Well we are just a few hours away from Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe part 2 and I can’t wait. I hope there is a tremendous turnout and that the crowd can recreate the atmosphere that was involved in the first contest. I just hope that neither one gets hurt in this match since I like both of them. I will have an update on my thoughts about the show either very late tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Last weekend was quite a time. I went to Milwaukee with Ian and Mickie for Carmine’s MAW show. It had been forever since I’d been to Milwaukee. I didn’t wait long enough for my return. I hate it up there. I said hello to Adrian Serrano and that was about the extent of people to see that I haven’t seen in awhile. I left during the show to go to Culvers to get Mickie and me some food so at least I missed half the show. The best part about the whole night was that we stayed for a total of about 2 minutes in the bar after the show was over and left for home.

Saturday was a very long day. It started with very little sleep and then it was off to Streamwood to drop off Mickie for Chuman’s show and to pick up Corporal to take to Iowa with us. I’m not a big fan of Iowa shows and this was no different. I had three little kids that spent the entire night at the gimmick table messing up my stacks of DVDs. I wanted to scream by the end of the night because they not only knocked every pile crooked but they couldn’t even put the DVDs back on the right pile when they would pick them up and look at them for 4 minutes at a time. No one was buying anything. The idiot kid that always comes up to the table and talks about the time I yelled at him when I was managing came to the table at one point. “Is your name Jim?” “Yep…haven’t changed it in the few months since the last show.” “Is your last name Mora?” “No, I don’t coach the Atlanta Falcons.” “What is your last name then?” “Fannin. Just like always.” “Fanning?” I almost went over the table. Dakota Fanning is on the shit list for life for causing people to fck up my name. The show ended and it was back to Streamwood to pick up Mickie and drop off Corporal and then back to my house. It was after 7 am by the time we got back to Morris and everyone was exhausted.

Sunday was spent watching Season 3 of The Shield. We watched 11 of the 15 episodes. I don’t think we left the living room once everyone was awake.

Monday was flyering Midlothian and then on the ride back down to Louisville we finished the last four episodes of season 3. We still had all of season 4 to go to we watched the first 4 episodes and the last 3 episodes on Tuesday before the season 5 premiere. We watched the season premiere and then went back and watched the middle 6 episodes of Season 4. I am now all caught up on the show. Season 5 looks like it will be a good one. I just hope that it isn’t the end of the series since they are marketing it as “The beginning of the end.”

Since I’ve been in Louisville quite a bit and traveling around since the start of the New Year, I haven’t gotten into Resolutions or goals for 2006 and I still haven’t finished up my final thoughts on 2005.

I have picked two songs that almost perfectly describe the first 11 months of 2005 for me.

1. If She Don’t Love You by Buffalo Club which the main chorus goes as follows: “You can buy her diamonds…shower her in pearls…offer her forever…promise her the world…but tears are going to fall…cause she don’t love you.”

2. I Hate Everything by George Strait. I think that is pretty much self explanatory.

Things have brightened though since my 29th birthday – Morris defeats Joliet Catholic, Morris wins state championship, James Christopher is born, Bears defeat Green Bay twice, Bears wins division. I have told Ian that if the Bears win the Super Bowl I am going to be afraid to leave the house because the run of good luck would have to be over at that point.

Things That I Learned in 2005

1. Whoever said “if at first you don’t succeed…try try again” was a fcking moron. All persistence leads to is more rejections and more failure. If at first you don’t succeed, you’ve lost and if you continue trying you will continue to fail. That is what I learned in 2005.

2. I learned during my 6 month hiatus from managing that I didn’t miss it at all. I learned that I absoultely hated being involved and couldn’t wait to get out but just like Al Pacino in Godfather, “every time I think I’m out…they pull me back in.” I still can’t decide if it is 60/40 or 50/50 as to what makes me angrier about the Jimmy Jacobs situation: shitting on IWA or pulling me back in to defend IWA.

3. Finally, the last few weeks of 2005, I learned the secret to me being in a better mood. Focus on the minor to mid major things that are good instead of focusing on the one major thing that is bad. It has worked 90% of the time so far. It only fails to work when confronted head on by Shit List and allowing myself to get worked up about it (which I will always do in those situations). Sometimes that will carry over for a day or two but that is better than it carrying over for a month at a time like it did earlier in 2005.

New Experiences in 2005

1. Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. Two good experiences and I wouldn’t mind seeing more good plays like those two in the right situation.

2. Hellavator or whatever it is called at Great America. Never again. Never again.

3. Bungee jump thing at Great America. I still have nightmares about that experience. Never again. Never again.

4. Horseback riding. It was alright I guess. Very uncomfortable though. I think Mickie and Adrianne enjoyed it a lot more than Maniwa and I did.

5. Being cheered at Strong Style Tournament. That was very ackward. It was a nice change of pace.

6. Morris beating Joliet Catholic and winning state championship. I didn’t get a chance to really enjoy the state championships in 1980 and 1984 because I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it.

Now for some 2006 New Year’s goals. I won’t call them resolutions because they may or may not come to pass.

1. IWA Mid-South to be free of the “Michigan Crew” by the end of the year. It would be nice to be able to get rid of Shit List spots #1 and #4 and an honorable mention spot all at the same time. The US Military hasn’t even been that successful at rounding up Al Queda though so I won’t expect it to happen but it sure would be nice.

2. Be happy by the time I turn 30 this year. Bears Super Bowl in a few weeks could carry me for awhile. James Christopher will keep me happy. Hopefully Morris is doing well again at that point.

3. Change my luck as far as my social life goes. It will involve me having to change the way that I do things. Those wheels have already been set in motion.

That will do it until I update about Joe vs. Necro. Until then…