I miss you...

The worst thing about being stuck in a bed 20/7 is the lack of human contact. The internet is a poor substitute. Assuming I'm up for it, visitors are the best part of my day. Better than blogging, better than reading webcomics or chatting on IM or downloading the latest episode of my favorite anime. Better than listening to the radio or all my CDs. Better than watching the finest films Netflix has to offer (should I be paying them for use of their name or collecting advertising money for giving them free press?).

Human contact. I'm expecting some today. At the very least, my dad will get home from his two-weeks in Belize on an extended missions trip. I remember being very happy when my brother got home from the first leg of the trip in the middle of last week, and my dad has finished up the second leg and is now a scant three hours north of me in a hotel whose check-out time is in 15 minutes. So by 4 o'clock I should be pracitcally euphoric.

I also told my brother to tell all my friends at church to form a massive caravan of love in the direction of my house, so we'll see how many folks show up.

In the meantime I've got some e-mails to write. Hope the shuttle mission is doing ok.

My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is this punk band that is playing on the radio right now - song title: "I'm Not Ok (I Promise)". Totally cheesy but great to hear it.

In other Chemical news: People are still accusing Lance Armstrong of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Now he is suing a newspaper over an article they wrote. Can steroids obviously allow you to do what Lance has done? I don't see any kind of drug out there that would create that kind of endurance and mental toughness for seven years running...but some people will snipe at anyone who makes such a major achievement. Am I angry that it's a French newspaper that's tearing down the American who comes into their country and OWNS them every year? Nope. Cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

Top Ten Things to Ever Come Out of France:
Cheese
The German Army. Twice.
Lance Armstrong Seven Times.

Wheee I made a funny!

Back after these messages...

Finally I have returned to blogdom, and with style! Not only will I be updating here tonight for the first time in ten days, but I have created a second blog! Check it out at: the Movie Wizard!

My surgery went swimmingly well, and the recovery is now plodding along on schedule. I now have a complete ACL in my left knee for the first time in six and a half months, but my quadriceps muscles are quite weak, so the leg is still in danger of buckling. As such, I am wearing a full leg brace that locks into full extension so I can walk, but I am down to only using one crutch. I am also working to recover range of motion - they took a chunk out of my patellar ligament in order to do the surgery, so now my knecap doesn't move as well as it should, which means I can't bend my leg as much as I want. I can extend it fully, but I am only at 98 degrees of flexion currently. The goal obviously is 180 degrees, but for next week I'm looking to hit 105 and 115 the week after that. My Physical Therapist is quite capable and informative, so that process will proceed greatly.

Also since we spoke last I've been visited by all sorts of people, watched a half-dozen movies (thank you NETFLIX), and played one decent video game - Spider-Man 2! The people who made this game recreated the entire island of Manhattan, and then turn you loose to swing through it - it's quite accurate and intensely enjoyable. Add to that living breathing pedestrians and traffic, some of whom call out to you, all of whom stare at you, and half of whom get mugged. You can choose to save them, or go about your business. You have to do some crime fighting, and then there are story-driven events that take place, but on top of that you can just swing around for fun, or actually help all the people who lose their balloon/fall from high buildings/get their cars hijacked/cops who get shot at/armored cars who get robbed, etc. Every time something bad happens there is a citizen just dying to tell you about it. Go talk to them and they'll tell you what's up, but you can just ignore them and move on, as I said. So far I've put in a good ten hours of playing time and I'm about halfway through the storyline, but the guy I'm borrowing it from has made it to the end of the game with only 7 or so hours of play - so obviously the game is quite flexible.

ANY how. I promised myself I would start making my blog posts shorter. So I'm cutting off here. In the future, each post will be kept to a minimum length, although I may post several times a day. I'm also going to try to post about things relevant to the whole world, and as such will be including links to other websites for more info...I feel like this makes the blog more interesting, readable, and enjoyable for everyone on the planet who is NOT me...and taht's what it's all about, right? But I am cursed with thegift of gab..so good luck getting me to be concise!

The Big Day

Today I go in for my ACL reconsctruction surgery. I trust God and the surgeon totally in this, and I'm kind of looking forward to it. The surgery is scheduled for noon, but because I am not the first case of the day, delays in earlier surgeries could push mine back. By about five o'clock this afternoon, I will be ready to be discharged, but due to the earlier complications with my blood clotting, they will probably keep me for observation. I don't expect any difficulties, though, so I should be just chillin' out at the hospital for a day or so.

Spent the weekend in beautiful muggy Vermont at a most wonderful wedding service. I spent so much time with such good friends doing such amazing things. God really blessed that weekend. Ben and Jen Allums are growing quite nicely into their married life, truly becoming a mother and father to our little group of single college kids. They had their own house to stay in during the weekend, and Ben chauffered some of the guys around while Jen hovered by Amy deflecting all questions and concerns away from the blissful bride. By the end of the weekend Ben and Jen had even given some sage advice from one "veteran" married couple to the newlyweds!

The rest of the group was in top form as well - five beautiful bridesmaids, and five wacky groomsmen. Paul Petersen, an old trombone buddy, is taking to his engineering job like a fish to water (ironically enough he works in piping so the water reference is appropo, though pipes are not the best place for fish) and John Dixon is looking for a graduate school where he can earn his doctorate and become a college professor. Following in his father's footsteps (but not exactly). Between John, Paul, Ben and I, we made quite the travelling team, spending quite a lot of time together. John and Paul stayed in my hotel room Friday and Saturday night, so often when the party was breaking up and it was time for us to regroup at the hotel, I would call out "John, Paul, George, Ringo, let's go!"

We especially enjoyed the Ben & Jerry's factory tour and ice cream sample. Dublin Mudslide is your new favorite flavor - it contains actual Irish Creme liqueur. It's the staff favorite. Those two sentences are not unrelated.

Back to the surgery - I will have to be off my feet for a week or two, but several things have been put in place that will be a comfort during this time. First, I have signed up for Netflix so the movies will be delivered to my door constantly throughout the weeks. Also, my brother went to B&N on Saturday and picked up my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That should be finished by the end of the week, and all my friends are lining up to read it after me.

My real-estate agent has set up a search for me that pulls in houses from the MLS listings that match certain criteria and then e-mails them to me. Nothing is jumping out yet, but there are some solid options that will be worth seeing after I get out of bed. I think buying a house is going to be totally cool.

Alright, I have to be at the hospital in an hour - time for breakfast and a shower! Good day all, and God bless!

I am not wearing a shirt

Waiting for clothes to dry so I can take a shower and put them on...woke up at 11 today and have felt totally blagh all day.

tonight is the night I say goodbye to my father and brother. Tomorrow night they are going to leave on a bus to drive to the airport to fly out to Belize for a weeklong missions trip. Tomorrow morning I am leaving to drive to the airport to fly to Vermont for a weekend-long wedding. So tonight I will say goodbye. I think we're gonna watch Dodgeball on DVD.

I signed up for Netflix - Garden State, Dodgeball, and Be Cool all showed up in the mail on Tuesday. I have 15 more movies waiting in my queue as soon as I sent these back.

Today I have to go to the mall to buy some new black pants as my old ones are torn beyond repair.

The next time I blog will probably be the last time that I blog before my surgery Monday morning. I'll try to get on here Sunday night.

Love and blessings to all - have a great weekend!

Turn your head now, baby just spit me out

Collective Soul is absoulte comfort food for my ears. I didn't realize it until I bought their greatest hits album and heard the first stereo-panned riff of "Heavy" in my car...a flood of memories and emotion washes over me and I just love this music. Of course the title of this post comes from "December", nearly the last song on the disc. In between are such sing-alongable grooves as "Shine", "Gel", and "The World I Know". And let's not forget "Why, Pt.2 " plus some songs I've never heard of before, but that's always the way when you jump from radio to greatest hits without ever buying an album. My fault.

Why doesn't country music ever have a complicated bassline? As a bassist I have tailored my musical tastes towards the rockin' heavy bottom end, and country music has never had that for me...which is too bad because it's really the only thing I have against the genre, but it keeps my focus so heavily elsewhere that I have missed a lot of good songs, I think. So someone please tell country artists to hire talented bassists and learn to use them!

FUDDRUCKERS. 'nuff said
i'm out.

The Daily Show

Had a big storm last night - all kinds of wind blowing the rain all over the place. I love going out into the yard the morning after a storm like that...the sun is just rising, burning a mist off of the ground, and the branches of trees are lying about in a mildly post-armageddon-ic fashion. The best was after Hurricane Gaston, which actually brought down trees, washed away huge portions of the road and left things in a surreal state that was enjoyable to traverse at 6 am. My sister and I both awoke to find ourselves relieved from duty at our respective schools, so we took a walk to see all the new landscapes God had wrought during the previous evening. If a sunset is God's painting, the aftermath of a storm is God's sculpture.

I still enjoy a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the morning - thanks to my mom's restrictions on such sugary cereal as I grew up, I never got tired of it. I also learned to absolutely love Raisin Nut Bran, even more than all the exciting cereals that are out there. But long live the tradition of a Birthday Cereal - wherein we got to pick one cereal to eat on our birthday, ignoring all typical restrictions. Oh the memories. Did you know there used to be a "Nintendo Cereal System"? Two cereals for the price of one - two narrow bags that fit in a regular sized cereal box. One was Mario shapes, the other was Zelda shapes. Greatness in a box.

My brother and I are spending a lot less time together recently - not only because he has a girlfriend, but because she lives far north, and so visiting her takes a lot of his time. Often it's more worthwhile for him to spend the night at her place (in an apartment out in the garage, with her parents firmly ensconced between him and any hint of scandal, so don't worry dear Christian readers) than to come home for the night. That makes our upcoming trip to eat dinner at her house tomorrow night all the more refreshing, as a chance to see him without taking him away from her. Plus she and her family are fabulous - they all go to my church and I was good friends with her before she hooked up with him. In fact, I told him that if she were five years older, he'd've never had a chance with her, because I would've snatched her up first - she's that fabulous. And yet, they are young and there is nothing their idealism can do to change that fact. Mistakes will be made. Probably have been made. But that's why they have parents. And me...but I try to limit my role because that sort of thing would be most not appreciated. And I totally understand that.

Knee surgery in 10 days. Monday, July 18th. In the intervening time, I will be: Going to laptop training at school (Mon/Tues Jul.11/12), getting the results of my pre-op blood tests (Wed. Jul. 13), going to the "packing party" at which I will say farewell to my dear brothers and sisters from church as they head to Belize for our yearly missions trip, and quite likely shed a tear that I will not be joining them for the first time since we began the trips four years ago (Thurs. Jul. 14), Flying to Vermont for a wedding - hooray Amy Bowers and Ernie Mathews! (Fri. Jul. 15), attending the second blissful nuptuals of college best buds in less than a month (Sat. Jul. 16) and flying home (Sun. Jul. 17). So you see I've got quite a full schedule. But I bet I can squeeze in some time to hang out with friends and watch movies.

That reminds me, I've got to sign up for Netflix before my surgery so that when I am in bed for the subsequent two weeks, I will have something to do. And Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince comes out while I am in Vermont - I've got to figure out how to get ahold of that before my surgery so I can read it, too - I'm racing Megan Davis to the end of the book and I will not be slowed down by such things as time, space, and surgery! Vengeance will be mine!

My dad...

My dad is the greatest putter EVEr. Ok not quite but he is the beset I know. For years my family has enjoyed playing miniature golf at Putt-Putt Golf & Games. There is a big difference between Putt-Putt and other miniature golf establishments - simplified, standardized, engineered courses where you are guaranteed a hole-in-one if you hit the ball correctly. No windmills, no clown mouths, no imperfections in the course, no unpredictable wooden or brick rails. Just carpet-on-concrete with flat stable metal rails. Geometrically precise, all down to the laws of physics. Naturally I love it. It is a testament to how precise the courses are that it is reasonable to have tournaments where putters compete against each other. Week after week, and the scores actually mean something because the courses are standardized. Two weeks ago my dad and I went to watch one of these tournaments, and took notes on how each of the players played each hole. When I say 'each of the players' we actually only followed those who are members of the PPA - the Professional Putters Association. That's right, there is a professional assocation for people who play at Putt-Putt courses. Is there one for your local mini-putt establishment? I didn't think so. This stuff is nationwide, people.

Putt-Putt has long been a family tradition, and actually it was part of my growing up and trying to compete with my dad - because he's amazing, so I would feel inferior if I didn't do as incredibly as he did. Every hole is a par 2, so I've long been in the mindset that putting 3 times is like getting a C on a test - and for me that's as good as failing. Just like in school, I've never been able to accept an 'average' performance. And when I'm measuring up against my dad, it becomes even more of an issue. So it took a lot of psychological maturing for me to be ok playing against my dad. And I've even beaten him a couple times!

Anyhow in 1982, when my dad was 30, he played in a tournament at a Putt-Putt and he won. The trophy is still sitting on my desk (which used to be his). This past Tuesday, he went and played in another tournament. Up until now, his best score ever at any Putt-Putt was a 27 - 9 under par. The tournaments are set up in three rounds, so 54 holes total. First round he shot a 25 - besting his top score by 2 strokes - an amazing feat. Next round he shot a 31. Final round...well take a look at the picture below. That is my dad holding his first-place trophy after he shot a 23 in the final round. And on top of that, one of the pro putters set a new world record that night by scoring 65 across 54 holes.

Congratulations, dad - you're the best!

Game over

Shara Werner deserves my public apology. She is way too awesome for words, and far too nice to be as furious at me as I truly deserve, but she deserves an apology from me anyhow.

Actually a lot of people deserve an apology from me. Well no actually only a couple people deserve an apology. The rest of you I'm not a bit sorry for what I'm about to say because it is uproariously funny to me and if you have a sense of humor then you don't need an apology from me.

I am not marrying Kim Hacker. Not now and probably not ever. Everything that I said about admiring her was true in every possible way, and she is a fabulous person, and I hope that you will continue to visit her blog. It is also true that we have no romantic feelings for her, but that I have learned much from her about some far more important foundations for marriage. She does have the biggest heart of anyone that I know. And she is going to make some man forget about all the other women he has ever met.

Having said all that, I almost can't believe that I'm not marrying her, since she is plainly so fantastic. But I am not. It was all just another internet hoax developed by both of us for our own personal amusement. We've had a blast watching all the comments and internet attention roll in, and we appreciate the congratulations and well-wishes of everyone, but that's a wrap folks! The jig is up, the game is over, the cat is out of the bag.

I promise that when I get engaged, I will endeavour to find a far more personalized way of announcing it than on my blog. And it will be to someone that you all know and love and are well aware that I'm starry-eyed over. Because I will probably talk about her on my blog and to all of you all the time. I am not that subtle with my feelings. I wish I could boldly enter into a blissful union with a woman without any regard to emotional attraction, but I am not strong enough for that. So until then, Kim Hacker must remain a prize for a better man.

But oh MAN were you guys funny to watch! Joke's on you! Don't be mad, it happens to everyone! It's happened to me, I'm just passing it on. Learn to laugh at yourself or you will have one tough life folks.

Just another warning: don't believe ANYTHING you read on the internet.

just to prove a point

not to gripe, but to drive the point home - last week I tried to book some airline tickets for a friend's wedding but obviously my card came back declined (due to the aforementioned worm activity). Yesterday I finally got my new card from VISA (I shouldn't say finally - they moved quite quickly given the situation, just from my personal perspective it was a week and a half). So I booked the tickets as soon as I opened the new card and activated it. Of course since it is now closer to the time of flight, the prices had gone up. Total extra expenditure caused directly by the worm writer: $130. AND all the exit row seats are taken. My six-foot-five lanky butt doesn't fit anywhere else! I am totally happy, but in a practical way this means mr. worm-writer has earned TWO punches.

BUT I AM GOING TO A WEDDING IN TWO WEEKS

which in no way overshadows the joy and happiness due to the previous post. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYONE

<3kh

A small annoucement

LaBosseuse is gonna kill me for posting this while she's gone...but that's ok, Suzanne is no longer the most important woman on my blog!

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Miss Kim Hacker, soon to be Mrs. Kimberly Westcott. If any of you know Kim, you know what I mean when I say that she has an absolutely enormous heart that is devoted to loving God. She also uses this wonderful capacity for love in taking care of a number of children, most recently several foster kids who she took in to her home for several days. You can read all about her escapades with the little dears at her blog: http://counttheways.blogspot.com

I have just been so absolutely impressed with Kim's generous love for these children and for the Lord, and I honestly feel like I can benefit from being around that kind of love. I only hope that I will be able to match her unselfish and caring ways. It is for these reasons that Kim and I have decided to get married. She is thankful to have someone to support her in her work, which while it is rewarding and needed, also asks quite a bit from her spiritually and emotionally. I believe that with this firm foundation our marriage will be a solid one. We have both agreed that we do not "like" each other in the sense that so many young infatutated couples seem to be so keen on using, but these shallow feelings are not the basis of a lasting relationship. Our affection for each other can only grow as we draw closer to one another.

<--the lovely Kim with Kory, one of the children she nannied for last summer

Given that our relationship has grown a great deal over the internet (our only means of keeping in contact after I moved away from Grove City), and recent computer-related events have solidified our relationship, we want to acknowledge the use of technology in our wedding ceremony, but we also recognize the importance of not having a quick cheap service with the justice of the peace. For this reason we will be holding a traditional ceremony, but also broadcasting the entire wedding day over a webcam feed that will be linked in both of our blogs on the happy day! This way we can invite all our blog readers to participate with us even if you cannot make it to her church in Pennsylvania, where the wedding will be held.

Katie will be the maid of honor, and a dear mutual friend named Aaron Santavicca will also be in the wedding party, but we have not made any further arrangements beyond that. We do intend to have quite a large wedding party in order to ensure that no one will be left out. We would like to make this wedding an even bigger event than the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes farce that will undoubtedly take place in the near future, so please help us and show your support for faithful Christian marriages and not Hollywood publicity stunts!

I am so happy today! Only yesterday I posted on my blog game that I hoped to not be single forever, and today it has come true! (her answer to my game is also quite telling, I think - she is going to make such a wonderful bride!)