Can you make that out of gold?

Well my "30 BLOGS in 30 DAYS" campaign kinda lost it's way, came off the tracks, took a wrong turn and any other cliche that you deem fitting.  This whole endeavor has been a tremendous learning experience and an excellent experiment.  I have, through blind stumbling around and trial and error, determined what I would like to change and ultimately do with this blog.  A few days ago I went back and reread all of my posts and there were some I actually liked and some that were crap.  Well lady and gentleman, we here at the Can I Get That Covered In Gravy HQ have heard you and our mission is to make your valuable time spent here, reading these babbling's of a mad man, MORE BETTER.   I will probably coast through the holiday season then start making improvements and revamps in the new year.

One of the things that will definitely make it in the new improved CIGTCIG 2.0 is the addition of what music I am or am not listening to.... am not... amn't?.. nope doesn't work... anyway today it is the newly released Fractured Love by Jordan Rast.  I really hate Jordan in a lot of ways.  Naaaa... Hate is too strong.  I am jealous though.  He's a great singer and song writer.  I mean REALLY great.  He's young... too young to be on his THIRD original release! I've never met him but have heard nothing but awesome things about him.  Sigh... He probably rescues kittens.  Kitten rescuing aside, his record is very good and I'm currently trying to coerce him into playing on my next record.  If you haven't figured out my subtle hints check out his record and support an "indie."  It's good for you!

http://www.woodstovehouse.com/jordan-rast-fractured-love/

if "anyone" has a better link to Jordan's record please leave it in the comments.  Thanks!

I don't listen to much music when I drive.  Strange for a guy who has made his living with music over the last several years, I know, but it's true.  It doesn't help the cause that my daily driver is not radio friendly.  It's loud and rumbly so I find other ways to occupy my time on long drives.  One is... jeez... I'm not sure I should let this one out of the box.  Eh...

Ok.  I give interviews.  To no one.  I don't talk to myself.  I talk to the person "interviewing" me.  Wow. That seems crazy.  Maybe that is why I really like talk radio.  Those guys are just talking to themselves.  Hell this blog (and other peoples I'm sure!) is just me writing down my internal dialog.  I don't know maybe I'm just rationalizing now....  Well the reason I brought this up was to talk about Chris Gaines.

I always thought it would be hilarious, in an interview, to sight him as a musical inspiration but never did (I have been interviewed before and did well due to all my practice!) for fear of pissing off Garth Brooks.  You see, if you didn't know Chris Gaines was the fictitious alter ego created by Garth Brooks to explore his rock aspirations... or something like that.

At the time it was suspected that GB had LOST his mind.  In truth I think he was just bored.  He did the Gaines record when he was on top of the world and had nothing but money to burn.  I believe he still keeps his house warm burning bundles of hundred dollar bills.  My mind can not comprehend the kind of money he has.  Buy a country money.  So maybe, in his shoes I would have done something dumb like dress up like a pretend rock star and put out a record.  I would have done something probably even more stupid.

Do they make toilets out of gold?

Writing is Hard!

I know, I know... I pledged an oath to all of you that I would valiantly blog everyday for 30 days and become more better!  Well I have blogged a lot.  Not everyday though...

It seems I am not comfortable with just typing some words and calling it done.  I feel it is my responsibility to give you the best writing I can and hurrying something down just to get it down wasn't sitting well with me.  So I will continue to attempt the everyday blog knowing full well it may be more than my 17 words a minute can handle BUT I shall do my best to make it worth your while kind reader!

Giving Back

Woosh!  This weekend flew by and I didn't get near the ol' laptop to get my daily chores done but that's ok.  You both forgive me right?

I am SUPER excited for tomorrow.  It's day one of my volunteer training for the American Red Cross.  I get to use my skills in transportaionizing (driving) for the good guys!  I will go into all the details tomorrow for all y'all.  until then I gots to get my but in bed!

Night!

Well that was stupid!

Thanksgiving was, as usual, an exercise in gluttony for me.  More gravy?  Are you kidding?  That's my blog name!!!  Sigh...  I'm so clever.  So this morning I get up nice and early to get some stuff done and even do a little bit of shopping but then out of the blue, for some unknown reason, I decide to get on the scale.  The day after Thanksgiving.  GENIUS.

I don't want to boil down all this years accomplishments into one moment.  The moment that cold unfeeling machine unceremoniously spit that dreadfully high number at me?  Yeah.  That moment.  So to counter my feelings of failure I decided to run through some of the changes with me and my life since last March (or was it February?  Doesn't matter.)

I stopped feeling sorry for myself and uninvited myself to the pity party.  I made myself accountable for all things I didn't like about myself.

I started and maintained a regular running schedule, ran several races (I think six) AND actually competed in a few of them!  Don't get me wrong I wasn't in the running (pun intended) for an actual victory.  I just put up a respectable time for two of the races and I was proud of that.

I stopped smoking.  I have said this before but I really never thought I would quit.  Just didn't see it happening.... but it did and I am pleased it did.

Kept this blog going.  I didn't thing that would happen either.  I figured I would get bored with it and stop doing it.  Which I did!  But I missed it. So here I am, still typing away.

Overall, that's is not too bad!  Several life changes and some diligence.  Definitely a whole bunch of steps in the right direction.

The wrong direction, though, is looming all big and bad in front of me.  I got some blood work done and  my cholesterol is a tad wonky.  The good stuff a little too low and the bad stuff a little too high.  Nothing terrible by any means but add that on top of an ever expanding gut and we've got the beginning of a big problem.

I've noticed that my "loose jeans", track pants and cargo shorts have been trending for wardrobe choices so it was no real surprise that my weight was up.  Just  didn't quite expect it that UP.  It's ok though.  Nothing that can't be fixed.  It's just time to fix it though.

Fat Man Strikes Back.

Run Josh, Run!

We have an annual event here at our household.  It's the Columbus Turkey Trot.  We've done about a half dozen or so and we actually look forward to it.  It's a "guilt free" Thanksgiving dinner and that's a good thing for a habitual over eater such as myself!

The "race" is a five miler.  A five K would be more to my liking really but the extra 2 miles gives more to the guilt free-ness.  I say "race" because we're never really in it.  There are lot's of people who do treat it like a race and just fly around the course.  Not us!  We run the first mile or so then just walk it out.  Good fun.

The thing that gets me every year is the turn out.  It has to be 5,000 people.  People are all over the place!  You can't get a parking spot anywhere near the place.  (Although this year driving the jeep, I got a parking spot where no one else could park so that was cool!)  It is at the crack of dawn (ok 9am!) and it's usually cold (Thanksgiving?  November?  It was cold?  Really?) I  just can't figure out why everyone does it... but then I realize I do it every year for the same unknown reason.  Sure it's nice to get a decent start to the day but for anyone cooking or traveling that's a busy morning.  Also it's not free.  So to recap:  It's crowded, cold, inconvenient, expensive, too long and too early.  So why do it?  Tradition I guess...

So.... Josh.  One of the great things and actually the real reason we do these races, is the people watching!  It is all walks of life all level of fitness and it is just a blast getting to know the people around you.  Every year we have a few stand out characters that make our whole race.  This year the winner was young Josh.

At a bout mile 3 we came up on Josh and his brother and mother.  We learned his name because his mother kept yelling it.  "Joshy Joshy Poshy Washy Josh!"  Josh was by our best estimate 4 years old and adorable and couldn't have less of an interest in "running" this fine brisk morning.  We never really met Josh.  Instead we created a dialog for him cursing his turquoise spandexed mother.  He would lag behind, go off the track, pick up a rock, get yelled at then run back up cursing his mother the whole way.    Good luck Josh.  I think you're gonna need it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

More Smarter!

I really have a fear of technology and specifically computers.  I bore witness to computers.  I watched them crawl out of the primordial ooze of prehistoric technology as crappy typewriters.

 You see kids, a "type writer" was the keyboard part of your laptop.  It had no screen, you couldn't change the font and it weighed about 75lbs.  Having one didn't "make you cool."  It did come with a big plastic suitcase to lug it around, so that made it really convenient to go to the coffee shop.  Oh that's right... there were no coffee shops!  They were called diners and you paid fifty cents for a cup of java.  no frills, just bean juice.  Mmmmmm......dee-lish!

When I was in college I saw my first computer with a mouse.  It blew my mind!  We (my college cohorts and I) would go to the "computer lab" and just move the mouse and watch the little arrow move around.  For hours... I'm almost embarrassed to share that.  Almost!  The thing was, is you just knew you were looking at the future.  The whole possibility of SKYNET* or HAL* becoming self aware and attempting to either replace or completely eliminate mankind now became plausible.  I am not suggesting that it's time to build bunkers and prepare for the "Rise of the Machines" (or some other cool catch phrase name)  but it really was the beginning of a whole new era.  This new era and I have not exactly seen eye to eye over the last 20 years.  I have really just come to terms with "computers" and them NOT being a fad or trend...  Yet another thing this blog has helped me with.

 Longtime readers may have noticed the use of italics in this blog.  Something I would have NEVER attempted a year ago.  TOO SCARY!  I don't know if I have used it correctly but I did it and I didn't even have to ask for help!

Onward and upward.


*SKYNET was the computer in the Terminator movies that waged war with mankind.
*HAL was the computer who became self-aware in the movie 2001: a Space Odyssey and  took over the ship.

the more I eat the more I eat and other such phenomenons

I sometimes think I have the digestive system of a competitive eater.  I don't mean that in any kind of positive way at all.  I try to outwit my gut by having a "hearty" breakfast.  My gut responds by saying "Let's get a huge lunch too then we can skip dinner!"  I can almost hear it snickering at me when it pulls these shenanigans... Because it doesn't work and it knew it the whole time!  I call bullshit.  The other thing is I can go all day and not really eat and be totally fine then eat a large but not ridiculous dinner and be cool for the day.  Weird.  I stumbled upon (actually stumbled not the web browser/search engine thingy) an article on temporary/conditional fasting.  Basically you can only eat a certain number of hours each day.  Like noon to 6pm.  I kinda do that anyway and I'm kinda fat so... looks like I've already disproved that one!

I know a lot of blog type folks also put what they are listening to when they enlighten the world, so I too shall share my musical whimsy with you!  Tonight it was the Green Album.  A selection of tunes from the Muppet Show and movies covered by contemporary artists.  Some are weird, some are pretty much the same and some are pretty cool.  I'll give it 3 outta 5 BuzzPoints.