So now that I have all this blah out the way. Who would win between the good guys from Star Trek Original Series vs. the good guys from Star Wars Return of the Jedi? Luke obviously has the most advantages because he is a Jedi and he could deflect Kirk's laser blasts. Chewbacca could probably win in a battle of strength with Spock, but not in logic. So if Spock hung out a piece of meat he could get the upper hand on him. C3PO would be defeated by Sulu because he would just turn him off. Leia would probably lose to Uhora because you should always bet on the bigger girl. Mccoy is another advantage because when Luke cuts Kirks arms off Mccoy would put it back on. Sorry Peetey, the answer is obvious. Star Trek wins!

So in an effort to humble myself from previous boastings I shall now
talk about my skin. Growing up I went through horrible acne that
caused many people to give advice and in the end I went to a
dermatologist who fixed it by 10th grade. Also I had chicken pox scars
on my head that developed when I was a kid, I just couldn't stop
picking. As an adult it has become seboric dermatitis and psoriasis
as the doc noticed they were scaley. Then I've got rosacea, where my
face gets red and my nose gets bigger as I age. Add in freckles on my
chest, hair growing all over my body, and easily sunburning and we've
got full blown skin problems.

With all of that you would think I would still be humble, yet this
little voice in my head always says its not what you look like that
matters, its what you do that matters. So I can easily ignore things
that would humble me. Anyways, really humility and being humiliated
are 2 very different things. I must've watched too much Mr. Rogers as
a kid ;-)

What if my name was Bryan Bass? Ack. That name is sickening. Bryan? a Y? One of the things I always say when people ask me my name is "with an i" because people always ask "Y or I?". One of the things about our future progeny will be that it will have a name that we can buy the domain name with a dot com in it. See you can get to this site through brianbass.net and brianbass.info but brianbass.com is already owned by someone else. So baconburgerbass.com and baconbass.com are available. My criteria for figuring out a name would be - unique enough to buy the domain, easy to spell without having to add something to it. Like Jason is easy to spell unless we use Jacen then they would always have to correct people. Cory isn't a good spelling name because it could be Corey or Cori. Doug is pretty easy to spell but I suppose someone could spell it Dug. Linda is easy, but nowadays there could be a Lynda. It is that whole Y and I thing. So maybe another criteria would be no Y/I combinations. Also I tend to like 2 syllable names like Brian. It makes the name more singsongy. I suppose a 4 syllable name would work as well. Like RubberBuggy Bass. So we have:

1. unique enough to buy the domain
2. easy to spell
3. No I or Ys
4. 2 or 4 syllables

What names meet these criteria? We will be thinking for months and months about names because it is fun. I think we have said hundreds already. Bacon is still sticking to me. Bdelium is a gumlike tree resin. Bacon Bdelium Qat Bass. Qat is an evergreen shrub. And now for the rest of the story...

Money. I decided yesterday to cancel all of my AMEX cards. I paid off the balances with our tax refund and then called and cancelled them. They kept on making me mad by raising the APR and lowering the limit on them even though I always made my payments on time. So I call up, paid them off and canceled the cards. Dave Ramsey would be proud. As part of his show you get to anhillate your plastic and send the video in to get shown on TV. How can I destroy the plastic in a creative way that will be cool? I was thinking maybe firecrackers. And now in the news AMEX has just announced they will be giving away $300 gift cards to select cardholders who don't use them who would pay off their balances and cancel them. That would be me... If I had just waited a day....Oh well, it feels good anyways. I got the Dave Ramsey book. It is a good read and it all makes sense. I can see many people using these techniques to get out of debt. -an emergency fund -a cash diet -no car payments -a snoball effect in paying off credit cards. All of a sudden when you think about the future bundle of joy you see the need to be free from all debt. Before I was like, whatever, I can afford to pay them later. Not anymore. It is good. Together me and Holly can be very powerful. Some people are like - is she going to quit her job when the kid is born? Both of us realize if we can just wait 2 years then she would be free to do such a thing. So for the short term, nope. I always say though, a teaching job is not like a permanent job - you get 3 months off a year and if done right we could stagger our hours so that the kid needs only 6 hours of daycare. It all works out. And that will be the big important things in my life forever - Holly, our child, and providing for our family by being stable. That is the American Dream. That and becoming a rock star.

On Friday Holly and I formed a band called Trucks and proceeded to
play Guitar Hero - Rock Band for the Wii. It was fun. On Saturday we
decided to get a treadmill instead of LAP band so we went out to all
the stores and finally settled on a good treadmill. I was able to find
a store with my iPhone that sells good ones to Lifetime Fitness. We
discovered that most cheap treadmills are shakey and can easily break.
The top of the line ones are unbelievably expensive - like 3k so we
settled for a good one at $1500 thanks to a tax refund. That is much
cheaper than a surgery.

Saturday night we went to see that slumdog movie at studio movie grill
but they were sold out so we ended up seeing confessions of a
shopoholic. It was not bad and not great. It was a standard PG movie.
Sunday we did the usual. How was your weekend?

So I am now on Season 2 of Lost. It is pretty good. If you ever want to watch a show that has an ongoing plotline the best thing to do is to wait about 4 years and get the DVD sets. Then you can watch them in order without commercials. Next on the list will be Heroes and maybe Twin Peaks since I quit watching when I missed an early episode. I am still doing the bike but I have come to the conclusion that things that are self propelled, like pedalling and ellipticalling, is a harder commitment because you have to will yourself to go faster instead of pressing a button. I suppose that is why a treadmill is easier to use because it goes and you have to go with it. Holly and I are going to get one with part of our refund.

Holly is doing well. She is now 10 weeks along. The doctor did find a UTI from our last visit so she is taking anti-biotics. It must not be that bad if she had no symptoms. I think 12 weeks is the first trimester. We have our next sonogram scheduled for her spring break. Prayers for the baby are always welcome. I think it is the size of a kumquat now.

Mom is doing ok. It is hard dealing with older people sometimes. It is like you can tell she is not sharp and gets confused but she is not willing to get any in home help. At least I was able to help her with this identity theft thing. Word to the wise - old people who don't need credit cards shouldn't have them. Someone somehow got hold of her card and spent $4000 on many different things. We are contesting it, but it is a terrible thing.

In this economy crime is going to become even worse. People do steal for their families and it is wrong but they do it anyways. Sometimes I have to step back and say - it is only money. Money is worthless compared to love, relationships, health and just plain living well. There are people out there who owe millions of dollars but do not care because they have given up the persuit of money. I know because we used to feed them. They would rather starve than commit a crime and I admire that. But some people don't have that perspective and they live only for themselves and that is a crime in itself.

Anyways to wrap it all up, health should be a top priority in everyone's life and quality of life should not be based on money. This has been life lessons from the mind of Brian.

Well the three day weekend is over and I am still tired. Here is what
I did:

Friday - I come home early and catch Holly baking me valentines
cookies with little love notes on them. So I leave to deposit my first
paycheck while she finishes. I come back and we trade gifts - got her
gold earrings and a stuffed dog. She got me a stuffed Gorilla and
candy/cookies. Then we went to visit our friend in the hospital - he
had some infection somewhere. At the hospital they had an ad for a lap
band seminar on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday - I decided to go to the seminar since I have good health
insurance now. I asked about 20 questions there. In the end I found
out that it makes you yak every week. So I made a decision not to look
down that path any longer. For dinner I asked Holly where she wanted
to go and she said this new restaurant - Red Neck Heaven. So we go in
to sit down and it turns out Red Neck Heaven contains girls in
lingerie serving our food. I am surprised we stayed for the meal. But
not to be outdone we went and saw an independant film - the Reader -
which contained a naked guy in a bathtub - which included a shlong
scene - which included a yak scene - which makes this the worst movie
ever. EVER.

Sunday was actually a normal day. Monday I went to Wichita Falls and
back to fix mom's bills in which her identity was stolen. What a mess.
I am glad to be back. How was your weekend?

This morning was exciting. I guess suspense builds up over the months and you are like - I wanna know everything is ok. Holly had her appointment at 8:15 so I get up early and we make it on the dot. The pregnancy
center is like 25 minutes away.

Anyways we go in to the office and the nurse puts the scope thing on her belly to look at the sonogram and the nurse says there is your baby. It is the blob inside of a blob. She said everything is normal. The heartbeat is 161 which is normal. There is an old wives tail that says above 140 is a girl but it is not always true. I saw the little heartbeat on the screen. That was cool. Also during her probing the little baby twitched. That was cool too.

It is starting to become more real that in 7 months I will have a baby. Things are definitely changing. Holly was given books and prenatal vitamins. I am thrilled
at all of this and don't want any horror story to happen. We have heard too many of them so we are cautious. But all is great for now!

Weight: 275 for real. I think I am having psychosematic weight gain..

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

Went to my accountant last night. I can't do all of those corporate
taxes so it is best to let a professional handle it. It was good news
in that we are getting some back. All I have to say is there is a huge
disparity between corporations and permanent employees. We need to be
bailing out people and not corporations. Last year we were in the 15%
bracket and next year it will be 25-28% because of my new job. Talk
about losing money. But, now I can do whatever I want with it. When it
was in the business I was restricted by laws as to what I could spend
it on. I haven't had a month of Brian in a long time. So there are
pros and cons to each.

Anyways, we are getting ready for a baby so all of a sudden finances
are more important. They say a kid costs $200,000 until they are 18
and then college breaks you. I think that stat is made up to scare
people. Right? If you think about it that is roughly 12k a year, which
is probably pretty close. I guess it will be a new era. The era of
Bacon. Bacon Burger Bass. I can't believe I am actually getting used
to that name...

Ahhh, boredom. How I missed the. So I am now waiting for a computer at
work and am glad I have an iPhone. Last week I did have a computer but
this week it is being fixed. I have yet to get my benefits setup.
Hopefully I will before our first sonogram on Thursday. Holly tells me
the baby is the size of a grape right now and next week will be the
size of a kumquat, whatever that is.

There are so many questions to get answered about the medical side.
Can we use her school insurance with Blue Cross(80/20) and my work
insurance with Aetna(90/10) at the same time? Should she cancel her
insurance or keep it and drop me? Should we have separate insurances
or just one? Someone told me hospitals may take one insurance but the
anethesiologist may take another. Should I put the money away in
having a baby into a flexible spending account? How much will having a
baby cost? Does the out of pocket maximum count towards the family or
the individual. Should we put the first sonagram on Aetna or Blue
Cross? Does Aetna cover pre-existing conditions? Is being pregnant a
pre-existing condition or is it traced back to when it is diagnosed at
the first sonogram? Is me getting a job a qualifying event for Holly
changing her insurance options? Can I tell the sonogram place I am
retroactively covered by Aetna even though I don't have my card yet.
Is it better to go to a high quality more expensive hospital like
Baylor that is a little farther away from a hospital around the
corner(trinity medical). Holly likes Baylor. When your giving birth
does an extra 15 minute drive make a difference?

So that is what I am thinking of. I just have to wait for most of
those answers. If I play my cards right I can get the best benefits
for the cheapest way possible. Let's find out...

So this weekend we caught up with alot of our old friends. We went to a kids birthday party Saturday afternoon and went to Babes Chicken Saturday evening with the ole singles Sunday school class. It is funny how 90% of us married within our class. And now all of the babies are popping out. We notice things likes marriages and babies all happen at once. Like there is something in the water. Maybe it is our age or something. Anyways, that was it. How was your weekend?

There comes a time in every man's life when logic goes against the
truth and that time was this morning. I had a court appearance setup
for 8:30AM. How did I know? I got a letter in the mail setup for it.
Did I get up in time? Yes. I arrived at the courthouse at exactly 8:30.

Before I go further let me lay out my case for you. In most cases it is
the officer's word vs the driver and the officer wins. In my case the
officer's
word doesn't matter because he did not see me stop since he was
paralell to my vehicle.. So the judge would then have to believe me
and dismiss the ticket.

In a perfect world I would win. But this world is not perfect. I
learned some lessons today. Lesson #1. Always call the lawyer before
you go to court. I assumed the lawyer would meet me there. Instead he
got there at 8 and talked to the judge and got me another trial date
or deferred adjudication, whichever I prefer. But I was not aware of
this and I was not allowed a cell phone in the waiting room. Finally
at 9:45 I go out to my car and check my voice mail that he left at
8:30. I then called the lawyer back and he told me my options and thay
the trial would take 3 hours
to happen.

Time is money. That is the logic that defeats the truth. So after all
of this I take the deferral and pay $210 for something I didn't do.
Live and learn. The lesson is, it is not worth your time and money to
defend any traffic ticket.
At least it is all over with. Also, deferred is better than pleading
guilty, because it won't go on your insurance. That's my story and I'm
sticking to it.

So this is the part in the weight loss story where there is a setback.
Last night we did weigh in after we stuffed ourselves at CiCi's so our
next weigh in we will lose some poundage. It always reminds me of how
dangerous diet and exercise is. In my personal experience every time I
do the ole diet and exercise plan I lose 5-10 pounds and start to
lower my blood pressure. Once I quit I gain 10-30 pounds and have to
take even more blood pressure meds than before. I would have been
better off had I not done any yo yo plans at all. But I have got to
try because in my current shape I am my worst ever. The problem is,
once I go off it again I will probably balloon over 300. What I said
before is true, humans genetic makeup is setup so that we store fat.
To lose weight goes against the very nature of man. That is why
drastic measures start to look good, like Lap band, especially now
that I have good health insurance. Even extreme diet and exercise
plans look good, like the biggest cryer. Spend 3 months of my outside
work life exercising 5 hours a day. Now that is intense. Anyways, I am
still doing my Lost exercise and will now start to increase intensity
since I got an earful about my intensity. yada yada yada

Weight: 275 - wow

So how is my new job? Well it is just like my old job. I like it.
Honestly there is something about going to a place where you are
instantly respected and highly valued. The stress level has just
dropped from an 8 to a 1. In the corporate world you have deadlines on
a weekly to monthly basis. In the goverment world it is a yearly
basis, like say May 2010.

Time does go slower though and things tend to repeat. If I wanted to I
could probably not learn anything new for the next 20 years and be
fine. Maybe I should target my ambition to climbing the corporate
ladder. Eh, I probably wouldn't be happy.

So after this initial week things are going to be stable and secure in
my life. I guess that is what makes corporate drones happy - no
surprises. Luckily I have a big life outside of work. RideSearch keeps
me busy and in the future our baby will keep me busy.

I actually get 10 vacation days and 5 personal days and could even buy
5 vacation days. All equalling out to 20 days off, not to mention 8
federal holidays. I think I will use them all when little Bacon Burger
Bass or Salad Dressing Bass is born...

I am on my phone. Can I blog via phone mail?

Anyways, I have deja vu big big time. It is as if I never left the
irs. As if 6 months of my life has disappeared... Freaky....

Super Bowl was good. Had fun. Went to Wichita this weekend. Took it
easy. Now I am starting the first day of the rest of my life...