Running on Empty

Where to start? I'm so far behind with this blog that I'm not sure I should attempt to play catchup and instead let the last five-six months go. I'm still insanely addicted to Lord of the Rings Online and play almost every night. I'm still writing reviews for SimHQ and have, in fact, been trying to finish up a midrange GPU article today. I'm still working on the base, though for a 2nd new employer since I last wrote, having switched companies twice now. The first time was December 1st and the 2nd was just last week, May 1st. I've managed to retain my benefits and wrangled a fairly substantial salary increase out of these contract changes, so I really can't complain.

My mom's 71st birthday was last week and we all met at Donatos on N. Limestone again and then went back to her house for cake and ice cream. My brother and his twins were up for our nephew's wedding last weekend. Hard to believe my sister's youngest, Chris, a baby I once held and named Yoda is now 24 years old and married. But the ceremony went well and it was a beautiful wedding. Megan was the flower girl and did a spectacular job as a mopish diva holding the spotlight for as long as she could and she mozied on down the aisle. Chris' older brother, Tony, was also in town from Portland and I tried to get the six grandchildren into a photo shot since it was the first time we had six out of seven of them together, but with the wedding and reception chaos it just didn't happen.

Ian is growing and doing fairly well. He's caught a small cold this weekend and has been having trouble with reflex, which keeps the little guy up at night at times, but he's the happiest little guy during the day and becoming a little daddy's boy. Which of course goes over very well with me. Megan's speech has really progressed and she's almost done with her therapy. She wears glasses now to help correct the muscles in her right eye and will hopefully only need them until 2nd or 3rd grade.

I've really let myself go again over the last few years and after looking at some of the wedding pictures from last weekend have decided to try to reinvogorate my former enthusiasm for working out. This past week I did fairly well, lifting weights and doing cardio every day despite a pinched nerve in my back, which has since apparently gone away and is no longer bothering me. My main issue is controlling my caloric intake and if I can get that under control I'll be well on my way toward getting back down to my desired weight and shape. We're going out for breakfast tomorrow morning for Mother's Day, so I'll need to avoid the pancakes and syrup (a Herculean effort in the face of such temptations).

I finally finished Turtledove's Timeline 191 series, reading the last four books that covered his alternate WW2. I've been trying to pick up more with my reading but working full-time and coming home to a wife and two children leave me little time. And once it's evening my aging eyes have a hard time focusing on paperback-sized print, which simply tells me it's time to visit the optometrist again for a new pair of reading glasses (current ones are over two years old). The joy of becoming middle aged.

My Classmates.com discovery I'd mentioned in an earlier post produced some nice hits and contacts. Hopefully I'll be able to meet a few old friends the next time they visit the area. The years are rolling by on an ever-steeper hill and I'm not sure there's a brake to be found.