Ch-ch-changes

As spring makes its way toward summer, it seems to be the time of year for significant changes. Looking around, I can see evidence of this everywhere. My friend Mike just graduated with his Bachelor's degree and will be moving soon. I think my cousin Mike may have just finished his internship, and therefore also graduated. Cricket just got her Master's, got a job, and will be moving to Texas, along with Adam, who was just accepted to grad school. Jamie just got a job in Chicago and will be moving soon. Erin is pregnant. Jessica just got engaged, and is looking to buy a house. Even closer to me, Brandi is looking for a new job, and it seems like she's close. She'll be moving back to Bowling Green sometime this summer, come hell or high water. I think this is how it was supposed to be four years ago, when I graduated. Somehow, though, everything managed to hold off until now. I just hope it rubs off on me somehow. The only real change I'm looking for is a new job. I haven't had any luck with this, but maybe I will soon. It seems like something's in the air right now. One thing that may be changing for me in the near future is this blog. Blogger re-launched over the weekend, with a significant re-design to their site and some added functionality. I haven't really looked too hard at what they've done just yet, but even doing a quick skim showed some pretty cool stuff. I'll probably be experimenting some with it in the coming days, so be aware that some changes may be taking place in this blog. It's not a new job, but it's better than nothing.

Weekend Review

Wow. It's a Monday morning, and there's plenty going on. I feel rested, I have work to do, and I've actually enjoyed being at work so far. I'm not counting on any of these things being the start of a trend, but it's definitely a nice change. [Editor's Note: it's Monday morning when I'm starting to write this; it'll probably be into the afternoon before I finish it.] The reason I feel rested, I'm sure, is because I actually felt like the weekend was long enough for a change. Normally I come in here on Monday morning, feeling like "where in the hell did the weekend go?" Today it's not like that. This weekend was the perfect mixture of busy fun stuff and lazy down time. I love that. Brandi came into BG shortly after I got home from work on Friday. She got off work before noon and spent some time in between in her hometown of Clyde. I straightened up my apartment a bit before she got there. She had gotten up extremely early that morning and had a pretty busy day, so she was tired. She took a nap while I watched the Reds game on TV. After she woke up, we got ready and went out with our friends Cricket and Adam (and a slew of others) to celebrate Cricket's graduation. She got her Master's Degree is Music Education. Actually, Adam was just accepted to grad school in Texas (near Austin), and Cricket just got a job down there, so they'll be moving sometime this summer. It sucks for us, but it's a good opportunity for them. We went to several different bars over the course of the night, and had a really good time. Adam actually used to be a roommate of mine, but I think we talked more on Friday than we ever have before in our lives. We wanted to get something to eat after our night of drinking, but the Corner Grill was full, so we ended up going to Cricket's place for leftover Sloppy Joes. I happen to love a good Sloppy Joe, so that was fine by me. Adam told me the next day that he fell down the steps after we left that night. Ouch! Saturday started off as a pretty lazy day. Brandi and I stayed in bed until almost 1:00. We got up and watched the Reds game on TV (yes!), and I went and got Wendy's for us for lunch (yes!). We just hung out for a bit after that. Brandi had plans that evening to meet up with her sister and a friend from high school for dinner, so she left around 6:15. I mostly just played PlayStation while she was gone. She came back a while later and we hung out some more, and then later that night I went to a party at my friend Jamie's place. Jamie just got a job in Chicago, so she'll be moving later this month. I didn't drink at the party, since we had been out drinking the night before and I didn't feel like it. It was a good time, though. I got to talk for a while to my friend Mike, who finally just finished his Bachelor's Degree and should now be able to hang out more. Sunday was definitely a lazy day, all the way through. We started it off by sleeping into the afternoon once again. We laid around for a while, then finally went out for a late lunch/early dinner. We went to the same Mexican place we ate at the weekend before, and it was good once again. From there we proceeded to Wal-Mart, where we bought some outdoor toys (a Nerf football and some bubbles), and then onto campus to play around for a bit. It started looking a little stormy, so we headed back to my place. We watched some TV while it rained, then went back out to get some ice cream after it cleared up. We brought our ice cream back to the apartment and parked ourselves on my couch to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which was being shown on ABC. We've seen it about a million times already, of course, but this showing included some new footage, as well as a preview of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which comes out June 4) and some commentary by stars Dan Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron). The only downside to all of this is that Brandi woke up feeling a little sick yesterday, and it got worse as the day wore on. She went to the doctor today to get some allergy medication, so hopefully that will make her feel better. For today, though, she's already called in sick to her job, so she'll be staying with me another night. While I'm in favor of this, it sucks that she had to get sick in order for it to happen. Today has been a pretty decent day at work so far as well. We're gearing up for some coming orders, so I've had some stuff to do. This morning I got to ride along as we tested a piece of equipment we're getting ready to ship. That was pretty cool. Trends, please begin...NOW.

This is the Year 2004, Right?

Tennessee County's Vote to Ban Gays Protested Banned and arrested for "crimes against nature"? Are you f**king kidding me? I have no words to describe how disgusted I am by these backwater hicks.

Notes, Quotes, and Raincoats

The weather in Ohio is notoriously inconsistent, but this is getting ridiculous. Yesterday it was sunny and 86°. Now it's raining and 60°. If it was a simple progression, that would be fine, but it wasn't. It was hot all day yesterday, then clouded up and stormed some last night. Then it cleared up. Then it stormed again early this morning. Then it cleared up and was gorgeous and sunny for a while. Then it got really dark and stormed again. Now it's just cloudy and rainy. It's supposed to clear up again this evening, and then storm again overnight. It's supposed to rain on and off all weekend. This makes me even more glad that I took advantage of Wednesday's awesome weather. After some searching, I've finally found the channel on which Time Warner Cable in Bowling Green is showing Reds games that are televised on Fox Sports Ohio, even when they're pre-empted locally by Cleveland Indians games. This means I'll get to see a fair number of Reds games this season after all. This makes me happy. Unfortunately, as is my habit, I fell asleep on the couch in front of last night's game. This means I missed Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to form. I'm glad to hear about it, though, even if I didn't actually see it. We need Junior to stay healthy this year and do the things he's capable of doing. Other than baseball, what a crappy time of year this is for sports. I've tried to get into the NBA and NHL playoffs, but I just can't do it. Unfortunately, that stuff is dominating sports coverage due to its "importance." I'm ready for these sports to be over so ESPN can focus on baseball. Of course, then they'll probably ramp up coverage of golf and NASCAR, which are even worse. I don't attend nearly as many sporting events through the summer as I do the rest of the year. There's plenty of other cool stuff to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, though. The new Stephen King book, Song of Susannah, comes out on June 8. Edwin McCain's new CD, Scream and Whisper, comes out on June 22 (also Brandi's birthday), and hopefully he'll be playing a show or two in the area. I have tickets for Brandi and I to go see the Reds on June 12 when they play in Cleveland, and I'd like to get down to a game or two in Cincy. There are plenty of cool movies coming out this summer as well. I'm a bit of a movie buff, but I probably won't get to the theater to see each one I'm interested in. Oh well, that's what DVD players are for. The one I'm most anticipating is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which comes out on June 4. Troy comes out today, and it looks pretty cool. I also want to see Shrek 2 (May 21), The Day After Tomorrow (May 28), Garfield (June 11), Spider-Man 2 (June 30), and Anchorman (July 9). I'm sure there will be more. Speaking of Harry Potter...I know I've linked this site before, but I wanted to mention it again. Not having much to do this morning, I was perusing this site and some of the essays people have written. I'm amazed at how much analytical though has gone into some of them. I think it's awesome. I have a tendency to geek out on stuff sometimes, and it's good to know I'm not the only one. Okay, so Friends is over now. I wasn't a regular viewer by any means, but I've seen my share of episodes and was mildly amused by them. Anyway, not many sitcoms have this kind of staying power, so I'm a little sad to see it go. On the other hand, I don't generally watch television that doesn't involve some sort of athletic competition, so what do I care? Why am I even writing about this? I don't know. If you're looking for a sitcom to watch, check out That 70s Show. Now that is quality television. For my latest video game fix, I'm thinking of picking up Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It looks really cool. I've been playing sports games almost exclusively for a while, so it'll be nice to plunge into a role-playing game, particularly a Star Wars game. In the back of my mind I'm still interested in Galaxies, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, but I doubt my life would be the same if I got into it. Also, I really don't have any spare funds right now for a game subscription. Sounds like we're all set to lay off some more guys this afternoon. Shop guys, of course, unless someone isn't telling me something, which is possible. Current plans call for laid-off employees to be called back to work on June 7. I'll believe it when I see it. We have no business right now, and our "sales staff" doesn't seem up to the job. If things get worse, I just hope the owner decides to sell instead of just folding the company, even if I'm not here at that point. There's potential here, but right now there's no leadership.

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis (both of you) will notice that there were no entries made yesterday. That's because I blew off work yesterday. I have no regrets. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be. That one is for any Office Space aficianados who may be lurking. In truth, there was a little bit more to it than that...but not much. The whole thing started with Brandi coming into Bowling Green on Tuesday night. She was scheduled for an interview in BG on Wednesday afternoon, so she drove over to my place when she got off work on Tuesday. She had much of the day free on Wednesday, so I decided to burn a vacation day and take it off with her. It was a perfect, Ferris Bueller-esque kind of day for it. You know..."How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?" In my case, being at the ripe old age of 26 and out of college for going on four years now, it was work rather than school, but the general concept was the same. I saw no point in coming to work and sitting here with nothing to do while behind me a large window looked out on a perfectly beautiful day that I would be unable to enjoy. So I stayed home, and I'm so glad I did. Brandi and I slept in until 11:00 with the window open so we could enjoy the breeze. She decided to skip her interview (which was for a part time position she wasn't all that interested in anyway), so we had the whole afternoon together. We had Chinese food for lunch, then ran around town a little bit, culminating in a trip to the local Dairy Queen. We took our overflowing ice cream cones to the picnic bench outside and basked in the sun, watching traffic, road construction workers, and people flowing in and out of the rental management office across the street. We hung out for a bit after that, and Brandi had to leave at 4:00 to be at work. I played some PlayStation basketball after she left (in front of the windows, of course), and then drove to Stow to join her for the evening after she got off work. We had a nice, relaxing evening, eating pizza and watching a movie. Then we went to bed, and I got up early this morning and came to work. I do this from time to time, and it's always nice to have a day off in the middle of a week. It helps me to recharge. The daily routine really wears on me after a while, because I hate being on a schedule. I hate it passionately. I prefer flexibility (although not unpredictability) in my day-to-day life. I can handle being on a schedule, but I don't like it. Sometimes I have to take a day to break out. If I ever find myself in a situation where I'm in charge of this sort of thing, my first option would be to let everyone work flex-time. Choose your own hours, as long as everything gets done by when it needs to be done and your hours come out to forty. I had a limited form of flex-time in a previous job, and I liked it a whole lot. If I needed to get off early one night for one sporting event or another, no problem--I just made up the time on some other day. That was great for me personally, but I realize that setup isn't optimal for all businesses and work environments. Therefore, my second option would be to offer each employee one "discretionary day" per month. It's a simple concept: you get one day off to use per month, use it or lose it. Preferably these days would be scheduled in advance (like vacation days) to avoid conflicts, but if you just get up one morning and decide it's too nice of a day to come in, so be it. I need days like that from time to time, and I suspect I'm not the only one. I think even a lot of people who don't acknowledge that they need an unscheduled break from time to time would benefit greatly from having one. This is why I'll never be in charge of anyone. Any business that made the mistake of putting me in a position of power would be doomed to fail miserably. For the most part, I think that's because I don't exactly have a traditional view of jobs and careers. There is almost no job that I will ever hold that will be part of how I define myself. It seems to me that a lot of people make having a certain career one of their life's goals, and/or become absorbed in it once they get there. Not me. I've never had a job that I've spared much more than a passing thought for when I wasn't actually there doing it. For me, a job is just something I do so that I can do other things. Only this and nothing more. To close, I'll defer again to Office Space and the great sage, Peter Gibbons: "We don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day...filling out useless forms...and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements." "I told those fudge-packers that I liked Michael Bolton's music." "Oh, that is not right, Michael."

Two Peas in a Pod

Despite our lack of business and actual work to do, my place of employment has been a bastion of excitement so far this week. Our facility is located just down the road from Toledo Express Airport, and the window in my office looks out in that general direction. It so happens that our fearless leader, President Bush, was in town this morning. He flew into Toledo Express around 9:00. Needless to say, my office was a pretty popular place at that time, as my co-workers gathered at the window, hoping for a glimpse of Air Force One as it landed, or of the presidential motorcade if it happened to pass by. Although I'm not a fan of our current president by any means, I joined my co-workers at the window for a short time. A chance to see this sort of thing doesn't come up very often. Mostly I was just interested to see some of the peripheral events. A co-worker insisted they would close off the road in front of our building, and I wanted to see them accomplish that. Also, there was a helicopter circling above the woods across the street from our facility, which I thought was interesting. Alas, I missed the landing of Air Force One, and the motorcade didn't pass by here. How sad. The whole thing certainly stirred everyone up around here, though. On a sidenote: before President Bush landed, we had clear, sunny skies here in Toledo. Around the time he landed, the skies clouded over. Around 10:15, as Mr. Bush was taking off again, the skies cleared up. No political commentary here, just simple fact. It's interesting that Mr. Bush was in the area today, ostensibly bringing the message that the economy is improving. Let's just say that we here in Toledo have yet to see this improvement. Far from it. On Friday of last week, three individuals were laid off from their jobs here. Although they were let go on Friday, they came in on Monday to collect their personal items. One of them was caught trying to smuggle company equipment out in his toolbox. That's always fun. Of course, all three guys let go were shop workers. The office staff seems strangely immune to being laid off. Being one of them, I'm selfishly grateful for this, but at the same time I have to wonder about it. We now have seven guys working in our shop, seven people in the office, and our production manager doing a bit of both. I have a hard time understanding how seven workers can require eight administrators. Then again, maybe I should deduct two from my count of office personnel, since our company president and marketing director (the president's fiancee) are here only sporadically. Strangely enough, they seem to come in late, take long lunches, and leave early. Sometimes they don't show up at all. That doesn't seem like a good business practice, especially considering the fact that they're also our main sales staff. Some customers have been getting irate lately after calling several times and being unable to reach anyone in our sales department. I think it's logical to assume that we're losing potential orders, and it's not too difficult to see why we don't have any business right now and why people are being laid off. To that end, our head engineer has also started taking sales calls, against our president's wishes. Someone has to sell stuff if this company is going to survive. Interestingly, our head engineer is also our entire IT department. That seems to be the underlying theory behind this company's hiring practices: overspread and underpay. I say that as someone who is also currently filling two positions. In short, I'd say this company's leadership is none too capable. Much like the U.S. in general, come to think of it. Yes indeed, it was fitting that President Bush was around today. It's too bad he couldn't have met up with our company's president. Maybe they could have played the fiddle together. I don't know if they've noticed or not, but Rome is burning. Also, gas prices around the area went up another twenty cents today in honor of Mr. Bush's visit. Thank you, sir; please come again. Come to think of it, I should practice saying that last sentence. If Bush is placed in charge of the economy for another four years, it may become part of my career. Don't laugh: it could happen to you, too. Would you like fries with that?

Weekend Review

Occasionally there are weekends that don't feel 100% like weekends because there's so much going on. Sure, I'm not at work, but I'm on the go and don't have much downtime, and when I get back to work on Monday, I'm like "What the hell just happened?" This isn't a bad thing, by any means, just different. I'm not a high-energy person who's always busy, so weekends like this are somewhat rare. Brandi and I got into Bowling Green around the same time on Friday. I was coming home from work, and she was coming from her hometown of Clyde, which is about 45 minutes east. We hung out for a little bit (watching That 70s Show) and then went out for dinner at Easystreet Cafe in downtown BG. We had to wait a little bit for a table, so we went upstairs into their bar area to have a drink and play a game of pool. We got seated for dinner not too long after that, and it was great. The food was awesome, as usual, and the service was good as well. After dinner we just headed back to my apartment. We thought briefly about going out for a while, but we were both pretty tired, so we didn't bother. We sat on my couch and watched Animal Planet. We're both big fans of that Funniest Animal Home Videos show, or whatever it's called. We ended up falling asleep in front of an episode of that. We got up relatively early on Saturday--about 10:45, which is early when you consider that neither of us was really ready to get up at that point. We had tickets for the Red Wings' playoff game in Detroit. The game was scheduled to start at 3:00, and due to a terrible previous traffic experience for a sporting event in Detroit (the Motor City Bowl at Ford Field this past December), I wanted to leave plenty early. We were able to take our time getting ready, and we got on the road about 12:15. That turned out to be almost perfect timing. The streets in Detroit...well, they leave something to be desired. If nothing else, the signage wasn't very good, and it was by pure luck that we managed to find Joe Louis Arena on our first try. We found convenient parking for only $4 and got into the arena around 2:00. The game experience was a lot of fun. Hockey is huge in Detroit, and that arena was loud. I like that a lot. There was a little bit of fighting, and Detroit's Steve Yzerman got whacked in the face with a puck and had to be helped off the ice. Unfortunately, the Wings lost, and didn't even score. The game was a lot of fun, though. I think we may have turned Brandi into a big hockey fan--she can't wait to go see another game. Getting out of Detroit after the game was interesting, due mainly to traffic and the driving habits of others. We made it, though. On the way back, we decided to stop at a Mexican place in Toledo (Loma Linda) for dinner. When we got there, though, the place was packed. I couldn't even find the person we needed to see to get our name in for a table. We were both hungry, so we didn't want to wait. We went back to Bowling Green and ate at a Mexican place there (El Zarape) instead. The food there was pretty good, if not quite as good as the Mexican food we had last week. After dinner, we stopped in at the grocery store to pick up a few things, then headed back to my place. We watched Zoolander on DVD and ended up falling asleep before it was over. Luckily for us, we've already seen it a bunch of times. On Sunday we did get to sleep in. We got up around 12:30. Of course, neither of us really felt like getting up even then, but we had some stuff we needed to get done. Our first item of business was to find the YMCA in Toledo that expressed interest in hiring Brandi, so she could fill out an application and all that. Getting there was something of an ordeal, due to a stopped train blocking one of the roads we were on, but eventually we got there. Brandi went in to fill out her application and take a tour (she liked it a lot and it sounds pretty promising, by the way) while I stayed out in the car and listened to the Reds game on the radio. From there we went to the Franklin Park Mall in Toledo. Brandi wanted to get a Mother's Day gift, and I was thinking of looking for a new cell phone. Also while we were there, we went in several different jewelry stores to look at engagement rings. Now, I'm not saying I am or am not planning to buy one of these beasts anytime soon, but browsing them (and conversing with jewelry store employees) was highly educational. It was an interesting experience, and it made Brandi almost maniacally happy, so it was all worth it. It was around 5:30 when we finished at the mall, and I was extremely hungry, having not eaten all day. Due to an accident on the interstate, getting somewhere to get food was something of an ordeal as well. We had to guess our way around Toledo, which we managed quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I felt a lot better once we got something to eat--I had been starting to zone out and get random, which happens from time to time. We got to relax a little bit once we got home. We watched The Simpsons, and then I played some PlayStation basketball while Brandi played The Sims. Then we went for a walk on campus, which was really nice. I went to school at BGSU for three years, and I've been out of school for four years, and I still love being on campus. After our walk, we watched an episode of a show called Curb Your Enthusiasm, which Brandi borrowed on DVD from a co-worker. It was pretty funny. We only got to watch one episode, but I've still got the DVD, so I'll probably try out a couple more of them. Now I'm back at work, thinking "Where in the hell did the weekend go?" Of course, today has been a story unto itself. We'll save that for a little bit later, though.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Harris closing in on QB opening

At This Point, It's Obvious I'm Not Too Busy Today

The Ultimate Harry Potter Site I don't really try to hide the fact that I'm a pretty serious geek about some things. This is one of them. Yeah, they're kids' books/movies, but dammit, I like 'em. Anyway, I found this site today, and it's pretty cool. Highly extensive, too--I haven't had time to explore very much of it yet (especially since, um...I'm at work).

Simply Ludicrous

Broadcaster Slams 'Nightline' McCain rebukes Sinclair 'Nightline' decision Can someone please tell me how this "'trivializes the deaths of our brave servicemen and women'"? What utter nonsense. Putting a name and a face with each fallen soldier makes it personal. It brings it home to people who read the headlines and go on with their lives. Perish the thought that the general public should be able to see the faces of these soldiers and realize that they're actual people and not just statistics. In other, entirely unrelated news, I just read that truckers in Southern California are intentionally clogging up traffic to protest high gas prices. I can't really say I agree with their methods, but at least someone is making a statement.

Interesting Commentary on Current U.S. Leadership

John Kerry Is A Douchebag, But I'm Voting For Him Anyway And another interesting blog, with plenty of randomness: Don't Get Any On You

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These

Who am I to disagree? I don't know why this just occurred to me, out of the blue, but I thought it was interesting enough to share. For the first time in a while, I actually remember part of a dream I had last night. I dreamed that I was at work, and I had to go down to the engineering department for one reason or another. When I got down there, I discovered the engineers giving a slide show to a potential customer, showing plans to convert our facility into a crystal meth lab. Even as slow as business has been lately, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

State of the Blog Address

I started this blog on January 28, three months ago yesterday. That's a fairly significant portion of time, at least for my own generally limited attention span. As such, I thought this was as good a time as any to talk a little bit about the blog itself, what I've done with it so far and where I plan to go with it from here. Don't worry; I'm not going to do this every three months or anything. I was a little apprehensive about starting a blog. I've had personal webpages before, and after the fun wears off (usually as soon as they're functional), I generally forget about them and never update them again. I didn't want to start this if I wasn't going to follow through with it. The problem was that I had no way of knowing in advance if this was something I would keep doing or not. I thought it would be, but I feel that way every time I start a personal project. Sometimes it works; most often it doesn't. Obviously, I eventually decided to go ahead with it. I love to write, and I had plenty of stuff on my mind that I thought would make fine subject material for several entries at least. I still wasn't sure if it was something I would keep up with or not, but I figured even if I didn't post often, it would be here when I needed or wanted it. It was never my intention to make sure I wrote something in here each day (at least through the week). That's just something that happened. Each day that I've been at work, from January 28 until now, I've put at least something in here. I'm proud of that. I love the fact that I've found something each day that was worth commenting on, or at least making note of. Still, I'm not keeping that as a hard and fast rule. If eventually there comes a day when I have nothing to say, so be it. At this point, though, it's become almost a point of pride to write every day, so hopefully it will continue. I've checked out many blogs written by other people, and I've seen that many of them have a theme. Not this one. I've thought about it, but what's the point? I have too many interests (call them "obsessions" if you will; I prefer "passions") to write about just one. After all, I'm doing this mostly for my own amusement. A lot of the time, it's about sports. Sometimes it's a "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" type thing. There are a few rants sprinkled in, or simple observations and memories. Occasionally I just post a link to something I've read. There's more where all of this came from, believe me. Some days I write more or less than others, and that's fine. I just play it by ear. I have to say, I'm having a blast with this. I love just logging on and writing about whatever strikes my fancy, or being able to post a link and write my thoughts about something I've seen online. Often I've discovered that I have more to say on certain subjects than I thought I did. I can't see how that would be a bad thing. There are still some things I want to do or try with this blog that I haven't done yet, or at least haven't done very much. There will be some reviews forthcoming, of books, movies, music, etc. I may do some running journals, while I watch movies or sports (I have a feeling these entries may turn into a one-man version of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which will be fun). Who knows? I may even throw in some fictional vignettes (I write a killer character sketch) or lame poetry. The possibilities are endless. In terms of functionality, I'll continue to tweak the template. I chose this Blogger template originally just because I liked the color scheme (BGSU Falcons fo' life!), and I've made a few minor cosmetic changes to it. Those changes will continue as options present themselves and as I learn more about the coding, just so I can get to a point where my blog is no longer totally based on a cookie-cutter template which makes it look exactly like so many others. I'm planning on making at least one expansion as well. Sometime in the hopefully not-too-distant future, look for the "What I'm Reading Now" area to be replaced with a link to a separate "Jon's Reading Page" or something like that. This future page, as I'm picturing it, will continue to show what books I'm working my way through at that particular moment. I also want to keep a log of books I've read in a particular year, just to satisfy my own curiosity. This page will also feature a list of reading recommendations--books I've read that I really enjoyed and think other people would like as well. Once I get this reading page up and running, I may do something similar for movies. So, for anyone who reads on a regular basis, thanks for stopping by. Pass on the link if you enjoy it--I do this for myself, but every writer wants an audience, and I would love for this page to be more widely visited. Look for things to keep getting better, and as always, if you have any comments or questions, please post them or send me an e-mail--links are at the bottom of each post.

More Good News

Brandi got another phone call yesterday, this one from a YMCA in Toledo which is also interested in her services. She's pretty stoked about that, as she could just transfer in there from the YMCA at which she currently works. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we can start figuring out when and how she's going to move back to BG, because it definitely sounds like that day is coming.

Good News!

I talked to Brandi today on my lunch break. It sounds like a health club in Toledo is ready to offer her a position. It would be only part-time to start, but advancement could happen rapidly after that. She's going over there next Friday to iron out some details. If all goes well, she could be back in BG sometime in early June. That would be outstanding.

Three Cheers for Empirical Study

Harvard Gazette: File sharing may boost CD sales It's almost astounding in its simplicity, but someone actually decided to sit down and look at some data. Surprise! The results are in direct contradiction to what record industry experts have been saying for years. This study shows that there is absolutely no evidence to support the claims that file sharing is hurting CD sales, and in some instances it may in fact be helping it. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a music pirate. I've been doing it for years, and I feel no guilt whatsoever. Technically it's not legal, but that's something of a formality in my mind. I never felt I was hurting the artist by doing it, because I have certain personal guidelines about what and how much I download. This study shows that a lot of people share similar guidelines, and that what the recording industry has been spewing is generally a load of crap. I've suspected that the whole time; now there's empirical proof. I can see how the recording industry came to its conclusion. CD sales is a multimillion dollar industry. All of a sudden a lot of its wares were available for free, and it stands to reason that this would hurt sales. When actual sales numbers started dropping, it's a fairly reasonable assumption, on the surface, that piracy is hurting the industry. When you take into account all the factors involved, though, their arguments don't quite hold up. As I said, I have certain rules I use to guide my downloading habits. I never download entire albums. If I want several different songs from the same album, I just buy the CD. After all, if I like that many songs from it, chances are good that I'll like the whole thing. Basically, what it boils down to is this: any song I download and keep, I was never going to buy it anyway. It just doesn't make sense to pay $15 for a CD that only has one or two good songs on it. So the record industry isn't losing any money on this type of downloading, because they weren't going to make that money anyway. In fact, I can easily believe that file sharing is good for the record industry, if other people use file sharing the same way I do. If I hear someone talking about an artist they like, I can easily check them out. I download a song or two to see if I like them, I either keep them or move into CD-buying mode. It's that simple. I can't even tell you how many artists I've discovered this way, but it's quite a few. Of course, the recording industry is blowing off this study, and going on with their pointless lawsuits. Sales are down, and they need a scapegoat, dammit! Never mind the fact that the economy in general is down right now, or that a lot of the music that's coming out right now is just plain awful. ("Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture"? Really? That might be the most inane lyric I've ever heard.) And it doesn't matter that so many of the radio stations in the U.S. are owned by a single huge conglomerate which limits their stations' playlists, which means most listeners have a very narrow exposure to different artists or types of music. Never mind these things. Obviously, CD sales are down because Americans are thieves! I'll let you in on a secret, too. The record industry can talk all it wants about how stamping out piracy is all about protecting the artists, but it just isn't true. Only the biggest bands get record deals that allow them to make any royalties from album sales. For everyone else, the only money they see from the record deal is the advance. The record industry is looking out for number one. I have no problem with that--they have as much right as anyone to make a profit. It just irritates me that they try to sound altruistic, like they're trying to protect the bands. They're not. I think things are moving in the right direction with the establishment of online music services which allow you to purchase whole albums or individual songs digitally. It's a nice start. I don't belong to any of those services, though, because right now none of them appeal to me. At this point, they offer files in proprietary formats that you don't have complete freedom over once you purchase them. I don't want that. I want a service which offers a wide variety of songs in regular MP3 format, which I can use however I please once I buy it. I want the freedom to keep it in that format, or burn it to an audio CD, or share with a friend who might like it. After all, it's mine, right? I paid for it; I should be able to use it how I choose.

Celebrations and Irritations

Yet another clever name for a blog entry of random notes. * I got a phone call yesterday afternoon from my long-lost friend Jessica. She wanted to tell me that she's now engaged to her boyfriend Matt, who she's been seeing for quite a while. Jess is one of my oldest and best friends, and I'm very happy for her. Our friendship goes back eleven years, to Mr. Rieck's American History class during our junior year at Troy High School. Congratulations, Jess. * There's really no appropriate segue from that to this, but I finally got to see the Reds play last night. Their game was televised on Fox Sports Ohio on a night when the Indians didn't have a game. I'm happy to report that the Reds beat the Pirates 5-2, led by two of my favorite players: Sean Casey (2-run homer) and Adam Dunn (2-run double). I even managed to resist the seduction of my couch, staying awake through the whole thing. I had to take advantage of the opportunity to watch them play, since I don't know when it'll happen again. They're fun to watch. * I was planning to keep a running journal during the game and post it here, but alas, I think my laptop has finally given up the ghost after four years of hard use. It was having issues anyway. The battery wouldn't hold a charge, the touchpad buttons no longer worked, and the screen had a tendency to tip over if you tried to open it too far. Now it won't even accept power from the AC adapter without a lot of help. I'm thinking about taking it in and having it worked on (the battery and power cord can be replaced, if needs be), but I wonder if it's worth the investment. I'd eventually like a new one anyway, with more functionality. I suppose if I could get it done fairly cheap I'd do it, just to have one to use in the meantime. * I was reading this story in the Toledo Blade this morning. It deals with the investigation of some possible Satanistic rituals in the area, and I saw one minor thing in it that kind of irritated me. They refer to one man quoted in the article as "a self-proclaimed wiccan". I'm just wondering, who else would proclaim him as such? Of course it's self-proclaimed; that's how religion works. I don't know if the author of the article used this wording to downplay the validity of the man's religion or not, but that's how it came across to me. That's highly irritating to me. Wicca may not be nearly as widespread as other religions, but that doesn't make it any more or less valid, or deserving of any less respect. * Some BGSU football fans, many of whom also happen to be Cleveland Browns fans, are already forsaking departing Falcons Josh Harris and Janssen Patton, who are joining the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively. I understand that both teams are big rivals of the Browns, but I think it's sad that these fans can turn so quickly on players that did so much for our program. It's not as though BG has all that many former players in the NFL. Personally, I'm a Bengals fan, and they're also in the same division (with Cleveland) as Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but I'm still going to root for my fellow BGSU alumni to do well. I do understand the rivalry factor, but come on. * It's good to be king (or, at least, Purchasing Manager). Through one of our company's vendors, I just scored tickets to Saturday's NHL playoff game in Detroit, the Red Wings vs. the Calgary Flames. That should be a lot of fun. I'm not the world's biggest hockey fan, by any means, but the games are awesome in person.

He's Got Platinum Teeth, and That's Not All!

BG’s Patton signs with Steelers

Draft Review

Ravens pick BG's Harris Steel City a fit for 'Big Ben' Anderson Buffalo-bound The draft has been hashed and re-hashed endlessly for the past week (including by yours truly), so I just want to hit some highlights and then be done with it. Until next year. I'm glad this whole mess with Eli Manning was finally resolved. I couldn't believe the Chargers went ahead and drafted him, but it made sense when they traded him to the Giants for Philip Rivers and some other draft picks. I continue to think that both teams got hosed on this deal. Manning may turn out to be a decent quarterback, but I don't think he'll ever reach the level of his brother Peyton. As for San Diego, they already have a weak-armed quarterback in Drew Brees. With so many other needs, I don't think they needed to get another in Philip Rivers. I don't see him as that great of an upgrade over Brees, and they're going to be paying him a lot more money as a high draft pick. I think Robert Gallery (who went to the Raiders) would have been a better selection. At least by going this way they got some extra draft picks to address some of their other needs. I have to give major props to the Detroit Lions, who had a great draft and addressed some major needs for their team. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that much of the credit for this draft should go to head coach Steve Mariucci. General manager Matt Millen hasn't been too impressive in the realm of talent evaluation, nor too savvy in general, and I don't know why that would have changed just in time for this draft. Not only did they do a great job of addressing needs, they also managed to fleece the hapless Browns out of their second-round pick, which Detroit then used to trade up and get another first-round pick, which they used on halfback Kevin Jones. Personally, I think Jones will turn out to be the class of this draft when it comes to running backs. Head coach Butch Davis was in charge of the draft for the Browns, and Butch is a moron. This makes me chuckle gleefully, as he continues to run that hated franchise into the ground. It'll take the Browns years to recover once they discover their mistake and attempt to replace him. Ben Roethlisberger rightfully should have gone higher in the draft, and was somewhat screwed over by the Manning situation. However, I think he fell into a great situation in Pittsburgh. He can play behind Tommie Maddox and learn for a year and then step into the starting role. The Steelers have got some great receivers to throw to, and they always have a good offensive line. Also, Bill Cowher is a very good NFL coach. I wasn't thrilled with Cincinnati's selection of Chris Perry in the first round. I'm going to give Coach Lewis the benefit of the doubt on this one and see how it plays out, but I'm a little concerned. I'm not sold on Chris Perry's pro potential, nor on the Bengals' need for a running back. If they were intent on taking one, I think Kevin Jones would have been a better choice. At least he would have been a contrast to incumbent starter Rudi Johnson. Johnson is a power back, as is Perry. Jones is more of a speedster. This raises questions about Johnson's future in Cincy, even though he showed last year that he can be a good one. The real winners of the draft were the Baltimore Ravens, who picked up BGSU quarterback Josh Harris in the sixth round. I still think Josh is going to be a very good NFL QB in a few years. I don't know if Baltimore is the ideal situation for him to grow in, but it could be. They don't have a veteran quarterback for him to learn from. They do have two quarterbacks on their roster who are very much unproven, one of which could easily be labeled a "journeyman." That might give Josh a chance to play earlier than anticipated, but I'm not sure that would be the best thing for his growth and long-term potential. As a sidenote, I give a big thumbs-down to Ohio State's Craig Krenzel getting drafted, especially in the fifth round. Have these folks ever seen Krenzel play? He's a heck of a leader, but otherwise not that great as a quarterback, and he doesn't strike me as someone who's going to get much better with coaching. You can feed me a Wilson if he ends up having a better pro career than Josh Harris.

Weekend Review

Brandi often tells me that reading my blog makes her feel like our entire existence together revolves around eating and sleeping. I'm happy to say that rarely has that been more true than this weekend just past. We didn't have any specific plans, and it seemed that neither one of us really felt like venturing out and doing anything, so we didn't. As per usual, I got to Stow around 7:00 on Friday. We decided on Mexican food, so we went to a place called El Campesino. That was a great choice. We didn't have to wait for a table at all, and they brought chips and salsa right away. I think that's the best part of eating at a Mexican restaurant. It was a little loud in there, but it had a good atmosphere. The waiters were joking around with people, and it was fun. The food was awesome, too. After dinner we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, and then went back to Brandi's place to do nothing. We just hung out that night. I think all we did after we got home was play a couple games of Scrabble before turning in. Saturday was much the same. We got up relatively early (10:30 or so, I think, which is early for a weekend) and just hung around the apartment for a while. As noon approached, we headed over to Pizza Hut for lunch. We went from there to Target, where Brandi wanted to get a few things, and from there to Jiffy Lube so she could get an oil change. There they found a couple of other issues on her car that needed to be addressed, so it's good that she decided to get her oil changed. After that we headed back to her place to hang out and listen to the NFL draft on the radio, since she doesn't have cable at her place. There is an ESPN Radio affiliate in Cleveland, as well as a Fox Sports Radio affiliate. I was hoping to get ESPN's coverage, since Mike and Mike were doing it, but no such luck. They had some local yahoos talking almost exclusively about the Browns. I guess that's to be expected, in a local NFL market, but their coverage sucked. They talked almost exclusively about the Browns, to the exclusion of even telling everyone what the other picks were. That's all I cared about. I don't care about the Browns at all; I just wanted to know who was going where. This was made even more boring by the fact that the Browns only had one significant draft pick, so they had to talk about that the whole time. I liked the Fox Sports coverage, which was more the overall coverage I was looking for, but unfortunately they were pre-empted by a baseball game for several hours. Anyway, listening to the horrible draft coverage eventually lulled both of us to sleep on the living room floor. When we woke up, we thought briefly about heading out for a few drinks. Neither of us really felt like interrupting our lazy weekend, though, so instead we decided to go get some movies and grab some fast food. We rented a couple of DVDs and drove through Wendy's (mmm, Wendy's) on the way home. We watched one movie as we ate, then put on an old standby (a movie we own) afterwards. As per usual, we fell asleep on the floor and woke up later to actually go to bed. Sunday was a serious do-nothing day. We got up and went to the grocery store to get the stuff for Brandi to make dinner that night. We came home and ate leftover pizza and kept checking the internet (via my cell phone) for updates on the draft, since radio coverage sucked once again. We were kinda doing our own thing--I was playing PlayStation, and Brandi wandered into her room to watch a movie. Eventually I joined her, and predictably, we ended up napping. I'm not sure exactly how long we slept, but it was a while. When we got up, Brandi started making dinner, with me pitching in occasionally where I could. She made lasagna, which turned out to be quite awesome. We also had salad (with Italian dressing from Olive Garden) and garlic bread. Good stuff. After dinner we went for a walk. The temperature outside was great, but our walk ended up being aborted early by rain. It didn't rain hard or long, but we didn't want to take too many chances. We got home and dried off a bit, then watched the second movie we rented on Saturday. It was Saving Silverman, which was extremely strange but pretty funny. After that we turned in for the night. Now I'm here, back at work on a Monday morning, and strangely feeling still tired even after all the sleeping we did over the weekend. I guess I'll have to get in yet another nap this afternoon.

One More Draft Story

Anderson awaits his fate Okay, I think this will be the last one. This one's about Ohio State defensive tackle Tim Anderson, who is from Clyde and was a friend of Brandi's in high school.

Something I Just Realized

Apparently, I'm highly interested in the NFL draft. Who knew?

More Draft

I heard on Mike and Mike in the Morning today on ESPN Radio that Eli Manning really is prepared to sit out for a year if he's drafted by the Chargers. That's a bold move on his part, and really says how much he doesn't want to play in San Diego. I can't imagine he'll be nearly as coveted in next year's draft after taking a full year off, and being taken later in the draft could cost him millions of dollars. Of course, the ultimate irony would be if he sat out a year, and then got drafted by San Diego again the following year anyway. At what point would the madness end? It just drives me crazy that the Mannings (Eli and his father Archie, himself a former NFL quarterback) have tried to influence the draft. So the Chargers suck. That's why they're first in the draft, and that's why they're going to give you a fat contract if they decide to pick you. It's how the draft works. You're supposed to go there and help them get better. Play out your contract, and leave when it expires if you don't like it. It's called "paying your dues," and I don't think Eli Manning should be exempt from it just because his family has a history of successful NFL quarterbacking. All that aside, I still think San Diego should trade the pick or at least take someone else with the first pick. You just don't know what's going to happen if you pick Manning, and there are plenty of other worthy choices out there. The Chargers have plenty of needs, and Drew Brees will be a serviceable quarterback for them if it comes to that. If they really want a quarterback, as I said yesterday, I doubt Manning is their best choice anyway. Here's another thing that bugs me crazy about the NFL draft. Since the end of the college football season, Ben Roethlisberger has dropped a bit in terms of draft status, while Manning and Philip Rivers have risen, to a point where Roethlisberger will almost certainly be the third quarterback taken. Between the end of the season and the draft, they have all these combines and workouts where the players show off for scouts--doing sprints and bench-presses, throwing the ball in shorts and t-shirts with no pass rush, etc. This causes some players to come out of nowhere and rocket to the top of the draft, whereas other players drop down the board. The same thing happens, to a certain extent, with college recruitment of high school players. I think this is why there are so many first-round picks that never really amount to anything. Teams are basing decisions on athletic ability, potential, and measurables, and never mind if the kid can actually play football or not. There are so many intangibles to playing football that I can't believe anyone thinks that basing decisions on these workouts is a good idea. Sure, they should factor into the decision, but the main component should always be watching tape of actual games and seeing how they play the game. What a concept. Of course, some people have suggested that Roethlisberger has slipped due to questions about the level of competition he played against in college. Give me a break. Anyone who knows a damned thing about college football knows that the MAC isn't that far off from the "big boys" anymore. I know there used to be a significant gap, but that gap is closing. With the recent conference re-alignment, I'd take the MAC right now over the Big East, which somehow will still retain its BCS affiliation. In the long run, I think Roethlisberger and Josh Harris--both MAC players--will be the jewels of this draft's quarterback class.

Josh Harris in the Draft

Harris Plays The Waiting Game

This Just In: Clarett is Out!

Ginsburg does not overturn lower court's stay

Roethlisberger in the Draft

Big Ben's Time Has Come

NFL Draft Edition

So Eli Manning doesn't want to be drafted by the Chargers, eh? San Diego has the first pick, and most "experts" think Manning will be the first player drafted. If Manning doesn't want to play for the Chargers, I say "too damn bad." That's what the draft is about--the teams select the players, not the other way around. If the Chargers select Manning, he has two choices--he can sign and play for them, or he can sit out a year and go back into the draft next year. If I were the Chargers, I think I'd draft him out of spite. Of course, a team's first-round pick (and especially the first pick overall) is too valuable to waste on such a move. I doubt he would, but if he did opt to sit out a year, that's a pick wasted, and the Chargers can't afford that. They sucked last year, and they can't waste their first pick. I heard a possible scenario on the radio yesterday that I think is San Diego's best option. The Chargers can trade the #1 pick to the New York Giants for receiver Ike Hilliard and New York's first-round pick, which is #4 overall. The Giants can select Manning, who they want badly, and who also seems to want to play there. The Chargers can then trade that #4 pick to Cleveland for receiver Dennis Northcutt and the Browns' first-round selection, which is #7 overall. This would give the Chargers two good receivers, and if they still want to draft a quarterback in the first round, Ben Roethlisberger from Miami will almost certainly still be available at #7. For what it's worth, I think Roethlisberger will be a better pro quarterback than Manning anyway. I've seen Roethlisberger play on several occasions, including twice in person, and he's the real deal. He's far and away the best passer I've seen in person (a list that includes current NFL quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper, Chad Pennington, and Byron Leftwich). He throws a pretty ball--his spirals are tight, and his passes are on the money, even in the cutting Bowling Green wind. He doesn't get rattled often in the pocket, and he moves pretty well for a guy his size as well. I think Manning's status as the probably #1 pick is mostly dependent on his name. Peyton Manning, Eli's brother, is a hell of a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. I just don't think Eli is nearly as good. His pocket presence and leadership may be similar, and that's big, but I don't think his physical tools are on the same level. Roethlisberger's are, and he's got or will develop the rest. My main interest in this year's draft lies in another quarterback, BGSU's own Josh Harris. He's projected to go in the third or fourth round, and I'm very excited to see where he ends up. He'll be the first BG player drafted since my afflitiation with the school began in 1997. I think he'll be a good starting quarterback in the league someday, after carrying a clipboard for a couple of years and learning. He was an outstanding college quarterback, and he's got all the tools needed to be great in the pros. He just needs some time and seasoning to learn how to utilize them. His biggest tool is his speed and quickness--he can definitely avoid a rush. He's built like a linebacker, so he's hard to bring down. He's got good arm strength and can make all the throws. He was a bit erratic with his passes in college, but his most important asset, and what made him a hero to everyone who follows BG football, is that he's a playmaker. The kid can just play football, and he's clutch. I was always confident when we needed a big play and the ball was in Josh's hands. I knew he'd make it, and he did. If he can continue that in the NFL, he'll be a star in the long run. The latest rumor I've heard about Josh has him going to the Browns in I think the fourth round. There are some positives to this. I'd be able to go see him play again whenever I wanted, since Cleveland isn't far at all, and Jeff Garcia would be a good quarterback for him to learn from. Other than that, I'm totally against him going to the Browns. Personally, I hate them, having grown up in the shadow of Cincinnati as a Bengals fan (poor, tortured souls that we are). If Josh ends up there, I'll root for him to do exceptionally well personally, but for Cleveland's defense to be spectacularly bad so that he can succeed and the team can still lose. Beyond my personal feelings, though, Cleveland is just a screwed-up organization right now, and I think it would be better for Josh if he didn't get caught up in that. Of course, the biggest issue surrounding this year's draft is the issue of Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams and underclassmen eligibility. The current rule is that players cannot be drafted if less than three years have passed since the graduation of their high school classes. This rule was negotiated between the NFL and the players' union, and is included in their Collective Bargaining Agreement. Clarett has taken the NFL to court to get this rule overturned so he can be included in this year's draft, one year earlier than he could be drafted otherwise. This case is currently in the hands of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is expected to make a ruling before Saturday. As it stands now, Clarett can not be drafted. His initial lawsuit resulted in the rule being overturned, at which time he declared for the draft, as did USC's Mike Williams. However, a stay was granted to the NFL by a higher court, putting Clarett and Williams out of the draft. Clarett then appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency lift of the stay, and Williams filed a separate lawsuit against the NFL. That's where it stands now, and theoretically this will all be sorted out by draft day. I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, I think Clarett has a right to seek employment. Teams are obviously interested in him, and in other players who are currently "too young" to be in the NFL. This isn't like becoming a doctor, where a certain degree is an absolute requirement. It's an age restriction, imposed somewhat arbitrarily, and which may not entirely be fair. On the other hand, I think the NFL has a right to determine their own qualifications for employment. The problem here lies in the fact that the NFL itself would not be employing these players; the individual teams would be. We've already seen that a lot of teams have at least some interest in Clarett, so the NFL is restricting their ability to hire him. However, the NFL has to do this in order to protect its own product. Letting these young, underexperienced players into the league will, over time, dilute the quality of play on the field. Look at the NBA. Many players leave college after a year or two to enter the draft, or skip college entirely and go pro right out of high school, and the NBA suffers for it. Teams draft these young players based on "potential," and then essentially pay them to sit on the bench for the first several years to learn how to play. This is not a good thing for the league. The draft is designed to help poor teams get better in a timely manner--this is why bad teams draft first. However, when these teams select "project" players that need a few years of development, it defeats the purpose. They can't step in and help right away. They aren't ready. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony have proven that there are exceptions to the rule--sometimes young players are ready to come in and play right away. Sometimes. Not often, though. Even Kobe Bryant didn't come in and start right away. And the NBA is a totally different animal from the NFL. Professional football is a violent, grueling game, and if these young kids come in unprepared, they're going to get mauled. It's just the way it is. I'm sure there are some kids who will be ready before those three years have elapsed (Williams is one, but I doubt Clarett is...he couldn't even get through a full season of college football without missing time for various injuries). All of this, however, deals with the "rightness" of the rule, and not the "legality." I don't know about that part, not being a lawyer myself. The rule is included in the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, and most stuff I've heard seems to indicate that it will eventually stand up, but who knows? We'll find out sometime between now and noon on Saturday, I would imagine. If it does stand up, look for the NBA to push for an age requirement to enter that league as well. As a fan, I think rules like this are good for all involved. Including the kids. Sure, it's hard to argue that they don't have a right to be employed if they're good enough. However, "good enough" is a totally subjective assessment. I'm sure if these rules go away that there will be plenty of kids who think they're the best players ever and forfeit their college eligibility in an effort to be drafted, and they're screwed if it doesn't happen. I suppose in America they should have the freedom to screw up their lives, but I think it's better if they don't. All of that being the case, here's my suggestion for a compromise. If these kids are hellbent on not going to college, let them enter the draft. If they're good enough, fine--they'll get drafted, they'll make the roster, they'll play. However, have a supplemental draft a week or two after the regular draft (they do this now, but it's tied into the following year's draft, which would no longer be the case under my proposal). This draft would be aimed at the younger players, but I suppose anyone could be taken. There would be roster exemptions for players in this draft, so that they could be on the team but not count against the roster limits. These players' pay scales would be limited in some way, as would their eligibility to play in games, and there would have to be some sort of rule governing how long (in terms of years) they would be allowed to be exempt. Short of expecting these players to go to college for a certain number of years, I think this would be the best way to let younger players into the league fairly, without sacrificing the quality of play.

I Should Have Known

Due to our ISP switchover yesterday afternoon, our Internet connection was down for a while. It was offline when I came back from lunch at 1:00, and remained so until around 3:00. One result of this downtime is that I didn't get to attend to my blog as well as I intended. One thing I would have mentioned yesterday, had I been able to, was that the Reds game against the Braves was scheduled to be televised on TBS. I hadn't been able to see the Reds play yet this year, so I was pretty stoked about that. Time Warner Cable in Bowling Green used to televise available Reds game on an unused channel, but they don't seem to be doing that this year. I was planning to make a joke that, with my luck, the game would be rained out and I wouldn't be able to watch it. Silly me. I should have known better. The game went on as scheduled. The Reds won, and it was a good, classic game: close and low-scoring (3-2), with good pitching on both sides. Also, it was a short game, lasting only two hours and twenty-seven minutes. In short, it was everything a baseball fan could want. I didn't see it. When I got home from work yesterday, my cable service was out. I turned on my TV to watch ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and got nothing but static. I figured it was a temporary outage and would be back on soon. As it approached gametime, still with no cable, I attempted to call the cable company. After choosing the menu option that indicated I was calling about cable television service, I got nothing but a buzzing noise. I tried to call several more times over the course of the evening, with the same result. Of course, in addition to providing me with cable television service, my cable company is also my ISP. As luck would have it, my cable modem was down as well. I had no television and no Internet, and I felt totally disconnected from the outside world. My cable finally started working again around 11:30 last night. Unfortunately, the Reds game ended at 9:30. At least I was able to check the box score. Losing my cable for several hours wasn't the end of the world. I'm aware of that. It just irritates me, because I really don't sit down in front of the television and actually watch it all that often. I have it on a lot, but mostly I'm doing other things. Last night was one of the rare occasions when there was something I really wanted to see, and that was when the cable was out. I know that's just the way things go sometimes, but it's frustrating. As luck would have it, none of the remaining games of this series will be televised, even on Atlanta's network. It may be a while before I get to see the Reds play, and I may have to drive down to Cincinnati and visit Great American Ball Park to do it. I plan on doing that at some point anyway, but it would be nice to catch a game or two on the tube in the meantime. I'm tempted to call the cable company to see if those lost hours will be credited to my bill, but I think I know how far I'll get with that.

Bitch and You Shall Receive

I'm extremely happy to announce that we got our new Internet connection at work today. It's not blazing fast, but it's substantially better than the mind-numbing connection we had before. This is going to make me much more content. No longer will I be tempted to gouge out my eyes in the time it takes to load up a page from which I need only a tiny bit of information. There are still a few glitches and bugs, but I'm confident that we'll work them out over the next several days. Hell, the new connection has only been live for 40 minutes. Even if we can't get this stuff worked out, it's already less glitchy and buggy than the old system. No complaints from me.

Ludicrous Speed...Go!

In the movie Spaceballs, "ludicrous speed" was an insanely high velocity at which the starship Spaceball 1 could travel. Today at work, our internet connection is moving at ludicrous speed, but it isn't because it's moving fast. Quite the contrary: it's painfully slow. Trying to do anything online has been an exercise in frustration. There is light at the end of this tunnel however. Our company is moving from a shared dial-up connection to IDSL. It won't be high-speed access, but it should be a significant improvement from what we have now. That will make everything so much easier. Our IT staff (consisting of one person, who also happens to be our head engineer) tells me our new connection should be live by Wednesday of this week. I have an awful feeling that he may have overestimated how quickly it will happen, but I'm at least mildly comforted to know that modern technology (sort of) is on its way. Our internet problems rate as a minor inconvenience, though. I had a good weekend, so it would take something far more significant to really bother me today. Tomorrow may be another story, though, if these problems continue to wear on my nerves. I drove to Brandi's apartment in Stow on Friday after work. It was a nice drive, now that it's far enough into spring that the sun is up for the whole drive. When it's light out, the Ohio Turnpike actually does offer some decent scenery. I listened to the Reds game for much of the drive, and there are few better companions on a solitary drive than announcers Marty Brennamen and Joe Nuxhall. While I'm talking about this, I want to give a shout out to the radio station 700 (AM) WLW out of Cincinnati. I have a hard time getting some Toledo radio stations in Bowling Green, but WLW has an incredible signal, and it was clear as a bell from Toledo almost all the way to Cleveland, when I switched to my CD player because the game was over. I'm really happy about this, because that's mostly Indians country, and I doubt there are any local stations carrying the Reds. I got to Brandi's place a little after 7:00, and we went to Red Lobster for dinner. I personally cannot stomach most seafood (and can't bear to even look at some of it), but Brandi likes it, so I took her there. They cater to non-surf people with a few token turf items on the menu, so I chose from those. It was pretty good, too. After dinner, we headed back to her place. We had a pretty hectic time last weekend, so we mostly just wanted to chill out and relax this weekend. We definitely did that, starting on Friday night. We put in a movie and promptly fell asleep on the living room floor. We slept there for quite a while before eventually moving into the bedroom and continuing our slumber. On Saturday, Brandi got up to take a bike ride while I stayed home. I had brought my PlayStation, so I played my new basketball game while she was gone. As it was quite a nice weekend, Brandi went out to lay in the sun when she got home, and I sat outside with her. We went to get ice cream after that, and then back home for more PlayStation. That evening we went to BW3 in Garfield Heights. Brandi had planned a get-together there with some of her co-workers. Unfortunately, none of them showed up, but she and I still had a good time. The BW3 there is really cool. It doesn't have the atmosphere of the ones in BG or Kent, both college towns, but the restaurant itself was nice. It was really big, and there was plenty of space between tables. In the ones at BG and Kent, it gets pretty crowded, but that was definitely not a problem at this place. We ate there and had a few drinks, then played a few games of pool before heading home. Sunday, as is our custom, was even more of a do-nothing day. Brandi again went out to lay in the sun. I went out with her for a few minutes, then came back in to be with my PlayStation. We went to the store when she came back in, so we could get a few things for dinner that night. We had lunch when we got back, then napped for a while. Brandi got up before I did and started making dinner. When I got up, we played PlayStation together until dinner was ready. She made roasted chicken and fettucine alfredo, and it was awesome. We went for a walk after dinner, to enjoy the nice weather of the weekend as it wound down. We walked about three miles, and my feet are still a little sore even now. It was pretty muggy out, and we were both really warm by the time we got home. She ended up firing up her air conditioner, which was very nice. We watched a movie and ate ice cream while we wound down, and then went to bed. All in all, I think we relaxed enough this weekend that it'll take at least a day or two for my screwed-up sleep cycle to bring me down again.

Chris Walken Wants to Feed You

Walken in L.A. Chris Walken's Kitchen The first link above is from The Onion, which, for anyone who isn't familiar, is a satirical newspaper. That column is totally fictitious, and was not actually written by Christopher Walken. However, it reads like it could be written by him. I read that several years ago, and now it's rare that I can eat a hot dog without thinking of Christopher Walken. The second link is an actual food article written in Christopher Walken's kitchen. He didn't write it himself, but it's mostly just quoting him. It's hilarious, just because he's so...weird. I found this article this morning, so I had to post both of them for your amusement.

Equal Time

There was a time, not all that long ago, when I absolutely hated my job. I dreaded coming in each day, and the mere thought of it made me miserable. That was right after I took over the purchasing duties. Nothing in my background prepared me for this job, and I received a grand total of two hours of training from someone who didn't know what he was doing in the first place. I was thrown directly into the fire, and I came to work each day feeling utterly unprepared. I didn't like that at all. Now I've been in this position for a full year and a half. There are still occasions when something arises that I haven't dealt with before, but for the most part I've got a pretty good handle on everything. I no longer despise my job. I'm generally pretty indifferent. I don't like it that much, but I can deal with it. It helps me pay the bills, and that's the important part. There are quite a few things about this job that bother me, and I complain about them a fair amount, both in this blog and in "real life." With that in mind, and in the interests of equal time, today I'm going to say something nice. Occasionally there are days when I actively like this job. Granted, I would never choose it over sitting on the couch in front of my PlayStation, or watching Falcon football, but on these days I can at least get some mild enjoyment out of being here and doing what I do. Today was one of those days. We haven't been very busy here lately, and today was no exception. Busy days are better, because the time goes faster. Today was most assuredly not busy, but there have been some things I've had to take care of. There were a variety of things, and that made it nice. I wasn't sitting here doing the same thing all day long. Beyond that, I still feel like I'm out of my element sometimes. When I can get through a number of things and get them all cleared up, I feel really good about myself. I'm overcoming my own lack of experience, and I enjoy being able to do that. While I'm on the topic, another thing I like about this job (sometimes) is meeting with salespeople. I don't like this every time, and I really get irritated when someone just drops by and wants to try to sell me something. However, with established vendors, there are a couple of representatives I really like. I enjoy when these people stop in and chat for a few minutes. Of course, there are also some established vendors with reps that I actively don't like, but I try to avoid them when I can.

Fixed!

That was fast, eh? I'm still tweaking a couple of things, so there may be some issues over the course of the day. I'll try to have them all fixed by the time I head out of town for the weekend. For today, though, if you visit and something is wrong, just give me some time and try again later. If there are still problems past this afternoon, let me know. Thanks!

Technical Difficulties

Please bear with me, folks. I'm working on some cosmetic changes to this blog, and now my sidebar seems unwilling and/or unable to load. I appreciate your patience while I get this figured out.

We Now Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Broadcast

Now that I've confirmed my suspicion that virtually no one is reading my blog, it's time for another real entry. Let's discuss something I care deeply about, and that's...sports! It's been a frustrating sports week for me so far. ESPN and various sports shows I pay vague attention to have been dominated mostly by Phil Mickelson and the Masters, and by Barry Bonds hitting his 660th and 661st home runs. It so happens that I hate golf and Barry Bonds, so these topics do nothing for me. The Cleveland Cavs finished their season last night and won't be advancing into the NBA playoffs. Also, the Reds had an off day and then were rained out, so there hasn't been any action there. That being the case, let's start with a sport that's currently out of season. Yesterday the NFL released its schedule for the coming season. I haven't looked at it yet, but I did hear that the Cincinnati Bengals will be making two appearances on national television. One of these will be a coveted Monday Night Football game, the Bengals' first appearance on Monday Night in 11 years. I think this shows that fans and media are no longer looking at Cincinnati as the league's laughingstock. Hopefully QB Carson Palmer can do well in his first year as starter and lead the Bengals into the playoffs. On the topic of football...last week BGSU's football team hired Vance Joseph to coach the defensive backs. Until recently, Joseph was filling the same position at Colorado. However, he was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of the football program regarding some sexual assault charges against some players and recruits. Under these circumstances, Joseph resigned at Colorado and accepted the position at Bowling Green when offered by BGSU head coach Gregg Brandon. This hire has caused at least some controversy to surround BGSU's football program. I'm not as worried as some, but it did raise a small red flag in my mind. I do trust that Coach Brandon and BGSU Athletic Director Paul Krebs checked into the matter and were satisfied with what they found out, and I'm also sure he's a good coach, as Colorado is a good football program (on the field, at least). Still, with Joseph being placed on leave at Colorado, you can't help but wonder what his role was in all of this (also suspended was CU head coach Gary Barnett). If this turns sour on the BGSU program, so recently recovered from the ashes, I will be sorely disappointed. The NBA's regular season came to an end last night. This is the first year I've paid any attention to the NBA, due 100% to Lebron James. I've become a bona fide Cleveland Cavaliers fan. Unfortunately, they didn't make the playoffs, so we won't get to see Lebron play again until next season. He was a lot of fun to watch, though. I think they would have made the playoffs if they could have started the season with the roster they finished it with. They made some trades over the course of the season that really improved the team, most notably the acquisition of point guard Jeff McInnis. That allowed Lebron to slide over to his more natural shooting guard spot. The Cavs have a good core of starters, with Lebron, Carlos Boozer, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and McInnis. I see them in the playoffs next year for sure. Speaking of basketball, my new PlayStation2 basketball game sure is fun. It's EA Sports March Madness 2004, which Brandi gave me over the weekend. I like it a whole lot. I love college hoops, and I love video games. Combine the two, and you've got a very happy man. The game is hard right now because I'm just getting started and there are a lot of things you can do, which makes the learning curve a little steep. I'm getting better, though, and it's a whole lot of fun. The start of the NHL playoffs means only one thing: boring sports on television. I like hockey well enough, but I can't get into the NHL. I like Olympic hockey, and college hockey is fun. I won't be sad at all if the NHL has a work stoppage this offseason like they're expected to, and they don't come back for a while. Make it go away.

Roll Call!

I've got a request for anyone who happens to read this particular blog entry. Click on the "Comments" link below this entry, and let me know where you're at in the world. Leave your name or a screenname if you like, but just let me know where you are. This information will be used for absolutely nothing, except to satisfy my own curiosity. If for some reason you don't want to post a comment where it can be read by everyone, send it to me in an e-mail. I keep this blog for my own amusement. I like to write. However, every writer wants to have an audience, and just lately I've felt like I've been chattering away mostly to myself. I know I've got at least three regular readers--one from Stow, Ohio; one from my hometown of Troy, Ohio; and one from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. So if you're reading this, help me out. Satisfy my curiosity and stroke my ego at the same time. Let me know you're out there.

Weekend Update

Although I'm not Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Colin Quinn, Norm McDonald, Dennis Miller, nor, unfortunately, Kevin Nealon. What is going on with gas prices these days? Come on, man, give us a break. Price fluctuations at least used to be predictable--they'd go up toward the weekend, and drop back down toward the middle of the week. Now it seems like they're going up all the time, and dropping even more sporadically. I was lucky today--I noticed as I walked out of Subway on my lunch break that gas prices at surrounding stations had gone up to $1.89 per gallon. I needed to get gas, so on my way back to work I noticed a station which hadn't yet raised their prices. I snuck in at $1.72 per gallon: a clerk was on the way out to change the prices on their sign as I started fueling. I'm hoping this tank can last up until I'm ready to drive to Stow for the weekend. Speaking of weekends, I didn't post my usual weekend recap yesterday since I had other stuff I wanted to talk about. I would hate to neglect anyone who might be living vicariously through me, though, so without further ado, here's the tale of the weekend. Unlike at least one person I can think of, Brandi didn't have to work on Good Friday (and has there ever been a more redundant phrase than that one?). She got off work early on Thursday and headed toward BG. She stopped off in her hometown of Clyde to spend some time with her parents, and I drove over and met her there when I got off work. Her stepmom made dinner for us--I felt a little bad because she made shrimp for everyone else but pork chops for me, since I don't like seafood. The food was great, though. We hung out there for a while (and took her dog for a walk) and then headed back to Bowling Green. There was a pit stop at Meijer on the way to my apartment, as Brandi remembered during the drive that she had an interview on Friday morning but hadn't brought anything to wear. We turned in fairly early that night, as we were both pretty tired and had to get up early the next morning. Brandi was lounging on the couch when I got home from work. We watched That 70s Show and then went to the mall so I could get a haircut. I hate getting my hair cut, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to this, but we went. After said haircut, we drove up to Toledo and met up with Adam and Cricket for a Toledo Mud Hens (minor league baseball) game. The game was a good time, as usual, and there was a fireworks show afterwards. Then the four of us went to a local bar to hang out for a little bit. When Brandi and I got home, we exchanged gifts for our one-year dating anniversary. I got a college basketball video game; she got a collection of lotion and perfume (etc.) that she likes from Victoria's Secret, and also a Care Bear with a cupcake on its belly. On Saturday morning I got up and went to BGSU's spring football game. Since it was being held on the practice field instead of in the stadium (hence no bleachers), Brandi opted not to go. She exercised and went for a run instead. I was gone for a couple of hours, then we napped on the couch for a little bit after I got back. We slept for maybe a couple of hours, then got up and started getting ready to go out for the evening. I took Brandi to the Spaghetti Warehouse for our first date, so on Saturday we returned to the scene of the crime. We got there at a good time, and only had to wait a few minutes for a table. The food was awesome (I had lasagna, Brandi had shrimp alfredo), up to and including the 12-layer chocolate cake we had for dessert. After that we drove around Toledo for a bit. We had reservations at a comedy club at 10:30, but doors didn't open until 9:45, and we had plenty of time to kill since dinner didn't take as long as we expected. So we had a nice ride, and Brandi showed me the place where she had interviewed on Friday. That was a pretty decent way from where we were, so by the time we got back to the comedy club, they were letting people in. The comedy club here in Toledo is called Connxtions. I've been there a few times now, and it's always been a great time. Saturday was no exception. The comics were Dan DeCapua and Don Reese, and both of them were absolutely hilarious. I had tears in my eyes at several points. Reese especially had a warped sense of humor that really appealed to me (and Brandi as well, I'm very happy to say). After the comedy club, we drove back to BG and went to BW3 to have a drink. We played some games and ended up chatting with a guy named Bruce who I think is in there every single night. He's always there when we're there, at least. He was pretty cool, though. Before the bars closed, Brandi and I went to a dance club called Uptown to dance a little bit. It was really crowded and hot and hard to dance, but it was fun to be in there for a few minutes. We headed home after that. We started playing the basketball game Brandi had bought me, but she was hungry and ended up ordering some food. We watched a slam dunk competition while we ate. As soon as the food was gone, Brandi (who had consumed a pretty fair amount of alcohol over the course of the evening) fell immediately asleep, and I soon followed suit. We got up on Sunday and drove down to Troy for Easter with my family. I personally care nothing for Easter itself, but it is one of those get-together occasions for my family, and I didn't want to miss it. My mom put out a pretty good spread, as she always does, and the food was awesome. I ended up bringing quite a bit of it back to my apartment, as well as some miscellaneous items Mom had been collecting for me over the past several weeks since last I was home. On the way back to Bowling Green that evening, Brandi and I stopped in to see our friends Amy and Doug. Amy is actually a girl I dated back in high school and into my college days, but we managed to stay friends even after we broke up. She and Doug are married, and we always have a good time when the four of us get together. We sat in their living room and talked as we were pawed and clawed by Caroline, the more social of Amy's two cats. We didn't actually get back to Bowling Green until about 1:30, but it was worth it. While at Amy and Doug's house we all ended up talking about a couple of relationships/marriages involving crazy people who got married too young and/or did bad things to their spouses. Brandi and I ended up carrying that conversation into the car on the way back, which led into a discussion of our past relationships. You'd think that would be a bit awkward, but it was actually good conversation. It took up most of the drive, which was about an hour and a half. I'm really glad that she and I can talk about stuff like that without freaking out totally. When we got back to BG, I helped Brandi figure out her taxes so she can file them this week. Of course, I had to get up on Monday morning and come back to work, and Brandi had to drive back to Stow to do the same. Unfortunate, but that's the way our schedules work right now. We don't have as many plans for this coming weekend, so hopefully we'll get a little more time to just relax together.

Spring Game Observations

Orange Defeats White in BGSU Spring Game, 17-13 The field at Doyt Perry Stadium was in bad shape at the end of last season. It was impossible to fix during the winter, and recent wet weather has kept the grounds crew from working on it yet this spring. Therefore, the spring game was moved to the practice field adjacent to the stadium. I wasn't thrilled when I first heard about this. The practice field has no bleachers or seating of any kind, and I wasn't optimistic about being able to see much. As it turned out, I liked it very much. There were definitely some line-of-sight issues, but being down on the field, essentially right on the sidelines with the players, is an interesting vantage point to take in a game. I wouldn't mind if the spring game were held there from now on. For one thing, you can hear the players and coaches as they chatter amongst themselves. Despite some raw language (which doesn't bother me, but I'm sure it does/did some people), this is pretty interesting. It lets you see how they communicate about different things. One thing I really liked was hearing some of the upperclassmen giving tips to some of the younger guys, talking about what they saw on the field and why they reacted a certain way. Besides that, being so close really gives you a different perspective on the game itself. When you're right there as the players come on and off the field, you get a sense for how big they really are. In most cases, they're just monstrous. One player in particular, an offensive lineman, was just a beast--he's listed as 6-5, 323, and he's every bit of that. I noticed a couple other players who were no taller than I am (5-9), despite having a significantly taller "program height." The biggest thing about being so close to the action, though, is getting a real sense of how fast the game is and how hard the hits are. Some of these guys can really fly, and they hit hard. This was all teammate-on-teammate stuff too, so I can only imagine how much more vicious it can be during real game action. I came away with even more respect for these athletes than I had before, and that's saying something. Here are some players who caught my eye: Omar Jacobs, redshirt sophomore quarterback. Omar is going to be "The Man" this year, replacing departed senior Josh Harris. It may take some time for him to grow into Josh's leadership role, but he's got the tools to be as good of a quarterback. He can really fire the ball--when he wants it somewhere, he gets it there, RIGHT NOW. I think he did a good job of making decisions about staying in the pocket vs. taking off with the ball. When he decides to run, he can really haul the mail. He's fast for a quarterback. He's not Michael Vick, but he looks to be faster than Josh was. Josh was quite a running quarterback, so Omar is going to be a heck of a weapon. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Thurman. Thurman threw the prettiest ball of the day, a long spiraling strike to wide receiver Steve Sanders. I also liked Thurman's leadership skills and the way he talked to his receivers and offense on the sidelines. I'm not sure if Thurman or Van Johnson will be the #2 quarterback going into the season, but my vote would be for Thurman. I think he would have the best chance to lead us to a win if Omar was out. Johnson also looked good during his chances, though. The running backs. All of them that played: incumbent starter P.J. Pope (true junior), Raishaun Stover (redshirt sophomore), Dan Macon (true sophomore), and Melvin Cole (redshirt freshman). Incumbent backup B.J. Lane did not play. All that did play showed good moves and speed. Macon had the long run of the day, a 72-yarder around the right side. It was hard to single out individuals, but the offensive linemen did a good job for the most part. They gave the quarterbacks time to look for receivers. They gave up some sacks, but we've got some injuries there right now. I'm not concerned about it just yet. If the injured players aren't ready for the start of the season, the first game or two may have some issues along the line. Junior linebacker Ted Piepkow. Teddy saw a lot of time last year due to injuries, and shined. During the spring game, he was in on a lot of tackles. He was flying around and making hits. Linebacker may be our weak spot this year in terms of depth, but I think Ted's going to be a good one. Senior defensive end Ryan Newble. He was a force along the defensive front. He had several tackles, at least one sack, and an interception that essentially ended the game. He looked good. The Falcons have plenty of experience coming back on the defensive line, and that's going to be a real strength of our team. Here's hoping Newble is wreaking havoc like that all year long. Anyway, that's what stood out to me. Obviously, I'm not a football expert, and it's easier for me to pick things out on offense than it is on defense. The angle of being on the field didn't help much with that, either. All in all, though, the guys looked really good. They were into the game, which was good to see (one former player, who now does the radio broadcasts, was walking around the sidelines, and I heard him say that the winning team would be served steak for dinner, while the losing team would be eating hamburgers and hot dogs). It was a nice little football fix for junkies like me who were anxious to get an early look at the team before the season starts this fall.

One Year Later

Today is April 12, 2004. One year ago today, Brandi and I went out on our first date. It was a Saturday. I went to BGSU's spring football game that afternoon, then came home and watched a Reds game on television (and perhaps napped a bit on the couch) before showering and getting dressed and ready. If I remember correctly, I showed up at Brandi's apartment at 6:00. We hung out and chatted there for a little while, and then went out. We went to dinner at The Spaghetti Warehouse in Toledo. Afterwards we went to Showcase Cinemas in Maumee to see Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson in Anger Management. Then we went to a bar called Brewster's in BG, which was far too loud and crowded for our tastes at the time, and from there we went to BW3. We had a drink or two there, and then went back to my apartment to watch movies and hang out a little bit longer. The movies we watched were As Good as it Gets and The Wedding Singer (sticking with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler), and we continued talking and getting to know each other. Neither of us wanted the night to end, and thus she ended up staying over. I took her home the next afternoon shortly before she had to go to work. Needless to say, it was a magical evening, and one of the first building blocks in where we are today. Getting here was no easy task. When we first started dating, Brandi had just recently come out of a relationship and didn't feel ready to jump right into another. I had been out of my last relationship for a longer period of time, but after being in a relationship nearly constantly for nine years (one for three, another on and off for six), I was planning to enjoy the single life for a while. Neither of us was looking for what we found. Some interesting anecdotes from early on.... When Brandi and I first met, I was kind of seeing her friend Cricket. I went out to BW3 one Wednesday to meet up with Cricket at their karaoke night, and Brandi was there. After hanging out for a bit, the three of us eventually moved on to a place called Skybar. Eventually Brandi and I struck up a conversation. She was still dating her ex-boyfriend at that time, and we were actually talking mostly about that, but it was enough to sow the seeds of a mutual attraction. The second time we ran into each other is when I got her number and we actually decided to go out sometime. That was an interesting evening, to say the least. See, I originally went out to meet up with another girl (Sarah) that I had met recently. However, the bar where we decided to meet up was a place that I was known to frequent, so Cricket and Brandi went there to look for me. They found me before Sarah did. This put me in a weird spot, because I was worried about screwing things up with Cricket. So I blew Sarah off, stopped looking for her, and luckily didn't run into her. I felt bad about that, but I saw it as my only option at the time--I don't think Cricket was under any impressions that she was the only girl I was seeing, but I still thought it might be a bit awkward for all of us to run into each other. At any rate, it turned out not to matter, as both Cricket and Sarah soon became romantically irrelevant. The first thing Brandi said to me that night was "My boyfriend broke up with me." I picked up on that as a signal right away and let it set the tone for the evening. Eventually the three of us ended up in a group out on the dance floor, where Brandi and I kept talking. It came out at some point that we were attracted to each other, and we decided to get together and go out sometime. I felt a little weird about it, since this was Cricket's friend, but really, I knew already that things were going nowhere with Cricket (in terms of dating, that is...she's very cool, and we're all friends now--she's dating my friend and former roommate Adam, and we hang out relatively often); I even had a sense (which was later confirmed by Brandi) that Cricket knew what was going on and was cool with it. Anyway, Brandi and I started dancing together, and before the night had ended we were holding hands and she had kissed me on the cheek. Nothing major, especially considering some of the goings-on at college bars, but plenty for my mind, which was already overloaded with the evening's proceedings (and a fine layer of alcohol). Brandi and I started dating in April, and I moved into a new apartment in May. In between, we spent a lot of time at her place. I ended up staying over pretty frequently. We'd usually talk the night away and well into the morning. Sleeping there was interesting at any rate. Her bedroom was immediately next to a railroad track, and it was pretty common to be awoken by a train rumbling past, blowing its horn. Also, not too far from her apartment was a charming little pig-slaughtering facility. Occasionally we'd be lulled to sleep (or jarred from it) by the lovely sound of pigs shrieking their last breaths away. Still, I wouldn't trade those times for anything. That was when she and I got to know each other. We talked openly about the obstacles facing our relationship, and that helped open our lines of communication. As we talked, we realized that it wasn't going to be easy, but I think that's also when we began to discover that it would be worth it. Early on, I think it would have been easy for either of us to call it off. As I've said, there was plenty of stuff in our way, and neither of us went into this looking for a long-term relationship. However, as we continued to spend time together, we started falling for each other, almost against our wills. It just happened. Eventually I came to realize that it would be harder for me to be without her than it would be for us to work through our difficulties. It seems that she came to that conclusion as well. So that's where we started from, around this time last year. Now we've been together for this long, and we're planning to move in together soon. I think this is a good move for us, and I'm excited about it. She'll be back in BG in August, at the latest, and I can't wait to have her.