Spontaneity

I’m not a pick-up-and-go kinda girl. I like plans. I like plans to be made early and to be very detailed. I like knowing what’s going to happen. I like preparation. (this isn’t to say I don’t like surprises, like gifts, but…)

Right now, I’m incredibly excited because. this morning, I got an offer of tickets to go to Sunday’s Tennessee Titans game. My cousin knows someone, blah, blah. They’re affordable! They’re my favorite team! I didn’t have anything planned for Sunday but laying around! Now…who do I want to take with me?

Jason was surprised when I asked, “Want to go to a football game on Sunday? Oh, by the way, it’s in NASHVILLE.”

“Nashville?!? Like, Tennessee?” he asked.

“Yup.”

“ummm…This Sunday?”

So, I explained it and he expressed amazement that I’d do something so spur-of-the-moment. In my experience, though, I’ve only ever done Nashville as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.

I’m seriously excited. I love the Titans. I just washed my Vince Young jersey. All is good!

Woo hoo! (be jealous, NatDaddy!)

(Oh, and, by the way, in further “I can’t believe you guys date” news…I had a little inner snicker when Jason asked, “So, what kind of football is this? College? Pro? What?”   )

________________________________________________________________

I almost forgot today’s interesting fact! I’ve only ever been to three professional sporting events. One Cincinnati Reds baseball game and two preseason Bengals games. Yay!

Oh, Good Grief

You’ve probably all heard about it, by now. The Wildcats lost, last night, to Gardner-Webb.

“Who’s that?” you’re thinking.

No, it’s not the newest prospect in Billy G’s recruiting machine, it’s not even a person. It’s a school in North Carolina, apparently, 5000 students strong, that has been in the NCAA Division I for eight years. Yeah. EIGHT YEARS. Last season, they only won six games. Last night, they relied on backdoor cuts and three point shooting to look like a pretty decent high school team. Oh, yeah, and THEY WON! WHAT THE HELL!

As I watched the GW kids shoot out to an early lead and the Cats do absolutely nothing on either end of the court, Jason snoring on the couch next to me, I called my mom and said, “Are you watching this game? What’s going on?”

Once again, there was no offense. Mr. Makes-Me-Nervous (a senior leader, doncha know?) would streak up the court, play hot potato with the ball and turn it over. Mr. Joe We-Should-Have-Let-Him-Transfer-to-Michigan-State-When-He-Wanted-To Crawford would dribble around, maybe make a weak fall-away shot or throw the ball out of bounds. Basically, everyone who was a recognizable face to me generally douched the game. The guys who I’m not as familiar with their faces yet…guys like Patrick Patterson (and I just realized he really is a Pat-Pat), Alex Legion and Mark Coury (flurry)…seemed to try the hardest and had some success. Even Jodie Meeks, who I am a faithful believer in, didn’t do very well. What’s the deal?

I’ve heard so much about Billy G’s new “system” and how much adjustment it takes. From what I can see, it’s pretty much last season, as usual — good to great defense and offense my grandmother could defend against. So, what’s new? Oh, wait. Late night, game-eve film sessions? Game day full practices? What’s that about? Who can expect to play well, this early in the season, when you have two games, a film session, and a full speed practice in the span of 30 hours (also, when are these guys going to class?).

All in all, I’m glad that I fell asleep during the first half. I ended up going to bed thinking, “Yeah, this is Kentucky! We’ll pull it out.” This morning, as I sat down in front of the TV at 4:30 and ESPNU was replaying the game, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Yeah. We didn’t pull it out. Gardner-stupid-Webb beat the crap out of us. I’d wager that the top high school team in the state could have beaten GW, and probably pounded last night’s Cats, too.

If the trade-off at Kentucky is good football team, bad basketball team or vice versa, I’ll take the vice versa, again, please.

P.S. Are commentators going to harp on the “expectations” again, this year? I thought all that was through with the exit of Coach Smith. Additionally, can we petition Congress to outlaw any and all former coaches/assistant coaches/players/lovers of Duke basketball? It’s incredibly annoying. Oh, and finally, what’s the deal with the comment relayed from Coach Hall, last night, that winning the 1978 Championship wasn’t as much joyous, as a relief? Can we save the fan-bashing for another season, please? I think this one will be long enough, as it is.

________________________________________________________________

I’m not even in the mood for an interesting fact, today. I will say that the earliest I can remember being a University of Kentucky basketball fan was at the age of four. The seniors, that year did a barnstorming tour. These seniors included, in my recollection, Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin (maybe Kenny Walker, but I don’t remember him, particularly). I went to the Henderson County High School leg of the tour. My cousin made friends with the players and got to sit on the bench with the team. I remember getting my picture taken with Melvin Turpin (I sat on his lap and I remember him being a LOT bigger than me). My uncle unearthed this picture a couple of years ago and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I wish I had a scanner so I could show you all how incredibly EXCITED I was to be in the presence of the Kentucky players. It’s one of my favorite pictures, ever.

[sigh]

Long couple of days at work, not a lot to write about here. Sorry for that. I hate when work ends up controlling my life.

Today’s interesting fact about me? Work History. Since I was 16, I’ve held nine different jobs. Three of them have been full time. The rest were either part-time or were intern-type situations.

Beer Review: Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat

A little background before the review:

I’ve gone through phases in my drinking life. As a kid, my dad and grandfather and uncles drank things like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller High Life, Stroh’s, Schlitz, that kind of stuff. I would gleefully go and get them new beers when their cans were empty. Alcohol was always around, and it wasn’t a big deal. That’s probably why I didn’t start drinking until after most of my friends did. When I did, I, for some reason, decided I’d be a beer girl.

Most anyone who started drinking before the legal consumption age pretty much was happy with whatever kind of beer was around. That meant that I drank my share of traditionally low-brow beers. I was happy with it. I was poor. Bud Light was cheap and consumable. I became a Bud Light girl.

In the past year, though, I’ve branched out. I’m trying new beers, mostly craft beers and microbrews. Some I like, some I don’t. Now, I sort of know what types of beers I like. Pale ales, lagers, some wheat beers are for me, while stouts, reds, and darks aren’t. Last week, Jason and I discovered a liquor store that has a monthly-rotating selection of beers on tap for tasting. That’s great, because we’ve bought some rather pricey six-packs that were not to our liking. Hopefully, this new find can help us save some money and our tastebuds.

Finally, to today’s beer review: Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat beer.

Goose Island Beer Company is Chicago-based and you can read about their history and their different beers in the link, above. They also make sodas, and I hear their Root Beer is excellent. This 312 Urban Wheat was the first Goose Island beer I tried, and it was at The Duchess’s house. I was a wee bit worried, when she offered it to me, knowing that Blue Moon is a wheat beer and that it is definitely not to my liking. This one, however, has a very good taste. It’s refreshing and not too heavy. It’s smooth and, I found out last night, tastes good with pizza. I make no claim on refined tastebuds. I can’t describe to you the “spicy aroma of Cascade hops, followed by the crispy, fruity ale flavor delivered in a smooth, creamy body, the result of blending barley malt with torrified wheat.” (goose island website) However, I can tell you that it is cloudy because it’s unfiltered and that the fruity ale flavor isn’t overpowering. It’s just right.

Alcohol by Volume: 4.2%, Hop Bitterness (IBU): 15 – Moderately Low, Color (SRM): 4 – Hazy Straw, Availability: Draft and Bottles Year Round

And, there we have it! The first beer review.

________________________________________________________________________________

Interesting fact (about me) of the day:

I’ve been on two bourbon distillery tours (Buffalo Trace and Labrot & Graham), but never a brewery tour. Perhaps when we go to Chicago? (hint, hint)

It’s not just a movie with Matthew Broderick.

Tomorrow is a big day ’round these parts. It’s the day that my fellow Commonwealthers elect a governor and those that fill our state’s constitutional offices. Everyone that knows me should know that I’m a pretty darn liberal kind of gal. Those politicians who claim to be middle of the road or to the right of center tend to be too conservative for me on social issues. I used to be a die-hard Democrat. Until the last gubernatorial election (we can only vote for our party of registration during primaries), I always voted straight ticket, when applicable. There was never a candidate in any other party (or independent) that appealed to me.

Tomorrow, I’ll vote for a candidate in the Republican party, again (for a constitutional office). That would surprise a ton of folks, but, anymore, I feel so apathetic about politics. Our last governor and the incumbent have been embroiled in political scandal. Despite claims by all contenders to “clean up the mess” during the last election cycle, little was done and a huge ethics investigation resulted in many violations. All this, plus the fact that I’ve lost a lot of faith in our political leaders to actually serve the people, rather than self-serve, combine to make me just “eh” to the whole thing. I used to have passion and conviction for politics. Sadly, I feel I’ve become lazy and uncaring, although I do really care, but don’t feel like I can change anything.

Bizarre things are going on in this race. One gubernatorial ticket has been unanimously endorsed by the media outlets in the state. I’m not sure that has ever happened, before. This post explains an odd phone call that’s going out to voters (which would actually probably make me vote for the candidate more, which I’m not sure is the intended message). This article explains that entertainer Pat Boone and the Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate calling the Democratic ticket “the San Francisco treats” because they are endorsed by the Committee for Fairness and Individual Rights. :eyeroll:

After all the mud has been slung and the votes cast, I think that there will be a shake-up in our state’s politics. I hope that it will be for the better (it can’t get a lot worse), but I’m not setting myself up for disappointment. It’s likely to be politics, as usual.

_________________________________________________________________

Today’s interesting fact is this:

I voted for the first time at age 17. How? Our primary elections are held in May. I was slated to turn 18 in July of an election year. Since I would be old enough to vote in the actual election, I was allowed to vote in the primary. I also was a poll worker, that year. Since then, I’ve never missed voting on election day. One year, I had to file absentee because I was constantly working out of town.