8.01.2008
7.31.2008
Halfway to Nowhere
So I just finished summer school. I should be ecstatic. Not only did I score an extra 27 points in my psych class due to lots of extra credit, but I aced this stupid Math final I really, really needed to pass.
One step closer to home, right? Right.
I guess ending brings upon reflection, which is something I've probably really needed to do for awhile.
I miss my friends a lot sometimes. Since I moved, I hardly ever see anyone. I really am alone over here, too. I was driving home the other night when I realized that had I been in St. Louis, I could have called at least 10 people that would have been available. For anything- to meet at a bar, meet at the bookstore, come over, swing by, whatever. If I ran out of gas on the middle of 170 at 1AM, even.
I guess that's what it is... Everything around here just seems so temporary. This is probably what it feels like to be in a military family. I want to have fun and enjoy myself a little for the next year, but I know I'm not going to be here much longer, so I don't want to invest a lot in anything. It's too expensive for me now to be able to hang out like I used to, and some weeks multiple trips to stl aren't an option because of the gas prices. I hate this temporary feeling. It makes some things really confusing.
This summer really got away from me. I need to take a step back and re-prioritize some things.
One step closer to home, right? Right.
I guess ending brings upon reflection, which is something I've probably really needed to do for awhile.
I miss my friends a lot sometimes. Since I moved, I hardly ever see anyone. I really am alone over here, too. I was driving home the other night when I realized that had I been in St. Louis, I could have called at least 10 people that would have been available. For anything- to meet at a bar, meet at the bookstore, come over, swing by, whatever. If I ran out of gas on the middle of 170 at 1AM, even.
I guess that's what it is... Everything around here just seems so temporary. This is probably what it feels like to be in a military family. I want to have fun and enjoy myself a little for the next year, but I know I'm not going to be here much longer, so I don't want to invest a lot in anything. It's too expensive for me now to be able to hang out like I used to, and some weeks multiple trips to stl aren't an option because of the gas prices. I hate this temporary feeling. It makes some things really confusing.
This summer really got away from me. I need to take a step back and re-prioritize some things.
7.25.2008
Flashing Lights
I forgot to talk about how freakishly awesome the NBA playoffs were this year. I think that series really might have gotten me back into basketball. Just like in football, I love a good defense. Of course I wanted Boston to win. It was so fun to watch a good team through the ups and downs of the playoffs, then see them cap it off with a crazy series to win a championship. Paul Pierce is my dude!
Hester finally reported to training camp. *Sigh* What's up Devin? Only making $445xxx a year?
The sad thing is, I understand his argument, especially if they're going to utilize him more as a WR. He should be paid a comparable salary to the rest of the league based on his skills. I'm not getting into the whole "Overpaid Athlete" debate here, but I will say if there's anyone that deserves the money less than the players, it's the owners.
I'm just happy he's there. I picked him up in my Fantasy League on the off chance he does something miraculous on offense this season. I was pretty strong in the position so I figured what the hell.
I went to training camp once. When I was a freshman in high school, my mom drove us up to Platteville, WI, where the Bears used to have camp. It was awesome. I mostly just sat on the grass and watched practice and took a lot of pictures. Now, keep in mind this was years ago. I'm talking Dave Wannstedt years ago. Yeah.
Oh, and I'd like to call attention to a real great ticketing ploy by the St. Louis Rams. And by real great I mean fucking ridiculous. I went to look up single game tickets on their website, since the Bears are coming to the Toilet B-, oops, I mean the Dome. Anyway, there are asterisks beside the dates of only two games: Dallas and Chicago. So I scroll down to find this:
"Tickets for the Dallas and Chicago games require the purchase of a predetermined second game. Dallas’ second game is the Buffalo Bills; and Chicago’s second game is the New York Giants. The selection is automatic during the purchase process and there are no exceptions. There will be an eight (8) ticket limit for the Dallas and Chicago games. There is not a ticket limit on the remaining home games."
*cough*bullshit*cough
I mean, really? All because when the Bears and Cowboys come to town, all their fans usually make the drive to the Lou and buy up all the seats? Maybe get a better team and build a better fan base and you can fill the seats the right way. Besides, last year, I went to a couple games where the Rams were underrepresented at home, and that wasn't even the Bears, it was against the Packers and Steelers.
Mmmm... doesn't it feel good just talking about football again?!? Less than 1 month until Madden...
Hester finally reported to training camp. *Sigh* What's up Devin? Only making $445xxx a year?
The sad thing is, I understand his argument, especially if they're going to utilize him more as a WR. He should be paid a comparable salary to the rest of the league based on his skills. I'm not getting into the whole "Overpaid Athlete" debate here, but I will say if there's anyone that deserves the money less than the players, it's the owners.
I'm just happy he's there. I picked him up in my Fantasy League on the off chance he does something miraculous on offense this season. I was pretty strong in the position so I figured what the hell.
I went to training camp once. When I was a freshman in high school, my mom drove us up to Platteville, WI, where the Bears used to have camp. It was awesome. I mostly just sat on the grass and watched practice and took a lot of pictures. Now, keep in mind this was years ago. I'm talking Dave Wannstedt years ago. Yeah.
Oh, and I'd like to call attention to a real great ticketing ploy by the St. Louis Rams. And by real great I mean fucking ridiculous. I went to look up single game tickets on their website, since the Bears are coming to the Toilet B-, oops, I mean the Dome. Anyway, there are asterisks beside the dates of only two games: Dallas and Chicago. So I scroll down to find this:
"Tickets for the Dallas and Chicago games require the purchase of a predetermined second game. Dallas’ second game is the Buffalo Bills; and Chicago’s second game is the New York Giants. The selection is automatic during the purchase process and there are no exceptions. There will be an eight (8) ticket limit for the Dallas and Chicago games. There is not a ticket limit on the remaining home games."
*cough*bullshit*cough
I mean, really? All because when the Bears and Cowboys come to town, all their fans usually make the drive to the Lou and buy up all the seats? Maybe get a better team and build a better fan base and you can fill the seats the right way. Besides, last year, I went to a couple games where the Rams were underrepresented at home, and that wasn't even the Bears, it was against the Packers and Steelers.
Mmmm... doesn't it feel good just talking about football again?!? Less than 1 month until Madden...
7.23.2008
Baseball Sucks
Sorry, I had to do it. I'm just not feeling it anymore. I just want football to start again.
Okay, okay. Let's try this again.
The current state of Major League Baseball simply is not as appealing to me as it once was. I've noticed this trend developing the last couple seasons, but up until recently I never gave it much thought. I wasn't feeling the playoffs last year because I was really into football. I wasn't feeling Opening Day this year for a number of reasons. (See previous post). Then I realized that the All*Star break has come and gone... and I haven't really watched one baseball game. I've been to 3 and paid attention to the games, but not like I used to.
I don't dislike baseball. I still enjoy cheering for a player like Yadi. I still found it really, really cool to watch Pedro Martinez pitch up-close. (So cool! Even those he's older, you can still see how he once dominated).
My lack of interest has caused me to take a closer look at what I have previously referred to, both in this blog and it conversations with friends, as a "sports-cycle". Depending on a number of factors (family history, the city you grew up in, the city you live in, etc), an individual can have several sports they follow closely. Someone in Chicago might be a Bulls/Sox/Blackhawks/Bears fan. With ESPN and the Internet, it's pretty easy to keep up with news and scores daily. But say the Bulls had been lousy for a few years, and football was always really your favorite sport... if you had to pick on a Sunday, you would likely pick the Bears game. Substitute any combination of teams, and there's always going to be a time when you're just really more invested in one team than another.
I'm sure there's something more interested to be said about all this, but not from me right now.
UGH! Blogging sucks! I want to sit here and type satirical brilliance, really I do. Everything else in my life just gets more interesting and eats up all my time.
There hasn't been a really great song for me to overplay and abuse yet this summer. I've just been recycling past anthems. Mostly KanYe West... although I will say I've been playing the shit out of the new Lupe.
I MISS CHICAGO
Okay, okay. Let's try this again.
The current state of Major League Baseball simply is not as appealing to me as it once was. I've noticed this trend developing the last couple seasons, but up until recently I never gave it much thought. I wasn't feeling the playoffs last year because I was really into football. I wasn't feeling Opening Day this year for a number of reasons. (See previous post). Then I realized that the All*Star break has come and gone... and I haven't really watched one baseball game. I've been to 3 and paid attention to the games, but not like I used to.
I don't dislike baseball. I still enjoy cheering for a player like Yadi. I still found it really, really cool to watch Pedro Martinez pitch up-close. (So cool! Even those he's older, you can still see how he once dominated).
My lack of interest has caused me to take a closer look at what I have previously referred to, both in this blog and it conversations with friends, as a "sports-cycle". Depending on a number of factors (family history, the city you grew up in, the city you live in, etc), an individual can have several sports they follow closely. Someone in Chicago might be a Bulls/Sox/Blackhawks/Bears fan. With ESPN and the Internet, it's pretty easy to keep up with news and scores daily. But say the Bulls had been lousy for a few years, and football was always really your favorite sport... if you had to pick on a Sunday, you would likely pick the Bears game. Substitute any combination of teams, and there's always going to be a time when you're just really more invested in one team than another.
I'm sure there's something more interested to be said about all this, but not from me right now.
UGH! Blogging sucks! I want to sit here and type satirical brilliance, really I do. Everything else in my life just gets more interesting and eats up all my time.
There hasn't been a really great song for me to overplay and abuse yet this summer. I've just been recycling past anthems. Mostly KanYe West... although I will say I've been playing the shit out of the new Lupe.
I MISS CHICAGO
4.09.2008
Opening Day, 2008. A misty afternoon followed by torrential downpours. Smoking across the street hiding in a parking garage. A phantom Pujols home run. (This, by the way, is the spooky and eerie part of professional sports. Because the game was cancelled, statistics don't count. The home run won't exist in history. But I saw it. It happened. But it doesn't exist.) The ball park still smells the same as it did when I was nineteen, but something's different.
Could it be the rosters? As the Cards rattled off their starting lineups, I felt like I was in a fictional Cleveland, hearing names like Rick Vaughn and Pedro Cerrano. Who are these guys? Did I just give up on our scouting system? Was I tired of watching washed-up veterans and no-name middle relievers floating in and out of the clubhouse? Let's be honest, the front office hasn't given us much to hope for in years. The series win was luck. Can I just root for Yadi to have a good year? I really, really like Yadi.
Could it be the whole steroids soap opera? I don't even like home runs! Give me a good pitcher any day. Besides, I don't even care what these guys put into their bodies, I just wish they would stop having press conferences to televise their fabrications. It cuts into real coverage of sports. Everyone knows these guys were juiced. Why are we still spending tax dollars and the governments' time on this bullshit?
Could it be that the last few football seasons have been really, really awesome and that this is just part of some kind of sports-cycle?
I loved going back to the park three days in a row when the season first opened. I still love the feeling of walking beyond the terminal and embracing the first glimpse of pure green.
Could it be the rosters? As the Cards rattled off their starting lineups, I felt like I was in a fictional Cleveland, hearing names like Rick Vaughn and Pedro Cerrano. Who are these guys? Did I just give up on our scouting system? Was I tired of watching washed-up veterans and no-name middle relievers floating in and out of the clubhouse? Let's be honest, the front office hasn't given us much to hope for in years. The series win was luck. Can I just root for Yadi to have a good year? I really, really like Yadi.
Could it be the whole steroids soap opera? I don't even like home runs! Give me a good pitcher any day. Besides, I don't even care what these guys put into their bodies, I just wish they would stop having press conferences to televise their fabrications. It cuts into real coverage of sports. Everyone knows these guys were juiced. Why are we still spending tax dollars and the governments' time on this bullshit?
Could it be that the last few football seasons have been really, really awesome and that this is just part of some kind of sports-cycle?
I loved going back to the park three days in a row when the season first opened. I still love the feeling of walking beyond the terminal and embracing the first glimpse of pure green.
10.07.2007
Football Night in America
If Griese throws a couple picks, do you think we'll hear a collective cry of "Orton! Orton!" over the greater Chicagoland area?
Will our dear Kyle be sober enough to hear it?
Best NFL names:
Pisa Tinoisamoa
LaDanian Tomlinson
Adewale Ogunleye
Will our dear Kyle be sober enough to hear it?
Best NFL names:
Pisa Tinoisamoa
LaDanian Tomlinson
Adewale Ogunleye
10.04.2007
All-Star Barista
my favorite work moment ever involved Brandon Backe. During the playoffs in '04, he came in and tried to order coffee. The guy I was working with also happened to be huge baseball fan and we both recognized him right away. We joked around and refused to serve him at first, then finally gave him a drink. We attacked the cup with Sharpies first, full of great things like "Go Cards!!!" and "Astros SUCK!" He took it pretty well.
This might be one of the greatest photo-blogs ever for sports geeks like myself:
http://straightcashhomey.net/
This might be one of the greatest photo-blogs ever for sports geeks like myself:
http://straightcashhomey.net/
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