what has two thumbs and kicks ass?!?? THESE GUYS!!!; and so much more

yeah it's been a busy week at GJAW.
I get these blog ideas but then I have too much paper to push and I can't get to it. first, the latest picture. I am much too proud of it, but there you go. you have to take your laughs where you can get them, I guess.

I got pummeled in a sparring match on monday. bloody nose, scrapes on my forehead, sore ribs. I am not good at boxing. at all. it was kind of depressing. it IS kind of depressing. God humbles the proud, but did I have to take a beating? I guess so.

while I was at the gym, I heard "i'm in luv wit a stripper". yes, that is how it is spelled. I read it in rolling stone yesterday. and yes, that's the name of a new song by T-Pain. it's all over power 106 (crap radio station in so cal) and I think the album dropped already. ata kid, T-Pain. If you have not heard this song, please check it out immediately. This guy is in love wit a stripper, yo. It's so bad it's good. I bought the 12" single (on vinyl). two copies. (only $3.50 each!)

tattoos: it's just a skin picture. really, it's not a big deal. if you see some kook with words where his eyebrows should be, just say to yourself, damn, that guy needs therapy. the same thing you'd say if you saw somebody with a really gnarly facelift, as when you blink and your ears move.

I was going to write an entire blog entry about a woman who lost her son Iraq to an IED. he was killed with 8 other marines when they were riding in their humvee. She was on the front the provincial OC Register's Life or Local section. I forget which. here's the thing: this poor mom, she memorialized the soldiers by getting her new Hummer H2 painted with their pictures. on the whole thing, front, back, both sides, top. she said (paraphrasing) "my favorite part is where it shows them in heaven." let's explore this thought process a little bit...

1. son and 8 of his friends dies in awful, miserable country, thousands of miles from home/girlfriend/cheeseburgers/etc. [this is awful; I support the troops by suggesting they be brought home YESTERDAY, but we can't, because of our dependence on foreign oil, about which see #3, below]
   
2. mom grieves [so far, I got it]
3. Mom decides that painting her [huge, gas guzzling] SUV is best way to remember their sacrifice. [what. the f*ck. are you talking about. not sure how she got from step two to step 3. but I don't have kids, either. my mom has done this kind of stuff, and she is crazy for sure.]
   

St. Patrick's day is tomorrow. I took the day off. I don't get any work done that day, anyway. Here's some toasts you can try out as you raise a glass:

• May your house be too small to hold all your friends (got that from gramps)
• May those that love us, love us. And for those that do not love us, may God turn their hearts. And if he cannot turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so that we may know them by their limping (that from the interweb a couple years ago)
• Here's to old, new, and future friends (it's good to plan ahead)
  

some people are big fans of this eye-contact-while-cheersing thing. I am not. it's awkward with guys, and with girls I feel like they want to bone me. turns out that most of the time they don't, but it's still a little awkward. a little.

you can put your NCAAA tournament bracket on the list of things I don't care to hear about, directly below your fantasy football team, but above your rotisserie league team. I do like to talk about the individual games, though. I like Monmouth to beat Villanova. (for real.)

re: guitar playing - I suck spectacularly. and my fingers hurt. on the upside, if I practice for 2 years I probably won't be in danger of taking a beating (unlike my other hobby, boxing, about which see above).

this could have been two blogs, but what the hell? I'll revisit it later. thanks for reading.

i'm out of town all week next week and can't post. I'll be back on Monday, 27 March.