Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which
dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a
restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life
are ringing through my open ears
exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which
shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva

On Sunday night, I reached a new milestone in my quest for the ultimate hottest food. We were watching the Bears game with a couple of Vikings fans (ugh) at a place called Wings, Pizza, and Things in Tucson. Naturally, I ordered the Wings of Fire in order to give them a taste.

About half way through my meal, the waitress came up to me and asked if they were too hot. I told her that they had a good flavor, but they just were not that hot. She began telling me about a sauce that the cooks were making a few days back which made them all cry in pain. So of course, when she asked if I would be willing to try it I did not hesitate.

The kind waitress brought out the sauce and I dipped my remaining wings in it without a problem. It was spicy.....but still not quite enough for me. In an effort to get out of christmas shopping, I accepted a bet to drink the remaining sauce straight out of the cup. (I also locked in a deal to get homemeade sweet tea for one year from McKenzie...oh yeah). After finishing the sauce, I didn't even need to drink in order to remove the heat.

Unbeknownst to me, the person who supplies the restaurant with the hot peppers to make the sauce was sitting right behind me....go figure. He told me that when they made the sauce, they mixed the capsacion from his peppers with some habeneros and that they should have just given me his peppers instead. He then offered to go back into the kitchen and bring me out a whole pepper. The peppers he grows are known as the Indian Bhut Jolokia (ghost chile) peppers.

He brought the pepper out and i took a small bite...nothing. I then took a larger bite and kept the pepper in my mouth for a few seconds. I felt the heat began to grow and I admit that it was spicy. But I still didn't need anything to drink afterwards. It was at this point that I decided that I must have burn out my heat receptors in my taste buds over the years.

The pepper provider was really cool and he actually had someone from home bring me some more bhut jokias along with some red habeneros. I had some chopped up in scrambled eggs this morning and it was delicious. I plan on making chili this weekend so we will see how that goes.....

On 8/24/1919, Ray Caldwell pitched a 4 hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics in his first game since being traded from the Boston Red Sox. In the ninth inning, he was struck by lightning on the mound as he was pitching. He got back up, finished the game, and went on to have his best major league season the following year.

If this isn't something that motivates you to finish something you've started, then I don't know what will!

"And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer. let it be."

Let it be. Three words that I believe everyone should live by. To me, these words are very important. They allow you to accept the things that have happened. They allow you to get through difficult times. And finally, they allow you to move past the things you cannot change.

In your lifetime, someone will hurt you. That is inevitable. Instead of letting that control your life, forgive them. Let it be.

At some point you may feel like nothing you do can go right. Instead of giving up, just keep moving forward. Let it be.

Never forget that no matter how hard you try, you cannot always win. Somedays it's just not your day. Let it be.

Those of you who know me are aware that I do not believe in god. You're probably asking yourself "how can somebody have faith when there is no god to have faith in?". My response is simple. Faith can be found in anyone. You just have to trust them enough to know that you can count on them for anything.

There are few people in my life that I have faith in. I have faith in my wife, my family, and my closest friends. These people have been there for me in the past and I trust that they will be there for me if I ever need them in the future. There will be an answer. Let it be.

So I decided to make chilli this weekend. My first results earned the statement "oh my god, Joe should never be allowed in the kitchen again". Let's just say that I made a little mistake with some ground cloves that will not be forgotten!

My second attempt went a lot better. I ditched the cloves and kept it simple. I used freshly chopped up peppers, ground beef, tomatoes (canned), and some spices to give it a little extra flavor. The chilli ended up being the perfect combination of sweet with a little spice. Christy and Dash both ended up liking it and I can't wait to make it again sometime.

So this week I am faced with a question. Do I pick the Bears to win or the Packers? As much as I hate the Packers they are currently 4-0. The Bears on the other hand are 1-3 and seem to have half of their defense injured for Sunday night's game.

So what do I do? Do I pick against my home team in the hopes of staying even with everyone else in my football league? Or maybe I should go with my home team and take a nice two-point advantage if they manage to somehow win the game?

I am conflicted here. As of right now, I am picking the Bears to win....but I can't guarantee that the pick will stay the same by kickoff tomorrow.

Playoffs here we come! The Chicago Cubs have 'backed there way' into the playoffs after a very annoying sweep by the Florida Marlins. On Friday night, the Cubs defeated the Reds and went straight to the clubhouse to watch the SD/MIL game. Milwaukee gave it a valiant effort but they just couldn't keep up with San Diego. San Diego is still fighting for a playoff spot as they remain one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs will play the winner of the NL West.

Ok, so you think you're having a bad day, huh? I got news for you, it's never greener on the other side. You have it good, and you should appreciate it. Enjoy life because every day is just one more day that you've made it out alive. Imagine the following....

You start your day off being tortured by terrorists. You manage to escape only to have to shoot your closest friend in the head. After that happens, you decide that you're gonna quit your job and move on with your life. Unfortunately a nuclear bomb goes off and you have to go right back to work. When you get to work, nobody cares that you haven't been there in almost ten months, and they send you right back out of the office. You move on, cause that's what you do.

Later in the day, you find out that your brother is a jerk and you have to practically torture him to get what you need out of him. You end up finding out that he killed some of your closest friends a few years ago. You move on, cause thats your only option.

By the time you get back to the office, you find your brother has died. You ask his wife to help you out a little, but she tries to get you killed. Now, you're pissed. Next, you find that your nephew has been kidnapped and your dad is a terrorist. Not only that, but he's the one who killed your brother and now he wants you dead too. But once again, you move on cause that's what you do.

Despite this terrible day, you do find reconciliation in the fact that this morning you were actually freed from captivity by the Japenese who have tortured you relentlessly for the last ten months....however your government was the one who turned you over to the terrorists in the first place.

This is just ten hours of the day in a life of super agent Jack Bauer. Not only is this day going bad, but he's had five days in his life that have been even worse than this. So the next time you think you're having a bad day, get over it! Things can always be worse.

The Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl!!!! Woo-Hoo! I can't believe it. It's finally happened again. Twenty-one years and I get to see what most people only dream of. I vaguely remember parts of the last Super Bowl that the Bears were in (i was only five years old), so this time it will be so much better. I can't wait! GO BEARS!!!!!

So, I spent my weekend playing video games and watching The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. As I was watching an episode, the dreaded pirate Blackbeard met his demise (due to the valiant efforts of Brisco) by drowning in a pool of quicksand. Then I began to wonder...what ever happaned to quicksand? You just don't see it anymore. You used to see it all the time in old movies. You even see it sometimes in newer movies, but you never actually see it in real life.

So I'm putting out an APB on quicksand. If you find some, let me know cause I'm dying to see some. I may even wander out into the desert this weekend and search for some on my own. If I don't come back, assume that I accidentally found it.

So I've been married for about seven weeks now. So far, everything is pretty much the same. We got a little worried there when we did not get our marriage certificate in the mail. Apparently the Cook County Court doesn't quite know how to handle some simple paperwork. That's funny because I don't ever remember them mishandling the paperwork on any of my speeding tickets. But anyway, we did get the certificate and the marriage is official.

We went on our honeymoon a few weeks after the wedding. We took a cruise on Carnival ships. It was the best vacation that I've ever been on. We made stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. In Puerto Vallarta, we went to a water park and went swimming with the dolphins. I'll have to admit, it was pretty cool. In Mazatlan, we went on a city and shopping tour and saw a cliff diver and a daredevil show. Finally, in Cabo we went riding on ATVs. It was a little nerve-racking at first, but ended up being a lot of fun in the end. I definitely recommend trying it once.

Overall, the ship was really fun as well. The staff was entertaining and the food was phenomenal. I was up on stage four times during the week. I somehow even ended up playing one of the temptations in a musical show one night! We sat with a nice couple at dinner every night, and had a lot of fun with them. On one night I ate both the Lobster dinner and the Prime Rib dinner. One of the people that we sat with ordered multiple dinners each night in order to ensure she got to taste it all. I even talked Christy into trying escargot!!

All in all, it was so much fun. We are already planning our next cruise. Hopefully we will be able to go next September or October, but we'll have to see.

For those of you who don't know me, I am not an alcoholic....but I do believe that beer can make an individual temporarily more creative and somewhat smarter. The key word being 'temporarily.'

After about six hours of abusing alcoholic beverages, a man realizes something. He begins to embrace his natural instinct to build. He must create. Hopefully, these creations don't involve power tools that could easily remove appendages, but more of what I like to call 'MacGuyver Tools.' These are any household items that you can find (including empty beer cans) that can be used to give birth to one of the few good ideas a man has in his brain at this time.

So, I encourage you to create...to build..to give birth to an idea so ridiculous that your sober friends actually question your sanity. As you can see from the video, my friends and I did just that. We created....The Beer Mobile.

The Beer Mobile Video

It's been 135 days since my last cubfession. The last time I reported to you on the Chicago Cubs seems like a lifetime ago. That's what happens when you're forced to endure another disappointing and miserable season. I'm 26 years old. That means i've lived through 19 losing seasons, 4 playoff blowups, and 3 seasons where it just raised my hopes and brought me closer to disappointment for the next year.

Ok, so I am counting my early years when I didn't even know what a baseball was, but you get my point. It's been nothing but 'wait til next year' for my entire life. I talk to older Cubs fans and they all have the same attitude. They just accept it as if it's a natural part of life. That's just unacceptable!

I still get angry when the Cubs lose. I still feel the pain and frustration knowing that the Cardinals will be representing the NL Central in the Division series this year. I understand that after 98 years of hell it might be a little easier to handle, but that's still no reason to take it lying down. I am an angry Cubs fan. I acknowledge that they are losers, but I don't accept it. For the sake of my future children, I hope I never do.

Is it just me, or is the little blonde Orbit lady really creepy? I may be wrong about this, but I think she is a carrier host for some sort of evil demon. Maybe even the devil itself? From the beginning, I knew that there was something about her that just isn't right. Every time she says 'Dirty Mouth, clean it up!', it fills my inner emotions with rage and fury. She stands there with that pompus attitude like her shit don't stink. Well I got news for ya bitch, I HATE YOU!

I invite all of you to join me in the battle against evil. I have stopped purchasing Orbit gum because of this lady and you should do the same. I have found a substitute in new 'Stride' gum. It lasts longer and has a great flavor. Plus, this gum doesn't represent all that is evil in this cruel cruel world.

So I've been home for almost a week now working on wedding planning with Christy. Now, when I say 'working on wedding planning', I mean I'm helping Christy do all the work and trying not to get in the way. She has been pretty great with everything she has done so far. Without her, I would not have anything done (obviously).

If there's one thing I can say about all this planning is that it is way more difficult than anyone ever makes it sound. Just when you think you're almost done, you find yourself making another $200 purchase for things you would have never imagined you needed to buy. It's unbelievable. Who would have even thought you needed to buy a guest book and pen? Is this written down somewhere? Is there some place that I can go to find out all this stuff? Well....I'm working on it.

Our virtual wedding planner is up and running at http://wedding.degoat11.com It's not fully completed yet, but it will be once we are actually done. Like I said, you can't think of everything!!

So it is officially monsoon season in Tucson. In case you don't know, it rains here every day for about a month. I wake up, head into work, it's over 100 degrees at lunch time, and then raining on my way home....every day.

Rain in Tucson is not the same as back home. When the sky gets dark, and it begins to pour, you don't find yourself backing away from the windows. You don't find yourself sitting in the basement listening to the radio for weather reports. Instead, you find yourself driving down Broadway right into the middle of it. You find yourself in awe at the way the lightning strikes down into the middle of the desert. It's amazing.

In addition to this, one of the coolest things that i've ever seen in my life is the way that the mountains disappear when a storm comes the mountain side. It's so awesome how one little storm can make an entire mountain range disappear in a matter of minutes.

So, as monsoon season progresses, and yet another summer here in Tucson is halfway over, I sit here and try to make the best out of another summer away from my family. At least I get to experience something new while I'm out here.

It's a line drive to left field, Pierzynski will tag. The throw is not gonna beat him....but Michael Barrett will. I didn't get to see this play live, but after many replays, I have made my decision. Before I get to that, let me give you a little background here.

AJ Pierzynski is an ass. With off-season drama throughout his career and his negative reputation in the clubhouse, everyone knows this. Even his talk of a steel cage match on pay-per-view with Michael Barrett supports this. On the other hand, Michael Barrett is a well-known good guy. Cubs fans love him. He is one of my favorite players on the team as of late.

Now, right about now, you're probably thinking that I'm gonna start saying how it was AJ's fault, and that he should have never hit Barrett like that. Well, initially after I "heard" about what happaned, that was my exact reaction. But then I started watching the replays, and I found out that I was too quick to judge. As a proud Cubs fan, this is hard for me, so here it goes......Michael Barrett was wrong. AJ did what he had to do. It was a close play, and he was going for the plate. I wouldn't expect anything else from a major league ball player.

Barret over-reacted. I'm sure he got caught up in the moment of Cubs vs. White Sox, North-side vs. South-side, Good vs. Evil. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point. He made the mistake of getting caught up in at all, and he punched AJ in the face. Yeah, don't get me wrong, there's a part of me that smiles every time i think about it. But don't get that confused with me thinking what he did was ok. It wasn't. There were tons of little kids there watching their idols fight like idiots. What kind of example is that? Not a very good one if you ask me.

Now in the next few days, suspensions will come down, and fines will be given. I'm sure that major league baseball will do the right thing no matter what they decide. I just hope as a Cubs fan that this doesn't make people look down on the team, the tradition, or even Michael Barrett. He's a good guy that made a bad decision. How many of you out there are proud of every decision you've made in your life? If you are, then great. But if you're not, lets just agree to get over it. There's nothing that can be done now, so why keep dragging it out. After all, the Sox come to Wrigley on June 30. I'm sure their will be loads of drama and mini-stories surrounding the Cubs and Sox in the media at that point.

I've spent my entire life a Cubs fan. When I was five, I wanted to be just like Jim McMahon. Growing up in Chicago, where the Cubs haven't won a championship for almost a century, and the Bears have only one one during my lifetime, it would have been very easy to give up on them.....if I didn't live both baseball and football more than almost anything in the world.

A few months ago, one of my colleagues presented me with a question. He asked, "Which do you like more?" My instincts told me to answer baseball. Football season had come to an end, and the Cubbies were getting ready for spring training, so I didn't think twice about it.

It's a month into the season, and well let's face it, the Cubs suck this year. I'd like to blame it on injuries, but you could only do that for so many years in a row before you realize that something has to change. You can't count on the guys who don't play. Yeah, Kerry Wood returns this Thursday and you better believe I'll be checking the score every 10 minutes from work....(um, during my lunch of course). But my love of the Cubs is not what is in question here. The question was, which do I love more?

After two months of agonizing over this question, thinking about it througout the night, and never truly making a decision, I still am not sure I can answer this question. I have included my thoughts on both of these sports below. I'd like to say I kept it to 'just the sports' and not the Cubs vs. Bears, but as a die-hard fan of both, I just could not do that. So, here are my random thoughts. Those who are true sports fans don't need an explanation on any of these:

Baseball

• Opening day, 28 degrees, sitting in the back corner of left field and still being exited about the first pitch.
• The ninth inning, two men out, the tying run on second base, and nothing in the world will keep you from missing the next pitch.
• After the last pitch from above was a ball, going through the very same emotions on the next pitch as if this pitch was the end of it all.
• The fifth inning, Cubs down 10-0, but with the bases loaded and Michael Barrett comes to the plate. When he hits a grand slam, they're still down by six, but you're still up on your couch screaming like they've just won the series.
• Arriving at Wrigley Field at 2:00am the night before tickets go on sale just to get in line for a numbered bracelet that may never even get you into the ticket line.

Football

• Opening kickoff, in a crowded bar where there are nine other games on, but you're so focused on this moment that you wouldn't here a fire alarm going off.
• The way it feels when your defensive back picks one off in the end zone and stops the other team from scoring.
• When you're a Bears fan, but you wouldn't miss the Steelers playing the Seahawks in the Super Bowl for anything in the world.
• The way it feels to throw a long pass to one of your friends and have them catch the ball over their shoulders in the endzone for a touchdown.
• When you're sitting in the movie theater and you see a movie about a football team's triumph. Although the movie has some of the worse actors that possibly could have signed on, you still want to see the movie.

So these are the things that make it so difficult to pick one over the other. If you can think of any that I have forgotten, please drop me a message and let me know. Like I said, I've been agonizing over this for the past couple of months....Thanks Jeff! I'm not sure if i'll ever be able to make a decision on this, but if I do someday, i'll be sure to let you guys know.

With only five more months left until the big day, it's crunch time. Christy has been planning her socks off with this wedding, and I've been working on my virtual wedding planner (http://wedding.degoat11.com) online in the meantime in order to organize all of the information into one place for all our family and friends to see. When you get a chance, take a look and let me know what you think.

As I sit here, taking a break from my video games and waiting for 24 to begin, I begin to contemplate these past couple of days. Christy has gone home for Easter, and I am left here to bask in my own self-pity. Done feeling sorry for me yet? Good, you should be.

Although I miss Christy, I have been doing the one thing that I love to do most......nothing. Well, not actually nothing. I mean come on, sitting here in the dark for nine and a half days might get a little old after the first four or five. I mean nothing as in 'no plans.' I'm talking about the nothing that most people get bored with. But not me. Don't get me wrong. I love actually going out and doing stuff. It's great.

But every once in awhile you just need to clear your day and spend a little you-time. Do what you want. Read a book. Take a nap. Watch sixteen consecutive hours of LOST. It doesn't really matter. As long as you know you can relax doing it, you'll be happy. So, Superman may have his fortress of solitude where he can go when he needs to get away. But I have to tell you, it pales in comparison to my video games, my new video game chair, and 2146 of my favorite songs on my iPod.

Woo-hoo! The Cubs swept the Cardinals this weekend for the first time in 5 years! My lucky sister was able to be there at the game today, and saw Michael Barrett hit an 8th inning grand slam to take the lead. I saw it on TV, but I am so freakin jealous of her.

The Cardinals so-called awesome closer managed to walk 2 guys on eight straight balls to load the bases up (after 1 man was already walked before Isringhausen came into the game). Then, Barrett hit a line drive grand slam out of the park to give the Cubbies the lead. They are off to an awesome start so far, and I hope they can keep it up!

The Chicago Cubs have won their opening game against the Reds today by a score of 16-7. More importantly than their first season win, is one important thing......baseball has started.

Now, I know it's only one game, so I'm not gonna go off on some crazy tangent saying that the Cubs are going all the way and that they can't lose this season, blah, blah, etc. But I am very happy about this because it means that they can't finish the season 0-162. As I sit here on my couch, watching ESPN, waiting for highlights(next to Christy's cousin who was wearing a White Sox shirt today), I can't help but get excited about the Cubs this year. They may not win the World Series, and they may not even make the playoffs. But all of that doesn't matter to a true Cubs fan. Yeah, i'd probably get smashed, and spend the next few weeks recovering from 'the greatest hangover ever had' if the Cubs did win. But that's not my point here. My point is that I will be watching them all year, even if they did manage to finish the season at 1-161. I'm a true Cubs fan, and I'll be here until the end.....whether it's the end of a 98 year drought, or the end of me, I'll be here.

Well, it's the end of February now and that only means one thing.....Baseball is back. Four and a half months ago, the miserable season ended with the 'Angels' winning the world series. This year, I hope to see some new life to my hometown Cubbies.

This is my first full season away from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field and I'm already homesick. I miss Pat Hughes and Ron Santo bringing me the game. I miss seeing that white flag hanging high above the scoreboard indicating a win. I even miss the chance of snow on opening day. This year, if I want to see the Cubs play, I'm gonna have to do it in March.

Only 15 minutes away from Tucson Electric Park, home of spring training for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox, I sit and ponder what is to come of this year's season. Will the Cubs make a run for it, or will I be left disappointed at the end of the year....as usual. I can only hope for the best and learn to watch the scores get updated on my computer....cause I'm too far away to drive down to Wrigley and enjoy the game as it was meant to be enjoyed....in the stands. I bought some spring training tickets for this year. I WILL get a chance to see the Cubbies play here in Tucson on March 19th. As I sit here and wallow in my own self pity, I just ask one thing of the baseball gods. PLEASE let them do better than the White Sox!!!

Ok, so I just read the book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. It was 569 pages, and i read it in....8 days! Now, for a normal reader this might seem like nothing. But for me, this is quite an astonishing feat. From the beginning to the end, this book was filled with action and intriguing dialogue. Every event that happened somehow linked towards the next critical event. I just could not put this book down.

As a matter of fact, 10 minutes after I finished this book, I went into the other room and grabbed The DaVinci Code (also by Dan Brown) and began to read. I haven't made quite as much progress on this one these past couple of days but I still think it's pretty good so far.

If you have not read Angels and Demons, then I recommend it to you as your next book. I think that it's a book that anyone will find interesting and won't be able to put it down!

Well, it's February 14th and Valentine's Day is here. Living back in Chicago, I can remember all of those V-day's spent brushing the snow off my car, and driving through the slush and cold to get to dinner. This year(although we will be celebrating on 2/15) will be quite a different story. It's 71 degrees out there and heading towards 78 today. There will be no snow on my car. There will be no slush and cold during my drive. Hey, I won't even be wearing a jacket to dinner tomorrow! How quickly things can change from one year to the next.

Christy and I will be going to The Melting Pot tomorrow for dinner. Niether of us have ever been there, but everyone says it's awesome. I think it's gonna be great, as long as i'm feeling better (head cold). It just opened up in the Foothills Mall, so I'm sure they're still trying to impress all their guests with a nice atmosphere and great food.

After tomorrow, there's only 1 more day until my sister Amy comes to visit us!! We can't wait. We're planning on driving down to Nogales for a day too. It's gonna be so much fun. Hopefully, I'll have my new camera by then, but it depends on what this week's bills have in mind for me. We'll have to see. Either way, we'll have some pictures (disposable camera) for everyone to look at.

By the way, keep a lookout for a new addition to my web site in the near future. I have finally gathered enough pictures of my new niece Addie, so I plan on adding a page for her. She is so photogenic, and so darn cute too!

Well, it's the New Year, and it's back to Tucson for Christy and I. We spent three fun weeks back home with our families. Here is an update on what has changed since my last article.

My little sister Christy had a baby girl on the 28th. Her name is Addison Rose. My older sister Amy found out that she was having a boy, and she and Vernon picked the name Jeffrey Vernon Cole. I'm very happy for all of them.

My wonderful fiance Christy and I have finally booked a hall and church for our wedding. We've settled on October 28, 2006. We are getting married at St. Mark Lutheran Church, and the reception will be at the Hickory Hills Golf Club. For more details, you can talk to Christy. She's much better at describing everything!

My trip to San Jose was awesome. I only got to spend a few days there, but it was my first time in California so I was excited. When I got there, Dash picked me up in a 2005 red Mustang convertible. (Franko got the Ford F150.) We went out to BJs Tavern and Brewery for dinner and then drove around downtown San Jose for a bit. We ended up back at BJs with Franko for a few drinks. The second night, we went out to Black Angus for steaks, and then drove to Stanford University and hung out at a bar there all night. It was a lot of fun, and we met some cool people there.

Wow, only 24 days left until Christmas day. This year has flown by so fast. It seems like yesterday that I was driving all the way down to Arizona with Christy and her parents. I look at the calendar, and I realize that I've already been living in here for almost seven months now.

It's strange living in such a warm climate city. I wore shorts outside today and I was not freezing my ass off! I could try that in Chicago, but I have a feeling i'd be up to my knees in snow right about now. I just went home for Thanksgiving and it was 17 degrees when I got off of the plane! There was a 53 degree difference between Chicago and Tucson. That's amazing. I never thought that it was gonna be THAT different, but I sure am glad to be in the warmer of the two. I'll be going back home on 12/20, so I won't get to avoid the cold completely, but it'll still be worth it!

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as they became the 2005 MLB World Champions! They had a tough season and struggled to make the playoffs, but they came through when it mattered the most.

In Game 5 of the World Series, Garret Anderson hit a three-run homerun off of Astros closer Brandon Lidge to give the Angels a 5-2 lead. The Astros scored 2 in the eigth, but could not bring the tying run home as the Angels won their second series in 5 years.

Well, Christy and I went to Takamatsu for sushi tonight, and i've learned a valuable lesson. Sushi is FILLING. We thought that $19.95 per person wasn't too bad of a price so we figured 'why not?' Well, before we ordered (luckily), we noticed on the menu that you get charged full price for everything on your plate that you DO NOT eat, in addition to the $19.95. So we took it slow and ordered two types of sushi a piece and some fried rice.

They brought out our first order, and I managed to finish up mine without a problem. Christy finished her first half up, and started on her second kind. Then they brought out the fried rice, and I began to see the look of despair in her eyes. I told her that I would help her out with the rest of hers, and then we could order something else..... Nope.

As I struggled through the rest of hers as she made a noble attempt at the rice. As I barely finished hers up, she asked the waitress if she really had to finish the rice. I mean, that wasn't really part of the 'special,' so we couldn't see why she had to. Luckily, the waitress said no, and we gladly paid the bill and left. The total for our sushi would have been under (a couple of bucks) the $19.95 per person if we decided not to get the 'special' and we wouldn't have had to force down the remains of Christy's second kind. I guess we underestimated the filling capability of sushi!

Well, Christy and I have finally set a date for the wedding. We've setled on October 21st of 2006. All the planning is going good so far(from what i hear). Christy is in charge of all that stuff because she's way better at it than me. Both of my sisters are pregnant. Christy is due in December, while Amy is due in May of next year. I'm so happy for both of them. I know they will both make awesome mothers, and it's so cool that they get to have kids that will grow up together.

Four months in and still going strong. I have been offered a fulltime position starting in January. Christy has started working for a Nanny agency called Gaurdian Nannies. I'm so proud of her. She's still gonna continue looking for school to substitute in. She only wants to work part time so she can still go home for the holidays and visit her family when she needs to. That's about it for now.

Well, I have been offered an internship position at IBM in Tucson, AZ. I will more than likely accept the offer tomorrow. Christy and I will be moving over 1800 miles in May. It's gonna be a pretty long drive, but I think that it's the right decision. Christy has been very supportive and that means a lot to me. I just wanted to let everyone know, so you can all send me money so I can afford the move down there! :)

My message board is almost complete. Most of the functionality is implemented. I have to work on another site for my web design class, so the rest is on hold for awhile. As soon as I get a chance, it will get done. I am also thinking about implementing some sort of option that lets a user view their messages. It would allow a user to go through and delete any messages that they would like to remove.

I have just implemented a function on my pages that allows you to view any one of my pictures pages. The interesting thing about this is that there is only 1 page created! I send in the appropriate arguments, and the page is created dynamically. Every link goes to the exact same page.

I have some of the picture pages working now. If you go to the pictures link on the top of this screen, you can get to the pictures page. If there is an image (and not a broken link), then that section is done. Just click on the thumbnails to view the actual picture. Feel free to download any of them you want. If you see a picture of you, and you would like me to remove it from the site, please send me an e-mail and I will get to it as soon as I can. Thanks.

My server is up and running (obviously, or else you wouldn't be seeing this). I am in the middle of redesigning my site, so please be patient with me. Some links will be broken for now, however by the time I am done, it should all flow very nicely. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. You can click on my name at the bottom of the screen to email me. Thanks.