10/31/18 O. Henry Was Left Saying Oh Dear?

    I hate to admit it but this game made my stomach turn, I was on my feet most of the second half.  It truly sucks that in competition there must be a winner and thus, a loser, but at least for this time, our boys were the victors.

    The game started close enough, O. Henry took their starting drive and passed and ran all the way for their first score.  We returned the favor with a beautiful 60-70 yard sccamper down the sideline, the difference being we converted the two point conversion.  We managed to score again in the second quarter to go up 14-6, but with a few seconds, they came back and this time they did convert the two points, so at the half, the score was 14-12, Bedichek.  The boys did kick an onside kickoff and managed to get the ball back, but could not convert before O. Henry scored their second score.

    The third quarter was a blur, O. Henry took most of the quarter's time, but were stopped at the goal line, so that looked pretty good.  At the start of the fourth quarter is when it got exciting, I mean, their cheerleaders were relentless and screaming to the point of being annoying, mostly because our cheerleaders were not there to counter them.  People were standing up, so it meat we had to be standing up, everyone was screaming.  I was just having that feeling where although our boys have had the lead, there just isn't any fuel left to keep it up and gradually the other team gets ahead.

    They scored, but again, missed the two point conversion, which put them up 18-14.  With them missing the two point conversion, all we would need is another touchdown, we were going to have about six minutes and then they did an onsides kick, the ball looked like it bounced off the center's helmet (Javalina said it was the center after the game), and O. Henry got the ball back.  Isn't that what you expect when you've lost so many games?  I was pissed because I could see our boy heartbroken at losing such a close one, but this time they did not give up like they usually did.  Javalina said, even in the huddle, there was no finger pointing, they just wanted to get the ball back.  They stopped them in four downs, Javalina had the third down stop mostly, he hung unto that running back and dragged our boy on his knees about three steps, but he did not let go.

    With less than four minutes, our boys tried a couple of plays that went nowhere but back, but on fourth and forever, they managed a beautiful pass to the same guy that scored the other touchdowns and he did what a fast boy does, he turned on the jets and scampered about 50 yards after the pass being about twenty yards.  This gave us the lead of 20-18, and then we scored the two point conversion, so we were up by four.  The only problem is that there was 1 minute and 55 seconds or so.  Could the defense stop them (and the referees, it seemed)?

    In all the games, the referees just want time to run out, this was the first time all season, the ref added a few seconds after the clock was down to 1:36.  They ran and passed pretty good, the difference from the rest of the season was that the guys did not give up on their responsibilities.  They got as far as the 25 yard line, with 25 seconds, but they ran out of downs.  All our guys had to do was line up a tight formation and kneel the ball to run the clock out, but they came out in a full spread offense like they were the Houston Oilers back in 1987, made no sense, and they even got a penalty which pushed them back 5 yards to the 20.  It was ok, next play they knelt and time ran out.  

    This was clearly a game to remember, such a perfect ending to their junior high experience, to go out on a high.  To be continued....

10/30/18 So Many Alarms After Being Late Once?

    It finally happened, I don't want to throw blame, but I could.  I was late to pick up Javalina from football practice.  To add insult to injury, they got out early, which made me seem like I was extra late.  First of all, my whole weekend was crap.  I worked OT finally and to change it up a bit, I decided to go early in the morning since I wake up at 7:00am, I thought I could get everything done by 1:00pm or so.  Well, I thought it was only 6 samples, but it turned out to be ten, so that made me take a little longer and then add to the fact that the samples were weirder than their name implied.  I am still learning in Chemistry, but this were labeled a certain way making me think it was just prep and shoot.  Anyways, I ended up doing a lot of extra work to get the data in, but it was still wrong.  The deal with all this is that I didn't get home until after 4:00pm.  This meant that by the time we finished eating some tacos Wife had made, there was no time to nap and not "ignore" my family.
    This all ended up with me going to bed early, which means I was in bed by 10:00pm with Wife and got up at 7:00am to take Javalina to school.  Sleeping like 9 hours was not going to allow me to go right back to sleep, but I still need to sleep for work at night.  I went to Target and got some food things.  I then got home and wrote yesterday's blog and then I remembered I hadn't done the bills since we left Saturday and I worked Sunday.  There was so much mail, I had to pull it out in groups.  Boy is supposed to bring in the mail, but he is not very good at following commands.
    By the time I got done with the mail it was past 1:00pm.  I then went upstairs, pooped and then had to shower.  I putzed around on the bed, playing Words with Friends and whatever other distractions I have.  Because I went to bed so late, I did not even hear the alarms I have to wake up.
    Suddenly, I wake up and it is almost dark and I thought "something's wrong!"  I look at my phone and I had like 15 missed texts and calls.  I didn't even pee or wash my face, I ran down and started driving towards Javalina's school, I felt so bad.  He was pissed and had already started walking towards the house.  I didn't even see him walking but as soon as I got to his campus my phone was beeping.  He said I had missed him and to come back to the storage units on 1st Street.  I went and got him and he wouldn't talk to me, like I did what I did on purpose.  Wife yelled at me, saying he was crying because he thought maybe I was dead.  Wife was pissed because she thought I was screwing around, Boy was pissed because he was bothered and was on his way to pick him up when he heard.  This is what happens when they tell me to come to bed early, it fucks up my routine.

10/29/18 This Weekend Just Disappeared?

    I am really hoping Wife can find something up here next year.  We are not having fun in any kind of way, anymore.  She was on the road by 5:00pm, and got here around 8:00pm.  We always discuss whether we are going to go out to dinner or if she should just pick up something if we are busy here at the house.  I always like the idea of eating out, but sometimes we are just plain lazy and sometimes I just don't plan my days right.  I need to sleep a certain amount of hours if I am going to be functional later in the day,  but recently, I find myself wanting to enjoy the mornings like an old man.  I like staying up in the morning and reading on the internet, maybe drinking a cup of coffee, or doing other things old farts do during the day.
    Javalina is busy with football practice anyway, even on Fridays, so I don't pick him up until almost 6:00pm.  My idea is to stay awake until like 11:00am and then go to sleep.  Since I don't wake until 5:00pm to go and wait for him or wait for him to call me, I can still sleep a good 6-6.5 hours.  Sometimes, this is not enough.  I picked him up around 5:30 on Friday, came home, since Wife was on her way, but he was hungry.  I made some fish sandwiches, which come out delicious on our little toaster cooker, but we finished eating by let's say 6:30pm.  When Wife calls to see where we are going to eat, it is hard to say since we are both still licking our fingers from the sandwiches.  She picked up chicken tenders for us at Chicken Express which Javalina has been obsessing over for awhile now.  While we ate with Wife and got caught up for the week, we saw a show she recorded or two and that turns into another show or two, and that is enough to put me out.
    I was asleep by 10:00pm, one of my supervisors had called if I wanted to work OT which I said yes, so that ate up most of Sunday, but Saturday we kind of had plans to go to Fiesta Texas.  As I explained yesterday, that plan didn't seem as interesting if it was just going to be us four by ourselves.  In previous years, we would meet up with at least my folks, but my mom has been sick with the cold or flu over the last two weekends.  I still felt like getting out of the house, even if it is to go sleep at my in-laws, I figured Wife would enjoy seeing her peeps.  I wanted to go stare at the boats at Bass Pro Shops, but my two boys are turd nuggets and they don't care about this at all.  I told Wife, Fuck it, just go to your moms, this two a-holes can suck it.
    I said hi and stuff and didn't even go lay down on purpose like I usually do, but I still fell asleep on the sofa for a good three hours.  We drove back and Wife was a little pissed because I fell asleep on the drive back, and so did the boys, so she was basically our taxi driver to and fro, this did piss her off a bit.  We got back and watched a couple more recorded shows until we both fell asleep on the sofa.
    I decided to go in to work early since I got up at 7:30am.  I thought I could swing the samples and be back before Wife even got up.  The whole job was a mess and although I was there for 7 hours, I did not prep the samples correctly, so most my data was trash.  I didn't feel right about the work, which was part of the reason of doing it during the day, hoping someone would interject something.  I got a call from my manager that I had screwed the pooch, which was the perfect ending to a shitty weekend.  I was in bed with Wife by 9:00pm, only to find that I couldn't sleep because I drank too much soda and was getting up to pee every 1.5 hours.  It is now 10:00-10:45am on Monday morning, I just finished this and I think I shall go lay down, maybe watch a little porn before sleeping.

10/28/18 Texas Loses A Close One?

    It seems there were a little too many distractions for the Horns to pull this one through.  I have to admit I didn't even get to watch this one.  We were in San Antonio, we were supposed to go to Fiesta Texas, but we got as far as my in-laws and napping just seemed like a better idea.  We discussed going at the last second and the idea of having to buy Boy a day ticket at $40-50 to walk around for a couple hours just seemed too steep.  He didn't go with us when we bought season passes.  Originally, we were going to go to Fiesta with my folks last week, but the weather was crappy and my mom got a cold which she is still recovering from.  With Boy not taking his GF and Javalina a little sour puss teenager who would rather be in his room, I decided why spend money on going somewhere a little meh, plus Wife had not seen her folks in at least a month or more.
    What I read after the game is that a couple players were punished for missing meetings by not being allowed to play.  Who the hell does that hurt if the guys not playing are your starters?  Make them run bleachers on Sunday or make them wash your car, coach, come on.  These are kids as Mr. Acho said in his twitter, they don't process like adults, this is why I call my Boy and his friends knuckleheads.  They might be trying to be adults 99% of the time, but they fumble sometimes, no pun intended, we help them when they get foolish and clumsy.  This just hurt everybody, whatever chance we had to make the playoff bracket, here Oklahoma, but at least we punished our guys for being late to a meeting.
    It was good to see Ehlinger back in there even if Buechele helped pull out the win last time.  I especially like that even in a close game where he could have panicked and thrown an interception, he is still free of that monster for the season, I believe.  This is a game that could have been won, I don't think the break did them any favors, but it is what it is.  I was honestly expecting another disastrous season, it is good that Herman appears to be as passionate as the kids and he wants to win.  I hope that BS at the end of the game just disappears and the people pussifying every other aspect of our lives leave this alone.  It was a close emotional game that could have gone either way, big deal if the coaches screamed a little at the end.  Nobody threw punches, let it go, this is football.

10/27/18 MGTOW Is A Really Interesting Strategy?

    I was looking for something to write about this morning so I go on YouTube and start listening to random stories.  There is a lot going on with the caravan of people coming, but as I was told last night, I don't know the full story, I just know what is in a four minute clip, I will then wait to comment more.  The topic of MGTOW, or Men Going Their Own Way, comes up, again and again.  Apparently, we are in a new societal pattern where guys date for as long as possible, but not necessarily for the purpose of marriage.  One of the persons leading this charge is Tom Leykis, who I have mentioned a few times.  He is a radio personality, you can catch bits and interesting clips on YouTube just by typing his name.  He is very pro men and his goal is that men do not get screwed by women.
    That being said, I have no horse in this race, as far as my side, I am happily married, all I do is work and watch after my boys while Wife is working three hours away during the week as she gains the experience to hopefully be able to apply up here somewhere and be taken seriously, so she can come back and command the price of a director level person.  It used to be I made almost 3 times her salary for the first ten years or so we were married.  I might be a dick about it once in a while when it came down to making decisions, I might throw that at her, like when we moved to our bigger house, or every time I wanted a new toy, such as the boat, or my trucks.  With her promotion though and my pay cut and no OT over the last few years, we are basically making the same amount of money now.
    MGTOW is for men who make considerably more than their chosen person they are dating.  There is no incentive to go farther than dating.  Marriage is an institution that helps mostly the woman.  If there is a divorce, and the numbers say that 50% of marriages end in divorce, the man might have to pay the woman a percentage of his earnings to support her.  I call BS to that.  It is one thing if I had to do that with Wife, who has been with me since the age of 16, but to start dating some new lady, get married and if didn't work, I would have to support her for the rest of her life is completely nuts, who would sign up for that?
    The last story I was listening to, the lady wanted to get married and she says the guy is being hesitant.  she didn't want to disclose that she cheated on him, BUT, of course, she would never do it again.  Ummm, once a cheater, always a cheater.  Leykis had a field day with her calling her a slut and a whore, which she defiantly said I am not a slut, "well what is the definition of a slut?"  She answers, well, somebody that sleeps around, a lot (to make it seem different than her case).  She pretty much described herself, she just didn't want to fit in that costume.
    Add to the list of today's modern woman doesn't cook or clean, because it is degrading, then why does a man need a woman around for, if he is the sole breadwinner?  The women on the radio like to argue that they are there for companionship, to which Leykis tends to always say men make better companions to men, women always want to make it about themselves.

10/26/18 I Feel This Is Some Sort Of Set Up?

    I haven't commented on Trump as I am confused about his shenanigans.  He seems like a buffoon, every action seems like one made by a spoiled child, yet, I am slowly being drawn to his side because the alternative just doesn't make sense.  I don't know if he has created his own alternative and just made up stuff that we are believing or was I once in support of such wrong things.
    I believe this is the land of opportunity and regardless of what the conservative side says, those illegals that come over to work, I have some respect for them.  They are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families like many generations have done before.  But in Trump's worldview, illegals are coming to deliver drugs if they are even latino, he is trying to make it seem that muslims and other enemies of the US might get in this way.  Of course I am going to be against that, we all are, but who is really coming?  Then, all of a sudden, this march starts in South America and they are coming this way, forcefully?  Fuck them and all their kids walking alongside them.  That is not a good way to get sympathy for your cause.  But even when it is investigated and determined that it is indeed just a bunch of latinos, Trump just says, the ISIS people are in there, that is enough to convince most on the right.
    Another point I don't understand, I keep seeing this Antifa thing and I am not sure who they support, but they seem to be on the left, a lot of them scream that they want to live in a socialist society, fuck that.  We are capitalists.  I know our system is not working perfectly, but I want to make more than the next person and live in a better house than the numbnuts who doesn't educate himself.  Boy is pretty much their age and he has had no trouble finding work.  He worked at Alamo Drafthouse for like five years and they loved him until the past year when he started doing a paid internship which might lead to his first professional position out of college when he graduates next year, but my son does nothing but study and work.  I don't understand how minimum wagers can scream for a fifteen dollar an hour minimum to do jobs computers can and likely will be doing.  There is nothing I want to disrespect about being a server or a receptionist, but at $15/hr, they'd have to sell a lot more product or charge more for their food.  Those things don't make sense and do nothing but push honest hard working people like myself to the right.  We are all given the same basic rights of going to school, it is no one's fault but your own, or your family's situation of what you make out of the opportunity given to you.  Don't lash out at society for failing you, the reason many of you aren't making it lies with the ones that raised you or your own know-it-all ass.  Society owes you nothing.

10/25/18 Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day?

    There was a chant something like that when I was little, but man, this rain has been out of control.  Honestly, no day has been so bad that we are flooding the main highways, it's just a steady thing that doesn't want to stop.  I remember since Javalina's first game, we were sitting under these beautiful thick clouds that opened up just enough for the game to be dry but the weather was cool, even thugh it was early September.  It is now almost the end of October and we are still seeing rain in the forecast most days of the week.
    Although it has not been raining the proverbial cats and dogs, it seems we manage a mist or a drizzle a couple times a week and that must be enough to keep us saturated.  This week it got so bad that we are currently having to drink bottled or boiled water.  City of Austin facilities cannot keep up with the city's water needs.  If I understand correctly, they have had to release a lot of water from Lake Travis and this has turned the river downstream into a brown silty mess.  There is too much floating goop in the brown water to remove it with the city's water cleaning facilities, so although we can shower and use the water, we are not supposed to drink it for fear that bacteria has escaped past the normal deterrents.  Luckily, Wife was here Monday night for Javalina's game, which got postponed due to the water problem, but she managed to stop on her way from San Antonio back to Austin and bought us like four cases of water.  We have been drinking this, so it hasn't been too bad.  She also left water in a big pot that she boiled, but I don't know what to do with it.
    It was interesting, after the football game, Tuesday night, we went to Whataburger to get some dinner and they did not let us eat inside, their floorspace was taken up by cases and cases of 12 ounce soda cans.  I guess the fountain drinks are made by mixing soda syrup and water.  Since they had no water, we were offered a twelve ounce can when normally they will give you a half gallon of soda in their large cups, I felt so robbed.  I wanted to ask for two cans but I didn't want to be "that guy".  Same thing happened today at Bill Miller, we could have a bottled water or orange juice with our combos, no other choices.  We are supposed to warm up over the weekend, maybe that will allow the city to catch up and clean their equipment.

10/24/18 Mendez Mavericks Met Their Maker?

    Finally, we get to eat of the sweet nectar of victory, our men get to loot and pillage, then with draw with hefty parcels of winnings.  I still don't entirely understand how it works, but even though our boys of Bedichek finished a woeful 0-6, they participated in this city tournament.  They were put up against another 0-6 team and in comparison, our boys looked like dominating monsters.  Everything worked, I don't understand why it took so long to look this good.
    From the first play, the QB just took it on a sweep around the left end and was able to run it in about 45 yards for a TD.  It seemed every time they touched the ball, they went back with negative yardage.  Not until the third series for them did a running back break through the center of the defense and literally ran into and over the last safety who could have stopped him and he went about 80 yards for a TD.  I got worried that he would do more of that, but he never did.  Our boys were constantly in their backfield, their QB was constantly harassed and it was definitely a different feeling.  I asked Javalina what happened, why were they so different and he said they went with a different quarterback.  This kid was actually throwing passes that were getting caught, that helped out a whole bunch.  The kid who had been QB was playing running back, he does run the ball pretty good, so everybody was happy.  Javalina did not have any solo tackles, but he enjoys fighting in the trenches proving that he is the strongest kid in there.  He said he had the biggest guy against him and he was huge but very slow, so he was able to push him around all night, that had him flying high while we ate and drove home.
    While walking around to the car, we got close to the other team and he kind of mouths to himself and us that he wants to yell "fuck you, Losers!" and I spanked him, saying "don't you dare, little A-hole!"  Show some class, remember how you felt ALLL those other times you all lost, come on!  Then he says "yeah, but they were cheating, grabbing me by the shirt and my hand got stepped on (by his own teammate), but he cooled off.
    They play next week their final game, I have loved watching these games even if the weather is shady and the stadiums are a bit old.  This field tonight even had real grass, the first time all season instead of artificial turf.  The final score was 36-6, it was not that close.

10/23/18 Thought #4?

History is Written By The Victors

-Winston Churchill

This is stuff I never thought about, but now that I am older and more suspicious I can't help but think of things where the other side had something to say about things.  The Indians, here on North America, whereupon the "white man" came and took the land.  It seemed easy, but was it?  If the Indians ran with the buffalo, they were not tied down to the land like we are.  The fights were not fair at all if the "white man" had guns and the Indians had arrows, and then the white man had diseases which the Indians didn't know about, like smallpox, bubonic plague, influenza, and countless others which the Indians had never seen so they did not have internal resistance to them and thousands of Indians died with these epidemics.

10/22/18 Venom? (Movie)

    I will admit I did not want to go watch this movie, Venom.  I mean what else could Marvel do to make this character likeable?  As far as I knew Marvel could not be clever enough yet again to make us fall in love with another hero (or as my boys say, anti-hero) plus we were introduced to Venom in that bad Spider-Man movie with Sandman and Venom played by Topher Grace and there was very little to like of the character as done by Grace, and I was a big fan of his from his work on 70's Show.
    Tom Hardy plays the new Eddie Brock and he seems a much more natural fit for the character's needs.  I will admit the first 20 minutes the movie seems stilted and a little dry.  Eddie Brock is an investigative reporter and he plays it cool if a little too hip, you know, plays by his own rules type.  His GF is a lawyer and even though the world is huge, she is currently representing the company of which the CEO is a young billionaire type and Brock has to interview.  He decides to look through the GFs files when she is asleep (it's easy a highly paid attorney shares her laptop with a reporter) and accuses him of stuff he sees in there, which was of course, stupid.  This leads to both of them getting fired.
    Through pure luck and chance, Brock ends up back in the labs of the CEO bad guy who has quietly been sending spaceships out looking for inhabitable planets to move mankind, he is certain we are within 1 generation of overpopulating the planet.  Brock is infected with one of the alien forms when he sees a street friend and luckily for him, the alien likes him and they form a very strange bond, which is where the comedy comes from.  After a little while, the alien starts conversing with Brock and he warns him that he is going to slowly take over Earth and that it is the end of humankind, very scary stuff.  It turns out when he finds out there is another of his kind, Riot (who is a real leader and killer on his planet), he admits to Brock that on his planet he was kind of like his equivalent, a loser too.  They are able together to beat the real bad guy and all his henchmen which results in a lot of fast running around scenes.
    The funny is in the dialogue between the alien, Venom, and his host, Brock.  Brock has to teach him that there are good and bad people and if he even allows it, he can only eat bad people.  Venom, like he is taking notes inside of him asks "how will I know who is bad?"  It's pretty easy to sort them out, says Brock.  Well, let's find something to eat, I'm looking at your liver and it is looking lovely, the alien tells Brock.  Brock just says stop it, like he's talking to a puppy, not an alien from another world.

10/21/18 Should We Move?

    I've got that urge to look at houses again.  I don't know if it is because I am bored or because I feel a need to change things.  As it stands, I don't think I have moved around too much.  I came up to Austin in 1991 and lived with a roommate for a year in one complex in a 2 bedroom unit.  The second year, we added two new roommates and we were able to find a 4 bedroom unit down the street from where we originally lived.  After that 2nd year, I needed a third year, my original roommate needed a semester and so we moved back to a 1 bedroom in the original complex and he lived in the living room, sleeping on my homemade futon.  I would have been left alone at this point, but my penis ensured I would never be alone by creating life and making me an instant family man.  We did stay at that apartment same apartment complex for another year and a half, until we moved into our 1st house in Jan 1, 1996.  I had started working at AMD on Nov. 25, 1995, right after Thanksgiving and I was close enough that I biked once or twice to work as I used to bike almost daily back then.
    Our first house was less than a song from work, so maybe I lived about three miles away, but that worked pretty good and I did like that house and the neighborhood quite a bit.  The only problem was that I thought the house was too small, mostly for my ego.  I wanted what most at work seemed to have, large houses out in the suburbs, not that I wanted to drive a ways to get to work as I like going home for lunch, still do, most every night.  We lived in our first home from Jan1, 1996 until May 2007.  I guess we were there for eleven years, it was especially hard for Boy to move going to ninth grade, all his friends were over in Del Valle High School and we moved him to Akins High School.
    It would be pretty weird if we moved sometime I the next year, where it would be Javalina moving as he is going to his ninth grade year, but at this point, we have been in this house from May 2007 to Oct 2018, which also seems to be about eleven years.  I like the size of our current house, but Boy won't be with us forever, he seems to have his GF sleeping over every Friday, and we said it was ok but she has to sleep in the guest room (who knows how much they respect this, but BS I'll be blamed if they get knocked up).  Plus, I expected we would have family visiting more and they really don't plus my mom keeps saying they are getting older and it gets harder and harder for them to travel, my sister is always working, my lawyer brother doesn't visit because the Astros live in Houston and they are good right now.  My in-laws visit even less than my folks, I think Thanksgiving was the only time they really came over but Wife is trying to change that.
    I was kind of thinking if we move and ended up in the Lake Travis area, Javalina could end up playing for a great football program, I mean those guys are in the state playoffs like every year, and plenty of those kids end up playing in college.  As it stands, he wants to continue with the Einstein program, which is an enrichment program where he takes college classes and does other extra things, but it means he is headed to Crockett High School, which is a kind of ghetto-y school overall.  These fucking geniuses who decide to put things like "Einstein programs" in the shitty schools should be lined up and kicked in the scrotums.  Maybe it is all subliminal messages for those of us that can to get our asses in gear and move farther west.  Yet another reason to move.

10/20/18 I Have Become Pro Guns, Slowly?

    I have slowly been reading and watching videos concerning guns.  Bring this up to me ten years ago and I would have said "We don't need guns around, Idiot!"  But maybe it is the constant videos I watch on YouTube under "Active Self Protection" in which a narrator John takes us through video footage, usually in a gas station or market, sometimes in a residence with video cameras set-up.  It is incredible how fast things go down, how different things can be from the movies, and even if you do everything the "bad guys say", such as lay on the ground and don't fight, they might still shoot you, which is just horrible.
    On the other side of this, I see videos where you can buy small lamp table safes to keep a handgun by the bed, or hidden wall cabinets, where a rifle/shotgun could be kept.  Last night, we went to Cabela's as they had in the past some of these wall cabinets that could very easily be hid by a big mirror or portrait.  I am now moderately interested in putting some of these hidden cabinets so I could have quick access to a shotgun in the bedroom and maybe Boy could as well.  I would like to arm Javalina, but he is only 13, so I don't know if that is a good idea and he might end up shooting his older brother who comes and goes on his own schedule.  I know Javalina walks around the house with a pretty pointy knife, as he leaves it on the table all the time, and I moved it from in front of the computer just awhile ago.
    I do find it funny that Monster Energy Drink at work always comes at me like I represent the liberals somehow.  I totally support Roe V. Wade, women and their bodies is their thing, old white men shouldn't get a say in what poor Hispanic (or any other race) girls do if they get pregnant, unless they are going to be happy paying for more and more brown (or whatever color) babies.  Other than this, which there are studies that because of Roe V. Wade, crime is down over the last thirty years, I am slowly becoming a conservative.  I don't like supporting n'er-do-wells with food stamps and section 8 housing, fuck those peeps.  Nobody ever gave me a handout.  I was for it, when President Clinton made this big talk about people on welfare get five years to get their shit together, but that is not the case.  There is always a new reason to continue the sucking on the gov't tit.
    But anyways, I foresee in a few years, I will have guns/rifles in every room of the house, for protection.  The first thing I want to get upon getting done with our credit card fiasco is buy one of those giant $2500 safes and buying enough munitions to actively protect ourselves from the animals out there who don't believe hard work is the only way to live an honest life.

10/19/18 The New And Improved Bari Sax Demi-God Gave Us A Performance?

    Tonight was the fall recital for the junior high bands at Bedichek Middle School and although Javalina considers himself a total jock, we are telling him to stay with the band just a little bit longer, just in case he changes his mind.  I don't really see that happening as even in the band hall he was taunting a 7th grader who plays football and trying to get him to "go", with his cheesy "come at me Bro!" line.  He says because he was much bigger than the 7th grader, he backed off.  I know this is borderline bully tactics, but he swears he only does it with the football players and it is all in playing.
    As far as the recital goes, I still don't see a need for the three bands.  The first band had maybe 10 kids which isn't much of an "orchestra".  The second band was decent and I can tell they are playing more challenging music than in their first year.  This year, we got to hear about 6-7 kids play alone just a little bit of their challenging district/regional music.  Instead of doing it like we used to do it in which everybody went and competed against other schools in the district, these guys have a choice if they want to compete.  Only a few kids want to take a shot at solo competition, which I think is a shame.  How do you know if you are any good if you don't put yourself out there once in a while?
    I think they should adjust and keep the three bands but make one a "jazz band".  I could even see the overabundance of clarinet players being helpful by playing old timey 1940's style jazz that focused on the clarinet before the soothing sound of the sax took its place.  I'm not even saying this for the benefit of my son, we just always had a jazz/stage band and you had to compete to get on it.  Being on it guaranteed you would get some solo time which I always thought was fun.
    Anyways, we ended the night by going to eat at Don Dario's, which we hadn't gone to in a long time because the live mariachi music is almost annoying.  They blast the trumpet full volume and the venue is not that big, it just tears through your soul.  Javalina was enjoying it though, to our surprise.  One lady a couple tables over even got up and danced with the guys, but I think she was just a little drunk.  It was a fun night overall.  Wife was in town, Boy arrived just as the bands were starting so we were all in attendance.  Boy did not join us, he went to study, he is in the middle of midterm exams, I think.  Javalina, Wife and I went to eat afterwards and got home by 8:40pm.  I took a pretty good nap and then went into work to make up the hours I have been at the football games, but now it is weekend time.

10/18/18 Addendum Rooms To Dante's Inferno

    Clearly, one of Javalina's favorite books over the last year has been Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, which has the infamous descriptions of Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (purgatory), and Paradiso (heaven).  He asked me for a copy of it last year to read for a class and then I found a nice leather bound version and I got it for him, since it seemed to be a special book for him, plus I always loved it, it was so descriptive, you almost believe it to be real.  The beauty of literature is it can be real if you believe it to be.  But to move forward, even Javalina says this story is very old, we need like new punishments, like a place where girls get punished where they have their cell phones but no where to plug them in to charge, even if the house they are in has the lights on.  I don't even have to elaborate in this one much further, but if there is a hell and a twit has done something, such as run  over a person while distracted on their phone, this would be the perfect form of punishment, forever looking in the next room trying to plug in so they can post the perfect "selfie" no one will ever see.
    I remember seeing Lucifer a show about the devil visiting LA and then deciding to stay for awhile.  There is an episode and he shows what hell is like, according to him.  It shows a man who attempted to kill his beloved detective and then he kills himself.  In hell, he is in a car wreck where he barely gets out but leaves another passenger stuck in there, concerned only with saving himself.  A crowd gathers immediately and calls him out for being selfish and a coward.  He talks to Lucifer and says this is repeating over and over.  Lucifer tells him it is very easy, you just have to forgive yourself, but then he says in all his years, that has never happened.
    Another good punishment that was not in the original for the a-holes who like to flick their still lit cigarettes out the car window, they should drive home on a random afternoon in their hell and just watch as the flames engulf the windows and he/she get to hear the screaming of their children inside stuck in their rooms and burning alive, with nothing he can do, but maybe smoke another one while he waits for the smoke to clear, I hate these sums o' bitches, they start fires all the time and basically get away with it.
    These are both low level crimes that would belong on the lower circles of Hell, what would be a punishment for those that start wars with no good reasons?  The killing of thousands based on a hunch?  I think the whole of the Bush administration which went into Iraq where still no proof of a connection to 9/11 was ever found, they should be punished, if there was a thing such as Hell, I could see them specially Cheney standing before this great giant Army complex barking orders like the grand CEO he considered himself, only to be ignored.  The whole of a great military might at his disposal, but nobody listens to him.  Occasionally, a low ranking member comes forward and slaps him on his fat cheek and says "you have no power here."  These criminals, if there were a hell, belong closest to Satan, born again or not.  Nobody ever punished Saudi Arabia, where 17 of the 19 hijackers came from, why?

10/17/18 Gorzycki Beat Bedichek Gloriously?

    I guess alliteration doesn't always help, and neither did the weather change.  We actually had about perfect weather for the first five games, but this one we will remember for awhile.  The weather turned shitty on Monday morning and is supposed to continue all week with a slight warm-up towards the weekend.
    Wife and I arrived at the game at the same time, even though I was in town and she had to speed in from her job three hours away.  Walking in, it didn't look bad, it wasn't even drizzling or misty while the 7th grade teams finished playing their game.  There had been a little delay on account of the stadium lights not wanting to turn on, but they were on by the time we got there.  Good thing too, because it was pretty much dark by the time we sat and cracked open our soda and waters.  For a second, I was about to tell Wife, "look, it would suck if we were sitting on that side" when I noticed with the stadium lights the heavy mist coming down on the opposite side of the field, but then I realized, no, we are all in it.  I was surprised they didn't stop the game, it was so cold and nasty.  I was wearing a muscle shirt, a regular shirt, a thermal light sweater and a jacket.  I finally put on my poncho when the mist felt more like rain and I was glad I found the other one for Wife, otherwise, I would have had to be a gentleman and give her mine, and that would have sucked.  I don't know that layering worked much, even with wool socks and tennis shoes and warm-ups instead of my shorts and crocs, I was still miserable and cold.
    Javalina did not seem bothered by the weather or the score.  Once you know you're on a bad team, I guess you just celebrate the good points and he was still playing most of the game on both sides of the ball, so I think the coaches think well of him.  He had a beautiful solo tackle in the 3rd quarter where he caught the running back trying to cut through the middle of the field lifted him and fell on top of him, very impressive.  Next play, he was one step from tackling the quarterback as he threw a beautiful 30 yard pass to an open receiver, then they scored again.  I believe the score was 34-6, which as he said seems worse than it was (IDK how).  I love that the boys are still trying, but honestly, without a true QB that can present a passing game, they are 1 dimensional and it is too easy for the other team to just pin their ears back and send everybody in on every play overwhelming the blockers and sacking the QB.
    There is supposedly a city tournament starting next week, which they didn't do last year, so I will wait to see what that is about.  I asked Javalina if they even qualified with their 0-6 record?  After calling me "Dick", which maybe I deserved for sounding cruel but it is what it is, he said thewy were going to play a team from the north side that is also 0-6, so we will see who is the best (and who is the worst?).

10/16/18 Our House Is Haunted, But Is That Bad?

    I was telling Wife and Javalina I am at my wits end sometimes, that I just don't know what to write about and Javalina gave me a few ideas.  He said I should write a scary story, and I told him I could but I didn't want to scare him since he is alone in the house so much, thanks to his bro-bro who is too busy with his new GF.
    The one thing I can't get over in this house is the shadows I keep seeing, I hate to write it and admit it out loud, but when I mentioned them to my son to try and see if it scared him, he made an excuse for it because he sees them too.  He says it is just because the house is big and light gets in through so many places and moves around.  Then I didn't want to say about the little noises I hear, like whispers specially when I am going to sleep, and he said well, you two told me that it was just the house settling, but that is why I keep my earphones on and I am always listening to music or videos because otherwise, I start hearing little whispers and that creak in some of the doors as they move.
    Apparently, I am not even alone in hearing noises here.  That is why I hate sleeping at night in the dark.  On some nights, there is too much light and you can see everything in the room lit up, but in a weird glowing green light.  I always convince myself it is the little light on the smoke detectors lighting up the room, but can that tiny point of dim light be enough to light up the whole room in a warm green glow where you could read if you wanted too?  Sitting here, which I am glad, the sun came up, I got up at 6:00am and it was still dark, but even in the morning light coming in through the two windows in the kitchen, I still think I am the only one down here and I can hear me breathing like a fat boy, but there is also another shallow deep breather, like the house is slowly breathing in and out.  This takes sitting in the kitchen quietly, without music or videos playing to hear.
    I start to think that the house has me in a trance because we don't go anywhere right now, with Wife working out of town.  It keeps lulling me to sleep because then we can converse, somehow.  If you ask Wife, a lot of my dreams are of me being in a bigger house where it doesn't matter in which direction I walk, the house just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  I can walk in the front door and just staring forward, it becomes a long hallway, with grand stairs, and walking into any room, I can find a theater room the size of the biggest theaters at any cineplex, or kitchens with every gadget and just walls and walls of drawers and cupboards.  Ultimately, I think the house likes me, and it is just its way of communicating with me that we are safe in here.  I assume there are maybe shadow people or spirits that want to be seen, but even then, they are not here to harm us, if we were in danger, they've had almost 11 years to put a hurting on us, and they haven't.  Javalina stays here alone quite a bit and he seems indifferent, so I have to assume that the "scary things" maybe aren't scary, they are just there.

10/15/18 Just Waiting For This Cooler Weather?

    This was a fast moving weekend.  I can't say we did anything, but somehow or other, we got past it fast.  Wife was here early on Friday because she was in San Antonio for something or other and when she is, it usually means she can get here is because she is only 1 hour away instead of 3.
    I really didn't eat all day Friday, which usually doesn't happen.  When I picked up Javalina, he had like 3 friends with him so I was not about to take them to one of our eating places plus I knew Wife was headed home earlier than normal.  My plan had been to go eat when she got home.  Our plans changed when I realized I had 4 teens in the house and then two more showed up.  I didn't do an official headcount but I think he had a total of 6 boys spending the night.  Luckily, we had a box of dino nuggets Boy had bought and left in the freezer about a month ago.  As far as chicken nuggets, these aren't that bad, and I ended up making two trays, so I could get a handful of them too.
    I felt sleepy after eating and hearing Wife go on for awhile that I decided to take a nap around 7:00pm.  I told Wife to give me an hour and then I would go with her to Target to get the boys some pizzas and whatever else they could handle cooking on their own.  She laid down too, and then we didn't get up until 9:30, but it's ok, Target is open until midnight.  We went and got them chips and pizza pickets and frozen White Castle Burgers.
    In the morning, I got up early, wrote my blog, then stayed up watching videos and the boys could be heard in the bedroom, they stayed up all night, which is normal.  Once they all left, Javalina looked worn out but he sat with me until the UT game started and then beat me to the sofa where he slept for about 3 hours.  I laid on the floor at about halftime and slept through most of the game.  After the game, I took a shower and we left the house to Cabela's.  I want some of those gun cabinets that are installed in the walls and kind of hide.  They did not really have what I wanted, but I still enjoy the store.  We also offered a jacket to Javalina but as he usually does, he got weird and didn't want us to spend money on him.  We ended the night by eating at Logan's, which we enjoyed with my folks.  It is one of the only places open late and we really do like their food.
    I got up early again on Sunday, I went up to wake Wife up at noon but she was already up.  We discussed places to go and best we could decide was the HEB and maybe have lunch somewhere.  Boy took off to go visit his GF and we took off, ate at Zaxby's, then headed to the big HEB in Buda.  We didn't get that much but enough for the week.  We finished the night by sitting in front of our big projector and watching Rudy with Javalina which he had asked about earlier in the month.  We finished watching it around 7:00pm which is about the time we heated up some pizzas from HEB and saw a couple of our recorded shows, including the season finale to Wrecked, which was very good.  That was our weekend.

10/14/18 Longhorns Slid by Pesky Baylor Barely?

    Things started normally enough for the Horns on Saturday, but soon found themselves in a different situation for the first time this year.  Their starting QB, Ehlinger came out of the huddle after a few plays with blood on his throwing hand.  I saw him going for an extra play, but eventually the referees told him to go out to treat the cut.  He never came back (apparently, he had hurt his shoulder on a run too), instead Texas went with QB2, Shane Buechele.  He was actually the starter most of last year,  so at least he wasn't completely new and Baylor wasn't Oklahoma, so they still had a chance to see who would win.
    I thought it was a bit rude to call Delay of Game upon changing quarterbacks, the referees know the QB has to warm up his arm and it takes a bit for someone who didn't expect to play.  The first quarter was a throw away as Buechele found his feet.  Baylor scored a TD fast, then UT scored a field goal.  The second quarter Texas was back in the driver's seat, scoring 20 points while Baylor added a field goal.  They went into the half Texas up 23-10.
    I don't know what happens to Texas once they have a lead, they go into a conservative mode and do not try to score more points.  Baylor scored another TD in the third, and were down 23-17.  Texas managed no more scores, and in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, it looked like it might be an upset.  Baylor drove the ball to around the 20 yard line with 20-something seconds, and managed to throw three times at the endzone.  Luckily, nobody was able to convert and score before time ran out.  Texas was lucky to get off the field with a win, well lucky and they have a very solid defense which can stop opponents cold.  They have a bye week next week and hopefully it is enough time for Ehlinger to heal and for any additional people to come back because West Virginia is another ranked opponent at #6.  Besides, if they can run the table, analysts are already putting them in the mix for the top five teams, and as the commercial yesterday said, the Big 12 is the only conference where everybody plays everybody head to head, so a clear winner will be known, and a clear winner should represent the Big 12 in the "playoffs".  This year is finally exciting like things used to be in the Vince/Colt eras.  Having a strong QB2 is good to know heading into the last half of the season.  These poor guys sometimes sacrifice their bodies for the betterment of their teams, but I guess that is what winners do.

10/13/18 Are Beaners Too Dense For Our Learning Ways?

    Growing up, I remember that in our home life we spoke Spanish.  We could be in school and knowing that the teachers were "one of us", we could break into our "bocho" language as some of the "real" Mexicans told me I talked when I got to UT later.  I guess bocho is their word for chopped up language in which we bounce between both English and Spanish to keep the conversation going.  It worked locally, but when I would try it with these new international friends of mine, they always stopped me when a word didn't make sense, like "shofolear" which I conjugated from the English word "shuffle".  Then on the other side of the conversation, the perfect speaking English only peeps would snicker at my mixing of the ch- and sh- which I still kind of don't get, but I stretch the sh- sound to keep them quiet.  Anyways, we managed to learn enough that even if I had a bit of a time when I got to UT, I learned enough to get by and now I mostly speak English, unless I am talking with Wife about the boys or maybe with my family.
    This conversation is not really about me, that was just my path.  What I don't get is why do school districts dedicate resources to teaching kids in Spanish only classes?  These knuckleheads can go all the way through and graduate in Spanish only classes which might be fine for them if they were headed back to Mexico, otherwise, how have they been prepared for success if they didn't learn the language of the land of opportunity, as everyone sees the United States?  I think that by doing this to these kids, they are being told "you are in fact, too stupid, for our country."
    In contrast to this, I always think back to one of my supervisors.  He came from Poland and did not speak English until he arrived in the US, sometime when he was in Elementary school.  He was not given a choice to continue living in his home's language so that he could continue communicating with a land he didn't live in.  No, he was thrust into an English only school district and was forced to learn our language.  This guy continued and I don't believe he had a silver spoon in his mouth, as he would tell us his shitty stories of sitting there working on his cars all the time.  He did get a PhD which is how he ended up as our supervisor.  I don't think that would have happened if he would have been allowed to tinker around in his born language.
    I know this is one person and one example, but it shows what can happen to a random person from another country who comes here and is forced to mingle and become one of us, an American.  By letting them keep their language, they keep up a barrier which is worse than whatever wall Mr. Trump keeps talking about building.  Isolating yourself by not learning the language of the land of greatness is really like building your own personal wall to keep yourself away.  I find it a tad sad that after all that parents go through to have their kids in school for so many years, after graduation, all you can do is talk to other Spanish speakers, you end up in a very small world and even less opportunity.

10/12/18 The Name Song?

    I love having XM/Sirius in the car because the regular stations get on my nerves cycling through the same 10-15 songs every hour.  Plus, I think it is great to introduce Javalina to "new" old music and tell him a little factoid or whatever I might know about whatever song.  Like if a pervert sang a song sweetly enough, he could sing to his beloved minor and it was no big deal.  Exhibit A: Gary Puckett and the Union Gap had a song literally titled "Young Girl" which warns a young girl to run before she gets a raping from the lead singer.  Exhibit B: Ringo Starr had a song titled "You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine).  The title is enough to send his ass to jail nowadays, but back then it was cute to sing to a sophomore girl in high school.  The song implicates him too, "ooh when we kissed, I could not stop."  Sounds like more raping to me.
    But anyway, yesterday we were hearing The Name Song which is really a silly but catchy song as you try to figure out how your own name would work, of course Javalina asked me how his name would go, so I attempted it, but it looks like I failed.  I looked it up and there is a little thing where you can fill in the name and it does the rest for you, so the right way would be:

Alex Alex bo-balex
Banana fanna fo-falex
Fee, fy, mo-malex.
 Alex!

It was definitely a different time because there is no way this would even get on the radio nowadays.  I am not saying one is better than the other, but there is no gratuitous attempts at describing an ass, there is no rapping going on, instruments get used for solos, instead of guest rappers saying more words.  I don't know which is better or more clever, but I do prefer the old stuff, maybe it just says I am getting older too, but the boys don't complain.  How about living in a world where you don't know about the Beatles?  I asked Girlie a couple weeks ago if she knew Hey Jude and even sang a few lines for her and she apologetically looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about.  That borders on criminal, not to know the classics.  

10/11/18 Be Careful Out There?

    "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have, the facts of life."  That is such a fun little start to a song which had its time in the 80s, but also, I think it comes from a place of real.  I was arguing with a loved one about nothing, I guess and accidentally pissed them off by simply using logic, or as they said "looking at things only through my point of view."  I never get or rather I don't really like "small talk", which is just filler for silence.  If we are going to talk, let's take something apart, why not?  There is way more fun in using the brain than just saying "poor so and so, they did this."  To which in small talk you are supposed to say "wow, that is so sad."  I always prefer "well, why did that happen, nothing happens in a vacuum?"  If person A gets drunk and decides he needs to go for a drive, yes it is 100% his fault for the outcome, but he learned this shitty behavior somewhere.  I drink, and at this point, Wife says I have drunk to the point of blacking out like 3-4 times, but still, it is always at home.  I would never want to put anyone at risk so I only drink at home, I want to do it for fun, and by the way if you "accidentally" get groped while I am drunk and it is the 10th or 20th time you are around and in the hot tub with me, isn't that other person somehow also at fault for getting groped.  There is no crying in ass grabbing while in the hot tub, it's part of the experience, but maybe that's why it hasn't been used in a year.
    I could avoid many arguments with my family if I basically acted like a potato and just stared back and said "hmm, that is so sad."  By the way, when asked do you remember so and so?, I should just learn to say "oh yeah" because we always end up going a round of "you don't remember Johnny, brother of Paul, yeah you do, his sister was Sally, they once did this.  He was in your class, or maybe your brother's or maybe your sister's (there is a 10 year age gap between me and my sister, but that is a regular part of our conversations)."
    I was told not to bring this up, that is why I am staying generic about what was said, but I fully believe that if you can learn good habits from loved ones, such as having a love of reading, and making family a priority, one can also learn bad habits from the same loved ones.  The consequences of learned actions is what constitutes your life, ergo the beginning sentence at the top.

10/10/18 Bailey Beat Bedichek Badly?

    What can I say that I haven't said before?  It seemed this week, Javalina was going to be allowed to focus on defense, but after two series, one of the offensive linemen gave up and Javalina was tossed in at Left Tackle.  He has now played all the offensive linemen positions except right tackle in 5 short games, how is he expected to master any of them?  There are different approaches to any of the positions, such as at tackle, you deal with usually faster defensive ends versus stronger bodies pushing you straight back.  The first week he played back-up center and because we knew this, we went outside and practiced at the house, first concentrate on delivering the ball to the QB, then blocking anybody in front of you or even a possible blitzing person from the backfield.  Then he went two weeks where he did no center work, but then last week he played center most of the game which he hadn't practiced much at.  He had said he was going to be stuck at guard again, which he likes better.  He did horribly, this week he started only on defense but eventually found himself on the field most of the game.  I'm glad the coaches count on him, but I don't believe he can be explosive on either side when he is going the whole time.
    I think they need to focus on some sort of short passing game.  They have like two completions a game, knowing this, the other teams just bring everybody and overwhelm the front five, thus there is no space to run.  If they had an effective passing game, the linebackers and secondary might back up and open the running game for them.  The only positive thing I can tell Javalina is that he just needs to keep learning, both how to tackle and the nuances of the game, such as angles to take, maybe even some footwork.  He did a couple weeks of boxing class, this off season, he will do a lot more of that, mostly because I think that could help make him better at dancing around without falling, and possibly make him leaner and meaner.
    My folks did get to see him this week, which was fun.  Wife was able to make it up too, as did Boy and the GF.  I know that our boy is trying hard on the field, he is the only one soaked with sweat all the way through his jersey and that is saying something since the nights are kind of cool.

10/9/18 Thought #3?

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

-Confucius

This has been translated and said by others in a similar way, but basically means to not give up for something you believe in.  You may encounter setbacks and even losses on your way to accomplishing something great, don't let the little things keep you from succeeding.

10/8/18 Not Sure If It Was A Lazy Weekend?

    I want to say we didn't do much this weekend, but in actuality, I got a few long overdue chores tackled.  Friday night was mostly a dud, we had planned on going to see Javalina play with the Akins High School band, it is their way of introducing the eighth graders to their future lives of supporting the football team by playing in the stands and then watching the high school students do their field marching show.  We didn't end up going because our boy was complaining of soreness on his shoulders and really all over.  I felt a little bad in that they played Wednesday and didn't get Thursday or Friday afternoon off.  The coaches told them they would be off on Monday because of the in-service.  Instead of going to the game, we were at the house but we cleaned up as best we could before Wife arrived from her 3 hour drive.  We ended the night by eating at Cheddar's together, even Boy joined us.  He usually gets together with his friends but because Mama told him he was going to the game to support his little brother, his pals found better things to do.  I guess those peeps don't appreciate football, even if it is their alma mater.
    Saturday, I got up at 7:00am, as I usually do and started to write the day's blog but I remembered Wife had said her oil was due for a change the week before.  I drank half a coffee cup while I looked at a couple videos to see if their was a simple fix to a leaking water diverter in the shower, which was the problem in the second bathroom upstairs and there was a weak shower stream coming from the shower downstairs, which to me meant like our shower last year, we needed to change the faucet mixer thing.  I headed to Jiffy Lube, took care of the oil change, then to Lowe's and bought the parts I thought I would need.  I made the same mistake as last year, I bought the generic equivalent Delta part and it would not seat in like it should.  I got home just in time to watch the start of the Longhorns game and the game was totally worth watching, during commercials I ran upstairs and removed the decorative bib which houses the water diverter and re-installed the new one.  It was a perfect replacement and the water pressure came back to normal on the shower side.  I waited until after the game, but then I turned off the water supply and had Javalina help me.  Boy seemed to be too busy with his girlfriend to become involved which only bothered the young one who would rather be part of the "Use-less" team, as I call them together because they do very little around the house to help us.  It took a second trip to Lowe's (it always does), but then the problem downstairs was also fixed.  Javalina hates work so much, that in the middle of this even when I have a handle on the problem is asking why I don't call a plumber?  "Because I'm not paying some a-hole $200-300 for something I can do."
    After this, I decided I had earned me a nap, so I slept until around 7:00, maybe two hours.  We went to the Halloween store and bought a couple more spooky things, now that I noticed we have a few creepy babies, I want the whole collection, and I found a great one with blue overtones and white eyes, even Javalina was uncomfortable staring at it.  We finished the night by eating at Friday's, not the best, but it is open late.
    Sunday was just a weird morning.  I went to bed probably by 11:00pm, then I woke at 2:00am, I had fallen asleep on one of our big chairs in our bedroom, Boy still had his dungeons and dragons friends when I opened the door to see if the alarm was on.  I came down feeling alert enough to write, figuring I write the blog then I can sleep through the morning.  I finished writing fairly quick, about the game, and got lost watching YouTube videos.  I hate to say it, but I love watching cops shoot idiots.  When the cops say do something, do it, how people decide arguing is a good strategy is beyond my scope of reasoning.  Before I knew it, it was 7:30am, so I decided to go lay down for awhile longer.  Wife got up, she's had the sniffles which of course becomes time to see a professional, which is fine, but I am not going to get up to join.  Since that wasn't going to happen until 11:00am, I knew I could sleep until at least noon.  That worked out great, I got up just as she arrived, I had just sat my big as down to drink some coffee and see what breakfast would be.  She made magic out of a can of Spam, a couple potatoes, and like three eggs, luckily Boy's GF had made them something to eat, because Wife's concoction was barely enough for us.
    We then saw some of our weekly shows, I decided a nap was in order around 2:30pm which lasted until 6:00pm.  I got up when I noticed a missed call and a text from Dirty Dog, he had stopped by with his GF.  She made us a cobbler and they wanted to say hi.  They were here for a couple hours, I got him to take more of his stuff, but still not everything, and before we knew it, it was Wife's bedtime and here I sit writing this at 5:00-6:00am, having walked her out so she can start another work week.

10/7/18 Looks Like The Longhorns Are Leaders Again?

    I hate to admit that I was not expecting today to go well for our up and coming new generation of Boys to Men as the old band title goes.  Oklahoma is always a barometer of the quality of the Texas team.  They are a team always in the national picture, and they are used to being in the driver's seat.  It takes a well prepared Texas unit to compete and win against our opponents to the north, even when their team is mostly or heavily comprised of Texas product.

    The beginning was just classic with each team taking turns scoring, Texas scored on every possession in the first half, except the last one which they only got the kickoff with a few seconds left.  The third was almost magical with three unanswered touchdowns, the game almost got a little boring.  By the start of the fourth, I was feeling like it was time for a good ole siesta.  The Longhorns looked like they just needed to keep running the ball a couple more series and time would run out.  Thinking the game was over was stupid o my part, but I got up too early and was paying for it now.  I got sleepy and closed my eyes for five minutes and suddenly Oklahoma has somehow scored twice and the game is about tied.  The final minutes of the game were the kind that age a man.  The Longhorns came out with the ball on the last 1:40 seconds or something like that.  They took the ball to the 32 or something like that and then with 19 seconds, they put the entire game and put it on the shoulders of a freshman kicker.

    Had he missed, the game would have gone into overtime and you just never know what could happen, it gets crazy then.  I did learn something though.  In watching my son's games and like this past week when it was a blowout, I was thinking that the other team should show some class and quit scoring, bring in the B team or something.  Texas didn't exactly bring in the B team, but once they got ahead by three touchdowns in the 2nd half, they lost their focus.  They wanted to change playing style and just run the ball to move the clock quicker.  They are and have been for a long time, a team that relies on passing as much as or more than running the ball.  It is riskier to throw the ball, but it was with those risky chances that you took passing earlier in the game that got you ahead.  Mercy, it seems, does not belong on the football field.  As soon as Texas relaxed, Oklahoma mounted a comeback and we almost lost a game that looked like it was under control by halftime.

    Although it seems ugly, once you got your foot on the opponent's neck, do not let go.  Football is a game very much embedded with emotions and even when a team is down, if they feel a bit of a rally, like they could come back if they get this or that to happen, then that usually happens and the team that started out hot does not always stay hot and in control.  I am just glad Texas can walk away with this one as a win, it is certainly a big time win and makes it seem like the program might finally be in good hands under Coach Herman.

10/6/18 Is It Stealing?

    I got up early as I have been doing on the weekends and went and took care of a couple things.  First of all, Wife needed an oil change, so I took her little Kia Soul to Jiffy Lube and got the high mileage oil change at a rapey $90, but we did have a $15 coupon and it is good for 7500 miles.  While I was at it, they changed the air filter which this time was full of monarch butterflies.  Last time, it was Southern Dogface Butterflies or that is what the yellow residue looked like to me.  After taking care of the tab, I stopped by Lowe's as I was taken to both extra bathrooms and shown how badly they have gotten.  I then felt like I needed to fix them on the spot, even though it was late at night, Wife was even standing there in her birthday suit being bossy and pointing my shortcomings like it is what she does 24/7.
    The shower downstairs just has no water flow, which is the problem we had in our shower, so I went and bought the same water mixer/faucet thing.  In the upstairs shower, the water diverter was not closing completely, so I bought a new water spigot thing and since that was a simple screw in thing, I did it within minutes of getting home.  At halftime of the UT game, I have gotten at least the upstairs bathroom up to normal standards.  Wife had also complained that the toilet bowl was not getting enough water, which I was sure it was just the design, but I looked in the water tank and there was a loose hose which I stuck in the only place it made sense (that I could reach, Wife was standing there bossy and nakkid, :) ).  That fixed the toilet easily enough.
    As far as the title, I also needed a new step ladder as both of my little plastic stools I use around the house to hang decorations or reach high items are now cracked and I just had an ugly vision of the hard plastic collapsing under my 400 pound ass and going through my leg, injuring me again.  I didn't exactly find what I wanted, which would have been a small ladder that folded yet could hold more than my weight.  But I did notice an open item sitting on the floor looking slightly used but still new-ish.  The frame where it was sitting by said it was $99 and after opening and really looking at it front and back, I decided it was about as good as it's going to get.  It had a weight limit of 375 pounds, which is close enough to 400 for me.  I did the self checkout but I could not scan the tag as it was in the middle of the almost 4 foot long frame, but the cashier working there took the tag off and when she scanned it, it read $19.99.  I smirked to myself, do I tattle on myself that on the wall over there it sais $99.99.  I kept my mouth shut and hustled on out.  Is that stealing?  I buy plenty of their overpriced stuff all the time, so I consider this as keeping us honest in our dealings.  Anyways, gotta get back to the game, halftime is over.

10/5/18 Javalina Does Not Want An Out?

    I was talking to my little jock last week and I told him that he needed to decide if he was going to stay with the sports thing or maybe give it up and dedicate himself to the band thing.  I wasn't asking after the latest loss, he was actually offered a programming class in the spring, so his schedule might have to be moved around and I am just having a discussion if he has to remove an elective which band seems to be.  He was kind of with an attitude "Whoa whoa whoa, you want me to be a band geek, how about me dating girls?"  I told him "that is the beauty of band, all the decent girls are already there and you get to hang out around them."  "But I don't want a band dork for a girlfriend!"  I took my filters off, that was an attack.  "Dick, your mom and I are both band geeks, isn't your life pretty sweet?  Pay attention Goober!"
    I am not trying to insult anyone, but on the whole band people are more "creative types, the girls that are really there to play are competitive in life.  In all the movies we watch, where are the morons most likely to be in, group wise?  Duh, the football team, bashing their heads against each other.  You would be lucky to land a ballbuster like your mama, she gets shit done and still has time to scare you and your brother from 3 hours away.
    I was very much in his position coming out of eighth grade.  I had played two years of junior high football, I started on both sides, right tackle and nose guard.  I loved the idea of playing, but I wanted to be a playmaker, I would have accepted like fullback or back-up quarterback (there have been a couple of fat QBs).  I was just as good in band and one of the band directors pulled me aside and said "stick with band next year, you have something special."  Rubbing my ego always works, plus the football team has always been a consistent 3-7 team, so it's not like the jocks rocked.
    I am not trying to persuade him to go one way or the other, it is his choice to make.  I know he really likes being on the football field, even today, they had practice after a game they lost without pads, he said it was the most fun because they got to tackle and work on techniques and angles without all the padding.  Boy went a completely different trajectory than I was expecting with the robots and rockets leading up to the STEM program, so I will keep an open mind.

10/4/18 Paredes Paddled Our Boys Hard?

    At the beginning of the season I worried about the boys needing to be grounded and that a few losses mixed in with a few wins makes for good overall learning.  I know I sound like some lame hippie type, but I just see all these middle schools becoming parts of each other as they fill out the local area high schools and eventually most rivalries right now will be teammates in a year.  What is the point of letting one school "beat" on another to the tune of 40 to 0?
    My worst fear came to light after the game.  Javalina looked to be the center that was screwing it up a few times.  More than once on third and long, while in the shotgun formation, he would overthrow the QB behind him and cause the QB to have to run back and get the ball or he would roll it to him again making the QB have to bend down and scramble to get the ball.  My first question after are you thirsty? was "were you the center....?" not wanting to say that messed up so many times.  He said "yeah, and I don't even care."  He said he told the coaches he didn't want to be center, that he would prefer to stay only on defense.  Again this week he pretty much stayed on the field for every play, even kickoffs which he had to rest last week, but there was communication errors and he was told to just stay in.
    He seemed to be in a little shock as we drove to IHOP telling me if I had seen how the defensive lineman had grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him to the ground and he bounced spun and managed to roll himself back up in one motion.  He said this was the first time he was battling someone that was bigger, faster and stronger.  He said he wanted to be like that kid, that is all he cared about now, was to get stronger for the next time he meets up with this one kid.  He said the kid was complaining to the umpire or one of the referees that Javalina was holding him.  He never got called for holding, I told him and we practiced what is nowadays acceptable, you can use your hands inside the chest, so my boy was kind of controlling him as best he could by grabbing on the inside of the chest, once you wrap the guy, then it is holding.
    I don't know what happened, the whole team was much faster, and at every position seemed taller and faster.  Our boys could not find the line of scrimmage, yet we beat this team last year.  It was their worst performance by far.  I can see Javalina is wearing himself thin playing every play, and even though his teammates said he wasn't doing enough last week, he did get player of the week for last weeks game.  He said this bothered him too, he kept thinking about trying to play a perfect game and that is near impossible.  He said hopefully the coaches see that I am not a good fit at center and they'll just let me focus on defense.

10/3/18 How Many People Get To Do What They Really Love?

    I just saw Class Rank and it took a look at a person willing to do anything for the chance to get ahead.  She ends up coming in 2nd, due to an A- in a PE class which she said she couldn't climb the rope in class because she had literally been up the night before writing thousands of thank you notes for participants of the Special Olympics.  This devastates her but gets her on a plan to change how classes are ranked by going to the school board.
    At the school board she meets a classmate who is very passionate about changes he believes are more important, such as the school district offering Chinese instead of French or having bike lanes on the roads.  Veronica, the girl suggests he runs for the school board to get her wish of changing class rankings and their importance.  She offers to be his campaign manager, when he asks why she doesn't do it, she says she will be gone the following year, as she plans to be in Yale, if they will accept her.  He goes along with it, partly I think because he likes her but partly because his grandma had been involved and he just has it in his blood.
    So when he starts getting to know her, she divulges that she plans on being a History major, he asks interested, so you like History?  She says no, but it is the degree with the likeliest acceptance to Law School.  To which he asks if she cares about being a lawyer, and again  she says not really, her dream is to be on the Supreme Court, for some reason.  But every move she does is calculated for that job.  She plays violin because one of the Supreme Court people plays it, she volunteers in many projects, not because she is interested in them, but because it will look good on her resume.  Bernard, the boy, kind of has a problem with this.  He only spends his time doing things that benefit him, such as his arguing with the school board.
    So how many people gamble on a degree that they are not particularly interested in?  I know that the degree I got fits me but if I went and just got a degree in what I was passionate about, I would probably have studied music, but the idea of being a band director did not seem like something I would want to do as a career.  Do we all just fumble our ways through life and accept how it turns out?  I am ok with what I do, I would never say I am passionate about this.  I am a cog in the wheel, the wheel had been pretty generous in pay, so I got comfortable and fat and old.  I guess fear keeps me here more than anything because I hate thinking I could be making more money by making some moves, but then I am at a point where I am left alone most of the time, and that is ok too.

10/2/18 Some People?

    Work can be a pain at times, because of the gloves and lab coat, I don't like leaving the chemistry room too often, and when I do, most of the time, it is to pee.  Last night was no different.  I waited as long as possible, and it was probably around 10:00pm when I headed to our private bathroom in the long hallway.  I know I am going to pee and fart and sometimes I might go even farther, so anyways, I am in  there minding my own business when I hear somebody walking down the hall.  They were either rasping the wall with their knuckles or knocked on the door very faintly and then attempted to open the door in one motion.  I heard the steps and I usually whistle so that anyone trying to get in will hear the noise and change direction.  I did not ever think this could make them come at the door more aggressively, but....
    I said something generic, maybe I coughed when they were knocking, then I said "occupied".  This alerted the person (most people would go away at this point), this guy asked if I needed help.  I was like "what the?!?!" I then told them to "keep walking, I am in here."  And the guy now goes "who is this?  I don't recognize your voice."  I said "good, now go away."  Then because I am about the only person in the building, and I know it was the security guard that I talk with now and then, he asked "Is it you, Mr. Gallegos?"  "Yeah, can I shit in peace?"  and he sounded heartbroken "oh, ok, I'll just keep on going."  "Thank you."  I said feeling almost bad, but what the F, did he want to carry on with how have you been, while I possibly squeeze out some brown divers?
    This was very strange, but I guess.  Maybe because we always chit chat he expected the same, even if conditions were a little weird for it.  It was a slow ass day, this is the most entertaining thing that happened today, probably.  Javalina was too tired for much conversing and I didn't even see Boy.  Wife talked to me while I drove into work, but she was more concerned with getting her food, she was in the drive through somewhere.  Girlie texted, but she was just asking how the weekend had been, we didn't discuss anything new.  Oh well, this was a Monday.

10/1/18 It Appears Disney Is On The Docket For The Summer?

    It should make for an interesting summer vacation this coming June/July when we go to Florida and we are joined by both my folks and my in-laws.  We have traveled before together, so it wouldn't be a first time.  When I was going to college, we went up north to work the sugar beet fields and even stayed in the same house together.  A couple years ago, my folks and my in-laws traveled to Las Vegas in the same bus and I believe they hung out together, for the most part.
    Wife and I had already talked amongst ourselves that we were going to go.  It was a shitty summer last year that we really didn't go anywhere, and most of you would say that Disney is not ideal as it is packed with other idiots and it is hot and expensive and we don't have little kids, but it is also a cool place to go, I like the ambience there.  I even like walking around "Downtown Disney", where there are no rides, only store after store of Disney related merchandise and snacks.
    It was odd that it was my dad who asked "what about Disney and going to Florida this year?"  It had been on my mind, but sometimes it seems like my parents want to be private and thus it would be better with no outsiders, but then I don't or can't think of my in-laws as outsiders since Wife and I have been together since 1987, and my folks have known my in-laws probably longer than that since it is such a small town and everybody knows everyone.
    My folks big concern with the trip is that my mom worries about driving such a long way.  This is the same problem my in-laws have.  Last year, my father in law rented a 12 or 15 passenger van and they went up to Milwaukee and cruised around for a week in it.  A 15 passenger van would be great to get all them old farts plus us 4, maybe Boy's GF, my sister in law and maybe her hubby, he has been weird about traveling in the past, and maybe the other sister and her older boy, the younger one always goes to visit the other family in the summer and her "hubby" has bad knees and never goes anywhere.
    So a big ole van would get most of us there, my sister will probably go, but be on a different schedule, and they will go in their own vehicle, they always do.  My fancy attorney bro bro is even harder to tell.  If he even goes, they might fly and stay at a Disney room, (psst, he has attained poop don't stink status, but shhhh, it's a secret).  Just kidding, but the fartknocker never does things the way we do, so I expect they would make their own arrangements to get up there.
    Right now it is all sounding good.  We have to find out who is in, and get a big enough house for everybody, it should be fun, the bigger, the fancier and the more people we split the bill with, I think.  This is all preliminary, but I am getting excited, I love being up there, and if I can help it, I would love to be up there two weeks, but we will see.