Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

First off, I admit it, I'm a comic book geek. Most of you that know me, already know that, but I wanted to throw it out there before putting forth my review of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Now, that being said, I kind of liked this movie. I saw the original Fantastic Four movie two summers ago and honestly, I didn't really like it - I was bored with it in fact. This time around they didn't have to go through the background of each character, so they were able to focus mostly on the story and the action, which to me is a good thing.

This chapter of the Fantastic Four saga introduces two new characters to the viewers - the Silver Surfer and Galactus (well, kind of - he is pretty much just a big cloud in the movie as opposed to the ginormous planet devourer comic book readers would recognize). Silver Surfer is really pretty cool in this movie and it was nice to have the villain be someone you could actually sympathize with (as opposed to Dr. Doom - who everyone should just hate all of the time).

As far as the acting goes, you get what you expect in my opinion - average acting. I thought the CGI was really good and the script was average. I do believe there will be at least one more of these movies (especially since it pulled in over $57 million in its first weekend). I'd recommend Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to anyone that likes or knows these characters, otherwise, I'd say skip it. I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Knocked Up

I spent the better part of the afternoon at the local mega-plex (better known as the crappy Regal Cinemas theatre in our mall) seeing the surprise Summer hit Knocked Up. Knocked Up stars Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan as two very different people who happen to get their lives intertwined while at a LA night club. Long story short, he knocks her up (hence the title of the film) and we are well on our way through the story of their new lives together and apart.

The movie is funny in parts, but I'm not sure where all of this critical acclaim is coming from. It is very raunchy, so I advise not watching it with your parents (or anyone else you would get embarrassed around) if at all possible. I actually thought the movie was about half an hour too long (it ran about 2 hours and twenty minutes).

To me, the bright spots of the movie were supporting case Leslie Mann (she played Heigl's sister) and Paul Rudd (he played Heigl's brother-in-law). I thought both added a lot to the film. If someone asked me if they should spend the money to go see this film, I would probably only suggest it at matinee pricing. $10 on this movie would be a stretch, but that is just my opinion. I would give Knocked Up 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Jobless once again

Well, today was the first day at the new job and it also ended up being the last day. I got there this morning and the director of operations spent about half an hour telling me how bad it is to work for the owner/boss (who would be my direct boss). She told me how he was gay (which really doesn't matter to me) and that he doesn't tell anybody because if his parents found out they would cut him off and he'd lose his business (so one slip up could have cost everyone their job anyway).

During lunch (they were all forced to have lunch with me because it was my first day) they were telling stories of strip clubs and tattoos and drinking binges and the like. I completely felt like I shouldn't be there.

So, in the afternoon, I wrote out a letter of resignation. I wasn't sure if I was going to turn it in or not, so I went to the post office to mail a package after work and then returned to the office and slipped the notice under the door. They never even got my social security number, direct deposit information, W4, etc., so I felt it best to just cut bait now and not waste any more of their or my time.

So, now it is back to the drawing board!

The last week of joblessness

Well, I finished out my nearly a year spent unemployed on a high note. My former roommate from Texas, Jeff, came up to visit last Sunday and just left to return home this morning. It was a nice way to end my time off. We did many, many wonderful things while he was here.

On Memorial Day, we visited a place called The Wilds. It is a safari-type experience located about an hour and a half from my house. We got to ride around for a couple of hours in an open-air safari bus and get up close and personal with some bison, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, camels, various exotic deer, elk and horses and several other species. It was a really cool experience, and one you wouldn't expect to have in the middle of Ohio.

On Tuesday, we went to see Spider-Man 3. I had seen it once already, but once is generally not enough for me when it comes to the good old comic book movies. Besides that, we went to the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame (lame, lame, lame).

Wednesday was spent mostly around the house, playing some video games, riding four-wheelers, etc.

On Thursday, we drove about 1 1/2 hours southeast to visit with my grandparents and aunt. We went to an auction later that evening. It was pretty fun - the auctioneer sounded like Kermit the Frog, so that was entertaining.

On Friday, we drove to Indiana to do a little gambling on their riverboat casinos. It took about two hours each way, but I managed to pull $10 out of there, so that was cool.

Yesterday we basically just did a little shopping around Lancaster and relaxed a little on Jeff's last full day in town.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and it was nice having a friend around for a while. It was a nice way to end my temporary retirement, that's for sure.

Next up: The beginning of a new job - stay tuned!

Those darn raccoons and the theft of the gnomes

So, a couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the raccoons that have invaded our turf. Turns out, they are not only annoying, they are also thieves. On our back deck, there is a water fountain that sits on the deck and is about two feet tall. We built up a few items in the fountain to get a more pleasant sound when the water hits. One of the items was a little statue from the Dollar Store of two gnomes playing poker at a little table. Well, two nights ago, the darn raccoons stole the gnomes. I went outside at about 10 a.m. and noticed the gnomes were missing. It was immediately evident that it was the raccoons because their little muddy paw prints were all around the fountain. My mom chalked the gnomes up as a loss and went about her business (although she did actually really like the gnomes). Later that night, my dad was cutting some weeds about 20 yards into the woods behind our house and he found the gnome statue. It had a bite out of one of the hats, but there it was. It has since been replaced in the fountain and hopefully it'll stay there this time!

Jobless no more!

That's right. I am once again gainfully employed (I don't start until June 4, but hey, I got the job, so that is just semantics). Thanks to everyone for their support during the highs and lows of the job hunt.

I'm going to work for a place called BLF Management. They are an association management company (they do all of the membership, publications, conferences, day to day operations, etc. for various associations). I'll be serving as their Managing Editor. It is a small company, less than 10 employees, but they've been in business for a while and they are growing, so that's a good sign.

So, as far as the story of how I got this job, here goes. I saw an ad on monster.com last week. On Friday at about noon I decided to apply for it. By 2:30 they were calling my home and cell numbers and emailing me. I called them back and the lady said that the president of the company wanted to have me in for an interview. So, I said that sounded good and she said "How's tomorrow look for you?" I was kind of in shock. I never expected a Saturday interview, but hey, I wasn't busy, so I went ahead and did it. The interview went well and he asked me to think about the company and position and get back to him if I thought it was something I'd like to do. I emailed him on Sunday night that I was interested in the position. I received word from one of my references that they called her yesterday and then another said they called her today. I then got a call on my cell phone at about 1 p.m. (while I was outside building a wall - long story) and the director of operations asked that I give her a call back. I called back at about 3 p.m. and she offered me the job. I already knew about benefits, salary, etc., so I accepted it on the spot. Very quick - that's what I'm talking about!

So, as of June 4, I'm back in the workforce, paying my taxes to Uncle Sam.

Quick update on my mom

Sorry for the lack of updates. Mom got through her surgery fine and she's pretty close to fully recooperated now. She starts chemo again starting on Monday and she'll do that every other week for two to four months. She's not looking forward to it, but she knows she'll get through it (the first time she did chemo it was more like seven months). Thanks to everyone for keeping us in your prayers and I'll update again soon.

- C

Another update on my mom

Mom's surgery is at 7:30 a.m. eastern on Wed., April 4. Should be a 3 - 4 hour proceedure. She'll likely spend the first day in ICU and should be in the hospital for 7 days total. All thoughts and prayers are encouraged and appreciated. Thanks for all of your support!

- C

Update on my mom

Here's the story on my mom. She saw the surgeon yesterday. There are three spots on the liver. Two are on one side, one is on the other. That poses abit of a problem. If all three were near each other, they could just hack that section off and be done with it. In this case, they'll hack off the section where the two are and then with the third one, they'll scoop it out if they can, if not, they have some device that they'll insert into it and kind of burn it out. The part that they'll cut off has only a 1 - 2% chance ofrecurrance. The other one is a bit trickier. If they scoop it out, there is probably a 10% chance that they can't get it all and it'll return at some point. If they burn it out, there is a 17% chance it could return. The good news is that if it does return, they can always go in later (once the liver has grown back to the normal size - about nine months - and remove that one like they are doing the two together this time. This is a tough surgery though, tougher than the other two she's had. There is a 1 - 5% chance at mortality. Complications can include liver failure, heart attack, stroke, infection, bile leak, etc. She'll be in surgery for 3- 4 hours and then she'll spend seven days in the hospital with the first day in ICU. They're supposed to call today to let us know when it is taking place. It'll either be next Wed. or the following Wed. After the surgery heals enough, she'll do chemo (every two weeks for about two months I believe). She doesn't want to do the surgery next Wed., because she doesn't want me to associate my birthday with her surgery (our neighbor told her the other day that her mom died on her birthday and she hasn't liked her birthday since then). I'll update when we know more.

Update on my mom

My mom went to get a PET Scan last Monday and went to see the oncologist today to get the results. She had to get the PET Scan because the previous CT Scan showed some "suspect" spots on her liver. The PET Scan confirmed that there is some beginning cancerous activity on the liver. She will see the liver surgeon next Monday to figure out exactly what they'll do surgery-wise and when they will do it. After the surgery she will have to go through chemotherapy again. The oncologist did say that it is still good that the activity is only on the liver because you can cut away 80% of the liver and it will grow back to normal size in about three months, so it is an organ that they can continue to operate on in the future if they aren't able to get all of the cancer cells with this operation. They also have a way they can make the liver larger before surgery so they can remove more of the organ in hopes of getting all of the cells. Last year when she went for the first surgery for this cancer, they told her that the usual life-span is 3 - 5 years. The oncologist today said that with this type of cancer, it could be 10 - 20 years or more, so that is fantastic news. Please keep my mom and our family in your prayers and thoughts. I'll update again when we have more information.

Job stuff

I went to another job interview on Thursday (it was actually rescheduled from the week earlier because of bad weather). Again, I think this went pretty well, but the man doing the hiring didn't seem too interested in making a quick decision, so I could be waiting to hear on this one for quite a while. It is a smaller company - about 75 employees, but it sounds like it could really be about to take off and they've grown from 25 to 75 employees in the past two+ years. I also heard back from another very large company earlier this week and they asked me to send them some writing samples and salary requirements, so I'm hoping to hear back from them sometime as well. We shall see! That's all for now folks!

Movie Review - Ghost Rider

When I was in Texas last weekend, I went and saw Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage, Peter Fonda, Eva Mendes, Donal Logue, Wes Bentley and Sam Elliott. This is the next in the long line of superhero/comic book adaptations to hit the big screen. It seems that once Spider-Man and X-Men opened the door, the rest of the heroes decided to come flying through as well. I'll be honest with you. I don't particularly like the Ghost Rider comics. I believe I've read one issue and didn't even get through it. This led me to believe that I would also not like the Ghost Rider movie. However, I do like Nic Cage and I'm a big fan of Sam Elliott. Also, Eva Mendes is uber-hot.

So, I went into the movie, trying to give it a fair shake. Turns out, it wasn't that bad. Cage brought a likability to the Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider character and now that I better know the origins of the character, I think I may actually like the Ghost Rider.

The movie was the typical first movie for a specific character in that they had to spend a good portion of the movie explaining who, what, where, when, why and how. That sometimes lends itself to a boring (at least first half) movie, but I didn't get that from this one. They did a good job of explaining the situation without making the viewer fall asleep (such as the Fantastic Four movie). The acting was pretty good. I thought Cage did a good job, as did Elliott. I didn't think that Fonda was all that great. Bentley was okay in his evil role. I liked the special effects and thought the flaming Ghost Rider and his bike were done well. The action parts of the movie were also pretty well done. In all, I'd give Ghost Rider 2 1/2 stars out of 4. The movie does lend itself to sequels if you were wondering.

Now, we all have to get ready for the Spring/Summer blockbuster season. Upcoming are Transformers, Spider-Man III, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, Rush Hour III and Shrek the Third.

Another job interview scheduled

I've got another job interview scheduled for Tuesday. Your positive thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. This interview is for the following position (which I'm still trying to completely get my head around):

Customer Experience Designer
Creative writer/designer with experience developing consumer-focused communications tools to write, design and produce letters, newsletters, websites and other marketing materials. Create the "customer experience" for our services, educate patients on health benefits, wellness, disease management and how to use healthcare more efficiently. Must have bachelor's degree, strong writing skills plus ability to design/create finished materials, and strong background in consumer communications.

I figure they must think I'm capable of it based on my experience, or they wouldn't have invited me in for an interview. We shall see my friends, we shall see!

No job for me and other stuff

I called today to follow up on the job I interviewed for last Monday and was told that they were about to make the offer to another candidate, so no dice on this one for me. Oh well, at least I got interviewed this time. Maybe the next one will be the one. I sent my resume off to five or six other places today. Maybe I'll get something out of this bunch. We'll just have to wait and see. At least I'll have a tax refund coming to me shortly - that'll make things a little easier for a while money-wise.

It is so cold here today. The high temp was 10 degrees and when I got up this morning it was 1 degree! They cancelled most of the school around here today because of the uber-cold. We're supposed to make it up to 18 degrees tomorrow, but we're also expecting some more snow.

My grandma got some bad news today. She had a CT scan last Monday in preparation for her chemotherapy starting today. She met with the doctor this morning before chemo and he told her that there is a spot on her lung, according to the scan. They're not sure if it is cancer or not, so they're going to do another CT scan in a few months to see if there is any change to the spot. So, more uncertainty, more worry. 2007 hasn't started off too well for my family.

Some not so great news

My mom had a CT scan on Tuesday (she has them every three months) and went to see the doctor for the results today. The doctor told her that there are some "suspect" spots and they want to do some other kind of test on Feb. 19. If the "suspect" spots are indeed cancer again, she'll have to go in for another surgery to have it removed and then likely go through more chemotherapy. Needless to say, she isn't having a very good afternoon. Hopefully the extra test will show them not to be cancer. Any thoughts and prayers you can send her way would be much appreciated.

Job Interview

Well, the streak is over. I got a call last week from an HR rep regarding a resume I sent in about three weeks ago for a PR Specialist position with a publicly-traded software company. She did the normal phone screening thing and I guess I passed because she set up an interview for me with the director of public relations. I had that interview today and I think things went really well. I spoke with the director of PR, one of the other PR Specialists and the director of corporate communications. Come to find out, the director of PR and the other PR Specialist had both spent a significant amount of time in Texas, so that was an easy way to break the ice with them. The PR specialist even knew one of my former co-workers at my last job from when she worked at an agency in Austin.

I went in for the interview all dressed up in my "interview, wedding and funeral suit" and felt a bit out of place. How cool is this? They were all wearing jeans!

I'm hoping this comes through for me - jeans, salary at or above what I was making at my last job and the people I talked to seemed pretty nice. I guess I just have to wait and see now.

A couple of movie reviews

After many months of not visiting a movie theater, I have been twice in the past two days. Yesterday I went and saw Night at the Museum and today I saw Epic Movie. Talk about a tale of two movies!

First up is Night at the Museum. I know people that had already seen this movie and I had heard good things about it. I must say though, the best part of this movie to me was the trailers for the upcoming releases. This was a total geek-fest of trailers. They had Transformers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Spider-Man III and the Simpsons Movie. How great is that? I know where I'll be this summer - in the theater!

As far as Night at the Museum goes, I really enjoyed it. I'm a big Ben Stiller fan and I also like Robin Williams a lot, so that helped out a lot. I thought the story was fun and the acting was good. There were a lot of talented actors and actresses in the film. I was really shocked to see Stiller, Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Anne Meara, Bill Cobbs, Ricky Gervais, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Brad Garrett (although you didn't actually see him - he was the voice of the Easter Island head) in the same movie. This was a fun family film and would be enjoyed by those of all ages. I give Night at the Museum 4 out of 5 stars (probably really 3 1/2 stars, but they get an extra half star for the great trailers!).

Next up was Epic Movie. For those that haven't seen the trailer for this one, it is a spoof film in the mold of the Scary Movie series. That is where the similarities end. This is no Scary Movie - I'm not sure I'd even call it a movie at all. It is the most ridiculous, poorly conceived, piece of trash I've seen in a long time. I'm so glad I went to a matinee rather than pay $8 for an evening showing.

As far as people you'd know in this film, there are these great actors - Kal Penn (Kumar from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Jennifer Coolidge (Stifler's Mom from American Pie, Joey's agent from "Joey" and many other movies), Crispin Glover (why, why would you do this movie????), Darrell Hammond (from SNL), Carmine Electra, Fred Willard and David Carradine.

They poorly parody such movies as X-Men, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Carribean, Superman Returns, Snakes on a Plane, Nacho Libre, The Da Vinci Code, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting (thankfully). They also do a horrible parody of SNL's "Lazy Sunday." I give this movie 1/2 star out of 5 and I implore you, whatever you do, please do not go see this attrocity. I'm begging you!

Don't call it a comeback ...

... I've been here for years!

Well, I've been here in Ohio for about seven months now, but I had to lay out a little respect to my man LL Cool J (do you know how difficult it is to find a picture of this man with a shirt on?).

First off, I'd like to apologize to my faithful readers for the lack of updates since November. There have been many instances where I planned to write a little something, but it always seemed trivial or self-serving to do so.

So, some updates are in order. No Virginia, I do not have a J-O-B yet, but I've been working hard on it (especially this month - there weren't very many things to apply for during late November and all of December). I've been sending out the resume, but I haven't had any bites yet. I'm going to keep on keepin on though and eventually, I'll land a job that I like - bank on it!

Second update, my mom's doing fine. She's due for another three-month CT scan next month, so we're hoping for some more good news.

Third update, I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. My mom had just gotten out of the hospital at Christmastime last year, so it was wonderful having her here with us and healthy this year. My brother was here from Texas during Christmas, so it was nice that we could all be together during that time.

Last update, and a not so good one. A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother went to the hospital to have an operation to remove her spleen, gall bladder and part of her pancreas due to a cyst on her pancreas. The surgery went fine (which was a blessing in itself, considering she's 75), but they determined that the cyst was cancerous and she starts chemo in a couple of weeks, to be followed up by radiation treatments. If you could, please keep her (and my mom) in your thoughts and prayers.

So, that is about it. I plan on updating more often and hopefully soon with a job update. Thanks for all of your understanding and best wishes and a belated happy New Year to you and yours! Peace out yo!

Job Interview

I went on my first job interview in almost eight years today. I interviewed for a position as a public relations specialist with a small marketing firm. I think the interview went well. I fully expected to be nervous (I was always nervous when I interviewed before), but I wasn't. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it was because for the last part of my tenure at my old job I was the one doing the interviewing. Maybe it is because I know there will be other jobs if this one doesn't work out. Maybe it was because I'm not even entirely sure I'd want this job. Whatever the reason, I wasn't nervous - but man, do I hate wearing suits! Well, that's all I've got for now - the lady said they'd call sometime next week and either let me know if they want me to come back in or if they are going another direction - we shall see! In the meantime, I'll be checking Sunday's paper for latest and greatest new listings!

Job Hunt

For those of you that were worried that I might have decided to never go back to any kind of job, you can now rest easy, as I've begun the job search. I sent out four resumes last week (some which most likely are out of my realm of expertise). I got a voicemail yesterday afternoon from one of the places and they want me to give them a call back regarding the open public relations specialist position (it is at a marketing firm). So, on Monday I plan to at least have my first phone screening (in almost 8 years!). Luckily I was performing these phone screenings pretty regularly at my last job, so I should hopefully be pretty comfortable with it. Wish me luck!

It snowed today

When I got up this morning, Oct. 23, imagine my surprise when I looked out the window and there were big white snowflakes falling outside. Nothing stuck to the ground or anything like that, but there were snow flurries hanging around almost all day. It sure was pretty out there. For a guy that left Dallas four months ago, it is kind of shocking to see snow in October, that's for sure!

And a fun week was had by all ...

My former roommate, Jeff, flew up here to Ohio to visit on Friday, Oct. 13. He arrived at about 9:30 p.m. and the fun times began. We got up early on Saturday morning and drove about an hour and a half southeast to Rio Grande, Ohio for the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival. When I was a kid, I would go with my mom and dad to work at the festival each year (although it is quite debatable how much "work" I actually got done). It was nice getting to go back and re-live a little of my childhood for a day. We arrived at the festival at about 10:30 a.m. and proceeded to walk the grounds. Let me tell you, this was a cold, windy October day. It was probably in the lower-40s while we were there. We went to a lumberjack/log rolling show and checked out other old-timey activities.

After leaving the festival, we visited with some of my family that lived nearby and then headed back to Lancaster for the evening. Sunday was basically spent hanging around the house watching football.

On Monday, we got up really early and headed for Cleveland (about a two and a half hour drive) for a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We ended up stopping at an outlet mall along the way. We got to the Hall of Fame at about 11:30 a.m. and spent the next five hours or so there. It is really a neat place if you ever happen to get the chance to visit. If you are really into Rock and Roll history, I would even say it should be a destination trip for you at some point in your life. We left Cleveland after the Hall of Fame and drove about 40 minutes southeast to Akron, Ohio. That's where we stopped for the evening. We had already decided that we wanted to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio the next day, so we would just stay over somewhere and Akron seemed like as good a place as any.

We got up on Tuesday morning and drove the remaining half hour to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We spent a couple of hours there and then headed back home to Lancaster (about two hours away).

On Wednesday, we drove to the western part of Columbus and spent the day at the Columbus Zoo, home of Jack Hanna (the dude that is on Letterman with his animals all the time). Very nice zoo. We are both animal lovers, so it was pretty cool to both of us. I really enjoyed the Red Pandas and the Komodo Dragons and of course the Koala Bears.

On Thursday we went to see Employee of the Month since it was a gloomy, rainy day. I enjoyed the movie (not just because I got to look at Jessica Simpson the whole time either!).

Friday was kind of sad because I had to take Jeff to the airport so he could return to Dallas. It was nice having a friend around for a week since I still don't really know anybody here. All in all it was a great week.

Just wanted to check in!

I haven't posted in a while, so I wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking (barely after a day full of removing a cinderblock wall and moving six trailers full of dirt). Not a lot going on here right now. The county fair is this coming weekend, so I'll probably check that out. My former roomie is coming into town next weekend for a visit, so that'll be fun. Maybe we'll get into some trouble and I'll be able to post about it! Well, hope everyone is doing great and hope to hear from you all soon!

Garage sale

In an attempt to add a little income to my life, I helped my mom, grandma and grandpa with a garage sale this past Friday and Saturday. We headed to my grandparents' house on Wednesday night with a truckload of stuff to sell (in addition to the car full of stuff I had taken down two weeks earlier).

We spent Thursday getting ready for the sale and opened up shop at about 8 a.m. on Friday. We had customers non-stop. It was pretty impressive. We closed up shop on Friday at about 5:30 and went out for some dinner. I went over to a cousin's house and watched Poseidon (decent movie) and got back to the grandparents' house at about 12:30 and then got up at 7 a.m. the following morning for more garage sale.

We opened at about 8:30 and it was a bit different than the previous day in that we have very few customers from 8:30 - 11. Things picked up in the afternoon and when we finally closed the sale down at about 4 p.m., we had as a group made about $450. It was a lot of work, but my grandparents were able to clean out their garage a bit and make a little money and I was able to make a bit of spending money for myself. Good times!

My mom and I got home at about 9:30 last night and I was pretty quick to hit the sack.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I sprained my ankle as we were cleaning up the garage sale, so that's always loads of fun! That's all for now!

It was bound to happen ...

Yesterday my uncle had a big Labor Day get together at his house. There were probably nearly 100 people there at various times of the day. There were five four wheelers at the party, including my dad's and my mom's. My two cousins and I were out riding (I was riding my dad's and one cousin was riding my mom's and the other cousin was riding a dirt bike) and one of them said we should race. So, we raced. There was a big open field that made a good race track. Unfortunately, we didn't designate a finish line, so by the time I started breaking, I realized that in front of me was a treeline and then a creek. Well, being the quick thinker that I am, I decided that hitting trees or flying into a creek 12 feet down were not good options, so I continued to break as hard as I could (the grass was wet, so I wasn't getting much traction) and once I knew for sure I couldn't stop, I turned the handlebars to the right. I was thrown from the four wheeler and it turned over on its side and nearly flipped over on me. Luckily it stopped and just ended up on its side rather than squashing me. I stayed on the ground for a minute, making sure I wasn't hurt badly and then got up to see what kind of damage I did. As far as I went, the only thing that hurt was the shoulder I landed on. My cousin and I flipped the four wheeler back over and it seemed to be okay. I just stood there for a few minutes, calming down and then got on the four wheeler to take it back to the house. It wouldn't start. I tried again - still wouldn't start. Finally I gave it some gas while I hit the ignition switch and it started right up. I drove it back to the house and that was the end of my four wheeling for the day. I did learn some valuable lessons from this experience. First, always have a finish line with enough braking room. Second, it is better to flip the four wheeler on its side rather than crashing into very large trees. Third, victory is sweet - that's right, I won the race!

An update - for Adrianne

This blog update is brought to you by Adrianne and her request for me to update my blog so she and her co-workers at my former place of employment will have something to do this evening.

Ohio has been pretty calm this week (all the weeks since I've been here actually). Let's see - on Monday I once again cut down trees and burned wood all day long. We're having a contractor come in to put in some new parking areas at my folks' house, so we needed to get these darn trees out of the way. There are only about 2 million trees left on the property now. My uncle, aunt and two cousins as well as my grandparents came down on Monday as well. We put them to work also, so it is doubtful that they'll want to come back any time soon.

Tuesday was much of the same, but we actually quit the yard work at about 5 so we could all go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (a little bit of that Texas flavor I was missing). We had a nice dinner and called it a night.

On Wednesday, my mom and I signed the lease on the antique/collectible mall spot where we're going to try to sell some stuff. We've been going to a bunch of garage sales trying to find some more inventory for the store. We'll probably start going to some auctions as well. We've got my grandpa making some shelves for us and we start on Sept. 1.

Didn't do a lot today - just went to town to run some errands. Another aunt and cousin are here now (out shopping with mom) and they're staying over tonight. Sometimes this place feels more like a bed and breakfast than a house, but it's pretty cool getting to hang out with so many relatives that I haven't seen much of over the past 15 years or so.

Tomorrow night, my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and three cousins are all going to an outdoor drama about a bunch of indians. Didn't sound like too much excitement to me, so I declined the invite. Not sure what I'll do instead, but I'll figure something out. Two of the cousins are coming back here after the show and they'll be spending the weekend with us - again - just like a bed and breakfast.

Next week I'm thinking about going down to the town where all of my extended family lives (about an hour and a half away) and spending a few days. That's about all that's going on here.

Great News!

My mom went to the doctor on Monday to get her two month CT scan (it's been a little over two months since she went off chemotherapy). She went in today to get the results and there is still no sign of the cancer that was in her liver. Basically this means she doesn't have to do anything else until the end of October, when she goes in for another CT scan. This is awesome news! She said that since Monday she's felt like she had to put all of her plans on hold until she knew for sure she'd be able to do what she wanted and now the hold has been lifted! That's all for now. Still not working (and barely looking at this point). Until next time!

Animals I've Seen

Today I feel like blogging about all of the animals I've seen in the wild since I returned to Ohio. I don't really have anything specific to say about them, so I'm just going to put them in list form. Here goes:

1) squirrel
2) chipmunk
3) mouse
4) deer
5) rabbit
6) groundhog
7) turkey vultures
8) wild turkey (the bird, not the drink)
9) raccoon
10) hawks
11) finches
12) hummingbirds
13) woodpeckers
14) opossum

That's all I can think of right now, but there could be some more I've forgotten.

On a different note, today was a fun day of cutting down trees and brush and burning it all in three different piles. It was loads of fun. I think I'm working harder (physically, not mentally) now that I'm unemployed. That's it for tonight!

My first steer show

So, the county fair is taking place this week in the town where my parents grew up and the rest of my family still lives. My cousin had a steer in the steer show, so my parents and I decided to drive down this morning to watch. This was my first steer show. They had ten groups of exhibitors with ten people in each group (they were divided by weight). My cousin was in the second class and ended up placing first! It was pretty cool. She is this tiny 16-year-old girl and she was trying to make an 1,100-pound cow do what she wanted. I was really impressed. I probably wouldn't go to another steer show (unless another relative is in one), but it was an interesting, new experience. Well, that's it for tonight. See ya!

DVD Review - Failure to Launch

Watched Failure to Launch with the parents tonight (ironic considering my current situation huh?). I had kind of wanted to see this flick at the theater, but never got around to it. At least it was a movie that translates well to the smaller screen (not a lot of explosions or fighting). I thought this was a pretty good movie and I don't even really like Matthew McConaughey that well. I could have done without seeing Terry Bradshaw's butt, but I guess you sometimes have to go through traumatic experiences in order to see a good movie. I give Failure to Launch three out of four stars.

Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires ...

Today was another first for me. My dad was cutting down a bunch of brush and small trees (something tells me that will be the order of the day for some time to come with all of the brush and trees around this place) and I was in charge of watching the fire. I've been around fires before and I was in the scouts, so I know a few things about them, but you've got to understand, our fire ring is about 7 feet from a forest, an honest to goodness forest. Luckily there were no issues and I had the rake and the water hose, just in case, but it is kind of intimidating knowing that all that stands between the fire and a raging forest fire is you and your rake and water hose. So, that's about all for now, but who knows what tomorrow may bring. I think we're going to go to see my cousin show her cow at the county fair on Thursday and we may be going to a real-life auction (not ebay!) on Saturday (another first for me). Until then, adios!

Pics from trip

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to South Carolina. Enjoy!

Another trip

Went to visit my grandparents and various other relatives Tuesday and Wednesday. It is about an hour and a half to get to their town, much better than the 17 hours it used to take by car to go visit them. I got all of my pictures from the trip to SC developed, but unfortunately left the picture CDs at my aunt's house, so I don't have them in digital form to place on here. Hopefully someone will come up and visit soon and they can bring those darn CDs to me, or I might have to break down and scan them in the old way. Well, raining here again today, so I guess I'll be hanging around inside mostly. Might try to go see Superman Returns tomorrow. Adios muchachos!

Procrastination

So, I think I've figured out that I can sometimes be a procrastinator. I bought a really nice 35mm film camera late last year, thinking I would make it my hobby and I'd get really into it and become this great photographer or something. Well, to do that, it seems you have to actually get the film developed. I shot five rolls of film from last November through June and I never got any of them developed. I took my camera with me to South Carolina and actually shot another four rolls there. I took the nine rolls of film to CVS yesterday and I get to pick them up later today (did you know that 1-hour developing is now actually cheaper than the two-day type?). I fully expect to pay at least $100 dollars for this (If I had been getting them developed all along, this vacation film would have only cost me around $40). Oh well, I guess you live and learn. I hope I get some good pics. I plan on posting some of the better ones on here once I go through them all. That's all for now. See ya when I see ya!

I have returned!

Well, the family and I made it back from South Carolina at about 3:30 or so yesterday afternoon. We had a blast and it was great getting to spend a week with my brother (who for those of you that don't know, still lives in Texas for now). We left on Sat., July 15 at about 5:30 a.m.

We stopped in Gallipolis, Ohio to meet up with my aunt, uncle and three cousins. We were in a caravan with them until we stopped again at Statesville, North Carolina (the trip consisted of the following states: Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina). We had what I consider one of the worst meals of my life at a Burger King in Statesville. We also met up with my grandma and grandpa at the Burger King and they joined the caravan the rest of the way.

We arrived at Brosnan Forest in North Carolina at about 5:30 p.m. After checking out the cabin and unloading the car, we went over to one of the other cabins to see my aunt, uncle and cousins. Come to find out, my aunt had broken her foot on one of the bikes provided for the cabins. She had managed to break her foot in the first hour we were there. During the course of the week, she had a cane, crutches and a wheelchair at various times. After the visit, everyone got to their vehicles and we all set out to buy groceries. The closest store was about 15 minutes away from the forest. While we were out, my immediate family went to Pizza Inn so we wouldn't have to cook the first evening.

On day two, we got up and cooked bacon and eggs over an open charcoal grill. Good stuff. Day two basically consisted of getting to know the forest and figuring out a schedule for the rest of the week (which come to find out would not be followed at all!). It was about 97 degrees and I swear the humidity had to be 95%. Every time you walked out of the cabin, you would immediately be wringing with sweat. I did manage to play a little basketball with three cousins and my brother on day two, which was fun. We got a free dinner for watching a safety video in the evening. It was a nice BBQ dinner with a lot of great deserts!

Day three was a lot of fun. We went to Isle of Palms beach and enjoyed a nice day at the ocean. I hadn't been to the beach in about 15 years, so it was pretty cool to get to go. I stayed in the water for about 2 and a half hours and managed to get a really nice sunburn (my face is peeling as I write this).

Day four was another trip into Charleston. We headed into town in the evening and had dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant. We then wandered around town a bit and then went on a haunted Charleston ghost tour. There were several options and I decided on the Haunted Jail tour, which was touted as being the most scary of the tours. Come to find out, the "haunted" jail is now home to the American College of Architecture, so how "haunted" can it really be?

Day five was a day to recoup at camp. I didn't get out much due to the sunburn. The sun had become my enemy and I didn't want to allow it the satisfaction of seeing what it had accomplished. During the evening, they were having a hamburger/hot dog/chicken buffet, so the group did all get out to do that. We also went for a nice swim at about 10 p.m., which was nice (although the pool water was about the same temperature as bath water).

Day six was to be our last day in Charleston. We went to the South Carolina Aquarium and spent a couple of hours there. We were going to go to Fort Sumter, but realized that it was going to take more time than we wanted to spend, so we skipped that. I took a lot of cool pictures at the aquarium. I hope some of them turn out! After the aquarium, we went to Folly Beach (which is on an island) and checked out their big fishing pier. There was a nice patio seafood restaurant there, so we went ahead and ate. After lunch, we went to their gift shop and then walked down the pier. After Folly Beach, we went back into Charleston and went by the big outdoor marketplace. My brother had seen something he wanted there, but that particular vendor wasn't there when we went back. We were supposed to be back to camp for "Italian Night" dinner, but we didn't make it, so it was another trip to Pizza Inn for us (not many restaurants in the area). We also went back to the pool for another late night swim.

Day seven was a hang out at camp and clean the cabin day. We did have a big dinner with all of the family and we celebrated my dad's 53rd birthday as well. Lots of food and lots of picture taking were the way of the day.

On the last day, we had to check out by 8 a.m., so we decided to just get up really early and get on the road so Dusty could come back to the house and shoot guns and ride four wheelers (his flight back to Dallas was at 8:30 the next morning). We ended up leaving at about 5:15 a.m. and arrived home at 3:30 p.m. All in all, it was a fantastic trip and I really enjoyed getting to visit with a lot of my family I hadn't seen in some time. I plan on visiting with them all a lot more in the near future now that I'm back in Ohio.

Unemployment: Day 18

Another day, another rain storm, another day of shopping. Didn't get much accomplished today. Managed to get my dad's b-day gift taken care of, so that's good. Maybe tomorrow will be a bit more interesting. Only two more days until vacation. My brother flies in on Friday - it will be good to have him in town and riding down to South Carolina with us. I'm really looking forward to the haunted Charleston tour during my vacation. I plan to take lots of pictures - maybe I'll capture a ghost on film! Hasta la vista!

Unemployment: Day 17

Today was another rainy one here in Ohio. We headed over to Columbus for some shopping this afternoon and met up with my aunt, uncle, three cousins, grandma and grandpa at PF Chang's this evening for my cousin's birthday dinner. It was my first time at Chang's - good stuff. After dinner, we went to my cousin's apartment in Columbus and had cake and ice cream. Good times were had by all. That was about the extent of the day. I did manage to find some sandles and hiking boots in Columbus. Tomorrow is tennis shoe hunting day and haircut day. Gotta get the hair short for vacation this weekend! That is all.

Unemployment: Day 16

Here we are with another day on the old homestead. Went four-wheeling through the woods again today. We've created a pretty nifty trail back there. It is a lot of fun and I've started trying to go a little faster to amp up the excitement a bit. Besides that, my mom and I worked on the media room some more. We're done with the riser platform for the theatre chairs and we added lights to that yesterday. Today we hung some big movie poster/board things to add some entertainment flair to the room. The picture on the HDTV looks great. Well, I'd better be going now. I've got lots of country-type stuff I should be doing. Keep looking up - unless there are birds flying overhead!

Weekend Stuff

So, last night I helped my dad build a platform to put raise two theatre-style chairs in our basement media room. That's right. I did some carpentry. Tonight I tried my hand at laying carpet as we carpeted said stand. So, in the last two days, I have learned two new trades. Good stuff. That's about all we got done today as the DirecTV guy was here installing HDTV for the better part of four hours. Tomorrow may include a trip to the outlet mall about 45 minutes away. That's all, that's all, that's all folks!

Unemployment: Day 15

Another day of country living. Today started out with some garage sale action. Didn't buy anything (probably not unexpected, since I don't have a job currently). We then went to Roots Restaurant in Lancaster. This is a pretty funny place. It is a country cooking restaurant in an old converted house. Lots of old people like to eat there (my grandparents suggested it today). We then went to some more garage sales and followed that up with a visit to the local ice cream parlor. It was good, but not great. I prefer Cold Stone Creamery myself.

When we got home from the long day of garage sales, my grandpa and I got on the four wheelers and worked on the trail through the woods behind my parents' house. He had and ax and I had a machete. We cut down small trees and other weeds and bushes. We also moved a few logs off the trail and removed a post that was in our way. We've got a trail that goes all through the woods and back out to the main road to the house now. Good stuff. Well, that's it for now. To you and yours - goodnight!

Unemployment: Day 14

This is some country living! Today I spent an hour and a half doing the following:

1) stringing fresh green beans on the front porch
2) picking wild raspberries in the front yard
3) reading the paper on the front porch

Did you know that wild raspberries are black and not red? Well, that's about it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll burn some brush or something. Until then, over and out!

Unemployment: Day 13

Not much to report today. We've got some crazy red-tailed hawk that likes to chill in the tree next to the house and scream at us when we come outside. He thinks he's pretty cool with his big claws and beak. Well, actually, he is pretty cool, and pretty endangered. It is amazing seeing all of the wildlife around here. Haven't seen anything dead lately, so that's good. Still trying to get the room in order, but who am I kidding? I was still trying to get my room in order at my apartment and I lived there for almost three years. Until tomorrow, adios muchachos.

Unemployment: Days 11 and 12

I've been away for the Fourth of July holiday (visiting relatives), so I wasn't able to update yesterday. Nothing too exciting going on. I got to visit with about 40 or so relatives over the past few days, so that was cool. Today I don't really have too much going on, so I think I'll be working in the garage, trying to get everything sorted out. I need to figure out what all goes needs to stay out there. I've also got a bunch of boxes to break down. Should be fun - it is raining like crazy here today. We got over two inches of rain last night.

Accomplishments

Finally got some stuff done today. Got my address changed with the bank and ordered some new checks. I also got my cell phone changed to a local number and picked up a new phone while I was at it. I got a nifty little Samsung camera phone. It's my first camera phone. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure something out. My folks got their big TV delivered today so I had to hook that up for them. Next step is ordering some DirecTV HD service. This TV is too sweet! Off to visit the grandparents tomorrow and Monday for the holiday and my grandma's birthday. Should be fun visiting with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Until we meet again. Hasta la vista.

Unemployment: Day 10

Today was once again spent helping my mom with some shopping. She needed to find a stand for her new TV and some theatre chairs. We knew the chairs were at Best Buy, but we weren't sure where we were going to find the stand. We ended up getting one at a place called Value City Furniture. Nice place - they are delivering next Thursday. We also went to Best Buy and got the chairs. We pick them up tomorrow morning. When we came home, there were eight buzzards going at the remains of the groundhog I threw into the field a couple of days ago. They seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

Unemployment: Days 8 and 9

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. Got a little busy. Big day of shopping with my mom yesterday. We found a really nice TV that they'll be delivering on Saturday. I rode my dad's four-wheeler yesterday and today. Yesterday, when we got home from shopping, there was a dead groundhog in front of the mailbox (somebody hit it with a car). I had to take a shovel and go throw him into the field. As I approached him, I realized that I wasn't 100% sure that he was actually dead. I threw a couple of rocks at him and he didn't move. I then tapped him with the shovel and he still didn't move, so that confirmed my thought that he was a goner. I picked him up with the shovel and threw him into the field across the road. The buzzards will get him now. Gross huh?

Unemployment: Day 7

Today I managed to get my clothes into my closet, so that is always a good thing. I also got my bookcases moved up to my room, so I actually have somewhere to sit all of this stuff now. My grandma, grandpa and aunt are coming up to visit this evening. I've already learned that there are many visitors here at my parents' house. I consider that a good thing though. I haven't seen most of my family much over the past 16 years or so, so I enjoy catching up. I'm planning on getting my car registration, insurance and drivers license all switched over to Ohio sometime this week.

Unemployment: Day 6

Yes, this is day six because I'm not counting weekends as unemployed days (I wouldn't be working them anyway). So, on day six of unemployment, I managed to get my computer set up and then find out that it wouldn't come one. I printed out all the troubleshooting options and discovered that it was probably a bad power supply. I took it to a local computer repair shop and they confirmed my diagnosis (yes!). About a half hour and $75 later, my computer was as good as new. I also discovered that my television appears to be on the verge of destruction. The picture rolls for about the first 10 minutes after turning it on. Not a good sign. I guess I shouldn't have taken that corner so hard on the way here from Texas.

I managed to get my home network up and running this evening. It was actually easier than I expected, so that was a pleasant surprise. That was really the first thing that worked out correctly since I started on this trek. Oh well, what can you do?

That's it for day six. See you on the flip side.

Weekend fun

Today I spent the first half of my day shopping for a computer desk, a TV wall mount and a shower caddy. I spent the second half putting together the wall mount and computer desk. Good times. The good news is both are now sitting in my room in good repair and I don't have to worry about them any more. The bad news is I now have to actually hook up the TV, DVD, VCR and DirecTV receiver and the computer system. Tomorrow I get to install the wireless network.

Weekend stuff

Lots to do this weekend. I need to buy a new desk and I went to Sam's today to buy a wireless network router so I can get my desktop and laptop computers on-line. I'm also going to have to go to Home Depot to get a wall mount for the TV in my bedroom. I might go to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a shower caddy, but I don't know - I don't know if I'll have time. Rock me! (If you don't get the reference, ask me and I'll let you know.)

Unemployment: Day 5

Didn't want to get out of bed this morning. My alarm was set for 7 a.m. but I ended up actually getting up at about 8:30. I went to the grocery store and Steak 'N Shake and then came back and unloaded my trailer. We got the trailer back to the U-Haul place, so that's good. Don't have to worry about that any more. Tomorrow I'm hoping to go buy a wireless network router, so I can get my laptop up and going. I still have tons of work to do to get my new room to my liking. So far so good. This evening we were sitting on the front porch and got to see two big deer walk through the soybean field across the road. That was pretty awesome. Now it is dark and the lightning bugs are everywhere. It is quite amazing to see. Until tomorrow - peace!

Unemployment: Day 4

Today was a long day. We left Memphis, Tenn. at about 8:30 a.m. central time this morning and arrived at my new home at about 8:15 p.m. eastern time. Lots of hours on the road, but at least I don't have to make the return trip. We're going to unload the trailer in the morning, so at least I don't have to worry about that this evening. So, I guess this means I'm officially home now.

Unemployment: Day 3

Well, I'm a little later than usual on this, but here is the low-down on day three of unemployment. I met up for breakfast with my mom, dad and brother on Wednesday morning. We went to IHOP at 8 a.m. and we were scheduled to pick up the U-Haul trailer at 9:15 a.m.

We got to the place on time and we went out to hook up the trailer. Basically every time I've moved, something has gone wrong. It's not always something huge, but it is always something. Anyway, we hooked up the trailer and the lighting system didn't work. The lady at the place where we were picking it up gave us directions to a real U-Haul place where they could help us figure out what was wrong. Turns out my dad's SUV had a blown fuse. We had to go to AutoZone and get a new fuse. We returned to the original place to pick up the trailer and the lady hooked it up again and it still wasn't working. At this point, I was freaking out, but after a few adjustments, everything started working okay.

So, after finally getting the trailer (about two hours after the planned time), we got started on loading it at about 11:30. After lots of heavy lifting and strained backs, we finished up everything at about 2:30 and were on the road. We stopped for lunch in Greenville for lunch (at about 4 or so) at Cracker Barrell. We finally stopped for the night just north of Memphis, Tenn. at a Ramada Inn. We found a Wendy's and got some burgers and went to bed.

So, I'm no longer in Texas and am currently feeling like quite the nomad, since all my stuff is moving cross-country with us.

Unemployment: Day 3/The End of an Era

Well, today is the third day of my unemployment and also the day of my big move. Not looking forward to today. Lots of heavy lifting and then lots of driving. I've got everything packed, so now I've just got to wait until we can pick up the trailer after 9 this morning. As far as the end of the era thing, it is the end of my time in Texas. It's been a great sixteen years, but the time has come to move on (or actually back to Ohio in this case). I just want to tell my friends how much I'll miss them and I'll be sure to keep in touch. See ya on the flip side!

Unemployment: Day 2

Day two of unemployment is just about over and I've actually managed to get a bit accomplished today. I went to lunch at Saltgrass Steakhouse with my mom, dad and brother. Besides that, I have basically finished packing (no thanks to Saved By the Bell reruns and the horrible movie - Career Opportunities on TV). This evening, my roommate and I are going to my parents' hotel room to watch the Mavericks game with them. I sure hope they win!

Why is it ...

Why is it that every time I move I am struggling to finish packing right when I'm supposed to be leaving? I know better. Like I said, it happens EVERY time (which has been pretty frequent since I got out of college). And if things aren't bad enough, instead of doing some packing right now, I'm watching Saved By the Bell reruns.

Unemployment: Day 1

So, today was the first day that I would have gone to work if I hadn't resigned. What did I do you ask? Well, here's a list:

1. got up at about 9 a.m.
2. messed around on MySpace
3. shredded lots of old papers
4. got ready to leave the house
5. took a coffee table to the thrift store
6. went to Chili's for lunch and watched some FIFA in the bar
7. went to Home Depot and got a key made
8. got my car washed and detailed
9. got my oil changed and tires rotated
10. went to get my hair cut, but there were too many people waiting, so I skipped it
11. packed some boxes
12. took my bed apart
13. loaded bed in truck and took it to the Salvation Army (but when I got there, some guy asked me if he could just buy it from me, so I sold it to him for $20)
14. went to dinner at Krystal's Pizza in Irving
15. went to Cold Stone Creamery for some desert
16. came home and did some more packing

So, you can see, day one of unemployment was pretty productive! I'll try to update tomorrow with Unemployment: Day 2. Until then, keep on keepin on.

Josh blew it

Unbelievable. Josh managed to miss two free throws and made a bonehead timeout call. Guess we shouldn't have been making parade plans huh?

Acckkk!

This is so stressful. Tie game with 2:02 left in OT. Dirk just knocked the ball out of bounds and the HEAT have four seconds on the shot clock. Need a big defensive stand here and then some points on the other end to put the pressure on Miami. Haslem has now fouled out for the HEAT.

OT

Mavs can't close out the game. We're going to OT with lots of guys in foul trouble? What's going to happen? I don't know, but I don't like it.

Missed free throw by Dirk

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. Dirk one of two from the line and then Wade hits for two to go up two. Dirk follows up with a tought two of his own. This should be his time.

Wade = new Jordan?

If he's not, then the Mavs are certainly making him look like he is. Less than two minutes to go and the Mavs are now down by one. If they lose this game, then I hate to say it, but the HEAT could win the series in six.

Nope

So much for Dirk stepping up. Mavs with a 24-second violation and now the HEAT goes up by one.

Terry

If the Mavericks win this game, it is thanks mostly to Jason Terry and partly to Josh Howard. I am so disappointed in how Dirk has played the last two games. It would be nice to see him step it up for the last three minutes tonight and going into game six.

Wade is alive!

Mavs did a good job controling him in the first 2 and a half quarters, but he's been lighting them up since then. If the HEAT win this game, it'll be because of Wade.

Big rebound by Howard, big shot by Terry

Mavs by three. Looks like another nail-biter.

Not good

Mavs lead down to one after three.

7 point game with five minutes left in the half

The Mavs seem to be hanging on, but we need to end this quarter with more than a 10 point lead.

Focus

The Mavs need to focus and eliminate these dumb turnovers. Every posession counts and they also can't allow Jason Williams to continue to shoot uncontested threes. Four fouls on Haslem, which is a good thing (except that means Posey comes in now).

Focus

The Mavs need to focus and eliminate these dumb turnovers. Every posession counts and they also can't allow Jason Williams to continue to shoot uncontested threes. Four fouls on Haslem, which is a good thing (except that means Posey comes in now).

Mavs lead by 8 at the half

This is much better than the last two games.

Strong finish?

We need to finish the last minute and a half strong. Terry just helped with a big three.

THE JET IS ON THE RUNWAY!

Jason Terry is on fire. With Dirk and Howard still seemingly looking for their shot, we must continue to get Terry open looks.

Mavs lead

Mavs actually took the lead for a moment. Nice to see for a change.

KVH sucks

Keith Van Horn should be eliminated from the NBA as soon as possible. Whatever team decides to pick him up after the Mavs decline to offer him a new contract in the off-season should also be eliminated from the league.

Mavs down three at the end of one

Dirk missed a three at the buzzer and Mavs are down by three points at the end of the first quarter. They have looked better so far this game. On a completely different note - the movie Little Man looks like total crap. Who makes this stuff?

At least Dirk and Howard are playing better

They both have more made baskets in the first half of the first quarter than they did in the entire game 4.

Not looking good

HEAT are on a 10-0 run. Mavs aren't getting out on their three-point shooters and they are making them pay for it. Gonna have to start playing some perimeter defense or this game is going to end up like game 4.

Josh starting out hot

Josh is two for his first three. A couple of nice moves.

The HEAT are on the runway and the traffic controler is waving them in!

That guy with the crazy glasses and pseudo-Japanese HEAT flags scares me a little. I think maybe the Mavs are intimidated by him or something. Also, I really don't need to see the name and face of their PA guy ever again. He gets more face time during the intros than any of the players or coaches do.

Lame National Anthems

This series has had the worse National Anthem singers I remember in a finals. I think Michael MacDonald might have actually been the best one.

Fearless Prediction

Dirk will score 32 or more. Josh will score 18 or more. Terry will score 22 or more. Mavs will win by at least nine. Write it down!

These two guys have to step it up tonight!

I'm back!

After spending the last two games at the Studio Movie Grill in Addison, Texas, I'm back on my couch in front of my laptop where I should be. The Mavs won games one and two while I did this, so I"ll be blogging throughout the game in hopes that the Mavs take game five and go up three games to two with the final two games at the AAC in Dallas.

MySpace

I declined invitations to join MySpace for a long time, but with my new-found spare time, I figured why not? So, I have officially joined the MySpace world. I've made contact with several people that I haven't talked to in years, so that's fun! It's still very new, but feel free to check it out - http://www.myspace.com/coryj98

I'm free!!

Yesterday was my last day at work. I was scheduled to work until 7 p.m. central, but they decided to take away my access to the systems I need at about 4:30. I stayed and helped out until 6:30, but once we forwarded to our after-hours bureau, I was out the door one last time. It was an emotional day at work. We brought in lunch for the office to celebrate my last day. It was good food and I think everyone enjoyed it.

I had a nice card, signed by everyone in the office, waiting on my desk when I arrived. I'll be honest, I had to choke back some tears when I was reading it. A lot of these people are more like family than co-workers to me after over seven years of working with them. As the day went on, people would leave for the day and we'd have to say our goodbyes, which was hard. As I walked out the door one last time, I couldn't help but to look back and take one last look at the place where I'd spent most of my time since I graduated from college.

Mavs up two games to zero!

Mavs win 99-85. They have a nice position going into these next three games in Miami. Shaq ended up taking just 5 shots and scoring 5 points. Who'da thunk it?

Nice effort

Mavs up by 14 with 2 minutes left to play. Shaq has five points - who is this guy?

Posey joins Shaq and Haslem on bench

Six fouls for James Posey - who's gonna guard Dirk now?

Keeping them at bay

The Mavs are managing to keep the HEAT down by 16 - 20 points, so they are basically keeping Wade and Shaq off the court. Hopefully we won't see either of them again tonight.

Mavs had a nice third period

Mavs up by 24 at the end of the third quarter. HEAT have only managed to score 58 points in three quarters.

I'm liking this game now

Mavs big guys are getting it going and Stack is providing a huge lift from the bench. If Dirk and Josh keep outpacing Shaq and Dwyane Wade, we're in excellent shape. And please, please let them keep passing it to Antoine Walker!

Stack is the MAN!

Stackhouse just killed the HEAT at the end of the half. Mavs up by sixteen thanks to Stack scoring the last 10 points for the Mavs!

Mavs on a run

Dirk and Josh have started hitting some shots and the Mavs are now up seven. Gotta keep big mo on our side.

Not a good finish

Mavs end up the quarter up by one, but it was an ugly end to the quarter. They're going to have to play better than this if they want to go up two games to one.

Need to finish first strong

There is a minute and a half left in the first quarter. They need to finish this strong. The last two minutes haven't been good.

Shaq looks tired

I was expecting an energized Shaq tonight, but he's looking really tired so far. Dirk just sat with two fouls and Van Horn is on for him. Uh oh.

Good Start

Mavs up by six and Riley has to take a time out. I'm not getting too excited yet, but things are looking good so far.

Prediction!

Give me the Mavs in tonight's game. I know a lot of people are picking the heat, but I'm thinking Mavs by seven!

Here we go!

Almost time to start game 2 of the NBA Finals. I hope Shaq isn't too upset by his performance on Thursday night or we could be in for a great deal of Diesel power tonight.