I ran a dang Marathon and here are many paragraphs of what led up to it, all through the finish.

If someone told me 2 years ago that I would someday run a marathon, I would have punched them right in the face for being a damned liar. I thought of running as dreadfully boring, but I would go with Carly on occasion.

Besides going for quick runs around the park, we started going on a weekly 5k. I would have to stop and walk after the first mile or so. Eventually I made it to the halfway point without walking. I was stoked. The next time, I made it the whole way. I was doubly-stoked. After this, I was bitten by the running bug and looked forward to the next run to speed up my time, increase my distance, or work on better breathing and form. Every tiny aspect created a new goal.

Pictures are all up in here ->

When my Mom mentioned taking a boating vacation to the islands in the Florida Keys, I was more than willing to invite myself along. The whole concept was amazing. We would park the car, take the boat around and explore, camping on whatever beaches we could find. I would drink beers, wrestle crocodiles, catch sailfish with my bare hands and eat them raw. Bear Grylls would be jealous.

A few weeks ago, I thought, “It’s been a year, I should figure out how to use my dental insurance and find a dentist.” My teeth didn’t hurt or anything; I just figured it would be a good idea to pay a visit. Big mistake. It turns out some old fillings needed fixed up, and I needed some deep cleaning, and I need a crown put on my tooth. Apparently a crown is not as cool as a grill, even though it sounds like it would be. This stuff is all expensive, doesn’t make you look hard, and hurts like hell. I highly recommend that you don’t ever go to the dentist.

This includes going there to get a grill. I asked my dentist and he said that I would need to go to a cosmetic dentistry place to get the dental mold. He wouldn’t do them because they can cause gum disease and bone loss, or some bullshit like that. Meanwhile, he’s all cool with drilling holes in my teeth and putting some stain in there, and making me bite pieces of paper. How is any of that more relevant than having some sweet shiny gold teeth with maybe a diamond or two up in there? Anyway, my point is, don’t bother going to the dentist. If you need a grill, just stop by one of those places at the mall and you get a fake one for like $15. No one will notice it’s not the real deal.

So here it is on Sunday night. Me and Carly and Sam went out and played some pool. I played like a rock star. We drank some fine IPA and later a wonderful amber. After that, we came home, turned on the Olympics and I picked up my carving tools and began to fill my time with short thin layers of wood shavings as I carved through my block of wood you see at the right side of this page. After more time where the dog settled down and Carly moved to the bedroom to sleep, I realized something profound. The Olympics make you care about shit you could care less about.

There were figure skaters dressed in Indian attire doing a Bollywood jig, and before them, a country routine. I would look up every minute or so to see what would happen next. I would be lying if I said I was disappointed. I find it interesting that these people dedicate their lives to do things that are amazing only when I drunkenly turn an eye to their skill. It is not just me though. I am certain a good 100 million plus others are watching, every bit as enthralled as me.

But I lie about this drunken interest alone. I have been watching a good two and a half to three hours each night since the Olympics began. I was there when Lindsey Vaun got the gold. I was there when Shaun White beat his original score with his victory lap. I was there when Apolo Ohno earned his seventh medal to earn him the most decorated Winter Olympian in history. I could generally care less about sports in general, but the Olympics get the coveted thumbs up by me. Go World.

One important part of being an adult is having some seemingly excruciatingly boring hobbies. Being that I work with computers, I have always had these boring hobbies, so I had to take it up a notch this year. No, it's not doing 10,000 piece puzzles. It's not model train building. It's not stamp, coin or dust collecting. It is none other than whittlin' wood.

One of my New Years resolutions was to get back into artwork. I have done a couple relief carvings in the past, and I've enjoyed doing them. I wanted something unique though. I decided to go with a surrealistic theme. Given that most relief carvings are of still lifes, this gives me a chance to do something unique. With art, it's next to impossible to find a style that hasn't already been done. I'm sure this has too, but I haven't seen it, so it's unique to me.

The problem with relief carving is that it takes forever. I probably won't be done a year from now, but I will keep at it for at least a couple hours per week. I added that new section to the right, so you can keep up with progress as you check back on this site from time to time.

The picture is of a bull entangled in a tree that grows wider as it grows out. It's a new rendition of a picture that I drew in high-school. It was a simple one that was always one of my favorites. I'm carving into birch (10”x10”x3/4”) using Flexcut tools.

Now that I’m officially an adult, it’s time to start getting serious about adult things. One big thing is money. I have not been great with money in the past. I did buy a house that has dropped to 1/3 of its value from just 2 years ago. My original loan was set up so that the first 10 years of payments would be nothing but interest. At one point, I had 3 cars to myself. I own 4 computers, several pairs of multi-hundred dollar pants, and I don’t bat an eye at a $12 six-pack of beer.

With a down economy, I can’t be blowing money like this anymore. I have to take responsibility and be aware that retirement will come before I know it. I could have a whole mess of children, and those children will require money. I need some savings and I need it fast.

Some people look for financial advisors when they get serious about savings. That’s stupid. Those people cost money. The point is to save it, not spend it on someone telling you how to save it.

Last Saturday was my big 3-0 birthday. As you may know from Your Matt's Guide to Being an Adult, I spent my late-20's considering as my pre-30's to prepare myself for adulthood. I followed my own advice and now feel empowered with my new stature in age. Sure, many of the people I look up to are now younger than I am. I know it's too late to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional keytar player for the New York Philharmonic. It's too late for me to learn how to play football and be the best dang fullback the Bangals have ever seen. I will never even learn how to walk a tightrope, let alone have a well known juggling, unicycle riding, tightrope act at the Renaissance Fair.

From the moment I first saw Michael Jackson on that fateful episode of Silver Spoons where he showed up at the diner and got mobbed by all the patrons, I was instantly curious of the popularity of this fellow. I recognized him from a song on the show, but wasn't aware that he was actually more famous than Ricky Schroder. As the years went on, I had realized that he was the icon of the 80's and most likely more well known than any of our US presidents. Everyone else was interested, so I too became interested and even a fan of his music.

Following the news of Michael Jackson's death, I became reclusive until I felt some semblance of closure. Months later, This Is It is released, and now I can finally feel as if I can move on. It's not a traditional movie of sorts. It's more of a collection of moments of Michael Jackson's life all tied up into 120 minutes of nostalgia. One cannot relive such a rich history without it bringing you back to the times when it was all new. I remembered the hours my brother and I spent trying to lean as far we could, like Michael Jackson did in Smooth Criminal. I remembered sitting in a small chair with my first off-playground girlfriend on my neighbor's porch, while we listened to Bad from end-to-end. I remembered the smell of burnt popcorn after leaving it sit too long on the stove, while I intently watched the Black or White special during the 1993 Super Bowl.

This is why This is It is such a wonderful excursion back in time, and relives the Michael Jackson that we all knew and loved. It has moments of joy, silliness and sadness. You may even catch yourself in a moment of tears. I held it together though. I didn't cry. OK, I'm lying... I didn't actually see This Is It.

Carly and I have been looking forward to this movie ever since we saw the trailer before Inglorious Basterds. Carly has fond memories of the book; I don't remember the book so well, but just wanted to see a movie with big monster puppets. I figured what better place to see big monster puppets than the fabled big screen at IMAX. I have never been to IMAX. I was impressed by the sheer scale of the screen, and the fact that it is is a silver screen.

I hear silver screens make the picture brighter, and that may be true, but it wasn't as bright as the screen on the cell phone the lady in front of us was using throughout the movie. If you are one of these people that text messages during a movie, do know that the people behind you think you are rude. If you are the husband of a lady that's text messaging throughout the movie, and you aren't saying anything to her about it, we also think you are rude.

Holy cow, I’ve been in Colorado for 2 months already. So far, it’s been a wonderful experience. I had hoped I could move up here and get a change of pace. That’s exactly how it’s worked out.

The house is pretty great. I put some house pictures here ➪. My favorite part is the high ceilings.. and probably the shower. It’s seriously better than any shower I’ve had in a Vegas hotel or anywhere for that matter.