Ok, the brace is off for now because it gets irritating and I wanted to be able to type. #13 on my countdown is The Comeback by Shout Out Louds. I'm going to try to go back to putting effort into it when I get to the top ten, but no promises. I think next year, I'll just wait 'til the end of the year, as I have a lot more fun making the list than I do revealing it.
How was my weekend? Glad you asked. On Saturday, I took my chances and agreed to go to the Giants vs. Chiefs. I even went the entire day without mentioning how much of a jinx I am. Since the game was on Saturday instead of Sunday, it was a lot rowdier than normal because the people who didn't have to get up the next day allowed the wine and spirits to flow more easily. I told myself I shouldn't clap that much because it hurt like hell afterwards and hitting my hand against something makes my finger tingle so clapping makes it a double, but somehow you forget all that when Tiki Barber is running 41 yards to the endzone. By the end of the night, Tiki had broken or tied 5 Giants rushing records and the whole place was breaking into chants of TIKI! TIKI!, Ti-ki Bar-ber! Ti-ki Bar-ber!, or MVP! MVP!
You could feel the platonic love fans have for a football player and it felt pretty good. I had forgotten what it was like to be part of a crowd that just won, since I hadn't experienced it in this century. But now I remember. Mr. Jinx is no more. I still would like a double 0 jersey that says Mr. Jinx on the back. That would be cool.
On the way home, my dad and I stopped at McDonald's and the cleaning lady was being really sympathetic toward me and trying to talk to me, because I had my brace back on and must have looked really pathetic trying to eat my French fries. The problem was that she didn't speak the English, so we had to try to figure out what she was saying. Dad figured it out that she was saying she also has carpal tunnel syndrome. She seemed to take a perverse pride in showing me how she could dislocate her thumb. Whatever her problem was, it hurt mucho. This is when I realized that a carpal tunnel brace is a chick magnet and if I wanted to, I could have any ancient, ailing, Spanish-speaking McDonald's employee I wanted.
The next day at the mall, a guy peddling cell phones told me to get well soon. A carpal tunnel brace is also a dude magnet.
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I read a bit of a disturbing story yesterday about masculine pride gone wild. I know, unheard of, right? It seems the father of Washington Redskins player Shawn Springs needs a kidney. But dad won't let Shawn even test to see if he is a match. Why? Because Shawn said he would give up his football career to save his dad's life. NFL players are required to have two working kidneys, you see, so if he gave one to his dad, he would be forced to retire. So, in essence, Mr. Springs would rather DIE than have his son not be a professional football player. Is there a special place in heaven for the severely deluded? Let's hope so.
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Finally, my shipment of books was last seen in East Syracuse according to UPS, so I am expecting them today. If you would like to buy one directly from me, drop me an e-mail. Once Jan 22 rolls around, they will go very fast. I anticipate having none left once the autograph signing is over.
The first batch of strangers is done reading it and I am breathing a huge sigh of relief. I have received glowing reviews! It's one thing for people that know you to say your book is good. While one appreciates that, one always has in the back of one's mind that these people KNOW you, so how objective can they be? I admit I was a little nervous when the book went on sale as a real book to real people that don't know me from anywhere except as the guy who makes hilarious and/or insightful comments on a LOST message board. I am happy to say that the next hurdle in my literary career has been cleared. Every stranger that has read my book has liked it, possibly even loved it. At this time, I would like to share an e-mail I got from one such "stranger".
Hey Capt. I just have to tell you that I really, really enjoyed your book. I was surprised. I stopped reading those types of thrillers because it was the same old crap, too much information that had little to do with the plot and didn't grab my attention. One of the things I love about reading is getting the visual images in my head and actually being able to see the characters and the setting in my head. I could completely picture your characters, the cabins, the whole set up. Its been a long time since a book has captured my imagination in that sort of way. Granted, I haven't done much reading for pleasure the past year (went back to school, oh dear lord I feel a Billy Maddison song coming on) but the few books I have tried to read I never finished because it simply did nothing for me.
...how you were able to portray Melissa's fear and dreams was dead on accurate... All the characters were very real. Davis totally creeped me out. Arn was such a son of a bitch and I kind of wished his wife had kicked his ass in the end but that's a different story. Any way it was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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