Right Side Up or Upside Down

Today's Lesson is a Double Issue

2010-12-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

The last 24 hours has presented me with ample opportunity for blogging ammo. I have been the victim of three people with no sense of etiquette or personal space.

Bumzo #1. On my plane ride from Dallas to Bham, I had the aisle while Bumzo 1 had the window. Bumzo was late getting on the plane and put his jacket in the overhead bin. After the flight attendants had made their obligatory announcements and had prepared for takeoff. At this moment Bumzo decided that he needed something out of said jacket. Against my better judgement I agreed. Shortly after we stood up, the head flight attendent made the announcement on the PA, "Gentlement, if you will be seated, we can take off." Fool me once....

Bumzo #2 (actually 2a and 2b). Ashleigh and I went to see a classic Christmas movie in an old the old Alabama Theatre. Shortly after we are seated, a couple comes in with drinks in hand. Before the movie started, they were giggling and commenting on everything on the screen. Once the movie started, it became painfully clear that they had never been to a movie before. Ashleigh and I went to stage 3 of movie adgitation (1. Ahemming and turning your head, 2. Head turn and eye roll, 3. Flat out "shooshing".) These folks repeated every funny line (no inside voice, mind you) and carried on their own conversation. Fool me twice....

Bumzo #3. This morning Ashleigh and I went to Rick and Bubba in the Golden Ticket Seats. Bumzo 3 sat next to me on the end of a row. Right away, he proved that he, like Bumzos 2a and 2B, lacked an inside voice. In fact, he also repeated everything he thought was funny. Like Bumzo 1, he had no concept of sharing armrests. Apparently, Diet Coke makes him gassy, because he burped on me repeatedly. His lack of personal space recognition culminated in his leg molesting mine. He sat spread out with his left leg all on my side of my chair. I am practically hugging Ashleigh and his leg is nearly halfway into my chairspace just bouncing away. Fool me three times...I'm out.

Airing of the Grievances

2010-12-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted to my blog in over a year. There are many reasons for this, but they mostly boil down to laziness. If necessity is the mother of invention, then "vehement disagreement" is the mother of blogs. In the past couple of weeks, I have seen many, many things posted as the statuses of friends on facebook that I adamantly disagree with. In leiu of starting a back-and-forth that would have possibly led to who knows what, I am going to air it here.

Today, a friend (with whom I have polar opposite politcal views) posted, "Preserving a tax cut is fiscally the same as paying for an entitlement". While this may be technically true, it doesn't necessarily make it "fiscally responsible". Let's look at the ramifications of both actions.

Scenario: $100M spent on entitlements: Recipients of entitlements take the money that they are given and use it for whatever purpose they chose. In the end, the money will eventually be spent and the revenue from that spending for the government is sales tax. There will be movement of product, but no inherent economical growth.

Scenario: $100M in tax cuts: If recipients are middle income families, we have the same ecnomic growth as money spent on entitlements. If the recipients of the cuts are higher income families, they are likely to be small business owners. In this case a tax cut is the same as a lowered business expense and that lowered business expense allows that money to be used to grow their business. Growth is realized in a couple of ways (lower operating expenses leads to lower prices, which increases demand, which increases workforce needed). --- The end result: tax revenue from product movement, income taxes from new employment, product demand, real economic growth, ad infinitum.

Whew, glad that is off my chest.

I guess this means I'm back on the blogging wagon. Or is it "off" the blogging bandwagon....

Really???

2009-10-02T13:28:00.001-07:00

This morning, I went with Ashleigh to a doctor's appointment in Birmingham. The ride down was good as we listened to Rick and Bubba the whole way. Jim Caviezel was on promoting his project of the Bible on CD.

As Ashleigh went in to the doctor's office, I waited in the car to hear the rest of the interview. I sat in the parking lot with my window half down minding my own business. That's when a guy comes by the car, seeing my Auburn pullover, mumbles something then follows it up with "Y'all are getting beat this weekend." I thought it odd, that someone I barely noticed went out of their way to prove his disdain for my team.

I brushed it off, and went back to the radio. About a minute passed and he walks back by my car, stops and says, "It's back to the red-headed-step-children for Auburn. They won't be good ever again." I replied, "Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it." He said, "They ain't beat nobody. West Virginia gave the game away. You're going to lose this weekend." I bit my toungue as he stared with disdain into my car. He finally walked off. I went back to my radio.

By this time, I ran through my head the absolute joy that I felt he was not a fellow Auburn fan. The third and final trip by my car went like this. "Y'all are going to lose this weekend (the third proclamation by the Nostradomus of Football). I want you to come back Monday and tell me how bad y'all are."

Some people...

I'm diggin it

2009-09-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Been a whiiiile since I last posted, so I'm going to go easy with a few things I'm digging right now.

1. College Football - Ok, so this goes without saying. It's fall, it's getting cooler, and the pigskin is flying around. You can't be from the South and not be excited right now...ok, maybe if your team stinks, you're not psyched.

2. Coffeemate Italian Sweet Cream - I haven't been this sold on a creamer since Coffeemate's Coconut Cream...

3. My friend, Jason Spires' new blog, Single White Fan. Jason is a big-time sports fan who is in search of an NFL team to call his own. His efforts have landed him on SI.com.

4. Cool Summers - Global Warming got you down??? Not here! This has got to have been one of the coolest Summers in Alabama history.

That's about all for now. I'm going to try to do better...try...

Thoughts

2009-08-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the following would best reside in my own head, but after seeing Julie & Julia yesterday, I feel compelled to put it out for everyone to see. Currently, I am reading 'Why We're Not Emergent (From 2 Guys Who Should Be)" and it has provoked some thoughts that I have about my generation (and the one coming along) and my society as a whole.
Throughout history, the knowledge base of the preceding generation has been multiplied by the following generation...We're getting smarter. Ok, maybe not individually, but our advances have been substantial. Can you imagine what Newton or da Vinci could do with a computer??? Anyway, it seems as though my generation has been "reading our own press clippings" (if you will let me use my old basketball coach's terms) and we think we are really smarter than we are.
We (and when I say we, I don't really mean me and you...well, it could be you, but maybe not):
- have taken the easy road. You see, it's much easier to question everything than to actually stand for something.
- go with the flow and cry about popular ideas like global warming. When science points out that the Earth goes through cycles (and guess what, We're actually COOLING), we change our terminology to Climate Change. This one we've got right. See sentence two. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't take care of earth, but selling carbon credits?
- villify a country's leader who stands on moral values and call him a warmonger. We promote a leader who has no definitive stance on anything. Someone who promoted peace and an end the war in the Middle East. Guess what, now that he knows what his predecessor did, what has he done? Last time I checked, we were sending more troops and continuing airstrikes (that someone said were unneccessary). Where are the critics now???
- villify big companies for making money, yet complain when those companies have to lay people off to comply with Governmental polcies.
- ridicule people who have worked dilligently to succeed in the world, yet idolize those in Hollywood who have found wealth with less personal investment.
There are more. It pains me to think that in the future, when history buffs look back on my generation they might actually find the first one that has taken a step backwards.

Making Memories

2009-07-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

In my early childhood, my Dad and I would get out our little yellow fishing boat and head out to Wilson Dam to fish. We made a lot of memories out there on the water. As I got to my teen years, Dad was elected Superintendent of Education, a time devouring job. Needless to say, between my rebelious teenagerness and Dad's job obligations, we fished little the next couple of years.

Ever since I got Boat Fever and bought my own boat, I have been thinking about all those times that Dad and I fished. A few weeks ago, I mentioned something about the boat to him, thinking it had been sold long ago. Not so. He and I went to my Grandmother's barn in Killen, put on some new tires, and brought that Construction Yellow baby home. Dad spent some time cleaning it, getting it registered (for the first time since it's last registration in 1995!) and getting the little outboard running again.

This afternoon, Dad and I went fishing for the first time in ages. Long overdue by any estimation. I am really looking forward to making up for lost time and catching a few fish with my Dad. Here are some pics from our outing today. By the way, the fish count was Dad-20, Kam-0. I had a blast.

It works!

Nice Bluegill

Largemouth

One of those days

2009-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Thursday was supposed to be a magical day. Well, it was the first day since the launching incident that claimed our propeller. I had half the day off headed straight into a 4 day weekend. I called up some buddies and made plans to hit the River. Everything was looking great as I got in the boat while Andy backed me in the water. That's when it started...or it didn't. That's right, the boat didn't start. The key just turned and turned in the ignition, until the lock froze. Threat Level Delta. Luckily enough, a marine shop was just a short walk away. On my second trip in and Mr. Personality sold me a new ignition switch, that while not exactly what I needed, would work.

So I bought it and headed back. After about 10 minutes, Robert and I had it installed. Turning the ignition, I awaited a growl from the motor. Click, click, click. Threat Level Echo. After a little while longer, we determined that my battery had died. I then scoured the parking lot looking for a set of jumper cables along with an able bodied (or batteried) soul. The first guy I asked was "late fer a fishin tourn-ment". The next guy was nice enough to try. He and his son slowly backed their boat to the back of mine. As they got close, I reached out to steady his boat so as to not hit mine.

Getting his boat steadied was an easy task...too easy. Picture it, I have my back feet on my boat, my arms on their boat, my body bridged between the two. That's when his boat succomed to the force I was exerting and started moving away. My fate --- sealed. I then announce to everyone, "I guess I'm going in." And I did. Flip flops, clothes, jumper cables, and pockets full of wrenches and my wallet. Threat Level Midnight!

I then used the boat ladder for the first, and most unexpected time to board my boat again. We then got connected and the boat started, idled briefly, then stalled. The 2nd jump attempt led to a 20-second idle. I then told the man and his son to have a good time as I bid them goodbye.

I trekked back to the MDX and promptly took the battery out of it. A jump with the battery, was quite succesful...a steady beautiful idle.

So we're ready to go. We untie from the dock, everyone takes their place, and we're --- well, we're not moving. The prop is not engaging. After ten minutes of stumptitude, I decided to call it a day. Something's wrong that cannot be fixed on the water. Threat Level Arrggghh.

So Andy went to get the trailer, while Robert towed me along the dock. The one bright spot from the day was that we trailered the boat beautifully, although I had to get back in the water.

The Boat Dr is coming to the house Tuesday to assess the damage. Hopefully my wallet will have dried out by then so I can pay him.

Rainy Day Blues

2009-05-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

If I was a songwriter who loved Spring, I'd definitely have had the inspiration to write a hit over these last two weeks. This has been just lousy weather. Ashleigh and I have been checking the weather every 15 minutes looking for a chance to head out to the lake. We are 0-fer thus far. I'm just hoping we don't go through another Summer drought this year. That would be a shame given these last two weeks.

And for Joy, pics of the boat.

Phew...

2009-04-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a busy week. On Monday, Ashleigh and I bought our first boat. We're super pumped, but a little anxious at the same time. We're going to try to get it in the water on Saturday (weather and prep-work permitting).

On top of that, I've been in training all week. I must say that I absolutely LOVED the training. It was like none other I had ever taken. Instead of focusing on how you can contribute to the organization, this training was geared towards getting you to become a better person (which, in turn makes you a better worker).

Anyway, I think I grew a little this week even if my wallet shrunk.

Hair cut days

2009-03-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

As summertime approaches, we take our boys out to get a trim. As you can see, Troup's traditional Springer haircut turned out well. As for Brinkley's military cut...let's just say he's a little sensitive about his bad haircut.

Little Blessings

2009-03-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's truly amazing how great our God is. Every day He seems to be opening my eyes a little more to His majesty. It just goes to show you that to see Him you don't have to be standing on a mountain top staring down on creation, or at the beach watching the waves. You can be right at home, surrounded by the people you love and know that He is in everything.

Little Rants

2009-03-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while, so I'm going to throw out somethings that have gotten me in a tizzy (even if just a little one) lately.

1. Shopping in the Men's department: Last night, I found a pair of shorts at a great price at the Sports Authority in Irving, TX. Once I got back to my hotel room, I tried them on. Amazingly, even though they were a little bigger than I would buy, they were too small. That's when I found that they were indeed women's shorts.

2. Junk mail: Like a lot of you, I get a good bit of junk mail. I am a junk mail conneseuir at this point and can spot a credit card app a mile away. Every now and then, Ashleigh and I get the same offer, from the same company, on the same day. Last week, one such occurence occurred (he-he) and I immediately went into my disposal routine. That's when I noticed the following on the back of the envelope: "Please Recycle". Grrrrrrr!!!! I've got an idea, how about you don't send that crap out and I won't have to throw it away because that app would still be growing in a forrest somewhere.

3. Presidential Pardons: Ok, not the normal pardons, just the ones given by the media to my current boss. I usually don't wax political, but I've just about had enough. He's everywhere! Just yesterday, ESPN had him on doing a NCAA Bracket. A couple of weeks ago he was at a NBA game. And this, my friends, is celebrated in the media. I would not be nearly as mad if all was fair. Can you imagine if "W" had been seen doing that stuff with the current economic climate??? He'd be grilled on every media outlet there is.

There, I feel better.

Tour de Asia continued - Okinawa

2009-02-28T02:44:00.001-08:00

grrrrr...I just typed this long blog and lost my internet connection and thusly, the long blog.

Take 2:

I left Seoul this morning for the land of the rising sun. Oddly enough, I left my hotel about two hours before the sun peeked over the horizon. The day started with an uneasy taxi ride from a driver who didn't speak a lick of English. I asked him to turn the heat down and stopped the car - on the interstate. Needless to say, I just roasted in the backseat in a car that smelled like a kimchi-powered fart.

Upon my arrival in Okinawa, I quickly forgot Korea. As I got off the plane, I was greated with the ocean breeze and 70 degree weather. Okinawa really is a beatiful place; an island adourned with banyan trees, palms, and green green grass. The beauty of the island, however, is not viewable from my hotel room -- a WWII prison turned hotel room. The room is made somewhat bearable by the Strawberries and Cream air freshener I bought from the BX.

Tonight, my travel companion and I went to a local Japanese favorite. We had Kobe beef and shrimp prepared in front of us by Cassandra's father (from Wayne's World). Guess I'll go now. Syannarra!

Sightings

2009-02-25T00:51:00.000-08:00

Anyanhasio. That (or something close to that) is a Korean greeting like "Hello" or "Nice to See you." At least I'm hoping that's what it means because I am saying it to everyone. Today is day 6 of my Tour de Asia, and I am soooo ready to be home. Even though I spent a lot of time here last year, I have seen even more that I didn't see last time. One of the coolest things I have seen are the Korean painters who will take a picture and turn it into a painting. I mean, these people are amazing. Here is one example of a local guy with a store in the shopping district. You can watch him from the street and he is phenomenal. All of the paintings are even better than the original pictures. Some, he has taken multiple pictures and combined them into one painting. My favorite example is of a young lady hugging the late Tupac Shakur. It's classing really. In the window are two pictures; one of this young lady hugging a friend, and the other of another young lady hugging Tupac. Through extreme talent, this fan has a lasting reminder of someone else's experience. What a treasure!

Asia on my mind

2009-02-19T13:04:00.001-08:00

Well, the clock has almost struck midnight for Cinderella. I can't believe this trip, though greatly anticipated, came so fast. I leave tomorrow for a 12 day romp through Korea and Okinawa. This will be my 3rd trip to Korea and 2nd to Okinawa and you know, they don't get any easier. It's not the 15 hour plane ride, or the smells, traffic, or horrible food that gets me down. Being away from home just totally bums me out. I will miss Ashleigh, the dogs and cat, my friends and family.
I have been so comforted by my friends with who(m) I trust my life. I love you all and can't wait to get back.

Growing Old

2009-02-14T04:58:00.001-08:00

Good morning and Happy Valentines Day to all. Well, today I turn 30, one of those monumental turning points that tells you that you are no longer a kid. Up to this point, I really dreaded this day. I mean, when you turn 30, your life is basically over right? As Lee Corso would say, "No so fast my friend." Today, I feel more complete than I have at any other time in my life. I have an amazing wife who(m) I don't deserve. I have a supportive family, a good job, and quite possibly the best group of friends that anyone has ever had (that's you if you're reading this!). I love you all so much!

Ok, enough with the sappyness (word?), on to the fun. Last week, Ashleigh threw an unbelievable surprise birthday party for me. I had the best time and felt so honored that so many of my friends would come. Against my better judgement, here are a few pics from that night.

Bizness travel

2009-01-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I travel quite a bit for work. It's not travelling salesman travel, but I am on the road quite a bit. I have travelled far and wide, mostly to less than stellar locations. I go to Dallas 6-8 times a year. I've been to Alaska twice, Hawaii once, and Asia twice (Okinawa and Korea). I'm not complaining, but, well, maybe a little. You see, my brother works in the same field that I do and his travels have never, ever sent him overseas. While I might go to lovely Texarkana, Texas, Kris goes to Daytona and Orlando. In his travels and work, my brother has gotten in with some race teams. Right up his alley, you see, because Kris is a huge racing fan. He has met lots of drivers (Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kyle Petty) and made major connections with Jack Roush. Just this past weekend, Kris "worked" the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race. In the pits, hobnobbing with drivers and grease-monkeys alike. Below is the latest exploit of his latest run in with a star. Now girls, you can be jealous too. Recognize him??? Good, now you can hate my brother too.

Thumbs up, Thumbs down

2009-01-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh and I have been on a little bit of a movie kick lately and I figured I'd give you the dish.

Yes Man - I went in to this movie with relatively high expectations and they were met. Although Jim Carey is getting older, he still has what it takes to play almost any character. His character here is different from almost anything I've seen him do. Verdict: Since this movie is out of the theaters already, I'd say put it at the top of your Netflix queue.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Pretty low expectations going in to this one, and I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed it. This flick is aimed at pre-teens/teens, and is relatively clean language-wise. Verdict: Skip the theater and put it in your 2nd tier Netflix queue.

Grand Torino - Wow! This movie was much better than I expected. The language was horrible, but the message was outstanding. Clint Eastwood plays a 75 year old Dirty Harry (and he looks older than that) making things right in his neighborhood. Verdict: If you are not politically correct and can overlook bad language, I'd go see it in the theater. BTW, we saw this on the Prive' screen at Monaco...probably 40% larger screen and better seats than the normal venues (at a 40% premium ticket price).

What we've seen on Cable.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - A classic that Ashleigh and I both really liked. The interaction between Paul Newman and Robert Redford is so unexpected. I'd say that even if you don't like "westerns" but you like comedies, you like this flick. It's more of a comedy than anything. Verdict: DVR it today.

Juno - A modern society view of teenage pregnancy that turns a bad situation into kind of a jovial one (if that's possible). Not a bad flick, and I could do without the swearing, but not bad overall. Verdict: If it's on HBO, and you have time watch it.

On The Road Again...

2009-01-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

That's right. As luck may have it, I am travelling once again -- back in Dallas. I like my job. I don't mind travelling some. I am guessing that I spent 60+ nights away from home. More than half that out of the country. That's a lot of time away from home. Anyway, I am very blessed to have a wife who is supportive and independent. She allows me to travel with less anxiety than it might be otherwise. Thanks Babe, I'll be home soon!

New Year Commitments

2009-01-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

Resolutions are easy to make and just as easy to break. Therefore, I am making New Year's Commitments. Much stronger, don't you think?!? So here they are in no particular order.

In 2009, I commit myself...

to being a servant. This means to God, to Ashleigh, my family, my friends, and my country. In 2008, I went on my first mission trip. So sad, at the age of 29, I go on my first trip.

to be more understanding and less prejudiced. This is just one of the things that Jesus showed yet isn't highlighted in scripture. Not once did you read about someone with an illness who wanted to be cured and Jesus getting upset by that person's presence. Not once did He look the other way to avoid eye contact with someone in need. Jesus didn't flinch when the lepers came to him to be healed (even though they were society's outcasts).

to watch my tongue. If you know me well, you know I have a sharp tongue. Mostly with witty quips that might sound funny coming out, but stick in my brain like the aroma from Rosie's will stick to your clothes. For some reason, my wit resides in my throat, clearly bypassing the filters in my brain.

to get off my tail. I have let complacency creep in to my life this past year. I am happy to sit on my tail, putting off the things I need to do to the last minute. I have gotten downright lazy and it stops here.

to focus. I noticed something about myself several months back that really troubles me. I can be fervently completing a task, get diverted for a brief moment, and quit and do something else. How frustrating to have 50 tasks be 75% done!

to love. This has never been a real weakness for me, but who in their right mind can say that they show "love" just enough?

OK, so there you have it World. I put myself out there. Our lives are open novels, and I need you to help me keep my commitments. Only 358 more days to go.

New Year, Wrong Foot

2009-01-04T05:37:00.001-08:00

The New Year has arrived and has brought with it a mean cold. After being around Ashleigh for 3 days, I finally caught her sickness. That's right, my legendary immune system, with a following similar to Chuck Norris, gave in. This is the immune system that allowed me to get perfect attendance throughout school (1st-12th grade), turn the 24-hour-bug into 15 minutes, ward off countless Ashleigh-borne influenza, just to name a few. I mean, the CDC draws blood from me every year to use in designing flu shots.

Either way, this illness between Ashleigh and I has prevented a real Holiday. There have been days over the past 2 weeks when our cars never left our driveway; even days when the shower fairy didn't visit until after dinner (yes, that is gross). On the bright side, Ashleigh and I have been hanging out a lot over the past few days. I have enjoyed that part immensely much in part because she hasn't made me watch 50 romantic comedies and has allowed me to watch football until I'm blue in the face.

Anyway, I hope your new year is fabulous and remember, if you see my immune system coming you have only minutes to live, if you don't see it, it's already too late.

2008 - A year in review

2008-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

Well, 2008 is almost over, and being as cliche as I can be, I will reflect over the year that was.

January: I made my first trip to South Korea; spending a week or so with some coworkers and hobnobbing with some green-suiters. This was just a tast of what was to come.

February: Pretty normal February celebrating a 4 yr-wedding anniversary and a 29th birthday (yikes, 45 days until I'm 30!).

March/April/May: Made my second 14 hour flight to South Korea in 3 months. I was in-country for 30 days before I was able to come home. Needless to say, this was a stressful time being away from Ashleigh for so long.

June-September: Pretty laid back Summer, with two trips to Destin and some much desevered R&R.

October-December: Much of this time was spent naseous from all the political ads and vomitous from the resulting election. On top of that, Auburn was horrible this year which put me over the edge. A remarkably busy Christmas time has been tempered with a lot of time off from work. The Walker family Christmas tree of 2008 has set a new standard for the perfect Christmas tree.

Notables:
1) Found an amazing small group who have been so loving and supportive. Ashleigh and I are blessed to be a part of our Lifegroup. The friends we have made at Mayfair are truly special to us and we love you all dearly.
2) The conversion from Myspace to Facebook: I used to update myspace with great regularity, now it's facebook 5 times a day.
3) New blog: Taking my geekdom to a new level with this little blog you're reading.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have made this past year great. I love you all!

My Acceptance Speech

2008-12-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

Below is not really a blog, but I have neglected this baby for a while so I guess I'll toss out some fodder. Anyway, below is my acceptance speech given for winning the 2008 Air Defense Team Fantasy Football Championship.

First of all, I'd like to thank the commissioner of the Fantasy Football League, Mark Bell, for his leadership over this season. Secondly, I'd like to thank my fellow competitors for a great season and the sportsmanship that was shown out there on the field. Lastly, I just have to take a minute and talk about my team. The season started off pretty shaky. At the lottery, my ball was drawn last. At the draft, I was the target of several laughs for picking Jay Cutler, Ronnie Brown and others (who's laughing now?). On several occasions, I had to call on back-ups to pick up the slack and I'm happy to say they did. You know, after that first loss to Bell's Ballers, Tony Romo called a team meeting and told the team to get on his back. Unfortunately, the next week, he went down with a broken pinkie. Chad Pennington took Romo's spot and played beautifully. And when Roy Williams went to the Cowboys, never to start again, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith called a "Offensive Player Only" meeting. Every day, they were in the weight room; the running backs performing agility drills and the receivers and tight ends ran more routes than I can count.

I'm saddened that this season had to come to an end, but I will never forget this team or this championship.

Thank you all.

Kam Walker
2008 Fantasy Football Champion (Winner of the Regular Season, Point Total, and Playoff)

Tales from the Men's locker room

2008-12-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, played basketball today for the first time in a while (it showed). Had a great time and got some exercise in the mean time. After 5 games of full court 4 on 4, I'd had enough and went to the locker room to get my bag. That's when I saw it; an image that is burned into my brain much like Michael kissing Oscar on The Office. One gentleman who was getting dressed was carrying on a conversation with a man who had just stepped out of the shower to dry off. Read that again, he stepped out of the shower to dry off. Instead of drying off in the quite spacious and clean shower area, he had strategically positioned himself in the middle of the locker room. To top it all off, the portly and quite hairy gentleman was making sure he was completely dry. Picture Michael Scott (The Office) when he props one foot on the desk he's standing next to. Yep. Now you have an idea of what I am dealing with here.

Lifegroup Christmas Party

2008-12-15T15:15:00.001-08:00

Last night was our inaugural Lifegroup Christmas Party, and it was a blast. We had a great turnout of about 20 people with food for 50. I really hope everyone had as good of a time as I did. The Kuepkers were the big winners on the night taking home the prizes for winning our games of Santa's Sack and Christmas Trivia. Kyle also stole the mug I really wanted in Dirty Santa, but that's another story for another blog. I guess I can get my revenge by putting his picture on here....

The Griswald Family Christmas Tree

2008-12-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am blogging twice in one night...so sue me. I promised Christmas tree pics and I am delivering.

Back from Bridge City

2008-12-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it took 20+ hours in the back of a truck, but I have been to and am back from Bridge City, Texas. This little town of 9,000 people or so are still piecing back their lives after Hurricane Ike. I worked along with 30+ brothers and sisters in Christ to help at three homes. The Disaster Response Team is an amazing organization of dedicated servants who are spearheading the Bridge City recovery effort. The first day I spent roofing a house and the second day "mucking" two other homes. I have to admit, I didn't really muck much. Most of the soiled, wet, moldy household goods had been removed from both houses before I got there. It's amazing how you don't hear about what the people down there are still going through. I could write all night about my trip, but I have to pack again for Dallas. Summing up, I had a good time and worked my tail off.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

2008-12-02T17:57:00.001-08:00

Well, it's my favorite time of year. The cool weather, the lights, the trees, friends, family, loved ones, and in-laws. Ashleigh and I have several traditions and tonight, we are fulfilling one of those. You see, although I am a staunch believer in artificial, pre-lit trees, Ashleigh loves the real deal; so one of my gifts to her every year is a real Christmas tree. So that is the first of our traditions, real trees. The second of this tradition is either by happenstance or pure spite. You see, we generally choose the coldest night of the season to go get the tree. Although it wasn't as cold as the night we ventured out last year (16 degrees F), it was still a blustery 39F tonight. The third of our traditions is homemade snickerdoodles. Ashleigh whips up a batch on this very night and we munch as we decorate the tree. If you know Ashleigh's cooking, you know that they were unbelievable. Fourthly, we listen to Christmas music while we trim the tree. What's a festive night without Bing Crosby's White Christmas, Burl Ives' Holly Jolly Christmas, or my favorite Blue Christmas by The King himself.
Last year we waited until around the 16th before we picked out our tree. Not this year, we ventured out in the old front-wheel drive wagon and picked out the perfect Grizwald family tree. Ok, so we don't have a wagon, but we did get one dandy of a tree. As soon as we get it decorated, I'll post pics. Good night!

Thanksgiving Eve

2008-11-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

So it's Thanksgiving Eve and all is good in the Walker household. Yesterday, I gave myself an early Christmas present and bought the CharBroil Big Easy infrared turkey fryer. Tomorrow, I will give this puppy a shot. I'm frying a turkey with cajun/creole seasoning, so it should be interesting if nothing else.

As we all know, Troup is Ashleigh's favorite "child". He gets special treatment (gets to come in, take naps, and spend time with his Momma). Turns out, that when he is away from Brinkley, he is a very calm little pup. Even more interesting is that he likes to wear T-shirts. I guess I know what Santa will be bringing him...

I'm giving up coffee

2008-11-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

That's right, I'm kicking the habit. I'm off the wagon (or on it). I absolutely love coffee. It is one of the few things that get me thru each day. That was until Friday. Friday started perfectly, the first day of my 10 day holiday. I got up early for an off day (6:00 or so) and went upstairs to play Xbox while Ashleigh got her sleep. Around 9:00 I smelled coffee brewing downstairs and figured that enough digital fictional henchmen had died that morning, so I headed down. Ash isn't really a coffee drinker, but she makes it sometimes and I am entirely appreciative. As I was going through the motions of pouring my cup of endulgence, something caught, and I froze. What happenned next is really a blur. I was in so much pain, I didn't know what to think.
I spent the next 2 hours trying to get comfortable and absolutely could not do it. Even after a hot shower and a muscle relaxer, nothing helped. Finally, I broke down and allowed Ashleigh to call a friend who is a "carpracter". He was nice enough to see me at his earliest time. After some Xrays and treatment, it turns out my C2-5 vertabrae are curved enough to callapse the nerves in one area. That caused a massive spasm in my neck, to which I can still feel the pain. Apparently, the angle I was standing and pouring the coffee was just right for a spasm. He assured me that with a few visits, we could fix the curve, but the pain will be here for another 2 weeks. Yay, I guess I don't really have to worry about what I'll do for the next 10 days!
Anyway, today is day 3, and I am much better, but still dealing with moderate soreness/stiffness. And I couldn't stay mad at Coffee, so I'm back off the wagon (or on it, I don't know which is right).

Holiday....Celebrate

2008-11-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

OK, so I can't tell you how pumped I am right now. I am off from work for the next 10 days! On the "In/Out" board at work, I put down that I will return on December 1 with the note: Blackberry Broken. Although I doubt it will deter anyone from disturbing my holiday, it was worth a shot. Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend and that you can enjoy being with the ones you love too.

Bad boys, bad boys. Whatchya gonna do?

2008-11-17T16:35:00.001-08:00

We love them, but sometimes....mmmm...I just want to do things that have PETA on my doorstep in a hurry. Brinkley, our 3 year old golden retriever, is a great dog. He's loving, easy going, and protective of our property. Troup, our 1 year old English springer spaniel, is also loving and unbelievably adorable. Also, he lets us know that sirens are going off in the distance as he does his best howling imitation (I hope to get video of this). However, in his one year of living in our backyard, Troup has totally ridded us of the lattice underneath our screened in porch and created foxholes that General Patton would be proud of. Given the rainy weather lately, Troup has also found ways to dig those holes next to the fence, where he can get out and explore. The good thing is that he doesn't go far. The bad thing is that he always finds trash and brings it back in to our yard for his own personal experiments on just how many pieces can a newspaper be torn in to. On top of all this, he gets muddy (exhibits below). Thank goodness that our neighbors are unbelievably nice. Mr. Slifka chased Troup back into the yard today and put rocks up to block the holes. Stealing a line from Tommy Boy, Troup better pray to the god of adorable dogs that he is so cute.

Another first

2008-11-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

So I was playing with the dogs in the back yard this afternoon when I thought, hmm, I think I'll post a video. While this doesn't show just how fast Troup is, it does kind of show you how fetch goes. I throw something, Troup runs after it, and Brinkley waits. It hasn't always been this way. When Troup was younger, Brinkley was faster and would get to the ball first. Now, he doesn't even bother. He just sits at my feet and lets me rub him while Troup does all the hard work. Who says dogs aren't smart?

Without the Internet...

2008-11-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

I was doing some research yesterday on my Grandfather. I did the normal thing and Googled his name. I came up with exactly one matching hit. Sadly, that hit was a link to the Antioch Cemetery. Antioch is the community that I grew up in. Luckily, I happened to grow up within 100 yards of my Grandmother (my Grandfather died when I was 4). Back to him.... I know very little about him, and from what I know he was a great man. Not one for the history books, but a great man anyway. He served his country in World War II. He worked at the Ford plant in the Shoals, and he worked tirelessly on his farm. A God-fearing man, he raised two daughters (one of course is my mom) and was a spiritual leader in his home and community. He lost his battle with cancer at a relatively young age of 65. Nothing extraordinary, but at the same time there was nothing ordinary about him. The result of his labor is fruited in his family: strong work ethics, committed family love, and every one of his decendents are followers of Christ. How amazing is that? If people like my grandfather were "the norm", how great a place would this be? That being said, I want to make it right. Albert Leo Peck now has a respectable Google hit.

Ok, I'm on board

2008-11-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

I figured it was about time to give in to this who blogging thing. All the cool kids are doing it, right? First it was Myspace, then Facebook, now Blogging. Maybe, I only managed a seat in the caboose, but I'm on.

Last night started out great. We had a great LifeGroup discussion and good fellowship afterwards. It all started around 11:30... Our two dogs, Brinkley and Troup are beloved by many people. Excluded from that list are our neighbors, at least they are now. Last night, Ashleigh and I got up no less than 7 times total to shut the dogs up. We can't actually confirm the number as I had to move to a different bed, but that's for another blog at another time. Anyway, if you're our neighbor, I am sorry, and it's not my fault...I am a cat person.