Go UCONN! Goodbye A-Rod! Old beaus and hearses...

Before I get into what I planned to post about - I had a weird experience today. I just got back from a lunch-time walk. While walking on this one street next to a cemetery, a car and the person asked me for directions. It wasn't just any car though - it was a hearse. Ewwww. EW EW EW. I think the driver was the only occupant - but still - EWWWWW.

So anyway - awesome game for UCONN. They beat South Florida. This was a big win for them. It was exciting. We had a great tailgate before the game. Then we sat indoors with some friends, rather than in our usual seats. On the way in, I saw this guy who was either an ex-boyfriend or the ex-boyfriend's twin brother. He really is a twin. So I went up to him and said "Are you Tom or Paul?" It was Tom, the one I dated. He's aged - really aged. And let me say - he was a bit of a shit when we dated. And to look at him - and then to look back at my husband - wow! Did I make out! I look at A's face - and I just love to look at it - I could look at him all day long. Tom - eh. So - anyway - the rain helped UCONN. USF was ranked way higher - had been #2 a couple of weeks ago. Most of the game, UCONN was clearly better. Towards the end, USF started coming back. There were a couple of 3rd downs where it was important for UCONN to hold. When you are outside in the seats - you get up on 3rd downs and make noise - anything to disrupt the other team's offense. People in the club seats don't normally do it - after all - the team can't hear them. Well - late in the game on USF's last drive - I couldn't take it anymore. It's 3rd down - I have to get up. So I did - and so did a whole bunch of the people in our section. It was awesome! After UCONN won - the players went to the student section and gestured to the kids to come down on the field. They did - the poor security guards couldn't stop them. It was incredible - just incredible. We're going to a bowl baby! And it won't be Detroit this time. (At least I hope not.)

Okay - on to A-Rod. Good riddance. You don't want to be a Yankee - fine. He's so full of hot air. He is not worth $30m until age 45. And he and his agent showed a total lack of class in his announcement. Yeah - I'm no fan of the Red Sox. I admit that baseball was a hell of a lot more fun when the curse was on and they found innumerable ways to win in the playoffs or World Series. But hey - they were clearly on their way to winning the World Series last night. Couldn't A-Rod's announcement have waited a day? He had 10 days after the end of the Series to decide to opt out of his contract. What a jerk. Mr. September. Yup - MVP in the regular season, DUD in the post-season. I would love nothing more than to win the World Series next year - sans A-Rod.

Friends are amazing

I've had the opportunity in the last two days to see friendship at work in two amazing ways.
First - my friends. After my last post, I have received several supportive e-mails from friends. Some of these friends I've never actually met "in real life" as they say. They are women that post on the same board I do and who have shared similar experiences. I can not begin to express what their support and friendship means to me. Thank you ladies. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are amazing women. I am blessed to know you.

The second opportunity was with my husband and his friends - firemen of course. A got a call last night saying that his friend PK was missing. PK is a reliable guy. He left his local volley house to go to his job as captain of a boat early yesterday morning. He was to be present at a dinner his boss was hosting on the boat that night. The boss called the firehouse looking for him. PK wasn't there. The guys mobilized. One went to the marina locally to hunt for him. A & another guy went off to a marina he worked at in a nearby city. They were calling his cell phone regularly, driving around town looking for him. They even had me call the cops to see if he was sitting in the police station. It was scary - but amazing to see how these men got together and said - our friend is missing, we're going to do whatever we can to find him. They found him later in the evening. He's okay.

So - friends are amazing. Thank God for them.

What to call it?

What do you call it when someone else has good news and you don't hate them for it - but you are so jealous because you want what they have that you can't feel happy for them? I felt like I was at such a turning point in my recovery from my 2nd miscarriage when a year or so ago, a friend told me she was pregnant and I was happy for her. Lately, the pregnancy announcements just keep coming. There are several women I know struggling with infertility, but the last two announcements just have really gotten me down. I think it's partly because lately, it's women who are approaching 40 or are already there and/or have struggled to get pregnant. Basically - they are where I'm at - but now I'm feeling more alone. It's so much so that I think I need to take a break. I can't deal with the announcements much more. The odds of me ever becoming pregnant without the use of donor eggs - an expense we can not afford - are miniscule. Adoption isn't much of a shot either because of the cost - we just can't afford it and A is unwilling to accept financial assistance from a family member. So, I've got to adjust myself to life without children. Sometimes I think I am doing so well. I lavish all that love a child would get on a stupid dog. I try to think about what we can buy, how we can travel, etc if we don't have kids. Then I see a baby or a baby picture and I know I have not reached acceptance. I don't know if I ever will. That scares me.

drive by post

I love this weather. Well - I hate trying to pick out what to wear for work in this weather - you know - summer temps during the fall - what to wear. But - I love this weather. I love this time of year. The leaves are turning. The acorns are falling to the ground. Am I nuts that I love to crunch over those when I walk? I love kicking through leaves. If we had enough leaves in our yard to make a pile, I would seriously jump in the pile. I just loved doing that as a kid. I went for a walk on my lunch hour - listened to music I enjoy on the ipod, breathed in the great fresh air, marvelled at the colors on the trees - just a perfect day. If only I didn't have to go back to work! This would be a great day to play golf!

Where am I on my life list? I'll have to pick up the number later - but here's my latest addition - Drive across the mid-west. I think it must be such a beautiful area.

Mother Nature Sucks

We had flooding in the town I work for last night. One business district got 4 feet of water. Businesses are devastated. Yeah - it's not on the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina, but it still sucks. Just saying.

Random stuff

If you are in the left turn only lane, do you really need to turn on your blinker?

Do you walk to the right - like we drive to the right? If you were in England, would you walk to the left?

Why does my dog always go bop his nose on his leash and the bag of poopie bags when I'm filling his food dish?

Don't you hate it when you, a normally responsible person, screw up and you want to blame it on someone else - anyone else - but you really can't because it was your responsibility in the first place? Don't you hate it more when someone else does that?

What do you do when your brand new Bic that is supposed to write first time, every time, fails after the first time?

Can Superballs lose their mojo?

I Love....

...my husband. I'm not one for thinking that there is a grand life plan someone made up for me - but in this instance I might be persauded. We fit together so well. I can't imagine anyone else being the right match for me. When it all came together, it was just so right and I knew it from the start. It must have been a grand plan. Thank you to the planner!

....my dog. How could I not love that little face! He's 70 pounds of love. Seeing his tail wag, or hearing it thump against the floor is such a happy thing. Even when he's a pita, I love him.

....fall. The air is so crisp and clean. It's football season. The leaves on the trees are turning beautiful colors. I even love fall clothing.

....the Yankees, the Giants and UCONN. Go teams Go.

....chocolate. No explanation needed I should think.

....my dining room. I just love the colors we chose, the furniture. (Well okay maybe not the bookcase, but that won't be there forever.)

....my life. Sure, it's not perfect - but it's damn good.

Don't Block the Box!

Don't Block the box! This is one of my driving complaints. It annoys the heck out of me when people block intersections. If you can't get through the intersection on a green light, don't enter it. It's a way of saying "I'm more important than you are." Such people don't care that because they've blocked the box, now someone with a green light can not enter or pass through an intersection.

Don't Cheat on lanes! I can't stand people who think that their need to get ahead is so important that they make left-hand turns from the center lane - which is for going straight ahead. Other cheaters are the ones who come up from the a different lane and sneak into the turning lane at the last second - all to avoid waiting in the line of traffice in the turning lane. My last category of lane cheaters are on the highway, when there is a slow down in traffic and they drive in the breakdown lane. I know this is legal in some areas. It is not legal where I drive. And it's cheating.

Don't get in the left lane if you don't plan to keep up with the flow! Need I explain? My exception to this rule is if you move over temporarily to pass someone. But don't stay if you're not going to go with the flow. I'm not asking you to speed - just to go with the flow(recognizing that that may involve speeding).

Happy Thoughts for the Day - happy, happier and happiest....
Happy - The Yankees made the playoffs.
Happier - The Mets did not.
Happiest - The Giants beat the Eagles.