Bringing the Drama

So during my unemployment, I’ve been reading the books I’ve bought over the past few years that I never have gotten around to reading. I’ve finished off the massive Book of Basketball that I had gotten for Christmas, tore through the first two Hunger Games books, and finally started to read the Harry Potter books, all of which I bought in hardback from Amazon when the 7th book came out. I honestly don’t know how it really ends, I’ve managed to avoid spoilers.

(If you don’t want the 3rd Harry Potter book ruined for you, stop reading right now)

Last week I finished HP3, the Prisoner of Azkaban. I have the DVDs of the first three movies, but haven’t watched them in years. All I could remember was that Sirius Black was not really evil. The book was fantastic, but I did have one problem with it. Maybe it’s from having seen Back to the Future a bunch of times, but how was Harry able to send the Patronus the first time? In PoA, the plot does not play out without the Patronus coming around the lake. In BTTF, that’d be like Marty going back in time, but his parents being successful before he left because everything had been fixed already. Does this make sense? I’d understand it if everything happened, and then Harry and Hermoine went back in time and changed the result, but the result was already happening before they went back in time.

I just wanted to see what the people who may still read my blog thought. I know I’m trying to nitpick about a story that involves dragons and wizards, but I figured someone else out there may have thought the same thing.

BTW, I haven’t really read a lot of books in a long time. I know when I do get a new job, I’m still going to make time to read. I actually suggested dressing up as book characters for Halloween but was shot down mercilessly.

So I’ve been on Twitter, and I follow a few sports writers. My friend Aaron also follows a couple of the same sportswriters, and we’ve been keeping unrecorded score of who gets responses from the sportswriters. I think unofficially I’m in the lead because I notched Peter King, but everything is unrecorded. Monday the heavily twittering duo of ESPN (Mortensen and Schefter) were concluding their training camp bus tour with the Saints. My grand plan involved somehow meeting them and persuading them to tweet to my friend Aaron. It didn’t matter what it was really, just that he got it. In my scheming mind it would be a photo of me with one of them with “wish you were here @am_mgmt” or something.

Since I was going to training camp, I took along my copies of the books from Sean Payton and Drew Brees that I just received last week. Players and coaches sign autographs after practice, and even though I’m not a big autograph guy, it would be cool to have them sign their books. I figured if for some reason they signed after practice, I’d give it a shot. I got there about 20 minutes after practice started and snapped a few photos. After practice was over, I stood over where the players were signing autographs. Other players like Reggie Bush signed, but no Brees or Payton. I waited around, but no results, so I started walking back to my car.

The ESPN buses were parked outside of the practice fields on the way to my car. Since I had shown up later, I had to park in a Zephyr Field lot. It wasn’t a big deal, it was better than parking across Airline Hwy. I saw there were about 15 people waiting at the buses, so I figured maybe Mort and Schefter would come out and talk to people. Here was my chance! People were walking around the buses, taking pictures, holding the ESPN mic that had been left on one of the chairs, etc. Then some sheriff’s deputies showed up and shooed us back away from the buses. Good thing I had already taken a few pictures.

It was cool seeing the stickers and what people had signed in person after seeing it on TV and reading about it.

So I’m in this group of people who have been herded a safe distance away from the broadcasting equipment, when all of a sudden Drew Brees comes walking out of the Saints office building with some PR people. He comes right over to the group of people, but I didn’t have my book or Sharpie ready. By the time I had my book ready he was on a bus to film an interview. Then, Sean Payton gets off a bus, and walks across the parking lot. Luckily I was standing with people who are REALLY into autographs, so they were the ones yelling “Coach! HEY COACH, could we get an autograph, there’s only a few of us over here!” Sure enough, my buddy Sean came over and signed autographs. I figured, I was standing there, I might as well get my book signed. Someone had brought a gold Sharpie to get his poster or something signed, so then that pen ended up being used for all 8 or 10 things, including my book, so I have my book signed by Sean Payton in gold Sharpie. What up.

So back to the waiting. A lot of the people left, and there were only three other guys and me waiting. I still figured Brees would come off the bus, and the ESPN guys would be available to shoot the breeze (HA!). I stood under a tree in the shade while the others stood in the middle of the parking lot. All of a sudden, Brees exits the bus and walks over to the few people left. I had my book ready and he signed it. We all thanked him. I figured, NOW is the time, but no. After Brees left the bus, then Saints owner Tom Benson and a couple of other people got on to do interviews or something. ‘That’s it!’, I thought, and I walked back to my car. On my way back to my car, I called Aaron and left a VM telling him what all happened. I genuinely went over to the buses to talk to the ESPN guys, but walked away with two autographed books. It ended up being a pretty incredible Monday morning.

Last week I was cutting my grass one evening. It’s been so hot lately that cutting my grass has been a multiple day process. I was mowing the side yard when all of a sudden I felt something bite me on my right big toe. [Yes, I mow my yard in flip flops, and I probably should not, but it's not like I'm putting my feet under the blade of the mower] It was like a nail being driven through my toe. I let go of the mower and said a bad word, then flopped to the ground like I had been shot. I looked around but did not see anything that would be the likely culprit for this pain. I looked at my toe and saw the bite, and it kind of looked like an ant bite, but it felt a lot worse.

I went inside and washed my toe, and googled to see if what bit me could have been a spider. I see spiders all the time in my yard, but they always run before the mower goes over them. I was bitten when I was walking behind my mower, so maybe it came from the side. I was comforted by the pain subsiding and not seeing fang marks, because apparently some spiders leave those.

I went back outside to at least finish the spot I was mowing, and looked at my neighbors’ fence. Between one of the boards for the gate and a post, I saw a wasp nest. There were about 4 or 5 wasps hanging out, and this was right near where I got stung. I went back inside and grabbed some Raid and then sprayed down the wasp nest. They have really advanced the technology of the killing power, because I remember my parents trying to kill wasps with spray and having to run as soon as they sprayed it because the deaths were not instantaneous. They are now, but it’s still nice to have the spray go more than a couple of feet.

I finished up in the yard, and googled some remedies for wasp stings. I found one talking about putting an onion slice on the bite area and holding it there for 20 minutes. Incidentally, this website also came in useful during my grad school class in the spring. I happened to have an onion in my fridge, so I sliced off the bottom and held it to my toe. It was not instant pain relief, but after a while the pain was just about gone, and the bite never swelled up.

So next time you find yourself mowing your lawn in flip flops, or anytime for that matter, and you get stung by a wasp, put an onion on it.

1 – applied for a job in NOLA
2 – while getting new tires, went to breakfast with my mom
3 – played 18 holes with my dad for the first time in years
4 – LSU pulled out a crazy win
5 – free spicy chicken sandwich at CFA
6 – dinner with my family
7 – golf, gym, Imogen Heap
8 – finally mowed my entire yard, including weed whacking
9 – chick fil a
10 – went down swinging regarding Denver trip
11 – found new flip flops
12 – watched USA/England in the middle of a blocked off street with a couple of thousand people
13 – free upgrade to exit row, free checked bag, Frontier FTW; found a missing bolt
14 – day of relaxation after stressful weekend
15 – got my first new suit for the first time in over 10 years
16 – got revenge on the back 9 of the golf course near my house
17 – finally fertilized my yard
18 – dinner with my family
19 – seeing the cake my sister and i got for my mom’s birthday for the first time
20 – hearing the new pastor at church
21 – a flight to ATL with no drama!
22 – job interview went well, got to see some cool stuff, ate Five Guys for dinner
23 – USA beat Algeria! I ran around and jumped around the house!
24 – saw A-Team!
25 – had a good run
26 – Menchie’s
27 – good day of Mellow Mushroom, Cafe du Monde, and a movie
28 – got to the gym
29 – got to run at 12:30 pm because of light rain
30 – saw Toy Story 3

So I told you I would be watching the US/England game in Denver, right? I ended up watching the game with a couple of thousand other people in the middle of a blocked off street in the light rain. It was awesome.

Since my friend Jacob ended up not being able to come to Denver, I was determined to show up two hours before kickoff to watch the game at an Irish pub near Coors Field. I walked out of the Hyatt with my American flag bandana on, because of all days to wear my patriotic bandana in public, June 12th would be a day. The Irish pub plans changed after I showed up and saw no empty seats and the viewing angles for the possible areas to stand pretty much sucked. I ended up at this place called the British Bulldog. My mom had actually found out about it in a magazine or something and told me about it. After a phone call and a google search, I had the location and started walking.

I arrived about 11:15 or so, a little over an hour before kickoff. There was a pickup soccer game in the street, and the beer line wasn’t long. They had what looked to be Carlsberg on tap at the truck outside, but I did see someone with a can of PBR. I never went and investigated where the red, white, and blue cans were though. Adriene and Brandy were going to meet me there later in the day, so I got a spot under an awning and started to wait. There were a ton of people there already, but as the kickoff neared, the crowd swelled. I’m not sure how the Irish pub ended up, but this place to watch the game was WAY BETTER. The beer line grew to half a block. I had chosen not to start drinking until closer to the game, but with that long line I just abstained.

The crowd was pretty electric considering we were outside in the light rain. I moved out into the street just before the game started. When Gerrard scored, the smattering of English fans cheered while everyone else stewed. We had been so amped up and it all came crashing down just a few minutes in. It did not help that it began to rain harder too. Dempsey’s goal shot new life into the crowd. It’s one thing to celebrate with some friends, but with a couple of thousand other people it was great.

Adriene and Brandy showed up just before halftime, and the rain stopped. Things were looking up. Everyone collectively was up and down during the 2nd half. No goals were scored, but there were some close calls. It was nice to have the same reaction as other people like when Altidore struck the post. When Rooney missed on a header in the 2nd half, I yelled out something about how he was going to be eating beans in a trailer. I’m not sure how many people got that I was referencing the Nike commercial, but at least Adriene laughed.

Since the game ended in a draw, nobody really went home disappointed. Well, except maybe the English fans. I was kind of hoping for a miracle win or something, but I could live with a draw. It was cool walking away from that place with people wearing flags and face painting with people driving by and honking. It was definitely a game we were proud of, and I got to watch it in the middle of a blocked off street with a couple of thousand fellow crazed fans for free. Can’t beat that.

BTW, that’s my unemployment beard. I stole the idea from Coco.

If you missed the game here’s a 4 min highlight reel.

Today the USA soccer team takes on England. I’m currently in Denver, lamenting Bono’s back injury and my friend Jacob’s absence. I’m also going to be watching the USA play England. Remember back when I posted about how excited I was when the US beat Spain? Imagine that, then multiply it by 1000. I’m so so so excited for this game.

Here’s a video giving a glimpse of what the team went through to qualify for the WC.

It’s going to be long odds for the US to win, but like that quote I posted last summer, and like I’ve read in articles leading up to today’s game, we’re Americans. We always believe there’s a chance and we will not give up until it’s over. Here’s hoping today is a game we can all be proud of.

ABC, 2:30 pm ET, in HD.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

one of my favorite pictures from when I went to Europe in 2008 was me running from a giant metal spider outside of The Louvre in Paris.

My travel companion Lori persuaded me to do it after a short discussion of “can we walk on the grass?” It was the first real tour day of Paris, and it was at the very beginning, before we found out The Louvre was closed.

Anyway, the reason I’m posting all of this is I found out via Ryan Adams (really, I’m not obsessed, I just clicked on a link of someone’s FB or something, and then he had posted a link with a picture of a giant spider like in the picture) that the artist responsible for sculpting the spiders (which are placed around the world), Louise Bourgeois, died last week. She was 98! She was known as the Spiderwoman. Imagine that.

1 – finally made it to the ‘new’ Mellow Mushroom
2 – finalized things for grad school presentation
3 – leftover pancakes for dinner
4 – grad school class COMPLETE!
5 – gym time
6 – encouraging talk with a manager
7 – found out I got an A in my class; hang out time playing shuffleboard at the MidCity Bulldog with work friends
8 – ran 4 miles!
9 – good day with my family
10 – time at the range
11 – job apps to see where the rabbit hole goes
12 – walked 9 holes after work and shot a 46…..(first time playing in over a year!)
13 – peaceful evening at home
14 – caught up on The Office, also mowed my yard
15 – won a door prize (bucket of Guinness beer and glasses) at the golf tournament
16 – a much needed day of relaxation
17 – better sounding things for a new job
18 – grilled out
19 – celebrated American Craft Beer Week at Mellow Mushroom
20 – good 4 mile run to accomplish a goal
21 – finally made it to Rock n Sake!
22 – grilled tequila lime burgers, yes.
23 – hitting the practice range with my dad
24 – made it to the gym after 2 weeks away
25 – experiencing homemade crawfish quesadillas
26 – my run was great after an AWFUL day at work
27 – lunch with my work group made up for horrible Wednesday
28 – Greek Fest 5k!
29 – made bisquick pizzas and they were good
30 – re-enacted Super Bowl party, this time with boiled crawfish
31 – woke up to rain

I first took up golf in high school after a PE class where we were made to chip wiffle balls into a target area. I remember holding the club open (twisted away from me) to hit the balls because I had never played before and doing that seemed to work. I did reasonably well, and figured maybe I should give golf a shot. Fast forward to 2010, and after hurting my shoulder over a year ago, I had not played since the summer of 2008 (I think, it could have been longer). I had missed playing, but after having not played in a while, and not really having anyone to spur me on, I did not really do anything about it.

Then my g/f signs me up for this tournament being sponsored by her school’s athletic booster club. She had talked to me about playing, and I told her I had not played in a while. I told her to sign me up only if they needed players, and I would make it work. She called me a couple of days after that conversation and told me I was signed up.

I was determined not to show up and suck at this tournament. It did not matter if I did not know any of the players, I know how I feel when I’m playing in a best ball tournament and I have a guy on my team that is really terrible. Last weekend after having my family over to my house for Mothers’ Day, I went and hit range balls at the golf course near my house. It was like I had never left. I hit some shots that made me think I did not have that far to go. I also hit some shots that made me think I had some work to do. I was encouraged by the results though, and knew if I practiced more that week, I would at least be able to contribute a little bit.

I went and played nine holes on Wednesday. I had noticed when I went to the course that not many people were playing, so I figured I could sneak on one afternoon and play alone. I like to play alone. Unless I’m playing with someone I know, I’d rather just play by myself. I warmed up on the range and then hit the course. (BTW, some dude was on the range with a driver that sounded like an aluminum bat when he hit the ball. I thought that was stupid. Maybe I’m too old fashioned. If you’re driver head is bigger than your hand, you probably should not be using it.)

After not playing in almost two years, I shot a 46, finishing with the same ball I teed off with. I could not believe it. I finished in near darkness where it was really hard to see, so luckily I was still hitting the ball straight. It felt great to walk the course and play like that. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed playing. The feeling of hitting a monster drive, watching your iron shot go high in the air and come down on the green, getting out of trouble, making a long putt, etc. I felt ready for this tournament.

I showed up yesterday and I was greeted with “You’re our ringer, right?” Uh oh. I quickly found out I was our team’s best player. It was not really a bad thing, but I wish I could have been more consistent with my shots and helped the team more. We shot a 74, which in best ball is not that good, but we did not finish last and we had a good time. It rained off and on, but there was free food and free beer, so it ended up being a good time. I lost twelve balls. TWELVE! I got 6 free though, so really my net loss was nine.

After all of this happening, I’m determined not to let my game lapse like that again. I have said this before, but hopefully this time I will be able to stick with it. People have told me that if I could play more, I could be really good. I’ll have to see about that.

So remember when I admitted to digging Lady Gaga? Right. I saw this via someone on a message board (which BTW, is not dedicated to LG). Apparently almost 4 million people have already seen it, but I saw it for the first time tonight. SIXTH GRADE! WHAT?

Oh, and look, it’s another awesome Beck Record Club recording of an INXS song…

Record Club: INXS “Need You Tonight” from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.