Updates...and stuff I forgot

I forgot to mention about my busy social life over the last couple weeks. That was part of the reason why it took me so long to get the post up. Last week I attended two Halloween parties in as many days. This is actually kinda funny b/c I don't really like Halloween and refused to dress up for either one.

The first party was at the neighbors'. It was on Friday night and I had other stuff to do earlier in the night. I almost wasn't going to go, but figured I'd at least pop in since they were only around the corner. I didn't stay long b/c they were going downtown and I wasn't going to join them. Not much happened at the party, but it was good to see people. Oh, there was one sorta random situation. Another friend was there. This particular friend is really a friend of a friend, who I'm pretty sure I hadn't met until the mutual friend's wedding back in April. We've hung out a couple of times I guess, but in her mind, we're apparently best friends. She has a boyfriend (who's pretty cool and is pretty much also around when we're hanging out), so it's nothing like that. She is quite attractive in my opinion and I wouldn't mind dating her, except that she's apparently a bit crazy. Anyway, she was a sorority sister of one of the neighbors so she was already at the party when I got there. As soon as she sees me, she gives me a big hug, tells me she likes my shirt, and then says I smell good. She liked the cologne I was wearing so then basically thrust herself on me and was hanging on me for a minute or two. It was kinda in a joking way, but kinda in a she's-just-a-big-flirt way too. It wasn't too strange except for the fact that her boyfriend was standing right behind her as she flung herself at me. This wasn't really the random thing though. So later I'm standing in the kitchen talking to Hot Crazy Girl (as she shall henceforth be known) just catching up and what not when she suddenly starts telling me about some friend of hers she to hook me up with. This is the description she gives me of the girl:

"She's a really hot blonde girl with big boobs. She looks like Pamela Anderson. I mean I'd totally do her if I was a lesbian. Oh yeah, she's really funny and smart too. She's really sarcastic and has a great sense of humor."

Haha, yeah! Oh, and it seems her parents have some horse farm too, so there's probably some money there. Apparently she was coming back up to Columbia with her (they live in Charleston) in a few weeks (i.e. this coming weekend) and she wanted the four of us to get together for dinner. While this would be a fun and exciting prospect, needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical. This is for two reasons:

1. Hot Crazy Girl is kinda a flake so I highly doubt she'll actually call me if/when she comes to town.
2. Does a girl like this actually exist? I mean, being that she's a friend of Hot Crazy Girl, I don't doubt that she's hot. I'm sure she looks good and has big (likely fake) boobs (which for the record, I don't have a problem with), but I think she might not quite be as intelligent/funny/sarcastic as HCG claims. Additionally, even if all these things were true, I'm thinking she might also be a touch crazy.

Oh well. If HCG does call, it won't hurt to go out to dinner, but I've haven't been engagement ring shopping yet.

2nd Halloween Party...
This party was actually on the Saturday night after my first party. Again, I didn't want to go to this party, but I agreed. I actually only went b/c it was the USC-UT game and I didn't want to sit at home alone watching it. I called a friend of mine (interestingly enough, also a sorority sister of the neighbor and HCG, but that's unrelated) to see if she was having people over or had plans or anything. She told me she was watching with some friends at the party. I knew I wasn't really going to know anyone at the party but thought, what the heck...it could be fun. After picking up the friend (who went as a Christmas Tree to the party) and then going to her boyfriend's to wait for him to get ready, our entourage (which included two of her other friends) arrived...toward the end of the first half! I was kinda mad missing half of the game, seeing as how that was the only reason I was going, but I kept my mouth shut. They were playing horribly the first half anyway. When I got there, I thought about heading to the kitchen where everyone was standing to be social and at least try to meet some of these people, since I was sitting in their house, drinking their liquor and eating their food, but then I thought "ehh, I'll never see them again anyway...I'm watching the game." Someone handed me a Jello shot which strongly tasted like Everclear and I watched USC suck it up for the last few minutes of the half. Their poor performance so far drove me to drinking during half time. In the course of half time, I piled on two rum and cokes (one of which was about half rum) and another of the Everclear-laden Jello shots. At this point, I didn't care at all what was going on in the second half! Unfortunately, my plan didn't work so well. It seems that the Gamecocks actually did very well during the last two quarters and came back to make it to overtime. They lost by a missed field goal in the first overtime. The problem is, I was too drunk to remember pretty much anything of the half, but had sobered up enough to somewhat remember the missed kick! Crap! After the game, they too were all going downtown and, again, I didn't want to join them, so I just took my grumpy butt home to pout about the Gamecocks. They all seemed like nice enough people, I guess (although, not really my crowd) but frankly, I didn't really care, haha.

More nights out...
This past week, I spent three more nights out on the town. This is quite unusual for me! Thursday night, I met the neighbors out downtown for a few drinks. I initially wasn't going to go, but needed to pick up their key so I could watch the cats and, I didn't have much else to do, so I agreed. I wasn't really in the mood for a big crowd, but for some reason, there was absolutely nobody downtown, so it was kinda enjoyable. We hung out at one bar for a bit then, they wanted to pop on over to another bar. It turns out both of the neighbors sorta have crushes on a couple of the bartenders at the second bar, so I just kinda hung out and made fun of them. I stayed out much longer than I wanted, but it was good. Friday night, I called some other friends to see what they were up to. A couple of the guys were on their way to dinner when I called, so I met them for drinks after dinner at a restaurant where another friend is a bartender. We stayed there for a bit and another friend joined us. Then we left and went to Ruth's Chris for desert. Amazing Chocolate Mousse Cheescake! mmmm... Not so much in the budget, but oh well. We then went back to one of the guy's condo's to hang out and play Wii and what not. Saturday night, I got an invite to a friend's place (incidentally in the same condo building I was in Friday night) for a little get together. But he told me they wouldn't be watching the USC-Arkansas game, so I told them "No Dice." I ended up going to the friend's condo I was at on Friday to watch the game with him and someone else. The Gamecocks lost again. Oh well, 3 nights out in a row...that's rare for me! Too bad none of them were a hot date. I need a girlfriend! :( I guess there's always hope for the Big-Boobed Blonde! haha

And the update...
I was chatting with the neighbor's roommate yesterday when she came to pick up the key after I cat sat for them. It seems, despite how I mentioned the house was a sty, that they did actually clean before leaving! Yikes! She mentioned something about how she washed the dishes which were piled in the sink stinking or something because they didn't want me to have to walk into a disgusting house, haha! Apparently these girls are just nasty! Glad I don't live there!

I'm Baaaaaaack!!!!

Yes...after my longer-than-expected hiatus, I have returned to the world of blogging. If only that hiatus had been spent sunning my self on the shores of some tropical island. Alas, it was just spent here, doing my usual boring life. Oh well.

Taking two weeks off from the blog almost got me out of the habit of things, but I wouldn't let it go that easily. I know my waiting public would be crushed without me. I couldn't let you all down like that! This post has been a couple days in the making since I do have 2 weeks worth of life to catch up on. Feel free to read it in sections.

THE MOUNTAINS

So I did spend the weekend in the mountains with my parents. Looking back, I guess I never really told you why I was going to the mountains. My aunt & uncle have had a house in the mountains for about 20 years now and we've always gone there for Thanksgiving and occasionally other times in the year. Recently my aunt & uncle bought some property across the road from their cabin and subdivided it into several smaller lots. My parents bought one of those lots and had their own cabin built on it since we've enjoyed going there so much. Their plan is to keep it as a second house for now and then when they retire in 5 years or so, split their time between there and a house in FL (where they currently live, although they'd probably sell their current house and get a smaller one). The house was just about done, so I was going up to help my parents move in furniture that they'd been collecting.

Nothing too terribly exciting happened there. I arrived late Friday night, sometime around 12:30ish or so, as I came directly from my last day of job #2. We were staying at my aunt & uncle's, since we don't have the CO on our house yet. Woke up Saturday and started assembling beds, moving dressers and what not with mom, while dad took the rental truck off to pick up some sofas they had bought from a store up there. The builder and his wife (who happen to be neighbors on the mountain) had told my parents they wanted to take us to dinner to celebrate the new house.

We were a little nervous as to where we might be going, as, after nearly 20 years of visiting the mountains, we hadn't really found any amazing restaurants up there. We also were unsure because we were assured that while this restaurant was good, we would blend right in wearing jeans there (that's not a combination I generally have much confidence in). Well, we ended up eating here. You can read the story on their website if you want, but basically, it's a little mountain lodge that hikers on the Appalachain Trail visit frequently for a good meal and nice place to stay while hiking. They had a little hiking store and some rooms to rent in addition to the restaurant. It actually was a good restaurant and we all had really good food. I ordered some ribs (which the server told me they referred to as "pork lolipops" haha! very down home!) What also made this trip interesting was that the restaurant was located in a dry county (yeah, those still exist, apparently). When they made the reservation, we were told that if we brought our own wine they'd give us glasses (it seems you're allowed to have it, just not buy it there). But when we got there, we found out that this place got a winery license last year or so and now makes their own wine...and, in this county when you are a winery, you're allowed to sell your own wine. So, in a rare treat in these mountains, we actually got to order a couple bottles of wine with our dinner. Of course, my mom doesn't drink wine, but fortunately she had a Jack & Sprite in the car (don't worry, she didn't drink alone...the builder, who was driving, had some wine on the way too). Anyway, everyone (myself excluded) got rather tipsy, but we all had more than plenty of food, lots of wine and good company. (Side note- I don't really know why everyone else was so drunk and I wasn't. I had at least two good size glasses of wine, just like everyone else, and the wine was apparently fairly strong. Guess I just have a better tolerance than the rest.) Although my parents had obviously met them, this was the first time I'd met the builder and his wife and they are really nice and very entertaining. They'll make good neighbors! All-in-all a great evening.

Then we went home, I watched Auburn almost beat LSU and went to bed while dad fell asleep on the couch. The next day we woke up, did a little more cleaning at the new house, then packed up and hit the road. Dad had to return the rental truck at some place down the interstate and then I took them to the airport so they could fly home. Of course, once he was in the car, it only took dad about 10 minutes to complain about my driving, but oh well. I quickly put an end to that! haha. After dropping them off at the airport, I went up to the South Park Mall and wandered around (I love that place). Then I hit the road back home. Nice weekend.

**FYI - The pictures are, in order: My Aunt & Uncle's Cabin; Our Cabin (the one in the back); and the view from our front porch.

COMPUTER WOES

As you well know, when I came back from the mountains I found that the power cord on my laptop was no longer working. I think the AC adapter was shot for some reason. After I convinced Dell they needed to send me a new power cord, I waited for it to arrive. Sure enough, a few days later a package arrived. Unfortunately, though it was only part of a power cord...and not the part with the AC adapter in it. I called them back and made them send me the correct part instead. Problem is...they sent it to the wrong address. Yeah...they sent the second power cord to my old work, since that was the address I had the computer shipped to originally like 2 years ago. I don't know how many times I have to tell Dell that's not my shipping address anymore. I get a call from the receptionist at my old job saying they have a package there for me. I had to go by that afternoon and pick it up. I didn't really want to go there b/c pretty much everyone around there I want to see any more I will meet outside of work, but oh well. I actually showed up just before the annual Halloween Party began (everyone brings their kids and hops them up on sugar and lets them run around like crazy around the building) so everyone was a little distracted and I didn't have to see too many people. Oh well, computer's up and running again and I didn't have to pay for it...yay!!

MORE WARRANTY FUN

Last week I took my car into the shop to get a general inspection done and I also mention that one of the wheels was making some strange noise. As you'll recall...the car's been making certain noises for a while and I don't know if this was the same noise or completely unrelated, but it got worse while I was in the mountains, so I thought I'd have it looked at. Turns out it had something to do with my CV joints and was going to cost about $1100 to fix. Thankfully, I bought a very comprehensive extended warranty on my car so it covered it. No cost to me. So here's the running tally of what that warranty has gotten me since I got the car about 2 and a half years ago:

• 3 new radios
• 1 new power window motor
• 2 adjustments to another power window motor
• air conditioner repairs
• new CV joints
  

Needless to say, without my warranty, this would be a rather expensive car for me to be keeping. I have about 25,000 miles left on my warranty, so, in about a year or so when those 25,000 miles are up, I think it will be time to be getting a new one. You all know what I want...

TV UPDATES

So, busy week in my TV world. I know I still owe you all so many editions of "What's in Mark's DVR?" but I do need to take a moment to comment on my shows. First off, Nip/Tuck debuted this week! Yay!!! I'll give the full dish on Nip/Tuck later, but I will say it is definitely my favorite show on TV currently. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me! The verdict is still out on this season...it's a bit campy so far, which is a welcome departure from the previous seasons which were a bit heavy, but I just hope they have crossed the line. We'll see.

In more important news...DWTS was a complete and utter shock! Sabrina got eliminated??!! That's disgusting and appalling and everything horrible. I know I said I hadn't particularly fallen in love with any of the celebrities this season, but Sabrina was far and away the most accomplished and superior dancer this season. The fact that the judges were completely shocked, with Carrie Ann having tears in her eyes, is a testament to the fact that this was uncalled for. I'm not necessarily accusing anyone of anything, but I will say if a hanging chad was involved, I wouldn't be entirely surprised. What's the protocol for a recount? By the end of last season, I was getting ready for a "They Were Robbed" season, where celebrities who got eliminated far too early would be invited back for another shot. Now I think it's almost necessary. Among others, Laila Ali, Mario Lopez, Vivica A. Fox, and now Sabrina, should all be invited for one all out dance war! (No, not like Carrie Ann & Bruno's new reality show, which will probably be lame.) I seriously was stunned for a couple of days and almost don't care how this thing turns out now. I'm disgusted.

***UPDATE*** While looking for a picture for this post, I just ran across this juicy little bit of gossip. At least she got something out of the show! It may not be the coveted shiny mirrored ball trophy, but I guess it's not a bad runner's up prize.

EXERCISING

Still running. Yeah, who would've guessed! It actually hasn't been as bad as it was when I first started. I decided I needed to run a little more frequently than I had originally planned if I actually wanted to get anywhere, but so far it hasn't been near as painful. After 1/2 mile nearly killed me, I pushed myself to running 3/4 miles. Yeah... thought I was going to throw up for a good 15 minutes after that one. I made it though. I've kept pushing myself and now I can do a mile and a half without feeling too bad. I guess this whole exercising thing has its benefits. I mentioned on the phone to my parents the other night that I went running. My dad's response was "What happened, is your car broken?" My mom said "You did what?" Apparently the thought of me exercising is surprising to more people than just me!

THE CAT'S MEOW

I was cat-sitting for some neighbors over the weekend. I don't think I've shared with you my sordid past with felines, but for now, lets suffice to say that the roommate & roommate's wife got an evil sick little cat when we were living together that I didn't get along with so well. Anyway, the neighbors' cats weren't so bad...I did only have to see them twice. The neighbors' house was a complete sty though! Literally, the kitchen floor was covered in laundry and there was a bowl of PJ sitting on the kitchen table which was leftover from a Halloween party I attended there a week before! And it's girls that live in this house!! Wow. Oh well, on the upside, they got a Wii not that long ago, so I stayed there for a couple hours on Saturday playing that while the cats ran around.

Update...

Well, as I thought, it didn't take Dell the two weeks they said it would to send me the new power cord for my computer. In fact, I recieved the package yesterday morning. Only problem is, they didn't send the right part!! Well, to be fair, they just didn't send me all of the correct part. They only sent me the part of the power cord that connects the AC adapter to the outlet and not the part of the cord that has the AC adapter and connects to the computer. I assumed when I told the woman "I need a new power cord, the green light on the AC adapter no longer comes on" that it was fairly understood that odds were good there was something wrong with the adapter and that I'd be getting the entire cord, or at the very least, that she would ask more questions if it seemed unclear to her. But you know what happens when you assume... And apparently that same thing happens when your "customer service reps" are stationed in a third world country and the only English they know is what's written on a script in front of them! GRRRRR!!

Anyway, I've spoken with the new rep (who I think happens to be somewhere in America) and she has ordered the correct part for me. Hopefully I'll be getting it soon!

A Brief Sabatical

Posting will be light (more likely non-existent) for the next few days. But don't worry, loyal blog readers, it's not because I drove off a mountain or got kidnapped by the locals with shotguns while out of town last weekend. I did, in fact, make it home safely, but found upon my return that the power cord to my laptop no longer works. It had been acting up for serveral weeks now, but I guess it finally gave up the ghost.

Not wanting to wait for a new one to be sent from Dell, I ran up to BestBuy to try to get one on my own. Turns out, those suckers cost $130 !!! Well, there was no way I was paying that considering my computer is only a year and a half old, so I decided to give Dell a shot. I spent about an hour on the phone with their lovely customer service reps in India or Pakistan or somewhere that no one speaks English, and finally fussed enough to where they agreed to overnight me a new power cord for free, even though my warranty expired in February. Yeah, I got it like that! Only catch is, they say it will be mailed out by October 31. In my past experiences with Dell, they usually get stuff out much faster than they claim, so hopefully I'll have it by the weekend, but if not, I guess I'm going back to the dark ages for a couple weeks with no internet. So painful!!

Anyway, I'm using a computer at work now, but unless I get reallllllly bored, I probably won't get on here to update the blog again, so we're all stuck waiting until UPS brings me my gift from Dell.

In the meantime, reflect on this....Is there really more to life than just being really ridiculously good looking? Feel free to comment with your responses.

And I'm outta here...

Well, I got a few posts up before the weekend, but I had planned to put at least one more up there. Change of plans though...turns out I'm leaving town tonight instead of tomorrow morning as originally planned. I was going to use tonight to write one or two more posts, but guess that's not going to happen now.

Anyway, I'm off to my last night at job #2 (yay!!!) and then am heading to the mountains. Enjoy your weekend and look for some fun posts next week!!!

What's in Mark's DVR? - Dancing with the Stars

DANCING WITH THE STARS
Mondays, 9pm, ABC

I started watching this show last fall during season 3 and, let me say, I was hooked. Lame, I know, but I still love it and get sucked in easily. It's actually one of the few reality shows I watch (save for all those real estate/flipping shows...I pretty much watch all of them). I think I started watching it b/c a co-worker always raved about it, or maybe it was a friend, or maybe a combination of people, but anyway, the point is I started.

Here's some fun back story on Mark. For 6 years growing up (from 6th-12th grade) I took Cotillion Classes (and no, before you ask, this is not the same as Debutantes, it was definitely co-ed) . In these classes we learned etiquette, proper social skills, and, of course, ballroom dancing. I can't remember specifically what we learned, as I've taken a few other dance classes since then and they kinda blend together, but I know we learned to Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha, and Swing. (Funny enough, I also learned to Tush Push there, as we would usually learn one line dance at our "casual night" each year.) I'm pretty sure there was at least one more, but I can't think of it. This actually was quite beneficial, as it not only taught me to dance and helped make me so etiquette focused, but also helped me not feel awkward around girls, as I had to ask one to dance once a week for years, and helped put me in some of the good social circles in school. If I still lived back home, I'd be quite well connected.

Anyway, so I know how to dance, which helped me like this show, since I actually knew what they were doing. And I was amazed at how well some of the celebrities were. I mean, granted they got intense lessons for several hours each week, but I know a lot of people can't even find a beat (ahem...Billy Ray Cyrus) so they wouldn't even stand a chance. The first season I watched I was pulling for Mario Lopez the whole time. He was an amazing dancer and ended up getting to number 2. In my opinion, he was better than Emmitt Smith, who won, but Emmitt did have a bit more charisma. Season 4, last spring, I was throwing my vast influence in the ballroom dancing competition world behind Laila Ali. I think when I first saw Laila do a ballroom dance I was so amazed at how gracefully elegant she looked (which was unexpected, considering she's a boxer) I knew she had what it took to go all the way. Sadly, she too was robbed, only getting to 3rd place...she definitely was better the Joey Fatone.

So far this season, I've not really fallen in love with anyone and am not vested in any of the competitors. I mean Mel B is good and should hang around for awhile, but probably doesn't have what it takes to win. Helio is also very good and is a bit unexpected in my opinion too. Sabrina is far and away the best and, barring any major mishaps, should go on to win it. I will say...her Paso Doble this week was AMAZING!!

While I always love the energy and sensuality of the latin dances, my two favorite dances by far are the Waltz and the Paso Doble. Anyway...that's my take on DWTS!

PS - I'm glad Samantha is back as co-hosting. She may have her ditzy moments, but she's much better than Drew LeChay was at it. He needs a real job...someone should tell him that he is not actually employed by DWTS. Oh, and at the risk of sounding like a complete sexist pig and being entirely inappropriate...but it was very clear with that dress she was wearing this week that she is very clearly breast feeding the new baby. Did anyone else notice that? Yikes!

I think we've reached a new low...

For years I've been joking that they'll deep fry anything in the South. I generally don't eat much fried food personally, but since moving here I've seen almost everything imaginable fried. On restaurant menus I've not only seen the normal fried items: chicken, fish, pork, okra (eww), etc., but have also seen some rather unique things such as fried pickles! (I think that one was actually on the menu of a Sonic somewhere.) And of course, every year when the fair comes they advertise some new fried food. I really thought I'd seen it all when two years ago I saw a billboard for fried Oreos at the fair...and then last year they seemed to top it with fried Snickers. But then I read this...

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/203956.html

You've got to be kidding me...fried Pepsi???? Huh? How is that even possible? I guess it's just proof that if you cover anything in grease and bread crumbs they'll eat it around here. Is this really the best idea for a state with such high incidences of heart disease and obesity? Oh geez!

Wait for it...

Okay, in an effort to not be a lazy blogger, I'm going to encourage myself to post by letting you know things to come. The 'rents are rolling through town tomorrow night, so I won't be blogging then, as I'll be playing host; and I'm heading up to the mountains this weekend, so blogging will be pretty light then as well. Don't worry, though... a weekend with the parents almost guarantees some great blogging material for next week! (Note to self...blog about my parents picking me up from the airport in full costume!)

Before I leave though, I'm going to try my best to add a few posts. I'll definitely add one or two more segments of "What's in Mark's DVR?" (you didn't really think I was done with 2 shows, did you?). I was also going to post something about my thoughts on Halloween, but that may get postponed until next week. Hopefully I'll be able to make at least one random post before I leave Saturday morning. Either more insight into the complex (but not necessarily deep) character that is Mark, or at the very least, I'll type up one of my "Only Mark" stories for you. Either way, expect at least 2-3 more posts before the weekend. Don't read them all at once, though...use some self control and ration them out for a full weekend of entertainment! Trust me, a little bit of me goes a looooong way!

Oh yeah, I'm also quitting job #2 this week! Technically, I suppose I quit 2 weeks ago, but the point is, my last day is Friday! Yay!!! Perhaps I'll post something special to celebrate, who knows!

I hate exercising!

So for a while now I've been telling myself that I've been sedentary for far too long and that it was time to get off my rear and do something active. Joining a gym would be nice (and is still on slate for the future) but frankly, I knew until I could get a personal trainer, the membership would be wasted, as I'd avoid going and wouldn't really know what to do to achieve my desired results when I did get there. I was actually perfectly content to continue putting off exercise until I found out that several of my friends have a little running group that goes out a few times a week. Working two jobs, I normally could use the wonderful excuse of "I have to work" on the evenings when I was invited, but I knew this was short lived. On Monday, I didn't have to work, so I decided to give it a shot.

To be honest, I actually was a bit excited to run just because I knew it meant I would finally be doing something productive and, as time goes on, would get me in better shape* and help me feel better.

(*Please note that by "better shape" I do not mean as in weight loss or body toning or anything like that. I actually have one of those insane metabolisms that burns off fat as fast as I can take it in or faster. So regardless of what I eat, I've been within 10 pounds of my current weight for several years. This thin body is deceptive, however, because I can still have higher than normal cholesterol or other problems associated with a poor diet and inactivity, even if it doesn't show on the outside.)

My friends had mentioned that they normally run 3 or 3.5 miles! Yeah, Mark's never run that far in his life! Frankly, I don't really even like to drive that far most days! Nonetheless, I told them I'd tag along and see how far I could go. Well folks, I got to the park where we were running shortly after some of the others, so I was left to run on my own (which was good b/c I know I wouldn't have been able to keep their pace). After deciding to walk the first quarter-mile as a warm up, I start my jog. I wasn't sure how far I'd make it, but I knew the last time I jogged regularly (back in 2002) I really couldn't go much more than a mile without feeling exhausted and wanting to walk, so my hopes were not set very high. After running for a quarter mile, I started feeling it, but made myself go further because, honestly, that would have been embarrassing. I push myself on further and when I got to where the three-quarter mile marker would probably have been located (if it weren't missing for some reason) I finally gave up. I really felt like I was going to pass out into the canal I was running along and float down stream. Yep, that's right...after a whole half mile of running, I was done! I felt like the girl in that picture (except my guess is she'd done a bit more than a half mile) I walked the next half mile to regain my strength and was just about to start jogging again when I ran into another friend who had turned around and was on his way back. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to join him and turn around. We walked a bit more and he wanted to slow jog. I did this for a little with him, but honestly, the slow jog was more difficult to me than a full paced one I was used to, so I gave up and went back to walking.

It was horrid, all in all. I'm not lying to you, at one point I felt the strange feeling that I was going to start crying from the work, haha! Sad, huh? When it was all said and done, I formed 2 conclusions:

1. I'm more out of shape than I thought. (Actually, I'm probably just as out of shape as I thought, but I was kinda hoping that I was selling myself short. Guess not!)
2. If I actually want to make any progress, I'm going to have to do this more than the once or twice a week I was planning. Looks like I may need to do half a mile around the block every morning for a while. Something I'm not particularly looking forward to.

It's been years in the making, but it looks like Mark is finally on his way to physical fitness! Arnold Schwarzenegger would be so proud!

T.I.N.S.T.A.F.L.

So, I've known for some time that there truly is no such thing as free lunch...I mean everything's gotta cost you (or somebody) something. But my dreams of a deeply discounted lunch are becoming dashed now as well.

A few months ago my brakes started making noises, so I knew something needed to be done. Not having tons of money to dump into car maintenance, I decide to call up a friend of mine who rebuilds Nissans for fun (I know, crazy hobby, but it works for him). Anyway, I determine that the noise just means that my front brake pads need replacing, so I get some pads, set a time to meet with him (which took about 2 weeks because of our busy schedules) and we get started. While changing the brake pads, we notice that one of my wheel studs was stripped, meaning the lug nut wasn't tightening all the way and was in need of replacement. After driving to 3 different auto part stores, we cannot find a wheel stud to fit my Maxima.

So over the next week, I head to the dealership to get a wheel stud and call my friend again to set up a time to get him to install it. We play phone tag for several weeks and I get a bit frustrated. After about 3 weeks of carrying this stud around in my cup holder, my car starts making even more (and notably worse) noises coming from my wheels. At this point, I assume one of two things...either there's something wrong with the new brakes or the missing wheel stud is causing greater issues and must be installed immediately. I guess I finally sounded desperate enough on the phone b/c my friend finally worked in some time to look at my car.

So we finally meet, he hears the horrible noises and tells me that it is actually coming from my rear wheels. Yes, that's right...now my back brakes have gone out and need changing. Arrgh! Well, he didn't have time to change them then, so we just changed the wheel stud and agreed to meet again at a later date for the brakes. More phone tag ensues (keep in mind, with every mile I drive, I have to listen to my brakes rubbing on my rotors b/c the pads are essentially gone) and finally, about two weeks later, I'm able to get a hold of him and we agree to meet last Friday afternoon b/c he was getting off work early. Friday comes, I get to his house and, lo and behold, no friend. I wait...no friend. I call him at work...no answer. Call his cell...no answer. After sitting in his driveway for 45 minutes or so, I give up and go on to my second job. Finally we agree to try again this morning as he was off work today.

Well, I get to his house this morning, and he was there waiting (fortunately). We knew we needed to have the rotors turned (since driving with the bad brakes for so long created groves in them) so what was to be a simple brake pad change, turned into removing the whole wheel, taking the rotors to a shop and having them turn them. One of the rotors is stuck on, but after 20 minutes or so of fighting, it finally breaks loose. We take them up to a shop where a friend of his works to get them turned and they tell us it will take an hour! We go off and run some errands he had to do and came back to pick them up. Then, when putting it all back together, we realize the auto parts store gave us the wrong pads! Back in the car we go to exchange those and finally we get them put on. What should have taken 1 hour or an hour and a half at most today (including having them turned) ended up lasting about 4 hours!! And of course that's not to mention the 3 or 4 months that have passed since I first started having problems!

Don't get me wrong, I'm very appreciative of the help my friend has offered b/c I know, even if he doesn't mind doing it, there are better ways he could be using his time. And although it was insanely frustrating playing phone tag for a couple months (and by phone tag, I basically mean me leaving him voicemails which were unreturned), I do realize that we both have very busy schedules, so it was bound to be difficult. I'm just frustrated b/c what should have been been an easy thing to do and shouldn't have cost much ended up becoming an ordeal! To top it all off, between the pads and the rotor turning and everything else, I still ended up spending about $70 on the rear brakes alone. Naturally that doesn't include what I had to pay for the front pads and wheel stud and everything else. So really how much money did I save? I know a shop would have cost more, probably $150-$200, but also with a shop I could have just dropped my car off in the morning months ago when I first had issue, told them to look at the wheels, had them find all the problems at once, fix them and I could have been back in my car, problem free by the afternoon. This whole ordeal never even needed to be an ordeal if I could have just paid someone to do it up front!

Ugh! All I can say is, I can't wait until I have enough money coming in to just take care of stuff like this the right way from the start! I'm not necessarily trying to say money can by happiness (although I'm not denying it either) but in this situation, a little bit of money sure could have saved a lot of frustration and time! So much for big discounts!

What's in Mark's DVR? - Two & A Half Men

TWO & A HALF MEN
Mondays, 9pm, CBS

So here's a show I DVR each week, but probably more out of habit than anything else. Don't get me wrong, I do watch it, but I probably wouldn't be devastated if I ever missed it. I think I started watching it a couple years ago because a former coworker always talked about how funny it is...and because at the time it conveniently came on right after HIMYM. I've kept watching it, and it is a funny show, but it's kinda the same story every week. The kid in it is funny, and of course I love the deadpan humor of Berta, the housekeeper.

Now that I've started writing this, I'm realizing I don't have a ton to say about this show, haha. No fun back story, no great emotional draws, just a good old fashioned entertaining sitcom. It makes me laugh and I usually put it on in the background as I'm playing online or doing something else. I guess that's it...Two & A Half Men...see what you think!

...Oh! Here's a little random tidbit from me. It has always kinda bugged me about this show how Charlie Sheen's character, Charlie (creative, I know) almost always wears bowling shirts, cargo shorts and tube socks! How horrible is that look? And he's supposed to be the big ladies man who lands all the hot young bimbos...how many young bimbos do you know that would ever hook up with someone dressed like that; even if he does have a house on the beach in Malibu? Ugh!

What's in Mark's DVR? - How I Met Your Mother

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Mondays, 8pm, CBS

So this show is one of the rare few I actually have watched since the first episode. I initially took a chance on it b/c I felt I somewhat identified w/ the plot line and it has definitely grown on me more and more! Of course, for you to know how I identified w/ the plot requires a little back story...time to step into the Wayback Machine!

In the first episode of this show, you learn that Ted is sharing an apartment with his two best friends from college, Marshall and Lily, who have been dating since college. While many might think this would make Ted the perpetual 3rd wheel (even in his own home) he actually is an integral part of the relationship (well, aside from the sex...as far as we know) and the three of them actually work really well together. When Marshall announces to Ted that he is going to propose to Lily, however, Ted realizes that the happy little family he has grown accustomed to is about to change dramatically. It was time for Ted to leave the comforts of this home for a life (and relationship) of his own. This scenario is basically exactly the same as my life in college.

For two and a half years, I lived with a friend of mine and we got along great. About a month or so after we moved in together, he started dating a mutual friend of ours who I was equally close to (not in a romantic way, but we were good friends). After about a year of their dating, they got engaged and, just after graduation, they got married and moved on. Well, since the girlfriend-turned fiancee-turned wife (who shall henceforth be referred to as "The Roommate's Wife") and I already got along so well, (and since we lived across the hall from each other the first semester they dated) it somewhat became natural that our place would be the one they would spend most of their time at. Even though she never officially lived with us, she sorta became the third roommate (which was a little awkward when we actually had a third roommate b/c The Roommate and I both liked The Wife better than the new roommate, so she kept the title as #3 and he got bumped to #4, but I digress). Instead of me feeling like the third wheel, our little trio actually worked out well. When The Roommate wanted to discuss sports, or something that disinterested the Wife, he had me to talk with. When The Wife wanted to talk about superficial meaningless stuff like Will & Grace episodes or fashion or whatever, I was right there with a willing ear and ready opinion. And when the two of them wanted to move on to something deeply intellectual like literature, I had the perfect excuse to leave the room! Although I was happy for them when they got married, it was a little disappointing b/c to me, it was more like I was getting divorced from our happy little family, as they moved 250 miles away.

With that said, when I first saw the previews for HIMYM, I knew I had to jump on board, as it premiered only about 2 months after their wedding. I've been hooked ever since! It is LEGEN- (wait for it) -DARY! C'mon...I had to! (Incidentally, a former coworker has on more than one occasion said I remind her of Barney from the show...I love it!)

Here's a few more HIMYM links for fun...
Barney's Blog (Here's the blog from previous seasons)
SlapCountdown.com
Swarley