8/14/22 Senior Sunrise?

     One of our busier weekends even had us up at 4:30am.  On Sunday, they had the Senior sunrise, which is simply enough getting together on campus, at the football field and watching the sun come up, signifying their year as seniors just started.  Honestly, there wasn't much for us to do other than showing up.  The hardest part was waking up the big knucklehead.  He likes to stay up late on his phone or video games every chance he gets, and it was technically Saturday night.  He said he thought the house was on fire when I came, knockled on his door and yelled at him to be ready in 15 minutes, no time to take his one-hour shower, or the sun will be up.  We were out the door by 540am, but we did need to go pick up his friends.  During the day sometimes it takes up to 40 minutes, but I guess with no traffic it went much faster.

    Knowing we had time, after we got them, I did drive around the school looking for an open store to buy some sodas or something, but to no luck.  By the time we pulled up, the old senior sponsor from last year, she has taken up another job, and the new senior sponsor were there, setting up a bit.  They had a table with some snacks and at least they opened the little shack where the football pylons and other field equipment is kept so we had some light where we sat.

    Other than getting our beach chairs out and setting them up by the track, we didn't have much to do.  When the booster club person who pushes us to do stuff showed up, we went to help her get the coolers and stuff off.  They talked of setting up games and doing tie dye shirts, but the kids only seemed interested in breaking up into their little friend groups and talking.  Mijo and his friends walked a couple laps, Wife tried taking a sad picture of them walking away from us as if they are leaving us, but I told her tocut it out with the sappiness.

    They all lined up at exactly when the sun was at sunrise, 6:57am and then we took a few pictures.  There was the group picture, then people took smaller pics with their friends, and finally we all started to leave.  The activity ended with us going to eat breakfast at Garcia's, which was nice with Mijo bringing his GF and a couple of friends.

    This really did feel like a separate part of the day, we got home and slept until 1:00pm after that.  Then we went school shopping for Mijo.

8/13/22 Taping Of The Senior Hallways?

     First off, I didn't know this was a thing.  Second, if I left it to Baby A, he would have probably ignored it too, and we would all be none the wiser.  But since I am in the booster club and I was standing out there helping to accept the donations for the scrimmage and helping with the pizzas, I was pointed to and asked "Can I count on you?  Will you be there to help these next four days?"  It is hard to say no to pushy people who are trying to do all they can for their kids, and therefore, I do more for my kid.

    As it was explained to me, the taping of the Senior hallways is an old tradition where the seniors own the hallways on the second floor of the school.  I kind of love how the building is laid out.  There is an outdoor area inside the walls of the school, and all the way around this outside area, there are hallways about 15 feet across and they open with walls that only go halfway up so people can see down to the open courtyard.

    Before we took Mijo out there, Wife and I had to go find him the right tape, the GF had mentioned that she wanted to write her name in pink tape, and I guess he wanted red.  They also had to use something like blue painter's tape, which does not bond as hard and doesn't leave a nasty residue on the ground like duct tape.  Essentially, they use the blue painter's tape first, then they can put the duct tape on top of the blue tape.

    Although I was asked to go and maybe supervise, once we got there with some donuts and kolaches, there wasn't much for us to do.  Mijo had his girl, and thus we did not exist, he went off to the opposite side of the building from where we were standing.  The booster club mom who asked to see if we were coming was going hard on the project, even tried to recruit us to help her, but I said nah, I got bad knees, I wasn't about to try and work on my knees, I'd never get up.

    At that point, Wife and I left, we went and ate, then got home.  I really hesitated to fall asleep, but eventually, I still did.  The little Pooper didn't call until 3:20pm, to go get him and take his girl to her home.

8/12/22 Scrimmage Time?

     Friday was a super long and kind of stressful day.  First off, I helped get Girlie on the road, took her to the airport to pick up her rental.  Baby A and I took her to eat and then she left.  This was around 1:00pm.  Then we had to head home, Mijo had to shower, then off to school.  They had a scrimmage against each other, but it was at the Burger stadium, where the real games are played.  Before they headed out, there were pictures taken, then they were fed.  The scrimmage did not start until 6:00pm, so I hung out for a bit with some of the booster club people, I helped unload the pizzas brought in to feed the boys, then went home to wait for Wife.

    I ended up being at the school for about 2 hours, I got home around 4:00pm, took a 2nd shower, then a small nap before Wife got home.  We then headed out to the scrimmage around 6:30pm.  It was nice out there, the sun wasn't beating on us, for some weird reason, it got cloudy and nice.  We sat amongst people we are now getting to know more and more, since becoming a part of the booster club, it almost seems like we belong.

    The scrimmage was fine, but since Mijo wasn't playing, his knee is still a problem, it was hard to actually pay attention.  A few of the players we know are the walking wounded, one is concussed, like his third one, another has an injured hand, Mijo has the knee, another has a sprained ankle.  We were kind of just catching up with people we hadn't seen since school had ended.

    Afterwards, we gave one of his friends a ride home.  Before going home, we had to go eat.  We ended up at Torchy's Tacos, which was good, his friend had not eaten there, and I always enjoy introducing someone to new things.  He loved it, as we did too, but we got out of there after 10:00pm, went and dropped him off, then headed home.  We had yet another event scheduled for Saturday, the taping of the Senior hallway.  This tradition has the seniors tape their names on the hallways up on the second floor at Crockett HS.

    Of course, we weren't ready and then Mijo tells me at 11:00pm that he needs pink and red duct tape to use to write.  I have grey and probably black, oh and clear, but no red or pink.  Guess who was up super early running to Home Depot?  This idiot.

8/11/22 When It Rains It Storms?

     I have been so busy the past four days; I hadn't even had time to sit and write.  Here we go.  Girlie found out the boyfriend had not been paying the rental she was going to use to get to Indiana, so that was a big blow.  Turns out, Hertz called her to inform her that she had to either pay the car 's rental rate due or they were going to label the car as being stolen.  This was a big shock, so she went and paid it without talking to the BF.  The outstanding bill was about $1700.  This left her with about $1500 on her credit card.  Before her car accident, she had planned to have around $4000 to go.  Now, as of Friday, she was down to less than $1700, including the cash she had in her bank account.

    In a state of mixed emotions and frustration she rented a U-haul and told me she was going to leave Thursday.  When I got home, I told her this was a stupid idea and to cut it out and think.  She was mad at the BF, who we have all repeatedly told her was going to screw her over again but was going to end up punishing herself.  I sat her down and we did some real simple math.  The U-haul was going to cost her $1300, she already had that quote.  I told her based on the 1200 miles; gas is going to be about $400-$500.  I told her flat out, you are going to run out of money about 300 miles shy of your destination and then what?  You need money to pay rent to the people letting you stay with them, you need food, you still don't have any transportation over there.  I told her to slow her ass down, I don't want to be sending her money for gas before she even gets there.

    She waited the night, then in the morning, Wife and I had gotten a chance to talk, and we decided it would be safer if she just flew.  We offered, but she didn't like the idea because she was planning on taking about a U-Haul's worth of stuff.  I took her to run some last-minute errands and I thought of just renting a car for the drive.  We came back to the house and looked at prices for a medium SUV and the price was still high, around $600, one way, but it would get her there with her stuff.  I told her it'll be half the cost for the vehicle, compared to a U-Haul and probably half as much for gas.  She put it on her card and although I didn't think she would go, she did.  I helped her plan, thinking it would take her three days, if she stopped to rest, leaving Friday in the afternoon, but she drank some Redbulls and got there driving all night.

    I was scared for her, you hear of so many dangerous things that can happen on the road (specially for young females), just a flat tire would be disastrous, in the wrong place.  Luckily, all went well.  We texted a bit today (Sunday), and she has already decorated her room, bought an inflatable mattress and seemed at home.  She can now focus on her internship, a part time job, and then getting back for her diploma in four months.

8/10/22 Where Did The Summer Go?

     I was surprised to see some of our friends on Instagram taking their kids to the first day of school.  At first, I was scared that Mijo was avoiding school somehow and he hadn't told us the real first day of school, but those kids in the pictures are going to Del Valle, which is adjacent to Austin.  The facts are that school does start next week, we haven't even been to the mall in maybe two months.  The last time we went, I think Mijo was going to hang out with friends, we just haven't been in the mood for shopping, and this boy does not care what he wears.

    I bought him a new pair, as I said earlier, for school and he just started wearing them to practice.  Since he is currently injured, he is walking around the football field on his street shoes, so his "new" shoes now have a green color to them.  It is annoying, I want him looking sharp and he could care less.

    I thought there was a rule of some kind that required school start as late as possible in August.  Part of this was so that the school wouldn't have to fight to keep the school comfortable in this crazy heat we have here, in Texas.  I was sure it couldn't start before my birthday (21) this month, but according to Wife, Mijo starts school on Monday, the 15th.  I have conflicting feelings about this.  I want it to get started to get back to our normal routine, but it will also be the last year I get to hang out with Mijo so much because he is still living here with us.

    This summer has also been rough because of his workout routine.  He is/was at school every day, to work out in the weightroom.  Just as football practice started, he got injured in his knee.  According to a doctor and a specialist, it is just a cartilage bruise, but it is taking quite some time to heal.  He can walk okay, and a brace makes him barely feel anything, but he says when he squats, he can still feel pain, same as when shooting forward from the line of scrimmage, and that is without a big knucklehead in front of him trying to knock him down.

    At this point, I will be glad to get out of this pattern of heat, it has been downright shitty, most every day above 100.  I am looking forward to the days when we get another boat and then find a nice place to drop anchor and enjoy ourselves away from the masses.

8/9/22 My Jerseys Are Here?

     I saw an ad and I just reacted a couple weeks ago.  I knew it was a risk, but the commercial looked legit and I really liked what I saw.  The site is called Fansidea and they sell jerseys for football, baseball, basketball and maybe even hockey.  They are not NFL or any of those big names certified, and they are certainly not the heavy material I believe the real stuff is made of, but it can be personalized, and they have tons of color combinations.

    I went with what I would imagine is the New Orleans Saints colors, the jersey being black with gold lettering, but if you keep going down, the colors get crazy.  There were even colors like red, white, and blue on one all blended, there are camo versions and some even come with a random splatter look.  Not knowing what to expect and being disappointed the previous year with the jersey I ordered, I wanted to make sure it fit.  I ordered a 5XL and then wife joked I should order a 6XL since it's from a Chinese factory and they are a small people.  

    I have to say I am happy with both versions I bought.  One is the traditional solid color (black) with gold letters, and the other has more of a snowdrift look in the lettering, where the big numbers are gold in the bottom but look like snow is slowly filling the top.  I do have to say the price is a little misleading.  The basic jersey price is $29, but everything you add, adds some more to the cost.  I chose 50 for the number, then the school's name in the front, and our last name in the back, and finally, I found a Cougar logo and had it added on the shoulder.  By the time I was done, each jersey was approximately $70, but if they hold up, it'll be worth it.

This is mine:

This is Wife's:

8/8/22 Signs That The Watch Market Has Started To Correct?

     Finally, it seems that the watch market is coming back to reality.  We reached a point in which a nice watch that might have sounded expensive, say from Rolex, like the Cosmograph Daytona retailing for close to $50,000, in the used or secondhand market could easily be for sale at 2-3x the original price.  I don't know how people in general feel about this, but I say good!  I fucking hate these idiot flippers that go in, buy all the watches and then just turn around and try and resell them at a higher price point.  I hope some of them went bankrupt.  They add no value to the process, and just made it that much harder to find what I want, in terms of inventory.  

    It is possible that the recession we are in is affecting that part of the market, but all the stories of people being held up for their watches, and in some instances even beat up or worse, has to have many people losing interest in wearing nice watches.  I saw some horrible stories on Youtube where even old ladies were getting beat up by some young thug to get at her watch.  I fully respect the person who has worked hard and gotten to the point of being able to afford a nice watch, only to have said thug get his by basically cheating at life and taking it by force.

    One of the guys on Youtube both my brother and I follow has announced as well as several other sources that it is simply not a good idea to wear any expensive watches out in Los Angeles, the possibility of getting mugged is very high.  This one guy has a collection with hundreds of watches, some as expensive as $1,000,000.  He said he just put them all in a bank safe.  He doesn't even feel safe having them at home.  This another reason I feel the market has/is collapsed.  I don't feel safe even wearing my watches just on a day-to-day basis.  I prefer to wear them with a long sleeve shirt, that way I can hide it in a public place like when getting gas, and then roll up my sleeves if it feels safe or civilized.

    I get the flippers trying to make a little money but taking a $9500 watch like the Omega Snoopy 50th Anniversary watch and putting it on the secondhand market, unworn, for $30,000 is just robbery.  If they even advertise it as unworn, then the only reason it was purchased was to act as a middleman and profit, so I say good, I hope these knuckle draggers disappear, for good.