Friday, February 23, 2007

My list of 100 things...


1. I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world
2. I am not the only person on earth who thinks so
3. I love sports
4. NASCAR isn't a sport ... fits right in with professional wrestling but more expensive
5. I love most animals
6. I trust none of them
7. I hate snakes, spiders, and only like sharks in movies
where they eat people
8. I don't like to swim in the ocean
9. I have lived in the Green Mountains, the White Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Smokey Mountains, and I have visited the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas.
10. I don't like flat states too much
11. I don't like tornados but I like movies about them
12. I like volcanos, but I don't like movies about them
13. I am a conservative Republican - but I am a budding environmentalist
14. I've been published
15. No, you've never read me before
16. Oops - I guess I just lied ... something I did with frequency, determination, and skill as a teenager (but only to my parents)
17. I bleed orange
18. I love the Red Sox
19. the yankees? see #18... and no, I've NEVER capitalized the "y" word, even if it meant getting points off for spelling in school. You think I'm kidding ...
20. Green Monsters rock - Wally, Oscar, you name it ... oh yeah, Elmo too - he has Red Sox
21. The Cubs will not win a World Series in my lifetime
22. Contrary to popular belief, Pat Summitt is one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet and Peyton Manning isn't boring at all. I know ... I've met them.
23. Peyton Manning went to school with me
24. My two best friends are both at least 6 foot 4 inches tall.
25. I'm a little shorter than that
26. I thoroughly enjoy cartography - my third choice as a profession
27. Choice #2 was to be a fighter pilot
28. I open doors for women because I respect them
29. I still love video games (see picture) and have been called a "vidiot" by my own mother

30. My Dad was an Olympic class skiier - but chose to serve his country and have a family instead of pursuing an athletic career

31. I will never forget either of these choices - they revolutionized my viewpoint of myself as an athlete, a man, and a father

32. I once hit 33 NBA three-pointers in a row

33. My favorite NBA player was Larry Bird ... #33

34. I have been schooled by a female college hoops player

35. I'd rather hit a jumpshot in someone's face than dunk

36. I am a good shot blocker (aka "I am a skilled metalworker")

37. I have a vivid imagination

38. I'm kinda competitive

39. My family and close friends are laughing their heads off right now

40. I am an avid golfer ... but I stink at golf

41. My golf buddy is my banker ... but I don't mind beating him

42. I have golfed in February in New Hampshire, in June in North Carolina, in 12 consecutive months in Tennessee and in the following conditions: snow, rain, sleet, hail, lightning, 50 mph winds, and 45 minutes after sunset.

43. I believe car alarms are completely useless ... but both my cars have them

44. I believe seatbelts are second only to the Bible in saving lives

45. I have contributed to the delinquency of a minor - and I am related to him

46. I have broken the law and been forgiven for doing it

47. I love animated movies and VeggieTales

48. I have a receding hairline that is 50% genetics and 50% veterinary school

49. I love and quote 2 Kings 2:23-24 on a regular basis

50. I used to love to read in my free time

51. Veterinary school is an effective antidote for this hobby

52. I have traveled to Honduras to treat human patients

53. Real doctors treat more than one species

54. Two of my closest friends are physicians

5. I know someone who got 1600 on their SATs - she is in college at age 16

56. I only got 1390 on mine (or so I was told - I forgot!)

57. I think most of my worldly possessions have been either bought or sold on ebay ... including most of my clothes, a car, all of my golf equipment, 95% of my video game/computer stuff, and LOTS of toys

58. Canadians are lousy ebayers

59. I've never been issued a traffic citation of any kind

60. I speed regularly (but don't tell my brother-in-law)

61. My favorite drink is Dr. Pepper... and it has nothing to do with me being "Dr. P" at work

62. I love to fly and I have always wanted to skydive

63. I am afraid of heights

64. Cyrano de Bergerac is my favorite character from classic literature ... the Count of Monte Cristo is a close second

65. I love a good revenge flick

66. Calvin and Hobbes have no equal

67. I hate bratty kids

68. I have been involved in breaking four Guinness Book of World Records records

69. Cutaneous histiocytomas, mast cell tumors, and traumatic diaphragmatic hernias are really cool

70. Cancer really isn't cool ... it sucks pond slime

71. I make my best medical decisions when I am half asleep or treating an emergency case

72. Two items NEVER to economize on: shoes and beds ... we spend 3/4 of our lives in one or the other

73. Weird Al Yankovic is a genius and should get a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement

74. I am NOT one of the ten most intelligent people I know well

75. My IQ is kinda high

76. There is a very short list of men I would trust my family's lives with in an instant and without hesitation: my fathers, Uncle George, Uncle John McG, Chiroman, Dr. John, Dick Brown, my cousin Eric, Dr. Matt, Tab Jordan, and any of my 3 brothers-in-law

77. I have been addicted to pornography

78. God forgiveness and healing are bigger than any sin problem you can conjure, concoct, commit, or conceal

79. I prescribe Valium, narcotics, anti-depressants, tranquilizers, sedative/hypnotics, and anti-psychotic drugs on a regular basis

80. I have never taken any of them

81. I have given over 100,000 injections in my career

82. I hate needles

83. I have faster reflexes than any dog on earth ... and slower ones than any cat's

84. Getting kicked by a horse doesn't hurt all that much

85. Getting kicked by a cow hurts like a bugger

86. <-- years between World Series wins for the Red Sox, the year of their last World Series appearance before that, and also the number of combined runs scored by the Red Sox and yanks in the ALCS in 2004 when Boston became the first MLB team ever to win a series when down 3 games to none.

87. If Ted Williams didn't serve in World War II nobody would be talking about Barry Bonds because the home run record would be completely out of reach

88. I only know one man who takes his baseball team anywhere near as serious as I take mine

89. If I could ask God to change me, I would ask for: half the artistic ability that my cousin Eric has, one-fourth the compassion of the Nancys (Brown and Sleeth), a taste of Solomon's wisdom, ALL of the patience of Job ... and about 5 more inches in height.

90. I am borderline obsessive-compulsive

91. I think that Despair, Inc. and the Demotivators are hilarious

92. I can sit down and watch The Truman Show, The Mask, or Bruce Almighty over and over again ... but I do not consider myself a Jim Carrey fan

93. I can find at least one piece of music that I like in any genre you can name

94. My favorite song is “500 Miles” by the Proclaimers (and SCC)

95. I fell in love with my wife at first sight - before we'd even spoken a word to each other

96. Contrary to a still-circulating story from my teenage years - I have never told a woman that I loved her while also telling another the same thing at the same period in time (i.e. I've never “played the field”)

97. I truly believe that there is nothing more hurtful than misunderstanding and rumors amongst friends

98. Kathy (Brown) Gounaud is the one girl (female) friend that I know with 100% certainty would/will always talk straight to me - about me, God, or anything else ... and I have never come so close to peeing myself as I have when laughing with her

99. I miss Tennessee - it will always be home to me

100. I hate cliches... but God isn't finished with me yet

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Been a while...


Life has been a bit crazy lately...

Work continues to be an endless source of joy and frustration... I'm not sure which is winning at the moment.

My family continues to amaze me every day - their love is incredibly palpable, their acceptance is unfatigueable, and their humor is unflappable. Unless of course we're talking about potty training. Ouch. No tips please - we cannot keep up with all the ones we've already gotten... and as we all know, the true genius is the one never heard. Hmmm, guess that leaves ME out.

My Tennessee Lady Vols continue to chew up the competition and their male counterparts have seemingly gotten their act together just in time to make the tournament again. Check out Yahoo! Sports for the free video broadcasts of some of their games! Next one is February 24th at 1pm (men play Arkansas). And if you've never seen Candace Parker play - you're missing something that hasn't been seen in the women's game in my lifetime... try a YouTube search for 'Candace Parker' - YIKES!!

The Ryan Floridians... Josh and Dan have been putting together a ski trip since last fall and it looks like we're all headed out to Colorado for a week to "shoosh and boom" as my Dad would say. Hopefully more shoosh than boom... check back with me in mid March to see if I am still walking...

I hope I will be because I've got a basketball tournament to play in on March 17th... should be interesting - we didn't get to play last year (I had to work) but we came in 3rd the year before that. Check back on the 18th... maybe I'll be in good enough shape to let you all know how it went. At least the seafood after the tourney at the Weathervane will go down nicely :)

Well, enough for now... my wife's birthday is tomorrow and we're headed out to Juniper's (at the Wildflower Inn) for dinner after dropping the boys off with the northern-most set of grandparents. The Wildflower Inn is where we had our rehearsal dinner - can you believe it has been almost 8 years? Wow. Cooool...

Later everybody!!

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Caught between loyalties - Super Bowl stuff














Well - that auspicious time of year is upon us once again. Super Bowl ADS!!! And I hear they're playing a football game somewhere amongst them. I have to wonder how ANY team can get into a rhythm with as many TV breaks that game has.

It is hard to pick this year's game despite nearly all of the media picking Indy in a blowout (which I sincerely hope happens). The same stuff happened when Marino was here and likewise for the Broncos when Elway was close to retirement. The sentimental pick always seems to go to the guy who seems to need it the most.

I'm caught in no-man's land here because I am surrounded by Patriots fans, I've followed the Colts since Manning was drafted, and on top of that no one around here seems to remember that the Pats got CREAMED by the Bears back in '86. They're either picking the Bears because the Colts beat their Pats two weeks ago or they're picking Manning out of sheer sympathy. Would somebody PLEASE put some thought into this!!! Oh... that's my job.

Well, I will save the heavy stuff for my other blog. I plan to post some more in-depth stuff on my sports blog - check out the link over to the right!

Pick: Colts 23 Bears 17... unless Rex Grossman actually thinks he is Joe Montana (then it will be a LOT worse)
P.S. Please post your comments on your fav ads of all time... mine will be posted on my other blog ;)