Neurodrama

To My Kentucky Wildcats....

2010-03-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

To My Kentucky Wildcats,

The Big Blue Nation is a little blue this morning. A loss is never easy to take, and a season ending loss is that much harder. But please don’t think that because you lost we are disappointed in you. Are we disappointed that we didn’t win a national title? Sure. We really do want to win one every single year. But, while the loss stings, I’ve seen enough to know that given some time things will gain some perspective. In some ways they already have.

Last night was hard, but one game does not define a season. What you gave to us was so much greater than one win or loss. Greater even, than a National Title. What you gave us was a season that we will remember for a long time. What you gave us was a season filled with hope, expectations, and pride. And I have never been more proud of a team than I am of this one.

When I think about where this team--this program really--was at this time last year and where we ended up this year, I can’t help but be amazed. If you had told me back in March of last year that this team would have finished the year with only 3 losses, SEC regular season and tournament titles, and a trip to the Elite Eight, I would have told you that you were crazy. But you did all that. And more.

So, just let me say this one thing to you all. To Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe, Orton, Liggins, Harris, Miller, Dodson, Stevenson, Harrelson, Hood, and Krebs:

What you did as a team for this state means more than any trophy ever could. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but one day you will understand. We all cheered with you, and we all hurt with you, because, in case you hadn’t figured it out by now, when you put on that Kentucky uniform and take the court you aren’t just playing for yourself, your team, or your coach. You are playing for all of us. The fans all around this state that have grown up with this team. The hundreds of kids that spend hours shooting baskets in their driveways and back yards on courts made of asphalt, concrete, and dirt with baskets nailed to light poles, garages, and the side of barns. You are playing for all of us who dreamed of taking the floor at Rupp with guys whose names now hang in the rafters there. We didn’t make it. But you did, and so every time you take the court, we are there with you. And what you did this year for us is something we will always remember. You brought back the swagger. You brought back the fun. And most of all you brought back the pride.

So, while it hurts right now, know that, in the great tradition of Kentucky Basketball History, this team will always hold a special place as the team that restored our program to its rightful place. We didn’t win it all this year, but the ship has been righted and we all know that one soon we will cut down the nets. Some of you may be there too. If you are, know that you have the entire Big Blue Nation with you. As we are now. As we always will be.

Thank you for a wonderful season.

What in the World Happened?

2010-03-24T20:36:00.002-05:00

So....it's been awhile. I went to Dad's and ate well. And then I came home and had left overs for a couple of days. And then I took off on a spur of the moment trip to New Orleans (which if you know me at all, you know that's nothing like me). The trip was a blast--exactly what I needed after a stressful couple of months at work. And I got to eat some really good food. But then it was back to the real world.

We got back Sunday night. I broke down and went out to eat (at Qdoba) that night since being in the car for 11 hours kind of makes you not want to cook. Breakfasts this week have been mostly cereal. And Monday & Tuesday I had to buy lunch at work since I didn't have time in the morning to fix anything. Dinners were just leftovers that were already in the fridge.

Today was the first day that I actually cooked again. Dinner consisted of pork chops from the freezer marinated in Tequila Lime 30 min Marinade and cooked under the broiler. I also mades some green beans (home grown and canned last summer) and some frozen peas. It was nice to have some real food again.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the money situation got resolved (some what anyway) which is why I was able to afford the trip to New Orleans (which we did very cheaply). But I still like the idea of eating out of the pantry, especially since we are so close to the end of the month already. And I never realized how much food I have on hand! It's amazing what gets shuffled to the back of the pantry/freezer/fridge. I'm kind of liking the fact that I'm making more room in my kitchen for food and I hope that once I get things kind of cleared out, I can do better about not buying too much food. And, while having a nice, neat pantry is a good goal, having a nice low grocery bill will be great too.

Friday's Menu--Day 6

2010-03-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

This will be last post for the week, mostly because I'm headed to my Dad's house and won't have to worry about food or cooking--only eating. But I did have to come up with my first two meals today.

Breakfast--Pancakes (Hungry Jack Mix + Milk + Eggs + Oil +Vanilla)

I like to add vanilla to my pancakes. I think it gives them just a little more flavor. I also always add egg, even when the mix doesn't call for it because I think it gives you fluffier pancakes. And , I have to confess, that I didn't go to work today, so I got up late and ate even later, so really, this was kind of a brunch.

Lunch--Animal Crackers, Gummy Bears

Not the most nutritious lunch, I know, but I really wasn't hungry and just needed to put a little something in my stomach. I'm sure dinner tonight will make up for it.

That's it for the first week of eating out of the pantry. See you on Sunday night, and LET GO BIG BLUE!

Wednesday & Thursday's Menus (Days 4 & 5)

2010-03-11T20:02:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was an interesting day. I thought lunch was taken care of (due to a luncheon at work) but it turns out the luncheon was on Thursday. That threw a wrench into things, since I didn't take anything with me to work. So.....I ended up coming home for lunch and fixing something, which then meant that I wasn't as hungry as I normally would have been for dinner. Anyway, here is what the menu looked like:

Breakfast--Cheerios w/Milk

Lunch--Grilled Cheese Sandwich, French Fries, Dill Pickle (very very yummy)

Dinner--Microwave Popcorn (maybe not so nutritious, but I wasn't too hungry so it worked out)

And then, for today, there was very little cooking. In fact, a large portion of the food I ate was free. We had a seminar this morning at work which meant free bagels, donuts, and coffee. And then there was the previously mentioned luncheon which had some wonderful food. I did cook dinner, however, even if it was just macaroni and cheese (the good homemade kind, not the out-of-the-box kind).

Breakfast--Yogurt (at home) and Donuts and Coffee (at work)

Lunch--Chicken, Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad, Chess Cake (work luncheon)

Dinner--Macaroni & Cheese (recipe follows)

1 small box cooked elbow macaroni noodles
1 small block of sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
2 tbsp margarine
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix the noodles, cheese, and margarine in a greased casserole dish.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt, & pepper.
Pour the milk & egg mixture into the casserole dish with the noodles/cheese/margarine.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 min. Let sit for about 10min before serving.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Menu--Day 3

2010-03-10T08:56:00.002-05:00

So today's menu was as follows:

Breakfast--Cheerios and Milk

Lunch--Leftover Meatless Taco Salad from Monday night

Dinner--Frozen Chicken Enchiladas (made previously and frozen)
Mexican Rice (Lipton's Rice Sides)

Back before Christmas, I boiled a couple of chicken breasts, and then shredded the meat. I mixed the shredded meat with a can of enchilada sauce and some shredded cheese and rolled it up in four tortillas. Each tortilla was then wrapped in saran wrap and placed in a freezer bag and frozen. Last night I simply pulled the bag out of the freezer, removed 2 of the enchiladas, put them in a greased casserole dish, poured another can of enchilada sauce on top of them, and then sprinkled the whole thing with more cheese. The dish went into a 375 degree oven for 20 min, and was ready to eat.

All in all, it was a yummy meal, with plenty of leftovers again for a lunch this week. The rice was good, if just a bit bland, but the enchiladas might have been better frozen than they were fresh. If nothing else they were a good, quick meal. I still have 2 more in the freezer, so expect to see them on the menu again this month at some point.

Tomorrow's dinner: Chicken Nuggets and French fries.

Monday's Menu....Day 2

2010-03-08T23:10:00.003-05:00

Today's Menu

Breakfast--3 Chocolate Chip Muffins leftover from yesterday, Green Tea

Lunch-- Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, Chips (all from pantry)

Dinner-- No Meat Taco Salad

2 cups White Minute Rice

1 can Kroger Black Beans

2 Taco Salad Shells leftover from last week

Salsa, Sour Cream, Mexican Cheese

I was pleased by how well the taco salad turned out. I didn't have any meat, but the beans were protein and the salsa gave it some flavor. Not too bad. I had enough for leftovers for lunch tomorrow as well. So far, the total grocery bill is still at $39.66.

On tap for tomorrow: Chicken Enchiladas from the freezer with some Enchilada sauce from the pantry (I've apparently been stock piling the stuff).

Turning Lemons into Lemonaid

2010-03-08T22:57:00.002-05:00

So, due to some unforeseen tax circumstances, my monthly budget is gone just 7 days in to the month. This means no more spending--or at least a s little spending as possible.

Now, this presents me with a dilemma. How do you eat without spending money?

At first, this seemed like a tall order. Then, I decided that this would be an opportunity to see what I could make from the food currently in my pantry, freezer, and fridge. So, we are going to see how little I can spend on groceries this month.

To be fair, I'd already bought a little food before this crisis set in, although not much. Some chicken nuggets, fries, and ketchup. A veggie tray, pop, chips and dip for a party. And milk and bread. So far, my grocery bill for March comes to $39.66.

Now, yesterday here is what I ate:

3 Chocolate Chip muffins made from a muffin mix an 1/2 cup milk

Leftover Tortilla Chips and Queso from the party Saturday

Dinner at my Sister's House

A piece of Blackberry Cobbler that I baked last week

So, from now on, I'm going to try and keep up with what I cook and eat and where it comes from. I'll also track my grocery spending through the month and list what I buy. It should be an interesting experiment. I want to see if I can keep my grocery bill below $75.00. We'll see.

My Mother's Eyes

2010-02-27T00:15:00.002-05:00

It is a truth universally acknowledge that every woman becomes her mother as she gets older. Not that I’ve ever been too unlike my mother.

I have always sounded a lot like her--people used to confuse us on the phone all the time. And I’ve been old that my mannerisms--the way I stand, the way I move, the way I talk--are very much like hers. And, while my personality trends more towards my Dad’s (Jenny got Mom’s personality), I am getting more and more like Mom as I get older.

I look like her. I look a lot like her. I have her tall, lanky frame, her long limbs, her long fingers. And no one would ever call either of us “curvy.” I didn’t inherit her coloring--my hair has stayed much lighter than Mom’s dark brown and my skin borders on albino while hers had more color to it--but I did get her propensity for freckles. I have her nose, her ears, and, most noticeably, her eyes. The one thing that people always remembered about Mom were her eyes and now, when I look in the mirror, I often see her looking back at me.

But there is one thing that I hope my mother didn’t pass on to me--her ovaries.

I know it seems like a silly thing to say--after all, it was those ovaries that produced me. But it was also those ovaries that left me motherless at 20. You see, Mom was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer when I was just 17. She was 43. She fought hard for almost 3 years, but before I could finish my junior year of college, she was gone. She was only 46.

The statistics say that chances of a woman suffering from ovarian cancer in her lifetime are 1 in 71. The majority of women who are diagnosed are over the age of 60. In fact, unless you have a family history of the disease, they don’t even screen for the cancer until you are 50. For someone with no family history to be diagnosed as young as Mom was is very rare. It happens in only 8% of all cases. The 5 year survival rate is less than 50% but 68% of all cases are diagnosed after the cancer has spread to other organs (like Mom’s) which drops the 5 year survival rate to a paltry 30%. And for someone like me, who has a family history of the disease, the risks are tripled.

I’m not going to pretend that I spend every second of every day worrying about the future, but it certainly crosses my mind. I have the symptoms of ovarian cancer (such as they are) memorized--bloating, abdominal pain, feeling full quickly, digestive tract issues, rapid weight gain or loss. Every weird twinge, every bout of diarrhea, every time I lose a few pounds for no apparent reason I wonder if this it. I oscillate between wanting to run to the doctor for every little thing and not wanting to know. And, while I hate feeling like a hypochondriac, I recognize that the second option is potentially the fatal one. Luckily, I’ve found a doctor who understands my neurosis and takes all of my complaints seriously.

I also know that I’m doing everything I can to reduce my chances of developing ovarian cancer. As soon as I turned 25, I got myself into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program which means that I get a free ultrasound at least once a year. I’ve been on birth control pills since Mom died. I try to limit the amount of animal fats in my diet (which may be linked to a higher incidence of the cancer). I run and try to maintain good overall health. And, while I have not yet been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (since my insurance won’t pay for it), I will get tested one day.

But all of that doesn’t mean that I don’t worry about what might be lurking in my body. I realized the other day that by the time my mother was the same age I am now, her life was more than half over. In 16 years, I will be the same age she was when she was diagnosed. In 19 years I will have out lived her. It was a sobering thought. And a scary one.

There are so many things that I wish I had asked her. So much that I just don’t know. Was she as insecure about her height as I am? How did she know that Dad was “the one?” What was it like when she and Dad started their family? Did she know something was wrong before she went to the doctor? Was there anything she overlooked?

And of course, there are the things that she won’t ever get to experience with me. She didn’t get to see either of her daughters graduate from college. We never got to take our Europe trip the summer after graduation. I will never get to introduce her to the man I will marry. She won’t be in the hospital when I have my first baby. She will never know her grandchildren.

But then I look back over the years that I got to spend with her, and I have to smile. We had a lot of fun. There was a lot of love. And I can only hope that one day I’m half as good of a parent as she was.

So, I am proud to say that I am my mother’s daughter. When people mention how alike we are, I smile and nod. I know I have my mother’s eyes. But in one way at least, I hope I am different.

How Do I Love Thee....Let Me Count the Ways (John Wall Edition)

2010-02-01T21:38:00.001-05:00

It’s coming up on Valentine’s Day (which I usually ignore) and love is in the air, so I thought I’d expound a bit on why I love John Wall. To set the record straight, I also love Patrick and Boogie, but Wall has been in the media a LOT in the last few days and so, naturally, he’s on my mind.

My love fest has to begin with the disclaimer that while I agree that Wall’s basketball skills are AMAZING, they aren’t the reason (or at least the main reason) why I love him. UK has been privileged to be the alma mater to a number of highly talented players over the years, but most of them don’t make my top five favorite players (Chuck Hayes, Tayshaun Prince, Travis Forde, Tony Delk, Cameron Mills). What you might notice about my all-time top 5, is that while 3 of them made it to the NBA, 2 didn’t, and one (Hayes) is relegated to mostly a back up role for his team. What made me love these guys wasn’t their on the court skills, rather it was a list of off the court qualities like attitude, team spirit, and emotion. (And the fact that Hayes cried on Senior Night.)

You might also notice that every one of those guys was a 4 year player at UK. I don’t really like the idea of One-and-Dones. I’ve never been a fan of players who come in highly regarded and stay only a year or two (Rondo, Morris, I’m looking at you). While I recognize their benefit to the team, I never really take to them for the simple reason that I don’t want to develop a relationship with someone who is going to leave early. So I was predisposed to hate Wall from the moment he signed his Letter of Intent.

I also tend to dislike players that come in with lots of hype. They rarely seem to live up to the expectations, and often come with egos that outstrip any talent they might have--can we say Rashad Carruth? (Carruth, Carruth, Carruth is on fire!) Yet another knock against Wall. How could a kid that was as hyped as Wall was not come in with a huge ego? How could he possibly live up to the hype? How much trouble would he cause?

What I found, almost from the first moment Wall set foot on campus, was that he wasn’t what I expected at all. First off, he was humble. Despite being asked about himself constantly, he rarely gave an interview where he didn’t mention at least one, if not more, of his team mates. He praised Cousins, Bledsoe, Patterson, everyone else on the team. And, surprisingly enough, the rest of the team didn’t seem to mind that Wall was getting the lion’s share of the attention--and they seemed to genuinely like Wall. Already I could feel my dislike beginning to crack.

He also went to class and studied hard (rumor has it that he got a 4.0 during his summer session and at least a 3.5 during the fall). For a kid who would be spending at most 3 semesters on campus to care that much about his school work seemed--well crazy. But he does care. And being a bookworm myself, that certainly made me love him (at least a little).

On the court he was even better than advertised. Did he make freshman mistakes? Sure. But after watching him play a few times, I was willing to give him a couple of stupid passes a game in exchange for some of his thrilling break away dunks and fabulous passes. And watching him take over games (but only when we needed him to) made me realize just how talented he was.

But what has cemented my love for John Wall is how he has handled the pressure cooker that is being the most talented freshman to play college basketball this year for the greatest college basketball program of all time. He has done amazingly well for a kid who is only 19.

Take, for example, this latest dust up about Wall and Cal not getting along. Did he make a rather ill-advised comment Saturday after the game about being unhappy and frustrated? Yeah. But he’s 19. Most 19 year old kids don’t have to deal with swarms of media every time they step into public asking about everything from his choice of shoe to why he isn’t smiling. Most 19 year old kids vent all the time to all kinds of people via Twitter, Facebook, and text. As far as I’m concerned, all Wall was doing was venting. His coach had gotten on him, and he was mad about it. He felt wronged. Most teens do at some point. So he said something he probably shouldn’t have.

What impressed me about the whole thing wasn’t that he slipped up and made the comment (although that did prove that he’s human). What impressed me were the comments he made today. He admitted that he was wrong about how well he played at USC. He admitted that Cal was right when he said Wall hadn’t played well and that he and Cal were “good.” And he admitted that there were things he wanted to work on.

What, might you ask, does Wall think he needs to work on? His scoring (17 points per game)? His rebounding (3.6)? Steals? Blocks? No, the thing that Wall thinks he needs to work on most is his assist per game average (6.8). He isn’t worried about the stats that most guys focus on, he wants to make sure he is getting the ball to his teammates enough.

For a little perspective, the all time assist leader at UK for a single season was Roger Harden who had 232 assists in the 85-86 season and averaged only 6.4 a game (over 36 games). Roger Harden also holds the record for the highest Assists/Game average in a single season. Wall already holds the single game assist record (16 vs Hartford). And the only other freshmen to ever lead the team in assists were the great Rex Chapman who averaged a measly 3.6 a game over 29 games and Liggins last year with an even more meager 2.8.

So, for Wall, arguably the best player in Division I basketball this year, to want to improve on his 6.8 assist per game average says a lot about this young man’s character. He wants to make his teammates happy when he has every right to think of them simply as “those other guys on the floor.” And so, despite the fact that I was predisposed to dislike him, Wall has wormed his way into my heart. Will he become one of my all time favorite players? Probably not. It is going to take a lot to crack my top 5. But he has certainly made himself one of my favorites on this team--and it has little to do with what he’s been doing on the court. Keep it up, John.

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-26T03:13:00.002-05:00

What happens when you let the parents play with the Wii......

Like Coming Home...

2009-11-03T21:26:00.001-05:00

I watched my first UK game at Freedom Hall when I was 11. My first trip to Rupp came a year later. I don’t remember who we played, although I am pretty sure that UK won. What I do remember is the sense of awe I felt as I came out the tunnel and saw the arena for the first time--the floor, the benches, the National Championship Banners, the retired jerseys. It was everything I had seen on TV my whole life, and more. I many ways, it was like coming home.

Our seats were not nearly as good as they had been the year before--think nosebleed, above the banners--but I didn’t care. I was in Rupp. If watching the team play live in Freedom Hall had made me a UK fan for life, watching them play in Rupp was my indoctrination to the religion that is UK basketball.

A few years ago, there was a fabulous article written by a reporter from South Carolina who came to Rupp for a USC game against UK. He likened visiting Rupp Arena to going to church. He talks about how those to get to attend the games feel privileged to do so. He talks about how the fans worship the program. He talks about the fanaticism that leads thousands of people to worship this team when they may never get to see them play, never get to attend the university they represent, never get to meet a player or a coach.

I read that article a few years ago. By that time, I had been a student at UK, I had seen countless games from the stands, I had even been on the floor during pre-game warm ups. But when I read about his experience at Rupp, it took me back to that first game. It took me back to the sense of awe I felt looking up at the (then) 5 National Title Banners and the retired jerseys bearing names like Beard, Groza, Mashburn, and Issel. It took me back and made me feel like that 12 year old again.

I keep that article bookmarked and whenever I start to lose the feeling of wonder that should accompany watching UK play, I pull it up and read it again. It reminds me what I love about coming to Rupp. Coming to Rupp is like coming home.

Here is a link to the Article I was talking about: Rupp Arena Like Going to Church

In the Beginning....

2009-10-20T20:07:00.003-05:00

I can honestly say that I don’t remember a time when Kentucky basketball wasn’t a part of my life. I was born into a family that was (and still is) crazy about UK basketball. I grew up watching the Cats play.

Winters were spent sprawled on the living room floor either watching or listening to games with my Dad. You knew to settle in about 10 minutes before tip off and there was to be no moving around during the game. No walking in front of the TV. No talking. Games were serious business.

As I got older and started to play basketball myself, games were a chance for Dad to teach me. I learned about zone defenses, pick and rolls, and full court pressure by watching Kentucky. The proper techniques for bounce passes, free throws, and setting screens were demonstrated by players like Ford, Delk, Mashburn, and Rhodes.

And then, some time around the start of 6th grade I fell in love. Most girls that age were pouring over Tiger Beat magazine. They had posters of the New Kids on the Block on their walls. I read the Kentucky Basketball Yearbook and had a UK basketball poster hanging over my bed. My love? Travis Ford.

Now, don’t get wrong, I loved all my UK basketball players, but Ford was by far my favorite. I read his section of the yearbook so often I could recite it by heart. I knew his height, his weight, all his stats from the year before, and more non-traditional things like his favorite ice cream and his favorite movie. During games, I watched him all more than anyone else. I talked about him with my friends. The highlight of my life was when my Dad went to a game and brought me back a 3 point card signed by Traivs Ford. At one point I was going to marry him.

That season (1993-94) was his senior year. It was the year of Jeff Brassow’s last second tip in to win the Maui Invitational. It was the year Ford hit a record 50 free throws in a row. It was the year of the Mardi Gras Miracle down at LSU. But most importantly, it was the year that I got to see my first UK game--Live.

It was UK vs Mississippi at Freedom Hall in Louisville on Wednesday January 12. My Dad, my best friend Melissa, and I sat mid court in the balcony row B (yes, I remember all that). The minutes leading up to the team coming out for warm up were some of the longest of my life. (We were in our seats as soon as the doors opened.) And, when they ran out, I got my first glimpse of the guys who were rock stars in my world. I’m kind of surprised that I didn’t pass out.

What I did do was take about 3 rolls of film worth of pictures (remember film?) on a camera with no zoom and a flash that you had to attach externally. Not one of them was any good--all the players were about the size of ants--but to me they would be priceless. We all cheered for the whole game, me so loudly that I couldn’t talk the next day. And, while I don’t remember much about the game itself (UK won 98-64) I do know that it was one of the best days of my life. And I’m pretty sure that my mom and my sister got tired of hearing me talk about the game in the weeks and months that followed.

After that point, there was no going back. I had been fully initiated into the Big Blue Nation and I was destined to bleed blue for life.

Here's video highlights from the Mardi Gras Miracle game (incidentally I went to bed before the miracle come back, it was the last time I ever didn't watch the end of a game, no matter how horrible things were going.)

It's Basketball Time in the Bluegrass!!!

2009-10-14T21:21:00.002-05:00

With basketball season nearly upon us, everyone is talking about our new coach and what he is going to bring to (or should I say bring back to) Kentucky basketball. Excitement is at an all time high. Rumors and speculation are running wild.

The coach himself, however, cautions that we need to keep in mind that we have a young team full of new players who have to learn a whole new system of basketball and things will be shaky at the start. I contend, however, that the learning curve doesn’t just apply to the players (and the fans) as they learn the dribble drive offense, but to the coach as well. There is nothing quite like Kentucky basketball and it can take an outsider a little while to learn to ropes.

Over the years I’ve had the task of trying to explain what Kentucky basketball is and what it means to several people. What I’ve found is that UK basketball is one of those things that defies description.

Sure, you can list the stats--7 NCAA Championships, 13 Final Fours, 48 Tournament appearances, 43 SEC regular season titles, 25 SEC tournament Championships, 1988 games won--but there is so much more to it than the numbers.

It’s about the love that the people of Kentucky have for their team. It’s about the pride we feel when we watch them play. It’s about the heart ache we feel when they lose and the glee we feel when they win. It’s about people who pass season tickets down to their grandchildren and drive 3 hours both ways for every home game.

It’s about the people who show up for every game and those that never see them play. The ones who fly to Maui and Alaska for pre-season Invitationals. The people who throw game day parties to watch on HD TVs, those that watch in bars with 300 of their closest friends, and those that spent years crouching around radios to listen to Caywood.

It’s about kids that grow up playing ball in driveways and backyards, on courts made of dirt, concrete, shingles, and grass with backboards tacked to the sides of houses and barns and stuck up on light poles. It’s about kids who take thousands of last second shots to beat teams like Louisville, Duke, and Florida. Kids who grow up idolizing people like Macy, Issel, Givens, Delk, Mashburn, Rondo, and Patterson.

How do you put all of that into words? What can you say that encapsulates everything that this team is to everyone? You can’t. You can’t possibly understand Kentucky basketball unless you have lived Kentucky basketball.

But I would like to try. I would like to try and explain what Kentucky basketball is, at least to me. So, what I’m going to do is, in a series of posts, try to highlight different aspects of my relationship with the Wildcats. It may not work, but hey, why not at least play the game?

An Open Letter to Lexington

2009-10-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

Dear Lexington,

You know I love you. I must. I’ve lived here for 9 years now and for the most part I can’t complain. I love your horses and your fences--both the wooden ones and the stone ones. I love your downtown with the fun bars (putting in one named the penguin was a big plus). I thoroughly enjoy living in a town where I can buy booze, eat at a nice restaurant, and go to the mall.

But, don’t get a big head. You’re not perfect. Your super pollen kills me in the spring and fall. You have a decided lack of good live music venues. And don’t get me started on your traffic problems. Scratch that. Someone needs to point this stuff out and, like any good friend, I’m going to volunteer.

First, let me say that I feel I’ve been very patient with your wonky traffic. I’ve put up with streets that change names three (or four) times. I’ve dealt with the funky light system on Nicholasville Road. And I’ve never said a word about the fact that New Circle can’t seem to decide if it wants to be an expressway or main street. But these days you are really testing my patience.

We all knew that the new hospital was going to require some road work--after all, everything UK does requires digging up some portion of road somewhere--and the randomly changing lane closures on South Limestone during rush hour and basketball game traffic do keep things interesting, but that schtick is getting old. Please finish that stuff up so that I drive over asphalt again and not the giant metal plates you insist on putting down every time you dig a giant hole in the road. It’s killing my shocks and suspension.

Also, I thought you were crazy when you decided to close portions of South Limestone (aka Nicholasville road, aka US 27) for a year. Really? An entire year!?! Is that necessary? Especially when you didn’t start this project bak in May after all the students left, but decided to wait until August, just before they all came back (and just before football season).

I won’t harp on you too much for the Old Frankfort Pike closure, since I’m rarely on that side of town, but it does seem to be a pretty major hassle for those who live up that way (I’m told that people do live on the North side).

And it seems in poor taste to close a large section of Main Street at the same time as both S. Limestone and Old Frankfort Pike/Newtown Pike are closed. Remember when I said one of the things I loved about you was downtown? You are making it really hard for me to get there theses days.

I’ve managed to do okay so far, navigating the continually shifting maze of open/closed intersections and road. Sure, it now takes me 30 minutes to go the 1.5 miles between work and church and getting downtown from Nicholasville road requires an advanced degree in geometry and navigation. But those are minor nuisances compared to what is coming.

Must you really insist on closing Limestone between Cooper and Virginia? That stretch of road is really hard to navigate around, since Cooper is not set up to handle a large volume of traffic and the back roads between Virginia and Cooper are even worse. I will commend you on deciding to do this work over a weekend and not during the week (or on a football game weekend). But, really this is crazy talk. If you insist on doing this, I will have to break up with you. It’s been a good run, but I’m starting to feel like you are pushing me away. Let me know when you decide to let me back in. Until then.....

Your Friend,

Kim

Amazing Thoughts on the Amazing Race Week 2

2009-10-04T19:05:00.002-05:00

Week 2: Vietnam

A Moving Pit Stop is the best idea ever! Although with some of these teams, I'm not sure they ever know where they are, so this may have been overkill.
One of the Gay Brothers has the prettiest eyes ever. Too bad he bats for the other team.
Race Rule #1: Read your clue people! All the way through--twice if you have too.
I still love the Globetrotters and we need more water dragon puppet theaters in the US.
Why in the world would you think that making sexy eyes at a puppet would make the puppet come to you? Or dancing for that matter?
Race Rule #2: Yelling at your partner doesn't solve anything. It just makes them mad and may lead to a failure to comply with Race Rule #1 (which is probably what lead to the yelling in the first place). Also, screaming at random people on the street will not make them inclined to help you. Do what your mother always said and ask nicely. Please is a magic word in any language.
There is nothing better than seeing a team that encourages each other in a positive way. I love Zev and Justin You can tell Justin knows just how to get the most out of Zev without being mean, hateful, or counter productive.
You never ever want to be the only team that chooses a particular detour unless you know it is something that you can do very well and very quickly.

Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.

2009-09-28T17:29:00.002-05:00

The title quote has nothing to do with anything today, but I thought it was fun.

Today, I just wanted to share with you a few links to other blogs that I found via a Newsweek article about some of the best photo blogs on the Internet. So, without further ado:

Awkward Family Photos--Who doesn't look at some old family pictures and think "Oh my God...I hope no one ever sees these!" This is where you can find them. I haven't found any of my family on there, but that doesn't keep me from checking every so often. (And laughing really hard at other people's families.)

Cake Wrecks--We've all seen the photo circulating with the cake from Wal Mart where the baker has written out something along the lines of "Congratulations Mary! Under Neat That Best Wishes" This is an entire website of baking mishaps and misfortunes like that. I laughed so hard at some of these photos, and even harder at some of the author's captions.

Engrish--A very funny site where people take pictures of signs/packaging in English that just doesn't quite add up. It may not be totally politically correct, but I sure laughed hard. Especially since I see some of this stuff on a daily basis at work. I especially like the "Paper Urine Trousers" sign.

Item Not As Described--Ever wanted to buy a leaky door refrigerator? How about some free fish heads? A used coffin? All the random stuff for sale (or free) on the web. Who wants this stuff anyway?

And the All Time Best: People of WalMart--This is why I don't shop at WalMart. But it sure is funny (probably because it's true).

The Amazing Race....Again

2009-09-27T21:43:00.002-05:00

Some thoughts from watching tonight's Amazing Race premier:

Every reality TV show should have a pair of Harlem Globetrotters on it. They make things so much more entertaining. Plus hearing Phil say Flight Time and Big Easy makes me laugh.

Eliminating one team at the start weeds out the most stupid team. Thank you PTB for not making me watch the Yoga teachers for an entire hour.

US games shows need to be more like Japanese games shows......Eaaaaaat Wasabiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!

Why do people think that they can lie their way through the race? The other teams are stupid. They will know that you don't work with homeless kids in LA.

How do the girls not know that the brothers teams is gay? Those guys are two of the most gay men I've ever seen....they even have matching orange passport holders.

Everyone needs to shovel mud at some point in their lives. Spreading it on fruit trees is optional.

Yelling at animals has never made them do what you want. Come to think of it, yelling at people doesn't work either.

I could watch angry, frustrated people herd ducks all day.

I love that the Asberger's guy handled the challenges so much better than most of the people on the race.

People, if you are going to run the Amazing Race, please learn to read a map. And to drive a stick. And also to look at the details. Those are skills you will need at some point during the race.

When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.

2009-09-23T19:33:00.004-05:00

With all the publicity surrounding the release of the Where the Wild Things Are movie, I've been thinking about some of the books I read (and loved) as a child.

Now, I can't say that I really got all that attached to many so called "Children's Books." I of course read Where the Wild Things Are, as well as others like Goodnight Moon, the Madeline series of books, and, if you talk to my Dad, What Do Smurfs Do All Day.

But the books that perhaps made the biggest difference to me growing up were the books I read as I got slightly older--the chapter books that I read early in life. Here are some of my favorites:

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell--I loved this book. In fact, if I'm being honest, I still do. I'm pretty sure this is the book that is responsible for starting my love affair with horses. I remember that after reading this, I spent months giving anyone who would listen a lecture on the evils of the bearing reign. I'm sure my parents were thrilled.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott--Another of my favorites. I still read this one about every two years or so. As a kid, something about these girls struck a chord in me. I loved spunky Jo, gentle Beth, prim Meg, and pretty Amy. (But I loved Jo the best and wanted to be just like her.) And I still want Laurie to end up with Jo every time.
The Babysitter's Club books by Ann M. Martin--I have no idea how many books there are in the series now, but I know for a fact that I read (and owned) at least the first 25 or 30 books and a few of the "Super Special Editions." They may not have been high quality literature, but they certainly gave me plenty of ideas for when I started baby-sitting on my own a few years later. I owe many a saved evening to the girls of the Baby-sitter's Club.
The Thoroughbred Series by Joanna Campbell--Another series of books that has continued to expand. I loved horses as a kid and these books fed that love. It also made me want to be a jockey, that is until I had my growth spurt at 10 and ended up being 5'8". Still, little did I know that 15 years later I would be living in Lexington and seeing the places mentioned in the books every day.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume--This book is responsible for me having a turtle. The little boy in this book wins a turtle at a birthday party and I always thought that was the coolest thing. I wanted a turtle too and when I mentioned this to my sister a decade (and a half) later, she went out and found me one. And now I have Dean.
Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell--I loved this book about an eskimo girl who races in the Iditarod with her father's dog sled team. I loved the sense of adventure that this book had and the information it gave me about dog sled racing. In fact, for awhile I wanted to move to Alaska and race dog sleds. That phase passed as soon as I figured out that it was dark for 6 months up there.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George-There was something about orphan books or books where the parents were absent that I loved as a kid. I loved this one and dreamed of running off to the wilderness and living off the land. The only problem was finding a falcon to hunt for me. And I wasn't sure I could find a hollow tree big enough (and I looked).
Where the Red Fern Grown by Wilson Rawls--There are only 2 books I've ever read that made my cry. This is one of them. The ending gets me every time. This was also one of the first books I read for school that I really really loved. Sadly, there were not that many more in the future.
A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle--I'll admit, I never read A Wrinkle in Time. But I did read this sequel and loved it. It was a perfect mix of fantasy (which I still love) and science (which is now my career). It also introduced me to mitochondria, and I still can't help but think of this book every time I sit through a lecture on mitochondrial dysfunction.
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter--Possibly the only books that held my attention as well as books about horses were books about Native Americans. There weren't many of them for kids to read, but this was one of them.

A Great Man

2009-09-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

The world lost a great man today. He was not rich, unless you count the lives he touched. He was not famous, although almost everyone in Glasgow knew his name. He was not a powerful man, but he influenced more lives than most people could ever hope to do.

Mr. Foster (for that is how I will always think of him) came into my life when I was 7 years old. I was in 3rd grade he was my new Principal. Now, the man who held that position before him was a mythic person. Like Sauron in The Lord of the Rings he was a presence often felt, but rarely seen. I’m not sure that, had I been forced to, I could have picked him out of a lineup and I’m almost positive that he had no idea who I was.

Mr. Foster, on the other hand, greeted me by name (first, middle, and last) out in front of the school that first morning and every morning after. Rain or shine he was there to open the car door and start my morning with a hearty “Good Morning Kimberly Marie Carrico, my neighbor!” I had lived down the street from him almost my entire life, but until that first morning I had never spoken to him and the fact that this very important adult knew my name (my name!) made me feel important too.

By the time I left his school I had read almost every book in the school library, I could multiply (sort of anyway) and divide, I knew the basics of US and World History, and my life long love affair of science had begun. I had learned a great deal about a lot of things, but the most important lessons I learned didn’t come from a book. He taught me about respect by showing respect to everyone. He taught me about responsibility by always taking responsibility for his actions. He even taught me to work hard by constantly being the hardest working person I knew (and the best whistler too).

But the most important thing I learned from him in my 3 years under his care was that, despite my young age, I was important. He was the first adult that spoke to me like I was his equal. He was the first adult to treat me like my opinions were just as valid as his. He was the first adult to make me feel like a person.

Over the years he was always there with a smile and a hand when I arrived at school. He never failed to buy a box of Girl Scout Cookies when I (or any other girl) came knocking. Every Saturday morning I knew to look for him washing his Corvette in his driveway and whistling away. And no matter when or where I saw him, he always spoke to me and called me by name. Always.

My favorite Mr. Foster story is from the summer after my Freshman year in college. A few of my new friends from school had come down for the weekend and I was taking them over to Mammoth Cave. I knew, due to the last minute nature of our trip and the fact that it was high summer, there was no way we were going to get tickets for a cave tour, but I figured we could at least walk down and look at the entrance to the cave. But first, we went into the Visitor’s Center to grab a couple of maps. Who did I find behind behind the information desk but Mr. Foster.

He, of course, greeted me by name, asked after my family, and then proceeded to question me about my first year at school. When he found out who my friends were, he insisted that they see the cave. After I explained that we didn’t have any tickets and all the tours for the day were sold out, he leaned over the counter and smiled. That was no problem he assured me, he was giving a tour in a few hours and if we met him outside then, he would take care of us.

And take care of us he did. We met him outside at the appointed time and he folded us into his tour group. We walked with the group down to the entrance to the cave and stood in line at the gate as the other guide took up tickets. When our turn came, Mr. Foster simply smiled at the guide (who was probably not much older than we were), patter his chest pocket, and said “I have these ladies’ tickets right here.” The other guide nodded his head and we walked in.

I have been to the Cave enough times to recite every tour along with the guide, but I had never been on a tour like that one. He picked on me, of course, because that’s what he did, but I didn’t mind. And my friends left the cave that day as much in love with it as he was. Once again he had made me feel special.

That was his gift. He made everyone he met feel special. Important. Loved. He was one of those rare people who seemed to have an infinite ability to love. And to know him was to be loved by him. Every child who passed through the door to his school (and their siblings and parents) became important to him. He learned their names. He learned their likes and dislikes. He took the time to get to know them. And by doing so, he made each and every one of them feel special.

Yes, the world lost a great man today. He wasn’t rich or famous, but the wealth he left behind him is priceless. Because he lived, an entire generation of children learned to see themselves as important. Because he lived, the world is a better place. And that is worth more than all the money in world.

Caliparication

2009-04-01T14:37:00.003-05:00

So, unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days, you know that UK fired Billy G on Friday and that yesterday they announced John Calipari was the new coach. Now, I'll admit that I liked Billy G when they first hired him, but the honeymoon ended and things went south pretty swiftly, so I'm pretty happy with this hire.

In fact, Coach Cal coming to Kentucky has me more excited about Kentucky Basketball than I have been sine 1998 when Tubby and the Comeback Cats won the title. I can't wait for next year!

He is an experienced coach who has taken two different teams to the final four. He has proven to be a great recruiter. He is charismatic. He loves the spotlight. He is saying all the right things.

Am I concerned about some of the issues with the NCAA in the past? Yeah. But from everything I've read and heard, his name is clean. And I imagine that Barnhart and Todd will keep a close eye on things. So, no one is perfect, and we have to accept that.

But this guy seems like a pretty darn good fit for us. Let's just hope he lives up to all the hype.

Ryan Parker did a pretty good job with this video:

Updated Master List

2009-03-12T14:22:00.005-05:00

Completed tasks are in blue (because I like blue). Tasks in progress are in red.

The List:

1. Take a daily multivitamin for 1 month
2. Take a daily calcium supplement for 1 month
3. Get my weight down to 140lbs
4. Run 3 times a week for 1 month
5. Lift weights 3 times a week for 1 month
6. Go 1 month without fast food
7. Run a 5K in under 29.00min (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 28.39 on 9/26/08)
8. Run a 10K
9. Be able to run 6 miles without stopping
10. Run the Run Like Hell 5K in Cincinnati
11. Finish a Half Marathon--Flying Pig, Cincy, May 2009
12. Go hiking (10/4/08 Mammoth Cave)
13. Swim in the Bluegrass State Games
14. Visit Europe
15. Visit the Newport Aquarium
16. Visit a Haunted House
17. Visit Waverly Sanatorium
18. Visit a State I’ve never been to before
19. Take Ballroom Dance Lessons
20. Go to the Drive in Movies
21. Go to King’s Island for Fearfest
22. Go to Needles and Angles
23. Go ice skating
24. Go to a midnight Hockey game
25. Take a cooking class
26. Try 5 restaurants I’ve never been to before (5/5) (Bonefish Grill 9/16/08) (Bar Louie's 12/5/08) (Saul Good's 3/7/09) (Old Chicago Pizza 2/28/09) (Tin Roof 3/12/09)
27. Learn to Quilt
28. Learn to make Grandmother Russell’s Special Occasion Rolls
29. Take a Personal/Family Finance Class
30. Read The Greatest Generation
31. Read Jane Eyre
32. Buy the 7th Harry Potter Book
33. Reread the entire Harry Potter series start to finish (0/7)
34. Read 5 books from the Booker Prize Winners List (1/5) (The Life of Pi)
35. Read 5 books from the 50 Essential Reads List (0/5) (Girl with a Perl Earring)
36. Read 4 nonfiction books (3/4) (Reading Lolita in Tehran) (In the Land of Invisible Women) (Dreams From my Father)
37. Read the entire New Testament
38. Read 1984
39. Watch Casablanca
40. Watch Gone with the Wind
41. Watch 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners (0/10)
42. Watch the Godfather Trilogy
43. Watch Schindler’s List
44. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings Movies (extended editions) in one weekend
45. Put together a family tree (as far back as I can go)
46. Take Dad to see the Eagles in Concert
47. Go deer hunting with Dad (11/8/08 9 point buck)
48. Visit Granddad Russell in Oak Ridge 3 times (0/3)
49. Go sailing with Granddad Russell
50. Do something special with just my sister
51. Go on 3 dates (0/3)
52. See Kenney Chesney in Concert (again)
53. See a play
54. See a musical (Wicked, Louisville, KY 1/31/09)
55. Knit a sweater for me
56. Get a pedicure 4 times (1/4) (12/1/08)
57. Write in my journal at least once a week for 3 months
58. Blog at least once a week for the 1001 days
59. Sew something for myself
60. Go camping
61. Get into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program
62. Get a massage
63. Go to a UK swim meet (1/17/09)
64. Write a short story
65. Be 1st Author on a Manuscript
66. Take the GRE
67. Make a decision about going back to school
68. Learn to do Western Blot
69. Learn to do Slot Blots
70. Create a budget
71. Stick to my budget for 6 months (2/6)
72. Put $250 a month in savings for 1 year
73. Give blood as often as I can (every 56 days)
74. Clean out my old clothes and donate them to Goodwill
75. Volunteer for the Thursday night meal at church (2/19/09)
76. Become an organ donor
77. Bake Cookies for someone just because
78. Knit something for charity
79. Renew my CPR certification
80. Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
81. Knit a sweater for someone else
82. Cook a special dinner for some of my friends
83. Organize and Sort my Photos
84. Organize/Update/Sort the Music Collection on my Computer
85. Clean out my craft supplies
86. Clean out the closet on my balcony
87. Sort and Catalog my book collection
88. Clean Dean’s tank at once a month for 6 months (0/6)
89. Buy a new couch (9/18/08)
90. Buy reusable grocery bags
91. Use reusable grocery bags
92. Kiss Under the Mistletoe
93. Get a new coffee table
94. Join a Gym (Johnson Center 2/2009)
95. Bake a cake from scratch
96. Finish my Dragon Cross Stitch
97. Eat out for lunch only once a week for 1 month
98. Send a secret to Post Secret
99. Reconnect with 1 person I’ve lost touch with
100.Make 1 new friend
101. Update my blog with the list and progress

101 Things Updates....

2009-03-12T10:56:00.008-05:00

I realized that I haven't updated my list in awhile, so I thought now was as good a time as any. First, a few lose ends to tie up:

#1 Take a multivitamin every day for a month: I started this the first of January and did pretty good for most of the month, but I don't think I managed to hit every day. I'll have to try again.

#57 Write in my journal once a week for 3 months: This one failed spectacularly. I did okay for a few weeks, but things have fallen off since. (Not surprising since I haven't had time to do much of anything lately).

#58 Blog once a week for the 1001 Days: Obviously I haven't done well with this one, but I'm trying to do better. Sometimes life just gets busy and blogging isn't high on the list.

#61 Get into UK's Ovarian Cancer Screening Program: I called, made my appointment, and kept my appointment so I'm calling this one Done! I even have my next exam set up.

Now, a few things that are In Progress or Completed:

#11 Finish a Half Marathon: I am planning on doing the Flying Pig Half Marathon up in Cincy in May with my cousins Gerrie Anne and Jean. I've been training and going to the gym more theses days (although this week hasn't been so good for the gym). And my goal isn't to run the whole thing, it's to just finish it, so I think this one is within reach.

#26 Try 5 Restaurants I've never been to before: This one is actually going quite well. I have already mentioned my trip to Bar Louie's (actually now it's been like 5 trips, but whatever). I've also eaten at Saul Good's a couple of times (most recently on Saturday with Jenny) and Jenny, Jenny, AJ, Brent, Ashely and I went to Old Chicago Pizza the the Saturday before which was good, but kind of disappointing since I didn't get my Chicago style crust like I wanted (they ran out apparently). So, now I've completed 3/5. Only 2 more to go.

#34 Read 5 books off the Booker Prize Winner's List: I finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel just last week. I enjoyed it, but I also found the beginning to be very slow. Still, overall it was a good book and I'm glad I read it.

#35 Read 5 books off the 50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors List: I nearly forgot, but I did read Girl with a Perl Earring by Tracy Chevalier and enjoyed it very much. It reminded me a lot of another book I had read, the name of which escapes me now, but it was very good.

#36 Read 4 Non fiction books: This one is another place where I've made significant progress. In fact, I read 3 non fiction books in a row (although not by design).

The first was Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi which was a really interesting look at the life of an English Literature professor in Afghanistan during the revolution and how she, and her female students, felt about the new restrictions placed on them. If you want to know what dose on underneath all those veils you see on the news, I highly recommend this book.

The second was a very similar book called In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed. As you might guess, it is about a female doctor raised in the UK, trained in the US that takes a job at a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Her perspective is very unique in that she is a Muslim woman, but also very western. Hearing about her journey to find her faith and try to fit it among people that are both similar to her and very different, was fascinating. Another book I highly recommend if you want to try and understand a little bit more about the women in fundamentalist Muslim countries.

The third book was Dreams from my Father by Barak Obama. I picked this one up on inauguration day, mostly because I was curious about the man who was now our President. Parts of it I found interesting. Parts of it I found dull. Parts of it I wish everyone had to read because I think it would put to rest the idea that Obama is some kind of closet Muslim terrorist. I did find the honesty about certain things very refreshing, and thought that learning a little more about his childhood made certain things about him make more sense. Still, by this point I was a bit burnt out on non-fiction reads and wanted something with a little more plot. (My next book was Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich--it's not on any list, but boy was it fun!)

#54 See a Musical: Jenny, AJ, and I went to see Wicked in Louisville January 31st, and yes, it was just as good the second time around. I'm also excited to go see In the Heights on Broadway next week when I'm in NYC!!

#63 Go to a UK swim meet: Jenny, Jenny, and I went to watch UK swim against Alabama on January 17th. It was fun, although I had forgotten how long meets can be. Still, I'll try to go to another meet next year.

#70/71: Create and stick to the Budget: This I did back in January and so far so good this year (2 for 2) We'll see how it goes.

#75 Volunteer for the Thursday Night Meal at Church: Did this on February 19th. Technically, I had to since it was my month to serve the meal as an elder, but I did go and it was nice. I'll have to do it more often.

#93 Get a new coffee table: This is did back in January as well--we technically I had the coffee table before January, but it wasn't at my house. Now it is and I love it. I'll try to get a pic of it sometime. It is pretty.

#97 Join a gym: And this is now done. I joined the Johnson Center in February so I could get ready for the Flying Pig and it has been good. I've been going at least 2 times a week so far (although this week hasn't been good).

So, I think that's all for the update. It's a long list right now, I know, but I hadn't updated in over a month, so a lot of stuff had happened. I'll post an updated master list soon.

PS. So, before I could get this post finished, I finished up #26 by eating at the Tin Roof. I went there for lunch and to watch the CATS play today (Go CATS!) so I guess that means I'm done with that. :)

I Saw God Today...

2009-03-06T11:50:00.002-05:00

Well, actually it was yesterday, but hey, who's counting.

It's been a long, rough couple of weeks and I'll be the first to admit that this week I've just been tried and pretty much given up on everything. And, yes, I've been feeling sorry for myself. But I've found that generally when things get to that point, something comes along that turns your head and makes you realize that things aren't always as bad as they seem.

Yesterday for lunch I walked down to the Penn Station that isn't too far from work. The weather was nice and I just needed to get out of the building for awhile. I went by myself because I haven't been in the most social mood lately (see previous comment about feeling sorry for myself). As I was going in, I noticed a homeless man standing on the sidewalk outside the strip of stores/restaurants.

Now, I've seen this guy around before, and I'll admit that he kind of creeps me out. He tends to stare. And in the past when I've been eating outside at Gumbo YaYa's, he'll come sit down at on of the other tables and just sit there and watch me eat. I know that he's probably okay, but still, it creeps me out.

Well, yesterday when I saw him, I made a point to avoid him. I'll admit to that. But later I noticed that he was outside Penn Station and I started thinking about how much it must suck to be a homeless person dependent on other people during a recession (not that it's ever a good thing to be homeless). I was pondering all this stuff when a nice normal looking college guy walks into the restaurant. I'm assuming he was in college anyway. He looked to be in his early 20s and was dressed all in UK gear, which at lunch time generally means you don't have a real job anywhere.

Anyway, so this kid comes in and gets in line to place his order, but he keeps looking back out the window at the homeless guy. Finally, he gets out of line, goes outside and starts talking to this guy. Now, as I was inside, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but after a few minutes, the college guy comes back in with the homeless man. They both get in line and when it comes time for them to order, college boy tells the homeless guy to "Order whatever you want."

By this point, I was done with my food and had to get back to work, but that stuck with me all day. Here was this kid, probably in school, probably doesn't have much money, and he takes the time to do something really nice for this person he doesn't even know. This person that I had seen and avoided because he made me uncomfortable.

I like to think that I'm a good person. That I don't judge others based on what they look like or dress like or whatever. But the truth is, I could have done the same thing for that guy, but I didn't. In fact, it never even occurred to me that he might be hungry. And yet, this kid took it upon himself to make sure that he had something to eat that day.

It really makes you think about what you could/should be doing every single day....

Some things Never change....

2009-03-06T11:33:00.003-05:00

So this basketball season has been quite the disappointment, but nothing will ever touch "The Shot" and the heart break felt round the Bluegrass that day. Not that we can ever escape it since it get's replayed countless times every March (most notably at the beginning of every CBS broadcast of NCAA tournament games). Now, it's even been parodied into a commercial with Christian Lattner--who really is a total asshole (I saw an interview with him the other day on ESPN while I was at the gym where he said he wants to be an NBA head coach, but he doesn't want to have to fool with paying his dues as an assistant somewhere first) and Rick Pitino for Vitamin Water. While disturbing, it is actually kind of funny, especially Rick's line at the end.

The Wheel of Time.....

2009-02-11T14:04:00.002-05:00

It's always a good game when UK and Florida get together, although for the past few years it things haven't gone our way very much (hence the reason that I am no longer allowed to watch UK play Florida at Kyle's house with Jenny, Brent, and Ashley.) There are have been some very memorable moments in those games over the years--last season's win comes to mind. But I know that last night's last second shot by Jodie Meeks (yup, Meeks again) will stay at the top of the list.

As it was, I almost didn't go to the game. I have an exam tonight and I needed to study. Plus, after 3 straight losses, one of which was the totally deflating lose at home to Mississippi state last Tuesday, my enthusiasm for the game was pretty low. But it was UK vs Florida, so I went anyway. And boy was I glad that I did. Still, if I hadn't gone, it wouldn't have been the first time I missed a great UK/Florida match up at Rupp.

Probably the greatest UK/Florida game ever played happened 6 years ago, almost to the day. It was February 4, 2003. Another Tuesday night game. Another ESPN game. Florida was #1 in the country. UK was #2. A record 24, 459 people showed up for the game. Rupp was Rockin'. I however, was not there.

I didn't have tickets to that game. My friend who was supposed to go get the tickets, bailed on me and so I was left to watch the game at home. And it was a great game--I think. I actually have very little memory of that game. In fact, I have almost no memory of the game itself. I remember what happened before the game perfectly. In fact, my recollection of the half hour prior to tip off is crystal clear. It was the last time I ever spoke to my Mom.

I had called home to check on things since I hadn't gone home the weekend before (I had to work). Ironically, that was the Sunday of the Space shuttle Columbia disaster. Mom was supposed to come to Lexington that Wednesday for a doctor's appointment and I hadn't heard from them, so I called to see what was going on.

Mom answered the phone and I knew right away that something was wrong. She was confused and wasn't making much sense. When Dad got on the phone, he told me that they had cancelled the appointment since there was nothing they could do and I needed to come home. My instinct was to jump in the car right then and come home, but they wanted me to stay for a formal I had that Saturday, so I did. Mom died early Sunday morning.

While I talked to Dad plenty that week, that Tuesday night, right before the UK/Florida game was the last time I talked to my Mom. My last words to her were "I love you."

I remember sitting down to watch the game and thinking that the Cats just had to win. I couldn't' handle a loss right then. And win they did, by 15. And they kept right on winning, running the table in the SEC that season and winning an SEC tournament title. It wasn't until almost two months later in the Elite Eight that they would finally lose the Marquette.

Did I think about that game last night while I was at Rupp? Yeah. I think about that game a lot. It comes up quite a bit. Every time they talk about the biggest crowds ever at Rupp. Every time they talk about great games at Rupp. Every time Florida plays UK at Rupp. I have always regretted that I didn't get to see that game live. But I am also glad that I got the chance to make that phone call.

So, last night when I had the chance to go to Rupp or stay home, I chose to go. And I'm very glad that I did. Now, at least, I have my own great UK vs Florida memory.

Ice Ice Baby

2009-02-03T09:17:00.002-05:00

So, thankfully, things here are just about back to normal after all the ice. Not totally, since there is still a fair bit of snow and ice on the ground (even a week later) and a few people without power, but mostly things are back up and running. I never lost power, thank goodness. But then again, in the last ice storm (2003) I was without power for 6 days, so maybe the ice storm gods just decided to cut me some slack.

I was prepared, though. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. So on Friday last week I went to Meijer to get some supplies. I need to pick up some batteries (D size for my radio) and some windshield washer fluid that wouldn't freeze every time the temperature dropped below freezing (since the geniuses that designed my car decided it was a good idea to put the washer fluid lines in the windshield wipers where they get no heat from the engine.). I also wanted to get another lighter just in case I had to spend the next few days grilling and lighting candles.

But I realized when I got to the store that I had no idea where you look for a lighter. Where exactly does something like that live? (And not a cigarette lighter, one of the long nosed ones that you use for camping and stuff.) I started out by looking in the camping eisle, which was very popular at that point since a good portion of the city was still without power. But they weren't there. Then I looked for one with the candles, since I felt like they would kind of go together. Still no dice. Finally, I gave up and headed back for the checkout, and low and behold, there they were, right next to the checkout lane. Who knew?

But it turned out that I never did lose power, so I didn't need all my supplies anyway, although at least now I have them, just in case. And they finally scrapped the sidewalk to my apartment building yesterday so now I don't have to skate across 8 feet of solid ice to get to the parkinglot, which is nice. But it is supposed to snow again today (1-3 inches) so who knows what things will be like tomorrow.

Is it spring yet?

One for the Ages

2009-01-14T13:26:00.004-05:00

I've been a UK basketball fan for almost as long as I can remember. I grew up on the Pitino teams of the early 90's, fell in love with Travis Ford, Jeff Brassow, and Tony Delk in middle school, watched the domination of the late 90s teams make 3 trips to the National Title game in 3 years, and then got to watch Tayshaun Prince, Chuck Hayes, and Rajon Rondo work thorough College. I've been to most of UK's home games over the last 8 years, seen many great UK basketball moment (Brassow's tip-in to win the Maui Invitational, Padgett's 3 to put us up over Duke, Prince's 7 straight 3's to open the game vs North Carolina). But never have I seen an individual put up the kind of performance Jodie Meeks put up last night vs Tennessee. That was something to behold.

The numbers are impressive all on their own:

Jodie
Points Scored: 54 (15-22 from the field, 14-14 from the line)
Three Point Baskets: 10 (10-15)
Rebounds: 8
Assists: 4
Mins Played: 39

The rest of UK's team
Points Scored: 36 (15-31 from the field, 4-6 from the line)
Three Point Baskets: 2 (2-4)
Rebounds: 31
Assists: 12

But what is even more impressive is the fact that Jodie did all this playing on the road in one of the most hostile environments UK has faced this year over a host of different defenders. He single handedly outscore the top 3 guys for UT (54 to 48). In fact, according to Pat Forde of ESPN (and formerly the Louisville Courier-Journal), Jodie scored more points than 6 of the Division I schools that played Tuesday night. And he did it all while playing stellar defense and not turning the ball over.

Oh, and as a foot note, he broke 3 records last night as well. Dan Issel's almost 30 year old single game scoring record (previously 53 set in 1970). Tony Delk's single game 3 point record (formerly 9). And the Thompson Bowling Arena most points scored by a single player record (previously 49 by Chris Jackson of LSU in 1999).

Sports Guys and Bloggers all over are talking about Meeks today. About how good he is. About how many points he put up. But what many of them over look is the fact that when he was asked after the game about his performance, the first words out of his mouth were "My team mates". So many guys would have touted themselves--talked about how great they were, how bad the defenders were--Meeks simply thanked his team for getting him the ball "when I was open." You gotta love a kid like that.

Welcome to 2009

2009-01-07T14:13:00.002-05:00

So the holidays are finally over a life has slowed back down to something that resembles a normal pace. I hate how crazy everything seems to get around Christmas time. I feel like I don't get to enjoy the holidays any more since it's always rush rush rush. But in all the rush rush rush, I did manage to get a few more things on my list done. But first, one of several changes that I'm going to be making to the list:

I'm replacing #97: Replace my recliner with a new goal of Join a Gym. First, because I don't really need to replace my recliner and I realized when I was shopping for my couch that I don't have enough room to get the big over sized chair that I want, so I'm just going to live with it for now. Second, I need to join a gym so that I can workout and lift weights while the weather is nasty. (It's snowing right now and it's been raining all week.)

I'll probably be replacing a few more things over the next few weeks, but for right now, that is it.

Now, on to the updates:

#1 Take a Multivitamin every day for 1 month: I started this on Monday (1/5/09) and so far I haven't missed a day. I'm hoping to keep it up for the entire month (and beyond). Maybe by then I'll have made it a habit and I can keep on keeping on.

#57 Write in my Journal once a week for 3 months: I also started this with the first of the year. I figured it was a good time to start something new. Plus, I realized how much I enjoy being able to go back and read about what I was thinking and feeling and doing at various points in my life. I've kept a journal since I was in 8th Grade (Mrs. Nation's English Class) and while I haven't always written in it all that often, I have never not had a journal since then and I tend to take it with me everywhere I go.

#61 Get into UK's Ovarian Cancer Screening Program: I finally looked up the number today and made the call. My appointment is for February 4th (ironically enough since Mom's anniversary is February 9th). It is a great program and I've been meaning to get myself in since I turned 25.

#65 Be 1st Author on a Manuscript: Before the holiday break, I had written up the project I took as a poster to NNTS this summer. My boss helped me edit it and we sent it out just before Christmas. We haven't heard anything back yet (not that I expected we would have) but it is still exciting to know that there is a paper out there in the world with my name listed first.

#70 Create a Budget: This seems all the more important now, in this uncertain economic time, so I sat down just after the first of the year and made up my budget for the year. I had been tracking my spending during all of last year, so I was able to see where my money was going and where I needed to cut back. Now, I just need to stick to the budget and all will be well....

#74 Clean out my Old Clothes and Donate them to Goodwill: I haven't actually made it to Goodwill yet, but I did clean out my closets the other day and got 4 bags of clothes to take away. I got rid of everything that didn't fit right or was old and crappy looking and most everything that I hadn't worn in over a year. I still have tons of clothes, which is kind of scary, but at least I know that everything in my closet fits now.

#86 Clean out the Closet on my Balcony: I took the opportunity while I was putting away all my Christmas stuff (which is the majority of what is out there in that closet) to clean out a bunch of junk. Now it is all neat and organized and I can actually get stuff in and out without starting a land slide.

101 Things Update

2008-12-14T21:35:00.007-05:00

So, it's been awhile since I updated my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days and there a few more things to add to the list.

26.) Try 5 restaurants I've never been to before: A new place opened in town called Bar Louie's. Apparently it is a chain with a branch up in Cincy, but I had never eaten there before. Jenny and I went there the other night, and it was quite good. In fact, it was so good that Jenny, AJ, and I went there again last night. They have the best french fries ever! Anyway, so that makes 2. (2/5)

30.) Read The Greatest Generation. This one was easy since I've always been fascinated by the WWII era. It probably has something to do with the fact that my Grandmother Russell gave me the Molly American Girl doll when I was a kid and she lived during WWII. Still, it was fascinating to get to see all these different people and all their different stories. My only regret was that some of them weren't long enough.

47.) Go Deer Hunting with Dad. This one I did this year. In fact, not only did I go hunting, I killed a deer. A nine point buck to be exact. It was getting dark when I shot him, and we couldn't find him that night or the next morning, but we did find him. I have a picture of the antlers just to prove it. I'm still not sure about the whole getting up at the crack of dawn bit, but it was nice to spend some time with Dad, and he was so excited to take his daughter hunting that it was fun for me too.

56.) Get a pedicure 4 times. Not that I need an excuse to do this, but it is nice to treat myself once in awhile. So I used the annual SCoBIRC Christmas party as my excuse and had my toes done. It was the perfect way to take a moment and unwind from all the holiday stress. If only I had the money to have it done all the time. (1/4)

100.) Make 1 new friend. There is a new guy at work (Christ) who I am befriending. He works for my old boss (crazy boss) so that complicates things a bit, but still, you can never have too many friend. Right?

And a couple of things that are in progress:

54.) See a musical. Jenny, AJ, and I have tickets to see Wicked in Louisville in January. True, I've already seen it on Broadway, but it was wonderful, and I can't wait to see it again. So, baring a major illness, this should get checked off soon.

72.) Put $250 a month into savings for 1 year. This has been on going for awhile now. In fact, I figured out how to have the bank do it automatically for me, so I don't even have to think about it. Now I just have to keep my job for a year so that I still have the money to put in there.

73.) Give Blood as often as I can. I am giving every time I am eligible (or when they want me to). Right now they like to schedule things so that I come in around the holidays so they have plenty of blood on hand then.

I do think that I will be changing a few things on my list. Mostly because I've thought of a few things that I'd rather have on there. But also because a few of them seem a little silly now. Still, stay tuned.

Completed tasks are in blue (because I like blue). Tasks in progress are in red.

The List:

1. Take a daily multivitamin for 1 month
2. Take a daily calcium supplement for 1 month
3. Get my weight down to 140lbs
4. Run 3 times a week for 1 month
5. Lift weights 3 times a week for 1 month
6. Go 1 month without fast food
7. Run a 5K in under 29.00min (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 28.39 on 9/26/08)
8. Run a 10K
9. Be able to run 6 miles without stopping
10. Run the Run Like Hell 5K in Cincinnati
11. Finish a Half Marathon
12. Go hiking (10/4/08 Mammoth Cave)
13. Swim in the Bluegrass State Games
14. Visit Europe
15. Visit the Newport Aquarium
16. Visit a Haunted House
17. Visit Waverly Sanatorium
18. Visit a State I’ve never been to before
19. Take Ballroom Dance Lessons
20. Go to the Drive in Movies
21. Go to King’s Island for Fearfest
22. Go to Needles and Angles
23. Go ice skating
24. Go to a midnight Hockey game
25. Take a cooking class
26. Try 5 restaurants I’ve never been to before (2/5) (Bonefish Grill 9/16/08) (Bar Louie's 12/5/08)
27. Learn to Quilt
28. Learn to make Grandmother Russell’s Special Occasion Rolls
29. Take a Personal/Family Finance Class
30. Read The Greatest Generation
31. Read Jane Eyre
32. Buy the 7th Harry Potter Book
33. Reread the entire Harry Potter series start to finish (0/7)
34. Read 5 books from the Booker Prize Winners List (0/5)
35. Read 5 books from the 50 Essential Reads List (0/5)
36. Read 4 nonfiction books (0/4)
37. Read the entire New Testament
38. Read 1984
39. Watch Casablanca
40. Watch Gone with the Wind
41. Watch 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners (0/10)
42. Watch the Godfather Trilogy
43. Watch Schindler’s List
44. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings Movies (extended editions) in one weekend
45. Put together a family tree (as far back as I can go)
46. Take Dad to see the Eagles in Concert
47. Go deer hunting with Dad (11/8/08 9 point buck)
48. Visit Granddad Russell in Oak Ridge 3 times (0/3)
49. Go sailing with Granddad Russell
50. Do something special with just my sister
51. Go on 3 dates (0/3)
52. See Kenney Chesney in Concert (again)
53. See a play
54. See a musical
55. Knit a sweater for me
56. Get a pedicure 4 times (1/4) (12/1/08)
57. Write in my journal at least once a week for 3 months
58. Blog at least once a week for the 1001 days
59. Sew something for myself
60. Go camping
61. Get into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program
62. Get a massage
63. Go to a UK swim meet
64. Write a short story
65. Be 1st Author on a Manuscript
66. Take the GRE
67. Make a decision about going back to school
68. Learn to do Western Blot
69. Learn to do Slot Blots
70. Create a budget
71. Stick to my budget for 6 months (0/6)
72. Put $250 a month in savings for 1 year
73. Give blood as often as I can (every 56 days)
74. Clean out my old clothes and donate them to Goodwill
75. Volunteer for the Thursday night meal at church
76. Become an organ donor
77. Bake Cookies for someone just because
78. Knit something for charity
79. Renew my CPR certification
80. Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
81. Knit a sweater for someone else
82. Cook a special dinner for some of my friends
83. Organize and Sort my Photos
84. Organize/Update/Sort the Music Collection on my Computer
85. Clean out my craft supplies
86. Clean out the closet on my balcony
87. Sort and Catalog my book collection
88. Clean Dean’s tank at once a month for 6 months (0/6)
89. Buy a new couch (9/18/08)
90. Buy reusable grocery bags
91. Use reusable grocery bags
92. Kiss Under the Mistletoe
93. Get a new coffee table
94. Replace my recliner
95. Bake a cake from scratch
96. Finish my Dragon Cross Stitch
97. Eat out for lunch only once a week for 1 month
98. Send a secret to Post Secret
99. Reconnect with 1 person I’ve lost touch with
100.Make 1 new friend
101. Update my blog with the list and progress

Food is our common ground, our universal experience.

2008-12-12T10:41:00.003-05:00

So today is the Holiday Potluck at work which basically means that the entire floor has smelled like food all day long so I'm starving. Needless to say, this is one of the best days of the year.

But before you get all excited and starting picturing tables full of casseroles and cookies, let me just say that you have never been to a potluck quite like the ones we have at work. Our potlucks tend to resemble nothing so much as an explosion of the food court at the mall. You are equally as likely to have egg rolls and fried rices as macaroni and cheese and cookies. Chicken vindaloo might be next to a dish of green bean casserole. And the desserts sometimes run the gambit from familiar (sugar cookies and brownies) to just plain odd (a sour cream/chickpea combination that was tasty, but strange).

This, my friends is what happens when you introduce the concept of a potluck to a multicultural group of people from all over the world. You never know what you are going to get, but you can bet that most of it (not all, but most) will be delicious.

So, here in about 30 min, I'll be off to see what wonderful concoctions the potluck will bring me this year.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

2008-12-09T11:36:00.002-05:00

So it's that time of year again. The time when you get to go absolutely nutty trying to buy gifts for people that you don't even see in the course of the year but still must send presents for. The time of year when you have to fight the hordes of people at the mall who aren't any happier to be there than you are. The time of year when your stress level has reached critical capacity.

This lovely time of year (also known as Christmas time) happens to coincide quite nicely with one of the busiest times of the year for me at work (known as I must get all this crap done before the holiday break). And this year, on top of everything else, it also happens to be the tail end of my Cell Biology class.

Now, I have really enjoyed the class up so far. It has been interesting and stimulating and, in a weird sort of way, fun. This week happens to be the final week of lectures. I was looking forward to this week not only because it means I'm almost done with the class, but because we were going to be discussing Cancer which is a subject that is quite personal to me and which I find interesting.

In Monday's lecture, however, I found out that maybe this week wasn't going to be as great as I thought it would be. The teacher was fine. The subject was interesting. But for some reason (and I'm still not sure why) sitting through a lecture on cancer really really bothered me.

Now, let me say that after almost 6 years, I am pretty good a guessing when something is going to get to me. I know, for example, that I need to ignore Mother's Day and I try to stay away from movies like Stepmom (which makes me cry every single time). But this one I didn't see coming. And that was almost worse than anything.

If I know it's coming, I can prepare myself for it. I can get ready. But this just kind of blindsided me. I've sat through many lectures before, on all sorts of topics related to cancer, and it has never bothered me. I've read books and looked at websites that deal with cancer, and it was fine. Maybe it was because it's so close to the holidays and I always miss her more this time of year. Maybe it's because I was already having a bit of a bad day. But whatever the reason, I know that I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's lecture now. Now, I just want it all done and over with.

Feast or Famine

2008-11-26T08:38:00.002-05:00

Dear UK sports teams,

I realize that this holiday weekend is a busy one for you. I also realize that it probably isn't the best situation to have to be out on the road for what is normally a family holiday. But please keep just a few things in mind.

To the Football team:
Last year I sat in the freezing cold for almost 4 hours to watch you blow your chance to beat Tennessee for the first time since I've been alive. (No, I wasn't at the game, I was sitting on my Dad's couch, but the furnace had gone out and the house had no heat). Please remember that when you are facing the Vols again on Saturday. I would very much like to beat them this year, especially since they are about as bad as and Tennessee football team is likely to ever be. It is just another game. They are just another team. Please, just pretend that it's Norfolk State, only they are in their Orange uniforms for this game.

To the Men's Basketball team:
You need to win your game on Friday. No excuses. No mistakes. You have to win. Not only to give yourselves a win over a team that isn't Longwood or Delaware State, but because you need to play in the late game on Saturday so that I can watch the football team play too. I don't want to have to pick between the two of you. And if I do, I'd have to say that you might be the loser. After all, at least the football team almost beat Alabama and Georgia. There wasn't anything almost about your loss to UNC. So win, that way it won't be an issue.

To the Women's Basketball team:
Honestly, while I enjoy watching you play and usually try to keep up with your games, there is just too much going on this weekend. Play well, but I'm not going to be watching. After all, I have to find time somewhere to eat and sleep and shop.

And finally, to Mitch Barnhart:
While I realize that the Thanksgiving holiday is a big sports weekend, do you think that next year you could spread things out some? After all, there are plenty of other weekends in the year for our teams to play, they don't all have to play at the same time. And I'm sure the broadcast crews will thank you too.

Yours Truly,

A Big Blue Fan.

PS. And just to underscore the madness: From the Herald-Leader Wild UK Weekend

Never Doubt that a Small Group of Dedicated Individuals can Change the World....Indeed, it is the Only Thing that Ever Has

2008-11-06T09:25:00.003-05:00

So Tuesday was election day. It was a big election day. UK even gave me the entire day off work (and Lord knows it takes an act of God for UK to call off work).

I will say that I went out and voted. I believe that no matter who you are going to vote for, or what you believe, it is your duty to vote. It is our right as American Citizens to vote. And if you don't vote, you have no right to complain. So I voted.

And as I was standing in line to vote (the only time, mind you, that I have ever had to wait in line to vote at my precinct) I was struck by how much this election meant to so many people. It wasn't all that long ago that African Americans gained the right to vote (1870 i believe, which sounds like a long time ago, but is really only a few generations removed. My Great-Grandparents would have seen this Amendment pass). For women, that right came even later (1920, less than 100 years ago). And yet, on the Presidential ballot, we had both our first African American Presidential candidate and the first women Vice Presidential candidate on a truly viable ticket. Oh, how far we have come.

I was also struck with how important it was that this country was willing to elect an African American man as our President. No matter what you think of his politics, you have to admit that it was a huge step for a country that, only 150 years ago relied on slaves for much of its industry. For a country who only 60 years ago was still trying to figure out how to grow past its past of slavery and oppression. Where for so long, any person of color was treated as inferior. Where it took armed soldiers to integrate schools. Where people died because they wanted equal rights for everyone.

Now, I'm not saying that this election erases that history. I'm not saying that it makes up for all the bad blood there. But it does show just how far we have come. And I can't help but think that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr would be pleased at the progress we have made. After all, he had a dream.....

A Dream Deferred

by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Things May Change, But They Will Always Stay the Same.

2008-10-29T13:21:00.002-05:00

There are times that I really dislike living in the South. This is one of those times.

Obama effigy found of UK's Campus

Now, there are several things which bother me here.

First, that some one thought to hang and effigy of anyone from a tree. I find the thought of hanging something that is meant to represent a real person kind of despicable. Whoever that person is, whatever they have done, they don't deserve to be lynched even if effigy.

Second, that the person happened to be a Presidential Candidate. The fact that this person is a well known politician and is running for the one office in this country where even threatening to kill him would be a crime, why would you think this is a good plan? Really?

Third, that he happens to have an African American Background. Overlooking the fact that hanging anyone in effigy isn't something I would ever consider, you can't overlook the connotation of hanging an effigy of a black man. The history there, especially in the south, is so strong that just hanging a noose in a tree is enough to spark riots in places (Jena, LA). In fact, the noose is as strong a symbol of hate these days as the swastika or the burning cross of the KKK. So how could you think that using a noose to hang a dummy representing the first black candidate for President of United States wouldn't be seen as an act of hate?

Fourth, that it happened on campus. UK is a campus that has been trying for the last few years to lose the image it has of being a campus dominated by whites. They have been trying hard to make it a place where everyone feels welcome. Where anyone would want to come and spend their college years. Obviously, we have a long way to go.

And, perhaps what troubles me most of all is that many of the people who commented on the article see nothing wrong with what was done. They compare it to the effigy of Sarah Palin that is hanging out in California. While I think both of the displays are wrong, I will say that anyone who can't see how they are different is overlooking several hundred years of American history. If you can't see how hanging an effigy of a white woman in front of your home on private property in a state that has never been identified as part of the south is different from hanging the effigy of a black man anonymously at a public university in a state that was very much a part of the south, then maybe you need to go back to history class.

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.--Plato

2008-10-16T09:48:00.004-05:00

So, I'm not a big political person, but this is my kind of Politics:

Halloween Masks Predict Presidential Winner

From the Lexington Herald-Leader today:

Those Halloween Express stores popping up all over Lexington belong to an Owenton-based company and one of the biggest Halloween retailers in the country. The Toledo Blade asked their local Halloween stores how the masks of the presidential candidates are selling. According to the Blade, "Since 1980, the popularity of a presidential candidate's Halloween mask has accurately predicted the outcome of the presidential race in all seven campaigns." In Ohio, the Obama masks are far out-selling McCain. "I sold 29 Obama masks in three days," said Bradley Newman, store manager at the Halloween USA in Rossford. "I've sold just a couple [of] McCains." Halloween Express has Obama masks outselling McCain masks, 320 to 288. The most popular mask of all, though, is Jason, from the Friday The 13th movies. The Herald-Leader wrote about the company in 2006.

Car Wash Asks Customers to Choose Presidential Candidate

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- So, how will Tuesday night's presidential debate affect the election? It seems many Knoxville voters already have their minds made up and they're showing it in a very unique way.

At the 3 Minute Magic Carwash on Lovell Road, owner Jim Rooney is certainly getting into the patriotic spirit.

He's asking all his customers to choose their candidate before they clean their car. Then they drive in the designated Barack Obama space or the John McCain space.

"I'm that Joe car wash guy, that Joe six-pack man. I'm middle-class America," Rooney says.

As a small business owner and family man, Rooney says the issues this election year are more important to him than ever before.

"What better venue for me to have a little fun with it and see what people are thinking? According to the polls, McCain is a little bit behind, but according to West Knoxville, McCain's a little bit ahead," Rooney says.

In fact, some people choose to ignore the empty Obama lane, just to wait in the McCain line.

"I want people to know how I'm voting," says customer Linda Ackerman.

Whichever candidate they chose, most customers were just happy to have their voices heard.

"Every body's concerned about this election. It's a serious business. I think it's a good thing for businesses to show that they're concerned what direction this country is going to go in as well," says customer John Doggett.

The tally is updated daily and after more than 3,500 customers, Obama has 47 percent and McCain is ahead with 53 percent.

Rooney says he'll keep his poll going until election day on November 4, when he'll urge all of his customers to go cast their official ballot.

If only everything was that simple.

A Letter to Me

2008-10-14T13:35:00.002-05:00

Dear 16 Year-Old Me,

I know this seems a bit strange, but having gained 10 years of life experience, I would like to share a few of the things I've learned with you.

First, high school is not going to be the highlight of your life. You've almost gotten through it, and I can promise you that things get better. College is a whole new ball game and most of those people that seem so important to you now, you won't see or talk to once you graduate. So don't sweat things now. Just try and hold out for another year or so. The world is much bigger than Glasgow.

Speaking of college, make sure you take advantage of all the opportunities available to you. Have some fun. School work is important, but it's not everything. Sometimes you have to just kick back and have a good time. Also, don't rush things. The real world isn't as much fun as you think it will be, so take your time in school. Take some classes that don't count toward your major but look interesting. College is a time to try new things and meet new people, don't waste it.

You will make new friends in college. Some of them will be your friends for awhile. Some of them won't. But they all have something to teach you. Pay attention. And be yourself. Anyone who is worth knowing will accept you for who you are. If they don't, you don't need to waste your time on them.

Make friends with people who are different than you. Those are the people that can teach you the most. It's easy to stay within your comfort zone, but stretch yourself. You'll be glad you did.

You are going to date a few guys. Don't worry if things don't work out. It's for the best, trust me. It's not wasted time, it's life experience. Even the bad decisions. Just enjoy what you have while it lasts. Oh yes, dating doesn't get any easier. It still sucks, even at now, but being able to order a drink does take some of the edge off. Just be willing to take risks.

I know it sounds cliche, but if you get the chance, sit down and talk to your grandparents. They have a wealth of information to share with you if you take the time to listen. And once they are gone, those stories are lost forever. Hug them when you can, too. I know at 16 you feel like you are going to live forever, but remember life is fleeting. Everything can change in an instant.

Make sure you spend time with Mom. She really is pretty great, but you won't realize that for a few years. Try to notice all the small things she does for you. And save all those notes she will send you when you go off to college. She is going to piss you off at time, but just remember that she loves you, and everything she does is out of love. The little things. The big things. All of it. She loves you and nothing else matters.

Things won't always be like they are now, so make the most of it. Things are going to get rough, but you will make it through. You are tougher than you know. And you will come out stronger on the other side. Always remember that things will get better, no matter how bad things seem. It's okay to ask for help. Rely on your friends if you have to. In fact, the tough times will show you who your true friends are. Don't worry about the ones that run off, they weren't worth the time anyway.

But most of all, remember to love yourself. I know you don't particularly care for who you are now, but learn to accept who you are. Wishing you are someone else won't get you anywhere. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but you are someone who people want to know. They are lucky to know you. Why? Because, you are wonderful. You are beautiful. You are unique. You are special. Trust me. You are going to love the person you will become. I do.

See you in 10,

Me

P.S. You really can make a career out of science. Just be willing to work for it.

Oh, what's in a Name...

2008-10-09T17:12:00.003-05:00

So, my goal was to try and blog every Friday, but that isn't working out so well. I've been so busy at work that by Friday afternoon, I'm zonked and it's all I can do to just make it home, much less convince my computer that it needs to log onto the Internet. Plus, this past Friday I went back to G-town to spend some time with my Dad and celebrate my birthday with him, so that further complicated things. Which basically means that what should have been Friday's blog you get today! Yea for being late! let's just all pretend that it is Friday already (oh wait, it is Thursday now, so tomorrow is Friday which means we get two Fridays in a row. It's like Christmas!)

Whatever.

Part of what kept me so busy last week was the fact that the Governor of this great state of Kentucky, Steve Beshaer was coming to visit UK and was going to take a tour through SCoBIRC (the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center) where I work. This meant that the lab had to get cleaned up, not an easy task since I hadn't had time to eat lunch all week, much less go around a clean. But we managed to get it all done, and I was even working (gasp!) when he came through so he could see that we actually do work in our lab. I didn't figure on getting to speak to him. After all, it was a quick 15min tour and I'm just a lowly peon in the science world; nobody worth noting.

However, I didn't count on my boss being the one giving the tour and he, of course, wanted to show off his lab, so I got introduced as they walked by. My boss also felt inclined to mention that I was from Glasgow, KY since I am the only native Kentuckian in the lab. When he asked me to confirm this, I figured that there was a much better chance that the Governor had heard of Fancy Farm (which is where my family is from), so I mentioned that as well. Needless to say, since it was a bunch of politicians, I got the expected response.

Now, if any of you don't know, Fancy Farm, KY is the home of the World's Largest One-Day Bar-b-que known as the Fancy Farm Picnic which takes place every August. It is really a fund raiser for the local catholic church, but what it is best known for is being probably the premier political gathering in the stated of Kentucky. It has, in fact been said that if you want to hold any political office in Kentucky, you had better campaign at Fancy Farm. So, it is not surprising that a group of men who hold political offices in Kentucky, knew exactly where Fancy Farm is what goes on there. (I wrote about Fancy Farm here.)

So, when I mentioned Fancy Farm, the Governor seemed all to eager to talk to me about it. Maybe it's because his eyes were staring to glaze over from all the science talk (I know mine do sometimes) and he was glad to finally understand something that was being said to him. Not to imply that Beshear isn't an intelligent man (I'm sure he is), but my boss has a tendency to forget sometimes that not everyone is as well versed in the sciences as he is and so he has trouble explaining things to your average non-science person. Anyway, Beshear made some joke about good bar-b-que to which I had to reply that my family has the bar-b-que things down quite well since they are the ones that cook it for the picnic every year. This prompted his reply that "Oh yes, I knew I had heard the name Carrico before. I've met lots of Carricos down in Fancy Farm."

So, the Governor of Kentucky knows my name. Well, my family name anyway. Which I have to think is pretty darn cool. And he has very very blue eyes. Very blue. And he is very short. But then so in my boss and so was Dr. Todd (UK's President) who was with them as well. So, who knows. Perhaps at some point in the future, I will get to meet the Governor again and he will remember me as that Carrico scientist with the family that bar-b-ques at Fancy Farm.

And just a quick update on the list, I got to check off #12 this weekend when Dad and I went over to Mammoth Cave and went for several hikes. It was a beautiful weekend and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time just me and Dad. That rarely happens any more.

List Update

2008-09-29T21:39:00.003-05:00

So here's how this will work. I'll post the entire list below. Completed tasks will be in blue (because I like blue). Tasks in progress will be in red.

The List:
Because I want to get Healthy

1. Take a daily multivitamin for 1 month
2. Take a daily calcium supplement for 1 month
3. Get my weight down to 140lbs
4. Run 3 times a week for 1 month
5. Lift weights 3 times a week for 1 month
6. Go 1 month without fast food

Because I want to stay Active

7. Run a 5K in under 29.00min (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 28.39 on 9/26/08)
8. Run a 10K
9. Be able to run 6 miles without stopping
10. Run the Run Like Hell 5K in Cincinnati
11. Finish a Half Marathon
12. Go hiking
13. Swim in the Bluegrass State Games

Because I want to Visit New Places

14. Visit Europe
15. Visit the Newport Aquarium
16. Visit a Haunted House
17. Visit Waverly Sanatorium
18. Visit a State I’ve never been to before

Because I want to try New Things

19. Take Ballroom Dance Lessons
20. Go to the Drive in Movies
21. Go to King’s Island for Fearfest
22. Go to Needles and Angles
23. Go ice skating
24. Go to a midnight Hockey game
25. Take a cooking class
26. Try 5 restaurants I’ve never been to before (1/5) (Bonefish Grill 9/16/08)
27. Learn to Quilt
28. Learn to make Grandmother Russell’s Special Occasion Rolls
29. Take a Personal/Family Finance Class

Because there are so many things I want to Read

30. Read The Greatest Generation
31. Read Jane Eyre
32. Buy the 7th Harry Potter Book
33. Reread the entire Harry Potter series start to finish (0/7)
34. Read 5 books from the Booker Prize Winners List (0/5)
35. Read 5 books from the 50 Essential Reads List (0/5)
36. Read 4 nonfiction books (0/4)
37. Read the entire New Testament
38. Read 1984

Because there are so many great Movies to Watch

39. Watch Casablanca
40. Watch Gone with the Wind
41. Watch 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners (0/10)
42. Watch the Godfather Trilogy
43. Watch Schindler’s List
44. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings Movies (extended editions) in one weekend

Because I need to spend more time with my Family

45. Put together a family tree (as far back as I can go)
46. Take Dad to see the Eagles in Concert
47. Go deer hunting with Dad
48. Visit Granddad Russell in Oak Ridge 3 times (0/3)
49. Go sailing with Granddad Russell
50. Do something special with just my sister

Because sometimes I just need to spend time for Me

51. Go on 3 dates (0/3)
52. See Kenney Chesney in Concert (again)
53. See a play
54. See a musical
55. Knit a sweater for me
56. Get a pedicure 4 times (0/4)
57. Write in my journal at least once a week for 3 months
58. Blog at least once a week for the 1001 days
59. Sew something for myself
60. Go camping
61. Get into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program
62. Get a massage
63. Go to a UK swim meet
64. Write a short story

Because I need to start thinking about my future

65. Be 1st Author on a Manuscript
66. Take the GRE
67. Make a decision about going back to school
68. Learn to do Western Blot
69. Learn to do Slot s Blots
70. Create a budget
71. Stick to my budget for 6 months (0/6)
72. Put $250 a month in savings for 1 year

Because it’s always good to do nice things for Other People

73. Give blood as often as I can (every 56 days)
74. Clean out my old clothes and donate them to Goodwill
75. Volunteer for the Thursday night meal at church
76. Become an organ donor
77. Bake Cookies for someone just because
78. Knit something for charity
79. Renew my CPR certification
80. Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
81. Knit a sweater for someone else
82. Cook a special dinner for some of my friends

Because I have a lot of Stuff

83. Organize and Sort my Photos
84. Organize/Update/Sort the Music Collection on my Computer
85. Clean out my craft supplies
86. Clean out the closet on my balcony
87. Sort and Catalog my book collection
88. Clean Dean’s tank at once a month for 6 months (0/6)

Because they are Important but defy Categorization

89. Buy a new couch (9/18/08)
90. Buy reusable grocery bags
91. Use reusable grocery bags
92. Kiss Under the Mistletoe
93. Get a new coffee table
94. Replace my recliner
95. Bake a cake from scratch
96. Finish my Dragon Cross Stitch
97. Eat out for lunch only once a week for 1 month
98. Sent a secret to Post Secret
99. Reconnect with 1 person I’ve lost touch with
100.Make 1 new friend
101. Update my blog with the list and progress

I'll get by with a little help from my friends....

2008-09-29T21:27:00.004-05:00

So, this weekend was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure here in Lexington and my friend Sarah got a team together to participate. We got together last weekend to make our T-shirts for the race (which was a blast) and then met up before the race early Saturday morning.

I wasn't expecting to run very fast. I had been too busy to do much running lately and there were several thousand people at the race so things were a bit congested. But I was running with Sarah (who runs a lot more than me and runs a lot faster than me) and apparently she pushed me quite a bit. So, despite my lack of preparation and the masses of people that had Sarah and I literally running on the sidewalk for awhile, I managed to run a personal best time of 28 min 39 seconds.

For those of you keeping score, this completes #7 on my list (Run a 5K in under 29 min). So I guess I can cross that one off my list.

In some other randomness....

My fall TV is back! And I'm loving it so far.

Supernatural is 2 episodes in and this season may end up rivaling Season 1 as my favorite if the first 2 episodes are anything to go by. I love the new twist about the Angel of the Lord who has a job for Dean to do. My favorite episode ever is Faith from Season 1 which dealt with Dean and his issues of faith, so the idea of getting an entire season of that is totally awesome.

Dancing with the Stars is one of my guilty pleasure shows (yes, I admit to watching it). I held out for a few seasons, but I finally gave in, and this show is now like Crack! I have to get my weekly fix or I'm not happy. Last season was okay, but this season Maks is back! And I love me some Maks. He is partnering with Misty May-Trainer (of Olympic Beach Volleyball fame) so I hope that he has a shot to go far this time. I tend to lose some interest once Maks is gone.

The Amazing Race premiered yesterday with another awesome season. I haven't had enough time to get to know the teams well enough to decide who I think will go far, but I can tell you this just from the first episode: I am in love the Mom/Son team of Dallas and his mom (it doesn't hurt that Dallas is by far the hottest guy on the show). The "southern belle" girls aren't going to last too long unless they start playing smarter. And the Terrence/Sarah (I think) team has some serious personal issues that they needed to work out before the race.

The only one of my shows that I'm a bit disappointed in so far is Ugly Betty. I waited all summer to see who Betty was going to choose and in the end it turns out that not only did she not choose either Henry or Gio, but they both left the show! I loved me some Gio. I wasn't too impressed with the season opener, but I'll give it a few more weeks before I totally give up on the show. It still has a few of the elements that I love so much: Hilda and Justin, Mark and Amanda, Christina.

The one new show that I've fallen for this year is Fringe on Fox. I loved me some Pacey back in the day (although I was a Dawson fan) and Joshua Jackson will always be Pacey to me, so to see him playing this totally new, kind of different, darker character is a bit odd, but really fun. It's not the best show, but it is entertaining and I don't have much else to watch on Tuesday night. Plus it has a bit of the sci-fi element that I love and a bit of science as well.

Now, once Numb3rs comes back on Friday, my world will be complete. Life is never complete until you have a little Colby in your life. :)

Every Journey Starts with a Single Step...

2008-09-22T21:49:00.004-05:00

So I'm now almost a week into my 1001 days and I've already gotten started on a few things. Here is my update:

#26.) Try 5 Restaurants I've never been to before--For my birthday dinner, I actually picked a novel restaurant. We went to Bonefish grill. Now I know it's a chain, and I was actually thinking more of fun local places when I made the list, but still, I had never eaten there before. And I'll have to say, it was good. I actually enjoyed the dinner quite a bit, and for a "nicer restaurant" it was good. I still prefer Malone's I think for a nice dinner out, but it was very good.

#89.) Buy a new couch--I actually started this one before my birthday, but the couch didn't arrive until last Thursday. However, the guys who brought it managed to tear 2 holes in it on their way up the stairs, so they are going to have to either replace the fabric or the couch. We'll see what the company wants to do. But below you can see a picture of my old couch (which I inherited from my parents who purchased it before I was born) and my new couch (which I love, apart from the holes).

Old couch (very comfortable, but also well loved)

New couch (don't mind all the junk that has already accumulated on it)

101 Things in 1001 Days

2008-09-18T10:40:00.005-05:00

So I promised that I had something I was going to be starting on my Birthday this year, and I always keep my promises. I did start on my Birthday, but I just didn't get around to posting anything until today.

What I decided to do was join the list of people who are doing 101 Things in 1001 Days. Here's how it works:

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start date: Tuesday September 16, 2008
End Date: Tuesday June 14, 2001

The List:
Because I want to get Healthy

1. Take a daily multivitamin for 1 month
2. Take a daily calcium supplement for 1 month
3. Get my weight down to 140lbs
4. Run 3 times a week for 1 month
5. Lift weights 3 times a week for 1 month
6. Go 1 month without fast food

Because I want to stay Active

7. Run a 5K in under 29.00min
8. Run a 10K
9. Be able to run 6 miles without stopping
10. Run the Run Like Hell 5K in Cincinnati
11. Finish a Half Marathon
12. Go hiking
13. Swim in the Bluegrass State Games

Because I want to Visit New Places

14. Visit Europe
15. Visit the Newport Aquarium
16. Visit a Haunted House
17. Visit Waverly Sanatorium
18. Visit a State I’ve never been to before

Because I want to try New Things

19. Take Ballroom Dance Lessons
20. Go to the Drive in Movies
21. Go to King’s Island for Fearfest
22. Go to Needles and Angles
23. Go ice skating
24. Go to a midnight Hockey game
25. Take a cooking class
26. Try 5 restaurants I’ve never been to before (1/5)
27. Learn to Quilt
28. Learn to make Grandmother Russell’s Special Occasion Rolls
29. Take a Personal/Family Finance Class

Because there are so many things I want to Read

30. Read The Greatest Generation
31. Read Jane Eyre
32. Buy the 7th Harry Potter Book
33. Reread the entire Harry Potter series start to finish (0/7)
34. Read 5 books from the Booker Prize Winners List (0/5)
35. Read 5 books from the 50 Essential Reads List (0/5)
36. Read 4 nonfiction books (0/4)
37. Read the entire New Testament
38. Read 1984

Because there are so many great Movies to Watch

39. Watch Casablanca
40. Watch Gone with the Wind
41. Watch 10 Best Picture Oscar Winners (0/10)
42. Watch the Godfather Trilogy
43. Watch Schindler’s List
44. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings Movies (extended editions) in one weekend

Because I need to spend more time with my Family

45. Put together a family tree (as far back as I can go)
46. Take Dad to see the Eagles in Concert
47. Go deer hunting with Dad
48. Visit Granddad Russell in Oak Ridge 3 times (0/3)
49. Go sailing with Granddad Russell
50. Do something special with just my sister

Because sometimes I just need to spend time for Me

51. Go on 3 dates (0/3)
52. See Kenney Chesney in Concert (again)
53. See a play
54. See a musical
55. Knit a sweater for me
56. Get a pedicure 4 times (0/4)
57. Write in my journal at least once a week for 3 months
58. Blog at least once a week for the 1001 days
59. Sew something for myself
60. Go camping
61. Get into UK’s Ovarian Cancer Screening Program
62. Get a massage
63. Go to a UK swim meet
64. Write a short story

Because I need to start thinking about my future

65. Be 1st Author on a Manuscript
66. Take the GRE
67. Make a decision about going back to school
68. Learn to do Western Blot
69. Learn to do Slot s Blots
70. Create a budget
71. Stick to my budget for 6 months (0/6)
72. Put $250 a month in savings for 1 year

Because it’s always good to do nice things for Other People

73. Give blood as often as I can (every 56 days)
74. Clean out my old clothes and donate them to Goodwill
75. Volunteer for the Thursday night meal at church
76. Become an organ donor
77. Bake Cookies for someone just because
78. Knit something for charity
79. Renew my CPR certification
80. Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry
81. Knit a sweater for someone else
82. Cook a special dinner for some of my friends

Because I have a lot of Stuff

83. Organize and Sort my Photos
84. Organize/Update/Sort the Music Collection on my Computer
85. Clean out my craft supplies
86. Clean out the closet on my balcony
87. Sort and Catalog my book collection
88. Clean Dean’s tank at once a month for 6 months (0/6)

Because they are Important but defy Categorization

89. Buy a new couch
90. Buy reusable grocery bags
91. Use reusable grocery bags
92. Kiss Under the Mistletoe
93. Get a new coffee table
94. Replace my recliner
95. Bake a cake from scratch
96. Finish my Dragon Cross Stitch
97. Eat out for lunch only once a week for 1 month
98. Sent a secret to Post Secret
99. Reconnect with 1 person I’ve lost touch with
100.Make 1 new friend
101. Update my blog with the list and progress

I will keep this blog updated with my progress and I'll try to post an updated version of the complete list every month or so. Here we go.

You Can No More Win a War.....

2008-09-11T10:31:00.002-05:00

Than you can win an Earthquake.--Jeanette Rankin

Everyone has a story about September 11, 2001. Everyone can tell you where they were, what they were doing, who they were with. For my generation it is the event that will define us. It is our assassination of JFK or bombing of Pearl Harbor. (FYI, I was in a Chemistry lab during the 9/11 attacks, heard about it on the radio in Ovid's Cafe, and then watched the coverage on the TV in the lobby of my dorm.)

That was 7 years ago. And since then, we have been at war. But I forget sometimes that we are at war. I think sometimes we get so used to seeing pictures, hearing the numbers, that we forget what war really is. We forget that it is more than numbers and maps and exit strategies. War is people.

We had a seminar today at work about TBI being one of the most prevalent injuries in the Iraq war. The speaker talked about the various ways that our soldiers sustain traumatic head injuries (mostly from IED explosions). He talked about explosions going off while soldiers are riding in convoys, about marines jumping on top of bombs to save their friends, about suicide bombers and car bombs and mortar shells. And somewhere in the middle of all that, while he was showing us photos of bombs and cars and soldiers, it sank in just what we were talking about. We were talking about human beings.

It is easy to think of the numbers. This many dead, this many injured, this many still on the ground. It is even easy to think of the stats. But when you realize that each of those numbers is a person--someone with a mother and father, a family--it becomes much harder. When I start thinking about these guys (and girls) most of whom are about my age, and what they see and do on a daily basis, it makes you stop and think.

Whether or not you agree with the war, whether or not you think we should send more troops to Iraq or bring them all home, you have to admit that the cost of this war (as with all wars) will extend far beyond the dollar value attached to it. You can't put a value on human life. So the next time you see a report on the news, try to think beyond the numbers. Try to remember that all those numbers are people.

Whatever Happened to the Golden Rule?

2008-09-10T14:29:00.002-05:00

So last Saturday was the home opener for the 2008 edition of the Kentucky football team. And, unlike in previous years, we actually have some expectations for this team. And, also unlike in previous years, they haven't let us down yet. But apparently, for some fans, this isn't enough.

I know that Mike Hartline is no Andre Woodson. I know that he hasn't played all that great in his first two games. But in his defense, the kid has sat behind Woodson for a couple of years and now he is asked to follow one of the best quarterbacks in recent history at UK with very little experience and a receiving core that lost all but one major player from last year (thank god for Dickie). He may not have played brilliantly, but he hasn't played poorly either. He has, in fact, played just about the way you would expect an inexperienced sophomore quarterback with a group of fairly inexperienced receivers to play.

I also know that freshman Randall Cobb played lights out in the first half vs Norfolk State. I was there. I saw the spark he gave coming off the bench and how he had the defense totally off balance as he moved the ball down the field. I saw how he got 3 touchdowns and lifted the crowd out of its stupor. But I also saw his second half interception and a fumble in there as well. He is, after all, only a freshman (and one that was expected to play much more wide receiver than QB this year).

While I was confused at first by why Cobb was in the game at QB (I think I was on a concession stand run when he got inserted) and why he played QB more than just 1 or 2 series, I was also happy about the job he was doing. I was expecting him to open at QB in the second half. I was expecting that Hartline might be a bit upset with how small his playing time was going to get. But what I was not expecting was the chorus of Boos that met Hartline as he took the field to start the second half.

My father taught me that it is great to cheer your team. You should cheer loudly and often, even at the TV. However, it is not okay to Boo. You can choose not to cheer. But you should never boo the opposing team or coaches. And it was just understood that no matter how badly they were playing or what they did, to boo your own team or coaching staff was to give up your right to be a fan. (Ironically, he never mentioned the officials, so I've never had the same aversion to booing them that I do to booing players/coaches.)

So you can imagine that when a percentage of the stadium (less than half, I would say, mostly in the student section) began to boo Hartline, I was flabbergasted. No matter what the kid had done, there was no need to boo him. If for no other reason than at some point this season we will need him and you can't tear him down like that and then expect him to be able to come up big when you need him to. And because he hadn't done anything all that bad! It was one of the worst shows of sportsmanship I have ever witnessed from UK fans, and I was ashamed to be a part of that crowd. Maybe we all just need to take a step back and remember that it is just a game and these are just kids. And save the boos for the refs. We haven't gotten to SEC play yet, that's when you will need them.

This is why I love swimming....

2008-09-03T12:48:00.003-05:00

This is why I love the sport of swimming. Yes, we do have our characters (Gary Hall Jr, I'm looking at you) and the occasional jerk, but for the most part swimmers are a standout bunch. How many NBA players would give up $1million to do something for other people?

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26506320/

Just call out my name.....

2008-09-03T10:33:00.002-05:00

So, unless you have been living in a cave for the last few days, you've probably heard about Hurricane Gustav. He was supposed to be the next big thing after Katrina, but it turns out that while he still packed a punch, his bark was bigger than his bite. But still, I wouldn't have wanted him to run over my house at full tilt (although if he wants to head this way now and give us a bit of rain, that would be fine).

And while it appears that the government (at all levels) learned their lesson from Katrina and did a much better job this go round of being prepared, the thing that I want to point out is this: Americans are a generous bunch of people.

I spent the Labor Day Holiday Weekend at my Dad's house, and on Monday when I was driving back to Lexington along I-65 I noticed 4 convoys of large trucks heading south along the interstate. Two were made up of bucket trucks that looked to belong to a phone or electric company, one was made up of some kind of trucks with big drill looking things on them, and the other was full of trucks pulling trailers labeled with PortaClean or something along those lines. I can only assume the last one had something to do with mobile showers or bathrooms. But what struck me was just how many trucks I saw in a very short distance (only about 50 miles or so). It just goes to show that, in general, Americans are a helpful bunch and while we may see the news and think that there is no one out there anymore who cares about his fellow man, all you have to do is look at something as simple as a convoy of trucks on the interstate to see otherwise.

Ah the smell of rulers and tape.

2008-08-28T12:15:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again. The time of year when my nice lazy summer schedule comes to an end and I have to start getting up at the crack of dawn to make sure that I can find a place to park in the same zip code as the building where I work. This time is also known as "The Students are Back".

When the students come back, it means that parking once again becomes tight. It means that traffic in the morning, evening, and pretty much all day is horrible. It means that you have to eat lunch before 11:30 or after 1:00 if you want to get into any restaurant including the Delis on campus. It means that driving down Nicholasville Road is like playing a real life game of Frogger.

But it also makes me just a little nostalgic for my college days. I really enjoyed college and every year as I watch all the students move into the dorms and start back to class, I start to miss those days. There was just something fun about the excitement of starting new classes and meeting new people. The first of the semester fun of sorting out the best way to get from class to class and where to spend your down time.

It was one of those times in life when you don't realize how good things are until much later when you are looking back. These days I would kill for a schedule that didn't start until 9am and was done by 2pm with a two hour lunch break and Friday off. Even with the homework and exams and my part-time job it still felt like I had more free time then than I do now.

I also miss that laid back life-style. That sort of in-between time where you aren't a kid anymore, but you aren't really an adult either. You are just kind of stuck in the middle and no one really expects all that much from you. Of course I still don't really feel all that grown up. I wonder when you finally start to feel like an adult and not like a dumb kid? Because really, most days I just feel like a kid pretending to be a grown-up.

Anyway, that was a little more rambling that I thought when I started out, but oh well. I'm trying to keep this updated more, and hope to post at lest once week soon. I'm starting a pretty cool project on my birthday, but I'll have more detials on that later.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow....

2008-08-26T14:34:00.002-05:00

So, the Olympic are finally over. And I watched as much of them as I possibly could (even while I was at the beach on vacation). But now I have to go back to regular TV, which doesn't seem to have quite the same drama as the games.

And oh, was there drama:

Plenty to go around in Gymnastics with Nastia and Shawn battling it out in the All Around as well as on the Floor Exercise and Balance Beam. And don't forget the drama of the team competition or the absurdity of Alicia Sacramone's finishing behind the Chinese gymnast on the Vault final.

Or you might like the drama of Men's Gymnastics with the US team, injured and inexperienced, winning a bronze medal when no one thought they could. Jonathan Horton on the High Bar was great to watch as was Sasha Artemev on the Pommel Horse (even that final routine where he fell was spectactular).

Track offered it's own drama with both US relay teams dropping the baton (literally) in the 4x100 meter relay and Jamacia's Lightening Bolt winning both sprints in spectacular fashion (while Lexington's Tyson Gay failed to make the final in the 100). But the US made up for it's short commings with the Men and Women winning the 4x400 meter relay (the women with a great come from behind victory).

And Men's Volleyball had a great story line with the coach dealing with the death of his father-in-law at the start of the games and the team going on to win gold.

My boy Tayshaun Prince helped the US men's basketball team to a redeeming gold this Olympiad after the disappointment of Athens, but there was little drama there since they blew out everyone in every game until the final.

But perhaps the most drama was at the pool.

Michael Phelps' stunning 8 for 8 Gold Medal performance will forever be known as the highlight of the Beijing Olympics. It was, perhaps, the greatest feat in all of sports. And I don't know if it will ever be equaled. And while his great run was full of great moments, the greatest thing which will come from his performance isn't tangible.

What Michael Phelps did for the sport of swimming can't be measured in Gold Medals or World Records. He took a sport that habitually languished in obscurity--relegated to the late night tape delayed status in Olympic years--and made it a prime time event. They were cutting away from Women's Gymnastics to show swimming! He had his own heading running at the bottom of the ESPN crawl. He was the lead story on the news! These are things the swimmers just don't do. You don't have an entire stadium full of NFL football fan stay after the game to watch a live feed of a swimming event half a world away. You don't have a swimmer as the final image of the Olympic games. You don't find a swimmer doing commercials for Rosetta Stone, VISA, and Johnson and Johnson. But Phelps changed all that.

I grew up swimming in a town where swimming wasn't all that popular. Our high school swim team was a meager 10 strong. We had to furnish our own uniforms and, until my senior year, our own transportation to the meets. We got no funding and even less support from the school system. In fact, several years when I had to miss a day of school because I qualified for the State Championships, I was told that I would not be allowed to make up the work I missed since that counted as an unexcused absence. I missed 2 days of class a year for swimming--the football team missed every Friday from August until November. Our team didn't get a yearbook page. The teacher in charge of the yearbook committee told me that since "swimming wasn't a real sport" it wouldn't get the same 2 page layout that every other sport got. Instead we got a tiny 2x4 group photo along side the Pep club, the History club, and the Astronomy club (which only had a 5 members). I wonder what that teacher would say to me now? I know what I would say to her: "If swimming isn't a real sport, they explain to me why the most talked about athlete of the Olympics was a swimmer?"

Yes, Michael Phelps did something amazing in Beijing. But what he did for swimming will extend far beyond the closing ceremony.

How's the View from the Top?

2008-08-15T08:09:00.002-05:00

So last night (or really, I suppose it was this morning in Beijing) the US had a stellar day. At the water cube, there were 4 Finals. The US won 3 and collected a total of 6 medals overall (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze). Michael Phelps brought home another Gold in the 200 IM bringing his total to 6 gold medals and 6 world records in 6 swims. Only 2 more to go. The 100 Fly and 4x100 Medley Relay.

But probably the best thing about last night was Nastia Liuken and Shawn Johnson going 1-2 in the Women's Gymnastics All-Around Final. It is the first time in history that the US women have won the Gold and the Silver medals in that event. In fact, Nastia joins a very short list (Mary Lou Retton and Carly Patterson) of US women who have won the Olympic All-Around Title. It was billed as an epic battle, and it was. I should know. I stayed up until 1am watching it. A great moment for the US.

Anyway, here are a few articles about this year's Olympics that I like:

No way turns into No Quit for Lezak, men's relay team

Lezak, Not Phelps, Puts on a Show

From Russia with Gold

Father and Daughter Share the Moment

Artemev takes Olympic Experience in Stride

Gymnasts Rally for Bronze

Personal Best but no Finals for Shanteau

All That is Gold Does not Glitter

2008-08-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

But all of Michael Phelps' gold does. In his quest for 8 gold medals at one Olympic Games--one more than the legendary Mark Spitz--Phelps is 5 for 5. He has won gold (and set the world record) in the 400 IM, 200 Free, 200 Fly, 4 x 200 Free Relay, and that spectacular 4 x 100 Free Relay. Coming up he has the 200 IM, 100 Fly, and 4 x 100 Medley Relay. Three events between him and history.

Although, he already hold the record for most career Olympic golds with 11, and the record for most career Olympic medals of any color with 13 (11 gold, 2 bronze). He also has 30 World Records to his credit. Not too shabby.

Still.....Gold Watch: 5 down, 3 to go.

Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision.

2008-08-11T09:54:00.003-05:00

I love the Olympics. I always have. I remember being a kid and sitting down with my mom to watch gymnastics or track or figure skating and being mesmerized by the drama of it all. One chance every 4 years to win gold. One mistake and it's all over. One chance to do something extraordinary.

Once I started swimming at age 11, I became an even bigger fan of the summer Olympics because it was the one time that I could watch my sport on TV. Swimming, not being one of your mainstream sports, it a bit hard to find on the tube between Olympic years. Even now, with dozens of sports channels, you are lucky to find anything more than the Olympic trials and the Olympics themselves broadcast.

But the Olympics are here. And now, with Michael Phelps as the poster boy for the entire US delegation and swimming for an unheard of 8 gold medals, swimming isn't just on TV, it is the main attraction. Swimming has gone from an afterthought broadcast at 2am in Sydney to a semi-popular Phelps watching event in Athens to Prime Time viewing in Beijing. Thanks to Phelps, the swimming events are not only broadcast in prime time this Olympics, they are also shown live (since the Olympic organizers decided to put the finals in the morning (Beijing time) to accommodate the US viewing audience.

Now, I'll have to admit, I don't follow the sport as closely as I once did. I am more familiar with names like Gary Hall Jr, Summer Sanders, Alexander Popov, and Ian Thorpe than I am with most of this year's Olympic team, although a few names (Amanda Beard, Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Piersol) are familiar to me. But I still love the sport. And I still love to watch it. Especially during the Olympics. I love watching Michael Phelps go for his 8 gold medals. I love watching Katie Hoff trying for 5 golds. I love watching Aaron Piersol do just about anything. But my absolute favorite part of any swim meet, including the Olympics, is watching the relays.

I love Relays. I love swimming them and I love watching them. There is just something almost magical about watching a good relay swim. And last night in the Men's 4x100 freestyle relay, it was magic.

In an event that the US men had dominated in the past (7 straight Olympic golds before the 2000 games), the US was a rather larger underdog. Despite the presence of Michael Phelps. Despite being the top qualifier. Despite setting the World Record in the Prelims. France was the favorite going into the race. They had taunted the US team in the media (much like Gary Hall did to the Aussies before the 2000 games) saying that they would "smash the US". But in the end, the only thing that got smashed was the World Record with the top 5 team finishing under the mark set just the day before.

Phelps led off with a new American Record time of 47.51, but touched just behind the Aussie who set a new World Record with a 47.24 split. Garrett Webber-Gale entered second and gave the US the lead at the half way point with an impressive 47.02 split. France was second 0.43 seconds behind and Australia was third only 0.15 seconds behind them.

Cullen Jones, only the second African-American to ever make the US Olympic swimming team (Anthony Ervin in 2000 was the first and he tied with Gary Hall Jr to win gold in the 50m Freestyle) entered the water for the third leg. He had earned his place on the relay the day before with his great split during prelims which helped the team to set a new World Record despite not having their 3 top sprinters on the team. Cullen split a 47.65 for his leg, but lost ground to Bosquet of France who swam a 46.63, the fastest relay split in Olympic history.

France went into the water 0.59 seconds ahead of the US with World Record Holder (at least before the race) Alain Bernard. It was up to Jason Lezak to make up the difference. At the turn, he was still behind and didn't appear to be gaining ground. But he wasn't ready to quit yet. Lezak dug in and slowly inched up on Bernard throughout the last 50 meters. He gained ground with every stroke, just out touching Bernard at the finish by 0.08 seconds in 3:08.24, shattering the old world record (3:12.23) by 4 seconds, and splitting an incredible 46.06 the fastest relay split in history.

It was one of the most incredible feats I have ever seen in the pool. 0.59 seconds in the 100 free is an eternity, especially at the Olympic level. At the US Olympic trials, the top 4 finishers were separated by only 0.54 seconds at the finish and Lezak swam at 48.05 (although that was with a flat start). But there are two kinds of swimmers: individual swimmers and relay swimmers. Individual swimmers can be great athletes. They can turn in impressive times. They can hold world records. Alain Bernard is an individual swimmer.

A relay swimmer will lay it all on the line for a relay. They will turn in incredible performances during relay swims. They will some how find a way to pull it out, even when all seems lost. Jason Lezak is a relay swimmer. He is the guy you want anchoring your relay.

Traditional wisdom says you should structure your relay like this: 1. Your second fastest swimmer 2. Your slowest swimmer 3. Your second slowest swimmer 4. Your fastest swimmer. Most relays are put together that way, although there are many that aren't. Using that wisdom, the US relay should have looked something like this: 1. Garrett Webber-Gale, 2. Cullen Jones 3. Jason Lezak 4. Michael Phelps.

But you can crunch the numbers all you want, times aren't all that goes into making a great relay team. You have to factor in heart as well. And Jason Lezak is a relay swimmer. He is a closer. He is a finisher. He is the man you want to bring things home. And bring them home he did. In spectacular fashion.

No Matter What Anybody Tells You, Words and Ideas can Change the World.

2008-07-24T12:03:00.002-05:00

Two posts in two days! Must be a record! (Or a really slow week at work.)

Kudos to anyone who can tell me what movie the quote in my title is from. And double Kudos to anyone who can tell me who said it.

Not that the title has much of anything to do with this post, but I do like it. And, well, words are related I guess.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately (since Summer is by far the best time to read), and when I'm doing that much reading, I tend to get the witting bug too. I do like to write. I always have. Even when I was little, I can remember making up stories and writing them down. These days I don't write too much, but every once in awhile I will get the urge and when I do, I always start to wonder if I'm really as good of a writer as I think I am.

Now, I don't see myself as being some kind of awesome writer. I don't expect that people are marveled by my exceptional word crafting skills. But I do think that I am better than the average bear when it comes to putting pen to paper. That assumption is based mostly on the comments made to me all through high school and college about how good my writing was. Especially in college, I rarely had a paper returned where the professor had not made some comment about how well written it was (even if they were sometimes given low marks for being off topic).

But these days I sometimes wonder if my stuff was really that good or if the professors had just slogged through so many poorly written essays that when they found someone who had a good grasp of grammar, syntax, and structure, they found the work to be exceptional. Not that I have the best grammar skills, but I do know what "sounds right" and I am just a bit of a perfectionist so I can be very anal about my word choices. I also have (at least I've been told I have) a very clear voice in my writing.

I don't' know. Maybe I do have a good voice. Maybe I can blame it on KERA and all those stupid portfolios we had to do in high school. Or maybe I was just born with it (instead of the spelling gene). Who knows.

But whatever the truth is, I do know that I enjoy writing and I tended to do well on writing assignments when I was in school. So maybe I am a decent writer. Or maybe I'm not. Only time will tell I suppose.

Just as long as We have We...

2008-07-23T12:55:00.002-05:00

There has been a lot of talk in the news recently ( as there always is in big political years) about the Fancy Farm Picnic. Who is coming, who might be coming, and most notably, who won't be coming. In all the hoopla, there have been many accusations thrown around about how and why certain people get to speak at the picnic while others don't. I have seen everything from "Let's get rid of this 'Good Old Boys' Event" to "Let's see the records for this 'fund raising' that goes on."

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, let me first say that my family is an integral part of the Fancy Farm Picnic. My cousin Todd is the Picnic Chairman (i.e. King), the men of my family cook the meat, my Aunts work the car booth and cook for the Country dinner. Let me also say that I have about as much interest in politics as I have in golf (read: none).

So, with that bit out of the way, let's move on to more important things.

Ignoring, for the moment, the fact that the Fancy Farm Picnic is one of the last vestiges of the old political system where candidates actually had to give speeches that meant something to crowds made up of people who hadn't already made up their minds and/or paid money to see them talk let's focus on the crux of the matter. While it has been said that anyone who wants to win a political race in Kentucky must speak at the picnic, what the political big wigs won't tell you (and why would they, since they like everything to be all about them) is that the picnic has very little to do with politics.

What, you might ask, is it all about then? There are several answers to this question. The most straight forward is this: the Picnic is a fund raiser for St Jerome Parish with all the proceeds going to the church to help pay for the programs the church runs through out the year. I can't give you numbers (I'm not much of a details person and I'm horrible with dollar amounts, distances, heights and weights) but I figure this picnic has to be one of the most successful church fund raisers in the state, if not the country. Especially considering that the town of Fancy Farm has less than 1,000 people.

Now, I'm sure some of the more cynical among you will say, well of course it is a successful fund raiser, with politicians giving very generous "donations" when they are invited to speak. But I can tell you this, while I can't say for certain that no politician has ever made a donation to the parish in return for speaking at the picnic, I can say that better than 75% of all the money raised at the picnic comes from the sale of food--the bar-b-que which my family cooks, the hamburgers, ice creams, candy, and snacks on sale, or from the country dinner served all day at the KC Hall. The rest of the money comes from the sale of car chances, tab Bingo tickets, regular Bingo cards (you better get to the Bingo stand early if you want a seat), the kid's carnival games, the 5K and Fun Runs, RV parking, and the country store. If the politicians add any money to the pot, it is a drop in the bucket compared to what is brought in elsewhere. In fact, big political years tend to mean less money for the Picnic for several reasons. First, most of the political supporters bring in all of their own food and drink and spend very little money at the Picnic. Second, large crowds of political supporters tend to drive away the non-politically minded picnic goers, keeping away people who would spend money on the grounds. So, I can pretty safely say that many Fancy Farm residents would prefer the politicians to just stay at home on picnic day.

But if you say the Fancy Farm Picnic is just about fund raising, you are still missing the point. From its beginning, the picnic has been about more than just money. It was about a community coming together to eat, socialize, and just relax. Today it is no different. People with Fancy Farm roots (like myself) feel drawn back during the picnic. It is a chance to reconnect with old friends, see high school classmates, and visit with family. The days leading up to and after the picnic are prime times for class and family reunions because so many people are already in town during that time. For many of them, it may be the one time a year they make it "home" but I know many people who say they would never miss the Picnic.

For the residents of Fancy Farm (and their families) the picnic is about nostalgia and tradition. The same families have worked the same booths for as long as most people can remember with the jobs being passed down from generation to generation. My Grandmother tells stories about coming to the picnic with my Grandfather when they were dating and how you could eat all day and only spend $0.50. My Dad talks about getting $0.25 to spend at the picnic each year and how could buy a squirt gun, and box of Cracker Jacks, and a pop for that price. I remember spending lots of time at the Cane Booth tossing rings to try and win the coveted wooden sticks. These days, it will cost you more than $0.50 to eat, but you can still find old fashioned ice cream and cracker jacks; squirt guns are still one of the more popular toys you can win or buy, and while I don't get to toss too many rings these days, you are still likely to find me at the Cane booth watching the younger members of the my family try to win.

And if I'm not up at the game booths, you are likely to find me down around the bar-b-que pits which is where you can hear some of the most amazing stories. Everyone has a few tales about Picnics past, but very few of them involve the politics.

Maybe what the politicians need to do is to come out to the Grounds Friday night and watch the 1 mile Fun Run or the 5K Picnic Run. They can see the residents of Fancy Farm lined up along the roads and sitting in their front yards to watch the runners come in. Do some of them know a person or two in the race? Sure, but most just enjoy cheering everyone on. They need to come out early on Saturday to see the lines forming for meat fresh off the pits. Perhaps they can find a kid and toss a few rings or play a game or two of Bingo before they get an ice cream cone and some Cracker Jacks. Then they need to stick around after the political speaking Saturday afternoon to watch the band play and maybe dance to a song or two before they head down to the bar-b-que pits where they can sit and listen to the locals tell stories of Picnics past and watch as the next generations build Picnic memories.

After all that, then maybe they, like the Grinch who discovered that "Christmas doesn't come from a store. Christmas, perhaps means a little bit more" will understand that it isn't the politics which makes the picnic special. It's not the ice cream or the band or the car raffle or even the bar-b-que. What makes the Fancy Farm Picnic special are the people. And as long as there are people in Fancy Farm, there will be a picnic there on the first Saturday in August whether or not the politicians show.

Economy is how to spend money without enjoying it...

2008-06-19T13:56:00.003-05:00

And Economy is soon going to be how I must live if I want to have enough money to live on since UK has apparently decided that its Staff are not important.

Now first, just let me say that I love my job. I really do. I love what I do and I love the people I work with. What I don't love sometimes is the University that seems to take things over from time to time. UK approved its budget for the 08-09 fiscal year the other day and let's just say that things did come out well for the Staff among us.

First, they are freezing salaries this year, which means no yearly raises. Now I guess that's not really a huge deal until you consider that the cost of everything is going up these days. My muffin mix from the grocery store has gone up from $0.79 to $1.29 these days. That's a 63% increase in just a couple of weeks! And that's just one thing. If my entire grocery bill went up 63% I wouldn't have the money to eat at all. Not to mention the $4.00 a gallon gas that I would need just to get to the grocery store.

And it's not just the cost of groceries and gas that is rising. UK is also raising the cost of parking for the upcoming year. I now get to pay a whopping $372.00 a year to park my car at work. Yea for UK! Let's cut pay but raising parking fees. Then people won't come to work and we won't have to pay them. In fact, the only thing that's not going up this year is our Health Insurance Premium. At least that is staying the same.

UK also decided to eliminate 188 positions. They make that seem like no big deal since all but 15 of those positions were vacant anyway, but when you consider that we've been under a hiring freeze since January 1, the 173 empty positions make more sense.

UK has also decided that in order to save money, they need to decrease the amount of time we have to use our vacation time. Previously, our vacation accrued starting July 1 of every year until June 30 of the next year. After that, we had 15 months in which to use our vacation time (so you had to use it by September 30 of the next year). Now they have shortened the time is which we can use our vacation from 15 months to 12 months. Not a huge deal, but still something of a crappy move on their part. You aren't giving us a raise, at least let us use our vacation time.

Now, the real kicker is this: The University doesn't have enough money to give us a raise, but they have enough money to give our President (who already makes $300,000 a year) a bonus of $150,000 this year. That's 50% of his salary! Who gets a bonus like that? I don't get a bonus at all. Grandly, President Todd only kept $90,000 of his bonus and gave the rest back to the university, but really, who needs $90,000 extra on top of a $300,000 salary? I could live well for 6 or 7 years on $300,000. And $90,000 is more than I will make in two years. Why couldn't they have put some of that money toward UK's staff.

UK has 11,000 staff. Why not give each of us a $100 gas card. That leaves $4,000 for the "bonus" which is still way more than most people I know get as a bonus (if they get a bonus at all). Or just give the money to the parking division and not raise our prices this year. Either way, I will be happy. You can't expect those of us most hurt by the lack of our yearly raise to be understanding when you give someone who makes more than everyone in my lab put together a bonus that is more than our yearly salary. Really, that's not cool.

Okay, I promise I'm off my soapbox now.

Better Late then Never.....

2008-06-18T15:02:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, including my friend John who became a brand new dad at11:43 pm on Saturday night. His little boy Elliot is quite possibly the cutest baby on the face of the planet (although I might be just a touch biased). Congratulations John and Beth!

Also, because it was Father's Day, I should probably mention that I have by far the best Dad on the planet. Sorry if you think that's wrong, but he is. He loves me and puts up with all my craziness and never even blinks when I call him at crazy times demanding things like "Fix My Car" or "Make the Bugs Go Away" or "What are You Going to do with Your Other Daughter?" despite the fact that he lives 2 hours away. He just tells me what to do and walks me through it until I calm down and start to make sense again. I guess 25 years of putting up with me has given him just a little bit of experience to go on.

He's been a little tied up in building his new house lately, and I haven't gotten to see him as much as usual, but he is doing a better job of making time for me and my sister these days(after I called and laid a huge guilt trip on him). At least the huge new house is almost finished and by the end of this weekend, they should be all moved in. Maybe. Somehow I think this house will never be done.

We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics. ~Bill Vaughan

2008-06-06T12:29:00.003-05:00

The quote in my title is from Bill Vaughan, and is very apt these days since for the last week I have been at war trying to keep my apartment free from bugs.

Now before you get all "ewwww, gross" on me, let me first say that these bugs are not of the nasty variety (ie. cockroaches) or the terrifying variety (ie. spiders, millipedes). They are of the OMG they are taking over my room variety. Yes, the insect which has chosen to make its assault on my apartment is the Springtail which is the single most prolific insect known to man. They can reach numbers of up to 100,000 individuals per meter of topsoil. I think they reached nearly that number on the window sill in my bedroom.

Once I noticed the problem, I began spraying the sill several times a day with pesticide, which seemed to kill the bugs there at the time, but did nothing to keep new ones from appearing. Soon, they had claimed the window sill as well as my blinds and curtains as their 0wn. This prompted a call to the apartment office to see if they would have the BugMan come out a spray. They assured me someone would come out first thing Monday, and I figured that I had won the war.

Not so! BugMan sprayed Monday, but Monday night there were more than ever, and now they were trying to claim my bed! Not Good! They had also taken over my balcony. Apparently, spraying for bugs only made them angry. Tuesday I called the office again and got a very lukewarm resp once. "Give it a few days," was the best they would do. I don't know about you, but when I have bugs in my bed, I don't want to give it a few days. Tuesday night, I started sleeping on the floor in the living room.

Wednesday, I decided that a trip to the office was needed as the bugs were still increasing in numbers. I waited until the office opened at 9 and then went to pay them a visit. After much cajoling and refusing to leave until they did what I wanted them to do, I convinced them to call the BugMan again and have him come out and spray the inside and outside of the building. I also went and bought about $30 worth of bug spray myself at Lowes and treated my bedroom, bathroom, and hallway as well as scrubbed down and sprayed my entire balcony. This seemed to have worked pretty well on the balcony, but did little to help the situation on my bed.

Thursday, I asked the office to have the BugMan call me when he arrived so I could ask him a question or two, but they failed to relay that information. Instead, when I arrived home, I found that nothing had been done. This time, I looked up the BugMan myself in the phone book and called them directly. The lady on the phone was very nice, gave me all the information I needed, and even had the BugMan come out that day while I was home so I could show him what was going on and have him spray everywhere.

So, as of today, the bugs seem to be grudgingly giving ground, although they are still present in my window and on my bed. At least they seem to be losing numbers. I am going to give it until the end of the weekend to get better before I start making phone calls again. I will not lose my house to the bugs!

Other things may change us, but we start & end with Family...

2008-05-26T21:11:00.005-05:00

I spent this weekend in the loving arms of my family. It was the 33rd annual Carrico family B&B Picnic which, like most things my family does, is a big to-do. In all fairness, though, when you have close to 85 people in the family, everything is a big to-do.

For anyone who doesn't know, I come from a very large Italian-Catholic family. My dad was one of 11 kids raised in a small farming community in Western Kentucky called Fancy Farm. I swear, that is the name of the town--you can google it if you want. I have 28 first cousins on that side of the family--meaning there are 30 grandchildren all together--and there are currently 23 great grand kids with more always on the way. When you add in spouses the grand total of family members comes to well above 80.

Now, I know I'm not the only person out there who has a large family. In fact, I know of several people who have families similar in size to mine. What really tends to make my family unique is the fact that almost every person in the family lives in or near Fancy Farm. My self, my sister and one other cousin live in Lexington. I have two cousins up in Cincinnati and an Aunt, Uncle and three cousins in Atlanta. My dad lives in Glasgow and one cousins and his family who live in Tennessee. Other than that, the entire family lives within a 30 minute drive of each other.

As you can imagine, this means that any family event (of which there are many through out the year) turns into a huge gathering. My Grandmother has anywhere from 60 to 80 people over every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. My Aunt Elaine's 4th of July pool party draws a crowd of close to 50 or 60, and a good portion of the family (20-25 people) cook together at least once every week.

Because they see each other so much, the family is really very close. And I love going down to visit them. I love the hugs. You don't realize, living by yourself away from most of your family, how little physical contact you have on a daily basis. But in my family, you hug everyone when you arrive and when you leave every time not just at the beginning and end of the trip. My days were filled with hugs, and it was great.

Me and my Godfather Richard (aka Sissard)

And I loved getting to see all the kids. I don't get to hang out with a lot of kids in my day-to-day life. But this weekend was all about kids. Kids of all ages from my 14 year old cousin Jailynn to my cousin Kelly's new baby who is only 9 months old. There were games to be played and stories to be told and hand to be held and things to be shown. My sister and I are the "cool older cousins" who live out of town and only come to visit a few times a year, so a lot of the kids compete for our attention. Nothing makes you feel more loved than having four little girls fighting to sit next to you at dinner.

Chase, Trey, Kristen, & Chance

My cousin Aaron's little boy Carson

My cousin's little girl Mallie

But of all the things I love about my family, the thing that I love the most is the fact that they love me totally and unconditionally. They love me because of who I am. They love me in spite of who I am. They love me for who I am. And everyone needs to feel that kind of unconditional love. After all, that is what family is supposed to be about.

The entire gang on Sunday

My cousin Bryan with his girlfriend Courtney

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You...

2008-05-20T17:36:00.002-05:00

So, if you are like me and live in Kentucky, today is primary day. Now, May primary elections in Kentucky are generally about as exciting as watching paint dry since most national elections are long over before we go to the polls and most State elections don't get interesting until the fall. But this year, somehow, Kentucky's vote actually matters. Not that the vote was in doubt--there is no way that a state that chose to be part of the South After the Civil War is ever going to elect a Black man as President of the United States. But still, at least I felt like there was a reason to go to the polls.

Not that I ever don't vote. I love voting. Something about it makes me feel very American. Maybe it's the fact that it is one of the few places you still see the American flag displayed proudly. Maybe it's because it feels like I get to be part of something that goes back to the days of George Washington and Ben Franklin. Or maybe I just like to feel like I have some say in what goes on in this country. Still, I always vote, no matter how small the election or how insignificant the outcome may be.

I guess my philosophy is that if you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain when things go sour.

Missing Her So Much I Couldn't Breathe....

2008-05-11T19:36:00.004-05:00

So, today is mother's day. Quite possibly, this is my least favorite day of the entire year. Now, I don't play the dead mother card very often, but I feel like this is one day that it is okay for me to say, "Hey, I had a mother too, and she's dead, and I miss her."

Mother's Day, for those of us who have lost our mothers is kind of like Valentine's Day for single people (which I am also an expert in) but worse. When you are single on V-Day, there is always the hope that maybe next year you will have someone to celebrate with. But I know that no matter what, I won't enjoy Mother's day next year any more than I am enjoying it this year.

In all fairness, though, Mother's day isn't the only day that I miss my mom. I miss her every single day. Most of the time I can put that aside and go on with life like everything is just fine. But every once and awhile, I just need the day to sulk and pout and feel sorry for myself before I can get back to living. Those are the days when it hurts. When I can really see what I've lost and how much I will miss.

My mother never got to see me graduate from college with my 4.0. We didn't get to take the trip to Europe the summer after I graduated like we had planned. She didn't get to see me land my first job, or to quit my first job. I won't be able to call her the first time I fall in love, and I won't have her words of wisdom when I fall out of it again. She won't be there when I get married or when I have my babies. I won't get to watch her grow old and play with her grandchildren.

I was 20 when my mom died, 17 when she get sick. I am 25 now. But just because you are all grown up doesn't mean that you don't still want your mom every once in awhile. Sometimes the hole feels so big that I don't think I can ever fill it up. There is a great line in the movie You've Got Mail where Meg Ryan's character is talking about getting her book shop ready for Christmas without her mother and she says she was "missing her so much I couldn't breathe." I never understood what she meant until I lost my own mom. Now there are times when I do miss her so much that even breathing feels like an effort. There are days when I don't want to get out of bed because it hurts too much. And there are times when I would give anything to be able to talk to her again.

My friends say I talk about my mom like she is still here. In a way, I suppose she is. I find that I get more and more like her as I get older. And for better or worse, she is the voice in my head that tells me when I'm going wrong or doing right. The things she taught me still shape how I do things around the house: washing dishes, folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom. And I get told all the time how much I look like my mom. I've never seen it, really, but then again I don't think you ever think you look like anyone else.

But all that doesn't add up to what my mom was to me when she was alive. She was my best friend. She was my mentor. She was my confidante. She was the one person I could count on to always tell me the truth and to help me figure things out. She was so intertwined in my life that before she died, I couldn't imagine a life without her, and now I sometimes wonder how I can make it work. But I do. And it does seem to get easier as the years go by. It's been 5 years now and I don't have as many bad days I as used to. But I still miss her every day. And I probably always will.

So, to those of you out there who still have mother's to celebrate with today, count your blessings, because there are those of us in the world who would trade places with you in a heart beat if you asked.

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want to.....

2008-04-26T12:08:00.002-05:00

So this week at work was Crazy! The deadline for abstracts to be submitted for the National Neurotrauma Society Meeting in Orlando in July is coming up on May 15th and everyone in my lab has experiments going on which means I have about 1 million things to do every day to try and make everyone happy. Add that to the fact that my experiment isn't working so well, and you can see how my week maybe wasn't the best.

But it wasn't all bad. At least this week marked the return of some of my favorite shows from their Writer's Strike hiatuses (hiati? what is the plural of hiatus?). Numb3rs and Moonlight were back on Friday and Thursday saw the return of Supernatural (with a very funny episode, and one of my all time favorites) and Ugly Betty.

This week it's Betty's Birthday and she has planned and "perfect" birthday weekend getaway with Henry (her boyfriend who got his crazy ex-girlfriend Charlie pregnant). But, this being TV, we know that any "perfect" anything won't actually happen because, well, that would be boring, and boring doesn't make for good TV. So anyway, Charlie (the Baby Mama) shows up just in time to ruin Betty & Henry's plans. Betty gamely makes up a new itinerary, but Charlie manages to spoil that too by playing sick so Henry has to take her to the doctor. Because Henry has bailed on her, Betty's friend Gio tries to help her out, but his efforts fail as well and Betty end her birthday with no dinner, no fireworks, a failed carriage ride, and a dress covered in Hot Chocolate. No the best birthday ever.

I felt for Betty. I really did. Because I know what it's like to have a birthday where nothing goes right. I am the queen of bad birthdays.

For at least four years running I had some of the worst birthdays and birthday parties of anyone I knew. It became a joke with me and my friends that I was under some kind of birthday curse.

First, there was my freshman year of college where a group of friends and I decided to go out to Jacobson Park and ride the paddle boats. Great idea, right? Maybe not. First off, there were five of us and only two to a boat which meant someone got to be the odd man out. Now, logic would say that the birthday girl shouldn't have to ride alone, but unfortunately, that wasn't how tings worked out. Two of the people with me, Monica and John, were totally into each other. They weren't dating yet, but would be soon and so they went together in one boat. That left me, MaryAnne, and Nick to split up for the other boat. At that time, we thought Nick had a thing for MaryAnne (boy were we wrong there) and so MaryAnne insisted that she ride in the boat with Nick. That left me as the luck gal who got to ride alone.

Okay, no big deal. I can do this alone, right? Sure. And, while it was very tiring, it wasn't horrible. But then when it was time to leave, we all pulled our boats back to the dock. When they were getting out of their boat, somehow MaryAnne managed to trip and hurt her toe. It didn't seem like too big of a deal at the time, but we heard about that damn toe for the next three years.

The next year, I wisely said NO to the paddle boats. Instead, MaryAnne (who was now the VP of Fellowship for APO) planned a kayaking trip on the Kentucky Rive for the weekend of my birthday. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but it sounded like it could be fun, so I let her bully me into going. Unfortunately, things didn't start well. That year was 2001 and my birthday is September 16th which made it 5 days post 9-11. After that, I had no interest in going anywhere except home. But, because if I didn't go, they wouldn't have enough people to get the group rate, I went. In fact, not only did I go, but I had to drive because no one else would.

The actually Kayaking trip was fun, and we were all tired when we got back, but the plan was to stay up until midnight and celebrate my birthday (since we were going to be getting up early the next day to leave). At midnight, however, Nick was sick and in bed, and everyone else was too drunk to care, so I ended up eating some "Birthday Cookies" by myself and then proceeded to sleep on the floor since there weren't enough beds for everyone.

The next year, I had planned a big dinner out and then a movie. It was going to be on a Monday night, so I wanted something low key but fun. MaryAnne, however, decided to plan an APO scavenger hunt that night and wouldn't hear of changing the day. And, since most of my friends at that point were in APO, we went scavenger hunting instead of to dinner and the movie got moved to another night (which also ended in disaster with me sitting by myself during the movie since the theater was packed and we couldn't find enough seats together.).

By my senior year (and my 21st birthday) I knew enough not to make big plans. I wanted a simple dinner out with some of my friends. They wanted to get me drunk since I was now 21 and legal. UK wanted me in class. I had an 8am physics exam the morning after my 21st birthday so needless to say, it was a quick dinner with friends and then I spent the rest of my night studying for my exam.

Thankfully, now that college is over, the birthday curse seems to have been lifted some. I've had several decent birthdays in a row now. But believe you me, I know exactly how Betty felt when all her plans fell apart.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll....

2008-04-18T22:17:00.002-05:00

So this fine day began in a rather unusual manner. At about 5:40 this morning, I woke up to my bed shaking quite vigorously. My first thought (having been deeply asleep) was that someone had broken into my apartment and was standing at the foot of my bed shaking the mattress. Needless to say, this thought got my fully awake faster than just about anything else could have (except when I accidentally set my alarm to the buzzer instead of the radio and I think it is the fire alarm). I jumped up and reached for the baseball bat that I keep next to my bed in order to fight off this bandit who needed to wake me up before robbing me. Yes, I know it doesn't make much sense, but in my defense, I was asleep and dreaming about 10 seconds before that.

Once I figured out that no one was standing at the end of my bed (but the bed was still shaking) I next thought that maybe it was the neighbors which I share my bedroom wall with (the wall that my bed is on) playing music or banging or something really loudly and shaking my bed. To test this, I put my hand on the wall, but the wall wasn't moving (or rather, was moving with me). The thought crossed my mind that maybe this was an earthquake, but really, how many quakes do we get in Kentucky? About that time the shaking stopped so I lay back down and went back to sleep (it was early after all).

When my alarm went off later, I thought for a minute that maybe I had dreamed the whole thing. I do have a tendency to have very vivid dreams that scare me awake like my recurring dream that there are spiders in my bed and I have to turn on the light so I can kill them. (I usually wake up when I flip the light switch.) I thought that maybe I just dreamt my bed was shaking, and scared myself awake. It turns out, however, that I wasn't dreaming and there really was an earthquake at 5:37 this morning.

The quake was centered in Illinois, not too far from Evansville, Indiana, but was felt as far away as Atlanta and Chicago. I think it measured something like a 5.6 on the Richter scale, which isn't bad at all. Still, as scary as the whole thing was (invisible home intruders non-withstanding) I can't imagine what it would be like to be in a large quake that shakes things off the walls and moves furniture. I hope I never have to live through one like that. This morning was enough shaking for my lifetime.

I Love The Whold World.....

2008-04-16T09:35:00.003-05:00

While watching The Deadliest Catch last night on the Discovery Channel, I saw my new favorite commercial ever. It makes me smile (all except for the part where the guy is holding the giant spider).

Nature's First Green Is Gold....

2008-04-15T10:11:00.002-05:00

So, spring is finally here, although you wouldn't know it from the weather these days (a Freeze in April?!). With spring comes possibly the best thing that happens in Lexington all year--Keeneland! Well, okay it happens twice a year, but still, I love the spring meet most. Maybe it's because you get to see some of the Derby contenders run without the hassle of trying to actually go to the Derby. Or maybe it's just that I am so excited to see sun and warm after months of cold and snow that anything outdoors seems great.

But I do love Keeneland. And this past Saturday was the crown jewel in Keeneland's Spring meet, with the running of the Bluegrass Stakes--one of the Derby Preps and the only one held in Kentucky. Dad and Kathy came up and we all went out to the grand old track for a day at the races. It's wasn't the best weather--in fact it was so cold that eventually we had to move inside--but it was fun.

I normally don't bet much money, so I don't win much money ($2.00 per race is my norm). On Saturday, I went into the day with $20.00 to bet on the ponies. I cashed a few small tickets, so by the time the Bluegrass rolled around, I was only down about $6.00. In the spirit of the day, I decided to bet the rest of my $20.00 on the Bluegrass and see what happened. I knew I wanted to place a couple of win bets and a show bet or two, but I still had a few more dollars to spend, so I asked Jenny, Jenny, and Kathy to each pick a number between 1 and 12 (the number of horses in the race). Kathy picked 3, Jenny (friend) picked 5, and Jenny (sister) picked 8. My intention was to bet an exacta box with the horses they chose, but seeing as the 8 horse had odds of 67-1 at the time, I decided to place a Show bet on him, and do the others in a box with the 1 horse and the 7 horse who I liked a lot.

Once all the bets were placed, we went outside to watch the race. The 3 and the 5 came out early and went to the lead, which is normally a very very bad sign. This time, however, they stayed in the lead the entire way and finished 5-3. I placed a $14.00 bet and won $70.00. Very exciting. Not that any skill was involved in this winning at all, but still.......

I'll be going back to Keeneland on Thursday this week with a group from work (my boss pays us to go to the track!). Hopefully my good luck with continue.

Remembering Mr. Wildcat

2008-04-02T21:27:00.002-05:00

Oh Captain my Captain.....

2008-03-31T22:20:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was a sad day for the Big Blue Nation. The only non-player, non-coach to ever have his jersey retired to the rafters at Rupp died.

Bill Keightley was the equipment manager for the UK men's Basketball team. At most schools, you would be hard pressed to find one person outside of the Athletics Department that could identify the equipment manager. At UK, you would be hard pressed to find one person who couldn't. Bill Keightley, or Mr. Wildcat as he was more commonly known, was a staple on the UK from 1962 until he died. The numbers speak volumes. He sat on the bench for 48 season, serving under 6 coaches beginning with legendary coach Adolph Rupp. He saw UK win 3 NCAA titles, 12 SEC tournament titles, 24 SEC regular season Championships, and 1,113 games. He was on the bench for 1464 games, 57% of all the games UK every played.

You could always find him sitting in the first chair on the bench, right next to the scorer's table. And he was always happy to shake your hand, sign an autograph, or take a picture with you. I have done all three at least a couple of times before UK games. And I don't know how many times, when I was waiting for tickets early in the morning outside the SAC offices, which were right across the hallway from the UK men's locker room, he would walk by with his bin full of towels or uniforms or whatever and take a minute to stop and chat with us. He always had a smile on his face, and I don't think I've ever heard anyone say a single negative thing about him.

He was one of those rare people who made you feel like you were the most important person in the world to him, even when he had just met you. He was warm. He was genuine. He was special.

After all, how many equipment managers have their own calendar? Or get a standing ovation when they are introduced at the first practice of the season?

Last year, when he turned 80, they passed out 8x10 cards at the game that had a picture of him popping out of giant cake on it. He has had his picture featured on bottles of Maker's Mark bourbon, was honored with a lifetime achievement award at UK's annual Catspy ceremony in 2005, and was inducted into the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. The equipment room in Memorial Coliseum is named for him, as is an award given to the person who "understands and exemplifies the pride, respect and the positive attributes associated with being a part of the Kentucky basketball program."

I can't imagine UK basketball with Mr. Wildcat. I don't remember at time when he wasn't sitting on the bench. Through the good years, the bad years, the coaching changes, the ups, the downs, he was there. He sat on the bench for so many of the great moments in UK basketball history. The '78, '96, and '98 title runs as well as the '97 trip to the final game, the "historic loss" to Texas Western that was immortalized in the movie Glory Road, and the Lattner shot in '92. He saw the Mardi Gras Miracle, Tayshaun Prince's 5 straight 3's to open the UNC game in '01, friend and former UK coach Rick Pitino's return to Rupp as the U of L coach in '01, Patrick Sparks 3 free throws to beat Louisville in '04, and most recently the valiant effort of Joe Crawford in his 35 point performance against Marquette in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year.

He was one of those people that were such a fixture that you can't imagine they will ever be gone. Former UK player and broadcaster Larry Conley said, "I always felt like someday he'd sit down on the end of the bench in Rupp Arena, go to sleep and just not wake up." I think many of us felt the same way. We all knew that one day he wouldn't be there any more, but we just couldn't picture it. Now we have to.

He was also one of those people who defy description. To put into words what he meant to the UK program would require more eloquence than I have, but I think Mark Story from the Herald Leader said it pretty well. "Bill Keightley is gone. The heartbeat of Kentucky Basketball can never be quite the same."

Death is nothing at all

I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Canon Henry Scott-Holland

Mental Health Day

2008-03-28T20:55:00.002-05:00

So today I decided to take a mental health day from work. It had been a long week and I knew I didn't have much going on today, so I used up one of my many vacation days and stayed home. And let me tell you, it was perfect. I got to sleep in (and it was a perfect day for sleeping in, rainy and dark) and then lay around in my pajamas for a few hours watching crappy daytime TV and messing around on the computer (Packrat on Facebook is my newest obsession).

You know, there is something very satisfying about still being in your pajamas when you know the rest of the world is hard at work. Now, I'm sure if I had to do it everyday, I would get tired of it, but for today it was perfect. And the best part is, that because today was Friday, it means that I still have two whole days of freedom left before I have to go back to work. God Bless the person who thought up vacation time!

Care to Dance?

2008-03-17T20:45:00.002-05:00

So, I was totally going to try and not talk about basketball today (other than to say that UK got in, yay!) but then I realized that what I wanted to talk about (Dancing with the Stars) still involved dancing. So I figured a little more basketball talk would be okay since everyone who knows me knows that I pretty much eat, sleep, and breath college basketball, especially this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I love football, and swimming will always be close to my heart (I'm so looking forward to the summer games in Beijing this year--go Phelps!), but college basketball was my first love.

I grew up on college basketball--Kentucky wildcat basketball actually. I wanted to be a UK basketball player when I grew up, until someone pointed out that girls and boys don't get to play together in college (not to mention that I was kind of awful at basketball anyway). Then I decided that I would just marry a basketball player, namely Travis Ford (which was apparently not uncommon for girls growing up in the Commonwealth during those years). Finally, I had to settle for just watching UK play as much as humanly possible. Still, that seems to have spilled over into an all out love of the college game. I can't help myself, I just love to watch it, no matter who is playing. And especially this time of year, I can't get enough.

Dick Vitale (I know, you love him or hate him) said on the selection show last night that the next three weeks are the greatest three weeks of the year, and I'd have to agree with him, only I'd say that you'd have to include last week in that as well. You really just can't beat college basketball post-season play. After all, when else do you get to watch a team like Georgia, who won all of 4 games all year in conference play, win 4 games in four days and earn a ticket to the NCAA tournament? Or see a team like Clemson knock off Duke (oh yeah, it's always a good day when Duke loses) and then play UNC to the wire? Can't beat it.

But, I promise, that at the end of the next three weeks, I will go back to talking about something else. I will. I swear.

Oh yeah, and I am totally in love with Mario on Dancing with the Stars this year. I am totally going to be cheering for him and Marlee Matlin this season, especially in the absence of Maksim and his hotness.

Selection Sunday

2008-03-16T15:05:00.002-05:00

Well, after a very eventful SEC Tournament (which Jenny and I thankfully decided not to attend this year) it is almost time for us to find out if our late season run is enough to get us into the big dance. While I was hoping for a better showing in our game against Georgia, I can't fault the boys for coming out a bit flat considering that they played the game at noon on Saturday instead of 10:00pm on Friday in an arena that they hadn't had a chance to practice in, against a team which plays there at least once every other year, in front of empty stands.

And, while I am disappointed in our loss, and they jury-rigged set up for the rest of the tournament, once you see the pictures of what the area around the Georgia Dome looked like Saturday morning, you can see why they had to take such drastic measures. It really is amazing that no one in the Dome got hurt. They really dodged a huge bullet there. Someone up above was looking out for them.

Still, not knowing if UK is in the NCAA tournament this year, a loss to Georgia, which is playing for the SEC title right now, was not the way we wanted to go out. The general consensus right now is that our 12-4 SEC record is enough to get us in, and I am hoping they are right.

But, before we know that answer to that question, I just want to go on the record as saying that no matter what, whether we go to the NCAA or the NIT or just go home, this team has to go down as one of the most loved Kentucky teams in history. Their resilience has been amazing, and I feel privileged to have been able to watch so many of their games in person.

Mark Story, a reporter for the Herald-Leader wrote a column the other day talking about giving this team a nickname like the Unforgettables of '92 or the Fabulous Five. Of the several suggestions he listed in his article, his favorite (and mine) was The Unbreakables. This team has been through the fire and they have come out Unbreakable. So no matter what, GO CATS!

Oh, and just for fun, here a video that was shot to show at UK's Midnight Madness in 2004. It was a parody of the "This is Sportscenter" commercials. If you watch closely, you can see Jenny and I just after the girl hits her second shot. We are the two goofy blondes jumping around next to the guy with the big blue Cat paw on one hand. Enjoy.

Just Another Manic Monday....

2008-03-10T18:28:00.002-05:00

A couple of thoughts on this Monday.....

1.) Every year it's an adventure to see who will or who won't cry during the Senior Day festivities at Rupp. This year, the seniors held firm, although a couple of the moms got a bit teary. But this year, the award for the most waterworks goes to Billy G. Of all the people on the court, Billy was the one blubbering the most. Why the first year coach with no long term connection to the players, program, or the state got all teary eyed at My Old Kentucky Home is anyone's guess, but it made me love him. You gotta love a coach who feels that much emotion for his team.

2.) I love March. I love the fact that college basketball becomes a national event. I love the drama of the final few regular season games. I love the emotions of Senior Day. I love the do or die feeling of the conference tournaments. And most of all, I love the anything can happen attitude of the big dance. You can't beat the high drama of a single elimination 65 team system where you don't have to be the best team all season long, you just have to be the best team on any given night. The Cinderella teams that make a big run in March are what makes the NCAA tournament great and they are the reason I would watch even if UK didn't make the field of 65.

That long weekend of the tournament is one of my favorite weekends of the year. You can watch basketball from noon until past midnight for four straight days and nearly every game comes down to the wire because it's all or nothing. And really, you can't beat that.

The Pride of Kentucky

2008-03-09T21:14:00.002-05:00

There is nothing quite like Senior Day at Kentucky. The pageantry, the history, the emotion. Nothing quite compares. This year was no exception.

If you had asked me at the beginning of the year what my thoughts were on this year's Kentucky team, I would have pointed to their youth, their new coach, and the potential problems they posed. I was cautiously hopeful, but not overly optimistic about this team and their prospects. We lost a lot from last year, and there were no players on this team that I felt a connection to--not the way I felt connected Chuck Hayes or Tayshaun Prince.

But now, this team has become one of my all time favorite Kentucky teams. As much as the Hayes teams, or the Prince teams...more than the Comeback Cats of the '98 title run or the unbelievable '96 Championship team. This team, led by the seniors, has worked their way into my heart like no other team in my long association with Kentucky Wildcat Basketball.

This team has had more opportunities than most to make excuses for themselves. With only two seniors and one junior, they could have used their extreme youth as an excuse. Or their long list of injuries which reads more like the Football team's injury report--Jasper, Meeks, Carter, Harris, Crawford, Bradley, Patterson--could have given them the perfect cover. Perhaps they could have used the loss of their only true big man (Morris), as well as their senior leader (Perry), and their coach all in one year to explain their early season slump. But they didn't.

Even when the rest of us had lost hope. After the home losses to Garner Webb and San Diego. After blow out losses to Indiana and North Carolina. After most everyone had written them off. This team didn't quit. They didn't make excuses. They didn't lay down. They didn't quit.

What they did was buckle down, focus, and start taking one game at a time. They started playing hard, playing to their strengths, playing to win. True, the games have been close, but they've managed to win the close ones. The games haven't always been pretty, but they've managed to win the ugly ones. And even when it seemed like life was throwing everything it had at these Cats, they played hard and left everything on the floor. They managed to turn this season around.

At Christmas, it looked like we might not win a conference game and would be lucky to make the NIT. Now, they have played their way into serious consideration for a NCAA berth and the #2 seed in the SEC East. And the ones leading the charge? Bradley and Crawford. The two seniors and the heart and soul of this team.

All that is left of one of the most highly touted recruiting classes in UK history, Ramel Bradley, the gregarious character from New York, New York and Joe Crawford, the more reserved shooter from Detroit have stuck out their four years at UK. Bradley began in the shadow of Rajon Rondo, and never really came into his own until after Rondo left for the NBA. Crawford wanted too much too soon and had a yo-yo couple of years before he finally settled down and decided to stay at UK for good.

This year they have put this over acheving team on their backs and have played as hard as any two guys could play. They have played as many minutes as anyone could. They have played through injuries and controversy. They have stepped up with we needed it, and have inspired others to step up as well. They are the reason this season has been salvaged.

Today was a fitting was to send them off. They broke a 7 game losing streak to Florida. They pretty much assured themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. They finished out the regular season with a win. They proved why they are worthy to play for the most storied program in all of college basketball.

I couldn't be prouder of this team and what they have done, and I couldn't be prouder of how the two seniors have led them. And, as the strains of My Old Kentucky Home filled the rafters at Rupp after the game, you could almost feel the spirits of all those who have worn Kentucky Blue, all those whose names hang in those hallowed rafters, smiling down at this team and their senior leader as they proved once again what it means to wear KENTUCKY on your chest. And why they are the Pride of Kentucky.

In Like a Lion?

2008-03-08T17:26:00.004-05:00

So I'm thinking this qualifies as March coming "In Like a Lion?"

And if that's not enough, last night we had Thunder Snow and Thunder Sleet. Now I have no problem with Thunder Storms. I even like them sometimes in the spring. But last night we had a full out Thunder Sleet, which is unsettling. It was thundering and lightening but instead of rain, it was sleeting so hard you couldn't see the parking lot. That was wild. Sometime after I went to bed about midnight, the sleet turned to snow, and this morning I woke up to about 4-5 inches on the ground with more falling. By the time the snow was done, we had about 6 inches on the ground in most places, with 8 in some drifts.

Just for comparison, here is a series of photos that show how my balcony looked yesterday when I got home from work, last night before I went to bed, and this morning when I got up.

At least we didn't get the full 8 inches they thought we might. And I heard that Louisville and Cincinnati got over a foot of snow, so at least that's not us. We can be thankful for small miracles I suppose.

Alert! Bill Meck not Excited About Snow!

2008-03-06T21:37:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's true. We may actually be in for the storm they keep calling for. This "thing" apparently looks so massive on the weather maps that even Bill Meck, who I think was excited about the Ice Storm we had 5 years ago, isn't excited about the possibility of snow. Although he did say on the news tonight that he think we will get mostly snow and not as much ice. That suits me. I'd much rather have 12 inches of snow than 2 inches of ice. Given my choice, however, I'd rather choose 75 degrees and sunny. But that's just me.

If You Have Something of Importance to Say, for God's Sake Start at the End

2008-03-06T14:46:00.002-05:00

So apparently, even though it is now March 6th, the weatherman (I'm looking at you Bill Meck) didn't get the memo that spring should be on it's way. If you listen to any weather report this week, you will hear that the world is going to end tomorrow. Seriously. It has been nice knowing all of you.

Okay, so maybe it won't be that bad, but I'd wager that there won't be a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk left anywhere in this city by tomorrow morning. Because, that's what we do when they are calling for snow or ice, we go out and by large quantities of bread and milk. Now, I have a full gallon of milk and an entire loaf of bread already in my kitchen at home (purchased on Sunday because I needed them, not because they were calling for snow), so I'm set once I get some toilet paper this afternoon, but what I can't figure out is why we all think we need to stock up on bread and milk for a snow storm. Really, if I am going to be snowed (or iced) into my apartment for a week, I want some good stuff to eat--steaks, wine, popcorn, ice cream, mac and cheese--not lame old bread and milk. And while I know that bread and milk are staples of many people's diets, I really don't eat all that much of either, as evidenced by the fact that the milk and bread I bought on Sunday are still untouched.

Still, it does look like we are going to get some form of winter weather starting tomorrow, although even Bill Meck can't tell us what kind or how much. At least this storm isn't hitting on a Tuesday like every other storm this winter has, and at least I don't have anything majorly critical going on at work tomorrow so if they do decided that the roads are getting bad and let us leave early (like they did a few weeks ago), I can actually leave this time. See, the thing about having a job is that unlike when you are in school and they decided to let out early, you can't just leave if you are in the middle of an experiment--especially in the middle of an experiment that you've spent the better part of the last three days working on. So, while everyone else got to go home at 2, yours truly was left hanging around until almost 4 because I had stuff to do. Oh well, such is life I guess.

More Knitting Updates

2008-03-02T20:28:00.006-05:00

In the absence of anything else to say, I figured I'd give you a few more updates on some of the stuff I've been busy making.

First, a lovely skein of yarn that Hannah gave me for Christmas. She says I have to makes something for ME from it, but I haven't found the right pattern yet. It's too pretty to waste.

And few more FOs that I took pictures of this weekend:

The Foliage hat from Knitty's Fall 07 knitted in Cascade Chunky on size 10.5 Circs/DPNs with size 9 Circs for the ribbing.

And a Hat/Scarf set done in mistake rib loosely based on the Urban Urchin pattern from the Stitch 'n Bitch Page a Day Calendar. The Yarn is the most wonderful stuff I've used to date, and I love the way it knitted up on the scarf, even though I had a minor color issues with one skein. It was the same dye lot as the others, the colors were just a bit off. It's not as noticeable in the finished product, however.

And an ear flap hat that I made for me from a pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but it's too small, so it will probably get gifted to someone who doesn't have a ginormous head.

Finally, this weekend, I played around with more Kool Aid Yarn dyeing. I tested out a few new colors: Blastin' Berry Cherry and Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi as well as Disney Splashers Grape, Tropical Punch, and Black Cherry. I also tried mixing some colors making a Grape/Berry Blue mix and a Grape/Watermelon Cherry mix.

Left to Right: Disney Grape, Disney Tropical Punch, Disney Black Cherry, Blastin' Berry Cherry, Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi, Grape/Berry Blue, Grape/Watermelon Cherry

I really like the Disney Black Cherry, it's a very nice Deep red color, much more so than the Kool Aid Black Cherry. The Disney Grape was darker than the Kool Aid version--it was actually closer to the Grape/Watermelon Cherry mixture than the Kool Aid Grape. The Disney Tropical Punch was a pinky red, not too far off from the Kool Aid version. I really liked the Blastin' Berry Cherry. It turned out a great bright red color. The Strawberry Kiwi was just a slightly darker version of the Pink Lemon aid color, so that could be useful as well.

Above, Disney Grape, Kool Aid Grape, Grape/Berry Blue, Grape/Watermelon Strawberry

When I compared the two Grape colors with the two Grape Mixtures, I was pleased to see that it gave a variety of purples. The Grape/Berry Blue was a nice dark blue/purple, although I was hoping it would be just a bit more blue. Still, it is a great color. I'll have to experiment more.

I also dyed and entire skein of yarn using the method found here. I used Ice Blue Raspberry Lemon aid as my base color and Cherry, Lemon-Lime, Mandarin Tangerine, and Berry Blue as my accent colors. As soon as it is dry, I'll try to get a picture of it up, but it turned out great! I can't wait to see how it knits up.

Small Town Southern Man

2008-02-29T23:44:00.000-05:00

There is a song out on the radio right now by Alan Jackson called "Small Town Southern Man." It's a country song, obviously, and in reality I don't really like the song (It's a little too country even for me) but tonight it came on the radio as I was on the way home from taking my Anatomy exam (yes, someone decided it would be a good idea to give an exam at 6pm on a Friday night) and for the first time I actually listened to the lyrics. It struck me that it describes my Granddad almost perfectly.

Born the middle son of a farmer

And a small town Southern man

Like his daddy's daddy before him
Brought up workin' on the land
Fell in love with a small town woman
And they married up and settled down
Natural way of life if you're lucky
For a small town Southern man

Harold Carrico was born, not the middle son, but the oldest son and third child of a farmer in Fancy Farm, Kentucky. One of ten kids (4 girls and 6 boys) he never graduated from High school--in fact he never went to high school, dropping out in 7th grade to help out on the farm. He married my grandmother, Mary Wilmuth Scheer and they settled into a small house on a corner of his father's farm.

First there came four pretty daughters
For this small town Southern man
Then a few years later came another
A boy, he wasn't planned
Seven people livin' all together
In a house built with his own hands
Little words with love and understandin'
From a small town Southern man

They had 11 children of their own, 5 boys and 6 girls, with my Dad being the sixth child and the third boy. Up until my father was in middle school, they all lived together in a two bedroom house with the girls sharing one bedroom, my grandparents in the other, and the boys sleeping upstairs in the attic. The house was small, with no bathroom (they used a two seater outhouse in the back yard) and a cistern in the front yard. They raised most of what they needed on the farm with cows for milk, chickens for eggs, and a garden for fresh vegetable in the summer and canned ones in the winter.

Later, he and my uncles would built a larger, six bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house on the next hill over, where my Grandmother and my Uncle Eddie still live.

Callous hands told the story
For this small town Southern man
He gave it all to keep it all together
And keep his family on his land
Like his daddy, years wore out his body
Made it hard just to walk and stand
You can break the back
But you can't break the spirit
Of a small town Southern man

He farmed for a large part of his life, but also realized that farming wasn't going to bring in enough to feed his family So he and three of my uncles built houses. My Grandfather, with nothing more than a seventh grade education, would figure out cost, square footage, and materials in his head.

They still farmed, planting tobacco, corn, and tomatoes and gradually down sizing as farming became less and less lucrative. As time went by, the farm became more of a large garden and my Grandfather sold pieces of the land to his children to start their own families.

As you might expect, with 11 children, he had several grandchildren as well (30 in all). With all that experience, by the time I came along more than half way through, he had the grandfather thing down pat. He was the kind of Granddad that every kid wants. He indulged me and my sister (and all of his grandkids for that matter) to the point of driving my mother crazy. More than once, we would disappear after dinner only to be found later hiding in the pantry with Grandad feeding us ice cream and cookies after dinner. He was always good for a hug or a cuddle, and could usually gain us a few extra minutes before bed time. He loved to fish and he loved to take us fishing and there was never a time that I asked to go fishing that he didn't agree, no matter how hot it might be.

By the time I came along, he spent most of his time working in the garden or in his shop where he built all sorts of self designed nicknack's. He loved working with his hands, and his "nicknack's" were a hot commodity in and out of the family. But as the years went by his weight (he had always, in my memory at least, been heavy) and his active life began to take its toll. He had knee problems, among other things, making it hard for him to move around. Still, he made time to be with his family, which was the most important thing to him. With so much of the family living so close, the house was always busy with people in and out. That was just the way he liked it. He loved his family and he loved having them around him.

Finally death came callin'
For this small town Southern man
He said it's alright 'cause I see angels
And they got me by the hand
Don't you cry, and don't you worry
I'm blessed, and I know I am
'Cause God has a place in Heaven
For a small town Southern man

Four years ago, about this time of year, his health finally gave out, and after a few short stays in the hospital, he died at home, surrounded by his family. It was a sad occasion. To have lost such a part of the family left us all with a hole that we didn't quite know how to fill. But he was a man of deep faith which he passed on to his family and we found comfort in the knowledge that he was with God in the end. For surely, if anyone deserved to go to Heaven, it was my Grandfather.

And he bowed his head to Jesus
And he stood for Uncle Sam
And he only loved one woman
He was always proud of what he had
He said his greatest contribution
Is the ones you leave behind
Raised on the ways and gentle kindness
Of a small town Southern man

This is my all time favorite picture of my Grandfather.

My Dad (on the left in the blue shirt), his siblings (minus his oldest brother), and his mother.

Me and my Grandad on his beanbag in the floor.

Making the Bar-b-que sauce for the meat at the Fancy Farm Picnic.

And with his hat (always cocked to the side) and his smile.

What We've Got Here is a Failure to Communicate

2008-02-28T15:19:00.007-05:00

So, I realize that I've been very very very bad at updating this here blog of mine (which no one reads at all), and I've fallen behind on showing you what I've been knitting up these days. In order to fix that, here are a few pics of stuff that I've been making:

First: A very cute baby set for my co-worker Steph's baby Rachel who arrived in December.

The Hat is the Children's Cotton Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, the sweater is the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting, and the booties are Saartje's Booties from the free pattern here. All three used Sugar and Cream Yarn which is 100% cotton and very washable. Steph says that the sweater and booties are still a bit big for her, but I'm hoping Rachel will grow into them.

Second: A bib, burp cloth and hat for my cousin Logan's Baby Jacob born in July.
The hat is the Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch n' Bitch while the bib and the Baby Genius Burp cloth are from Mason-Dixon Knitting again. As before, all three use Sugar and Cream cotton.

Close ups of the Details:

Third: A random Dish Cloth made from the left overs of the other projects which I think ended up living with my Dad

My Knitting Needle Case which I made ages ago with some butterfly fabric I found on clearance at Jo Anne's

And Finally, some hats. Aunt Purl's roll brim hat and Odessa from Grumperina at Magknits(Modeled by Mumble the Penguin)

The first is made with Cascade 220 while the second is made with Lion's Brand Microspun (and stringing all those bead about killed me).

I'm Breaking up with you Bill Meck

2008-02-27T11:48:00.004-05:00

I'm breaking up with you Bill Meck. You've been my weatherman since I first came to Lexington in the fall of 2000 (yes, that long ago), and I refused to watch anyone else....until now. I've had enough of this snow. And the ice. And the coldness. I'm done with it. I want spring.

Now, you might say that this is not your fault. True. However, you could act a little less enthusiastic about it. You have been far to happy about this weekly (read every Tuesday) winter weather we've been having. While normally your total unabashed geekyness about the weather is one of the reasons I love to watch your weather casts (I finally found someone who is a bigger geek than me!), when you are continually forecasting more snow, ice, and really coldness (highs of 28!!) the last thing I want is for the bringer of this news to be happy about it. So I am breaking up with you until you can give me a forecast with no snow and temperatures in the 70s every day. Until then, goodbye. Perhaps I will have better luck with T.G. Shuck or Brad James.

Farewell for Now?

2007-10-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

I drug Jenny to see Nickel Creek last night at the Singletary Center. They are currently on their Farewell (For Now) Tour and I couldn't pass up one last chance to see them play, especially at Singletary which is a great venue for music and (according to the band) one of their favorite places to play. They've played there four times and I've been there for all four. I won't miss a chance to see them live for anything.

The first concert happened just before Christmas and was amazing. They just blew me away with what amazing musicians they all were, especially to only be in their early twenties. And then, for their second encore, they invited anyone who wanted to come, up on the stage, unplugged, and took requests for Christmas carols. Their version of Silent Night was a magical experience.

The next time they came to play, I made sure to get tickets and they once again had everyone up on stage for an encore and finished with the most beautiful version of the hymn Be Thou My Vision that I have every heard.

Their last concert here (before this one) I made sure to get the best tickets I could (5th row) and got Jenny to go with me. This time, when it came time to get up on the stage, we actually got pretty close to the band, and sitting there, listening to Chris Thile sing Green and Grey which is one of my favorite songs off of any of their CDs was one of the greatest moments ever. It really was.

This year, I was afraid that they weren't going to come back. They had always talked about how they loved to play at the Singletary Center, but they had been here the last two years and I thought that maybe they would pass up by on this tour. I was a little late getting tickets, so we weren't as close as we were last time, but any seat is a good seat in that venue. I was just glad to be in the building. They played all their best songs and I got to hear most of my favorites one more time (except for Green and Grey) and while we didn't make it up on the stage this year, we did get to stand next to the stage for the encore. They took requests again, although not Christmas Carols, since it was still a bit early and then finished with When You Come Back Down. It was the first Nickle Creek song I ever heard and has always been one of my favorites, so it seemed fitting that the last song they played was the first one I heard. And, if it turns out it is the last song I ever hear them play live, I think that is a fitting ending.

And on an unrelated note, some long promised, never seen pics of Dean:

Hiding in his bushes

A front shot, sorry about the darkness, but flash and glass don't mix.

Do You Believe in Blue?

2007-10-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

There are not many things in this world that can trump UK Basketball's Midnight Madness celebration (especially this year with a new coach and all kinds of new excitement) but what happened Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium was one of them. I would wager that by the time they left the field Saturday night, most UK fans weren't thinking about Patrick Patterson or Alex Legion. They weren't worried about March Madness or Final Fours. And many of them, if you had asked their thoughts on Billy Gillispie probably would have responded with Billy Who?

Why all this madness you ask? Because Saturday was the day that football was King in the Bluegrass. Not forever, mind you, but at least for awhile. Certainly for the day. After all, it's not every day that your team beats the #1 team in the nation. And, if you are a UK fan, it's even more rare that your football team wins out against #1 (the last time was back in 1964). That is a call for celebration!

Now, I will be the first to admit that when I saw the new slogan for this year's football team was "Believe in Blue" I had to laugh. After all, I have been a UK fan for most of my life and so far the one thing I could believe about our football team was that no lead, no matter how large, was safe (at least when we were ahead). The running joke for at least the last five or six years has been "UK, home of the come from ahead loss." Why should I think that this season would be any different? True, we did finish strong last year with a victory over Georgia and a bowl win, but would this team really be any different?

Then the season started. There was an easy victory over EKU and a game with more than a few scary moments vs Kent State and I thought that season was headed the same direction as so many before it--to a land of close games that the Cats should have won but didn't. After all, if we can barely beat Kent State, what would happen when we played U of L? of LSU? or Florida?

Then came the U of L game. It was the day before my birthday. The Cats have never lost a home game played on the weekend of my birthday since I've been in Lexington. And yet, I still didn't have high hopes. I had prepared myself to lose. But we didn't. We won (although we didn't yet know how bad U of L really was). After that game, I started to believe, just a little bit.

Up next was Arkansas. At Arkansas. This would be a real test. Could we win on the road in the SEC? This time, I thought we had a chance, but it was a slim one. After all, this is Kentucky we are talking about here--we always play below expectations. And we did, at least for a little while. We had turnovers. We had bad plays. We let them run a kick back for a touchdown IN THE 4th QUARTER after we gave up a safety! The Cats I know and love would never be able to recover from a 9 point swing that close to the end of the game. But they did. They battled back and scored and scored and scored. Some little guy named Locke came in a just ran away with it. And now I began to believe just a little bit more. Maybe, just maybe this team was different.

After a cupcake game against Florida Atlantic, came South Carolina on a Thursday night on National TV. By this time the entire country was talking about us and our turnaround season. But were we for real? This game would be another test. A real test. But could be do it? Lexington was ready. I've never seen this town that excited about a football game before. That kind of excitement is usually reserved for March Madness and Final Fours. We believed, didn't we? Or maybe we didn't because it seemed, for about 10 days between the disastrous South Carolina game and the LSU game that maybe the clock had struck midnight for this Cinderella and we had turned back into a sooty kitchen maid. It looked like a season that started 5-0 might quickly turn into a season of 5-3 with games against LSU and Florida coming up next.

The LSU game was the one game that I felt from the beginning that we really had no chance to win. I had watched the Tigers play several times this year and each time I was amazed by how good they were. How strong their defense was. And after last year's nightmare of a 49-0 game, I felt like we might be lucky to score this year and we certainly wouldn't win. Then the game started and we scored first and I thought "Hey, good job guys, we got on the board."

LSU exploded for 17 points (and we only managed 7) in the second quarter, and I figured that at least we had scored twice which was 2 times more than we had scored the year before so that was something after all.

And then, after the half, LSU went up 27-14 and I thought there was no way our offense (no matter how good they are) could make up that many points on the best defense I'd seen play all year. I had never expected to win, but I was still disappointed that it looked like we were going to lose. And then something strange happened. We started our comeback. Woodson threw a touchdown pass. And then there were two field goals (from a kicker that still makes me hide my face every time he steps on the field) and we were tied. But really, this was UK we were talking about, so there was still plenty of time for us to screw things up. After all, we proved in 2002 that we only needed :08 to lose a game. And for a minute there, it looked like we might have. But then Colt David's kick went wide left and we were going to overtime and chanting "We Believe."

And, of course, I thought of the 7 overtime marathon vs Arkansas a few years ago that nearly killed me (even though I wasn't at that game, I had gone to Louisville to see the Lion King Broadway show instead) and which we lost anyway. This time the first two overtimes ended up with us trading points, and the third meant that when we scored our touchdown (my boy Stevie Johnson with another big catch) we had to go for 2. When we didn't make it, I was sure that would be the end of us. After all, LSU would score and get the 2 and win right? I mean, there was no way our defense could stop them with the game on the line, right? After nearly 4 1/2 hours of game and seeing the Cats come back from 13 down in the last quarter of regulation, I still didn't believe. Even when we stopped them on the first three downs in that final overtime, even when I saw Braxton Kelly make that final tackle a yard or so short of the first down, I didn't believe. I stood, staring at the field, looking for a flag, trying to see if there was a review or a measurement, not really believing that we had won.

Then some guy pushed past me on his way to the field and I looked at the Jennys and decided we needed to get out of there unless we wanted to go on the field. We made our way to the tunnel and then just stood and watched the pandemonium. We sang along to "Celebrate." We took pictures with the scoreboard. And then we walked back to our car, had a beer, and finally, finally I began to believe.

I don't consider myself to be a non-believer most of the time. I've had faith in the basketball team even in the darkest hours. But this time, with this football team, I couldn't quite find the strength to believe. I apologize for that. I do believe now. This team is won of the greatest teams in the history of Kentucky football. They have been beaten down, smacked around, and trample on but they have come out the other side with an iron will and enough heart to put the great Secretariat to shame. They have proven over and over again that they know what it takes to win and they have the ability to do it. They are destined to do great things this season and when they do, I will be proud to say I Believe in Blue.

Yes, I know it's blurry, but give me a break. I'd been on my feet for 4 1/2 hours and was on such an adrenaline high that I was lucky I still knew how to work the camera.

Fans on the field after the game.

Picture to prove that I was actually there.

Post Game celebrations back at the car. Good thing we decided to tailgate for the game.

The most wonderful cake ever baked by my friend Sarah for the tailgate party. We didn't know at the time that she was psychic.

I'm Melting......

2007-10-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's not "tomorrow" but oh well. Life happened.

Actually, Keeneland happened. Friday was the opening day of Keeneland's Fall meet which means that Saturday was spent at the track because you can't waste a non-football beautiful weather Keeneland Saturday. Those don't happen all that often.

This year, my friend Thai (aka Buddy) decided to tailgate for Keeneland which is almost as big an event as tailgating for football. So, Sister and I decided to join her before we were off to the races.

That part was fun. There was free beer. And free food. Then we went inside to watch the ponies run and It. Was. Hot!!! I have never been to Keeneland in either the spring or the fall when it was that hot! The temperature was somewhere around 92 with about 80% humidity and absolutely no breeze at all. It felt more like mid August than early October. But we had fun anyway. And a horse named Sugar Swirl won me a few dollars so all was good with the world. It was almost enough to make me forget how awful our football team looked on Thursday night.

Where oh where have you been?

2007-10-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

So....after an incredibly long hiatus filled with weddings and babies (not mine!) and travel and all sorts of other fun (but not really) stuff, I am back. Really, I didn't forget about the blog that no one reads, I just didn't have the time to do anything with it. But now I'm back with two very exciting tidbits.

First, I am finally the proud owner of a digital camera! So now, I can take pictures! Yea!!! So, expect more photos now, and more updates on what I'm currently knitting since I can photograph whatever and whenever I want these days.

Second, I return just in time for possibly the crazies most random night of TV watching ever seen. Tonight there are 5 different programs that I will be watching or DVRing. Ugly Betty comes first at 8:00, then Supernatural with it's season premier at 9:00 and finally Without a Trace (which moved from Sunday) and Big Shots on at 10:00. As if all this craziness wasn't enough, the UK football team is playing South Carolina tonight on ESPN starting at 7:30 and since the team is actually half way good this year, I really want to watch that game as well.

What does all this mean? Mostly that I will be doing a lot of channel flipping and the DVR will be working overtime for most of the night. Also, Without a Trace may not get recorded if the game isn't over yet since I can only watch/record two things at a time. But, if the Cats win, all will be forgotten (as long as Supernatural gets recorded). Everything else will just be water under the bridge.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Football/TV update and maybe some pics. (Possibly one of the oft-mentioned but never seen Dean the turtle). Now, I'm off to the gym and then to my oh-so-wonderful History of Kentucky class. Fun times.

Kool Aid Crazy!! And a Random Wrap up!

2007-06-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

I have turned into a massive Kool Aid Junkie. I search every place I go to see what new flavors I might find. I scour the shelves for more and more packages. I scared the nice checkout lady at Meijer's when I bought 20 packs all at once. Do I want all this Kool Aid to drink? No way. I need it to dye more yarn!! Yarn that I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. Yarn that may never move beyond it's neatly wound center pull ball. But still, I need to dye more yarn.

Monday, I went on a massive Kool Aid hunt. I searched Target (which does not carry Kool Aid by the way), Meijer (the mecca of Kool Aid flavors), Walgreens (another non-Kool Aid market), and another Kroger store (which had only the basic flavors). Meijer is by far the Kool-Aid Hook up. They had an entire display of Kool Aid with flavors I had seen no where else (although the most wonderful Pina Pineapple was missing). I finally found some blue flavors--Berry Blue and Blue Raspberry Lemonade--as well as some more interesting ones--Maderine Tangerine, Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Cherry. They also had some Lemon Lime, Cherry, Orange, Grape, Strawberry, and the ever popular Tropical Punch along with some unhelpful "invisible" flavors (clear drinks with fruity flavors--not good for dyeing yarn).

I made a trip to the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market last night since I needed to get some milk and looked at their Kool Aid selection, but they didn't have much variety. I'm hoping that if I pay a visit to the Meijer out in Hamburg they might have more fun flavors for me to play with.

I haven't yet had the chance to try out the new flavors I found. I'm planning to give it a try on Saturday so we'll see how it goes. I may not get to take pictures, though, since I don't have a digital camera here. Oh well.....

Now to wrap up some unfinished business.

1.) The Amazing Race Wrap up.....

Really, after the double episode, I found myself totally bored with the whole thing. I watched until the end, I really did, but I just didn't care anymore. In the end, it was the Boobs that won it all. The Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) took second with Charla and Mirna coming in third. Maybe it was the utter lack of teams I cared about that made me not care. Danny and Oswald did make it to the final four, but after they were Philliminated I had no one to cheer for.

2.) My Bracket Wrap up.....

I didn't win the pool. I didn't even come close despite the fact that I picked Florida to win it all (again!). I just missed too many games in the second weekend to overcome. Oh well, maybe next year UK will stick around for more than two games. Hear that Billy G? We want more than just a one weekend engagement next year in March.

3.) 3K / 5K Racing...

The 3K I ran back on St. Patrick's Day (yes, that long ago) went well. I finished with an official time of 18:41 and placed 6th in my age category. And, most importantly, I ran the entire thing without freezing to death! I've been running pretty steadily since and I can now do about 3.5 miles at a time so I'm ready to tackle a 5K. First up is the Fancy Farm Picnic Run on August 3rd and then Sarah (from work) and I are going to do the Midsummer Night's Run on August 11th. Hopefully both will go well. Hopefully I won't die.

4.) That Stupid Committee update....

I just had to get this most lovely pic of Kyle up here one more time since the Committee that had no end finally ended!! We hired the most wonderful Associate Pastor ever Diane Baldwin back in the spring and she officially started the Sunday after Easter. We couldn't be happier with our choice! And I'm glad to finally be done with that committee, although Kyle wants to make me an elder this fall and so I'll have to serve on Session. Just say No Kimmy, just say No.

5.) Scopeman update....

Really, here there is nothing to update. Haven't seen him much this year so far. He stopped by once in February just as I was getting ready to go to the gym and we chatted for a second, and then I saw him the other day, but he paid very little attention to me. Apparently we can talk once a year at the Christmas party and that's that. Oh well.

6.) Knitting WIPS Updates....

The Aunt Purl's Magic Scarf is still not done. In fact, I haven't even picked it up in months. I need to get back to work on it, but really, I just don't want to, although I do need those needles back. I have started yet another project, however. I am making a lap robe using the very fun Feather and Fan pattern. I started it to send as a Mother's Day gift to my Grandmother, but got about 1 1/2 skeins in (out of 5) and quit. I still pick it up every once in awhile, but it may or may not be done by Christmas.

My newest knitting obsession is Baby Stuff!! since everyone I know is Pregnant. It almost makes me scared to drink the water. So far I have finished two very adorable baby hats for my cousin Logan's little boy-to-be due the first part of July.

This one is done in UK blue and white (since it's never to early to be a wildcat fan) Lion Brand Microspun from the Karlchen pattern I found for free using Crafster. It's knit from the crown down (which is cool) and very easy. I used some size 7 DPNs for the whole thing rather than switch to circs half way through and I like the way it turned out. The Stripes are a simple 2 row white/3 rows blue pattern (although if I had it to do over again, I would make them thicker).

And this one is the hopelessly cute Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch N' Bitch done in a sort of Electric Blue Sugar and Cream yarn. (I refuse to put babies in nothing but pastels.)For this one, I used my size 7 16" circs until it got too small and then switched to DPNs. The I-cord is wider than it should be (8 stitches instead of 4) since I apparently can't read a pattern all that well, but it is cute none the less. I can see more of these on the way.

I also picked up the book Mason-Dixon Knitting from the Library in order to see the Log Cabin Blanket pattern (which I was going to make for another Baby that is one the way). I discovered, however, that there are many, many fun patterns in there and I may have to go buy the book so I have my own copy forever. I have made the Ball Band Dishrag and the Baby Genius Burp Cloth so far both out of Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn with size 7 straight needles. The dish cloth I have a photo of, the Burp Cloth I just finished last night, so no pictures for you. Notice, I had not yet woven in the ends. Now, however, they are tucked safely away. I need to use it and wash it to see how it holds up before I go crazy and make more, but I want to make tons and tons of these. It was so simple and quick!! And I like quick.

My next project will be the Bibs from Mason Dixon and then, hopefully, the Modern Baby Blanket. I just need to do a few test swatches to make sure I can handle the Log Cabin style of knitting before I jump into that one.

7.) Last but not least, my TV Wrap Up....

Now that summer is here and good TV has gone away until fall, I am longing for the days when I at least had something good to watch on Thursday nights.

Ugly Betty ended very sadly with the possible death of Santos, Henry flying off to be with Charlie who he thinks is pregnant with his baby, but may be pregnant with the crazy dentist's baby instead, and Amanda and the Scottish lady locked in the "Love Dungeon" finding out that Amanda is actually Faye's daughter. Oh whatever will I do until Fall?

Supernatural ended well. No huge cliff hanger this year. The Yellow Eyed Demon is dead, shot by Dean with the last bullet from the Super Special Colt that doesn't always kill everything after a recently released from Hell Daddy Winchester distracted the YED for just a moment. Dean, however, has only one year to live after he traded his life to bring Sam back from the dead, so I'm assuming that will be the crux of next year's plot lines. The CW is showing reruns on both Thursday nights and Sunday night now, so they will get through the entire season before the new season starts (and I have something to watch anyway).

8.) I know, I said TV was the last thing, but I thought of something else....

The little sister is in Italy right now supposedly studying Italian. Check out her blog for more details, but I get the impression she is studying food, wine, and boys more than the language.....

Using Science to Make Fruity Yarn....

2007-06-18T12:19:00.000-05:00

So, while being bored at work the other day, I discovered that you can use Kool-Aid to dye yarn. (Thanks Knitty.) Me, being the Science Freak that I am (and a newbie knitter) decided that this sounded like fun and I set out to try it. Needless to say, my Dad was less than thrilled that I was going to take over his kitchen to do this little project since my urge fell on Father's Day weekend and I (being such a wonderful Daughter) had gone home to see him. He was also horrified that I made him go with me to Houchen's Market (a local grocery store) to buy the 20 packages of Kool-Aid in various flavors that I wanted to try. He'll get over it, though. Also, thanks to his digital camera, I was able to take pictures of the process. So, here is my first experience with the Kool-Aid Fruity Yarn making experiment:

First, I bought some Patons Ayran Classic Merino Wool at Michael's. (2 skeins 3 1/2 oz each). I had to do this part in Lexington since the only place you can get yarn in Glasgow is Wal-Mart and they don't generally have 100% Wool Yarn.

Next, Dad and I made the trek to Houchen's Market to get the Kool-Aid. It was on sale 4/$1.00!! and I bought 2 packages of each of the 9 flavors they had: Cherry, Lemon Lime, Black Cherry, Pina Pineapple, Pink Lemonade, Tropical Punch, Strawberry, Lemonade, and Orange.

Once I knew how many flavors I had, I used the back of one of Dad's dinning room chairs to wind the yarn into short hanks. This part caused my Dad to wonder if I really had lost my mind. I tied each Hank in four places with the same yarn since (a) that was the only thing I had on hand, and (b) I didn't want to use anything that might bleed onto my yarn.

Notice the Father's Day presents on the table. I am such an awesome Daughter!

Finished Hanks, wound and tied.

Then, the yarn went into a big bowl full of warmish (just slightly warmer than room temp) water and just a "glug" of white vinegar to soak for about 20 minutes. I must confess that I'm not sure how long they really soaked since I just let them sit for the amount of time it took me to mix up all my stuff and run to Wal-Mart to look for more flavors (which they didn't have any).

This also happens to be the bowl we used for popcorn when I was a kid. Not fancy, but functional.

I mixed up the Kool-Aid using about 6-8oz of warm water and one package of Kool-Aid in some of Dad's canning jars (the wide mouth ones worked really well, the regular ones made it hard to get the yarn in and out). I also found that iced tea spoons (which I didn't know he had) worked really well for mixing it up since they reached all the way to the bottom of the jar easily. Then, I pulled a hank of yarn from the bowl, squeezed out the excess water, and smooshed it into a jar. I used the spoon to squish the yarn down and then added enough water to cover the yarn (if I needed to).

Notice the black trash bag I put down to keep from staining the counter (again, such a wonderful daughter)!

Then, everything went into the microwave for 2 minutes on high. I let it sit for about 5 minutes, then I nuked it again for 2 minutes. Another 5 minute rest and one last 2 minute heat and rest and then it was done.

There were actually five jars in the microwave here, even though it only looks like 3. I did a set of 5 and then a set of 4.

The freakiest part of the whole thing: the water at the end was CLEAR. It makes you wonder what is really in Kool-Aid.

Once the yarn had cooled, I rinsed it in warmish water again, and then washed it in Wool-Aid and rinsed it one more time. Everything then went out into the garage to dry. This part made Dad laugh and drew some very interesting comments from our dinner guests that night. It looked like a forrest of strange yarn.

Once the yarn was dry (read: the next day) I took it down, photographed it, and then wound it into center pull balls. What fun.

Left to Right: Orange, Strawberry, Pink Lemonade, Lemonade

Left to Right: Cherry, Pina Pineapple, Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Tropical Punch

Overall, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. Most of the red colors were very similar, although there were some subtle differences. The Lemonade was a bit of a disappointment since it was so pale and washed out, but I think I may try dying that bit again to see if I can make the color stronger. The Pink Lemonade and the Orange turned out a bit spotty. I'm not sure if I need to use more water, a bigger jar, or just didn't smoosh it enough, but I think it will actually look pretty cool when I knit it up.

My favorite colors had to be the Lemon Lime and the Pina Pineapple, though. They both came out so bright and so pretty! And Pina Pineapple is much nicer looking than Lemonade. I told Dad he may have to go back to the store and get me more of that if I can't find it in Lexington. I did try Kroger last night and found some Grape which should make a nice purple color, but I still haven't run across any blue flavors.

I also have no idea what I am going to make with all my Fruity Flavor Yarn, but I already feel the need to make more. I shall be going on a city wide Kool-Aid hunt this afternoon, so beware!

Evolution vs Creationism--The Eternal Debate

2007-06-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

So the new "Creationism Museum" has opened here in Kentucky (where else) and stirred up all kinds of crazy. I'm discovering new things about myself everyday. For example, I am a scientist, therefore I can not belive in God (at least according to a woman named Vickie). I am very glad that I have people to tell me these things, otherwise how would I know? I am still trying to figure out which tihng I'm going to give up (God or my job) but when I do decide, I'll let you know.

I have also discovered that Adam and Eve apparently lived with Dinosaurs in the garden and because they were in the garden, even the great T-Rex was a veggie (I guess that's why he needed those rather large teeth and sharp claws). Noah also had Dinos on the ark (which must have been HUGE to hold two of every thing). Don't believe me, apparently it says so in the Bible (although I admit, I must have missed that part--maybe I was sick that day in Sunday School) at least according to this guy who posted over at MSN.com:

Ok, I want to tell all the people who do not belive in Chrsitanism and do not belive in God and Jesus. That if you read Genesis and understnad it, it will show you that all animals were created in the Garden of Eden. That means that all acutal meat eating dino's and other animals would be herbivours. After Adam and Eve sinned that was the fall of paridise. There was still dino's rouming around after God told Adam and Eve to leave paridise. When God told Noah told build an Ark. He told Noah to take 2 of ever unclean animal and 7 of every clean animal. That means Noah did take dino's with him. He took young ones of birhing age that way they could repopulate the earth after the flood. It has been proven that Carbon 14 dating is not accuret. It is mentioned in another 4 books after Genesis that there was still dino's on Earth. After the flood the climit changed and the Earth had diffrent moutian ranges, and diffrent land masses. I know the Bible is True and I belive it is true. Any man can have faith in something but I know the Bible is True. I have not been tought that the Bible is True I know it is true because I have seen the other side of things and I know that the Bible is True.

(This was a direct Copy-Paste. I wanted you to enjoy this guy in all his Christianism glory.)

Highly educated people over there, I tell you what. And I swear, I don't remember any mention of dinosaurs in the Bible, but then again, maybe I just had the wrong translation. And, I just don't really care how young a dinosaur is, some of those suckers were still HUGE so that boat must have been the size of Rhode Island to hold all of them and still manage to float.
It just aggrivates me that people make this into an All-or-Nothing issue. I've been a Christian and a church goer all my life (and am still a very active part of my church, thanks to Kyle) and a scientist for the better part of my life and I've never had any problem being both. I believe in Evolution. I don't see how you can't with all the evidence we have to support it. I also belive that Earth is just a tad bit older than the 5,000 or so years that Creationists claim. We have fossil records and carbon dating to prove it (and while I will admit that Carbon dating isn't the most accurate method of dating something, it will still get you within a couple of thousand years or so). That doesn't mean that I don't belive in God or that I don't think that God had a hand in creating the world. To me the theory of Evolution as well as the theory of how life got started on Earth give me more evidence that God exists since something had to have a hand in all that mess.

It bothers me when people take the Bible as fact--word for word fact--but only when they want to. Sure, it's okay to say that God literally created Adam and Eve (but boy are we sure inbred if they were the only two people he created) but we are going to overlook that whole don't eat unclean animals bit and that bit about not mixing meat and diary and that part about not working on the Sabbath (which is Saturday by the way). If you are going to argue that the Bible is the absolute word of God and should be taken literally, then you can't just pick and choose what parts you want to take and what parts you want to leave out. Just like in science you can't just choose to show the data that fits your hypothesis, you have to include all the data even if it raises more questions.

And while we are on the subject of Science, I want to make it clear to anyone who might not know (or for anyone who has had this argument with someone) that while Evolution is considered to be a Theory, it is a scientific theory, which is much different from what most people consider a theory. In science you have three basic types of things: Hypothesis, Theorys, and Laws. A Hypothesis is something you are testing. It is an idea you have but you aren't sure about it yet. A Theory is a Hypothesis that has been tested over and over again with the same result meaing that you are reasonably sure that it is true. A Law is something that has been proven so many times that it is universially accepted to be true (like gravity or Newton's laws of physics). Most Theories never move to the Law stage. However, most theories are accepted to be true becase they have been proven over and over again by different people in different labs. A Theory (in science) is not a guess, it is not a conjecture, it is something that has volumes of evidence to support it but has not yet become a Law.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now, but this whole debate is just ridiculous to me. I guess I have trouble believing that so many people can believe in something so foolish when we have so much evidence to the contrary. But then again, we did elect Bush to another term, so go figure.

Big Blue Crazy

2007-04-06T13:24:00.000-05:00

So the two week craziness that followed Tubby's departure for the land of snow, ice, and 1000 lakes is finally over. Yesterday, after weeks of waiting, watching, and about a million prayer circles, Billy Donovan said he wouldn't come to coach our esteemed team. You'd have thought the world had ended. Still, I guess we were all kind of living in a dream world to think that a coach who'd just won his second straight National Title would just up and leave his school to come to ours.

That was yesterday at noon. That was when the whirlwind started.

By the 6 o'clock news, the rumors were flying again about Rick Barnes, Jim Calapari, Travis Ford, and just about any other coach who has ever thought about coaching college basketball.

By the 11 o'clock news it was being reported that UK had asked for permission to talk to Billy Gillispie of Texas A&M.

By 6 this morning, UK had arranged a press conference/pep rally for noon where they announced that Billy (G not D) would be the next UK head coach.

In 24 hours we went from having our dreams dashed to cheering our new head coach. If only all of UK hires went that quickly, I wouldn't have been stuck with CrazyBoss for an extra four months while the UK Jobs system trudged along.

If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number

2007-04-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

So, as usual, last night (being Sunday) there was a new episode of The Amazing Race. I watched, I swear I did, but I can't tell you what happened really.

If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number

It was a double episode so we got to see two legs (I thought it might have been one of those double legs, but no--just two legs shown on the same night due to the extreme spread of the teams). There was a lot of time spent in airports (to get to Poland) and lots more anti-bunching because apparently it is impossible to fly into or out of Zanzibar quickly). Then we had some forced bunching (and anti-bunching) to even things up a bit. The double episode had to be due to the fact that for the first time I the teams were so spread out that the first teams were starting the next leg before the last teams had finished the previous one (hence the forced bunching).

The teams went to Auschwitz, which was very cool and very somber. Quite the downer moment in the middle of the episode, but still, I don't suppose you could go through Poland and not visit the most famous Concentration camp in the world. Not surprisingly, each team had their own reaction to it (and Mirna managed to make it all about her). This also led to the revelation that Joe (of the Guidos) was (or has been at some point) Catholic since he made a very nice Sign of the Cross.

Charla & Mirna did a lot of yelling, which I assume means that they were no longer in front. (They yell much less when they are winning.) There was an intersection which is always interesting since it makes teams work together (and is even more fun when teams that hate each other have to work together ie: Guidos & Boobs). The intersection also served to spread the teams out even more by making the Beauty Queens wait on another team to work with as they were the third team to the Intersection after Uchenna/Joyce & Danny/Ozwald.

There was the first (and I hope last) eating task of the race where teams had to eat 2 feet of Polish Sausage (which I hope Charla & Mirna appreciated since they had been pestering their cabby about Polish Sausage since they landed in Poland). This led to much puking and very little drama. It also led to perhaps the only funny thing Eric (of the Boobs) has said on this race, ever which was "Ladies and Gentlemen....Miss California" after Dusting (or maybe Candace, I still can't tell them apart) puked up a pile of sausage.

In the end, it was the Guidos (despite their lovely Catholicism) who were Philiminated. Oh well, I didn't really care all that much.

What we learned this week: Joe is a Catholic (or at least a recovering Catholic, because God knows once they've got you, you are never the same again). Too much sausage is not a good thing. Never try to fly into or out of Zanzibar if you are in a hurry.

Best line of the week: Eric's "Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss California."

It's Thursday (which means tomorrow is Friday)

2007-03-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

So really, I don't know why I continue to write on this thing since it is becoming more and more clear that not a single soul reads it except for me (and Jenny once). Still, I feel the need to record somethings forever and ever (or as long as the Internet shall last) so I come back and write more. (And if there is someone out there that does read this, please leave a comment so I know you were here. It gets lonely out here in blog land sometimes.)

What I realized today was that for the last few weeks all I've been talking about are my favorite TV shows and nothing else, so I decided that today I needed to talk about something else. And, what that really means is that today is going to be one of those random days where I exhibit my ADD and talk about all sorts of things.

First.....my bracket is limping along towards the finals. After my strong first weekend, I got slaughtered last weekend. In round three I only picked 4 of 8 games correctly and in round four I managed to get 2 of 4 right. That leaves me with two teams in the final 4, both of whom I have playing in the finals. As much as I hate to do it, I may have to cheer for Florida to win it all if I want to have any shot at winning my bracket pool.

Second....I finally (and I mean finally) finished the Harry Potter-Esq scarf. It is done. Bound off, blocked, and fringed. Now, if only I can find someone to love it because after 6 months of looking at the stupid thing, I have no desire to wear it ever. It did turn out pretty, though, so maybe if I just put it away for the summer I will feel better about it next winter. It should be nice and warm since it's double thick and about 7 feet long. Maybe I can find someone up in Minnesota to love it. (A parting gift for Tubby perhaps.)

Which brings me to random rambling number three......just in case you haven't heard (read: have been living under a rock without TV, radio, or newspapers) Tubby has left our darling Lexington for the much colder and snowier University of Minnesota. Apparently he didn't feel wanted here anymore so he went to somewhere where he was wanted. Who knows what really went on. I guess we'll find out when he writes his tell all book. The big news now is who the new coach is going to be. Everyone has their list of names and there are a thousand rumors swirling around right now, but nothing is for sure yet. I refuse to make any predictions or get my hopes up until I know something for sure.

It was quite funny, though. Yesterday one of the local radio stations decided that they had had enough of the rumors floating around so they were going to start their own. They let all their listeners in on the joke before they started a big story about how Pat Riley was going to come and coach here before he retired. They asked all their listeners to spread the story, simply saying "I heard on the radio...." In less than two hours, the rumor had spread all the way to Canada where it was picked up by a local news station. They were, of course, found out eventually, but still. The distance that the rumor traveled in just a very short amount of time was quite astonishing. It just goes to show you that this is big news.

Fourth.....I'm sure there was a fourth thing, but I have no idea what it was anymore. Maybe it was a knitting thing, I did finish another hat. This time it was the Odessa hat from the free pattern at Magknits. Mine looks pretty much like the picture, although the yarn I chose is a little more blue and a little less purple. Still....it turned out well for my first foray into beading. I will have to say, though, that I had some troubles in the beginning. It took forever to thread the beads onto the yarn since I couldn't find a needle with a big enough eye to get the yarn through that would also pass through the beads. I ended up having to string them without a needle, and that was a nightmare, let me tell you. It took about three hours to get all the beads I needed on there (actually I ended up with more than I needed, but you better believe that they aren't ever coming off). Then, I started the pattern at least three times but I kept messing up and having to frog and start again. The first time I got through all the ribbing but forgot to switch to my larger needles when I started the pattern. The second time, I did the ribbing with the larger needles instead of the smaller ones like I was supposed to. The third time I managed to get all the needles right, but messed up on the pattern after about four rows, so I had to start again. Finally, I was smart and put markers after each repeat along the row (ten markers, one after every eleven stitches). That helped me keep up with where I was in my row and I didn't have nearly as much trouble after that. (This is why I can't knit patterns and watch TV at the same time.) Still, I'm pleased with the way the hat turned out. It fits. It's pretty. And I will never make it again, so it's a one-of-a-kind. What more can you want?

The Amazing Airport Debacle

2007-03-27T08:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it's Tuesday, not Monday and so I really should have talked about this week's Amazing Race yesterday, but oh well....you get it one day later.

This week's episode was titled We are Going to Trade you for Food Now which was just one of several jokes made by [my favorites] Ozzy & Danny that Mirna didn't get at all. I swear, for a lawyer, she isn't very with it sometimes.

We start where we left off last week in Mozambique and the first clue tells our teams to "Go directly to the airport, do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars (but here's your money)." The teams have to fly to Tanzania (which turns out to be the most challenging part of this leg of the race). Mirna & Charla leave first this week and have decided they are "Too Hot to Handle" (really, they had matching shirts with that on it--yeah, I know). The BQ's leave next ahead of Teri & Ian in their funky awful hats which they wore through the entire leg (special people, those) as they implemented their strategy of Stop, Look, & Listen (a close cousin to Stop, Drop & Roll).

Ugly Hats

Ozzy & Danny decided they might have careers as hand models after the race is over and if that doesn't pan out, Ozzy can sub for Tim Gunn on Project Runway since he did a wonderful Tim Gunn impression in the cab on the way to the airport when he found out their diver's name was Andre (either that, or he did a great impression of Santino doing a Tim Gunn impression). That was, hands down, one of the best moments ever (right next to Ozzy & Danny chasing Phil at the Pitstop last week).

Danielle (of the boobs) informs us that she is not letting Eric take charge and make all the decisions because they are team and teams don't work that way. My response: Really? Because so far your purpose on this race is limited to carrying an extra bag and giving Eric something to talk about. But good for you if you are finally going to do something.

Charla/Mirna make it to the airport first thanks, I'm sure, to their wonderful accents as they were directing their cabbie to the airport. I don't get how they can have almost no accent when they are talking to normal people but if they are talking to someone who's first language isn't English, they have the most bizarre accents. They accents may have gotten them to the airport first, but it didn't do them much good since it was the middle of the night and everyone had to wait until morning before they could do anything. You gotta love that beginning of the leg bunching (although this would be the last bit of bunching on this leg).

Once everyone is collected at the airport, we spend the next 20 minutes watching the teams jockey for seats. Charla/Mirna manage to find an early flight to Johannesburg that will connect to Tanzania (although they will have to be on standby for the connecting flight). Everyone else is left sitting at the airport waiting on seats to open up on the only direct flight. None do, so we have more scrabbling. Now, everyone wants to fly to Jo'burg, but we have to wait for the ticket counter to open--or do we? The Guidos and Teri/Ian decide to wait in line, but everyone else goes up to the airline office and gets the agent there to book the tickets to Johannesburg as well as put them on the standby list for the connecting flight. Everyone gets tickets to Jo'burg, but only the first three teams (BQ's, Uchenna/Joyce, Ozzy/Danny) make the connecting flight. The Boobs got on the plane, but then got pulled off because they had been given someone else's tickets, so they were left in Jo'burg with the Guidos and Teri/Ian. Eric was calm and managed to get their names on a Priority Standby list for the next flight out (the next morning) while Danielle helped out by crying hysterically (way to take charge, babe). In the end, only the Boobs get on the early flight out of Jo'burg while the other two teams have to wait another couple of hours.

Now that all the teams are finally out of airports, not much else went on. We sailed on some boats (where Charla lost her breakfast). The Detour was pretty lame (Solve it or Schlep it) and most teams picked solving the fish puzzle. The Roadblock was kind of cool--the best part being Phil's description with his trademark eyebrow lift--where Uchenna got to "jump with the Maasai". Charla/Mirna came in first (although I'm not sure either of them appreciated their prize--a Catamaran--since they didn't seem to have any idea what that was until Phil explained it to them), Ozzy/Danny second, Uchenna/Joyce third (even after their 30min penalty), the BQ's fourth, the Boob's Fifth, Guidos sixth, and Teri/Ian came in last and were Philiminated.

What we learned this week: Always take the first flight to Jo'burg you can get. Charla gets seasick. Ozzy & Danny may not be a help in an avalanche, but they do know some first aid "beauty tips." Stupid looking hats won't help you get on a plane.

Best line of the week: Ozzy's Impression of Tim Gunn "Andre, where are you Andre."

Supernatural shout out?: Charla/Mirna were helped onto their connecting flight in Jo'burg by a well meaning airport worker they hijacked named, of all things, Christo. I guess there is not way he could be possessed, huh?

Better Late than Never....a Heart to Heart

2007-03-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

So, I meant to post a bit about this week's Supernatural after it aired on Thursday, but I got kind of busy on Friday what with some actually work to do and yet another trip to the optometrist (but not the cute one this time). So, you get this week's Supernatural update today!! What fun.

This week's episode: Heart because it involves a lot of heart-less corpses (in that they have had their hearts removed, but we never really find out what happens to the hearts. Do they get eaten? Frozen? Used in some kind of freaky ceremony? Cast in plaster and turned into art?)

The Monster of the Week: Werewolves. Yup, they finally went there. Now, I'm not all up on my werewolf lore, so I might not have appreciated the finer points of this monster, but it was pretty cool....although while the moon cycle seemed to be important, it didn't have to be a full moon for them to change (unless they managed to have three nights of full moons in a row). They seem to like to kill people and rip out their hearts, which is.....well gross, but no more so than protruding guts, splattered brains, or heads sawed off by large saws. Werewolves also apparently like to have hot sweaty Sammy sex, but that comes later.....

Actually, maybe the sweaty Sammy sex doesn't come later. There wasn't a lot going on in the episode for me. We meet Madison. Madison is being stalked by crazy-ex-boyfriend. Madison's boss is killed, flayed, and left heart-less. Sam and Dean show up to fix this. Sam and Dean play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to stay with Maidson. Sam wins. Dean follows crazy-ex. Sam watches All my Children. Madison is the Werewolf. Sam ties her up (kinky, huh?) Dean kills the werewolf who bit her. Madison and Sam have sweaty Sammy sex (and let me tell you, Jared Padalecki has been working out!! That boy is ripped! And I'm not even Sammy girl). Maidson is still a werewolf, so she asks Sammy to kill her. Then we have perhaps the most touching scene ever written where nobody says "I Love You" but it's all over every word. Dean takes the gun from Madison (who is trying to give it to Sam) and offers to kill her himself so Sammy doesn't have to. Sam refuses, and both boys end up in tears along with a good portion of the audience.

Not a bad episode--actually the end saved it for me--but it wasn't great either. Still, any new Supernatural is a good one.

Geeky Dean, because Werewolves are cool.

A very intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors...

Which Sam won.

Sam discovers Soap Operas

Sammy tears.

And one perfect Dean tear.

Bomb Sniffing Rats (And a Bracket Update)

2007-03-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

First, my March Madness Update.

I did okay in Round 1 getting 25 out of 32 games correct. Not the greatest ever, but not too badly. I also only missed two games where I had the team going on to the third round, so no long term damage done. Round 2 went much better for me. I picked 13 out of 16 games correctly (and the 3 wrongs includes the 2 games I couldn't get right because I picked them wrong in round 1). The only game I missed that I could have gotten right was Texas. I thought Durant would have been able to get them to at least the Elite Eight. Oh well. My Final Four is still intact, though, so that is good. And I have 7 of my 8 Elite Eight teams still going (Boo Texas).

The best news of the day, though? That Kyle had Wisconsin winning it all and only 6 of his final 8 are still standing. That means that I stand a very good chance to beating him in the brackets this year. And everyone knows that is the entire point of March Madness.

Now, on to the Amazing Race (yes, I watched a lot of CBS yesterday)....

This time, with Rob & Amber gone (heehee)the other teams could finally concentrate or racing rather than on what Ramber was doing right?. Well sort of. We start off with everyone talking about how glad they are that it was Charla & Mirna that got to keep racing rather than Ramber and how much they didn't like Ramber and how much more interesting things were now, without them. Then. Finally. I think we are done with Ramber. Moving on.

The first thing we get to do this week is....dig in the snow while looking for buried avalanche beacons. Interesting, I guess, but let me just say that if I'm every buried in an avalanche, I want Joe & Bill to come looking for me rather than any other team. They were the only ones that seemed to be able to work the beacons. If the Beauty Queens (who can't follow arrows) or Ozzy & Danny come looking for me, just go ahead and start planning the funeral. It might be a while.

Next....stupid travel agents and airport jockeying with the end result that every single team ends up on the exact same flight. Oh well. At least we leave this hemisphere and end up in Africa!! Then there is some totally pointless argument between the Guidos and the Boobs which was totally built up in the promos to be way more than it was (which was nothing). So much for all that excitement.

And finally, we get to the most awesome Roadblock ever!! Really. It involved landmine sniffing trained rats! How cool is that! Although about half the people there thought the rats were gross, so maybe not so cool for them. Joyce, however, thought her rat was just adorable, so props to her. Just another reason I love Joyce and Uchenna. Apparently, rats love them too but not as much as rats love the Guidos. Their rats (Nelson) was some kind of super mine finding machine. Rats don't like Charla & Mirna (see, I always knew those rodents were smart) since their rat was not all that interesting in doing anything. Too bad that even though they left in last place, they made up time on the Detour.

Speaking of the Detour....this time is was a choice between Pamper (paint nails) or Porter (fill bags and haul coal). Now me, I would have chosen the non-lifting heavy bags task, but apparently nail painting is a scary things because everyone except for Charla & Mirna, Kandace & Dustin, and Teri & Ian chose to do the coal task. Ironically, the three teams which picked pamper finished 1, 2, 3 even though they were some of the last teams to finish the Roadblock. That coal is a bitch.

Ozzy & Danny finished 4th with the Guidos right behind them in 5th. That left only the Boobs and Uchenna & Joyce. Except, Uchenna & Joyce couldn't find the right house to deliver the coal to, so they fell behind. The Boobs finished 6th leaving Uchenna & Joyce for last. This made me very sad until Phil said those most magic words...."I'm pleased to tell you that you have not been eliminated from the race." (One of these days he is going to slip up and say Philiminated, but not yet.) Uchenna & Joyce are, however, "Marked for Elimination" so they have to finish 1st on the next leg or wait out a 30min penalty which could get them eliminated. We'll see what happens.

What we learned this week: Rats hate Charla & Mirna. The Guidos would make good search and rescue guys. Ozzy & Danny would not.

Eric's weekly Boob comment: Are you ready for this? There wasn't one. We managed to make it all the way through one episode with no references to Danielle's boobs.

Best Moment of the Day: Ozzy & Danny chasing Phil around at the Pitstop because they wanted to give him a hug even though they were covered in coal dust. Priceless.

Ghosts of March Madness Past

2007-03-16T07:45:00.000-05:00

It's finally Friday!!! Yea!!! And my first race (a 3K) is tomorrow morning so wish me luck! I'm actually a little nervous because it's supposed to be pretty cold--but at least it's not supposed to snow anymore. I should be thankful for small blessing, I suppose.

Now.....Bracket Update!!

Yesterday there were 16 games. Of those 16 games, I picked 12 winners. The 4 teams I missed were: Old Dominion, Oral Roberts, Texas Tech, and BYU. Not too bad.

Plus: DUKE Lost!!! It broke their string of 9 straight Sweet 16 appearances. That just makes my week. In fact, Duke going out 1st round might actually be better than seeing Duke lose to IU when they played in the Regional Finals at Rupp. There is noting quite like seeing a team you hate crying in your locker room after they lose in your gym. (Sorry to any Duke fans out there, but I'm still a bit bitter about that shot in '92.)

Now, if only the Cats can win tonight, all will be well.

And, because it is Friday that means last night was Thursday night TV. This week was kind of abbreviated, though, due to several factors. Nashville Star ended last week (with Angela as the winner and Zach as the runner up :) ) so that was done. Ugly Betty was new, but I chose to DVR that and watch the first half of the Duke game instead so I will watch Betty sometime (maybe this weekend). I did watch the new Supernatural (because you all know that I can't go without my weekly SN fix, even for March Madness). It was the first new episode in several weeks, so I was anxious to get some new material. Let me just say Kripke and company didn't disappoint.

Last nights Episode was titled Roadkill and guest starred Tricia Helfer (from Battlestar Galactica apparently, although I have never watched or heard of that show).

We started out with the usually teaser where some poor unsuspecting guest star usually dies or sees someone they know/love die. This week we find Molly riding with her husband David as they drive along a dark country road. They are lost and David refuses to stop and ask for directions (guys, note, this leads to all kinds of problems, so just STOP already--it won't kill you). The radio starts playing House of the Rising Sun (which is a creepy song anyway, but here can't mean anything good). Then....man in the road, crash, credits.

I don't want to give too much about this episode away because there are some wonderful twists coming up which I didn't see coming at all and I would hate to spoil that for anyone. But let me say, I really really liked this episode. It was quite creepy at times, very funny at times, and had some really cool twists which they did a very good job of concealing. I liked the Molly chick who ended up hanging out with the boys for most of the episode but didn't take anything away from what we love. The evil ghosty man was very gross and scary, but not over the top. And who doesn't love a good salt and burn? Plus, hanging bones, flashlight-fu, and some slight gun porn. Beautiful!

Best lines of the night:

Dean: "Just once I want to round the corner and see a nice house." (What about that wonderful hotel in Playthings, Dean? That was a very nice--but haunted--house.)

Dean: "You're a walking encyclopedia of weirdness."
Sam: "I know."

Molly: "Oh, thank God."
Dean: "Just call me Dean."

Crazy Girl in front of the car

Why is there a crazy girl in front of the car?

One Handed Gun Porn

Hanging Skeletons....yea!

Can you see the big E?

2007-03-14T09:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know I've already posted and two posts in one day is some kind of record for me (who sometimes only posts once a week) but I had more to say. And besides, this is my blog (and no one reads it anyways) so Ha!!

Yesterday I got to do one of my favorite things is life....go to the Optometrist! Yea! Fun! You'd think I'd be fine with this by now seeing as how I've been wearing glasses and/or contacts and going to see the eye doctor once a year for more than half my life now, but I still hate it. Why in the world, when they have my prescription sitting right there in front of them do they make me take out my contacts and then ask me to read things? They know I can't see that chart. I know I can't see that chart. Why ask me if I can see the chart? And then, when I say no, ask me if I'm sure I can't even see the big E at the top? If I could see the E, I'd tell you I could see the E. Trust me. I want to be able to see the E. (And who decided that it should be an E at the top of every eye chart ever?) The girl this time went a step farther though. When I couldn't even see the E, she walked over to the mirror where the chart was and then held up some fingers and asked "How Many?" The sad part is, I still didn't answer right. I really am blind as a bat. Oh well.

After the embarrassing eye chart episode, things got better. The place where I go has several doctors practicing there. This year, I saw a one I had never seen before. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name. Last year's doctor was good. He was fine. He was normal. This year, the doctor was tall and blond and very talkative. He talked and talked and talked, but I learned more from him about my eyes than I have in the previous 15 years of visits put together. Apparently blue eyed people (like me) tend to have worse night vision. We also tend to be more sensitive to the sun so we wear sunglasses more. He then went on to explain why some contacts dry out more than others. And what kind of contacts he thought I should wear. And why. And what we would do if these didn't work for me. And the truth is, I could have sat there and listened to him talk to me all day because I maybe was just a tiny bit attracted to this guy (and he was without a wedding ring--not that I was looking). It was a bit weird. But in a good way, I guess. So once he was finished talking, he loaded me up with free contact solution and sent me on my way. And maybe (just maybe) I'm a tiny bit sorry that it will be a year before I have to go back.

March Madness

2007-03-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow is the official start of March Madness which rivals Christmas as my favorite time of the year. I know non-sports people hate this time of year, but I love it!!! And the best part of March Madness? (besides the office pool) The first two days when you can literally watch college basketball All. Day. Long. from mid morning until after midnight. Gotta love it!

I filled out my bracket today and now my fingers are crossed that I picked the right ones. I won the family bracket pool one year (about four years ago) but since then, I haven't done so well. My sister won most of the pools last year (by being the only person in the world to pick George Mason to get to the Final Four) but I chalk that up to luck more than anything. After all, who knew that George Mason would go that far?

I don't know who this year's George Mason will be, but I can't wait to find out. I don't think my Cats will be going too far, but there is always hope. I'm also rooting for Texas A&M since one of the guys I work with is a big fan and I need a team that has half a chance to win some games to cheer for. (They also get to play in Lexington which I'm sure has Matt excited.) We'll have to see how things go. The games tip off early tomorrow!!

Amazing Monday

2007-03-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

Ah, another Monday. Today everyone is gone to "Neuroscience Day" so I'm here all alone (and loving it!!) Now, how about an Amazing Race Update?

This week's episode was titled: No Babies on the Race. I second that. Please, no babies on the race. The race is not the time nor the place to be making/having babies. Moving on...

This week we started off with Rob and Amber talking about how they have done so well up to this point and how they are peaking, Mirna talking about how she has to do more than any other person on the race EVER! because Charla is a little person. Eric talking about Danielle's Boobs.

Then we have yet another leg in South America. We stayed in Chile for awhile then moved on to Argentina (or Australia according to Danielle--I can see how you might get those two confused since they both start with A and all). Going to the end of the world is cool and all, but really, let's move out of this hemisphere now.

The Detour was a choice between building a sign post that chronicled Magellan's voyage or using a compass to navigate due South to a building. Uchenna & Joyce were the only team to do the sign and get it right. Rob & Amber tried, but couldn't spell Philippines (Philippeans) right and then spent A LOT of time rearranging their signs rather than checking their spelling. Dustin & Kandace started with the signs, but couldn't figure out that it didn't matter what direction the arrows pointed in as long as you had them in the right order (and spelled correctly) so they jumped ship with Rob & Amber. Charla & Mirna tried, but had some issues getting the materials to where they needed to be. Charla tried hard, but she just couldn't carry things fast enough for her shrieking cousin who did nothing but yell at her until they decided to switch tasks.

The Navigation task was pretty simple (as long as you read the directions). You went to such-and-such plaza, found the sailor, got a compass, and walked due south to the Nautilus Building. Apparently reading a compass is too hard for some teams (Rob) who got confused between North and South. Oh well. At the end of the Detour, we have our mandatory bunching. The teams had to sign up for one of two (only two? what happened to our normal three?) charter flights that leave three hours apart and land in Argentina (Australia). Bunching and Separation all at once? Who'd 've thunk it?

We land and Teri/Ian pull a Fran/Barry where they walk right by the race flag several times before they finally see the darn thing. I think they make them Red/Yellow for a reason guys. We find the clue and get to.....ride in boats! to the end of the world! But only two teams to a boat and they leave 20 minutes apart. Ozzy & Danny and Eric & Danielle are in the first boat. Teri & Ian are in the second boat (alone).

RoadBlock: Search through this massive pile of letters to find one of two letters addressed to your team (from a team from your first race). Then run to the pit stop to find Phil. Ozzy hits first with a letter from Blake/Paige. (And can I just say, it's about time these guys won a leg. They are just too much fun!) Eric is second and their letter is from the former partners whose names I can't remember. Teri & Ian come in third (letter from Flo/Zach).

Back at the airport, Rob steals a taxi from Charla/Mirna. More yelling. Then Amber lies about where they found the clue and lies about lying while they wait on the boat. More yelling. Guidos and the Beauty Queens get on a boat. Waiting. Uchenna/Joyce & Rob/Amber get on a boat. Waiting. Complaining. Charla/Mirna get on their boat.

More letter sorting. Joe/Bill come in fourth (letter from Frank) with a little man on man action at the mat (go CBS). Dustin/Kandace get fifth with a letter from Lyn, but no Karlyn. (She is apparently still hating them.) Uchenna/Joyce get sixth and a lovely letter from Susan/Patrick. Up until this point all the letters are very positive (or at least funny) but things, they are a changin'.

Rob goes for the letters, but he can't find the one he is looking for. Mirna joins him. Mirna prays to her dead Grandmother to help her win. Mirna finds her letter (God might have been in the bathtub, but Grandma wasn't) from Marshall/Lance (who I think are the only team to not make it to a pit stop to be eliminated) and it's not nice. Oh well, they finish seventh with a little help from Uchenna who hauls Charla up onto the mat. Along the way Mirna yells more.

Rob finds his letter (from Susan/Patrick). It's not all warm fuzzy either. Then, joy of joys, Rob and Amber finish last and are Eliminated!! No Non-Elimination leg. No more Rob/Amber. What a wonderful day (even if the Cats did end up as an 8 seed).

What we learned this week: Rob can't spell (or use a compass). Mirna yells (A LOT). Eric is still obsessed with Danielle's Boobs. Uchenna and Joyce hate people who lie.

The weekly Eric Boob comment: "She's just like a man, but with boobs."

Best line of the day: Ozzy & Danny: "Phil, will you go with us?" Phil: "That would be another reality show entirely."

To update, so far we have:

My new favorite (s) to win:

Still around:

Get off my TV now, please:

Note: I am renaming Eric/Danielle the Boobs since Eric seems to see Danielle as nothing but two boobs and he is one. From here on out, that is how they shall be called. Maybe they should change their team picture?