Bring It...

From Carrie Buse:
Dom's team at work is called GIRLtronics. We're a motley crew of creative goofballs, so needless to say Dom fits in well. A couple months ago we all agreed to a 30 day fitness challenge. For a $20 entry fee, we each agreed to try to get in shape by losing pounds and body fat and tracking how many steps we walk a day with pedometers. Potential winnings were just under $200, so the motivation was certainly there. On our first day we all had to weigh in and have our body fat tested at the Mattel Fitness Center. For many of us, this was a less than enjoyable experience. But Dom, aka Mr. Marky Mark-body, basically started the fitness test with a perfect score. In fact, I think he was like 1% away from pure godliness. The word "jealousy" doesn't come close! But we're a nice bunch, so the rest of us fatties and slackers managed to keep the envy in check and not doctor his scores. ;)Well, due to many delays and distractions, our 30 day challenge dragged out into something closer to 60 days. In that time, Dom has gotten sicker, but we want him to know he's still very much a part of our challenge. We finally called the winner last week, and we want to share the results with Dom. Here's the email that went out:

Kim Matilla!!!

That's right, Kim lost 1.8 lbs, 0.7% body fat, and took 349,114 steps, bringing her to a total of 365,114 points!!! Yay Kim!!!

Second place goes to yours truly, Carrie Buse, who managed to GAIN 1.1 lbs, lose 2.6% body fat, and walk 303,796 steps for a total of 324,296 points. It should also be noted that I somehow managed to shrink 1.5" in height. Make of that what you will.

Third place is Natalie Repp with a loss of 2.3 lbs, 0.4% body fat, and 278,365 steps. Her point total comes to 293,865. Nat also lost .5" in height. We're all turning into shorties!
Extra Special Consideration goes to Joy Burns who blew us all away on the weight loss by losing 5.1 lbs and on body fat by losing a whopping 7.0%! Holy Mogimbo! I'll have what she's having!

"Special" Consideration (note the quotation marks for emphasis on the word "special") goes to Erich Weidetz who vowed to gain weight, tried getting extra steps by walking to bars, lost his pedometer during a drunken haze, never turned in his weigh-in sheet, and didn't show up for the final weigh-in. Dude, you are my hero.

I hope this has been an inspirational (if dragged out) experience for everyone. Paul and I have discussed hosting a surprise weigh-in sometime in the future, so keep getting fit. You could still win! We'll also set aside some time to discuss toy ideas that came from this exercise.

Yay to everyone and thanks for participating!

From The Bonch Man:
My name is Jesse Easley and I have been friends with Dominic since 1995. We initially met in Mr. Wages Algebra class during our Freshman year at BHS, but were not fast friends, mainly because I was intimidated by Doms long blond hair and giant gold watch, but probably more so because he sat in the corner and didn't say much. He certainly had an intense presence even back then, while I was an awkward, dorky theatre kid from Frazier Park with a fondness for quirky hats. Truthfully, we probably didn't say one word to each other that year. That changed when I joined Mrs. Hanley's Biology class sophomore year. The class was a full blown assortment of comedians, hooligans, and rabble-rousers that would later make up most of the core membership of The OP KFC Mob. For those of you who keep asking yourself "What the hell is this OP that these kids keep mentioning?" All I can say is, if you don't know, you probably won't understand. I will say that we were the single most badass gang of friends to ever grace the halls of Warren or terrorize the park of Kroll, and Dominic was without question our de-facto leader. In Mrs. Hanley's Biology class, I was welcomed with open arms into this very tight clique and Dom and I began our friendship. I was subsequently "jumped in" to the OP, welcomed as a weekly overnight visitor to the Wayne/Tackett house where we would stay up all night partying in "The Phat Cave" and I started being referred to as "The Bonch." Joining this fraternity meant the world to me and my friendship with Dom, The Tacketts, Marshall and everyone in the extended family has been strong ever since. In the 12 years since that time I have considered Dom one of my closest friends, not because we hang out every weekend, or because we have lots of the same interests, truthfully we're as different as two friends could be, but because when we see each other its as if nothing has changed and we're still 17, out to score 40's and girls. One thing that I love most about Dom is his sense of humor. Many of you might not know Dom as a funny person, but he is actually one of the funniest people I have ever met. For my 21st birthday, my parents put together a Vegas trip for me and 3 friends. I invited my two best friends/brothers Dave and Nick, and threw Dom in the mix because he had recently turned 21 as well, and I knew he would make the trip memorable. As we passed through Baker Dom started counting down every mile by saying "One more mile...down the tubes!!!" and kept it up all the way to Vegas. This hilarious quote, which has been repeated countless times over the years, gets no justice in print, I assure you. That first night in Vegas we all learned to play Roulette, partied as hard as could be expected, and kept it going until sunrise when we stepped out onto the strip to discover throngs of Joggers welcoming the nevada morning. Dom forced us to jog back to The Excalibur and as we passed a billboard of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, Dom drunkenly pondered "Who the fuck is Michael Flannigan?" which of course received hours of laughter and was added to the all-time favorite list of Dom quotes. There are hundreds of stories like this that I have collected over the years that I couldn't possibly recount here. From stealing beers at Marshall's frat party at Loyola, to taking on 'roiders from Centenial, or filling up the two liter bottles from the keg, to the Carmex story, Dominic Ambriz is and always will be legendary to me!

From the Guiltinans:
Our thoughts and spirit are with you --so much so--that I am typing this a second time because I screwed it up the first time -- blogs -- modern marvels of technology -- well can't complain - it is what has us so updated on Dominic's progress.
We love you and wish you, Mattie, Don, Jane and of course Dom and Scoob all the best in his recovery. If anyone can beat something like this -- it is him. If there is anything we can do for any of you, do not hesitate to let us know.
Everyone who has been blessed with knowing Dominic is a better person for it and this world is a much better place with his influence in it. His great talent and pleasant disposition is second to none and we are all routing for his speedy recovery.
The Guiltinan's