Yawn and Soccer

I've been very lethargic recently. I don' t know if it's a side effect of the stomach issues I've been having (a whole giant story in itself) or just general disinterest, but I just don't feel like doing anything but sit around and yawn. I'm behind on school which is going to catch up to me this weekend. I'm having a hard time focusing at work. I think I need a couple of weeks off to gather everything together. Since that's not going to happen, I joined another soccer team. Logical, I know. Anyway, I'm now playing true indoor soccer on Tuesdays and indoor-outdoor soccer (outdoor rules, but played on a full field under a dome) on Fridays. Pretty remarkable for someone who's both lazy and not very good at soccer. I keep hoping that all of this soccer will help me get into shape, but the whole lethargic thing keeps me from working out on non-game days. Deanna does her best to get me up in the morning, but so far the ennui has won out.

Speaking of soccer, the US National team did a remarkable impression of my indoor team by playing terrible defense and lost to Mexico 2-1 on Sunday. The loss isn't critical, as no team really expects to escape from Mexico City with a point, but it is disappointing. The US has never won at Azteca Stadium and I really thought that this team had the best chance ever. The team must get back on track tonight when they play Guatemala in Birmingham. Three points tonight will get them back towards the top of the standings and in the position that they want to be in.

I'll do what I want

Since my life has been taken over by work and basketball, I've been lax on posting. Since this is better than anything I could come up with anyway, enjoy the Napoleon Dynamite soundboard.

Outbreak

I've noticed something very disturbing recently, there seems to be a rash of people wearing sweatpants/sweatshirt combos in public. I guess when you wear them together, it becomes sort of a poor-man's sweatsuit. The biggest issue I have is that most of these people wear gray pants with a different color gray shirt. No matter who you are or what world you live in, this doesn't look good. At first I thought that it may just be a small isolated outbreak, but I'm pretty sure we're in danger of an epidemic. Make sure you do everything you can to ensure that you're not personally affected.

Bob Evans

FYI for those of you planning a trip to Tampa, go ahead and skip Bob Evans for breakfast. No fried mush. Jerks.

Look who's back.... back again

So, where to start? The blur that was the Florida weekend has remained that way. I'm having a hard time pinning down specific events and stories to regale everyone with. Let me say this, however; I can't stand the state of Florida. First of all, no one knows how to drive. We saw something like 10 accidents while we were there including one that they had used the jaws of life to pry off the roof. I saw more fire trucks in three days than I do in six months here. I think part of the problem is that all of the major roads are three lanes each way with a ton of U-turn areas. You have to have the U-turn areas so that everyone can get to the infinite number of strip malls. I'm not sure that there are any free-standing establishments in the Tampa area. Everything seems to be tied in with a strip mall with a terrible name since all of the good ones were taken. Anyway, I can't imagine owning a condo or timeshare in Tampa. I'd rather retire in the cold.
Some thoughts:

• I was more than pleased with Frontier Airlines, especially the DirecTv service on board. Why hasn't everyone picked up on this? I'm not sure I can fly a non-TV airline again. I've now flown Frontier twice, but the first time was on one of their old planes where the signs in the bathroom were in English and Arabic. Odd. We're flying JetBlue in May to Boston and they also have DirecTv, so I'm interested to see how they compare. Thumbs up to Frontier, though.
• A bunch of guys riding around in a minivan looks pretty gay, but it is functional.
• If eight guys coordinate their swaying, you can get a minivan rocking pretty good.
• Spring training is less about the actual game and more about getting autographs and sitting in the sun. The biggest cheer all game came when they announced that it was 29 degrees and snowing in Boston.
• There's something great about heckling the right fielder, who may not even make the team, during spring training. Ready position 18.
• My body and 4 am don't really get along all that well anymore.

Overall, no injuries and no arrests. I'd say that spells success.

Catching up

Once again, laziness has won the day(s) and I've failed to post in a week. I warned you at the beginning that it was unlikely that I'd be able to actually keep up with this thing. Anyway, some things that are going on.....

Deanna and I took advantage of Denver Restaurant Week last Thursday and went to a cooking class at Mise en Place cooking school downtown. The class was focused on sauces and was taught by the executive chef of the Vesta Dipping Grill, one of our favorite eateries. Overall, we had a great time and some great food (including a salad with pumpkin vinaigrette, go figure). On Saturday, Deanna got a new sewing machine. We went to Chris' house for a BBQ followed by dinner at Pisco's with Brent and some live music provided by Fina Dupa (I used to work with the drummer) at Dazzle. On Sunday, Deanna won a ribbon for ninth place in her runner's club race. Whew.

The big spring training trip to Florida kicks off on Thursday, so posting will be predictably sparse. Then again, how is that different from when I'm in town? I'm sure there are loads of stories to come.

Zzzzz.....

I'm dragging around the office today due to a late (11:15 PM start) soccer game last night. The late games just wipe me out and make it hard to get anything done. I'm obviously getting older as I can no longer stay up until 1 AM and still be good to go the next morning.

The one thing that's exciting today is that the Spring Training games have started. For some reason, I am especially pumped up for the season to start this year. Yesterday, I got a Red Sox Nation bracelet (looks like the Lance Armstrong bracelets, except red) in the mail from Keeney. They only sold the bracelets in Boston, so it was nice of him to pick me up one and send it out. We're only a week away from our trip to Florida to see the Sox....