Just a few quick things that are not really interesting, but I feel like I’ve fulfilled my newly decided obligation to write at least one actual post between trivia questions. My thanks to all who are submitting answers and questions on those, by the way. I hope you’re finding them interesting.. Some of them have sucked, but I’m being more selective about them now. So anyway, first things first: I finally put up the pictures from Christmas, so you can check those out. I didn’t take that many, but you know you need to look at them anyway. Work has been tiring lately. Productive, but very, very tiring. Good thing I have that big, long vacation to look forward to… um.. hrm.. sigh…

I bought one of those audio/component shelf thingers to hold the stuff that used to be in the entertainment center before I got the new TV (DVD player, receiver, Media Machine, VCR, etc.). I was excited, cause I had found a nice on online, and then was unable to find it at any store in the area, and the shipping and handling online was more than the furniture itself, so I didn’t want to do that.. then *Bam*, an Advertisement in the Sunday paper saying they had it, and it was on sale. It was at ABC Warehouse… a place I tend to hate… I’ve only purchased one other thing from them (My first receiver) and it was an okay enough experience, but the salespeople always struck me as being… “slimy” .. so I tend to avoid them. Anyway, Rachel and I went, and I bought it, and brought it home, and built it, and, of course, took pictures that you should also look at.

That segues nicely with this: If and when I finally get some free time, I am all set:

I bought Katamari Damacy!!! Woot. My thanks go to Tuuk for originally introducing me to the game.

Finally, something kinda weird happened the other day. Rachel noticed that one of the 3 fish was missing. These fish have been in the turtle tank since my birthday [October 27.. why can't you ever remember that!?] and it seemed that after his original rampage that saw the number shrink from 26 to 3 in a few short days, Ned had decided to leave these 3 survivors in relative peace. When a big fish was added, it was instantly “dealt with”, but the 3 fish remained. And now one was just gone. Left without a trace. Ned is getting to be a big boy these days. Check it out:

Ned. May 14, 2004	Ned, Jan. 30, 2005

Yes… He’s big. A few more months, and I can ride him around the house like an elephant. I’m pretty excited.

For the first time in 86 days, I am going an entire day without having to wear any sort of protective brace on my leg. I had a doctor’s appointment and a physical therapy session yesterday, and I was told that I can go without the brace from now on… and can now begin to walk distances [e.g. Walk a mile or two], jog, and run. (RUN!) I’m still restricted from making any pivoting or fast cutting movements, and competitive sports are still a bit of a ways off, but I took all of this as a good sign, and an indication of healthy progress being made.. and the thought of running again after having been forbidden (and more or less unable to anyway) for so long is just a very exciting feeling. If you know me well, you know I like running a lot. Not so much the “let’s go run a few miles” kind of running. But more of the “there’s something we need (e.g. a foul ball) all the way out there.. someone needs to go get it” or “I need milk.. the gas station is not too far away, but it’s raining out, so I think I’ll sprint there and back” kind of running. Something about running fast and free for some silly purpose other than “I should do this to stay in shape” makes me feel good, and young, and happy. I can’t wait to run.

Weird happenings recently. There were 3 things in the past few days that stirred up within me what I have called [and will continue to call, for that matter] “The Fear“. 3 Things… these are their stories:

Thing 1

First off, many of you [who live somewhere like I do] might have noticed that it’s really, really, really cold most days. I don’t think I really need to point out that this really sucks. A fun result [ which many other people have also discovered] is that the basic functions of your car no longer seem to be guaranteed. Such functions as: doors unlocking, doors locking, doors opening, doors closing, windshield wipers moving, engine starting, power steering operating, etc.. Friday I had physical therapy at 3:30 pm. I was running a bit behind, so I was in no mood for my car’s fussiness when I got outside to drive to the place. The door remained stuck for a while, but a few good tugs got it open. I got in, started up the car, and pulled the door shut. Thunk! The door bounced open again. That seemed odd. So I shut it again.. and it bounced open again. Messing with the locks did no good. I checked the latch, and it was not in the mood to move, apparently. Well, like I said, I was late.. so I ended up pulling out, and driving to physical therapy with one hand holding the door shut, with the warning bell turning on and off depending on just how hard i was holding the thing shut. Around corners the door would open a bit more… but eventually I made it, and just left the door as closed as it would go, and figured something magical would happen when I returned.

[In the meantime, the physical therapist kept making snide comments about me being late, which I found neither funny nor necessary. She also chastised me for wearing shorts and a T-shirt outside. (I had a hoodie with me too.. she must not have noticed that.)]

I get back outside, and the door still won’t shut, but at least opening it was no problem then. I messed with the latch some more, and eventually got it to move, and quickly got it stuck in the locked position. More messing with it,and it moved back, the door shut, and all was right with the world again. Good thing, too, cause getting it stuck in the locked position would’ve really sucked.

Flash to later that evening. Rachel, Robb, and I are watching The Recruit, and I decide I need chips and Salsa, and some soda.. So I head out to my car. It opens no problem, and so I hop in, shut the door, and–Thunk!. Crap. Well, fortunately, I now know you just dink with the latch a bit, and that fixes it. So I worked it a bit, and got it to move.. and instantly got it stuck in the locked position. This time, nothing seems to work to get it unstuck. I utterly destroyed a metal pen, injured two rather important fingers, and still nothing. I decided the only thing that would work was just heating the car up. (Well, heating it up, and slamming the door a could times, if not to fix it, then just to punish it a bit.). So now I’m driving down 44th Street with a door that doesn’t come close to shutting, with one hand holding the door tight, and the other steering. I get to Meijer, and there’s still no love with the door shutting. So screw it, I went in and did some shopping. At this point, it should be mentioned, I could not feel the fingers on my right hand. Cold metal is Cold!. (Aptly named..) I come back outside with my purchases, and I’m starting to really worry that my door is going to be left open all night, which isn’t all that secure, and can’t be great for keeping the inside Ice-free. I get in the car, set the things down, try the door locks a few times, and bam, the thing works.. Door slams shut, and I drive home. Relatively minor fear taken care of.

Thing 2

Sunday, and I’m driving to church. It was cold out (Duh). I pull around the curve, over the small bridge, and pull up near the street. Only when I hit the brakes, I did not slow down. I looked to the left, and there was a car coming, but it was a little ways off. So I sail right onto the street. I got that cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. [The Fear!]. Once safely onto the street, I try out the brakes again, and the car slowed without a problem. So… problem averted, I guess. But man, that brief snippet of time really frightened me.

Thing 3

I’ve been tired lately.. and very desirous of sleep. So Saturday night I went to bed excited for a nice full night of sleep. Around 4 I woke up in a panic. Nightmare. I haven’t had a nightmare in a very long time, and this one was a rather powerful one. I could not go back to sleep, as the ending images and sounds of the dream kept running through my mind. I was awake for well over an hour before I was able to get back to sleep… and that dream still messed with me the next morning.

The next night, I had another nightmare… Less intense, but still rather troubling. I woke up, and got to sleep fairly soon afterwords. Weird stuff.

TBS has apparently purchased the rights to, and will now be airing at 12:00 Noon [Starting Today]: Ed!. From what I see, so far it’s the First Season.. but hopefully 2-4 will follow. I am overjoyed.