Posted 12:43 AM by John A. Seafisk

All right, so the year isn't off to such a great start blog-wise. What can I say?

Well, here's some of the things that's happened to me within the last blog-free month:

-Won a trip to Hawaii via a trivia contest. It was through something called SportsByBrooks. Haven't gone yet, since it's for the Pro Bowl. And I haven't gotten tickets yet. But it's still nearly a month away, so I might be a tad impatient

-Went on a post-Christmas drive up the California coast. Got as far north as Medford, Oregon. It rained a lot, which was actually nice & added to the scenery of the Redwood forests. More details & maybe pictures coming soon.

-Found a Sonic Drive-In fast food restaurant in the Los Angeles area. It was in Anaheim, near the 91 freeway. Again, it was raining when I went, but it was my last day off before returning to work. This trip came about a year after I successfully discovered a Chick-Fil-A in Redondo Beach. Next mission: to find a Long John Silvers.

-Got a kiss on New Years Eve...but only one. I was at some L.A. bar/restaurant/hotspot, when a girl walked by & tripped in front of me. Being the gentleman I am, I helped her up. She was obviously quite tipsy (in more ways than one), and she gave me a slurred "Thank you; Happy New Year!", followed by a kiss on the cheek. Myself, also being very tipsy (ok...quite drunk), responded with a slurred "You're welcome; Happy New Year!", followed by a kiss on her cheek. She then wandered into the mass of partying people, never to be seen again. Evening was pretty downhill after that.

-Went to a San Diego Gulls hockey game. I enjoy minor league sports, and had a long-time curiosity settled with a trip down to the San Diego Sports Arena, a place you could tell was built in the '70s. Got a good seat behind the goal, and was witness to a 5-1 shellacking of the Idaho Steelheads. The Gulls fans gave an interesting chant after each SD goal:
" 1-2-3-4-5! Hey Ellis (the Idaho goalie's name)! It's all your fault! You suck! Looooserrrrrr! (complete with L-to-the-forehead gesture)"

-Watched the NFL Playoffs. Good games.

-Brushed my teeth a couple of times.

-Woke up this morning with a cramp in my leg. It was one of those cramps where your lower thigh muscle locks up suddenly, so you jump wildly out of bed and hop around one-legged like an injured kangaroo. Man, did that hurt!

So looking back, I guess I did do a lot...but never bothered to write about it. For shame on my part. It's enough to make me want to return my Medill diploma.

On second thought, no way. It cost too much to give up.