Archive for August, 2009

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Rampant at the Draft

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Today was the draft for the fantasy football league. A grey, rainy sort of day; perfect for sitting inside and doing this sort of thing. Not a perfect day for riding the motorcycle. But I did it anyway.  I rode the Triumph out to Fenton avoiding all but a short bit of drizzle that speckled my visor. My brother was surprised that I rode the bike and Tasha didn’t want me to, but I’m just that way. I was told to expect the draft to take about 2-1/2 hours… It actually took more than twice that. Five and a half hours for the 10 players that were present and 2 remote players to work our way through 17 rounds of fantasy fun.

I was pretty impressed that all the teams looked like they could be contenders. Usually, with these things, there’s at least one team that turns out to be a stinker. I ended up with the 12th and last draft position, which  made for a lot of waiting, but I think I did alright. This is a PPR league (points per reception) so there’s a heavy emphasis on the WR and RB positions. None of the teams in this league really have team names, they’re all just going with aliases… I’ve decided to run with Rampant, based on the rampant lion on my shield. It ain’t great, but it’ll do. Here’s what I ended up with.

RAMPANT

Pick

Ovr

Pos

Player

1-12

12

WR

 Calvin Johnson, DET

2-01

13

RB

 DeAngelo Williams, CAR

3-12

36

QB

 Philip Rivers, SDC

4-01

37

TE

 Tony Gonzalez, ATL TE

5-12

60

RB

 Derrick Ward, TBB

6-01

61

WR

 Torry Holt, JAC

7-12

84

WR

 Donnie Avery, STL

8-01

85

WR

 Derrick Mason, BAL

9-12

108

RB

 Cedric Benson, CIN

10-01

109

TE

 Zach Miller, OAK

11-12

132

DEF

 Tennessee Titans, TEN

12-01

133

QB

 Jake Delhomme, CAR

13-12

156

K

 Kris Brown, HOU

14-01

157

WR

 Deion Branch, SEA

15-12

180

RB

 Maurice Morris, DET

16-01

181

WR

 Mark Clayton, BAL

17-12

204

RB

 Shonn Greene, NYJ

The ride home was a very long, very wet, very cold ride. There were a couple points where it didn’t rain, but they were few and far between. It wasn’t the worst weather I’ve ridden in, but it was definately the longest ride (2-hrs)  I’ve ever done in nasty weather. I got home and stripped off my wet clothes and hopped in a hot shower. Then Tasha bought me Hunan chicken and I wrote this. All in all it was a pretty good day.

Hmmm…. just looking over this roster and I noticed something, and I’m not sure how this happened, but I have six WR’s and five of them have a week 7 bye. Fuck. Oh well, I’ll deal with that once I see how they’re playing.

Later.

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Random Thoughts Before Bed

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

I signed Tasha and myself up for the 1st Steps Class at Silver Bullet Firearms. It’s a class that’ll introduce us to the basics of pistol safety and shooting over a period of 3 hours and 40 rounds of ammunition. Tasha is a bit nervous about it, but I figure if I can do it so can she. And who knows, she may actually like it. The bad part is that the class size is limited to 4, and that means we’re not scheduled to have our lesson until the 24th of September.

Did I mention that Tasha got laid off on Friday? I don’t think I did. The good news is that she got a position in another group, same company, that’ll keep her there another three months. So far she likes this group better than her previous group, has more to do, and enjoys it more. Rumors already floating to her that they’re trying to find her a permanent position… I told her not to get her hopes up because we’ve heard that before from these Amway folks. Anyway, no lapse in her paycheck so she’s happy about that.

I was hoping that we’d be on vacation this week or next. But a combination of Tasha not being jobless and my job suspending all PTO until mid November kinda put the kabash on that idea.

I’m starting to think that my cold may in fact be allergies. Never had ‘em as a kid, seem to be growing into them over the past couple years.

It’s fantasy football time again, been a few years since I’ve actually done this, and this time around I’m going to put up the cash and join my brother’s league. Chances of me winning anything are poor, but I’m hoping to have some fun. The draft is Saturday. That’ll give me an excuse to ride the Triumph out to Fenton and back. I’ll let you know how that draft turns out… I’m completely unprepared.

I think I’m going to make arrangements to visit my folks on Sunday. I’d like to have them out to see the place, but I don’t know if they’ll be wanting to make that drive for a visit. Guess I’ll call tomorrow and find out what they want to do.

I finished listening to A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett. I also read the book he wrote about the pig… can’t remember what it was called. The writing isn’t bad. And I actually enjoyed the story in this one (not so much the pig book). It’s a fun tale and makes me want to gypsy around the tropics. But I just feel like he’s getting published because he’s famous. Maybe I’m just jealous. Love his music.

Tonight I lost three more Xbox Live matches in Fight Night Round 4. So much fun. I may switch to the button punch settings, because I am obviously not getting the thumbstick punching.  Last night I played Rock Band 2. Picked up a couple new Tom Petty songs and had to try them out which led to other songs which led to, well, you get the idea. So rather than write blogs or work on my fiction or even just sit down and read; I played games the last couple nights. I’m so lame. Later.

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Home At Last

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Saturday morning I woke up late and had to rush to the airport. The plane, of course, was running behind schedule. When I arrived in Atlanta I was certain I’d missed my flight, but no, that plane was late as well. A classic case of hurry up and wait. When it was all said and done I was still home before noon. And glad to be there.

Tasha and I went to lunch and did some shopping then we headed home. About an hour later I’d taken some cold medicine and was in bed. I felt a bit better Sunday. Tasha made breakfast and I ate it with gusto. We walked the dog and that was too much. Spent the rest of the day lazing around the house hopped up on cold medicine. I felt better this morning, but took a 12-hour pill just to be safe. It’s worn off about now and my throat feels a bit scratchy, but I can live with it. More importantly, I can work with it.

Today, I paid off a couple more old hospital bills. Kind of a birthday present to myself, not a good present, but one that I needed. Just three more bills to go and my hospital stay will be taken care of. Tasha and I talked in length about what I should get for my birthday. It comes down to a pretty short list. A television for the bedroom, which would be more for both of us than for me. A handgun, which I want, but which I’d like to use with some regularity rather than having it sit in the safe. Tasha doesn’t have any interest in any gun related activities… range shooting, SASS activities, and pretty much just wants me to get one because I want one and at this point I’ve gotten everything else I had my mind set on. And lastly, what with the price drop, a PS3. But I don’t really want a PS3. My friends all have that particular system and there is a certain false hope that if I got one we’d all play games together. But that’s a lie. I know it’s a lie. And I don’t need another video game system. So I decided to do what makes me feel good and pay off those outstanding bills. Maybe I’ll buy myself something later on. Who am I kidding… we all know I’ll buy myself something soon enough.

Truth be told, I’m in the “not interested” phase of the video game rollercoaster. I blame it on the new Madden game, which I realize I’d like to have, but which I would have no one to play with. Sure I could go online and play… that never works out well. I’m a recreational player, those people aren’t so much. So that is yet another reason to not invest in a PS3.

It’s good to be home. Later.

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One Last Night in Tallahassee

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Jose is here. I can now leave. Supa-cool. Plane leaves at 7:25am, so I’ll have to get out of the hotel about 6 o’clock in the morning and get up even earlier. Such a morning is blight on the face of heaven if ever there was one, but I’m going home.  I’ve seen Tallahassee and Albany and all the fields and plantations in between. I’ve seen the Apalachicola National Forest, though not much of it, just what you can see from the road. I’ve seen armadillos, lizards, Florida buzzards (turkey vultures), and one big-ass fly… it was dead on the window sill outside my room, but the thing was the size of my thumb. Yuck…, but I didn’t see any gators (alligators, that is; I saw plenty of the college type gators). I drove up the gulf coast and I stood in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I took a few pictures, but not enough. I explored a little, but not enough. I wouldn’t want to live here in Tallahassee, but it was good to experience it. I’m going home.

I think I’m coming down with a cold. Woke up the last two mornings with a nasty tickle in my throat and as I sit here now I feel as though I may be running a low fever. I really don’t want to get sick.

Anybody heard of cowboy action shooting? I’ve been looking into it a bit. Sounds interesting and fun, but I don’t know if it’s anything that Tasha would enjoy and really I’m looking for something we can do together. I looked into motorcycle training courses, thought it’d be fun to get her riding, but they’re all booked up at the local colleges. The Harley Davidson dealer is offering a course, but they want $300, a lot more than the colleges want for the same course. Just need to find something that gets us out of the house and active, maybe meet some folks. If we’re going to stay in Grand Rapids much longer we’ve got to get some friends on this side of the state.

Anyway, I’m going home. Later.

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Travel Notification

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Looks like it’s really going to happen; I’m going home. I pick up my replacement tomorrow at 1:10 pm. He’s coming in from Texas and rumor has it that he’s going to stay until the position is filled, which means I won’t be back. I’m okay with that. Vacations are fun (I think… it’s been a lot of years… can’t really remember) but living in a hotel is the pits.

My plane leaves at 7:25 am, a crazy time of the morning given the early arrival time… I’m not accustom to being anywhere at 6:30 in the morning. But I’ll be home before noon. Can’t beat that. There’ll be a little bit of the weekend left to enjoy before heading back to work.

I’m watching a show about houseboats in Tennessee on the Travel Channel. And while I don’t have any desire to live in that particular state, the idea that they have the largest houseboating market does kind of infer that there’d be bargains there and the idea of living on a houseboat does appeal to me. Or rather living on a boat appeals to me, a houseboat is not really what I have in mind and I’m looking for more water than what a lake provides. Ahh…. Daydreaming, nothing like it in the world.

I know these have been boring posts. I apologize. But at least you’re getting posts. That’s something.

Honey, I’m coming home. Later.

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Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Thank you, to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. Wasn’t the best or worst birthday I ever had, but not bad considering. Forty-one…. Yeesh… just 28 years until retirement, give or take one or two.

Usually, I buy myself something. But this year I haven’t found anything I want. Or rather, I don’t want to buy myself anything and then have to put it on a plane to get it home J. Maybe when I get back home… I’ve got a few things in mind. Word on the street is that’ll be Saturday. I haven’t seen an airline reservation yet, so I’m not really convinced.

Anyway, I thought I was going to have more to say tonight but I’m beat. I spent the second day in a row putting out fires in two states. Thanks again for the birthday wishes. Later.

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A Better Offer, Damn

Monday, August 17th, 2009

On Friday I talked to the fellow who was hired for this area, probably about 3:30pm. We decided it would be best for him to meet me here at the hotel at 8:30am and go from here.

This morning he called me at 8:10am and wanted to let me know that he wasn’t going to take the position. A better offer came in.

Okay… Thanks… Fuck! I know where this is heading. Chances of me being on that Wednesday morning flight back to Michigan just got a lot slimmer. I find it hard to believe that he got a job offer in the window I described above, but that’s neither here nor there. My issue is that I’m ready to go home and this makes that unlikely.

I talked to my boss and let him know what was going on. He made noises about finding somebody to fill in for me. But as of this afternoon there have been no takers. He’s got a couple more guys to go, so says he. We’ll see how that all works out. I fully expect that I’ll be here through Sunday. And I expect that they’ll be asking me to stay another week. I do not want this mind you; it’s just what I’m expecting. If this position paid better I might even consider taking it myself. But it’s not union and the pay scale isn’t even where I started at. So it really isn’t an option for me. Too bad, I kinda like Florida.

I slept like crap last night.

I have failed to get a stable version of City of Heroes to play on my laptop in the 4+ weeks I’ve been away from home. It freaks out the graphics card on my laptop and crashes after 10-30 minutes of play. So I’ve done a lot of aimless surfing on the internet and watched more TV than I have in 20-years. And as an added bonus, only about a third of the stuff that I thought I’d put on my iPod actually transferred. On the plus side I did chat with my buddy Joel on IM for the first time in months this weekend.

Really, that’s about all I have for you tonight. Later.

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Do You Want A Little Company?

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

So I’m sitting in the hotel eating my Domino’s Pizza when the phone rings. A pleasant enough female voice ask’s which room this is. I tell her. She says that she got a call asking her to call my room. I tell her that it wasn’t me and it wasn’t anybody else because I’ve been here two weeks. She says, ok. Then asks me if maybe I want a little company. I decline politely and wish her a good night.

I just got called by a whore. An actual whore, prostitute, call girl, hooker. I don’t know how to feel about that. Does this kind of crazy shit happen to anyone else? Just thought I’d share. Later.

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Yo Joe!

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

In my efforts to stay in the Tallahassee area so as to avoid a repeat of last weekend’s T-Mobile fiasco (I was at St. George Island when their AC went down.), I went to another movie this afternoon. This time around I saw G.I. Joe.

This is not the G.I. Joe I grew up with. That Joe was the size of a Barbie and had fuzzy hair and beard and looked a lot more like the U.S.  Military soldiers than this Joe does. This Joe is based on the little Star Wars sized action figures that my kids had. A Joe that was far more technically advanced than my good old boys were. The movie was pretty much exactly what I would expect. It was a CGI spectacle. A rock ‘em, sock ‘em action fest. Damn near one big explosion with just a dash of story to make it all make sense. Not make it plausible mind you, just make it make sense. I can’t say that I was impressed. The CG was exactly what we’ve come to expect from this sort of movie, good in places, not so much in others.  I was entertained and I’d go see another one if/when they make it. Like I said, this isn’t my Joe, but the kids in the audience seemed to like it.

I only have two real complaints about the film, given what it was, a popcorn-action adventure. One, does everything have to blow up? I mean really! Can’t some stuff just get crushed and broken? At some point in one of these movies I expect to see somebody crumple up a piece of note paper and throw it over their shoulder and have it take out a skyscraper with a huge fireball. Two, Marlon Wayans needs to settle it down and play it a little less for the laughs. I’m okay with a little bit of this sort of thing, after all it is for the kids, but come on. The guy ends up reminding me of Jar Jar Binks the way he over reacts to everything and goes out of his way to get the laugh. I blame the director. His character was alright and could have been good, but they chose to go over the top with it. Everything was just as I would have expected.

I enjoyed this way more than I did District 9, but I can’t say that it was great. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie that hit all my buttons to be considered great. But in all fairness, I don’t really like movies; they always leave me thinking about how I would have done it had I been in charge. Maybe the Count of Monte Cristo (2002) would be the last movie that hit all the right buttons for me. Later.

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District Boring

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

I just got back from watching District 9… I was disappointed. I didn’t have any real expectations going in, just saw that it was getting better reviews than G.I. Joe and it looked interesting. So the aliens are bugs who live in a South African slum. The aliens were well done and the weapons made a big fancy mess out of the stuff they were fired upon. But I was bored by the film, annoyed by the camera work, and found nobody to sympathize with in the whole movie. And to top it off; it looks like they’re suiting up for a sequel. You can count me into the ‘don’t care’ crowd for that one.

The reviews are comparing this film to Blade Runner and Alien. Two movies that are good, this one’s not. They’re saying it’s got vision, grit, and realism. But I found it boring, slow, and not at all compelling; a complete waste of my ten dollars. I should have gone to see G.I. Joe, at least that movie knows that it’s all about the popcorn and action and doesn’t try to be something that people don’t care about. I’m annoyed.

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