Saturday Night

Went to Game 2 of the Cellar Series tonight. The 7 of us took in a night at Coors Field as the Royals stuck to tradition, losing yet another game that I went to see. Here is a stat for you...in all the games I've seen the Royals play (and it's a LOT), they have won ONCE and that was last summer. The odds just aren't in my favor. So, I shouldn't have been surprised when they lost again tonight. However, when you walk the other team's PITCHER twice then you deserve to lose!

Spent most of the day cleaning and getting ready for Laura and Jessica to visit. They are coming out on Monday and then we're driving home for 4th of July weekend. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Probably a short workout, maybe a hike, maybe some time by the pool. It was another long week at work, so I need to enjoy my time off the best I can.

TGI...Thursday?

Had Officials' Class #2 last night. I think this is going to be better than I gave it credit for. At first I was worried about actually getting games but after talking to one of the veterans last night, there is apparently a big shortage on refs. I'll have to do JV games and below for the first year and possibly two, but I could do three, four, five games a week if I wanted. However, for some reason I don't think Laura would approve and if she's not happy, I'm not happy :)

So, on a different note, I posted on this when I first got here but hadn't really paid much attention to it since then. Anyways, I counted four times today where I held a door for somebody not once, but TWICE (going through double doors...) and through NEITHER door did they say thank you. I can understand if they say it after the first door and then not again, but come on! Again, I'm probably just expecting too much, but I really think from now on if they don't say anything after the first door that I'm going to not only NOT hold the second door but then push it back their direction. I'll teach them some manners, one way or another!

I saw a segment on the news this morning about blogging (seriously). It's estimated that nearly 8 million people regularly write to a blog and over 32 million read them on a regular basis. What I'm wondering is if 32 million people are out there reading these things, why do I only get about 6 regular visitors (one of which is probably my mom - love you mom :) )? Oh well, just thought it was interesting.

I'm off to watch the end of the NBA finals...is it football season yet?

This is ridiculous

Found this article on CNN. To summarize, the Supreme Court today PASSED a law allowing local governments to seize people's homes and businesses - EVEN AGAINST THEIR WILL - for private economic development. You have to read it to believe it.

The link is here.

Football 101

Ok, so I'm guessing most of the people reading this don't care too much about football, but here is a pretty interesting rule I learned about during my Official's Class. If you don't care, tell somebody else, maybe they'll be impressed! Here goes...

So, in football you can be awarded a free kick. These include a kickoff after scoring points (or to start a half) and when a team has to kick the ball away if they take a safety. Well, a team can also opt to take a free kick after a fair catch. Imagine, if you will, there are 5 seconds left in a game and you force a team to punt from their own 10 yard line. They kick and you fair catch it on their 40. In this situation, most teams go for the Hail Mary (aka The Prayer). However, they COULD do a free kick (because it's after a fair catch). Just like on a kickoff, the other team MUST be at least 10 yards away and you can put the ball on a tee! Even most high school kickers can kick a ball 50+ yards off a tee. So, instead of the Hail Mary that never works, they could instead tee it up and kick with no defense and it's still worth three points! Oh, and if you're wondering, the free kick after a fair catch is the ONLY one worth points. If you make it through the uprights on a kickoff or after a safety, all you get is a pat on the back.

Hopefully that made sense. If you don't care, TOO BAD, I thought it was pretty amazing that you NEVER see anyone do that.

Warm, Rainy Night

A summer storm popped up tonight as it started getting dark. There was a ton of lighting so I decided to hold my camera up and see what would happen. I got lucky and ended up with a pretty cool shot through the buildings.

Other than that, had a "busy" night of BBQ'ing and watching tv. The bad thing about summertime is that there are no good shows on, so I spent the better part of my night channel surfing. The steaks I made were heavenly though. If you want a great marinade recipe, email me and I'll let you know it.

A slow weekend

Haven't done a lot this weekend. Spent yesterday by the pool (I am red) and then took Ben to dinner last night for his birthday. Wes and Katie met up with us at Rock Bottom in Centennial, so it was fun. I'm pretty sure the waiter thought Ben and I were gay though...wonder what gave him that impression..."sir, could you split the bill? Those two (Wes and Katie) and then us on the other." Today we are going to BBQ and then play some sand volleyball. I'll probably dominate. I'm quite the vball'er as you probably already know! Anyways, that's my update, I'll try to post something worth reading later!

Don't forget to call your Dad today!

Wedding Work

Laura has been spending a lot of time lately getting things planned for our wedding next year. First of all, she went to Clover Cliff yesterday and it was better than expected. It looks like it's going to be a perfect place for the wedding. Originally, we were going to do the reception there as well, but she found another place in Cottonwood Falls. It's really cheap, really big, and doesn't have stupid rules like a lot of reception locales. So, things are coming together. It's a good thing she stayed there this summer or else this would be impossible.

Here are some pics from another wedding out at Clover Cliff.

Not sure what the next step in the process is. Luckily she has a wedding book. Ahh, and I thought the hard part was getting her to say yes...

Deep (Random) Thoughts

Well, nothing specific to talk about, so I'll just throw some things out there...

...the brisket was delicious, since I know you're curious. I will honestly be eating that stuff all week, but I don't mind. Of course we'll see if I'm still saying that in a few days.

...went to Ben's tonight to BBQ. It's always nice having something to do on Monday nights.

...Laura may have found a job in Emporia! Hopefully she hears back soon. It is not full time, but it's more than part time, so it would be perfect for her. It would be an income and she'd still have time to do wedding stuff.

...Jessica got a job!!! We're moving into our new apartment on the 22nd of July.

...Beth moves here soon, the 26th I think. She starts work on the 27th. I'm not sure how she is doing it. I'd want a couple days to get acclamated.

...I've been doing training out the wazoo at work. I'm in week two of three of classes. I have another full day of them tomorrow. It's nice to learn a lot so fast, but I hated school. The last thing I want to do is keep going to class.

...Michael Jackson. You've got to be kidding me. That is disgusting. They should lock him up with a 300 lb man named Francis and turn off the lights.

...I start official's classes on Wednesday. It sucks because it's Wednesday night from 6:30-8:30 for almost two months. But, what else was I going to do? It'll be fun once games start in the fall.

...Is it bad that I haven't touched the Delt website in almost a month and nobody has said a word? In case you didn't hear, it sort of ticked me off that I finished it a couple weeks before STAG and when I went back, nobody said a word about it during the ceremony. I didn't want an award or a huge deal, just a simple thank you would have been nice. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't think so. I spent a LOT of my personal time on that for free. So, eventually I'll probably work on it again. Til then...

...Jason and his wife went to Sante Fe over the weekend to go camping. I didn't realize it's only about 5 hours away. A good road trip this summer perhaps?

This and That

Haven't done too much very exciting this weekend. Yesterday I went and saw Wes and Katie's new house. They are buying a place in Parker, about 10 min south of me. It will be perfect for them - high ceilings, decent back yard (for this town), huge basement (which is the most important thing to me!). I'm happy for them. They have been looking for a while now and found a good house in a great location.

Last night, me, Wes, Katie and Ben decided to "BBQ" and watch movies. Well, for some reason the grill wouldn't light, so bbq'ing turned into boiling brats on the stove...it's just not the same. But, all day today I'm trying my hand at cooking brisket. As you can imagine, it will probably be delicious. Actually, it'll probably be dry and un-flavored but considering I spent like $15 on that stupid chunk of meat, I'll still eat it for the next week and a half. Ah, the joys of living alone.

Speaking of living alone, it looks like that may be coming to an end sooner than expected! Laura is currently living in Emporia with Jessica, one of her best friends from high school, and Jessica's boyfriend, Brandon. Well, Jessica looks like she may have found a job in Denver. If so, we'll be living together for a while. And yes, if you're trying to put that together, it means I'd be living with Jess while Laura lives with Jess' boyfriend. It's weird, but not a big deal AT ALL. So, if and when she does move out here, we'll be switching apartment complexes. We are going to a two-bedroom that is literally up the street (seriously less than 1/2 mile away). I'll be moving in sometime between the 8th and 22nd of July. Coincidentally, Wes and Katie are moving into their house on the 22nd. So, hopefully I can move in early so we can help each other, although he probably has half of Goodland and a scattering from Kanorado coming to help them move.

Anyways, today is probably going to be a lot of the same. Might work out, might go to Parker Days (their version of Maple Leaf), might eat 3 pounds of brisket if it's good...it's hard to say :: aa

Time to Breathe

Finally got to leave work at a decent time for once this week. As you probably read in last night's entry, I've been putting in entirely too many hours this week - almost 40 already and it's only Wednesday. In case you're wondering, NO this is not going to be my normal schedule and NO I will not be doing this very often. But, I had a good opportunity to learn a lot while working next to some pretty important people, so it was worth the long hours.

Have I mentioned that I am going to official high school football games this fall? Although I won't be able to do varsity games for at least a year, it'll be a good way to get my fix. It's been so long since I had a fall where I wasn't directly involved in that stupid sport - whether playing or coaching - that I'm not sure what I would have done without it. Classes start next week and run almost two months. It doesn't pay a lot, but then again, neither did coaching. It is ironic, though...I used to hate officials.

Google Takes the Lead

Jason found a great post about Google. I'll let you read it, but here is the summary...Google is now the largest media company in the world, valued at over $80 BILLION, which is amazing considering it started with two guys working out of a garage.

Jason's entry is here.

Original link is here.

A long week already...

Sorry, not much to write about tonight. Worked 10 hours yesterday, 14 today. So, I'm off to bed. I'll try to get something up tomorrow night.

I'm still alive!

Yes, I realize I've been a little, well, lazy with my blogging responsibilities lately. I've been working too much and neglecting it. So, for anyone who actually reads this stupid thing, I'm sorry!

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Laura. She is now 22, the second most worthless age (next to 23 of course). Sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate but I think you probably made due :)

Anyways, this weekend was shaping up to be quite uneventful. Friday night...notta. Saturday...a bit of the same. So, on Sunday we decided to do a little hiking. Jason found a trail called Goose Creek, just southwest of Denver - or so we thought. This place was supposedly only 45 minutes away. Roughly two hours later we finally pulled into a spot and prepared for our trip. The majority of the drive was filled with dead trees from the Hayman forest fires a few years ago. The amount of destruction caused by a single fire is unimaginable. What seemed like hundreds of thousands of acres of burned-up trees extended as far as the eye could see. If you ever want to make a career out of selling firewood, however, this is the place for you.

Nevertheless, once we set in on the trail, the aspens and evergreens erased any memory of the aforementioned fire. There were almost no signs of the destruction, only shades of green and the running water from the creek. The area was filled with rock formations that almost seemed out of place. As we pressed on, mile after mile, each turn brought something new. We went further than any of us expected, probably 10 miles or more when all was said and done, but the enormity and magnitude of this place kept us going. My pictures do it no justice at all. Days upon days could be wasted exploring that place. It was definitely a welcome relief from the city.

Click here to see the pics.