stripethree

I can’t believe it’s the end of the month already. It went something like this…

Happy New Year // Watched the Red Wings beat the Coyotes // Ahhh crap, someone stole my credit card… // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball // Got a present for the R // New Autocross Tires! // Autocross in Phoenix // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball Tournament // TUS -> IAH -> DCA // Sherlock Holmes // Fantastic Lunch with the all the family in VA // Watched the Terps beat up Longwood // Downtown Silver Spring // RJ Bentley’s College Park, hooray Yuegling! // DCA -> IAH -> TUS // Tried to see how much tire I could stuff under the R32 // Autocross in Tucson // Old Chicago //More R32 parts… // New Season of Dodgeball! // Work Deadlines… // Work Annual Reviews // Hooray refunds from CC disputes! // House Hunting!

Whew.

I’ve been busy, the blog’s been neglected.

- March 12: Summer and I fly to Austin for a long weekend. It went something like this: steak, beer, bbq, beer, live music, beer, bbq, Mario Kart Audi R8, beer, more food, rodeo, beer. It was fantastic.
- March 17: Liver still probably recovering from Austin, 15lb. exhaust for R32 arrives and is installed. Along with new rear sway bushings, car is ready for San Diego.
- March 19: After work, drive 400 miles to San Diego with said light, and quite loud, exhaust.
- March 20: Pick up Anand at airport so he can also drive the car at the Tour. Change wheels at Qualcomm and take 4 practice runs. Realize rear tires are way too low and car is way too tail happy. Take 4 more practice runs after adding air.
- March 21: Day 1 of Solo National Tour, I am too nervous ad drive poorly – hit a cone, miss a shift, and sit 6th of 8 at the end of the day. Anand’s in 3rd, after not having autocross-ed in years and never having driven my car. We drive a bit north after autox and hit the go kart track. and In-n-Out.
- March 22: Day 2 of Solo National Tour. Our heat gets the worst of the rain storm and we attempt to keep the car pointing in the right direction in the wet. At the end of the day Anand’s in 4th, one spot out of trophies, and I finish 5th, .4 seconds behind him. I drop him off at the airport and head back to Tucson and during the drive back, realize my motor mounts are toast. Car makes it home but hasn’t been driven since.
- Week of March 23: work is nuts, big project winding down with lots of things to accomplish and, unfortunately, many things rapidly changing.
- March 27: Batting cages with co-workers to prepare for upcoming softball season.
- March 31: Game 1 of softball season. Crushing defeat, 11-1, game called for the mercy rule. It wasn’t pretty. I got two hits and scored the only run. Wanted to pass out after sprinting from first all the way to home.
- April 2: Game 2 of softball season. Crushing defeat again, 13-3, mercy rule called again, but later in the game. Opponents hit three home runs. I manage to turn a double play in one inning to help stop the bleeding.
- Sometime last week: work books trip for me back to the DC area over Easter weekend. They wanted to send me out on Sunday and back on Tuesday. No, thanks. Barter ensues. Out on Friday back on Tuesday. Done. No one else wants to do it, I was warned, we’ll see how it goes.
- Also sometime last week – after much discussion, it’s decided we will likely not be moving out of Tucson all that soon. Decide to at least look at buying a house here since the market is what it is. Start researching, talk to mortgage people at Bank of America, etc… we’ll see how and where this goes.
- Friday: R32 is drive-able but I shouldn’t move it, much less autox it. Offered 4 co-drives for Phoenix on the 5th – Mini Cooper S, Honda S2000, Mazda Miata, BMW 3-Series. How can I not sign up.
- Saturday: spend hours clearing out all the dead grass and weeds in the yard.
- Sunday: catch a ride to Phoenix and co-drive a Mini Cooper S. Forget that front drive will spin tires and understeer, but still do okay. Finish mid-pack in Street Tire 1. Fun car, and cool to drive something different and help impart (hopefully helpful) knowledge on another driver.
- Monday: second to last full day of development on the project I will be flying out on Friday to deliver. Two of three motor mounts arrive, R32 still sits. Get home in time to see the end of the national championship game.

So yeah, I’m kind of tired.

Did you feel that chill? That chill would be the start of another hard-hitting hockey season. Granted, it has already officially started with a handful of overseas bouts between Eastern Conference foes, but the real action starts tomorrow. Eight teams open their 2008-2009 seasons tomorrow, including my beloved and defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. The Wings open the season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs and will raise their 11th Stanley Cup Banner, and 4th in the last 11 seasons, to the rafters at the Joe. I still vow that I will see a Wings game at Joe Louis before I die, but this season, once again, I will settle for tickets to both games where the Wings will visit the Phoenix Coyotes. It appears that it will be another season of high expectations because in addition to losing almost no players from the ‘08-’09 championship team (Dallas Drake did retire), the Wings landed arguably the most coveted free agent on the market in Marian Hossa. Formerly of the Pittsburgh Penquins, the defending Eastern Conference champions who lost to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals, Hossa adds yet another talented piece to an already robust franchise. The only foreseeable question mark is at goaltender. Osgood is listed one the depth chart at #1 in front of future Hall of Famer Dominic Hasek, but will Osgood hold the line? Last season both net minders split time before Hasek faltering in the opening round playoff series again Nashville. Coach Mike Babcock made the decision to go to Osgood and luckily it paid off. Osgood, who has a reputation of sometimes cracking under the playoff pressure, went save for save and provided everything the Wings needed while breaking into the bank safe that was Marc-Andre Fluery in the finals. I can only hope that Babcock can continue to find the right mix to protect the net.

The word is, as it seems to be every year that the Wings are getting old. I think they’ve been getting old since somewhere around 1993. Steve Yzerman may be in the front office and Scottie Bowman may be managing for the Blackhawks, but Nicklas Lidstrom is still anchoring the defense, the second coming of the Grind Line (Draper-Maltby-McCarty) is upon us, and we still have those kids named Zetterburg and Datsyuk that seem to score at will. It’s going to be a great year, and I can only hope Versus carries enough of the games.

… but the roller coaster stays the same. Oh Maryland basketball, how you mystify me. There hasn’t always been a lot to cheer for this year with losses at home to Virginia Commonwealth, Boston College, American, and Ohio. American? Didn’t we chant ‘Metro is that way’ whilst beating them by 40+ back in Cole Field house? How did this happen? I still watch what games I get out here in the desert, I cheer, curse, throw things and try to look at the bright side of things, but I wasn’t all that thrilled before this weekend’s game at Chapel Hill. Prospects didn’t look good.

Then you go into the Dean Dome and knock off the previously undefeated, #1 ranked Tar Heels in a great game. Neither team played it’s absolute best, but it was a great game and Maryland knocked off the nation’s number 1 for the 7th time in Gary William’s tenure. All you idiots that were calling for his head, take your foot and shove it down your throat. No, one win does not a season make, but if you doubt Gary’s ability to get his kids to play, you’re blind. If you doubt what he can accomplish with what many of you call ‘less than the best’ in recruits, I’d like you to recall the how highly recruited the roster of our 2002 title team was, because they really weren’t. So please, shut up and support the damn team or just shut up. No, this doesn’t make the early seasons losses at home any less embarrassing, but it certainly, hopefully, wakes up a team that many had left for dead until next year.

I just hope the team that showed up today shows up again, and again, and again, and keeps getting better.

Oh, and c’mon UNC fans, I thought you were better than that, going and pulling a ‘Duke’ and weeping over your loss. Maybe you were following your coach’s lead? (Ouch, ok, cheap shot ) Who knows, but one loss does not your season make and we’ll probably see you all playing deep into March. So grab some Kleenex, chill out, and go root against those kids wearing darker blue down in Durham who’s fans were spotted on ESPN high-fiving Clemson faithful upon hearing of your loss. If there were ever a game where I wish both teams could lose, but I guess the ‘lesser of two evils’ rule applies.

Tonight’s Chipotle visit:
Me: Chicken Fajita please.
Distributor of Delicious Burritos: I’m sorry we’re out of faijita veggies.
Me: :looks around: :brain hemorrhages start: I’m sorry, what?
DoDB: We are out of the veggies, would you like some beans?
Me: :still struggling to comprehend this travesty: No… thanks…

I went through the rest of the order in a haze, amazingly still able to order the rest of my toppings and a drink. I left to take my dinner home, still perplexed. How does this happen? It was still a good meal, but, it was like a chocolate chip cookie with the chocolate chips. It made me sad.

Then watching the start of the Illinois/Duke game, the announcer rolls off this gem about 45 seconds into the game:
“And Illinois up 2-0, the largest lead of the game…”
Read that again, think about it, and read it one more time. Seriously, did he really just say that? I swear I’m not still disillusioned from the lack of peppers and onions in my burrito, he really did reel off that awesome stat.

And lastly, my younger cat seems to enjoy chewing on packing tape hanging off the many boxes I have already unpacked. It’s entertaining because it’s obvious he does not like the taste and/or the sticky aspect of the tape in his mouth, yet he sits there for minutes at a time, chew chew chew, awww crap what’s this stuff on my tongue, chew chew chew, awww crap. Weirdo.

Summer and I made the trek up to Glendale last night for the Red Wings – Coyotes game. Her first NHL game ever, and the first game I’ve been to in almost 2 years. Besides getting there late because I thought the game started later than it did, it was excellent. Even sitting in the last row, it was still great; there really just aren’t any bad seats at a hockey arena. I can’t wait to go back in late December when the Wings visit Phoenix again.

Who wants tacos?

Oh yeah, and go Wings! They scored 4 unanswered in the 2nd and 3rd periods to win 5-2.

Just ask Duke (twice) and Carolina.

Keep it up boys.

Unfortunately Maryland is not on TV. In fact, it’s the only Top 25 game going on right now that ESPN is not gamecasting. What gives?

This is the one sport I can watch a game (Memphis – Tennessee currently) that I have no vested interest in, but still find entertaining.

Oh.

Go Terps!

Friday night was awesome.

First time in probably four or five years I’ve been to a hockey game, way too long, and it was fantastic. The only other sporting event(s) that I have been to that are in the ballpark as far as atmosphere and how much the fans are into the game are Maryland basketball games. Only at a hockey game can you see a middle aged man dressed in suit and tie get up and bang on plexiglass like he wants a shot at someone on the ice (believe me he doesn’t). Just like only at a Maryland game can you hear scores of college students sing Rock and Roll Part 2 with ‘Hey, you suck!’ without any help from the band. It was so much fun, and it’s crazy that for the same price at a Wizards game we would have been in the nosebleed seats. Not like I was there to root for the Captials anyway, sorry, but ever since they traded one of my favorite players, Dino Ciccarelli, to Detriot in 1992, I’ve been a Wing’s fan. Even when we lost to the Sharks in the first round in ‘95. Even when Ciccarelli moved on, the Russian 5 was dismantled, and when Chris Osgood almost single-handedly ruined playoff series after playoff series. He also let in a weak goal as time expired in the 3rd on Friday, by the way. Anyway, it was also great to see Steve Yzerman play, probably for the last time. If you watch hockey and you don’t know who he is, then really, you don’t watch hockey.

Saturday was my first venture into holiday shopping (minus some online activity) and I took care of my major purchases. I need to get my ass in gear and finish the rest though. When did it get to be December 13th already? Good grief. Your guess is as good as mine when I can get to a mall again. This holiday season has not been one I’ve been able to slow down and enjoy as much as I’d like, which has made me grumpy at time (no, I’m NOT a Grinch, stop saying that). Holiday shopping was slightly stressful for the first time I can remember, but such is life. Oh well, the next couple of weekends will be fun. After the holiday shopping came home, hung out, watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. See this movie. Besides that fact that Angelina Jolie is just hot, there’s no other word. Hot. She can kick me to the ground with the ‘Who’s your Daddy now?’ line anytime, anyplace. The movie was very cool, good action, lots of subtle humor, and some great one-liners. It’s a little predictable, but who cares, still worth a watch. Then yesterday after work I went and got the car chipped. So no more ‘when are you gonna get chipped’ questions, it’s done. Forced induction may, unfortunately, be further off than I’d like, and I just could not pass up the deal Induktion was running on GIAC for the holidays. Car feels like it has another extra kick in the ass now, similar to the change when I added the intake, then later, the exhaust. I’d take and post some pictures of the ride, but right now she’s a very dirty girl.

As usual of late, watching Maryland basketball is a painstaking experience so the game is on mute and I will glance, or grimace, at the score every once in a while. The apartment is empty, left for me alone for a week and a half, and even thought I’m feeling a tad sick (maybe that pasta was in there longer than I thought), I’m happily relaxed for the first time in a while. As potentially nerve wrecking as a the first meeting with a girlfriend’s family can be, I found it to be quite the opposite. Maybe it was the experience, I mean, well, let’s just say that given past experience nothing really would have surprised me. Maybe it was that I was getting of town for a short stint, to somewhere new, where stresses and worries couldn’t possibly follow all the way to the end of I-66 and I-81. Or maybe it was the car ride to Tennesse, staying awake for the majority of an eleven-hour marathon in order to help keep a beautiful, smiling driver awake and on the road. Possibly. One might think an eleven-hour car ride with you and better half of this relatively young relationship would be potential for well, awkward silence in the very least. Again, I’m wrong, time and time again. Sure, it wasn’t a non-stop banter of everything we didn’t already know about one another, but we had to do something, I mean, someone forgot their CDs and we were left with nothing but a single disc for eleven-hours; one can only take so much John Mayer. So what happened, might you ask? It was so natural and comfortable that it was almost awkward in it’s comfort (thanks to me and my keen observations), if that makes any sense whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, if I am faced with the grim prospect of having to ride eleven-hours in a Cavalier again and I can only pick one person to come with me, well, I know who it will be. I know, I’m such a nerd. I managed to get lessons in politics, was given a motivation to stop being so intellectually lazy (as I called it) as I have of late, and I think I might have even unconsciously set some of those goals that I thought I was sorely in need of to provide me with some direction. I can only hope that the pilot on this little journey was able to get half as much out of this as I was.

It’s funny, because in many respects, our personalities are very different but they end up balancing so well. You realize it after the fact, through various, not insignificant but at the same time, not overly significant moments that make you smile inexplicably when you remember them.

—

Alright, enough distraction by this poor excuse for basketball. Maryland, you frustrate me with your underachievement.

Anyway, there must be a way to get back into the groove. I sit on this couch for way too much of my time, letting myself think just a little too long about the things that distress me. Money, school, work and the more minor things that in one way or another fall under one of those three realms. It is not that there is even a problem to solve, just that I am again, impatient, and seek too often for an immediate means to an end, even if that end is further off than even I can plan. More carefree, less careless. There’s a rather large difference in those two things to me, if not for you, well, to each his own. It’s acyclic, this little issue of mine, given that I get myself wound up over things, then get wound up about getting wound up. It can be stopped; it must be stopped; ok, now we’re getting slightly overdramatic. At least I can laugh at myself in all this swirl of insanity though right?

Well, I’m going to wrap this up for now, I’m getting distracted by instant message conversations, a crashing instant message application, and the ever increasing drama of this college basketball game. Dammit, and once again it’s way past my ideal bedtime.