Scotty V. Lauren

Really?

This is the best American Idol finale they could come up with?  Oy!!  No offense to either of them, they seem to be talented individuals, and, just as important, quality young persons.  But that's going to be one hell of a boring finale.

I can't devote a whole blog entry to American Idol now, can I?  Oh Yes I Can!  Mainly because I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not even going to watch the finale - consider this a swan song of sorts...

For me, no one will ever top Adam Lambert on that show.  He was exciting, original, brilliantly talented, unpredictable and charismatic.  Its cool that he didn't win, ultimately better for his career, I'm sure.  I mean, really, do we really remember the chump who beat him?  Answer:  David Archuleta.

See an awesome performance by Adam Lambert here:

Acoustic Performance of "Aftermath

Sigh.  I do miss Simon Cowell to pieces, truthfully.  Steven Tyler, really?  I want to play a drinking game where you take a drink every time he says "beautiful".  You'd be stone drunk 15 minutes into the show.

Any Idol thoughts, blog reader(s)?  :)

RUN FORREST RUN

Time to blog about my new obsession:  running.

Where this came from, I have no idea.  It basically started as a whim because I noticed some of my Facebook friends posting their workout details with this smartphone app called CardioTrainer.  Me being the techy-curious type, installed the app on my phone to see what its all about.  It basically tracks your run using GPS and a timer so you can tell how far and how fast you've gone.  You can post your results to Facebook and save history to see your progress.

Well, when I first started I could barely get down the block without huffing and puffing.  We're talking less than a 1/4 mile.  Years of smoking and lack of regular cardio exercise really take a toll once you hit your 30's I reckon. I'm surprised my weakened circulatory system was even able to handle a blowjob.  I found that, while painful, I liked running, and my distance that I could run increased fairly rapidly once I started.

I figured out how to load music to my smartphone, and setup a playlist for my CardioTrainer app to play while I ran.  This made things nearly perfect.  I'm a fan of loud music.  I live in a house with a 3rd shifter and 3 kids.  There is no loud music in my house.  So to be able to crank tunes and let off some steam while doing something good for my body was, well, pretty darn awesome.

Little by little I improved.  To challenge myself, I signed up for a 5K race (this one:  http://www.golfforewolfe.com/RWWletter2011.pdf )  That gave me a goal to work towards - I would have to be able to at least * almost * run 3 miles or I'd get sand kicked in my face.  And lo and behold, I did it, after 4 months of hard training.  It was a great feeling.

I didn't stop there.  The weather got colder.  I put on more layers.  At least twice a week I'd run outside.  Survived the winter and the weather started to break.  Visited the doctor for an annual check-up of sorts.  Found out I had lost 14 lbs since last year.  Wasn't even really keeping track of my weight, so it was a pretty wild surprise.  Now that its spring, I'm running 3 times a week or so, tracking my runs on DailyMile.com, and just having a wonderful time.  Hoping to do a few 5K races this summer and increase my endurance even more.

So what is it about running that I like so much?  Its painful and grueling, for sure.  But I've experienced that mythical "runners high" on several occasions.  Sometimes I attribute it to a song.  Or a sunset or view.  Or the British voice on the CardioTrainer when he says something like "2.1 miles. 20 minutes".  Whatever might cause it, its exhilarating.  Some days are better than others, for sure, but I ALWAYS feel better afterwards.  So yeah, my boring "why do I run" blog.  Don't unfollow me please.  :)

Friday night plights

So yeah, its Friday.  This is supposedly a weekend night, right?  For frolicking, frivolity, and a bunch of other fun sounding words that start with F.  There's nothing frivolous going on here whatsoever, unless you consider a 6:00 PM jaunt to Qdoba as high rollin'.  But still, I feel strangely content.  Knowing I could come write to this blog seems to be relaxing me.

The day was quiet and productive.  Worked from home today, which sounds slackerish but truthfully I've worked harder from home than I do at the office each and every time I've done it.  Admittedly, today I took advantage of my wireless modem and some beautiful weather and worked for the first 5 hours on my deck.  Business casual??  Hardly.  It was certainly exciting and new to be doing programming work and interacting with my boss with just a swimsuit on.  I hope we have another sunny day this weekend, lest I have some 'splainin to do when I walk in with a nice new tan on Monday!!

For some reason I obsess about getting my feet tan.  Its weird-o-licious to say the least.  As a kid, I would NEVER go barefoot, it was like taboo or something.  Nowadays I find myself trying to go shoeless whenever and wherever I can.  So all morning I sat there, making sure my pale wintered feet were finding the rays of sunshine beneath my chair.  I'm sure I've got a nice base going there but the first time I go golfing I'll wind up with sock lines anyhow.

Fast-forward to now.  Everyone is in bed already.  I can hear the new puppy whimpering in the basement, like an injured seal or something.  No, not SEAL, she's not ready to take out terrorists just yet.  I hope one day she goes into the crate and realizes its just for sleeping and all will be ok in the AM.  For now I just hang on and hope the whining stops within 30 minutes and that I don't get awoken at sunrise to a crate full of dog feces.  YUMMY

This weekend is Mother's Day, which always strikes the delicate balance between my own mother and the mother here in the household.  I always think its kinda weird how important it is for the husband to make sure Mother's Day goes off without a hitch.  I mean, really, I'm not the son here!!   But, again, I whinegress.  That's my new word for digressing and whining.  Got it?

I've bored you all enough for a Friday.  I'm going to take some cough syrup and pass out soon.  Peace out.

Blogging From My Phone

Is this a great country, or what?  Just installed the blogger app onto my Android device.  Just got done watching the American Idol elimination round.  "Dim the lights, Kieran".  I'm thankful that Jacob was sent packing.  Something incredibly awkward about a chubby gay man who sings like Luther Vandross on crack.  But I digress.  Wait, this is a blog.  The whole damn thing is a digression.  Sa-weet!

In about 45 minutes my nightly routine will commence.  Make the coffee.  Brush and floss.  Fire up the netbook and climb into bed.  Visit my social network sites.  Visit some "other" sites.  I'd say there was more to life than this but it probably would make a lousy FB status update so I'll just grin and bear it.

Happy blog reading.  :-) 

An Introduction

Well, well, my first foray into the blogosphere.  I mean, I've used twitter and facebook, but this seems more expansive, more, naked, if you will, in a vulnerable sense.  I'm looking forward to the self-analysis and reflection, and yet I hope I don't come off as a whiney, mid-life crisis addled freak riddled with acceptance issues.  So, there's that too.

But anywho, the name of the blog.  I'll start there.  Unlike 85% of the male population, its true, I hate wearing baseball caps.  I think they look ridiculous on me.  I see myself in a ball cap and I think I look like an out-of-place little leaguer who got stuck in right field.  I try to put them on backwards and I feel like a reject from the 90's.  I've tried straightening the bill, curving the bill so it looks like a duck, all of that.  I just can't make it work.  And you know what?  I'm ok with that.  In fact, I feel almost liberated, knowing that I don't have to be that guy who slams his hat on the minute his workday is done, lest he feel like someone might see his receeding hairline.  I don't have to worry about hat head when they sing the national anthem.  And most of all I never worry about what beer brand might have taken up stock on the side of my cap.  I'm liberated, for sure.

See??  I'm already feeling better about myself.  Something more substantial you say??   All right, all right.  Next time.  I need to pace myself.