blindsquirrel.org

Funny how things work. I decided to take golf lessons a few weeks ago. The instructor changed my grip, and in 5 swings I was hitting the ball much better than I ever had and it was going fairly straight. I was thrilled.

Over the next couple of weeks I hit a couple thousand balls in the golf dome hoping to keep getting better. The dome was usually my friend. I would say I was happy with 90% of the balls I hit there.

Yesterday it was finally nice enough weather to get out on a real course and see how the lesson and the couple thousand balls hit in the dome paid off. From my first drive off the first tee I knew how the day was going to go. It was probably the worst I have ever golfed. Ever.

Instead of looking for a new set of irons on eBay I can’t help thinking that I should be putting mine up for sale there. What a disaster. I could hardly get the ball in the air, and when it did get up it was usually taking off to the right. Most of the shots either went off the toe of the club or left such a huge divot that it looked more like I was landscaping than golfing.

I have already pre-paid for 4 more lessons so I will go and take then over the next couple weeks. Maybe things will work out over time, but one thing is for sure; how you hit in a nice, indoor dome off a mat is absolutely nothing like being out on a real course.

I wonder if it’s too late to get my deposit back for the Myrtle Beach trip in March. Man, do I suck.

As with most things in my life, I need incentive to get off my butt and do something. Weight loss is a funny thing. Last year we held the Biggest Loser in the Neighborhood contest and I did OK, but I am exactly the same weight I was last year at this time.

The repercussions from most of the incentives to lose the weight were mainly sad:

Do it for your kids.
Do it for your family
Do it for your health

Blah blah blah. I think I might have thought of the key this morning in the shower. I finally came up with something that doesn’t end in sad, but ends in mad. Really mad!

It goes back to the health thing but I always figured that I work really, really hard so my family will be taken care of. Bills are paid, nice house, some savings, retirement savings, life insurance. They’ll be taken care of if something would happen to me. Sad? Sure. But life tends to move on, people remarry, the sun will rise tomorrow.

Then it hit me. Wait a minute, it would be bad enough to have my wife remarry and the kids know someone else as Daddy. But no way am I going to let someone else come in to my life, live in my house, love my kids, drive my car, sleep with my hot wife, and spend my freakin’ money! No way.

Anger, a powerful motivator. Let’s see if it works this time.

I am still recovering from the 5 heart-attacks I had during the last 5 minutes of the game. One of the most exciting sporting events I have ever watched. Fantastic game. Of course, I say that because I am a Steelers fan. Not sure I would feel the same way if I was a Colt’s fan.

Not sure how you watch the game in your house, but we tend to get in our seats and never move when things are going well and change seats when things are going bad. We were all in the same seats for the first half of the game. We grabbed something to eat at half time and came back to the Family Room to watch the rest of the game. Suddenly the Colts were starting to move the ball well and were scoring. It was at that point that Mom realized she was in the wrong seat and ran back to the seat she had been in for the first half. Once she moved the defense started blitzing again and the rest of the game was history.

Many will say that the Colts started moving the ball so well because the Steelers went in to their prevent defense. As soon as the defense started rushing and blitzing the Colts again it seemed to rattle Manning and he wasn’t nearly as accurate. While the defense will (and should) get the credit for containing Manning in the second half, those of us at my house know it was because Mom moved back in to her correct “good luck” position.

Great game Steelers. We’re off to Denver.