I wanna rock!

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Yesterday I learned that they’re finishing up the process of building a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, which was a bit of a surprise to me considering apparently they’re using the same casino that I’ve been meaning to go to for months and just adding on all of the glitz and glamour. Oddly enough, there isn’t room in the current plans for an actual Cafe in the mix, but there have been rumors of just building a new one when the hotel takes off, anyways, so it won’t surprise me a bit if that pops up in the next year or so, too.

Now it definitely sounds like a field trip is in order! Anybody got any quarters???

The Resolutions

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After some careful thought, I’ve decided that five is a good number to shoot for with resolutions – enough to make the whole effort seem worthwhile, yet not so much to feel overwhelming all the same. They’ve been numbered for organization’s sake, but there really isn’t any specific importance of one over another…

1. Ease Up on the Procrastination – At work, at home, just about anywhere, I’ve always been one to follow the mantra of “Hard work pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.” While that’s always been great and all in the past, I think that this is the year to get up and actually do something…at least every once in a while!
2. Lose the Weight – The doc told me when I went in during my sick phase that I was a bit heavy for my age and although I resented it at the time, I know that he’s right. At the point that I’m at right now, dropping twenty pounds would be a huge deal for me and should put me back in the proper range, so that’s what I’ll be shooting for this time around.
3. Pay Off the Bills – Point blank, I owe too many companies too much money, so that’s probably one of my biggest goals this year – to get myself completely, or at least a good portion, out of debt. It may mean some long hours and a decline in the amount of playtime that I have, but this really needs to be taken care of once and for all.
4. Finish and Put Out a Book – The idea’s been kicking around for quite some time, but this year I actually want to make the dream a reality. A sub-goal here is that I really want to focus on my writing in 2004 and see just how far I can push it, but I think a compilation book of my previous columns could certainly be a step in the right direction!
5. See More of Florida – I’ve been here for something like three months now and although it’s been really great and I’ve made lots of friends, it seems like we never actually go out and do anything. I still haven’t been to Disney World, or the Seminole Casino, or even the Florida Aquarium, so it’s time to get out and start exploring this new state! If others want to tag along, then that’s just great, but I’m not holding back anymore because everybody else’s already seen it…

New Years, New Times…

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Well, I’m happy to report that I’m nearly to the end of my bag ‘o antibiotics and my throat has just about returned to its normal, non-swollen self! I’ll tell ya, this is probably the first time that I’ve been really sick in a long time, and you really tend to take advantage of things like eating solid foods and not choking on yourself when the time passes like that…

Anyways, New Years Eve was rather quiet down on this edge of the water. I ended up just staying home and finally finishing up Order of the Phoenix, so now I’m stuck in that Harry Potter-less void like the rest of you for the next year or so! It was kind of depressing at the end, not exactly how I thought things would turn out, but I think that’s just because I knew that the next book in the series hasn’t even been written yet… 🙁 Throw in a short break to watch the fireworks from my balcony and that was pretty much my entire evening – woot!

I do have a few resolutions, too – give me a minute or two and maybe I’ll share them with you!

…relief…

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I got some drugs today and after sleeping for pretty much the fourth straight day in a row, I think it’s finally making a difference. Throat still hurts like hell and it’s kinda tough to talk, but I really should go back to work tomorrow…

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I am in so much pain right now – I just want to fast-forward to the part tomorrow when I get to go see a doctor and he (or she) fixes everything. Seriously, I am really getting tired of choking on myself…

Where’d my throat go??? Seriously.

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For those of you not in the know, I’ve been sick recently. That having been said, I’ve also been experimenting with some new drugs to help remedy the problem and I’ve come across these new lozenges that are just fabulous. They’re said to help with the pain of a sore throat by “numbing key regions of the mouth” and boy, do they do just that! I first tried one at work last night and I was concerned for a while if I’d be able to talk on the phone anymore that night – they have some sort of anesthetic in them which just numbs the hell out of pretty much anything it touches, so within probably fifteen minutes the pain was gone, but so was the feeling in roughly 2/3 of my tongue. An interesting solution, but one that I wish I’d found much earlier, nonetheless…

And how cool is my Grandpa? Apparently he had my name in the family drawing, so Friday night I came home to find a box from Amazon.com in the mail containing the first two seasons of Family Guy on DVD – woot!

Brrr…

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It’s 42 degrees outside right now – damn, that’s cold! Well, at least as compared to last week’s temps. What a great time to be sick!

…we got ’em?

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Ok, so it actually took me until this afternoon during lunch to read the paper from Monday about Saddam, so here’s my three cents. I guess I’m playing the conspiracy theorist on this issue, but I know that I’m not alone in saying this – I don’t think it’s really him. Why? Allow me to count the reasons…

1. It just seems too easy. Don’t get me wrong, I know that our armed forces have put in countless hours and lives to this cause, but seriously – this guy has been eluding us for fifteen years and we find him in a fucking hole?! I ain’t buying it.
2. It’s amazingly easy to pass along the blame to others when “they’ve already got you.” All the bad stuff in the world will have to be somebody else’s fault (…Osama’s…) because how does one commit hate crimes from prison???
3. Like somebody told me earlier today, “He gave up without a fight?!” There was an interview in that paper from an ex-marine or something that basically said – this is a man who was documented to have been cornered in the past, emptied every last bullet from his gun into his opponents and thrown the gun itself at them before jumping into a nearby river and swimming to safety. Guys like that don’t just give up without a fight.
4. And of course, who’s due up for re-election here shortly?! Saturday night everyone hated Bush because he’s basically been the most worthless president we’ve ever experienced, but really, who wouldn’t vote for the guy who caught Saddam? I’m not necessarily saying that he was behind it or anything, a la Wag the Dog, but it sure does seem awfully convenient!

And then answer me this – if this man has been responsible for the misery and / or death of millions of people, then why is he still alive? This isn’t one of these folks that falls under the whole “innocent until proven guilty rule” anymore than Hitler or the rulers of the Ottoman Empire – the order was dead or alive, so now that he’s in the sights, what’s the hold up???

That’s right, it’s all about the media coverage…

Good news, everyone!

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Last night I got an e-mail from my publisher saying that the coverage area for the paper has been increased from eight counties to ten, meaning that we’re pretty much the largest free paper in Northern Michigan now! According to fairly reliable websites, this means that approximately 150,000 people in these counties can pick up a paper at their local newsstand and read any number of tales featuring the creativity and splendor of yours truly – drinks cookies are on me!!!