I Remember The First Time (8)

"There's no better way to fall asleep than listening to the sound of rain..."
-@JaclynNannz- (via twitter)

"Trying to understand the behavior of some people is like trying to smell the color 9..."
-@xxVoo- (via twitter)

"ALWAYS fall for your type..."
-@b_jai2012- (via twitter)

"My ceiling fan has 3 speeds:  1) Barely moving; 2) Kinda feels like it's working; 3) Is going to fly off the ceiling and kill someone..." -@SarcasmPage- (via twitter)

"Forgive.  It doesn't make you weak.  Everybody makes mistakes..."
-@TinaMav- (via twitter)


I remember the first time that I went wrong somewhere along the line...  So yesterday I'm browsing through facebook and I notice that one of my former basketball and softball players has a dog who is having a birthday party.  The photograph shows the dog seated in a chair and a birthday cake sitting on the table in front of the dog.  Then it clicks with me that the dog's name is Kobe - NOOOOO!!!...  HOW could I have coached basketball in San Marcos, America, just a half-hour north of San Antonio (the home of your San Antonio Spurs), and have SO MANY former players who are Lakers, and more specifically, Kobe fans??? Jackie, Jackie, Jackie...  :)

I remember the first time that I was excited about going to Bikini Hill...  Speaking of puppy dogs, I was at Bikini Hill a few days ago studying my fantasy baseball magazine (shocking, I know)...  After I had been there for a while, a redheaded girl shows up with her puppy dog, Calla.  Now Calla is 11 weeks old and was very happy to be visiting Bikini Hill.  There were probably close to 100 people scattered all over the place, and every time that our unnamed redheaded girl (she never gave me her name, SURELY out of fear of the burdening popularity that she would receive once I hit the publish button today) threw Calla's ball, this puppy COULD NOT be more disinterested in chasing it than surveying her exciting surroundings at the park.      The best part was when unnamed redheaded girl walking Calla toward the river to get some water, when Calla just JUMPS INTO a group of about eight equally excited high school students who were enjoying their spring break.  Calla instantly starts introducing herself to EVERYONE, wagging her tail, and moving her paws like she's "air-swimming" (sure, it's a word)...  :)  Anyway, she's playfully pawing at her new friends, then jumping on others to lick their faces, etc...  Okay, I guess the best part happened after I introduced myself to her and told unnamed redheaded girl that her puppy dog was making the blog today.  Calla came over to me TWICE after this encounter, and licked MY FACE the second time...  :)  See, I have three facebook friends AND a puppy that likes me...  ;)

I remember the first time that I stayed in San Marcos for the break...  Well, I guess I wouldn't have seen this if I didn't stay in town.  I went to check my mail at my apartment complex yesterday when I see a guy skateboard down some cement steps...  As he rolls away, I notice that he is wearing a ballcap adorned with the word "Reckless" - he is also wearing a cast on his arm...  You can't make this stuff up...  ;)

I remember the first time that I saw NASA on my facebook page...  Not everyone stayed in San Marcos, America for the break.  My friends from my Super Bowl "watch party" got together and took themselves a trip to South Padre during the break.  Not only did I get to see the sand castle that Alyssa, Chelsea, and Kim were attempting to build on the beach, but I also got to witness the high-tech GPS setup that they used to navigate their way to the coast.  I SWEAR that these girls had THREE monitors mounted inside the front of this vehicle.  When questioning Alyssa about this last night, she said that if they got lost, the third one would be the deciding one, breaking the tie...  :)  I also remember how we used MAPS 100 years ago...  :P

I remember the first time that I mulled over staying in San Marcos, America, or needing to use three GPS monitors to move...  So this got really scary when I started thinking about it for writing this part of the blog.  I realized that I had moved every year for each of the past three years.  THEN I realized that its been about ten years since I lived in the same apartment for even THREE years in a row...  Now I'm getting close to that decision point again.  It's unusual to be 100 years-old and doing the job that I'm doing while living in San Marcos, America.  If you've followed the blog for any length of time, you realize the circumstances that have brought this about.  For each of the last two years, I have moved back to San Marcos in "emergency" situations.  Before returning here two years back, I was working for The University of Texas at Austin.  I only lived in Austin for the one year, and due to online poker (NATURALLY...  :P) I didn't come close to taking full advantage of where I lived in Austin.  I lived on "West Campus" - this was just a few blocks west (DUH) of the drag, for those of you who are familiar with Austin and UT.  My apartment complex had a bus stop for the "E" bus, which would transport you to and from 6th Street for FREE on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.  I SO didn't take advantage of this...  Now I'm basically deciding between a return to Austin and its numerous job opportunities, or living in a place for a second straight year (unless money just suddenly FALLS FROM THE SKY and I can return to the desert in style)...  :P  I was having a conversation with my long-lost friend Megan a few nights ago, and we were discussing that while San Marcos is a great place to live, it just gets kind of small after a while.  I also ran into this realization before I moved to Las Vegas for the very first time 8 years ago, when I moved to Austin 3 years ago, and when I... "attempted" to move back to the desert last summer.  I guess this is the thing:  in San Marcos I'm comfortable and content, but I ALWAYS seem to need to find out if I can be MORE HAPPY...  I'll keep you posted...  ;)

I remember the first time that it was finally 'Selection Sunday'...  Okay, well this is going to be a very big weekend indeed.  Besides just being my 'Tuesday' at work tonight, I also have my second fantasy baseball draft on Saturday, and Sunday is going to feature a combination of 'Selection Sunday' (the release of the brackets for this year's Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament) and St. Patrick's Day (which happens to fall of my 'Friday').  Anyone confused yet?  :)  ANYWAY, this means that on Tuesday of next week I will be posting my predictions for the first four NCAA tourney games, and that you will be getting A BUNCH of predictions on Thursday of next week (this will probably result in next week's "I Remember" post being made on Friday).

I hope that all of you have a great weekend, and I will see you again next week (which would be on either Monday or Tuesday)...  ;)