I Remember The First Time (6)

"Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same..."

-Flavia Weedn-

I remember the first time that I read a quote and thought about a specific person...

I remember the first time that I heard something that didn't make any sense at all...  So last night I'm checking I.D.'s at the front door of Harper's, and this girl hands me her driver's license.  As I'm looking at the license, I hear the girl say, "that's realer than real..."  Hmmmm.....  I have to admit, this is one time that I couldn't bite my tongue.  Before I knew it, I was smiling, my eyes were rolling, and the words, "IT'S REALER THAN REAL???"..., yeah..., coming right out of my mouth...  :)

I remember the first time that I put one of my favorite jokes in my blog...  Now I'm going to tell this as a "blonde joke" since that's the way that I heard it (and because there are a couple of blondes on campus here at Texas State), but you can substitute brunettes or redheads or Aggies or whoever you'd like in here when you tell it...  ;)  Coincidentally (on purpose, not really a coincidence), this is the perfect joke for Bikini Hill...

Blonde #1:  (looking confused, yelling to her friend across the San Marcos River)  HOW DO I GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER?!

Blonde #2:  (in total disbelief)  YOU ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!

I remember the first time that I couldn't find the party (okay, if you count the time that I couldn't find Carlos and Nick's house in the November 14th, 2012 post, "Just Come In, We're Out Back," then this wouldn't be the first time)...  :)  A few weeks ago, 4 guys were walking up and down the Square looking through the windows of every bar wondering why none of them were busy at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night...  Yes, seriously...  :)

I remember the first time that I answered an easy question.  Not too long ago, a group of people approached me, pointed back to our "shot bar" (Slackers), and asked the question, "how do we get out of there?"  (Put it on a freakin TEE for me, right?!)...  ;)  Yes, of course I answered, "you ARE out of there..."

I remember the first time that I didn't understand a "tradition" (I'm not sure if 'tradition' is the word that I want, but it's the one that I'm going to use)...  I don't understand why opponents wish each other "good luck" before they compete in something (or after the chips go "all-in" during a poker hand).  Do you REALLY WANT the other person to win?  I often play chess at MSN while I eat (a 20-minute max. game), and recently I've done some..., "investigating"...  ;)  Here is one of those conversations:

Opponent:  "Good luck."

Me:  "Why are wishing me good luck - do you want me to win?"

Opponent:  "As a courtesy..."

Me:  "But do you want me to win?"

Opponent:  "Do you have a mental problem?"

BA HA HA HA...  :)

I remember the first time that a customer asked me a weird question (not the first time, obviously)...  As I grabbed a plastic cup from the bag for a customer's drink, I was asked, "are they clean?"  AGAIN, I was pulling the cup from a stack of cups that were still IN THE BAG...  GRRRRRRR....

I remember the first time that I was REPEATEDLY BOTHERED and ASKED and BEGGED and REMINDED and PESTERED and AGGRAVATED about mentioning someone here in the blog, even to the point where that person came into work on their day off and yelled, "BLOG ME, BLOG ME, BLOG ME!!!" as they walked by me.  Okay, here ya go...  Here's your blog mention........................., Chris.  ;)

I also want to wish a 'Happy Birthday' to my sweet friend Christie!  See, she didn't even ask Chris...  :P  Have a great day and I'll see ya tomorrow!

  

  

  

Eeekkkkk!!!! :D

"Your life is an occasion.  Rise to it..." -Suzanne Weyn-


Good afternoon everyone.  So today is my Las Vegas/poker/life day (yeah, I added life for today) here on Bikini Hill, and I woke up very motivated to do my entry, got someone's permission to mention them in the blog, ate..., AND..., WENT RIGHT BACK TO BED...  #fail  :)  Speaking of Las Vegas, we have had a very similar trait in the weather over the past few days here in San Marcos, America:  WINDY...  As I said earlier in the week, it was just too windy for me to go to Bikini Hill on Monday.  Yesterday I actually made it to Bikini Hill and studied some fantasy baseball in the time window that was bearable.  At some point after 2:00 p.m. yesterday the temperature broke the 70-degree mark and the wind speed dropped below 10 m.p.h. - this combination lasted for just under 2 hours by my estimation.  While we're on the subject, it's a good thing that I have twenty-five more days until my fantasy draft, because I have NO CLUE at this point (and remember, this is coming from the person who finished TENTH is his TEN TEAM league last year)...  Also speaking of Las Vegas, I would SO MOVE BACK (that's how the cool kids talk) and bet sports to my heart's delight at the end of the summer if I had the money, but I don't see that happening, so I still have to figure out how to make more money...  This brings me to the subject of motivation:  the motivation to lose weight; the motivation to figure out what I'm going to do; the motivation to rise to the occasion (see how I brought in the quote for today?)...  ;)

This brings us back to Bikini Hill yesterday...  During one of the breaks that I took in studying my fantasy baseball magazine, I checked my facebook.  Before you ask, "how hard can it be to study a fantasy baseball magazine?" - well..., I was actually copying names from the magazine onto a "cheat sheet" for my draft.  Hey, this tried and proven method got me tenth place in my.......  Yeah.......  ANYWAY, the status that I opened up to read as follows:  "Omg....  This has to be the happiest I've ever been!!!!!  Eeekkkkk!!!!  :D"  Now this was something positive - the facebook status came courtesy of Leanne, one of my former softball players, but although the status had three 'likes', it didn't explain why she was so happy.  It was only like ten minutes old, so I figured that I'd study some more, check back, and SURELY someone would ask her why she was so happy.  So I studied for about another twenty minutes, and then I checked my facebook again.  Now Leanne's status has over ten likes, and still, NO ONE has asked her why's she's the happiest she's EVER BEEN!!!  Goodness gracious people...  :)  At this point I like her status and ask, "Because???...  :)"  A minute later I LAUGH OUT LOUD on Bikini Hill (which didn't seem to bother the other FOUR people that were there, a.k.a., "the masses" - yeah, the weather was pretty pitiful) when Leanne replied, "I got a cheat meal today :)))))" (we'll get back to Leanne's cheat meal in a minute).  Then I read the statement that made my day.  Immediately afterward, Leanne had replied, "Plus everything in my life is finally falling together....  Blessed"  :)

It makes me extremely happy when things are going well for my former students/athletes, and Leanne's story ties into my theme of needing to get motivated.  Leanne has been lighting up facebook over the past few months with fitness photos, motivational quotes, her prepared meals for the week, etc..., which are all seemingly part of her quest to LITERALLY become Wonder Woman...  :)  Okay, I'm picking on Leanne here, but not by much...  I saw her dressed up as the superheroine for Halloween, and now Leanne is working out tirelessly and sticking to a strict diet to become the next bodybuilding and kickboxing wonder (if my understanding is correct - maybe world domination is in her plans???).  :)  Back to Leanne's "cheat meal" line, I laughed so readily because I've been in the same position on regimented diets, just SO HAPPY to actually eat something GOOD...

After reading everything that I just explained above, I came home and weighed in at 228 pounds (the same as last week).  I decided on the spot that I will be down to 215 pounds by April 1st, weighing myself everyday, no excuses, living on water the last week of March if I have to, down to 215 pounds (and NO, this is not an April Fools' joke)...  Punks...  :)  Once we get to April 1st, I'll decide where to go from there...

I hope that all of you are having success in accomplishing what you set out to do for 2013, and I'll see you again tomorrow.  Have a great day!

                            

Could You? (6)

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened..."  -Dr. Seuss-


Could you start us off with a cartoonish theme today Coach?  Good morning everyone.  So the "Harlem Shake" seems to be all the rage these days.  For those of you who don't have the same facebook friends that I do, this isn't a cool refreshing beverage that you can pick up at a Dairy Queen in New York City (ba dump, ching!).  The Harlem Shake is a dance that has been filmed in NUMEROUS locations with NUMEROUS people participating in the making of NUMEROUS videos...  I had honestly viewed ZERO of these videos..., well..., that is until yesterday, when one of the links that came across my computer was from a person that I knew was participating in the festivities.  I saw that the length of the video was only about thirty seconds, so I caved in and watched Ali and the Texas State volleyball team doing their rendition, complete with costumes and props...  :)  Then last night a former student shared an old 'Peanuts' photo on facebook with the caption:  "Harlem Shaking, before it was cool..."  This cartoon shows the various Peanuts' characters playing instruments and/or strutting their stuff in several different dance poses.  I can TRY to be clever on my facebook page and MAYBE get 4 likes on a status, but this cartoon has already drawn 11 likes (and another share) Thanks ladies...  :P  I would point to this as proof that the Harlem Shake has run its course, but I still hear 'Gangnam Style' being played at work from time to time, soooo...???  :)

Could you please make tying the knot this easy?  So my friend Jennifer FINALLY gave me another quote from her daughter that I could steal...  I use to steal the gems from this five-year-old to my facebook page, but that was also back when my facebook page had more views than Bikini Hill...  ;)  So this weekend the girl was being asked what kind of man she wanted to marry, and her response was, "I guess any man that asks me!!"  Ahhhhh, if only love was so simple...  :)

Could you tell us when you lost your innocence?  As I was getting my fantasy baseball entry ready for the upcoming season, I was reminded of the fact that it is now almost impossible for me to watch a televised sporting event in its entirety without having a wager on it or the event having some sort of fantasy sports implications...

Could you have some sort of destination in mind?  More than I would like to admit (for the sake of the people that I'm about to pick on), this situation has been occurring at work A LOT recently.  On the busier nights at work, I'm stationed at a place in a hallway that is pretty isolated.  Quite often I'll be approached by customers who have exited our second-level bar, and they'll ask the question, "what's up here?"  I'll respond with, "there's a bar on the roof..."  This happens as I wonder..., "WHERE WERE YOU GOING???"  Maybe people just have that Magellan gene..., or that Columbus instinct, to just..., GO EXPLORING when they're out partying???  :)

Could you give us an old cliche' Coach?  This is applicable to everyone, but aimed especially at you younger readers:  TIME FLIES people, it really does...  Figure out what you want to get out of life, and start doing things to accomplish your goals...  As I sit here typing this, the high school and college students of San Marcos (yes, America) are just less than two weeks away from experiencing spring break.  It does not seem possible that my sudden move back here from Las Vegas took place almost a full six months ago...

Could you PLEASE not compliment me on my piece of garbage watch?  I have worn digital watches for a long time, but the last time that one of my watches broke, the cheapest replacement happened to be one that had actual hands.  You have to understand, the watches that I buy are SO CHEAP that buying a new watch actually costs less than replacing a watch battery...  So, I'm disappointed with the watch that I bought because the hands are gold (not real), and the face of the watch is ALSO gold (again, not real).  In the light of the store, I did not realize how difficult it would be to read the time if the light wasn't perfect.  So, I'm already disappointed with this watch, but ALL THE TIME at work, I have customers COMPLIMENTING ME on my cheap, sorry, FIVE DOLLAR piece of trash...  "Oh, I like that watch!" - "Is that a Rolex?"  "ARE YOU ON DRUGS?" (I've been tempted, but I haven't responded with that)...  I know what you're thinking:  "Coach, they might be giving you a hard time on purpose, because the watch is SO AWFUL..."  I've considered this, but SO MANY PEOPLE have told me how much they like this stupid watch...

Could you stop whining, do your errands, and go enjoy Bikini Hill for a few hours today?  Well, the temperature is supposed to be 70 degrees, I've barely cracked the cover on my fantasy baseball magazine, and I am off today, so that's EXACTLY what I'm going to do.  Have a great day everyone, and I'll see you again tomorrow!  ;)






  








    

What's The Number For 911?

"I drink to make other people more interesting..." -Ernest Hemingway-


Good morning everyone.  Today is the start of my weekend, and normally a great opportunity to visit Bikini Hill, except for the 20-40 m.p.h. winds that are forecast...  I'll be saving the fantasy baseball magazine studying for tomorrow evidently...  I learned something interesting about my blog this weekend.  Facebook and twitter definitely influence who stops by here to visit.  When I "advertised" on Friday that my entry was about my upcoming fantasy baseball draft, I ended up with about a 30% decline in traffic over the weekend...  When the time comes, I guess that I'll have to combine the actual draft results with something that interests the rest of you...  ;)

How about drinking?  Let's talk about drinking, and how you can spot a person that's had a "911" shot for the first time...  A 911 is a combination of Goldschlager and Rumplemintz (at least at our three bars here in San Marcos, America)...  This conversation took place between two customers shortly after 1:00 a.m. a few mornings back:

Guy #1:  "That tasted like a combination of..., TOOTHPASTE..., and..., MOUTHWASH...
Guy #2:  "Yeah, it's AWESOME!!!"

I couldn't have said it better myself...  ;)



Okay, so I'm manning the workstation/checkpoint that I watch on the busier nights this past weekend when a group of three guys approaches me.  I'm watching as one of the guys just starts..., PUNCHING THE BAGS OF PLASTIC CUPS, like they're punching bags...  The following conversation ensued:

Me:  "Grow up..."
Rocky:  (as he's walking by me) "I'm twenty-one..."
Me:  (eyes following him the whole way, as I SNAP BACK)  "ACT LIKE IT..."

Now as the group of guys wanders around the corner and up the stairs, I've got something to think about - I did a pretty good job of keeping my cool since the guy didn't really hurt anything, but the group will have to pass by my on their way back down the stairs, and who knows how much I aggravated the guy...  Predictably, our business picked up as the night wore on, and I would have missed the guy when he passed by me, except for the fact that he said:

Rocky:  "I apologize for earlier..."
Me: (half-stunned, but taking it in stride)  "Thank you, have a good one..."

Sometimes you get through...  ;)



The rest of today's entry will also focus on work stories since I have some momentum going.  I want to give a shoutout to my new friend Sarah (my new favorite Ole Miss Rebel) for giving me a slice a pizza on two separate occasions this weekend as my shift came to a close.  You see people?  If you just GIVE ME FOOD, you can get into the blog...  ;)  I also want to give a shoutout to my friend Sam (who evidently took some grief back in the fall when I typed here that he FORCED ME to eat pizza while we were watching the World Series of Poker).  Sam has hooked me up with food on SEVERAL occasions, and he scored me a hot dog at the Texas State baseball game yesterday (a 4-2 loss in 10 innings).  We'll talk more about the baseball team later in the week, but another close game, and another close loss for the Bobcats...

Also in the spirit of being nice to me, we have this...  A small group was walking by my workstation a few nights ago when this conversation transpired:

Her:  "I saw you last night..."
Me:  (nonchalantly)  "I'm here on every busy night..."
Her:  "I LIKE IT!  It makes my night so much better..."

Awwwwww....  :)



I had a couple guys passing by me on their way out the other night when I got this:

Guy 1:  "You have a bunch of Communism going on up there?
Me:  (extremely confused) "I do???"  (I got no response)



"This is a weird way to get to a rooftop" was a comment that I heard last week, and I just wanted to answer with, "going up stairs???"  Nah, I didn't say it...  :)

"They need to give you a tip jar" is a comment that I've heard a few times during the past month (great idea).  I think I know a group of doorguys that would be all for this...  ;)

One of my new favorite things (it just seems to be happening more lately) is when the customers exiting/or coming around the corner approaching Slackers start breaking out their dance moves as soon as they hear the music that is playing...  :)

As I've mentioned here before, I do have to figure out what's next, but there are far worse places to be than San Marcos, America...  ;)  Have a great day everyone!





















  

Linger

"If you, if you could return, don't let it burn, don't let it fade, I'm sure I'm not being rude, but it's just your attitude, it's tearing me apart, it's ruining everything..."

(Skip ahead)

"Oh..., I thought the world of you, I thought nothing could go wrong, but I was wrong, I was wrong...  If you, if you could get by, trying not to lie, things wouldn't be so confused, and I wouldn't feel so used, but you always really knew, I just wanna be with you..."

-The Cranberries- (Linger)



Good morning everyone.  You see how I am?  One day I'm leading off with a corny joke that somebody made about the lead singer of a band, and the next day I'm posting some of that band's lyrics...

Speaking of leading off (YES..., HORRIBLE segue, I know, and WHEN did I decide to start using the word 'segue' so much?), the Major League Baseball season begins in about 37 days (not that anyone is counting).  I'm going to be fielding a team in the same fantasy baseball contest that I "competed in" (VERY LIBERAL USE of the phrase 'competed in') last year.  The draft for this 10-team league takes place exactly one month from tomorrow, and I've drawn the second overall pick in the "snake draft" (I'll be selecting 2nd, 19th, 22nd, 39th, etc...).  Last year I finished 10th out of 10 teams (that means LAST), and I was doing so badly (that means LAST) that I actually QUIT TRYING when I moved to Las Vegas (for one month, GRRRRRR...) at the end of July.  If you want to learn about my draft strategy and the unfortunate results that helped lead to that STELLAR last-place finish, go back to my March 26th, 2012 post:  'My 2012 Fantasy Baseball Draft/Strategy & Results' - catchy name, I know...

I plan to stick with the same basic draft strategy again for this season (at this time).  Last season I suffered through a lot of bad luck with injuries and through poor performances from some of my top picks.  I will again be posting the results of my draft for this season after the draft takes place.  If you do take a peek at this blog entry from last March, you'll see that my misguided expectations for the success of the Philadelphia Phillies were a key factor in my team's demise.  By the way, for the upcoming season, I named my team 'The View From Bikini Hill' (original, RIGHT?!), so if you happen to be one of the nine people on the planet who is competing against me AND you're reading this right now, then you have some very good insight into my draft strategy...  ;)

Have a great weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!

  

I Remember The First Time (5)

"I used to date the lead singer of The Cranberries, but she cheated on me.  Turns out she had some turkey on the side..." -Jarod Kintz-

I remember the first time that I gave you a quote like that first thing on a Thursday morning - sorry...  ;)

I remember the first time that I downloaded a bad update for facebook onto my Droid.  So for over a week I had been fighting a bad update that constantly kept forcing the facebook application on my Droid to close. I kept thinking about uninstalling and then reinstalling facebook, but I didn't do it (I was just hoping that facebook would soon come out with a better update).  If you find yourself in a similar predicament, just reinstall the application.  I haven't had a single problem with it since doing so last night...

I remember the first time that I noticed something.  I was watching an episode of 'The Dead Zone' a few days ago when the group hiking through the mountains approached a footbridge.  My immediate thought was, "anytime that you see a footbridge in a movie (or on a television show), it will always break..."  Sure enough, as the last person is crossing, and there go the creaky boards...  

I remember the first time that someone called me "Doug..."  I was a high school softball coach here in San Marcos, America about a 100 years ago (not really that long ago).  For some reason, one of the kids decided to tag me with the nickname Doug.  No, my name isn't Doug, and I'm not even sure if I know ANYONE who is named Doug.  This brings us to the other morning when I was at the grocery store here in town (yes, during the same shopping trip that I spotted the Seagrams 'Jamaican Me Happy' wine coolers)...  As I was entering the store, I was greeted with "Hey Doug" by one of the YOUNGER SISTERS of one of the kids who had played for our program.  I'm not going to call out the specific person who came up with this nickname, but yeah..., it stuck...  ;)

I remember the first time that somebody got in trouble outside of class.  So the other night at work, this guy is telling me that he just saw his professor at the bar.  The guy was dressed in a shirt and tie at the time, and he said that he was informed by his professor that she expects him to dress up for her class from now on.  Evidently he has been wearing muscle shirts in her classroom the whole semester...  :)

I remember the first time that I picked my college from a catalog.  I don't think that I've told you this story before...  Yeah, for as much as I praise my alma mater and San Marcos, America, I actually applied for school and was accepted here without ever having visited the campus or this college town.  I was a high school senior in northern New Hampshire, and I applied for admission to one school in the Granite State (that would be New Hampshire) and to three schools down here in Texas.  When I told my dad which schools had accepted me, he said that San Marcos (and Southwest Texas State University, at that time) was just half an hour up the road from San Antonio (yeah, I didn't even know that much at the time).  It's funny how things work out, isn't it???

I remember the first time that I didn't trust someone...  Do any of you trust guys that wear wool beanie hats indoors?  And let's be clear, I'm not talking about wool, "I'm robbing you and I want all of your money ski masks..."  I'm talking about it's over 70 degrees inside and it really looks like that thing would make your head itch wool hats...  

I remember the first time that a girl gave me her phone number.  Oh, and him, and him, and him, and that guy over there evidently...  :)  WHY do you think that I'd be interested in calling you if I see you with a different guy EVERYTIME that I see you at the bar???  Hmmmm....

Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!

    

    

      

      

Freia

"I am fond of pigs.  Dogs look up to us.  Cats look down on us.  Pigs treat us as equals..."
-Winston Churchill-


Good morning everyone.  This is Las Vegas/poker day, and we'll get to that (somewhat), but let me start off by telling you about my neighbor's cat.  My cat story will segue into several other tidbits that I have for you today if you give it a chance...  Freia is one of the most beautiful cats that I've ever seen (and yes Alyssa, Belle is one of the most beautiful cats that I've ever seen that I've never met)...  :)  Let me mention here that the word 'beautiful' is a word that I don't just throw around without meaning it.  Anyway, Freia is a beautiful cat, a mix of black and brown with some white (a persian cat maybe??? - I'm sorry, I'm trying to describe the hairstyle of a cat, which isn't my strong suit...) - gorgeous cat, nonetheless.  Freia is similar to the stereotype of cats mentioned in the Churchill quote above, except that I don't believe that Freia looks down on me, it's just that Freia is gonna do what Freia wants to do...  When Freia wants attention, she will approach you and nuzzle up to you, depending on where she wants you to pet her (which side of her head/neck basically).  There is a group of steps near my front door that I will sit on when I see Freia, and she will come up to me until she's had enough pampering (this usually lasts for a couple of minutes), and then she leaves.  Okay, maybe Freia does look down on me...  :)  Fast forward to this morning, when I was in a hurry to get to the campus bookstore, and Freia was right outside my front door as I exited.  I reached down and gave her some quick affection, petting her around her head, and she ducked away.  This is when I decided to leave.  "WHOA" is what you could imagine Freia thinking, as she took some quick little cat steps, semi-sprinting ahead of me, stopping at my side where I could give her some more attention.  I decided to just walk past her, which I've NEVER done, and this must have totally confused my beautiful little feline neighbor, as she proceeded to dart halfway down the first third of about twenty steps, and stopped RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the stairway.  I carefully stepped over and around Freia, and she again hustled down the steps, again stopping directly in my path.  I never broke stride, again evading her, and she followed me down the next small stairway and into the parking lot, where she gave up after I passed the first row of cars.  There is no point whatsoever to what you just read, except that it reminded me of the quote above, which I found yesterday when I was searching for yesterday's laughter quote.  I'm sure that if you're a poker player or a people (cat) watcher, you can spin some sort of behavioral analysis out of that.  If you happen to be a quote Nazi, I have seen that quote above in at least four different forms (all attributed to Churchill), and I apologize if I chose the incorrect version.

Speaking of pets, I did find a new betta.  I picked up my new fish on Monday and named him George.  Think about what holiday Monday was, and you can probably figure out why he's named George (think about it, think about it)...  :)  Speaking of Monday, AFTER I went into my bank, I realized what day it was, and then I wondered why the bank was even open.  Then I concluded that the former Presidents are the ones that are on all of the money, so...  Going back to my Valentine's Day (yes, I'm segueing all over the place today), around the time that we discussed Alyssa's cat and Melanie's dogs, I was asked if I had any pets.  "OH, we brought up a bad subject!" was the response that I got after I told about the demise of my most recent betta (I still feel bad about that).  Just so you know, George is in the same glass mug that my last betta resided in, but the mug is covered with the white plastic top from the container that George was sold in.  George is not going anywhere...  ;)

Okay, so I've ditched Freia and I take the bus to campus.  The most eventful thing that happens on the way to campus is that at one of the stops, the bus driver steps off the bus and takes the time to smoke a cigarette.  OKAY..., but I don't have a class that I'll be late for, so whatever...  We get to campus, I walk to the bookstore, they don't have what I want, so I return to the bus stop.  As I'm walking up to the bus, the bus driver decides it's a good time to pull away.  Fortunately, I have time to cut across and make it to the other side of the bus semi-circle.  UNFORTUNATELY, when I flag the bus driver down on the other side of this unlucky bus horseshoe, she shrugs her shoulders and keeps on going.  UGGHHH...  I already tweeted about this wonderful experience, asking my followers to retweet me if they've ever suffered through a similar circumstance, and so far I've had three retweets and my tweet has been favorited twice...  You want me to walk - I'm 100 YEARS OLD!!! (not really)

So late last night I FINALLY started catching up on some of my Las Vegas blog reading.  I am at that point again where I wouldn't mind being able to play poker and bet on sports (that's what reading will do for you), but I just don't think that the funds will be there to do that by August.  I did enjoy browsing through a few of my favorite blogs for the better part of an hour, but I naively believed that I would be able to enjoy a wine cooler while doing this.  I bought these wine coolers as a sleep aid (again kids, don't try this at home), and that's EXACTLY how they worked, as I became too tired to read any longer.  I had intended to subscribe to a poker magazine in the case that I don't move, but now I'm thinking that there is just SO MUCH on the internet (not to mention all of the catch-up reading that I have to do) that purchasing a subscription would be pointless.  Now I might start trying to figure out if there's possibly any way that I can return to the desert for some of the World Series of Poker this summer.  What to do, what to do, what to do???

As I leave you today, I have to mention something that's happened twice during the past week (well, three times if you count a photograph) that has brought a warm and fuzzy feeling to my heart.  After writing here last week about how I came to eventually meet my friend Jennifer, how I thought that the names Castelluccio and Verissimo at least warranted the CONSIDERATION of never getting married (why lose those names?), and after writing about finding the perfect Valentine's Day gifts..., well..., my little blog became a part of three facebook statuses (pasted onto two, plus a photograph of the bottle opener keychains on a third - again, IF that counts)...  Thank you - I know the best people...  ;)

I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!



  

              

Could You? (5)

"I love people who make me laugh.  I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh.  It cures a multitude of ills.  It's probably the most important thing in a person..."  -Audrey Hepburn-


Could you ask for sweeter friends?  The tie-in between the quote above (which you know that I strongly endorse - very recently, you read my "original" quote, "I like to make people laugh, and I love people who can make me laugh...") and this little paragraph is that I got to go out with two of my friends for Valentine's Day last night.  No, my calendar isn't broken, but I was working on Valentine's Day, so back to last night.  Last month I was informed that I was going to be the Valentine of two very smart, funny, and beautiful young ladies who are friends of mine, so I wasn't about to argue (I just overlooked the fact that they are Texans and Packers fans, respectively)...  ;)  Alyssa and Melanie have both managed to navigate their way to the pages of Bikini Hill before, probably because they both make me laugh and they have always been nice to me (if you overlook the fact that one of them once refused to give me a hug, and the other once brought up the prospect of me catching on fire)...  As always, I was completely innocent of ANY wrongdoing...  :)  Some of the highlights from last night:

.....  Both of my dates were carded.., TWICE.  They were carded once before they entered Bobcat Nation (which we'll talk about more later - a very nice new spot in San Marcos, America) and again when they ordered their dinner drinks.
.....  My dates greeted me with the gift of a 24-ounce Texas State Bobcats "tumbler" (means 'big cup') which I am drinking Dr. Pepper from at this very moment - AHHHHH...  Thank you  :)
.....  When I showed these ladies the soon-to-be framed and displayed Bobcat that was available for customers to sign when Bobcat Nation opened last week, both of my dates were still able to autograph it.  :)
.....  My favorite part of the night was arguably when I presented Alyssa and Melanie with the perfect Valentine's Day gifts.  When I gave my dates their NFL Bottle Opener Key Rings (Texans and Packers, respectively), they added them to their existing keys and keychains IMMEDIATELY.  AWWWWW...  :)
.....  It goes without saying that these two made me smile and laugh throughout the evening - thanks again for a great Valentine's Day ladies...


Could you tell me more about Bobcat Nation?  Yes, I could.  Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill is a new Bobcat-themed, high-end lounge that opened right behind the Texas State campus less than a week ago.  I'm not going to say that the food is good, but when they made their initial food order for the first week, they ran out of most of it in the first two days.  Okay, I lied.  I AM going to say that the food is good, and EVERY PERSON that I have talked to who has eaten there has told me the same thing.  The three of us all enjoyed our meals last night, and the atmosphere in this place is very nice, with lots and lots of Bobcat memorabilia and t.v. screens to view.

Could you tell us more about Valentines?  Yes, I could.  This came across my facebook wall from a former student this week:  "So when my son gets in the truck from school, he has this sticker (which said 'LOVE') from his "girlfriend"!  Apparently this little girl at school loves him!  Please tell me this can't be happening!"  This was on February 7th, and OF COURSE I offered my encouragement by adding, "Not even Valentine's Day yet - ba ha ha..." (because I'm sweet like that)...  ;)  To all of you out there who have kids, God bless you, and good luck Alyssa!  :)  Oh, and the age of the boy in question here - SEVEN years old...  :P

Could you tell us the best pick-up line that you heard at work last week?  Okay, I don't know if this is the best in terms of whether it will work or not, but it made me laugh.  As the night is coming to an end, I hear this guy tell this girl, "you're very blonde by the way, and I like that about you..."

Could you tell us about a time when someone took your advice?  Once upon a time there was a customer of ours at work named Angelica who always wore her hair up.  The ONE TIME that I saw her wearing her beautiful brunette hair down, I complimented her and told her how great it looked.  Since then, Angelica has showed off her lovely long hair almost every time that I have seen her, and she said that other people seem to like it also.  And they all lived happily ever after...  ;)

Could you tell us about one time that you made a customer laugh at work last week?  The temperature was in the 40's outside when one of our female customers came up the stairs a few nights ago and asked me, "is it cold up there?"  She was referring to the roof, and I smiled slyly and deadpanned, "it's outside..."  As she passed by me with her group, she asked her friends, "Did you hear what he said to me?  It's outside - ha ha ha" (genuine laughter)...  ;)

Could you tell us about best compliment that you received from a customer last week?  After I greeted one of our student customers who was showing off our place to her mom this past weekend, the girl tells her mother, "He's always so nice..."  My IMMEDIATE thought was, "She doesn't read my blog evidently..."  :)

Have a nice day and I'll see you again tomorrow!




    





    

Ten Thousand Angels

"Lead me not into temptation, Heaven help me to be strong, I can fight all that I'm feeling, But I can't do it alone, Help me break this spell that I'm under, Guide my feet and hold me tight, I need ten thousand angels watching over me tonight..."  -Mindy McCready- (Ten Thousand Angels)


Good afternoon everyone.  Yahoo! is reporting that Mindy McCready died in an apparent suicide last night at the age of 37.  Above I posted some of the lyrics from one of her songs that I became a fan of when it was released.  It's so sad when people feel isolated and that they have nowhere to turn for help or encouragement.  R.I.P Mindy...

Moving on to things that are far less important, somehow I lost a couple of pounds during the past week and am now tipping the scale at 228.  Expect this number to get lower and lower during the next few months (and hopefully I'll remember to report it every Monday)...  :)

A number that I am grateful to see rising higher and higher is the viewcount here on Bikini Hill.  That number did blow by the 25,000 mark this weekend as expected, and I wanted to express my gratitude to you once again for taking the time to stop by and visit.  Hopefully I can keep making you smile (and if you're not smiling, I have NO IDEA why you keep coming back).  I'm also optimistic that I can find other ways to make your visits worthwhile as I continue to work at this.

So I went to the grocery store this morning...  I stopped by to purchase a sleep aid (wine coolers - and don't laugh, they work), and a flavor that I have never noticed before caught my eye.  This flavor comes to you from the 'Seagrams Escapes' line.  I have told you on more than one occasion in the past that you can't make this stuff up, and I really wish that I was making this up.  'Jamaican Me Happy' - YES, that is the actual name of this product.  I'm sure that the citizens of Jamaica must be very proud...  "Jamaica Sues Seagrams, Inc." will be the next Yahoo! headline, I can just see it now...  Seeing the flavor reminded me of the old saying, "Jamaican Me Crazy..."  Putting this name to your flavor of wine coolers - BRILLIANT...  :P

So I went and watched the Texas State Bobcats play some baseball on Friday.  The alma mater now has a 1-2 record on the diamond after their opening weekend of play.  We posted a 3-2 loss (in 11 innings), a 2-0 victory, and a 10-9 defeat.  I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that we'll be involved in some close games this season.  One of the things that I enjoyed about going to Friday's game was seeing the potential that I have to be treated to outstanding seating during the spring thanks to the people that I know.  The owner of my workplace has season tickets, and the row of seats is right behind home plate (and yes, I mean row ONE).  He told me after the game that the unused tickets for upcoming games are always in the office...  :)  I have another friend who has the good fortune of lounging on a train car (yes, that's what I said) that is located just down the first base line...  I actually took in the first few innings of the game here on Friday.  If there was ever a train that I wanted to jump onto, I've found it...  ;)

Okay, so now we're in the middle innings and I'm watching the baseball game against Missouri State with my friend and his father.  First, we hear this group of hecklers behind us.  They're heckling our opponent, so it's okay - well, sort of...  As one of the batters for the Bears steps to the plate, this guy behind us SCREAMS, "TOPEKA, KANSAS SUCKS!!!"  The best part is when he immediately says to his friend right after, "that's where he's from..."  This is when I bust out laughing...  :)  If you have to explain the joke to your buddy, you really shouldn't be screaming it out...  Like the guy is going to be from... OMAHA after he yells that, right???  Then my friend brings up a conversation that he had with his dad (I really have to make sure that every Astros fan that I know gets to hear this one)...  Chad recently reminded his father that the Astros are switching leagues this season, to which his dad replied, "are they going to Triple-A?..."  :)

On that note I'll wish you a great President's Day and I'll see you again tomorrow!  Oh, and Happy Birthday Whitney and Elijah!  ;)
                  

Milestones

"I like the night.  Without the dark, we'd never see the stars..." -Stephenie Meyer-


Good morning everyone.  I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for stopping by 'Bikini Hill' and checking out my little blog.  It looks like the viewcount here is going to surpass the 25,000 mark sometime later today or early tomorrow.  I also wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has personally contributed something to these posts and to those who have let me share their stories here.  I didn't have any quantifiable expectations when this blog was born, but I wouldn't be writing if no one was following along...

The poker part of today's post is the first MSN "play money" game that I have played in since I got back from Las Vegas - this happened a couple of nights ago.  Since I returned home from the desert in December, I haven't really had the motivation to play at all since I knew that I wouldn't be playing for real money for some time...  Unfortunately, this play money game was a reminder of why it's very difficult to consistently make money playing poker.  And before anybody reads this and thinks that the play made by my opponent wouldn't have occurred if the stakes were actually real, I've seen PLENTY of questionable plays when the stakes were real.  The MSN format is basically an eight person tournament.  The top three players get "paid" - actually, 3rd place gets their 100 bucks back, while 2nd gets 200, and 1st gets 500.  Ratings obviously rise and fall based on where you place.  I was in the final four players, and in this hand I was up against a player that I had seen bluff before.  I flopped a pair and he made a huge overbet on the flop, one that was enough to put me all-in.  I called, he had a gutshot straight draw, and he hit it...  Again, the stakes were imaginary, so I'm not stressing over the outcome.  However, for those people out there who want to dismiss that luck plays a part in poker, I would again direct you to the highlights of the last few Main Events of the World Series of Poker...  You can make the argument that poker is a skill game all day (and you can definitely get better at the game), but don't try telling me that luck doesn't play a part in it.  Skill doesn't "run bad" in my opinion...  ;)

Speaking of poker (and before I forget), I wanted to say congratulations to my friend Jennifer and her husband Kristopher on the recent addition to their family.  How I met Jennifer...  :)  I was playing poker at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma (in a very cozy poker room that has only 46 tables) when this very attractive chip runner approached my table (if you're keeping score at home, the phrase "very attractive chip runner" was NEVER fathomed when I held the same position at the Rio during the 2005 World Series of Poker)...  :)  Anyway, as Jennifer got closer, my eyes were right there with her (DON'T EVEN ASK ME what cards were on the board), and as she reached me, she turned her head, made eye contact with me, and just SMILED...  I returned Jennifer's smile as the word BUSTED reverberated throughout my head...  :)  Thankfully, Jennifer became one of my facebook friends, as I've stolen quotes from her daughter SEVERAL times, and you would probably see more of them here in the blog if she would resume posting them on a more consistent basis (HINT, HINT)...  Anyway, congratulations again on the birth of your son!  ;)

It's baseball season!!  Okay, at least my alma mater is returning to the diamond today...  I plan on being there for the first pitch is less than two hours as the Texas State Bobcats host Missouri State at 2:00 p.m.  My alma mater has fielded a very talented baseball team in the recent past, getting into the Top 25 and beating quality opponents on a regular basis.  This season promises to be very interesting as we compete in the Western Athletic Conference for our first and final season (we're moving to the Sun Belt Conference next year for those of you who missed it).  The forecast high today for San Marcos, America is a very comfortable 64 degrees (yes, you can be jealous)...  :)  I am fairly confident that sometime next week you will be reading a report of some sort on this game...

I'm sorry to cut this short today, but I have a baseball game to get ready for...  ;)  Have a great weekend, and thanks again for helping 'Bikini Hill' to reach 25,000 views!





      

  

I Remember The First Time (4)

"Promise me you'll always remember:  You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think..." -A.A. Milne-


I remember the first time that someone "double-questioned" me...  This is the first of a handful of things that I'm reporting to you from 'Mardi On The Square IV':  A guy approached me sometime around 11:00 p.m. and asked me if he could go back up to the Veranda (our rooftop bar) if he went and got some Jimmy John's (a sandwich) to bring back.  I told him that he could.  He asked, "you sure?..."  I REALLY WANTED to reply, "no, I was joking, you can't bring any food up there..."  Do you remember not too long ago when the guy asked me, "do you promise?" after I told him that the walk to Jimmy John's was not far?...  :)  By the way, I also get this when I tell some of our customers that they have to pour their drinks into plastic cups because glass is not allowed upstairs.  "Really?" and "Seriously?" are the two most popular questions...  :)

I remember the first time that I told you a related story...  Okay, so on Fat Tuesday (Mardi On The Square IV), we were serving our customer's drinks in souvenir purple plastic cups that they could keep and take home with them.  I still manned my normal workstation to ensure that our beer-drinking customers transferred their beverages from bottles into our standard clear twelve-ounce plastic cups, and also to keep a headcount so that the Veranda didn't exceed capacity (200 people).  The Veranda reached 200 customers at 11:20 p.m., at which time I had to start a line to go upstairs (yes, just in case you're keeping score at home)...  So two guys walk up to me, I explain that glass can't go upstairs (the guy in front has a bottle of beer), and then the second guy, showing me his purple plastic cup, tells me, "this isn't glass..."  I look at him and his cup before deadpanning, "I know..."  He THEN PROCEEDS to transfer his drink from his purple plastic cup into one of our clear cups as I watch in PURE ASTONISHMENT...  "You know that you didn't have to do that?" I asked him, still in total amazement...  It was at this point that he realized that his friend had a bottle of beer.  "Oh" was his sheepish reply - "I thought that he had the same thing..."  :)

I remember the first time that I did something SPECIFICALLY because someone asked me not to do it...  So this customer has passed me SEVERAL TIMES on Tuesday night, going up the stairs, then down the stairs..., then UP the stairs, then DOWN the stairs (this happens on occasion).  At some point, this girl says, "Don't judge me (see Adam, it's catching on) by the amount of times I'm walking back and forth - I'm very energetic..."  Well, OF COURSE I'm going to judge you now...  ;)

I remember the first time that I was confused...  Another weird thing that happened a few times on Tuesday night with these customers carrying their souvenir purple plastic cups was that random groups of them would DUMP THE ICE/DRINKS from the cups into the trash can (unsolicited, of course) before continuing up or down the stairs, like they could have the drink in their cups in one bar, but couldn't bring it to another???  In case you're wondering, I had no comment for this, and I just smiled...  :)

I remember the first time that someone tried to swindle me...  Okay, so I manned my workstation on Tuesday night not wearing any beads.  Not even an hour in, a nice lady (probably around 100 years old, if you really believe that I'm 100 that is) stopped and did a "double take" as she was walking past me before she gave me a nice strand of her big pinkish (they weren't pink, but pinkish - SUE ME...) beads.  I was given beads by a few more generous young ladies before the following occurred:  As a group of girls was leaving (and they were a good ten yards by me at this point), one of them asked me if I wanted a set of her beads (and she had a good neckful going).  I said sure as I walked toward her.  As I reached her, she grabbed the pinkish strand of beads that I was wearing and asked if she could have them.  I replied that the person who gave them to me was still upstairs and would be mad if she came back down and I wasn't wearing them.  At this point the group walks away, without the girl in question giving me any of her beads.  Tricky, tricky, tricky...  :P

I remember the first time that I felt like I was 100 years old...  (this could also be subtitled "I remember the first time I wondered if someone had EVER watched t.v. or been to a movie theater...")...  This happened a few weeks ago at work.  A group of guys and girls was walking by me having a conversation (I'm not sure what it was about) when a girl in the group suddenly EXCLAIMS, "SYLVESTER STALLONE?!  I don't even know who that is!..."  Hmmmm...  Really..., you don't know who ROCKY is?...  Yeah, wish I would have said it, but I didn't...  :)

I remember the first time that I heard a really cool name...  Okay, the judges have made their decision, and there is a tie for the official 'Bikini Hill Name of the Month.'  The winners are Castelluccio and Verissimo...  I mean, if you're a girl, don't you have to at least CONSIDER never getting married, just so that you can keep one of these last names???  And yes, I DID have to look back and make sure that I was spelling BOTH NAMES right...  :P

Have a SAFE and HAPPY Valentine's Day and I'll see you again tomorrow!






      

Moaning Like A Ghost

"But I'm sorry now..., and I don't know how..., to get it back..., to good..."
-Matchbox Twenty- (Back To Good)



Good evening everyone.  In the past few hours I suddenly went from being sleepy and unmotivated to write to a place where I feel like I could easily fill this blog for days...  Let's begin with me waking up a few hours ago.  I was up for a few minutes when I noticed something strange-looking on my bedroom floor.  Then I looked into the glass mug where my betta lives..., lived...  I was immediately FURIOUS with myself...  For the second time in a month, I've had a betta jump out of this mug to its death.  "Coach, don't put so much water in the mug..."  Yeah..., thanks...  Both times this has happened after I've changed the water in the mug, and obviously there isn't as much water in the mug this time as there was the last time that this happened.  Bettas have always been a favorite pet of mine because they're easy to take care of.  I get along well with most cats, dogs, people, etc..., but I've always had such a busy schedule that I wouldn't be able to adequately care for a cat or a dog (or a betta evidently)...  I hate that I put the betta in a position where it could do harm to itself - the betta obviously didn't know any better.  I hate when I do this with people too...

So now that my day has begun, let's cruise around San Marcos, America to get some errands done.  My first stop is to pay my electric bill.  There's no problem paying this bill, but then I have to make the short trip down the street to Time Warner...  Oh, Time Warner..., it's been a few months since I've had issues with you..., September I believe it was...  I walk up to the clerk to pay my internet and cable bill, and I'm greeted with, "it will cost you two dollars to pay your bill with me, or you can walk over to that kiosk..."  I've driven to Time Warner, saving them the hassle and expense of processing a mailed check, and now I get to use the kiosk - LOVELY...  Now my anger shifts from myself to Time Warner (actually, I'm still upset with myself)...  OF COURSE the kiosk does not recognize my phone number, I do not have my 16-digit account number memorized, nor do I have the copy of my bill with me.  So back up to the counter I go, the clerk looks up my account (by my phone number), and is surprised that the kiosk didn't recognize the number.  Then the clerk tells me to go back to the kiosk as she relays from 16-digit account number to me from across the lobby (I know)...  I go through the process of paying my bill, and then immediately return to the counter so that I can get a number to SOMEBODY'S PHONE where I can express my sincere gratitude and pleasure with this new system of payment, telling the clerks that it's pretty sweet that I'm directed to a kiosk after I've already driven to their location (there is probably some sarcasm in this sentence)...  At this point, BOTH CLERKS shed their poker faces and tell me that they HATE this new system.  They bring up the good point of the elderly customers on fixed incomes who will have problems using this system being whacked with the extra two bucks a month.  As I was leaving the lobby, I wisecracked (me, wisecrack?..., NAH...) that since Time Warner had finally added the NFL Network, they evidently had to find a new way to aggravate their customers...

My last stop after paying my phone bill (which again, has always been by kiosk, which makes me wonder why I haven't been upset with Verizon... -  ANYWAY...) was at the library to see if the tax booklets and forms were in.  The 1040, 1040A, and 1040 EZ forms ARE IN, but only the 1040 EZ booklets are in (you're welcome San Marcos, America).

Before I woke up, my intention was to write almost a complete entry about last night's 'Mardi On The Square IV.'  (Oh, by the way, you will not be reading a poker or Las Vegas-related entry today, but on Friday you will see a combination of the two...).  After venting over the course of the last few paragraphs, I've decided that I will dedicate some of tomorrow's space to what took place at work last night, but I do have a shoutout for one of my twitter followers and blog readers in the next paragraph.

This is one of those predictions that I didn't bother to type into the blog, and it happened sooner than I expected honestly.  My brilliant brain (I'm still upset with myself about my betta) figured that with my increased twitter following, and with the newfound Bobcat readership that my blog has been receiving, I was bound to have a total stranger come up to me at work sometime toward the end of February (definitely by spring break) to let me know that they follow my blog.  Low and behold, last night as one of our customers walked by me, she stated, "I follow you on twitter."  I immediately asked her if she read my blog.  She said that she did as she kept walking, and in my head I was like, "WHOA..., WHOA!!!"  (This would be my only other reader except for you of course)...  ;)  Well, I found out what her name is, and Jamie, welcome to Bikini Hill!  :)

Okay, so when I get home from the library, I look at my facebook, where I see this status:  "Was just escorted out of the zoo..." -Alyssa- (and her two friends)  OH, I have the feeling that this would make a REALLY GOOD STORY for the blog...  :P

In addition to making Jamie famous, I have one more little story to pass along from last night.  I've told you that our pathway to the Veranda has been referred to as maze, a labyrinth, Dexter's Laboratory, etc...  WELL..., last night, a couple of older gentlemen walked by me (and this was very early in the night, i.e., no one even had the time to drink yet), when one of the gentlemen (and I'm talking older than me here) starts... MOANING LIKE A GHOST...  Hmmmm...  :)  God bless San Marcos, America...

Now that Texas State is Division I in every sport, the Bobcats are officially my favorite team in every NCAA sport, but I have been a longtime North Carolina basketball fan (even before Michael Jordan wore the jersey - see, I told you that I'm 100 years old...).  ;)  I'm mentioning this because the Tar Heels will be on t.v. tonight at 2nd-ranked Duke.  You automatically hate Duke if you like North Carolina, and who can blame you?  The Duke players stay for four years, they graduate..., WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!  ;)  Anyway, that basketball game will be on tonight if you have the inclination to watch rivalries and such...

I hope that you have a great day and I will see you again tomorrow!
  



          

    

Could You? (4)

Could you be more intrigued about what is going to happen at work tonight, and could they stop naming holidays after me???  Happy 'Fat Tuesday' everyone!  As I mentioned here yesterday, 'Mardi On The Square' is taking place tonight in downtown San Marcos, America.  Tuesday is not normally a busy night on the Square, but from everything that I've heard, this should be a very busy night.  If you're over 21 and you're headed up to the Veranda tonight, be sure to stop by and say hi...  :)

Could you be more sweet?  A couple of nights ago I went to the "big H.E.B." here in San Marcos.  Yes, this is the same store that has the speakers with the animal sounds that don't scare away the blackbirds.  One of my former students works there and was out on the main floor adjusting one of the displays when I passed by and said hello.  This is a pretty shy person who probably wouldn't want her name mentioned in the blog (so I won't), and I was surprised to see her at the register when I was ready to check out.  Remember, I usually do my shopping at about 4 a.m., and if it takes me 5 minutes to grab what I need, that's a long time...  Anyway, the total came out to $9.11, and I handed my former student 10 dollars since I didn't have any change on me.  As I put my wallet away, I did happen to see her reach down and grab a penny, but when she returned a dollar bill to me, I realized that she must have also grabbed a dime.  I don't know if being nice to people is the moral of this story, or even if there is a moral, but WHEN does a cashier spot you ELEVEN cents?  #winning  :P

Could you make me laugh and possibly win the award for being the "most creative" complainer to walk by me?  "I like to make people laugh, and I LOVE people who can make me laugh" is one of my original quotes that I don't think has made the blog until now.  I have on several occasions whined here about people calling the pathway to the Veranda a MAZE, but last week one of our customers (who is evidently pursuing a Master's Degree or a Doctorate) stated, "this is like a labyrynth!"  HOW can you not like that?  :)

Could you not run "Lobsterfest" commercials at 8:00 in the morning when I'm typing my blog entry and I already need to lose weight???

Could you PLEASE finish the construction on Sessom Drive behind the Texas State University campus?  The good news is that the construction across the river from Bikini Hill is now finished, but the..., LABYRINTH (ha ha ha) that Sessom Drive has become is now so bad that I drive around the other side of campus during the day to avoid the traffic headache...

Could you be my 2,000th twitter follower or my 25,000th viewer here on Bikini Hill?  The numbers are currently at 1,985 and 24,458 if you're keeping score at home (which I'm SURE you are).  Pfffttt...

Could you give me a review on Five Guys Burgers & Fries?  This popular chain has now opened a location here in San Marcos, America (at the intersection of Highway 80 and I-35), and the limited feedback that I have received so far is that the food is really good.  I'm saying that I've heard that it TASTES GOOD, not that it's good for you...  This and In-N-Out Burger are two of the fast food chains that I have not treated myself to as of yet...

Could you not tease me?  At work this weekend I caught a glimpse of the Notre Dame/Louisville basketball game, a contest in which the Irish outlasted the Cardinals in..., wait for it..., FIVE OVERTIMES!  Yeah, it might be time to start watching some basketball...  :)

Could you please bring a forecast home for me?  The weather forecast for San Marcos, America this Friday (when I plan on watching the Bobcat baseball team host Missouri State) is 70 degrees and sunny.  PLEASE be right...  :)

I hope that all of you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!














  

  

Mardi On The Square

"If I ever lose my faith in you, there'd be nothing left for me to do..."  -Sting-


Good afternoon everyone.  For a late afternoon posting, I could give you the same old song and dance (I'm doing chores, I slept in, blah, blah, blah...) (all of which is true) (this is the use of the lesser-known "triple parentheses by the way), but instead I'll just give you my Monday ramble.

My weight is now at 230 pounds.  I have been forgetting to update you on this for the past..., I'm not sure how many Mondays (you can have your statisticians look it up in my last few Monday posts if you're curious), but I have gained back a little bit of weight, which I'll blame on the dreary weather, the fact that my sleep is more out of whack than normal, and the completely predictable outcome, which is me finding the soda cans again (as I take a sip of this ICE-COLD Dr. Pepper)...  "Don't Judge Me" (in the words of the immortal Adam Martinez)...  ;)

After you have just read two of the worst paragraphs in the history of my blog (and that's saying something - wink, wink), let me share something that I found yesterday.  As I was laying in bed not really watching t.v., I decided to search my blog on my Droid (yes, I hadn't reached this pinnacle of boredom previously).  In the list of matches that came up, I found this, which comes to us from the 'Professional Roads Blog' (August 22nd, 2012 entry):

  "The View From Bikini Hill:  Good long blog posts.  If there's a detail he leaves out, it would be tough to find..."

Based on the list of blogs that this GEM of a statement was mentioned with, I am SURE that this writer was referring to my poker entries and the way that I break down hands, but just the same, I LOVED the review...  :)


WHAT is 'Mardi On The Square' you ask?  Mardi On The Square is the reason that I will be taking life really easy today...  Tomorrow night in San Marcos, America, the Square will be hosting this event for the fourth time.  From all accounts that I have heard, this is going to be a really good night to be out and about, and my workplace is one of FIVE bars on the Square (DUH) that is playing host to this event.  Yes, beads will be handed out.  The things that people will do for beads (well, I'm sure that you've heard)...  Well, the beads being advertised will be handed out for free starting at 10:00 p.m., and if it's expected to be a busy night, you KNOW that I'm working, so yeah, I'm just kicking back and entering blog posts at 4:00 p.m. CST today...  :P  And YES, you probably will be hearing more about this event later in the week, after it has taken place...  :)

This promises to be a very busy week, as Thursday is Valentine's Day (you forgot, didn't you?)...  :)  Somehow I have TWO Valentines this year (and NO, don't think negative things about me - this isn't a case of... I'm taking Girl 1 out at 7:00 and meeting Girl 2 at 9:30 - it's actually 8:00 and 10:30 - I'm KIDDING...).  This is a case of Girl 1 coming up to me and saying, "Coach, we're going to be your Valentines this year" (okay, "year" means a couple of hours, and she may not have actually said the word "year")...  ANYWAY, if Girls 1 and 2 don't mind, you'll hear more about this later, as they're sure to TREASURE the gifts that I selected for them (probably???, maybe???)...  Of course, I have to work on Thursday, so there's THAT...  :P


Valentine's Day will be followed up by the home opener for the Texas State baseball team on Friday against Missouri State, a game that I have plans to attend.  Eat 'Em Up, Cats!


A quick work story here...  As I've stated here recently, several of our student-customers have been introducing themselves to me during the spring semester as a result of having seen me throughout the fall.  Now I REALLY have to work on remembering people's names, especially meeting SO MANY strangers, but I'm picking on others in this paragraph...  ;)  In the first group (guys and a gal), the girl in the group pipes up..., "I met you last week - your name is..., CHUCK, right?"  Coach..., Chuck..., pretty close...  :)  In the second group, which consisted of three girls, the group admitted to me that they couldn't remember my name, but after I told them, one of them exclaimed, "Yeah, I knew it was something like that..., like 'Scout' or something..."  Of course they continued to call me Scout every time that they saw me on Saturday night, and I'm sure that is going to be their nickname for me for the rest of eternity...  :)

Okay, if you've noticed the pageview counter at the top right of the page, you may have figured out that sometime this week my little blog is going to surpass the 25,000 mark.  I wish that I had a way of tracking who the 25,000th viewer is so that I could give out a prize (and then you KNOW that people would be clicking on the page like crazy as the number got close)...  :)  Well, I'm at as much of a loss as you are as to why people aren't doing better things with their time, but to all of you who are reading this right now, and to everyone who has contributed to Bikini Hill, letting me mention them here and use their stories, I really do appreciate it...  Thank you...

I hope that all of you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!


    

Coming Attractions

"Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God..."  -Karl Barth-


Good afternoon everyone.  I know that you're used to seeing a lot of sports chatter here on Fridays (and you will), but today would be classified as more of a sports recap and preview day, if you will...  In case you slept through the fall (and last weekend), you know that the football season is now over...  :(  Accordingly, this is going to be the first time in over five months that I have not posted football predictions here on a Friday - again, :( ...

Now it's time for basketball season.  If you're new to the blog, at this point in my life I really don't begin watching basketball until football is over.  I honestly haven't sat down and watched a full basketball game all season.  Oh, and just to be clear, it's college basketball season for me right now, and then after the national championship game I'll start worrying about the NBA...  Watching a few minutes of 'Sportscenter' a little while ago, I did learn that the top spot in the nation has been a revolving door this season, and a new team is expected to the top the polls next week after Illinois scored a last-second (literally, there was one second left on the clock when the ball was inbounded) basket last night to defeat Indiana.  By next Friday I should be caught up enough on the college hoops season to say something intelligent (we'll see) about it...  ;)

I failed to mention this in my earlier posts this week, but on Monday (yes, the DAY AFTER the Super Bowl) I did pick up my yearly fantasy baseball magazine at Walmart...  For those of you who were following my blog heading into the baseball season last year, YES, I AM a glutton for punishment...  For those of you who were not reading my words of wisdom last spring, you're going to be in for MANY CHUCKLES when I recap my fantasy baseball draft strategy and predictions for the 2012 Major League Baseball season...  :(  If you're in need of a good laugh today and you just can't wait, go back into the archives and read '2012 Major League Baseball Regular Season' (3/23/12) and 'My 2012 Fantasy Baseball Draft/Strategy & Results' (3/26/12).  Just a little proof that I'm not always right and that sometimes I do make mistakes (and sometimes I'm redundant too)...  ;)  And the magazine that I like to purchase for the baseball season is the Athlon Sports preview issue, in case you're looking for a recommendation...  :)

Short and sweet today my friends, but I hope that you have a great weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!

I Remember The First Time (3)

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end..."  -Semisonic- (Closing Time)


I remember the first time I should have quoted song lyrics yesterday...  Above would have been the ideal lyrics for yesterday's blog entry, eh?...  Well, I didn't hear this song again until I worked last night (YES..., at closing time)...

I remember the first time that I was proud of the kids on 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'One Tree Hill'...  I was watching some of these "classics?" again this morning, and I think that it's awesome that they all went on to get good jobs..., you know..., since they were always studying so much during every episode...

I remember the first time that the birds weren't scared...  Okay, so we have a grocery store here in San Marcos, America that rhymes with H.E.B. (and I'm referencing the "big H.E.B." and not the "small H.E.B." for those of you who are familiar with this college town).  Recently I became aware that I was hearing... animal sounds?? when I approached the store at 4 a.m. (a normal time for me to be shopping after leaving work).  Looking up at the face of the store, I spotted speakers that are scattered across the length of the storefront, and I assumed that the suspected animal sounds?? that I thought I was hearing were coming from said speakers.  At this point let me interject that there are big blackbirds SLEEPING...  ALL OVER THE PLACE... (in trees, on top of the H.E.B., on top of security cameras mounted NEAR THE SPEAKERS)...  During my most recent visit, I decided to ask the cashier...

Me:  "Hey, are y'all playing animal sounds from the speakers out front because of the birds?..."
Cashier:  (I was so proud of the cashier for giving me the most nonchalant expression with her nonchalant answer)  "Yeah, but they aren't scared..."

I should also add that this isn't really the first time that the birds weren't scared.  A few weeks ago, when I noticed all of the birds returning to the H.E.B. parking lot here, I pulled up into a space RIGHT UNDER A TREE where a bunch of them were sleeping, and NOT ONE BIRD left the tree as I pulled up, parked, exited my vehicle (which obviously involved closing my door) - pretty impressive...


I remember the first time thinking that you're going to be telling people you know that I'm writing about the BIRDS AT H.E.B. in my blog...  :P

I remember the first time the bank teller tried to be cute.  Okay, actually the bank teller IS cute, and there were two of them, but that's beside the point.  A few days ago I brought my saved up change to the bank in the same manner that I have several times.  When I was making my bank deposit, I told the teller that the bills were being deposited, and that I had some change that I wanted to cash in (as I was unscrewing the black lid from my silver Pittsburgh Steelers travel coffee cup).  Both tellers had a look of AMAZEMENT as I removed the lid, and then the one who was waiting on me (the other was behind her, observing???) EXCLAIMED:

Teller:  "I was WONDERING what you were doing!"
Me:  (Confused and amused and now smiling)  "What, like you thought I was going to remove the top and SNAKES were going to POP OUT?!
Teller:  (Now smiling)  "Or that you were going to..., give me some of your coffee??"  :)


I remember the first time that I drank coffee...  First, I am not a coffee drinker.  Well, I will drink "iced coffee" - anyway, that's a whole other conversation for a different day, maybe...  When I was a senior in high school (and I might add, I had a pretty "cake schedule" during my senior year of high school), I waited until the NIGHT BEFORE a paper WITH A PRESENTATION was due for my English class before doing the actual paper.  So I tried coffee for the first time.  I drank about HALF of the cup of coffee and almost threw up (and I wonder why I'm not a big fan of hot coffee)...

I remember the first time that I fell asleep on Bikini Hill...  Now this happened about 100 years ago, and on this trip to Sewell Park I wasn't with anyone.  It's unfortunate that I was alone because someone could have been a punk and thrown some water from the river on me and woke me up, but that didn't happen...  So, I guess that I was really tired, because I fell asleep for what MUST HAVE BEEN at least an hour...  It also must have been my one of my first visits of the spring to Bikini Hill, and/or I must not have used much sunscreen (I'm foggy on this point, being that this happened 100 years ago).  So when I woke up, I realized that I had been sleeping with my right hand on my stomach.  My fingers had been spread out like I was going to palm a basketball, and SURE ENOUGH, when I moved my hand, I had this BIG WHITE HANDPRINT tattooed on my RED torso...  OUTSTANDING...  It only lasted for like TWO WEEKS though...  :)

I remember the first time that I did an I remember the first time entry and DID NOT ONCE pick on the students who come by and see me at work...  ;)  I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!


          

    

What's Next?

Good afternoon everyone.  I really am sorry that this post is coming so late today.  The funny thing is, if I had my way, I think that I would prefer to be on the sleep schedule that has me doing this post right now.  As a result of being off for three days in a row (and the inevitable change in my sleeping hours), I slept from about 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. today.  On a related note, if you live in San Marcos, America, and you want to stop by and say hi to me, I will be working for the next five days in a row (at least)...  :P  Anyway, Wednesday is the day that I always (not true) do my poker and Las Vegas-themed posts.  Wednesdays are always scheduled that way I should say...  If you have been following my blog during the past month, you have undoubtedly come across some of the posts detailing my holiday vacation to the desert.  If you have not read about any this heartache, and you like reading about the misery of others, the series of seven posts has 'Vegas 2012' titles...  I pretty much had to return to the desert and make the visit for my own peace of mind.  For those of you who are newer to Bikini Hill, I "should be" living in Las Vegas right now.  Disregard the fact that I am not at all of fan of the desert climate, and the feeling that I always need to have my head on a swivel when I'm there (and this was long before my apartment was broken into, which I am about to address).  Additionally, San Marcos, America is my favorite place to live (and the list of places I have called home is EXTENSIVE)...  If you do want to get caught up on why I'm currently living in San Marcos, go back and read 'Parlay Cards, Poker, Disappointment' (September 5th, 2012) and 'Cruel, Cruel Summer' (October 1st, 2011).

Anyway, back to my peace of mind, I had to make that holiday trip to the desert just so that I could leave Las Vegas on my own terms.  The trip was scheduled to last for pretty much a week, I knew when I was arriving, and I knew when I would be leaving.  At the time of my break-in last at the end of last August, "folding" and returning to San Marcos was my best play (and I can lay down a bad hand, most of the time anyway)...  The double-whammy about this time period is that fall turns to winter during these months, which is EASILY my least favorite time of the year (other than the fact that it's football season).

So that leaves us with the question, "what's next?"  As I've mentioned here before, I am literally 100 years-old (okay, not literally).  This is the part of this story which motivates you to go back and read "Cruel, Cruel Summer' (October 1st, 2011).  If you look at my resume', the first question you'd ask is why I'm at my current job.  If you read 'Cruel, Cruel Summer'..., well, you'll have some answers.  I'm not getting rich right now, but my job has ZERO take-home stress, and it's allowing me to figure out what my next move is.  Do I move back to Las Vegas in the next couple of years, do I decide to make San Marcos, America my permanent home, or do I choose what's behind Door #3 (I will be 105 years-old before you know it, and these questions need to be asked)...  Oh, and the "Door #3" reference - I honestly don't even remember the name of the game show, so if the reference means nothing to you, it's probably because you aren't 100 years-old...  ;)  I haven't met Mrs. Coach yet (or if I have, I don't know it), but I have met enough "soulmates" (potential soulmates?, can you have more than one soulmate???...) - ANYWAY, I'm pretty convinced now that if I met the right girl, I could leave poker and sports betting behind without much effort at all, if that was necessary (so that post way back where I said that she'd probably have to be a poker and/or sports fan..., not so much...).  :)

Sooooo, if you want to know the answer to "what's next?"..., well, keep following my blog, and you'll know when I do...  ;)  Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
    

Could You? (3)

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.  Be somebody you want to meet..." -@jenrallySpeakn- (via twitter)


Could you be more ambitious?  As 'Bikini Hill' gains more readers (now all that I need is a message, right?), wouldn't it be great if I could be the cause of a "good problem" for my alma mater, Texas State University?  Imagine what would happen if my writing became good enough at some point that I could somehow do justice to how great an atmosphere San Marcos, America is for prospective college students, and the admissions office had to start sorting through 25..., 50..., 100,000 applications for each new school year...  :)

Could you please let it rain?  I took a late stroll over to Bikini Hill yesterday (SHOCKING that I slept a lot of the day after the Super Bowl away), and the river seems to be about a full foot below the bottom of the steps at Sewell Park.  The forecast highs are in the 70's pretty much every day this week, but we are in need of some rain (again)...


Could you make me smile?  This short conversation with a customer took place at work last weekend:

Customer:  "I see you on campus..."
Me:  "I'm at the library a lot..."  (I often go to the library to read the magazines, many times looking for interesting things to write about in this blog - I'm sorry that hasn't worked out for us yet...)
Customer: (walking away, voice trailing off...)  "I HATE the library..."  :)


Could you make me famous?  Not long after this conversation took place, I imagined that the next thing that I'm going to see is people trying to be clever so that I will write something about them.  My thoughts on that - BRING IT...  ;)


Could you have a sense of humor?  I have pretty much decided that I am going to start lying to customers at work too.  NO, not mean lies that will harm somebody, but really quick lies, intended to make people smile and laugh.  Picking on people, teasing people, you know...  Yeah, making people laugh is one of my hobbies...  You have to pick your spots when you do this, because if you find the person who DOESN'T have a sense of humor, it's REALLY AWKWARD...  :)

"Yes, it's only fifteen more flights of stairs to the Veranda (the bar on the roof)..."

"No, there's not a bar up there..."  (You would be surprised at how often I'm asked this)

"No, there aren't any restrooms up there..."  (You would be surprised at how often I'm asked this)

 "Oh, there's a ten dollar cover charge tonight.  You pay it when you get up there..."  (no, better yet, I'll try to collect it...)  ;)

One line that I actually already used this weekend came when a girl stated, "I don't like stairs..."  My response was, "you came to the right place then..."  Seriously, you may not want to wear heels if you decide to come and see me, or at the very least, wear your "comfortable heels" ladies...  :)


Could you stop being mean Coach?  Like I said a minute ago, you pick your spots, and even when I do "lose my temper" (although I showed some pretty impressive restraint here), things usually work out for the best.  I had room for 3 more customers at the Veranda this weekend, but the next group in line had 5 people.  Then this short conversation took place:

Customer:  "Can we go, we only have two?"
Me:  "No, that would bump them back two more."
Customer:  (Gives me a REALLY CONFUSED "puppy dog" face and shrugs...)
Me:  (looking happy, I'm sure...)  "Did you REALLY not understand that?..."  (This brought smiles from the group in front of him, and a high-five I think...)

Upon leaving for the night, when this guy reached me on the way down the stairs, he pointed me out to his group and EXCLAIMED, "THAT'S MY MAN!!"  I really am a people person...  ;)


Could you please tell us ONE MORE work story Coach?  Yeah, it was a busy weekend...  :)  One of the better customer comments that I've heard about our hallways came when two guys walked by me, and one of them looked around and commented, "I feel like I'm in Dexter's Laboratory..."  The guy mentioned NOTHING about mazes, so I smiled at that one...

Could you tell me where this phrase originated?  I'm serious about this one - if you have the answer, feel free to reply in the comments section...  Do any of you know where the phrase, "NOM, NOM, NOM" originated?  This is the facebook and twitter (and sometimes in person) phrase that I see (hear) all the time when friends are talking about eating.  Yes, I do realize that I could ask one of them, but I wrote it down when I read it on my phone, so now it's in the blog...  :P

Could you send some luck my way?...  There is an article on Yahoo! tonight about an Arkansas couple that won the lottery twice while on a fishing trip.  They evidently stopped at bought tickets at the same convenience store about an hour outside of Little Rock on the way to and from their fishing destination.  The first ticket netted them ONE MILLION dollars, and the second earned them another $50,000.00 (I'm guessing that they didn't know they already had a cool million with the initial ticket, but I don't know).  Even the fifty thousand..., even after taxes... - SHIP IT!! (please...)

I hope that all of you have an outstanding day and I'll see you again tomorrow!






  

Perhaps

"Perhaps how we face death is not as important as how we face life - to live each day with hope, with courage, and with love..., as if it were our last..." -The Control Voice- (The Outer Limits)


Good morning.  Above is a pretty decent quote that I accidentally stumbled upon this morning when there was nothing else on t.v. that looked better than 'The Outer Limits'.  I halfway paid attention to the last twenty minutes of the episode as I surfed the net, but then I heard that bit of wisdom...

There was something on t.v. yesterday that did catch my eye however...  As I was driving to my workplace to watch the Super Bowl, I cruised by Bikini Hill, which is on the way.  I spotted about 75 people enjoying this blog's namesake and the surrounding area, laying out, playing frisbee and volleyball, etc...  My gut instinct was to pull over to the side of the road and SCREAM, "don't you know that the SUPER BOWL starts in half an hour?!"  I resisted this temptation and proceeded to the Square, where at Harper's I enjoyed watching the game more than I could have anticipated since I didn't really have a rooting interest in it (other than hoping that my prediction for the outcome didn't end up looking foolish - more on that later)...  Here's a shoutout to Alyssa, Chelsea, and Kim for making the game more enjoyable, and for helping to get us through the power outage in New Orleans (I had to mention it at least once).  The thing about that quote at the top of the blog today is that yesterday is never going to repeat itself.  There is a very strong possibility that none of the three young ladies that I sat with during the Super Bowl yesterday will be in San Marcos, America for the game next year, which is one of the bittersweet things about living in a college town - you get to meet a lot of neat people here, but they do come and go (sniffle, sniffle, right?)...  I knew that Alyssa would be a valuable member of our viewing party as I've watched football with her before, and I officially met Kim for the first time yesterday, no thanks to Alyssa and Chelsea...  ;)  Chelsea got one of the biggest smiles of the day out of me during halftime when 'Destiny's Child' reunited on stage, prompting her "goose bumps" and the exclamation, "I'm so happy right now..."  :)

Chelsea's quote came following a pregame remark by my friend Lindsey, who commented that she was excited about seeing Beyonce and the Victoria's Secret commercial.  It's interesting to find out what people anticipate on the day of the Super Bowl.  One of the things that I CANNOT stomach any longer is the HOUR AFTER HOUR of pregame coverage leading up to kickoff.  An hour and a half before the game, I FINALLY caved in and tuned into the Super Bowl coverage as I prepared to jump in the shower before heading to the Square (don't judge me - remember, I usually sleep during the day).  Anyway, my t.v. had not even been on CBS for FIVE MINUTES when Shannon Sharpe made the comment, "this isn't a normal game..."  THANK YOU for that wonderful insight Mr. Sharpe - MERP...  I'm SO THANKFUL that most of the audio was drowned out by the 100 or so friends that I watched the game with...  I also need to give a shoutout to my friend Hank here, who prepared more brisket and ribs and chicken and other food than we knew what to do with...  :)

As for the game, yesterday marked the second year in a row that I picked the underdog to win the Super Bowl outright and looked like I knew something.  I had it ending Ravens 27-17, and the final score was Ravens 34-31.  I obviously covered the Ravens (+4), and missed on the under (47.5).  This made my overall record 13-8-1 against the spread and on the overs/unders during the playoffs.  I definitely think that the 49ers receiver (Crabtree they said on 'Mike and Mike' this morning) had hands all over him on the 49ers fourth-down attempt late in the game, but that's obviously out of my control...  Regarding the power outage (okay, I'm mentioning it one more time), the best tweet that I saw was, "lights go out, James Harrison fined $50,000.00..."  I know that my fellow Steelers fans will appreciate this...  :)

Referencing an entry that I made a few weeks ago, be VERY CAREFUL if you're a Bobcat navigating Sessom Drive behind campus today.  Traffic once again promises to be a mess as the construction configuration was redone this weekend, which promises to make everything that much more confusing for locals and commuters today.

Outside of my friend Chelsea's comment, one of the best quotes that made me laugh during the weekend came from a total stranger while I was working.  Evidently my new friends Alison and Natalie were discussing my blog on Friday in the company of others (which again, is totally encouraged)...  :)  Not much later, this stranger approached my checkpoint at work and greeted me with, "I heard that you write a blog about the people that go up and down the stairs..."  WELL, it's about a little more than that, but yeah, that did make me laugh out loud...  :)

Also this weekend, regarding the capacity of the Veranda (our rooftop bar), I was asked by a customer if we had a weight limit up there.  Now THAT would be fun - can you imagine me asking a bunch of young ladies, "and HOW MUCH do you weigh???" - YEAH..., that would go over well...  :O

Those of you who are Bobcats will appreciate my response to the pair of guys that visited from San Antonio this weekend.  A couple of guys walk up to me and ask, "did you go to T-State?  Well, we're from San Antonio - we go to UTSA...  ROAD RUNNERS!!!..."  In my MEEKEST, most "CARTOONISH" voice, I instantly responded with, "BEEP BEEP!!!..."  A tough roadrunner is an oxymoron, isn't it?...  ;)

I wanted to take a second to thank those of you who have found 'Bikini Hill' and who keep returning to read my blog.  The most views that my writing here had ever received in a month was 2,200, which happened in December, and was actually the 2nd-straight month that a new record had been set.  In January..., over 3,800 VIEWS - hmmm...  ;)

I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!

  

                    

Super Bowl 47 (2013)

"Life Is Too Short To Wait..." -Anonymous-

Good afternoon everyone.  If you were waiting on the edge of your seat for my Super Bowl prediction (highly unlikely), I do apologize for the afternoon post today.  My post-work nap lasted for about SIX hours, and then I had a few errands to run.  Understandably, today is a very sad day for me as I've been living off of last year's Super Bowl prediction for a whole year now.  I predicted that the underdog New York Giants (who I picked to win every playoff game they were in last season) would beat the New England Patriots 24-21 in Super Bowl 46.  The final score was Giants 21  Patriots 17...  Now I have to venture out on that limb and make another pick...

Of course I have to give you a little backstory before I make my selection, but it won't be as long as the Super Bowl pregame show, so there's that...  ;)  I went 2-1-1 on my picks in the Conference Championship Round the weekend before last, bringing my playoff record to 12-7-1 during this postseason.  I predicted that the underdog Ravens would defeat the Patriots 23-17, and the final score was Ravens 28-13 (I appreciate your applause)...  :)  This means that the game stayed under 51 1/2 points and that Baltimore covered (+8 1/2).  In the NFC title game, I picked the Falcons to beat the 49ers 24-20.  I was exactly right about Atlanta's 24 points, but San Francisco tacked on an extra 8 in their 28-24 victory, causing me to 'push' (tie) on Falcons (+4) and to miss on the under 49 1/2 as the final total was 52.  On the day of those games, I invited my facebook friends to share their predictions.  My friend Denney, a 49ers fan, commented that Frisco would win 35-24.  At that point I responded that 24 points for the Falcons was a "lock" - go figure...  :)  Denney then replied (and this quote is verbatim), "Ha, yeah, and then we can take the average of our San Fran score predictions..."  Get out your pen and paper and find the difference between 20 and 35...  I'm expecting Denney to start his sports blog any day now...  :)

From a personal standpoint, I really don't have a rooting interest in this game, other than the fact that after I make my prediction, I don't want these teams to make me look silly...  If the Ravens win, I will be happy for Anquan Boldin, my favorite receiver in the league that isn't a Pittsburgh Steeler.  Do you remember when Boldin was playing for the Cardinals and got NAILED in the endzone by the New York Jets?!  He took a wicked shot to the mouth, which was WIRED SHUT when he was PLAYING AGAIN THE NEXT WEEK!  Boldin is a very talented and tough receiver that I have a lot of respect for, and he has been outstanding in this postseason.  Should the 49ers win, I will be happy for Colin Kaepernick.  This has nothing to do with his outstanding play this season.  If you have followed my blog, you know that I am not a big Boise State football fan.  They play cupcake schedules and get rewarded with inflated rankings.  A few years back, Boise was going to be in the national championship game (or in another bowl game they deserved to part of), but they didn't survive a trip to Reno, Nevada...  You get one guess as to who Kaepernick played his college ball for...  Kaepernick's Wolfpack over the 3rd-ranked Broncos 34-31 in overtime...  :)  I am TOTALLY CONVINCED that this saved us from having an Alabama/Notre Dame type of debacle in a big bowl game, very possibly the title game.

Okay, enough stalling, here we go...

Super Bowl 47 - Sunday, February 3rd - 5:30 p.m. CST - New Orleans, Louisiana

Baltimore Ravens (10-6) vs. San Francisco 49ers (11-5)

49ers (-4), Over/Under (47.5)

This postseason:

Ravens def. Colts 24-9

Ravens def. Broncos 38-35

49ers def. Packers    45-31

Ravens def. Patriots  28-13

49ers def. Falcons    28-24

The last time that these two teams met was on Thanksgiving a year ago.  The Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6 on that night.  I have heard rumblings about the coaches for these two squads being brothers or something - you may want to check into that...  :)  The score in their last meeting explains why the over/under has dropped two points since I first saw it.  On the night of the conference championship games a few weekends back, ESPN had the over/under at 49.5, with the 49ers favored by 4.5 points at that time.  Ray Lewis returning to the lineup has been HUGE for the Ravens.  The Ravens defense held the Patriots to 13 points in the AFC title tilt.  The 49ers defense has been a mystery to me, much better in my memory than in the postseason, but their offense has more than made up for it.  Ray Rice (who I have been QUICK to criticize, ESPECIALLY after he DUCKED a James Harrison pass rush last season) has looked very sharp in the playoffs, in addition to Boldin.  It's my opinion that Boldin has helped to make Flacco look good, but Flacco hasn't played horrible either...  Kaepernick has seemingly carried the 49ers offense on his back, rushing for 7,000,000 yards in the postseason (I haven't checked that stat for accurary).  I expect this to be a very competitive game, but I have to go with the old axiom that "defense wins championships" - I know that Denney will appreciate this, since he likes when I pick against his team...  ;)  My prediction for Super Bowl 47 is:

Baltimore 27  San Francisco 17   -----   Ravens (+4), Under (47.5)

I hope that you have a fun-filled and SAFE Super Bowl Weekend, and I will see you again on Monday!