He's Alive, But How Is He?

Here's the update on Mr. Miyagi's Son (get it?). After getting jumped the other day and suffering a fracture along with some stitches, I went back to the doctor (like many of you advised) so they could check me for a concussion. Perhaps I should of never even got out of bed that day. The whole 24 hours was a pure disaster for me from start to end. Too bad I didn't read my Scorpio horoscope beforehand or I would of saw it read this (this is real too)..."Make changes that you know will enhance your looks and your attitude. Someone may try to start an argument with you. Overindulgent people must be kept at arm's length." That is what you call being a day late and a dollar short. So I made some changes to enhance my looks - bruises, cuts, swelling and stitches. Sexy, right? As far as my attitude, it's probably shittier and lower than ever for a few reasons. Then someone may try to start an argument with you - nah, really? Maybe I should of kept the entire world at an arm's length like they advised. Magic 8 Ball, do you think I will receive an ass whopping out of the blue?

Originally when I went in to get looked at after the fight that night, the doctor told me that he didn't THINK I had a concussion. He said IF I was having headaches that wouldn't go away or any vision problems then I needed to come back in and get an MRI done just to be safe. So that is what happed. All day I was popping back aspirin, which I later found out is what you DON'T want to do - oops. I should of known that aspirin thins your blood and if you have any brain swelling, then you could be causing further damage by taking aspirin for the pain. Ahh, so now you tell me. Well actually I think they told me that at the hospital, but I wasn't in the clearest state of mind to be listening really.

I had concussions before. I use to box and had a small concussion from inside the ring once and about a year or so back, I had a very sever concussion when I was hit by a drunk driver on my motorcycle. That was a very bad one and I learned that if you had a concussion in the past, then you are more susceptible to getting another one in the future if you should receive a blow to your head, even a minor hit. So when this guy hit me, not only did it fracture the bone above my right eye and cut me open, but it was a serious enough hit to jar my brain and cause another concussion...alot that doctor knows. Perhaps I even received this concussion from when my head struck the pavement after the push? I'm not sure. The doctor just sent me home without examining me for that. I guess I can understand that though because he did look for other signs of a possible concussion - check your eyes to see if they focus, memory issues, ears ringing, ect. Although I always thought that if you have a concussion and you don't lose consciousness, which during this one I did not, that you still should NOT go to sleep. Is that true? I hear if you sleep after a concussion that it can cause further damage? I'm no doctor as you can tell, so I'm not really sure but that is what I always heard. Anyways, I did go to sleep that night afterwards but I'm alive today so maybe it's not all that bad for you or perhaps I'm already too f*cked up in the head to even know what I'm talking about. Hey, where am I? Kidding.

Some good news, you know the nurse that gave me the TLC at the hospital - my Mom's next door neighbor? Well if you recall, when she was stitching me up I asked her not to mention what happened to my Mom because my Mom would freak and worry. So she was there again last night when I went in for the MRI. She said she was happy I came back to get that done. She was even going to give me a call to see how I was if I hadn't stopped by. Nice huh? She's a good woman. She's like a second Mom. When I was little and would get a skateboard injury or get bit by a dog on my bike (and yes that happened more than once - I must of looked like a juicy steak on a Huffy at age 10), all I ever had to do was go across the street so she could patch me up. It was comforting. Even all grownup, she is still trying to comfort me. I'll admit I'm a bad liar, so when she asked me what my evening plans were and said I better be staying home to rest, I knew she could read me like an open book. She knew it was "Bike Night" and I was going to go there so I didn't look like I was hiding from these guys. Not only are you suppose to not drink with a concussion (and a few beers is part of "Bike Night"), but you obviously aren't suppose to risk getting hit a second time on top of that type of injury...not to mention it would more than likely open my cut back up - ouch. So she told me her break was coming up and was offering to treat me to some Cold Stone Creamery ice-cream if I agreed to stay away from "Bike Night" for the evening. I love Cold Stone Creamery's "Oreo Overload", so that is hard to pass up. It was kind of like bribing a kid, but hey it worked.

I've written 2 very long posts the last 2 days, so let me wrap this up. Sorry to bitch and moan about things. I promise I will get back to happy/funny/interesting posts soon enough. Nobody probably wants or needs to hear about my miserable existence. I can relate to my sick dog. The poor thing is dying and she probably just wants me to put her out of her misery. I love her alot so it's hard to let go, but I think I really need to in order to be kind to her and do what is in her best interest. It seems like she is the only one who has really loved me and stuck by me thru the good and the bad. Can I say that I admire a dog? Crazy, but I do. I sometimes wish someone could put me out of my misery too.

Despite the concussion and cut and all the little aches and pains from the fight and just not feeling that well to being with, what hurts by far the most is my heart. I can't (well maybe I can) believe that the girl I love didn't even ask if I was ok after all of this - not a single word. It makes me want to cry even writing that out and seeing it myself, but I'm a tough guy that takes fights 3 on 1 and wins so no tears should be shed right? Stay strong because I think if I would cry, that would really hurt with my eye so swollen and messed up. Ever have blood run into your eye? Not fun or pretty. Actually I don't know if I could cry even if I wanted to because I feel so much pain lately that I think my body is programmed to numb things for me. Sounds weird I know, but perhaps that is one of God's magic tricks in letting humans deal with what life throws at them. They say time heals all wounds though, right? It's just amazing to me how she got a "boyfriend" overnight in a sense and is going away with him for the weekend. Hmm, I wonder if that "title" was given out the same night I was laying face down in the dirt? Hey, put your money on red for me this weekend when you are in Vegas with your new boyfriend partying it up and buy yourself a little happy. As for me, I'll do what my friends tell me - out of sight, out of mine. I think the song by Nirvana - "You Know You're Right" fits this situation very well.

This isn't my pity party so you can all feel bad for me - don't actually. I don't know why anyone even bothers to fall in love. To me it turns out to be such a fucking waste and I would of been better off in the long run not to of fallen. Yeah, I'm bitter and it shows but I'll get over it. If not, I'll go get my face kicked in some more so that pain can take center stage instead. By the way, feel free to comment, but if you could, leave the advice and encouragement on my pathetic love life out of it. It won't help me or lift me up, but I thank all of you for the nice "get well" wishes and other words about my little scuffle from the other day. I do sincerely appreciate everyone's concern and caring about me. It means alot, honestly. However, the one person who I really wanted to feel some comfort and kindness from, even just a "how are you", didn't happen. It's ok. I'm use to it now. I just hope everyone doesn't think I'm some idiot that runs around with a temper and stuff. I'm so not like that. In fact the last time I even got into a fight (outside a boxing ring) was years ago when I stopped a guy that tried to rape my girlfriend. I think that guy was well deserving of a beating, so I'm sure you can all let that one slide. However, I was alot less gentle on him than I was with these Harley bikers. Also, if you are friends or family of "you know who", then before you say anything to me, I ask that you save it. I don't want or need to hear your 2 cents on things. I don't mean to be so depressing on a Friday, so here's to a happy weekend for all and lots of rest and recovery this weekend for me. I'm throwing in this big fake smile for an extra touch too! :D

He Who Gets Jumped Has The Last Laugh

I had an interesting night last night - I got jumped. If you didn't already know, I'm into speed bikes/sport bikes, whatever you want to call them - crotch rockets. One of the things I like to do is illegal street racing. Now before everyone goes off on how bad and dangerous that is, I know already. We have a couple streets that we do it on where there is no traffic. They are isolated locations and it's word of mouth to find them and know where and when the races take place. Everyone who goes has a bike they are willing to race otherwise they wouldn't be there. Sure there are a couple "on lookers" who just like to watch, but even most of them come with a speed bike and check out the scene perhaps looking to one day race. 99% of the time it's good, clean fun and nothing bad ever happens. Everyone shares a common love in racing, a thirst for an adrenaline rush and has mutual respect for one another. Of course, it only takes a handful of trashy Harley guys to come in and f*ck things up.

I don't know what their problem is, but for starters they don't even belong there because you don't race cruiser style bikes. They have no business even showing up to watch. They only came looking for trouble and wanting to start a fight. I say that based on a few prior encounters with this same group of Harley guys. They are nothing short of some old overweight men who drink too much, walk around trying to flex their beer muscles and think they are better than everyone on earth. For whatever reason they seem to have a real problem with speed bike guys and in particular me it seems. Why that is, I have no clue. Harley riders and speed bike riders alike go to this one sports bar and grill place on Thursday nights which we nicknamed as "Bike Night". It's just to hangout, have a few drinks, eat some food and BS with other riders. It's harmless and a good time is had by all, except when these guys show up. The first time I ever saw them is when I pulled into the parking lot and before I had even stopped or took my helmet off or anything, they had some shit to say. I don't even recall what exactly the remark was, but it was something along the lines of them calling us a bunch of "fagots". Now if I was gay, maybe I would take offense, but I just saw it as them being childish and insecure so I ignored them. Then that same night we could hear them making more comments about us. They did it in way that we were suppose to believe it was a private conversation they were having, but we knew damn well they were saying it loud enough for us to overhear on purpose. I suppose their goal was to get a rise out of one of us - still we ignored them.

A week went by and again we ran into them at "Bike Night". As always they had the same remarks to say as soon as they spotted us there. A few of my friends had just about enough and wanted to go over and see what exactly their problem was. Sure I was tired of them shooting their mouth off for no reason and to be perfectly honest I felt like putting them in their place, but I thought it was a waste of time. You can't reason with the retarded. There were more of them than us and if it would turn into some huge fight, then perhaps we may even win but what good does that do? Their little remarks weren't really hurting me. It just made them look like a bunch of morons with nothing better to do with their lives than be 40+ year old playground bullies. I thought it was kind of sad in a way. Over the course of the next few months we would see these guys and some nights there were no comments from them and other nights they wouldn't shut up. Just when I thought they had given up on trying to get a reaction out of us with all the "fag insults" and other remarks, they overstepped the line. My one buddy had brought his girlfriend with him. We planned on having dinner inside because it was a little cold out and I knew she wouldn't want to hang outside with a bunch of guys talking about motorcycles. So when we arrived, my buddy ran into a co-worker and went over to say hello to him. So then his girlfriend and I were left waiting for him and she told me she was going to run inside and put our name on the list to be seated since the place was packed. I said ok and told her I would hang back so my buddy didn't think we both disappeared on him. I had a feeling that was a mistake as soon as I said that to her and watched her start to walk away.

She would have to pass those scummy Harley guys and my gut was telling me they would make some remark to her because I saw them take notice that she was with us when we arrived. I started to follow her a little and kept an eye on the Harley guys to make sure they didn't do anything dumb. The parking lot was packed and as I made my way thru the crowd, I could see up ahead that they managed to strike up a conversation with her as she had one hand on the door going into the restaurant. She's a very polite, trusting and sometimes naive type of girl so I knew these guys were going to use that to their advantage. By the time I reached her, the conversation had ended and these guys just gave me a smirk as I passed them. I asked her what they said. She rattled off a few things to me, but it all did seem rather non-important and just some idle chit chat that went on which was a good thing. I was afraid they were going to be rude or say or do something to cause a real problem. Now we are up to present time and date...well what happened yesterday.

At the races last night, I see the same group of Harley guys show up. Obviously something is up and that is not a good sign. It turns out later that they were fishing for information from my buddy's girlfriend as to when and where we do these street races at so they could show up at the secluded location. They were hoping to start a fight where there isn't anyone around. Plus, who would call the cops if a fight was going on because we aren't suppose to be racing to being with. Perhaps these dirt bags aren't that dumb afterall. All I could think of is that I was in a particular irritated mood because earlier I spent most of the day listening to a girl bitch at me about a number of things and I really wasn't in the mood to hear anymore more shit from anyone. So as soon as the one guy saw me, he did this whistle at me like a construction guy would do to a woman on the street. I gave him the finger as I ignored him and walked by. Then I hear him yell out "you want to finger me with that fagot"? I tell him that he is going to have to be someone else's bitch because I'm not into that style (excuse the language). Apparently that is what he was looking to hear - something to piss him off and test his homophobic issues. You think everyone laughing at them would be a big enough clue to tell them they aren't welcome and to get lost, but I guess not. They decided to stay and keep it up. More and more of the same types of remarks. Really I'm not stupid. I can see there is 4 of them and 1 of me. Sure some of these other guys might help me out if a fight would take place, but you can't count on that. I'm not a small guy at 6'1 and just under 200lbs, but then I'm not the biggest guy either and I certainly don't go around fighting people on the street for fun. I know what these guys wanted to do to me and I wasn't going to encourage it, but I certainly won't put up with shit non-stop or back down if I'm attacked.

Eventually the races are over and people start clearing out. The Harley guys stick around - how ironic. Next thing I know I'm blindsided by by the one guy. He cracks me good along my right eye just on the brow bone. It sounded like it cracked to me ,but it happened so fast that it was hard to know what was going on. Then I feel a second guy push me from behind. I am hit once more before I am able to get to my feet and see who and exactly how many people I am even fighting. I turn to face them and see that it's 3 on 1. Sounds fair, right? It would of probably been 4 on 1, but the one guy ran like a pussy. To make a long story short, somehow I mange to whip on these guys by myself. A couple other guys that were left from the races were willing to help out, but I felt like it's my fight and if they want to go 3 on 1 because that is the only way they feel they can beat me, then I want them to try and do it. They talk alot of shit, so why not back it up? They couldn't even face me to start the fight. They had to throw a cheap shot from behind when I wasn't looking or expecting to get me off guard. That is weak. It says alot about their character. I never started a fight with them. In fact, I never said a word to them until last night. I have always ignored and "turned the other cheek" so to speak, but alot of good that did me - I get blindsided when I do that. A few weeks ago I had even bought the one guy a beer when my one buddy was joking around with them and they were taking offense. I thought I would smooth things out and call a truce to it, but like I said before, there is no reasoning or rationalizing with the retarded. I guess they didn't know I boxed for years or they may of looked to pick on someone else. I wonder how they feel now not only getting their asses kicked 3 on 1, but also getting beat by a "fag"...or so they like to think I am.

Moral of the story kids, it's good/smart/mature to turn the other cheek in life and ignore "bullies". You may even try to talk the problem out and call a truce, but it takes both sides to find peace and there is a time when you have to defend yourself if the other guy isn't interested in your "peace". Don't let "Tender Heart Bear" up there fool you. He has a good idea in theory, but this is the real world and not Care Bear land. Speaking of "Tender Heart Bear", I did get some TLC on my injuries last night. I wasn't going to go the hospital mostly because I had to think of a "legal excuse" as to why I was all beat up. Otherwise they will consider that an assault case and I didn't want to get into that mess. However, I was bleeding pretty bad above my eye and I wasn't able to put my helmet back on to ride home because the swelling was causing pain. I have a hairline fracture above my right eye that also required 12 stitches to close the cut. I have some bruising, but nothing I can't cover up by wearing sunglasses today and working from home. They didn't check for a concussion, but I'm having a real headache today so I'm not sure if that means anything or not. If it doesn't go away, I'll go back in and have them take an MRI just to be safe. Hope all of you had an eventful last night too, but in a good way.

***UPDATE***
Feel free to leave me your virtual "kiss the boo boo and make it better" or you can you do it in person if you prefer. Then again, you may think I'm a big childish thug for getting into this scrap so just to make it clear...he started it! Ha-ha. ;)

Croc Of Shit In New Orleans

Photos of a gigantic crocodile supposedly captured in the flooded streets of New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina are being circulated around the web and thru e-mail. Along with the photos, an attached message states that the crocodile was found in New Orleans swimming down the street! It measures 21 feet long, weighs 4,500 lbs and is expected to be around 80 years of age. Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals. The crocodile was killed by the Army and is currently in the freezer at the Azur Hotel. The contents of its stomach will be analyzed shortly. Now does this sound like a croc of shit to anyone else but me?

You know, I heard a different story. I heard that since "George Bush hates black people", that he captured this croc from Africa and let it go loose in New Orleans to eat up all the Hurricane Katrina victims! Wolf Blitzer will attest to this report. He said because the people there are "so poor and so black" that it doesn't matter if a man eating freak of nature croc "cleans the streets of all swimmers and floaters". True tale. Is my Pinocchio nose growing yet? Well for the guidable out there, here is the real story. The photos are real, but the tale that is attached is obviously false. These photos were not taken in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They actually were taken in 2003 and document the capture of a 16-foot crocodile in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. The incident was covered in the July 17, 2003 edition of "La Semaine Africaine". Some versions of this message identify the beast as an alligator, making it an even less convincing hoax.

If you believed the first version of this story, then like the hurricane victims, you too need to put on your "shit kicker boots" because you are knee deep wading in it. If you believed my version of the story, then give yourself a pat on the back for having a sense of humor and knowing I was pulling (I mean eating) your leg. Doesn't the giant red flashing "bullshit alarm" ( I mean "crocshit alarm") go off in your head when you read things like this? If not, it certainly should.

***UPDATE***
Sorry about "word verification" being turn on lately. I am just getting crushed with spam comments on my blog all of the sudden. I tried turning it off during the daytime yesterday and within 2 minutes I had 10 spam posts. It's so irritating, but then so is having to type in that word verification. Not sure what to do, but for now it's turned on so I don't have to go in a delete spam constantly.

Handyman Hammock

Even though it's suppose to be fall here, it's still in the 80s and sunny where I live. I'm not complaining, in fact I'm taking advantage of the beautiful weather. I decided to brush-up on my handyman skills this past weekend and put up a hammock in my backyard. It's not a hard task really. The hardest decision making I had to do was deciding on the two joining trees and placing it just far away enough from my rose bushes so that I wouldn't be pestered by bees. What is more relaxing than spending a lazy Sunday afternoon laying on an outdoor hammock with the warm breeze blowing, listening to the chirping of birds and sipping a lemonade? It's a simple beauty and I like it.

Now if my camera phone battery wasn't dead, I would of taken an actual photo of it, but this image is about how it looks...minus this cheesy couple. I bought the XL size hammock, big enough for two people to lay plus some extra room. There are so many types of hammocks these days that it can be a bit overwhelming to choose one. However, I kind of like the old fashion one - the bare basics with just the ropes as opposed to a fabric covered bottom. I think they look better too, but that's just my opinion. My next handyman project will require a little more skill and time to complete. I'm going to put a fireplace in my bedroom. I already have a wood burning fireplace in my living room, but I think I will have to go the electric/gas route for the bedroom fireplace because otherwise it would call for major construction which I am not interested in having take place.

Sure some of the leaves are beginning to fall and a few are starting to even change color, but not enough to convince me the summer is over. The warm weather may not be here for long, but as long as it sticks around, I'm taking advantage of it! Long motorcycle rides, going swimming, eating ice-cream and doing all that good "fun in the sun" stuff. Then once the temp drops, it will be time to warm up indoors in front of the fire. Who says a change of season is bad thing? I wouldn't want it any other way.

What's In A Name?

When people go online, they take pseudo names or what is referred to as nicknames or handles. They do so in order to help protect their identity or perhaps to just make them "look cool". Whatever reason you do it, it's normal and actually encouraged in a sense when it comes to traveling thru cyberspace. Do you ever run into someone online and wonder what their nickname/handle really means? What about the name I use for this blog, "DIAMONDKT", ever wonder if it means something? Well to answer your curious mind, yes it does. It does mean something (sort of), but I kind of like what this online nickname/handle generator says my name stands for better.

Sounds pretty fitting, right? I think so, especially given my field of expertise and that I am somewhat of a nocturnal person. Well, I'm just up all the time pretty much - day and night! So go see what your name means at www.cyborgname.com (Credit for this little find goes to Mojoala's blog where I found the link.)

Attention Armchair Quarterbacks

Are you one of those guys who just lives for football? You may of played in high school and even college, but the pros never picked you up. Even though you had to get a normal job because your glory days of throwing around the pigskin are over, you can't seem to let go of the love for the game. It runs deep in your blood. Maybe you don't bleed the black and gold colors of my Steelers, but you bleed your college colors as an alumni. You bleed your favorite NFL team. With all this bleeding going on, I bet you would sacrifice some of your blood to really feel what it's like to be on the goal line with 4th and inches to go as seconds tick away in the final quarter of play. You've spent many weekends screaming at your TV to run a certain play, but how about getting off your butt and actually being the quarterback who has to make those crucial decisions?

Imagine yourself dropping back into the pocket looking for wide receiver superstars like Moss and Owens. Perhaps you would like to be on the receiving end of a bullet pass from Brett Farve or maybe you want to run full force into a 325lb linebacker as Ricky Williams. Maybe your dream is to toss around the O-line or make the huge game crushing sack. Whatever you passion is, I have something to feed it. It's called "Madden '06" from EA Sports. It's more than just a video game, for some it has become an obsession, while others rely on it as a paycheck! The Madden football video game series has become so popular and well respected that there is even a tournament held across the nation to determine who is the best Madden football player (for more details visit www.easports.com). You better bring your "A game" if you plan to compete in it because it's not like whopping up on your buddy. Oh no, theses guys take it very serious - some I'm sure even bleed Madden! The winning prize is a whopping $100,000! Sure that is a good paycheck, but it's not just about the money...say it with me...it's about the love and the respect. It's about being the best damn video game armchair quarterback this world has ever seen. Now that sounds silly, but I wonder if that is what the diehard Madden competitors really feel?

I know I love the game and for many it cane be addicting. It's been in production for over 10 years and each year they somehow manage to improve on it's predecessor. All the teams and players are licensed so it's as real as it gets. There is play by play commentary by real broadcasters - John Madden of course being one of them. You hear the roar of the crowd, travel to all the authentic fields and feel the pressure of the big game. It's just as real as it gets. That is why EA Sports has always coined the phrase "If it's in the game, it's in the game". What has made Madden even more fun the last few years is the ability to play it online. Pop it into your PlayStation 2, hook up your broadband connection and you can play your buddy in another state or a total stranger from around the world. You can even talk smack to them via the headset making it feel like they are right there in your living room with you.

If you've never played Madden and you like football or video games, I highly suggest you go pick it up. It's in stores now and sells for about $50, but if you are a cheap ass and want to wait a year, then it will be half price or even lower. Also check out "NCAA Football '06" (also available now) and the first "Arena Football '06" coming February 7th. So forget your fantasy football on paper, pick up the real deal in Madden '06.

Guest Blogger To Be Announced

It's the traditional first of the month post and usually I do a quick recap on what topics I covered on the blog over the last 30 days (give or take a few). I'm not really in the mood to do that today for a few reasons. I'm a little burnt out on things and bored with blogging in general right now. Also, I just had to delete over 30 spam comments spread all over my blog which was annoying. I really don't want to turn on "word verification", but if the spam gets out of hand, then I may. It seems they are only targeting a few particular posts and unfortunately blogger doesn't allow you to turn on "word verification" for individual posts. You have to apply the setting to the entire blog. Maybe just on the weekend or at night I will turn on "word verification" because that seems to be the times the spam bots attack my blog the most. With that aside, here is some good news for my loyal readers...

I'm finally putting my guest blogger idea into action! I've been meaning to pick someone to write some posts for me, giving me a break and changing things up around here. So I think I've made my choice on who will be my first guest blogger. Want to know who? Well, you will have to wait because it's going to remain a secret until they post, which should be sometime in the following week. I like to build up the anticipation and excitement with this teaser - eww ahh. Want a little clue as to who it is? The only info I will give out is that they are female. Hmm, now you are really curious, right? You can throw guesses out if you want, but I won't give it away. Time will soon unveil the mystery guest blogger's true identity!

Now for any new readers who are visiting my blog for the first time today, here is what you've missed in the last month. Since it's October and also the beginning of the fall season, I will sum this up in a "nutshell" - hardy har har...bad joke I know. The highlights included some chit chat about hurricane Katrina, Apple being dumb, Jude Law's nude photos, fellow blogger Gina's in-depth interview of me, the NFL season kicking off, remembering 9-11, the birth of Britney's baby and more than a handful of posts of a "sexual nature" (always interesting stuff). To check all the posts out from last month and all the previous months, visit my Archive linked to your right.

Probably the most noted parts is when I touched on some "hot button topics" which is normally something I stay away from (blacks, gays, Muslims, God, politics and even an anti-rape device). They caused a good discussion, even if it was a controversial one with varying opinions. Despite the hot button topics, somehow I seem to have ignited a fire when I did a couple personal posts on some poetic song lyrics, my first PhotoShop art piece and a little love note I had written to someone. I certainly expected some heat over the "hot button topics", but not over my personal posts. The reaction/comments I get on my blog are very strange sometimes. I'm not sure I will ever really understand some people, but the month is over with and it's time for some fresh content - welcome October.