A 2011 Retrospective

Google did a badass year in review that tugs at all the right heartstrings and made me realize how much happened this year while I was laid up on a couch and totally drugged out of my mind. If you didn't see it, here it is.





Now we're all going to take a completely self indulgent trip through my 2011 where I put the most significant events of my year in a list.

1. Leg break, ligaments torn, hamstring shot, painkillers - This really is the no brainer. It single handedly derailed four and a half months of my 2011. I'm only now getting to the point of "normal" physically, but the financial strain of this injury will be felt for most of 2012.

This has once again highlighted that Sallie and I will survive whatever is thrown at us, and we're had more thrown at us than tomatos are thrown at the La Tomatina Festival.


2. Blues winning - As superficial as this sounds, I want you to step back for a moment, think about your sports team. You probably like the Cardinals, or maybe the Mizzou Tigers, or a team that hasn't been rebuilding itself for 6 years thanks to the complete abandonment by the ownership.

The Blues have been losing for years now and to finally see them start winning and get the respect of the media (they were on the main page of STLToday.com today) makes life seem so much better.

3. Skyrim launches - This one none of you probably care about. It's pretty much the best videogame franchise ever. In total, I've probably sunk a good 350 hours into this franchise and the new game was by far the best.

4. The Occupy Movements - Whether you agree with the movements, don't agree, or don't exactly know what their purpose is, they were very much a large part of everyone's lives this year. With the European economy collapsing, the American economy plateauing at a much weaker level, and the Chinese smiling as pretty much everyone except them falls apart, its obvious something needs to be done about the current financial state the world is in, and more than anything, this is what this protest will probably be known for 50 years from now.

5. Osama Bin Laden and Gaddafi are assassinated/Kim Jong Il dies - It's one of those awkward and rare events when someone that has been an enemy of your state for so long dies. On one hand, you feel happy because the monster is dead. But there's also that pit in the back of your mind that worries about the power struggle to replace them. Who takes over? Will they be more aggressive? Most of these deaths are too fresh to really tell, but 2012 will provide some insight on the future of these people's followers.

6. Going to Britain - Although Britain and America are very similar, it's still an incredible learning experience going to another country. What I've learned is, we're all human. No matter where you are, your politicians are lying scumbags, you were the heroes in World War II, and everyone likes a good beer.

7.Sweet Chili Sauce - I'd never had this delicious Asian sauce before and we actually discovered it only a few months ago when making a recipe that called for it. It goes on everything now. Sweet Chili Sauce is the new honey mustard, which used to be the new ketchup. We just got a recipe to make this delicious sauce, and if it turns out, I will be filling bathtubs with it and washing myself in its gooey awesomeness.

I'm sure I missed some stuff. I'm having a hard time even remembering the first part of this year because everything has been so injury focused. Here's to 2012, a year of hope, of debts paid, and depending on which cult you talk to, the possible end of the world.

Injury Update

Went to the doctor today and it was mixed news.

So I have to wear this stupid leg brace for another two months since I don't have enough muscle to protect me if I were to trip. So that sucks.

I will also continue going to therapy well into next year much to the dismay of both Sallie and I. It's not that I don't notice how much its helping, its just after 3 months of going multiple times a week, you start feeling like you don't get any down time. On days I have therapy, I literally have only 30 minutes between when I get out of the shower and when I start working.

The good news is my ligament has re-attached and is healing. So I won't need a third surgery.

The doctor says I should be walking normal by February and I'll be able to ice skate by next winter. So even though I miss out on my favorite activities this winter, at least I know I'll be better by next.

I Am Me Because I Was 8

The longer I stay married to Sallie, the more I realize how much our childhood shapes who we turn out to be.

For instance, even when its 5 degrees outside, the wind is howling, and Sallie is freezing her poor circulatory butt off, she still needs a fan to sleep. Even if I'm so cold, I'm shaking the bed from my teeth chattering and I can't sleep, that fan has to be running. It's such a necessity that she brings fans on vacation with her.

I've been told I can thank Papa Hickle for that one.

Or because Matt trapped Sallie under a sleeping bag and wouldn't get off of her when they were young, Sallie can't stand the feeling of being restrained.

My family was always big on tucking the corners of the sheets into the bed, but the first time I made the bed when Sallie and I were married, she pulled those blankets out so quickly I questioned if I ever made it in the first place.

Or me with milk. Thanks to my mom, I can't drink milk unless its 2% and from my fridge. Logically, I know that my milk was right alongside all the other cartons of milk in the grocery store, but if I go to your house and you offer me a glass, I will not drink it. I can't even think about drinking milk from a restaurant without the ole' gag reflex starting up.

Then there's things that I never did as a kid, but find myself doing now. My dad was legendary for screaming "GOAAAAAAAAAALLLLL!!!" and rattling the windows in the house whenever the Blues scored.

I loved the Blues as a kid, but never picked up that tradition. Then I stopped following the Blues throughout highschool. You know, something my father loves, I gotta rebel because parents just don't understand me, and I hate them, and I'm running away from home. I was also busy quite unsuccessfully chasing women.

Then college came, and I got a bit busy with school and work and only slightly more successful at chasing women. So there was no time for hockey.

Started watching it again when we moved back to St. Louis a few years ago. And knee jerk reaction, and much to Sallie's dismay, I find myself screaming whenever the Blues score. It's not always "GOOAAAAALLL!!!!" like my father. Sometimes for particularly impressive goals like the one below, I tend to blurt out, "oh, SHIT!" Emphasis on the curse word. This drives Sallie nuts. She always thinks I hurt myself.

And then there's the picky eating. My dad is a meat and potatoes sort of guy, so our meals were pretty standardized as children. I could pretty accurately fill out a months calendar with what we were probably going to eat. Because of this, Nick won't touch anything green and not on a pizza. (I've heard he's gotten better.)

I'm a pretty open guy when it comes to trying new things. I eat Sushi and Indian food. I've had octopus and alligator before. I'm completely open to trying pretty well anything, I just might not like it.

Sallie gets angry at me sometimes because I will say, "I don't really care what we eat tonight, pick something." As she starts rattling off things she wants to eat, I check with my appetite to see if that would please me, and when it doesn't, she flips out saying I'm picky.

To me, I'm not being picky. I just wasn't inspired to make my own decision. I guess instead of saying, "I don't really care what we eat tonight." I should say, "Start saying food and I'll process that through the appetite filter, and see if its something I would enjoy."

Anyway, point is, I've realized how much our childhoods influence who we are. Don't know why I only now noticed it, but its become very apparent to me the past two weeks.