I hate the Chicago Cubs

What I really hate is that the only way I can watch a Cardinals game out here is if they are playing DC or Philly, sometimes NY. But for some really insane reason, every once in awhile, we get the Cubs network. Now this is awesome when its a Cards Cubs game (the best games of the season, btw) but it really really really pisses me off having to watch a Cardinals game while listening to the Cubs announcers. I had to mute ht TV a few times.

The other thing that I really hate is when Izzy decides he can't fucking pitch. It is really not cool for us to go from 3-1 to 3-3 in the 9th inning! His only job is to throw 9 strikes. Just do it! Apparently he's in a slump. And everyone is hoping he sorts things out. All I can say, is we need to think about the last time this happened, a few years back. When most people I talked to (my brother and then roommate mostly) were pretty sure he was getting paid to lose. Izzy is too great, when he's great. And as I've said before, I have unrealistic expectations about baseball. So, we may have a bit of a situation on our hands. It really does not work well if your best closer is losing games on purpose. Ok, he may just be having a slump, but who can trust a man who is stellar one game and shit another. I sure can't.

Now, I have to say Schumaker and Yadi get kudos today because they did really great. Yadi got an RBI to get us three runs, which basically saved us because if we had gone into the 9th with only 2 runs, we would have lost rather than go to extra innings. And Schumaker hit the game winning homer in the 11th, so he's just great.

In short, I finally got to watch a Cardinals game on TV, rather than just follow it online as I usually have to, and that in itself was spectacular. I fired Izzy in my head and vowed to hunt down the Chicago commentators, but at the end of the night, I was a happy girl.

Now we just have to see if weird Maryland plays the rest of the series. Seriously, who in Maryland cares about the Cubs? Why do you play Cubs games here?! I'm not gonna lie, I like watching my Cards, but it's still just weird.

I don't believe in marriage.

I don't believe in marriage. No, I really don't. Let me be clear about that. I think at worst it's a hostile political act, a way for small-minded men to keep women in the house and out of the way, wrapped up in the guise of tradition and conservative religious nonsense. At best, it's a happy delusion - these two people who truly love each other and have no idea how truly miserable they're about to make each other. But, but, when two people know that, and they decide with eyes wide open to face each other and get married anyway, then I don't think it's conservative or delusional. I think it's radical and courageous and very romantic. ~Frida

Ack!

So I spent so much time on my web project this weekend and last night that I was feeling pretty good about it. I figured a little tweaking tonight and I could finish on Friday and still have time to upload it and make sure everything works.

But I just realized I have one page I just completely forgot about and it does not exist. Cause so website god said 24 pages isn't enough. There must be 25. Or, I just have another poem that I never made a page for. And I have 2 pages I created lauyouts for but they don't have the text or links yet.

I was not quite as on top of things as I thought I was. (But still more than I tought I would be?)

Ack to online journals!

I wish I were in KC

Right now I wish I was in Kansas City. I wish my friends all drove there to meet me. We would all pitch a tent and roast hot dogs on half-alive fires. We would go for BBQ in the city. We would go to the Renaissance Festival and drink mead and eat turkey legs. It would be fantastic.

I blame this desire on 1) my mom talking about ren faires and how far away they are, 2) it being kind of rainy and cold, like October which is when we go to the KC faire 3) me just missing my friends from the midwest.

Unrealistic Expectations

I confess, I have unrealistic expectations when it comes to baseball.

Seriously. There are very little reasons why my team should not win every game. I am not very forgiving.

Like today, I praise Schumaker because he's apparently the only one who realized that he has been playing baseball today. Everyone else needs to prove that their heads are back in the game.

I used to say I should never be allowed to coach a team sport. Not because I don't know enough but because I fire people for small errors. I tend to just scream "What the hell was that? You know what? Fired!" while at/watching games.

I think people are frightened by this part of me.

Writing in the car

I should be writing a poem or two right now but I'm not. I've been writing pieces of poems (say, two lines) in the car this week. It's been a pretty good car-writing experience. But none of that is going anywhere. Probably because it's only two lines, and by the time I get home the adrenaline (of driving?!) is gone and I'm over the poem. This makes me think, again, that I need a tape recorder in the car so I can just talk and hopefully come up with a poem. But then, I always hate the sound of my voice on a recording and end up hating whatever I have "written" in this way, merely because it sounds wrong. Perhaps I should never read my poetry again, as it is probably changing how people feel about the poem. My voice can do that.

Pizza Thief

So someone stole Rob's pizza at work yesterday. It was sitting in the fridge minding its own business, not trying to be eaten (until Rob came for it at lunch) but someone decided to just go ahead and eat it.

Who does this?! Who just eats whatever they want, even when it is not theirs?! I thought I worked in a better place than that.

Not cool pizza thief, not cool.

Liqueur vs Liquor

A conversation at lunch today produced worrying results. Some people, apparently, do not know/believe that there is a difference between liqueur and liquor. So, this is to clear things up.

A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. Basically, it is infused with something, or has sugar added. Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

Liqueurs include: Crème de Cacao, Godiva Dark Chocolate, Kahlúa, Baileys Irish Cream, Crème de menthe, 99 Bananas, Limoncello, Grand Marnier, Midori, Triple sec, Sambuca, Amaretto, Frangelico.

Liquor is most often referred to as a spirit. A spirit is a distilled, alcoholic beverage made from a fermented mash of various ingredients.The distinction between liqueur and spirits is not always simple, especially since many spirits are available in a flavored form today. Flavored spirits, however, are not prepared by infusion. Their added flavors are just... added. Whiskies, Vodka, Gin, Rum are examples.

So that's the basics. A liqueur is sweet and has added flavor. A liquor usually isn't.

So this led to a discussion about the French. In English, we have these two words. But liqueur sounds so very French. So do they just call every liqueur? Or are these distinctions in their words? I don't really know French, so I can't say.

A random online translation showed me this:

Liqueur (English)= liqueur (French)
AND liquor = boisson alcoolisée This, when translated back to English, means only "alcoholic drink". So I guess their may be differences in words, but I may never understand. As long as they aren't throwing around "liqueur" for just any old alcohol!

feelings on rain

There was once a time when I loved rain. I used to dance in the streets during thunderstorms. But rain while driving in rush hour is a pain in the butt. And rain that takes away frolics in the woods is also a pain in the butt.

I think the main problem is I have not been fully able to enjoy the sunny weather when it is here, because of school or work, or sore muscles. It seems to always rain when I have time to enjoy sun and it is sunny when I need to stay inside and just enjoy the sounds.

It was glorious to wake up to the rumble of thunder in the middle of the night.

My Australia plan

I apparently need something to occupy my mind outside of school work. Otherwise crazy things like this happen...

So I have always wanted to visit Australia, but the insanely long flight always freaked me out. I know I can handle 7.5 hours in a plane, as long as I have a little wine. That's what it was to Ireland. But, Australia is a little different. Most flights from out here have to stop in California, so it's broken up, but it's still like 5.5 hours to CA (w/o stops) and another 14 to Australia.

But i have discovered the solution! A super vacation. Go to CA, spend a few days. Go to Hawaii and spend a few days. Go to Sydney and spend a few days. Then do the same thing going back. The trip from Honolulu to Sydney is 10.5 hours. A little more than my limit, but I think I can handle it. And with this lovely trip, you get to visit more places! My trip would have to be two or more weeks, depending on how much time you want in each place, but at least I won't be spending 24 hours in a plane and/or airport.

Yeah, I just spent some time on online travel sites planning my itinerary. I need a new hobby.