Introducing Ruben

The picture you see on the left is the newest addition to my ventriloquist act. His name is Ruben Nathaniel Young. I'll explain why I picked that name for him later in this post.

One of the personal goals I set for myself for 2009 was to purchase an actual ventriloquist figure and start using it in my act. What I mean by "actual" is a figure with a moving mouth and eyes you operate using controls on a stick from the back inside the hollow body and a head that's not really connected to the body so it can turn 360 degrees.

After making that one of my 2009 goals I did some research and decided on the one I wanted to buy based on the style, look and price. Luckily the one I thought I could afford without remortgaging the house made by a figure maker named Clinton Detweiler.

Mr. Detweiler is the man whose blog about ventriloquism I read on a daily basis. He's a very famous and popular man in the world of ventriloquism. Mainly because he sold a ventriloquism correspondence course for many years. However he is also a skilled figure maker.

I started saving my spare change at the start of the year with the hope of having enough saved by August to order my new figure in time for my birthday in September. Well as it turned out I had enough by the end of June. I decided not to wait until my birthday and ordered it then. That way I would be able to work with my new figure, get comfortable operating his controls, and incorporate him into my act while I was off of work for surgery. I got him about 2 weeks before the operation.

I haven't really done any work with him yet because I've been trying to create a name and a personality for him. That's always the first thing you do with a new puppet. I've decided on the name Ruben Nathaniel Young. The reason for the name is that I want him to be a reminder that one of the reasons for getting weight loss surgery was so that I would be in better physical condition to do a better job as a ventriloquist.

Now the official name of the type of surgery I had is a "Roux-en-Y" gastric by pass (RNY for short). That's why my new vent figure's name has the initials RNY.

I plan on using him as the main character in my future shows. I will still use Calvin (the cloth puppet) as part of my act as well. Many of the children I've performed for at church and the library know Calvin and like him very much. Calvin will always be special to me because he was the first "star" of my act.

But once I get used to working with my new "official" vent figure, Ruben, he will be the "star" of the show.

Breakfast Bible Study

This morning I did something I haven't done in a long time. I got up at 6AM on purpose. I drove into town and participated in a men's bible study group at the Panara Bread restaurant.

My friend, Brent, had invited me to join them. A couple of weeks ago they had started reading and discussing a book called "Worldliness: Resisting the seduction of a fallen world". It's a series of essays by various ministers and edited by C.J. Mahaney.

I don't have a copy of the book so I couldn't read the chapter they were discussing ; God, my heart, and the media; but I have dealt with the subject in my own life enough that I felt I could contribute to the discussion in a constructive way.

With my glass of sugar free iced tea I sat at the end of the table next to Brent and for the next hour and a half listened to the discussions occasionally offering my point of view. There were about a dozen men there. They all knew each other because they attend Rich Pond Baptist Church. Nonetheless my contributions were accepted and discussed.

It was encouraging to realize that men who are fellow Christians also struggle with the same spiritual issues I do in their lives.

I have now ordered the book from Amazon.com and will do my best to catch up on reading the book so I can go back and be "up to speed" with the discussion next week. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to attend the group after I go back to work. But at least for the next two weeks I'm going to be attending the Breakfast Bible Study.

Backyard Baseball

As much of a baseball fan as I am I've always wished that I lived close enough to a professional baseball stadium that I could spontaneously decide to go see a game whenever I wanted to.

This past Sunday night, for the first time, I went to see the new minor league baseball team, the Hot Rods, play at their new stadium in town. Let me tell you my wish has come true. The Hot Rods are the "A" minor league affiliate of the MLB's Tampa Ray. Of course I would liked the team to have been a Yankees affiliate but you can't have everything. But in this case this team and ballpark location offer me most things.

It only took me 30 minutes to get there and after a short walk to the front gate easily I found my seat. I went as part of a group from our church.

I had such a great time that I decided to go back tonight (Tuesday). I got a Joe Blanton bobblehead doll they gave away as a promotion. Blanton is a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies who grew up in this area. That's why the gave the souvenir away.

I really love the two experiences I had at the ballpark this week. I plan on going back again at least once maybe twice before the middle of August. Because when I go back to work I won't be able to go anymore this year.

It was really great to be able to enjoy sitting and watching live baseball again; and it was only about 30 miles from my house. The other great thing about it is that with the weight I've lost since my surgery I can once again fit into a stadium seat somewhat comfortably. It's not a perfect fit yet but it's do able.

After tomorrow the team is on the road for a week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get tickets to the August 8 game. That night they are giving a way a replica model of the new stadium. I would love to have one.

Do I sound excited? Well I am. I am so happy that I now have live professional baseball practically in my own backyard. Thanks Hot Rods!

Pretty Paula

This is a picture of my wife as she looked when she went to church yesterday. With her new hair color, clothes, and make-up she's absolutely beautiful. She's officially lost 40 pounds now and is well on her way to reaching her goal.

Today is her first day back at work after a 6 week medical leave. From the way she presented herself yesterday it looks like she's more than ready to show "the world" that there's a new Paula in town and she's only gonna be getting better. I love her with all my heart and I'm so proud of her!

New Living (Room) Arrangements

My apologies for not publishing a post since last Monday. It's been a pretty busy week here at my house. My wife and I have been busy rearranging our living room.

This is something we've wanted to do for a long time. With our time off from work we now have room in our schedules to focus on this "first step" project. It is the initial change in making our now "empty nest" a home for 2 and not 4.

Our living room is the place we spend most of our time. The reason we set up our living room the way we did back in 2003 was to make it a nice place for our family to sit and enjoy watching movies and being together. Now that our residence is down to just two, the first goal of our newly arranged living room was to make for an intimate and better entertainment experience. This meant moving our sofa and our love seat so that they were in a better position to view the television and get the full effect of the surround sound.

The second priority was to declutter the room. It was too crowded and some things like DVD and video game storage cabinets had to be taken out and put back in our new storage room.

Third, we wanted make a place for our dogs to lay down and relax other than the furniture. We put a couple of big fluffy pillows in a corner beside the TV, out of the way, so they can enjoy the floor as much as they did the love seat. Dory has already adapted to her new resting place as you can see in the picture at the top of this post. Angel prefers to relax on the area rug somewhere near us when we're sitting on the couch. Although it may not seem like such a big deal to some making our pets happy makes us happy too.

There are still some things to be moved around, displayed or set up in our "new" living room before I post any pictures of it. But as soon as it's finished I'll post one.

This is the first of many changes in our home on the way to making it the place where Paula and I plan on spending the rest of our lives together. While it's only a simple rearrangement of one room in a house; for us it's a step of faith and anticipation as we look toward our future in the place we call home.

A Noteable Monday

Today was a day full of milestones for me. It included getting to eat real food again, receiving a special gift, and helping my son, James, move some of his belongings out of our house.

The gift I'm referring to is a custom made stain glass replica of the NY emblem the New York Yankees wear on their baseball caps. It was designed and handmade for me by my sister in law, Theresa.

She gave it to me this morning when I went over to her house. It's one of the nicest things anyone has ever made for me. I will hang it up in a window in my house soon so I can enjoy it. That's a picture of it at the start of this post.

After nearly 3 weeks on liquids, today I started eating "real food". I started out with eggs for breakfast, had some turkey with cheese for lunch and a very delicious chicken with tomato sauce dish for dinner. It all totaled up to about 600 calories and 67 grams of protein. Both of which meet the daily requirements of "phase 3" of my new diet.

Finally this afternoon our youngest son, James, came over to our house with a pick up truck and with the help of his aunt, Theresa, and his friend, Chris, moved the rest of his belongings over to his house. What was once his bedroom is now our spare utility room. So now he's "officially" moved out.

While the rest of the world stopped to observe the 40th anniversary of astronauts from the United States landing on the moon (an observation I took part in myself by watching several programs on TV about it) I was having somewhat of a "one small step for me" moment by being back on "solid" food. To make it even better I got an early birthday present from my sister in law. It really was a Notable Monday.

The Last Day Of My Liquid Diet

After 19 days, today is the last day of my liquid diet. I just finished drinking the last of my protein shakes. I probably won't even think about having another for a while. I'm not saying I'll never drink one again because they will probably prove to be convenient but I'm done with them for now.

Tomorrow morning I will have a couple of scrambled eggs with some melted cheese on top as my first real "meal" in nearly 3 weeks. Because I don't like fish and it's a big part of the food list I will be allowed I'm a little apprehensive about what I'm going to eat on this 3rd stage of my new diet.

But God has gotten me through the last 3 weeks so now I've confidence that He will help me through the rest.

Making some progress with my exercise (aka walking). Tonight I walked a little less than halfway from my house to the Flavor Isle. (a local ice cream/fast food stand exactly 1/2 mile from my house) Round trip that's about 1/2 a mile. It's the farthest I've been able to walk in a long time even before my surgery.

Things are progressing and starting tomorrow Paula and I will once again be able to eat the same things. We can actually start preparing meals for both of us again.