Prince Imrahil

I don't actively listen to it.

I don't watch basketball (especially pro-ball). Sometimes, I get into March Madness but that's about it. I find the game a bit boring (though if you like it, have at it). It's rare that something basketball related gets my attention. This is on of those rare times. From NBA.com: Kobe Bryant is someone who, for as long as I can remember, has had this air of smugness around him, like he can do/say whatever he wants and get away with it (at least relatively). Huge turn-off. This incident is just another reason for me to dislike him.

I see what you're saying. The reason I consider them vices is because I have a hard time stopping once I start many times. I'll start eating pizza and, far too often, don't stop until I'm bursting at the seams. Sometimes I can stop myself (if I'm mentally prepared, that certainly helps). Actually, I'm finally getting to a place where I can moderate this stuff, so it's less vice-like.

There are about two weeks left in Lent. It has been a bit rough at times because I gave up some major vices for Lent. That list includes sweets (i.e. candy, soda, ice cream etc.), fried foods (I love buffalo strips, especially with honey mustard), and pizza (which I have tons of access to on an almost daily basis). In general, part of the reason for giving up those specific things is 1) I'm trying to get leaner, 2) in a few days there is an event at which I will attempt to run 3.2 miles which is a lot for me and 3) diabetes runs in my family so avoiding sugar and obesity now voluntarily is far better than doing so with my life on the line. That said, I am almost literally counting down the days until Easter so I can indulge in the stuff that I have been without for the past few weeks. Seriously, when the clock strikes midnight, game on.

Bump

That was meant in both good and bad ways. It was another weekend filled with clouds, rain, and cool temperatures, but this time nature decided to add a lightning show, heavy fog, and some tornadoes in a nearby county. I got off of a six-hour shift at 10 Friday night, showered and changed, then headed back downtown to see a friend of a friend perform at a bar. It was a good performance, but the bar was fairly dead. I went to another bar a block away and met up with some people, where I was until last call (2 a.m. is when the bars close here in Virginia). I lucked out and hitched a ride with someone. I ended up getting less than 5 hours of sleep that night (and since much of that was drunk sleep, it doesn't really count). I, very slowly, got out of bed just after 8 a.m. Saturday morning (possible only because I popped an Aleve before going to bed the night before). Still a little drunk. Lucky me, I had a double-shift that day (some of which I was hungover for). I was working for 10 hours, pretty much all of which I was busy during. Oh how tired I was and my feet hurt quite a bit. I ended up going out again that night, but only for a few hours. Didn't get hammered, mainly because it was going to be another early day. Sunday was a pretty low key. Worked for five hours, went home and enjoyed a nice day. I went to see "Your Highness" that night with a couple of people. I know the film has gotten some bad reviews (probably from critics who were taking it way to seriously), but it was pretty good. I read something interesting: apparently, there was not a script onset, just an outline and the dialogue was primarily improvised. I seriously needed an extra day to recover from this weekend. Since I don't work on Mondays, I guess that's what today is for.

I'm looking for one more nation (with iron/marble) to fill out an 8 bonus trade ring. All the other resources are set. If you're interested, message here or in-game.

Monday, 9:30 a.m. I walk out of my townhouse to go on a morning run. It's a beautiful sunny day. It's warm with a light breeze from the South. People that I see seem in high spirits at the beginning of what will be a great Spring day. Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. I walk out of my townhouse on my way to work. It feels less like April and more like early Winter. The temperature is just above freezing, but a stiff wind out of the North makes it feel far colder. A light shower of snow is falling. And people's heads are down. The difference of twenty-four hours is a stark one. Such is the clime of this corner of the world. A week can take you through a year's worth of weather. There is a saying around here, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

This is actually from this past Sunday... Sudflood is an all-day (i.e. 1pm to 2am) concert that my fraternity puts on every year in April, the proceeds of which go to Push America (an organization to benefit people with mental and physical disabilities). There were a couple of years that the concert, for whatever reasons, didn't take place, so this was the first time in a while it went on. It was a blast. I saw a lot of people I had not seen in years. The weather was pretty crappy (40's, mostly cloudy, very windy), but some of the bands still played outside. I had a nice "beer blanket" on most of the time. One of the bands that was there was one of my favourites, Carbon Leaf. They played some my favourite songs of theirs including American Tale, The Boxer, and Desperation song. If you have never heard their stuff, give them a listen. I love seeing them live. It was a great day and a great night. I am paying for it now.

I walk into work on Tuesday morning, and one of the first things that I see is a picture of me printed out next to a picture of Gollum (i.e. from "The Lord of the Rings" film). What really got me was that this was done by one of the managers. I have a couple of thoughts on this: 1) I'm pretty sure I could have called this harassment since this was a manager (which someone suggested I do). 2) This manager is not well liked. Most of us hate him to some degree. I'm actually one of the people that didn't, and still don't though my opinion of him is quite a bit lower now. 3) Don't worry I didn't overreact or get pissed. I just let it alone and didn't even take the pictures down (another manager did the next day). Of course the main reason I left them up was so people would see what a !@#$% this guy is. Mission: Accomplished. 4) The funniest thing was that everyone thought I had done something to this guy to piss him off. And in case you're wondering no, I don't actually look like Gollum. I am pretty in Tolkien, which is where I guess he got the idea. ~ Today is April Fool's Day...which I hate. It's seriously one of the worst days of the year for me. I have a sense of humour and all, but this day has a habit of kicking my in the ass. To make matters worse, I have to work during it. I guess my hatred of this day dates back to grade four when one of my best friends told me he was moving away. Just as the tears started flowing down my face, he said "April Fool's." It didn't really help that he was the first guy I ever had a crush on (though the crush had ended months before), but even regardless of that, I felt totally naked and like a schmuck. So yeah this day pretty much blows. We'll see how it goes...I guess.

Glad to see VCU win, sad to see UNC lose.

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Bump...

I have rubber/wheat