Progress

Hey! Alec's report card was much better! Here is the big one: he took his midterm Social Studies grade of a F to an A for the first quarter! Woo hoo!

What the...?

It's been a long time since the last post. Whoa. Maybe I've been doing a few things and been too busy! Hmmm...well, I think I will start up again.What have I been doing lately? Many things but one of them has been planning for our next Fallapalooza event next Friday the 7th. I wish I had more time to work on it because there are always ideas mulling around in my head that I would love to do. Next year. At least with this year's event being a little less, shall we say, complicated, I discovered that I could pull it off with the new job I have. One thing I have in my studio that helps with my thinking process is this little dry erase board hanging on my wall. I got it when I was still working at Kroeschell Engineering (they were going to throw it away). Through the years it has worked well with me sketching out my thought processes. The latest use is for Fallapalooza. Yeah, I could use something on my PC or index cards or whatever; but it seems that this suits me just fine. Here are some samples of my madness:

Katrina is 17 Today!

My little sunshine is 17 today. Happy Birthday Katrina!

Presidential Debate

Did anyone see that presidential debate the other night? I am confused and wondering what the media had seen that I didn't based on their reactions. Before I comment, you should know that I am not a political person. I have not decided on anyone yet. I don't consider myself a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. I am very much Independent preferring to vote for the person rather that someone representing a party ideology (that feels too communist to me). I guess they would call me an "Independent Moderate". Regarding the two major candidates, I actually kind of like both of them, really. Yeah, they are politicians who do spew a lot of rhetoric. But overall, neither one really scares me on their own.

But that last debate, wow. Experts (who are the experts - really?), said that McCain really needed to go on an offensive to get back into the race. Well, I thought he came off as a whiny baffoon. He was trying too hard. That wasn't the same guy from previous debates and other public functions that had I seen. It was almost scary. Like he was following a script someone gave him on how to act and he was moving with the strings that were guiding him. Well, I know that they both are coached but that particular act didn't sit well with me. I was disappointed and thought that the media was going to blast him for it. Instead they said it was his best debate. Huh? Mary and I couldn't believe that line he said about Obama running 4 years ago to challenge Bush. We were actually asking ourselves "did he really say that?". But the media folks thought it was a good line. Huh? I don't know, is the media trying to manipulate us even more than they usually do? The debate was entertaining but, I don't know, one person seemed to have lost his mind.

I still haven't decided. McCain needs to score some big points back with me. He lost them on two occasions: his choice for running mate and this last debate. What will happen in the next few weeks. We will see...

Predictions (Revealed!)

Go to the Thursday, February 21st post. I KNOW I said no more baseball talk this year but I was laughing while reading my take on the then upcoming season! Cubs vs. Brewers in the NLCS! NOT! I did predict that the Cubs get the division (I said 93 wins vs. the 97 they got). I got the wild card right with the Brewers (and I nailed their win total). I was close in the East. I thought the Mets but didn't rule out the Phillies. It did come down to those two. However, I was really off in the West! I seriously thought the Padres were a darkhorse winner! They ended up with one of the worst records in baseball! I never even mentioned the Dodgers! Since I am not really an American League guy I had no feel for those teams. Although I can almost guarantee you that I would never have even considered the Rays. Now, they are most likely another expansion team to get to the World Series before the Flubs.

Fallapalooza 2008

Here it comes again, Fallapalooza 2008. It will be another fun event. I do have to say it was a later start to planning than in years past - mostly because of, ahem, a series of events that occured this past spring! It will be a great one. You know how songs or images can take you back to things in your past? It was funny after reviewing some of the videos how I was reminded of where my life was at at those times. Especially the videos from like March/April. Strange I would get that reaction but it was there none the less. It was indeed an emotional time. Ah well, that was then and this is now! Back then I never thought I would be part of planning another one, but here we go: Fallapalooza! Can you handle it?

Love Power

Thanks to Joe McClennan for sending me this quote. Joe has been one awesome guy helping and guiding me through the "Unemployed" months and right up to this day. After hearing about our kid challenges (which are a bit better nowadays), he sent me this. I just felt I had to post it:

"We all have the power to give away love, to love other people. And if we do so, we change the kind of person we are, and we change the kind of world we live in."

--Rabbi Harold Kushner

Cubs Crap

When I was a kid, my two favorite teams that I followed religiously were the Cubs and Blackhawks. It's funny, they are the only two major professional sports teams in Chicago that haven't won anything in my lifetime.

I remember as a little kid, when I was first getting into baseball, looking up in an encyclopedia (remember them?) who all the World Series champions were in MLB. I still have a vivid memory of having disbelief that the Cubs haven't won one since 1908. I can still remember checking and double checking.

And I was looking at it back around 1970.

Cubs fans, I share your disgust and anger. It is appalling what happened. They have to upgrade somehow to be a good postseason team. And, I mean upgrade in character as well as talent. Whether that is an internal change or getting someone from the outside, I don't know. But, when you have basically the same cast of characters as last year's playoff - with the same embarassing choke job - something needs to be addressed about that. We will see. Next year will be watched more guardedly. They should win the division next year too. But that isn't enough, not anymore.

Oh my, things have changed since the days we were just happy to get in the playoffs (just a handful of years ago).

Kind of how Sox fans were this year. How lame. And, Sox fans, you won one more game in the postseason. So what. I guess your players and our players can talk about that on the golf course as the postseason continues on without us. I have already heard that from some of them. Man, that is soooo petty (and not Tom).

I just read that this was the most times in a decade the Cubs were in a postseason. Ever. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.

I probably won't watch much more of the postseason. This officially concludes baseball talk for this year.

Maybe the Blackhawks can surprise us all and win a Stanley Cup.

Oh wait, they need to make the playoffs first...

It Will Soon Be Over...

How could a team embarrass itself so? As a fan, I am way beyond any hope for the Cubs this year. Barring a miracle (ha!), it will be over, just like last year, in three games this Saturday. I have come to a conclusion: this team is NOT built for the postseason. I repeat, NOT built for the postseason. Sure, they are built for a long season to take a division. But for something like this, they can't handle it. You can see it in their eyes on the field. They don't really believe. They are down. They can't handle it. I don't know what it is that is missing: leadership, lack of confidence, no heart; whatever it is, next year this team needs to change somehow to be built for the postseason. As it stands, this is the wrong group of players. They will never go anywhere with the team as is. I am not a general manager, I don't have the answers. But, it needs to change. Something does. This cast of buffoons can't handle it.