a proud walk of shame?

yesterday morning i left our condo in downtown richmond and headed for my car parked just up the block. i got in my car and just then two guys walked by in what i can only call a blissful state, laughing and smiling as they walked.

yesterday was the day after our hometown team, the virginia commonwealth university rams, made the final four for the first time in school history.  from the news reports fans and supporters poured onto the major road that runs through the vcu campus.  people scaled cars and buildings and of course the police arrived to contain the crowd.  so a good time was had by all i suppose.

our condo is located just a couple blocks from the academic campus of vcu where all this took place and we are also just a few blocks in the other directions from the medical college of virginia's campus and hospitals.

so as these two young men wearing only hospital gowns and scrub pants walked by my car heading from mcv to vcu i could only think of what their night of fun may have included.  was this a walk of shame? i doubt it.  would they be met by their friends as heros?  i think they may.  what story could you tell of how two of you ended up at one of the major trauma center hospitals after your school had won a glorious victory over one of the best schools in the country and now you are walking back to campus without any of the clothes you started the day with yesterday?

i really am learning to love living downtown.

when a bird sings

so the ladies in the floral department of the pharmacy i work at decorate one of the windows to match the season.  so for the spring season they have a scene with an easter bunny and on the window painted a "singing" bird, but either their anatomy is off or i need to pay more attention to how the birds in the trees make that whistling songs.

ummmm you do what?

  

in virginia commonwealth university's expansion they have opened this new office on broad street.

  as for what they do i can only take a vague guess.

Chip on their shoulder

So I'm watching the NCAA basketball tournament since my alma mater VCU is playing. Lots of sports experts said that VCU shouldn't have been invited to the tournament, and thus the announcers keep referring to them as playing with a chip on their shoulder. What does that mean?

Don't get me wrong, I understand the situation that this phrase refers to in terms of not getting the respect you feel you deserve and thus going beyond what everyone expected to prove them wrong. But why a chip on the shoulder?

What good would having a small piece of wood precariously balanced on your shoulder do for you? What if it was a thinly sliced then fried piece of potato instead? Would that make you perform better?

Is it that you have that piece of wood on your shoulder and you are daring those people who criticized you to knock it off so you can kick their ass? Go ahead knock my chip off!

Whatever? They will keep using the phrase as long as VCU is still winning and if a pringle on the shoulder is what helps them win, get them a new can of ranch flavor.

thank you heros of japan

tonight was one of those nights when i should have not turned on the TV.

i turned on the tube and flipped between various news shows trying to get information on what was happening in japan.  what i saw was a mass of crap about the impending meltdown of the nuclear reactors.  analyst saying how dire the situation was becoming, speculating about how it came to this and how bad it could get.

first off how did it come to this? well what kept being overlooked on all these shows was the fact that there was a massive earthquake followed by a tsunami.  hmmm perhaps that could have something to do with it.  perhaps the fact there is a single person there at all to try and fix this situation is amazing.

and what good does it do to speculate how bad it could get? shouldn't you have worried about that before now.  creating panic here in the u.s. helps no one in japan.  

several times the experts said how much they feared for the safety of the workers in the nuclear plants trying to keep them from melting down.  what amazed me most was the lack of amazement that those folks are there doing anything at all.  what heroes they are. instead many times while watching i felt like the anchors were pushing blame onto these brave folks.

the me, me, me of america comes out at the worst times.  i thank all those brave people doing all they can at the nuclear facility in japan with their, as spock put it in the wrath of khan, "the needs of the many outweigh the need of the few (or one)" attitude.

please pray for all the people of japan

the irish heart attack

in honor of the upcoming st patrick's day i give to you a picture of one of the worst for me yet most delicious food items i've ever had.  last february while in orlando for a conference my wife and i went to downtown disney for a late lunch at the irish pub ragland rose.

what this odd dish included was a dozen small sausages battered and deep fried with a mayonnaise/mustard based dipping sauce.  can you say artery clogger?

truth be told i loved this dish.  it was bad for me and when i have to start taking lipitor i will look back to this day with fondness.  many folks i've told about this dish cringed in disgust; to them i say live life. if you can't even try one sausage once in your travels through this world get off the planet there is no longer room for you.  thanks

Spring forward blah blah blah

So the country has sprung forward by one hour during the wee hours of the morning. What fun. What excitement. What a crock of s$&@. Really why do I care? One hour isn't a big deal.

Okay. I may be complaining just to moan. I get an extra hour of daylight in the evening. But for a morning person such as myself it means rising and starting the day in the dark again. Heading to work in the dark is just depressing.

I envy my dog much on these days around the time change. I can't wait for the day when time matters no more for me. You know those days after I hit the lottery and do what I want when I want. Or perhaps some rich person would like to step up and donate that freedom to me. I know you're out there. You can spare a couple million. I know you can.

a tragic end

as i was walking through the garage at our condo the other day i noticed something out of the corner of my eye. a poor little bird that had lost its life in the grill of a car.

now you may ask why would anyone stop and take this picture?  i can't say i really know.  i felt sorry for the little guy, but more than that he represented an obliviousness that i think many in this world have to the world around them.
did the owner of the car notice when they hit the bird? maybe not. did they notice after they backed into their parking spot and walked around the front of their car? apparently not again. at what point will they notice?
was it pure odd luck that i noticed?
am i just a person who notices the little things? possibly (my wife may disagree).
little bird i'm sorry.

One of the most frightening sights

How can it be? How did I let it come to this? The one thing that you should never let your home be without. The one thing that my parents always said was a reason for divorce.

To run out of toilet paper is to devolve into an animal. WHY? Why me? Have I angered the cosmos in some way? I must go on! I must go forth into the world and live my life again. No.  I can't do it. I'll just stay here and never go out again.  I must be brave. Think man. Think.  Paper towels! Yes that will work in a pinch. But how to get to them? Ahhhhhhhh my foot is asleep.
Life's too hard.
HONEY! Can you heeelllllpp me pleeeeaaassse?
I think I'm needy.

The return of the king

Don't fear little ones. I promise a return to this blog. My mind is filled with randomness squirming for release in one form or another.