Who doesn't love a parade…of wolves?

Last week, Mel and I had the pleasure of seeing Wolf Parade, one of our mostest favoritest bands in this life, live in concert at Cane's, a little club located right on Mission Beach. It's actually a cool place to see a show. It is the second Wolf Parade concert we've seen at Cane's, and I like it. It's small, but not crammed, and you can find plenty of good places to watch the band. The crowd was really good for this particular show, which made me happy because I hate lame crowds. Here is a picture that accurately depicts the emotion and energy of a Wolf Parade show:



As for the show, it was beautiful. If you are not familiar with Wolf Parade, I feel sorry for you. They are from Montreal, Canada, and first got their break opening up for another astounding Montreal band, The Arcade Fire. I can only imagine how special that concert would have been, with two of my favs playing together. As for their music, it's extremely hard to describe, so I won't. Here are a couple songs and videos to quickly acquaint yourself, so you can get a sense of the raw power they possess. The videos don't really do their concerts justice, but they give a small taste of what they are like live.

Ill Believe In Anything.mp3

Kissing The Beehive.mp3

Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts.mp3





These are some of my favorite songs, and are epic when performed live. As you can tell, Kissing the Beehive is about 11 minutes long. They ended the main set with it, before coming back out for an encore that included my favorite song, I'll Believe In Anything. It's definitely a crowd favorite, and this particular crowd went nuts for it. It was emotional, it was sweaty, it was damn good. They have a great energy about them that draws you in. The group includes five members, with two of them sharing songwriting and lead singing duties. Spencer Krug plays the keyboard with reckless abandon, sweating profusely all over the ivory. He lobs grenades back and forth with guitarist and other lead singer, Dan Boeckner. Most of the time, one will sing lead, with the other sings backup. On Kissing the Beehive, they do an especially great job of complementing one another as they go back and forth.

The entire band as a unit is astounding. Bassist Dante DeCaro is also fun to watch with the ferocity in which he rips the bass, while providing backing vocals as well.

Wolf Parade has two full length albums, Apologies to the Queen Mary, and their recently release, At Mount Zoomer. I command you to buy both of them right now.

By the way, if given the chance, I'm pretty sure that Melissa would leave me for Spencer Krug the keyboardist and founder of the band. We actually saw Spencer and a couple of the other band members getting on their tour bus a couple hours before the show. I think they had been walking around the beach and were returning to prepare for the show. In Mel's awe, she got flustered and blew her chance to meet her crush. Once Spencer got on the bus, she knew she blew it, and at least once a day she kicks herself for not approaching him and saying hi. Oh well, she'll have to settle for continuing her marriage to boring old, non-rockstar Rob. Hopefully she will manage—it'll be tough.

So your homework assignment is to immediately start listening to Wolf Parade, and, next time they come to town I expect to be rocking out along with you right beside me.

I love arcades

A big part of my childhood was spent hanging out in arcades playing video games. And not only playing video games, but watching friends and brothers play games. We used to have my mom drop us off at the University Mall, to spend hours on end at Fun-Uv-It, playing Street Fighter 2, Spy Hunter, Arch Rivals, and many other classic arcade games. If it wasn't the Fun-Uv-It, it was playing games at the movie theater, or at our gas station hang outs such as 7-11 or Will's Pit Stop. If I had all the quarters back that I pumped into those machines, I'd have about $20,000 dollars to go buy a new car. I miss those days where you could take three bucks to an arcade and play forever. Now, three bucks will last you about 10 minutes. It's ridiculous. Video games should cost a quarter. Period. Oh well, memories.

The reason that I bring this up, is that on our recent trip to Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, California, we stayed at the San Simeon Beach Lodge, with an adjoining restaurant and lounge. Now, the lil wifey and I love to play pool, so we decided to head on over to the lounge for some 8-ball, when I encountered the following:



I got a kick out of this beautifully crafted, fancy neon sign, right above ONE video game. I suppose that you could say that the pool table is part of the arcade, but I'd like to think that they spent the money to create this nice, cursive "Arcade" sign for just this one game. Personally, if I were to include the pool table in with the video game, I would have titled it Game Room, not Arcade. I wouldn't really consider a pool table as an arcade game, but that's cool.

Pop quiz

What does the following look like to you?

a. A head of hair.
b. A bird's nest.
c. None of the above.



See, I would have said that it looks like my hair, but today, at approximately 1:15 pm, as I was walking to get a burrito at Roberto's, a bird mistook it for a nest and dove at me. I felt like a worm or a field mouse as it swooped down and tried to grab my hair.

Was he trying to land in it, or was he trying to use part of it for his nest? I am not entirely sure, to be honest, and I don't know that I'll ever have the full truth. What I do know is that it must have provided quite a sight for all the people sitting outside at Sam's Pizza and Roberto's. They got a free show with their lunch. Lucky them.

Airplane signage

One of my favorite things in life is airplane safety signage. I especially love the illustrated variety, whether it's the safety pamphlet, or exit row signs, they rarely disappoint.

I flew to North Carolina recently, and was fortunate enough to sit in the Exit Row on the way home (yeah, leg room!). The following was posted above the exit door.



I am fairly certain of the sign's intended meaning, but I chose to come up with my own interpretation. It goes something like this:

If you stare out the window for too long, you will shoot a laser from your eyes. The glass will magnify said laser, and immediately start anything on fire which comes in its path. This even includes clouds. Caution, whatever you do, don't look at the door!

If any of you see your own awesome illustrated signage, please feel free to send it my way.

Weighty issues. Part Five: The Future.

So, how am I doing now?

Am I keeping the weight off? What's next for Robot? All good questions. It's now been almost two years since I hit 164, and I am currently weighing in around 175 or 176, depending on the week. I am not quite as strict as I was during those weight loss months. No sweets and hardly any carbs? That was rough, to say the least. But what I liked about my plan was that it wasn't a complete life-altering plan, and it hasn't been too hard to continue it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop eating carbs or sweets forever, so I didn't plan on doing that. I am still eating a lot less than I was before the weight loss. The reality was that I was going to slip a little, and that was okay, but it was important not to go completely hog wild, and end up where I was before.

The most important aspect for me was to stay active. I still run at least three times a week. For a long time I ran between 2 1/2 to 3 miles each time, but just recently I have pushed that to 4 miles, three days a week. Plus, I've started lifting weights once or twice a week as well.

In all honesty, I'd love to go back down to 165, but being 175 isn't that bad. While I'm not as skinny as I was at the end of my program, I am way skinnier than I was at my peak. After I got to 164, I had a rough patch as far as exercise goes. First, we went on a vacation. So for two weeks I didn't work out. When I got back, I started running again, but then got sick. So I had a few stops and starts and bumps in the road. Shortly thereafter, I moved from Salt Lake to San Diego, and I got a little lazy. For the first two months, I was down here alone, since Melissa was still in Salt Lake selling the house. Being on my own, I didn't exactly eat properly most of the time. I was staying with an uncle, so I did eat a few good meals. But I ate out a lot too. Plus, I didn't run for the first 3 months or so of living down here, hence, the extra 10 pounds, pushing me up to 175.

I keep saying I'd like to drop those 10 lbs, but I am not as strict as I used to be, so while I am running and eating healthy for the most part, I am basically treading water. I'll lose a couple, then gain a couple, all the while fluctuating between 171 and 177. I am still extremely wary of becoming big again. I know I don't need to, but I still weigh myself every Friday morning, just to know where I stand. Call it paranoia if you want, but I just don't ever want to be big again. It's my way of keeping tabs on how I'm doing.

As for the future, I hope to never gain that much, if any weight again. I know that may be just a dream. But it is my goal. Sure, I'd like to lose a few more pounds, like I said, but if I stayed where I am at right now for a long time, I would have no more complaints. I think to lose those extra pounds, I'd have to give up sweets again, as well as limit my soda intake. If I have to, I know that I can do it, because I have before, but right now, I just plain don't want to. I'll keep running, eating pretty healthy and trying my best to stay away from too much junk food. And if that fails, well, then, I'll just have to make some more sacrifices. As I said, at least I know I've done it once and can do it again.

So there you have it. Rob's "weighty issues". I hope it wasn't too boring. It's nothing special, just the pains, frustrations, growing, shrinking, highs and lows of the past few years of my life. I am just glad I had a supportive wifey along with me through the whole thing. She made it a lot easier to deal with. She made me feel okay about myself when I was big, but she also was very encouraging and helped a lot once I started losing weight as well.

Now you've seen me skinny, fat, and somewhere in between. Here I am now (well, a couple months ago at least): IMG_1447.JPG

So, help me keep an eye on myself, will you?

Weighty issues. Part four: The Theory.

To wrap up, I went from 125 to 145 to 175 in about 12 years. Then, in a matter of 12 months, I went from 175 to 215+. What gives? How does that even happen? I know my wedding ring doesn't weigh 40 pounds. At least I'm pretty sure it doesn't, so why did I gain all that weight only after I got married?

People say that you start eating bigger, more steady meals when your spouse cooks for you. Okay, I guess I did get more consistent meals every night, but in all honesty, I would think that would be better for you. When I was single, I ate fast food for lunch and fast food for dinner. Every day. You can't possibly get any more unhealthy than that, unless you go to 7-11 in the morning for a 32 ounce Coke and delicious double chocolate donut (oh, wait, I did that once or twice a week). So why didn't I get fat as a single guy, yet the second I get married I start putting on the pounds like I was in some sort of a pie eating contest?

A good question that I may have figured out. Are you ready for my theory? At long last, here it is:

God wanted me to get married. Think about it. I really don't have that much going for me. Every day I assume that my wifey, the lovely Miss Melissa will wake up and realize that she is with a total loser. She already does this, but I think out of sheer laziness, she decides to give it one more day. So, many moons ago, the Big Man upstairs looked at me and said to himself, "If I don't keep this idiot skinny, he'll never get married. He needs at least that much."

That's right, it was divine intervention. He was fighting off those Spicy Chicken Sandwiches from Wendy's, the Whoppers from BK, the Sourdough Bacon Classics from Carl's Jr; not to mention the gallons of Coca-Cola I poured down my throat every week. It turns out I had a lot of help.

Then, only after I suckered Melissa into marrying me did all that help disappear. It's almost like He said, "All right, I got you this far, you're on your own." And the floodgates opened up, causing my waistline to advance faster than the Nazis as they tore through Europe. I couldn't help it, especially sleeping in, going to work, then coming home and sitting on the couch. All of a sudden that sedentary life caught up, since I had no more help from above.

Let me interject something here, before I offend some readers out there. (are there any readers out there?) I am in no way judging people who are overweight. I used to be overweight, so I know it is not a fun thing to go through. So I don't want to come across as someone who just thinks that skinny is the only way to be, or that only skinny people will get married. Not the case at all. It's just a humorous theory that my brain concocted one day, when trying to explain my Oprah-like weight fluctuations.

Now, back to the story. Some of you may have a few questions, such as why do other people gain weight before marriage? Or, why are there lucky bastards out there who never gain weight their entire life (I'm thinking of you McHenry family)? Maybe those people just have more going for them than me, or maybe they paid someone off at the right time, I don't know.Solid questions, all of them. But I don't have the answers to those, I just have the answer to the question of why I all of sudden gained a lot of weight all at once. Although those questions might be answered in the same place—up above. Maybe somehow it's all part of a big plan. I don't get it. Don't get mad at me, I didn't make these rules.

If you disagree, I'd love to hear about it. Tell me your theories. If you agree, I'd love to hear that too. All I know is that I went from looking like this: RobandCourt007.jpg, to looking like this, RobandCourt008.jpg in a matter of months, and this seems to be the only answer out there.

Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of Weighty Issues…

Miami's in the house

Our friends Landon and Melanie John are moving to Miami. Boooooooo!

We here in San Diego are extremely bummed about this fact. But, before jettisoning off to the land of Sonny Crockett, early-bird specials and sensible shoes, they decided to throw a little Miami-themed party. And we are all the better for it.

Here are a few shots that illustrate just how sweet of an evening it truly was. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of everything, including, but not limited to, a piñata being destroyed by a dog, the party's first guest breaking his ankle on the skate ramp or the classy gifts that were given away in a truly compelling raffle. If nothing else, the night supplied me with a great opportunity to show off a few of my dance moves. When was the last time you saw jump kicks on a dance floor? Sorry, kids, we don't have any pictures of those either.

The stars of the party, Lenny and Mel: LennyMel.jpg

Rob & Mel & Mel & Lenny: Miami4.jpg

Lenny, the dirty old man, smelling my wifey's hair: Perv.jpg

The wife, showing off her sexy new dress: SexyLady.jpg

Ready to hit South Beach (in 1978): RobMelMiami.jpg

Showing off some dance moves:
RobDance1.jpg
RobDance3.jpg
RobDance4.jpg
RobDance5.jpg

Three old friends reunited: RobCourtTravis.jpg

Looks like Lenny has been working on his tan, preparing for South Beach: TanLenny.jpg

Pretty lights, prettier wife: MellyLights.jpg

From the looks of this picture, it appears our party was haunted: Ghosts.jpg

All in all, it was a great party. Lenny and Mel, you'll be sorely missed around these parts. Good luck in Miami.

Weighty issues. Part three: The Plan.

When Lance and I started this little competition, I weighed in at 207 lbs. As seen in the following shots.

IMGP1738.JPG
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IMGP2108.JPG

Again, the goal was to lose 30, so I was aiming for 177 lbs. And I just had to beat Lance. Not because I'm competitive, but I just really wanted to lose the weight, and why not win in the process, right? So Melissa and I came up with a plan. I wouldn't call it a diet; it was more like a "weight-loss program". I don't feel like I was too limiting in the things I ate, with the exception of a couple things. I just reduced what I ate, and became smarter about the types and amount of food I was taking in.

It may not work for everybody, but I found it to be successful. The important thing was to stick with it, no matter what.

1. Diet Coke (ugh).
As many of you know, I am addicted to Coke. Coca-Cola, not cocaine. I think if I was addicted to cocaine I wouldn't have had the weight problem in the first place! So the first thing I had to do, which practically killed me emotionally, if not physically, was switch from Coke to Diet Coke. It was a travesty. And the 145 pound version of me would definitely make fun of the fact that I had gone to the dark side, and started drinking Diet Coke. But it had to be done. It just had to. So that was the first thing I did. I went cold turkey, but it took some time to work my way into it too. The first couple months, I could hardly stand drinking the stuff. Now? It's not so bad. I like it, but it still can't hold a candle to the Real Thing. I swore to myself that, until I reached my ultimate goal, I couldn't have one sip of Coke. Only Diet. Then, if I were to reach my goal, I would be allowed an occasional Coke, but I would still have to drink predominantly Diet Coke from here on out. Ouch.

2. Eat breakfast every morning.
I used to be so good at eating every morning. But I slipped into the bad habit of snoozing too long, then not having enough time to eat. Sometimes I'd take a yogurt to work or something like that, but it wasn't good enough. So I started taking time to eat a couple bowls of cereal, and maybe some fruit to go along with it. Everything that I read about losing weight said that eating breakfast is crucial. In my head I was thinking that if you don't eat breakfast, you are eating less, therefore you should lose weight. Not so. We all know it's the most important meal of the day. So there must be a reason. I think it helped me a lot, by getting the metabolism going in the morning, especially after a run.

3. Make lunch.
Not only is eating lunch out everyday extremely expensive, but it's really not good for you. Even when you eat at a sandwich place, chances are you are eating a big sandwich plus chips or fries. But once I started making a lunch, I'd just make a small sandwich, either tuna fish, deli meat, or PB&J (or PB&H—peanut butter and honey) on wheat bread and a few pieces of fruit..

I wasn't too militant about it though, I would always eat out at least once a week under this program. I felt like I had to reward myself from time to time. However, I wouldn't go for Burger King or Carl's Jr, I'd go to a deli and eat a good sandwich, or perhaps get some mexican food. My favorite lunch spots (this was in Salt Lake) were Toaster's, Caputo's, Barbacoa, Boston Deli, Sugarhouse BBQ or, if I wanted to be a little naughty, a couple of slices at The Pie Pizzeria, perhaps the cheesiest pizza ever. So good, but so bad for you. For a good hamburger that wasn't particularly healthy, The Royal Eatery was great. (I'd eat there a lot before I started this program).

4. Eat better (cut carbs).
I don't believe in the Atkin's diet. Completely cutting out carbs is not a good idea, in my opinion. I think you need some carbs, plus they taste so damn good. I can't cut them out completely. I am the same kid who would come home from school or work or whereever and eat 4 or 5 slices of bread at a time without blinking an eye. I am a bread lover, to put it mildly. So this step was also tough, but at least I didn't totally give them up, I just limited my carb intake. For example before I started my weight loss program, I would eat sandwiches on white bread. Plus for dinner we would eat a lot of chicken and rice dishes, or pasta with garlic bread. So I started eating wheat bread for lunch, and for dinner, we went with chicken or salmon with a salad. No garlic bread. No more snacking on bread, and I would eat hardly any rice. If we did have a dinner with rice, I'd just have a small spoonful.

I believe in moderation. You don't have to stop eating everything, just don't over do it.

5. Run. Run. Run.
I can still remember my first run like it was yesterday. It was the first week of February, 2006. I lept off my porch on 500 East in Salt Lake City on a chilly morning, ready to run off 30 lbs all at once. I started at a pretty decent clip. Unfortunately, the mind was willing, but the body wasn't able. After about two blocks, I started huffing, puffing and wheezing. It was then that I remembered that I hadn't exercised in a long time. After slowing to a walk, I realized that I was going to have to work my way into it slowly. So, three days a week I would exercise. It didn't matter if it had snowed a foot or if it was raining buckets, I got my ass out there. The only days I missed were when I was sick, but then I would make up for it once I recovered. The first few days/weeks, I alternated between jogging and walking, till I was able to jog without slowing down. I didn't overdo it (besides that first day!), and started off with a manageable distance. Every couple weeks I would increase the distance by a block, until I was going about three miles each day. I was extremely vigilant with the running. If I gave myself leeway with a bit of food, I definitely didn't with running. It was mandatory! And I'm glad that it was, because to this day I still run three days a week, without fail (unless I'm really sick or out of town).

6. No sweets.
This was incredibly hard working at McCann, with the copious bowls filled with Twix, Snickers, Starburst and other delectable candy treats, as well as at home, where my wife, Melissa, ate Rolos like they were going out of style. I told myself I couldn't have any—not one—until I reached my goal. No exceptions. And I didn't. I think I remember chewing A LOT of gum during that time. Once I reached my goal, I would allow myself one or two every so often, but again, don't over do it. Let me tell you, that first Twix tasted like the best thing in the world.

Melissa is an excellent baker. Her specialty, as some of you may be aware, is chocolate chip cookies. This is where things got incredibly difficult. I LOVE her cookies. I crave them. And she craves them too. So, how is a guy supposed to lose weight when his favorite lady, the lovely Melissa, makes incredible cookies that I can't say no to? I mean, my will power is gone when it comes to these cookies, and I feel bad telling her not to bake them. What's a guy to do? Would it be possible to have her make cookies occasionally? Would my head explode? Would my belly? Well, we came up with a compromise. When she made fresh cookies, I was allowed to eat one or two that night—when they were fresh. But instead of having cookies every night for a week till they ran out, I'd only eat them that one day. Plus, sometimes when she was in the mood for cookies, I'd encourage her to make "No bakes". I like them, but don't crave them like chocolate chip cookies, so it was easier to say no.

7. Don't be a Nazi about everything.
Melissa and I still got pizza (from The Pie) every Friday night. I wouldn't give that up. I love pizza too much. And we would get burritos from Barbacoa or Cafe Rio on the weekends as well. It is my opinion that you can't give up everything, or you will fail. And when I say you, I mean me. I couldn't do it. I had to have rewards sometimes. To me that was pizza. I figured that I used to eat a lot of pizza and burgers, not to mention fries and other carbs. So, by stripping all that down to just pizza once a week (or occasionally twice), I'd be okay. And guess what, I was right!

8. Don't obsess over the scale.
This was a hard one. I weighed myself every Friday morning, after my run, after a shower. The same time every week, no more, no less. I think doing it every day is damaging, because you get freaked out. But once a week is good. Obviously your weight would fluctuate from week to week, sometimes up, sometimes down. So I had to repeatedly tell myself not to get hung up on the week to week results, but look at it a month at a time.

So, after all that, what happened, you ask?

Well, this happened. I started my "diet" on January 15ish, 2006. At that time I weighed 207 lbs. (again, looking like this: IMGP1636.JPG). On August 10, I weighed in at 164 lbs! Here was the new me:

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That's 43 pounds in about seven months! I was ecstatic with the results, to say the least. I'd say it was a successful plan. I mean, I actually was confident enough with the results to post a picture of me with my shirt off. I definitely wouldn't have done that six months before.

I had a purpose. I had a plan. And with some patience, will power and encouragement from the lil' wifey, I executed it.

So, what next then? Tune in later to find out.

Coming soon—Weighty issues. Part four…

Have you ever tried to walk a cat?

For quite some time, Mel had been wanting to take Frank, our cat, for a walk. We thought it would be a fun experience, plus, maybe it could work off the tremendous gut that he had acquired. We figured that curiosity would get the best of him as he entered a huge world, virtually unknown to him except from our bedroom window.

So we finally bought a harness and a leash, and tried to take him to the park that is right next to our apartment complex. I stress "tried". What we ended up with can best be described as mixed results. He wasn't entirely cooperative, which is understandable, since he hasn't been outside, besides us carrying him out on the balcony or porch, in about a year and a half. He is a true indoor cat.

After carrying him down the stairs, we set him down to walk. Well, he didn't really "walk". He more or less sat there, scared out of his wits. After a few minutes, however, he crept toward a set of bushes next to the building. We wanted him to stay on the grass, but, naturally, he kept getting into the dirt. We found out that he has an amazing ability to make the bottom half of his body to go dead, preventing you from dragging him or making him go where you want him to, without tremendous effort. After about 20 minutes, and about 20 feet, our "walk" of Frank ended with us taking him back up to the apartment. It was great. If nothing else, it was fun, and funny. Plus, we got a few great pictures out of it. Here are a couple that pretty much sum up the entire experience. Enjoy:

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Pregnancy update

As you all know, my lovely bride, the foxy Melissa is pregnant with our first offspring. Here is a page to track her progress through the magic of photography. Check back often for updates. I'll also try to do more updates on m'blog as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robotkinson/sets/72157604556106048/

Ciao.

Weighty issues. Part deux: Rob becomes a fatty.

Let's pick up in August 2003, the time of my marriage to Melissa, when I weighed around about 170 or 175 lbs. Seen here, in one of our engagement photos: RobMel_engaged.jpg. Not too bad, eh? Kind of skinny, but not too skinny, if you know what I mean. I was 27, almost 28, and I had just accepted my first full-time job after graduation a few months before. So, I was sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week, and I was now married. That's a dangerous combination, as I was about to find out. I was heavier than I wanted to be, but I wasn't terribly unhappy with my weight. But it sure didn't take long for me to start expanding. It happened incredibly fast, in fact. I don't know for sure, because I wasn't weighing myself a4t all, but I imagine that I gained 30 pounds in just a few months, and more than 40 within a year. It really snuck up on me too. I just realized it all of a sudden, and it wasn't easy to deal with. Here are a couple shots of me that were taken between 10 months and a year after we got married:
Rob013.jpg RobandBillBeach2.jpg RobMelSF.jpg

Remember, I had been a scrawny kid with exposed ribs, so to be over 210 pounds was mind boggling. It didn't help either that some people would comment on it when I would see them for the first time in a long time. These people should be punched in the face. Did they really think that I didn't know I was gaining weight? In their minds, did they think they were doing me some huge favor or something by reminding me that I was now fat? I mean, in my head I already thought that I looked like s***? So for someone to mention it to me didn't really help the esteem. It is a weird phenomenon, when people are ignorant enough to make comments like that. There weren't that many people who would do this, thank goodness, but it is just the few that ruin things.

I know that there are plenty of other friends and family members that were blown away by my weight gain, considering my scrawny former self, but they were sensitive enough to my plight not to mention it. And I appreciated that. I do remember having talks with my Dad about my weight, but he wasn't one of those people I was referring to. He talked to me about it out of concern for my health, which I understood and appreciated. He didn't want it to eventually get out of control and cause health problems for me my entire life.

This weight problem constantly hung over my head (and over my belt!). I had a hard time being happy when I would look at myself and it totally bummed me out that I weighed a lot more than double what my wife weighed. But Melissa was incredibly supportive through the whole thing, even though she was probably thinking, "this isn't what I signed up for when we got married!". But on occasion, when the opportunity presented itself, she would encourage me to try and make a change. I know that's not an easy thing to tell your spouse—you don't want to ruffle feathers.

I kept complaining about my weight, but I wasn't really doing anything about it. I was eating out a lot for lunch, I wasn't working out, and I was working a lot of hours. It was a pretty sedentary existence. My personality is such that when I start something, I always (or almost always) see things through till the end. I just often times have a hard time getting started. Motivation is not one of my strong suits.

So, in late December 2005, my friend Lance Oscarson, whom I sat next to at work at the time, said something to me one day. He said, "we should have a competition to see who can lose 30 lbs first." Now, Lance is a pretty big guy. He is probably 6'-3", and is a hockey player, but was carrying a little extra weight that he wanted to lose. So I said back to him, "you're on!" We decided to plan our competition to start after the holidays, the first week of January 2006.

I knew that I had weighed in at 212 at one time, and actually, I think I weighed more than that at one time, but, I'll go with 212 as my all-time high.

Weighty issues. Part one: From bean pole to normal.

The following story started out as a simple post, a theory of mine, but it has turned into a (not so) short story. Melissa chastised me, saying that no one wants to read a post this long, but I feel like I have a story to tell, so, I've decided to turn it into a series of posts, here is the first. Pardon my verbosity, but it is long. Brace yourselves. In fact, maybe you should take a minute to use the bathroom and get a drink if you deem it necessary.

Now, on to the story.

I have often wondered why men get fat when they get married, and I know that I'm not the only one who has wondered this. It has baffled top scientists for centuries. In fact, I think it's the 2nd most researched subject in the scientific world, right behind evolution. But therein lies the conundrum, maybe it has something to do with evolution. The only case I have to study is my own, which I admit for those scientists out there is not a large sample size. But guess what, it's my damn blog and this is how I'm doing it. I am going to tell the story of my weight, and then, I will get to my theory, so you'll have to bear with me and my ramblings.

Let's begin in my past, as a rail thin kid of 5'-11". At high school graduation, I weighed 125 lbs. Yes that's right, 125 lbs! Within a year or two, I settled in at a 'robust' 145 lbs, and stayed there for some time. This is what I looked like, at 21 years old, 145 lbs: Rob011.jpg.

After a few years, I started slowly putting on weight; not a lot, but a few pounds here and there. For a while I was about 155. Then I was up to about 165 or 170. At this point. I considered myself a tad chubby. Now, mind you, 170 is not fat, or chubby, or anything even close. I especially know that now. But when you are used to being between 125 and 145, 170 seems pretty darn heavy (If only I knew how big I would become). Here is what I looked between 160 and 170: RobandMel010.jpg

All my life, I always assumed I would stay skinny. After all, I always had been skinny. I had never been a workout fiend, or a runner, but I was reasonably active growing up. I played basketball, hiked and whatnot, even though I didn't go out of my way to workout. My dad, the wise old man that he was, warned me that someday it might catch up to me. He had been a beanpole as a youth as well, but as he got older, got a little bit bigger. He wasn't huge, not even close, but he had a bit of a gut; the usual kind that men get as they grow older I suppose.

But all my life I have been able to eat, and eat a lot. I think I eat more than anyone in my family, and have since I was an adolesent. As a teenager I would often times go to Blimpie or Subway for a foot long sub. On several occasions, I remember being hungry enough to eat another foot long sandwich. That's 24" of sandwiches. No exaggeration, and I was 125 pounds at the time. On other occasions, on a stop at Burger King, I'd get two Whoppers, instead of a Whopper and fries. This occurrence was especially prevalent during the 99 cent Whopper days.

Tune in later for part two, Rob becomes a fatty.

What I do.

I am a copywriter for an advertising agency. That is widely known, at least among my peeps, but not everyone knows what that means. So, you ask, what is a copywriter? I guess it's a just a fancy word for someone who writes copy, and for the record, it has nothing to do with trademarks, copyrights or anything like that.

I create ads, brochures, radio spots, TV ads, videos, eblasts, websites, billboards and anything else for our clients, for our company or just for fun. I basically help come up with the idea for an ad, what it should look like and what it should say. And along the way I work with an art director who creates the layout or design of the ad, brochure, etc. It is a fun job (most of the time) and I wouldn't trade it for anything, except to be a pro golfer, basketball player, skateboarder or maybe photographer, or maybe rock star. But other than that, I love it!

And now I finally have my portfolio site finished, after working on it for quite some time. Here it is, robotkinson.com.

It allows me to showcase my talents to anyone who is interested in what I can do. Feel free to click around and explore the things I've done in the past. I will update it when I have new stuff that I am proud of.

Thanks kids.

Robot.

Awesome movie

Here is the trailer for a unique documentary that came out last year, but I just finally got around to seeing it. It is called The King of Kong.

If you like good documentaries, or if you are just a fan of old video games, this movie is highly recommended. I hoped it would be good, but little did I know that there was such a compelling story to tell in the world of competitive Donkey Kong. It's a tale of good vs. evil, David vs. Goliath, Luke vs. Darth. But who will win? I guess you'll have to watch it to find out.

I hope you enjoy it. I sure did.

My boys can swim!

It appears that my guys aren't as lazy as I am and managed to beat the odds, as well as Melissa's defense mechanisms, to successfully knock her up. The good news is that we didn't have to use alcohol or a drive in movie to make it happen. Yeah! Here is a picture of the little guy or gal. If you look close enough, you can see that it has my eyes and Melissa's bum.

I am white

and I quite enjoy this site:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

The Arcade Fire

As you may or may not know, The Arcade Fire is one of m'very favorite bands. To me, you will be hard pressed to find someone who rocks better than them. As an example, here is one of my bestest, most favoritist of their songs, 4%20Intervention.mp3 . Melissa and I saw them in LA last year, and the energy at that show was unmatched by pretty much any other band I have ever seen.

But in addition to making amazing songs, they are breaking new ground by utilizing the worldwide net to their advantage. For example, they have created a few mini websites for some of the songs off their latest album, Neon Bible. These sites act like music videos for the songs, but the cool thing is that you can interact with each site and control what is going on by rolling over and clicking around. For a good time, click on the following links to see what I am talking about. Spend some time with them, they are way cool:

http://www.neonbible.com/readme.html

http://rorrimkcalb.com/arcadefire.html

http://www.beonlineb.com/click_around.html

Delayed (update)

Just to let everybody know, I arrived in Salt Lake at about 1:00 am, only 6 1/2 hours after I arrived at the San Diego airport. Not bad for an hour and a half flight.

Also, I purchased some Peanut M&Ms to eat on the plane, but the first thing that they tell us when we board at 9:45 is that we can't open anything with peanuts in them because someone had a severe peanut allergy. What a roast!

Delayed

Sitting in the airport is awesome. I usually find myself quite amused by airport life. Cranking the iPod, watching the world go by and wondering how some of these people managed to get a plane ticket. I find myself wondering if maybe they would have been better off buying a square meal for themselves, not to mention some clothes and a place to stay, but whatever.

Today, however, is not so awesome. I'm heading to Utah for a few days and had a 7:05 flight on JetBlue. So, I arrived the customary 90 minutes early, just in case something goes wrong. Immediately I find out that my flight is now leaving at 8:16, so I'm WAY early. Great, no big deal, I'll crank some tunes, buy a big Coke and read a bit.

One bonus is that I discovered a sports bar showing the NBA 3-point and Slam Dunk contests—so maybe things won't be so bad. Wrong. It is now 8:24, and I am not leaving till probably 9:30. So, I was WAY, WAY early. The plane I am waiting for is arriving soon, but it has to sit on the runway while another plane lands, boards and takes off. How did they manage that? I called to butting in line, but they didn't listen. So I have to wait here longer. At least I don't have to wait on the plane I guess.

To top it off, there is no where to sit at my gate. Oh, rest assured, there are a lot of seats without people sitting in them, but they all have their poop on them, and when I give them dirty looks, they just look the other way and pretend they didn't see me. So now I am at another gate, hoping that somehow my flight doesn't change again and I miss it. I do feel bad for my brother-in-law, who was to pick me up at 10 pm Utah time, but now it will be about 1 am. Again, that's awesome.

In fact, maybe I should go sit at the gate, on the hard tile floor in the hallway, that sounds like fun.

This is what I look like when I've been at the airport for 3 hours, with another to go:

Frank is retarded

IMG_1607.JPG
Originally uploaded by Robotkinson

So, the other morning, we found ourselves lying in bed, watching some TV. I could hear a banging noise that sounded like Frank playing with a box, however, both Melissa and I ignored it, thinking that he had found a new toy or something. After a minute, it dawned on us to see what exactly he was up to, since we didn't remember a box being in the room. Well, as you can see, Frank had found the empty Kleenex box that Mel had thrown on the floor. His head was stuck in there, and he couldn't get it out. We laughed SO HARD. At this point, he had just given up and was leaning against the wall. After we got our chuckles out, grabbed the box while he pulled his head out. It was really stuck on there. If we hadn't been home, it would have been on there all day. What a weird cat.