2010 New Years Resolutions - 1 month to go

Failing!!!

Message to the ghost in my house

There is a ghost in my house that has been seriously annoying me lately. Since he or she is probably here watching me write this, I might as well address him or her directly.


Listen Ghost! I am not afraid of you. This is something you should now. I ain't afraid of no ghosts! So there really is no reason for you to wake me up at 5am with your 'boos', 'coos', and other strange sounds. Besides, I'm not due to wake up till 530am.

What is the deal anyway? Are you stuck in limbo and need help resolving some issue before you can cross over? Is that it? Did someone murder you and your killer was never caught and you won't rest until he pays for his crime. Whichever it is, I can help. Communication is the key here buddy. Leave me some clues! I recommend a message on the bathroom mirror after i take a hot shower. I figure you could manipulate the steam into words. No peeking.



If I am going to help you though, there has to be some ground rules.



1. No noises till after 530am. I'm cranky if I don't get at least 6 hours of sleep. I won't help you if I'm cranky.

2. If you're a female ghost from Asia please do something about your hair if you're going to show yourself. Cut it short, put it up, pull it back, or something. The long black hair hanging in front of the face with the one eye peeking out thing is a little scary.

3. Don't mess with my TV. If I'm watching one of my shows or football and you interrupt the TV signal or crawl out of the TV, our deal is off. No exceptions! There is a reason I don't use satellite.

4. Last but not least, You are not allowed to possess any object or anyone in this house...... unless your reason for possession is to communicate the problem you want me to solve for you. In that case, I will allow possession of any doll or toy with the exception of the Tickle Me Elmo. That would freak me out. If you cannot find an adequate toy, you can possess my daughter. But only for a short amount of time! And not during nap time!


PS: One more thing. My girlfriend says there is a bird that likes to hang out on my roof near the chimney opening making strange noises at 5am every morning. Can you handle that for me? I mean since you're up anyway.

NFL 2010 Regular Season Predictions

No bold predictions here. I don't think there are going to be any surprises this year except for maybe the decline of the NFC East and the resurgence of the Patriots. You can tease me after the season for my bad picks, but be sure to give me props for my good ones.



AFC East
New England Patriots 12-4
New York Jets 11-5
Miami Dolphins 9-7
Buffalo Bills 3-13

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens 10-6
Cincinnati Bengals 10-6
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
Cleveland Browns 2-14

AFC South
Indianopolis Colts 13-3
Tennessee Titans 11-5
Houston Texans 9-7
Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12

AFC West
San Diego Chargers 11-5
Oakland Raiders 7-9
Denver Broncos 6-10
Kansas City Chiefs 4-12

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys 10-6
Washington Redskins 8-8
New York Giants 7-9
Philadelphia Eagles 5-11

NFC North
Green Bay Packers 12-4
Minnesota Vikings 12-4
Chicago Bears 6-10
Detroit Lions 4-12

NFC South
New Orleans Saints 13-3
Atlanta Falcons 10-6
Carolina Panthers 6-10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-13

NFC West
San Francisco 49ers 10-6
St. Louis Rans 5-11
Seattle Seahawks 4-12
Arizona Cardinals 4-12

Bitch Blog #1 (Everything Happens for a Reason)

I am not a big complainer. In fact, people who complain often annoy me. There is, however, something therapeutic about getting 'frustrations' off your chest every once in awhile.

So, I thought I'd start a series of blogs where I whine a little. For therapeutic purposes of course.

I want to start off with the most annoying cliche I can think of.

"Everything Happens for a reason"

I hate it when people say this. Hate!

I do understand that yes everything does happen for a reason, but I look at it more from a scientific 'Cause and Effect' point of view. That is not how the quote is used though. Most people use this annoying cliche as an excuse for failure, disappointment, or pain or to try to make you feel better after some kind of negative event. The most popular situation when this phrase is used is when there is a big breakup. You know how it goes.

Girl crying: Johnny broke up with me!

Friend of girl crying: Don't worry girl. Everything happens for a reason. You'll find someone better.

Annoying! Real Reason? You've let yourself go. He found a better looking chick. You nag too much.

Recently a top level potential star rookie pitcher tore his elbow tendon during a game which will sideline him for up to 18 months and could end his career. His response "Everything happens for a reason."

Yuck! Real Reason? You didn't stretch properly. You don't have good pitching technique. You have a weak body.

I know many will say God creates these crises to 'test' you. I just don't believe God does that. I'm not here to start a religious debate though so I'll move on.

To get back at the people that annoy me by saying "Everything Happens for a Reason", I'm going to start using it....in other situations.

Potential future conversations:

1. Where's Princess

Phone Rings

Me: Hello?

Friend: Oh my goodness. I can't believe it. (sobbing)

Me: What happened?

Friend: Princess. She's dead.(sobbing)

Me: How? What happened?

Friend: (Still sobbing) She was sleeping behind my car. I didn't see her and ran over her. How am I going to tell my daughter I killed her dog.

Me: Sorry to hear about that, but EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON! Guess you weren't meant to have that dog. Need a ride to the pet store?

2. The Factory

Coworker: (Screaming in agony) Aaargh!

Me: 911? A co-worker's leg just got caught in an assembly machine. It's cutting his leg off. Please hurry!

Co-Worker: Aaarrgh!!

Me: Hang in there buddy.

911: An emergency vehicle is on its way. Is he responsive?

Me: How you holding up John? His other leg is now gone too!

John: Aarrgh!!

Me: It's alright man. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON! This was probably meant to happen to put pressure on the execs to build better wheelchair access. You're a hero buddy!

Factory manager: Tony. Weren't you supposed to be on the assembly machine today?

Me: Yeah, but I was running late this morning. Had to take a friend to the pet store.

32 Teeth

Do you act differently around 'unique' looking individuals or do you treat everyone the same? I used to think I was the same guy no matter who I was talking to. In fact, I've received compliments from 'odd' looking folks substantiation my belief. If I'm talking to you and you got crazy bad breath, I don't skip a beat. No reaction what so ever. If I'm talking to a female who is ...... 'Top Heavy', my eyes stay above the neck line like I would with anyone else. I may have snuck a peek, but she didn't notice. I have good peripheral vision. Most of the time I am on auto pilot when it comes to not showing surprise, shock, nausea, disgust, disapproval or disbelief. Lately though, I think I'm starting to slip.



Last year I needed some fence work done in my back yard so I randomly selected a guy from the online yellow pages. Guy shows up and I reach out with my right hand to shake his right hand. Problem!! He only has two fingers on his right hand! And it's two odd fingers like his thumb and pinkie. Something like that. The old Tony would have played it off showing no reaction whatsoever. Instead I looked down at this hand and said 'sorry about that'. I felt like an idiot! Anyway, dude did an excellent job on the fence. Six months later, I need the gate of my fence replaced. I call up two-fingers. He shows up and I'm ready for the hand shake. I put out my right hand, but this time he shakes my right hand with his left hand. Awkward! Damn!! He must have remembered our last encounter. That threw me off and again I look down at this hand. I'll be ready for him next time. He is a fence repair genius. No kidding. I don't know how he does it.



Some of you already know, I've been kind of cheating on my diet. I am currently addicted to Braum's chocolate ice cream. I don't go crazy. Just one scoop at a time! One day I am at the Braum's drive through..... (side note for those who don't know what Braum's is. It's like Dairy Queen, but better.) Back to the story. I pull up to the drive through to pay for my order when this guy sticks his head out the window and shocks the hell out of me. He has one eye sagging about an inch lower than the other. I'm staring at the thing wondering if he can see out of it. It looks like his eye is falling out of his head. You can see eye veins and the stuff that is normally behind the eye. I have to be real. It was Gross. So I'm staring at the guy for what seemed like 2 minutes when my ears finally stop ringing and I hear him say (probably for the 4th or 5th time) "$1.35 please". I felt like an ass because I knew he knew I was staring hard at his droopy eye. Why not wear a patch or something? Seems all was forgiven, because he gave me the biggest, best shaped scoop of ice cream a waffle cone could hold. Definitely better than the lady with no teeth who normally serves me.



I'm really starting to get concerned about this. When I used to work at an airport in Colorado I came across many different types of people of various sizes, shapes, colors......ailments. Nothing used to cause me to freeze, stare, or studder. I remember this one guy came through the airport with a tumor on the side of his face and neck the size of a basketball. Did not faze me at all. Maybe this Texas heat has messed me up somehow.



There's more!



There is a burger place in my town called Griff's. Decent place near my house. I go there last week for lunch and the lady that's on the grill has a Unibrow. One long eyebrow! The Unibrow has got to be the most unattractive facial feature. That's not all folks. She brings the food to the counter for me to pick up. (Not sure why the cook brought the food to the counter for me. She did not do that for anyone else. She must think all black guys like fat white girls) Anyway, as she gets closer I realize her unibrow is drawn in! Or tattooed! It's not her real eyebrow. She shaved her real eyebrow and with makeup drew in her own. A unibrow!! She smiled as she gave me the food. I did not smile back. I stared at her like she was from another planet. And maybe she was! A human wouldn't purposely do that to themselves, right? I hope to goodness it's not a tattooed brow gone bad. I hope she was just not good with the eyebrow pencil that morning. (FYI ladies! Men do not like the fake eyebrows! We like real hair up there!) Much respect to the Unibrow though. She hooked me up with a delicious burger. Better than the last one cooked by the girl with no teeth.



P.S. There really is a girl working at Braum's and at the burger place with missing teeth. I did not add that in for effect. My fence guy is also missing some teeth. We need to brush our teeth folks. Come on!

Insert Foot in Mouth

You ever see two things together that do not match at all? Total Opposites? Short white guy with tall black woman. Something like that. I have never seen that by the way! Send a pic if you have.

Today I attended a Philippine Republic Day Celebration with my girlfriend and the Lil Diva. The event was held at the Traders Village Flea Market in Grand Prairie Texas. After spending about two hours watching people who cannot sing trying to sing, we decided to leave. On our way out we passed by a flea market vendor who was selling young girls dresses and.....'drum roll'......GARAGE DOORS! I'm not kidding. The vendor had samples of two types of garage doors hanging from her tent and then inside the tent she was selling dresses. What's crazy is, there was actually a couple of guys looking at the garage door samples and someone looking at the dresses. Business is booming!

Business must not be booming for the Medical Industry which is forcing Doctors to be creative or..........I don't know. You decide.
A new office opened up near my house that combines two medical fields. Dentistry and Podiatry. Yes! Dentistry and Podiatry. The actual sign on the building reads "Teeth and Feet - Dentistry and Podiatry". LOL! What? A dentist and a foot doctor in the same office? Let me clarify. The building is really a one story single family home that is at most 800 square feet. It is Tiny! I am guessing two friends got together to open this business together. One is a dentist, the other one fixes peoples nasty feet. They couldn't afford to start their own businesses so they combined their resources and opened up "Teeth and Feet". At least, I HOPE that the case. I cannot imagine there is just one Doctor and he specializes in both Teeth and Feet. Yuck. How would you know if he washed his hands after an ingrown toenail surgery before he started working on your wisdom teeth?

Full of Tilt

So in April of this year I joined a Golf League with coworkers. We meet most Mondays and play nine holes against other departments at courses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It's pretty fun and I get to work on my golf game. Problem is, I play with the most annoying person on the planet! This guy inspired me to come up with a list of the 50 most annoying types of people. Unfortunately, once I got to the 5th most annoying person I realized I could write a full length novel describing this list and it could take months. I just don't have the time or energy for that. I will, however, share my experience with one person who has annoyed me recently. I'll get to the most annoying person on the planet in a future blog.

It's been awhile since I've played poker, but the last time I did this extremely annoying woman sat next to me. I have to set this up a bit. When I play poker it's normally at a bar in a free poker league. Gambling is illegal in Texas. Anyways, the real Texas poker players drive to Oklahoma and play at the Casinos. The beginners, trailer trash, and myself play for free at bars in the Dallas Fort Worth area. When I say trailer trash, I mean trailer trash as seen on Jerry Springer. There is this one couple; the husband is in his 70's, the wife is in her late 30's and SHE is the one with the missing front teeth! No Joke. I will talk about missing teeth in a future blog. At these free games we're not sitting at the big poker tables you see on TV. We sit at small octagon shaped poker table tops that sit on top of a regular table. The table tops barely seat 8 people so it gets tight. So the last time I played this lady sits next to me and she has the following annoying qualities:

1. She's huge! I have nothing against large people, but I do have something against large people sitting next to me at a small poker table where their nasty legs are rubbing up against my sexy legs for three straight hours during a poker tournament. 'Please shave!'

2. She is still wearing her work clothes. Not the full garb, just the apron. 'We don't care that you work at the waffle house. You can take the apron off and leave it in the car.'

3. She eating and drinking at the table. This is not a big deal at a large regular sized casino table or with a small table next to the poker table where you can sit you food on. But she has her food on the small table we are playing on. What makes it worse is we take turns dealing so when it's her turn to deal she has to move her iced tea and chicken quesadillas in front of me so she has room to deal the cards. 'Next time order a pizza so we can share.'

4. She's wearing a big black burqa. I have no problem with any ones religious views, but damn! It's 100 degrees out and you're wearing cloak. A black cloak. 'You're making ME hot! Can't you wear one of those summer burqa's? Plus you're sweating all over the place.'

5. Worst of all. She can't play poker. 'K 10 offsuit is not a good enough hand to call a reraised pot with preflop.'

Of course, I outlasted this girl in the tournament and almost made it 'in the money', but I was definitely on tilt while she was still in. Annoying!!

Crowne Plaza

Last week I attended day 2 of the Crown Plaza Invitational at the Colonial in Fort Worth. This was the first time I attended a professional golf tournament and it definitely will not be the last. I had a great time. I didn't stay very long though because it was very hot and I forgot my sunscreen. I know what you're thinking. Tony, black people don't need sunscreen.

1. Yes, we do! I burn on my arms and nose.

2. I'm half white.


Anyway, I got to see the best golfers in the world up close. Very close! At one point I was so close I could have reached out and touched Phil Mickelson's man boobs if I wanted to. I didn't want to.



The night before the tournament I tweeted Y.E. Yang (local Pro Golfer) telling him to look out for a 'brotha with a blue shirt on' and to give me a 'head nod'. Surprisingly, he responded "I'll try, but no promises". Cool! Don't get me wrong, I'm not the kind of person who gets 'Star Struck'. My heart doesn't start racing and I don't break out the pen and pad for autographs when I see a celeb or big athlete. I just like to say "what's up" and maybe brag about my encounter on twitter and facebook later. I've met Dan Marino, Sugar Ray Leonard, Danny Glover, Ben Stein (cool as hell), and a bunch of other athletes (Apolo Ohno is tiny). No big deal.
Back to Y.E. Yang. So, I'm at the 10th and after he hits his tee shot he starts walking to his next shot and looks right at me. I feel it. He's about to give me the head nod. Then he looks to my left. I follow his eyes and there's another black guy with a blue shirt on! What the hell? Y.E. doesn't make any expression and keeps walking to his ball. I thought I'd give it another shot and started walking to the next hole. The other blue shirt black guy followed me! "Why are you following me man? I understand there is strength in numbers, but we do not always have to stick together. I do not feel threatened with the 99 to 1 white to black ratio here. Back off a little please." I said this in my head of course. I see this often though. In large crowds different races voluntarily segregate themselves. I also see where it is not so voluntary.....


Like in Theater.

Everyone knows the stereotype 'blacks are always late'. As an African American male I am here to confirm this stereotype is 97% TRUE. The only reason I say 97% is because I am never late, so I'm guessing there has to be others out there like me. Haven't met them yet, but surely they must exist. So the next time you're in a theater survey the landscape of the audience and pay very close attention right around the time the lights go out and the previews start. This is when my brothas and sistas show up. And because they are late, they all end up in the same area of the auditorium; the very undesirable first two rows right in front of the screen where you can't see anything because it is too close.


How the hell did this blog go from watching a PGA tournament to segregation in movie theaters?
I'm losing it.

Reasonable Doubt

I recently sat on the jury of a criminal trial. This was the 2nd time I was selected as a juror and I actually enjoy it. I'm crazy, huh?

All jury trials begin with a jury selection process called Voir Dire . This is where the lawyers ask potential jurors questions to weed out the crazies, the biased, and the unqualified. Before we began Voir Dire everyone spoke and understood perfect English. When we began, three potential juror's accents suddenly got thicker and they had a hard time understanding the American Language. hahaha. It is always interesting to watch what people do to get out of jury duty. Anyway, to the trial. I knew I was going to get picked for the jury because I didn't get asked any questions. They must just see it on my face. Trustworthy! Haha.


Charge:
Defendant is charged with aggravated Robbery against his friends (boyfriend and girlfriend). According to the couple, also the only witnesses, the defendant came over one night around 11pm to play video games. The Defendant arrived with two other guys and they robbed the couple at gunpoint. They Stole a TV, PS3, PS3 games, DVDs, a DVD player, and a couple hundred bucks.

Evidence:
The two victims' (boyfriend and girlfriend) testimony and a fingerprint.

Testimony:
Victim #1 (girlfriend) testified first. She testified her and her boyfriend smoked weed and played video games with the defendant a few times over a years time. One day he called late one night to play video games, showed up and robbed the place. The girlfriends testimony was pretty believable until the defense attorney asked her to name her weed supplier. Prior to asking this question the defense attorney was insinuating the victims were themselves drug dealers. She refused to answer. The Judge told the girl "No, you will answer!". She waved a hand, rolled her eyes and said "I don't know....Jose". Defense attorney asked what the last name was. She rolled her eyes again and said "Gonzales". I and all the other jurors knew she just made up that name. Credibility lost! She lied about a few other things. One was how much money she earned as a waitress for Village Inn, Black Eyed Pea, or some restaurant of that type. $4,000 a month! Really?

Victim #2 (boyfriend) testified he met the defendant through his uncle who works with the defendants uncle. The defendants uncle approached the victim and said 'Hey, you should call my nephew. Maybe you guys can play video games together'. I thought this was so strange. The defendant is in his 30's, the victim late 20's. Who has an uncle that hooks up play dates between two adults? That was a lie. The victim was also a convicted felon who beat his previous girlfriend and tried to lie about one of his convictions on the stand. After a few 'side bars' and juror dismissals, the witness was finally ordered to be more forthcoming with the truth. He also lied about how much money he earns as a furniture mover. $1,600 a week! Seriously?

Both of the Victims testified they did not know the Defendants name until the day after the crime. They knew they guy for over a year and didn't know his name? The day after the crime the boyfriend said he found a pill bottle with the defendants name and address on it. The pill bottle was never given to the police as evidence and never produced for the trial. Very strange.

A couple of cops testified and that really hurt the State's case. Some of the testimony from the police contradicted the testimony from the victims. Then there was the issue with the evidence. There was one fingerprint found in the house that belonged to the defendant on the TV that was not stolen. The TV was not stolen because it was screwed into the tv stand. The problem is it was the same TV the defendant used on several occasions to play video games on. It kind of makes sense that his fingerprint could be on it.


Going in to deliberations I had my mind made up the defendant was not guilty. He might have committed the crime, but there was definitely reasonable doubt about his guilt. No physical evidence puts him at the crime scene on the day the crime was committed and the only two witnesses lied throughout their testimony. Plus it makes absolutely no sense for someone to rob someone who they know personally. You would always get caught. "Who robbed you?" "John. His uncle's name is Stan and he works with my uncle Louie. Here's his phone number". Caught! That did not make sense. We did a preliminary vote and it came back 7 not guilty, 4 guilty, and 1 undecided. After a few hours of discussing it and some tears (not mine) we all came to an agreement. No enough evidence to convict.

There was more to the case, but I didn't want to write too much. There were other drugs involved, two accomplices that were never found, a gun that was never found, more weird testimony by the victims, and so on. It was a strange case that I'm surprised made it to court.

I enjoyed the trial and hope I get picked again next year. I felt all of the jurors were fair and thought everything through thoroughly before making their decisions. We made the right choice. I'm 1 for 1 now. Last year when I sat on a jury we convicted a girl for DWI.

Friday's Distractions

Every two weeks I'm off from work and I celebrate a day I call 'My Friday'. This is the day I am free to unwind, relax, play, be lazy, have fun, etcetera, etcetera. I pretty much follow the same routine every 'My Friday'. Wake up early and go to the driving range to hit a few balls, do any shopping I need to do, pick up the Lil Diva from day Care, catch up on recorded TV shows, and when Mama Diva comes home I go out and play some poker. Very relaxing and therapeutic. Last week was no different, but with a few twists (Distractions). It started at the driving range.



I hit balls at Leonard Golf Links in Fort Worth. It's a very large range with over 60 tee Stations. I got there early on Friday and set up at the far left side just because there is this tree I like to aim at. I was there by myself till I was nearly done with my small basket. One older gentlemen shows up (another brotha) and sets up to my left. This bothered me a little. I was set up at around tee station number 5. There are over 55 stations to my right and 4 to my left, yet this guy wants to line up behind me (left) at station number 2 or 3. Why did he do this? I could only think of 3 reasons?

1) He thinks blacks have to hit balls from the far left side of the range. He was an older guy and maybe he thought we were still in the 60's. Just kidding.

2) He's likes setting up on the left of other men so he can check out their butts. For you non-golfers, by being on my left he is really behind me (assuming we're both right handed). Maybe that's his way of getting his peek on. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

3) He's uncomfortable with his swing so he would rather not have anyone play behind him watching him. The last reason of course makes the most sense. I used to do that. But then the guy starts hitting balls and is hitting the ball great, while I'm chunking shots wondering if the guy behind me is checking out my ass. Next week I'll hit from the far right side.



Speaking of rear ends. That night playing poker, I was in another strange situation. There was a young couple sitting at a table next to mine. The boyfriend was playing while the girlfriend was watching. The Girlfriend had her chair turned around backwards and was leaning her chin on the back support. She was wearing a short shirt and loose jean shorts, and in the position she was in I could see her coin slot. Coin Slot is another (and more gentle) way to say butt crack. All night I was looking at that butt crack. Not on purpose though!! When I had to look at the cards on my table the Coin Slot was just within my peripheral vision. I thought I about telling her, but You never know how someone is going to react. I didn't want the end up kicking her boyfriends ass over that. Things became even more weird when I was moved to their table! I could not look at the couple! I felt guilty or something. (I honestly was not checking the girl out on purpose!) On top of that, the boyfriend knocks me out of the poker tournament.



On the way home, I thought I should call my girlfriend to see if she wants me to bring her something to eat. (Was I still feeling guilty?) That is when the fight started. Not with my girlfriend. Not with the guy whose girlfriend I was checking out (unintentionally). I got into a verbal argument with my Blackberry's Voice Dialing. I have my girlfriends name in my Contacts twice; as Cristina and as AACristina. I added her in as AACristina for ease in texting because it puts her at the top of my contacts lists. Anyway, so I try to call my girlfriend:



Attempt #1

Voice Dialing: "Say a Command"

Me: "Call Cristina"

Voice Dialing: "Call Tinesha?" (her sister)

Me: "No"

Voice Dialing: "Call Kanika?" (her friend)

Me: "No"

Voice Dialing: "Call Stacy Mapel?" (My golf Instructor - sounds nothing like Cristina!)

Me: "NO!"

Voice Dialing: "Sorry. No Match found"



Attempt #2 (I try AaCristina - Pronounced aaah Cristina)

Voice Dialing: "Say a Command"

Me: "Call Aaah Cristina"

Voice Dialing: "Call AaCristina?"

Me: "Yes!"

Voice Dialing: "Call Cristina?"

Me: "I said YES!"

Voice Dialing: "Sorry No Match found"



I gave up on the voice dialing, pulled my phone off my belt and called manually. My Girlfriend doesn't pick up because she's asleep. Aaarrggh!!





P.S. Although my girlfriend is Asian, she does not suffer from ABS (Asian Butt Syndrome). She has a very nice Coin Slot.

Fore!!

I can tell by my girlfriends' face after she reads my blogs that she is wondering why I don't talk about her more. In order to avoid sleeping on the couch, I will do that in this blog. But first...I have some other things to get to.



Minutes after posting my last blog, I received my new golf bag. (Amazon pulled through!) I didn't need a new bag, but there is a reason for the purchase. A few months ago I was at a sporting goods store in the golf section looking at some iron sets. The Calloways and Adams sets were cool, but I fell in love with the Mizunos. I don't remember the model. I only remember that when I picked them up, they felt right. I decided then, my next set of clubs will be Mizunos. I don't, however, feel like I'm good enough yet to own them. So, I set a goal for myself. Once I am able to hit under 100, I will get myself a new set of Mizuno irons. For motivation, I bought a Mizuno golf bag to remind me of the task. I'll get there this summer.



To help me accomplish this goal, I have a new Golf Instructor. I had an instructor early last year, but I didn't get much from him. He was trying to teach me his 'specialty' swing. I think he called it the 'tornado' or 'hurricane'.... Or maybe it was the 'tsunami'. I don't remember. All I do remember is that I was not progressing at all. (Was is called the 'twister"?) Anyways, late last year I switched to Stacy Mapel a certified PGA Instructor. After only one lesson with Stacy I was swinging better than the 3 hours of lessons with the previous guy. Stacy is great! He tapes my swings at the end of the lesson with a high speed camera so I can watch it at home later and compare it to my previous lessons or pro golfer's swings. When I go a long stretch without a lesson, I can catch up pretty quick just by watching the last lesson video and listening to the commentary. Anyway, if you live in Dallas/Fort Worth area I highly recommend contacting Stacy for lessons at stacymapel.com. You won't regret it. I have no doubts he will help me start hitting in the 90's.



If my road to hitting under 100 is too boooring for you, follow pro golfer John Raser on his journey to the PGA Tour. John is fun to follow on twitter (@johnraser) and he has an interesting website and blog (gospeedraser.com). Holla! If anything, read his February 19th blog and see if you can contribute in any way.



Alright, That was too much golf for one blog. There was something else I was supposed to talk about. My diet! My diet is temporarily on hold because my mom is in town. I can't say no to real German cooking right? I've consumed more carbs and sugar in the past 3 days than I did all of February. I'll have to start making up for that starting this Sunday. My weight goal is in sight.


There was one other thing I was supposed to talk about. Oh well, guess I'll get to it next time.

Later.


P.S. Sleeping on the couch isn't that bad. :-(

Where is my Amazon.com order??

Where is my Amazon.com order?? This is what I've been asking myself the past 4 days so this morning I check the tracking status. It shows delivered Wednesday Feb. 10 (3 days ago) at doorstep by Velocity Express. What the? The Tracking detail also said they made delivery attempts on Monday at 8:00 pm and Tuesday at 930pm. Hmmm. Let me check my calendar aka the TV guide. Well, Monday I was home watching 24 (amazing episode!) and Tuesday I was home watching American Idol (Ellen is not funny). Amazon says, "Check with your Neighbors". My response, "I was home! They delivered to the wrong address! Resend!". I said that much nicer of course. Now I have to wait for them to resend the book "The Alchemist" and dvd "Summer Heights High" . The new golf bag I ordered through Amazon better get here!

I really could have used the "Summer Heights High" dvd yesterday, because the snow storm that hit North Texas knocked out my cable for the whole day. I realized then that I have a serious addiction to Television. Yes, I love reading, but when you're watching a 7 month old it's hard to focus on that. I was having severe withdrawals all day yesterday, including shaking, excessive sweating and lack of appetite. It was weird. I think I know what a drug addict feels like now. I was on twitter via my cell following John Daly all day waiting for updates on the Pro-Am event. That's pretty sad. Cable is back now so I'm good, but I think I need to make some sacrifices.

Let's see.... Sunday- Family Guy and The Cleveland Show. I need those. Monday- 24 and Heroes. No. No cuts there. Tuesday - American Idol and Chopped. Last season I'm watching Idol, but I'll keep it on the list this year. Wednesday - Human Target. Great new show. Thursday. The Office, CSI, Tosh.O. Nothing to sacrifice there. Friday - Spartacus. Another great new show on the Starz network. Saturday - SNL......That's it! I'll sacrifice Saturday Night Live. It's been horrible this whole season. They need new writers bad. That wasn't too bad. Got rid of one show :o) Baby steps people. Baby steps.

Quick weight update. On January 1, 2010, I weighed 191 pounds. I'm happy to say that as of this morning, I'm down to 186. Lowest I've been in a very long time. I started a diet recommended by my facebook friend and professional poker player/celeb Hannah Elizabeth. In a nutshell, I eat a little less carbs and dramatically less sugar. I'm almost at my goal for the year!! Many thanks to Hannah the Queen of Hearts. Check out her Poker blog. It's hilarious! http://hannahqueenofhearts.com/

I'm out. Time to watch the ProAm..... and Americas Best Dance Crew..... and the Olympics....and Danica Patrick race in the Nascar Nationwide Series. Baby Steps People. Baby Steps.




-Tony


PS: I miss Pasta

New Year, 1st Blog, Old Resolutions

I've always wanted to start a blog, but never had the time to write one. Not to mention I'm a horrible writer. What better time than now though, because the girlfriend is at work, the baby is asleep and it's the first day of 2010!

2009 went by fast! When filling out dates on paperwork at my job, sometimes I still write 2008. 2009 wasn't too bad of a year for me. I didn't get laid off, didn't catch H1N1 (knock on wood), didn't foreclose on my home. I wasn't too excited about who was elected President, but that's a blog for another day. My biggest failure for 2009 was that I failed to accomplish most of my New Years Resolutions.

My first New Years Resolution for 2009 was to Lose Weight and Get in Shape. Around this time I believe I weighed around 194 pounds. My goal was to get between 180 and 185. This Morning I weighed 191. Mission failed! I know I can accomplish this goal. It's not something out of reach or unattainable. I just need to workout and ease up on the food. I have a 24 hour fitness membership ($99 a year) that I never use. Never! As far as the food, I admit I have an addiction. It doesn't help that I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. There are so many very good restaurants in this area. The DFW area definitely does not get enough credit for it's restaurant offerings. I'm rolling over this resolution for 2010. Get In Shape and get my weight down under 185.


Next for 2009, I wanted to improve my poker game. My goal was to just get in more playing time to improve my overall game. Poker is just a hobby to me, but it's a hobby I really enjoy. I played less poker in 2009 than I have in the past 3 years. What happened? A little thing called having a baby happened. With a new baby of course I had to make some sacrifices and poker was one of them. Towards the end of 2009 I started to get back on the felt a little and I plan on increasing that a bit in 2010. I'm not officially going to include Improving my poker game as a 2010 Resolution, but I will always thrive to improve.


This is a big one and the only one I was successful at accomplishing. Become debt free (except for mortgage)! A couple of years ago I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. It changed my way of thinking. I followed his program and as of December 2009 I have no debt outside of my mortgage. The last debt I paid off was my student loan. It felt great! I don't ever plan on getting in a situation again where I have credit card or any debt other than the mortgage.


The final New Years Resolution for 2009 was to improve my Japanese. This one hurts, because it doesn't just affect me. I have a daughter who lives with her Mother in Japan. She can't speak English anymore and I speak very little Japanese. I visit her every year in Japan and we occasionally speak on the phone. When I visit we do fine because we find a way to communicate. But for the other 51 weeks a year when we are just talking on the phone it's tough. I don't understand most of what she is saying and She doesn't understand most of what I'm saying. In 2008 I tried to take some Japanese lessons at the Fort Worth Japanese Society, but all we did was read through a book. I can do that on my own. I need to practice speaking. In 2009, I didn't do much studying at all. It's tough to learn a language on your on, but I'm going to trying harder in 2010. I really need to find a Japanese person (preferably a male so my girlfriend doesn't trip) that I can meet up with and practice speaking. We'll see. This is definitely a Resolution added to the 2010 list.


So here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2010:

1. Improve speaking in Japanese
2. Get in Shape, Get under 185 pounds (I always lump these two into one)
3. Improve Golf game (My addiction for Golf is stronger than my addiction for food)
4. Keep Blog going (At least two blogs a month)


-Tony


P.S. I'm not a very good writer. If you notice errors in any of my blogs, just let it be. I will not be proof reading them. I will quickly type them up, run a spell check and publish.