Week 1

Wow, what a week. My dad reminded me today that it's Wednesday. I feel like I have been home for 6 months, not 8 days.

In my last blog entry, I totally spaced on something awesome. I performed magic on the radio a couple weeks ago! The Tom and Emily Morning Show on 95.1 WIIL Rock plays daily, and every month or so they bring on an "expert" in some field and do "Ask the Expert." I was brought on as the expert magician!

I performed two tricks while there. The first one was moving cards from Tom (the main personality's) pocket to Duco's pocket (the comic relief). Oh, and I did it without touching anybody. It's a classic magic plot called Cards Across.

The second trick was the one that was filmed. I gave Tom a deck of cards, and told him that before I entered the studio, I turned one card backwards. It would be the only one face down. Tom then had a caller call in and name ANY card they wanted. It was a perfect match. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSQIqBK9rl0

This week has been a challenge for me because I decided to try the Dr. Oz Three-Day Detox. Woof. Yay for my blender. I had four drinks a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack shake (repeating one of the other drinks) consisting of things like kale, spinach, cucumber, raspberry, blueberry, crushed pepper, coconut water, almond milk, etc... They weren't that bad tasting. I'm a texture guy though. *shivers* 'nuff said.

Last night, my friend Joe Diamond performed his first EVER magic lecture for my club, the ACEs Magic Club. If I may say, it absolutely rocked. I was thrilled as a booker, impressed as a magician, and proud as a friend. Great Job Joe!

I feel as though this entry on my blog is a bit scattered, but that is where my brain is at the moment. I have a lot of things in the works, and a lot on my mind.

On that note, I will leave you with a quote from my friend Bizzaro the Optical Illusionist: Normal is just a setting on the dryer.

Until next time
-Bill

New Year, New Goals

Greetings friends, and a Happy New Year!  I would be remiss if I didn't say it.  We're five days in to the new year, and people are still saying it, so hey, if the shoe fits....

With a new year comes New Year's Resolutions...  Everybody makes them whether they want to admit it or not.  New year resolutions usually amount to nothing, yet we annually make promises to ourselves that we can't keep.  This year, set a goal and work towards it.  I have 6 on my list this year.  I will make a bigger online footprint (hence why I'm on my Blog now...), I will create new How Magicians Solve Problems (www.youtube.com/magicbill), I will get back to publishing a monthly newsletter to compliment my weekly blog, I will have another one man show in the Northern suburbs of Chicago within the first quarter of the year, I will finally beat Donkey Kong 64, and I will continue my weight-loss journey.  The last one is a big one for most people.  Everyone wants to lose weight and "look better."  I've been at this for a year already, so I'm kind of invested.  I'm anxious to get back to my home gym and not be able to park for two weeks though.... Come Feb. 1st, the "New Year's Resolutioners" will all be gone, and it'll be back to business as usual.

I just got off of a week-long cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess, the biggest ship in the Princess Cruise Line.  Ho-Lee-Cow... This thing was HUGE.  18 decks of fun-in-the-sun and gluttony.  My goodness... I had a constant fight with my inner voice who is apparently malnourished.  All he wanted to do was eat and eat, and I kept reminding him that we're working hard to lose the spare tire.  I'm proud to say that I lost 1 lb. this trip. How do I know? ... I checked the scale.  :-)

So, I think this ship is big, right?  Yeah... We pulled into port and saw the Oasis of the Seas, the largest ship in the Royal Caribbean Fleet.  Oh yeah, and it's the largest cruise ship in the world.  Suddenly our little dingy didn't compare.  Our ship held 3,041 passengers.  Oasis holds 6,000.  Yeah.  That's a bit of a difference.  Imagine feeling tall, then standing next to Shaquille O'Neil.  You're suddenly not very tall.

Long story short, it was a fantastic voyage, made lots and LOTS of new friends, and have memories that will last a lifetime.  I thoroughly enjoyed ringing in the new year once again with my parents, and our friends.

I would like to eventually work on a cruise ship... Is that worthy of a New Year's Resolution?

Here's a fun little bit of information:  I was listed in the Daily Herald Newspaper as a 2012 Suburban Standout!  I was profiled earlier in 2012 in the paper (Here's the Link to the first Article), and here's a link to the new article: Suburban Standouts.  I'm the first "Standout."  Awesome.

If I keep going, people are gonna get turned off by the daunting amount of words, so I'll call it quits for now.  Talk to you next week!

-Bill


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