Been missing my insight lately? I have too. But there are more important things to do. Allow me to tell you what those are in a round-about way with this parable...
It was the summer of 2002. I had finished college, but had not yet graduated into anything resembling responsibility. I was making what money I needed waiting tables as a 10-to-4 job, which left plenty of time for whatever nonsense I decided to dedicate myself to. One particularly beautiful morning, that nonsense was hockey.
I don't recall the specifics, but I do know that there was a loose puck followed by a stick between my legs. I hit the ground shoulder-first. After sitting on the bench for a while and being mocked for being a pansy about my injury, I finished the game in goal(I didn't do so badly, either). The shoulder still hurt, but I didn't think much of it.
One shower later, I was in Durham for a Destroy All Monsters practice. One scene we did, in particular, stands out. It wasn't very good or very funny, but we did paint...a lot. The mimed brush strokes still bothered my shoulder; but I had fallen on it, so that was to be expected.
Having completed our practicing, we hopped in
Ross' car and went to Apex to watch Summerslam. Jeremy Krevat welcomed me with a beer. I gladly accepted the offer, popped the top and raised the drink to my mouth...and experienced a considerable amount of pain. Only now was I worried.
I decided that I'd be going to see a doctor the next morning. Doctor visits were not a part of my life then(as they are now that my body is finding new and exciting ways to betray me), which caused the following thought to creep up on me: "Ben, you've
finished college, but not yet graduated into
anything resembling responsibility."
That's when I made the fateful call to my mother.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mom, am I insured?"
The answer was no, and the diagnosis was a separated shoulder. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but it's coming up on 5 years since that night and I only recently got renters' insurance. You know, so if the house burns down I'm not left asking "Hey Andi, are we insured?"
As it turns out, part of the items that would be covered under our new policy are my comic books. In order to make sure that they're covered, though, I've been told I need to keep a detailed list of what I have. Hence, my free time in front of a computer has not been spent blogging but rather adding to
this work in progress. Tonight, I have come to the conclusion that the only thing I can do that would possibly be dorkier than cataloging comics online is blogging about cataloging comics online. Check.
Fear not, loyal readers, you'll not be without me for much longer. If Andi can stand another night of me going through my comics and remarking to myself about each book as I inspect and log it, it should be wrapped up in the next few evenings or at least rather soon-ish. I know. I can't wait, either.
For the record, I'm enjoying this process more than I should be.
