So let's get to the point, let's roll another...

I am a reading fool. I just finished Harry Potter 5 in just a little over a week. It was about 850 pages. Man, it was good. Now I get to begin reading the newest installment of Half Blood Prince. Oh baby!

That is all I have been doing today. I woke up and I began reading. That is it. Really. I've eaten and watched a little of the illini game but I was mainly reading because I couldn't put it down.

I'm boring I know. Oh well. Not much going on anyway. Seems like things are moving on. I'm getting used to it. It's like a circle. Ring of Fire maybe?

I really need a drink. This S%&* is getting depressing.

Day Camp

Male Counselor #1.....Damon Wayans
Female Counselor.....Ellen Cleghorne
Male Counselor #2.....Tim Meadows
Busdriver #1.....Adam Sandler
Busdriver #2.....Chris Farley


[ open on exterior, African-American day camp, the kids crowd around outside while waiting for their buses to arrive ]

Male Counselor #1: Alright, alright, I want everybody lined up!

Female Counselor: Alright. [ rading from list on clipboard ] Akila, Charneal.. come on! We gotta line up, otherwise we're not gonna play!

Male Counselor #1: That goes for you, too, Briquette! I want you over there by Pneumonia! Alright, we're gonna play Red Rover. Everybody want to play Red Rover?

[ the kids yell with excitement, all except for one ]

Male Counselor #1: What's wrong with you, Lexicon? You too cool to play Red Rover? Maybe you and Monoxodil want to sit on the bench all night! Alright. Let's pick sides. Latrine, Melanoma.. you two are captains!

Female Counselor: Nah-ah-ah! Melanoma was Captain yesterday!

[ two girls begin to scuffle; Male Counselor #2 breaks them up ]

Male Counselor #1: Hey, hey! What's that all about?!

Male Counselor #2: I'm sorry.. it's Noxzema, sir. She and Algebra have been ganging up on Purina and Chlymydia all day.

Male Counselor #1: Fine! Then you're all four on the same team! Okay.. I want Chinchilla, Hyperbole, Frigidaire and Bulimia - over here, right now!

Female Counselor: Let's go! Let's go, on that side! Alright, on this side.. let's have Quesadilla, Binaca, Silhouette and Agoraphobia! Let's go!

Male Counselor #1: Okay, over here.. I want Testicle, I want Uretha, and Uvula - over here, right now!

Female Counselor: Uhh.. I think you might want to keep them seperated. Uvula, uh.. over here with Lubriderm, Spatula, Conundrum and Mylanta!

Male Counselor #1: Okay. Now, everybody remembers how to play Red Rover? What you want to do is say, "Red Rover! Red Rover! Send Spinal Bifida 'round over!" And then, Spinal Bifida, you break the human chain.

Male Counselor #2: Okay, I'm sorry.. uh.. anyone taking the bus back to Oceanside, it's here. So, I'm gonna need Crackatola, Robitussin, Hologram, Nutrasweet, Gynalotrimen, Trifecta and Quinella. Let's go!

Male Counselor #1: It's alright, it's alright.. we can still play! We got Cornea, we got Listerine, and we got Harpischord Duracell!

Busdriver #1: [ enters scene ] Alright, kids, uh.. bus to Greenport! I need, uh.. Fellatio, uh.. Exomon Red Tattooie.. and Abracadabra - let's go!

Female Counselor: Outta here!

Busdriver #2: [ enters scene ] Sorry, kids! Bus to Hampstat's here! Let's have.. Genitalia, Rubik's Cube, K-Tel, Placebo and Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon!

Male Counselor #1: Alright, then, we gonna have to forget the Red Rover game, but I got another one. We gonna play The Name Game! We'll start with Onomatopoeia. [ singing ] "Onomato bo-poeia, Banana-fama fo-poeia, Fee-fi mo-poeia.."

[ fade ]

What have I become?

Heh. I turned down hanging out last night to stay in and read. Who am I? What have I done with the real Kyle? Beats me.

I had 1 of my 2 classes last night. I have a good feeling about this one. The teacher is very energetic and I respond pretty well to that.

Today is already Wednesday and I am pretty happy about that. The week is half over, yay!

Other than that, not much else to speak of. I'm pretty boring as of late. I haven't been drinking. Actually haven't had a drop of alcohol since about 2 weeks before Christmas. I still go out on weekends but it seems like I'm just going through the motions. I think that friends with apartments need to have more house parties. Shoo's was fun and it didn't revolve around a grill either.


Scary or Beautiful?

So Lonely

Today has been a lazy day. I got nothing accomplished really. I woke up around 11am. Apparently both sisters decided to leave without bothering to say goodbye to me.

I tried to get people to go walking with me this afternoon. I finally got Jenny to go with me. We had a very nice walk. I also finally got to see her new apartment. It is nice. I'm jealous, mainly because I'm still living at home with my parents and any apartment that I come across just looks too cool to me.

Tomorrow is my first day of one of my new classes this semester. I plan on blowing the class out of the water and doing very well in there.

Right now, I'm just sitting in front of the computer playing some texas holdem. Bored really. I'm probably going to go read some more Harry Potter in a few minutes.

Jogging In My Sleep

So, I must be jogging in my sleep because when I woke up this morning I had lost more weight. I am now down to 257.8, that is 92.2 pounds lost. SCORE!

Change

A rather uneventful weekend. I'm doing well with the losing weight. I'm up to 88 pounds lost. I am hoping to get up to 100 pounds lost within about 3 weeks. It is a tough goal but I think that I can do it. Something awesome that I noticed is that I can fit into Extra Large T-shirts. They are still snug but just the same, they fit. I know that some people are amazed or impressed with how well I am doing but to be honest I don't think that anyone can be more amazed than I am. If last January you had told me I would be down to 262 lbs. by this date I probably would have said In Your Dreams. The prospect of getting to my goal of 200 lbs. (or lower) is getting closer with each passing day, it's almost scary, I wonder if I will even recognize myself by that point in time.

Side note. In today's (Sunday) newspaper there was a new ad with a picture of me and everything. So now I have been in the SJR and the Illinois Times. It's fun, let me tell ya...

Tough like a brick

So this class thing. I plan on doing it right, I will do it right but I have a history. Not smoking is as easy as just not smoking. I can go ages without it, and I do. Eating right is tougher because you need food to live properly and when you love food to the point that it is bad for you is a huge problem. This has been difficult but I am slowly making my way to where I want to be. Now doing well in school, is a matter of sitting down and taking the time do do it. That is very very difficult for me. It is different than both of the previous for me because I would rather be doing anything else than sitting infront of a boring book trying to memorize something so that I can regurgitate it for testing purposes. I am going to make a valiant effort. I have too or else I have to find an apartment by June.... fun isn't it.

I'm working the bar tonight, everyone come by and see me.

You smell that?

I smell bleach..... still

Classes

Well, I am officially registered for 2 classes, out at good old LLCC. This is a very important semester because I have to pass these with B's or better in both or else.

I cannot be a slacker anymore. I hope I can do this.

Superman and Green Lantern, Got nothing on me

Well, it's Thursday. I'm not nerding it up. I'm not bikeback riding with anyone. I'm still on order not to exercise more than walking. I've got a few more weeks of recovering from the surgery yet.

So I crashed out early last night. For me that means before midnight. If I fall asleep before midnight that is early. Because since Sunday night I've been getting like 4 hours, maybe 5, per night. It caught up with me last night. I layed down to read some of my Harry Potter and I couldn't keep my eyes open. SO I thought, why am I fighting this, and then went to sleep. Then I started coughing, so I went and took some cough meds and then passed the F out. It was hard to wake me up this morning, luckily I set my alarm to go off multiple times. So I keep having to deal with it. I'm so glad the coffee was made and ready to go when I got to the kitchen. Coffee is my lifeline anymore. I love the stuff. I probably drink about a half of a pot to a pot of coffee a day. and I'm talking a 12 cup pot. Mmmm. I'm actually sitting here right now sippping on some good black coffee.

So this weekend I work the door at DH, well, Just Friday night. Anyone got ideas on plans for Saturday? I'm free right now. At least I think I am. I hope I haven't forgotten anything.

Since I've been losing weight I've noticed a few things. For ones my bones are more visible. Like my collar bone, and bones on my hands and feet. It's weird. Also, I'm a very warm blooded man, but I've been getting cold lately. Like my hands and feet will be freezing. It's odd. I bundle up more often now. ANother thing is that I find that I shake my leg more, not all the time. But I do it more.. Which I feel is a good thing because that means that I've got all this energy and hopefully will be burning it off more sucessfully now.

This week I've been doing very well with my eating right. I haven't splurged at all. Maybe on beef jerky but at the same time I don't consider that a bad splurge because it has no saturated fat and it is good for you. Except the salt content.

Sweeeeeet

On March 7th, Warner will release 3 separate versions of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - a single movie-only version (in both Widescreen & Fullscreen), as well as a 2-Disc Special Edition. The 2-disc SE will be presented in a 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, along with English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include Additional Scenes, Conversations with the Cast, four Interactive Challenges, six Making-of Featurettes ("Harry vs. the Horntail: The First Task," "In Too Deep: The Second Task," "The Maze: The Third Task," "Meet the Champions," "He Who must Not Be Named" & "Preparing for the Yule Ball"), and DVD-ROM features.

I eat the whole apple

Claim: Apple seeds contain a cyanide compound.

Status: True.

Origins: When we think of dangers lurking in our food, we tend to concentrate on the threats posed by chemical additives or by improper and careless handling. Yet the truth is that we routinely come into contact with naturally occurring poisons in a number of the fruits we ingest.



Apples are one such fruit: their pips (seeds) contain amygdalin, a cyanide and sugar compound that degrades into hydrogen cyanide (HCN) when metabolized. Cyanide itself is a poison that kills by denying blood the ability to carry oxygen and thereby causes its victims to die of asphyxiation. At least within the realm of murder mysteries, cyanide is the darling of poisoners because it acts quickly and irrevocably — once a fatal dose has been ingested, there is no effective antidote, and death takes place within minutes. It is sometimes described as having a bitter almond smell, but it does not always give off an odor, nor can everyone detect the scent. Cyanide is usually found joined with other chemicals in compounds: hydrogen cyanide, cyanogen chloride, sodium cyanide, and potassium cyanide. In the death camps of World War II, the Nazis used hydrogen cyanide (Zyklon B) for their gas chambers.

Luckily for those fond of their Granny Smiths, the body can detoxify cyanide in small doses, and the number of apple seeds it takes to pack a lethal punch is therefore huge — even the most dedicated of apple eaters is extremely unlikely to ingest enough pips to cause any harm. Yet those who have heard apple seeds house a poison (usually remembered as arsenic, a quite different though equally deadly compound) cling to the frightening belief that swallowing a small number of pips spells instant death. We've had folks fret to us that ingesting as few as three apple seeds would do someone in, a "fact" which, if true, would mean each and every one of us was flirting with the grim reaper every time we made a grab for a Delicious.

Apple pips also have a tough protective coating which makes swallowing them even less of a risky proposition; unless the pips are pulverized or masticated, the amygdalin they house remains safely contained within. Apple pips have hard, durable shells that allow them to pass intact through the digestive systems of animals, a quality which helps the apple to reproduce by distributing its seeds to new locations far from the originating trees. Were apple pips susceptible to the eroding effects of digestive juices, apple trees could not reproduce nearly as well as they do — their seeds would not be so widely spread, and a good many of the pips would be destroyed before germinating.

Cherry, peach, and apricot pits also contain amygdalin; the latter two, at least, in potentially harmful amounts. Fortunately, peach and apricot pits are sufficiently large and hard that few people intentionally swallow or chew them. (The unapproved anti-cancer drug Laetrile is a semisynthetic derivative of amygdalin; a cheaper version of laetrile produced in Mexico came from crushed apricot pits.)

A far greater natural source of cyanide is the cassava root, a vegetable favored by many in Africa. (Westerners know this plant best as tapioca.) Drying, soaking, and baking cassava roots renders its cyanide precursor, linamarin, harmless, but if that process is not carried out properly the cassava can remain poisonous.

Addiction

So I have a new addiction and it isn't going to kill me or hurt me. At least I hope it doesn't, what a way to go. But anyway, I am totally addicted to beef jerky. I can't get enough of the stuff.



I've actually been craving it and will specifically leave the house to go buy some. I also bargain hunt it too. Jerky isn't cheap. Most are 4.99 or 5.99 for a 4oz bag but I found a generic brand at Citgo on Wabash that is 4oz for 3.99, a buck per ounce, not too bad I suppose, compared to the other brands.

I hear that Sam's Club has jerky there. I'm not a member though. If anyone who is a member goes sometime soon, price it for me. See if it can be bought cheaper than a buck per ounce. I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm a dork, I know, I'm used to it.

All Right!

Woooo! Guess what came in the mail yesterday. Yep! Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. I get to continue my reading. I don't know how all of you that got the book each time it came out did it. I probably would have freaked out waiting for each book. I'm so stoked. I'm obviously really enjoying reading these books.

What's going on, What's going on

Well, I guess I'm still famous. I haven't been stopped in the street yet though. But among people I know, I keep hearing it and I gotta admit, I LOVE IT! How often do I get attention like this? Practically never cause I just do my thing and it isn't usually worth making fuss over. But hey, how often does a person get a whole page in the Illinois Times dedicated to themselves? Even if it IS an advertisement.

So this past weekend was a blast. Friday evening I stopped in to DH for about an hour from 8 until 9pm. Chatted with people and then headed home. I'm still in recovery phase from the hernia surgery so I still try to take it easy. I just chilled out and relaxed on Friday night.

Saturday consisted of Shoo and Kyle A's Popped Collar Themed party. The only catch was that everyone had to have their collar popped. It started off slow but then it picked up steam. I had a wonderful time. Probably the best house party that I have been to in a while. AND I didn't even drink. I was sober as can be all night. But I think it was just that much more fun because I was aware and in control of what was going on. I was introduced to a new group of people that I was delighted to meet. I was told that my laugh was great. I haven't heard this in a long time now because I haven't met any new people recently that were not used to my laugh.

I am sorry, but I totally forgot to take my dad's digital camera so I don't have any pics whatsoever of the party. BUT if you have pics from the party please feel free to share them with me. Even though I was sober I still have a horrible memory and love pictures to help keep things fresh in my memory.

Smerk

So what is it that Mels calls it? Smerk? Well I have something to do with smerk. Apparently I have an admirer. When I run into her she is always asking/suggesting that we get together for lunch or go out for drinks sometime. But she always includes another smerker in this I guess so that she doesn't seem to forward. I'm always like, yeah, we'll have to do that sometime and then let it slide. This is like a weekly basis. I'm not into this person, not my type. This is always how it happens. I don't get it. I think there is something wrong with me, to only attract a certain sort.

Matsushita Devises World's Largest Plasma TV

OSAKA (Jan. 5) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it has developed a 103-inch plasma-panel television set, the world's largest, with high-definition TV resolution.

The new TV is expected to be used in public places such as airports or hotels, in addition to the living room to create a home theater.

Matsushita will analyze demand for the new product in order to decide when to put it on the market.

Previously, 102-inch plasma TVs developed by two South Korean makers were the largest in the world.




Can you imagine watching movies and the ILLINI on that television? Oh my goodness. That would be pure heaven.

Illinios vs Michigan State

FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #15: #6 Illinois (14-0) vs. #7 Michigan State (12-2)
Jan. 5, 2006 • 8 p.m. CT • ESPN2
Champaign, Ill. • Assembly Hall (16,618)

• Illinois has the most victories of any team in the nation so far this season with 14 wins, and is one of only eight teams in the country to boast a perfect record (through Jan. 2).

• Illinois is 86-3 (.966) at the Assembly Hall over the last six-and-a-half seasons, the best home mark in the nation over this time period.

• Illinois is the second-winningest team in the nation over the past five-and-a-half seasons. Illinois has won 155 games since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, which trails only Duke (163).

Narnia

So I went and saw The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on Sunday evening with Shoo and Sarah. That movie was awesome. I'm a huge fan of that genre. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are in that catagory too. I'm really looking forward to reading the books now. There are 7 books in the whole set of the Chronicles of Narnia. The one the movie is based off of is the second book I believe. I just borrowed that one today and I hopefully will have it done soon. I'm really excited. Something to read while I wait for my Harry Potter 5 & 6 books to arrive. I don't think that I have ever been this excited about reading. It's weird.

All In

I've been playing some free AOL Texas Holdem. I like being the short stack and just going all in all of the time. I have nothing to lose. But I also like being the big stack so that I can push around the middle stacks. I love betting huge amounts knowing that people won't call or the fact that I have the best hand and people are stupid and will call

And still it burns

So I test drove myself today. I felt that I should see how I fare driving out there in the real world before I head back to work tomorrow. I went to the bank, saw Jason Geitl working there. I haven't been in there in a while so that was news to me. Then I decided to pick up a few things at the grocery store. I mainly get toiletries like deoderant, bar soap, body soap. I did decide on a whim to invest in something I haven't bought since early high school. I purchased some stridex acne pads. Yeah, I been having issues lately and actually right now my skin is alright but before it flares again I thought hey, why not. So I got them. They are alcohol free now, times are changing. Just because they are alcohol free does not mean that they do not burn like hell as they did in the past. I always say, that just means it is working. Heh. So yeah, I'm reverting back to the teen years.

Here is a flashback for some of you...

Ladies & Gentlemen of the class of 1999
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now:

Enjoy the power & beauty of your youth, oh never mind, you will never understand the power & the beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in twenty years, you will look back at photos of yourself & recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you & how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future or worry but know that worrying is as affective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindsides you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other peoples' hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealously, sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long & in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the "Funky Chicken" on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can, don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room.
Read the directions even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

CHORUS:
Brother & sister together will make it through
Some day a spirit will take you and guide you there
I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you
And I'll be there just helping you out, whenever I ca-a-an

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They are your best link to your past & the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go. But a precious few, who should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography & lifestyle, for as the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain alible truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old & when you do, you'll fanaticise that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble & children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse but you'll never know when either one will run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're forty, it will look eighty-five.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts & recycling for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
CHORUS
Everybody's Free, oh yeah, to feel good, ohhhhh, to feel good.