The Last Post of Winter

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and all I can say is "it's about time." I really don't mind the winter, but it does begin to wear on me towards the end. Since I haven't been writing much lately, here's a glimpse at what's been going on.

I'm looking forward to spring so I can get out on occasion and do some running. My gym membership expired a few months ago, and I have to be honest, I don't miss it. I haven't really done anything in the way of physical activity since then, though, and I'm feeling it. I'm ready to get back into it. I'm going to attempt the stadium stairs as soon as the weather is acceptable. That'll make me too damned sore to get out of bed for a day or two, but hopefully my body will get the message that I'm serious about this.

I've recently undertaken the task of going through my blog from the very beginning and applying labels to each post. It's been fun (and occasionally a little embarrassing) to go back and see some of the stuff I wrote three years ago when I started this. It's also really cool how clearly some minutiae can be recalled from reading what I've written. Getting through three years' worth of posts is going to be quite a project, but I've enjoyed it so far.

It has also brought back quite a few memories from my old job, considering that the majority of my writing was done there. Aside from a couple of people I worked with, I don't miss that job at all, but I do miss the opportunity it afforded me to blog every day. I also miss having an hour for lunch each day, which allowed me to get away from the office and do some reading.

One observation I've made in reading some of my old posts, however (and this is just my own opinion; feel free to correct me if you disagree), is that fewer posts has made for better posts, at least in terms of the quality of writing. Now I write (for the most part) when I really have something to say, rather than writing just to write each day.

Reading all of these old posts has really caused some reflection on how much I've changed and grown, both as a writer and as a person, and not just since I started the blog. Sometimes I think back to times in my past, and it's hard for me to believe how much different I was then. Then again, sprawled out last night into the wee hours of the morning, reading a Star Wars novel...it's nice to know that some things never change.

Heading into the Sweet Sixteen round, my NCAA tourney bracket is in decent shape. I only have eleven of the remaining sixteen, but seven of my Elite Eight are still alive, as are all of my Final Four. I've got Florida over Georgetown in the Finals, so we'll see how that shakes out.

Speaking of the tourney, I want to take a moment to congratulate the Wright State Raiders. I went to school at Wright State for a couple of years before coming to BGSU, so I was very happy to see them win the Horizon League this year. Even though they lost their first-round tourney game to Pitt, it was a heck of a run for them to even get into the field. Hopefully head coach Brad Brownell will stick around at WSU for a while to build the program even further, and maybe we'll even see a revival of the Gem City Jam. I'm not holding my breath for that, but it would be cool. The most fun I had at a Wright State game when I was there was when they hosted the University of Dayton.

While I'm on the topic of the NCAA tournament, I would be remiss if I didn't also congratulate the BGSU Falcons women's basketball team. They won their first-round game against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, and they're taking on the 2-seed Vanderbilt Commodores this evening. With their tournament win, they're the first team in MAC history to win 30 games in a season, and tonight they're aiming to be the first MAC team to advance into the Sweet Sixteen. Good luck tonight, ladies! The game is airing on ESPN2 at around 9:30, and I'll be watching.