First Blog of the Year (41 Days In)

Please forgive me readers,

It's been 103 days since my last blog entry. Over the past few months life became complicated, then it wasn't, then it suddenly became complex then evolved into confusing and finally rested on complacent. The turn of events has taken me for a whirl wind of a ride, much like Dorothy caught up in a massive tornado.
Now I sit in front of a computer screen, typing out the recent events of my life and how this year has begun to unfold. Hard to believe we are 41 days into the new year and time trudges on unrelentingly like the back hand of a pimp who was denied his fee.
I feel last year's blogs left some issues unresolved. So, for all you readers who continue to hang onto a thread, let's tie up these loose ends.

The Beard Finale:
A few months ago I made an attempt to grow a beard. It was a foolish decision. Those of you who know me are aware I shave about once a week. So, to grow any sort of facial hair beyond the infamous soul patch, would take patience and dedication. Again, if you know me, these are qualities that I seemingly lack.
The beard grew for almost 7 weeks. Before I finally shaved it. Here is the last picture taken at the end of the experiment showing the full length my mini-beard before it was desecrated by Gillette.

(My parents being supportive of my beard)

52 Weeks of Adventure:
Previously I also decided this year I would do 52 things I have never done or rarely do. I am pretty much on schedule. So far six weeks have passed and I have accomplished five tasks:

1. Spent the entire weekend in DFW partying with old friends
2. Saw the King Tut exhibit, the first time it has been in the states in 30 years
3. Went and looked around a gun show
4. Visited a firing range and actually shot a gun
5. Spent the weekend in LA on the backlot of WB studios and at the visited the LA observatory.

I'm revving up to the really big stuff in the Spring and the Summer. Also planned for this month is, going to my very first rodeo and traveling back to El Paso to visit friends.

Now onto more recent events in life. I have taken up bowling as a hobby. The skill is slowly improving. I have my own shoes and my own bowling ball. Just last week I bowled my best game, 188. The average game would be around 130. Okay but there is certainly room for improvement.

Oh and here is a story about my trip to LA, some of you might find intriguing. On the Southwest flight to Phoenix (I connected from there to LA) I sat on the isle as usual. With long legs and knees that cramp up it's nice to have an empty isle to stretch them into. Plus it's always a laugh when unsuspecting flight attendants fail to see my obtrusive appendages. So, a woman moved passed me and sat by the window seat. Little did we both know until a short while later that neither of us spoke the other's language. She spoke Spanish only and I speak English and French (it seemed like a good idea in College, at moments like this, not so much).
It very well may have been her very first time on an airplane. Try as she might she could not buckle her seat belt. She tapped me on the shoulder to show me her predicament. It appeared she was a little too large for the belt to reach across. We contacted a flight attendant and I explained the situation. She ran off to get an extender for the woman. Only to find upon her return that belly size wasn't the issue, the woman simply did not know how to buckle the belt. When I realized this I tried to explain this to the flight attendant but the damage had already been done. They strapped the extender on her and tightened it up. We didn't speak about it but I think she knew how I misunderstood her. From this point on, I won't make assumptions about large people. Otherwise they may get offended and I, embarrassed.