1000 Reasons to get rid of your T.V.

When my boys get home from school, what is the first thing they usually do? Watch T.V. or play video games.

When I get home from work, the first thing I do is usually turn on the computer, and then watch some T.V.

My kids mostly watch the kids' channels like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and others. Mostly Ned's Declassified, Spongebob, Jimmy Neutron . . . stuff like that. It's not terrible stuff.

But, then you add in the video games . . . more hours staring at a box. I think we do a pretty good job of limiting it, but still it can add up.

My wife and I will usually watch Heroes on Monday nights (the boys too), and then we love our Thursday night shows of Scrubs (which is my favorite show ever!), The Office and 30 Rock. Tina Fey is a comedic genius by the way.

Of course, then you have DirectTV, Netflix, etc. that keep you coming back to that glorious glowing box. Not to mention football season (like to watch those Bronco games) and other various sporting events (March Madness).

We have two T.V.'s . . . one in the living room and one in our bedroom.

My question is this . . . are there enough reasons to get rid of your television sets? How do you limit the amount of screen-time for your eyes. I see so many more useful things to with our time, but we seem to often take the lazy way out and sit down in front of that glowing square.

What to do? I am going to start a list on this post. If it reaches 1,000 reasons why we should get rid of our television, then I will sell them and put that time, money and energy into these better uses. You can help me out by adding some to the comments section and then I will add them to this post.

If I don't reach 1,000 . . . then at least I have some good options to keep me from staring at the T.V.

1,000 Better Things To Do Than Watch T.V./Video Games

1. Take your dog for a walk.
2. Spend some time playing a family game together.
3. Homework!!!!
4. Practicing musical instruments (or learn one!).
5. Write your own stories.
6. Update your blog (duh!)
7. Help your wife start a photography business.
8. Catch up with an old friend (or keep up with your current ones!)
9. Listen to Wolfmother . . . what a great band.
10. Add another good thing to this list!

Slacker Blogger

Well my friends and family . . . all 4 of you . . . you may be wondering why I use these three dots so often . . . but you might also be thinking . . . "Why the heck hasn't this guy posted on his blog lately?"

I bring you the answer with promises of many posts to come. You see . . . (there they are again!) . . . I was scheduled for some minor surgery because my bladder hates me . . . thanks to that whole broken back thing. So, I opted for the suprapubic catheter. Anyway, simple outpatient surgery with a couple days rest . . . good to go!

Not so fast there wheels. I guess I overdid it, because another "benefit" of my spinaly-chord-parts-not-communicatin-so well is autonomic dysreflexia. Except, I had very severe episodes of these reactions . . . so bad in fact, that I am convinced I had a few very minor strokes. I would feel my abdomen/bladder spasm and then the pain would come shooting up my neck and into my brain. I could feel the blood pounding so hard that I could not see, hear or speak hardly at all. These would last anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes at it's worst.

So, this earned me a trip to the E.R. which was useless. They just want to kill the pain and send you home. So, they said follow up with your primary care doc, which I did. Unfortunately, he could not see me until later that day, so I suffered through quite a few episodes. But, he did know what I was going through and was familiar with sci's and the dysreflexia. He got me admitted to the hospital where I had my surgery (which went fine by the way . . . they didn't do anything wrong). I had to wait a couple of hours to get in my room, which seemed like forever when you are wondering if you can make it through the next episode, which could be any minute. It took a couple days of the good stuff . . . muscle relaxants, narcotics, opiates, etc. and some serious rest. I was finally released from the hospital, and only had two episodes after I got home. Then, I pretty much slept for three days.

My two days off from teaching turned in to two weeks. I went back to work yesterday, which was tiring but it was good to be back. My school loved on me with cards, cash, gift certificates, a plant . . . but the best gift of all was hearing from junior high kids that said that they really missed their teacher (even if part of it was they just don't like substitute teachers!).

Childhood Memories

I saw a blog posting this morning that was talking about favorite childhood memories and many people had responded with what they missed about being a kid. So, today I thought back to my childhood and smiled as I remembered some fond memories that I rarely think of.

I thought to my self that this would make another good blog posting/category. As I think of childhood memories, I will try to add them to this blog. These will be fun for my kids to read about and have "on record".

Time flies so darn fast. I can't believe I am almost 33 years old. I can't believe that my kids are almost in junior high. We are coming up on 13 years of marriage this August. Amazing.

Some of my favorite childhood memories:

• Playing "ghost in the graveyard" with friends on a warm summer evening after dark
• Going fishing at the pond
• Playing baseball and being half-way decent at it
• Riding my bike to get my own haircut
• Laughing so hard at the Guiness Book of Records with my aunt Betty
• Going on fishing trips with my dad (especially the night with the racoon)
• Summer vacations to San Diego with my grandparents
• Getting my "golf swing" picture on the front of the local newspaper
• Winning a free "oil change" for answering a question on a fishing radio talk show . . . I was 12.
• Going camping at Pueblo Res. or Grandby with Rich and Shane
• Listening to my walkman/radio as I fell asleep at night

That's all I can think of right now, but I know I thought of many more throughout today. I will add posts as I think of others.

What are some of your favorite childhood memories? What do you miss about being a kid? Please leave a comment with some of your thoughts!

An open letter to the love of my life . . .

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes"

~ Lord Byron

To my Valentine,

L, you are an amazing woman and I fall deeper in love with you everyday that I have the privilege of being called your husband. You have given me the best years of my life. You never cease to impress me with your selfless love of our boys, or your willingness to put up with all that goes with being married to me. I could not imagine life without you. You have made me a better man, husband and father. I feel sorry for any man who does not know the height of joy, the depth of love, the flowing passion or the confident peace that I know and have with you. You are my soul-mate and my true companion. We were meant to travel this road of life together, and I know that I would not be where I am on this journey without your encouragement, your love and your strength.

So, on this Valentine's Day of 2007 . . . I do not bring you chocolates that will be eaten, roses that will wilt away, or gold and diamonds that will weigh us down. But, I offer you something more. Today, and everyday of the year, I want to honor you. I want you to know exactly what you mean to me. I offer you my undying love and devotion. I want to continue to be an encouragement and source of support to you on your journey. I want you to know how incredibly beautiful you are. Your creative talent and new skills never cease to amaze me. You are deeply and passionately loved. This is my gift and it is a joy to give everything I have and am to you. Happy Valentines Day!

Love,

J

Must see to believe . . .

I predicted that this sort of thing would happen years ago. I just knew it wasn't going to be me! Although, I did fall into a bowl at the skatepark once . . . does that count?

You must watch this video . . .

Can't get enough soccer . . .

If you have followed any of my ramblings, you know that I am a proud dad of two great soccer playing sons. Our family loves soccer . . . ahem . . . I mean futbol! Not only that, but I am a proud husband of my wife who has fallen in love with the game and plays on a women's indoor team and a co-ed outdoor team. Me? No, I don't get play at all . . . you kind of need legs that work for this game. But, I do love to watch it, so I am still blessed by the game.

We watched a FANTASTIC movie last night that I would recommend to anyone, even if they aren't really into soccer. Goal! The Dream Begins is a story about a young man who lives in Los Angeles (from Mexico), who has a passion for soccer and amazing talent. He gets noticed by a former scout and is invited to play in Europe, for Newcastle United. I won't tell you anymore . . . but you must add this to your Netflix/Blockbuster account or pick it up next time you are renting some DVD's. You can watch the trailer here.

In other soccer news . . . we are SO looking forward to the upcoming Colorado Rapids season. They have a new look, a new stadium a new partnership. Not only that, but the 2007 MLS All-Star game will be held here at the new stadium. It is going to be a great season!

And whatever your opinion is of this guy . . . he will bring a new level of interest in the game, just as this guy did a couple of years ago.

Soccer . . . it's a kick!

Weekend Warrior (blogger)

This is killing me ... I really would post everyday if it were not for the hectic schedule during the week. I can't tell you how many items on my to-do list get pushed to the next day/week ... over and over and over again. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

I wake up at 5 a.m every morning to get ready for work and get there between 6:30 and 7:00. Then I usually figure out what I am going to teach that day. As soon as the students come in, I have no time to make personal phone calls or work on personal stuff . . . and then by the time 3 o'clock rolls around I am beat and usually have things to work on or finish up for the next day. So, then I usually get home around 5, and then sometimes there is soccer or drum/guitar practice to get the kids to. By this time, it is too late to make all the phone calls/appointments during business hours.

Am I making excuses? Yes and no. It makes me feel better, but I know that successful people are ones who can figure out how to get things done no matter what the situation. I hope to be one of those people when I grow up!

Any suggestions?

Deep thought - Is the level of success proportional to how much time someone is willing to be available on their cell phones?