Wednesday, February 27, 2008

three blind mice

The Hater says the refs for the UT-Vandy game called "ticky-tack" fouls. He says these are the fouls that you only have to look like you're going to foul to get called out on it.

At first he was angry with the refs, but after Bruce flipped out and got a technical, he says they started calling "ticky tack" fouls both ways.

I admit that I know more football jargon than basketball jargon. I've never officially played either (unless you count backyard football or one year of youth center basketball league, which I don't), but I've seen lots of both games from the bleachers in the band section. With that said, I've never heard of "ticky-tack" anything related to sports. There was a song (*) I vaguely remember that mentioned "ticky-tack" houses "that all looked the same", but other than that, I'll have to defer to the house-builders and sports-players in the family to report on the details.

Have I missed something after more than 8 years in the bleachers? According to the online Webster dictionary "ticky-tack" is a reduplication of "tacky", a variant of "ticky-tacky". ("Tacky" I know all too well.) Websters says it's "sleazy or shoddy material used especially in the construction of look-alike tract houses, also; something built of ticky-tacky." Well that certainly clears things up.

My husband is making up his own words, which is fine with me. I totally support his creative license to make his own words up whenever he wants; I just need to know their meaning when it comes up. Words like "decevious" (mischievous + deceptive) or "trampeded" (to be stampeded and trampled) - these are words I can roll with because there's a hint of logic to them, but "ticky-tack" sounds to me more like the noise your shoe makes when you get a rock stuck in between the tread. I am all for making up your own words, manipulating the language to suit your needs -- like I said, I just need cues and roadmaps when this happens.

Or you can avoid words altogether. Many Americans choose one-handed sign-language to express their discontent. In band we were usually a little more passive with showing how we were displeased with the refs -- by playing a well-known tune that's the same as this post title.... or we yelled at them like everyone else.

Back to the game, and the refs who started making ticky-tack calls on both sides... Our boys sure did look tired. They may have lost, but they certainly weren't trampeded.

* Song: "Little Houses" by Malvina Reynolds, Pete Seeger (chords E, A, B7 - which looks like something I could actually play - maybe I should add that one to my repertoire.
* FYI: "Three Blind Mice" guitar chords: C, G, G7

Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Bruce is Loose

We are tickled with the UT basketball team and Bruce Pearl. They were all on fire last night, and it surely showed.

It must have been the home performance by the Sons of Bruce (and their sexy orange jackets) at the half-time of last Wednesday's game that really planted the seed of victory in Memphis. You, too, can hear the infamous song that's taking Knoxville by storm. Who knows - it might just be the extra umph you need to take the world by storm.

You should have heard him coming

You should have known his name

The Vols are off and running

They’re going freaking insane...

It obviously worked for our boys.

The prophet, Bruce, knew it, too. He predicted the win even before the game. "I wanted to make sure our guys knew we were playing for something," Pearl said. "I don't know if we're the best team in the country. I knew we were 40 minutes away from being No. 1." What he didn't say, but was obviously implying, is that the entire team has changed their ringtones to "The Bruce is Loose", and they have been starting every practice holding hands and singing the same song to help center their inner Vol, to concentrate on Victory.

Actually, immediately after he gave this speech, he returned to the locker room, where Loften and Tyler Smith led the entire team and ancillary staff in a heartfelt version of Rocky Top, followed by the guts and glory of "The Bruce is Loose".

Sure, it's the pure talent of the team that seized the victory, but it was the leadership of Bruce that sealed the deal. It's teamwork and determination that's landed us #1. Good game, guys.

Good game, indeed. And many thanks to the Sons of Bruce for making it possible.

* Totally stolen from The Bruce is Loose webpage. You can find the full lyrics, great pictures, sexy additions to your orange wardrobe, and everything Vol basketball right there. In the Knoxville area? You can probably book the Sons of Bruce to bring inspiration directly to you and yours - if you ask nicely enough.

* Even my buddy, Peyton, was at the Memphis game. Obviously I think his presence also led to the Vol-power that smashed the hopes of the kittens of Memphis...

Saturday, February 23, 2008

fake work

I didn't really go to work today. But I did get up early, take a shower, and drive across town to sit through an ALL DAY meeting.

The first half of the day wasn't too bad. The speaker was engaging and entertaining.

The afternoon was painful. I was so bored that I wanted to get out my phone and play games, and only didn't because it would have been a tacky thing to do. So instead I imagined that I was playing games on my phone.

The Hater has been busy with real work. Tomorrow will be his first day off in almost 2.5 weeks. I'm such a nice wife that I'm going to let him sleep in.

Last Saturday I spoke at a local conference. So this is my second Saturday without extra sleep. I had been extra sleepy this past week, so I'm not really looking forward to finding out how I'll really pay for this one.

We're watching the UT-Memphis basketball game, looking for 4 UT shirts in a row to see if we can spy our liaison to the game. I'm cuddled under my UT blanket, and we're sending the orangest of vibes Eastward right now. Good times.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

toolbox of excuses

Wrench #1:
I'm having difficulty finding time to blog. My job has exploded, and I'm now required to make late days several nights a week. And when I finally get home, the last thing I want to do is look at another computer. And if that wasn't tragic enough, I can no longer access this page through work because of our fantastic information systems department has this silly idea that I should work at work and not play at work.

Wrench #2:
This one is totally selfish. Since I have to work late on some days and The Hater is gone on other days, when I'm home and have time to just be with him - that's what I want to do. I guess I could bring in the laptop to where he is, but that's not really the same as actually being with him.

Wrench #3:
Since January I've lost almost 20 pounds. This is due to changing my eating habits, which doesn't impact blogging, and exercising more, which does. And I hate exercise... and Wrench #2 is my current best excuse not to do it. But I know that I need to not be a heifer, so I'm really trying to reprogram myself to set aside time not to be a slug. This time that I'm using does clash with playing on the computer.

Wrench #4:
Potential Drama. We have some potential health issues coming up, and I don't want to write anything about them until we have more information to share, before we know more about it. I don't want to cry wolf, and I also don't want to create unnecessary dread or worry, so for now the one thing that's occupying most of my thoughts will have to stay there. Will update when we know more, but I'm not sure when that will be.

Wrench #5:
I like sleep. In theory I could get up earlier in the mornings to work out and play on the computer, but I have a hard enough time getting out of bed at the last minute, much less any earlier than that. My TSH is back to a human level, but I'm still super tired after a long day.

Solvent of Solutions:
I don't make any promises, but I will try to be more consistent with posts... especially when I think of something that's not boring to write about.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

the what I was going to do list

The Hater is out of town on a short trip, and I had a long list of exciting things I wanted to do while he was gone. I had planned on leaving work early on Friday (because I had stayed later on previous days this week), but that fell through because something came up. I ended up leaving almost three hours after when I had planned to leave.

But it didn't quite interfere with the first thing to do on my list... There's a place in town that gives the best gift I give to myself -- a fantastic pedicure. And it's not just like any pedicure -- they include hot lava stone massage (some fancy name that starts with a "K" that I can't remember). They give me a diet coke... and the chair massages my back while they massage my legs. It's wonderful, and I'll be happy to take anybody with me when they come visit OKC.

I didn't leave there until about 7:45pm... well past dinner time. So I came home and zapped a gourmet dinner in the microwave and straightened up the kitchen. I played the Leggo video game by myself, which was hard because I had to try to do things and kill bad guys at the same time without The Hater's help.

I planned on sleeping late this morning, and technically I did, but the phone kept ringing. I didn't get up to answer them, but it rilled the cat, who insisted I wake up and pet her.

Lunch is down and now I continue down the list to the places in town that I need to get things, including groceries. I had hoped to get some laundry done today and use The Hater's laptop to help me find some of the secret things in the Leggo game, but I do not yet know what adventures lie in store at the mall.

Making a list is a fluid affair; and sometimes I wonder why I even bother.