The Close of 2009

Barring some sort of drastic event happening, this year will close as a great year. This year I fell in love with The One, grew closer to the friends I have, and was introduced to some really great people. As I look back, I find it hard to find one bad thing in regards to my life. And if I were to come across something that might have been less than stellar, it did not take away from a great year. This year will close the same way it opened, with a party at my home. I will be surrounded by people I love and adore.

My goals for 2009:

1. Stay alive.

Safe to say that I have made it this far.

2. Live a little, but keep within my means.

I certainly had a blast and kept, mostly, within my means.

3. Make the bills reasonable.

I did not quite reduce it to what I wanted it to be, thanks mostly to a minor car bump, but I did reduce it to a level in which I can handle.

4. Make the most of what is given to me.

I am pleased with myself regarding this one. I took things as they were and found myself happy.

5. Don't be the exaggeration.

I found out that I never really was. I am who I am, and I am happy with that.

My goals for 2010:

1. Stay alive. It might seem like a silly goal to have, until you are dead and then you should have thought of it. I will tie-in the live well goal for this one as well. I intend on doing both.

2. No matter what happens regarding the tour, keep moving forward. There are a lot of opportunities out there for me and still have a lot to offer. It is time I stop wavering and just start walking.

3. Smile through everything. There is no telling what will happen with anything this year, regardless of what it brings I will chose to be happy.

4. Work on myself personally. While I like to joke that I am perfect, I still hold some (very few) character flaws. I need to work on those.

5. Propose to The One. I know, you know, she knows I love her. It will happen in 2010.

Very modest goals this year. Ones I will attain. If 2010 is anything like 2009, I am in for one fun ride. Enjoy the close of 2009, and have many adventures in 2010!

~Skate

The Return

I abruptly left Wednesday night to avoid a blizzard destined to hit the area. It was a good thing too, as I hear they had shut down interstates because of the snow and high winds. Apparently the combination of the two can be problematic for cars and safety. The trip up was gruesome after a full day of work and driving alone. A steady diet of Scooby Snacks and chocolate-covered marshmallows kept me artificially awake for quite some time. Eventually I succumbed to sleep about an hour and a half out. It pains me to get so close and not make it, but I desperately needed two hours of sleep.

While I was there I enjoyed my time and rested. We played a lot of card games and relaxed. Family time was well spent and fun. We did manage to go out and watch Sherlock Holmes as a family as well. My overall view of the movie was it was mere okay. If they removed the ties from the great detective it might have been better in my eyes. After all of this I found out that I am really bad at bowling, even worse than I was before. I lost three out of four beer frames. The one I was was pushed into an extra frame after I was saved when my last remaining opponent failed to pick up the spare. In the extra frame I came up clutch with a strike and saved myself six dollars.

The return trip was not nearly as bad. BoBo drove over from Illinois and we made our own caravan to travel in. We stopped off at the world's largest truck stop and gave ourselves trucker names. BoBo was Tubbs and I was Buckin Burgundy Boy Bill or B4 over the radio. That was an early stop in the trip, and all conversations the rest of the trip involved our trucker persona. The convoy was actually fun; we made the same stops for gas and breaks. For dinner we stopped at a Cracker Barrel, my first, and enjoyed a meal and conversation. It was really nice to have someone along for the trip even though it was not in the same car.

The one thing I have avoided in this blog, as it will be saved for its own blog, is that BoBo will be leaving our small town and taking up roots in another. We still have three weeks of fun together before the split, and I intend to enjoy that time.

And then it ends,

Skate

The Christmas Blog

To begin with, merry Christmas. Despite appearances, and my proclamation that I hate Christmas, I am not entirely all that much of a Scrooge or Grinch. It is true that it is my least favorite of the holidays. I do my best to avoid he hoopla for the day. I have a unique perception of what the masses see this holiday as and that drives my feelings for Christmas.

Looking back, I have to say my favorite Christmas was the first one my family celebrated in Japan. We had just moved and did not have a lot of money. There was not even enough money to buy a tree that year for Christmas. Santa would not have anything to put presents under until my family took what we had and made Christmas. We spent quality time together and built our own Christmas tree out of construction paper. I really wish I had a picture of that tree. If people were to look at it face value, the tree might have been more than a few steps below a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I thought it was magnificent.

There are few charming qualities that Christmas beholds. People seem to have an extra bit of generosity, and are more warmhearted. People actually try greeting other people instead of rushing by, and they might even manage a response. Quality time with loved ones is something that we strive for during this holiday season and I always want that. The fact that most of my loved ones smile more around this time of the year, is one that I really do enjoy. I enjoy a lot of the Christmas movies as well. I do not think I could pick a favorite, but there are a few I like more than others. The Muppet's Christmas Carol, Scrooged, and It's a Wonderful Life would have to be at the top. Sadly I never much enjoyed A Christmas Story the way others have. I suppose it is an alright movie, just not my favorite.

The one truly lamentable thing about this holiday is something I really open about. I loathe gifts. In this season people sometimes forget about the holiday cheer when going shopping and become more monster than merry. The human nature behind gifts is something I even succumb to. The idea behind buying a singular person a gift is not lamentable, it is charitable. It is when you purchase in bulk that it can become ludicrous. Trying to match prices and comparing what each one received is more anti-Christmas spirit than it is in the spirit, but that is what happens. It should not matter what one person gave to another, but we make it. People feel left out, people become jealous of a better gift, people make it less about the spirit and more about the gifts. The best of us do not let these natural feelings overcome us and we move on to better feelings.

I am a blessed man, I have received many quality gifts this year already and am appreciated of every one of those. Mom tacked on a few more last night to appreciate. I now have a picture board to add to my home, a puzzle that I will place at work for people to figure out, and a very cute apron featuring a gorilla that says "G'rilla at Work". I am very appreciated for what I have in my life. The true gifts in my life are The One, my family and my framily, my health, my home, Dog, my job and a lot more than I could ever count. Those are the gifts I accept with great admiration day in and day out. That is the holiday cheer I keep close to my heart.

~Skate

As It Should Be

Work was amazing yesterday. I was incredibly productive while having a completely relaxed day. There were few interruptions, and the few I had were not that bad. Nothing in the Clinic was rushed, people were calm and taking things as they are. It makes me wonder why it cannot be that way all the time. There really is not a need for the normal hysteria that we bring upon ourselves. Sometimes we might have packed our workload a bit more than we should. If my office can figure out a way to balance the workload and start having more days like yesterday, I would extremely pleased.

Some impending weather might cut short my last work week of the year. I hope for it. Though there are a lot of people out there worried for my safety as I drive north tomorrow. I have received every possible safety briefing anyone should ever have to go through. I will be fine. If the weather is bad, I will be taking it slow and driving as I should on poor road conditions. It is not like I will be zooming by at 90 mph on icy roads. If the trip takes me longer it takes me longer. I am sure Mom would prefer me up there safely later than having me in danger.

And then it ends,

Skate

Down Year

I think calling this football season a down year would be an understatement. My Redskins got blown-out at home yesterday to bring them to 4-10. The defense looked nonexistent; the offense was what it has been for most of the year, stagnant until the defense lets up because the game is out of reach. You would think with jobs on the line would have made them perform better for our new GM. Sadly I see a few more years of continual rebuilding in the future. A lot of holes that need to be filled and not a lot of money to do so. I am thankful Vinny is no longer calling the shots.

I have long been out of the playoff talk for my fantasy team. A quick rundown of my team's statistics and you will see it was all my fault. I was a poor coach this season, having the worst efficiency rate in the league at 79.1%. That means that 1/5 of the time I chose the wrong person. When you pick 9 positions to play a game, that is not good. That is close to two people a game that I whiffed on. Those close-to-two people cost me five games. Those five games would have put me in playoff position.

As a GM I did not exactly put my coach in a great position. I whiffed pretty bad on personnel too. My total possible points only beats out two other teams. After being the most dominant team in my league last year, this year was a huge disappointment. It is a keeper league and there is always next year. Who knows, maybe I will come back and dominate.

And then it ends,

Skate

Special Holiday

Today is the last working Monday of the year for me! Today should go by fairly fast, as this is the last day most people in both offices will be there so a lot of work will be crammed in to what time we have. The rest of the week should go by reasonably well with plenty of actual work to do. Though thankfully I will be doing so at my own pace and just knocking them out one by one.

I finished over my review packet for the tour. I am excited. There is a lot of information there. I still lack a song or two to perform; when the music director calls I think I will ask him what guidelines I have for my performance. It might look bad to not have something ready when he calls, but I think I can make up for it. There is much to be accomplished prior to leaving for the audition, plenty for me to take care of this week.

The One and I enjoyed our time together and built a lovely gingerbread house. It took some time, and created quite the mess, but the end product is something she and I are proud of. Not to mention some quality time together. We spend a lot of time together, but this was something different that we did together.

And then it ends,

Skate

Modern Warfare

If you were wondering why my post is late, it is because I was feeding an addiction. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is an exciting game. I have finished off the gripping campaign on veteran, the hardest level available. Besides the campaign I have also spent a good deal of time playing online. Most of my online time has been with my family, which is why I have the TV in the first place. It has been a lot of fun. I will be picking up the controller after finishing this.

I will be putting down the controller to spend time with The One when she returns from her family time. We will be building a gingerbread house while watching a movie. And then going out to see some Christmas lights. It will be a fun date.

The movie will be on Blu Ray. That is thanks to TOD and TOM. Because I would not be joining them for Christmas, they decided to spoil me early. Some of the wonderful gifts included a really nice Thunder jacket, a high quality OU scarf and knit hat, the OU history book, and of course the Blu Ray player. Thank you TOD and TOM for the wonderful gifts.

And then it ends,

Skate

Serious Business

I am going through my nine page preparation package that is jam-packed with information. I came across this nugget just now:

PANEL I

This panel will judge the actual category performance of the contestant presented before a live audience. Contestants will be judged on TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE, SHOWMANSHIP, and TREATMENT AND INTERPRETATION OF MATERIAL. Each panel member can award a maximum of 75 points.

PANEL II

This panel will judge each contestant following a closed session individual audition. Contestants will be auditioned to determine their PROFICIENCY in their main entertainment specialty, their VERSATILITY of music styles and other talents and their musical KNOWLEDGE and INTERPRETATION. Each panel member can award a maximum of 75 points.

PANEL III

This panel will judge the contestant following a closed session personal interview. Contestants will be judged on their ATTITUDE, DESIRE to become a member of The Tour, APPEARANCE and ability to serve as an AMBASSADOR for the Company. Each panel member can award a maximum of 75 points.

Yeah, those are my interviews. I can rock one and three, I might not rock two. This is only the interview process. I still have more auditioning and events to do. It is going to be a serious ten day mental and physical workout. I need to have my song(s) selected by Monday, know what key I want it in and a much, much more.

And then it ends,

Skate

Exciting News

Last night I found out that the touring group I put in my audition for called me back to see me live! My screams of joy were so loud and piercing, The One might have some temporary hearing loss. I do have to temper my excitement just a tad as it does not mean I will become a part of the tour; it is a second audition with personal interviews. That being said, it is still an exciting honor to be one of the few that have been asked to go. The group will be paying my way to San Antonio, and my entire stay there for a week.

I am not going to lie, with each passing day that I did not get a call I was justifying reasons that I would not be asked back and preparing for the let down. Now that my excitement has been rejuvenated, my hopes are higher than ever. As several close friends have mentioned, some of my best characteristics are very pronounced in person. I fully intend on wowing them when I get down there.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. From The One for knowing how important this is to me, to all those involved in the taping, to those who pushed and pushed for me to get this done, I thank you. I know I have thanked everyone several times between here and in person, I do not mean to water down my thankfulness. I truly am incredibly lucky to have such an outstanding cast of people in my life. I could not ask for more.

This is not the end,

Skate

Winding Down

This time of the year is always special at work. Work still gets done, but generally at a slower pace. Then things hit a wall, usually sometime next week. People kind of piddle around and put things off until the new year. The purgatory office is setting itself up to do just that. And my actual office is getting there. It is funny to me that we will ramp up to finish everything all year and then try coasting the last two weeks. Not that I am complaining. I intend on relaxing the next couple of weeks. Well not so much relaxing, as instead of the usual paperwork I plan on moving around the office.

The office layout has bugged me since the day I moved in. They have my back to the door, which is very discomforting. I will be moving thing so that I can see who is walking in. I will still have my co-worker behind me, but I can deal with that. The problem is that the office is narrow and packed with furniture right now. I will have to decide whether or not to completely plan out the move or just move. I do have the dimensions to every single piece of furniture and the room itself.

Yesterday's event went well. I did not get a lot of time with the children so there was not one that melted my heart. There were plenty of cute children, and they were well behaved. The behavior was a bit of a shock as normally some of the older children can be unruly. I take great enjoyment knowing that I made several kids smile, and that I will be in a lot of family photo albums. While there was not a child who melted my heart, there was a child proclaiming my authenticity and that was pretty cool. I have one more of these tomorrow, and hopefully that goes well.

And then it ends,

Skate

Catching Up

It feels like a Wednesday. I am not sure what today will bring but at least I am in the right mindset.

Yesterday, The One, BoBo and I ventured out to a diner that specializes in pop. Unknown to The One and I, TeeHee was there to greet us. It was a pleasant surprise. This diner has over 500 different kinds of pop (also known as soda, soda-pop or coke). While I am not a fan in general of pop, I do enjoy a root beer once in a while. I had quite the selection to choose from. After ordering food we did a round of root beers and had some fun giving in depth analysis. It was a very fun evening.

Tonight I have a special event to attend to. I will be bring Christmas joy to some little people. It should be a lot of fun. I have done this before elsewhere around the world, but now I finally own my own costume. This is the first of two events this week. The next is on Friday for another daycare. There is inevitably a child who will be rotten, but I look forward to meeting the other inevitable. Every time I have done this, there has been at least one kid who can just warm your heart. That child is the one I await and do this for.

And then it ends,

Skate

Wait...It is ONLY Tuesday?!?!

My brain has not been functioning daywise for a while it seems. I am again confused on what day it is. Last night I had honestly thought that it was Tuesday; that I would wake up and it would be Wednesday and I would only have a few more days for before a break. Now granted, mistakes like that happen after an unexpected twelve hour work day. But I have made that mistake a lot in the past few months. I think the timer in my brain is off or malfunctioning.

Last night, while lying in bed, Dog began to make some very odd noises. I honestly thought she was choking on something. I jump up and turn on the lights and see her gaging. Before I could even reach for her, she coughed out something unbelievably disgusting. It must have been her entire stomach contents; as long as it was it could have been her entire intestine or esophagus. What was peculiar was that it was solid; well mostly solid, it was more of a paste than anything. It must have been the hair that I saw that made her gag it back up, but what ever this pasty thing was, it was disgusting.

And then it ends,

Skate

Well Wishes

The One takes an exam that will let her progress in her classes to become a teacher. I, and several others, wish her well. I am sure she will do great. She has worked so hard to become a full blown teacher, and is a wonderful teacher to her Pre-K children. I hate seeing her get discouraged when something like this comes up. She swears if she does not pass it, this will be the last time. I think the world would be missing out on an excellent teacher if that were the case.

Caroling went well last night. It started off a bit rocky with no one coming outside to greet our small band. Eventually we started ringing door bells and that pulled most of the people out; we still had a few who refused to do anything but peek through the curtains. After a few duds and a couple of decent houses we came upon a house full of merry people. There was an entire family there spanning at least three generations. The grandma was extremely excited and one of the family members was taking video. It was the exact reaction we were hoping for and it lifted our spirits. After that, we had a good mix of people who reacted in a variety of ways. At the tail end we had two little girls dancing to Rudolph and that seemed to be a great end to a fun night of caroling.

And then it ends,

Skate

Forever Sunday

I wish it would be possible to extend Sunday and put off the work week. I could use a few days off after last week, my whole office could use the week off after the work we did. Unfortunately we have another busy week ahead, but then we get a nice break for the holidays.

The framily will be caroling tonight! I am really excited. Door-to-door caroling is not as abundant as it should be. Our group will be happy to bring it back. BoBo has printed off some music for us to carol. I will be happy to have the lyrics as I do know any Christmas song in its entirety. B12 mentioned Frito pies as a warming snack. I love Frito pies! All in all I think it will be an amazing time, if not for the caroling for the time spent with framily.

The work party came and went last night. A few hiccups on the technical side that enraged me. We had someone helping with the media system for the club we were in. I had brought in a CD that had a couple of presentations and a movie. You can ask The One, I played the movie off that CD three times before calling it good. The computer the system ran from was only able to play a small portion of the video before bugging out. The tech guy insisted it was the CD. It was not. He insisted that I had burned the video too fast. I did not. This man was an idiot. The computer simply did not have the capability to play the CD, but there was nothing wrong with the CD. I walked out of the tech room when he started talking about how CDs are written and you can scratch the hell out of the bottom side of the CD because the top is what holds the information.

The One was beautiful as always last night. I had told her as much as she was getting ready, and a few times at the party. I will admit it was not as much as I did last last year. She still remains the most beautiful woman in my eyes now matter how often I praise her.

And then it ends,

Skate

Well Rested

I think I might have finally caught up on all the sleep I have been missing. I slept in until eleven this morning and just woke up from an hour nap. I was intending on writing the Christmas blog, but TOD came over to finish hanging the TV. Now that it is is up, I could not be any happier with it. Thank you, again, JDad and my older brother for the TV. Thank you TOD for all the hard work you put into having the TV mounted. It really is more than I could ever ask for.

I am truly blessed to have so many special people in my life. Last year I made a few speeches about what my family and framily mean to me that brought tears to my eyes. This year will I do intend to make a speech at my New Year's Eve party and as strong as I want to be, I know tears will come again. Just thinking about the wonderful people I have met throughout my life and in the short time I have been here makes me well up just a bit. I will at least try to get this one to be intelligible and not break down into sobbing three words into the speech.

I have my work holiday party in a hour or so. It should be a fun time. I was put in charge of a few things entertainment wise that I will be putting the final touches here soon. Due to the a family emergency one of our bosses will not be attending. I do hope all is well with his family. In his stead, I will take on the character that he was to play in the skit. I do not want to spoil anything here, but I will say one thing. He stands around 5'4" and I am around 6'3"; I will be wearing the same costume he was to be wearing. That will surely be a sight to see.

And then it ends,

~Skate

Wonderful Woman

The One truly spoiled me with gifts this year. We open ours last night as our own little Christmas. We are celebrating early because I will not be home for Christmas, I will be visiting Mom to celebrate Christmas and her birthday.

The highlights of the presents were a display for alcohol that dispenses shots, and a Thunder package. Not only did she go and get the two of us tickets, she got a hotel so we can stay there. The truly over the top wonderful thing she did: She asked my boss if I can have the day after off. What a beautiful woman I have. I am truly lucky.

For the record, my boss did say yes. We will be enjoying a game and evening together come early January! I love The One.

~Skate

Victory

I made it through to Thursday! My this week has felt incredibly long. Today is my last day as the beck and call boy for the instructors that are in town. It has not been too bad. There have been a few moments where I had to rush to change things when the schedule changed. Then there was the moment they left boxes outside of the building and people were about to call the bomb squad. Yeah, that was fun. Today they have one scenario that they will run and then Jeopardy! That should be fun to set-up and watch.

I am really looking forward to this weekend. I intend to sleep most of it. The more I get excited about sleeping in Saturday morning, the more I think that The One will want to rush to open presents first thing in the morning. Good thing I can take naps.

I had to resubmit my video for audition. I was not surprised to hear that I had to. I uploaded it as a project and not a video. Hopefully they get to it this morning and do not knock me a few points for having it in the wrong format. I am just happy they called and asked me to resubmit and not just discard my application. I feel lucky for that. The quick turnaround on the application makes me think that I will hear back in a week or so about whether or not I made the tour.

And then it ends,

Skate

Tease

I picked up The One's second Christmas gift last night. I knew she would try to figure out what I bought her, I did not know how crazy she would be. If I would have known this is how she would react, I would have picked her up a box within a box a while ago just to see this. Instead she will have to just stare at her box that I had wrapped by someone. She has already picked it up and shaken it. She has made several guesses and asked for many clues. I refuse to give any clue, nor will I let her know if she has guessed right. It is such a fun little game for me to see her get out of control.

This still does not change how I feel about this holiday. When/if I find time this week to write that rant I will. My brain is having a hard time grasping the idea that it is only Wednesday. It certainly feels as if it should be much later in the week. I look forward to a weekend of relaxation. A much needed time of rest.

And then it ends,

Skate

Winter Debut

It has been cold here for a little while, even dipping down to 13 degrees Friday morning when I went to work. But for the first time this chilly late fall, ice finally came down. Enough that I am delayed into work. I was hoping for an entire day, but I cannot be too greedy.

I have always enjoyed snow days. As a kid it was great to go out in play for an entire day. As an adult, any unexpected break in a welcomed one. When it snows I still have the urge to run out and play. Sledding has to be one of my all time favorite activities. Snow angels, snow forts and the always inevitable snowball fight are just too much fun to resist. Unfortunately, not too many retain that desire to play like that in the snow. They move on to ski slopes, or just remain indoors. While I enjoy skiing/snowboarding, and staying warm by a fire, I thoroughly enjoy playing in the snow.

This area does not get a lot of snow. It will get frigid cold and have freezing rain, but very little snow. Ice can be fun, but it does not excite the child inside me. Mostly, I just see it as an increased risk. Whether it be walking into work, or behind the wheel, the chances of something bad happening are greater. Especially with some of the bozos around here.

And then it ends,

Skate

Marathon Week

I am already behind schedule as I type this, so this will be short. I have to start today off earlier than normal, as one of my projects I was undertaking is was a training session and I have to cater to the instructors. On top of that, I might be called up to the purgatory office for the entire week. That would not be so bad if it were not for the fact I had other projects that I had to take care of. And the only reason it would not be so bad is because one of the problems in that office is being transitioned out. Things should start to get a bit better in there.

TOD (The One's Dad) came over yesterday and laid the groundwork for the mount for the new TV. It is going to look really nice. TOD said he will be over Wednesday or Saturday to finish it out. I am very thankful for the work he has done and will do. I did set up the new TV and we have it sitting on the ground now. I could not wait any longer. The picture is beautiful on all the HD channels. It is not so beautiful on regular channels. It turns out that is apparently because of all the defects that are in regular channels that are masked by lower quality TVs. Not entirely certain on the validity of that.

I even managed to play a game. The One hopped on while I made dinner and did a fine job starting out. After she turned the controller over to me, I arrogantly put the difficulty to the hardest setting. I had never played this game before and probably should have started off a bit easier, but I like a challenge. And I am stubborn enough not to change it now. Soon I will be playing online with my family, which is what I really set it up for.

And then it ends,

Skate

Day of Rest

It has already been a productive day of sleeping. I slept in till eight, which was not really sleeping in as I did not fall asleep until it was past two. After a couple hours of being awake, The One stirred in the bedroom. Dog and I joined her for a wonderful nap which has now ended. Much needed rest after a busy week, after a whirlwind trip, heading into a busy week.

I am currently awaiting The One's father to come over. He is going to assemble the piece that will hold the new TV. I really am excited to get this thing going! I will be making sure my 360 is in order, so that after all is set-up and done I can play online! I might even watch the evening football game in HD, just because I can.

For those that are eagerly awaiting my blog about Christmas, it will come soon enough. Most likely it will be a special post outside of the daily post. I think that it would take too long for me to accurately rant otherwise. I know my pizza rant ran a little into my daily routine the morning I wrote it. I cannot afford to be late tomorrow, and as I have mentioned the rest of the week appears to be quite busy as well. So it will be an evening rant later this week, or a Saturday morning rant.

And then it ends,

Skate

Happy

As much as the world may bear down on a person, it is important to smile through the hard times and try to be happy. This is not to say that a person cannot be overcome by sadness or anger, just that in the end it is their choice to be happy. I think I have a delightful disposition. There is not a day that goes by without a happy moment. Some days are harder to find that moment that makes you smile. Thankfully, I have a great group of friends that Stand By Me.

~Skate

Waiting Game

I have officially turned in my application for the tour group. I am happy to have it in. It is certainly a big load off my back. A big thank you needs to go out to all those involved in the process. Thank you The One for standing by me and listening to me rehearse songs. Thank you BoBo and B12 for helping me find songs that suited me. Thank you TeeHee for finding a recording for one of those songs; even if we did not use it, just from the effort you really helped out. Thank you Blu for taping. Thank you Schroeder for being my accompaniment. Thank you Thing 2 for helping out the night of the video. Another big thank you to BoBo for working through every step in this project. I hope that I get in, not only because I want to, but because you all worked very hard to make this happen.

I am not sure on the timeline of when I find out. When I do, it will be from one one of my bosses. I am hoping to find out sooner than later. Not just because my nerves are rattling right now, but because I still need to work on both songs to perfect them for my next series of auditions. I will be sure to keep everybody posted on the outcome, good or bad. At the very least, I get a t-shirt out of this.

And then it ends,

Skate

Three Little Words

I remember the first time I told The One I loved her. I had felt it earlier that day. It overwhelmed me in the car as I was driving home. For the first time in my short life, I loved. I had decided, for reasons that only make sense to me, to not tell her when I arrived home. I left for a rehearsal and while there it came to me again. I love her. Still when I returned home I did not say anything. It was not until we were laying in bed facing each other and talking that I finally came out and told her how I felt. The lights were off, so I could only imagine the look on her face. I told her again that I loved her. Those words, that feeling was entirely powering. I have never felt something so strong in my life.

It is amazing to think that I once thought that those words were used entirely too often, and they still may be. Nowadays I do not think I could say them enough. I do not want the words themselves to loose any of the powerful emotion that backs them. I love her. We use it when we see each other, when we leave each other, when we are on the phone, when we are being silly, when we are making-up, when we are happy, when we are sad, when we feel how much we love each other we tell the other. Despite heavy use, the emotion behind the words is never removed. I hope that those words never become just words. That they forever mean something between The One and I.

I love The One. There should not be any doubt in the world on that. I am always told that it shines through and through. It did not come easy. I was always quick to dismiss relationships. With her I was patient, wherein other relationships I was not. But as much as I was patient with her and our relationship she had to be patient with me. She had realized that she was in love long before I ever did. She had been expressing her feelings that way for months without me returning the words. She was patient with me then, she is patient with me now.

I thank her for that; I tell her I love her as often as I can. I love The One; I will marry her, in that I have no doubt.

~Skate

Walk It Off

Yesterday was beastly. The day slow rolled me, it started off somewhat even paced and then just exploded with work around every turn. It did not help that I somehow developed a headache during all the work. I can tell you that meetings and telephone conferences do not help headaches. I am thinking that today will be a better day. I will still be hitting the gates running, but I think it will go smoother than yesterday. It has to.

The One and I have requested the assistance of her dad. We have decided that instead of tearing anything down we will instead build onto the entertainment center and then mount the TV. It will look amazing. We will have to wait until Sunday, but I can be patient. One of the reasons I received this wonderful gift was so that I can play games with my family. I ensured my old profile still existed and it does. I still have to set up the internet to it, but that should not take long.

After I came home, and ate a wonderful dinner prepared by The One, I crashed. When I finally got moving I started to work on my songs. I have today and tomorrow. Thanks to the help of friends I will be able to pull this off.

And then it ends,

Skate

Conundrum

I spent the better part of last night trying to find a place for the new TV. It proved to be just two and a half inches longer than our existing built-in cabinets would allow. There are a few options we have, some of which involve some form of destruction to what we have. For now it remains in the box in all its glory. I did pick up all the necessities for when I do finally find a spot for it. And make no mistake we will find a spot for it.

Yesterday was not nearly as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. That gives me hope that today will not be all that horrible either. I do have more than a few things to accomplish today that are time sensitive which will put my afternoon into a crunch. I am not looking forward to that. My morning is spent in purgatory. It will not be long before a lot of change is made to that office.

My audition tape is becoming quite the framily (friends family) affair. BoBo and I worked on one song last night. Blu has offered to video tape. Schroeder is willing to accompany on a song. TeeHee came by last night to give me music for another. This is the crunch time as the video and application need to be in by Friday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

And then it ends,

Skate