the mario blog

Today we introduced Jen’s dog Gilbert to Otto. The roles and hierarchy of these two fine pets seem to be somewhat turned around. Otto is one tough cat. And Gilbert…ahem…a little scared.

For those of you who aren’t reading my blog on a 1994 cellular phone, you’ve probably recognized the new design . I am much happier with the look, but would like to get your feedback on something. Would you prefer to be able to read a full post on the front page or would you rather see a bunch of different posts and then have to click on the one you’d like to read in full?

And…do you even like the design?

This Saturday I turned 27 years old, which is quite the coup. I’ve lived away from home and the Hasselhoff entertainment monopoly for almost 11 years now. To celebrate Jerry and Gail came into town from Seattle on Friday, and we all went to a Blazers game at the club level. Club level = free buffet = free pizza = free hot dogs = free licorice = free ice cream = major stomach ache. We beat the Clippers and I managed to consume as many calories as the entire Blazers team burned throughout the game. Fat times.

Then on Saturday, Jen threw a birthday bonko bunko party at my place. Due to my duties as an entertainer and host, I surprised Jen by actually not playing any Bonko bunko. We started talking again at right after Easter Dinner the next day. But the party was great.

So, now that I am 27…what’s different? Not much, but I am excited about what’s to come this year. I probably won’t do any more Hasselhoff gigs, but there’s plenty more:

• I am publishing a book this year, and also started working on my first book. My own book should be wrapped up by 2011.
• I bought myself some new hiking boots and am planning to go on at least one epic trip this year.
• Jen and I will be making our way back to Germany in September to watch my cousin get married. And maybe catch one or two or three Schalke games.
• I’ve been teaching at a University for three years now, and still love it.
• Otto should be finalizing his transition to being completely human by the end of the year. Sleeping on his side while resting his head on my pillow was a major milestone for him, which was closely followed by when he started drinking water (or mine in this case) out of glasses.
• I want to give another college graduation speech this year. Who here can set that up? Anyone?
• I need to give up drinking coffee and stop eating ginormous burritos for lunch. If I can achieve the latter, the former will be easy.
• Jerry fixed my toilet, which was running continuously. I really need to get a screw driver. And Jerry ought to remodel my kitchen the next time he’s in town.

Anyway, life is really really good. I’m a happy man for many reasons. Click on the picture below for some pictures from this weekend. And yes, I did get my hair cut.

I am currently in the process of going through some medical tests for various government-related applications.  So, earlier this week I received a tuberculosis test - they poke a hole in you, fill it with liquid and then wait a couple of days to see if it swells up. Well, it’s swelling which seems to indicate positive (not in a positive sort of way) test results. Otherwise, I show no symptoms. My hope is such is caused by the fact that I was actually immunized against Tuberculosis when I was a child in Germany. Mother?

I went to Starbucks this morning in search for the extra caffeine kick to get the week started. When walking past the condiments bar, I decided to spruce my small black coffee with a cup of whole milk and half a bag of Splenda. I’ve never tried Splenda before, and will never try it again. It ruined my coffee. Why do people use that stuff? A small bag of Sugar in the Raw (of which I usually use half) has twenty calories and five grams of carbohydrates. Seriously people (and this might be completely different for those with medical considerations), but you should not be worried about 20 calories and drink awful tasting Splenda sweetened coffee. Here’s my solution. If you are going to drink awful coffee, do it at home and use Splenda. But if you’re going to pay for a cup of coffee, then go for the extra 20 calories and just circle around the block a couple of extra times. I’ll be walking.

I’ve been doing a bad job of blogging lately. Lately = past two years. Partially that’s because I am not that excited about my current design and set-up, which I am going to completely revamp in the coming weeks. Right now blogging on the mario blog is about as enjoyable as going to work in purple corduroy pants. Anyways, here’s what has been happening. 

1. I played soccer four nights last week. I am so glad that I am getting back into this sport. 
2. I’ve been making a number of technology purchases, which has led to some major geeking. Jen hates it.
3. It’s my birthday next week. I am turning 27. That feels very old. 
4. Jerry and his lady Gail are coming down to take me to a Blazers game. That means I will be sleeping on the couch. 
5. My cousin is getting married, and I am going to go back to Germany for that. Very excited. My mother is talking about doing another family marathon. Excited…not so much. 
6. While we’re talking about family. My grandfather is reading my blog via Google Translate. Hallo Opa. 
   
7. Schalke beat Porto in the Champions League and is now playing Barcelona in the quarter finals. Life can be so wonderful. 

I haven’t played soccer in a long-time. So last week I decided to look for a team to play on. I joined the UK expat team, Kiwi Eagles, and our first game was last night. Once at the fields, I was asked to join another team which resulted into two consecutive matches for me. It should be noted that I played two hours of Ultimate Frisbee that afternoon, so I went from not exercising at all to five consecutive hours of sprinting. Hence, no exercise needed for me today which works out quite nicely, considering I can’t move my legs and am currently experiencing a headache which I suspect to be caused by actual muscle soreness - or maybe by that 2-inch blood blister on my right toe.

Yours, from the couch.

It’s been another busy week for me. Lots of work, democratic primaries, Jen got sunburned, Schalke made it to the quarter finals of Champions League and the bar beneath my apartment is now open on weekdays. But most importantly, there have been a number of marriage announcements.

Amy and John just got married in Los Angeles. Jen’s brother is getting married in Las Vegas in April. My college friends Katie and Jesse are getting married in Seattle. My friends Jim and Kate are getting married in Ohio in June. And last but not least, my cousin is getting married in Germany this September. Did I miss anybody? Lakes did you by any chance get engaged again without telling us? Anyways, congrats to all of you.

Jen and I went to the Gerding theatre on Friday to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was nice. To start things off in a usual manner, Jen had lost the tickets that I had given to her for Valentine’s day. This probably sounds pretty familiar for those of you who remember when she lost our University of Montana Football tickets. Fortunately the folks at the theatre were friendly enough to print us out another set of tickets. But now we’re running late. And since we both had a rough week and only had about 45 minutes before the show started, we decided to grab a quick burger and a beer. A giant burger and three beers later, we were in the lobby of the Gerding theatre. Jen decided to buy a couple of drinks before heading into the theatre, and just as a I take a first sip from my Rogue Mocha Porter, the announcer lady says that the doors are closing and there’s no alcohol or food allowed in the show. Great. So that beer went down quickly.

Into the show. We had great seats. 2nd row. Too bad, as twenty minutes into the show I am falling asleep. My violent head nods gave it away, and I got more than one funny look from an actor on stage and the gentleman next to me. Nothing that a few minutes of cold water splashes on my face during the intermission couldn’t fix.

Since I had purchased season passes for the rest of the year, we’ll be going back soon. Next time Jen doesn’t even get to touch the tickets and I will, either, drink ice tea at dinner or request seats a little further back.

I am sitting on a couch at BackSpace right now and opposite of me is a teenage couple making out. It’s hard to not look, as a few things caught my attention.

1. The girl is wearing purple pants. The boy looks like he just got back from Sunday school. Careful, son.
2. He gifted her with some designer panties, which she just unwrapped. That’s impressive. I didn’t have the courage to buy designer panties when I was 16 years old. Actually, I still don’t.
3. She’s kissing with her eyes closed. His are looking at the pillow next to her. Some things never change.
4. They’re now laying next to each other, looking like they’re about to take a nap. Note to self, don’t come here to take naps anymore.