peace Center last night, I saw a new place over on Broad street that just opened up, the Brew & Ewe. After my Kenpo class today, which was amazingly stimulating, I headed over there for a visit.

It's a quaint little shop designed like a cottage, but with a full service coffee / sandwich bar. It also has a little shop connected onto it that sells little knick-knacks. It reminded me of the coffee bar in Postcards before it became a bicycle shop. Anyway, it's kind of a deceptive design.

They have a bunch of local desserts made by folks around town. That was kind of cool. But I just stuck with the liquid refreshment. I got an awesome spiced Chai Tea that's about 100 times better than Fourbucks coffee. I'm not sure how successful they will be just off the Main Street traffic, but I will be returning occasionally for that drink. Delicious!

Day 46: Back from the Peace Center.

Lewis Black came into town today for one show. I enjoy his Back in Black segments on Comedy Central and his older comedy specials, but I didn't find his new material very funny. He's gotten way too political for my tastes. His much older bit about the IHop is comedy gold in comparison. Anyway, that was the first time I've ever heard him live. Seinfeld was a hell of a lot funnier back when he came through Spartanburg a couple years ago.

In other news, I measured my body fat again for kicks and I'm down 3% already, plus I've gained a pound. I must be doing something right!

Day 45: Made Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

All this hard work I've been doing with my exercise regiment and diet deserved a break today, so I went out to publix this morning to pick up a little semi-sweet chocolate, canola oil, and some fresh strawberries. Plus it's Valentine's Day, hence the perfect treat. (Even for someone alone)

They are suprisingly easy to make. Dip them in the bubbling chocolate / canola oil mixture and lay them on wax paper in the fridge. Why canola oil? Shortening is filled with saturated / trans fats while canola oil is filled with the healthy fats. The chocolate hardens to the fruit and provides a tight, little shell after about 30 minutes. I made a whole quart of these today. I'll try to ration them out for the rest of the week if I can resist.

In other completely unrelated Valentine Day news, I finished my taxes this morning as well as upgraded my computer to Windows Vista during my Cardio workout. So productive, yet so sad. :(

Day 44: Stiff as a board

Three days running with these workout related ones. I probably need to switch it up soon. Anyway, I tried out a class after work today for specifically working my core. That's basically the lower portion of the ribcage to the upper part of the thigh. Essentially, it includes abs, lower back, hamstrings, and my ass.

It's a pretty tough workout. At one point, I'm rolling to each of the four sides of my body attempting to lift up my legs and chest using only the muscles in the middle. I think it was called Superman/Banana (That's what the poses looked like). Another one had me dropping to a crouch, rolling all the way back onto my shoulders, lifting my legs high up in the sky, and getting enough momentum to return to the original position. All of that without ever touching the floor with my hands. Boy, that hurt!

I've been very energetic lately because of all these workouts. Surprisingly, it feels like I can do even more. Maybe I'll add some extra Kenpo sessions when I wake up. I think I know all the moves now.

Day 43: Disrupted the Ommmms.

I actually had something completely different for today, but this little bit of happenstance occurred late tonight in my yoga class. And it's certainly new along with being extremely embarrassing. No, not explosive diarrhea. More like destructive narcissism.

I switched classes to something shorter than the last time I went and a bit more involved with balance poses. It's a bit of a larger class and the post-work class is occasionally packed, such as today.

Anyway, we went from downward dog (looks like a push up at a right angle) into a Warrior stance (lunging forward on my right foot), then into a crouch while stretching and looking up at the ceiling.

I'm staring upward and I glance up at my arm to make sure it's straight enough. I saw something that I haven't seen in a long time. Freakin' muscle definition in my arm. Not when I'm flexing the muscle, but rather when it's at rest.

I got so excited that my exercise regiment has actually been working this time that my mind started to race and I started to slowly lose my balance. I freaked out, which made matters worse, and crashed into the girl to my left. She toppled over as well and knocked over the guy to her left. Thankfully, he was able to stop the domino reaction.

Man, if the lights were on, my face would have been beet red. I tried to shake it off and got back into the groove. I apologized afterwards, but I could tell the yoga instructor and the folks in the class were pissed. They take that whole concentration thing pretty seriously. Anyway, I don't think I can show my face at that particular class again.

Day 42: Tried a Pilates class this morning.

What a waste of time. I would pin it as yoga for beginners. Since I've been going to yoga classes and using the same stretching techniques in my everyday workouts, Pilates was far too simplistic for my current body. I could see the benefits as far as stability and ab strength go, but I get more of a workout with my current regiment. At least it only cost me $15.

As for the rest of the day, my Sunday has been fairly humdrum. I did whip up some delicious mushroom pork chops for dinner with a spread of fresh green beans and wild rice. So good!

Day 41: Fish out of water.

In the spirit of newness, I ventured into the 221 Ultra Lounge up on North Main tonight. WOW, talk about being out of my element. Perhaps it was because I was alone, but I just couldn't get into the scene they've created there. It's kind of a crossbreed of a cheap restaurant and a themed nightclub, but without the same flavor found in places like NYC. I can see how they are trying to copy the formula, but it doesn't really work. Perhaps it was because I kept picturing it as the Fuddruckers / Salsarita's it used to be.

Anyway, I hung out at the bar for a bit and watched people dance while sipping on a vodka/cranberry. There were a surprising number of fine looking women in there, but I felt a bit uncomfortable just approaching a flock of them. So I just chilled out, finished my drink and left.

I suppose I chickened out on the flirtation front, but at least I finally got the balls to go in there alone. I'm not sure what possessed me, other than the fact that I needed to do something new for the day. Plus I've always been curious as to what was in there. So now I know what to expect next time.

Day 40: Learning the art of Massage

In an attempt to pick up a new skill here and there and keep myself open to new things, I drove out to Barnes&Noble to pick up a couple books on massage techniques on a whim after work. I'm obviously not considering taking it up as a profession, but it wouldn't hurt to learn how to do something the right way. I have limited experience in the matter, hence my thirst for knowledge.

It's actually fairly involving to do it properly. One of the books that I'm reading outlines about 15 different back techniques and a ton of tips for the rest of the body. There seems to be a chapter on every section of the body. They even have entire routines outlined in the back. Lots of good material. Anyway, I picked this one out today to boost my confidence if I get a chance to use such techniques one of these days.

Now I just need someone to practice on...

Day 39: Gave somebody the wrong directions on purpose.

I don't know what it is about my face, but I must appear like I work for Greenville's Welcome Center or a mobile information booth. I get stopped constantly on the street by people looking for various locations, the park, a restaurant, etc. Hell, I even got a girl roll up in her car to ask me where the county courthouse was. Like I have a clue were she could go bail her boyfriend out of jail.

I'm typically pretty helpful if I know where they need to go, but today this guy just plain pissed me off. I strolled out of the apartment this morning with my headphones shoved into my ear blasting a Dane Cook special on my Zune. I get about half a block down to the school and somebody started shouting at me from behind. I started to turn around, but before I could a fairly obese guy out exercising was snapping his fingers in my face. I took out the earbuds and gave him the one-arched eyebrow.

He didn't apologize for his obvious rudeness and blurts out something about Starbucks. I say "What?" Then he repeats his question in a nasty tone "Where is the Starbucks?" At this point, I was getting peeved, but I held it together. I politely sent Lardo trucking down Court Street by the Peace Center. I told him it was about five blocks down on the right. I figure that would put him on the brink of a real shitty part of town. Not quite dangerous, but close enough to scare him.

Anyway, what a complete jerk! The last thing he needed was a Mocha frappachino, so I figure I did him a favor as well. I'm going to have to start adopting this policy more often. I'm glad I was able to think on my feet that early in the morning as well.

Day 38: Celebrity watching

Goodness, the celebrities are out and about in Greenville. I saw Renee Zellweger coming out of the Starbucks today around lunchtime. She was avoiding most of the folks around her, making a beeline to her car. I had heard they would be back in town today. She looked pretty normal, but I didn't really stare from across the street.

See, they are filming Leatherheads around Greenville this week and next week. George Clooney, Renee, and Jon Krazinski are staying somewhere downtown, me thinks. Clooney keeps going to the O restaurant and they were all over at the Deveroux a couple weeks ago as well.

Anyway, that was a first for me. I've seen celebrities up in New York before, but not strolling down Main Street in my neck of the woods.