Sleep!!!

What's a great thing to do when you are out of shape and it's 90 degrees outside?

I suggest walking 18 holes on a hilly course in the middle of the day, and then playing 2 games at open gym against guys almost half my age.

I was in bed before 11pm last night, and woke up just after 9am. I think I was a little tired. :)

It's only money

I spent the last few days of the weekend in French Link, home of a casino. So, I am officially no longer a casino virgin....well, maybe. How does one lose their casino virginity? Is it by stepping into a casino (did it), by playing a few hands on a machine (did it), or by investing your own money in some way (did not)? More to the point, I spent a lot of time in there a) watching the Indy 500 and b) watching my friend Katie play craps. Now, craps is kind of cool, actually, and I spent a lot of my time telling Katie to walk away while she was winning. But, it was somewhat disturbing to watch other people play. In particular, there was one guy who was there simply to give away benjamins (hundreds--note the plural tense) of dollars as quickly as possible. He would put large amounts of money on crazy long-shot bets (hardways, for those who know the lingo), and then parlay it (effectively, letting it ride) on the rare times he won, basically giving all the money back. I probably saw him cash in a thousand dollars, and he probably went through that in about 30 minutes. And he didn't care. It almost looked like he was bored. Now, I'll be the first to tell you that money isn't all it's cracked up to be, and ultimately it's not that important, but I hope I never have the complete disregard for it (or any of my "talents") that I saw by many, and in particular this guy.

And for the record, I really really wanted to go play poker, but the cheapest table was a $1/$3 no-limit table, and to really and truly play that, you would need at least $75, and probably more like $100. And since it's no-limit, it would be very easy to lose it all at once. As much as I wanted to, I wasn't ready to commit that kind of money. I'm spineless, I know....

Free at last, free at last

School is out! We've been out since Tuesday...and I've slept in since Wednesday. :) Actually, it makes things like getting people to golf practice somewhat difficult, as a lot of them have jobs and whatnot, but other than that, it's nice to have a break. I get to sleep in, do a lot of yardwork, replace a crack in my windshield, not do lesson plans, and did I mention sleep in? Keep in mind, sleeping in means staying in bed until 7:40 this morning....the life of a teacher.

What does it mean?

We got to play the back nine at the Elks at practice yesterday, the first time that's happened all year. And, I played fairly well--to the point of two birdies. Now, my personal best for most birdies in a round is 2, and I've done that probably 5 or 6 times in my life. And three of those have been this year. Does that make sense? I'm playing like once, maybe twice a week, and when I do play it's usually in some form of competitive format with my team. I used to play five or six times a week, spending a lot of that time practicing and hitting shags. So, why does that mean I start getting all these birdies now? Especially in pairs--they were back-to-back yesterday. I don't think the courses are that much easier than what I used to play back home...so is this just a fluke? Or do I just need to get a life and stop worrying about such things? :)

The life of a Cubs fan

I hate the Cubs. By which, of course, I mean that I'm a diehard fan. Thus, I hate the Cubs. The latest ulcer-forming game happened today, when the Cubs blew a 5-1 9th inning lead to lose the Mets. After getting to .500, we're like 3-7 in our last 10. Our bullpen, which was potentially the strongest part of the team, has been ghastly. As one guy (Bob Lemon?) once said:

The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen.

My best friend is in Hawaii right now (jerk) and the aforementioned bullpen wreaks. *sigh* At least summer starts soon...

Winning

Winning is like way better than losing. Monday (on my freakin' birthday, no less), we laid an egg and lost a match we shouldn't have, losing to South Knox and playing horribly. Today we played Vincennes Lincoln, a much bigger school who's kind of a rival. And, we played much much better. Not great, but better. We won by 12. It's amazing how much better of a mood I'm in. Plus, it's particularly fun because our JV basketball coach never beat VL, but I was able to on my first try (different sport, of course), and he was there working with his son. I'm pretty sure that makes me a bad person...

Things not to forget

Weed killer for your lawn also has fertilizer in it

Rain helps grass grow.

I have a bag for my mower, so I don't have to mulch.


Unfortunately, I forgot all three of these, so my hour of mowing turned into 100 minutes of mowing, as I had to remow areas, restart the mower when it got too clogged, and generally sweat like a maniac.


On a completely unrelated note, I have a huge prayer request that I (legally) cannot share the details of, but do be praying.

Character flaw?

Yesterday I took the golf team over to Bloomington to get ready for our conference meet next Saturday (come visit!). Now, the Cascades course is pretty easy, if you ask me, and for the most part I played well. I finished with a +6 77. The problem was a six hole stretch (last 3 of our front nine, first 3 of our back nine) where I went +5, just completely falling apart. Anyway, it was the 6th hole of that stretch, a very difficult (long) hole, that I absolutely blew a chip and putt, ending up a bogey instead of an impressive par. I got mad to the point where I slammed the club into my bad....hurting my finger. I got all bloody and scraped up. So, I'm in the middle of a good round and I completely lose my temper for a few moments. I proceeded to birdie two of the next three holes....what does that say about myself?

Right....

Just overheard on the TV:

"Express your individuality with people just like you!"

Umm...what?!?