Surviving life with Jess, Ty, and DJ Mizzle...

What's it gonna take...

2005-02-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

We've all been there, we've all had the irritated feeling inside that creeps up on us as we stand there and listen to the shpeel coming from a guy who looks like he came straight out of some old Vegas movie about a guy that lost everything bettin on the ponies. You know the guy, slicked back hair, missing 2 or three teeth, wearing a cheap suite, and reaking of stale cigarette smoke. I guess that's a pretty big generalization, but most the car salesmen I've met fit the bill. And as those words come out "What's it gonna take to get you into this car", I cringe, and understand it's gonna be a long day. What's the deal with that phrase anyways, can't these idiots come up with something more original. Anyway, if you can't tell, I'm a little irritated at car salesmen right now. I spent all day saturday buying a car...and when I say all day I mean all day (11 a.m. to 6 or 7 pm). But ended up with a fairly decent deal on a ride for my bride for Valentine's Day...it was actually a surprise, and she loves it.

I also went to check out the Wolverine basketball squad last night. And I must say I was kind of surprised. After a pretty sub par season at 9-10 they put an absolute whoopin on Cherokee Trail and beat em by like 30
Box Score. Barringer has them playing pretty well. Little Hackenberg dropped some bombs to the tune of 19 points, and the squad has this freshman that can straight up play. His names Xavier and he had some dunks that would make a Vince Carter blush. Expect to hear good things from this kid.

One thing that upset me though was seeing the size of the crowd...there were maybe, I repeat MAYBE 30-40 students there. There were only about 8 or 9 people in the band. damn embarrassing if you ask me. I remember playing Broomfield my junior year and there were around 3000 people there, along with all the news stations...it was standing room only with both sides of the top bleachers open. Oh well, I guess that stuff happens. I've got a picture of the crowd, or lack thereof and when I figure out how to get pics on this site I'll post it...it almost makes me want to tear up.

Anyways, I'm out of here....late

Finally, something to show for it...

2005-02-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Working for a municipality is often pretty frustrating because most of the code I write is for internal use on our intranet, for a small number of users. But for the last couple of months I've been rewriting the City of Thornton's online job application software. Finally, it's in working condition, and actually out in the view of the public. I'm still testing it and all, but it's nice to have it working externally. If you'd like to take a sneak peek before it goes live visit it here. You can apply for as many jobs as you'd like, it's kind of like a mini monster.com ...it's not live yet, so that data will be deleted. Anyways, if you think of any suggestions just let me know... For the tech curious, this was written in C#, using SSL secure connections, and a SQL Server backend.

Later

Crying? There's no crying in basketball...

2005-02-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

So, I think it is safe to say my prediction on last night's game was slightly off, but only by 42 points or so...we lost by 22 I think. Oh well, there will be other days, just not for me, and not with this squad.

I know I'm a 30 year old man, way past my athletic prime, but I still get enjoyment out of being part of a team. And I still am driven by the sheer will to win when I get onto the court, nothing else. Unfortunately at a time when a team is supposed to tighten and come together for a common goal(the win), our team fell apart, started yelling at each other, cussing at each other, and the refs...at that point, even though we were only down by 5 or 6 I knew it was over.

Whenever we play, my first reaction has always been to analyze my own play, then analyze others...so here we go. Shot wise I was absolutely awful. 0 for 7 from the field to be exact, with no points. Oh well, that happens every now and again. Offensively, I think I made up for the errant shots by distributing the ball well, getting other people open, and making some very nice passes in the open court. Defensively I think I had a solid game, 5 steals, a couple blocked(well nicked anyways) shots, and some decent rebounds. So all in all, aside from the shot being way off I think I had a pretty solid game.

Now, MY assessment of why we lost...WE SUCKED, all around...aside from Matt, and maybe Tony, and I repeat maybe(hitting a few shots does not constitute a solid game)...as a matter of fact, I take that back, hitting a few shots does not make up for at least a half dozen turn overs...Matt is the only one who had a solid game. Offensively and defensively he was everywhere...grabbing boards and running the break.

Jeremy - other than walking up and down the floor I thought you played alright...if you'd learn to play the post I personally think you'd be unstoppable.

Randy - didn't really have a chance to get going...only played about 7 or 8 minutes.

Brandon - Played pretty typical for Brandon, good defense, great hustle, kept his mouth shut and played basketball...I like that.

Tony - had a few baskets, lots of turnovers, fair defensively, but gave up a lot of threes on the wing.

TJ - I think TJ just loves being out there...having fun.

Joe - Pretty quiet, don't really remember him doing much of anything.

Rodney - Pathetic on offense, pathetic on defense, walked about 45 times, did end up scoring about 8 or 9 points, but turned the ball over or kicked it out of bounds at least every other time down the floor, with his mouth running the whole time. Not to mention 0-6 or so from the line. Someone needs to explain to him that when you take steps without dribbling the ball it IS a travel, and arguing every time is not going to change the rules. Also, when you hit a shot, especially when you are down by 30, save yourself the embarrasment and quit with the "Yah bitch!!! what? what?"...I was always told when you score, act like you've done it before.

Anyways, I can handle having a bad game, God knows I've had em before, and that's not the reason I wont be playing anymore. When I looked up and saw people in the stands, and the other team laughing at us because we were acting like a bunch of idiots, yelling, cussing, arguing, that is when I decided I was done. I like to win, but I win with grace, I also try to lose with grace. Unfortunately with this squad that is not possible. So, good luck and godspeed...And may the force be with you!!!

Late, I'm out

Location, Location, Location

2005-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

So i don't know if anyone knows this, but I've been studying for a long time to become a real estate broker. A year and a half to be exact. With job changes, pregnancies, and the loss of my daughter Madison, I just didn't really see the importance in finishing it sooner. But, some things in life just get under your skin and weigh you down if you don't finish them, and real estate was one of those things for me. So, a couple of weeks ago I decided to hunker down and get it done. Today, I went to the testing center, sat for the exam, and aced it. Well I think I aced it anyway (they don't tell you your actual score, just pass/fail)...but I passed and that's what matters. Thank God because I don't think I can handle another minute of memorizing state forms/contracts/water rights and all that fun stuff that makes real estate so mind numbingly fun.

I'm not looking to be the next Gordon Gecko, although I do believe greed is good...or Donald Trump, and no you're not fired....but I do hope to help out friends and family and do a little investing with my newly found knowledge. So, no career change for me just yet, but you never know, maybe I'll be listing your next house as I show people around a open house in my puke yellow Century 21 jacket...yah right!!

As for tonight I'm predicting a Fung win by 20....Let's go Boys!!!!

Late, I'm out.

2 dogs with one stone?

2005-02-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, explain this to me...How do you wake up one morning with the idea that you are going to drop your beloved family pet off at the pound because they have been acting up, and later that day end up not only keeping that dog, but looking to adopt another.

The story goes like this...Zena, our 3 year old boxer has been "acting out" the last couple weeks so we decided that maybe it was time to get rid of her. This, believe it or not, was a very hard decision to come to and I spent the whole morning pretty upset. So anyways, at around 11:00 I got a call from my wife (which I had suspected was her call letting me know she had dropped zena off) telling me that she couldn't do it. Not only could she not do it, but she called a Boxer rescue mission and talked to them for a while. The lady on the other end explained that Boxers are very social dogs and they typically need a "friend" to keep them occupied or they get bored and act out. So, as it stands now, we are waiting to be approved to adopt a young boxer named "Bee-Bob" check him out here Be-Bob . Yah, he's pretty cute, but man, another dog...life's really gonna get crazy now.

In my next post I'll explain why my son Matthew is now referred to as DJ Mizzle...it's pretty funny...

Oh yah, FYI, I think I'm starting to get my legs back on the court...after a very sub par beginning to the first to games, 10 and 12 pts respectively, I have found my shot and finished with 25 and 18 points in the last 2 games. Hopefully I can keep it up and not get hurt in the meantime...Getting old really SUCKS!!!

Late, I'm out.