Below are the most recent 16 friends' journal entries.

Sunday, December 27th, 2009
robdurham	12:11p	The Challenge Beth and I are not drinking for the month of January. We've been drinking way too much wine and liquor lately (and beer for me) and thought it would be a good idea to stop for a month. I will admit to one exception for me, while I go to Chattanooga as I've mentioned. (Now that I think of it, I think I've mentioned all of this), but wait there's more. Beth is going to eat healthy and if all goes well she will take this health kick all the way to a figure competition in April in downtown St. Louis. The problem is, though I support her, I don't "support" her habits. I'm not the healthiest eater nor do I care if she's eating healthy. I had her sign a written up contract for me to not let her break it in January. We'll see how it goes. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
rap_sheet	8:03a	Obama got his fraud of a bill... The US Senate has passed that FRAUD of a health care bill...you Obama voters, get ready to have the wind smashed out of you when you find out how much your taxes are going up combined with the Bush tax cuts expiring. You will be left with just pocket change and a lot of despair. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
robdurham	4:29p	Yes, I did archive our history of Scrabble I've saved all of our Scrabble score sheets over the last 2 years that we've been playing. Want to hear some numbers? In head to head games (most of them with 9 tiles instead of the standard 7) vs. Beth I am 79-49-1. This did not count the game she quit on the 9th turn. Our 2008 averages were Beth: 273 Me: 298 Our 2009 averages were Beth 340.5 Me: 348.2 So far I'm 30-18 in 2009. She still holds the top two scores of 463 and 583. Over the last 2 months our scores have drastically increased. We get a lot more bingo's (7 letter words where you get a bonus 50 points). Especially Beth, if she gets to go first she often leads off with one, or two as it was the other day. I'm more of a wordsmith who can create multiple words with 3 or 4 tiles. Both of us play pretty defensive and don't give away many triple word squares. And yes, she finds it just as ridiculous as you do that I kept and recorded all of these. She's not going to believe she's 30 games behind me in her career though. She's won 5 of the last 8. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
robdurham	10:11a	Spin Class and facebook I went to spin class again this morning. Ouch. From the 20 to 30 minute mark I burnt myself out. Luckily the rest was easier. It's me and 5 ladies counting the instructor. It's all for my stair climbing training. Which reminds me, I need to sign up for that in the next few weeks. My New Year's resolution is to stop getting mad at facebook posts. Today's challenge is the Glenn Beck's of Bellville, Ohio posting about businesses in Bellville are the only one's saying Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays. Sure I could write, "It's because we're the only town in America without a black or Jewish population," but I will not. I still have to sound friendly to everyone if I want continued support every time I come and do a show. So go ahead facebook friends, keep quoting Christmas carol lyrics. That's not lame at all. Yes indeed, point out that it is in fact the most wonderful time of the year (it's not) and that you're dreaming of a white Christmas. I sense that facebook will gradually fade out in the next year or so as it will be replaced or just wear everyone's patience out. Otherwise your kids will grow up and you'll embarrass the hell out of them. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 21st, 2009
robdurham	12:27p	Not renewing We're not paying another $30 for 6 more months of hosting www.robandbethwedding.com You all saw it enough, it served its purpose (which was directing people toward our honeymoon fund honestly), so as soon as they decide to, it will be taken off of the internet. Retired at around 800 views. (Comment on this)
robdurham	9:20a	Just sayin'... They're worried tax money will be used to pay for abortion...but won't even more of it be used to feed those kids later on in life if they live? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
robdurham	9:07a	college I hate it when my old hillbilly classmates badmouth my school (OSU) about its sports or fans or whatnot when they didn't even go as far as taking a college placement exam. In other news I just accepted way too much financial aid. It said I could adjust the amount once I accepted...false. Now it's accruing interest already and I'll have to call someone when it's all dispersed to try and pay it back right away. (Half of it at least). I had to take it though. Not working most of the fall really put me behind on stuff. In good news, I'll be insured very soon. Beth found us a plan though it looks like we'll both have to get rid of our current dentists. We're both sad about this, I really enjoyed my Clayton dentist. Beth has had the same dentist since she was a kid. It did allow me to sing, "We'll need a new deeen-tiiist." Season 20 of Survivor is going to be awesome. It's a best of the good guys vs. bad guys over the years. They're calling it heroes vs. villains. Russel got screwed last night. The hot pharmaceutical sales rep. won. (Comment on this)
rap_sheet	12:01a	Your NMW wrestler of the year and decade are... No surprise here...the votes went CJ's way early and no doubt he's has had quite a year going solo in NMW and getting separation from his regular tag partner so he can stand on his own. He held the CI title for a longer span of time than anyone else though I'd have to compute the number of defenses which would be the better measure due to the lesser frequency of shows lately. The runner-up Sage Ramsey started getting votes late but wasn't enough. Who is the New Midwest wrestler of 2009? (Choices reflect those who were named in the fan surveys) (Vote totals combine paper & online counts) * CJ Esparza 31.82% (14 votes) + 2 = 16 * Sage Ramsey 20.45% (9 votes) + 3 = 12 * Dan The Man 11.36% (5 votes) + 3 = 8 * Ryan Phoenix 11.36% (5 votes) + 1 = 6 * Jon Magnus 9.09% (4 votes) + 2 = 6 * Benz 9.09% (4 votes) + 1 = 5 * Michael Shard 4.55% (2 votes) + 2 = 4 * Guy Smith 2.27% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * Eric Ruffington 0.00% (0 votes) + 1 = 1 This one stayed close a lot longer but no surprise here either, Guy Smith has pretty much been "Mr. NMW" love him or hate him with two heavyweight title reigns and maintained his longevity throughout the entire history of the promotion. Here's hoping Guy Smith expands out and has a big breakout year in 2010...which is way overdue. Rip Mystic was the runner up, the first NMW champion following the name change and the long hiatus. Who is the New Midwest wrestler of the DECADE? (Choices reflect those mentioned on the fan ballots) (Vote totals combine paper & online counts) * Guy Smith 33.33% (13 votes) + 2 = 15 * Rip Mystic 23.08% (9 votes) + 1 = 10 * Sage Ramsey 10.26% (4 votes) + 3 = 7 * The Hybrids (tag team) 5.13% (2 votes) + 1 = 3 * "Prime Time Playa" Bobby Houston 5.13% (2 votes) + 1 = 3 * Eric Logan 5.13% (2 votes) + 1 = 3 * Tom Arson 5.13% (2 votes) + 1 = 3 * Dan the Man 2.56% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * Earl Grissom 2.56% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * CJ Esparza 2.56% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * Benz 2.56% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * Lucious P. Cotrain 2.56% (1 vote) + 1 = 2 * Eric Ruffington 0.00% (0 votes) + 1 = 1 * Scotty Cash 0.00% (0 votes) + 1 = 1 (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
robdurham	5:26p	Finally! As of the first week of November season 4 of Fraggle Rock is now available! If only there was a holiday coming up so someone could order it for me off of Amazon.com at a very reasonable price. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
robdurham	10:29p	Because they apparently ignored the McNair situation... So is the Tiger Woods situation the Columbine of pro-athletes or just cheaters in genereal getting caught? Chris Henry of the Bengals is in a life threatening situation for what looks like a similar situation. After Columbine kids should have learned...stop making fun of the Trogs and other people you think are weird. They have guns. Pro athletes, stop cheating on your wives. They have guns. And SUV's and other things to hurt you. (Comment on this)
robdurham	4:07p	Grammar grade I got a 90.5% which is an A, or A- I guess if he wants to ruins my 4.0. I only got an 85 on the takehome final--hmm, shoulda met with him instead of just not caring and turning it in. Still, why should I care either way, it's UMSL, a 4.0 isn't going to impress anyone or make or break a job opportunity. I subbed K-5 music today, awful as usual. I had to watch Animusic 5 times in a row for a half hour. The morning consisted of talking over grades 3-5 and reading them the Nutcracker. When I'm teacher I hope my attendance is never as bad as it is with these teachers around the holidays. The kids are too crazy. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
robdurham	8:01p	Lame So counting myself 5 people showed up to our "Crawl" which was downgraded to a happy hour at The Tin Can. Lame people. Don't say you're going to make it and then not come. Don't worry about "driving" just control your drinking or arrange something. Don't be lame. Anyway, I was there for almost 5 hours, bought wings and beers and spent $21 counting a nice tip. That place is great. All beer comes in a can. I didn't know that Newcastle and Fat Tire beers were canned but they are with 79 other beers to go with them. Yet I had several Stroh's. Perhaps that is why my bill was so cheap. Anyway, the people who made it out were fun. Those who didn't...lame. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
robdurham	8:43p	Dear Women, Those Reebok shoe's are a gimmick. Beth bought them and says they don't do anything to tone and tighten. She admitted she was a complete sucker for that commercial where that chick in the short shorts walks around in them. Wearing those shoes does not make you look like that lady. It kind of reminds me of when I was 5 years old (I think I was 5). Anyway, Zips had a shoe commercial where the kids wore Zips and when they ran they turned into an animated Z and got from point A to point B in fractions of a second. I finally got a pair of Zips and couldn't wait to zip across my backyard as fast as everyone on the commercial. I remember trying very hard but no matter what I did I could tell I wasn't getting there as fast as the kids in the commercial. I remember Mom standing on the back porch watching. I pretended not to be disappointed because I had begged for the shoes for so long. I kind of felt silly for believing the commercial but that's what they do. They're tricky and they know exactly what you want to hear. So let that childhood flashback and the rest of this blog be a warning, those shoes are a gimmick. Sincerely, Rob (2 Comments |Comment on this)
robdurham	2:06p	Wife, Me, Brother, Sister (Comment on this)
robdurham	1:49p	The Praxis So I finally signed up for the Praxis test. This is the final step to certification for teaching once I finish student teaching and everything else. I will take it in March (I have gigs in Chattanooga during the January session). The test costs $80 $130 as part of that is a $50 registration fee. 'Cause someone has to pay that computer to take all of our information. I just took the practice test online and got 25 out of 25 right. So no, I shall not worry. I had to make educated guesses on 3 of them but I feel pretty educated now. Still waiting on that grammar grade. I probably screwed up and got a B+. Oh well. Tomorrow I have organized a crawl (with very successful numbers, over a dozen coming) at Tin Can at 2:30 in the afternoon. Hopefully some of my male classmates will show up too. (Comment on this)
robdurham	10:12a	Was this anyone else's favorite? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4w2cpR21eo --part 1 (part 2 is missing and not needed) part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21J0Kw1FM58 (Comment on this)