Sorry for the Extended Absence...

Unfortunately I've been grappling with a rather annoying computer virus of late. I seem to have it under control, but my computer was running ridiculously slow and my Internet was shut down because, as it turned out, the virus was sending spam out. Of course, now that it's running fine again (after I explained what had happened to my local cable/Internet provider), I have the problem of not being able to see anything further than a foot away since my glasses broke a week and a half ago while I was cleaning them. I have another pair on it's way, and used the opportunity to get my lens prescription updated since my friends have noted that I tend to squint at the television even when wearing my regular glasses. The bright side of things running fine though is that my back's been giving me problems lately and feels much better when I'm sitting. Apparently one of my lower vertebrates is twisted, which explains why it feels like I'm being poked with pins in my lower back. My chiropractor checked things out and it's been feeling better since I saw him, so hopefully it subsides.

Despite all of these annoying and painful bits going on, other things have been all right. I got down to Niagara Falls last week and won a Marvin the Martian plush toy at a midway. I was thinking of giving it away as a present, but I might hold onto it. Not that I'm into plush dolls or anything, but I like the character and I can brag about having won it to all of my jackass friends (I'm just kidding, they're great).

I got my copy of the Batman Animated Series soundtrack in the mail the other day. I missed the chance to get an autographed copy, but I'm still glad I snagged one before they sold out. The music is great, and the distributor did a great job with the insert booklet, offering all kinds of trivia and commentary by the composers and crew from the show. I was actually surprised by some of the music -- I knew the more familiar cues, but there was a lot of stuff I barely noticed with all of the visuals and sound effects and dialogue that sounds unbelievably fantastic. I'm thrilled they finally put out what hopefully will be the first of many releases, since it deserves this kind of treatment.

I finished my Christmas shopping. Got a few things for my brother and friends, sent some cards and stuff out to my mom, got espresso beans for my dad. I still need to make sure I get something to my grandmother, but even if I don't have the opportunity to get her a more personal card, I still have a few smaller cards from a multi-pack I can give her. But for all intents and purposes, I'm done and I'm glad I didn't wait to the last minute or half-ass it like I have in past years. I think I was actually at the 24 hour Walmart last December 25th at 2:00am. While I'm not saying it wouldn't be fun to go to Walmart in the middle of the night, it's nice knowing I won't have to worry about last minute shopping this year.

That's about all the interesting stuff I've been up to since my last post. Hopefully I'll get back soon to make up for the infrequent posting lately. I'd hate to disappoint my loyal audience, because, yes that's right, I actually have someone following my blog. And just in case this post didn't come across terribly thrilling, here's something to make up for that: