94 Days

Dec 2nd is the weigh in date. 200 lbs is the target. I have 94 days to lose the 35 or so pounds that I have put on in the last year. My reward will be a freeroll into one of the NLHE tournaments on the ship during our cruise....and a sandwich....with bacon. If I lose I will have to stake Jen in said poker tournament. This may just be the motivation I need to get my butt back into the gym on a regular basis, much less stop eating like a farm animal.

Speaking of farm animals....
I had a good time at the Michigan State Fair last week. For only $9 you can get in on some of the best people watching around. People watching at casinos is grand, but when you have fair patrons, carnies, and farmers all in the same place it becomes hard to remember that staring is rude.

This was my first time back to the fair in a few years and I of course wanted to win Jen a stuffed animal, so I went to my old stand by and tried to break some beer bottles with some baseballs. Being that I am about 30 lbs overweight and haven't thrown a baseball in forever, I decided to warm up a little and ease into the throws. First two had some speed but missed the bottles, and I put a little more on the 3rd and final ball I got for $5 and struck a bottle. Unfortunately the balls seemed to be a little on the soft side and the ball ricocheted off without busting it. I put my head down and walked away.

We made it around the midway watching people try to toss a softball here or knock something down there, only to be mocked by the carnies who would undoubtedly say, "look, it's easy...." and "win" the game on their first try. This "demonstration" may be the most brilliant idea to ever come from a carnie, in the history of the world....maybe not, but I'd say it's a good bet.

On our way out of the midway, somewhere around the time we were commenting on all the chubby 8-10 year old girls who looked like boys because of their short hair and broad bodies, I find another carnie asking me to try his bottle breaking game. Being that I was thinking about hitting the bottle and not getting a prize on my last try most of our time in the midway, I wasn't what you would call a hard sell.

I give him the $5 and take three balls out of the bucket....three hard plastic balls that I suspected would be harder to break a bottle with than the soft-hard balls I used at the last carnie stand. Meaning, of course, that I need to put all of my weight into my throws so I take a few steps back, tug up slightly on what little sleeve I have on my right shoulder and pull out my old pitching form. It was a beautiful throw with good speed and right in the strike zone....which was about half a foot underneath everything.

Jen hands me the second ball and I notice that people behind me have stopped to watch me throw the next one. I tend to do much better with everything I do when I have an audience, so go figure I line up my next shot and fire it right through the bottle I was aiming for, the sound of the bottle blasted into a thousand pieces and the gong-like sound of the ball hitting the metal backstop drowning out the carnie's cry of, "We have a winner!".

Next throw was pretty much the same as I obliterated another empty beer bottle and won my girl the "Large" prize. She ended up choosing a white dog with the tongue hanging out and posable legs. She now has it proudly displayed in the cargo area of her Envoy for all....er....none to see.