My least favorite thing to do

I completed my first session of Christmas shopping last night. On December 18. How did it go, you ask? Well, it went about as smooth as a Brittany Spears interview about being a responsible parent.

I really dislike Christmas shopping. Not that I don't enjoy giving because I do. But the thought of spending three hours in a crowded mall, having to fight my way through the stores (using my elbows if necessary) and waiting in lines 15-people deep is not my idea of a fun time.

My biggest problem with holiday shopping is figuring out what to buy everyone. I've heard people say they suffered a major sensory overload after spending a few days in Las Vegas, and I can understand that. The lights, the noises, the hookers outside your hotel, yeah. That all plays a role. Christmas shopping is very similar: I call it way-too-many-things-to-choose-from overload (try saying that five times as fast as possible).

For example, I could go to Macy's and buy my sisters perfume, shoes, handbags, dresses, pants, sweaters, homegoods, kitchengoods, bathroom goods, and all other types of goods.

Or I could go to a golf store and buy my dad golf balls, tees, a new driver, a new putter, golf shirts, pants, hats, a new bag, headcovers, or a new golf swing (he could use some help).

I may also want to drop by Williams Sonoma and purchase something for my mother: new pots and pans, an expensive knife set, an oak cutting board, a Rachel Ray cookbook, a fondu maker, or another overpriced kitchen-related item.

And then there are the gift cards: GAP, Best Buy, CVS, Barnes and Noble, Borders, itunes, ihop, isomethingelse, Safeway, Giant, Shaws (for you Northern folk), Amazon.com, Flowers.com, yourlastname.com, and the generic mall one.

So what are you all doing for the rest of the week? Who here still needs to purchase some last-minute gifts? If you are looking for me, I'll be lost somewhere between a new wallet and a six-pack of tube socks.

-Jason

What I do all day

It's time for some self promotion. See the links below for some recent stories I have written for the paper. And I know, our Web site is pretty lousy. We are in the process of creating a new site and the tentative launch date is March 1.


I wrote a piece on a local basketball player that was in a car accident a few months ago. Her left lung collapsed twice as a result of the crash, but she has returned to the team. She scored a team-high 16 points the other night in a win! One of her teammates has also been out with an injury -- plantar fasciitis (I know ONE of you knows all too well what that is) -- so I wrote something on that as well. The plantar fasciitis was a web-only story but the other one was above the fold on A1!! That's pretty big for a sports guy like me who usually has stuff buried on the sports page.

Rising to the challenge (collapsed lung)

Three best friends minus one (plantar fasciitis)

Leave me a comment with your thoughts on those stories because I am thinking about entering them in the Virginia Press Association's annual awards as one package.


I am not into wrestling and basically know nothing about the sport, but I learned a little bit when I was at a big opening-of-the-season meet last Friday. We ran a bunch of stuff for the wrestling preview, which included this story. I was proud of my "choke hold" comment in the second graf.


One of the teams we cover, Chantilly, had an incredible postseason and made it to the state football final in Division 6. But in the first playoff game against undefeated Westfield -- a team that clearly should have beaten the then 8-3 Chargers -- something happened to their quarterback. He was hit in the first quarter and suffered a concussion. He was taken off the field in an ambulance, driven to an adjacent field and left the school grounds in a helicopter! He made a speedy recovery and played in the state final last weekend, which Chantilly lost.

Anyway, I wrote a story on the injury and the scene that unfolded in front of everyone. The kid was lucky to be OK because it was a pretty violent helmet-to-helmet hit. Click here to check it out.


Enjoy

-Jason

Blockheads, flu shots and a book called [Insert title here]

Picked up pieces while trying to figure out the plot for my first novel ...

Christmas time is here. Happiness is here. (sang in my best Charlie Brown-choral voice)

Yes folks, it's true. Christmas is almost here. Can you believe it? The year 2007 is almost upon us. Let's hope this country keeps moving forward and the newly-elected Democratic Congress can work with our great president to make everyone safe.

Has anyone read any good books lately? I've been on a book craze since earlier this year and I find myself getting through one novel every two weeks or so (sometimes even faster!). I am now reading a non-fiction work called "Nightmover." It details the life of Aldrich Ames, an ex-CIA officer who became an informant for the KGB. He was the Russian intelligence agency's highest paid American spy in history, bringing in about $4.6 million during the 1980s and '90s. Good Lord. Now he is rotting in a prison somewhere.

So I got a flu shot two weeks ago. Yup, sure did. I felt a little out of place when I looked around the room and saw people twice my age waiting in line, but I digress. Let's just hope this thing is worth the $23 I spent on it. I was bedridden three times last winter (that's no typo) with a high fever (100+) and an awful cold. It was either suffer through that again or get injected with what I was told was a dead influenza virus. The jury is still out on that one.

Can someone tell me how the Boston Bruins are 14-12 and in last place in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference? That continues to baffle and frustrate the hell out of me. And the B's were dealt a setback when it was announced that rookie Phil Kessel underwent cancer surgery yesterday. His health issues aside, can't this team get a break? We pulled it together after a horrendous start but now our top prospect is out indefinitely. Jeez.

The more books I read, the more I get excited about writing one of my own. And having spent five months in a police academy, you probably know what it will be about. I have three or four ideas for plots and when I have some free time over Christmas, I plan on putting some of those ideas on paper and getting started. Once I start writing, I will post snippets in this space in order to hear some feedback.


That's all I got.

-Jason

The T word

One of my best friends in the world no longer lives near me. She's fun to be around, loves to play games and always makes me laugh. Always. And I miss her like crazy.

She only goes by her first name but when called, she always runs over to me. Whether I am in a good mood, bad mood, or something in between, I always cheer up upon seeing her. I can talk about anything with her and she just sits there and listens.

But most importantly, I can trust her. I am convinced of her loyalty and dedication to me and the rest of the family. It is such a comforting feeling to have someone like that in your life -- and it is important. Because without trust, you have nothing more than a pile of dirt.

I am talking about my dog Mocha, who lives with my parents in Massachusetts. It is amazing at how excited she gets when I come home, even though I moved to the Washington, DC metro area 1.5 years ago. When I made a surprise visit home for Thanksgiving (I drove ALL night and showed up at my aunt and uncle's house), Mocha went crazy when she saw me. And when I am home in a few weeks for Christmas, she will do the same thing.

Why am I telling you this? Besides the fact that I wanted to mention Mocha in this space, I am trying to highlight a more important issue: trust.

We all need someone in our life to trust, someone in whom we can confide. That could be a spouse, friend or a teacher. Or it could be a pet. An animal's loyalty to its owner is unprecedented, as this story proves (read it, great stuff). A pet does not lie, does not cheat and does not do anything to break that solid bond.

For the past few months, I have done a lot of thinking on the issue of trust. Some very awful things happened to me and as a result, I was forced to end something that was once a very important part of my life. But I am perfectly OK with my decision and I stand by it. Not that I needed any closure, but writing this column has made me feel even better about how I decided to handle the situation.

So if you are feeling down about something or need to talk to someone, feel free to call your dog over, have him or her sit down, and start talking. It works.

Trust me on that one.



On another note, I have decided to moderate the comments you guys post. I hate to do it, but some people like to ruin the family-oriented atmosphere I have established here with some moronic comments. I still want you all to leave a note and instead of it appearing on the page right away, it will go through me first. I am a journalist and stand by our First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but I have to do this. I promise you that your comments will be uploaded -- I just need a filter to get rid of a few unnecessary ones.

-Jason

Caving in

It was announced today that the New England Patriots are ripping up their grass playing field and installing a synthetic playing surface. What???? Did I read this correctly??

I am against this for so many reasons. I just sent an email to a friend about it, so I'll paste that text below. A Giants fan, he cannot understand my anger towards this issue. And he does not agree with me about my thoughts that the NFL wanted to the Pats to switch.


This was in the story ...

"Late in the 2003 season the NFL ordered the Patriots to re-sod the area between the hashmarks before New England hosted the Tennessee Titans in a divisional playoff game."

I remember this. The NFL ORDERED the Pats to lay down new sod in a few areas so the field would look good for TV. I am convinced the Colts complained to the league the way they did after the 2001-02 season -- remember they bitched about the Pats playing their girly little receivers too rough? And the NFL instituted a new rule after that. All the more reason to hate the Colts and their fraud quarterback.

And, hmm ... funny how this one works out ... the first game with the new turf is against the Bears. It will be on national TV (time was switched to 4:15 from 1) and the NFL knows there will be a big viewing audience for the matchup. If the Pats' field is torn up and nothing short of pristine, that would be bad, right? Give me a break.

Going back to the grounds crew, how could the field have gotten so bad for the Jets game??? That sod had only been played on once. The head groundskeeper should have been erased -- not the grass. Now we're playing on a freeking carpet.

The part of football I love is seeing the players' uniforms all dirty and grass stained. I don't know, that just makes me appreciate the game more. Football is a blue collar sport and now we're gonna leave the field without a speck of dirt on our jerseys.


I would like to hear your thoughts on this issue folks. Keep those comments coming.

-Jason

On voting day, democrats use typical ploys

Greetings, my fellow Americans. I hope you all have voted by now. If you have not, you better have a good reason why!

Seriously though, let's talk business. This election is probably the most important one of my lifetime. With the Iraq War, terrorism, the (rising) economy and illegal immigration all on the table, we need to make the right choices as to who will lead our country.

But sadly, some people are ruining this otherwise wonderful day.

Problems with electronic voting machines are occurring everywhere, and one voter took it personally. When a Pennsylvania man was not able to figure out how to use the computer-voting system, he smashed the touchscreen with a paperweight. He was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief and tampering with voting machines. It was not known if other votes casted on that particular kiosk could be retrieved and counted.

The FBI is investigating reports of phone calls that were made this morning by presumably democratic staffers. The leftists called would-be voters before they left the house, asked who they were supporting and provided directions to the person's polling place. If the voter claimed they were supporting a republican candidate, the caller sent them to the wrong voting location -- clearly a slimy effort to help the liberal cause.

A big problem that has plagued the country all day, and something I personally encountered this evening, were democratic operatives. When I arrived at a local elementary school at 5:45 p.m. to cast my vote, I was immediately approached -- or accosted -- by a democratic sleezebag after exiting my vehicle.

"Would you like a ballot sir?"

"No I am all set. Those aren't real ballots. Nice try."

They are handing out fake ballots?

After casting my vote, the same dirtbags were outside of the polling place, waiting to jump down the throat of the next person that arrived. I kindly asked a woman for two of her "ballots" because I was curious to what they said. And wouldn't you know, it is the EXACT ballot we voted with ... only this one was a blue photocopy and the votes were already filled in. "Sample Democratic Ballot," it reads on top. The bubble next to every democrat running for office is filled in, which to me is way out of line. To someone with little or no clue as to what voting means, this "ballot" might be how they decide who should lead our country. Unbelievable.

I am currently monitoring the Drudge Report for updates of the very important Virginia senatorial race between Republican George Allen and steamy novelist Jim Webb (Democrat). Let's hope you all made the right choice today.

I know I did.

-Jason

Election day

Hey folks.

This is your humble servant checking in from the great state of Virginia. Stay tuned in the next day or so with some post-election thoughts.

Now stop reading and go vote! Republican of course.

-Jason

Did he really just say that?

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."


The quote above is the reason why I am bringing this blog back to life.

Unless you have been hiding in a cave somewhere or living in the middle of Nowhere, USA, you are familiar with that quote and the anti-U.S. military moron who said it. That's right, John Kerry. The man who almost became president of our great nation.

The senator from Massachusetts, as I will call him from now on because I nearly throw up every time I say his name, claims his comments were a "botched joke." Perhaps, but it is too late to save this sinking ship. Democrats campaigning for election immediately told the senator from Massachusetts not to attend their rallies this week, and the senator cancelled a handful of his own appearances.

As an American, I am offended. Taken for what it is, this comment says that if a person is not smart enough to attend college or simply do well in high school, he or she will end up in the military. OUR military. The greatest military on the face of this earth. I am so proud of every man and woman who serves us, doing their part to keep us safe and creating a better world for everyone.

Whenever I see a member of our Armed Forces, I thank them for what they do. Just the other day, I was with my family near the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va. (they were in town for a weekend visit). I asked a young marine for directions and after we briefly spoke, I said, "Thank you sir. Thank you for serving."

American military personnel make an enormous sacrifice. And many of them are college graduates, Mr. senator from Massachusetts. We have the best and brightest fighting force in the world and I would rather go into battle with just ONE marine rather than with every democrat in Congress. The Marine would watch my six, while the left-wing nuts would cut and run.

But enough of my view. Let's see what the senator from Massachusetts has been saying since he uttered those despicable words ...

"If anyone thinks that a veteran, someone like me, who's been fighting my entire career to provide for veterans, to fight for their benefits, to help honor what their service is, if anybody thinks that a veteran would somehow criticize more than 140,000 troops serving in Iraq and not the president and his people who put them there, they're crazy."

That's a lie because ever since he returned from Vietnam, the senator from Massachusetts has been slamming our military -- from testifying in front of Congress about what he "saw" in 'Nam to making ludicrous claims of U.S. troops "terrorizing" Iraqis in the dead of night as they slept. Pathetic.


"I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me."

A "stuffed suit White House mouthpiece?" (Tony Snow). A "doughy Rush Limbaugh?" So now you have to make personal attacks against the people who are simply telling the truth about your flip-flopping record? Classy. Real classy. Why don't you just go back to Massachusetts and live in the posh townhouse you bought with your wife's money.


Arizona Senator John McCain, a liberal republican, said that the senator from Massachusetts should issue an apology (prior to his issuing of the non-apology apology). The senator from Massachusetts' response:

"[McCain] ought to ask for an apology from Donald Rumsfeld for the mistakes he's made. John McCain should ask for an apology for not sending enough troops [to Iraq]."

Look, I do not agree with many of McCain's recent decisions and his firm stance against ANY kind of harsh interrogation practices, but this man was a prisoner of war for over five years. He served our country far more than the senator from Massachusetts ever did.


The senator from Massachusetts. Nancy Pelosi. Hillary "Rotten" Clinton (Dr. Levin's name for her). Harry Reid. Do we really want these people in a position of power?

If you know what is good for you, what is good for this country, you will cast your vote next Tuesday for the REAL Americans. Not those phony ones.

It's good to be back. Please leave a comment.
-Jason