Kicking and Screaming

As a lot of you know, I started work this past Tuesday. After starting, I got an e-mail that said the firm was offering free health screenings. Recognizing a great benefit, I quickly signed up . . . perhaps too quickly.

After signing up, I realized that I would need to fast and be emotionally prepared to have my finger pricked and bled onto a small strip. Fasting is not a problem (I regularly skip breakfast), but drawing blood makes this a "medical procedure" in my book, triggering a certain level of anxiety and obligations on my part.

I am a notoriously bad patient for medical professionals. When I was little, I once kicked one of my doctors (Dr. Todd) in the shin. I also kicked and screamed through a very minor procedure, embarrassing my mother. As Anna could assure you, I am a terrible patient. With this history, I always feel like I have a reputation to preserve, so I go out of my way to make life difficult for medical professionals. It's quite possible that I'm one of the causes of the nursing shortage in America.

With that background, I was ready to go in and really give some grief to those nice ladies doing the health screenings. I was quiet to begin with, planning on really yelping out once the finger-pricking device made it's debut. The lady sterilized my finger and rubbed it off with a cotton ball, and I looked around for the blood-letting weapon. When I turned my head back around, she was wicking the blood on my finger onto the strip! She had used a little cube that I hadn't recognized to stab me, and I hadn't felt a thing! Caught off guard, I gave up my act and just pouted for the rest of the screening.

It turns out that I'm in pretty good health--though I probably eat hamburgers too often. I do appreciate the screening. I particularly appreciate the free pedometer they gave me along with the advice to take 5,000 steps per day (or at least shake around a lot). Still, I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't give my nurse lady the thought that she didn't get paid enough to do these %$*& health screenings. I'll give myself a break this time, but I expect better performance in the future.

Blast from the Passed: In Front of God and Everybody

I know that the bar exam is over, but I'm still sending out good vibes to those that are currently grading answers. I'm also finishing up going through all of my old pictures that were never captured digitally. I've played a lot of music over the years, but I only have a few pictures of myself on stage. So, when I came across these pictures, I re-lived some good times.

Wil, the guy on the drums, is one of the best players out there. The weird thing here is that the guy behind the camera is my buddy Joey D. He is, undoubtedly, a more talented bass player than me, but he graciously ran around and snapped a few brilliantly framed shots so I could remember the summer of 2004. Lots of fun playing music with these guys! (For more musical memories, see this previous post.)

Fourth Anniversary

Today marks the fourth anniversary of our wedding. It has been an awesome four years, and we're pretty excited about what this next year is going to have in store.

I'm planning on getting Anna the traditional gift for four years: fruit. Any suggestions would be much obliged. I missed out on last year's opportunity to get us matching leather chaps. I don't want to let the fruit year pass by without something huge.

From the Floor: What We've Been Up To

Adelaide Macaroni Padgett is a puppy, specializing in sleep and play. She is author of The Perils of White Puppies in New England, Growling at Windmills, and Bichon: The Story of an Urban Sophisticate. Her series for this blog "From the Floor" strives to provide a commonplace-if not subaltern-view of newsworthy events.

Milton, FL--As you can probably tell from the picture and my geographic location, we are on vacation, giving me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest. We went by Gorham's Bluff for a few days, saw Anna's family, and now we're down in Florida with Grandma Nancy and Uncle Whit.

I am sure that one of my less-furry counterparts will update our blog soon about our trip, but I thought that we should get something out there before we get back. Yet, I'm on vacation and want to do as little work as possible. The answer: a bullet list.

• Congrats to all of our friends who have had babies in the recent weeks. I dare not try to name them all--lest I forget someone. I look forward to licking your babies' faces.


• We got some new wheels through the oft-debated Clunkers program. It is a Ford Fusion Hybrid (we call it FuFu). It's been a great ride for us on our trip.


• Austin and Nate launched their new comedic blog. It's funnier than a monkey on a bicycle.


• Uncle Godfrey came up and helped us get some stuff in storage, so I've got tons of room in the apartment now.


• We stopped by Samford University to visit with the people that made a big difference in Austin and Anna's lives. I growled at this man (pictured in the middle), but I came to trust him once I found out that he, like Austin, attended CCM in Cincinnati.

There is a lot more, but we'll update you soon. I don't want to overtax my paws or my brain.

From the Floor: My New Favorite Place

Adelaide Macaroni Padgett is a puppy, specializing in sleep and play. She is author of The Perils of White Puppies in New England, Growling at Windmills, and Bichon: The Story of an Urban Sophisticate. Her series for this blog "From the Floor" strives to provide a commonplace-if not subaltern-view of newsworthy events.

Cincinnati--It has been so long since I've written anything, and many of you are asking about how I am adjusting to all of the changes in my life right now. To be honest, it has been a tough transition. I don't have as much room to run around since we're living in a downtown loft, and it is impossible to get walk around downtown without someone telling me how beautiful I am. While I appreciate the compliments, I walk with a mission in my mind, and we've got to keep moving.

Things aren't all that bad. In fact, I've found my new favorite place to relax. We've had a big leather chair (pictured) since I started shacking up with these people, but I've never really taken the time to sit on it. I wish I could turn back time and take advantage of my new cathedra for the past four years (I'll be four on Sept. 10--please, no gifts). Not only can I achieve a near-liquid state in this chair, but I can see out of the big window down to Seventh St. I really enjoy people-watching and occasionally "giving them [my two cents]" for their odd or poor behavior. People, for the most part, are ridiculous, but the people that made this chair are angels in our midst.

Before the Exam

The months leading up to the bar exam were certainly stressful, but, overall, it's actually been a pretty great summer. One of the best nights came just a week or so before the bar exam--when the crunch-time was at its . . . crunchiest. The firm that I'm going to work for opened up its Reds suite for all of the incoming "first years" (you enter as a "class" at many law firms). It was a completely relaxing experience. Though most of us there were taking the bar exam, very few words were spoken about the exam, and I definitely felt like my proverbial batteries were charged.
The suites at the stadium have an awesome feature that I loved. There is a computer panel that allows you to bring up any of the available broadcast cameras on the big screen in the suite. If you want to watch someone warm up in the bullpen, for example, you can select that particular camera. The system also provides on-demand replay from any of the cameras. When Brewers relief pitcher Todd Coffey did his sprint to the mound, we could watch it as many times as we wanted, speeding it up to look even more ridiculous. You can also see the Kiss Cam rejects that don't make it onto the Jumbotron. Hilarious.The outside sitting are for the suite contains some great seats and gives a great view of the ball park, the river, and the opposing skyline. Last summer, I came to love sitting in right field (when Griffey still played for the Reds), but I'll take suite seats any time!
After such an awesome night at the ball park, it was only fitting that the bar that operates at the bottom level of our building should ruin everything. I've written before about how loud the bar's customers and music are , but this night was particularly raucous because the Girls Gone Wild bus was in town:

I love that they haul a hunter green mini-van behind their misogynistic, exploitative bus. You know, just in case someone needs to make soccer practice while the bus is in use. The worst part was that there was a huge bachelorette party taking place (their party bus was parked on the opposite corner). These girls, including the future bride, were so wasted and freely jumping on the bus to be filmed or whatever they were doing on the bus at that point. Still, if a sleepless night is the trade-off for a relaxing/fun game in the great give-and-take of the universe, we'll take it.

Anna's Cake

Anna has always been a great cook, but she has been on a roll lately. As evidence, I offer you her fantastic pound cake:

What makes this pound cake special? The texture. It's not as heavy as a traditional pound cake, but Anna has not sacrificed any of the quintessential characteristics of the dessert. This delight has the creamiest texture you'll ever have in a pound cake. It is moist and robust. Fresh and rustic. Simply fantastic.