Seen and Overheard

Did I have to come back from lunch today? It's cleared up some since this morning, and it's really nice out there. Windy, but temperate. I'm not a huge outdoorsy person, but today I'd like to be outside. I did get to enjoy it for a few minutes on my lunch break. Between that, some good food, and the writing I did this morning, I think I'm cured of my irritation.

Since it's Friday afternoon, I thought I'd give a quick recap of some things that have been going on around me this week. This is really just a clever way of pawning off another random column, without having to think of a rhyme to put into the title.

I passed a DeLorean on the interstate this morning on the way to work. How cool is that? I don't know if I've seen one in person before. They're not very common. I glanced over as I passed, and the driver was neither Christopher Lloyd nor Michael J. Fox. There probably isn't even a flux capacitor in there. I'd have one, if I owned a DeLorean.

I could swear that Tony Kornheiser was talking yesterday on his radio show about something I wanted to mention, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I hate that. Instead, I'll just mention that Tony is leaving his ESPNRadio show on March 26, which makes me very sad. I only get to listen for a few minutes each day, but it's a smart show, and I really look forward to it. They say the guy replacing him is good, but I doubt it'll be as good. I guess Tony is going to try to get a local Washington D.C. radio gig...maybe it'll be available on the Internet.

One thing I do remember hearing on the radio yesterday was Paul Harvey mentioning Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. It was a brief mention in a loud restaurant, so I couldn't hear exactly what he said, but I thought he said she was planning to write more Potter books after the seventh one. I thought that was the best entertainment news I had heard since it was announced that the Star Wars classic trilogy is coming to DVD. I needed confirmation, though, so I Googled it at home last night. I found a transcript from an online chat Ms. Rowling gave yesterday for World Book Day, in which someone asked her if she was going to write more than seven Potter books. Her response was that she didn't plan to, but that she wouldn't rule it out totally. So it's a possibility, but I hardly think it was worth being on the Paul Harvey show.

Ohio State is raising ticket prices for this upcoming football season to $57 per seat. $57 per seat! Wow, that's a lot. To put it in perspective, when I buy my season ticket for BGSU Falcon football this fall, it might cost $57 or thereabouts, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's less. By the way, Bowling Green absolutely has to be the best dollar value for football in the nation. If you come to a game at BG, you can get in the gate for probably $10 (the prices may increase some this year, but I doubt it'll be much more), and you get to see a nationally-ranked Division I football team. ESPN Gameday came to the stadium last year. It was awesome. I buy my tickets with a smile. And our stadium personnel is always friendly, even to fans of visiting teams, unlike some university in Columbus which shall remain nameless.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but the owner/president of the company where I work is currently going through high-stakes divorce proceedings. Earlier this week his estranged wife won a significant victory in said proceedings, and upon his return to the office he came down and started complaining loudly to our Marketing Director (to whom he'll be getting married as soon as his divorce is final) and our Office Manager. He followed up his complaints with a graphic description of some physical violence he'd like to inflict upon his soon-to-be ex-wife. He said it in jest, but I found it entirely inappropriate, in that he was talking loudly and essentially broadcasting it throughout our offices. It was disturbing. Even more disturbing...somehow word got around (go figure), and the next day I overheard one of our shop guys also talking about inflicting his own physical violence upon her. What in the hell is that all about? I'd like to think he said it in jest as well, but I don't even understand what business it is of his in the first place. This divorce stuff has been going on for a long time, so we all have heard something about it, but even the little bit we know is only one side of the story. Yes, I understand that this divorce case may directly influence all of us as employees, as one of the items in contention is the very ownership of this company, and if she should win, our futures would be up in the air. Still, I hardly think that possibility makes it okay for him to run his mouth like he knows what he's talking about. One way or another, it will be a great day when all of this divorce crap is over. Supposedly that will be this month or next, but I'm not holding my breath.

On my way out to lunch today, I heard the tornado sirens going off. I consulted with one of my co-workers about this, and apparently they always test them on the first Friday of each month. Where I'm from, they do it on Wednesdays. I think they should standardize this, personally. At any rate, it just seems to me like they could find a better time to do their testing than on an incredibly windy day when tornado season is not too far off.

One more thing of note: my Troy Trojans are playing their second game in the state basketball tournament, tonight at UD Arena (University of Dayton) vs. Stebbins High School. If they win that game (which they should), they'll play Sunday vs. Vandalia Butler, a team they've already beaten once this season. Also, Troy's bowling team, undefeated in its first year of existence, has qualified for the state tournament, and I think that's also happening this weekend. Their head coach happens to be someone I know from my own days of youth bowling, and a nice guy. Good luck to the Trojans this weekend.