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I am in disrepair. I started back in the gym this afternoon after a couple of days off. Tired, sore, and realizing that I was long overdue for a tune up. I’m even taking it easy given I’m not the spring chicken I used to be. I love smoothies. I had a smoothie for dinner. I found out that the local smoothie place can leave out the turbinado (the light brown stuff you get when you steam raw sugar) if you ask. It cuts out 100 calories. I’m not really a calorie-counter, but I don’t like the extra sweetness, so it’s a win-win.

I took these photos when I got home because I hate this beard. I want to shave it off soooo badly. I told myself I wouldn’t touch it until I lost some weight and got back in shape. Grrr! Sometimes it sucks to be “a man of your word”. As I was pulling these off the camera, it was evident how much harsher my features are than when I was younger. Not leathery, weathered, and eroded like a sunbathing Marlboro man, but aged. When I was 20 years old and had just signed a contract with the Navy, I went to visit my father in San Antonio. While there, I was approached by a large modeling agency and offered a job. It was, of course, too late at that point since I was all set to ship out for boot camp soon. It was flattering, silly, and work for the young.

The new guy at the office is fitting in well. He’s a pretty cool fella. It’s a shame he will be working out of San Antonio and covering Austin because I think we would get along well. Most of my friends have moved on. Busy with careers and family, I’m sure it’s easier to have a friend that isn’t walking around with a dark cloud over his head. I try to keep in touch, but my iceberg has seemingly drifted further out to sea. Jason is graduating with his MBA next weekend in Los Angeles and I really would like to be there, but I can’t find a pet sitter. My mother, who is so great with helping me out watching the little ones when I’m away, will be celebrating her wedding anniversary that same weekend in Mexico. Greg is having some stressful times and I’d like to fly to Indiana to visit him, but my schedule with work and such is tight over the next month. My “brutha from a different mutha”, Sean, is wrapping up Pirates 3 and his effects load will be light for a few weeks, so I picked up some Deftones tickets for us to attend together in May, but that will be here in H-Town. There are a couple more old Navy buds that I’d like to catch up with this year… Sockfoot (David), Kirk, and Bill. Passing thoughts really. I am surrounded by people at work, friends, and neighbors… yet I feel so alone. Always alone.

There is a huge storm coming in tonight. They say rush hour tomorrow will be horrific and I need to be down near Galleria by 9:00. Tres suck. I should go take some OTC sleep aid and try to get to bed early, but I can’t you see. I’m on the last DVD of the Firefly series and I’m really enjoying it all. I can believe they were canceled. /boggle. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite episode. They all were done quite well… well cast, good storyline, shot and sequenced well, etc. I really like the Old West feel to the costumes and vernacular combined with the SciFi deep space setting. It just… works. I have a couple of new BluRay movies waiting to be watched when I get the time. BluRay on the 1080p is my new “going out to the movies”. I just don’t go anymore. I sit home in some comfy clothes, in the comfy position, on the comfy couch and relish the ability to control the volume and pause when I need to without worrying about missing a spot. Splendid.

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” - Ernest Hemmingway

I think that is my “did thoust remembereth to bringeth me’s presents?” look. Or, something like that. There is a critter living in my attic. Not like a monster or dangerous beastie (I hope), but more like a squirrel, rat, racoon, possum, [insert favorite rodent here], etc. I first heard it when it was daftly cold outside, but still every now and again I hear a small scurry and the dogs go wild to affirm it was my imagination. I am hesitant to call someone about it because I have no real desire to kill anything and I suppose when it gets hot enough in the summer, it’ll leave for cooler digs anyway. I don’t think it’s destructive to my property. Well, I hope it’s not anyway… since I didn’t get a security deposit and all. I have a big place for just one man… plenty of room to share for a spell. I guess it’s my way of taking in the homeless.

There was something I was going to write about in this post and it has completely slipped my mind. Hence the rubbish north of here. There really isn’t much new to share on this end. I am working extra duty since my engineering counterpart in Houston has flown the coop to start his own company. I am struggling with the whole stick-to-it-tiveness of the diet/gym mountain I’m climbing. I received all the flight manuals and updated aviation regulations in the mail, but have yet to schedule a flight physical or go to the airport to look for a Part 141 program that fits what I’m looking to do. Really, I’ve just been working and sleeping. Not lazy, just in a bit of a rut.

Oh yeah, I remember now. I got a new, well used but new to me, laptop at work today. I have been using the same old hunk o’dung for over two years. Just when I realized my company was simply not going to fund a hardware refresh and I spend money on lots of memory for it, I get a goodwill upgrade. Of course, the memory for my old laptop won’t post in my new laptop, so I’m back to memory shopping this week. Technically, there wasn’t anything wrong with the old laptop. It was slow and a little thin on hard drive real estate, but it worked. My only bone (and it was a dinosaur bone) was the Fisher Price video card that prevented me from displaying a desktop resolution greater than 1024x768. I hadn’t been subjected to that sort of Reader’s Digest print in over 5 years prior to that machine. I’m the guy that thinks 1600x1200 is barely enough space. I like to have all sorts of information on the screen at once. A multitasker. So, if nothing else, this is an uplift for that and I’m grateful. I spent most of the day trying to transfer data between the old laptop and the slightly less old laptop. It was like watching water boil.

The Burden Brothers are playing the Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival this Saturday. w00t. Look for me there if you go.

Mary Mae Lenore Forsyth was born on 4/16/07 at 7pm after 15 hours of labor… 7lbs and 11oz. Congratulations to the proud parents, Le Easter and Guy Forsyth.

Speaking of shows, I received my Nora Jones tickets in the mail today. She was one of Erin’s favorite artists and happens to be playing Jones Hall on EL’s birthday this year. I don’t know what kind of shape I’ll be in that day. I bought two orchestra seats… one for me and one for her. I’m taking my mother in her stead. I’m glad I’m sitting close to the stage since I likely won’t be able to see through the tears.

“like a flower waiting to bloom
like a light bulb in a dark room
i’m just sitting here waiting for you
to come on home and turn me on

like the desert waiting for the rain
like a school kid waiting for the spring
i’m just sitting here waiting for you
to come on home and turn me on

my poor heart, it’s been so dark
since you’ve been gone
after all, you’re the one who turns me off
but you’re the only one who can turn me back on

my hi-fi is waiting for a new tune
my glass is waiting for some fresh ice cubes
i’m just sitting here waiting for you
to come on home and turn me on
turn me on”