Up to date

This blog is an attempt to get everyone caught up on the past 2 weeks. Obviously, everyone reading knows that I'm now marrried. Thanks to everyone that was at the wedding for making it the most fun party I've ever attended. I can only hope everyone had 1/2 as much fun as I did. Just a total blast. A party with unlimited food and drink and all the music that I want to hear. Good times.

Jenn and I had a very nice week off after the wedding. Not so much a honeymoon as just some time for the 2 of us. On Friday, we went to Magic Mountain with Jana and Erika. It's official: 4 is the best number to do a park with. And if all 4 people are as awesomely cool as us 4, then all the better.

The time spent in Vegas around the wedding was AMAZING. I hadn't had that much fun in Vegas in a very very long time. My only complaint would be that Jenn wasn't into participating in all of the activities I deemed fun. But that's OK, becasue I got to do them any way. The Bachelor party was PERFECT. Booze, craps and titties. The perfect final evening to a life of a single guy. I look forward to going back to vegas again soon, but I'll always know that I will be participating in only 2 of those activities hence forth. That's what I want, too, but I'm glad I had a final hurah.

The gambling was only so-so. I won the couple sports bets I got in and I won at the craps table during the bachelor party, but I lost all that back plus a little the rest of the time. But I go to play craps with Eddie and Jason, and that's what I really wanted to do. Also, a side note here, Jenn shot for us one time and made what could have been a terrible and short night into a not so good and not too short night. ALWAYS let the woman shoot for the first time. I wish I had put more out on the table at the start of her roll rather than waiting to parlay it at the end. Sigh. But then you never know whent eh end of craps is until it actually ends.

Fantasy football report: after a perfect week 1 I went 3-3 in week 2 and 4-2 in week 3. I'm 3-0 in the money league, and that's the one that matters most. I'm 3-0 in one other leage, 2-1 in 3 and 1-2 in 1. I'm kind of sad about the 1-2 becasue that's my winners league (for people that won a league the previous year). Thems the breaks, I suppose.

Bush. Here is a rough quote from him that was on the Daily Show this morning from right before Rita hit land: "I'm going to keep a close eye on how the state (Texas) and local goverments communicate. It's very importnt for me to understand how they communicate and somethign I need to learn about." HE WAS THE FUCKING GOVERNOR OF TEXAS!!!! Before being elected President, is SOLE qualification was that he HAD BEEN THE FUCKING GOVERNOR OF TEXAS!!!!! And you're telling us NOW that you don't know how state and local governments communicate!?!?!? REALLY!?!??!?! And this the is asshole Village Idiot that the hoard of lemming morons in this country re-elected!?!?!? On any other day, this would have been a whole post. So he lucked out this time.

Anyway, I'm really happy and everything is going very well. I'm 31 today. Not sure what to make of that. I suppose you could go back to a year ago and read my blog then. Except, this time around, i know what to expect and I don't quite care as much. I've lost 7 pounds since then, so that's a plus. But to do that, I have salad for lunch everyday, which is a huge negative. OK, my birthday wish is for noeone here at my work to see the salad I"m begrudgingly eating for lunch and say, "Mmm that looks good." Becasue it's not. It's edible and it's healthy and that's it. It it most assuredly not good.

Did I mention that I'm really happy? Today is my best birthday ever becasue I have Jennifer!

Perfection

As if I didn't have enought o be excited about. This past wekeend, I went a perfect 6-0 in all of my Fantasy Football leagues. I know that most of you are more shocked that I have SIX Fnatasy teams. I enjoy it. It entertains me. So leave me alone.

The best part about going 6-0: in 5 of my 6 leagues, the Tight End I had didn't even play. So I won even though i was short handed.

This is also a huge step for me becasue last year, I didn't even make the playoffs in 3 leagues I was in. I'm embarassed to admit it, but alas, it is true.

Obviously, it's still only week 1, but hey, it's just one more good thing I've got going on. With the wedding, the week off from work, Magic Mountain (with Erika [YAY]), the Steelers winning [and looking damn good while doing it]; there's no reason I can't be a little excited about my Fantasy Football teams.

Of course, the league that matters the most is my money league (5 of the 6 are free and relatively meaningless). I had a damn good week there. I was genuinely concerned about my WR corps, but I think everything is going to turn out OK. As long as Big Ben keeps chucking it to Randle EL all season, I'll be sitting real pretty. Also, Indy's defense going against Kyle Boller-esque QB's all season wouldn't hurt much, either.

This is my last post before the wedding. I can't wait to see you all there!!! It'll be a great time. I'm hoping to get as much group social time as possible. You should all have my cell phone number. No reason why you can't call me at any given moment to find out what I'm up to!

1 WEEK!!!

We're down to the Final Week. 7 days from right now, Jenn and I will be going through our plans for Saturday while sitting in some bar with my folks in Vegas. I'll be wondering about what's in store for me for my bachelor party. We should have the marriage license and tux sitting in the room already. Jenn and I are both really really excited. I can't wait to see all my friends that have been such an important part of my life. I wish that more could attend, but obviously, given the diverse locations I've resided over the years, I doubt I could come up with a location that would ensure 100% attendance by all those that I wish could go.

I quick shout out to Steve and Ben, fellow members of the Axel Rose Trio at Sutherland in Pittsburgh. A nod to Brent, valedictorian and dork extraordinaire, who has a new job at UMass and a new baby to worry about. A hello to the various cousins taht won't be able to make the trip: all of us are at such exciting stages in our lives, it would be selfish of me to be disappointed that you're not going to come to Vegas just for me. Kevin and Chris in Orlando, no way would I expect a trip that far for a place neither of youw ould probalby care for all that much. And anyone else who I may have egregiously forgotten taht can't make it, thank you for continuing to be a part of my life and I know that your thoughts will send positive karma our way as Jenn and I enter this new stage.

Of course, I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little worried. From a marriage stand-point, I'm mostly worried about he food being good and the DJ not sucking. The food aspect is an issue becasue we didn't get to do a sampling before hand (but it will be a buffet, so I'm sure at least 70% of it will be fine, which is pretty much what you expect froma buffet). I'm sure the DJ will be fine. I mean how could you be a DJ in the city of Vegas and suck? I'm hopeful that everyone making the journey will have a good time and that I'll be able to devote suitable time with everyone. Obviously, people will recognize taht I've got other things going on, but I don't want anyone to feel left out or ignored. Out side of the festivities, I'm worried taht Jenn will get mad at me when Eddie comes calling for a little craps time and when I inevitably sneak off to catch some of the games on Sunday. It's Vegas, it's Sunday, it's the NFL, it's going to happen. Why kid ourselves.

Anyway, we're doing well and looking forward to the 17th!

On a side note, and completely unrelated, I'm also worried about the Steelers. Last year in training camp, not muchw as expected of them, but they provided flashes of goodness that made a fan think, "hey, this could be a good year." Well they looked very similar this year to last, except that the expectations are high, so now you feel like, "Yikes, this might be a LOOONG season." Tennessee will be a good test for them. But I digress: there will be plenty of time for football in 2 weeks.

Passing of a Friend

I've been extremely lucky. I have never had a friend, or even close acquiantance, pass on too soon in life. I've had elderly relatives die, but that's to be expected. I suspect it's far easier to deal with the death of someone on his last legs than someonewith quite a bit of life left in him. However, I think I know how it feels to have a friend die unexpectedly and far too soon: that's how I feel about the events transpiring in New Orleans.

N.O. is one of my top 10 favorite cities (the list, in no order, is NYC, LA, Chicago, N.O., Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Paris, London, Sydney, Miami). I've been there twice: once when I was 15 and once, just 3 years ago, to see a Saints - Steelers game with my brother. You have to be of legal drinking age to fully appreciate N.O. The city itself is 50% party and 50% history. If you're walking down the street and you don't feel in the mood to either drink or spot and reflect on what may have happened on that spot 200 years ago, you're definitely on the wrong street. And now, it's gone.

I'm hoping not forever, too. I think it's safe to say that Bourbon Street will open up to nightly revelers again. There will be drinking on the streets and titties exposed in exchange for beads. But underlying all of that, now, will be the added layer of "Thousands of People Had Their Lives Irrevokably Changed Here." And I think that will change the vibe there significantly. On 9/11, in NYC, basically, 2 city blockes were destroyed. They still haven't re-built them. In N.O., an entire city has been destroyed. I'm not sure how a city can recover from that, fully.

There are a few underlying things here that make me mad:
1) I'm mad that Village Idiot's response (or lack there of) is being politicized. He f'ed up big time on this one. But he's f'ed up worse than this before, except now, it's affectd a city here at home rather than a country half way around the globe. He should be roundly and summarily villifiled for cutting budgets for levee maintenance, then not positioning relief effort in advance of the hurricane (he had 3 days to get ready once the storm passed through Florida), then flying out to San Diego for a fund raiser on Tuesday and finally for waiting until Wednesday before sending any Federal Forces for aid. It is all inexcusable and should be viewed as a general continuing failure of his administration. Unfortunately, it will just turn into a shouting match with the Left yelling about his idiocy and the right yelling that he did everything he could do. It's both a sham and a shame.
2) I'm mad that what will undoubtedly bring N.O. back to prominance will be the tourist industry. And as a result, I'm sure most of the rebuilding effort will end up having that touristy gleam and all of the history is essentially being washed away as the levees continue to fail. Part of the charm of N.O. is the grit. Will it still be that way?
3) I'm mad that N.O. will probably lose the Saitns as a direct result of this hurricane. I was hoping my bro and I could recreate our trip in 6 years when the Steelers return. And if any city was built to house a Super Bowl, it was N.O. (my favorite writer at ESPN says that the Super Bowl should be on a 3 city rotation od San Diego, Miami and N.O.). The NFL is infinitely more fun with the Saints in N.O. I just hope they stay there. Plus, knowing how much I love my football team, I feel so terrible for the fans there; as if they hadn't lost enough.

But really, it's very tragic and very sad and it just makes me sick. That sick feeling is what I think most resembles the feeling of losing a friend. N.O. was a great big friend and the entire country should be feeling just a little sick now that it's gone.