Me: "I didn't put you on having a motto..."
Andrea: "My motto is, my motto changes..."
"You better stop watching me..." -Heather-
Good evening everyone. Before I get too far into what is surely going to end up being a marathon post, let me start by saying to Heather (and Andrea) that "My motto is, my motto changes," and "You better stop watching me" were in a dead heat for being the title of tonight's entry, and I only picked Andrea's quote because I've known her longer. However, I wanted to be sure to get Heather's quote in here, because it's one of the BEST stories... :) And we'll get back to that... :P
I got off to a late start yesterday, and even considered staying in Austin and not going to San Marcos due to the nasty weather. However, I needed to get a haircut (yes, it's not possible for me to get my hair cut in Austin), and there was the matter of the 2013 home football finale for the Bobcats. I ended up getting my haircut, filling up my gas tank, and grabbing a McDonald's Big Mac large combo meal to dine on while I cruised around San Marcos trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of the day. I had all of these chores finished by about 3:00 p.m. I had passed the parking lot which houses the pregame tailgating at about 2:00 p.m., and compared to Homecoming Weekend (which I posted about recently here), it looked pretty much like a ghost town... Very early in the day I had seen this photo posted on facebook by my friend 'Happy'...
Despite how appetizing this caldo looked, I was SURE that it would be VULTURED UPON by the time that I got to the festivities, so I didn't hold out any hope. By the way, Happy was at the tailgate representing Grins Restaurant and Treff's Tavern, so be sure to visit these fine establishments if you haven't already... So it's mid-afternoon, it's cold in San Marcos (yes Sydney, it was COLD), and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my day. I could VERY EASILY watch the LSU/Texas A&M game AND the Texas State/Western Kentucky tilt in WARMTH, never having to go outside AT ALL... However, it was at this point, while I was pondering life in my warm vehicle parked in front of Bobcat Nation, that I received a call from my friend Nicole. She told me that her and her husband Scott were almost at the tailgate, and she wanted to know where I was. Hmmmm... Long story short, Coach walks up to the Treff's Tavern tent at the tailgate at about 4:30 p.m. When Nicole tells me that the only reason that her and Scott decided to go to the tailgate at all (their first in three years) was that they knew that myself and our mutual friend Art were going to be there, I was REALLY HAPPY that I decided to show up. And when I discovered that there WAS still some of the caldo pictured above remaining..., I was REALLY HAPPY that I decided to show up... ;) So I enjoyed my caldo, drank a couple of Coronas, and socialized with my friends..., until the tailgates were forced to pack up and leave, due to the impending kickoff of the football game. Yeah..., I had made no concrete decision on what to do yet... Should I go to the game, and freeze for another three hours, or should I be comfortable, and not be there to support our team? Before I answer this, I happened to run into my friend Verissimo before (oops, I can't tell you yet)... This is a photo of myself and the young lady who was instrumental in helping the Chi Omega's raise over $10,000.00 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation...
Okay, several things here... If I haven't told you already, Verissimo is very bright, thus the wearing of her whole bedroom set... ;) Second, I've had that Red Sox jacket since 1986 (yeah, I know), and I CONSISTENTLY get comments on it. You see Sydney, it's not cold in Texas that often, thus the long life of the jacket... ;) Third, that is some of the remaining evidence that I'm holding in my left hand... :)
Well, I was a trooper yesterday, and I found myself in line at the ticket window (no free ticket for this game), and I was reading the pricing menu, ready to shell out my $15.00 for the cheapest general admission ticket available, when I heard, "HEY!..." I looked over to the will call line, and saw my friend Trent hailing me. As it turns out, Trent and his wife Krista were picking up credentials to watch the game from a suite, and Trent handed me a pair of tickets to watch the game from the... THIRD ROW... :) As my friend Mo stated later in the evening when I told her this story, "Coach..., you have good karma..." That was pretty much PERFECTLY STATED Mo... I try to treat people right, and they usually treat me accordingly...
As for the game, I was really impressed with the crowd that showed up, considering the weather conditions. However, a good chunk of this crowd started filing out when we found ourselves down 17-0 early (and I really don't blame them). We threw some AWFUL interceptions early on. Unfortunately, our play didn't improve much throughout the course of the game, and we found ourselves on the wrong end of a 38-7 final score. However, as the crowd continued to migrate to warmer places, it did give me the opportunity to explore the whole stadium. That gave me the opportunity to snap this photo of my friends...
Pictured left to right, these young ladies are Brooke and Paige, my two favorite cheerleaders in Bobcat history... :D I remember meeting Paige when I worked at the Texas Music Theater a few years ago, and recall telling her that her smile was going to take her a long way in life... DIDN'T EVEN KNOW that she was a cheerleader when I met her (great read, huh?)... :) Over time, I also started seeing her friend Brooke when they would take their study breaks, and they've always been great to me... Before I headed back to the north end zone, which provided some much needed shelter from the wind, I wanted to ask my friends if they were FREEZING. They were obviously on the field, and before I even had the chance to ask, I saw Paige mouth the words, "SOOOO COOOLD" to one of her family members. Yes indeed Paige, yes indeed...
So we're fast forwarding to me reaching warmth. I'm now back at the Bobcat Nation Sports Bar & Grill, ready to thaw out and use the second of the $25.00 tabs that I've won in their football pick 'em contest this season. Speaking of that, the Patriots just came back from a 24-0 deficit to beat the Broncos in overtime, which means that my brother Pete and myself will be battling it out tomorrow night to see who wins that prize this week. Pete (and by the way, Happy Birthday Pete!) has also won the contest once this season. Also, since I'm about to tell you about my visit to "Bobcat Nation," I have some good news to share with you...
The photos above show the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Champions, the Texas State Bobcats, and my friend Ali, a San Marcos native and proud member of that squad, spreading the good news... CONGRATULATIONS to Ali and the Bobcats!!! :D
Okay, so I'm cold and starving... I order a bowl of seafood gumbo, and a shrimp po-boy with onion rings. When I told my friend Mo this later in the evening, she said, "that's a lot of food..." I said, "yeah, it was..." I expected the bowl to be like this (making a circle with my hands about the size of a grapefruit for Mo). Mo quickly said, "no, it's more like this..." (she showed me a circle about the size of a frisbee, which was correct)... So after I finished my meal, and my first beer, I HIT THE WALL... I was completely docile, just enjoying the Baylor/Oklahoma State game as I hung out with Brandon (owner/operator) and Andrea (bartender). It was during this time that Andrea and myself had the exchange that I opened tonight's entry with. This is a photo of Andrea and myself (and yes, there are more photos of me in this blog entry than..., well..., ever)...
Awesome person, very cool, sharp, funny (and yes, I'm talking about Andrea, not me)... :) And then there's my new friend Heather... In the interest of keeping long stories short, and not divulging anything that was basically meant to stay between Andrea and Heather, I will tell you this... Being a poker player, and a people watcher, I'm usually pretty tuned-in as to what's going on around me... That being said, I had never met Heather (we had never spoken A WORD to each other), so I was pretty surprised when she walked up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and I heard the words, "you better stop watching me" come out of her mouth... I LOVE awesome people... :) Fast forward to the Square, when I was leaving Harper's and Heather is RIGHT BEHIND ME, evidently because she had been stalking me without my knowledge after I left Bobcat Nation (okay, I'm probably making that part up)... :)
You're right, I'm not going to say that little about my visit to the Square... Upon walking into Harper's, I was immediately greeted by my friends Mo and Amy. In addition to the quotes above that I've already attributed to her, Mo is the same hero that was responsible for saving the girl from drowning that I mentioned here in the blog this summer... My favorite lifeguard...
Oh, and Lucki Duck, note the shirt that I'm wearing... ;) Below I'm pictured with our mutual friend Amy, and I CHALLENGE YOU to find either of these young ladies out in public without the other. My favorite Angelino...
Needless to say, I had a great time catching up with Mo and Amy, and with all of my friends in San Marcos. Within minutes of arriving in town, I was already homesick, and I live a WHOLE HALF-HOUR up the road... Pathetic... :P Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
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