Easily my 2nd favorite web comic ever is Evil, Inc. It's been around for years, so if you haven't read it, do so as soon as you finish reading this post. Do not past Go. Do not collect 200.00. Unless, you know, someone owes you 200.00. But then go read it. It's full of awesomeness.

Another good one is Amazing Superteam. Poor art but good dialog and decent storyline keeps this comic going. I like it a lot.

I turned 37 today.

I went to work. (I have a deadline on Tuesday). I took Drake with me too. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked.

We drove to Vienna and Annadale (30 mins) to look for a place to live. A few are decent possibilities.. We'll see if any of them pan out.

We went to Fuddruckers for dinner. Now I remember why we don't go there.. too expensive. Drake was really fascinated though and was extremely good our entire time there.

The evening was spent trying to organize a schedule for house hunting for tomorrow. And Drake is really fussy this evening so I didn't get much done. I also have to do taxes, not to mention pack. Also, Gwyn has been sick (can't drink water) and after a vet visit 4 days ago, we don't know what's actually wrong with her. But there's blood in her water bowl, so I had to isolate her to the extra bedroom.

That's pretty much it I suppose.

I specifically asked for nothing for my birthday, since we can't afford it. I got some nice cards and an outrageous gift from my mom, which I really appreciate.

Just follow the link, check the video, and sit there in bewilderement. I cannot, in all good conscious, post any pictures.

Pimped Out Powder Room

A few weeks ago I had a full physical. I got the results a week or so ago, and after a lot of non-returned phone calls, I had an appointment today for the follow up.

I'm fairly healthy, normal / average whatever... except for my Cholesterol. It's like one of those commercials with the happy healthly person doing happy healthy things, but then they get hit by a bus or trip or something. I knew that would be me one day.. I just figured it would be after I was 40. I'm not sure when my last full physical was, but it was probably a few years ago, and it was fine. I blame donut day.

Every Wed EA Mythic has "donut day".. several boxes full of awesome donuts. I usually try to avoid them, and as a result I end up only eating 2 or 3 or rarely 4. Every week. For nearly a year. Before that, Mad Doc Software had Pizza Friday.. all you can eat free pizza and soda (well OK, the hot chocolate and soda were always free). I was there for about 8 months. Since I suffer a -5 to Will rolls when it comes to donuts or cookies (mmmm Cookies), and a -5 (cumulative) to free food, it's no real shock that my Cholesterol is high. How high? Very.

Cholesterol can’t dissolve in the blood... it has to be carried by the blood.

There's 2 types of Cholesterol: Good (HDL) and Bad (LDL). The bad stuff is what clogs up your arteries. That's what causes things like heart attacks and strokes (Which my family has a long history of). The good stuff supposedly carries the bad stuff away and into the liver. If your good stuff is too low, and the bad stuff too high, that could be an indication of elevated Triglycerides, a body fat.

Normal Good (HDL) Cholesterol is 40 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) for men and 50 for women. Mine was 32. That's bad.

Normal Bad (LDL) Cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dl for a person with no other risk factors. 200-239 is "Borderline" High risk. 240+ is high risk. If I remember correctly, mine was 243. It could have been 234. I don't remember. Either way, it's very bad.

I have to take an aspirin and some medication every evening. I go back in 3 months to see if my cholesterol has lowered without any liver problems. Joy. Now I feel old.

As a result, as of yesterday, I started exercising. I'm doing the Walk away the Pounds DVD program by Leslie Sansone every morning at 8am for 30 mins. I hope to keep up with the program, since it, Weight Watchers, and Violet's use of them both, is largely responsible for my weight loss a year or so ago.

Our lease is up end of March, so I've been trying to find another place to rent. I have high hopes but little faith in the industry I have chosen, so I can't risk buying a house at this point in time. So we will rent yet again.

Having a roof over one's head is easily, and by far, the largest contributor towards our high cost of living. (We spend in excess of $4000 each month). It's very difficult to lower it, as I have been trying to do for a while now. If we could somehow get rid of our two dogs, 1 of the vehicles, cancel the cable and lower our cell phone plan, and then find a cheap (<1400) apartment or condo we'd probably be better off. But I cannot seem to do any of that.

The dogs are our responsibility.. I knew getting them was a bad idea, and I said so at the time of adoption, and I've complained about them ever since.. But I cannot seem to give them up. They are a part of the family now. I was strong enough to say NO when we got them, but not enough to enforce it. Besides, legally I'd have to return them to the shelters... one in Texas and one in Cali, and that's certainly not worth the drive. I tried Pet Finder up in Boston and came very close to giving away Sebastian. I'm pretty sure I blogged about that though.

I can't risk only having one vehicle. If it breaks, we're screwed. And even though Violet drives hers fairly infrequently, its almost worth keeping it until its paid off, which should be sometime this year. Mine isn't worth selling.. I owe more than its resale value is, so I'm stuck with it. Which sucks because the fuel level thingy broke, so I have no idea how much fuel remains. I just refill every 250 miles or so now.

We need internet access, for Violet's job.. that's a need. TV, not needed, but stupid Comcast package deals are such that we wouldn't be saving much by canceling it. Same for our cell phones. We tried eating from home, but I don't think that works. Our grocery bills are 80-150 bucks.. much higher than going out every night.

Sure the kid isn't cheap, but I knew that a long time ago, and the little guy is worth it. Have you SEEN his pics on Violet's blog? D'oh, he needs me right now, so that's gonna cut this blog short. I was gonna ramble about figuring out ways to earn more money since I can't seem to reduce my outgoing expenditures, like canceling my 401K and making my # of W-2 deductions really high. But I'm not gonna do either. For now.