Friday, May 31, 2013

I Remember The First Time (19)/NHL 3rd Rd.

"I'm the Michael Jordan of mumbling song lyrics until I get to the part I know..."
-@Really_OK- (via twitter)

"Nothing makes us feel as good about our relationship as spending time with far more dysfunctional couples..." -@ShipInTheKnight- (via twitter)

"Playing the lottery is one way to tell people you didn't pay attention in math class..."
-@Cali_Kid_Mike- (via twitter)

"Don't trust people too easily - not everyone approaches you with sincerity..."
-@writersdream- (via twitter)

"This is the time of year when I start running up to random people asking, "Hey, do you have a pool?  Will you be my friend?" -@BrianHDot- (via twitter)



I remember the first time that I heard something brilliant on the Square in San Marcos, America...  A drunk patron said the following to my friend Tim, who works at the bars next door to Harper's:  "Man, you're cool as hell, but that bearded doorguy that used to work here is a jerk..."  'Jerk' is a substitute word - I'm trying to keep it 'PG' here, and Tim got rid of his beard about two weeks ago...  ;)

I remember the first time that the Scripps National Spelling Bee was on ESPN, but I didn't want of bunch of kids to make me feel stupid, so I didn't watch it...

I remember the first time that I worked as a chip runner at the 2005 World Series of Poker...  Yes boys and girls, it's already been eight years.  Again, this year's WSOP started on Wednesday, and you can keep up with everything at www.wsop.com/

I also remember the first time that I played in an event at the World Series of Poker...  I played in the $500.00 buy-in Casino Employees Event the following year at the 2006 WSOP, when my short-stacked pocket aces went up against pocket queens and pocket sixes, queen on the river...  Oh, such fond memories...  :(

I remember the first time that I bored you with blog statistics...  May 2013 is now officially the month that Bikini Hill & 6th received its most views.  The current count for the month now stands at 3,832 views (36,760 all-time), and any other clicks in the next 2 and 1/2 hours (til 7:00 p.m. CST) will add to that total.  The previous high total for a month had been 3,805 views in January 2013.  This is also the fifth consecutive month that the blog was viewed more than 3,000 times.  Thanks for stopping by...  :)

I remember the first time that I bored you just a little bit more chirping about the blog...  I recently asked for input about the new background, and the most common complaint that I have received is that the green is too bright.  With the template that I'm using now, the green that is in place is the darkest that I had to choose from, but the next time that I change the background, I promise to find a darker green or a darker color.  Thank you for your input...  :)

I remember the first time (or the first one hundred times) that one of my fantasy baseball teams imploded...  So yesterday the White Sox are playing the Cubs at Wrigley, and I've got Jake Peavy on the mound.  I'm in the kitchen (t.v. in my bedroom) when I hear, "and that ball is hit DEEP to left field......., AND IT'S GONE!!!..."  More or less, that was the call when the Cubs PITCHER, Travis Wood, hit a GRAND SLAM off of Peavy, who is obviously one of my fantasy pitchers...  I'm sure that the blog is getting its money's worth in entertainment value from the $105.00 that I spent on my 3 fantasy league entries, but HAVE A HEART...  Isn't the season over already???

I remember the first time that was the second time that Verissimo was a doorguy in training...  So Verissimo stops by 'Coach's Corner' last night (they should call it Coach's Corner, shouldn't they, and put up a plaque or something there when I'm done after next Saturday? - more about that in a minute...).  So Verissimo asks me why SHE DIDN'T get to use the clicker the last time that she was there, since Angelica did.  I said, "oh, you know Angelica?"  Verissimo says, "no..."  :)

I remember the first time that I told you when I'm leaving my job...  So next Saturday (June 8th) will be my last day at Harper's/Slackers/The Veranda.  My friends Amy and Mo stopped by Coach's Corner (see, it's catchy, right?) last night, and Mo asked me what I liked to eat - DANGEROUS QUESTION, and do you have a lot of time to spare???  :)  Mo said that she might bake something for me since I'm leaving, and I told her that I don't eat many sweets (cookies, cake, etc...), but that I would get a list to her of things that I do like.  It occurred to me that I should just go ahead and put the list here since I'm sure that all of you are just DYING to give me something...  :)  What do I like?:  lasagna (when I worked for Greyhound as a food services supervisor in San Antonio while working on my teaching certification, Mary, a friend of the family and my supervisor, made me WHOLE LASAGNAS that I would basically eat for EVERY MEAL until the lasagna was completely gone...); pizza (mushrooms are my favorite topping); Haribo gummy bears (an exception to the sweets rule); Blue Diamond almonds (the wasabi flavored ones); and Gardetto's cheese or mustard pretzels.  Now, let me BE CLEAR - I do not expect anyone to make or get me anything, but there's your list Mo...  :)  Oh, and I also like the Spurs, Red Sox, and the Steelers...  (I'm SO HORRIBLE...)  :P

I remember the first time that I told you what happened while I was talking to Amy and Mo last night...  So this line of about ten people starts walking by us going downstairs while we're chatting about the important subject above, when this guy goes, "HIGH-FIVE" and slaps Amy's hand.  The guy then TOTALLY IGNORES Mo as he walks by, at which point Mo shouts his name.  Yes, you read that correctly - the guy gives Amy, who he doesn't know, a high-five, and COMPLETELY BLOWS OFF Mo, the girl he does know...  :)


I remember the first time that I needed a Kings fan...  Okay, so now it's time to make my predictions for the third round of the NHL playoffs.  Here's how things went in the last round:

My Prediction/Actual Result

Penguins over the Senators in 5 games/Penguins in 5 games
Rangers over the Bruins in 6 games/Bruins in 5 games (shut up Pete)
Blackhawks over the Red Wings in 5 games/Blackhawks in 7 games
Kings over the Sharks in 7 games/Kings in 7 games

I'm now 9-3 through 2 rounds of the playoffs, and I nailed the exact number of games with the winner TWICE in the second round (okay, get me a going away present)...  ;)  Back to needing a Kings fan, I have three regular readers of the blog who still have a team in the hunt.  My brother Pete in a Bruins fan, my blogging friend Grrouchie is a Penguins fan, and my blogging friend Lightning is a Blackhawks fan.  Without any further stalling, here are my predictions for the conference finals...

Penguins over the Bruins in 5 games
Blackhawks over the Kings in 5 games

If my quick research is accurate, the Pens were 3-0 against the Bruins this season, and the Blackhawks went 2-1 against the Kings.  The Penguins have looked dominant so far in the postseason, and Quick makes me nervous in goal for the Kings, because he strays so far.  I'm happy to say that I have probably watched more hockey in these playoffs than I have since I was in high school...  :)


I hope that you have a great weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!







    


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sean Is A Better Poker Player Than Me...

Good morning everyone.  Don't look now, but you're about to read an actual poker post...  For those of you who haven't been reading Bikini Hill & 6th since its inception (which is pretty much everyone), the original plan was to write about poker once a week.  If you look over to my links on the right side of this page, most of those writers originally started out with true poker blogs...  Due to the "perfect storm" of a VERY EARLY Memorial Day poker tournament and the first cards of the 2013 World Series of Poker being pitched today, you get to read about some Texas Hold 'Em...  :)

So I innocently left work after my Sunday night shift (very early on Monday morning) and went to the grocery store.  After I returned home and turned my phone on, I had a call and a text waiting for me.  For those of you who don't know, if I'm not using my Droid, I usually have it turned off because it has a nasty habit of calling people if I leave it on while it's in my pocket.  Keeping it off also saves the battery, so there ya go...  Anyway, it seems that some of my friends and coworkers had decided to play some poker after I had left work, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in playing........  HMMMMMM???  I texted back that I would be there in about twenty minutes, after taking a quick shower.  After getting out of my five minute shower, I got a phone call - "are you coming or what?!..."  :)

As I walked into the house, I heard a lot of commotion..., and DICE???  It seems that three of the people who were about to play cards were warming up by laying down what turned out to be more than twice the amount of the tournament buy-in on a lucky roll of the dice - can you say Phil Ivey???  :)  For an impromptu poker tournament, it turned out to be very organized:  7 players; 100 in tournament chips; 30-minute rounds; a doubling blind structure starting with blinds of 1 and 2 (2/4, 4/8, 8/16...);  First place would take everything, but the final two could make a deal.

I had never played against anyone at this table, and I hadn't played poker since my December trip to Las Vegas, so this was going to be an interesting start to my weekend (my Sunday night shift being my "Friday").  The first major hand occurred when a misread (or misclaimed) straight shoved on a scary (?) board against pocket aces (player to my right).  I put the '?' after 'scary' because this hand brings up some interesting poker points.  The shove came post-flop (obviously), and the player who claimed to have the straight (which never came) said that he was surprised that aces called him there.  Of course aces would be vulnerable to a straight, a set, two pairs, etc... in this situation, but some players just don't ever lay down pocket aces...  This was the question being pondered by my friend with the busted draw as he finished in 7th place.

My hands during this tournament were either premium hands (about a half-dozen), or they were garbage.  My first hand of note came about midway through the first round when I had pocket queens.  I got cute and limped in this situation, which was not a good idea.  To this point, people had been playing pretty loose holdings, and I didn't want to run everyone off (which was my reasoning at this juncture)...  Well, the board came out with a low straight draw and a flush draw.  I made a bet of five after the action was checked to me, and had a single caller.  The turn brought both a possible straight and flush, but I bet out five again after being checked to, and was again called.  On a seemingly innocuous river (a non-flush nine), my opponent suddenly bet out.  Hmmmm...  To this point, my opponent's play in the tournament could best be described as "super-apologetic" (I dare you to find that player type in your poker books and magazines).  I took this to mean that he had NO IDEA what he was doing, OR that he had a REALLY GOOD IDEA about how to play.  I only had twelve chips invested in the hand, and it was still very early (the tournament started at 5:15 a.m., so it was REALLY EARLY), so I proceeded to fold after asking, "that NINE hit you?"  MANY TIMES I have seen people bet a "blank" on the river after slow-playing a good hand, but my read was wrong in this case.  My friend showed a pair smaller than the nine, and just a pair, so my queens would have won there - live and learn...

The next big hand of note in this tournament involved my friend Sean and the player to my right.  Sean is the only person that I spoke with about making this blog entry, so his is the only name that I'm using other than "my friend," which will be every other player...  :)  Anyway, for a tournament with 100 in chips, 50 going in from each player on the river constitutes a big hand...  The board on this hand (still in the 1/2 round I believe) had a queen on the flop, and played out with two other cards which would make a king-high straight possible.  I know this because after the player on my right bet 20, Sean raised him to 50..., and was CALLED..., by the nut (no possible flush) king-high straight...  When I saw the winning hand, I remember remarking, "just the nut straight" (I think I dealt this hand), but no one at the table (including myself) commented on the fact that the winning hand ONLY CALLED here...  I think that Sean went ahead and showed a big queen at the end of this hand, and in hindsight, it probably would have been better for me if the winning hand WOULD HAVE raised here, just in case Sean would have called...

As the chips flew back and forth (and back to Sean) throughout the rest of this round and into the second round: I RAISED my pocket queens this time, checked around a king-high flop, and then made a small bet on the turn and took the pot; I limped with AK and WHIFFED; limped with pocket 7's, turned a set and checked heads-up, saw a third flush card on the turn, and a FOURTH flush card on the river, and took the small pot at showdown (Sean was away from the table for this hand and shouldn't be entitled to this information, so SHHHHH....); and my hand of note during the early second round came when I raised my A Q to 20, got TWO callers (so much respect), and AGAIN whiffed the flop, which I had to fold to a bet (both hands went to showdown, and I was behind as 1 of the 2 weaker hands that called me preflop paired up).  Also during this round, my "super-apologetic" friend busted out, as did another friend with a unique playing style.  'Unique playing style' would make a preflop raise to 11 for example, and then bet 4 (the minimum) after the flop (this tactic was utilized more than once).

So now we're down to 4 players, and we're in round 3, with blinds of 4 and 8, when I see pocket aces.  I believe that there was a single limper, and my raise to 25 got no action (pocket aces - you win a small pot or lose a big pot with them, so the saying goes...).  The majority of the chips at the table were now in the stacks of Sean and the player to my right as Nike busted out in 4th place.  Nike (true to his name) had been running back and forth across the room between our table and another table ('casino' would be way too strong a word, but it was a fun predawn Memorial Day party)...  :)  Nike played a lot like me, except that he got bigger pieces (SOME PIECE) of the flops that he saw, so his stack-size fluctuated more than mine.

At this point, I suggested that we give 3rd place their buy-in back (I was a DISTANT THIRD at the time, but it was worth a shot)...  :)  Sean shot this down, and I don't blame him, considering the stack that he had at the time.  As play continued, I might (??) have won another hand, but in the late tournament style that I'm "famous" for (ask my brother about the Sahara tournaments that I cashed in...), I just hoped that one of these stacks would knock the other off, unless I got a premium hand of course...  Well, as luck would have it, Sean did knock out the player to my right, and we were now heads-up.  Of course I immediately suggested that we give second place their buy-in back, and I could see that Sean was seriously considering it when his wife came over and gave him a hug, which had me thinking, "DON'T BREAK HIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT KATE!"  :)  Sean did agree to give second place their entry back, on the condition that I tell everyone that Sean is a better poker player than me, in the event that he won...  I agreed to this of course, because how could I argue that Sean wasn't the better player, if he won?  This also brings up some good poker points (yes, I'm going to keep you in suspense as to how the tournament ended, unless you already read the title of this post of course)...  The first point is that the agreement to give second their buy-in back wasn't a bad move on Sean's part, and in all honesty, if I did start mounting a comeback, I would have suggested that we give second place more, in case I won the whole thing.  Here the reason why:  I have seen SEVERAL tournaments where the chip-leader refused to make a "chop-agreement," and then got BURNED because their stack disappeared.  When play got down to heads-up, Sean was ahead of me about 650 to 50:  if I double-up once, it's now 600 to 100; another double-up, and it's 500 to 200;  and with one more double-up, I'm now ahead 400 to 300 (it can happen that fast, and I've seen it, SEVERAL TIMES)...  Second, Sean is a good poker player (saying that he's "better than me" doesn't necessarily mean much)...  :)  As a friend, I wouldn't worry about Sean sitting at a poker table in Las Vegas (he's never played at one before).  In our post-tournament discussion, Sean pointed out how he was sure to sit to my left, giving him position on me (the opportunity to act after me in each hand).  Sean also noted that he saw how I wanted more action on one of the hands that I won.  This gets to something that I'm going to address in future posts that I do about working at Harper's:  I feel like I've earned a Doctorate in people watching during the past year, and Sean pays attention too...

Okay, enough stalling...  So on the VERY FIRST HAND of heads-up, I look down at 10-7 in the big blind.  I call Sean's small preflop raise, and the flop comes J-7-x.  What are the odds that your opponent hits a flop?  As you ponder that question, I ended up shoving my pair of 7's, and Sean calls before flipping over J 8 - what are the odds?...  :)  The turn was a Jack (I'm now drawing dead), and the river was an 8 (and now I'm buried)...

At this point, let me note that Sean was the person who hired me after my disappointing move to the desert last summer, and that he's one of the people that I'll come back to, BEGGING FOR A JOB if I can't find something in Austin (oh, I would HATE that commute)...  Let me also wish Sean good luck on his surgery today (he has a torn tendon in his arm, the kind that's going to require a "Ray Lewis-type brace" - Sean's words, and all of us football fans can IMMEDIATELY picture it).  Let me also say that Sean has a custom poker set that Kate bought for him in Las Vegas, and all that it's missing is a good deck of cards.  Well, someone that I know has two authentic decks of plastic poker cards that they used while training to be a poker dealer in Las Vegas, and would probably give one of them up for someone who is having surgery today, so the question is, "red or blue Sean?"  ;)

As I said, the World Series of Poker starts today.  The WSOP will run until July 15th (except for the "November Nine"), and you can follow along at www.wsop.com/  Card Player's site www.cardplayer.com is also another excellent poker site for keeping up with what's happening in the poker world.  If you want people to root for, a couple of fellow bloggers (again, links on the right) are competing in the WSOP this summer.  Pete Moffatt (Lucki Duck) will be playing in Event 7, and Dave Smith (Memphis MOJO) will be playing in Event 26 if you want to track their progress during those events - good luck guys!  I actually just received my t-shirt in the mail yesterday from one of Pete's blogs (#1SportsPicks), and I will be wearing it to work tonight, in the spirit of supporting his efforts (and because the material is light - it's hot in San Marcos, America now)...  :)  Also today, San Marcos bids farewell to Alyssa (yes, THAT Alyssa)...  We wish her the very best of luck on her move to Abilene (some people will do ANYTHING to get into the blog)...  ;)

Have a great day and I will see you again on Friday!  Oh..., and Sean is a better poker player than me...  :)
        

          



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Could You? (19)

"I'd rather be optimistic than to be a hateful person!  Only you can change who you are and who you want to be!!" -@texanslover100- (via twitter)

"Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will get you the right ones..."
-@shizKendallSays- (via twitter)

"Please doubt me - that's when I do my best work..." -@thatUPSdude- (via twitter)

"Me every night:  I can have exactly 7 hours 23 minutes and 48 seconds of sleep if I fall asleep right now..." -@ComedyTruth- (via twitter)

"Am I that strong..., to carry on?...  I might change your life, I might save my world, COULD YOU SAVE ME?..." -Fuel- (Falls On Me)



Could you give us some great lyrics from an inspirational song that include the question "could you?" since that's your theme today Coach?  I could...  ;)  If you've never heard that song above by Fuel, please check it out.  Actually, anytime that I quote lyrics from a song, your homework assignment is to check them out.  I have great taste...  ;)

Could you tell us what your schedule was like when you were teaching and coaching?  Check out the quote above the Fuel lyrics about falling asleep...  That was me ALL THE TIME when I was a coach (if you change the '7' hours to 4 hours...  Getting burned out was the main reason that I got in and out of the profession so many times...

Could you please let me know what you think of the new blog background?  Bikini Hill & 6th turned twenty months old today, and I was more than tired of seeing that dying dandelion that was at the top of the page, so it's gone...  Whether you leave me a comment here, or on my facebook page, or on twitter, or in person, I'd like to know what you think of the new color scheme.  I will let you know right now that the colors here will change depending on things that are happening in my universe (for example, if the Spurs were to win their fifth NBA Championship in a few weeks, you might see a lot of black, white, and silver)...  For now, I didn't want to depart too much from the old color scheme (the yellow heading representing the sun, the blue repping the sky, the green representing grass, etc...).  I have already found that using this template will help me to align my columns more easily, but in turn, it has also messed up the alignment of many of the columns in my older posts, which I have no motivation to go back and change by the way (other than yesterday's post).  Please let me know what you think, if this color scheme is readable, etc...

Could you please not deplete San Marcos, America of all of its Pittsburgh Steelers fans?  I found out a couple of days ago that my friend Gabby will be moving up to Chicago to do her internship.  Gabby is from Ohio and is a diehard Steelers fan.  Coupled with the fact that I am going to be moving back to the ATX in the near future, there is definitely going to be a even more severe shortage of Steelers fans here in the fastest-growing large city in the United States...  I think that Gabby should take the brunt of the blame for this, but I wish her the best of luck in the Windy City...  :)

Could you please make me roll my eyes?  Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to see my Red Raider friend and former hoopster Jennifer, the same girl who posted 849 photos of her class ring on facebook recently...  Jennifer made her first trip up to the Veranda during this visit, and when she came back downstairs, I asked her what she thought about it.  My friend 'DJ Z' was working up top and Jennifer commented on the number of people that were dancing and how she felt old...  Let me tell you, I cannot get enough of my former Rattlers telling me that THEY'RE OLD...  ;)

Could you give us another Veranda-related story, since you already brought it up?  Over the weekend, as some customers were approaching me after our line to get upstairs had vanished, due to the number of people up there dipping back down below our capacity of 200, I heard the following:  "Summer is cool because there's no one here..."  I just smiled as the small group walked by en route to the 193 people that were still partying up on the roof...  ;)

Could you tell us just one more Veranda-related tale, pretty please?  Once our customers have been carded downstairs, it is no longer necessary for them to prove their age as they proceed upstairs, but they often try to show me their licenses when they reach me.  This is understandable due to the spot where I'm positioned in the hallway, so much so that I haven't even made a point of picking on them here in the blog...  :)  However, I was amused over the weekend when a girl approached me rapidly with her right arm fully exteneded, license in hand, asking me, "did you see it?"  She never stopped as she rushed on by on her way up to the roof, like my brain was equipped with some..., TOLL TAG READER, Terminator-style technology, processing her age-verification as she sped on by...  :)

I hope that you have a great day, and I will see you again tomorrow with an actual poker post!!!  (That's a message to all of the blog writers whose links you see on the right side of this page)...  ;)



      










Monday, May 27, 2013

I'm A Training Doorguy...

"Grrrrr.......  I charge the Kindle after it's been laying there for days so I can read, only to get it and it's dead again!!!  Really kids!?!  I'm hiding the cereal, toaster, milk, granola bars, bananas!  And whatever else they want for breakfast..." -Alma Medrano- (via facebook)

"It's hard to say no to Yoo-hoo - the name literally beckons..."
-Sheldon- (The Big Bang Theory)

"I don't believe in fate - you make your own opportunities..." -Don Draper- (Mad Men)




Good evening everyone.  I'm sorry about the late post, but I took part in an impromptu poker tournament last night (very early this morning) after work, and I ended up staying out until 8:15 a.m.  The good news for you poker people is that I will be doing an actual poker post on Wednesday, which is coincidentally (not really a coincidence) the first day of this year's World Series of Poker.  That will give you at least a fourth post this week (Tonight, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday).  Let me get started since I'm going to try to publish this by 7:00 p.m. CST, which is coincidentally (not really a coincidence) when tonight's hockey game will faceoff (Chicago @ Detroit - Game Six - NBC Sports Network).  I honestly think that this is the most playoff hockey that I've watched in a season since I was in high school and living up in New Hampshire.

It only seems fair to warn my coworkers that there is a high level of interest in the "gatekeeper" position that I will be leaving shortly at Harper's (actually it's in the hallway on the way up to the Veranda, but you get the idea)...  My friend Verissimo (you can't go five minutes here without reading about a Chi-O) came by this weekend, and as many of the happy people who have been celebrating at our establishment seem increasingly inclined to do, she notified me that she was a "training doorguy..."  Of course my immediate thought was, "OH... JOY..."  :P  Verissimo is harmless enough, so I indulged her for a few minutes, and let her interact with some of the many customers that we saw over this Memorial Day Weekend (I hope that you're enjoying yours).  The highlight (and end) of Verissimo's training occurred when a male customer approached us by himself.  When the customer reached us, Verissimo asked him to stop and to tell us his name, to make sure that it was "cool enough" to allow him to continue up to the roof...  :)  Of course we let him proceed to the Veranda...  And then there's Angelica...  :)  Angelica stopped by my little checkpoint on her way out and "raised" Verissimo (sorry, I played poker last night)...  Angelica actually wanted to utilize the "clicker" that we use to track how many customers we have upstairs (for capacity purposes).  Angelica not only kept an accurate count during her training, but she is also a very good listener evidently, as she echoed MANY of the remarks that I routinely make to customers as they're leaving our place for the night...  :)

The mayor of San Marcos, America shared a very interesting fact on facebook late last week that I'll share with you now...  It seems that San Marcos, America is the fastest-growing large city in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Of course Mayor Guerrero was very quick to give my blog the credit for this growth and to start plans on a future awards ceremony to honor this achievement...  Okay, everything in that last sentence was totally fabricated, but San Marcos, Texas REALLY IS the fastest-growing large city in the U.S., and that's definitely newsworthy.  I want to congratulate my friend for overseeing this growth (and our mayor is EVERYWHERE)...  :)  I also have to point out that this growth is the reason that I'm moving back north to a quiet little place like Austin - San Marcos is just TOO BIG...  :P

Another big deal (to many of my friends anyway) is the invasion of Whataburger Ketchup to the shelves of H.E.B. (a big South Texas grocery store chain).  I would have NEVER believed that I would have seen SO MANY facebook statuses about a condiment if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes during the last week...  :)  Whataburger is a very popular fast-food burger chain in Texas if that's a mystery to you.  Actually, it's unfair to call Whataburger "fast-food" in that they cook everything to order, which does seem to improve the quallity of their food.  Back to the ketchup, it may not be as big a deal to me because I tend to eat french fries with almost everything but ketchup if given the opportunity (chicken fried steak gravy, ranch dressing, McDonald's hot mustard sauce, etc...).  I know at this very moment you're thinking, "NO WONDER Coach is in such great shape...."  The shape that we're referring to of course is ROUND, but I'm working on it...  ;)


Okay, it looks like it's time to give you my weekly fantasy baseball standings due to the fast-approaching hockey game, but I'm posting at least three more times this week, so I'll try not to feel guilty...


League 1 - (25 entry fee - 1st place 125, 2nd place 25)

1)  Neshanic                            73.50 (doesn't leading all the time get old?)
2)  DraftDodgers                       64.00 (clinging to 2nd place...)
3)  Pappys Boyz                      60.00
3)  Rocky Roto                         60.00
9)  The View From Bikini Hill      44.00 (I'm NOT in last place this week!!!)


League 2 - (50 entry fee - 40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Breaking Bats                      80.50 (still over 80 points...)
2)  4troublemakers                    74.00 (also clinging to 2nd place...)
3)  Loons XXIV                          72.50


League 3 - (50 entry fee - 40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Nappy Heads                        74.00 (again, leading all the time - BORING...)
2)  Mad Men                              65.50 (again, clinging to 2nd place...)
3)  Fishing For Trout                   62.00
4)  The Bikini Hill Nine                57.00


A couple of interesting facts from the baseball diamond this week...  The View From Bikini Hill had ANOTHER player go to the DL last week, so I now have six players on that list again...  #shocking  Also, The Bikini Hill Nine got NINE pitching victories for me last week, which is A QUARTER of the 36 total wins the team has accumulated for me (in 2 months).

As I leave, let me give a shoutout to Miletus, hoping that she had a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Saturday.  Miletus is one of the ORIGINAL followers of this little blog...  :)  I also hope that all of you enjoy your NHL and NBA playoff games tonight (GO SPURS GO!!!), and I'll see you again tomorrow!









    




Thursday, May 23, 2013

I Remember The First Time (18)

"'I came here to win championships and win football games,' Reggie Bush told Free Press of signing with Detroit Lions, clearly unaware of history..." -@benmaller- (via twitter)

"Sometimes what hurts the most is exactly what you needed to slap some sense into you..." -@KrissiBex- (via twitter)

"About ten times a day I run into a dilemma that could be fixed easier if I had a flamethrower..." -@Bearslietoo- (via twitter)

"We're not broken, just bent.  We can learn to love again..." -@youngtaala- (via twitter)

"Isn't it sad when bad things happen to good sentences?..." -Mercedes Ruehl- (Frasier)



I remember the first time that I found another candidate for "motto of the blog" (see quote directly above)...

I remember the first time that I said, "it's way too early..."  I stopped by work when I went walking a few days ago, and one of the t.v.'s was tuned to ESPN's 'NFL 32' - I cannot listen to football chatter when the season is so far away...

I remember the first time that I was really confused...  I was watching Game 4 of the Penguins/Senators playoff series last night when Ottawa scored first and the commentator said, "and that's their first lead of the series..."  My immediate thought was, "well, they WON Game 3, sooooo???"  To their credit, the announcers did clarify this later in the period...

I remember the first time that something hasn't happened yet...  I believe that some of the customers at my workplace are truly going to freak out when I'm not in the hallway (yes, of..., THE MAZE...) on the way up to the Veranda when I move back to Austin in the near future.  Last night when I was working the front door, no fewer than a half-dozen times I heard comments like, "you're down here tonight" or "you got promoted..."  :)

I remember the first time that I understood a comment that didn't make any sense at all...  In reference to my last epiphany, last night a couple of customers walked up to me, and one of them made the comment, "this guy's cool, he's always counting people..."  :)

I remember the first time that the NHL messed with me again...  First, I don't know when my next post will be, because the NHL might start another playoff series before Monday if things break a certain way...  Second, a few nights ago, there was one hockey game on t.v.  I am working tonight, so of course there are THREE games being played...  Third (and I forgot to mention this a few days ago), I was working when Pittsburgh and Ottawa went to double overtime a few nights ago.  Work was slow early in the second overtime of the Pens/Sens contest, and I walked up to the bartenders and mentioned to them how I LOVE multiple overtime games, how it's a battle of attrition, etc...  OBVIOUSLY, the game-winning goal was scored SECONDS LATER...  :P

I remember the first time that the Texas Longhorns football team didn't plan a "Welcome Back To Austin" party for me...  On September 25th, 2010, during the time that I was working for the University of Texas, I attended my first (and only so far) Longhorns football game.  Texas was 3-0 and ranked #7 in the nation, and the Horns were hosting a 1-2 UCLA squad (I bet you can already see where this is going, can't you?...) The final score on that Saturday afternoon was:  UCLA  34  Texas  12...

I remember the first time that I spoke of moving...  When I was going through my things a few days ago, I found the schematic that I used to pack my belongings for my move to Las Vegas last summer.  YES, there was a SCHEMATIC...  My vehicle was PACKED!!!  This was a timely find, since the trusty old Montero Sport is currently sitting at the 149,952 mark.  Please don't worry, I'll make sure to let you know when we hit 150,000 miles, and 155,000, and 160,000..., okay, I probably won't (by far, the best news that you've had all day)...  ;)

I remember the first time that I should have been there at the end of overtime...  The Pacers played the Heat SO TOUGH last night, only to let James walk to the basket and lay the ball in with only seconds left on the clock when the inbound play began.  I COULD HAVE let James walk to the basket...  I thought that Indiana would play Miami tough (picking the Heat to win in seven), but the Pacers have to win games like that one...

I hope that you have a great day, and I'll see you again on Monday (or sooner)...  ;)










      







Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Could You? (18)/NBA 3rd Rd.

"How can I complain today?  My struggles are nothing compared to the loss suffered by parents in Moore.  God bless them with peace.  #Oklahoma" -@DennyJeanB- (via twitter)

"How do 100,000 people a month still use 'Ask Jeeves?'  What are they even asking?  How to get to Google?" -@fakemikemulloy- (via twitter)

"Nothing to lose but everything to gain!" -@Ms. B- (via twitter)

"That moment when you spell a word so wrong, even autocorrect is like, "I got nothing man..." -@HockeyMatt412- (via twitter)

"GO SPURS GO!!!"  It's a great day when Zach Randolph only outscored ME by 2 points in Game 1!!!" -Daniel Guerrero- (The mayor of San Marcos, America - via facebook)




Could you figure out what "tonight" means Coach?  I'm sorry that I didn't post last night everyone, but I decided to go for a walk after I did yesterday's entry for my friend and former softball player Amanda (please read it if you haven't already - she's a great person, and I've been told that I got tears from at least two people, and I mean the GOOD KIND of tears)...  ;)  Anyway, it was 91 degrees here in San Marcos, America when I started my walk yesterday, and by the time that I got home almost 2 hours later, I ate dinner and then fell asleep for EIGHT HOURS...


Could you speak about the Spurs for a moment before you recap your second round predictions and give us your pick for the Heat/Pacers series?  I love that last quote above by Mr. Guerrero.  I watched parts of the Spurs victory on Sunday before I went to Amanda's graduation party, and I was not aware that Randolph only scored 2 points in Game 1 until I saw Daniel's post (sorry Mojo).  After the second round of the playoffs, I am now 8-4 picking the winners in each round.  Below is a recap of those results and my predictions for this round:


Second Round - My Prediction/Actual Result

Heat over the Bulls in 5 games/Heat in 5 games
Knicks over the Pacers in 7 games/Pacers in 6 games

Spurs over the Warriors in 7 games/Spurs in 6 games
Thunder over the Grizzlies in 7 games/Grizzlies in 5 games


My Third Round Predictions

Heat over the Pacers in 7 games
Spurs over the Grizzlies in 7 games


Could you give us an update on how horrible your fantasy baseball teams are doing?  Oh, this has been another fun week too in the fantasy baseball world...  My team 'The View From Bikini Hill' had three players leave the injured reserve list, but then somebody else got hurt (David Price - another high draft choice, ANOTHER pitcher)...  :)  Sometimes the only thing you can do is smile...  I'm just thinking that maybe the REAL REASON that I changed the name of the blog is so it isn't EXACTLY THE SAME as the name of this team...  ;)


League 1 - (25 entry fee - 1st place 125, 2nd place 25)

1)  Neshanic                                                   69.50 (every week...)
2)  DraftDodgers                                          66.50 (getting closer...)
3)  Rocky Roto                                              62.50 (also in the hunt...)
10)  The View From Bikini Hill              41.00 (can't see the leaders with a TELESCOPE...)


League 2 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Breaking Bats                                          82.00 (impressive number - 82)
2)  Loons XXIV                                             75.00 (beats League 1 high)
3)  4troublemakers                                     66.50 (hanging around)
5)  The Bikini Hill Bobcats                       57.00 (there's hope...)


League 3 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Nappy Heads                                           80.50 (leading a LOGJAM of teams)
2)  Mad Men                                                   63.50 (my favorite t.v. show...  :)  )
3)  Fishing For Trout                                  61.50 (I like trout)
4)  The Bikini Hill Nine                              57.00 (4th - must be a misprint...)


Could you make us smile with another story about the Chi-O's?  Okay, so after last weekend's graduation ceremonies here at Texas State, Alyssa, Chelsea, and Castelluccio decide to walk out of Strahan and past Bikini Hill so that they can jump into the river in their graduation gowns.  This is something that I'm now wishing I would have done a hundred years ago after seeing all of the facebook photos last week...  Anyway, my friend and coworker J.J. is trying to pull Alyssa out of the river (I've seen video of this), and she's just basically being scraped up the cement wall...  At this point, the graduates decide to swim across to the other side of the river to the LADDERS (there's a reason they graduated)...  ;)  Well, evidently Castelluccio didn't grab onto the ladder firmly enough as another graduate was climbing out of the water, and she just begins to..., FLOAT AWAY...  Apparently there were cries of, "THE CURRENT, THE CURRENT!!!" by Castelluccio before Chelsea jumped back into the water and saved her friend before she floated all the way to the Gulf of Mexico...  I think that you're beginning to understand why I have to leave San Marcos to move back to Austin - there is NO WAY that I'll be able to top this group...  :)  "The Chi-O's:  The Official Sorority of Bikini Hill..."  ;)

Could you tell us more about the future direction of this blog?  My fellow blogger Lightning came to the comments section today and brought up the subject of Austin.  Congratulations to him on his blog hitting 100,000 views recently (we don't keep track of that sort of stuff here)...  ;)  Anyway, he commented on Las Vegas and Austin in the same sentence, which brings me to one of several topics that I will be covering in the near future.  Once I get situated in Austin and get some bankroll under me ('money saved up' for the "lay people" - sorry, that's from some movie...), I will at least make some poker trips to Oklahoma so that I can write some more on that topic (and try to make some money, naturally)...  Having lived in Austin for a year RIGHT BEFORE I started this blog, I have things to write about even before I begin my new adventures...  Which reminds me, a week from today, on the 28th, this blog turns 20 months old...  Awwwww...., right?  :)

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



















Monday, May 20, 2013

BEEP BEEP!!!

Good afternoon everyone.  Today I have a story to tell you about a graduation party that I attended yesterday.  On Friday I was invited to join in the graduation celebration of one of my former softball players. Not only was I invited to attend the party, but I was also asked if I could "say a few words" about the graduate.  She told me that both of her parents hate speeches, but that they wanted someone to talk about her.  At this point I asked her, "you know that you'll be in the blog Monday too, right?  ;)"  She told me that that was fine...  Later she got back in touch with me to let me know that her mom had given her aunt a timeline to talk about her and that I wouldn't have to speak about her after all (replace me with a FAMILY MEMBER - goodness gracious)...  ;)  She apologized and let me know that I was still invited to come celebrate her graduation.  My immediate response upon reading this was, "you say that like I still don't have a blog to utilize...  ;) I'll be there Villalpando...  :)"  Yesterday I told Amanda that since I had already started thinking about what I would have said if I had spoken, I was going to go ahead and write it up in the blog today.  This is by no means complete or perfect (and it never would have been), but these are some of the thoughts that were rattling around in my head as I prepared for yesterday...

"Good evening everyone.  As she (the emcee) said, I was one of Amanda's softball coaches in high school.  At this point I should probably let you know (I'm now looking at Amanda) that she is "VILLALPANDO," and that I have probably called her Amanda MAYBE six times since I've known her...  To clarify (pointing at her), this is Villalpando (then scanning the room and pointing at each person individually), and that is Papa Villalpando..., Mama Villalpando..., and Lil' Villalpando (her younger sister Jessica).  (NOTE:  The banquet room was FULL of her family members, and I would have KILLED IT yesterday)...  :P  It is SO EASY for me to stand up here and say good things about Amanda.  Amanda is honestly one of the nicest people that I have ever met, and I'm OLD, and I know A LOT OF PEOPLE...  :)  And when Amanda asked me if I would say a few words about her today, she told me that I was one of her favorite coaches from high school...  WOW... (looking at Amanda) - I REALLY DO appreciate that.......  (Looking back out over the room now). When I was thinking about what I should say about Amanda, I got that mental picture of her in my head..., you know???  I challenge all of you to do this right now:  if you go ahead and close your eyes and picture Amanda, what do you see?  (VERY QUICKLY, I would have followed that up with...)  Okay, you REALLY DON'T HAVE TO close your eyes...  :)  If you did close your eyes though, I bet you saw the same thing that I did:  You pictured Amanda smiling - (looking back to Amanda) she is ALWAYS SMILING!!!...  :)  (Looking back over the room)  As you know, Amanda has such a GREAT disposition!  As a softball player, she was SO COACHABLE.  Anytime that you asked her to do something, she would try her VERY BEST to do it, and she would NEVER COMPLAIN about doing so.  I'm going to share something with you right now that I don't think I've ever told Amanda... (Glancing quickly to Amanda, then back to the room).  I was Amanda's JV coach during her freshman year, and at the end of the season, all of the coaches met to discuss who should be brought up to the varsity team to "dress out" for the playoffs...  I fought for Amanda.......  My stance was that she had one of the best batting averages on the team, she was good on defense, and she had an OUTSTANDING attitude...  She would have been all about it... Well..., the next season, Amanda WAS on the varsity team...  (Turning to face Amanda and winking as I say) Sometimes I'm right...  ;)  (Then back to the room)  As all of us know, earning a college diploma isn't easy.  I mean..., look around this room at everyone who showed up to help Amanda celebrate...  (Then looking back to Amanda)  We wouldn't all be here if all you had done was turned on your t.v. and opened up a bag of cheetos... - they don't throw big parties for that... :) (Then back to the room)  I think that I can speak for everyone here when I say that we are so proud of you for earning your degree Amanda (glancing back to Amanda, and then back to the room).  It takes A LOT of dedication and hard work...  At this point I have to admit that I'm disappointed in myself though...  Somehow I wasn't successful in brainwashing Amanda to go to my alma mater, Texas State, and we let her get away to San Antonio...  That means that we won't be chanting 'EAT 'EM UP, CATS!' right now, but let's celebrate Amanda's accomplishment with the MIGHTY UTSA Roadrunner battle cry... (looking back to Amanda) BEEP BEEP!!!  :)  Please join with me in welcoming your graduate, Amanda Michele Villalpando!  (And as I hug Amanda, I'm whispering in her ear, "Congratulations Villalpando, I am SO PROUD of you..."  Then I give her a knowing wink that says, "kill this room with your speech...").  ;)



You know, just off the top of my head, it would have played out something like that...  Let me say that it was an excellent party and that I ate WAY TOO MUCH before I went to work.  Let me also say that Lil' Villalpando did an outstanding job with the slideshow presentation that she made for Amanda.  Aside from watching her son Dylan dance, one of my favorite moments from the party yesterday took place right in front of my table, when Amanda posed for a photo on the dance floor with her dad.  As they stopped dancing to pose for the picture, Amanda kept swaying to the music...  :)

I'm going to post again later tonight so that I don't muck this up by telling you how horrible my fantasy baseball teams are...  I hope that you have a great day and I will see you again tonight! Oh, and Congratulations Villalpando!  ;)

                                      

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Moving Back To The ATX

"I remember the first time that I felt excited again...  I have a heartbeat, my blood is flowing, plans have been made, and the wheels are in motion..." -Chris Wyatt-



Good morning everyone.  If you have been following this blog for any length of time now, you know that making a decision about what I was going to do after my current lease expires was weighing heavily on my mind.  Should I stay in San Marcos, America, should I move back to Austin, should I return to Las Vegas, blah blah, blah blah blah blah...  This decision was made some time ago, but I had NO DESIRE to have the "You're leaving?" conversation for months, and months..., and MONTHS...  I actually signed my lease in the ATX (that's Austin, Texas - get used to it) a month ago.  The reason for this is that the apartment that I will be moving into is in an EXCELLENT LOCATION, and it is VERY INEXPENSIVE compared to the surrounding properties.  I doubt very seriously that there are any available units left at my complex.  The rent where I will be moving is actually less than what I am currently paying here in San Marcos, which is obviously a plus.  The square footage at my new place is significantly less than what I have now, but I don't really plan on being there much anyway.  I view it a lot like a Las Vegas hotel room - I will sleep there, my stuff will be there, and not much more.  After that BRUTAL August last year where the bookends of the month were me staying awake for 30-plus hours straight to pack and make the nonstop trips from San Marcos to the desert and vice versa, and then the challenging months that followed, I have my motivation and my spark back.  I happened to look at my driver's license photo today, the one that was taken back in September after I returned to town.  THAT'S WHEN I looked beaten and broken, and was...  As I alluded to briefly the other day, there are some people that I will never forget for helping me to bounce back...

What this move means for the blog is that I should have a lot more to write about, and that is reflected in the blog's new name (did you catch that when you started reading?)...  I'm told that like 7 or 8 more people live in Austin than in San Marcos, so that should give me plenty of fresh material...  ;)  For those of you who aren't familiar with Austin, Sixth Street is THE PLACE to go to have fun in the ATX.  I am by no means saying that it is the only place to let loose in Austin, but anyone who knows the city at all knows Sixth Street.  Despite the outstanding location of my apartment complex when I worked for the University of Texas two years ago, I only made it to Sixth Street a handful of times due to the dinosaur known as online poker.  Can you say PokerStars?  Since I returned from my original stint living in Las Vegas (2005-2007), this was the first time that I really got the itch to play again, and I logged A LOT of hours on the computer.  This time around I will definitely get out more, and not just to Sixth Street.  I will also cover more things (more than almost none) in the blog related to UT than I have here previously, all while continuing to write about things relevant to my alma mater (that's Texas State University, in case you haven't been paying attention for the past twenty months)...  ;)  The job market looks SO MUCH BETTER in Austin now than it has during the past few years that I HAVE TO take advantage of it.  Of course you already know that I have NO IDEA how long I will be in Austin (reference the past 300-plus posts that I've done here)...  :P  Can you believe it?:  19,000 views in the blog's first 15 months, and 16,000 in the last 5 months - thank you again for following along...  Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow!
                    



Friday, May 17, 2013

I'll Be Back Tomorrow/NBA 3rd Rd.

"I tried on an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt once.  Taking it off was the scariest three hours of my life..." -@therealduxy- (via twitter)

"Everyone has a soft side.  Reveal yours once and it will be assumed as your personality..."
-@mhsalemrobert- (via twitter)

"I have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life..., if I die by tomorrow..."
-@uGiveMeEargasms- (via twitter)

"#Libra can be easily irritated by slow pace.  Like slow walkers and drivers..."
-@Libras_R_Us- (via twitter)

"And then Satan said, "Let's add the alphabet to math..." -@TenilleCherie- (via twitter)




Good morning everyone.  When the Spurs game went to the final minute last night, I realized that I would probably be seeing you today.  It had slipped my mind that a Spurs victory last night would likely mean a Sunday start to the Western Conference Finals.  When Miami's opponent for the Eastern Conference Finals is determined, I will predict the winner of their upcoming series and retype this prediction that I'm about to share with you.  As it stands, I was correct that the Spurs would eliminate the Warriors, and wrong about the Thunder knocking off the Grizzlies.  The Grizzlies/Thunder series is a good example of why I don't like long-term proposition bets.  I went on record here before the season began that I believed the Heat would defeat the Thunder in the NBA Finals.  Now if someone was to put money on that, they would have to weather possible injuries (among other things).  The Spurs should benefit from the elimination of the Thunder, and I didn't bet any money on my prediction, so it's not like I'm sad, but Oklahoma City was obviously a different team having to play without Westbrook.  Here is my prediction for the Western Conference Finals:

Spurs over the Grizzlies in 7 games


Since I did work last night and we're all here right now, I might as well share a few stories with you...  In a casual conversation revolving around the recent graduation ceremonies, etc..., my friend and coworker John brought up the fact that someone was a 'Chi-O' - now John pronounced the (chuh) in "Chi" as you would in words like cheerleader, chirp, and chump.  The (kuh) is supposed to be pronounced as it would be in words like charisma, chord, and the wonderful name Chris...  I only tagged more than a half-dozen Chi-O's to this entry, so they will probably be MORE THAN HAPPY to set John straight...  :)  In the vein of "you're not the only one," when I moved down to San Antonio after high school, for a while I was pronouncing the name of the restaurant 'Fajitas and Margaritas' as (fuh GEE tuhs) and Margaritas...  :O

Speaking of Chi-O's, it's been SO LONG since my friend Alyssa has made the blog...  She was out celebrating her dreaded graduation on Saturday night, and when it came time to go home, Alyssa and her sister approached me.  Alyssa walked by me, and as I hugged her sister, I asked my friend the question, "no hug?"  Alyssa stopped walking, turned her head, looked at me pensively, and replied..., "I'll be back tomorrow..."  Then she walked away...  That was the hardest that I laughed on Saturday night...  :)

For your information (and this is referencing the Libra quote at the top of the page), I think that Twitter has the most accurate horoscopes ever...  :)

Thanks again for stopping by, and more specifically for reading the blog entry that sent my total views past the 35,000 mark (look at the counter in the upper righthand corner of this page - you MAY BE the 35,000th viewer)...  :)  I said this yesterday and I'll say it again now - have an outstanding weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!



    











Thursday, May 16, 2013

I Remember The First Time (17)

"You know you have a good stalker when they pick you up at the airport..."
-@ella__fraser- (via twitter)

"If you don't know what you really want, you probably will never get it..."
-@RichHarris2- (via twitter)

"#IncomingFreshmenAdvice - DO NOT run to class with your backpack on.  You will look like an idiot and I will laugh.  #TXSTFollowTrain" -@searcyyyy- (via twitter)

"When you have someone special in your life, don't ruin it by making stupid decisions... #Life #BeWise" -@Anthony_Ray3- (via twitter)

"To the person who keeps trying to send a fax to my phone...  I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you..."  -@annmarwd- (via twitter)




I remember the first time that I felt better...  Good morning everyone.  I had already switched my schedule to get an extra day off at work before I came down sick on Sunday, and I needed pretty much the full four days off to recuperate.  I want to thank all of you for what you've been doing in the meantime.  Do you realize that sometime tomorrow (if not tomorrow, DEFINITELY sometime this weekend) this little blog of mine is going to surpass 35,000 total views?  I think that it's nothing short of tragic that you don't have anything better to do with your time, but I really do appreciate you taking a minute to stop by.  ;)

I remember the first time that it felt like Texas...  Today is May 16th, and this is the weather forecast for San Marcos, America over the next 7 days:  (93/72); (97/70); (93/72); (91/72); (93/72); (91/72); and (91/70).   Sounds about right...

I remember the first time that I texted myself...  I believe that I have mentioned this here before, but it bears repeating if it helps you out.  It was a beautiful evening here in San Marcos (yes, America) last night and I decided to go for a walk.  I found myself wanting to record a few thoughts, but I didn't have any pen/paper with me.  In case you were not aware of this, you can send texts to your own phone number.  And just when you thought your Bikini Hill subscription wasn't paying off...

I remember the first time that the guy who schedules the flight times for airlines got a part-time job...  'Mad Men' is one of my favorite t.v. shows.  Early this morning I saw on the Time Warner digital cable T.V. Guide that the newest episode was going to be airing, from 3:28 a.m. - 4:31 a.m. (once again, you can't make this stuff up...).  Oddly enough, 'Mad Men' aired when it was scheduled, without being delayed or cancelled...

I remember the first time that I had a really scary thought...  Indiana goes to the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals with one more victory over the Knicks.  Could you imagine us somehow ending up with an NBA Finals matching the Memphis Grizzlies versus the Indiana Pacers???  If my Spurs can beat the Warriors one more time, then I'll be on the right side of the conspiracy for once, because there's NO WAY that David Stern wants a Grizzlies/Pacers matchup...

I remember the first time that I felt excited again...  I have a heartbeat, my blood is flowing, plans have been made, and the wheels are in motion...  We'll get to that later though, because if I tell you everything right now, Bikini Hill will never reach 35,001...  ;)

Have an outstanding weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!


  



    

  




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Could You? (17)/NHL 2nd Rd.

"Revenge is never as satisfying as you'd hope, and the cops always come sooner than you expect..." -@Tresca69- (via twitter)

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader..." -John Quincy Adams- (via @AffirmYourLife - twitter)

"I forgot how much I liked The Presidents of the United States of America.  And now I want peaches..." -@RageMichelle- (via twitter)

"Self-confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have.  How can anyone see how great you are if you can't see it yourself?" -@justincaron- (via twitter)

"I will carry 17 grocery bags or die trying before making 2 trips..."
 -@iQuoteComedy- (via twitter)




Could you steal straight from facebook to start your very late post Coach?  Yes, I could, and thank you for your concern about my cold...  Pffttt...  This came this morning from a friend of mine who used to work for me as an umpire when I was the supervisor for the San Marcos City Softball Leagues:  "One of my students got me a gift card to a liquor store..."  Kevin is now a teacher, and he posted a photo of the $25.00 gift card that his student gave him...  This is one gift that I never received while I was teaching and coaching...  :)

Could you steal another status straight from facebook since you're a crook anyway Coach?  Sure thing...  This comes from my friend Leanne, who I wrote about here a while back (she is training to be the ACTUAL Wonder Woman)...  :)  "Nothing like sweat and egg whites in the morning..."  I apologize if you're eating right now...  :P

Could you NOT act like this is the Heavyweight Championship of the World?  Before I went to pay my Time Warner bill this morning, I saw my neighbor's cat Freia again.  I wrote about Freia here some time ago (I titled the entry 'Freia').  I have actually seen Freia a lot over the past couple of days.  Anyway, I gave her some attention, and then went to pay my bill.  When I returned about a half-hour later, Freia had moved about twenty yards.  She was now resting near the other side of my building, where there is some grass and a wall.  I sat on the wall and pet her some more.  Then for the first time ever, I pulled up about a six inch root to see if she wanted to play.  I teased Freia with the root, about two inches from her face.  What I didn't know was that she was going to use her FULL eight inch reach, and Freia popped the back of my hand with her jab, and FREIA HAS CLAWS...  This is just an exhibition match cat!  She only "grazed me," and I learned that Freia does indeed like to play...  :)  The tiny scar is only about 3/4 of an inch, thanks for asking.  This reminds me of the time that I was a senior in high school, and hours before I was supposed to induct my friend Sylvie into the National Honor Society, I held my cat up close to my face...  CLAW, right down the middle of my nose.  My friend Pam put pancake makeup on it to cover the scar for the induction ceremony...  Oh, the good old days...  :O  And yes, I was REALLY in the National Honor Society - haters...

Could you just go ahead of me please?  When I was out paying another bill later this afternoon, this truck makes a right turn onto the access road which I'm already driving on.  Well, HALF the truck is on the access road, and the other half is up on the curb, for about twenty yards...  Next I see the driver signaling that they want to cut in front of me into my lane.  I immediately slow down and wave them in.  "GO AHEAD..."  Seeing the stunt driving display was all I needed to give them ALL THE ROOM that they wanted...


Could you PLEASE give us your predictions for the second round of the NHL playoffs?!  The first game faces off in less than TWO HOURS!  Below are my predictions and the actual results of the first round series.  I went 6-2 in the first round (like I did in the NBA playoffs), and I predicted 2 of the series correctly in the exact number of games (like I didn't do in the NBA playoffs)...


My Prediction/Actual Result

Penguins over the Islanders in 5 games/Penguins in 6 games
Canadiens over the Senators in 7 games/Senators in 5 games
Rangers over the Capitals in 6 games/Rangers in 7 games
Bruins over the Maple Leafs in 5 games/Bruins in 7 games

Blackhawks over the Wild in 5 games/Blackhawks in 5 games
Ducks over the Red Wings in 7 games/Red Wings in 7 games
Sharks over the Canucks in 6 games/Sharks in 4 games
Kings over the Blues in 6 games/Kings in 6 games



Since I'm a Montreal fan, that is the series that I would miss by the most.  In my other loss, I just had the wrong team winning game seven, so I don't feel too bad about that.  Here are my predictions for the second round of this year's playoffs:


Penguins over the Senators in 5 games
Rangers over the Bruins in 6 games

Blackhawks over the Red Wings in 5 games
Kings over the Sharks in 7 games



I hope that all of you are enjoying your NBA and NHL playoffs.  I could go for a Spurs win and a triple-overtime NHL game tonight, but that's just me.  Have a great night and I'll see you again on Thursday!








  





Monday, May 13, 2013

The Class Of 2013

"I love my university!  I graduate in a year, but this place will always have my heart!  #txst #TxStateFollowTrain #TXSTpride #EatEmUpCats" -@flexxiss- (via twitter)

"Everything is bigger in Texas, but everything is better at Texas State..." #TxStFollowTrain #BobcatNation
-@AlexEgge- (via twitter)

"Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat..." -@KtCheyenne- (via twitter)




Good evening everyone.  It was a very busy graduation weekend here in San Marcos, America.  The San Marcos Daily Record reports that Texas State University had over 4,500 May graduates, which is a new record for my alma mater.  On Friday I had the pleasure of attending a graduation party for my friend David at the Texas Music Theater.  I informed David that he was going to be roasted a little here because I have NO IDEA how he graduated.  :)  Anytime that I see any facebook status involving David, he is ALWAYS doing something different with one of his 1,668 facebook friends.  David - 1,668  Coach - 4 (in case you're keeping score at home).  David is obviously a great guy and his party provided me with a graduation weekend "halftime" if you will, as I worked a couple of shifts before his party and a couple of shifts after it.  David is also a graduate of San Marcos High School, as is our mutual friend, Summer Rodriguez's big sister.  Summer's big sister is now working on her Master's Degree at Texas State, and I wanted to mention the 4.0 that she made for the spring semester (I mean, if that's the BEST that she could do)...  :)  Congratulations on a great end to the spring David and Ashley!  In this blog I've mentioned my unexpected August return from Las Vegas to San Marcos on several occasions, and thanks to many of the people in this group, that transition was made bearable.  Earning a Bachelor's or Master's Degree as the people in this group have done is such a special achievement, and I'm honored to share in your celebration, and to share your names with the three people who might read this...  ;)  Seriously, I am very proud of all of you, and I wish you the best of luck in the future!  Here is your Texas State Class of 2013:


Amy Angelino
Natalie Berko
Abby Bland
Kim Castelluccio
Emily Castillo
Natalie Cavazos
Kate Church
Melanie Clancy
Yesenia Contreras
Evan Floyd
Liz Gray
Alyssa Macias
Chelsea Mansfield
Keri Nolan
Courtney Parisi
Brittney Reyes
Gabbie Sapien
Alison Sibley
Ryan Stewart
Lauren Tharp
Colleen Toornburg
Lindsey Tovar
David Valle


And I just found out about another San Marcos High School graduate and UTSA Roadrunner:  Congratulations Amanda Villalpando!  :)

I am sick right now and I'm more than a little tired, so if you're a friend of mine that just graduated and you don't see your name here, just let me know and I'll edit you in...  ;)  Have a great evening and I'll see you again tomorrow!  And..., Eat 'Em Up, Cats!




  



      

What If I Say...

"What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I"m not just another... one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?"

-Foo Fighters- (The Pretender)




Good afternoon everyone.  I apologize for the late post.  The sad thing is that this is supposed to be a graduation post, and I will probably still put that up sometime later tonight if I can stay awake that long.  After a very busy graduation weekend, I woke up sick yesterday (sore throat, sneezing, very tired, etc...).  John gets a shoutout here for taking my shift at work last night.  I was supposed to work from 9:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. (plus cleaning), and I ended up SLEEPING from 9:00 p.m. until 1:50 a.m. (and this was after I slept from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.).  I also slept yesterday morning preceding everything that I just typed, and I just woke up again about an hour ago (and yes, there will be a quiz)...

I want to separate this from the graduation post because I have A TON of graduates to recognize. Let me begin by saying congratulations to my friends Gabbie and 'Z', who both had weddings this weekend.  I played city league softball a hundred years ago with Gabbie here in San Marcos, America (our team won a championship, and we got t-shirts)...  :) , and I worked with 'DJ Z', who is also a big Spurs fan, (which is enough to get him in the blog all by itself)...  ;)  Gabbie married Josh and 'Z' married Jerri Lynn (who still has to change her name on her facebook...), and I want to wish both couples the very best in the future!

The NHL gave me a reprieve from making predictions for the second round until tomorrow, and also threw in a couple of seventh games tonight just to make things interesting...  The Rangers are playing at the Capitals, and the Bruins are hosting the Maple Leafs.  Since I predicted that the Rangers and Bruins would win these series, expect the Caps and Leafs to win - UGGGHHH, what I meant to say is that I'll stay with New York and Boston...

Browsing through the twitter account before I came here, I found this gem:  "Marc Gasol is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year...  He was just named to the All-Defensive Second Team. Someone figure this out for me..." -@spencepascuzzi- (via twitter)  HOW can you not love the NBA?!  :)


Now for the part of our program that our sadists came here for, my weekly fantasy baseball update...


League 1 - (25 entry fee - 1st place 125, 2nd place 25)

1)  Neshanic                                        72.50 (No one can lead from start to finish, right?)
2)  DraftDodgers                              68.00
3)  Pappys Boyz                                59.50
9)  The View From Bikini Hill     41.00

All three of my fantasy teams have names related to this blog, but this team carries the ACTUAL NAME of the blog, and is in NINTH PLACE!  The rosters have 28 active players, and SEVEN of my first 28 are on injured-reserve right now.  ALSO, Shane Victorino was injured yesterday (RAN INTO A WALL - ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?!), and isn't officially on the IR right now.  Can you say, "recipe for success?"...


League 2 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Breaking Bats                               78.50 (Still showing off...)
2)  Loons XXIV                                 71.50
3)  4troublemakers                          64.00
5)  The Bikini Hill Bobcats            58.00

With only four players on the IR (and no Victorino) and decent pitching, this team has a lot of hope if the offense can get things figured out.  This team is pitching well and easily has my best hitting outfield.  Two of my three groups don't want to steal bases at the moment...


League 3 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Nappy Heads                                78.50 (Again, STILL showing off...)
2)  Mad Men                                       68.50
3)  Pittsburg Crawfords                 57.00
4)  The Bikini Hill Nine                  55.50
4)  jonnylove7                                   55.50

This is an interesting group and an interesting league.  Any week that you come here for the update right now, a team could be in third place just as easily as it could be in seventh place (57.00 - 50.50).  My pitching is decent (this being the team with the best arms "on paper" - Kershaw, Strasburg, Weaver (DL - SHOCKING!!!), Medlen, etc...).  This offense is DEAD LAST in EVERY CATEGORY except for steals, where I'm leading the league (go figure)...This team is 1st, 2nd, 3rd (twice), and 4th in the 5 pitching categories...


I am going to do some research, and I should be back later with a graduation post.  Hopefully that post, a couple of NHL and NBA playoff games, and some baseball games will help me out.  Have a great day and I'll see you shortly!


  










Friday, May 10, 2013

Thank You Customers

Good morning.  This post was not in my original plans, but I wanted to say thanks to our customers and to get this down while the numbers and timeline are still fresh in my head.  This is graduation weekend at Texas State University here in San Marcos, America, and yesterday was the first day of ceremonies.  Last night we had a crowd of about 100 people up at the Veranda at 11:30 when the skies broke loose.  Our customers were instructed to clear the roof due to the torrential rain, and 100 people came down the stairs without ANY problems.  For about the next 45 minutes I hustled around between Harper's and Slackers, and I was informed at about 12:15 that the Veranda would be reopening.  By 12:40 we had gone from 0 to 200 customers (capacity) on the roof, and again, without ANY problems.  My friend Paige also gets a shoutout here because when I reestablished my position in the hallway, she brought me a cup of Coke and a cup of water which got me through the rest of the night.  I also had other customers who offered to bring me something to drink (which is a common occurrence), and I thank you as well.  For those of you who are celebrating the end of the spring semester and the graduation ceremonies, keep doing so responsibly and thank you for helping last night to run so smoothly under unusual circumstances.  Have a great weekend everyone!

  

Thursday, May 9, 2013

I Remember The First Time (16)

"Love..., I don't like to see so much pain..., SO MUCH wasted, and this moment keeps slipping away..."
-Peter Gabriel- (In Your Eyes)

"My son has been watching some sort of throwback superhero cartoons, and some of them have Wonder Woman in them.  He goes, "Mommy, why isn't she wearing pants or EVEN shorts???  Why is she just wearing UNDERWEAR?"  Me:  "Well I guess that's her superhero suit."  My son:  "Oh.  I love her...  I want to hug her...  I want to marry her..."  Well, that escalated quickly...  :( "
-Amy Shutt Bettis- (via facebook)

"You're the reason I'm strong, don't you think I don't know, this is where I belong, give me..., the time..., to say that you're mine, to say that you're mine..." -Jon Secada- (If You Go)





I remember the first time I graduated...  Well, the graduations are now in full swing here in San Marcos, America.  As if I needed proof of this, when I returned home from buying groceries this morning, a 'Lonestar Party Bus' was pulling up to the apartment complex next to mine and loading passengers, at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday morning...  :)

I remember the first time that my fantasy baseball teams were cursed...  Oh wait, that was last year...  Okay, so I've already titled a blog entry after the amazing Zach Greinke (Zach "lets duck my shoulder down into a charging player and break my collarbone" Greinke), and now Roy Halladay is going to be having surgery...  The View From Bikini Hill - Greinke (my 6th pick)/Halladay (my 8th pick).  The Bikini Hill Bobcats - Greinke (my 6th pick)/Halladay (my 7th pick).  Is it FOOTBALL season yet???  :(

I remember the first time that I blamed something on the 'Chi-O's' (at this point, the Chi-O's HAVE TO BE the official sorority of Bikini Hill)...  :)  Okay, so I'm up at the Veranda last night, watching over the 200 customers that we had celebrating the end of the semester, when the Chi-O's show up (cue ominous music - DUN DUN DUNNNNN)...  Castelluccio gets her birthday hug (see that Verissimo?  Castelluccio gets mentioned TWICE for her birthday, and evidently I never gave you a birthday shoutout)...  :P  Alyssa gets a hug (because she's not in the blog enough), Contreras gets a hug (I'm about to talk about another Gabby, and don't want to confuse people), and then I hug another girl that's with this group, because I know her...  AS SOON AS I see her amused expressed, and see her turn to the guy that she's with, I realize..., "OH MY GOD..., I DO NOT know this girl..."  I'm thinking that she looks a lot like Maureen Allen ('Mo'), who would be with this group.  I'm also thinking that she looks a lot like Gabriela Castellana, who I'm now realizing looks a lot like Mo...  Anyway, after hugging this Gabby/Mo doppelganger, I apologize and tell her that she looks a lot like someone I know (two people actually) and she's cool with it - she saw me hug my ACTUAL friends and it's obvious that I'm working, sporting the very cool white towel hanging from my stylish khaki cargo shorts...  And then I slink away (DUN DUN DUNNNNN)...  :)

I remember the first time that I fell asleep...  This is a little more background on the Spurs victory against Golden State a few nights ago.  Since Monday was my Saturday, I was coming off of working my Sunday night shift, and I only slept for about three hours before making my blog entry and heading to San Antonio to hang out with my dad.  After he finished work, we went to the Outback Steakhouse, where I naturally had the seafood combo (mahi, shrimp, and scallops).  ANYWAY, when I returned to San Marcos, America, the Spurs/Warriors game was in the second half, and I laid down to watch it..., again, running on just three hours of sleep.  I crashed at about the five minute mark of the fourth quarter, when Duncan went to the locker room with stomach issues.  The Spurs were down fifteen at this point, and I didn't wake up until there was about a minute left in the first overtime.  The reason that I'm telling this story is that..., well..., laying on my bed with my sleepy eyes reading the score on my t.v. screen, I honestly thought that we lost the game at the end of the first overtime when our shot (by Ginobili I believe) came up short, hitting the bottom-front of the rim before falling to the floor...  Then I heard the commentators say that we were going to a SECOND overtime...  :P  At work last night I was hearing stories about people that fell asleep at the end of the game and had thought that we lost until they saw the score the next morning, so I just wanted to tell my little story.  Also, if you watched either (or both) of the first 2 games, maybe now you're understanding why I picked this series to go 7 games.  The Warriors played very well against the Nuggets, and my Spurs are VERY LUCKY to be heading to Oakland not down 2-0...

I remember the first time that I didn't fall for that again...  Okay, back to the graduations that are taking place here in town.  If you are driving toward the Square on Hopkins from I-35, DO NOT make the right turn onto Charles Austin Drive...  I made the mistake of doing this last semester at this time, and the traffic is being handled in the same way again.  Charles Austin Drive (which is home to the Texas State baseball and softball fields) is closed, but the 'road closed' sign and the traffic cops are both positioned about a quarter-mile DOWN THE ROAD instead of being located at the intersection of Hopkins and Charles Austin.  DO NOT fall for this trap and have to make the U-turn...  ;)

I remember the first time that I wasn't sure when my next blog entry would be...  I'm thinking that there's a high likelihood that you will see me again before Monday because the NHL is probably going to conspire against me (much like the NBA did) and start a second round playoff series before Monday, and WHAT WOULD YOU DO if I wasn't here to give you my prediction(s)???  :O

Have a great day and I'll see you soon!

            







Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Could You? (16)

"Stop pretending your fingers are spiders when singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song to kids.  You're pushing them into a life of drugs..." -@gorrdano- (via twitter)

"A woman would never write the lyrics "like the ceiling can't hold us" without adding "but you totally don't look fat" into the chorus..." -@LeahBonnema- (via twitter)

"I've turned self sabotage into a slightly impressive skill set..."
 -@That_Damn_Duck- (via twitter)

"Will someone turn off that damn Skrillex song?  Oh, it's the dishwasher..."
-@Brentweets- (via twitter)

"I have no idea what I'm saying like 700% of the time..."
-@Nicholey23- (via twitter)




Could you make that last quote the official slogan for your blog Coach?...

Could you throw the 'Texas Music Theater' out there again for us Coach?  My 'The 5th Annual Lone Star Music Awards' entry has been so well received that I'm going back to TMT this week...  Okay, the real reason that I'm returning to TMT for the 2nd time in 13 days is for my friend David's graduation party.  The best part about the invite that I received to this party is that I DIDN'T tag him on facebook to my last post here, which referenced the Bobcats that are about to receive their diplomas.  David's invite is also the ONLY invite that I've received to a graduation party from the current crop of Bobcats - AHEM...

Could you tell us about more stuff that you haven't been invited to Coach?  This segues nicely into the pool party that I wasn't invited to on Sunday.  I THREATENED to write about this because everyone knows that Alyssa isn't mentioned here enough, and I only decided to really write about it after I did some investigating.  Okay, first off, this wasn't TECHNICALLY a pool "party" - also, I'm one hundred years old, and don't expect invites to everything that the cool kids are doing...  However, when I asked Alyssa about this gathering that was documented on facebook, she said, "ask J.J."  When I asked my friend and coworker J.J., he NATURALLY SAID, "ask Alyssa..."  :)  The fact that there were about another half-dozen people there makes it funny that these two specifically mentioned each other...  And now when my friend Chelsea (who I don't believe was present??) asks about her little group being my favorites (remember, this bunch is about to graduate and leave San Marcos, America), I'll have to say yes...  :)

Could you tell us one more story about these punks Coach, please?  Oh, Alyssa also didn't invite me to a crawfish boil...  Anyway, last night after my Spurs came back and broke the hearts of the Golden State Warriors in double overtime, I threw on my Manu Ginobili jersey and headed to Harper's to celebrate.  At this point I need to thank my friend and coworker George for offering to pick up my tab (I accepted immediately)...  Thanks George!  So while we're now enjoying the atmosphere up at the Veranda, Alyssa and Chelsea start talking about which ONE superpower they would pick if they got to choose.  Alyssa says that 'reading minds' would be her choice, and then Chelsea says the same thing.  Okay, well Chelsea actually said that if she got to pick, she would use 'that wish' for TWO choices, and would then pick 'reading minds' and 'flying'...  If the rules of wishing work like that, I'm not sure why Chelsea didn't just wish for EVERY superpower, but this was their game...  :)  ANYWAY, I thought that 'reading minds' was an interesting choice (of all the choices), and I guess that it's just based on my poker background and some of the jobs that I've held (including my current one).  I watch people SO MUCH that I would almost have to go with some other superpower because I'm "reading people" so often that sometimes I'm pretty confident that I know exactly what they're thinking...  If you had one superpower, what would it be???  (In case you're wondering, because Alyssa, Chelsea, and some of the crew that I'm about to mention will be graduating so soon and then dispersing, I'm trying to jam them into as many blog entries as possible before that occurs, because as we all know, they ARE my favorites)...  ;)

Could you tell me what this is?  Okay, so I'm at my station last weekend when a customer needs to transfer their drink.  I naturally hold forth the 12-ounce plastic cup, at which point I'm asked, "what's this?"  If you've been reading the blog for any length of time now, and know how honest I am, and can imagine one of those nights when I've dealt with some nonsense, then you already know what I said when I looked him straight in the eye and nonchalantly answered..., "A CUP..."  (Yeah, I said it...)  ;)

Could you tell me who does your hair?  I think that this conversation actually took place right after that girl told me to "slow my roll" last weekend...  I walk up on my manager and a customer who are engaged in a conversation as we're clearing out the bar.  The customer tells my manager that the girl who does her hair has a husband that is going to be opening a new restaurant...  My manager and I both start laughing because he is going to be opening a new restaurant and he has a wife who happens to be the person who does this customer's hair...  :)

Could you tell us about sweatshirts?  This is another story that I was going to write, chose not to, but then this customer came back to the bar on Sunday and brought it up...  :)  A few weeks ago, Jennifer came by my post approaching the Veranda wearing a sweatshirt (at this time, I did not know Jennifer).  Now this was a WARM evening, and I commented that I was surprised that she was wearing the sweatshirt.  Off she went, and when she came back down to my post much later in the evening, Jennifer was STILL wearing the sweatshirt.  I said something like, "I can't believe that you're still wearing that..."  Jennifer replied, "that hurts my feelings..."  It was only after she returned to the bar on Sunday and brought up the fact that I was MEAN TO HER that I realized that Jennifer thought that I was commenting on her STYLE, and NOT THE FACT that I thought that she must have been baking in the sweatshirt...  First of all, I don't have the right to comment on ANYONE'S style based on what I'm usually wearing...  Secondly, maybe that 'reading minds' thing isn't such a bad idea after all...  :)    

Could you tell us about that ONE TIME that a Chi-O was sweet to you?  "You're a refreshing face when we turn the corner..." -Gabby Contreras-  (And that's how you get into the blog Gabby..., and thanks)...  ;)

Could you end this with a story about ladybugs?  My friend Courtney recently posted on facebook about how her daughter had opened a bag of 5,000 ladybugs in her living room (evidently you can purchase ladybugs by the bag in large quantities, although I don't know why people do so, other than the fact that they have very persuasive young daughters).  Anyway, this got me thinking, WHO is counting these ladybugs in the bags?  2,568..., 2,569..., 2,500 and SEVENTY!!!  UGGGHHH!!!

I want to wish a Very Happy Birthday to Castelluccio (of Castelluccio & Verissimo - you remember)...  :)  For the rest of you, have a great day and I'll see you again either tomorrow or on Friday (graduation week, ya know)...  ;)




  



      

Monday, May 6, 2013

Goodbye Minnesota

"I had no idea being a mom would include saying several times a day:  "No, he's unarmed!  Wait!  Let your brother get a weapon!"..." -Amy Shutt Bettis- (via facebook)

"Life is too short to worry about stupid things.  Have fun.  Fall in love.  Regret nothing, and don't let people bring you down..." -@Willl_Smith- (via twitter)

"My coworker's name is "Jen Robinson" and she hates it when I run at her flailing my arms yelling DANGER JEN ROBINSON DANGER!  #LostInSpace" -@KrissiBex- (via twitter)




Good afternoon everyone.  As I begin my weekend, it's going to be a very busy week here in San Marcos, America.  Final exams are going to winding down on the Texas State campus over the next few days, and graduation ceremonies for the spring semester are going to be starting on Thursday.  Due to my job, I know an exceptionally large number of Bobcats who are going to be receiving diplomas this weekend.  The reminiscing has already begun, and tears have already fallen as these ceremonies get closer and closer.  I cannot even begin to fathom the number of congratulatory handshakes and hugs that I will be giving out this weekend...

That paragraph brings us to somebody who has already finished school here in San Marcos, and who in fact has already gone home.  Well, somebody and somebody's friend...  I SWEAR that I already mentioned these two in the blog (which doesn't prohibit them from being mentioned again), but they just KEPT PESTERING ME, so here ya go...  :)  Last week Keri and Gabbie stopped by work again (just to see me, I'm sure)...  Keri came down to San Marcos from Minnesota for a year to finish school, and Gabbie is the good friend that she made along the way.  Where this story is likely to bring a smile to your face is the part where Keri brought her parents by to show them our establishment...  Keri's parents made the drive down from Minnesota to pick up Keri and her belongings, and were bringing them back with Keri... THE NEXT DAY (which I thought was pretty impressive).  Anyway, when Gabbie shows up with Keri's family, Keri says, "maybe NOW you'll put us in the blog..."  :)  And just so you know Keri, when I saw Gabbie on the Square last night, she looked lost..., and alone..., and..., well..., she's just waiting for you to come back to San Marcos, America...  ;)

In a related story, I saw this status posted on facebook today:  "Test results are in and I passed the BOC!  I am officially Colleen Toornburg ATC, LAT, LMT, BRAT, and PUNK!  Okay..., MAYBE I added those last two, but congratulations Colleen!  ;)

Let me give you a couple of work stories before I let you have the update on my fantasy baseball leagues...  AHEM...  On Saturday night at 8:45 p.m., the following occurred up at the Veranda...  Our bartender asked if it was always that dark on the other end of the bar - I snapped off, "at nighttime..." (remember, it's 8:45 p.m., and it's dark outside)...  As the bartender and my other coworker gave me a little half-hearted recognition, I started to hear it..., ACTUAL..., OUT... LOUD... LAUGHTER!!!  This TRUE APPRECIATION of my wit was coming from the couple seated near us.  My IMMEDIATE thought was, "that's my audience - they get me!!!"  I instantly told them about this blog...  ;)

Okay, let's go for another feel good story from work this weekend...  As a group approached me, one person in the bunch stated, "I don't want you to think we're alcoholics.  We're here our second night in a row..."  After I answered with, "that's not a record...," I received a RESOUNDING CHORUS of "WOO HOO!!!"  Pure jubilation and no more guilty consciences...  :)

THIS happened at the very end of work on Saturday night, and I think that it's hilarious now, although I found no humor in it at the time...  Almost all of our customers were gone, as it was after 2 a.m., but I still heard some voices from the stairs, and the voices weren't approaching me (they weren't LEAVING)...  When I went to investigate, I found a group of guys with one girl, and I informed them that it was time to go. They let me know that they were waiting for one more member of their group to come down from the roof.  I told them that we were closed, and that they had to leave.  At this point, the girl in the group tells me..., "slow... your... roll..................."  "NOW!!!!!!!" was my IMMEDIATE response to that suggestion, and people started MOVING...  ;)


Okay, my weekly fantasy baseball standings...  Let me state right here that I still seem to have that one pitcher each week (at least) who wants to go out and see how badly he can get SLAUGHTERED out there on the hill.  This week it was Roy Halladay, who gave up like 417 runs in 2 1/3 innings a few days ago...  Okay, your weekly update:


League 1 - (25 entry fee - 1st place 125, 2nd place 25)

1)   Neshanic                                                                 71.50  (still leading the way - good job)
2)   DraftDodgers                                                        68.50
3)   MONTANA MOUNTAIN GOATS 2R       57.00
       Pappys Boyz                                                          57.00
       Shazzam                                                                   57.00
10)  The View From Bikini Hill                             39.50 (Yes, 10th - DEAD LAST...)


League 2 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Breaking Bats                                                          76.00 (still clicking along - good job)
2)  4troublemakers                                                     73.50
3)  The Bikini Hill Bobcats                                       66.00 (TRUE MIRACLE...)


League 3 - (50 entry fee/40 w/discount - 1st place 300, 2nd place 50)

1)  Nappy Heads                                                          74.00 (way out in front - good job)
2)  Mad Men                                                                  58.50
      Pittsburg Crawfords                                            58.50
6)  The Bikini Hill Nine                                             53.50


Let me say here that I fired A LOT of baseball players over the weekend...  AHEM...  Let me also say here that having your weekend start on a Monday is horrible in that there are NO daytime sporting events.  Tonight features three NHL playoff games, a pair of NBA playoff games (Go Spurs!!!), and maybe some baseball games (like I care)...  :)  What was funny about that special post that I did yesterday to predict the second round of the NBA playoffs was that I got some good-looking NBA ads from ABC - Google tailors the ads you display to the content of your blog.  It's almost a surprise that my normal ads aren't for potluck dinners...  ;)

Okay, that's all that I have for you right now, but I will see you again either tomorrow or on Wednesday (depending on how doing some errands goes)...  Have a great day!