unnecessary roughness

we all know that there are two types of people out on the field/court when you are playing sports. those that are out there to have a good time and those that like to compete. i would definitely say that i am one that is always out to compete and sometimes even tries to play it off like it's only "for fun." i always get fired up about it, but i will say that i always have a good time and want everyone to have fun.

but then, every once in a while, there's "that guy" or "that girl" that just plain ruins it for everyone. no, not with a snide remark or a little elbow, not because they are a little too fired up...those people just entertain us. no, this is the one that punches you in the stomach as you go up for a layup in a church basketball game or the guy that plows over girls in order to make a few more yards on a play.

tonight our little co-ed, recreational "dallas sport and social" league had a flag football game and "that guy" was on the other team. he was a spectacle, that is for certain. from the get-go you could see that he was "that guy." he was the one spouting off to his team as if we were playing in the super bowl, with his name in marker on the back of his t-shirt, wrists adorned with sweatbands...the one ran to the endzone on every offensive play as if he was jerry rice and this guy playing QB was joe montana. he never caught a touchdown pass, by the way, oh but he was there, yelling for the ball, every time!

as i went after his flag on a short run, he spun around at full throttle, pushing his shoulder into my midsection and fist into my neck, springing me from a standing position, into the air, then flat to my back. the thud could be heard from the other side of the field. i sprung to my feet in horror and just wanted to hit him. of course i did not, just visualized doing it over and over again in my head, and soon the next play was happening...and to make a long story short, he ended up in four different "squabbles" on the field, and two plays after taking me out, was thrown out of the game. sad part is, as angry as he was, this was all his doing, his stirring.

where do these people come from, and who raised them? i think this jerk i'm speaking of was probably raised by one of "those parents." i always felt so sorry for those kids, the ones whose parents humiliated them from the stands, yelling and telling them they suck, yelling at their coaches...i mean, it was just sad. i'm sure again, you all know who i'm talking about, and for your sake, i hope it wasn't your parents. but most of all, i hope you have broken that legacy and can enjoy sports.

so on my way home, my elbow bleeding, head pounding, neck and head killing me, and knee just totally shot, i thought about "that guy" from tonight. and suddenly the feelings of anger left and i just felt sorry for him. what a bummer to be at this stage in life and still not be able to pull yourself together to play a fun little co-ed football game without stirring up trouble and making people not only angry but injured! what a shame...oh, and thanks, mom and dad, for never being "those parents" so i don't have to worry about ending up being "that girl." ; )

okay, okay, so my secret is out...

regarding the previous post, some of you smarty pants blog readers found out the secret. but i did find that online and still thought it was clever. i even took the time to white-out the website on the sign...

all that to say, it is a really funny prank to play on people. try it yourself!

http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/

obviously this pic is a few days old...

and i love my sweet BU, but it's still funny...

the party

as you can see (pic with guest of honor at her party, and her two favorite attendees), mckenzie had a great time last night. she loved hard night's day, even got a front row seat and they played the beatles "happy birthday" for her! she received some great gifts from friends, had a bite of my burger, and ran around the yard at lee's with her pals.

she is definitely ready for the fall and sunday's dog day afternoons.

H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y

it's the big #5 for tuna. that's right, it's october 14th, 2005, mckenzie's 5th birthday! it is now after midnight, so she had a treat, heard the happy birthday song, and is now about to take a snooze in order to prepare for her birthday party friday evening at none other than lee harvey's...she is pumped to hear hard night's day and enjoy a bite of a charcoal burger.

pics to come after mckenzie's big night out...happy birthday, my sweet little pooch!

oh, and team aristocrats celebrated another big win tonight, 25-12. niiiiiiiiice.

change

after 4 glorious years in uptown, i'm taking the plunge and moving to the m-streets. i love, love, love uptown...but i also want a house and a backyard. this will be a 3.75 mile move so i think i can handle it.

uptown as a neighborhood has far surpassed its predicessors in all ways but one. i can't get a backyard...or at least i can't afford one (yet!). so i'm making an excited leap to a house, complete with big, expansive trees and a yard. mckenzie dog is the most excited of all!!! she and i have many friends within walking distance of my new place, so bbq's (burgers and beer to my fellow baylor grads) and dogs running around in the backyard are in the very near future...i'm so looking forward to it!!! friends outside of dallas...news...i will finally have extra room and beds to sleep in, so come visit soon!!!

edward murrow

i realized a few months ago that i was on some sort of pre-screening list for movies at the magnolia (movie theatre in dallas). i get emails for two tickets to see the premiere of new flicks at the magnolia...and best of all it is free! for a movie-going fanatic, this is good stuff.

tonight jay and i were both particularly excited about the feature, called "good night and good luck". it was the story of edward murrow, a legend of media and journalism, the man who chose to stand up to senator mccarthy...

""Murrow legend and tradition" of courage, integrity, social responsibility, and journalistic excellence, emblematic of the highest ideals of both broadcast news and the television industry in general. "
-Museum of Broadcast Communications

it was a great movie, a little slow in the beginning, but well worth seeing and interesting to see the story portrayed by so many cool actors (clooney, robert downey jr., david strathairn, frank langella). definitely a great tribute to a man i spent a lot of time studying and admiring.

U2 on Conan

one more thought for the morning...did anyone else see the greatest band ever perform on conan last night?!?!? wow, wow, wow...they sounded INCREDIBLE. that little acoustic bit with bono and the edge will remain saved on my tivo forever. it is now only 21 days until i will be seeing them live here in dallas...i can't wait!!!

team aristocrats

i can't believe how much i've discussed the weather on this blog lately, but trust me, if you live in dallas, you are discussing it too.

our first official co-ed, flag football game actually was last night b/c of some rain outs. the game started at 9:30, and because we are all used to temperatures above 95 degrees at that time of day, the chilling "real feel" of 50 degrees with a cool wind blowing felt like we were playing football at lambeau field, not in dallas. i of course, had taken zero precautions against this new change in weather and had to stand around for an hour in shorts and a t-shirt before the game. i say that as if i was irritated, but i actually loved it...i am a person that finds tremendous happiness on the field--watching, playing, i just love sports. and this was definitely football weather!!

all that said, we had a good turnout and once we started playing, it was PERFECT weather for football. oh, and we trashed the other team 26-8. go team aristocrats!

this weekend

the high on thursday is predicted to be 69 degrees in dallas. a chill is in the air (to a dallas-ite, anything below 70 degrees qualifies as a chill), and the oklahoma vs. texas game is upon us. what an exciting weekend to be in dallas! in my opinion, probably the most fun weekend of the year in big D...the excitement level reaches an all time high, and the friends you have on the opposite side of the stadium just fade away for the weekend.

it's a good time, and i don't and won't make any predicitions, just wanted to show my love for the red river rivalry and welcome stoops troops to big D.

BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!!

team aristocrats

so the co-ed flag football season is upon us, and team aristocrats is ready for war. we have our first games, a double header, tomorrow night. more details to come...

tivo

i love tivo. not a big fan of generic watching of t.v., necessarily, but tivo is good stuff. i am one of those people that can't stand to watch more than an hour or two of t.v. in a day, and this includes watching the news while i run at the gym. i think we should get off our tails and get outside, read, etc. but yes, all that said, i am still a fan of tivo. it allows me to get in and watch the few things i love, then jump back out of t.v. land and enjoy something else.

i am a fairly young person. i never dreamed (as i walked across the room when i was young to change the t.v. from gilligan's island to the dukes of hazzard) that i would be able to not only do this remotely at some point, but be able to rewind it, record it while i'm not there, fast forward, etc.

i have a tivo, and i use it often. but i really realized it's power at the curb your enthusiasm (greatness, by the way) season premiere party i went to sunday night. it was during this party that i realized that we are so spoiled, many of us now have not only a t.v. in every room, but seperate tivo boxes in each room, creating the ability to record A LOT of t.v. i have not yet reached the spoils of having tivo in every room, and don't know that i want to (hence my previous soapbox of getting away from the t.v.), but i have to say, somewhere inside of me i was thinking, wow, that's pretty cool.

bittersweet

well, i sold my tickets to austin city limits, but the good news is, i also was able to score some tickets to coldplay friday in dallas...so i'll still be able to sit out on a lawn and see them live!

i did receive an acl update in my inbox this afternoon, and i must admit, i had a tear come to my eye as the realization that i am really going to miss it hit me. but then again, i could have driven to austin, lost my cash on the tickets, and still not been able to go (with pending rain from rita)! so i'm feeling good about my decision.

i know you were all really holding your breath. haha.

what to do, what to do, acl...

so, hurricane rita is going to strike the coast. i hear that this is rain or shine, but how much rain is too much, and do i want to have to worry about it??? what is a girl with a sold out, austin city limits ticket to do? i love acl, and i am heartbroken, but...

craig's list.

i'm not a gambler, i'm going for selling the ticket to the person that wants to take the chance on eating it, or being rained on in order to enjoy it. i'll buy coldplay tickets for dallas and sit on the lawn friday night, thank you, very much.

i know i may eat my words, but what a pain to drive all that way and face the possibility of not even being able to go?

thank you, bono for scheduling your event indoors. U2, 38 days away!!! can't wait to enjoy the night with my four favorite band members and 3 favorite "other" people...

highland park pharmacy

my great friend, meg introduced me to the soda fountain at h.p. pharmacy years ago in college. walking in, you don't expect much, but immediately realize the charm and history that makes this place take a special spot in your heart. there is typically a line out the door, loads of families, kids, adults, seniors, you name it, lined up on stools at the counter. all God's creatures enjoy a shake and a grilled cheese.

i just took my brother, sister-in-law(josh and joy) and mom for their first pharmacy experience, and i must say, it was a good time. watching people i love take in and enjoy a place that i have grown so fond of was really f-u-n. it's so great sharing hidden little jewels like that with newbies.

and i must say, i enjoyed my ham and grilled cheese, lime freeze, and a little bit of mom's chocolate shake...come to think of it, i need to go for a jog...

oversight

on 9.8.05 i mentioned here that mr. brown might have been a bit underqualified for his position with FEMA.

1. this is now the headline.

2. i don't see this as his fault...i mean, if you are told you are qualified, do you really give up a job as a part of the white house administration? do you tell the president, "no, i'm not qualified?" i hope that YOU do, but apparently most don't...and they might exaggerate to get there, "assistant to the assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." oh, but who hasn't exaggerated on their resume? isn't it the interviewer's (FBI's) job to check that out?!?!?

3. after 9-11 did we not realize this was an important position?

i don't say this to take any of this lightly, i am devastated and pray that we all pay more attention to these roles that didn't mean as much to us ten years ago...friends, it's time to pay attention.

monday mornings

after a wonderful weekend spent with family out of town, it is so difficult to come back to normalcy and work and all that goes with it. i'm getting that itch for a vacation, and mine was blasted away from me last week when i was told that "we are too busy for you to take your vacation next week." i scheduled these few precious days 4 months in advance, and now "we are too busy."

does that make any sense to anyone else? oh well. i looked at my calendar and realized austin city limits is the following weekend and had a thought. i got on the horn with the assistant and put in days for the following week to get out of town early and rest after ACL...heehee.

we'll see how this goes. humor me people, this is my only form of deviance anymore.

qualifications?

michael brown: FEMA director and "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight"

hmmmm...

http://www.fema.gov/about/bios/brown.shtm

help

hey, i guess if you are going to lose, it's best to lose early? ouch, that tcu game was embarrasing. sooner fans, i think we need to pull for bomar as the starter. not that my opinion matters, but what do you guys think? actually, i think i don't want to talk, hear, or think about it again. i am just looking on to next week and praying that stoops pulls the team together and gets that offensive line pulled together. geez.

oh well...at least i got to go up to norman, enjoy some time in a lovely little college town and have queso at the mont.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

as i walked through a parking garage this morning (keep in mind, i live in dallas), i noticed that seven cars in a row had "W" stickers, one had a "kick their ass and take their gas"sticker (classssssy), and one had a "you cannot be both a christian and a democrat" (this was my second siting of this one). and since i refuse to put bumper stickers on my car, i have decided to post them to the world-famous blog as a form of "getting back" at those people.

i really wouldn't dream of putting these stickers on my car, and i am not really trying to make any statement about my political views (although the bumper sticker viewpoints i saw this morning i loathe). i put these on here to draw attention to how outrageously idiotic it is that these types of stickers exist, number one. number two, that people put them on their cars!!! now i don't want to receive hate mail from those of you with the "W" stickers on your cars, this is not aimed at you. i say this to those people that are trying to make some sort of hateful, idiotic, blanket political or religious statement with a dang bumper sticker (no matter which "side" you are on).

to you, the bumper-sticker-theology-professor, if you are out there reading this blog, i'd like to let you know...you have succeeded. i'm annoyed.