Be nice to me....

I donated blood today!

If you're able-bodied, I'd encourage you to head to Stanfurd, Red Cross, or any of the other blood donation sites and make an appointment to donate. Can't synthesize blood, and your body will replenish it, so why not help some people out?

Also, if you're like me and you need some more incentive, going on Mondays to Stanfurd will net you two AMC silver ticket vouchers (can be used on any movie out for 10 days or more) and a mail-in voucher for a free Warriors ticket.

I'll admit, it was a little weird when they laid the tube across my arm and I found myself thinking, "Hm, that's nice and warm... oh wait, that's my blood - Bob juice, if you will - being collected in that rocking contraption holding my blood bag." But overall, it's a satisfying experience.

In fact, you can use it to combat today, Monday Jan 22, which is considered the most depressing day of the year. Why? After a few weeks into the new year, it's a Monday, you're tired, your resolutions are starting to fail, you're realizing that all the holiday food binging is hanging around your waist/thighs, and you receive the Christmas credit card bills in the mail.

Saturday afternoon, I went for a short run (no more than 1.5 miles). While my stamina seemed to handle it okay, I could tell that running much farther than that would put a fair amount of pain in my right knee. I'm trying to make time to do more cardio work this year, so I'll have to figure out a regular routine to get onto an exercise bike more often. Maybe I'll hit up Play It Again Sports or something to see if they have a decent one for cheap...

On Saturday night, Shally, Chris, Dr. Andy, and Esther were over to watch the new-look Warriors take on Lebron and the Cavs. We recorded the game onto DVD and simultaneously watched, so that we had the ability to pause, rewind, slow-motion, and fast-forward - mini-Tivo style. It was a lot of fun for Chris and me to explain to the other folks, who aren't really into basketball, some of the nuances of team play on both offense and defense by showing plays again in slow motion. We used our fingers as telestrators to describe the pick and roll, the timing of a pass on a fast break, back cuts, and everything else. I'm finding that I greatly enjoy explaining things I know well to people interested in knowing the subject.

In a tit-for-tat move, since Shally watched the game on Saturday, last night we watched "Pretty Woman." 'Twas actually pretty good. Saw lots of familiar faces besides the stars too, like Jason Alexander/George Constanza (Phil Stuckey), Hank Azaria/scientist guy on "Friends"/Simpsons voice (detective at the beginning), and I think the guy who played Mr. Heckles from Friends was briefly on as the landlord at the beginning.

I'm getting back into playing guitar after a long absence where I was more interested in picking up different instruments like percussion and bass. I think listening to Shane Barnard and David Crowder re-awakened an interest in learning some new songs and guitar licks, which is also re-awakening the question of whether to get a new guitar.

Thing is, I've learned one thing about myself - one of my values is simplicity, and so I dislike waste and like using things until they wear out. This has implications for the way I use money - I am very careful with almost any purchase, reading lots of reviews and sometimes agonizing over buying since I know I intend to keep it for its entire lifespan. Also, I have aversions to upgrading when the existing item still works decently well. I don't think the "buy quick, sell quick" mentality of eBay and Craigslist has seeped into me yet. So, I'm not sure whether I'll be seriously looking into a new guitar... but I guess we'll see.