Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day, spent relaxing with your family & friends, and of course, you all get what you want.

Unfortunately for me, Payton has come down with strep throat & most likely won't be able to spend Christmas with me. Fortunately, we both are on vacation all week, so we'll get together soon.

Now go watch A Christmas Story!

Happy Festivus!

Watch the Festivus episode!

Payton's sleepover was a resounding success. We had a blast & she slept great. I can't wait to do it again.

I honestly have no idea what I'm getting for Christmas & I like it. I honestly don't need or want anything, but of course it's always nice to receive. I'm just going to enjoy watching Payton open her gifts & then relaxing.

Abomination

SoI attended Old School Reloaded's game last night, even though I couldn't play. I left more motivated than ever before.

It was another disaster, with the other team winning by over 60 points & posting over 100. If that wasn't bad enough, their players were the biggest bunch of classless morons I've ever seen.

I hit the treadmill last night at 10 PM. I will continue to make sure I'm in unreal shape once I return. I can't wait to play these clowns again.

Anticipation

Five days until Christmas, two days until my vacation starts. Once I leave work early on Friday, I don't return until 10 days later. I CANNOT wait.

To top it off, Payton sleeps over for the first time on Friday as well. During the 10 day vacation, she will be sleeping over several nights, with the next one coming Christmas night.

She is even more excited than I am. She started packing a few nights ago & is just as excited for sleeping over as she is for Christmas.

I never seem to run out of things to look forward to. Every time something I'm looking forward to comes & goes, there's always something there to replace it.

I realize that this vacation will be over in a flash, but I plan on savoring every wonderful second.

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Another event that I'm looking forward to besides Christmas & Payton is my doctor's appointment on 12/26. If I'm not at least 90% cleared by then, I'll be stunned. The arm feels fantastic & has improved every day. There's a game tomorrow & if all goes well with the doc, it should be the only game I miss. Now I just need to get myself in shape.

Random Ramblings

Over the past few weeks, I've had numerous thoughts & ideas I thought would be perfect to post here. Hopefully I can remember most of them.

• My arm is rapidly improving. I hardly ever wear the brace anymore & I have most of my range of motion back. I still feel some pain, but every day it gets a little better. Even better news is that our games have been canceled the past two weeks due to events at the school. Assuming there's a game next week & I'm given the go-ahead at my next appointment on 12/26, I will only miss one game. Sweeeet.
  
  
• The tree is up, but not decorated yet. At least the lights are on. Hopefully, my faithful readers all have real trees.
  
  
• The Office is an hour long tomorrow night. It's the Christmas Party episode, so it should be outstanding as always.
  
  
• I really, really like that Vanessa Hudgens song, "Come Back to Me".
  
  
• My fantasy football season was a draw. In the league that matters the most to me, my league, I finished a disappointing 6-8. I would've done a lot better if I didn't trade Ladainian Tomlinson after four games because I had no quarterbacks. Little did I realize that Tony Romo would be the starter a few weeks later (he was on my bench waiting) & that LT would score weekly what he had done for me all season the rest of the way. The team I traded him to never lost again. I made the playoffs in another league & in a league where I share ownership of a team, we're in the playoffs as well. Hopefully it will all balance out financially.
  
  
• For years, my buddy John & I have had an idea that we thought was genius. Taco shells that are flavored by Doritos. You could have original Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch or any other of their eight flavors they've unleashed on the public. Well today, while looking for taco shells, Old El Paso has introduced two new products; nacho & salsa flavored shells. I tried the nacho ones & they are HORRIBLE. Don't bother.
  
  
• I'm watching the NFL's Greatest Games on The Deuce right now. 1995 AFC Championship Game between the Colts & Steelers. I forgot how close the Colts were to winning that game. What a finish.
  
  
• I should be adding a couple new links soon. Keep your eyes open.
  

12/12/06

Happy December 12th! Happy Our Lady of Guadalupe Day!

For those that don't know me, twelve is my favorite number. Check out the aforementioned link for more info on the power of twelve.

**Expect a much longer post in the next day or two.

Try This At Home

I went to the specialist today. My fracture is very subtle, which is good. I'm no longer wearing a splint & sling. I have a removable brace. I need to wear the brace most of the time to prevent me from banging my elbow & making it worse. I also need to remove it as much as possible & start some range of motion exercises. Apparently, the elbow is a nasty place to have scar tissue build up, so this is important. This also means I can finally take showers again.

I touched on how difficult some routine tasks can be with using only one hand. I'm now going to list some examples. I'm asking you, my faithful two readers, to try attempting these tasks using only your right hand.

• Brushing your teeth
• Putting deodorant on your right armpit
• Putting in your contact lenses
• Putting on your belt
• Buttoning your shirt
• Buttoning your pants
• Putting on your socks
• Tying your shoes
• Shutting your car door
• Putting on your seatbelt
• Starting your car

Good luck!

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In an unrelated story, I had my volunteer orientation tonight at the Connecticut Humane Society in Waterford. It was heartbreaking to see the amount of cats & dogs up for adoption, but I know it will be a very rewarding experience for me. I can't wait to get in there & help bring some happiness to these animals until they find loving homes. I will be sure to share any & all heartwarming stories.

Radial Head

I picked up my x-rays yesterday. There's no visible break, so it's only something a trained eye can pick up. Apparently I have a radial head fracture.(More info here & here.) I'll find out tomorrow morning how long I'll be out of commission.

My arm is feeling a lot better & I'm able to move my hand more & more. It's amazing how many things you do in the course of a day that utilizes both hands. I don't take that fact for granted anymore.

After Further Review

I just received a call from the ER & the radiologists spent some time looking at my x-rays today. It turns out I have fracture in my radius bone, near my elbow. I'll most likely be in sling for 4-6 weeks & maybe a cast. I'll find out on Tuesday when I go to the orthopedist. Damn.

Grrrrreat

Not too much good news to report from Oldschool Reloaded's first game last night.

First & foremost, we got spanked. The game was tied 6-6, but that was as close as we'd get. I think the final was 75-28 or something like that. A much bigger, faster team with a full bench. We had six players & four of us are not in shape at all.

I did okay considering my poor conditioning. I think I scored 13 or 15 points, but that's not important. I shot better than Tuesday, but I was way off the mark on some shots.

My knee held up great. No issues there. However, I did spend all of Thursday night at the emergency room thanks to an arm injury.

Early in the game, I attempted to take a charge. No call made, but when I landed, I landed on my left elbow. It hurt a little, but not bad at all. As the game progressed, it became more & more painful to move my hand, raise my arm, etc.

After the game, I drove home & Mary took me to the ER. It was ridiculously busy & once I finally went in for ten painful x-rays around 10:30, I was hurting.

The x-rays didn't show a break, but there is something seriously wrong with it. I couldn't make a fist, spread my fingers out or squeeze my fingers. I'm in a cast, taking Percoset & am home from work.

I have an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday, so we'll see what happens. It does feel a little better today. Hopefully it's nothing more than a strained muscle or ligament.

Wednesday night, at the UConn/Sacred Heart game, I joked with my buddy Gerald that I should get one of those compression sleeves for my arm like Jerome Dyson wears. (Dyson is a player! The nation will take notice of him soon. His defense is amazing, his smoothness reminds me of Ray Allen & he plays far beyond his freshman status.)

Hopefully I'll be back on the court in a week or two.

What Time Is It?

GAMETIME!

Four hours & counting. I was able to play some ball Tuesday night on a very slippery court, but I did learn some things.

• I will not be able to shoot accurately without warming up first. Hence, I will be at the gym an hour early tonight.
• I've confirmed that I'm horribly out of shape. I will spend a lot of time sitting back on defense tonight.
• I need to find a way to stop thinking about my knee while playing. I'm sure this will take time, but it's a pretty significant psychological hurdle. How football players can come back & play after knee surgery is beyond me.
• I think my extra girth will help me rebound. That was the one thing I did consistently well Tuesday.
• My reaction time needs to catch up. I blocked a couple shots, but I should've had a bunch more. By the time my body reacted to what my brain told it to do (JUMP!!), the play was long since over.

Our captain picked kelly green jerseys for us, which match nothing that I own. I bought navy blue sneakers last weekend, figuring they match 90% of my attire, which is UConn National Flag blue & white.

I also couldn't get #12, which wasn't available. I went with #21, which is 12 in the mirror & a tribute to Roberto Clemente.

Giving Thanks

If I keep this blog up & running, you may think that I take things for granted. While I do enjoy many unimportant & material things, I want to take the time to express my thanks for the important things.

• My beautiful daughter Payton. Everyday I give thanks for her health & happiness. She means everything in the world to me. I couldn't possibly express in words how much I love her.
• My parents. I like to think they've taught me fairly well. (I keed, I keed!) I'm forever grateful for their guidance & love. I love them deeply.
• My family in general. I have a wonderful family & I know I can count on them for anything.
• My wonderful girlfriend Mary. She is an amazing person & I'm thankful that she is in my life. Her love & support has helped me a lot lately.
• My great circle of friends. I have a great group of friends, who like my family, would support me through thick & thin.
  
• All the US veterans who have fought & gave their lives for our country's freedom.
• I'm also thankful for my Xbox 360 , an Underdog movie & Carrie Underwood performing at halftime of the Tampa Bay/Dallas game today. (See, I can still be superficial.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Consider this a Thanksgiving gift to my two readers:

Hopefully USC beats Notre Dame by 60.

Don't Call it a Comeback

With all due respect to LL, you can call it a comeback.

Next Thursday, I resume my basketball "career". Some co-workers & I have a team in our employee basketball league. Apparently we have a couple of good players but we're not sure how good we'll be. There's only six teams in the league, so hopefully we're at least the fifth-best team.

I now have ten days to prepare for this. I'm seriously out of shape. It's been five years since I last played some ball. In that time frame, I've had two more knee surgeries and have gained at least thirty pounds. Throw in five years of rust and this could be ugly.

I figure it will take me at least a month to feel comfortable on the court. Hopefully me knee holds up & I don't embarass myself before then. I'll do my best to post updates.

Ashamed

I know, I know. I'm horrible.

Everyday, I come up with at least two or three subjects I think would make a decent entry here. Day after day, I find a way to not post them.

So today I will share some of the topics I considered. Maybe someday I will get around to doing something about it.

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- The 16th anniversary of my knee blowing out. Lots of sidebar topics there.
- The joy in knowing there will be no more politcal ads for a few months & how much money is wasted on them.
- Borat
- The joy of friendship
- My quest to become a basketball referee this winter
- TV shows I'm currently into.
- My Xbox Live gamer card (to your right) & the joy of unlocking achievements.
- Fantasy football failures

Oh well...

Trick or Treat

Tomorrow is Halloween. I've always said that once Halloween arrives, it's New Year's before you realize it. The next two months go by so fast.

I love fall and that's probably why I enjoy Halloween so much. I love carving pumpkins, roasting pumpkin seeds, the crisp fall air & the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. Halloween symbolizes so much about fall to me.

Nowadays, the whole dressing up & scoring candy part of the holiday is handled by Miss Payton. This year she is Tinkerbell & yesterday she hit West Farms Mall & hauled a ton of candy.

Today's costumes are a far cry from what I wore growing up. Who can ever forget those flimsy masks, with the sweat building up on the inside & the elastic strap that either snapped or ended up pulling your hair. Those plastic capes that described the character didn't help matters.

Here are a few costumes I wore over the years:

A Cyclon from Battlestar Galactica:



Darth Vader:



Hooded Cobra Commander: (Since this was a homemade job, I only have a photo of what the costume was based on. I took a blue towel, cut holes for eyes & spray painted the Cobra logo on the forehead. Pair that with a blue sweatshirt & voila, Hooded Cobra Commander.)



I've also gone as Bugs Bunny (I think, when I was really young), a bum & a soldier dressed in all camo. I'll need to consult with the parents & photos to help fill in the blanks.

If you want to rediscover your old costumes, check out RetroCrush.com.

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I'd like to wish Brian & Linds a happy 1st anniversary!

A Bummer

Today is my boss' last day. Todd hired me back in 2004 & has obviously been my boss since then.

This is the first time I've been sad because of a boss leaving. Todd is a friend, not just my boss, and has been a great influence for me.

When I was at Foxwoods, I was quite happy when my first real boss was fired/forced out. He was a jerk to everyone & that move was a long time coming. I hated my boss when I left Foxwoods, so that was a positive. At Mystic Seaport, I liked my boss up until the point I was laid off & he gave me 10 minutes to pack my stuff. I liked my boss at the Courtyard, but I wasn't sad when I left.

I will miss Todd greatly. Not seeing his office door open when I walk in on Monday is going to be tough. I wish him the best of luck at UMass.

20 Years Ago Today

Wow, am I getting old. On this night 20 years ago, the seed would be planted that would eventually sprout into this blog.

I won't describe the game, my thoughts on it, where I was, what I was doing, etc. That will come soon enough on a page dedicated to the event. I will however link to some interesting articles & videos. Enjoy.

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From Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary:



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The entire 10th inning, recreated on RBI Baseball:



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Coverage from the Boston Globe:

An Error Turns 20

Shaughnessy: One Strike Away

The Gamer

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Here's the ball & the story behind it.

Where's the Oystercatcher?

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to play another round of golf at the Fishers Island Club. (Many thanks to UK for the invite!) My team did okay (4 under, no bogies), but due to the threat of darkness & the need to return to the mainland before dark, I have no idea how that score ranked compared to the other teams.

Although I didn't play my best round, I did hit one of the best shots of my life. On the second hole, a 170 yard par 3, I sank a 105 foot putt for birdie. It was obviously all luck, but I was still pretty excited. Here's the hole:



The ball was on the front right edge of the green & the pin was located in the far back left. Unreal.

Just to the left of the 14th tee is a rocky beach on the edge of East Harbor. For years, I could walk over to this area & see an Oystercatcher, a rare shorebird. I always enjoyed watching her scurry around the rocks, never flying away. Hopefully she just moved onto another beautiful location on Fishers.

It's Officially Basketball Season!

Now that the Mets are done & baseball season is over, it's time to focus on UConn Mens Basketball.

Thankfully, expectations are not quite as high this year as they were last year. (The loss to George Freakin' Mason in the Elite Eight was just as tough to take as last night's Mets loss.) This team is young and will be fun to watch.

Ouch

Wow, that was tough to watch.

Obviously, posting the same exact post I posted before Game 6 didn't work. A disappointing end to a great season. The bats failed at the wrong time. They had plenty of chances to win this game.

The worst part? This AMAZING catch by Endy Chavez is now wasted.



At least I won't have to watch baseball until next spring, even if Tommy Lasorda tries to talk me into it. I now feel hatred for the Cardinals like I haven't felt since the mid-80's. Even though I won't be watching, I'll be rooting for the Tigers.

Trying Again...

I'm very much aware that the magic of Game Six was much more than this one play, but this will do in a pinch.

Some magic is needed tonight at Shea & what better than this to help stir up the ghosts.

Looking for Some Magic

I'm very much aware that the magic of Game Six was much more than this one play, but this will do in a pinch.

Some magic is needed tonight at Shea & what better than this to help stir up the ghosts.

New & Improved

I decided to delete the old blog & start fresh. I hadn't updated it in so long (2004) & it really died in early 2003. So I'll go in a new direction & just post random thoughts, pictures & videos here, as well as link to some interesting things.

Any & all feedback will be appreciated.