Next Monday, we are taking another vacation home. We'll be home for eleven stress free days. This is great because it'll be the second time this year we'll be home. The best part is that my brother and sister-in-law will be home as well. Oh, they are also bringing their baby home. So that's cool. While it is always great to get home there are a few things I thought of that were a little sad. Captain Bringdown to the rescue!
The first realization is that this may be the last vacation until next year. I have the vacation hours at work so that's not the problem. We could take another trip during the summer, but I also need to work so I get more vacation time. It doesn't just magically appear. So we try to space out the vacations to recoup the time off. The problem is that working in retail means the last three months it is very difficult to get time off. It's way too busy. There is a small window in September and October but once you get into November....game over. Until February.
The other realization is that we haven't ever really taken a vacation. Yes, going home is a trip to see family and friends and it's time away from work so it qualifies as a vacation, but we have never traveled to different places. The last place we went was St. Thomas and that was to get married and we had our honeymoon at the same time. That was six years ago. The problem is that it is crazy expensive to go places. Think about going some place for a week. It doesn't matter if it's Chicago or Baltimore or New York or Las Vegas. Places outside the country as well. There are cities in Canada I wouldn't mind visiting. Seven days of hotel and food bills. You also have to fly there unless you're close enough to drive. It would be great to go to different cities and just explore. See things and play tourist. Drive the economy in another part of the country.
And yes, you can take a road trip and see different parts of the country. But that isn't free either. You can go camping to save money and bring food to cook and all that stuff and get back to nature, but everyone that goes has to really be into it or else some are happy others are just annoyed. We've gone camping with friends before and it's a blast, but haven't ever gone by ourselves. I don't know how that would turn out. I have no problem going camping to get back to nature. My wife maybe not so much.
It takes a lot of cutting back to save money. And to save money for a vacation on top of that seems like a steep hill to climb. I feel like you have to have a two or three year plan. Plan a vacation two or three years into the future and start saving now. Save a little here, a little there. Put it into a bank account that you know you won't touch until you are ready to go. Maybe reap the benefit of accruing some interest. And where we are right now in our lives, we don't have that. We don't have that disposable income just laying around. Money goes to bills and rent and all that fun grown up stuff.
31 May 2013
30 May 2013
The End of the Season
Well, the Red Wings put up a helluva fight over the course of the season. The Wings fans witnessed an off season in which two veteran defensemen retired and another thankfully signed with San Jose. The fan base was prepared by all the pro analysts that they would have trouble making it into the post season for the twenty second straight season. And they truly did have a tough go the entire season. They won out their last four games to make it in as the seven seed. They drew Anaheim in the first round and mounted a great comeback in the series to win it in seven games. Shortly afterwards, they started round two against President's Trophy winning Chicago. A great team you cannot deny that. I don't like any team from the city of Chicago, but I do respect the Blackhawks (except Bryan Bickell, he could not play another game in the NHL and I would be okay with that). Doesn't mean I like them. They are a formidable opponent and I would rather see my beloved Wings lose to an Original Six team than a team from California.
Anyway, as it is when your team loses in the playoffs, you get overwhelmed by emotion. I have a tendency to go through all seven stages in a period of about an hour. Here's what I felt shortly after they lost and their season ended.
Anyway, as it is when your team loses in the playoffs, you get overwhelmed by emotion. I have a tendency to go through all seven stages in a period of about an hour. Here's what I felt shortly after they lost and their season ended.
- Disbelief: I can't believe they gave up a 3-1 series lead.
- Denial: There's no way they should have lost this series. What kind of collapse was that?
- Anger: How could they not win just one more game?!
- Bargaining: Are you sure they can't play a nine game series?
- Guilt: Maybe if I sat in the exact same spot for every single game they would have won one of those remaining games. Did I gloat too much after they won the fourth game of the series? Are the sports gods punishing the team for that?
- Depression: How long until the next season starts? I don't know if I can handle this.
- Acceptance: Ya know, Chicago was the best team all year. They weren't suppose to be much of a match up against them anyways. And there's always next year.
29 May 2013
Sports Introvert
I was working last night and there was a couple that came into the store wearing Detroit Tigers shirts and hats. I was super excited! There aren't a ton of Tigers fans around the Twin Cities. Apparently there's a professional baseball team here? I kid, I kid...the St. Paul Saints are a great team (ohhhhh.....). Living outside the state of Michigan, there are few Detroit sports fans around. So any time I see someone wearing a Tigers hat or a Lions jersey (saw someone wearing a Joey Harrington jersey yesterday at work. Weird, right?) or a Red Wings toque I get really excited on the inside. I want to run up and start talking Detroit sports with this random person. But then I realize I don't want to look like a crazy person so I don't. Even when I go to a game when I see others wearing Detroit gear I usually go with the head nod. The 'yeah, we support the same team' nod. But it's a head nod and we move on.
I am a bit of an introverted person. We went to the second game of the season for the Tigers here in Minneapolis. We were surrounded by Twins fans with a few cells of Tigers fans around our section. The nice thing about living in Minnesota and going to a sporting event is that there are no mean people there. Minnesota Nice is a real thing. The game ended with a walk off double for the Twins. The guys next to us looked over, smiled, and just said 'you're team is better than this game.' WHAT?! You don't expect that. You expect smack talk. You expect gloating and screaming and yelling about how your team sucks and it's not their year. Anyway, with the Tigers fans around us, we didn't feel it necessary to find out where they were from. How do you relate to some random people you'll never ever see again that are from a different part of the state you may have never heard of and in the state you haven't lived in close to a decade? Unless you find out they're from the same hometown.
Even last year when we went to a game we ended up behind a family of Twins fans. The father of the family turned around after we cheered about a Tigers hit or play and asked where we were from. We told him we lived in the Twin Cities now but we were from the U.P. originally. He said that he was originally from the Detroit area. Part of me thought 'who cares' while the other part of me thought 'that's cool, but now you're a Twins fan?! TRAITOR!' I'll never cheer against the Tigers. So it was an awkward conversation especially when he handed us is real estate agent card. I understand he is an independent real estate agent and tries to network whenever possible, but still. Awkward. This is the kind of thing my mind tells me to avoid doing.
I am not someone who will walk up to a random stranger and just start talking about a sports team because they are wearing a hat or a shirt. Partly because I'm scared of them saying something like 'oh, I just bought the hat because I like the Lion' or 'I love the old English D so I bought the hat'. Which would totally send me over the edge. I would never buy a sports team hat because I like the design of it. Wearing a sports hat usually means that you are supporting the team. You should be able to walk up to someone and start talking about the season a certain player is having or the chances of the team making the playoffs. If someone buys a hat because they want to have the hats of all teams of a sport (yes, there are people like that) or because they like the design of the logo are they even sports fan? See, I don't want to go off the rails and start yelling something like that at a total stranger.
If someone comes up to me and starts talking Detroit sports, I will engage them about the team. I'm polite enough to do so, but I know we won't end up all buddy buddy. So keep it quick and focused. Don't talk about where you're from because no one cares, just keep it on the team you are both there to see. Talk about the highs and low of the season and where you think they need to improve. And the chances of the team making a playoff run as it nears the end of the season. Without jinxing the team. So maybe at sporting events is the best time to approach others wearing your team's colors. It makes sense, I know, but you would be surprised once you live outside your state how happy you are to find other fans of your team. Happy enough to run up to them and start talking sports? Maybe. But without that awkwardness? Maybe not.
I am a bit of an introverted person. We went to the second game of the season for the Tigers here in Minneapolis. We were surrounded by Twins fans with a few cells of Tigers fans around our section. The nice thing about living in Minnesota and going to a sporting event is that there are no mean people there. Minnesota Nice is a real thing. The game ended with a walk off double for the Twins. The guys next to us looked over, smiled, and just said 'you're team is better than this game.' WHAT?! You don't expect that. You expect smack talk. You expect gloating and screaming and yelling about how your team sucks and it's not their year. Anyway, with the Tigers fans around us, we didn't feel it necessary to find out where they were from. How do you relate to some random people you'll never ever see again that are from a different part of the state you may have never heard of and in the state you haven't lived in close to a decade? Unless you find out they're from the same hometown.
Even last year when we went to a game we ended up behind a family of Twins fans. The father of the family turned around after we cheered about a Tigers hit or play and asked where we were from. We told him we lived in the Twin Cities now but we were from the U.P. originally. He said that he was originally from the Detroit area. Part of me thought 'who cares' while the other part of me thought 'that's cool, but now you're a Twins fan?! TRAITOR!' I'll never cheer against the Tigers. So it was an awkward conversation especially when he handed us is real estate agent card. I understand he is an independent real estate agent and tries to network whenever possible, but still. Awkward. This is the kind of thing my mind tells me to avoid doing.
I am not someone who will walk up to a random stranger and just start talking about a sports team because they are wearing a hat or a shirt. Partly because I'm scared of them saying something like 'oh, I just bought the hat because I like the Lion' or 'I love the old English D so I bought the hat'. Which would totally send me over the edge. I would never buy a sports team hat because I like the design of it. Wearing a sports hat usually means that you are supporting the team. You should be able to walk up to someone and start talking about the season a certain player is having or the chances of the team making the playoffs. If someone buys a hat because they want to have the hats of all teams of a sport (yes, there are people like that) or because they like the design of the logo are they even sports fan? See, I don't want to go off the rails and start yelling something like that at a total stranger.
If someone comes up to me and starts talking Detroit sports, I will engage them about the team. I'm polite enough to do so, but I know we won't end up all buddy buddy. So keep it quick and focused. Don't talk about where you're from because no one cares, just keep it on the team you are both there to see. Talk about the highs and low of the season and where you think they need to improve. And the chances of the team making a playoff run as it nears the end of the season. Without jinxing the team. So maybe at sporting events is the best time to approach others wearing your team's colors. It makes sense, I know, but you would be surprised once you live outside your state how happy you are to find other fans of your team. Happy enough to run up to them and start talking sports? Maybe. But without that awkwardness? Maybe not.
26 May 2013
No Plan Weekend
It's a holiday weekend and I didn't have to work. We didn't make any plans for the weekend because every weekend you have off you don't need to do anything. Plus there was plenty of sports going on. The Tigers are currently playing the Twins and I've been able to see each game of the series. It's nice to be able to see them, but the down side is having to listen to the Twins announcers. We watched some of the Red Wings game last night, got depressed because they didn't bother showing up and chose to watch a movie (Skyfall) instead.
The past couple of weekends I have had off, we made it a point to get out of the house and do at least something on either Saturday or Sunday. Nothing major, just did some stuff to get out. We found a couple of parks to go walk around and get some fresh air. Even during the winter, we found ourselves wanting and needing to get out. The weather was pretty cold for about four and a half months so 'getting out' just meant getting in the car and driving around. Seeing something different.
However, there are weekends when we don't really want to do anything. This was one of those weekends. We have a vacation coming up in a few weeks, so why not have a low key weekend? As long as these weekends don't happen every single time I don't work, I'm just fine. Sitting around two weekends off in a row feels like at least one of those weekends is wasted. The next weekend I have off we'll be home and more than likely will be doing some sort of activity. So why put all your energy into this weekend?
After a weekend of doing nothing, I always feel really relaxed once I go back to work on Monday. I usually get about eight to nine hours of sleep a night to make up for the week prior when I usually average about six. The fun thing about going back to work is that I get the usual 'do anything this weekend?' questions. When I happily say no, I get some weird looks. Not everyone understands the point of a lazy weekend. But I sure as hell do.
The past couple of weekends I have had off, we made it a point to get out of the house and do at least something on either Saturday or Sunday. Nothing major, just did some stuff to get out. We found a couple of parks to go walk around and get some fresh air. Even during the winter, we found ourselves wanting and needing to get out. The weather was pretty cold for about four and a half months so 'getting out' just meant getting in the car and driving around. Seeing something different.
However, there are weekends when we don't really want to do anything. This was one of those weekends. We have a vacation coming up in a few weeks, so why not have a low key weekend? As long as these weekends don't happen every single time I don't work, I'm just fine. Sitting around two weekends off in a row feels like at least one of those weekends is wasted. The next weekend I have off we'll be home and more than likely will be doing some sort of activity. So why put all your energy into this weekend?
After a weekend of doing nothing, I always feel really relaxed once I go back to work on Monday. I usually get about eight to nine hours of sleep a night to make up for the week prior when I usually average about six. The fun thing about going back to work is that I get the usual 'do anything this weekend?' questions. When I happily say no, I get some weird looks. Not everyone understands the point of a lazy weekend. But I sure as hell do.
21 May 2013
30 or .400
I love baseball. I love history. There is a lot of history in sports. Benchmarks are meant to be broken. Sometimes. There are things that have happened that I think will never be surpassed. The career strikeouts will never be broken. Nolan Ryan was a beast. And he beat the shit out of Robin Ventura (go to Google and start typing his name and the first thing that comes up is this fight). The fifty six game hit streak will never be surpassed. Not because there are not great hitters, it's just not going to happen. Pitchers are so good right now and players in the field are getting more and more athletic.
So I was thinking, which of the history making season accomplishments would I like to see? Would I like to see a thirty game winner or a batter hit .400? It'd be awesome to see both happen in my life because I like to see history being made. Hitting .400 would be more impressive because the hitters play the majority of the games each season whereas the pitchers throw once every five or six days. Granted, pitchers put more strain on their arm than a batter does on their body but the batters also play the field and have a chance of injuring themselves out there. There is no good argument for one position being more of a strain over the other.
Since the last thirty game winner (Detroit's Cocaine [mean, I know, but it rhymes] McLain!) in 1968, the closest anyone has come to a thirty win season is twenty seven games. Twice. 1972 (Steve Carlton) and 1990 (Bob Welch). After the '68 season, MLB lowered the pitching mound so the pitchers would have less of an advantage over the hitters. A couple of years ago, Tim Kurkjain wrote a great article about the '68 season. As much as it pains me to link an ESPN article, it is Tim Kurkjain and I like him and his squeaky little voice. Slowly but surely, the pitchers have started to come around and are becoming more impressive and borderline dominant. Not as dominant as they were in years past, but there seems to be more strikeouts, more no hitters, more perfect games, more EVERYTHING pitcher oriented in the past few years. I think within ten years, we will see a pitcher win thirty games. That's right, I'm calling my shot. Book it. Even though it's been over forty years since a thirty game winner, the pitchers that are around now are closer to this milestone than the batters are to hitting .400.
If forty years seems like a long time for a thirty game winner, consider the fact that it has been over seventy years since Ted Williams hit .400. The closest anyone has come to this record is Tony Gwinn. He hit .394 in 1994. Being twelve at the time, I didn't concern myself with baseball things outside the city of Detroit so I don't remember this. There have been a few seasons with guys hitting in the .370 to .380 range and that seems to be the new .400. After the steroid era, anyone who is hitting a ton of home runs or hitting way better than their career average, comes under immediate scrutiny. Looking at the guys who have hit in that .370 to 380 range over the course of the last thirty years, they are considered some of the best hitters of our generation. Everyone except Barry Bonds. Fuck that guy. You have guys like George Brett, Tony Gwinn, Ichiro, Wade Boggs. You can go back further to hall of fame guys like Clemente, Yaz, and Rose. None of them ever really came close to .400. It takes a fast start to the season to get the average up but it also takes consistency throughout the entire year to maintain that average. If you look at a box score and see someone go 1-3 you think that's pretty decent for a day's work. That's a .333 average. But if someone is trying for a .400 season that 1-3 is terrible. You would have to have several three and four hit games just to recover. I didn't do the actual math to see what is needed to recover the batting average, I'll leave that to the nerds.
Even with some great hitters in the game right now, the pitchers have the advantage. In the past decade the best season ending average was Ichiro in 2004 at .370. In that same time the closest to a thirty win season was Randy Johnson and Justin Verlander. Both with twenty four wins. Six off the historic number. A .400 season is the better of the two accomplishments in my mind, but a thirty win season is nothing to ignore. One reason would be because the hitters are so far away to getting to that milestone. A batter would have to be focused for half a calendar year. There can be no slumps. There can be no bad at bats. There can only be hits.
So I was thinking, which of the history making season accomplishments would I like to see? Would I like to see a thirty game winner or a batter hit .400? It'd be awesome to see both happen in my life because I like to see history being made. Hitting .400 would be more impressive because the hitters play the majority of the games each season whereas the pitchers throw once every five or six days. Granted, pitchers put more strain on their arm than a batter does on their body but the batters also play the field and have a chance of injuring themselves out there. There is no good argument for one position being more of a strain over the other.
Since the last thirty game winner (Detroit's Cocaine [mean, I know, but it rhymes] McLain!) in 1968, the closest anyone has come to a thirty win season is twenty seven games. Twice. 1972 (Steve Carlton) and 1990 (Bob Welch). After the '68 season, MLB lowered the pitching mound so the pitchers would have less of an advantage over the hitters. A couple of years ago, Tim Kurkjain wrote a great article about the '68 season. As much as it pains me to link an ESPN article, it is Tim Kurkjain and I like him and his squeaky little voice. Slowly but surely, the pitchers have started to come around and are becoming more impressive and borderline dominant. Not as dominant as they were in years past, but there seems to be more strikeouts, more no hitters, more perfect games, more EVERYTHING pitcher oriented in the past few years. I think within ten years, we will see a pitcher win thirty games. That's right, I'm calling my shot. Book it. Even though it's been over forty years since a thirty game winner, the pitchers that are around now are closer to this milestone than the batters are to hitting .400.
If forty years seems like a long time for a thirty game winner, consider the fact that it has been over seventy years since Ted Williams hit .400. The closest anyone has come to this record is Tony Gwinn. He hit .394 in 1994. Being twelve at the time, I didn't concern myself with baseball things outside the city of Detroit so I don't remember this. There have been a few seasons with guys hitting in the .370 to .380 range and that seems to be the new .400. After the steroid era, anyone who is hitting a ton of home runs or hitting way better than their career average, comes under immediate scrutiny. Looking at the guys who have hit in that .370 to 380 range over the course of the last thirty years, they are considered some of the best hitters of our generation. Everyone except Barry Bonds. Fuck that guy. You have guys like George Brett, Tony Gwinn, Ichiro, Wade Boggs. You can go back further to hall of fame guys like Clemente, Yaz, and Rose. None of them ever really came close to .400. It takes a fast start to the season to get the average up but it also takes consistency throughout the entire year to maintain that average. If you look at a box score and see someone go 1-3 you think that's pretty decent for a day's work. That's a .333 average. But if someone is trying for a .400 season that 1-3 is terrible. You would have to have several three and four hit games just to recover. I didn't do the actual math to see what is needed to recover the batting average, I'll leave that to the nerds.
Even with some great hitters in the game right now, the pitchers have the advantage. In the past decade the best season ending average was Ichiro in 2004 at .370. In that same time the closest to a thirty win season was Randy Johnson and Justin Verlander. Both with twenty four wins. Six off the historic number. A .400 season is the better of the two accomplishments in my mind, but a thirty win season is nothing to ignore. One reason would be because the hitters are so far away to getting to that milestone. A batter would have to be focused for half a calendar year. There can be no slumps. There can be no bad at bats. There can only be hits.
14 May 2013
Minnesota: 12th Coolest Place in America
It feels really weird to be proud of my state. Living in Kansas for six years, every time the politicians voted on something that had to do with rights (rights for women, gays, etc.) you knew how it was going to go. And it was shameful. Now that we are living in somewhat of a progressive state, it is nice to see them moving forward. Yesterday, the state passed a same-sex marriage bill and it will be signed into law today. So very, very proud. Before getting too far into this post, I am linking this article from the Daily Currant. The Daily Currant is political satire, so unfortunately this isn't true. If it were, Minnesota would be better off for it. Because she is an awful, awful person. Just awful.
Minnesota is the twelfth state in the country to pass a same sex marriage bill. Nine in the Northeast (basically all of New England), Washington, and Iowa. Iowa is a bit surprising to me based on where it is geographically. Washington D.C. also recognizes same sex marriage. Along with these states, the Coquille Indian Tribe (Oregon), the Suquamish Tribe (Washington State), and the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians (Michigan) have recognized same sex marriage. Go us Natives! There are some states (New Jersey, Illinois) that recognize civil unions. Basically they are okay with gay people staying together and having rights, but not comfortable enough to use the phrase 'married'. That's just too weird I guess. I feel that civil unions being recognized by states were the stepping stones to the same sex marriage movement we are now witnessing in this country today. Without these civil union states, we may not have as much progress as we have now.
When you think about these twelve states passing this law, you think that this is great progress, and it is! However, in the world we live in now, you would think that there would be more. The population is becoming more accepting of alternative lifestyles, but there are the holdovers that yearn for the good ol' days. Days of women staying in the kitchen, men being sexists assholes all the time, and gays staying in the closet. Looking at states that have constitutional bans on same sex marriage, there are twenty five (TWENTY FIVE!). To no one's surprise, every state south and east of Kentucky has banned same sex marriage. Also the Midwest from Texas north to North Dakota. The Bible Belt and the Grain Belt. Sadly, my home state of Michigan falls into this category (shame on you Michigan!). Half of our country has told people that they are not allowed to marry those that they love. Is this as bad as Jim Crow Laws? No. But it's damn close. In the ratings of oppressive laws Jim Crow comes in at number 1 and banning gay marriage is 1A.
I know that the biggest argument opponents of gay marriage have is 'one man and one woman is marriage'. I know that traditionalist cannot see the present for they are blinded by the past. I know that change scares people. I also know that change can bring people together. I also know that the best way to move forward is to look to the past and the mistakes that have been made. I also know that love knows no gender. Love is love and marriage is just a word and a piece of paper.
Minnesota is the twelfth state in the country to pass a same sex marriage bill. Nine in the Northeast (basically all of New England), Washington, and Iowa. Iowa is a bit surprising to me based on where it is geographically. Washington D.C. also recognizes same sex marriage. Along with these states, the Coquille Indian Tribe (Oregon), the Suquamish Tribe (Washington State), and the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians (Michigan) have recognized same sex marriage. Go us Natives! There are some states (New Jersey, Illinois) that recognize civil unions. Basically they are okay with gay people staying together and having rights, but not comfortable enough to use the phrase 'married'. That's just too weird I guess. I feel that civil unions being recognized by states were the stepping stones to the same sex marriage movement we are now witnessing in this country today. Without these civil union states, we may not have as much progress as we have now.
When you think about these twelve states passing this law, you think that this is great progress, and it is! However, in the world we live in now, you would think that there would be more. The population is becoming more accepting of alternative lifestyles, but there are the holdovers that yearn for the good ol' days. Days of women staying in the kitchen, men being sexists assholes all the time, and gays staying in the closet. Looking at states that have constitutional bans on same sex marriage, there are twenty five (TWENTY FIVE!). To no one's surprise, every state south and east of Kentucky has banned same sex marriage. Also the Midwest from Texas north to North Dakota. The Bible Belt and the Grain Belt. Sadly, my home state of Michigan falls into this category (shame on you Michigan!). Half of our country has told people that they are not allowed to marry those that they love. Is this as bad as Jim Crow Laws? No. But it's damn close. In the ratings of oppressive laws Jim Crow comes in at number 1 and banning gay marriage is 1A.
I know that the biggest argument opponents of gay marriage have is 'one man and one woman is marriage'. I know that traditionalist cannot see the present for they are blinded by the past. I know that change scares people. I also know that change can bring people together. I also know that the best way to move forward is to look to the past and the mistakes that have been made. I also know that love knows no gender. Love is love and marriage is just a word and a piece of paper.
04 May 2013
Sun, Rain, Snow, Sleet, Sun
'How bout this weather?' Whenever you need to make small talk with someone you don't really know, you can always go with this old one. It can lead to conversations that have nothing to do with the weather, but it is a jumping off point. But let's talk about this weather we have recently had in Minnesota.
Last weekend, it was in the seventies. SEVENTIES! The last of the winter snow did not stand a chance. We took advantage and had the windows open. We walked around a nature center not far from here. It felt good to get out and not have to bundle up. Don't get me wrong, I love the winter, but what I can't stand is that couple of weeks each year when it goes back and forth from spring to winter. With the nice weather, everyone was looking forward to the spring and what it had to offer. What did it offer? Snow. And rain. And sleet. And eventually sun again.
There was a nice little storm that came through and the seventy degree weather dropped like a rock. A forty degree drop to be exact. Here in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities we saw just a few inches of snow. South of here got upwards of fourteen to eighteen inches. In the western part of the state had a state of emergency called. The snow here was gone by the end of the day. Thanks to the rain because it warmed up just enough to do that. In the evening, it cooled off but it didn't snow, it was too warm for that. It was more of a sleet. Fun stuff. We woke up to a little bit of snow on the ground, but it didn't stick around. A few days from now it is suppose to be back up to the sixties and seventies.
People around here are pissed. And why not? Lots of people are just sick of winter. It's been around for a long time. Two weeks into December we got our first real snow and most of it melted by the middle of April. When we went on our vacation, the only snow that was left was the big piles that show up when parking lots and driveways get plowed out. While we were gone, there was a small snow storm. It stuck around for a week and was officially gone. Everyone was ready to move past the winter and into spring. Plans were being made for gardens, baseball fields were cleared, the grass was starting to turn green. Then we got this. Rain, sleet, and snow. Awesome. I love winter, but if it's spring time, it needs to be spring. Once you see the grass turns green, there should not be snow.
Later on in the week, it is suppose to be back up into the seventies and after this past week, if it snows one more time, I think people might start sacrificing goats to appease some sort of god.
Last weekend, it was in the seventies. SEVENTIES! The last of the winter snow did not stand a chance. We took advantage and had the windows open. We walked around a nature center not far from here. It felt good to get out and not have to bundle up. Don't get me wrong, I love the winter, but what I can't stand is that couple of weeks each year when it goes back and forth from spring to winter. With the nice weather, everyone was looking forward to the spring and what it had to offer. What did it offer? Snow. And rain. And sleet. And eventually sun again.
There was a nice little storm that came through and the seventy degree weather dropped like a rock. A forty degree drop to be exact. Here in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities we saw just a few inches of snow. South of here got upwards of fourteen to eighteen inches. In the western part of the state had a state of emergency called. The snow here was gone by the end of the day. Thanks to the rain because it warmed up just enough to do that. In the evening, it cooled off but it didn't snow, it was too warm for that. It was more of a sleet. Fun stuff. We woke up to a little bit of snow on the ground, but it didn't stick around. A few days from now it is suppose to be back up to the sixties and seventies.
People around here are pissed. And why not? Lots of people are just sick of winter. It's been around for a long time. Two weeks into December we got our first real snow and most of it melted by the middle of April. When we went on our vacation, the only snow that was left was the big piles that show up when parking lots and driveways get plowed out. While we were gone, there was a small snow storm. It stuck around for a week and was officially gone. Everyone was ready to move past the winter and into spring. Plans were being made for gardens, baseball fields were cleared, the grass was starting to turn green. Then we got this. Rain, sleet, and snow. Awesome. I love winter, but if it's spring time, it needs to be spring. Once you see the grass turns green, there should not be snow.
Later on in the week, it is suppose to be back up into the seventies and after this past week, if it snows one more time, I think people might start sacrificing goats to appease some sort of god.
Support and Move On
Jason Collins earlier this week became the first active male athlete in the four major sports to open up about his homosexuality. In an article for Sports Illustrated, he put everything out in the open with the first line:
He has said he appreciates the support, but he just wants everyone to move on past his announcement. So far, so good. His team is out of the playoffs and the focus is on the teams still playing. I truly hope that once the NBA season starts next year, sports commentators do not focus on him during games just because he is openly gay. The last thing that I am sure anyone wants to hear is 'and in comes Jason Collins and everyone knows that name because he is the first openly gay male athlete...' It is not meant to be disrespectful, but it kind of is. Think of it in this context: substitute 'openly gay' for 'black' or 'white'. It just seems shallow and in poor taste. Just be happy for the man and move on. Continue to support his decision to come out and move on. He does not need to be treated any differently because of who he is.
Coming out as an athlete must be difficult. It is macho man, testosterone driven society. Those societies are always the ones that are slow to adapt to change. You are always going to have closed minded fuckheads like Chris Culliver. You are always going to have people that are not comfortable with themselves and therefore are uncomfortable with things that are not the same as them. To counter that, you have people like Chris Kluwe who absolutely decimated a Maryland state delegate last year in a letter laced with both profanity and sound reasoning because of the man's comments. If a team is suppose to be a 'family' should they not support their 'brothers'? Should they have their back every second of every day whether it is on the field or off?
As our country slowly becomes more and more accepting this kind of story it will no longer be a headliner type story. It will end up being a little blip on the five o'clock news. People will look at it and think 'okay, but how is he going to contribute to my team this year?' Every social movement starts with the action of one. And that one action can cause an avalanche. And what a great avalanche it can be.
'I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.'Not only is this great for him, but it is great for the sports world. He has received support from athletes in other sports, teammates, sports commissioners, even the President. The media has covered it the right way, speaking to all the support he has received and ignoring any negative comments. But honestly, what kind of moron would speak negatively about this? Someone that wouldn't mind being labeled a villain the rest of their life, that's who. Reading the article, you can tell that this is a huge relief to Collins, and he struggled with the decision to come out. The thing is, he doesn't want this to be a big deal. It is what it is and he just wants to play basketball next year. He is not a star in the NBA nor is he a big contributor off the bench. He is a guy that in a year or two probably will not have a job just because there are always better players out there and he is not one of them. But who knows, he may have chosen this time in his life to come out to ensure that he does get a job next year. What kind of positive publicity would a team get signing him? It would be huge. He could be an evil genius choosing this time to ensure he gets a paycheck next year. Okay, not really.
He has said he appreciates the support, but he just wants everyone to move on past his announcement. So far, so good. His team is out of the playoffs and the focus is on the teams still playing. I truly hope that once the NBA season starts next year, sports commentators do not focus on him during games just because he is openly gay. The last thing that I am sure anyone wants to hear is 'and in comes Jason Collins and everyone knows that name because he is the first openly gay male athlete...' It is not meant to be disrespectful, but it kind of is. Think of it in this context: substitute 'openly gay' for 'black' or 'white'. It just seems shallow and in poor taste. Just be happy for the man and move on. Continue to support his decision to come out and move on. He does not need to be treated any differently because of who he is.
Coming out as an athlete must be difficult. It is macho man, testosterone driven society. Those societies are always the ones that are slow to adapt to change. You are always going to have closed minded fuckheads like Chris Culliver. You are always going to have people that are not comfortable with themselves and therefore are uncomfortable with things that are not the same as them. To counter that, you have people like Chris Kluwe who absolutely decimated a Maryland state delegate last year in a letter laced with both profanity and sound reasoning because of the man's comments. If a team is suppose to be a 'family' should they not support their 'brothers'? Should they have their back every second of every day whether it is on the field or off?
As our country slowly becomes more and more accepting this kind of story it will no longer be a headliner type story. It will end up being a little blip on the five o'clock news. People will look at it and think 'okay, but how is he going to contribute to my team this year?' Every social movement starts with the action of one. And that one action can cause an avalanche. And what a great avalanche it can be.
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