So, About My Plans To Prepare For Mother Coming Back Home ...

For Sunday I had two things I planned on doing: Cleaning up the dining room of my stuff and cleaning up my bed (in Grandmother's bed) of, well, my stuff.

I have done a little bit of work on the dining room table, but mostly it is still filled with my stuff.  And I have not touched my bed.

What did I do instead?  After I came home from watching soccer I went to sleep for four hours.  Then I remembered I hadn't blogged yet, so I did that.  Oh, I also caught up on Mafia Wars.  Oh-oh, and I also masturbated.  Then it was time for me to exercise, which I had planned to do.  Then after I ate at Culver's I realized that I had forgotten to post a link to an article from my alma mater relating to the problem of diversity in Hollywood, so I was watching the Oscars while doing that.  Then I ... I tooled around the Internet some more.  Then I took a shower at 1 in the morning, one that I should have taken much earlier.

I have to get up at 7, but my hair's not dry yet.

None of this will be cleaned up in six days.

Yesterday Was A Bad Day When It Came To Women

This was my last Saturday of "freedom," so I figured this would be the weekend to do my usual thing where I go to Hooters and then go to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Version) way out in the sticks.  Um, didn't go as well as planned.

Hooters was pretty much a disaster.  The waitress who served me shortened the order of wings I actually wanted, then forgot the cheese sauce on my fries, then didn't put my club discount on my receipt.  Three strikes, she's out.  I have been served by her often, and let's just she's never been perfect, but this is awful even for her.  Well, come to think of it, Hooters waitresses here haven't been good servers at all.  It's like they know that the reason they're so popular is because men want to ogle at hot chicks, so why does it matter to, you know, get their order right?  In fact, to be completely honest, I don't remember exemplary customer service in any Hooters I've been to, anywhere.  Well, maybe that's a stretch -- the ones who have truly flirted with me have been very good in serving me food and drink.  But that is a very stark exception; I have had shittier service way more often than even good service at every Hooters I've been to.

Does this mean I'm not going to Hooters anymore?  Of course not.

It got even worse once I got to the stripclub.  My All-Time Favorite wasn't there.  It's the second straight time I've been there and she wasn't.  I looked on the website and it said she was going to work the night shift.  Maybe she worked the day shift instead?  But she often works both shifts.  Well, she told me once that she was going to start cutting back on working.  Well, I wish I had her personal information so I knew if and when she was going to do that.

There is an upside to this: With no pressure to get dances from my ATF, I just sat at the stage and tipped every stripper.  It was a Saturday night, so there were a lot of guys there, and they were tipping.  That meant that, often, the strippers were too busy for me to give them another single to get back over to me.  They were happy with the amount of dollars they were getting anyway, so most of the time I was able to get away with giving only a buck to each dancer's two-song set.  That means that I stayed there for about two hours and spent a total of $26.  Besides the time I went there with my friend and did nothing but bitch about an alumni club event, I have never spent such little cash there.  I spend more money at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) nowadays.  Now, I spend a lot more gas to get to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Edition), but even with that, I'm pretty sure I spent less money on this trip than my recent sojourns downtown.  I would rather spend my $200 on my ATF, but honestly, I can't complain.

Well, this is supposed to be a blog post where I bitch, so, uh, yeah, it was still a bad day when it came to women.

One Week Left, And Now I Am Paralyzed

So Mother called me about finding a letter in her vast trove of bullshit -- it has "June" on it; find it!!! -- and then she slipped in the exact date she's coming home: Next Saturday.  No, she wouldn't give the common courtesy of giving me an extra week.

So, even though I am tired and even though they should just be happy that the roof hasn't caved in, I now have to do a bunch of shit over the next seven days before she yells at me and rats me out to My Fucking Father so he can yell at me.  First of all, I need some stripper to come in and and clean the house, but my Plan A apparently has a bad phone.  It "just so happened" that her smartphone slipped off a counter and into a doggy dish.  Fuck, she's full of excuses.

I have emptied the recycling bag into the recycler, even though there will obviously be more to recycle.  I have cleaned the laundry room drain filters of shit, even though that will also get dirty, and possibly before she comes home.  I have also cleaned up the laundry room of sewer water that got splashed around when I tried to unclog the sewer drain.  And ... that's it.  Fuck all of this; I just masturbated, I am going to take a nap after I finish this blog, and tonight I'm going to Hooters, get aroused by all the waitresses, then go to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Division) to see my ATF.  I deserve it because of this bad news.

I had so many plans, and now I have no time.  A week = no time.  Yeah, maybe if they had stayed away for a month I wouldn't have gotten around to all the shit I need to do, like going through my papers or clothes.  But so what?  Seven days and counting, and I don't know what to do.

And yet I'm responsible to do everything.  I'll tell you one big thing I need to do: Pick one of the cars to grab insurance for.  The old car is completely dead.  It might be the battery, it might be something else, but I don't know how to fix it.  The new car is in storage, and unfortunately it's on the north side of the house, which is also the cold side of the house that is in the shade in the afternoon and therefore the snow and ice around it won't be able to melt.  I looked around my car and I almost fell trying to look around the car to see how to extricate it.  It's impossible to get it out of there -- and that's not including unpeeling the tarp and the car cover and then repacking both.

I fucking hate all this.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -3).  I don't have a lot of time, so this is going to kind of a smash-and-grab kind of a survey.  Sorry.

It's a topsy-turvy in that the teams that had the most successful weeks are the ones having the worst seasons.  I couldn't decide between the penis ballers and the grapplers.  In the end, that the U. men's basketball team is currently on a winning streak, albeit at two after throttling true Big Ten bottom-feeders Rutgers, was the tiebreaker.

Look, Richard Pitino and this team is having an absolutely shitty season.  But that upset win over Maryland last week may have been The Most Important Game Of Pitino's Coaching Career.  If his team ends this season only with a sweep of the Scarlet Knights, the pressure really is on for him to win with his vaunted class of recruits, and win quickly.  In fact, I would not have ruled out a midseason firing if, say, the team was treading water at .500 overall.  But I think the athletic program, which still is in flux because they don't have a permanent Athletic Director, will look at that upset win over the Terrapins, see all the close defeats against teams that should have blown them out of the gym, concluded that the players still will play for Pitino (don't know if that's true or not, but it seems true), and give him some leeway next year.  Like, the whole of next year.  Now, if they miss the tournament again next year, all bets are off.  But it now seems like Pitino has more rope with which to hang himself than before, if that makes any sense.

Nevertheless it'll probably be back to losing for the club.  Sunday they visit struggling Illinois, and even if they win a third consecutive game, they come home to Williams on Senior Night and face a now extremely hot Wisconsin outfit.

#-2: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -6).  In case you missed my dilemma in last week's survey, both the Golden Gopher wrestling and women's hockey teams were playing on the same night.  Both hosted opponents that I found particularly intriguing; the wrestlers had Iowa St., a powerhouse program from another conference who I had never seen while the hockey team, which was ranked third at the time, faced off against second-ranked Wisconsin.

I was so torn by picking between these games that I decided to do something I've never done before: Start at Ridder Arena, where the hockey teams would drop the puck at 7, go to The Barn, where the wrestlers would throw down starting at 7:30, and alternate between the two.  The venues couldn't be more than a football field away from each other, I could get exercise and I would get to "see" both games, something I've never done before.

Well, I couldn't do that because there is no in-out entry at Ridder, and maybe at all U. events.  I was OK; the hockey team was up 2-0 by the time 7:30 rolled around, and I figured the Cyclones would make quick work of the U.  But I was wrong; turns out that the Gophers tripled Iowa St. 30-10.  Back-to-back made it 18-3 after five matches, so although it would have been fun to take in a raucous atmosphere that knew its good guys have already won, the outcome was not in doubt early.  (Actually, neither game was in doubt; the women's hockey team shut out Wisconsin 4-0 in my game, so I didn't have to regret going to the "wrong" game.)  As bad as the program is right now, whatever happened to Iowa St.?

Oh, well.  Season's over, now the conference championships are up, though not till next week.

#-3: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -5).  Things take a step down from here.  The best of the bunch, I've surmised, is the vaginal ballers of Dinkytown, who are making a late (maybe too late) run to reach the Big Dance.

In the meantime, though, Rachel Banham is having one hell of a finishing kick to her college career.  I had doubts she could break the conference mark for most points in a career, but she did that on the road Sunday by ripping off 52 points against Michigan St.  In fact, she broke the record on a three-pointer.  It was the last points the U. would score in that game ... which, sadly, was a loss.  But it was a 114-106 loss.  And that was in regulation.  Seriously, she is on a motherfucking run!

Shame Banham broke the record away from The Barn.  Nevertheless she put in a hell of an effort in the Senior Night Game.  I thought the team was toast having the fifth-ranked Ohio St. Buckeyes as the final guest on Wednesday.  But Jessie Edwards's putback with half a second left gave Minnesota the two-point lead ... until Alexa Hart completed a perfect lob off a sideline inbounds pass in time to send the game into Overtime.  (By the way, I don't know who the Golden Gopher defender was, but that squad was lucky a foul wasn't called on that lob; they easily could have lost that game.)

Minnesota faced further peril when Banham fouled out in the extra session, taking her 35 points to the bench.  But Carlie Wagner pulled it off in the end with a baseline jumper with .8 seconds left, giving the Gophs the 90-88 win.  Wagner has become the Scottie Pippen to Banham's Michael Jordan, scoring 26 points.  (By the way, I don't know who the Golden Gopher who set that vicious screen was, but kudos for giving fans a flashback to when Janel McCarville was giving opponents concussions trying to defend Lindsay Whalen.)  I couldn't believe the U. would win that game, but they did.

And still they are projected not to make the field.  While they are rising, the RPI probably remains too low for them to get in with the record they have now.  Just too many losses, especially in a mediocre non-conference schedule, for them to be in, although Charlie Creme now has the U. as the fourth-to-last team out:

Last 4 In: Kansas State, Auburn, Villanova, Purdue
First 4 Out: Temple, Oregon, Michigan, Minnesota

— Charlie Creme (@CharlieCreme) February 25, 2016

So sadly, and unfortunately, it looks like Banham is going to finish her season in the WNIT. And that is why, at the end of it all, even though Banham has scored more points in her college career than Whalen, Banham still will be seen a significant tier below her because she has never won an NCAA Tournament game. (Helps that Whalen had McCarville. Similarly, would've helped if Amanda Zahui B. would have stayed for one final ride with Banham.)  According to Creme Minnesota will have to win out.  And that begins at Maryland in the regular season finale Sunday.  And they'll probably have to make a deep run in the B1G Tournament too.

#-4: Gopher softball (Last Week: -4).  Last weekend's ACC/B1G Challenge unfortunately may have crystallized where this team stands in College Softball Nation.  They swept both games from Virginia Tech but got swept by Florida St.  Since the Seminoles were ranked in the mid-teens, the ceiling appears to be, what ... Super Regionals?  Sara Groenewegen, however, was named conference Pitcher Of The Week, not least of which for pitching her fourth career No-Hitter against the Hokies.

They have begun the Diamond Devils Tournament in Tempe, Ariz. today (Friday) with wins over Mount St. Mary's and host Arizona St.  They finish the tourney with St. Francis (PA) and Houston.

#-5: Gopher baseball (Re-Entry!).  Like the softball team, the team began their year with three wins followed by two losses, the last of which was Friday's loss in the first of a three-game series at Campbell.  Once again the program appears to be well off the lofty standards of Head Coach John Anderson.  The conference is ruled, like in softball, by Michigan, with Indiana and Maryland possible contenders.  And the only players to keep an eye on are Second Baseman Connor Schaefbauer and lefty Dalton Sawyer.  This will be yet another season where you'll enjoy relatively cheap outdoor baseball.

#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -1).  I still feel optimistic about this team after their 1-3 screening week.  That one win was at home over a pretty good Boston Celtics club, whose Head Coach, Brad Stevens, is proving he can do a lot with not a lot.

Since the Woofie Dogs have an eye towards next season, the buying out of veterans has begun.  Andre Miller has been cut loose.  It seems kind of desperate, but it appears as though Miller came to the squad because of Flip Saunders, and with Saunders dead, there is no further reason for him to stay here.  Tayshaun Prince, a starter for most of the year, may be next.

This week: At New Orleans, at Dallas, home to Washington.

#-7: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -2).  I thought they had the week off.  I was wrong.  Technically, their series against Michigan is a rare Thursday-Friday one, therefore they're on this WMNSS.

And, unfortunately, they're near the bottom after an embarrassing 6-2 defeat to Michigan at Mariucci last (Thursday) night.  The Wolverines, by far the more talented team, scored their goals before the Gophers broke the seal with a pair themselves.  That means that their points lead in the conference, now their only tangible hope to reach the NCAA Tournament, is just about gone.  They have one more game against Michigan, which may be their final opportunity to notch a quality win before the conference tourney.

#-8: Wild (Last Week: -Infinity).  Quick word about the Stadium Series game Sunday.  Two years ago I was at the Hockey City Classic, the first-ever outdoor hockey day where Minnesota played and beat Ohio St., 1-0.  (I have to note that the actual first-ever outdoor hockey game was played by the Gopher women before the Gopher men that same day, a 2-0, I think, victory over St. Cloud St., I think.)  It was nighttime, but I think the air temperature was 11 degrees with the windchill significantly below 0.  So having an actual temperature at puck drop of above freezing was a welcome atmosphere.

But not like what happened, albeit briefly, in the first period.  A little snow fell.  My God, it felt like we were in the middle of a snowglobe at TCF Bank Stadium.  Too bad the public address didn't play any Peanuts music while it fell.

I was wrong in thinking the Chicago Blackhawks were going to throttle the Mild, but maybe I was hoping for the hometown fans to boo the players for quitting on Mike Yeo.  However, the nonchalant tanking may have begun in earnest this week after losses to the Islanders and Philadelphia.  So under Interim Head Coach Mike Torchetti the Wild are still shitty at the Xcel Energy Center.

Right now, though, they are clinging to a 2-1 at the best team in the NHL, Washington.  After this they host Florida and Colorado before visiting Toronto.

Addendum To: Well That Was A Fucking Disaster

Just checked my e-mail.  When I saw that the person who interviewed me sent me an e-mail I knew I was fucked.  And, sure enough, she said that the position had been filled.  At least that's different than saying they're considering other candidates.

I'm never going to have a full-time job, ever.

I'm Surprised This Hag Hasn't Gotten Fired Yet

As this New York Times piece notes, damage control in public relations has become a cottage industry.  And the latest person to go through the washing machine of rehabilitating her image is Dr. Melissa Click, the bully bitch at the University of Missouri who needed some "muscle" to physically remove someone exercising his First Amendment rights and documenting the protests going on in the university back in November.

While rightly (and astonishingly) being fired and pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault (to which she'll serve community service), she still has her reputation to save, so she's putting the word out that she's not the monster that she'll forever be on YouTube.

No dice from me.  A (former) journalism and (current, still, somehow!) communications professor damn well better know that everyone has a right to document and record what is going on in a public space no matter if people there don't want to be seen.  Tough shit.  In the article, which was published Friday, Dr. Click says she was defending Concerned Students 1950, a black student organization that probably could have done just fine without this white woman meddling to the point where she called for violence.  CS50 has a lot of valid points; preventing reporters from reporting on the movement when they curry publicity for the parts of their protests that they want people to see definitely is not one of them.  And Mel Click here apparently is trying to atone for centuries of white privilege by overly protecting this group, a move that, obviously, turned into assault.

Apparently she has been suspended, but not fired.  As far as I know she is still a member of the comm. dept. at Mizzou.  And, at least according to this columnist at the Miami Herald, her fellow academics in Communications have defended not only her but her actions.  I am skeptical about that claim; Glenn Garvin only mentions this supposed letter in one paragraph, and there is no link to it.  I also question Garvin's objectivity.  He bemoans weird new politically correct things that have become vogue on campuses like safe zones and students reporting on teachers they don't like.  Those are weird and troubling, but he mish-mashes them together in a way that makes me believe that Garvin is nothing more than a conservative crank.

However, if this letter from the communications department is true, then I hope every single student who majored in communications at the University of Missouri switches majors, and I hope every single prospective comm student to Mizzou either selects something else or doesn't go there.  Defending the shrill actions of this woman is nothing short of unfair and stupid.

Oh, and Click should have been fired yesterday.  When both Republicans and reporters hate you for what you did, it's time for you to go.

Disruptions, Disruptions

I hate change.  Specifically I hate all the new shit that's gone down just on Tuesday.

All I did was wake up just after 10:30 when my body told me to wake up.  I had one thing I had to do today: A study at the U. at 2 o'clock.  Everything else was up in the air, even though I had some job irons in the fire.

As soon as I get back the shit hits the fan.  Turns out the test scoring place did get the message I left them late last week and, who knew!, they are still looking for emergency scorers for their writing project -- on Wednesday.  Well, there goes working another U. experiment and seeing my shrink.  And there goes waking up whenever the fuck I want to and adapting to my body's true schedule and doing whatever the hell I want whenever the hell I want.  Well, "doing whatever the hell I want" should be replaced by "finally getting around to doing the things I've needed to do ... although to be realistic I probably wouldn't be doing those things at anytime."  Bottom line is I have no more time.  I think I regret accepting this job.

And then, in a virtual response to my previous blog post, the other foot did come down.  Sunday night Mother told me to call her the next day, which I did.  She is coming home.  She doesn't know exactly when, but she gave me a date range of two weeks out.  I thank her for the heads-up -- now I'm not afraid that my parents will just show up at home -- but there is now a point where my dream world of living by myself is over.  And of course this sets off a tizzy of things that I'm not sure I'll be able to accomplish.  Stuff like:

• How am I going to get this house cleaned?  I still need a firm date so I can tell a stripper girlfriend when to come over.  But like I said before, what if she does a shitty job?
• What will I do with all the bags of papers I took out of storage?  I still haven't had time to get around to them, and with accepting work I won't have any time during the day.
• How am I going to adjust with another person living back here?  This may not be such a huge deal because, apparently, this time Mother is coming home alone, without Father.  Don't know why.  But this might mean that Mother is going to piss and moan about the house being too dirty, for one thing.

One of these disruptions happening yesterday would have affected me greatly.  It's just my fucking life that both of them happened on the same goddamn day.  I've already altered my plans because of this.  I decided to go to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place because it'll be the last time I can eat there at a weeknight; my new job begins Wednesday, so I'll have to sleep in early, and pretty soon after Mother will be home so I'll have no need to eat out.  (By the way, I decided to eat at a different place instead because I believe an asshole was eating at My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place.)  I had plans to visit strip clubs at night; now I'll have to choose which ones to go to.  Same thing with fancy restaurants -- I'll have to pick a couple before getting a daily dinner from Mother.

Shit, even my Tuesday, aka My Last Day Of Freedom, is not really free anymore.  Out of the blue, while I was about to pass out, I was woken up by a call from my shrink's secretary asking me if I wanted to see him at his other office today at 12:30, to which I said yes, stupidly.  I should have said no so I could start picking up around the house.  I do find it a bit funny that she actually solicited me for a session with my shrink.  Could it be that they want the money from my health insurance company for a visit?

I'll talk more about it over the next two weeks until Mother comes home.  All this time I was slouching around because I didn't know when the axe would fall, so to speak.  Now that I know, I'm slouching around because I know I have only so much time to do all the things I need and want to do before it's all over.

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

In a call that I had with her last week, she said not to worry about a letter that I warned her about because she would be back home in time to deal with it herself.  And that is the first indication of when exactly my parents will be home, thus ending my freedom of them not being in my hair while at home.

The time my parents unexpectedly came home to a dirty house last winter has permanently scarred me and continues to haunt me.  I now "expect" them to come home at a time of their choosing without them telling me.  Nevertheless I am trying to figure out when they're coming home by going on their e-mail and checking if they have received an e-mail from, say, Spirit Airlines confirming their reservation and reviewing their itinerary.  I'm always scared that they are trying to blindside me so they'll delete it as soon as they see the e-mail.  That's why even if I don't see any messages like that, I still believe they got it and erased it.

The house is a shambles right now.  Haven't cleaned anything besides the two toilets even once since they packed up and left.  The place has gotten so dirty that I see dust bunnies in the halls.  Even I think that the house is too dirty now.  I need to have one of my stripper girlfriends come over and clean it.  But that also creates its own problems.

First of all, there really is only girl I know will do the job right and do it for a good value.  But I don't know what the hell has happened to ***e*.  She's in the wind and/or might have her nose buried in cocaine right now.  If that's the case, I don't want her anywhere close to the house.  But that leaves me with a bunch of women who have done a half-ass job or those that haven't been here before.

Also, while I want to get the house clean, I don't want to get it clean way before my parents come home.  If that's the case, it'll just get dirty again, and if they do surprise me, they'll just yell at me for not keeping the house clean, like they did last year.  And if I do ascertain when they come home and it's a lot later than a time where I hire a stripper to clean my house, well, I would have to pay her or another dancer to clean it again, and honestly, I am cheap enough where I will try and get the house cleaned up only once before my parents return.  That means I need to time the hell out of this.  And that's why I hope to Buddha that not only will I know what the date of their return home is, but also have enough time after I find out to hire someone to clean before they come home.  No use knowing the date if it's the next day, or the day after that.

I just know I'm going to get screwed by them.

I Haven't Been The Best Driver Lately

OK, I think I should say this about myself, even though I don't really want to.

I had an enjoyable but long day and night.  In the afternoon I hung out outside TCF Bank Stadium before watching the North Stars-Blackhawks Alumni Game inside.  (I'll say it again: The Wild need to be called the North Stars.  That "N" skating around the ice?  Beautiful logo, and it brought a tear to my eye.)  As I hoped/suspected, the game was mostly on running time, so I had time to take a chance and light rail it to St. Paul and catch the championship game of the AA girls' hockey tournament.  (I was a dozen seconds late, and I would have seen the puck drop if my Doc Martens didn't set off the metal detector.)  Saw a thrilling game where Eden Prairie scored two goals only for Maple Grove to tie it before the Eagles scored the OT thriller as they enjoyed a 5-on-3.

Anyway, there was a lot of walking that surrounded all of it -- from the car to the stadium, then from the stadium all the way to St. Paul to the Xcel Energy Center, then from the X to the light rail station, then from Das Bank all the way to the car.  It was such a relief to get to my car that I almost ran over someone.

I'm setting this up as if I'm blaming it all on my exhaustion over the walking.  This is what happened: I drove out of my spot, which was alongside the street, and took a left.  All the while the humidity in the air laid down this film that was hard to wipe away with used-up wipers.  You know when you have damp, cool weather like this you get this dew on your windshield?  I had that, and I was defrosting my windshield as soon as I started the car.  I had a second left I needed to take on my way home, and I needed to slow down only just a bit because the light turned green almost as soon as I got to the intersection.  I look at the cars coming my way just to make sure they stopped at the intersection so I could go.

One problem: This is the U., and I forgot that this is Saturday, so college students are going to be walking around, such as the girl I almost ran over just as I hanging that left.  I saw her stop herself just in time to hear her say, "UH, EXCUSE YOU!!!"  I'm pretty sure she could see me in my dark cabin; I just put my hands up like, "Sorry!" and drove through the left and out of her way as fast as I could.

Yeah, I was tired from all the walking I did.  I also had to deal with the film in the windshield and the darkness.  Finally, I wasn't used to waiting for pedestrians to cross because I haven't been driving around the U. lately.  Oh, and one more thing: I don't think she would have screamed at me if she wasn't drunk, or at least if it wasn't a Saturday night and she thus wasn't, uh, keyed up for a night out.  What I'm saying is is that if this were, like, a Monday night and I did that, I think she may have looked at me incredulously, but that would have been it.  I make a point of pointing that out because I don't like getting yelled at.

But the bottom line is is that I screwed up.  I should have been paying attention, even with all the obstacles I had while driving.  And (I shouldn't really admit this either, but I'm putting it out there) this isn't the first time I've had a near-accident on the road lately.  I don't know if I've driven this badly just recently or for a long time, but I've noticed that I've had close calls cutting in front of cars while changing lanes, haven't paid attention to slower cars in front of me while I look over my shoulder before I change lanes so I've almost run into them, and generally speeding and slaloming around cars that I wanted to get around.  With all the guns that are around -- after all, this is America -- I'm surprised I haven't been shot on the road yet.  Not saying that is justified.  But I have to admit I could drive a lot better, and I hope to do so after this embarrassing incident tonight.

Expenses Without Receipts

Starting from Friday, February 19:

• After a long day that included going to St. Paul (and paying for parking -- ack!) to clear up just what in the hell's going on with my health insurance, I went to the Gopher women's hockey game.  I wanted to vacillate between that and the wrestling dual vs. Iowa St. just a football field away in Williams Arena, but it turns out that there are no in-and-out privileges, so I just decided to stick it out at Ridder.  Just so you know, the #3 Gophers routed #2 Wisconsin 4-0, and the Gopher grapplers absolutely crushed the Cyclones, 30-10.  I didn't think the wrestling team was going to triple Iowa St., so I kind of feel bad I didn't go there and watch a powerhouse program at least once in my life.  Hopefully they'll be back up here again, soon, and they (as well as the U.) will both be the lofty teams that they uncharacteristically are not this year.  Oh, and hopefully their meet won't be at the same time as the Gopher women's hockey team's very important tilt against an equally regarded team.  Hot dog, Coke, program equal: $9.25.
• Was on the Minneapolis version of the Eater website.  It had a map-infused listicle of donut shops around the Twin Cities, and it turns out one of their recommended ones resides in Dinkytown.  And it has ... well, frankly, the dumbest name I've ever heard of: Sssdude-Nuts.  It is pronounced with the first "d" silent, so I guess it is "soooooooooood nuts."  It's run by a really cool guy who seems to barely be out of graduating school -- high school, that is.  And it also has a cadre of really big donuts with some off-the-wall but musically-based names: No-Flex Zone, The Ladies Love Beyoncé, Old Dirty Bastard, and I Can't Feel My Face.  Got the latter two, and I have to say, those donuts are good.  Place is kind of funky too -- small, dirty, has a TV where you can play video games, and there's a chalkboard wall where you can write shit too.  It looks like a dorm, basically.  I want to support this small business because it represents the mom-and-pop heart of what Dinkytown used to be, and is trying rapidly to no longer be.  Plus tip: $6.
• Those adorned donuts are a bargain, to be honest, compared to Glam Doll.  But the donuts there are really good too.  Eating two types of donuts on the same night is overkill, but I wanted to compare and contrast, and I also wanted to just get out and work on my computer away from my house.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to do that because I stumbled upon a party and all the tables were taken, so I just sat on a couch and looked at my phone.  Looked at one of the girls working there too.  She's hot and spent most of the night gyrating to the music playing.  When you have a hot chick dancing and dancing well, man, there ain't nothing like it.  Made my day.  Had one donut because I was not hungry, the Varga Girl, and a pour-over coffee.  With tip the total was: $8.81.
• Go back to Thursday the 18th: While being on the dole, I am trying to limit myself to one big sit-down restaurant outing and one encounter of sexual activity per week.  This week's form of the latter came at a house party hosted by ****e, half-sister of ATF ***a*, who had a falling out with ***a* and decided to open up her own house to do a party for the first time ever.  It is very convenient for me because I live very close to her.  It's also good because she sucks my dick, though not as fervently as ***a*.  Wanted to stay around because *a****, a girl I've wanted to get down with for some time was there.  She's friends with ***e*, and I wanted to know what the hell is up with her.  But she disappeared into ****e's bedroom once she and I came out of it and was there until I left.  So it was one VIP and a, gulp, $20 cover.  I want to have another congress with her, but damn, $20 just to get in offends my principles.  Total: $140.
• Oh ... I have picked up a dime, nickel and penny recently.  Don't remember the exact dates nor the exact places where I found them.  I am just going to note them here, if it's all the same to you.  An Infusion of: 16 cents.
• On Monday the 15th, my last day of work, people there bought pizza -- greasy good pizza -- and so I had to buy Coke for myself to go with it.  There seemed to be a miscommunication here; last week a different department said they were going to get pizza and Coke for me, but on Monday morning what I would consider my supervisor said she would.  When I told her about this department's plans, she said she'd talk to them.  Apparently she overruled them, which meant no free pop.  Well, shit: $1.92.
• Go back to Friday, February 12, where I finally -- finally! -- got a handjob from *****a, a Marilyn Monroe look-alike that I only hoped in my wildest dreams that she would get down and nasty.  And my Buddha, she did!  I had to buy Girl Scout cookies she brought for her daughter as a thank-you.  Got a couple other dances from *****a and this new Egyptian chick named ******e.  The latter chick was a friend of *e*****, who invited me to this party.  When I got a $20 dance from ******e she unexpectedly took out my dick.  "I want to see it!" she said, and I totally believe her, and that's why I got so hard!!!  I'm so getting more sumpin'-sumpin' next time!  By the way, ironically, *e*****, the ATF who invited me, was the only one of the four strippers working that party that I didn't pay to get a dance from.  Total: $204.
• Celebrated from my successful night out by hanging out at Glam Doll afterward.  Two donuts, slow-pour coffee, tip: $11.
• On Wednesday the 10th I had oatmeal at work: $1.60.
• I then took a break from work around lunchtime and went back down to the cafeteria in case I wanted to eat something.  Turns out I did; the caterer had their version of King Cake in celebration of Mardi Gras.  Well, I had to celebrate Mardi Gras, too, so I bought a piece: $4.07.
• OK, from here my EWR goes back to Monday, February 1.  Either I have receipts for everything I bought or I didn't buy anything these nine days.  Pizza at work: $3.10.
• Got pissed that there was no coffee in the pot I usually get my coffee from.  And I still didn't want to get coffee from those push pots where you squeeze the coffee out because I usually got coffee grounds in my cup.  (I should add that oftentimes I wound up getting coffee grounds when getting a cup of coffee from the pot, too.)  So I went back down to the cafeteria to purchase coffee: $2.13.
• That evening I had this tremendous urge to eat out because of the huge snowstorm the next day.  I had a coupon for the Outback Steakhouse and realized that I have never been to the local one even though it's about ten minutes away.  And then, while looking online to see if they had a late night happy hour, they said they were offering a free Bloomin' Onion for each entreé purchased.  I've never had a Bloomin' Onion before!  So this was the time to finally go to Outback Steakhouse and see what this Bloomin' Onion I've seen so much on TV is all about.  And ... yeah, that's something you need to share.  I was so full I had to take home half of that, as well as the fries that came with the steak that was supposed to be the main course.  Duly noted for next time: Get either the onion or a meal, but not both.  With tip: $19.
• Sunday, January 31 ... The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships kind of slipped my mind, but I remembered in time and decided I would at least spend the championship session there, even though the drive was almost all the way to my route to work.  Really nice; should do it again.  Was so charmed by this uniquely Minnesotan team that I decided to buy a winter hat even though 1) it was $20 and 2) I was given a winter hat by Caribou for a quick taste test.  Yes, money just melts through my fingers like room temperature ice cream.  Had a Labatt Blue while watching the Open Division final, and there was controversy; one team was up, I think, 3-0 before the other team stormed back with two goals, but apparently there was a dispute as to whether the tying goal actually went in.  They said no.  Alas.  With tip for the beer and the total, I think, was: $6.
• On Saturday the 30th I went to the North Star Roller Girls bout at the State Fairgrounds.  Still a different atmosphere than the hotbox at MNRG.  Really cold, too; that would be perfect for the summer and the Minnesota State Fair, but hellish for the middle of winter.  I poured in the food -- a beer (with tip) and a Bavarian pretzel with cheese which, and I might be a little cynical here, I don't think actually came from Bavaria.  All told I spent: $15.
• And then I was still hungry after the bout so I went to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place for a chicken alfredo pizza.  With tip: $16.75.
• Friday, January 29, where I had both tuna hotdish and salad for lunch at work: $5.22.
• On Thursday the 28th Tiger Sushi, one of the great sushi places in town, held its monthly, uh, "residency," and since I was kind of afraid it would be my last time to try it while working there, I went for the ... well, I forget what kind of roll it was, but it was the most expensive one: $16.08.
• After work I waited out the crowd at Matt's Bar, where I had a Jucy Lucy for the first time since my alma mater's squash team was in town.  I vowed to eat here for dinner after work at least once before I got done with my assignment; that it was on one of my ways home demanded it.  That cheese is hot!  Damn, I needed to wait a few more minutes before eating it!  With a half order of fries and a beer, I think, and tip: $19.
• And my day wasn't done: I went to Caffetto to work on the Internet.  Had a really tasty (and sturdy!) Oreo mousse to go along with a hot chocolate.  With tip: $6.75.
• Wednesday the 27th: OK, I think I'm going to add these two expenses together.  Went down to the cafeteria for breakfast, and when I was checking out the cashier asked the person ahead of me if she (?) had a penny so she could round up her change.  She didn't, but I did, so the actual total for my "breakfast" turned out to be: $2.70.
• That evening I went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division).  Tips, Sprite and a lapper with Katie: $27.25.
• On Monday, January 25 I waited out the evening rush by eating at Qdoba at MOA.  Yep -- still bastard Chipotle, even with the contamination scares.  God, I spent a lot of money there for the chips and guacamole: $13.77.
• Sunday the 24th ... went to Burger King for lunch because I had a coupon: $3.21.
• To Friday, January 22, where I went to a party at ***a*'s place.  Finally got down with *a***, this Moroccan chick who may be 50 but looks very good for her age.  She gave me her number because she does massages -- well, "massage" -- too.  Didn't have much, uh, "energy" left for host *a***, but this time around she was so drunk and out of it we agreed on $60 and she gave me a few licks on my Tootsie Pop anyway!  Plus cover and it came out to: $170.
• Ah, shit ... went to Glam Doll and I didn't write down the final total.  See, what I usually do there is get one donut and pour-over coffee (you know, the slow, torturous, "artsy" coffee), then later I get a second donut a bit after I polish off the first one.  I wrote down what I was going to buy, but I forgot to type in the total (with tip) after I got done.  So I'll just pull a number out of the air: $13.
• On Wednesday the 20th I had a salad at work: $3.71.
• Then I actually went straight home from work.  Well, actually I went straight to the Noodles & Company that recently opened close to home.  Missed The Middle because of it, but that was OK.  Total: $8.07.
• After seeing all the shows I wanted to see on free TV I went back out, to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition).  Got a dance from two strippers, the black girl *a*** and the Kim Kardashian clone, *****a.  With tips and coffee: $49.75.
• Monday the 18th: Had beef-stuffed pasta shells for lunch at work: $7.23.
• Then went to The Melt Shop at the Megamall, and I told you how that shitshow went: $10.50.
• OK, Saturday, January 16 ... this was the time where I decided it was time to look at my club's finances.  I don't know how the hell this happened, but we were short $60 on our scholarship account.  That was money that should have been accounted for, but I don't see how I could have messed that up.  I know the chapter's finances have to be audited much better, but for this moment in the club's history, I am just going to throw in my money to make up the difference and be done with it: $60.
• Stored the following: Some crisp, consecutive dollars; some Sacagawea gold dubloons; some newly minted quarters and dimes with nary a scratch on them; and two wheat pennies.  The total comes out to: $19.22.
• Went to the library to print out ... something.  A Groupon?  Total: 10 cents.
• And somewhere around the library I found a dime.  So the printout was free!  An Infusion of: 10 cents.
• That afternoon, before coming home to watch the Divisionals, I went to this place close by called Maxwell Street.  It used to be a Chris & Rob's before, I reckon, they realized that the location was shitty (seriously, I can't get to this place via the quickest way there; I would have to instead go south a couple blocks in order to be able to turn right onto its only true entrance, which is a huge pain in the ass) and sold it to these immigrants vying for a toehold toward the American Dream.  Nothing wrong with that; that's how my parents got to the point where they can travel around the world in their retirement.  But when I get a coupon that gives me two dollars off, I shouldn't expect the total I pay to be just about equal to the actual cost of the meal without the discount.  Which it was.  Man, I don't understand why these guys had to screw me.  I even went up to them to ask whether they took out the two bucks, and they said that the, like, cheese I asked for was extra, even though they didn't tell me it was.  Lesson learned: Do not go to Maxwell Street because they will fuck you over.  I consider this a price to pay for learning these guys are shady: $9.08.

Done through Friday, February 19.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Timberwolves (Last Week: -2).  You know what?  I'm going to throw out all my usual criteria.  For this week, I'm really not going to look at the records.  Instead I am going to give credence (or at least some credence) to what I think the ... how you say ... the psyche of the team and the relationship to its fanbase.  If you look deep enough, much more important things are going on with a team beyond its record.  That may usually be the case, but this will be a week (and probably the only week for a long, long time) where I actually pay more than lip service to it.

What do I mean by that?  Well, last week I said that I won't be talking about the Timberwolves because the only thing happening this screening week was the All-Star Break.  Yeah, well, fuck that, because a lot of Timber Puppies did a lot of good things.  Enough good things, in fact, that I think they had the best week of any local club.

First, Zach LaVine, a first-round pick many (including me) thought was going to be a complete bust, has popularized his own maturing game Friday by winning the Rising Stars Game (the, I think, rookies vs. second-year players game).  Then on Saturday, big man Karl-Anthony Towns (which, it should be said, seems to be progressing more in his game than Andrew Wiggins is in his) surprised everyone by winning the Skills Competition, the end of which entails nailing a three-pointer.  Finally, LaVine outdueled Orlando's Aaron Gordon to win what many call The Best Slam Dunk Contest Ever ... or at least since 2000 (aka Vince Carter's Announcement Party), if not 1988 (Jordan and his free-throw dunk over Dominique Wilkins).  I was vacillating back and forth at the community center over whether or not I wanted to stick around to watch or to go home, shower, clip my nails before midnight and watch Saturday Night Live.  I did the latter, and I was convinced to do so as soon as I saw there was a package for Gordon before he started the contest.  I don't know remember whether the Slam Dunk Contest even got done before I had to leave the center at 10, but from the looks of it, I missed a lot, and I regret.  (Also, not to shade LaVine or anything, but for that Toilet Seat Dunk alone, I think Gordon should have won.  Props to LaVine, though; in his acceptance speech, he gave absolute dap to Gordon and noted how they both brought their game and revived the relevance and the spectacle of the Slam Dunk Contest.  If LaVine vs. Gordon becomes a milestone for this contest, LaVine understood its importance at that moment, and how he couldn't have done it without such a worthy competitor.)

I can't believe it.  As astonishing that a team with this much talent has won only 17 games (and you might have to put the blame on that on Sam Mitchell), I have look and compare and contrast the fortunes of the Woofie Dogs with that of the other pro team in the area, the Wild (which, spoiler alert, appears at the very bottom of the WMNSS).  Before their seasons began it was the Mild who had all the high hopes and the Timberwolves who needed to prove all the naysayers wrong.  Seems that, in a minor way, the shoes are on the other feet -- that it's the T-Wolves that may finally have gotten their shit together while the Mild have not proven to be the scrappy, professional crew its fans perceived them to be.  This has become Bizarro World, essentially.

They get back into the swing of things with an excruciating back-to-back tonight (Friday night) at Memphis followed by a home game Saturday against New York.  They then host Boston on Monday before visiting Toronto Wednesday.

#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -4).  This team was in a no-win situation.  Lose even one game in their series at woeful Ohio St. and they can pretty much kiss their at-large chances goodbye.  That didn't happen, although both games were one-goal affairs and Justin Kloos had to score in Overtime to give the Gophs the 5-4 win on Friday.  (Kloos had two goals and two assists for the weekend, as did teammate Hudson Fasching; thus, Kloos was named the B1G First Star and Fasching the Second Star Of The Week.)  Unfortunately, they did just what was expected of them, therefore the squad gained no ground in the PairWise rankings.  All they have right now is the technical league in the regular season, which counts for diddly squat because the automatic bid is awarded to the tournament winner.

Wow.  This is a weird time to have a week off.

#-3: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -5).  As shitty as this team and this season is, there is one thing I regret that I didn't emphasize enough: Moral victories are pitiful to hang your hat on, but seeing this club do it time and time again does prove that the players are playing for their Head Coach.  The results mean very little when it comes right down to it.  But in the middle of what turned out to be a 14-game losing streak the players easily could have quit on Richard Pitino.  Instead, they fought hard, then played a competitive first half, then led until late in the second half.  They are competing, and you only have to look back to last week to see how ugly it can get when the players decide not to compete (see below).

They lost by seven points at home vs. Indiana.  They lost by five at Michigan.  They took Illinois to OT at The Barn before giving way.  They were there late before losing by four to Purdue, also at home.  They almost got the Hoosiers in Bloomington before losing by six.  They fell to Michigan at Williams Arena by eight.  And finally, on Valentine's Day, they hung around before losing at fourth-ranked Iowa by four.  There is a significant talent deficit they faced against all of their teams.  Michael Rand of the Star Tribune noted that of the six recruits in Pitino's 2014 class (his first full one), three of them left the team and two of the remaining three stay glued to the bench.  But the scrubs that are still with Pitino at least work hard.  "At least" can be a virus of mediocrity if used long enough.  But it's correctly applied here.

And, surprisingly, all those close defeats finally motivated this team to win for the first time in conference play and for the first time since December 16.  And they did it by beating the sixth-ranked team in the country.  WHA'??????????????????

Yeah, whodathunkit?  But Jordan Murphy (17 points, 11 rebounds) helped the U. race out to a commanding lead at halftime.  The Terrapins reeled them back, and even led late in the game.  But the Gophers made their free throws at the end and outlasted Maryland, 68-63, to finally get that "0" off of the B1G win column.  People say that there is no dominant basketball team this year, and I think this game is a big sign of that.

This club was supposed to pop their Big Ten win cherry at Williams against Rutgers Tuesday, but now their actual goal is getting their first winning streak since late November.

#-4: Gopher softball (Re-Entry!).  The problem with the softball and baseball programs (BTW, baseball begins its season today [Friday]) is that since they always begin their season away from, they are out of sight, out of mind.  The softball team started off last weekend in Vegas, where they started off the Sportco Kickoff Classic with a three-game winning streak (including a 1-0 win over Top 10-ranked Oklahoma) and followed that up with a two-game losing streak (most disconcerting of which was a 13-2 rout by unranked Long Beach St.).

Still, they began the season ranked in the Top 20 in all the softball polls I can see, and even after their 3-2 tournament they are still ranked in the Top 20.  They will be a contender in the B1G, maybe battling with Nebraska to be second-best in the conference, with Michigan considered head and shoulders the class of the league (and, in fact, ranked second nationwide).  Pitcher and Third Baseman Sara Groenewegen will lead the team for one final year; she easily is one of the 20 best Pitchers in top-flight softball.  The rest will do their best to pick off the dregs of the league while trying to fight off the Cornhuskers and the Wolverines for Big Ten supremacy.  (Looking at the schedule, though, the Gophers don't play Michigan.  They will, however, host Nebraska for three.)  This weekend they participate in softball's version of the B1G/ACC Challenge in Tallahassee, Fla.  They play Virginia Tech this (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, then play two against ranked Florida St. tomorrow (Saturday) evening and Sunday afternoon.

#-5: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -1).  Rachel Banham is going to go down as one of the best women's college basketball players in University of Minnesota history.  I didn't truly understand or appreciate her scoring prowess until Mondays' Pink Game against Iowa.  The Hawkeyes really controlled the game early, especially down low, where the U. had absolutely no answers.  It took Banham all she could to keep the deficit at halftime to ten points.

In the second half, however, the U. started to battle back.  I don't understand why the Hawkeyes didn't keep pounding the rock inside; Minnesota got their hands up and stole the ball a lot more after half, but Iowa still had a height advantage.  (Oh yeah; I should add that the Hawkeyes had a huge edge at the free-throw line.  I think the U.'s first charity strip attempts came in the fourth quarter.)  Anyway, the U. stormed back to make it a game late.  A free-throw miss (the only one by either team that evening) was followed by a lay-up by Iowa's Ally Disterhoft to give the Hawkeyes a 76-75 lead.

You'll see that lay-up in the video below. Anyway, with eight seconds and no Time Outs left, Banham did this:



Banham, in case you didn't know, has already scored more points than legend Lindsay Whalen.  The reason why she will not get the legacy Whalen does is because she hasn't had as successful a tournament career as Whalen.  Not only has Banham not gotten to the Final Four (and sadly she won't this year, her final year; more below), she hasn't even won a tournament game yet.  That will obscure how damn good she is; as of Monday's buzzer-beater, she was only 79 points away from scoring the most points in a career in Big Ten women's basketball history.

That victory gave them four in a row and eight-of-nine.  Still, bracketologists don't believe Minnesota has much of a chance of making the Big Dance.  Their RPI is too low; they didn't have a challenging non-conference schedule, they lost too many of those games, and the club hadn't faced the most challenging teams in the league yet.  That four-game gauntlet began last (Thursday) night in Indiana ... and they got spanked, 93-79.  No, it's not looking good now.  But hey, at least Banham scored 29, so she has, what, three games to get the 51 to pass Kelly Mazzante of Penn St. and get the all-time record?  She'll chip away at that at Michigan St. Sunday and then home for her final-ever game at The Barn, Wednesday against Ohio St.

#-6: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -3).  Kind of thought that after winning consecutive bouts on the road they may have figured things out and could beat ranked Illinois at Illinois.  Uh, no.  Each team took five matches, but the Goofers' one Major Decision was outmatched by the Illini's two Majors, and one Technical Fall, so the U. lost 19-16.

They finish the regular season with a non-con game against Iowa St., which also is having a down year, at the Sports Pavilion.  I usually would absolutely go because of the attraction of a non-conference team, and one as decorated as the Cyclones.  The more think about it, the more I really do want to go to the dual, which starts at 7:30.  But at 7 there is another game featuring an opponent with seemingly equal skill to the U.: the women's hockey team, ranked third in the country, play Wisconsin, ranked second in the country, at Ridder starting at 7.  The Badgers have been the better team, but the Gophers recently got back Amanda Kessel; could she be the difference?  So shit, what to do?  You know, the Pav and Ridder are within walking distance to each other, and I think I can get in free to both games.  Maybe I'll just spend this evening going to both.

#-Infinity: Wild (Last Week: -6).  Last week I rhetorically asked, "Will Yeo survive this?"  Well, the answer is no, although the answer could also be, "Forget it, he didn't really even make it to this."

Apparently, Saturday's 4-2 loss at home to Boston was the final straw, and Head Coach Mike Yeo was fired late that afternoon.  And I guess the players got their wish.

Maybe some other time I'll talk about how I see head coaches of sports differently.  Let me say that in the end, I doubt any of us will ever really know how and why Yeo got shitcanned.  I for one can't completely discount nor totally believe the reasons that have been thrown out there.  One reason in particular sounds contradictory to me: That he was favoring the veterans over the youngsters.  If that's the case, how come it looks like that the veterans on the team quit on Yeo, and in fact even some of them passive-aggressively sold out Yeo during postgame interviews?  If he was favoring the vets, you'd think they would be more publicly supportive of him.  Is it because he wasn't able to get through to the young talent?  Well (and I'll get into more of this later), they showed this week they still have talent, so that opens up the possibility that it's the player or, if they really aren't as good as the contracts they have signed indicated, the General Manager, Chuck Fletcher, who definitely is on the hot seat now.  And I always hear something to the effect of, "Sometimes you need a new voice in the locker room because the old voice just falls on deaf ears."  I still have no idea what that means.  Joel Quenneville has been coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for the past seven years, more than two more than Yeo, and apparently they still hear his voice.  So is it really on the coach, or is it really on the players who should just be professional because they signed contracts for a lot of money to just fucking play?

That's where I'm leading to this.  Now that the Mild have won three in a row under Interim Head Coach John Torchetti, it seems more and more obvious that the players could have played better but didn't.  The prevailing wisdom when it comes to the fanbase is that you need to win.  Since they are winning now, the fanbase should be happy.  But you know what?  I'm not sure about that.  I think there are a lot of people who did not like that this squad lost eight games in a row and 13-of-14 ... and in fact had their negative feelings about this team confirmed with their three-game Prairie Provinces sweep this week.  To them, it showed that they were being petulant, if not childish.  They just wanted Mike Yeo gone, and therefore were going to dog it to the point where they would imperil their chances of making the playoffs this year until Fletcher and Owner Craig Leipold had no choice but to fire him.  They did, now they're all happy-clappy and they will start playing again.  And I think that pisses off a lot of Wild fans, to the point where they cannot support these players unless they win the whole thing.  I'm serious about that conclusion.  And that's why I'm giving the Mild a midseason -Infinity.

Again, we'll never know what happened in the locker room.  But work with me on this: If Mike Yeo was such a bad person that players would rather quit than play for him, why hasn't any of the leaders on this team -- Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu -- just fucking say so?  I don't know how a player can throw Yeo under the bus without making himself look bad.  But I tell you this: Without any definitive proof that Yeo was somehow either an idiot or an asshole -- John Tortorella losing his mind and going after the Calgary locker room after a game is the kind of suicidal mistake I'm thinking of -- the fanbase is looking at any empty space for a narrative.  So, to figure out what the hell happened and who to blame, they look at Yeo, see that he's taken them to the playoffs three straight years, beaten a first-round opponent the last two years, shepherded a team through a mid-season swoon the past three seasons, and general was a stoic, hard-working man who always took responsibility.  Minnesotan qualities.

And then the fans look at the players, who were on the ice for those three mid-season swoons, and who ran into the Chicago Blackhawks last year and got swept, and then stopped winning after the New Year.  They look at the contracts people like Matt Dumba and Nino Niedereitter and Jason Zucker signed and see that they weren't producing as soon as the ink dried.  They also look at Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville not score.  (And they remember seeing both layabouts sign contracts even with the reputation of not being team players and the fans cast a side-eye at Fletch.  Fair point.)  And then they finally look at Koivu and Suter and Parise and they're not living up to their contracts.  Unless someone has the guts to go to the media and say something like, "Mike Yeo was not a good coach for us, and here's why," what is the fanbase supposed to think other than a good man was fired just because people didn't like him?

So I don't think it matters that the Wild are now on a winning streak.  I don't know if Torchetti, who was promoted from his job as HC for AAA Iowa, is the guy.  I think the players are playing now that it's "Not Mike Yeo."  All I see (and I think a lot of people agree with me) is a bunch of babies who didn't do their jobs because they wanted to cashier some dude who did nothing wrong except try to do his job.  And I don't think fans want to reward what they consider to be unprofessional behavior just now (and I can't believe I'm saying this) that they've won three games in a row.  And, honestly, I think this is permanent.  This is a fatal blow for fan relations, and it won't be repaired until nearly every single person on that team leaves.  I'm serious about that.

So I'm going to Sunday's outdoor game against Chicago.  Paid a pretty penny, but at least we'll have semi-decent weather.  I wonder what kind of reception this team will get.  If they win, will everybody be back on the bandwagon?  Honestly, though, I kind of want to see the team lose.  I want to see how many fans, if any, turn on the team -- not just for losing such a big game to a rival, but also for thinking they can beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions after they got their coach fired.

Oh, they also play the Islanders at the X and go to Philadelphia this week.

Well That Was A Fucking Disaster

Just got done with my phone interview and, well, it looks like I'm back on the temp wheel for, well, the rest of my goddamn life.  I don't prepare because I don't know what questions the interviewer might ask me.  I'm just hoping that she has a predisposition to just hiring me on before we start.  That didn't happen, and so I got pantsed, as usual, when I know my answers are not what she wanted to hear.  Specifically she wanted to know what kind of software I was familiar with.  I forgot what I worked with at the flu billing place, and I think I blurted out some bullshit name.  Also she wanted to know whether I had experience taking conference calls, and like an idiot I told her the truth, which was no.  Hey, I thought I was just going to be banging on a computer eight hours a day -- whoever said I had to, like, talk to people besides my co-workers?  Ew!  Should've lied.

Want to know how I knew this didn't go well?  I was told by the interviewer that the interview was going to last 20-30 minutes.  I checked my phone as soon as the call was over -- I was interviewed for only 13.  Waah-waaaah-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. ...

I'm going to be a temp until the day I die.  Lurching from one job without benefits to another -- that'll be my life, won't it?

It Was Groundhog's Day At The Local KFC

Man, I wish I had blogged about it while it was still on.

OK, so the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (there is a closer one, but my friend, who was working fast food in high school, says that that one is dirty; they've remodeled in the past year, so maybe it's different now) a couple years ago, I think, spiffed up its room.  They had a jukebox where it appears as though you could spin an old 50s or 60s record for a quarter, or something.  They also put up a few flatscreen TVs where they would show what appears to be special, only-for-KFC programming called "The Bite," which may be the worst name for anything you can see on a television-type screen since TruTV.  It was a rapid-fire series of celebrity gossip, clips of music videos, previews of new movies, showcases of new gadgets, trivia questions where you can text in your answers, and promos of what's new on TV.  I remember specifically a teaser piece of Allegiant.  Or is it Divergent?  Guess it's Divergent ... you know, the first movie in that series.  They also had a somewhat long commercial for NBC Sports' coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which was held in February 2014.  So while you're eating you get to watch that.  Oh, and keep track of the time and temperature, both of which were put on the screen during the rest of the programming.

Not a bad idea.  It's something to actually look at instead of staring blankly against the wall, although it may have been just in front of the advent of everyone using their smartphones while doing everything including eating.  But you would think that this programming would be, you know, updated.  That the new promos for movies of the latest music videos would replace the ones before it, right?

You would be incorrect in believing in such common sense.  I went into this KFC once in a while since, and every time when I sat down to eat and look at "The Bite," I saw the same goddamn thing.  It was the same text questions, the same music video clips, the same gossip ... and they kept plugging Allegiant the Winter Olympics.  In fact, when I was at that KFC last month they were still showing it.  The fucking Winter Olympics was almost two years ago and they were still promoting it.  What the fuck?!

Obviously something happened, and my thought is someone with KFC came to his or her senses and thought, "Wait, why the hell are we paying for programming when we're just a chicken store and everybody will be playing on their phones?" and pulled the plug on it.  An indication of that may have been the time and temp readings.  At an early point in "The Bite"'s life, those things did not update.  Guess that the programming had been plugged into a worldwide network that automatically updated those two pieces of information based on location, and when that connection was severed, well, that's the reason there were dashes where the time should have been.  It struck me as funny, however, to see that for the current temp, today's expected high, tonight's expected low, and the extremes for tomorrow they showed the glitch, "NaN°"

As I kept eating there and seeing this shitty programming on loop I wanted to do something.  I never had the balls to talk to one of the guys who worked there and say, "Hey -- what's with the TV, man?"  To see the same damn thing over and over again ... that has to damage you psychologically.  Once back in the fall I tweeted KFC letting them know that one of their franchises was stuck showing two-year-old promos.  Never got a response.  When I tweeted that I wanted to blog about it here, but I was scared that if I did both at the same time Kentucky Fried Chicken would know my real identity on Wailing And Failing and thus out me here, and so I wanted to wait to put them on blast through a different medium.

Well, it might be too late.  I went in there yesterday (Wednesday) for lunch and the TVs were turned off.  I don't know if they're off because "The Bite" finally went completely off closed-circuit TV or if the workers there went so crazy with seeing the same shit for two years that the manager or owner just shut the sets off.  (Maybe they shut them off because of my tweet!  Maybe not.)  Honestly, I wouldn't've minded seeing the promotions for the Winter Olympics again, more than two years those Olympics were held.  Oh, well.  It was one of those weird things that might have made the news if they kept showing the same crap for another year or so.

Stuff I'm Giving To Goodwill Today And Why

• Dark blue jeans, 30x30,  from this label called Northwest Blue, which (and I just looked this up) is a generic brand for Sierra Trading Post.  This is one of those pieces of clothing Father buys for me on occasion.  I know I wore them at least a few times, but when it was its turn in my pants rotation, I couldn't button it because the waist was so tight.  Maybe this is an indication I need to lose weight, but I seem to recall that there was one week where the pants I was wearing was so tight that my abdomen really started to hurt.  I am guessing those were these jeans.  Nothing wrong with them, although they are a bit out-of-fashion, they just don't fit me anymore.
• Khaki/Beige shorts, 30 waist, "Hudson" kind, from the Gap.  Also nothing wrong with them, no rips or holes or anything, but they too became too small for me.
• This black-and-white-checkered pajama pants from Croft & Barrow, another piece of clothing my parents bought for me.  Have to throw these away because the elastic band has become old and unelastic.  I stretch it out and I hear the waistband crunch, you know?
• The light grey BVD sweatpants; it's supposed to tighten with the white string loop in the front.  In the ass part there are several small holes and the fabric back there is thin enough where you can readily see through it if you put it up to the light.
• These blue silk pajama pants with the psychedelic patterns on it.  I think my folks got it from The Store.  Love these pants, especially when it gets hot in the summer.  But it was getting too small for me, plus there's a huge hole around the from-under-crotch area.
• Pair of black socks that have huge holes at the heels.
• Pair of white socks that have huge holes at the heels.

Haven't Broken My Routine, Yet

So the plan for the first day of "funemployment" was to sleep in till about 9:30, at which point I would wake up to listen to Charlie Pierce on The Stephanie Miller Show while I loll around in my bed.  After Miller is over, at 11 o'clock, I would get up and shovel off the back deck.  That would make me tired enough to sleep, although checking out the Internet and maybe playing Mafia Wars would be an option.  I might listen to The Common Man, specifically the results of the four matchups in the Preposterous Statement Tournament, if I wasn't tired.  Then, at either 3 or 4 I would catch a movie -- either Spotlight or, finally, Star Wars VII.  Then I can finally get home and watch Hollywood Game Night for the first time this season.  I can catch up on chores after HGN is over, or I could be very enterprising and work out.  Either way I can stay up late surfing the Internet and go to sleep at my body's natural time, which is, hopefully, 5.

That didn't happen this morning.  Because my body is used to waking up around 7 to go to work, I woke up at just before 7.  Should have known.  I tried going to bed, but I knew my body rhythms were going to get me up.  So after taking the time to apply for unemployment I am at a local coffeehouse, where the barista I've known for upwards of a decade still works.  This is the place I go to in the morning when my parents think I'm going to work.  And, to be honest, this is the place I go to when I'm up mornings when my parents are not here.  In other words, I am doing the things I usually do when I'm not at work.

Guess I have slipped back into my routine, in a way.

Hot, Stupid Babes

I have a lot of Facebook friends I really don't know, but I saw their pictures of them in bikinis and I thought, what the heck, why not be Facebook friends with them?  I get shot down a lot, but I have gotten more than my fair share.  In fact, I'm sure that more of my friends on Facebook are just hot babes on the Internet than just actually friends.

It's my pervertedness that makes me tolerate their politics, which are not just Republican, not just conservative, but oftentimes wrong, crazy, and a bit racist.  But lately, with the elections coming up this year, the invective and dumb opinions have been flying at a rate that even I can barely tolerate.

What may be the final straw is this post I saw this morning/afternoon where one babe, whom I think I befriended because she's a bodybuilder and I find bodybuilders hot, openly stated this conservative conspiracy that's spreading through the air like the damn Zika virus: Associate Justice Antonin Scalia didn't die of natural causes, he was killed by President Obama.  Well, not by Obama's own hands, but he hired people to do it.  I wanted to reply to her something to the effect of, "You really think this is true?" but 1) after going through the shit I did after voicing my opinion on Twitter I don't need more aggravation; 2) my face is on my profile, so if she or her husband and burly friends want to go after me, they can; and 3) well, she's hot, so I'll put up with her crap.

In fact, I think nearly all of the hot babes on I'm friends with on Facebook are Republicans, or at least delegitimize Barack Obama as President.  I don't know why that is.  Why can't there be hot, intelligent babes who think Barack Obama has been a kick-ass president?  I can count on one hand the number of hot babes I don't know who feel that accurately.  (By the way, of the friends on Facebook that I'm really friends with, nearly all of them believe Obama has been a great prez.)  It's like the hotter you are, the more racist you are.  And I don't like that.

Maybe I can endure all this until Election Day, but man, some of the women I want to see physically naked I have already seen metaphysically naked, and it is ugly.

God Bless Twitter And God Bless Twitter Trolls

Maybe I should've thought about it before I put down my thoughts permanently in cyberspace.  But man, I was provoked.

After Antonin Scalia died, the Communications Director for Right Wing Nut Job Senator Mike Lee of Utah, instead of doing the civil thing and stammering out some quick condolences for a conservative hero he would have fellated if he knew no one would ever know, took the occasion to bash our lawfully-elected President:

What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?

— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 13, 2016

Stay classy, Conn Carroll. Scalia's body hasn't even gone cold yet and you're already using it to trash-talk the black guy in the White House. Look, I'm sure many liberals whom Scalia considered inferior to him cheered the news, and that sure as hell isn't right, either. But that just means you're in the pig shit with them.

So, instead of biting my tongue and just observing my timeline, I decided I was going to stick my neck out and say something about all this hate. For too long the President has tried to govern only to be blocked by Republicans who didn't give even a thought to compromising for the sake of the country.  So I said so, and I tweeted it out.  And oh my God, there are so many stupid fucking Republican pieces of shit on Twitter that responded to me.  A few of them made some good points about Democrats blocking nominees when George W. Bush was in office, even though I responded by saying that Republicans in the Senate have already indicated they'll block any nominee Obama sends to them even before he picked someone.  Some of them are stupid for raising the lie that a President can't nominate someone to the Supreme Court while in the last year of his time in office.  The Constitution ensure that not only does a President have that right, he also has the duty to nominate someone so the Supreme Court can function with an odd number of justices.  Also, justices have been approved in lame duck years of Presidents in the past, the latest being Anthony Kennedy in Ronald Reagan's last year.

But it's the really idiotic tweets that make up the vast majority of the response to my reasoned, morally correct tweet.  Some of them referred to Obama as a Muslim smh.  And a lot of people said that it was in fact Obama that has been doing the disrespecting.  I have absolutely no fucking clue where these idiots get that from.  Well, besides their belief that Barack Obama has been "uppity" even when the majority of people elected him President twice.  Seems as thought the only way they would come around to Obama is if he personally supplicates himself to every single Republican in Congress, bows his head and says, "Yes, massa?" while making sure he never makes eye contact with them, and then gives those Senators a crazy conservative nominee to replace Scalia.  That is the only way bigots like the ones who tweeted me think Obama should be able to get a new Supreme Court justice before his term's over.  There's no use convincing them of facts and logic.  So I blocked them.  It's easier on the heart.

It was on Twitter where I found an adage, attributed to Winston Churchill, that may just be the saying I live my life on: "You have enemies?  Good.  That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."  You're going to piss somebody off no matter what you do, so why not say what you believe?  I should do that a lot more.

Return Of The Heartburn

OK, so just like Christmas morning, I threw up a little in my mouth again yesterday afternoon.  It was when I took a nap in the afternoon after waking up for EPL in the morning.  Should not have eaten the buffet; should have just settled for the breakfast sandwich instead.  I wasn't hungry enough for the buffet, and my stomach got so full that I just didn't have the, uh, stomach for the fruit or the caramel roll.  But I thought that since I was going to exercise some time during the day, I would have the, uh, stomach space to eat it all.  That wasn't true; I just gave myself GERD instead, again.

Got to stop.  But not before eating pizza at My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place in a bit!

A Sense Of Betrayal

Tell you what: Being a temp is getting old.  It really is.

I can't help but feel that the end of my job with these guys, a job that I really liked (traffic excepted), came too abruptly.  But I have to face these facts: I was initially told by my agency that this job would end mid-January.  But before then, we were told that we would be extended by a month, and yes, we were given an exact date.  That date is Monday, and we have been told that that is indeed it.

Technically, then, the carpet has not been pulled out from under me.  But goddammit, it feels like it was.  We were not given any reminders that February 15 was indeed our last day from the time we were told that we would be sticking around for one more month till, um, Wednesday, when I told that authority figure in the break room I wasn't quite sure if I and these other two dudes I work with were done.  And I will parse things even further: I still have not heard someone who is above me say, "OK, Monday is your last day."  Someone wanted to check up on what work we have left to do, and people have been offering to pay lunch for us, so the signs that we are done soon are there.  But I'll be honest, I want one person to say something to the effect of "February 15 is your last day."  And I'm still waiting.

Losing my job, but especially with everybody pussy-footing around the issue, has turned my mood around in a bad way the past couple of days.  We have had a run of sunny days lately, and the days are noticeably getting longer, both in the morning when I leave for work and in the evening when I leave work.  Usually my body responds to that by waking up easier and me feeling more refreshed.  Instead, I, being depressed over my impending unemployment, loll around in bed while I check out my phone.  OK, I check it anyways, but I do so now for longer.  So despite my best intentions of getting up and driving to work earlier (I had passing thoughts that I could shift my time up a half-hour because the sun is really low on the horizon on my way to and from work, dangerously so), I in fact have been getting out to my car later and later.  Have to face facts: I'm depressed that I won't have work anymore, so I find it hard to get out of bed.

Been feeling a bit hostile during work, too.  People at work, even the authority figures I relied on to tell me when my last day really is, have been really nice.  And it is for that reason that I'm trying to control myself and not blurt out my real feelings, where I would go up to one of them and say, "You didn't tell me I was going to lose my job on Monday, liar!"  Because they might want me back next season, and I would proudly go back.  And I might still find a job there, and I don't need them bad-mouthing me about me losing my temper that one time.  I have things at stake, still; this isn't a case where I can just leave this job and not worry about burning any bridges just because I'm just a temp.

Yet I can't shake the sense of betrayal.  Every temp job begins a chain reaction of changes I have trouble adjusting to and from.  I no longer have to get up in the morning, but my body then has to adjust.  I have to watch my budget, get on the dole, start counting my money.  Then I try to look on the bright side (I'm doing it already right now) and get to work on doing the things I didn't have time for when I was gainfully employed.  And then I slowly get used to my life in "funemployment" -- until that point where the money starts running out.  I stop musing about permanent jobs that I want to do and just send out feelers for jobs that'll hire me, regardless of length of time.   Then, eventually/hopefully, I land a job ... but that entails readjusting my body clock to get up in the morning, then getting back into a routine of doing things during a workday.  And that doesn't take into consideration all the questions that make me anxious.  Will I like the job?  Will I like the people I work for and with?  Will I fall asleep?  Can I listen to the radio?  Can I just have lunch whenever?  And, most important of all, when will I lose this job?  And the temp cycle continues.  (I will say, however, that there is still that test scoring project that begins next month.  I can subsist on the government teat for a month if I have to.)

When I was the man I was two decades ago being a temp was fine because my priority was not getting tied down to a job I might grow to hate.  But I'm old now, and I now feel like I've paid my dues and am entitled to things like a salary and a flexible schedule.  Maybe being here for four months gave me a false sense of security, maybe even delusions that I was going to a "real" job.  How foolish of me.  But fuck, I'll be back on unemployment again, and they could have -- could have -- been more ... sensitive about it.  Losing a temp job is getting tiresome; not -- well, I'll just say it -- having my hand held while I'm losing it only makes things worse.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -1).  You know, after this squad's 2-0 week, I have to give them props.

It's a shame that Rachel Banham's 60-point performance in helping her team squeak past Northwestern, 112-106 in double overtime in Evanston, Ill., happened on Super Bowl Sunday.  Because if it were any other day, it would definitely lead the sports segment on local TV and would've gotten at least some publicity on SportsCenter.  The Wildcats certainly aren't world-beaters, but neither are the Gophers.  I wonder how in the hell did Northwestern allow any player, let alone a Top 20 player in women's top-flight basketball, go off for 60.  Shit, you double-team her, like, a dozen times during the game and the 'Cats probably would win it.  Oh, by the way, the 60 points ties the record for most points scored by a player in a single top-flight women's college basketball game, first set by Cindy Brown of Long Beach St. in 1987.

And then they follow that up with an oh-my-fucking-God 110-73 shit-kicking of Nebraska at Williams Thursday and you have to say, hey, this team is pretty good.  Banham only notched 32 -- slacker.  But she got four other players to reach double digits, and the 110 matches the most the Cornhuskers have ever allowed in a single game.  Also, this is the first time in U. history that they've hit the century mark in back-to-back games.  And they didn't even need one OT against Nebraska.  Where did all of this prolific scoring come from?

So the club has won eight-of-nine and is now 17-7 overall and 9-4 in-conference.  That should put them into the tournament field, right?  No; Charlie Creme of ESPN.com and one other website I checked out still has the Gophers on the outside looking in, and it's not even close.  That's why the lead this survey but still receive a -1.  However, their trajectory is good, and they can improve upon their momentum this week.  They have the weekend off, which is rare for any team, but then get back onto the court with their Breast Cancer Game against Iowa Monday.  I should be there, mourning the last day of work at this current assignment (I'll tell you guys about it later).  They then visit Indiana Thursday.

#-2: Timberwolves (Last Week: -2).  In this survey week, all at home, they took two of three.  They outlasted a decent Chicago club, got off on the wrong foot vs. New Orleans and never recovered, and stayed one step ahead of Toronto, arguably The Second-Best Team In The Eastern Conference.  Add their surprise road upset of the Clippers on Wednesday the 3rd and the Woofie Dogs have won three-of-four.  They're not reaching the playoffs, again, this year, and I could be wrong.  But you might -- might -- look back at this week as the point where this organization started turning things around.

The points leader in all three games for the squad was Karl-Anthony Towns, who already seems like he "gets it."  Meanwhile, Tayshaun Prince did not start at Shooting Guard for the Wolves because he was in Detroit celebrating the Pistons retiring the No. 1 jersey for his teammate, Chauncey Billups.  In his place was Zach LaVine.  It was the first time LaVine started a game alongside Point Guard Ricky Rubio this season.  Wait ... you mean to tell me that a rebuilding franchise with so much young talent has started a grizzled veteran every single game?  I don't care if LaVine falls flat on his ass -- you start him with Ricky Ricky and you find out how good he is!  And by the way, he's turned out to be a pretty good player, as evidenced by the T-Wolves upsetting the Raptors.  This should be the point of the season where Prince (and, let's be honest, Kevin Garnett) firmly plant their behinds on the bench.  Their roles now are to verbally accost the young players into playing well together.  That is how the Timberwolves stop being embarrassments.  Although, to think pie-in-the-sky, that moment may have arrived this week.

This weekend is All-Star Weekend and the team is off until Friday, so we are dropping them from the WMNSS next week.

#-3: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -4).  Well, OK; color me surprised that the grapplers went on the road to play two teams last weekend -- a gauntlet I thought that this program, with its down year, would get plowed under -- and swept both duals.  Sure, it was in close fashion, 22-20 to Northwestern Friday, 17-16 to Wisconsin Sunday.  (The one-point margin of victory was provided by Brett Pfarr, who Technically Felled Nic Veiling at 197.)  They have won four-of-five -- a sign that things are turning around, perhaps, although it is much too late, I fear, to salvage this from being an uncharacteristically down year.  Nevertheless I now think they've got a shot to take out Illinois at Illinois tonight (Friday night).

#-4: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5).  This team remains too young and too raw to do nothing besides hang on in the lackluster B1G.  They split a home series against a vastly improving Penn St. program at Mariucci last weekend, thereby keeping these Goofers in a tie with Michigan for the top spot in the conference.  That keeps them off of the PairWise cutoff line; damn, that 5-3 loss to the Nittany Lions Saturday (one which, by the way, was the first for the Penn St. program on the road; they have now won in each of the other five opponents' arenas, which is a mini-milestone in its third full-fledged year as a varsity program) hurt.

Next up is a pair at Ohio St.  Three of their final opponents are the three have-nots in the Big Ten.  The upside is is that the U. should be favored to win both games.  The bad news is that if they so happen to lose, that'll damage their chances to get into the tournament severely.

#-5: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -3).  In their only game this week they lost at home Wednesday to Michigan, 82-74.  But hey, it looks like they put up a fight.  They remain winless in-conference and have dropped their last baker's dozen.  And they won't be getting off the schneid this upcoming screening week, either -- Sunday at Iowa, Thursday home to Maryland.  Good luck with that.

#-6: Wild (Last Week: -6).  Oh, fuck this team.  They get their asses handed to them in St. Louis, then drop a home game in OT to The Team That Was Stolen From Us (disgraceful!), then allow Alex Ovechkin to tally a Hat Trick against us as Ovie's NHL-leading Washington Capitals beat the Mild 4-3.  The calls for Mike Yeo's head get louder.   Now former Mild player (former player period) Zenon Konopka is piling on:

The Minnesota Wild have so much talent. All the pieces to be Stanley Cup champs- wasting years isn't fair to the players or fans #YeohastoGo

— Zenon Konopka (@ZenonKonopka) February 10, 2016

You know who else wants Yeo fired? Zenon Konopka's bunny:

I'm not saying Mike Yeo is a bad coach but change is due in Minny #YeomustGo pic.twitter.com/1GsdYh9lvt

— Zenon Konopka (@ZenonKonopka) February 10, 2016

This "club" has lost seven games in a row and twelve of their last thirteen.  This week they host Boston before going to the Prairie Provinces to take on Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.  Will Yeo survive this?

The End Of The End Of The End

So I still am not sure that I will be working at my current job beyond Friday.  Yesterday morning, while I was getting creamer for my coffee in the break room, one of the other authority figures (though not my direct authority figure according to the organization chart I drew up in my head) said, "So, they still have you around?"  That was my in to just lay out the situation (at least the way I saw it), to which she replied that she'll talk to the people who are in charge of us.

A little bit later one of my direct authority figures can to my cube.  Thankfully I was actually working at the time.  She asked me what I work I was doing, took half of the envelopes I was working on, and told me, basically, to keep on going but bear down a bit.  Now to me, whenever someone takes my work from me, that's a sign that they're slowing phasing you out of your assignment.  If there's no work for you, there is no reason for you to be there.

Finally, after my two co-workers strolled in for the day, she came back to ask all of us again what we are doing and have been doing.  Tomorrow (which is now today/this morning) she wants to see what papers are physically on our desks.

Obviously, I could be wrong.  But I will freely speculate one thing: She is tying up loose ends as quickly as possible.  In my view, that means I still will lose this job by the end of this week.

Maybe I should've jumped ship for the test scoring project after all.

Updates to come if there are any and if I can stomach it.