Not at the table, Carlos!: September 2011

OH MY GOD!!!!!

I remember this commercial to this DAY!!! I HAD to have a Yo-Yo Ball!!!

This appealed to me as a child, somewhere between the age of 8-12, sometime between 1990-1992. It was a yo-yo, that you couldn't really screw up. It wound itself. All you had to do was loop it around your finger and throw it at the ground, or up in the air, or at your little sister and it would come back to you. EVERYTIME!!! You could get it at every toy store, which in Baltimore back then was Toys-R-Us and Kay-Bee Toys. I was especially good at it because it is, in fact, a lazy kids toy. I remember having one because ALL my friends had one and we would all do Yo-Yo- Ball tricks with them. (Which, in reality, wasn't anything special...)

It appealed to kids because it was easy and fun to use. EVERYONE was using it in the commercial. It's marketed for boys AND girls, which showed an appeal to be a part of a group. You could yo-yo your leg, your friend, you could even walk up friggin' WALLS and yo-yo!!! This thing was NO JOKE!!! It actually made me think I could defy the laws of gravity and walk up walls and yo-yo!!! It made you feel like you weren't a part of the in-crowd if you didn't have one and that I could do unrealistic things. If you didn't have a Yo-Yo Ball, you were looked down upon in the yo-yo community. (Not a true fact whatsoever...)

Knowing what I know now, I can NOT, in fact, walk up walls while yo-yoing, or at all. I've tried and it is impossible.

I'll catch you on the flip side...

BK

What's in a name? - Shakespeare

My name is Brian Patrick Kinlein. I was born on November 23rd, 1982. I was my mother's first child, my father's second. My father originally wanted to name me Colt. Yeah. Colt. I know. Not as in Colt 45, or Colt revolvers and handguns, but because my dad, Mike, wanted his son to have an unusual name. Thanks, by the way, Mom...I'm the first Brian Patrick Kinlein in existence. I've Googled my name several dozen times, and still continue to be the one and only!!!

My mom, JoEllen, likes the name Brian. I wasn't named after anyone famous or even well known at that time. My middle name, Patrick, was the name of my mother's youngest brother, who passed away of Leukemia before my frst birthday. I like, no, LOVE my name. I've known a few other Brian's in my time on this planet of ours thus far. In fact, I even work with another Brian!!! (Fancy that, eh?)

My core group of compadres tend to call me Mr. Trish...long story short, when I first started dating my girlfriend, Trish (obviously), she was on a co-ed softball team and they needed an extra player, but didn't bother actually ASKING me what my name was. I also, spent 4 years, 3 months and 8 days in the Army, where everyone there called me Kinlein, because my last name was ALWAYS on the front of our BDU jackets. Fact.

I have limited knowledge on my last name. I know it's of German heritage and was originally spelled Kindlein. I'm not sure when the actual change occurred, but there are some records of Kinleins in Maryland as early as the 1820's. I have both an older and younger brother that can speak, read, write AND comprehend German. I can not. I can do a pretty good fake German accent, like Mike Myers from the "SPROCKETS" skit form Saturday Night Live

My name means a lot to me. Brian. Patrick. Kinlein. Each part stands for something that has helped define me as a man in this world. It's a name that has good name rhythm and is fairly appeasing to the ears. Unlike SOME names...