11/6/22 Impromptu Booster Club Meeting?

     Last night, Tuesday, we had an impromptu booster club meeting.  The playoff bound T-shirts came in and they wanted to hand them out as fast as possible.  I like the idea of the shirts; I was the one who brought it up at the last booster club meeting after a coworker told me her kid at Bowie was getting one for their efforts.  I can't complain about the shirt itself and the fact that it was made so quickly is also pretty awesome, but it is a first-generation shirt, and I can only hope that if the Cougars can keep winning, then the shirts will be getting better.

    The shirt said everything it needed to say, and the back even had the whole team and staff listed, which is the cherry on top.  If there is something I didn't like, it is the overuse of white.  The shirt is solid black, and the writing is in white.  Being that the school colors are more black, brown and gold, maybe tan, I would have preferred if the writing was all done in gold or tan, just so it wouldn't contrast so strongly with the black.  I kind of also thought a brown T-shirt would have been better.

    Another little problem is that we ordered way too many shirts, at first only those that paid for shirts were going to get one, so I had ordered about five extra, in case any of Mijo's friends did not get one, but then the coach told the booster club that all the varsity boys were to get one, along with the trainers and coaching staff.  Pretty much, anyone mentioned on the shirt, qualified for a free shirt.  This message did not get to us until the day after the shirts had been ordered.  I am sure we will find kids who wouldn't mind having a shirt, Mijo does have a couple of friends outside of the football team.

    There is a little bit of excitement in the air, we all seem to think our Coogs can beat the first-round opponent of the playoffs, even the boys looking at the tape aren't seeing someone as dominating as LBJ was last week.  It will be an exciting game come Friday night, even the weather is up in the air, it might be a cold night, we'll have to wait until Friday night to see what happens.

11/5/22 Football, Playoff Mode?

     It was exciting, I have to admit, as we waited to see who we were going to be matched with for the first round of the playoffs.  It might be a quick one and done or we could survive a couple of games, either way, this is all new territory for our Cougars and win or lose, our fate depends very much on who is healthy and available for play.  After the dust settled, it appears we are matched up with Rouse, out of Leander.  Wife, never one to miss an opportunity to remove barriers, thought it a good idea to drive up there and see the football field we would be playing in.  Leander is still part of the greater Austin area, to me, the field is about 5 miles of Lakeline Mall, and took maybe 40 minutes to get out to.  Mijo and his close lineman buddy both went with us and when we got there, the field was locked up, but we still parked, and they got off and went to the fence and talked for a while up against it.

    Playoffs is a first for our boys, Crockett had not made the playoffs in 15-25 years, depending on who you listen to.  Either way, we were trying to explain to our boys here that what they accomplished his season is big, like Hamilton says, "to leave a legacy is planting a crop of which you will never eat from but will set up your future teammates to prosper in what you began."  I find this an exciting time and I can only hope our boys perform to the best of their ability.  Every year, we hear the same names, the same programs advancing in the playoffs, at least now, our boys have a seat at the table, and it is up to them how long they get to enjoy it.

    I thought it was kind of cool to see Mijo released to play, taking the assignment last night seriously enough that when they were released game film of their opponent, he went up to his room and started analyzing the defenders and seeing what they do and how they do it.  I wish he would have had a season of this, where he understands the game enough to see it on film and have it related to what happens on the field, but we have to take life as it comes.

    For now, we got grandparents on both sides of the family lining up to come see him on Friday night, so either way, we will celebrate his season and get to watch him on the field one more time.  Friday night is supposed to be a cold and rainy night, so it might be uncomfortable, but then again, that is what football is all about.  Go Coogs!!

11/4/22 I Voted?

     I kind of wanted to vote, not enough to actually go and stand out in the rain, but Wife felt more passionately about voting than me, and you know how that goes.  She forced me out the door, when all I wanted to do was babysit my brisket and wait for the boys to get out of the movies.  First off, I was glad the boys played football on Thursday, so they could enjoy a weekend of just relaxing and taking it easy.

    The next part was that Wife did not get home until after 7:00pm, so whatever thing she wanted to get done, was going to happen later at night.  The final piece to the shitty night was that we had been expecting rain all day and it hadn't rained, until she decided we should be outside with all these Austin liberals.  I went out to look at the grill around 6:00pm and it was just your normal muggy evening, but then by 7:15pm, I decided to bring my brisket in and let it rest in the oven (with oven turned off) and the wind and drizzle had kind of started.  By the time we got in the car, just before 8:00pm, it was raining hard, which I thought would either stop or dissuade her once she saw how long the line was to vote.  We drove over to Southpark Meadows in some heavy downpour, but of course, by the time we were looking for parking, it had slowed down some.  We sat in the car for a good ten minutes before I thought the rain had all but passed.  It kept drizzling on and off while we stood in line, but it really was only about 40 minutes of waiting.

    I was sure that it was some sort of illegal for representatives to be out there soliciting votes, but I guess I was wrong.  There were at least 3-4 people giving out waters, ponchos, and then pizza slices for a moment to listen to what they had to say.  Wife got a water bottle from one of them as they approached the first time, not knowing they were going to break into a soliloquy about why we should vote blue, one of the knuckleheads was still trying to convince us how hard it is to vote in Texas, because we need to show up with our ID.

    Once we got into the building, it was pretty straight forward, I hate to say I just looked for every R and voted for them but fuck Beto and everything the democrat side has become.  That ass wanted to take our guns less than 2 years ago (when running for president), then he decided he wanted to run for governor of Texas, and he forgot that part?  He can suck it a long time.  I disagree with Abbott and what he did for abortion and women's rights, but that is not enough to vote for more imbeciles in power.

11/3/22 Last Regular Season Game?

     It seems just when we got good at being fans, it's over.  We've been a lot more involved this season, and I've been showing up with my flags and banners marking the football field as our turf, which is part of the fun.  Funny how some dopey parents just assume the football field provides those flags and put them up for the teams.  We finally know a lot of the parents and it was feeling pretty good to show up and feel like we are a community, but I guess all good things come to an end.

    The game, on the other hand, was fierce, and not in a good way.  LBJ manhandled our boys and left their mark.  It is easy to see why they are ranked so high in the state.  Usually, our QB has been able to run around defenders and finding holes to run, but that was not the case this week.  It did not help that he was already slowed down with other little nagging injuries, he wasn't really able to throw the week before, his mom said his shoulder was hurting.  He was hit pretty hard, his knee buckled, and he was taken out.  Another of our receivers was hit helmet to helmet and he was taken to the hospital for concussion evaluation.  That LBJ kid was ejected, the play was totally uncalled for.  We also lost our other top receiver, who was also fighting nagging injuries.  We were left with the QBs younger brother, who had been stellar at defensive end, to work the QB position, but he was unable to run or pass, so it was a totally rough night for us.  We have a back-up QB, but as Mijo said, he is skinnier and smaller than our QB, they would have broken him, if he had tried.

    Just looking at the front defensive line, those were big scary boys.  Mijo's friend, who we give a ride to, most days, was saying they were talking mad shit, like "who let the little boy on the field?" as they looked at the guard that has been playing in Mijo's place, he is a good two inches shorter than Mijo, probably stands 5ft5in, and not very strong.  Mijo's friend is 6ft2 and he says he was looking up at the guys and they were just faster and stronger. there was very little to do but take the beating.

    It sucked all around, and I will even add, the referees were penalizing them all over the field, but it did not seem to matter much, there must have been 6-7 unsportsmanlike conducts against the other team, in the end, they still dominated.  As down as our boys were, they have to remember they had a solid season, and for the first time in a long time, they are in the playoffs.  It had been maybe 20 years or something like that, we had been told, plus they won 6 games this season, those are good things to feel good about, I am proud of our boys, they have come a long way.

11/2/22 Oops, Off By One Day?

     I kept telling wife Mijo's doctor appointment was on Friday, this past week, but she insisted it was on Thursday.  We both kind of had a bit of a fantasy that the doctor would say everything looks great, and he can play the last game.  My mistake was thinking the game was on Friday, when it was really on Thursday.  I am almost glad he didn't play, not that he would have been game ready after spending a month in a leg boot that limited his mobility.  Anyway, I picked him up Thursday, per Wife, only to get told "no, his appointment is tomorrow, the doctor isn't even here today."  All we could do at that point was go have lunch, then go back to dropping him off at school and waiting for the game at night.

    Friday was much better, I picked him up around 2:15pm, then headed over there.  It seems we are there so often, the receptionist already knows his name, not really a great sign overall, but it's nice to be remembered.  It took a good 15 minutes before we got to the doctor, every other time it has been within five minutes, but this was in the afternoon.  The doctor had him take the boot off, then did some tests on him, such as jumping on the leg, pressing here and there, pulling on the foot in multiple directions.  Mijo did say there was still a little soreness here and there, but the doctor said he was impressed at how quickly he had come along; the MRI had shown a tearing of at least one of the ligaments.  

    Doctor said he was releasing him to play saying this could happen again, but it is also a freak accident that is kind of rare.  At this point, it is up to Mijo if he wants to play, but being part of the team, I don't think he can say no, he's been wanting to be a part of the team all season.  Wife is very worried, I say you have to live your life, we could be in a car accident and lose a leg just driving to the store for groceries, there is no such thing as playing it safe, there is always a risk.  This is Mijo's decision, we discussed if he gets reinjured, it could be his wrestling season, but at this point, he feels like he has to be a part of the football team, so we will see him on the field next week.

    I don't know how much, when we got home, he was super excited, he wanted to go for a jog around the block, but he says that was harder than he imagined it would be.  He is not a conditioned athlete right now.  His first few steps were also very awkward, he had been walking in the boot for over a month, so his leg has gotten a little weaker, he was surprised to find.  He says he will be alright by next week.  I am worried, but excited to see him happy.

11/1/22 Getting Close To Needing A Break?

     Too many days are blending into one lately.  I hate that football season is coming to a close, it is by far, the best time of the year, and yet, it will be nice to be off the routine of late practices every day followed by a mandatory game time either Thursday or Friday.  Mijo has been injured most of the season, so it's not like we have even enjoyed watching him play, although the team overall has been very good this year.

    Still, I can tell we all need a break, this morning, he was supposed to be up by 7:15am and ready to go, but when I noticed it was too quiet upstairs, I went and knocked on his door and he was still fast asleep.  I find it a huge pain in the butt to have these once-a-week early morning practices, which make our boy have to be at school earlier than normal.  I can dig the 8:00am wake-up for regular days but getting up at 7:00am to be ready to take him, is another story.  This is the 2nd time he has overslept, which is telling me he must be dragging butt and not able to wake up as he is supposed to.

    The good thing about this time of year is that we are coming up on a week off for Thanksgiving, in less than three weeks, and then we have our two-week vacation for Christmas, so between the two, it should be enough of a change of pace to feel normal.  Right now, all I want to do is go back to sleep, which I did yesterday, and it was good, but I was still sleepy all afternoon.  The feeling might just be because of the weather, the overcast look makes it seem cooler than it is outside.

    One of my coworkers already asked for his days around Christmas, so it seems like that time of year, to start asking for what time our family needs of us.  I am going to try and get the week of Thanksgiving, followed by the week of Christmas and then the week of New Year's, see if that idea takes this year.  Last year, they wanted me to give the options to others to take some of that time off, but in the end, I was able to take the days I wanted.

    It seems this whole year at work has been a pain in the ass, with our main customer keeping us on our toes and making us test the limits of our tool's capabilities.  Right now, they are ramping up some huge project with over 50 samples, where we might normally do 5-10 on any given day, so it is going to suck for a while.

10/31/22 Halloween Night?

     Holidays during the week just suck, there is no way around that.  By the time we got home, even if I cut out early, it was after 6:00pm.  Mijo had texted for us to pick him up, it seems some kid accidentally kicked his leg in the cast and sent some shooting pain up his leg.  As a result, we were able to get home at a decent hour and not have to wait for football practice to end at 7:00pm or whenever they end up getting out.  I think Mijo was more focused on the fact that they let his GF come over, and for a Monday night, that was good enough for him.  We ended up picking her up about 6:20pm, then coming home.

    By the time we got home, Wife had just arrived, but she was outside trying to quench the thirst of the hungry trick or treaters.  They seemed to come in a few big waves and by the time it got dark, there were few kids left.  We sat out there getting eaten up by mosquitos until around 9:15pm.  In the meantime, DD, his wife and the baby had stopped by.  They dressed the baby up as a little devil and made a round about the neighborhood.  After they had enough of the walking, we went inside and ate some pizza that just arrived as they got back from walking.

    We all ate pizza, joked around, saw the baby crawling and eating like a big boy, then we kissed the baby goodbye and took the GF home.  We were half surprised to see her family outside with a few cars parked in their property.  The girl invited us to get off and say hi, we did not know what to expect, but we figured why not.  They were having a chili cookoff, and we got to sample about three of the nine various flavors and blends.  The one that was given to me had chunks of brisket, it was great.  Wife had one that looked more like beans, but she asked for a mild version that wouldn't be too spicy.  Mijo had an extra spicy variety.  All were good, we stayed maybe fifteen minutes, met some family members of the girl, then left since Wife has to get up at 5:00am.

    Everything happened so fast, but we got back, I went in the bathroom, Mijo turned on the TV and found Monday Night Football which was almost over.  I sat with him and fell asleep within minutes.  Little holidays like this are fun but they go by too quickly and now we are facing Thanksgiving around the corner in a few weeks.