I'm watching last week's episode of Grey's Anatomy with Ted and Kelly right now. Not a bad episode, but as much as I like the show, I'm pretty sure I hate just about all the characters. At least, I don't like the interns. Some might call them full of bravado, but I think they're just callow and borderline sociopathic. Especially Izzy and Christina. It's also annoying that the word "seriously" has become the catchphrase for the show. Not funny or catchy. Annoying.

And the whole "Meredith is dying" story is just stupid. If I thought for one minute the writers had the balls to kill off the main character, I'd be uber-impressed. But I know they don't, which makes this just another "protagonist has a near-death experience and learns to cherish blah blah" plot that has been done to death on so many shows. They even did it on Star Trek: The Next Generation, for crap's sake.

Also, I also want to make it clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that I think Ryan Seacrest is a tool.

The current season of Lost has resumed, and I'm glad for that. I think some interest in the show had diminished while it was on hiatus, but I think interest has been rekindled. Some of my theories on the show are starting to look credible, e.g. the time travel/timewarp stuff explored with Desmond last week.

Speaking of theories, here's another prognostication for those of you who watch Heroes: Nathan Petrelli is going to die, likely as the result of his brother's actions. That's unfortunate, because I like his character. But much as the Simone character's usefulness had expired, I think we're reaching that point with N.P., too. And I don't think it was just a coincidence that Peter saw both Simone and Nathan die in his most recent vision. I hope I'm wrong about this one, but I've read enough comics to be fairly certain. Incidentally, I wasn't sorry to see Simone bite the dust. She wasn't particularly interesting. My attention always waned when she was onscreen.

Moving on to another favorite show, let's talk about Smallville. That's the show based on a young Clark Kent's various adventures preceding his debut as Superman. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder why I bother watching this show anymore. It's plotlines are convoluted and drag out way too long, and it's nigh impossible to take any of the characters seriously. I've felt this way for quite some time, but especially since Heroes debuted. Both shows are based on a similar premise, but Heroes has an element of realism that Smallville is woefully lacking. It doesn't help that they keep recycling stories, e.g. the ones where Clark almost reveals his origins to Lana, but then opts not to after some stupid mishap. The writers of that show have clearly been trying to build up to that moment over the course of the past six seasons. However, the buildup reached a fever pitch about two years ago, and became annoying and insulting after that.

I'll continue to watch the show since I just can't not watch shows based on comics, but I hope this show is put to sleep after this season. My expectations for the end of this show and its mediocre actors are no more than that.

The Office remains awesome, though. I celebrate each and every moment of every episode of that show. Even the moments when I want to go hide in another room because Michael Scott's total lack of self-awareness has broken the Fourth Wall and made me feel embarrassed. I don't want that show to ever end. The only thing that would make it more awesome is if John C. McGinley was to appear on the show.

Enough about television, though. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I can't believe Lent is already upon us. I think this year I'm going to give up sweets, and maybe skip lunch on Fridays. You know, I actually look forward to this time of year. I think it's fitting that we go through a time of attrition to prepare our hearts to celebrate the unparalleled gloriousness that Easter represents. All the while, the days become noticeably longer, the sun shines a little brighter and warmer, and the green returns to the trees until *bang* it's spring.

And that's a really good feeling.

Hmm, trying to think of some music recommendations, but I can't think of any right off hand. I guess you'll have to content yourselves listening to "Wrong Planet" by Los Straitjackets and "Summer Song" by Joe Satriani. And, what the heck, let's throw in "Fugue In Concierto" by Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Nothing like good guitar riffs.

Yeah, that is good stuff.
I now take my leave of you.
Good evening to all.

Yep, that was a haiku. ;)

Cherish blah blah and Keep Hope Alive.

Love,
Nate

Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. The answer, as it turns out, was "yes." :)

Yep, that's right, Angie and I got engaged on 20 January, and I couldn't be happier for it! May 31, 2008, will be our wedding date. (Yeah, I know that rhymes. It couldn't be helped.) But before I get into that, I suppose you'll be wanting to hear the details of the proposal and whatnot.

Well, to give you a little background, you first must understand that a year ago on January 13, Angie and I had our first date. We had hoped to celebrate on our anniversary, but her work had called her into the office and we decided to postpone our celebration until the following weekend. At this point, I had already picked up Angie's engagement ring, a simple, round-cut "Hearts On Fire" diamond. So, that was out of the way.

The next thing to do was secure Angie's parents' blessing. I went to visit them at home that Wednesday evening. I'll admit, I had been a little nervous about it. But her folks were so sweet and welcoming, and they gave me their permission without hesitation.

So, Saturday arrived. I had made a reservation for the two of us at Billy's restaurant here in Lincoln. Neither of us had ever eaten there before, so I told her I thought it would be a cool place to check out. That afternoon, I wrote my previous blog entry, cleaned up, and waited for Angie to come over. Ted and Jason had cleared out of the house for the evening, so I just kind of paced around and kept an eye out for Angie's vehicle through the window. As soon as I saw it, I turned the blog live and waited for her at the door. I tried, probably not very convincingly, to casually let her know that I had written a new blog entry and that she should check it out before we went to eat.

Angie went to my computer and read the blog, and I waited with the ring behind her. She finished reading, and I did as guys do in these situations, that is, I dropped to one knee, said some things that remain between the two of us, and asked her to marry me. She said "yes," and I put the ring on her finger. I'll admit, in my nervousness, I started to slide it onto the wrong finger.

But, hey, at least I put it on the correct hand. :)

After that, we went to eat at Billy's. It was a really neat place. It was actually a mansion next to the Governor's Mansion that had been converted into a restaurant and named after the famous Nebraska politician William Jennings Bryan. The food was excellent. We both had tilapia (I think), with a bruschetta appetizer and cabernet sauvignon. It was really good; I highly recommend the place.

Anyway, after dinner, a limo picked us up and took us for a celebratory ride about town. We just sat back, sipped some champagne, and enjoyed the moment. It was particularly memorable in that it was actually snowing. There was no wind blowing the snow; it was just falling lightly in big flakes.

On the whole, it's an evening I'll never forget.

The following day, of course, Angie jumped into preparations for the wedding and took me along for the ride. As I mentioned, we've set the date, and we've already booked the church and our photographer, too. We spent the past weekend checking out potential sites for the reception and should determine that soon, too. I won't lie; the process is sometimes stressful, but it has been fun, too. At least we have plenty of time to prepare. For my part, I'm just looking forward to being married to Angie.

In other news, it has been a ridiculously long time since I've blogged. I won't attempt to play catch-up. Obviously, I've stayed pretty occupied for the past couple months. The holidays were wonderful. Angie and I celebrated Christmas with both of our families in turn. It was a lot of fun exchanging gifts with everyone, and of course there was plenty of excellent food, too. New Year's was fun, too, except for the part where I contracted food poisoning/the flu. (I'm not sure which it was, but I do know that I was damn sick.) The Huskers lost the Cotton Bowl to Auburn. It was kind of a frustrating game to watch. We had the lead, and it just slipped away. Speaking of the Huskers, I also went to the Big XII championship. That game was ridiculously cold. It was so miserable. I was wearing multiple layers, including Under Armour up to the gills, and I was still cold. That game was frustrating, too. We actually outyarded Oklahoma, but it still wasn't enough. I do feel that Bill Callahan has things on the right track, though, especially when it comes to recruiting. I'm looking forward to next season.

Speaking of recruiting, Letter Of Intent day is this Wednesday. NU has a really good recruiting class lined up, and I'm eager to see how it all pans out. After that, it's going to be a long off season. I suppose I'll still have plenty to do.

Since my last entry, I've thought of a bunch of things that annoy me. I wanted to write about them, but right now, they escape me. I'm going to be vexed later on when I remember them. Ah well.

I suppose I'll call it a night. Someday, I hope to blog regularly again. It's just hard to set aside time when there is so much else going on. There is hope, though. In the meantime, if I don't see you, you keep...keep on truckin'. Yeah, good stuff. Keep Hope Alive.

Cordially,

Nate

P.S. Watch "The Office." They show reruns on NBC.com, so you really have no excuse to miss it. Watch "Heroes," too. Oh, and "Lost" is back on Wednesday. You're going to need a DVR.