The Boyfriend

I attended a technical college in Goodland, Kansas right out of high school. Goodland is about 90 minutes from Yuma, Colorado. Yuma is where I went to high school. I would return to Yuma on weekends to visit my parents, my friends, and my sister (Gina.) Partway through that first year my parents moved to Salt Lake City.

Luckily for me my sister still lived in Yuma. She rented a pretty big house with her three children and her best friend Tina. I would come back to Yuma and stay at Gina's and Tina's house. As part of the price to stay there I would baby sit Gina's kids from time to time so team Gina and Tina could go out and party.

Though Tina had a boyfriend (whom I hadn't met), the team would go manhunting for my sister. On one such occasion the team went out and I stayed home to watch the kids. About an hour after the team left Tina's boyfriend came up from the basement where Tina's bedroom was located.

He introduced himself as Jim. He snubbed my offer of a handshake. I let it go. Tina usually had weird taste in boyfriends and I thought he was a classic example. Jim was cool and laid back. He dressed in 70's retro and wore John Lennon type glasses.

We discussed music. He seemed interested in the fact that I was a drummer. Jim mentioned that we should jam sometime since he was a guitarist.

I offered him a beer which he took but never took a drink. He was interested in talking about the house. He seemed to know a lot about the history of the house. Jim told me that the location of the couch was in the wrong spot and that it is always supposed to be under the window. As he said, "where it has always been."

We talked for hours. Finally I saw the headlights of Gina's car coming up the drive. Jim said he had to go to the bathroom and left the room. Gina and Tina walked in the door. In their drunken yammering one of them asked what I had been doing. I told them that Jim and I had just been sitting here talking. Gina asked who Jim was and I told her Tina's boyfriend. Gina paused and said quite matter of factly that Tina's boyfriend's name is Ricky and he is in Denver this weekend picking up a load of brick. We checked the entire house. We found no one. Jim was gone including the beer I had given him.

Through the years Gina lived in the house they had not seen Jim. Gina would later tell me that she would have arguments with Tina about rearranging the furniture. Gina said Tina would move the couch all the time and Tina would deny these claims. I asked if the couch was moved under the window and she said yes and asked how I knew. I told her that Jim mentioned that is the rightful location for the couch.

I would love to go back to Yuma and talk to the current residents of the house. I would like to know if Jim is still there arranging furniture. Maybe one day Jim will find what he is looking for and finally rest in peace.

My Knee Hurts

As the title suggests my knee hurts. I went to the doctor and she said I strained a tendon in my knee. I looked it up on the webs and discovered that a strained tendon in the knee is also called Jumpers Knee.

I think I over used the knee. I started working out again about a month and a half ago. I don't recall a single incident in which I hurt said knee, but it started swelling and aching one night while bowling. I doubted bowling had anything to do with the injury, but I had to have it checked out.

I saw the doctor about three weeks ago and she prescribed less treadmill and more Aleve. I complied. The swelling has gone down and I no longer have a noticeable limp, but I don't feel anywhere near 100%. I haven't been back to the gym out of fear of making it worse. I didn't figure it was going to take this long to heal. Between the webs and friends experience it looks like it is going to take months not days to heal. Crap.

I plan on going back to the gym this weekend bad knee or not. If this seems like a bad idea, I can't help it. I have a history of rushing back after an injury. I fractured my elbow during the first quarter of the first game of my junior year football season. The doctor told me it would take 3 to 6 months before I could return to sports. 3 to 6 months hell. The season only had 7 games left not including post season. I wasn't going to miss this season. We had a good team and I figured we could go far.

So returning back to practice on Monday I told coach that the doctor said it was hyperextended and I should take it easy for a week. Yes, I lied. With some foam rubber and a lot of athletic tape, I played the entire season. That season was extended because we made it to state playoffs. So, in all I played 8 and a half games with a fractured elbow.

I know it was a pretty stupid risk to take, but I was young and bullet proof. It took close to 10 years before I could completely straighten my elbow. I'm still not sure that it straightens all the way, but it is close enough. Oh yeah, it pops a lot still, too. Still I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Now back to the knee. Yes, I'm going back to the gym. Yes, I'm rushing it and it will probably take longer to heal because of it. No, that isn't going to stop me. I still feel like that 16 year old kid with a fractured elbow. There is no way I'm going to sit on the sidelines.

30 Rock

I've never watched it during its regularly scheduled time, but I love 30 Rock on DVD. It is much better watching episodes one after the other and not waiting a week between. Naturally I have the same crush on Tina Fey that all other TV geeks have. Outside of that the show is brilliantly written and acted. Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy is priceless. I love the whisper growly voice he uses.

If you have never seen the show, I highly recommend you do. It is on a comedic par with Arrested Development, Sports Night, and 20/20. Why are you still reading this? Go to Blockbuster, the library or Netflix website and get yourself a copy. You won't regret it.

Careers

I'm always curious about other people's careers. How did you come into this job? Do you like your job? If not, what would you prefer to do? These are just a few questions I would ask you if you were standing right here right now. I'm always curious because I have met people who have a college degree that is not related to their current position. This fascinates me.