Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Getting in Shape Update 29

It makes it really hard to "be good" when the results just aren't happening.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 223.0

Today's Weight = 223.0

Weight Loss/Gain in past week = 0.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 44.0 pounds

Friday, June 24, 2005

A Pox Upon My House

Hannah is nearing the end of her bout with Chicken Pox, but on Monday, Lindsey (the 8 month old) broke out with them. This morning, Sarah (the soon to be 3 yr old) was sporting little red spots as well. Jody told Erin (the oldest), "You might as well just go lick her [Lindsey's] bottle and get it over with."

Last night was not fun. Lindsey woke me up around 3:00. I don't know what time she actually woke up because it takes alot to rouse me from my slumber. Her crying woke up Hannah and Sarah, so I helped try to calm Lindsey and get Hannah and Sarah back to bed. Finally, at 4:30, I went and got in bed with Sarah to get her calmed down.

I was very tempted to take a sick day today.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Drat!

Baylor was just eliminated from the College World Series by the Texas Longhorns. Congrats to UT.

Pac-Man Fever

Where I ate lunch today, they have a video game machine that has both Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man. Seeing that reminded me of the days back in the early 80's when Donkey Kong and Frogger ruled my world. We had a great video arcade in my hometown. Hightower's was clean and had a great selection.

The house I grew up in, and where my parents still live, is 4.8 miles from the City Limits. That includes 1.4 miles of dirt/rock road and 3.4 miles of a Farm-to-Market two lane undivided roadway. In the summers (with that mid-90's and above heat), I would occasionally ride my bicycle to town and go to Hightower's to spend my time and money. There was one day that I spent twenty dollars there, a quarter at a time. My mom grounded me from playing video games for two weeks. The worst part of it was that a few times, my brother took me with him to the arcade while I was serving my punishment sentence. I had to sit in the arcade without being allowed to play.

I guess that was a character-building experience. Either that, or it just served as inspiration for a journal entry.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

A New Experience

In my life, I have succeeded at most of what I've tried—from school to music to acting to appearing on a TV quiz show. The only lack of success I can think of is my run for office in 2002. However, I had never, as far as I can remember, quit anything—until now.

Even though my appearance on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" was over four years ago, I still participate in an internet message board related to the show. The board, or Bored as the regulars call it, has migrated to several locations over the past few years, and people have come and gone, but one thing has been fairly constant and consistent—the Question of the Day. The QoD, as it is shortened, is a monthly trivia contest for the Bored's participants. The citizens of this particular internet community are unusually adept at trivia, and as is the nature of the species, we are very competitive. The QoDMeister gets to set the format of the game, and the monthly winner earns the right to run the game the following month. For a long time, the winner had never declined the opportunity to host, but eventually someone did. In that case, usually we just go down the final standings until somebody agrees to host.

Over the past four-and-a-half years, I have won the QoD a few times. Most recently, I won in May. I agreed to host the game this month, and although I started strong, I quickly lost my motivation and petered out. This morning, I posted a message to the Bored to let them know that I would not be finishing the game.

I know in the "grand scheme of things" that this game isn't that significant, but as I said before, I think this is the first time I've ever quit anything.

If You Can't Stand the Heat

I don't know why it surprises me every year when the temperature gets so hot. Except for 1992, I've spent every summer of my life in Texas. And yet, every time the mercury rises to the mid-90's, it's as if I am caught unawares. I love Texas, and I really can't imagine living anywhere else, but if I could, I would lower the average temperature somewhere between fifteen and twenty degrees.

Jody grew up in the cold of Montana. She tells me that she'll take the heat of a Texas summer over being snowed in all winter. At one point, we had talked about moving to western Montana to be closer to Jody's family, but it never came together. I don't know if I could have withstood the long winters, but I do know that the oppressive heat of North Texas is quite wearisome.

Getting in Shape Update 28

I guess I have to be resigned to slow, but steady, weight loss from here on out.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 223.5

Today's Weight = 223.0

Weight Loss in past week = 0.5 pound



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 44.0 pounds

Monday, June 20, 2005

Play by Play

I'm listening to the Baylor Bears game at the College World Series on the interent broadcast from BaylorBears.com. The Play-by-play announcer, whose name I haven't caught, is horrible. The cadence of his voice is very annoying, and if I weren't really interested in the game, I would have turned it off a long time ago.

Writing Tools

One of the things I've discovered since I started this blog is that oftentimes, something hits me during the day that I think might make an interesting blog entry. What happens almost every time is that later, when I try to remember what the inspiration was, I have forgotten what I observed or thought.

With that in mind, I've decided I'm going to start carrying a paper journal with me to jot things down as they arise. Maybe this will result in a more consistent and better blog.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Superstar

Last night, I went to see my oldest daughter's performance for the Children's Summer Theatre Experience. She was in the two group numbers and had two smaller scenes. One of her scenes was from State Fair, which is a show I've never seen. She and this boy named Keeton sang "Isn't It Kinda Fun?" They got the biggest cheers of the night.

After it was all over, the Director, Linda Leonard told me that Erin is a natural talent. Linda is a professional actress who has done Regional shows and used to act in Chicago. I have no idea if Erin wants to be an actress, but she does seem to have the knack.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Getting in Shape Update 27

It is hard for me to eat right when I'm sick. I seem to be over my Shingles, but now, I've been hit with a cold.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 224.0

Today's Weight = 223.5

Weight Loss in past week = 0.5 pound



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 43.5 pounds

Saturday, June 11, 2005

My Daughter the Theologian

My four-year-old daughter, Hannah, has come down with the Chicken Pox. Most likely, she caught the varicella zoster virus from me as a result of my outbreak of Shingles.

This morning, my wife was giving Hannah an oatmeal bath to help alleviate some of the itching. I was in the bathroom talking to Hannah when she said, "If nobody got Chicken Pox, that would mean nobody ever did anything wrong, and nobody would ever have to eat soup." My four-year-old has apparently already come to an understanding of the pervasive effects of the Fall of Man.

Hannah is a very emotional child. She wears her heart on her sleeve, but in many ways, she's the deepest of our kids.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Getting in Shape Update 26

Could have been a lot worse.

Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 224.0

Today's Weight = 224.0

Weight Loss/Gain in past week = 0.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 43.0 pounds

Monday, June 06, 2005

New Show on TV for Actors

I stumbled across a show last night on E! called "Fight for Fame". I can imagine for some actors, seeing it might be intimidating, but to me, it was exhilirating. The show starts with five un-represented actors in L.A. who are vieing for one slot with an Agent. They go through various auditions and exercises and are cut one by one until the winner is left. Each show will have five new faces. The whole process of each episode transpires over the course of one day.

If you have any dreams or delusions of "making it" in Hollywood, I recommend this show.

Proud Papa

Saturday night was the First Annual KCCT Awards Gala. Jody, Erin, and I got dressed to the nines and stepped out for the event. I was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for providing the voice of Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors, which was very flattering. However, Erin was nominated for Best Performance by a Juvenile. She was up against 3 other very talented girls who are all older than she is. My daughter, who played Molly in our production of Annie and turned six years old during the run, was announced as the winner. Her acceptance speech was short, sweet, and to the point: "Thank you."

The other winners:

Best Show
Little Shop of Horrors

Best Actor in a Musical
Dennis Gullion as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. in Little Shop of Horrors

Best Actress in a Musical
Emily Hunt as Miss Hannigan in Annie

Best Actor in a Play
Lonny Schonfeld as Jake in Jake's Women

Best Actress in a Play
Kay Hinds as Cora Gump in A Bad Year for Tomatoes

Outstanding Technical Achievement
The design and build team for Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors

People's Choice Awards
A Bad Year for Tomatoes -- Ron E. Harris as Piney
Little Shop of Horrors -- Josh Wood as Seymour
FrUiTCaKeS -- Olivia Hughs as Sally Dantzler
Annie -- Olivia Hughs as Annie
Jake's Women -- Lonny Schonfeld as Jake

Congratulations to all the winners! I am glad to have been able to share the stage with you.