1/30/22 Football Banquet At Crockett?

     Last night was a fun evening, put together by the booster club, to recognize the Cougar family and celebrate how far we have come together.  Up until a couple months ago, we were involved and going to the meetings which occur weekly, but then they announced that the banquet was going to be on a night when the wrestling team was going to be at a tournament, so why would we bend ourselves backwards for this celebration when we wouldn't even be able to attend or enjoy its fruit?  Some things happened, maybe the coaches realized that the initial date was a bad one and things were moved to this weekend, which is one of the few ones lately we weren't stuck in a gym all day.

    Things like this always catch us by surprise, even if we know they are coming.  I had at least gotten Mijo to show me some nice clothes he could wear the night before, or we were going to have to go to the mall, a place he does not like at all.  He managed to pull out a nice jacket and dress shirt, the jacket still had the tag, he had never worn it, I think we bought it for him his freshman year, he actually weighs less now than he did then, but he was softer, now he is more compact and stronger than ever, either way, we didn't have to leave the house.  He decided on jeans and then some dress shoes he also has maybe worn once.  He had talked of dressing up for school at one point, like Boy, but then this guy is strictly a hoodie and t-shirt kind of guy, so all his dressy stuff has just sat in his room.  I went with a black dress shirt and jeans, with some dress shoes as well.  Wife dressed up like she was going to work, no problems there.  I did lend Mijo one of my nice watches, which was quickly noticed by his friends who complimented it as "very nice and expensive looking."

    Mijo is funny, because he showed up to win.  He mentioned at the house that if they were recognized, he should win the offensive lineman award, so he was there, much like when wrestling.  He was not interested in eating, he was just pacing back and forth, joking with his friends a bit, but then sat on the edge of his chair.  He was called up and recognized twice, once for Offensive lineman of the year and then for earning 2nd Team All District honors again as a lineman.  His coach went on and on, mentioning "this young man comes every day with a positive attitude, he inspires and motivates the kids around him, has a phenomenal squat (525lbs), and is versatile, didn't complain when we moved him from guard to center two weeks before the start of the season."  Every time we approach the coaches, they go on and on about what a great kid Mijo is, it is such a nice feeling to have our boys always talked up like this, tells me our efforts are worth something.

    The head coach talked about the falling short and that it was a bit disappointing, but then talked about a lot of positives, we are only losing 6-7 seniors, compared to schools like LBJ, which did go far in the playoffs, but are losing 29 seniors.  Marble Falls and Liberty Hills, two monster programs, will no longer be in our district.  We have a good chance of winning the district next year, based on where we stand, so it gives the team a reason to go forward.

    The banquet itself was great, we were served brisket and sausage, after thinking we were going to eat enchiladas.  They also had some silent auctions to raise money for the Booster club, which we kicked in and I bought a cool basket with some nice mug and glass combo that I thought were ceramic but ended up being aluminum, with the Cougar logo.  All in all, it was a great night.

1/29/22 The Truman Show Revisited?

     Last night was a nice relaxing night, other than Wife getting home and being a bit of a pain in the ass.  She came home revved up about going and helping to decorate for tonight's football banquet.  I had been taking a nap prior to her walking in the door and I think Baby A is just a little burned out about being at school such long days all the time.  We both whined that we would prefer to just chill, but then we put on our shorts and got going.  Luckily, halfway there, she got a text back that they were done decorating, so we dodged a bullet.  We came back home after swinging by a couple of restaurants and seeing how crazy, long the lines were to eat, and we just ended up making the burger patties I had bought to make Thursday night.  Along with our burgers and Funyuns, we enjoyed a movie, The Truman Show.

    I hadn't seen the movie since I saw it probably ten years ago, but it is the kind of movie that leaves an impression on you.  I thought it would be something Mijo would enjoy to a certain degree.  We have figured he doesn't like lame rom coms, or raunchy college bro movies.  They have to have some depth to them and this one is weird one, really.  The idea of being recorded every minute of the day is both creepy and cool.  I think after watching it we all have gone through periods of thinking "is someone watching me for entertainment purposes, does my life have a unique spin that makes me somehow special?"

    Jim Carrey has been doing this kind of work for a very long time.  I think we lose appreciation for him because he is characterized as a crazy, funny comedian, but this was a very good portrayal of someone who is just trying to be a good guy in a world where he is tragically the center of a great big conspiracy, his life is a lie.  I think Carrey did an amazing job with the role.

    After the movie, our boy had the thought that realizing and proving he was in a fake world was akin to taking the red pill in The Matrix, which he wanted to get out of living in a fake world, and instead wanted to live in what was real.  I had a similar thought when he was being "hunted" when he disappears, "is it better to remain in a false world where everyone around you supports and loves you artificially, or do you do the brave and courageous thing and fight off the false world around you and then see their true faces, which in the end are only pretending to like you because in the real world, you have been a paying job, as most people around you have been acting like they care about you for their net benefit. 

1/28/22 Wings Think They're Prime Meat Now?

     I don't know who gave them permission, but wings are trying to run around with royalty, based on what they think they can charge.  Last night, I had to pick up Baby A from school, they did not have wrestling practice after school, they just spent 45 minutes or so taking team pictures.  He asked me earlier if we could go have wings after school and my initial response was "No!", I am a hard-working responsible man, that has to stay at work all day long and half the night.  I mean I thought all that, but I just said no.  After sitting at work a few hours and realizing I had about an hours' worth of work left and five more hours to kill, I decided, people do get lunch breaks, so I told him we would stop and eat some wings.  In my head, this worked out differently than reality.  First off, his pictures too longer than I thought, then he had a straggler friend join us, not that I mind the boys, I generally like all of them, but I also like having my son to myself to hear his stories at the end of the day.

    All this was fine, I didn't even mind sitting with them while they giggled like schoolgirls while going back and forth with the rest of the wrestlers in their chat, I think he likes a girl wrestler or at least there is some flirting going on.  All that is cute to watch, so I just sat back and took the ambience in.  Even the waitress was perfect for the moment, she asked what we were up to, and I can't wait to tell anyone my son wrestles and they had just done team pictures.  She chimed in that she had wrestled in high school, had gone to state back in the day, and even started talking moves and shoes and the lingo that made me believe she wasn't just saying stuff to sound cool.

    My knuckleheaded son got me to take him here because he wanted wings, but when he saw burgers on the menu, which is what I had defrosted to make at home, he and his friend both ordered burgers, which kind of bothered me.  I guess they did me a favor, not knowingly.  The waitress did mention that the prices had changed and pointed to the wall.  I would have had to get up to look around the bar, so I just nodded, figuring the prices were $2-$4 dollars more, right?  I got a dozen wings, thinking the boys can eat a couple, it is a wings restaurant, after all.  The big shocker was the $75 check.  I noticed my wings were $26.99.  On the menu, they were listed at $13.99.  Come on, that is a bit of abuse.  I assumed it was a mistake, and told the waitress "I think the price is wrong on the wings..."  She came back with "uh, I mentioned that the prices had been changed and again pointed to the wall.  I wasn't going to argue, I just said a sheepish "wow!" and handed her my card.  She said she was sorry for the confusion, and she would take some off.  She came back and did give me a $10.26 discount, but she had been so nice, and she did talk about wrestling, so I basically gave it back to her with a $15 tip.  I mean the 15% tip would have been $11.

    It sucks but there is no way we are eating wings outside the house any time soon.  I was trying to tell Wife that "Little Shit wanted to go eat wings and then didn't even order wings..." to which he casually added "you would have wanted me to order wings, at those prices?"  Well, we didn't know the prices were that crazy, so I guess it was good that they both ordered $10 burgers, but still.  Dammit, it's bad enough we hardly eat out anymore.  Prices like that are not helping anyone.

1/27/22 Can't Cut A Break For Pity Around Here?

     I took a half day of vacation last night from work, so I could go to the wrestling meet.  All that was fine, the event was great, we even enjoyed Whataburger afterwards, and even Boy came down and we actually sat like a family and ate at the table, something we rarely do anymore.  While eating, it dawned on me that even though I was done for the night, Wife was going to bed for work, I couldn't just stay up and chill.  Baby A had practice at 7:00am this morning.  Usually, for wrestling, they have the option of going to practice in the morning or after school.  After school works for us perfectly, because we benefit from Wife getting home in time to pick him up after practice, sometime between 6:30-7:00pm.  When everything is working. I drop him off at school sometime around 8:30am, then I am free to do whatever I do, and go to work, not worrying about my boys until I get home.

    With the early practice, Mijo said he was going to bed immediately after we ate, Wife went to bed because she has to get up early for work.  It occurred I should do the same, and I tried whining to Wife that I hate going to bed early and I especially didn't want to get up at 6:30am to take him to school.  I forget, Wife has to get up at 5:15am every day and be out the door by 6:00am to get to her campus in San Antonio on time.  She just gave me a sarcastic "poor baby, you want me to wake you, when I pass San Marcos, it'll be about 6:30am by then."  What can I say to that, I just grumbled under my voice and headed to bed.  I don't know if it was the meal right before laying down, but usually I have a hard time falling asleep, but I couldn't even remember what happened.  I know I went and brushed my teeth and that I was cold when I got in bed, but I went down hard.  I then woke up a few hours later to pee, and my phone was still on but laying on the ground next to the bed, repeating a Tik Tok over and over.

    At this point, I thought to put on an alarm for 6:30am, which I managed to beat, again I woke to go pee at 6:15am, so I figured do what you gotta do and start the day.  Baby A was also dragging butt, we didn't get to his school until 7:10am or so, but once he gets off, I can go back and chill at least until I get to work at 1:00pm.  It is about 10:15am, and all I am thinking is finish writing this and go lay down for another hour or more.  Since I already worked out and ate my little leftover lunch, I think I will enjoy me a little downtime.

1/26/22 Last Wrestling Meet Before District?

     Last night was a lot of fun, watching the Coogs go out and have their last Quad Meet (four schools facing each other off).  I was a little saddened that our own heavy, Baby A could not participate, Wife and I still showed up, provided snacks and drinks, and cheered for the other, really for all the kids fighting.  I have to say, it takes guts to go out and do something like that, which seems so out of the ordinary.  The main focus in high school sports is basketball right now, but there is soccer going on too, and wrestling.  We could extrapolate and look at other activities, band is in the middle of their individual competitions now, as well, so I guess there are all sorts of activities that these kids get to participate in, and that's a good thing.

    Surprisingly, when we have gone to big competitions, our Crockett program seemed small, we had a hard time filling all 14 weight classes for boys and 10 for girls.  There seemed to be a lot of time wasted qualifying and doing the proper paperwork and other logistical stuff, consequently, we would show up with 4-5 boys on the varsity team, and a handful of girls.  Last night, we were the big-time program, Crockett had a whole side of boys and girls, I think everyone that has been on freshman through varsity dressed out and showed up.  Not every weight class was represented, but in the end, there were a few exhibition matches between Crockett teammates.   LBJ had maybe 4-5 total wrestlers, Navarro, who hosted had at most 8 total wrestlers, and Travis had maybe 3-4 wrestlers.  I don't know if a lot of kids have quit or did not participate because of grades, but Travis had a lot more wrestlers last time we met with them.  Crockett, as a team, looked very good.  It is easy to see that a lot of wrestlers have improved over the last few months.

    I have to say, I told Mijo that last night was a lot of fun, mostly because he wasn't fighting.  I love watching him compete, but as a parent, I am always holding my breath that he won't get hurt.  It is also hard to watch him lose, but he keeps saying he might be upset in the moment, if he is beat, but he is also okay with it and doesn't hold a grudge, he knows there are kids with superior skills, and he just enjoys the challenge of competition.

    The team was more or less upbeat, I would say the Coogs won about 80% of their matches, so we looked very good overall.  Certainly, our kids have been taught to be gracious winners and losers.  In the first match, one of our freshman kids, who has become very friendly with us, he is one of Mijo's buddies, beat a Navarro kid and the other kid refused to shake hands after, as is custom.  The referee forced him to shake, but as they passed each other afterwards, our Coog tried to say, "good match", and the other kid was rude and dismissive about it.  I like our son's attitude, if he loses, he will go out and talk to the other guy, congratulate him, and try to pick up pointers on whatever move was done on him.  That is the sign of a good competitor.

1/25/22 Gonna Be Hard Going Back To Being A Good Boy?

     I got a good spanking last week, and as a result, I am supposed to be working a full shift again, no more worrying about Covid killing us, that part of life is done.  Since we had been told to go home and preserve ourselves, I had gotten awful efficient at working and with looking at my mail at home, skipping coffee breaks and lunch, running both tools at the same time, I could get all the work required in about 4-5 hours most nights.  I have to learn to work slower once again, which starts by giving my Wife more than a few seconds on the phone.  I didn't even want to slow down to have a conversation with her, figuring if I hurried up enough, I would see her before she goes to bed.

    Sure enough, I walked in last night and my mind quickly figured out if I split the work between the tools, I had about 3-4 hours of work, even less than usual, and that's doing work that isn't even due until Friday.  Instead of rushing into the work, I went and found my coworker and got a pass down, which means we shot the shit for a good while drinking coffee.  After this, we went in the lab, and I got to work at a more leisurely pace.  I even decided to make new solutions to use.  Being in a hurry, I would use whatever was available and always hesitated on being the one to make new standards.  I made my own stock solutions, made my own curve bottles and even spent another hour washing bottles, something I have always hated doing and just see as busy work, but it does need to get done.

    I did find that our tool is acting up, so I did end up technically running both tools, but it was more to trouble shoot my solutions to see if I had made a mistake.  All was well, the work due today, 2 jobs, and the one due Friday, all got done by 9:00pm.  I then sat and did the report for last week to prove that I am indeed a good boy and do in fact do some work, not just collect money like a leech.

    Ultimately, if they want us to be there a full shift, they should make it their job to get us more samples, that will increase our revenue and not just keep us marching in place for a predetermined amount of time.  I was told to maybe go help, like the imaging group, but I can't be running from one lab space to another, they are physically spaced down opposite ends of a long hallway.  I don't mind going over and doing imaging work, if that is what I am going to do for a night or more but running back and forth is just begging for mistakes.

1/24/22 Shit Drivers?

     I never worry about my driving out on the road, it's the shit birds that accompany us that make the roads unsafe.  One of my more regular series of videos that I watch are driving fails on Youtube.  These consist of car accidents, and I don't look at them because I enjoy watching people get destroyed, I watch to try and understand where the accident occurs.  Most of the time, it is one of the drivers not paying attention.  A lot of them are when people are driving too fast, and the traffic starts slowing down.  It is so easy to gauge this, slow down and just figure somebody up front messed up, we'll get past the accident and get back to normal speeds.  A lot of people are either not paying attention or get in a trance and don't read the cars piling up.  I am always surprised when you see a car coming in at twice the speed of the rest of traffic, like, where is your head?

    Anyways, I just went to Target a couple minutes ago.  On my way back home, I am only about 5 minutes away, there are 2-3 STOP signs, nothing fancy, and at this hour the traffic is very light.  I went to STOP when it was my turn, the guy on the next lane turned, and then I started to take my foot off the brake, but a third car came up to the STOP 90 degrees to my right and even though I was already in motion, he/she just slid right through without so much as slowing down or a little hand wave indicating "my bad".We weren't driving fast, so there was no chance we would hit, this was just the driver being a douchebag, not really dangerous.  I then was behind them, and they did it again at the next STOP.  The car that turned in front of me properly did the stop, then went but this car, being behind that car didn't even touch their brakes and went through.

    I don't care, if you are not putting me in danger, do whatever.  Wife hates it when speeders zoom past us, I prefer them to pass us and keep getting distance from us.  If they are going to crash, better they move along and make their mistakes away from me, so I have time to react.  These people, if they don't change their driving habits, will at some point be T-boned at an intersection and it might cost them their lives, but I guess if it saved them 2-3 seconds every time they didn't stop, it will be worth it?  I guess I learned it the hard way myself, in high school, I got stopped once after band practice.  I was dropping off a group of kids and I may have slid through a STOP sign without stopping completely.  A police officer happened to be there, with his daughter also fresh from band practice, and he gave me a ticket.  Sometimes, that is the best lesson.