last chance

Tonight is my last improv show as an unmarried man. This officially ends the daydream I once had of emerging from downtown Raleigh up to my elbows in improv groupies.

Ladies, this also means that, after tonight, if you're the girl in the front row I flirt with in slow-motion, when you start thinking to yourself "my goodness, what a ruggedly handsome man...perhaps I should counter this obvious but still charming bit with a serious offer to spend a night with me at the old Brownstone" as you always do if you're the lucky one that receives this treatment that what you're considering is no longer just trying to tempt me to cheat on my girlfriend. It will be adultery that you'll be fantasizing about on the way home.

Clearly, I want no part of being an adult. So let me be the first to suggest you turn your post-improv lust on this man:



That is, if you haven't already...

i know what clothing article i'll be requesting come Christmas

Sometimes I can be a faithless tool. I get it from my dad. There were many times in my youth when I recall my father skipping out on watching Duke's basketball games vs. Carolina because he couldn't stand the thought of losing to them. He'd go to his office, and my brothers and I would call him with updates. So this afternoon, I became my father. I avoided watching State's game vs. Carolina and what happened?


GO TO HELL CAROLINA!

Sidney Lowe's NC State Wolfpack, fueled by Sidney's stunning red blazer, beat the hated UNC Tarholes.

Some things I love about actually having a coach on the sidelines of our basketball games.

1. Beating UNC - Speaks for itself, really.

2. Adjustments - The biggest reason for State's losses this season? Defense. So what did my boys do? They worked on defense, beating VT and the 'Heels by coming up with big defensive stops when they most needed to(I'm taking little brother to the stars Zack Moser's word on it for the UNC game, but know it for sure in the VT game). Something isn't working during a game? Lowe calls time-out and they actually fix the problem. It's incredible.

3. Emotion - I get the sense that Sidney Lowe actually cares whether or not we win the game. I see it on the sideline, I hear it in his interviews, and I see it passed along to the team. The last fella just never acted like winning was the least bit important.

4. That striking red blazer. Really, I can't say enough about it.

fair and balanced

Sportswriters sometimes make me want to drop something heavy on my head.

In a game that had me going back and forth between being overcome with joy and suicidal, Rex Grossman had a solid(if not very good) game where his only INT wasn't his fault. Sure, he lost a fumble trying to get himself out of a jam, but his overall game was good enough to win a game that came down to whose offense could get the job done one more time. So what does Rex get from the sportswriters? A backseat to the kicker.

"Two swings of the foot by Robbie Gould were all the Chicago Bears needed to offset any shortcomings in Rex Grossman's arm."

21-of-38 for 282 yards including the beautiful touchdown pass to Berrian and we're talking about Rex's arm's shortcomings? What's a guy have to do to get some respect?

Apparently, he has to toss 3 INT's and finish with two passing yards less than Grossman...because Tom Brady had that stat line. His press?

"Crafty Brady fuels Pats' comeback win over Chargers"

That's after he needed a miracle fumble of one of those three picks and an insane head-butt to pull off his win. Apparently, though, it was still all Tom Brady who won that game after building 6 orphanages, ending world hunger, and solving the Iraq problem.

At least over the next week people will be talking about Manning vs. Brady too much to talk about all the different ways that Grossman will blow it against the Saints. I really hope the Colts win with a last-second FG from Vinatieri. Also, the Bears really need to beat the Saints. I'm not sure I can stand the thought of a commentary team sporting misty eyes and talking about how a Saints win will make it so Katrina never happened.

Go Bears.

2006 recap/2007 forecast

Going by the pattern established in last year's wrap up entry, what I learned in 2006 on a month-by-month basis.

January: I learned I need to be better at prioritizing my life.
February: I learned that there's no such thing as a sure thing.
March: I learned(or, rather, continued to learn) that Herb Sendek was useless.
April: I learned that Joey Greene and I don't look so much alike anymore, but he still loves the Archers of Loaf.
May: I learned that improv should never feel like a chore.
June: I learned that the Carolina Hurricanes are the Stanley Cup Champions!
July: I learned that I'm horrible at keeping secrets, especially where engagments are concerned.
August: I learned that Pacific Air flight 121 is filled with deadly snakes!
September: I learned that planning a wedding is much like planning a circus.
October: I learned that a big drink isn't just good, it's sonic good.
November: I learned that I can go back.
December: I learned that I'm marrying into a heckuva family.

How did last year's preview pan out?

- I lost weight, got back in reasonable shape. Then I gained it back and got back into a round shape.
- I failed to get into grad school. I regrouped and reapplied.
- I kept my soul-crushing job for much longer than anticipated, but I also made use of the benefits.
- I quit DSI citing my lack of purpose and fun. I rejoined Comedy Worx and seem well on my way to regaining both.
- I proposed to Andi, thusly further committing myself to making sure she's happy.
- I did some writing, but not very good writing.

So what's up in '07?

- There's a wedding in April. That'll be pretty neat.
- There's the chance that I'll actually be in school and moving towards a job that I'll feel good about having.
- There's my renewed commitment to being less fat and in better shape.
- I'm going to do more writing. Better writing. This blog, among other things I've written, is littered with misspellings and typos. I possibly could have lived with the simpler ones, but it's tougher to swallow some of the more horrid errors like there/their/they're flubs and who's/whose mistakes. I didn't even know I was capable of such foolishness until I started checking out old entries. I appologize to certain readers that I know started bleeding from the eyes upon seeing those little wonders.
- I'm going to branch out from the standard Comedy Worx shortform show one way or the other.

So hey, if all goes well I'll have a rather busy and productive 2007. We'll see how that goes...