One of my most favorite things!

The Gay Bar

The viking kitty in the hover pack might the best part...

This Price of Greed

This is ridiculous. What message does this send about us as a people? Out of all the people that trampled this poor man not a single one reached down to help him up. Are we really a culture that is so greedy and self centered that we would literally kill for a bargain? I hope not.

Something needs to change in the way black Friday sales work. If people can't control themselves then it's up to the retailer to do it for them. If shoppers act like children then maybe we should treat them like children. Although I suppose one could argue that it is the amount we are already treated like children that prevents us from ever growing up... but I digress.

Christmas List

So, here we are. The day before Thanksgiving. Most of my family will say that this is long overdue, but at least I'm getting it out before black Friday.

Now I'm not as cool as my brother, so I'm not going to have a super specific list with hyperlinks to where you can order each and every item. I will, however, provide a list with specific qualifications of what I want. Individual brands matter less (in most cases) than the features I'm looking for. So, in no particular order, here we go:

• A Netbook - Such as the ASUS eeePC models S101, 1000, or 901. I want one with at least 1GB of RAM, an Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor, and a SSD. I'm leaning towards a Linux operating system, but I'd rather take the model with the larger SSD.

• 1 Terabyte Drive - An external hard drive with 1 TB of storage (they're not that much more than a 500GB drive)

• Flash Drive - A really big flash drive for my key chain. Like 16 or 32 GB. I bet these will be on sale for black Friday...

• Office Chair - I want a new office chair, but I haven't picked one out. I think I want one with the big roller blade style wheels. It seems like those would work better on carpet.

• GPS Navi System - A navi with a nice big and bright screen, free map upgrades, TEXT to SPEECH (where it says the road names), and it would be great if it had real time traffic updates...
  

• A BluRay player - I've got a great HDTV, but no HD movie ability. Any BR player will do, but if it came in the form of a Playstation 3, that would be even better!

• Guitar Hero World Tour (XBOX360) - This is the game that comes with three instruments. Not to be confused with Rock Band or Rock Band 2. I want the GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR that comes with a guitar, microphone and drum set. The instruments that come with GHWT are better than those that come with RB2

• Video Games - All for XBOX 360. These don't have to be new. Used games work just as well. All I ask is that you check the game disc for scratches.
  
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Fable 2
• Tenchu Z
• Halo 3
• Gears of War
• Grand Theft Auto 4
• Dance Dance Revolution (with a compatible dance mat)

• 1 year xbox live Gold membership

• Xbox Live points

• Onkyo TX-SR606 Surround Sound receiver - If I'm gonna be watching HD movies I'll need a receiver than can convert HD audio...

• Body Fat % Scale - I'd like a digital scale that tells weight within .2 pounds and body fat with .5%. I need to start getting leaner for Nationals so I can look good in my dance shirts. This will help me keep track of my progress.

• GIFT CARDS!!! in any denomination and to anywhere really, but here are some suggestions:
• Wal-mart
• Target
• Food Lion
• Best Buy
• Crabtree Mall

• Just for fun let's throw in a new couch and love seat, and how about a new front porch? Maybe landscaping service for a year?

I might add more or make things more specific as time goes by...

**Here's some new stuff**

• Pure Beech® Sateen Sheet Set, 100% Modal, 250 Thread Count - White. These are the softest sheets ever and they can be found at Bed Bath & Beyond. I have several 20% off coupons if you need one...
  

in Ohio!

Friday morning I left for the National Collegiate Dancesport Championships and the Ohio Star Ball. Five people crammed into my little civic for the 8 hour drive to Columbus, but it wasn't that bad of a trip. We had a pretty easy time finding the hotel thanks to Amy (the voice I like to use on my brother's GPS). Amy usually does a good job, except when her maps are outdated or there are two exits next to each other and all she says is take the (singular) exit. I had one big frustration due to that problem and the Ohio State Michigan football game that was the same weekend.

So we check in and get to the room. It's a nonsmoking room that smells of smoke. No one really seemed to be that upset about it; so we kept it. All of my things still smell like smoke... anyways. We unpacked and headed over to the convention center to check out the show and practice a little bit.

It was awesome. Some of the best dancers in the world, and certainly the best dancers from the US were there, and I got to see them up close! Friday night were the quarter and semi final rounds for the pros. And let me tell you, there is a big difference from a quarter final pro and a finalist pro. There were a few couples out there, especially in the rhythm, that I would look better than.

Then we went and warmed up a little bit. It felt pretty good, we both liked the floor (although most everyone else said it was slick...) Then we went through a bit of a fiasco trying to get everyone back to the hotel. Somehow we picked up a sixth person that was going to stay with us that night.

Eventually we did get back to the hotel though. We all get to sleep, and let me tell you, that was the best/deepest sleep I've had the night before a competition in a long time... at least until the fire alarm went off and woke us all up at 4 AM!!!! It was so freakin loud! and it was sooo cold outside. But, was there a fire? NO. It was a new system and incorrectly activated. The night lady at the desk didn't know how to turn it off. It lasted for at least 15 min. Maybe longer. Then, back to bed, and back up!

Since we now had more people I had to make two trips to comp to get everyone there... I'm not driving to the next comp. My car got a little beat up from this one, and it needs a break.

So we're finally all there with just a little time before we have to go out and do out thing. And Our Thing we did! I'm very happy with the results. We danced the gold rounds first. I wanna say there was an 8th round, but it may have only been a quarter for each set. Either way I kept getting surprised every time we made the next round... well not the first time. I expected to make it through the first round, but we made it all the way to the finals! We tied for 2nd place in our cha-cha rumba (the results show that we got 2nd in cha-cha and third in rumba) and then got 4th place in samba jive. Overall that put us 4th in Gold. Although every couple that was ahead, and some that were behind, us in the gold were also in the Novice final. So I felt good about that.

Then we had to dance the millions of rounds of silver! There were three rounds before we got to the quarter finals. Now, somewhere in here I should have eaten a meal, but I just never thought about it. Apparently ML ate a pb&j sandwich somewhere in there. I didn't see her, so I didn't even consider food. I was in comp mode, but it seems that affected me. I didn't feel it, but ML said my energy level was down through most of the silver. Now, I was actively conserving energy for the early rounds, but I admit I had a hard time getting back up for the semi and final. So, now that I've improved my endurance at the gym its time to throw some sprints in there at the end to get myself ready for a long haul with good finish.

We dominated the silver round... up until the final. We got 1st place in our cha-cha rumba, and second place in samba jive. The results show that it was a 2nd place in jive that hurt us, but it was very close. As best as I can tell we tied in the final and had the same number of call backs in the semi, but in the 22 couples at one time quarter final we had one less callback. That's why we're second and they're first. Very Close. We still placed 1st overall for silver, so that was nice.

Obviously I need to improve my samba and jive. I already started drilling last night. Getting more into the floor, improving my bounce, and relaxing so the top doesn't telegraph the action of the bottom.

That's only Friday and Saturday, but I'm tired of this post now. So, in brief, I didn't dance standard on Sunday. I was well rested for the drive home. Made it back to my place at 3 AM, with only a few casualties along the way :(

Overall very good and very FUN trip!

I'm icing my ass...

yeah... apparently I strained some ligament or something that runs from my left ass cheek, across my hip, and down to the side of my knee. Dance injuries... what can you do? So I heated it for 15 min and now I'm icing for 25.

I'd gotten out of the habit of stretching before my practices, and it looks like that was a mistake. SO, from now on I'm a stretchin fiend. I'm gonna stretch those hammies and both cheeks before I start moving. My hip action is a big part of my dancing, and if it's painful to do, I'm in trouble.

I just hope I'm up to snuff by Friday night. There's a very important competition this Saturday in Ohio, and I want to win! I'm not sure we're quite where we need to be to win it all, but I think we've got a good chance.

I'd be really upset if an ass injury got in my way...

I Must Apologize...

for my irregularity of posting lately and generally falling off the blog-o-sphere. The truth is... I haven't felt up to it. I'm at a low point in my life, and I've been battling a light depression. Right now, at this very instant, I feel pretty sad and lonely. I feel like there's so much I'm upset about that I can't begin to write about it. I think that once I start I'll just keep writing, and every entry will become an epic; and epic to failure.

That's not really true. I don't feel like a failure, but I am often unhappy these days. I get like this when I feel like I have too little stability in my life. If I have one thing that I can hold on to, that is unchanging, then I'm usually pretty good. Other things don't really bother me as much. If I've got a stable relationship, where I feel loved and supported, then Instability in my career is more acceptable. Likewise, if I feel secure in my job and I lose my girlfriend, I eventually bounce back and do fine. There are other things that I like to draw stability from as well, primarily dance, but those are the two biggest ones. Right now, I don't have either.

I am one of the many budget cuts occurring within the UNC system. I don't have a position to teach in the spring. And I don't know what I'm going to do. This is one of those times where it would really help to have someone. A special someone for moral support, but then I think about how I've pushed all those people away, and blah blah blah, cry cry cry, get over it and be a man! So I start to look for jobs. There are no teaching jobs in NC. At least none that I can find. All the promise I had at the beginning of the semester, all the things I was excited about, teaching Interpersonal instead of Public Speaking, teaching a section at St Aug's... all gone. Now I'm not teaching anything.

But I have my ups and downs. Just in the process of writing this a friend started chatting with me over IM and I'm feeling a bit better. So, on the bright side of things... at least on the job front, I'm supposed to have lunch with a friend from grad school sometime soon, and I hope that it's the type of lunch that deals with me coming to work with her at her pretty cool company on Centennial Campus.

Although as I chatted I got distracted from the message I was delivering here. So, that's another problem I'm having with the blog. I can't get everything I want to say out in a short post. I just keep typing and typing. Anyways... I'll try to do better, try to post more often, and maybe with less detail.

It's just hard. It's one thing bitching about the trials and tribulations of being single. In a way, dealing with crazy random crap that girls throw at me is fun. It's part of what being single is all about, but I guess it all goes back to Maslow. When we lose our base needs, or they are threatened, other things don't matter as much... our entire pyramid begins to crumble. When you lose your income, you don't know how you're going to pay the mortgage or feed yourself. Your base needs aren't being fulfilled... not to mention the loss of identity you suffer when you have to change your career. Especially one that you began to associate so closely with who you are.

Things are tough right now.

Chocolate Bag!!!

My mother and I have gotten into a habit of having lunch together on Tuesdays now since I'm usually teaching dance Thursday nights, when we used to have dinner with my brother. This past Tuesday Mom wanted to go to McCormick's & Schmiks (I probably spelled that wrong). It's one of the restaurants that's been built on the new deck at Crabtree mall.

It's fancy. The inside of the place vaguely reminded me of the Sam Sneads at the Greenbrier resort. Lots of stained wood and an expensive feeling. Though we sat at a table in the middle of the dining room, there are booths that have individual privacy curtains. I thought that was pretty cool.

The place looked expensive because it was. The two of us spent $40 on lunch! And all we got were two entrees, ice waters, one coffee, and a dessert. An $11 dessert! The Chocolate Bag.

The waiter said it was a lunch portion and that is was smaller and cheaper than the dinner bag... I'm afraid to know how much I'd spend there at dinner.

This bag was pretty awesome though. They take a brown paper lunch bag, and use it as a mold to create an identical replica made from dark chocolate. You can even see the creases from where the brown bag had been folded. Then they fill that bag of chocolate with white chocolate mousse, and on top of that they but strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and one of those long, drinking straw looking, cookies. This was a smaller one, and Mom and I barely finished it.

This is definitely the place to take a girl you really, REALLY, want to impress.