Unfortunately, I had to resort to a higher level:
It got me through the day and hopefully will slay one of the dragons in my head that is pretty much making my brain cry.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Help me, DCP
Was today only Wednesday? My head was exploding with stress. Help me, DCP:
Unfortunately, I had to resort to a higher level:
It got me through the day and hopefully will slay one of the dragons in my head that is pretty much making my brain cry.
Unfortunately, I had to resort to a higher level:
It got me through the day and hopefully will slay one of the dragons in my head that is pretty much making my brain cry.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Chollima Down on a long day
Woke up at 5am to catch the Portugal-North Korea match-up. I was intrigued by this match up--my nature is to root for the underdog and I was also curious about this secretive North Korean team that didn't do too badly last week against the number 1 team in the world, Brazil, losing only 2-1. And there have already been some interesting upsets--Spain losing to Switzerland, Cameroon already out of the Finals. So who knew what World Cup magic might happen this morning?
Very little apparently. Despite an exciting start in the beginning where the Chollima were down in near-scoring zone, Portugal eventually "took them to the sword" and won 7-0. Ouch.
By the 4th goal, there was a part of me that really regretted not sleeping in. Well at least I could go to bed early tonight.
Unless...your daughter has a pioneer trail the next day and you have to put together a covered wagon made with swimming noodles and a bed sheet:
And you have to dig out a pioneer outfit cobbled together from an old suit skirt and shirt:
I was also supposed to put together a dozen treats for these little pioneers. We went to the store to get some more cookie mix but I said everyone is going to be bringing sweets, what about something different, like trail mix? The girl gave me the face she displays when I suggest getting her friends clothes instead of video games for their birthdays. (Side note: ironically, I recognize that as a kid I hated getting clothes instead of toys for my birthdays but now as a parent, it seems like such an awesome idea. Why is that?) We compromised on snack bags of Sun Chips. No baking!
This little pioneer says, Happy Trails!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Observations from one week into the World Cup
- I now know what a reverse Christmas tree formation looks like.
- Like fouls in basketball, these football players really try to sell fouls. Given the pure emotion I've witnessed when a goal is scored, the jaded part of me takes a long drag of a cigarette and exhales, he's faking it to the refs when a guy faceplants himself. It's only topped by the player (who practically horsecollars another player) with the honed acting skills of a six-year-old displaying a hammy shrug of the shoulders mouthing what did I do?
- I thought I was starting to get used to that insane hornblowing/buzzing noise during games, but more often I think, no, that cr@p has got to stop NOW. It's the aural equivalent of being hexed to birth a unicorn from my body. I saw on the news that at a recent Florida Marlins game 100,000 of those same type of horns were given out. The segment showed players with earplugs and mothers clamping their hands over the ears of screaming babies. And the game lasted 11 innings. Mental note: avoid Florida Marlins games. They're cursed.
- Settling down around 7pm to watch that morning's DVRed 4:30am Argentina-South Korea game after learning the score and highlights, isn't nearly as exciting as experiencing it live. Kind of like watching the Twilight movies sober. Sigh. It's the Sophie's Choice of the World Cup in California: sleep or real-time experience.
Which brings me to this: whether to get up early and watch the DPRK (North Korea) vs. Portugal game at 4:30am on Monday. Before work. As I mentioned before, I can't help but pity-root for this team. In some ways, it'd make a nice Cinderella story if this North Korean team made it to the Finals.
But it's sad that part of the sweet story is the relief that their families won't be sent to the labor camps. Also it doesn't help that the DPRK's coach constantly credits their "eternal President" with the team's positive skills. It's kind of like that Twilight Zone story where this kid with cruel magical powers can read everyone's minds. They all have to think happy thoughts or else he punishes them by taking away their mouths or something freaky like that. So the kid is surrounded by all these adults with panicked, forced faces of joy, constantly effusive with praise for the kid's wonderful ideas like eating cake and ice cream for every meal.
But even with smug celebratory words praising the Supreme Leader's wisdom and power to gift his players with skill, underneath it'd be pretty darn magical to see the lowest-ranked team in this World Cup make it to the Finals.
- Like fouls in basketball, these football players really try to sell fouls. Given the pure emotion I've witnessed when a goal is scored, the jaded part of me takes a long drag of a cigarette and exhales, he's faking it to the refs when a guy faceplants himself. It's only topped by the player (who practically horsecollars another player) with the honed acting skills of a six-year-old displaying a hammy shrug of the shoulders mouthing what did I do?
- I thought I was starting to get used to that insane hornblowing/buzzing noise during games, but more often I think, no, that cr@p has got to stop NOW. It's the aural equivalent of being hexed to birth a unicorn from my body. I saw on the news that at a recent Florida Marlins game 100,000 of those same type of horns were given out. The segment showed players with earplugs and mothers clamping their hands over the ears of screaming babies. And the game lasted 11 innings. Mental note: avoid Florida Marlins games. They're cursed.
- Settling down around 7pm to watch that morning's DVRed 4:30am Argentina-South Korea game after learning the score and highlights, isn't nearly as exciting as experiencing it live. Kind of like watching the Twilight movies sober. Sigh. It's the Sophie's Choice of the World Cup in California: sleep or real-time experience.
Which brings me to this: whether to get up early and watch the DPRK (North Korea) vs. Portugal game at 4:30am on Monday. Before work. As I mentioned before, I can't help but pity-root for this team. In some ways, it'd make a nice Cinderella story if this North Korean team made it to the Finals.
But it's sad that part of the sweet story is the relief that their families won't be sent to the labor camps. Also it doesn't help that the DPRK's coach constantly credits their "eternal President" with the team's positive skills. It's kind of like that Twilight Zone story where this kid with cruel magical powers can read everyone's minds. They all have to think happy thoughts or else he punishes them by taking away their mouths or something freaky like that. So the kid is surrounded by all these adults with panicked, forced faces of joy, constantly effusive with praise for the kid's wonderful ideas like eating cake and ice cream for every meal.
But even with smug celebratory words praising the Supreme Leader's wisdom and power to gift his players with skill, underneath it'd be pretty darn magical to see the lowest-ranked team in this World Cup make it to the Finals.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Win
Last night, the girl told me we needed to bake cookies for an auction in her instrumental class today. She lucked out in that we had a bag of mix and before 11:30 we had two dozen cookies packed up in Gladware and tied up with curling ribbon and a label. Apparently the kids "bid" with credits they had earned through the year in the class.
The girl came home with this:
She said that it was one of the first items up to bid and she used up all her credits to get it. Considering she dumped 2 dozen Duncan Hines oatmeal cookies and got 2 pounds of See's candies in exchange, it kind of made it worth staying up late to make the darn things. In fact, I'd consider this a win.
A major win.
The girl came home with this:
She said that it was one of the first items up to bid and she used up all her credits to get it. Considering she dumped 2 dozen Duncan Hines oatmeal cookies and got 2 pounds of See's candies in exchange, it kind of made it worth staying up late to make the darn things. In fact, I'd consider this a win.
A major win.
Sweet P strikes again
Well color me most pleasantly surprised, Sweet P did it again. I found two awesome sweet rolls from 85degreesC with an even sweeter note on my desk this morning:
My initial instinct was to save both for later but I became very, very weak after the sweet scent of the taro roll.
Well no sweet deed goes unpunished. I gave her the sweetest...app: Hipstamatic for her iPhone. Ha, that'll show her.
My initial instinct was to save both for later but I became very, very weak after the sweet scent of the taro roll.
Well no sweet deed goes unpunished. I gave her the sweetest...app: Hipstamatic for her iPhone. Ha, that'll show her.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Trying to get on board
Not being raised a sports fan and this being the USA, I've had very little exposure to professional soccer, or football, as everyone but the USA calls it.
But given the huge international inclusion of it and the significance of South Africa as host--I'm trying to get on board with the FIFA World Cup this year.
First off, I do give major props to these players. No doubt about it, they are Athletes, with capital A. Bodies carved from relentlessly chasing a ball for 90 minutes on a huge field and the stamina and endurance to do so demand respect. Apparently it's not uncommon for a lot of these players to run 3-7 miles in a single game. Wow.
Second, I get the "accessibility" of the sport that all the current articles remind me of--all you need is something to kick (ideally round) and a goal. Players from all walks of life can participate and international football has garnered some of the best rags-to-riches stories out there.
And finally, as the World Cup happens only once every 4 years, it's EPIC. Qualifying for the World Cup is a huge feat in itself and then the World Cup takes place over FOUR WEEKS. It's like the Olympics but it's all about football. I love the pageantry as they enter the field and the adorable South African children that escort and stand by teams from all over the world--a grounded moment of touching sweetness before they all scramble on the field for an hour and a half.
Now here is what I'm struggling with:
First, I've watched bits of a few games and it appears to be a very low-scoring sport. Or amazingly, sometimes no-scoring. I saw a lot of the Argentina/Nigeria matchup on Saturday, which featured one of the most lauded players: Lionel Messi (playing for Argentina). You know what the score was? 1-0, Argentina. Holy cow. This means during 90 minutes (yes, an hour and a half) of playing, only one goal was scored. I kind of get that it's indicative of a great game between two top dogs, but yeesh, it's like trying to sneeze for 90 minutes. Now I get why that infamous sportscaster screams "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAALLLLL!" like a man who waited for his wedding night after a very long engagement. No wonder there are riots at these games--that's pretty much an hour and half of pent-up tension. And now I understand why some of these goal-scorers cry after finally getting the ball between the posts.
Second, the noise. I've watched football americano on tv and even attended a few games in the stadium but the constant buzzing horn noise during these games is insane. It's like there are bees inside my brain when I watch a game with the sound on. Someone told me that the horn noise is specific to this World Cup, but either way, it makes it hard for me to stay tuned in. I need to hear that noise like I need to hear the phrase "Bros before Hos" or "You got it, Bro-chacho". And by that I mean, I don't ever want to hear it.
And finally, I struggle with the nationalism of these games. I know this is not exclusive to the World Cup and I understand it is a HUGE deal to be representing your country in such high achievement in sport and skill. The brawling at regular games is bad enough--and yes, I know such poor fan behavior is not uncommon in many American pro sports--but when a Columbian football player is shot down in broad daylight for accidentally getting in a goal for the other team, I question if such representation goes too far. Or when the Iraqi football team said that Saddam Hussein's son-in-law used to have them tortured after bad games, I would definitely such representation goes too far when such punishment is state-sanctioned. So as I watched the PRK (North Korean) team play against #1 Brazil this afternoon, I couldn't help but root for them, if mostly out of pity that a decent game wouldn't get their food rations cut off or hopefully buy some time out of the coal mines. Thankfully, though they didn't win, they at least scored a goal in their 2-1 loss. Please tell me that at least their family got their rice ration today.
Anyhoo, I'm giving it a go. I've got a friend at work who is schooling me in strategy and standing in these games. Now if I can actually get up early enough to watch some of these games--games play at 4:30am, 7:00am, and 11:30am here on the left coast.
Let's go World.
But given the huge international inclusion of it and the significance of South Africa as host--I'm trying to get on board with the FIFA World Cup this year.
First off, I do give major props to these players. No doubt about it, they are Athletes, with capital A. Bodies carved from relentlessly chasing a ball for 90 minutes on a huge field and the stamina and endurance to do so demand respect. Apparently it's not uncommon for a lot of these players to run 3-7 miles in a single game. Wow.
Second, I get the "accessibility" of the sport that all the current articles remind me of--all you need is something to kick (ideally round) and a goal. Players from all walks of life can participate and international football has garnered some of the best rags-to-riches stories out there.
And finally, as the World Cup happens only once every 4 years, it's EPIC. Qualifying for the World Cup is a huge feat in itself and then the World Cup takes place over FOUR WEEKS. It's like the Olympics but it's all about football. I love the pageantry as they enter the field and the adorable South African children that escort and stand by teams from all over the world--a grounded moment of touching sweetness before they all scramble on the field for an hour and a half.
Now here is what I'm struggling with:
First, I've watched bits of a few games and it appears to be a very low-scoring sport. Or amazingly, sometimes no-scoring. I saw a lot of the Argentina/Nigeria matchup on Saturday, which featured one of the most lauded players: Lionel Messi (playing for Argentina). You know what the score was? 1-0, Argentina. Holy cow. This means during 90 minutes (yes, an hour and a half) of playing, only one goal was scored. I kind of get that it's indicative of a great game between two top dogs, but yeesh, it's like trying to sneeze for 90 minutes. Now I get why that infamous sportscaster screams "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAALLLLL!" like a man who waited for his wedding night after a very long engagement. No wonder there are riots at these games--that's pretty much an hour and half of pent-up tension. And now I understand why some of these goal-scorers cry after finally getting the ball between the posts.
Second, the noise. I've watched football americano on tv and even attended a few games in the stadium but the constant buzzing horn noise during these games is insane. It's like there are bees inside my brain when I watch a game with the sound on. Someone told me that the horn noise is specific to this World Cup, but either way, it makes it hard for me to stay tuned in. I need to hear that noise like I need to hear the phrase "Bros before Hos" or "You got it, Bro-chacho". And by that I mean, I don't ever want to hear it.
And finally, I struggle with the nationalism of these games. I know this is not exclusive to the World Cup and I understand it is a HUGE deal to be representing your country in such high achievement in sport and skill. The brawling at regular games is bad enough--and yes, I know such poor fan behavior is not uncommon in many American pro sports--but when a Columbian football player is shot down in broad daylight for accidentally getting in a goal for the other team, I question if such representation goes too far. Or when the Iraqi football team said that Saddam Hussein's son-in-law used to have them tortured after bad games, I would definitely such representation goes too far when such punishment is state-sanctioned. So as I watched the PRK (North Korean) team play against #1 Brazil this afternoon, I couldn't help but root for them, if mostly out of pity that a decent game wouldn't get their food rations cut off or hopefully buy some time out of the coal mines. Thankfully, though they didn't win, they at least scored a goal in their 2-1 loss. Please tell me that at least their family got their rice ration today.
Anyhoo, I'm giving it a go. I've got a friend at work who is schooling me in strategy and standing in these games. Now if I can actually get up early enough to watch some of these games--games play at 4:30am, 7:00am, and 11:30am here on the left coast.
Let's go World.
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