Personally I’m dating a great girl whom I’ve been with for six months. I can’t thank Lindsay enough for the happiness and stability she brings to my every day life. She’s been a key to a lot of this.

I’m also thankful for my many friends who continue to support me and in turn whom I try to help and support when I can.

Life is good.

We started practicing about four weeks out and I have to admit, the muscles used in kickball aren’t muscles I normally use…I’d be sore for days. Teams needed to have at least 7 players with 3 of them being female and could have up to 15 on a roster. We supposedly had our roster set but 48 hours before Tournament Day, we lost one of our female players and thankfully my sisters Karen stepped in. My team didn’t know it but Karen was about 100x better than the girl she replaced.

On Tournament Day, Karen showed up at 9AM and promptly went and ran 5 miles…silly triathletes. We had a first round bye and were able to watch the two teams play before us…of whom we would play the winner of. We were feeling pretty confident after watching them play. Our first opponent ended up being the Tutoring Zone team who were a great group of girls and guys…we really enjoyed playing them. We started off the game strong when I drove in our first run of the game with a big kick to the outfield. The TZ team was calling me sleeveless because I had cut the sleeves off my shirt and were just giving me a hard time. Unfortunately for the TZ team they didn’t read the rules and received out calls for a bunt and for using an improper lineup.

In the history of the tournament, there had never been a tie…well guess what? We ended up tied 1-1 with the TZ team. Games were 30 minutes long and after 75 minutes the ref forced us to play rock, scissors, paper to determine a winner…which sucked ass. I was totally against this and sure enough we lost. The tournament is double elimination but still…why leave a win to luck?

Speaking of luck, the second team we played had it…just all bad. In their first game they lost a player to a broken arm and in our game, about ten minutes in, one of their players fractured their tibula and blew out their ACL while kicking! Horrible, horrible circumstances and I hope their player recovers ok. They decided to forfeit the game.

Our third game was against Rebuild Gainesville and we got destroyed. I had warned our Team Captain that they had some big kickers and that fear along with my strategy fear were both realized. The smart teams were kicking down the third base line often getting players to first, second, and sometimes third before driving in runs. Our players just kicked the ball for the most part with only a couple of us actually getting on base. My other concern was in having female players in the outfield for fear of balls going over their head…and this is what happened leading to two scores. We eventually lost the game 3-0.

Despite being super competitive, I had a fantastic time…it was so fun! I stayed after our games to watch other teams play and to help the organizing committee clean up Diamond Sports Park which had kindly donated their playing fields for the day.

One of the more amusing things to me was how mad some of the teams got at times…the refs were volunteers and a little spotty at times but when it comes down to it, this is a charity event. The biggest consistent whiners in my opinion were on the 352 Media team. Maybe they had a legit argument…I don’t know…but once again it is a charity tournament so chill out.

The winner of the tournament was Frankel Media Group which came out of the Losers Bracket to win two games in a row over and undefeated Charles Perry Construction team to win the event. Frankel Media Group had some bad ass female athletes on their team…including two ex-UF soccer players and an ex-UCF basketball player. The women were really the keys to that team winning.

I can’t wait until next year when I plan on sponsoring my own team, using my strategies, and stacking it with athletes that I know.

• The Tender Box: Gravity
• U Can Unlearn Guitar: 58 Days
• Tom Hickox: The Pretty Pride of Russia
• Songs for Eleonor: Girl In Life
• The Slants: Kokoro
• Shiny Toy Guns: Ghost Town
• Scott H. Biram: Been Down Too Long
• The Pink Spiders: Gimme Chemicals
• Pilar Diaz: Tu Y Yo
• P-L-A: Presto

Highlights of the present unwrapping included multiple pranks. Adam, Lindsay’s oldest brother, played basketball at FSU and hates all things Gators. So I of course bought a Florida Gator Christmas ornament and attached it to a present Lindsay had wrapped for Adam without her knowing. When she picked up the present, it took all of my will power to keep a straight face. She kept going…”This is your present Adam but I didn’t put this on here!” She tried to get my present off but I had taped it to the real present. When Adam opened the present, he just said, “Ohhhhh that’s dirty” and I finally lost it and started laughing my ass off.

Poor Adam was in for a rough day as later on he unwrapped a present with his name on it that was a Wii. Only to have Lindsay go, “Oh…I’m so sorry Adam, that is for Kevin…Mom and I must have gotten the presents mixed up!” The look on his face was priceless! They eventually gave him his own Wii later.

I ended up making out well: A Wii, nice cufflinks, two shirts, and some smaller presents and prank gifts thrown in. I gave Lindsay a designer purse that she didn’t see coming at all, Yoga lessons, and two rear tires for her car. For the latter present, I sent her on a clue based scavenger hunt to find them.

Another interesting tradition of the Kriegs was that they do not open their stockings until evening dinner on Christmas Day…a bit different but I guess it keeps some excitement going! It should be noted at this point in time that I had gone through 3 bottles of grenadine in like 5 days…which is a lot…even for me!

The final night of our stay, I slept on the couch and apparently slept through the big excitement of the week! Other Kevin and Adam went out and came home drunk…Other Kevin with a girl. Adam woke everyone up coming in and claimed not to know where Kevin was…and then Kevin’s dog shot out the door to Kevin’s car where he was having what I am sure was a deep, intellectual conversation with a delightful young lady. All Adam could say while laughing was, “Kevin’s dog sold him out!”. Apparently the entire family was up and laughing and drunk at 3AM…while I blithely slept through it all on the couch. What can I say…I have sleeping skills! In all seriousness, I am doing a very poor imitation of how funny this story was when repeated to me…I start laughing just thinking about it.

Sunday on the trip home, we stopped in Tampa and had dinner with my little sister Kim and her friends Michelle and Ariel. It was a nice break and I had told Kim that Lindsay was only 5′2″ and very conscious of her height…so you can only image the confusion when I show up with a 6′ tall woman!

It was a great weekend and I’m thankful for the time I was able to spend with the Krieg family! They are quite awesome!

As with the rest of the family, Adam has a great sense of humor but he is very different than OTHER Kevin. Adam has a bad ass, stray, Pit Bull that he adopted when it wandered into his yard about 10 years ago. The dog is named Rusty and is just a super friendly dog. I do not think I’ve ever seen a dog that is so attached/loyal to it’s Master. I honestly believe Rusty knows that Adam saved his life…plus Rusty climbs trees!

Since I’m getting my days discombobulated, this is probably wrong but I believe the Jackson’s came over again for dinner on Christmas Eve. Liz had left with her boyfriend to be with his family in South Caroline but the Jackson’s son…Nate came this time. Nate is a freaking character. Apparently he is an on-air personality of some sort in Atlanta for a radio station. The guy is damn funny and he enjoyed teasing Grandma Mimi.

The highlight of the evening was Grandma Mimi playing Wii and at times swinging at the replay in Tennis instead of the actual live game. I’m proud to say I beat the snot out of an 80+ year old woman in Wii tennis…I’m a stone cold killer like that!

Tomorrow…Christmas!

Wednesday was also cookie making day! Sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, and tons of Mexican Wedding cookies which Lindsay’s Father loves as much as I love sugar cookies! I helped out but due to my large hands my Mexican Wedding cookies ended up the size of golf balls…which is to say about 100% larger than they should be!

On Wednesday I also met one of Lindsay’s brothers…Kevin. Yes…his name is Kevin also and for the rest of the week, daily on average, there were about 2 dozen conversations that were similar to this or some variation of: “Kevin can you do this?”…”No, OTHER Kevin.”

Kevin was a very polite guy and has excellent taste in clothing. He is about the same weight/build as I am but two inches taller. I have to say that it was a little strange being around someone taller than I am as it has been probably 15 years since I’ve had that experience. My personal opinion is that Kevin is a very thoughtful, quiet guy, who tends to sit back and observe rather than jump right in on things.

The evening saw the arrival of Lindsay’s best friend Liz, Liz’s boyfriend, and Liz’s parents, the Jackson’s. The Jackson’s and Krieg’s have known each other for a long time and there was plenty of great conversation and laughter around the dinner table. Lindsay and Liz broke out some old pictures…some of which were traumatic to me. When your better half is eleven years younger than you, you do NOT want to see her as an 11-year old because all I could think was, “I was 22 at that time!”

Lindsay and Liz would go into these giggle fits that were hysterical but I derived my most amusement from Kevin…OTHER Kevin. Lindsay, the Jacksons, and her parents are all pretty liberal, ex-hippie types. Kevin is a bit more conservative in his business or political views. Kevin…OTHER Kevin…has this very quick, subtle delivery where someone would make some liberal political statement and he would slip a zinger in…just to mess with everyone else.

It was a great evening and I read until the wee hours of the morning and finished the book I had started the day before.

After Norman Love, it was back to the Krieg House. The day was rather uneventful and I spent most of it reading. Lindsay’s father came home and he took the time to show me around his Bonsai collection. Mr. Krieg has roughly 20 Bonsai plants and has been studying the art form for over 3 years. I’ve always been interested in Bonsai so it was a treat to have someone explain the different styles and show me some of the techniques first hand. I’m hoping to purchase a Bonsai of my own sometime in the next few months.

Tuesday evening was Wii night. I was introduced to the fun that is Wii Fit and happily spent the next few hours playing Wii with Lindsay and her parents. Being the competitive person that I am, I of course had to break all of the records. One game in particular had me balancing on the Wii Fit Board and trying to drop marbles into holes…apparently Lindsay’s Mom was really into it and was jumping around and twitching on the couch trying to “help” me. While I was busy breaking the Hula Hoop record I was done dirty. Merrily shaking my ass, I heard Lindsay and her Mom start dying of laughter. I figured they were just amused at my wiggling ass…until the game ended and I turned around and saw the video camera…dirty!

After another hour or so of Wii…I spent the rest of the evening reading. Day 3 was going to prove interesting as I was going to meet Grandma and one of Lindsay’s brothers…stay tuned!

The first concern was that Lindsay is the baby of the family. The second is our age difference. The third were “older” brothers who I am actually older than. I’ve dated my fair share of tall women but never have I dated someone who had brothers BIGGER than me…yikes.

So…on December 21st, the drive to Fort Meyers began that would seal my fate!

Despite living in Florida my entire life, I had never been past Sarasota on the West Coast of Florida. I caught a ride with my friend Patrick who was headed that way and about 6 hours later…we made it (should have taken about 4.5 hours). Lindsay met us at a gas station and I was off to the Krieg House to meet the parents.

Upon reaching the Krieg house, I was quickly greeted by a very excited Golden Retriever/Poodle mix named Callie. Interesting Dog. Very smart and friendly but likes to lick a little too much for my tastes! Lindsay’s Father introduced himself…at 6′4″ and slender he is pretty good shape for being an older gentleman. Lindsay’s Mother is about 6′ tall and is very friendly…I believe I suffered a partially collapsed lung from her welcoming hug!

As it was late, I didn’t get to see much of the house and we all sat out in the living room for an hour or so just talking and getting to know each other. After that, I was led upstairs to my bedroom…which was full of books…and we called it an evening!

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

-Mother Theresa