A Little While Longer...

The reason I haven't posted is because I've spent the last six weeks in Laos saving children from Malaria and because of my intese dedication to that cause...okay, so really I've just been too wrapped up in my own life to think about it.

I did spend one weekend in Louisville with William and Liahni to see thier nephew Nolan Chandler and the Cardinal Men play a great soccer game at University of Louisville. Go Cards! They are now ranked 11th in the nation and I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that I attended one game this season. I'm always so impressed by the caliber and intensity that it takes to play at that level. All I can say is that I hope never to have run that much in my life. I understand why they get so sweaty.

We also learned about the Derby--Southern style. Thank goodenss I went to the museum so I know how to properly bet on the ponies next time I'm at the track. We spent most of our time coming up with names for our horses. I think mine would have to be something about shoes, maybe like Pair of Heels or Stilletos or something like that.

We did eat at this totally fun place called Lynn's Paradise Cafe where I ate part of two of the greatest blueberry pancakes ever put on plates before me. I think William enjoyed his meal too as he said he wanted to lick the sauce off his plate if he could have.

For me though the best part was when we went to 5th street. It really wasn't that much fun down there (it was late and I was tired and it was much cooler up on Bardstown Rd and more localish--as in fewer out of towners) and everyone was so drunk by the time we got there that no one was cool to talk to. But on the way in I got carded. It's been a while since that happened. In fact last time I went to a club about a year ago, I tried to show ID, but they just waved me through. Then, I was a bit put off. Now, I was happy to get carded. Let me just bask in that for a moment more...

The last two days I've spent on the couch trying to recover from being sick. I hate getting sick. But it does let me catch up on the television time; and with the new fall shows ahveing started, the DVR does get quite full. I was very happy to see one of my favorite actors back on Ugly Betty this week! Thank you Freddy Rodriguez for making me feel better on a Thrusday night when I was ready to die. If Gio and Betty aren't going to get together this season (what's going to happen with the neighbor across the hall?) I'll be more than happy to help out!

Olympic Wrap-up

Now that I've had a bit of time to reflect on the XXIX Olympiad from Beijing, I've come to a few conclusions:
1. Bob Costas is actually not aging. I think he's put into some sort of stasis pod in between broadcast events and he will never age. Either that or he's now been replaced by an android.
2. The Olympics are no longer about athletic achievements, it's about all the other stuff (read money) that happens around it.
3. I was genuinely happy for the American men's indoor volleyball team for winning the gold medal. That was probably my favorite story of the entire games. Although I was a big sucker for the off-key singing of the women's 8-man row team as they sang the National Anthem at the top of their lungs.
4. No athlete can sing the first couple of lines of their national anthem during the medal ceremony. For the Americans, they can normally come back in during the "rocket's red glare" and can finish from there. Except for the Spaniards, whose anthem does not have any words at all.
5. Did you know if Michael Phelps was at the games? I wasn't sure if he showed up or not as the media coverage on him was kinda spotty.

From China, With Love

Last night I stayed up too late to watch the opening ceremonies of the XXIX Olympics and I realized a few things:
1. I am a complete sucker for pageantry and lots of dancers in a stadium with lots of music.
2. Sarah Brightman is not Chinese.
3. I am so afraid of heights that when the dude running around the stadium's top had his wire drop, my first thought was that he was going to fall to his death. I then practically held my breath until the torch relay was all done. It was a tense few minutes for me. I really hope I don't fall to my death.
4. Yao Ming is either really tall, or that little boy from the earthquake is smaller than any 9 year old than I have ever met. I think the Chinese might be breeding a new race of giant basketball players.
5. I think the Chinese were telling me that American culture is no longer going to be the dominate force in the world. I might need to learn Mandarin.

Go! Go! Go! White Sox!

One of the many things I have grown up loving is the Chicago White Sox and this weekend is the first of two of cross town series against those bitter rivals the Cubs. I mean the bitter Cubs fans. I on the other hand have enjoyed the relative success of my team. I’ll admit that two visits to the World Series in the life time of most currently living fans isn’t much to brag about, but it’s much more than no visits to the World Series in…the last 100 years. And we blame our lack of success on piss-poor management, not some poor goat.
Oh, and there’s the glee that every Cubs fan seems to take in the fact that their team has the best record in baseball right now. To be honest, I’m really quite happy for them, but I’ll be happier for my White Sox at the end of the season when they have the better record as they normally do.
Sure last year the Sox lost the six game series 1-5 and were even swept at home, but last year in inter-league play the Sox were like 4-28. I mean come on, the Sox have won the last three and the Cubs got swept for the first time all season coming into today’s game. Past performance and statistics don’t mean a thing.
Enjoy this weekend’s games and…
Go! Go! Go! White Sox!

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

I just heard a news story today that's made me feel great about myself. It made me realize that have something in common with Tiger Woods. You might ask yourself what could we two have in common?

Is it our athletic prowess?

Ummm…….not in this world.

How about our competitive natures?

I let little kids beat me at Go Fish when we play.

How about our lucrative endorsement deals that net us our millions?

Hah!

What about our knee injuries?

Yes! Both Tiger Woods and I have captured the world’s attention by tearing ligaments in our left knees and fracturing the bones as well. Although I must say – here’s where I can up the athlete – I’ve torn both ACLs! I don’t think that Tiger tore his in any unfortunate trampoline incidents or broke his leg in any crazy limbo accidents. I think those titles also belong to me as well.

Let Tiger keep his accolades and his money and his fame and his endorsement deals and his talent and his beautiful family and his…

Geeze! Now I feel like a total looser.

A Few of my Favorite Things

I recently had an epiphany. Yes, indeed, lightning struck me to my very soul when I realized that I had forgotten what my favorite things in life are. I have become so out of touch with the things that make me smile, laugh, or sigh with delight that here in no particular order are a few of my favorite things:

• Going out to dinner with friends and spending the entire night. You know the kind of night where your group gets the dirty looks from the other tables because you’re laughing too loudly and you end up as the last group in the restaurant. And then as you are all leaving you decide that the party needs to continue back at someone’s apartment/bar/hangout. So you go, and before you know it it’s 5:00 AM and you had one of the most memorable nights of your life.


• Discovering a new (to me) youtube video because someone else thought that I might like it. Check this out that someone at work recommended.
  


• Chocolate. The rich, dark kind that makes you want to eat it so slowly, but fast enough that it won’t melt in your hand.


• Pictures that children take that are amazing. Like this one here:


• French movies.


• Books that make me want to be more than what I am right now or what I will be 5 minutes from now. Or 5 minutes after that.


• The new Battlestar Galactica. Nothing else on television today makes me smile as consistently as does that one hour – well I guess its actually 43 minutes when you take out the commercials. I almost wish I was a Cylon.


• The White Sox. Even when those guys are breaking my heart, they are making me so happy. Nothing in this world is better than going to a game and seeing the win. I’m so happy I get to see them win consistently.

Rememberence of Things Lost

Sadly this is not about the television show.

I have started to play the piano again. It's been a long time. A VERY long time. To be honest, until two years ago, I never thought that one day I wouldn't be able to do something that I could do at one time. It would be easy to say that I'm just as good as I used to be and just muddle through on the songs that I've always known, but that would be a horrible lie. I'm really not that good anymore.

I'm also working on running again. Well not so much the running thing as the walking thing for right now. Doc said last week that I can't really do any running for a while yet. After the first knee surgery, I never really got back into the groove. Now all I want to do is to build back into that runners high again.

I wonder what it will take to become that person again?

Super Bowl Play by Play

I heard that the game was today. I know two teams were playing, but I have no idea which two were actually facing each other. Although I understand that one of the QB's is supposed to be beyond hot and that he'd gotten some actress preggers and then dumpped her for a super model from Brazil. That's all I know about what happed during the Super Bowl today.

Thank goodness that as this is considered public domain I don't owe the NFL any money for using the phrase Super Bowl over and over again. Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl

I think I'll go watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet now.