I'm writing today's entry in two phases. To start out, I'm going to crank out whatever I can right now over my lunch break. I'll resume tonight, assuming I have time to do so.

You know, some days, I swear that I live on the Planet of the Apes. Or at least a planet of cavemen. When I'm forced to encounter enough stupid people, their words start to sound like a bunch of grunts and hoots. It makes me feel a lot like that guy in the commercial trying to give an earnings report to a bunch of monkeys. You know the one?

Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend. On Friday evening, Angie and I were going to see the late showing of Lucky Number Slevin with Brad and Beth, but by the time we got there, only single seats were available. That was a bummer, but we all had a good time chilling out at the Starbucks across the street. Even when a noisy, slack-jawed group of kids came in, made a bunch of racket, bought nothing, and left.

On Saturday for lunch, Angie, Amy, and Joel introduced me to Lucy's, a little Mexican joint on the northeastern part of town. It was good stuff; I had the crab enchiladas. They also serve up fresh chips and salsa. Anyway, the place has my endorsement. Go eat at Lucy's. (Or, as Angie and Amy say it, "LooCeez.")

After a good nap that afternoon, we went to the Nebraska-Purdue volleyball exhibition. That was a lot of fun, although you can't appreciate how tall those gals are until you're standing near them. To give you some perspective, here is Angie standing with Sarah Pavan. Keep in mind that Angie had to stand on her tiptoes in this pic. It was a good game; Purdue provided some good competition, but we ended up winning in four sets. You really have to appreciate the athleticism of these ladies; I was particularly impressed with Jordan Larson. Keep an eye on Angie's blog for pictures from the game.

Sunday ended up being pretty relaxing. I went to church at 11:30, and afterward, Angie and I had lunch with Nancy, Brenda, and their families. Brenda mentioned that her daughters Meghan and Maddie had started including Angie in their bedtime prayers. Bless their hearts!

After church and lunch at Old Chicago, I went home and took a nap before going for my first walk of the year through Pioneer's Park. It was really nice out, and there were a lot of people out flying kites, including Jeff and Marc. Even after stopping to talk to them, I still made the whole trip in about an hour and a half, which is clipping along at a pretty solid pace. That night, Mike had us over for some roast that he made on his rotisserie. That was some good stuff, and afterward, we had some strawberries and scones that Jana had made.

Well, no rest for the weary. Back to work. I'll finish this up later in the evening. I'm in kind of a foul mood today, so hopefully it passes by the time I resume writing.

. . .

OK, so now it's about 9:30p. I'm in a little better of a mood, but that may just be because I'm too tired to be grouchy. For the most part.

I saw a headline on the Internet today mentioning that a government child services agency requested that a sheriff be dispatched to the home of one Britney Spears. You know, not long ago, I'd have found that amusing. Now I can't help but feel kind of bad for her. She's living proof of the toll that fame and fortune can take, I guess. Only a few short years ago, she was akin to a media goddess. I guess maybe divinity is something best left to the divine.

Kirsten and Tom both stopped by for a visit tonight, and I helped Tom with some revisions he was making to a paper he wrote. It was good to see them, and I'm looking forward to us all being home this weekend for Easter.

I had a good workout this morning on the treadmill, and this evening, I had a good lift. I may try to squeeze in another lift tomorrow evening before going to Angie's. I think we're planning to watch "The Passion Of The Christ" with Joel and Amy. Ever seen it? It's something else. Very moving, and a good one to watch during Holy Week.

Today was the Tuesday that just refused to die. Hopefully Wednesday will treat us better.

And now, some pictures of my tubing trip from last year.


This is me. Take note of my sweet dew rag with the flames and skulls. To give you some perspective on where I was in terms of my weight loss, I weighed about 180-185lbs. during that trip last July. I'm currently weighing in around 160-165lbs.


This is my friend Jeff and his girlfriend, Renee. Jeff graduated from high school with Mike and I. He's a fun guy to talk to and have beers with. You may notice that Renee's legs are covered with a towel. She actually had gone tubing the week before and sustained third-degree burns on her legs. They looked pretty painful.


Here are Brad and Beth, whom you already know. Unfortunately, Beth's not going to be able to make the trip this year, but the B-Rad will be there with bells on.


The ubiquitous Ted and Kelly. At this point, I'm sure you don't need an introduction to them. We'll assume, for the purposes of this blog, that Ted probably is flipping off the camera. Que sera, sera.


Here are Mike and Jana, who made the trip possible, with a lot of planning and research. Plus, they drove us everywhere we needed to go, too.


That's me, way in the back of the shot.


Our whole group. This is one of my favorite pictures, ever. And yes, those are beers Brad and I are holding.

Well, that's it for tonight. Here's your bedtime haiku:

This week is dragging.
It needs to be the weekend.
I hope it comes soon.

And another:

Tubing is killer.
You'll have a blast all day long.
Bring lots of sunscreen.

Regards,
Nate