Various and whatnots on a Friday night.....

The last five days (save "24" and "The Interpreter") have been one long workday. There's something just not right about that.

Bless our hearts, what I didn't tell you about our "date" last night was, we got out of the theater and started up the van at precisely 10pm. We didn't realize (the old fogies that we are), that our part of Glen Allen practically dies at that hour.

Ukrops: Closed. Can't get "used food". (What? You ask...I'll explain later...)

Chick-Fil-A: Closed.

Gino's, our favorite family hangout: Just closed.

Applebees: PACKED. Bar looks busy...no thanks.

So, we finally stop at McDonalds to get Bonnie one of those new subs. We ask for one, and we're told, "I'm sorry, the sub machine is closed."

Two thoughts: Did I hear right? A sub machine? Anything like a submarine?

And....we left.

We came home, of course, wanting to relieve our niece/babysitter reveling in the last month of her high school career (I remember those days like they were 20 years ago....oh, wait. It WAS 20 years ago....)

I ate leftover hamburgers from the kids' lunch/dinner. While I blogged.

I'm a cheap date.

OH, A "LINE" UPDATE: I TOLD you I pick the wrong line, EVEN WHEN THERE'S ONLY ONE LINE!!!

Last night, no line to the tickets, no problem. Next up, the popcorn. Only one person in front of us. Cool.

Ten minutes later....cool?

There was one employee, and two customers. It was as if they were closing on a house.

Finally, we get our Mello Yello and use our free small popcorn coupon.

Then, to top it all off, Bonnie declares as we hand 'em the tickets, "It's stale."

Long wait in a short line for stale popcorn. Sounds like a country song in there somewhere.

In other news:

NASCAR is in town this weekend. So's my brother and sister-in-law. They came up today for qualifying and the Busch race; but they can't stay for the Nextel Cup race tomorrow night; bro's gotta preach in place of his pastor on Sunday. Richmond goes bonkers when NASCAR comes. I wouldn't go 5 miles near the track. Why?

Simple....the five mile parameter around Richmond International Raceway becomes one huge parking lot. People pay money to park in people's yards near the track. One church near the track was featured in an article in the paper this week about what they do when fans come asking for a small piece of God's land in which to place their vehicle.

Before it's all said and done, I've heard they're gonna keep building the stands skyward until they can seat, get this, 150,000 people. There's only 200,000 in the entire population of the city of Richmond itself!!

Now, put 150,000 people, not counting the many mingling trackside, and the drivers, and their trucks, etc, and tell me something....where ya gonna park???

The only race I'd consider going to now is the Craftsmen Truck Series September race. Thursday night, MUCH smaller crowd, and, honestly, better racing.

-----------------------------

I got my hair cut tonight. Thank God!! Number one and a half, all the way, the usual. I lost two pounds. Good, only 54 to go.

Speaking of which, my cholesterol has jumped from like 200 to 76,000 or something like that. Doc isn't happy. Neither should I be. I'm almost 38. Dad had his first heart attack at age 43. Now, granted, he was in the middle of a divorce while trying to pastor a church (that's enough to give most people a heart attack), but, still, he never met a salt or pepper shaker he couldn't empty.

So, somehow, and some way, I've got to get out and walk up and down Tavern Way, especially this time of year. This is where the sleep apnea sucks the most. When you don't get quality sleep, your energy level is reduced. Thus, a day at work, which should be followed by an evening of light or exercising activity outdoors with family on a nice spring night, is instead a struggle from start to finish, happy just to make it to the front door that evening.

20 years ago, leaving high school, full of vim and vigor, I never dreamed I would be in this daily drudgery of a fight. It's funny. I love my sleep apnea mask now. I woke up with a sinus headache this morning, so I had to take it off. It feels so weird to try to sleep without the mask. How odd....

------------------------------------------

So, where am I today? Well.....

--I'm tired. (duh)
--I'm swamped at the office.
--My wife is in pain (shoulder, back and lingering crap from shingles)
--My son is 13. Enough said.
--I miss my mom.
--I'm concerned for my friend.
--I'm happy to be alive!
--I'm thankful for the people I work closest to daily.
--I'm glad I don't raise pigs.
--I cry at least a couple of times a week.
--I laugh more than I cry, though, and that's a good thing. :)
--I'm enjoying our trip through Revelation at church.
--I love teaching/leading/fueling our Sunday School class. It's real fun.
--I'm so glad I discovered blogging.
--I'm really struggling with symptoms of OCD recently. This, too, shall pass.
--I'm not ashamed of the OCD, and openly discuss it so those who have it and think they are the only one in the world going through the madness will realize there are more passengers on their boat, and they want to help.
--Today is Day 380.
--I'm waiting for the Baltimore Orioles to collapse.
--I miss the Stanley Cup playoffs.
--I'm counting down to football season; high school, NFL, and fantasy!
--I've traveled a long way, and, Lord willing, I've got a ways to go.

Watching the movie last night, part of me was stirred, wanting to take in every moment I have. The other part of me was tired.

And therein lies the rub. The constant battle daily of body fatigue versus human desire, tinged with a few dashes of recovering from depression.

Well, that's enough rambling for one night. God only knows what Google searches will lead people to this entry.

"Stanley Cup Depression"
"in line at Applebees"
"shingles interpreter"
"pig heart attack"

In closing, a recent search which led to this blog was simply, "Lord what do I do".

Amen, surfer. I'm just thankful He answers! :)