Another birthday gone...

I've only got two more years of my thirties left and I want to make the best of them. So far, I haven't become that typical mid-life crisis having, Viagra-taking guy who thinks he's wasted his whole life and just needs a hot blonde and a red sports car to set things right. I hope I am never that pathetic.

As I progress in life, I realize that living without regrets is the best policy for me. I don't see much of a point to second guess decisions from my past or bemoan the things that I cannot change. I can only be grateful for my family (especially my two boys). They are the ones who I wanted near me on my birthday and they are all the gift I ever needed.

Last night, we played Risk until midnight just so we could stay up until my birthday started. Sure we slept in a little longer than we should have but it was worth it for all the laughs we had together. Around noon, we drove up to Scottsdale to have lunch at PF Chang's and watch a movie at Camelview.

Lunch was great but we ended up skipping on the movie because there was a long line of old people. I don't mind crowds and I can tolerate old people but long lines of old people means that everyone is moving too slow and I wasn't in the mood for that.

We ended up coming back home for a while only to venture out at sunset for a few games of basketball. We hadn't played in a while and it felt great to be out on the courts again (just the four of us). We played two on two and rotated teams after every game. After three games, I was the sole winner (meaning that I had one each game with a different teammate). Then I got too cocky and pushed for a fourth game; only to lose having scored no points.

It's all good though. I don't have to be a winner. I'm just happy to be active and speeding time with my loved ones. We topped the night off by picking up Whataburger in the drive-thru and eating at home. I had the triple meat & triple cheese (minus the bun) and it really hit the spot. All in all, I'd say that I had a really good birthday!

NIN Kicks Ass!

On Friday the 15th, my sons and I went with Andy to Cricket Pavilion for the NIN/Jane's Addiction show. I had never heard of the opening band and wasn't expecting much from them. Their name was Street Sweeper Social Club and they were... AWESOME. It turns out that guitarist Tom Morello teamed up with rapper Boots Riley for this side project and it paid off. These guys were so good that I am actually going to buy their album when it comes out in June rather than just "download" it (thanks Koren).

Next up, we thought we were waiting for Jane's Addiction but it turned out to be Nine Inch Nails! They were amazing and did about a two hour set that had 15 to 20 thousand people on their feet. Trent Reznor was in good form and he certainly did not disappoint. Although every song was performed to perfection, the coolest was when they performed "Head Like a Hole" because just about everyone in the arena was shouting the words like an anthem.

Jane's Addiction started off strong with a staggering performance of "Three Days". There was a moment during the lengthy instrumentals when the audience seemed to sway with the very pulse of the bass. Perry Farrell's voice but cracked in places. Even still they sang some great songs. At one point Dave Navarro was in the middle of a guitar solo when some asshole in the pit threw a cup of beer at his chest. Beer splashed all over him and his guitar but he never missed a note. At the end of the song, Perry asked in a very feminine voice "How did you know we were thirsty?"
After that, they sang the much anticipated "Being Caught Stealin" (which seemed to be lacking in entertainment value) so we left immediately afterwords.

It was almost midnight, there was about 15 thousand other people who would be competing for the road and we were on the west side. IT was a great show and the perfect way to start the weekend. I know that the boys had a great time and we will all remember the performances for a long time to come. Colleen, I think you chose the wrong concert. I know you made the decision for your kids but having seen No Doubt open for U2 in 2001, NIN blew them away. Regardless, I am sure you will enjoy your show but you missed a really great one this time. Now the boys are asking to go to the Marilyn Manson/Slayer show in July... I can hardly wait!!!

Insomnia

I wish I knew why it was so hard for me to sleep (of course sitting online late at night isn't going to help things). For years, I just assumed that I suffered from some post-traumatic thing that was a result of being in combat. I didn't think there was anything that could help me so I didn't even try.

Over the years, my sleep issues worsened. Not only did I find it difficult to fall asleep but it was increasingly difficult to stay asleep. Also, I would wake up thrashing, screaming, crawling on the floor, or sometimes I would just wake up in another room. [sleepwalking sucks!] A few times, I actually injured myself by either banging into walls or getting severe carpet burns.

It got so bad that this was happening every night and it was disturbing my wife's slumber. Well, after several doctors' visits (and co-pays, I might add) and a couple of sleep studies, it was determined that I have a condition called sleep apnea and it is severe. A few more week go by and I finally get my CPAP machine (it is an acronym but don't ask me what it means).

The CPAP helps me to breathe through the night by forcing pressurized air through my nasal passages and preventing my airway from closing. Well, it seemed to work for the first couple of nights but in the last few nights I have been up to my old tricks again. The insomnia and sleep walking are back but at least I feel better rested for getting some sleep before I unplugged myself.

I suppose I should stop typing this and just go lay down but as exhausted I am, I don't feel sleepy. Weird, huh? Maybe but, not fun at all. I am just going to have to get used to wearing the mask and I going to reprogram my body to sleep. Actually, by just typing these words, I am starting to get sleepy. For a minute there, everything was getting all blurry and slurry (if it even possible to slur a typed word). With that, I bid you farewell and good night (I hope).

Flock Browser

Just when I thought I was wasting too much time on social networks... I found a browser that integrates popular social sites and media sites into one interface. The browser can be downloaded at flock.com and it is the coolest browser I have ever used. As a matter of fact, I am blogging with it right now.

Instead of going to my blogger website and logging in, I just need to click the "open blog editor" button on the toolbar and it already knows which blog site I use and my account info. Then I get a very easy to use tool in which I can rant and ramble. Although I have been considering producing my own podcast, I think I might get serious about blogging.

In addition to blogging, there is a sidebar that consolidates all your friends from all your social sites. You can drag any picture from the web and drag it to a friends picture if you want to send it to them. I realize this all boring and trivial but it has given me a valuable tool to better stay connected to MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter (not to mention quickly accessing all my email accounts and media sites).

Blogged with the Flock Browser