Friday, July 27, 2007

Vacation...

So I am on vacation this past week or so (total of 10 days to be exact). No real cash to go anywhere, so we have been puttering around the house. It's not like there wasn't activities to do, though. It's been a pretty decent time off.

Started with Ignite Chicago. That was a blast and then some. Some really great bands on stage. We arrived in the middle of Seventh Day Slumber's set, and they were sounding pretty sweet. Metal meets Jesus....who knew. After them, Tree 63 took they stage. They were great to listen too, and of all the bands there, really had the only decent t-shirt I liked. But I didn't really have the cash, so I didn't buy it. I will kick myself later. After Tree 63 finished, Barlow Girl came on. Dang!!! They KILLED! Chicks can rock! I started working my way to the stage during Rebecca St. James's set. She was RSJ - very standard and very good. She had her brothers sing a song. You can just see the line of swoony teenaged girls mentally jotting down their Myspace page to add on their friends list. After Rebecca (and a too long a break cuz of a technicial glitch, which was passed with a little crowd surfing to return a passed t-shirt to autograph):


came David Crowder - the real reason I wanted to come. And he didn't disappoint. The crowd was totally into the band and his set. It was a crime when his set ended, but they already had him extend it one song. The night was complete with Casting Crowns, who were, I guess, considered the head liners. They finished the night very well, and we all left with a good smile on our face (to match any of the red from the sun).

The following day came a trip to Burbank for the Chicago Fire vs. Celtic FC. While it seemed that Celtic could just bring their developmental team, best I could tell from fans and my partners (which included my son, his friend and his father, who hails from Scotland), this was a good part of the real Celtic. The game was great, as were the seats. I am sure the size of the field made it a little more difficult for Celtic, but the teams did have a pretty evenly matched feel to them, which was a good surprise. An "all play at one end" domination would have made the game pretty crappy to watch. Turned into a 1-1 draw, and I guess that is the best one can hope for, with the garbage season the Fire is having anyway.

Ok.....more vacation fun in the next posting.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Hey batter, batter....

So I play in a Saturday morning softball league. Some days, 7am comes REALLY early. But it is fun, paling with friends, laughing, and getting back (sort of) to one of my first loves - baseball. I'm back patrolling 2nd base, like the good old days. But, those were long ago, and my stick and glove are quite rusty. I can't recall a single error I made back in my baseball days. Now - my body just doesn't move fast enough or bend over low enough to make the play. I need to work on that.

Now, in regard to the lumber (errr....aluminum now), that is slowly coming back. I was never the long ball hitter. Hell - I only hit one home run in my entire sporting career, at that was at a field with no fences. Ball in the long grass on a fly = Home Run. I bet that ball hit the grass about 3 inches off the ground (I never looked at the ball). In the beginning of the league, I was having major issues. From swinging bunts to crappy pop fly Texas leaguers - nothing like I was used to. "Get your elbow up" was all I heard. Well, I finally decided to just concentrate on the back elbow, and low and behold - the stick came back. I even hit a home run, go figure. So it was a bit of an error and some unknown wheels that got me all the way around the bases - that was a home run in my book. We are in first place right now, playing the top team just percentage points behind us this weekend. Does it get any better than that?

Oh right - it may not, since the coach is moving us up to A division next season. What the....?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Fun with Goodyear

This cracks me up. Especially the ending. 6+ min long, but worth it, I think.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Tab A into slot B

Can I just say that getting your car repaired after an accident is akin to being sent to the toilet bowl wax sealing ring convention, entering a drawing for a trip to San Francisco, hearing your name over the intercomm, only to go to the booth and find out the trip isn't ready, returning to the "exciting" convention, hearing your name again, and so on and so on.

I am now on week 2 without my car. And a PT Cruiser is a POS replacement, let me tell you. First the parts were delayed, then there was more damage that took the insurance company 2 days to get back and approve, and now the aftermarket part fits like crap, so they are swapping it out for an OEM part. Delay, delay, delay.....

(BTW - no, that is not a pic of my car. That is more how I feel about the whole deal. But thanks for asking.)

Monday, July 2, 2007

Paper never played so good

Welcome to my new addiction. Oh man - these things are SO dang awesome! These are Star Wars Pocket Models by Wizkids. These things are just amazing. First off, they are Star Wars. That, alone, is enough to make them beyond awesome, into some realm that, quite frankly, I cannot create words that would truly describe them without taking away from the greatest they are. Second, the design of these little models is well thought out and designed. They just ooze cool. Third, these are not those cheap, cheezy paper models when I was younger. The paper stock is über thick, and I has to have some kind of plastic coating. The ship construction tabs just will not bend when you put tab A into slot B. So no 5 year old frustration of the completed "toy" looking like crap or falling apart here.

You can find them at Target and Walmart, they claim, though Walmart has been a bust for me so far. They aren't cheap at $5 a pack, but you get at least 4 ships in a pack, sometimes 8 (I have run that range in the packs I have bought, averaging 5 ships - 4 fighters and a larger ship). Plus you get 6 cards with them, ala CCG cards. The standard common, uncommon and rare kind (3-2-1 packing). I have a couple foil cards. Not sure if this is the standard for the cards I got (Solo and Vader) or if they are more of a "rare" rare.

But what do I really care - these things RULE!!!!