Get your cup ready, it's back...

October 28, 2006. That was the last date I entered an update to my blog here. As you might imagine I was off gallivanting and seeing the world; opening my eyes to the scenes and experiences that can only be experienced outside of our own country. These are the places from which one draws inspiration. They are foreign lands that offer perspective that allows us to continue to trod down the path of our own "normal" existence with some newfound hope that one day you will return to see them again. And when you do, it will be as though you're visiting old friends in familiar taverns. You are no longer a tourist but a confident visitor no longer needing a map. You are simply there blending in.

If that is what you imagined I was doing over the past year and a half, you're smoking something really good. Mostly it has been time spent with the family and being lazy about penning brilliantly insightful posts to the fine readers of the Nut Punch. Yes, if you imagined any of that, you were gravely mistaken. Since October 1006 I've seen another addition to the family in the form of a little boy. My daughter has nearly turned 5 and is a real whiz. I've gone through three full bearded phases and the gray hairs have easily tripled, but only on the sideburns and beard thankfully. My love of baseball has not waned, though the shadow of performance enhancing drugs has grown larger. My Colts have won a Super Bowl against my second favorite team, the Bears. Yes, some things have changed in the time since my last post, but many things have not.

We're still mired in a dreadful conflict in the Middle East. The country is still run by wankers who still seem to have only their own interests in mind. The Cubs are, well, still the Cubs -- providing hope yet eventually leading to disappointment. Good friends are still good friends. I'm still happily married. In fact, my wife and I are about to complete our tenth year of marriage.

I have been able to approach the Nut Punch with new found interest as of late. I'm ready to get this ball rolling once again. I feel as though I'm prepared to build some momentum and keep it rolling until my next uncalled-for hiatus. Let's just hope that is a long time from now. Ready? OK, good.