In 1984, I was 10 years old, and the Van Halen album 1984, yeah, the one with the baby smoking a cigarette on the front, was the coolest shit I ever heard ever. EVER!. Ok, so Van Halen is doing a reunion tour with David Lee Roth. Sure, Michael Anthony has been given the boot and Eddie's son Wolfgang is now playing bass, but is fucking Van Halen! I should probably go.

The tickets go on sale on a Saturday morning. Not exactly sure why they don't have a presale, which would be great, but they don't/ So i sit in front of my computer Saturday morning at 10am with all the other chumps, trying to score a pair. 10 seconds later, the fuckers are sold out. A cursory check of eBay and stubhub confirm my worries. The damn thing is sold out instantly, and it will cost me half a fucking grand to see it. Fuck that. Fuck Van Halen. Fuck it all! I sell tickets for more than they are worth, I don't buy them! Screw that. Eat shit!

A few weeks later, they decided to add another show. Another Dallas Show. Yay. Again, no presale. Bastards! So, I wake up early and get ready. The seconds 10am rolls by I start clicking. I am using two different computers, one from home, and remotely using one from work, to maximize my chances this time.

Click, click click... Boom! A pair of tickets way up at the top. Bing, Bang, done. I am going to see Van Halen, and it is going to be fucking awesome beyond belief. Yay.

Out of my own curiosity, I click a few more times to search for tickets. Jesus Christ Monkey Balls!!!!!!! Another set in the front row way up top. Wow, no one would be in front of me, so I can chill out the whole time, and not have to stand up. Perfect. I'll take them as well. I can probably sell the first ones easily on eBay, and if not, I can pass them off to a close friend, so they get the same enjoyment I get. Sure, its another $186.97, but sitting in front is the shit! So now I have two sets of Van Halen tickets. Could be worse, I could have none, so good times.

But wait, I click another time, just to see what happens. Jesus H. Tapdancin Christ! Platinum Section, Row A. This is the luxury type shits! Only a few people can sit in this section, and these are in the fucking front! What the shit?

Click, click... roughly $330 later, I now have primo fucking rock star Platinum front row seats to Van Halen. Great.

WAIT A SECOND! I just spent $734.39 on Van Halen tickets? Do I really even like Van Halen? What the fuck?

...

Yeah, yeah, I know... Ok, so now I have 3 pairs of VH tickets, and I only need 1 pair.

I put pair number 1, the first pair, that aren't that great, up on eBay. I used my super secret magic ticket selling recipe into play. The recipe I used to make LITERALLY thousands and thousands of dollars in profit the summer before last selling tickets on eBay.

Currently, at the time of this writing, there are exactly 0 bids for exactly 0 dollars. Yay.

I am sure that as the auction grows to a close, I will make the money back that I invested in the tickets. Hopefully, I will crank a profit, and be able to help pay for some of the costs associated with the set I am keeping. Ideally, I will sell the two spare sets for enough to completely cover the cost of the primo set I plan to use myself. It certainly would not be the first time that has happened.

...and if not, some lucky pair of friends will be going to the show free of charge, on my dime. Sometimes it pays to be my friend.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

This is going to be lengthy, but please stick around, it gets really important towards the end.

I hope everyone enjoyed their time off. Did I? Well, sorta. I really enjoyed my Vegas vacation. I saw Blue Man Group at the Venetian, which was awesome, Bill Maher at the Hard Rock which was killer, and Cirque Du Soleil's "O" which was not so great. Maybe it was ok, but the other Cirque shows I have seen made O look like a cheesy 80's porn film or something. Plus I fell asleep, so how good could it be?

I think I broke even in terms of gambling. I probably made more sports wagers than anything else, although I spent a fair share of time at slot machines, killing time waiting for other stuff. Breaking even might not sound all that great but it means a few things. 1 - I did not lose any money. In fact, I may have come out ahead... I did not really keep track too well. 2 - it means I basically generated free "points" towards comps and reduced rates on rooms and whatnot. 3- it means I was able to have free fun and kill time and drink free liquor.

I got drunk a lot, which was fantastical on every level. Getting all shit faced and wandering around in public to me is always good times, but doing it in an adult playground like Vegas just takes things to a new level. I got drunk and hopped on the roller coasters at New York New York and at the Sahara. I took pictures with my cell phone while on the New York New York coaster, but they turned out looking like this...







Anyway, so I said "sorta" enjoyed. What do I mean? I always have trouble merging back into reality after a vacation, as I am sure most people do. This time seems particularly hard though. I got back Sunday, then even had Monday and Tuesday off, and I still don't feel back to normal. Something seems different now, and I am not sure what it is. I am stuck in some sort of funk. I really hate Christmas time, and "the holidays" in general, so I am sure that is part of it.

When I think about why I hate the holidays, I may not really dislike them at all, but just enjoyed past holidays more than any recent ones. I don't particularly celebrate any holidays like I used to. I don't have a Christmas tree or any decorations, I seem to only buy presents for my parents, which usually ends up being gift cards to Sephora for my mom, and Home Depot for my dad. I enjoy buying them the cards, and I suppose I feel swell about giving. I don't exchange gifts with my best gal any more, because we usually opt to save the money and go on a vacation instead as a gift to each other.

On Christmas day I just kinda sat around the house wondering what to do. I went outside for a few minutes and it reminded me of about 50 different things that I have experienced on past Christmases?, Christmass?, Chrismii?, and that I missed doing them greatly, so much so that I was overcome with odd feelings, and did not know what to do.

When I am not on vacation during the holidays, and I spend time with my family, it is almost a downer because I have lost a lot of relatives, and have become quite disconnected from my family unit, so it just doesn't have the magic that it used to, and that upsets me greatly. I don't know exactly what I am trying to say, or what this means. I think I may begin a journey of self discovery of sorts and and see if I can figure some shit out.

I suppose things must change over time, and I have worked really hard this year on learning to accept change, and deal with it, and turn it into something groovy, but I can't seem to shake to the blues after this holiday. So, going to Vegas was absolutely wonderful, but now all I can think about is how much I need to go back, and when is the next time I can make that happen.

I have considered pulling chocks, and going off to somewhere else, in a different state, just for an extreme change of pace. I have very simple logistics... I don't have a whole lot tying me down here. I could literally pack up a bunch of shit and move to somewhere else tomorrow if I felt the urge was right. My gal is the same way, she can get a job anywhere, and we don't see our families a lot. It would almost be the opposite of now. Instead of going on vacation to somewhere else, we would just live somewhere else, then vacation back to here to visit family and friends.

I just don't know. I know that nothing is wrong with me. I just feel... weird, or something. Not necessarily stressed or worried or anything like that... just odd. I would hate to think that I am living in the past, but I spend a lot of time now thinking about how to have as much fun now, as I used to, or seem to used to have. I am not talking about trying to recreate anything from the past, its just that I have a lot of interesting memories, and it seems like these days, I spend less and less time doing things that will create fond memories for the future. I could write maybe 3 large novels from the good times I had from age 3 to 25, then from age 25 to 29, it seems like it would maybe be a single novel if I was lucky, then from age 29 to 33, it would only be a a short story or maybe even just a pamphlet. I suppose 3 to 25 is 22 years of time, which is nearly 3 times the other two portions added together.

Does this happen to everyone? Is this simply part of growing up or old? Will the next 15 years of my life be able to create as many memories as age 3 to 25? Does it have to be that way? Is there a better way to maximize our time?

What the fuck is going on?

A few random thoughts...

This will be my last post until after I get back from vacation. Also, the end of the year is growing near, which means my goal of blogging it up for one year will be completed. I Have yet to decided if I would like to continue or not afterwards. I know that there are only a handful of people who read this anyway, but it is for me more so than anything else.

My belt doesn't work anymore. I now have to set my belt into the last possible hole, and it is still too large. Also, I think my head is shrinking or something. I seem to have lost some of the fat from my head during this experiment.

I think it may be a challenge to eat healthy and exercise while on vacation. I ride the monorail when I am in Las Vegas, so that inherently includes a lot of walking. I probably average a few miles a day while I am there, at least. Eating may be more of a challenge. We tend to stay up really late each night, and grab a pizza slice or two from New York New York around 2am, before turning in. Also, the biggest issue will be the alcohol scene. I am going to drink shitloads of free alcohol while I am there. The upside to this experiment is that I start feeling a buzz after 2 drinks, and I can get rather drunk on less than a dozen, whereas before, I could chug Jack and Cokes all night long, having 25 or so, and still be able to maintain an even keel. Staying up late usually means no breakfast, so that is less calories going in, followed by a lot of walking all day. So I figure if I can grab something half way healthy for lunch, I will probably be just fine. I found a 24 hour Subway last time I was there, so I have the option of eating a turkey sandwich 24/7, and it is only half a block from the MGM Grand.

Also on the unhealthy trend will be the 5 packs of cigarettes I will smoke there. I guess technically, I will only smoke half of that amount, whereas my best gal and I will split them. I do not normally smoke. When I get together with friends that smoke, and have drinks and hang out, I will smoke some a few cigarettes, but normal day to day operations do not include any smoking. This is hard for a lot of people to achieve, but I seems to have mastered it. I look at it sort of like alcohol. I can smoke any time I like, but if I do it all the time, that's no good. Why not make it something special, that way you can enjoy it more. This being the case, I always smoke on every vacation no matter what. After all, a vacation is intended to take you away from the norm for a while, so you don't flip out and kill a bunch of people.

Last week I ran a little over 34 miles on the elliptical. 34 FUCKING MILES! That is a long way. It seems unrealistic that I ran that far, but I did.

Anyway, good times abound. If you don't hear from me for 6 months, I probably won a million bucks in Vegas, or my plane crashed, or both.

I need another vacation, so... I am taking one. Next week I will be heading back to Vegas for a little more R&R.

This time around I will be returning to the MGM Grand's West Wing, which I thoroughly enjoy. This time, I got an even better rate than ever before. Membership has its privileges 8-).

I got tickets to see Blue Man Group, which I have been wanting to see for a while, but never got around to seeing. I also got tickets for the Cirque Du Soleil show called "O" at the Bellagio. It is the water based Cirque Vegas show so it should be interesting. I certainly enjoyed the Ka and Love Cirque shows last time I was there. Very Impressive stuff.

Last but not least I got ticket to go see Bill Maher over at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which I have never been to, because it is off the strip a little bit, and I am lazy. I am not a huge fan of Bill Maher I guess, but he does make me laugh. I think this is a stand up comedy type show, and not a political thing like his HBO show.

A lot of the shows like Penn & Teller, Amazing Jonathan, Carrot Top, etc.. are all dark I guess because it is so close to the holidays. That's OK though, I'll still have fun. They go on vacation away from Vegas, and I go to Vegas for vacation. Weird.

I also might head over to the old part of town on Fremont street, because I have never ventured over there, again, because I am lazy.

I suppose I will spend the rest of the time living like a rock star, enjoying shitloads of free cocktails, while I gamble my ass off, and stumbling around the strip drunk.

Anyway, a splendid time is guaranteed for all!

I suppose there just may not be a better way to do it. Numbers. That is the only solution.

When you are born, they weigh and measure you. Then your parents tell all your friends and family the numbers, and they are very proud. Low numbers, beyond the acceptable range on either side, indicate a problem. Did your mom smoke crack? Was your dad addicted to hamburgers? What is wrong with you? Why are you so small? Why are you so damn big? 2 days ago you were a fetus, now you got all this.

When you go to school, you are given grades. If you do well, the number assigned to your success is high, and low if you do not. You did not pass because you got a 69. Had you gotten a 70, you would be a winner, but you didn't so clearly, you are a loser. You were not in the acceptable range of numbers that indicate success. If you are lucky enough to go to college, again, numbers indicate your success, and seemingly nothing else. Your grade is the ONLY thing that really matters here. You might make 4000 new life long friends, and have the most amazing experiences of your life, but since you did not achieve a high enough number, you are just not good enough.

When you get a job and you go to work, you are given an annual performance evaluation. If your assigned number is not in the acceptable range, you eventually will lose your job. If you are in the low end of the acceptable margin, you get to keep your job. Lucky you. If you are on the high end of the number scale, they give you more money. You can show up every single day,work as hard as you possibly can, and if your number is not high enough, you do not get more money. It is as simple as that.

In today's world, the numbers you get assigned to you, by other people, represent your success. Is this the only way to be successful, to get a higher number assigned to you than other people? Yes, it would appear that way.

Good luck with all that.

OK, the 30 day experiment has officially ended as of midnight last night. In case you don't know what I am talking about, see HERE. The 30 days seemed to go by pretty fast. Maybe it was because I was busy, or not. I kept a sort of journal in the form of a spreadsheet during the 30 days. I would document what I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with the amount of calories. Primarily my daily food intake consisted of vegetables, fish or shellfish, and chicken. Then on the weekends I would go wacky, but still try to eat something healthy with few calories. I also progressed my running during the time frame from 2 miles in 15 minutes on the elliptical, to 3.5 miles in 20 minutes. I did elliptical training Monday through Thursday, and I play hockey on Saturdays, so that leaves Fridays and Sundays. Sometimes I would exercise on those days as well, but as a general rule, Fridays were for beer drinking, which makes elliptical training dangerous, and Sundays are my day to eat a bunch, watch football, relax, and not think about anything. On day 1, I weighed in at a whopping 229.2. As of this morning, my weight was 211.2, which comes to a overall loss 18 pounds. That is not too bad.

Here are my observations I noticed along the way:

1. My poops became regular both in interval, and consistency, short of maybe 1 or 2 days.
2. I had only 1 headache during the 30 days. I am not sure if this means anything or not, whereas I do not know how often I had headaches before I began.
3. Only once or twice did I feel hungry during the experiment, and each time it was due to staying up later into the night than usual.
4. I did not dislike ANY food that I ate for the 30 days. In fact, I think I prefer the type of foods I ate.
5. As my weight drops and I exercise more, I generally seem to feel better throughout the day. Before, I would get sleepy at work. In general, I just have a better feeling of well being.
6. I can sleep a full 8 hours through the night, maybe only waking up once (if that) to rotate. Before, I would usually take some melatonin or some other sleep aid.
7. My pants do not fit any more. This is not a bad thing I suppose.
8. I have a lot more stamina for hockey. I hardly get tired at all throughout the game. This is probably due primarily to the elliptical training.
9. I am able to skip lunch or dinner, and in its place, drink beer.
10. On the one single day of the 30 that I was in a scenario where I had to eat food from a Mexican restaurant, I was able to order a chicken and rice meal, which, although had more calories than I was used to, was way better than a say, a plate of nachos.
11. On the weekends when I would eat my big Sunday night football watching meal, I would wake up the next day having gained back a pound or two. However, this weight, plus more, would easily be gone in a few days.

So, where does that leave me now? Well, I have decided to extend the experiment another 30 days. I kind of expected the experiment to be hard or challenging and it really sort of wasn't. What will I do differently? Nothing, I suppose. I feel fine, I eat good food, I exercise, which makes me a better hockey player, and I'm sure my overall health will continue to improve, not that there was anything wrong before. It win/win/win/win/etc.. So I will go another 30 days and see what happens. I also expect to kick my elliptical workout up to 30 minutes, which should put me between 5 and 5.5 miles a day.

If I lost another 18 pounds int he next 30 days, that would land me at 193.2. In high school I weighed around 190, so I would be close to that weight again. This is not a goal, its just interesting. Of course, the weight is distributed differently now. I have a nice beer gut, which I'm sure probably racks up 15 pounds, and my legs are very muscular from playing hockey so much, and muscle weighs more than fat. Also, I'm not 18 years old any more, so I shouldn't expect to have the same shape as I did that long ago.

Anyway, there you have it. Good times.