Go Tigers Go

Perhaps you recall the post back in January about Memphis's basketball team? Well, they wound up losing ONE game, knocking them out of the #1 spot in the rankings, but their record still gave them a #1 seed for the NCAA tourney. And they've swept through the tourney so far all the way to the championship game tonight!

The Kansas Jayhawks, though, have also swept through the tourney (with a very impressive showing on Saturday against North Carolina), and that's the team Memphis will meet tonight in San Antonio.

I know I have at least one student who'll not be in class today; she's in San Antonio. And my friend Kristin, a Jayhawk, is headed down probably as we speak.

The city's very excited---you cannot turn on the news or a radio without hearing "Go Tigers!" My gym is even closing tonight at 7:30 so no one there has to work during the game.

Me? well, I told Kristin I was cheering for her Jayhawks and the Tigers up until today. But now, I do gotta consider: The Tigers pay my rent!

Go Tigers Go! ;-)

And Now, a Word From Our Sponsors

Super Bowl XLII

Wow! So the Giants pulled the upset! I did watch the last minute of the game, and the best play I saw was when Eli Manning got out the near-sack with having a hold of his shirt then Tyree making the incredible catch in the air almost on top of a Patriot. That set up for an incredible last minute of the game. Hats off to you, NYGiants. (And congrats to the Manning brothers; how cool is that to have two brothers who are QBs win back-to-back super bowls?!)

But this is more than a football game: it's the night that all ad execs must dream of---having their creation watched by millions. I've fast-forwarded through most of the game and hit the highlights. And so, who pulled the advertising win? Before I get to that, my first thought was, "Do all the other stations promote their own shows as much as fox has tonight?" Seriously---it's a bit much. Anyway, back to the real ads . . . .

Right up there at the top were the Bud Light spots---now comes with the ability to breathe fire / ability to fly. Too funny! (but really the only good ones from Bud Light, imho)

Tide-to-Go's spot with the Talking Stain was priceless! how many of us have felt like a stain of our own was that spotlighted?

Of course, the Budweiser one with the Rocky theme was good--mostly for the music. (I have that song on my iPod--wonderfully motivating about 40 minutes into a tough cardio workout.)

And I did like the Life Water commercial--really just for the music and tribute to the Thriller video. I think I heard somewhere this year is the 25th anniversary of that video. Whew, now that's something to make one feel old.

The Chester Pitts/Oboe one was good---made you feel all warm and fuzzy. Okay, and I played the oboe. (“Play,” of course, is relative; my cat Misty used to bite my fingers when I practiced. Now that’s low.) Another warm & fuzzy one was when Charlie Brown got the Coke---good ol’ Charlie Brown.

The Amp commercial, though, was just plain disturbing. (And a further comment on our need for too much caffeine.)

I actually laughed out loud, I’ll admit, at the Doritos commercial with the giant r vat. I totally didn't see that coming!

But my laughter was loudest based on watching the spots with the E-trade talking baby who bought stock. Now that was worthy of some advertising dollar$! I know, some will say it was creepy, but to me—hilarious!

Most effective? I'm willing to bet the first GoDaddy dot com was huge. How many men do you think won't check out that site within the next twenty-four hours?

The Coke spot with James Carville & Bill Frist, of course, was good. I'd had a preview of that one this morning; Carville was on meet the Press. And did you notice that James Carville was the one who got kissed by the mascot at the basketball game and took the lead over Frist while they were on the scooter-thingies? Guess the spot wasn’t completely unbiased after all. ;-)

As for the Diet Pepsi Max, I just kept thinking what a sad reflection on our society. Gosh, people, go to bed! ;-) Seriously, though, too many people really don't get enough sleep, and I wonder sometimes what sorts of accidents and costs come with that. This is easy, though, for me to say given that I've made a point of working on my sleep patterns. I wanted to start reading before bed. But I love watching Colbert. Well, I could have done both, staying up later. But I didn't--I gave up Colbert. Actually, interestingly, I've even given up more tv watching and am heading to bed a bit earlier than I though I would have.

Frankly, though, the hidden shots of the coaches, considering the Patriots were playing, was most chuckle-worthy in the irony-sort-of-way.

But so, another Super Bowl is over. All you ad folks—you’ve got the next year to create.

Oh, and Cowboys, get to practice! :-)

Super Sunday

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. Last year I watched the game at home, and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't eat a lot of junk, drink too many beers, and I could hear all of the commercials.

This year, I'm probably headed to a late afternoon movie, but I do have the game set to record; after all, I want to see those commercials. And I should be home before half-time, so I'll catch up on everything well before it gets too late.

As for the game itself, I didn't have a true favorite side (once the Cowboys lost). And with the cheating scandal of New England, I wasn't a fan. But I learned not too long ago that one of my student's cousins is the kicker for the Patriots, and he also is a Memphis alum. Okay, so I'll root for New England . . . or at least for their kicker.

But mostly, I'm in it for the commercials. :-)

Go Tigers!

If you're unfamiliar with college basketball, let me clue you in: the newest (as of this past week) number 1 team in the country: The Univeristy of Memphis Tigers. Yep, right here in Memphis.

Indeed, I grew up with football as the sport. But the football team here, well, it leaves a good bit to be desired. (we play teams such as Rice and SMU, and I remember those football programs from the days of the Southwest Conference---not a lot of umph, ya know?)

But basketball, well, wowee! Around here, it's the big deal. For example, Friday night, the Foo Fighters played a concert in Fed Ex Forum--the major arena in town. Saturday morning, the Tigers played Gonzaga at the same place. And Friday night, the Memphis Grizzlies, the NBA team here, played in there. The only event that sold the place out? That's right---the college basketball game at 11 am on a Saturday.

The Tigers have done pretty well in their past. They are even the team that knocked Texas A&M out of the big tourney last year. (so you can imagine my mixed feelings.) But they haven't secured the numero uno spot since some time in the early 80s. Until now. Apparently the win yesterday over Gonzaga was pretty big too, even though Gonzaga is no longer ranked. Our big game comes up next month when we play UT--that's the University of Tennessee around here.

I have several students who did their undergrad here, and it's the fever. So sure, I'll jump on that bandwagon: Go Tigers!

(that is, of course, until they play A&M in any March Madness game. :-) )

Football, Fall, and Funks

Fall is often my favorite season. I love the wonderful change of crisp air in the mornings, the sound of football games, and the turn of the leaves. Unfortunately, this fall, for the last bit of time, has been overshadowed by a funk.

I guess it started when I got back from KC. The nearing dates of the interviews in DC are constantly on my mind. KC was so nice because I could be around people who "got" my stress and didn't feed me the, well, irritating false support: "It'll all be just fine." Not that I'm wallowing in worry, but my stress is real. Still, with those well intentioned "it'll be fine" folks, I smile nicely, repressing the ever-building frustration. Sigh. I do know they mean well, but it isn't helping--at all.

Football, of course, didn't help the funk this weekend. On the up side: I can only hope the most recent controversy brewing in College Station will be the cherry topping needed to get us a new head coach. And although 'da Boys didn't pull off the win this week, they did give New England a better game than any other competitor had so far this season.

Being in this incredible forest of giant oaks (and other trees), I had looked forward to a gorgeous fall. Sadly, due to the drought conditions, it looks like most trees will simply drop leaves---assuming they ever do turn. But we did get over an inch of rain yesterday. That was nice.

And yes, with the dates of interviews looming, November is hard to plan for. I have to hope for second interviews at some campuses, and thus, I have to be ready to give a job-talk pretty much all month. A job talk is where you speak for twenty or so minutes about your current work of scholarship, and for the next twenty minutes, you're questioned about it. Some people ask questions in genuine attempts to help you further your research and thesis. Some, though, ask questions merely to try to look smart in front of their colleagues. Oh yes, you know the kind. Wonderful.

In the middle of all that, I still have no actual plans--or even airline tickets (Eek!) for my December Africa trip. That wouldn't be so bad except that it turns out I'll instead be leaving actually in November (29 or 30). That's like six weeks from now! Yowza!

Still, the more we try to plan for the trip, the more excited I get. I do, of course, need to find a travel doc around here for the anti-malaria drugs. My yellow fever shot's already done, so the oral meds should be all that I need! We're planning on trying to stay one or two nights at a place that looks like pure paradise--Chumbe Island---an island limited to about fourteen guests at a time, where the "bungalows overlook the sea and it takes just 30 seconds to stroll from the comforts of your bungalow hammock to feeling the warm tropical ocean lapping at your feet." Ahhhhhh....

And I did finally make it to the Dixon gardens on Sunday to catch the last day of the George Rodrique exhibit. It was fabulous! I'd had no idea how much I'd love each painting of Blue Dog.



So it's not as if evething's negative. It's just a funk. And this too shall pass. :-)

Busy, Busy

Kansas City:

The last week seems to have flown by! Last week found me with things going on almost every night. Between my dance class, yoga, dinner with a colleague, a missed, but planned, night at the museum, then packing for Kansas City, whew! Of course, in all of that, I had to put the finishing touches on my presentation for the conference this past weekend, teach, catch up on reading, etc., etc.

The trip to KC was great! I flew in early enough on Friday to have lunch with my colleague and dear friend from Wisconsin. She and I had a wonderful visit all weekend and also enjoyed dinner out on Saturday evening. Sunday, we went to the Jazz Museum and the Museum of the Negro Baseball League.

Of course, the real purpose of the trip was the conference, and as always, it was wonderful. I picked up many tips on teaching and some great ideas for fresh approaches. The people who go to these conferences are the ones with the true love of what they do--the innovative educators. Spending time with them always recharges my batteries a bit.

Football:

And then there are the football games! I missed the one Saturday evening--opting instead to talk for hours to Lisa. But when we got back to the hotel, someone said the Ags had pulled it off. I waited, hardly patiently, to get confirmation of that fact on the big-screen in the hotel lounge, and finally---Whoop! Indeed, the Ags made it! And now, they're in first place in the Big 12 South. I just hope we show up to really play---both first and second half---against Tech this weekend.

And of course, last night was one of the most exciting ends of a Cowboys game I've ever seen. I'm not at all in an approving state of mind regarding the last-second time-outs called by coaches when a kicker is kicking a career-long field goal, but it is within the bounds of the rules. (It happened to a team Saturday night and to da 'boys last night.) But the Cowboys kicker pulled it off and made that field goal TWICE---moving the cowboys to 5-0. Fabulous!

Work:

I'll need to spend a lot of free time over the next two weekends with my scholarly work. First, I need to read over and over my article coming out in publication this fall, readying myself for any questions about it during interviews at the end of this month. And second, I need to get my work-in-progress to a state such that I'll be ready to give a job talk on it.

Of course, in the meantime, I have to keep up with my current schedule. This includes getting a new course ready to go for next semester. First step: choose a text. At least I've gotten that narrowed down to between two books.

For now, though, I better get out the door to go get some of these things done!

Carpet, I am Woman, and Baseball

I feel like I've just unpacked after moving---and I haven't even left the county!

Last week, I signed with a realtor---the one who helped me find my house eight years ago. And much of the weekend was spent finishing up the "make ready" to show my house. I had already begun to go through everything and clean out, but now it's down to finishing up the things I've been putting off. But in the middle of this, I needed new carpet. Years of wear on cheap carpet plus a dog who got bored one too many times when I wanted to sleep late meant new carpet was in order to sell the house.

(I've since learned that to sleep late, so long as Howard has gone out, I can then close the bedroom door and he'll sleep late with me. But it the door's open, he seems to think his mission is to get me out of bed.)

Getting new carpet---seems simple enough. But oh my, it's a lot of work! Granted, for the almost ten hours Miguel and Jose were at my home, there wasn't much for me to do---except grade papers sitting on the kitchen floor. But once they were done, whoa! I had to put everything back together again. I had a lot of sympathy for All the King's Men!

And yes--ten hours it took. Part way through, I realized I wouldn't make it to Mayfest. I was disappointed, but I also by that time had a more realistic idea of what the rest of my night and the next day would involve. I called to cancel, with the promise that those friends and I get together soon---maybe for one last night at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Before moving on, I'll digress a little. I have a neighbor who's been great. He's the one neighbor who's been on the street since these houses were built in '86. And he owns a pole saw and gas-powered hedge trimmers. But I only borrow those tools; I actually use 'em myself---it has been interesting learnig how to prune a tree! Well, my neighbor has been stating lately how impressed he is with that---saying I work harder around my house than any woman he's ever seen.

Hearing his words have been inspiring. And Friday night, I got to share a little of that inspiration. I was pooped---after being up too late Thursday then up early Friday and doing a lot of waiting all day, by the time the carpet guys were done and I got my car back (a few minor repairs done), I saw my newest neighbor struggling with her lawn mower. She'd driven home with it and asked another neighbor, Tony across the street, for help unloading it. Then her son got to work on the front yard. Alas, the mower stopped---or he stopped it---and it wouldn't start back. I've been there. So I went over.

It was a mechanical issue, and Maria was frustrated. So I asked her son if he'd asked Tony for help. He said no, and I urged him to go knock on the door. He did, Tony came out, and more grass lost its height.

Anyway, so Maria and I got to talking more, and bless her heart. She's there with two kids on her own. And it's hard. She seemed so surprised to learn that I lived on my own. She said she would get so sad---on her own. But I told her how proud she could be. I told her I had two grandmothers who were so proud of me---to be a woman who could live alone and could support herself. I reminded her that once you're independent, it's great to date a man because you want to and not because you need to. (of course, sadly, it seems too many men seem to need to be needed and have a hard time with a woman who just really wants to date 'em---darned egos. But I cannot be someone I'm not. Perhaps, ergo, I'm single. ;-) )

Anyway, so I told her she was a fabulous woman for buying a house on her own for her and her two children (their dad seems to have left the picture). And I told her what a phenomenal thing she was doing for her daughter---to show her that no matter what, she would never have to stay in a bad situation because she was afraid of making it on her own.

Maria had tears in her eyes, but they looked like tears of understanding and hope---not like the tears of sadness she said she cried most nights. She told me thank you, and she said she learned something that night.

But before I left, I reminded her that part of living on your own involved asking for help when you need it. When I bought my house, the neighbors who learned I was a single woman stepped up and offered their help---they even used "if you can't start your lawn mower" as an example.

Back to the new carpet---so yes, as independent as I am, darn if I have no idea what wires are supposed to be plugged into my subwoofer from the receiver. I've plugged all wires in to some place, but I was left without any for the bass. And I love bass! Darn. Sigh. I'll ask for help, but knowing I'm not here for too long doesn't make it that high a priority.

But on the other hand, I hooked up every single computer wire, cord, etc.! And for that, yes, I'm proud. :-)

So my house is just about ready. I still have a couple of repairs left to do, but the sign should go in the yard by Friday.

Ah---and the baseball? Well, I remember my first major league baseball game---vaguely. I was about seven or eight, and my dad took us to Rangers Stadium. So what's more fitting for what could be my last Rangers game than to go with my dad?!

Indeed, Dad was in town for a vet. meeting, and the activity of the evening was a Rangers game. (And with the Stars and Mavs having choked, well, Go Rangers!) I drove over to Arlington and met him, and we headed to the tailgate party. Yummy eats, then a great game---with what I think is the best (home team) baseball inning I've ever seen! The Rangers scored six runs in ONE inning! Wow! Of course, just hanging out and talking was the highlight of the evening.

My older brother, also in town for the vet. meeting, joined us around the sixth inning, and it was great to see him too!

In all, a great weekend. Productivity, seeing family, and wrapping it up with Sunday night TV. (while Desperate Housewives has gotten better this season, my new favorite show is Brothers & Sisters, and it didn't disappoint tonight.)

The week ahead? Those final little details around the house, grading papers, and Woohoo! Lunch at the Saucer with my friend James. And at the end of the week---more family times for Mom's Day weekend at my mom's and a visit to College Station to see my nephew in his senior boots. Do I hear a "Whoop!"?

:-)