I was out in the snow yesterday and it got me to thinking about a few notable snows when I was a kid. Since my birthday is in mid-January it wasn't unusual for it to snow on or around it when I was a kid. It really only happened a few times but to this day my parents still say, "It always snows on Alan's birthday." But I still have fond memories of being out of school several times on birthday.
When I turned eleven we had a big snow storm in Nashville. It got down to nine below zero and we had to postpone my birthday party. My cousin Johnny got snowed in with us for a few days and we watched the Star Wars trilogy on VHS several times. It was great.
Another big snow we had was in either 1986 or 1987. I stayed at my Grandparent's house with my Grandmother and it snowed about five inches. The great thing about their house that it was on a pretty steep hill. I had taken my sled with me so I was excited. The first few runs were fine as I stayed down in the yard. Then I got the bright idea to take the driveway down. I got up to speed and hit the street but couldn't stop. I skipped across the across the street neighbor's ditch and wound up on their front porch. I lay there for a few minutes before I finally got up and limped back up the hill. I decided to stay in the rest of the day and read comic books.
The worst snow we had was in 1994. The people who lived here at the time will never forget the Ice Storm of 1994. Power went out all over the south for extended periods of time. Just about everyone I knew was without power except for us and we took in several people. My cousins and my friend Kelly came and stayed with us for close to a week. It was great having so many people around the house. We played games and watched football and drank lots of hot chocolate. I also remember this being the time I grew to really love Jimmy Buffett. I listened to Songs You Know By Heart on repeat during that storm. It kept me warm and a little sane. That was a great time.
There were several other notable snows in my youth but those are the ones that really stick out in my mind. Kids now will remember this snow when they get older. The good times and memories from childhood are the ones that help shape us in the future. I hope they enjoy it.
January 30, 2010
My "Fast" Life Days 9-11
It's pretty much been the same the last few days. I think I've leveled out and I'm starting to grow accustomed to this new diet of healthy foods. Other than the convenience of fast food and the occasional sugar craving things are going well. And speaking of sugar cravings, today (day 11) was really tough. I went to WalMart and Kroger both today and of course they are both doing a big Valentine's Day push. I wanted to buy one of everything and eat it right there in the middle of the store. Only nineteen more days left. I swear, at 12:01 on February 19th I am going to be at Waffle House whoring myself out for a stack of waffles and a piece of pecan pie heated with butter. On a related note I had to punch another hole in my belt today. Yay me!!
January 26, 2010
My "Fast" Life Days 4-8
I have discovered that black beans and whole wheat spaghetti are my friends. Maybe not other people's friends but definitely mine. My spaghetti sauce is still in tact except for the meat but I tend to eat tomato sauce when I go out anyway so it's not a great sacrifice. I still have some potabella mushrooms in my 'fridge that I have to figure out how to use. All in all the weekend was easy to get through, except for last Friday night. At work that night we had macaroni and cheese and it was tough not to bury my head in the pan. Dairy is the toughest. I have also discovered that I do not like navel oranges. Something about them just does not set well with my pallet.
I finally got back in the gym on Sunday. I had a good workout considering the gym closed earlier than I thought it did so I didn't get the full effect. Monday morning I had another good workout but it just reaffirmed that I hate doing leg workouts. So as it stands my chest and legs are sore as crap. I should have never taken a two week break.
I finally got back in the gym on Sunday. I had a good workout considering the gym closed earlier than I thought it did so I didn't get the full effect. Monday morning I had another good workout but it just reaffirmed that I hate doing leg workouts. So as it stands my chest and legs are sore as crap. I should have never taken a two week break.
January 21, 2010
My "Fast" Life Day 3
Today was a lot easier. The caffeine headache is still here but I really feel better about what I can and can't eat. I've got some cool recipes and I'm finding out that I like more foods than I thought I did. I've even started eating oranges which I've never liked in the past. Maybe I'll find I like strawberries as well.
The toughest part about today was smelling the food at Calhoun's when I went to Party City. It smelled so good!! I'm going to get fat the first week I'm off of this fast. I also told my father about being on the fast and he asked why I was doing it? I still don't have a answer for that one. He reminded me that there is supposed to be a purpose and it should be accompanied by prayer. I haven't been the praying type in a long time, at least not when times are good. I need to figure out why I'm doing this and why I was so compelled to try.
On a completely unrelated note I bought a guitar today. I'm happy to own another electric guitar. Now I'm almost set for the show I'm playing on February 19th. More details on that will follow.
The toughest part about today was smelling the food at Calhoun's when I went to Party City. It smelled so good!! I'm going to get fat the first week I'm off of this fast. I also told my father about being on the fast and he asked why I was doing it? I still don't have a answer for that one. He reminded me that there is supposed to be a purpose and it should be accompanied by prayer. I haven't been the praying type in a long time, at least not when times are good. I need to figure out why I'm doing this and why I was so compelled to try.
On a completely unrelated note I bought a guitar today. I'm happy to own another electric guitar. Now I'm almost set for the show I'm playing on February 19th. More details on that will follow.
My "Fast" Life Day 1 & 2
I started a fast on January 19, 2010. I'm still not 100% sure why I am doing this but here I am. I will be on this fast for thirty days and while I'm on it I cannot have meat and animal products, dairy, yeast, sweeteners of any kind, refined and processed food products, deep friend foods, and solid fats. Also, I can only drink purified, distilled or spring water. This is going to be a long thirty days. I have also given up ANY kind of carnal pleasure for the duration. Did I mention this was going to be a long thirty days?
Several people have suggested that I blog about this process and being the self important person that I am I decided put the words down on internet. This is how my first couple days went:
Day 1 - I did okay for the most part. I'll be honest, I kinda woke up this morning and decided I was going to do the fast so I didn't prepare at all. I also didn't read the rules as closely as I thought I had. I had leavened bread with my Boca burger. So really I broke the rules twice on this one. Boca burgers have yeast in them. I did not know this until day two. It took me roughly two and a half hours to screw up.
Day 2 - Things were a little better today. I had a better sense of what was expected and what not to eat. The worst part is the caffeine headache. That and since I work in the service industry I have to be around all the food I can't eat. I hate this already.
Several people have suggested that I blog about this process and being the self important person that I am I decided put the words down on internet. This is how my first couple days went:
Day 1 - I did okay for the most part. I'll be honest, I kinda woke up this morning and decided I was going to do the fast so I didn't prepare at all. I also didn't read the rules as closely as I thought I had. I had leavened bread with my Boca burger. So really I broke the rules twice on this one. Boca burgers have yeast in them. I did not know this until day two. It took me roughly two and a half hours to screw up.
Day 2 - Things were a little better today. I had a better sense of what was expected and what not to eat. The worst part is the caffeine headache. That and since I work in the service industry I have to be around all the food I can't eat. I hate this already.
January 18, 2010
They say it's your...
Most people look forward to the start of a new year, I don't. I have a birthday shortly after the first of the year and I don't like birthdays. I haven't since I was a teenager. I had the first birthday of the year in my group of friends and so no one could do anything on my birthday. Both my eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays found me sitting at home doing nothing because none of my friends were yet old enough to go out. On top of that I broke out in hives on my eighteenth birthday. To this day I have no idea why.
Sixteen wasn't any better. My family was going through some difficulties at the church we were attending. Because of that I wasn't around some of my best friends of many years. I had spent about ten years straight with them. Not a phone call, a card or a "Happy Birthday" from a one of them. Plus all the women in my family (including my Mom) decided to start teasing me about being "sweet 16 and never been kissed." It's bad enough that that saying is generally for girls but the fact I didn't have a girlfriend just intensified the teasing in my head.
Going to a private school means you see a lot of people get cars for their birthday. So returning to school sans car was a little tough. I wasn't expecting one because I didn't get my license for another three months. Dad wasn't too keen on me getting it. The only reason I did get my license was because my Mom took me after school one day without telling Dad what we were doing. To this day I'm not sure why he was so against it. But after having a disappointing milestone birthday I let it fade into the background the next couple years. I finished out my high school career without any birthday fanfare at school. I didn't promote it, I never spoke of it and no one remembered. No one.
Twenty-one was a major disappointment. None of my friends remembered it was my birthday but they were all quick to ask me buy them alcohol once they realized I was old enough. It's nice to feel loved. That was the year I started down the path to alcohol abuse. And that became a running trend on my birthday. I'll spare you all the details.
They weren't all that bad though. I had some great birthdays when I was a kid. My parents would throw big parties or have sleep overs. It was something I looked forward to every year, until I turned ten. Something snapped that year and I realized that childhood was about to be over. I cried a lot that year. It was the year that my depression kicked in and became a constant companion in my life. Especially around my birthday. As every year clicked off I died a little inside. That's some tough stuff to deal with when you're just a kid.
One of the worst ones was when I turned twenty-four. I said I didn't want to do anything for my birthday but my girlfriend pushed the issue. So I got loaded up before hand on merlot and spent dinner sulking in the restaurant. I felt bad about it immediately. But the worst one was two years ago. My ex-wife informed me six days before my birthday that she was moving out. Then a couple days before had the audacity to ask if she could go out with me and my friends to help me celebrate. She never had the best timing to begin with. I guess she did give me a good present that year by moving out two days afterward.
It seems that no matter how much I have looked forward to a birthday or planned on having a good one something snaps and my mood plummets. I'm not a self promoter so I don't say anything about it which is why so often it slips on by without many people noticing. And because I do make a big deal about not making a big deal most people don't know that I would like a little attention. My best friend, Mave always tells me that I'm bad about saying I want one thing but showing that I want another. That definitely applies here. Hopefully I'll have enough birthdays to get it right one day.
Sixteen wasn't any better. My family was going through some difficulties at the church we were attending. Because of that I wasn't around some of my best friends of many years. I had spent about ten years straight with them. Not a phone call, a card or a "Happy Birthday" from a one of them. Plus all the women in my family (including my Mom) decided to start teasing me about being "sweet 16 and never been kissed." It's bad enough that that saying is generally for girls but the fact I didn't have a girlfriend just intensified the teasing in my head.
Going to a private school means you see a lot of people get cars for their birthday. So returning to school sans car was a little tough. I wasn't expecting one because I didn't get my license for another three months. Dad wasn't too keen on me getting it. The only reason I did get my license was because my Mom took me after school one day without telling Dad what we were doing. To this day I'm not sure why he was so against it. But after having a disappointing milestone birthday I let it fade into the background the next couple years. I finished out my high school career without any birthday fanfare at school. I didn't promote it, I never spoke of it and no one remembered. No one.
Twenty-one was a major disappointment. None of my friends remembered it was my birthday but they were all quick to ask me buy them alcohol once they realized I was old enough. It's nice to feel loved. That was the year I started down the path to alcohol abuse. And that became a running trend on my birthday. I'll spare you all the details.
They weren't all that bad though. I had some great birthdays when I was a kid. My parents would throw big parties or have sleep overs. It was something I looked forward to every year, until I turned ten. Something snapped that year and I realized that childhood was about to be over. I cried a lot that year. It was the year that my depression kicked in and became a constant companion in my life. Especially around my birthday. As every year clicked off I died a little inside. That's some tough stuff to deal with when you're just a kid.
One of the worst ones was when I turned twenty-four. I said I didn't want to do anything for my birthday but my girlfriend pushed the issue. So I got loaded up before hand on merlot and spent dinner sulking in the restaurant. I felt bad about it immediately. But the worst one was two years ago. My ex-wife informed me six days before my birthday that she was moving out. Then a couple days before had the audacity to ask if she could go out with me and my friends to help me celebrate. She never had the best timing to begin with. I guess she did give me a good present that year by moving out two days afterward.
It seems that no matter how much I have looked forward to a birthday or planned on having a good one something snaps and my mood plummets. I'm not a self promoter so I don't say anything about it which is why so often it slips on by without many people noticing. And because I do make a big deal about not making a big deal most people don't know that I would like a little attention. My best friend, Mave always tells me that I'm bad about saying I want one thing but showing that I want another. That definitely applies here. Hopefully I'll have enough birthdays to get it right one day.
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