Sadly, I must say farewell to the Age of Beards.  I was recently promoted at work and my new position requires me to be clean shaven.  I loved my beards and will always think of them fondly.  So long, my friends:  the goatee, Van Dyke, mutton chops, the George Michael (not the public restroom George Michael, just the bearded parts) and my favorite…the Menonite Preacher.

This isn’t goodbye, just a little time apart…an ‘it isn’t you, it’s me” sort of thing.

I wouldn’t go so far to describe yesterday as surreal, but it sometimes occurs to me that I can be all over the place with my interests, passions and obligations…sometimes all in a day.

I started the day working in my yard.  I have a lot of catch up to do and I’m finally resolved to finish my back yard this year.  After that, I went to lunch with my new manager from work and finally learned I will be promoted to a new position effective next week.  Less travel and other benefits…a little more time at home scores major points for me with the wife and fam.

I left lunch and went to help my father in law herd some llamas so he could show them to some potential buyers.  Well, buyers doesn’t really describe them when you’re giving away the llamas, so takers, perhaps?  Anyway, I spent some quality time with that and then it was off to Lodge.  We had a Table Lodge last night…basically a meeting over dinner.  Throw in some alcohol and some toasting and the night could not have been better.

A great day with the family, friends, coworkers and a couple llamas.  Funny how some days I seem to never leave the couch and others my ass never touches it.  Balance….

Since then, I’ve been very diligent to stick with my rule.  Frequent business travel (ie a LOT of reading), however, has caused me to weaken and soften my stance.  To wit:

I recently stumbled on to a website dedicated to fantasy, manga, comics etc.  Recently postings pitted protagonists from various books against another in hypothetical (haha –  fictional characters in hypothetical situations) cage matches.  One that caught my attention was a matchup between Drizz’t (don’t ask if you don’t know) from various Forgotten Realms novels and some punk named Kvothe.  Being familiar with Drizz’t and not knowing anything about Kvothe (even the pronunciation of his name eluded me), I couldn’t imagine that anyone could whomp on this untouchable badass.  My curiosity led me to the book above, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

It took me a couple weeks to finish the novel, mostly due to work schedules and not from a lack of trying on my part.  This book is probably the best novel I’ve read in years.  It is a refreshing piece of fantasy literature that will appeal to any fan of the genre.  The problem?  To date only book 1 has been published and book 2 will not be out until March 2011.  I almost think losing a child would be easier than waiting to know what happens next.

Give it a shot…a book well worth your time.

photo from boncherry.com

My man Doug and I had the unfortunate mishap opportunity to try the new Double Down sandwich from KFC.  After seeing the commercials and noting that it does in fact contain bacon, I knew I had to at least try it.

Let me first accentuate the positive.  It tasted good.  How can greasy chicken, cheese, bacon and more chicken possibly taste bad?  However, eating one feels like you are commiting a carnal sin.  Each bite made me feel more and more guilty, like I was disappointing someone by the very thought of wanting one.  I could swear I heard my heart crying and pleading for help….

It was worth a try, but I highly doubt I’ll have another.  Doug gave it an equal appraisal, but the true test will be how we feel in the hours after our transgression.  If you’re curious, pick one up.  If you aren’t, you will likely be assured a place in the afterlife while I wander around in Limbo after dying of a heart attack at 40.  Enjoy!

Whether I readily admit it or not, here’s a breakdown of what I think about nowadays (in no particular order of importance):  Travel, Work, Family, Geeky Stuff, Freemasonry and Fitness.  Many of these categories will be of little or no interest to most, but they are to me because that is what my life is all about.  I travel…all the time.  I’ve logged over 50k miles this year and we’re not even 1/3 of the way through 2010.  I work, hence the travel.  Since I’m rarely home, I ponder about family and relationships and how to keep them going when a face-to-face encounter is a rare treat.  The geeky stuff is a myriad of activities to keep me busy when I am traveling; an outlet to maintain sanity.  I read, I play video games and once in a while I write.  Freemasonry is the means by which I attempt to become a better person…the gentleman I have always wanted to be.  Finally, there’s fitness…the elusive element in my life that makes its way to my mind when I look and feel like shit.

If there is something witty amongst those activities, I will be the first to exploit it and you’ll be the second to know about it.  But instead of waiting for my witty muse to whisper inspiration in my ear, I’m going to stick with what I know and we can all decide later if it was worth the 45 seconds to read through or if we were better off going elsewhere.

No funk, no depression…I actually feel better than I have in quite some time.  Just a warning if you read through an entry that isn’t what you would normally expect from a guy like me.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/08/autos/dodge_challenger_furious_fuschia/

The Haunted on Animal Planet.  “My lhasa apso sees dead people…”  I guess one can only handle so much of Cesar Millan and his pencil thin facial hair.

Paranormal Cops on A&E.  I haven’t had the opportunity to view this show, but the previews alone are hilarious.  From what I’ve seen, here’s the premise:  take every cop cliché you’ve ever seen, add a couple more and then keep a straight face while you explain that paranormal investigations are just like criminal investigations.   

Ghost Lab on Discovery.  These guys must have some serious dirt on the CEO of Discovery Communications, Inc. because this show is just awful.  I gave up after a few episodes, but my take was that this was a group of serious wannabes who bought some equipment, threw it in a trailer and set out to investigate the same tired locations that every other paranormal team has visited previously (seriously, how many more times do we need to go to Tombstone?).  Their personalities are unpleasant and they are quick to state fact from subjective opinion.  The worst of the bunch.

I have a few ideas of my own that I’m brainstorming at the moment:

Paranormal Pastry Chefs on The Food Network - helping the dead get their just deserts…yuk yuk yuk (yes, that is how it is spelled in this context…if you don’t believe me look it up).

Ectoplasm In The Sheets:  The True Story of a Paranormal Polyamorous Relationship on Lifetime.

Paranormal Investigation Kit – $199.99 on QVC or 5 easypay payments of 39.99.

The only other time you see this much fur on a woman’s leg is at the esthetician or a Joan Baez concert.  Remember ladies, we have leash laws here in Utah.

I am a huge fan of Man vs. Food.  I must have missed the episode above, but much to my surprise…I happened upon a fat sandwich this afternoon.  I’m spending the week in Jersey and saw it on a menu for a local eatery.  Curious, I ordered the phat sandwich which consisted of chicken tenders, fries, mozzarella sticks topped with sauce and more mozzarella…all on a hoagie.  Delicious beyond belief, but I am sure that was my caloric allotment for the month. 

I’ll have to be better about searching out obscure meals from now on.   You deserve better.

My previous post is a good example.  No one has contacted me saying I’m an evangelical Christian hater or anything like that, but it would be very easy for some to believe I think Mr. Robertson to be the poster child for both Conservatives and Christians and therefore I hate everyone from Republicans to the baby Jesus himself.  To use such a broad stroke in comments or beliefs is caustic, hurtful and ignorant.  That is my opinion, whether you wanted to know it or not.  If you’re going to paint your comments with a brush like that (cliche intended), take a lesson or two from Bob Ross (even though he’s dead).

I just listened to a clip from Keith Olbermann regarding the statements of Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh regarding Haiti.  These comments may not be fair, they may even be based on words taken out of context, but I believe Mr. Olbermann makes his attack with laser-like focus and somewhat illustrates my point.  Have a look/listen:

Maybe we could just stop for a moment and quit taking this opportunity to attack others at the expense of thousands of lost lives.  You can’t see it, but I’m pointing my finger right back to myself.  It reminds me of a running joke around the TW home…who has two thumbs and needs to quit being an ass and put things into perspective?  This guy.  You’d have to see it to appreciate it.