Homecoming and Round of 32

On Friday night, The Girl went with her friends to see Twilight, the much anticipated movie extravaganza. She had a lot of fun and spent the night with her friends.

Saturday, we drove down to Cal State Univ Long Beach to see The Boy and go to the game. He was really cute, showing us around and introducing us to everyone he knew. His girlfriend was there, of course.

K had said he wanted to buy stuff for Christmas, but he forgot all about it when we were there! He kept stopping to film us instead, so I called him over and reminded him. So we looked at some shirts and he said he wanted to get one for The Boy. So I held one up and asked if he thought it would fit the Boy, and he turned around and said, "Hey Boy! Do you think this will fit you?" I couldn't believe it!

We kindof walked around until the game started, and then we went into the Pyramid. Long Beach doesn't have a football team anymore, so Homecoming is for their basketball team. The team started off badly, and at one point was down 24 points! Somehow they chipped away at the difference, and finally came back and got ahead of Weber State right before the end of the game. With seconds to go, they were still up 3 points, and a guy from Weber State team hit a 3 pointer to tie up the game! He went down on the floor and pulled back his fist, like "YEAH!"

So we went into overtime, and somehow CSULB pulled out and won. That was good, because it was their homecoming and all. It was an exciting game.

I almost forgot, one of the most exiting things about the night was that they honored some prior coaches at halftime, and especially Coach Jerry Tarkanian! He is one of our favorite coaches since he was at UNLV and they called the arena the "Shark Tank" after "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian! He looks very old now, but it was such a nice surprise to see him there!

The next day K went to work early, and I carpooled to go to the Girl's game in San Bernadino. On the way there, I heard more about girls who may be quitting the team. The coach told me a long time ago this would happen. If we were winning, everyone would be happy. But you go up a level and start losing, and parents get unhappy. IMHO most of these girls in question are not that strong anyway. They played fine when we were a bracket lower, but they never stepped up their game to the higher level. It will hurt if the best girls leave, but we're not going anywhere. The girl has been on this team since the beginning, and will stay with this coach. This is a club team that is affordable, so we'll be staying unless the whole team disbands.

The game itself couldn't have been closer. We were playing a team in the same bracket from a different area, and we seemed pretty closely matched. The first half the action was in front of OUR goal much too often. The second half, we spent more time in front of their goal, but we just couldn't score. We were tied 0-0.

So we went into the kickoff phase, which I haven't seen since my son played AYSO many years ago. One by one the 5 girls from each team took their kicks, and every kick went in for both teams. So we went to the second phase, where the second five girls kick. Our second kicker kicked it right to the goalie and they made their next kick, so that was it. We lost 6-7, but the girls seemed OK with it. They had played well and come very far (round of 32), so they seemed pretty happy in the end.

Now it's basketball season!

Tough Soccer Season

This has been a tough season for the Girl's little (U12) soccer team. Last year they placed first in their bracket, so they moved up a bracket. So all season they played tougher teams, and they tried and tried, but only won one game. They tied 3 or 4, and lost the rest.

After the game last weekend, we had to confront the Girl about her drama on the field, when she has trouble breathing and drops to the ground when she's frustrated. It never happens if they're winning. It's a lot of drama, and the coach is good about it, but it happens way too often. We felt that she needs to communicate with her coach more or something, but she needs to find a better way to handle her feelings.

Saturday they needed to beat the "worst" team in the bracket to move up a spot, but instead we gave them their first win of the season. So we ended up in the same bottom spot as this other team, and will have to move (with them) back down a bracket. To me, this is not the worst thing in the world as they'll be more likely to win, and it's definitely more fun to win.

But there are people who feel that's not the point, and the Girl sure took it pretty hard. She was crying at the end of that game.

Then Sunday League Cup started, and they played 2 games. First of all, the air quality was not good because of the fires. We played in Burbank, and at 8 am we could see a brown cloud in the valley below us. I could smell the fire in the air, so I advised the girl to hit her inhaler even tho she didn't think she needs it anymore.

Secondly, I noticed a lot of grumbling from different parents. We have 16 players now, and it's good to have a good bench, but parents don't like to see their kids on the bench. One parent said that the coach is too negative, and that her daughter hasn't improved this season. So it's the coach's fault her daughter isn't improving?

Anyway, in the first game The Girl scored! It was so exciting. But then the other team tied the score. Darn.

We came back for a game at 2, and the field was now inside the brown cloud. It was also very hot. The sky looked a bit yellow, and one mother took her daughter home. We asked the refs about it, but they'd just reffed another game, so they thought it was fine. One mother asked the refs if the girls could take a water break during the game because of the weather, but the other team said no.

Why? I don't know, but they didn't seem very nice. I think they scored first with a big kick over the goalie's head from practically midfield. Then we scored and it was tied. During the second half, I went to sit in a spot of shade under a tree at the end of the field. A man was sitting there with 3 little girls, and were just hanging out for the day watching soccer games.

I was taping the game for K, and just chatting with this man when a lady from the other team walked up to the line judge near me, and pointed at us. She told him to tell us to move, as we were with the other team and were shouting instructions to the girls.

The man got his back up about this, and said, "You're one to talk! You're over there coaching from the sideline!" Truly, I hadn't even noticed her before, but clearly he had.

I was annoyed, and told the line judge, "He isn't even WITH our team! He's just over there watching a game!" as I stomped off. During all this, the ref called a handball against the other team in front of their goal, and darned if we didn't score again!

I told the coach, "You should slow the game down! Substitute a lot! (like the other coach did to us yesterday)" He told me to take it easy, as I'd already caused enough trouble for the day. (he was kidding) I laughed and noted that I'd even gotten an innocent person in trouble! And I wasn't even trying!

Anyway, the Girl's team won, and it felt really good to win. Everyone felt a lot better.

After the game I went back over to the man, and he told me his name was Mark. He was glad our team won too.

You might remember that last year the Girl's team placed first in their bracket (which was why they moved up a level), but then lost two games the next day. They went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows the very next day, and that felt really bad.

I think I preferred it the way it happened this year.

Language differences

Lately I've been thinking about language and how we use it. We noticed our next door neighbors seemed to be taking everything out of their house, and K remarked to them that they seemed to be doing a lot of work.

She nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, we replaced the house." I think this was a language gap, but I kindof liked it. We put everything in a new place - we replaced it!

Then I was listening to the TV news coverage when the fires broke out in Montecito.

Why do people say things in a complicated way when a simple word would do just as nicely? One man said they were going to "Effectuate" a plan, instead of just saying they would put a plan into effect. Then he said that another man had "endured the implications of this fire." when the fire had burned down his house! I thought that was a colorful, if not specific, way to put it.

Then the Fire Chief was the master of understatement. Reporters asked him to describe the character of the area for people outside California, and he said it was the "Riviera" of the area, with lots of homes in the hills. The reporter pressed on, asking if he could characterize the community, and the Chief said, "It's very nice."

By that he meant very expensive homes in an extremely expensive area near the ocean, with many homes in Spanish style motifs.

Election Day Fire

Election day was such a beautiful day in southern Cal. Nice and sunny, not too hot, with a slight brisk breeze in the air.

I drove to my polling spot to see how crowded it was, having seen long, long lines on TV. But it looked as it usually does - there were cars on the street, but still plenty of parking.

So I went in, and there was NO line! So I cast my vote and was on my way.

For dinner, I decided to make meatloaf. I got the idea to make it in a muffin tin, so it would come out in serving sizes. I put it on the top rack, and a cookie sheet with potatoes and the meatloaf that wouldn't fit in the muffin tin underneath.

When I went to remove it, I didn't realize that the muffin tin had been dripping oil onto the cookie sheet below, so I removed the cookie sheet first and shut the door. Then the Girl said, "Mommy! Mommy! Look!" and I looked at the oven, and it was smoking like crazy. So I opened the door to take out the muffin tin, and a fire flared up and threatened to leap out at me! So I quickly shut the door again.

Then, for what seemed like 20 minutes but was really only about 2, we ran around trying to figure out what to do. I thought shutting the door would cut off the oxygen supply, but the sucker kept burning! It kept dripping and burning and dripping and burning! I had visions of the meatloaf turning into charcoal, let alone the house!

The house quickly filled up with smoke as we ran around. The Girl ran for the door, and K kept opening the cupboards looking for salt or something to throw on the fire. We tried one of our fire extinguishers, but found it was out of whatever it needs to work. We went and got the second one and tested it in the front yard, and found it was charged.

When we returned to the oven, the fire was luckily out. Luckily, because whatever we had thrown into the oven would no doubt have created a BIG mess!

We were airing out the house all night.

In the evening I was watching the election returns, and it was hard to tell what was going to happen. Obama was ahead in electoral votes, but a lot of states were really close. The TV commentator kept saying that they wouldn't make a prediction until they felt certain what the electoral votes were over 270 for either party.

Then, at 8pm our time, he looked up and said, "That's it. It's 11pm Eastern time, and the polls have just closed on the West coast. We can now predict that Obama will get California's 55 electoral votes (and some others I can't remember), and we project that Obama is the next President of the United States."

Wow. Even tho he wasn't the candidate I had wanted originally, in the end I was proud of our country. I'm old enough to remember the struggles of the 60's, and it was so great to see how far we've come as a nation. I'm once again proud to be an American (United Statesian?), and I have more hope for the future than I've had in a very long time.

Looking at the numbers, however, I realize that for nearly half the country, the result is a disappointment. I know what it's like to feel like that, and to have the media act like it's what EVERYONE wanted. Last election they declared a "mandate" when it was nothing of the sort. So for those who are disappointed, I hope that Obama will prove to them that a good choice was made in the end.

Let's hope.

Pumpkins and football

Last weekend we went to see K's cousin in Half Moon Bay. When she came for a short visit this summer, we made plans to go see the Pumpkin Festival they have there. She has a house full of glass pumpkins that she's bought over the years, and since we won't be getting together for Thanksgiving like we've done in the past, it seemed like a good time to go see what the fuss was all about.

So we made these plans when we thought we had money coming in, that ended up not coming. But we had the tickets, so we went and tried not to spend a lot.

We flew on Southwest, which was an awesome airline when I needed to change the date. I didn't realize it would be like musical chairs once we got on board! People before us were taking the window seat or the aisle seat, leaving the middle seat empty. The girl in front of me sat in one of the two seats that were left together, sitting in the middle. Couldn't she have done that on any of the middle seats we saw on the way down? So we sat apart, but luckily the flight was short.

K's cousin picked us up, and drove us to her new home near Half Moon Bay. We met her new boyfriend, who seems really nice. She'd been heating up lasagna, and it was delicious! Then we sat outside in her lovely yard, mesmerized by her fire pit. It was a gas pit, coming out of colored glass rocks, and it was awesome! I want one now.

The next morning we slept in, then got up and got ready. We drove a short way to get near the Main Street area. We saw pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin beer, even pumpkin mac and cheese! We were afraid to try the last one. In the food area, we got some great artichoke hearts. Delicious! Artichokes have a certain aftertaste that's kindof addictive. K and I also shared a roast beef sandwich that had an unusual taste - his cousin declared it to be corriander.

There were so many interesting crafts there - I asked K to buy me a ring made from a spoon, and I looked at about 500 glass pumpkins before buying one for myself. We did a LOT of walking around, and finally headed home. On the way to the car, we stopped and bought crabs for dinner.

Dinner was one of the best meals I've ever had. Each of us had a whole crab ( I know!) and half an artichoke, with butter and a special sauce K's cousin had made. I thank that crab for giving it's life for me, as I really appreciated it. I was so stuffed, I couldn't even eat it all!

That would have been enough for a good trip, but the next day we got up early-ish and headed to SF for a Raider game. We met some of their friends for a tailgate party, and it also was delicious. They grilled hamburgers and kabobs with a special(Spedee?)sauce. There was also artichoke dip, salsa, and 3 kinds of pasta and salad.

When it was time, we cleaned up and headed toward the game. Brett Favre was playing for the Jets, so the girls (OK, guys too) had a little extra to be excited about. He looked good out there too.

We were sitting in the very last row, as high as you could get on that side of the stadium. There was a fan near us that kept yelling out instructions to the team and banging against the metal in back of him. I told K that the guy should be sitting a lot closer, as they couldn't possibly hear him from there. Yet he was yelling as if they should.

Funny.

The Raiders also ran my favorite play - the fake punt. I liked that.

The Raiders were ahead a lot of the game, but on their last possession, the Jets really advanced up the field pretty quickly. They set up for a kick that would tie the game - and they MISSED it! Yay, Raiders win. Wait, not so fast. The Raiders called Time Out just as the kicker was going to kick - a Shanahan trick that is supposed to psych out the kicker. But in this case it backfired, and the kicker got another chance to make that kick. And make it, he did. Tied game, overtime. I was pretty mad at the Raider coach for that.

Luckily, after a few possessions back and forth, the Raiders finally scored and won. The fans were SO happy! We kept running into fans the whole trip home, meeting a few people that fly up there just to see a game.

We got to sit together on the flight home, and that was nice. It was one of the best times I've ever had - especially in such a tight time period. And it was delicious every step of the way.

Commercials

One of my pet peeves is commercials, and how badly they're screened for young children. My young kids didn't need to see scenes from scary movies, but ads for them run at all times, not just after 8pm.

What I don't understand are the recent political commercials about California's Prop 8. Prop 8 is a proposal to ban gay marriage, something we've already voted on anyway. In the ads, a child brings a book home from school and says that she learned in school that boys can marry boys. A couple claim that this happened in their state, and when they complained, they were told they had no right to have their child not taught that.

So... they're objecting to their kids hearing that in school? Buy aren't you telling them about it now on TV? Aren't you in fact telling every kid that watches TV in California about this new concept? So is it they don't want their kids to KNOW about gays, or they just want to teach them that it's not right? Can't they do that at home anyway? I just don't get it.

I love it that my daughter doesn't even see an issue about having a black president or understand what it could be about, and I really think that this generation will come to feel the same way about gay people.

I must say, though, that the ads for the other side have been awfully dry. A strict-looking couple say that they have a gay daughter and it would be WRONG to treat her any differently. Finally they've come out with an Ellen ad which is a little more friendly. I think they should have focused more on the human aspect of not being able to visit someone in the hospital and things like that.

It doesn't matter anyway. Like I said, we already voted on this (conservatives won, I believe), and the courts overturned it. Why are we voting again?

Oodles of noodles

The other day I bought a few groceries in a store I don't usually go to, and I found some packaged noodles near the Top Ramen section. I thought the chow mein in peanut sauce sounded good, and it was on sale for about $.99, so I bought it. oodles

At home, I added water and microwaved as directed, mixed and stirred. When I sat down to eat it, it was good! It seemed like a lot of noodles, but it was so good I ate the whole thing! I wasn't really full when I was done, but it was so good! I told K, "Too bad it has no nutritional value, that's the only thing wrong with it!"

I started thinking of going back to the store and getting 10 more of those. Such a deal! In spite of no nutritional (and possibly some bad nutritional) value.

Then something made me go find the wrapping. I looked at the calorie section, and was surprised to find that I'd actually eaten 2 servings! Worse, each "serving" was 270 calories! I'd just eaten 540 calories, and I was still hungry!

Then I was mad, because for fewer calories I could have eaten a Snickers bar. And I'd probably be more full because of the peanuts!

So anyway... I've been looking at that section more often when shopping, and a few times I've been shocked. Wow.

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In an update to a previous complaint - I'd been surprised to find that a company was forcing through subscriptions to a few of our Verizon phones. A few weeks ago I got a notice that I am now part of a class-action suit (all Verizon customers are, I think) against a certain company for this very offense.

I'm glad that someone took that on, because that just isn't right.