Why Daniel Should Have Lost

That title should really read, "Why Daniel Should Have Lost Twice."

First, I want to start by saying that I love The Karate Kid. It's got to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm not exactly sure where I would rank it, but it's probably somewhere in my top 100. Also, in my opinion, part 2 might be just as good, maybe better. That being said, I have a sort of problem with the way those things turned out.

Okay, it's not a problem, per se. I do enjoy the happy ending of seeing the underdog win against seemingly impossible odds. But I just don't think Daniel-san should have won either of the fights that he participated in at the climax of both of those films. It should go without saying, I will be spoiling the endings to Karate Kid, parts I and II. If you haven't seen these movies, you might want to go read something else. Actually, don't read something else. Find these movies and watch them right now. You're long overdue.

In the first one, Daniel makes his way through the tournament, taking out black belts left and right. And this is perfectly logical, since he's been learning karate for about three months. Meanwhile, the kids who have been training for years drop like flies. But it's very easy for the audience to suspend their disbelief that a kid from Newark with no martial arts experience can rise in the tournament ranks during a brief montage while listening to an inspirational song.

So Daniel gets to the semi-finals where he faces the only halfway decent kid from the Cobra Kai squad. I mean, he's still a dirtbag, but he's a dirtbag who has been shown to have a conscience at several points throughout the movie. He basically destroys Daniels knee because Sensei Kreese ordered him to do so. He felt really bad about it, but the damage had been done. The doctor on the scene informed Daniel that the tournament was over for him. But then Mr. Miyagi works his magic and Daniel's knee is miraculously better. This means he can fight Johnny in the title match. Of course, he wins, but he really shouldn't.

Johnny goes for the bad knee. This is all thanks to Sensei Kreese's advice to "sweep the leg." When Johnny sweeps the leg, that should be the end of it. But Daniel gets right back up. Then he starts to get into the Crane position, ready to deliver that final blow. I never took karate a day in my life, but I can't imagine that this is actually a good move. I mean, think about how long it takes Daniel to set this up. Yeah, it's a matter of a few seconds, but any fool can see what's coming. Unless you're the bad guy who's supposed to lose so the underdog can win and make the audience cheer. When Miyagi first introduces Daniel to the Crane Technique, he tells the kid that "if do right, no can defense." We find out that that's not exactly true in Part II.

In the sequel, it makes no sense for Chozen to antagonize Daniel throughout the movie. But he does. And it begins the moment they meet. There's no logical reason for it. But our underdog needs a villain to take down in the final act. So there you have it. But as Miyagi points out, their fight isn't about points or who walks away with the tournament trophy. The fight between Daniel and Chozen is life and death.

Chozen is the kind of guy who will not hold back when his honor is on the line. He was described by Daniel's love interest as "Sato's best student." Daniel's been training with Miyagi for a year at best by this point. Chozen has been training with Sato (who would have been teaching the same techniques) for his entire life. At least, that's the most likely scenario. And if Chozen has that much experience and is looking to take Daniel's life, logic dictates that Daniel should not have survived his own sequel.

Of course, Daniel begins this fight by leaning back on the Crane kick. Makes sense, right? I mean, it won him a trophy at the end of part I. Why wouldn't it save his life this time around? Well, that's because we find out that Miyagi's "no can defense" thing was way off. Chozen blocks it like he's been blocking that same kick since he was three. We see the fight progress and we watch as Chozen lands blows that break a stone statue. This means that each hit that lands somewhere on Daniel's body should break bones and cause some severe internal bleeding. Just when Daniel is down, probably about to lose his life, the citizens of Tome Village begin banging their pocket drums and the Karate Kid is suddenly inspired to get up and win the fight.

I get it. The audience wants a feel good ending. I'm just putting it out there that, in reality, Daniel should have lost both of these fights. But please, don't allow my cynicism to stop you from enjoying these classic films. They're still excellent movies and I watch them any time I get a chance.

Snowy Memories

Right now, the area in which I live is expecting unseasonably warm weather in the coming days. The expected high during this coming weekend will be in the 70s. This is not what January is supposed to feel like. January should have us bundled up with heavy coats, knit hats, gloves and scarves. Now, I'm not much of a scarf wearer and when I've tried, I've basically failed at it. But I'd be willing to give it another shot if it meant that we could get some actual cold weather.

Working in an elementary school, I hear a lot of people longing for some snow days. And when I say people, I don't just mean the kids who want a day off from school. Teachers seem to want the days off as much as, if not more than, the students they teach. I know we've only been back in school for three days since the Christmas vacation, but I'm sure each faculty and staff member would enjoy a day to sleep in again.

But those snow days are not coming any time soon. After last winter's mild climate, I'm not optimistic about receiving any significant snowfall. There are a lot of people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder in the winter due to a lack of sunlight. I think I'm suffering from the disorder due to a lack of snow. So I'm allowing my mind to carry me back to colder days; days when the snow fell freely from the skies over Bluefield College.

Before I began my education at Bluefield College, I was told that the town of Bluefield, Virginia experienced a total of two seasons: winter and August. This report came from people who lived in the area that has also been described as Four Seasons Country. So is it four or two?

Okay, after living there for five years myself, I can say that Bluefield does experience four seasons. But winter tends to last a little bit longer and summer doesn't seem to start as soon as it does in a lot of other places. I've seen snow arrive as early as September and fall again as late as May. That latter snow made for an interesting graduation ceremony in the spring of 2002.

When the snow fell heavily, it meant good times at Bluefield College. It meant snowball fights. It meant sledding at one's own risk down the treacherous Rish Hall hill. It meant a gorgeous blanket of white that laid out neatly across an already beautiful campus.

I remember being playfully attacked by a group of girls during a heavy snowfall my freshman year. At least, I hope it was a playful attack. My face was buried in the snow more than once that night. It may have been more brutal than I choose to remember. I've been told my sarcasm would get me punched in the face before. May have been my sarcasm got me shoved into the snow and ice on that fateful night.

Each year I took advantage of that treacherous hill behind Rish Hall. How could I not? It was steep and slick. Now, I did try to avoid any ramps that had been built in the snow. I'm no daredevil. And after seeing a kid on a snowboard attempt a back flip and land on his head, I avoided ramps at all costs. I will say this: going down was wicked fun, but the walk back up was a pain. It's not easy walking up that steep hill when it's covered in dry grass. Two feet of snow doesn't help in the slightest.

And then there's the view. I'm sure not everyone feels that Bluefield is as beautiful as I consider it. But that's how I think of it. Throughout most of my years living in the dorm, I was able to look out the window at the sight of East River Mountain rising on the not too distant horizon. Time after time, I could see the clouds literally rolling in over the mountains and seemingly falling into the town. Seeing the trees on that mountain covered with snow is nearly as breathtaking as a sunrise over the Atlantic.

I remember the excitement of walking around campus at night. The excitement came not just because there was already a foot of snow on the ground, but because the snow was still falling. It was incredible seeing those big flakes falling past the lamps throughout the campus. And you know the way the new fallen snow tends to muffle the sounds around you? Even that lack of noise caused me to get excited. That kind of snow usually meant that classes would be cancelled the next day. Snow days at Bluefield College certainly did not come that often. So we didn't take them for granted. We slept in. We got bundled up. We played in the snow like we would if we had been 1st graders enjoying a day off from school.

The Single Guy and the Fish Bowl

Remember how the Single Guy recently took a quick trip to the Richmond area? Well, the trip consisted of more than just making fun of the Charlatan's new ride.

On Saturday evening, the Single Guy was given the opportunity to hang out with the Charlatan, his fiance and a couple of their close friends. The night began with dinner at Noodles & Co., where the Single Guy experienced the most amazing Coca-Cola fountain machine in existence. It's the kind with a touch screen that allows you to not only choose a particular beverage, but also lets you add one of about ten different flavors to that beverage. The Single Guy's Cherry Vanilla Coke Zero tasted like liquid candy.

After dinner, the quintet made their way to the Charlatan's apartment, where they spent a short time trying to decide what to do to pass the time and entertain themselves. The Charlatan and his fiance decided on a game known as Fish Bowl. This was a game that the Single Guy had heard of, but never played before.

Before game play could begin, each participant was responsible for writing down a whole lot of random things on tiny little pieces of paper. These pieces of paper would each be thrown into a fish bowl, to be drawn out as part of the game. The Charlatan did not have an actual fish bowl, so he used an ice bucket. Saying that the things written on the slips of paper were random is something of an understatement. They ranged from objects such as Superman's cape to phrases like, "You stay classy, San Diego!"

Despite the uneven number of players, the teams were divided up as boys vs. girls. That made it three vs. two, each side arguing that they were the ones with the disadvantage. This minor disagreement did nothing to hinder the awkward fun that the group would end up having.

The object of the game involved one teammate drawing a clue from the bucket and attempting to get the rest of the team to guess what's written on the paper. In round one, players could use any words to describe what was written, as long as they did not use the actual words written. Round two was basically Charades. The third and final round allowed the players to use only one word to describe the clue. These progressive rounds allowed for hilarity to ensue. Especially when the Single Guy drew "pubic hair" during the Charades round.

At the end of three rounds, the teams were tied up. The group eventually decided on a fourth round tiebreaker, consisting of sound effects to describe each of the clues. This became difficult when so many of the clues were silent objects. How does one come up with a sound effect for "crossword puzzle?" In the end, the guys won the game. But then they all sat around wondering what would have happened if round four had also ended in a tie. And they came up with other, more difficult and humorous ways to get people to guess the clues.

The group spent a great deal of time reading clues by only pronouncing vowels. You just don't know how important consonants are until you're forced to leave them behind.

Question of the Week: Remember

Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

Anyone who reads my blog would probably realize that I think just about everything is worth remembering. The good, the bad, the exciting, the mediocre. Everything in life should be considered a learning experience. If we don't remember the events in our lives, we can't learn anything from them. This would be why we sit through history classes throughout school.

The Single Guy and the Station Wagon

Volvo station wagons have an excellent reputation. More often than not, when someone thinks of a Volvo, it is easy to free associate the word safety right away. These cars have a history of being safe and, therefore, are seen as good family vehicles.

Recently, the Charlatan was forced to leave behind the Ford Escape that he has been driving for many years. In its wake, he made the grown up and responsible purchase of a Volvo station wagon. This, of course, leaves the man open to ridicule from all his friends.

While the Charlatan is recently newly engaged, he does not yet have a family. It isn't often that you see an unmarried man with no children riding around in a wagon.

This weekend, the Single Guy rode along with the Other Single Guy for a brief trip to Richmond. On the way to Virginia's capital, these two discussed the Charlatan's choice in vehicle. He was not coerced. No one twisted his arm. He freely chose to buy his new Volvo wagon. In return, the Single Guy and the Other decided to come up with some good jokes. It was determined that they needed to give the Charlatan a hard time.

But then the Single Guy drove the Volvo. The Charlatan asked the Single Guy to take the new car on a quick trip to the grocery store while he finished setting up for a program at his church. The Single Guy happily obliged. And, in his humble opinion, that new car handled amazingly. He was pleasantly shocked.

The Single Guy returned to the church with groceries in hand and quickly got in touch with the Other Single Guy. "Can't mock it," he said, "the thing drives like a dream."

Of course, the Single Guy said he would not be able to mock. But reality kicked in later when he got into the passenger seat as the Charlatan began to drive to dinner. "So, did the mom jeans come standard with the car?" asked the Single Guy.

The Charlatan just laughed. He then said, "That's good, keep 'em comin'!"

The Single Guy confessed that he and the Other had worked on a bunch on the long drive to Richmond. The plan was to pepper him with the jokes throughout the evening. Some others include but are not limited to:

• "If you decide to get paper instead of plastic, how many grocery bags can you fit in the back?"
• "Are the other moms in the carpool jealous of the new car?"
• "Do you have to pick up all the soccer equipment by yourself, or do you have some help?"
• "Are we picking up the stuff for the PTA bake sale on this trip or later?"

That last one came from the Other Single Guy and was a particular favorite of the night. The Single Guy still has a hard time envisioning the Charlatan in a station wagon, but cannot deny the appeal of the vehicle. Please note, the Charlatan's car is not the model pictured. His is newer, classier and more of a dark grey in color.

AFI 46 - It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

1934

Directed by Frank Capra

Netflix sleeve: Runaway socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) is en route to the Big Apple to elope with a fortune-hunting flyboy. Along the way she meets a crusty newspaperman (Clark Gable), who's just been sacked and--unbeknownst to Ellie--plans to sell her story to get his job back. But a string of zany misadventures leads them to realize they're madly--if reluctantly--in love. It Happened One Night swept every major Academy Award.

I haven't seen all the movies that Capra directed. But after seeing the ones that I have seen, I'm beginning to wonder if he ever made a bad one. I had actually seen this once before. A few years ago I got on a kick of wanting to see every Oscar winner for Best Picture. I started at the beginning of the Academy Awards, but didn't make it very far. I did get to 1934's It Happened One Night, though. As rom-coms go, this is a pretty good one, and follows that basic romantic comedy formula. You know, boy meets girl, boy and girl have a couple days of wacky adventures, boy and girl fall in love. You don't see a lot of romantic comedies winning a Best Picture Oscar. But there was a depression on. Maybe this kind of movie was just what the American public needed. I don't recommend every movie I see on this list, but I do recommend this one.

Movies I Want to See This Winter

A few months ago I comprised a list of all the movies I wanted to see that were coming out in the fall. I saw a total of one of them. The rest will have to wait for the Redbox or the Netflix. As for the movies I want to see over the next few months? Well, I've already seen one of these winter flicks. The rest will be up in the air, depending on the cash flow.

Currently showing:

The Impossible

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Promised Land

January 11:

Gangster Squad

Zero Dark Thirty

February 2:

Warm Bodies

February 15:

A Good Day to Die Hard

Safe Haven

March 1:

Jack the Giant Slayer

March 8:

Oz the Great and Powerful

New Tales from Old Navy: Melting Pot

I'm a big fan of the melting pot that is the United States. We're a country that was founded on the idea that anyone in the world can come here and become a citizen, seeking a better life than the one they may have had in the old country. I won't get political with this post, but I will say I lean more toward the idea that there's a proper way of doing these things. There's a system that was put in place that I don't fully understand. And so, in my ignorance, I believe that folks crossing our borders should do it legally. That's probably not an incredibly popular view these days, but it is what it is.

On the flip side of that, I couldn't care less what language our immigrant neighbors speak. I know there are a lot of folks out there who believe that if you come to America you should speak American. But here's the thing, 90% of all communication is non-verbal. True story. Yes, it's convenient when everyone you interact with on a daily basis speaks fluent English. But I ask, is it fair for us to expect every foreigner arriving on our shores to speak English, but for them to not expect us to speak their native language when we visit their home country? I once heard a kind of funny thing... If you speak three languages, you're trilingual. If you speak two, you're bilingual. If you speak one, you're an American.

That being said, I see a greatly diverse group of individuals where I work part time. It kind of blows my mind how many ethnicities and nationalities I've seen in the last couple months. And Christiansburg isn't exactly a bustling Metropolis. I worked at a bank in downtown Raleigh for three years and I don't think our clientele was as diverse as Old Navy's customers.

As I said, I'm all for it. And I'm cool with the multiple languages I hear on a regular basis. I just hope these customers are okay with the fact that I won't always understand them. Nor will I always recognize exactly what language they're speaking. Spanish is a pretty familiar one that I can pick out. I've heard Italian and French. I'd love to hear some Portuguese, but alas, I have not. Yet. I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure I've heard conversations in Farsi, Hindi and German. I've also heard a language that has to have originated somewhere in Eastern Europe. Though I have no idea which language or dialect it may be.

I've decided that there are a number of foreign language speakers who have the same sort of sense of humor that I have. These are the folks who will waltz into a public place and ask questions of the naive American dude running the fitting room. But they don't just ask an average, every day question. They lay on the thick accent and ask in broken English. I don't want to be rude and ask, repeatedly, "Huh?" So I try to pretend I understood what they said and go with it. Then the practical jokester's spouse comes by and says, "He's trying to be funny..." At which point we all have a good laugh.

Laughter, by the way, is multi-national. Everyone understands a laugh. See? 90% non-verbal.

100 Random Facts About Me 2.0

Two years ago I decided to steal an idea from Amy at Ha Ha. Wait. What? It wasn't the first blogging idea that I stole from her and it hasn't been the last. But it was the idea of coming up with an exhaustive list of random facts about myself. Sometimes it can be difficult to come up with 100 separate facts about oneself. But I was able to do it. Because I'm just that interesting. A few things have changed since I made that original "About Me" post. What follows is the next version of 100 Random Facts About Me. Some facts remain the same, some have changed. As always, any questions may be directed to yours truly via the comment section below.

1. I was born on March 6, 1980 (in case you were wondering when to send the cards, the gifts, the etc.).
2. I am still single (ladies, please, don't all email me at once).
3. Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch hold a very special place in my heart.
4. So does Back to the Future.
5. I love to write.
6. I love photography.
7. When I'm alone in my car, I sing to the tops of my lungs and probably look pretty foolish to other drivers. I don't care.
8. I'm convinced that I absolutely cannot dance.
9. People think I watch too much TV because of my uncanny ability to quote random movie lines at the drop of a hat. They may be right, but I think I just have one of those memories that allows me to recall random, meaningless facts.
10. I'm originally from Roanoke, Virginia.
11. I currently live in Radford, Virginia.
12. I work as a Therapeutic Day Treatment Counselor at an elementary school in the middle of nowhere.
13. I love my job.
14. I also fold clothes at Old Navy on a part-time basis.
15. I believe it's a little sad that I need two jobs to make ends meet when I'm a single man with no one to take care of but himself.
16. I have two bachelor's degrees from Bluefield College, one in Christian Studies, the other in Behavioral Science.
17. When the weather gets cold and everyone around me starts complaining, I start enjoying myself. To me, it's finally starting to feel good outside.
18. I spent two consecutive spring breaks on mission trips in Brazil during college. I'd love to go back someday.
19. I might have an unhealthy obsession with all things Superman.
20. I'm pretty sure I have a caffeine addiction.
21. But I don't like to drink coffee.
22. But I love the smell of coffee.
23. There's a part of me that still loves to play video games, I just can't seem to find the time to do it anymore. Also, it doesn't help that my Playstation recently kicked the bucket.
24. I don't think I much like being a grown-up.
25. I don't like to eat vegetables. But I'm a grown-up so you can't make me!
26. I've still never really kissed a girl. Unless you count Angie back in preschool. Some people would, but I don't.
27. Going back and reading #26 makes me feel a little pathetic.
28. I've decided that I like myself better with facial hair than without. Though, now that I've shaved it all off, I've been told by a number of people that I look younger. We'll see how long the bald face lasts.
29. I drive a 2008 Toyota Yaris. It's blue. I call her Half-Pint. That's because she's so tiny. And I'm pretty sure she could run for a week on half a pint of gasoline.
30. Sometimes I laugh at my own jokes because I know no one else will.
31. Really, I have a very dry sense of humor.
32. Also, I'm really sarcastic. Like, really, really sarcastic.
33. I'm a firm believer that someone should create a sarcasm font. Or possibly a new punctuation mark that denotes sarcasm.
34. I've been told I have a nice smile. I just don't do it that often.
35. The first thing I notice in a woman is her smile. I know that's hypocritical since smiling is something I just said I don't do that often.
36. In high school I learned how to develop my own film and print my own pictures. I sometimes wish I still had access to that kind of equipment. Digital photography just doesn't feel as real to me.
37. My favorite color is blue.
38. I believe that Justin Bieber and Honey Boo Boo are two signs of the coming apocalypse. Though, now that we've all made it safely beyond 12/21/12, I'm not sure when the next apocalypse is scheduled.
39. I don't like chocolate. And I receive plenty of ridicule for this fact, thank you.
40. I love to sing. Sadly, the car is the only place I seem to do it these days since no one ever wants to go with me to sing karaoke.
41. I used to sing in a few choirs during college. I miss it.
42. If I were to fill out a survey asking about my religion, I would put down that I was a Christian. But I don't like to call myself a Christian. It's a title I can never seem to live up to.
43. More often than not, I can get a general idea of what the time is by looking at the position of the sun in the sky. If you don't believe me, ask the Charlatan. He's witnessed it.
44. I love to read. This is a love that would have come in handy in high school and college. It didn't kick in 'til later.
45. When it snows and people panic about driving in it I get confused. Snow's no problem for me. Common sense tells us that all we have to do is take it slow and don't get overconfident.
46. I'm pretty sure common sense is something that is severely lacking in today's society.
47. I send text messages far more often than I call people.
48. But I'd give just about anything to be able to pick up the phone and talk to my Dad.
49. Despite my deep abiding love for Back to the Future, I don't believe that time travel is possible. And if it were, I don't believe it would be possible to change history.
50. I have one sister, April. I don't talk to her nearly as often as I should.
51. If I spend an entire day off work sitting in my apartment just watching movies, I don't consider it a wasted day.
52. I hate sleeping late on my days off. When I do, I feel like I've wasted the day.
53. I collect comic books. Lots of them.
54. I have a goal in life to read all of Stephen King's work. I'm doing this in the order in which the books were published. Thus far, I've made it through Firestarter. I still have a long way to go.
55. Best comedy on TV: Community. It used to be How I Met Your Mother. But I've come to think of the latter as the superior show.
56. I've never had a broken bone before.
57. I've also never needed stitches.
58. I guess I'm not much of a risk taker.
59. I used to love camping as a kid, but as an adult I've only been a couple times.
60. I love to go hiking. My body disagrees.
61. I once tried to help my sister move a full-size freezer out of my Dad's basement. Close to the top step, I lost my grip on the freezer and was certain it would fall and crush her beneath it. I've never been more afraid in my life.
62. I am terrified of clowns.
63. I road rage like it's my job.
64. My favorite restaurant is Macado's. When I was living in North Carolina, it was something I deeply missed about living in the Roanoke area. Radford has one about three blocks from my apartment.
65. I spent my 27th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
66. There may be some who disagree with this, but I think the ending to Lost was brilliant.
67. I love Christmas decorations, but I really don't like being the one to decorate.
68. I've come to accept the fact that I can be kind of a jerk.
69. In college, I would spend lots of free time looking at people's away messages on Instant Messenger. Looking at Facebook status updates and tweets on the Twitter just isn't the same.
70. When my hair gets long, the front goes into the Superman spit curl.
71. But eventually, my hair stops getting longer. It just gets thicker. It's obnoxious.
72. I can make some pretty good sausage balls. Insert your SNL quotes here...
73. I hate helping people move, but I do it so I'll have someone to call when I inevitably move for the 83rd time.
74. Netflix was my idea. I just can't prove it.
75. Seriously though, that whole instant viewing thing? Best thing to happen to movies since the advent of film.
76. Someone I used to work with used the word seriously way too often. It was really annoying. So for a long time, I made a conscious effort to not say seriously at all. Seriously.
77. I've lived life with and without a DVR. Going from having one to not having one was a painful transition.
78. Someday, when I'm all growed up, I want to have a house with a library. And a secret passage behind one of the bookcases.
79. I thought the Twilight books were an okay read. But I believe in the depths of my soul that Bella Swan is the worst character in literary history.
80. I love snow.
81. But I can't ski.
82. I love the beach.
83. But I can't swim.
84. I am of the firm belief that if you make a late night trip to the Omelet Shoppe, Waffle House, or some other all-night eatery, and walk away without an epic story to tell, you wasted a trip.
85. I've tried learning to play the guitar, but I'm not very good at it. My fingers are kind of stubby.
86. Sometimes I look at people in relationships and think that's something I'd like to have. Other times, I look at those same people and think, no, I'm doing all right on my own.
87. I hate when people don't use a turn signal. Biggest pet peeve.
88. Of all the different types of cookies in the world, Snickerdoodles are, by far, the greatest.
89. I have some really weird, vivid dreams sometimes.
90. I should probably quit playing Facebook games.
91. I don't date often. In fact, up until the summer of 2012, I don't think I had been on an actual date since W's first 100 days in office. The fact that I went on two dates last year should say a lot about how much I've matured. But it probably doesn't.
92. When I was a kid, I bowled on a Saturday morning league team. I was pretty good for a 10-year-old.
93. I haven't owned a watch in many years. I pretty much just use my cell phone to tell the time. Or look for the position of the sun.
94. When I was the bank teller at the drive-thru window, I loved it when people would drive up and forget they hadn't rolled down their windows yet. When people hit their hand against the glass, you couldn't have paid me to stop laughing.
95. I'm a child of divorce. And other than the whole cynical attitude toward the existence of true love thing, I think I turned out just fine.
96. Despite my cynicism, I would like to know what it's like to fall in love and have that love returned. I hear it's nice.
97. I love key lime pie, but I hate that it's got the reputation of only being a summer dessert. Just because it's served cold. What's that all about?
98. Laundry is my least favorite chore. If I ever get married, I hope my wife is open to a deal wherein I do the dishes and deal with any garbage issues as long as she does the clothes. I'll even throw in cooking and vacuuming to sweeten the deal.
99. I don't think I can have a real conversation without slipping in a movie line at some point.
100. Maintaining this blog is probably the only really consistent thing I've done for any significant period of time.

There you have it planet earth. 100 random facts about me, circa 2013. I may come back and do this again in another two years. No promises. Who knows where I'll be when 2015 hits?

Thirteen Resolutions for Twenty Thirteen

I'm hit or miss on resolutions. Inevitably, I always fail at one thing or another. All these years, I should probably have just been resolving to not die. If I had, I'd have a perfect record on resolutions. But I won't make the resolution to not die. With my track record on past resolutions, this would end up being the year I mess it up.

I have a realistic view of things and that view is not always an optimistic one. Resolutions tend to be very optimistic in nature. They come from a place of wanting to become a better person. It's a noble thing, that desire to be better.

Not long ago, I decided I wanted to be a better person. But I didn't wait until January 1 to make certain changes or choices for my life. After reading Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, I decided that I wanted to live a better story. When I made that decision, I decided that I wouldn't put off doing the things that I wanted to do in order to make my story better.

But a new year began today. On the one hand, it's just another new day. On the other hand, people traditionally look toward a new year with a new outlook and a desire to become better versions of themselves. In reality, it's no different than the beginning of October. In reality, it's no different than any other day that ends in "y."

In the final episode of Community's first season, Jeff perfectly summed up the New Year's resolution. He used the summary in attempting to choose between two women who claimed to love him, but it's a summary that makes sense. New Year's resolutions remind us of the people we want to be. Three weeks later, it's easy to go back to the people we already are, hitting the snooze button and screening our mothers' phone calls. So, do you try to evolve or do you try to know what you are? Well, here's to optimism!

1. Be sure to write 2013 on all important documents, rather than 2012. You can't tell me this is something that everyone everywhere isn't a little worried about messing up at some point over the next few days. It's not as crazy as it used to be since, statistically, most people don't write checks that often anymore. I, myself, only write two checks per month. Both of them will be written today. Once I get back to school, though, I'll be putting the date on many important official documents related to work. It will be important to write that 3 as the final digit rather than 2.

2. Post something on the blog daily. Back in 2008 I made this same resolution. Throughout that year, I stuck to it. Some of the posts ended up making it to the blog after midnight due to my vastly extensive social life. I don't have that "social" problem anymore. Shouldn't be an issue.

3. Reach the goal weight of 185 lbs. which I set for myself back in September when I began losing weight. As has been implied by the bolded text, I began losing weight back in September. When I weighed myself on Labor Day, I was at 225 pounds. Then I started jogging. I switched to the diet sodas. I became more responsible with my food portions. Then I caught a cold in November and stopped exercising for a while. But by that point, I had gotten down to 205ish. I weighed myself yesterday and clocked in at 207. It's nice to know that I've maintained the near 20 pound loss while not exercising. I'd like to get back on track with the jogging though. So that's started back up again. Because it will lead to the next resolution...

4. Run a 5k for the first time ever. My original goal was to run a 5k on Thanksgiving. That didn't happen. Remember, I got a cold in November and stopped running. By the time I felt better, I knew there was no way I'd be able to finish preparing for a 5k run in the cold pre-winter air of downtown Roanoke. Again, I'm getting back on track with the jogging. I'll do some research and find a decent 5k that I can participate in at some point when the weather gets a bit warmer. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know.

5. Finish watching the AFI top 100 films of all time. Okay, this started as a resolution the last time I made resolutions. That was back in 2011. I didn't even make it through half those movies that year. In fact, I only recently crossed the threshold of the 50th film. I'd like to finish this list this year. I just hope my schedule and Netflix both cooperate with that desire.

6. Read the Bible more. This is another one of those resolutions that I've made before. Never seem to do as well with it as I intend to.

7. Read 25 books. And in the past I've resolved to read more than this in a year. And failed miserably. 25 seems to be a more feasible number. I'm hoping I can surpass it, but hey, no guarantees.

8. Write a complete and coherent novel. Another rerun. Just take the time to do it, stupid!

9. Go on a real vacation. I haven't been on a true vacation in years. That time I went to Los Angeles was probably the last vacation I've actually been on. I've taken plenty of time off work in the last few years. In fact, I'm enjoying some time off as I type up these resolutions. But I'm enjoying that time off from the comfort of my own home. I want to go to a beach. Or on a cruise. I was going to do the cruise thing in 2012, but then I changed jobs again... and had to move twice... These events tend to eat into one's savings.

10. Take more pictures. I recently played photographer for a friend's wedding. I used an old school camera that needed real film. Then I discovered that real film costs a lot of real money to get developed. So I think, for a while, I'm gonna need to go back to digital for my photographing needs. Photography was something I really enjoyed back in the day. It's something I'd enjoy to this day if I had a decent camera.

11. Leave the one Christmas decoration I have out until I move in August. This one is mostly because I'm lazy. Also, I don't have anywhere else to put my one Christmas decoration.

12. Begin work toward a license to teach in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I do love my current job. But being in a classroom has inspired me to want to teach. Just like I wanted to do back when I was a kid. I've been looking into the steps I need to take. And now I need to make a decision as to what kind of teacher I want to be. If I want to teach history to high school students, I can go through the local community college's career switch program. If I want to keep working with the younger, elementary school kids, I'll have to go through a more complicated, more expensive program that will probably take twice as long to complete. Really need to weigh the pros and cons here.

13. Become the hero Gotham deserves, not the one it needs. I think this one is fairly self explanatory.