Hello and welcome to the 93rd edition of Random Thoughts. I have a few things to talk about this time out so let's get to it. Enjoy.
- As you can tell from the subtitle, I had a birthday over the weekend (Saturday specifically) and turned 39, one year away for the not-so-dreaded-by-me milestone of 40. This year I wanted things to be low-key and quiet, which apparently concerned and confused some people for various reasons. Let me start today by clearing up what I was going for. In birthdays of times past, two particular themes appeared: I would make a fuss over celebrating my birthday and I would "advertise" my birthday or events surrounding it. There were a few benefits but there were also problematic issues with timing, conflicting events, things or me getting on peoples' nerves, not-so-great reactions, etc. On top of that, I never really admitted this before but those birthdays and my celebration of them never measured up internally to what I truly wanted or expected from each birthday, leaving me a measured sense of disappointment and disillusionment. One of the major facets of this new beginning of mine I've been working on is the commitment to making fundamental changes to habits and fortunes in areas of my life where things have been lacking, destructive or unfulfilling. My birthday fell into the unfulfilling category and I was determined to change that. Beyond that, since the amount of social interaction I have has changed from as recently as two years ago, those old habits would largely be ineffective now. I scheduled nothing except for my regular birthday trip to Pizza Hut and hoped for warmer weather than in past years, planning nothing else...not even a bare-bones plan...and playing it by ear. Since things haven't been going all that great recently for me anyway it was probably best that I use that route. I also kept the birthday talk quiet on my part and didn't advertise any public announcements or anything like that, making things low-key on that front. That was what I meant by wanting my birthday weekend low-key and quiet. Ultimately, I just wanted to enjoy my birthday.
You're probably wondering how my birthday went. Wait for it....wait for it...wait for it...just kidding. Actually I had a great birthday. Not just good...not just adequate...I had a great birthday. This was one of the best birthdays I've ever had, bar none. The day itself, Saturday, was cloudy but was warm enough to comfortably wear shorts, something I haven't done on my birthday for as long as I can remember and something that made for a great start to the day. I grabbed some lunch and then went shopping at Polaris, picking up a cheapie "Lego Star Wars" PS2 game. After window shopping and walking around the mall, I went to Meijer to get some groceries. I couldn't believe my eyes that almost everything I needed was on sale with unexpected items like peanut butter and jelly around half off. The reason I couldn't believe it was because I had been up there twice already in the past week and this stuff wasn't on sale then, so it made for a nice birthday surprise. When I got home, I discovered that a vehicle that had been sitting in my favorite parking spot for months dating back to last year was finally moved so I could park there again...had to wait until Sunday for the spot to open up, but I got it. Thank the Lord for small miracles. After putting everything away I played my new game for a few hours then went up to Pizza Hut around 8. I was joined at dinner by my friends Dave, Ernest, Griff, Cara, Jay, and Holly. We sat in the restaurant eating pizza and just hung out talking, something I haven't done since my days at Bourbon Street Cafe. Ernest got me a gift card (mucho thanks, Ernest!) which I used the next day to get some house slippers I desperately needed...good ones are hard to find but I finally found some and at a really good deal to boot. After Pizza Hut, the ladies took off and the guys and I went downtown to a bar called Mynt. I haven't been downtown to go out in years...usually because it sucked for me...but I decided to give it a try. I will say that there were a lot of drunks walking already around downtown once we got there. We got to the club and met up with my friend Tommy D who was spinning the tunes since he's the deejay at Mynt. We thought about taking off but stayed and danced to the music. While there, the guys and I got to meet current Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The guys took pics with him and we got to hang out with him and some of his buddies for a while. Despite all the hoopla around him and the stuff he has to deal with, he seemed like a cool guy...poor guy had to take photos with fans about every 30 seconds or so, so I felt bad for him but he seemed resigned to it given his stature. After that, I went home...sore and tired, but happy. It didn't hurt that the next day was upper 80's and sunny, so I got to enjoy that as well. It looks the approach I took worked out beyond the bare-bones expectations I had and also beyond the expectations from past birthdays when I had them, so it looks like a keeper. Before I move on, I want to thank everyone who sent me birthday wishes and especially those who celebrated it with me. It meant so much to me that I got to share this particular birthday with people because it was a great one.
- As you can probably tell by now, there have been some aesthetic changes to the blog. I'm now using a black background, partially because I wanted a change of pace and partially because of my decision to change up my title pic every once in a while. I found it easier to use a black BG for something like this than a BG in a variant color. The logo itself will stay the same but the color of the logo lettering itself will change depending on my mood or depending on the time of year. So far I have a Christmas version, an Independence Day one, and different color variants with possibly more to come. Also, very soon if not later today, I'm going to start a new section in the right column for personal blogs of my friends on Facebook and elsewhere. If any of you have a personal blog they want me to link to, send me the URL and the title of the blog and I'll put it in that group of links. Personal blogs only please...not those promoting groups, businesses, companies, or organizations. I will say the most updated ones will be the ones near the top of the list, but I will accept non-regularly-updated ones as well.
- I got to watch Wrestlemania last week and once again it was a one-match show, that match being Triple H/Undertaker. The rest of the card was rather non-descript and predicatable. I would think that after last year WWE would have learned, but apparently they didn't. The only other notable thing at the event was Snooki from the Jersey Shore. Despite her infamy, she actually did okay and actually stepped up like Triple H and Undertaker did. She pulled off a picture-perfect double backspring senton into the corner, which is a very hard move to do in the first place much less execute it flawlessly like she did. I only wish that the rest of the Divas looked so polished and that the rest of the roster would step up for a biggest event like Wrestlemania like she did. Honestly, I never thought I'd be writing something so positive about an infamous reality star, but hey...she stepped up, she did it, and she did it well...can't hate on that.
- Speaking of WWE, the company is taking the "Wrestling" part out of the name and the company is now supposed to be acknowledged as "WWE Inc." They're trying to get away from the term "wrestling" and just be known as a "media company" despite wrestling being what the company was founded on and is about. This is a pathetic attempt at trying to deal with the stigma that the term "wrestling" comes with. It looks like they're trying to get away from what "brought them to the dance," so to speak, and will probably make them look like fools for doing it. Way to go, WWE. You gotta wonder what dunderheaded move they're gonna try next.
- There seems to be a firestorm on American Idol with Pia Toscano, a highly regarded front-runner for the AI title, being cut from the show. I have to admit, she was the biggest reason I was watching the show in the first place but I still believe this is the most talented group since season 5. She has an God-given singing voice comparable to the likes of Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. It doesn't hurt that she looks hot, but like Ted Williams and Susan Boyle it's gonna be her voice and her talent that gets her to the promised land and the one thing that people will remember her for most. Bluntly speaking, I believe it's the AI voters' fault as a whole for believing it was a given she was moving on and thus didn't vote for her. This also shows that this has become more of a popularity contest than a singing competition as it was supposedly intended to be. That's why people like that Sanjaya guy from a few years back got so far, because people can mess with the show like that. After last week's show, they are probably gonna look at major changes to many things on the show to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. As far as I'm concerned, I'm done with the show for now because it's just lost its appeal...and from what I can tell, I might not be the only one. The big thing to potentially look for is that Pia Toscano could be like Jennifer Hudson or Chris Daughtry in that she may end up outshining whoever wins the competition this year. I don't know if that will happen but you never know.
- Song on repeat: "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats. I thought I'd get a bit silly with the selection this time out. The song itself makes me giggle at times.
- SLP to the following: Holly, Pastor Cory, Kim P. (happy birthday), Cheryl, Jay, Dave, Marcus W. (happy birthday), Griff, Michelle, Cara, Stan, Tracy P., Katie, Debbie, Aunts Susie, Sandy & Claudia, Art, Ernest, Daryl, Shane B., Marcia, Michael T., Al, Scotty, Derrick, Todd, Rita C., Mindy, Anna, George, Kevin S., Mr. Chaff, Jim, Jack, Bob & Lynn, Chad M., Dani, Tommy D., Rita D., Paula, and Dawn (boy a lot of people this time out...whew!)
That's it for this edition. I had one of the best weekends in ages and hope for even better times soon. I'm tired and sore from it, but happy. I've got to get going now so I can recover. Until next time, folks. Take care and God Bless.
DJ
