I was thumbing through my journal, sizing up the content that is to come. I reach the end, there are a few blank pages, and then I see this:

It would seem that while I was away at college, my brother Steve saw fit to claim my property as his own and pour his own thoughts on paper. As payback for soiling my stuff, I will dump the best entries here. HAHA!

Entry 3: 12-3-07

Today was a regular day.Today on the advent calendar we saw a blind man. Thats it.

Entry 5: 12-12-07

Today was hectic. I woke up about 11:00 o clock. We had lunch. Then Mom and me went to pick up Verna. I had to go because Mom wanted to get me some new mass shoes because I had to serve tonight. Mom bought a 60 pair of shoes. So we went to Wal Mart just in case we could find anything cheaper (and better). We found a pair but we didn't get them. Then we got me a mass shirt. Then we went. When it was time to go I put on all me new stuff. We got me socks to. Then we went. When we got outside I said shotgun first but didn't get to sit up front!! >:( !!! When we got to church Mom escorted me to the sacristy. There I put on a cassick, surplice, and a cape. Father Festas was ate so immediately after he got dressed mass started. As we were walking down the aidle deacon Joe noticed that my cape was inside out. Well that really stank. After mass I put out the candles but I didn't put out the advent wreath candles because I didn't think I was supposed to. Then we went home. Dad got Taco Bell for supper because we hadn't had any supper because mass was at 5:15. Then we watched the Santa Claus. While mom and I were shopping everyone made peppermint bark. Well my hand is killing me now so I'll quit.

Funnily enough, out of the sixteen entries he wrote, this is the only one that doesn't end in the phrase "Well, that's it".

What I find particularly interesting (or perhaps disconcerting) is the fact that his prose is nigh identical to my own in my first few entries. Those three word sentences are poetic beauty. Granted, he was only eleven at the time of these writings whereas I was thirteen. Perhaps I was a little behind the curve...

He's made up for it in the five years since, though. He recently entered a piece into a writing contest held by the local library and took away second place (netting him a not too shabby $50 prize). More than I can say for myself at that age.

At sixteen I was busy destroying the YPN...

One last journal to go. This one seems to all be written in cursive (much to my dismay). But, we shall begin.

Entry 1 - June 8, 2002

Well today was my birthday. Sixteen at last. While today was great, it was kind of odd too. It started off with me getting up at three AM. I checked my mail and watched cartoons. Jeff joined about four-thirty. While he was watching cartoons, I worked on my new VB site, Visual Basic Gaming Universe. My intent is to join the VB gaming webring, and maybe win an award. I fell asleep on the couch and didn't wake up until about ten or so. After I got dressed and ate, I started on my cake. Unfortunatly, I messed that one up. So mom rushed out and got a couple more boxes of mix and that one went okay. While that was baking, we had lunch. Then mom went out to take some newspapers to ARC, while Jeff, Chris and I picked up. When mom got back, she and I rushed right back out to get a camera. When we got back, I frosted my cake and Grandma came a few minutes after that. We had the normal ritual of opening presents. No duh! :) From Mom, Dad, and the rest I got a really cool pocket knife, Dr. Mario, this journal, and the Ep II soundtrack, and from Grandma I got thirty bucks. After Grandma left, Mom let me work on VBGU some more. Then she and Dad did shopping. When they got back I played some Dr. Mario. Joey jumped on me and I hurt him so I got in trouble. After that I went to our room and was sleeping until about now. So it was a pretty good day overall.

Not much to say here, though my acceptance of commas in the year between journal entries is certainly welcomed. I still seem unable to write a non-disjointed narrative, though. It's disconcerting to say the least.

Also, webrings...

As I begin the scribblings of the next comic, I'll fill in the gap with a bit more journal. Incidentally, I'm running out of these; this is the last entry in book two of three.

May 9, 2001 - Eleventh Entry

Hi! Lot of stuff goiong on. First of all I was actually succesful in making a game in vb. It is a game Jeff requested. You fly around in a spaceship and shoot down aliens. Also Im going to build a computer from stuff off of eBay. I have the process which is an Amd 486 Dx4 100mhz. I am currently watching a compatible motherboard. [various statement redacted] Oh well. I'm on the St. Jhon's ball team this year, and I am not as pathetic as I thought. In fact i'm pretty good. Maggie is crawling now. She is also pulling up on the couch. Well my hand is getting tired so it's time to wrap it up. Bye.

I recall quite well my time on my church's softball team. And, no, I was not good. Also, I was in early pubescence and emotional as shit. There is one particular instance of tear filled rage that I remember more clearly than I'd like.

We'd just lost game one of a double header and I was playing catcher (as I was wont to d0). Every time I failed to get the softball back to our pitcher, he'd give me "you-fucking-idiot" look (which only exacerbated the issue); there was play at the plate where I fumbled the ball and, as I dejectedly moped after it thinking that this bout of activity was done, the jackass on third stole home. This only made my mood worse and by the end of the game I was a shaking, tear filled mess (needless to say we lost). I stormed off the field and, between sobs, angrily told my dad that I wanted to quit the team. I don't know really remember much after that, but I calmed down enough to play game two (which went better) and finished out the season. The team dissolved after that (perhaps I was to blame) and my softball career was cut short. I went on to join the bowling league the next year with much better results.

To this day, I still don't have a very high opinion of the guy who pitched that game. Ironically, he lives not far from my parents' current residence, though I was lucky enough to never run into him. If I had, I probably would've chucked a softball into his shins which would've exploded from the sheer awesomeness of my pitch.

Because when I throw a ball now, it goes exactly where the fuck I want it to.

After digging through some boxes, I have recovered my journal and with it my free source of blogging material. I shan't waste time here, so let's jump right into my stupidity and outlandish claims!

Tenth Entry - February 18, 2001

Hi! Now I have to catch up on the last 1/2 year of stuff. Maggie was born on october 2. Now she is almost five months old. This week she (and Joe and Steve) have been sick. And me... I'M IMMUNE. My programming has progressed a ways. I've mastered HTML and I'm going on VBScript. I have been looking at versions of VBasic on eBay. Most of VB6 go for $70 or higher. So I'm thinking of making my own computer from stuff on eBay. If you are wondering how I'm going to get the dough, aside from my B-Day money, I got a, get some iron straps and brace yourself, $10.60 from sales at Biblio. Also, grandma has hired me to mow her lawn this summer. But now I'm getting off the subject. I have learned some DirectX for VB. My webpage is pretty snazzy. I am now doing Algebra I for school. Two or three weeks ago I made a real bow. And it actually works. Well, that's all.

If I recall, this is the year that I managed to skip getting sick with the rest of the family (hence the "I'm immune" comment). Sickness in the Hackmann residence is, on the whole, a very clock-work process: twice a year, generally in early fall and late winter, the entire family gets the basic cold. Sore throat, achey body, and what I affectionately refer to as the "sickness delerium". I've skipped a sickness cycle this year as well, of which I'm mildly nervous about...

Moving on, the money of which I spoke was from taking some books into a local home school book consignment store (Biblio). That I would make any money off that at all blew my tiny, fragile little mind and I obviously extrapolated the potential to a ridiculous degree. Though, if my fourteen year old self were to know about the ~8 cheap, thrift store computers that are sitting in my closet, he'd probably shit a brick. I plan to do something grande with those computers one of these days, but today is not that day.

Nor is tomorrow...

Pun totally intended :D

If you managed to stumble upon my previous blog post, you may be wondering how drunk I was exactly. Except you won't, because LASIK was one of the only words that managed to not be garbled in my blind fury.

Today, however, things are healing up nicely and my vision is beyond awesome. Like, as of less than twenty-four hours after operation I was seeing between 20/20 and 20/15 and it had yet to stop improving. Even with glasses I never had vision this sharp. Jeff and I went bowling last night and I was able to see every individual pin on nearly every lane in the alley (some 40 lanes); we went to Target and I could read all the aisle signs from the entrance. I'm still making small discoveries that just blow me away.

And it all began with a less than ten minute operation. Actually, it began with my boss mentioning and explaining it during one of our project meetings. I signed up for the free consult, made the arrangements, managed to get over my fear of having my eyes slit open, and here I am.

So, now I have super vision (which I will be paying for in monthly installments for the next several months), but totally worth it. I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

That aside, I shall be resuming the journal entries shortly. The last few weeks were made preparing to move apartments as my brother Jeff moved in, so we're recovering from that yet. Look forward to it!