I'm Everywhere This Week And I Don't Wanna Because It's Too Darn Hot

It's hot out there.  Humid, too.  Just spent an evening outside at Allianz Field.  I checked my Weather application in the Second Half; the damn dew point was 71 degrees.  And this was past 9 p.m.!  It was so frickin' hot and humid out there I had thoughts that I wouldn't make it.  I did, and it helped that the Loons won their Leagues Cup Match over Necaxa, 1-0, on an unreal 16-Save performance by Dayne St. Clair in goal.  But it wasn't comfortable, by no means.

It's been steamy the past several days, and that is affecting what I want to do.  There were a couple concerts last weekend that I thought about going to -- Dawes on Friday, Big Head Todd and the Monsters Saturday, both in the western suburb of Plymouth -- but that was in an amphitheater setting, and I didn't think I wanted to spend several hours in the haze and the moistness of the outdoors.  A part of me thought I was being a wuss, but spending about three hours at the Match has convinced me I made the right choice eschewing those concerts.

Unfortunately, I have already bought a ticket to the Vampire Weekend concert for tonight/Wednesday night, the second of two nights in downtown Minneapolis for the band.  It's at the Armory (the old home of The Minneapolis Lakers), so it's indoors, but I still don't relish finding free parking downtown and then taking a long, long walk to get to the venue, let alone the long, long walk to get back to my car.  It'll help that I'll be returning to my car under cover of night when the oppressive Sun is beating down on me as I try to make it to the Armory, but the air is going to remain so thick it's not going to be that much of a relief.

It's impossible to predict the weather months out in advance, like I did when buying the concert ticket, but if I knew it was going to feel this soupy, I wouldn't've bought it.  Maybe the younger me would've been gung ho about going.  But I'm just not.  I don't think I can tolerate this type of weather now that I'm as old as I am.  (There's another wrinkle: Just saw the forecast on the rerun of the nightly news and there's a storm that will blow through here in the evening.  It looks as though it'll be done around here by the time Vampire Weekend starts their set.  I'll wait out the storm and head downtown when the coast is clear.  And if I miss a good chunk of VW, so be it -- I've already sunk money into the ticket.)

Add to it that I'm taking my parents to the airport tomorrow/Thursday morning and this would've been an ideal time to just get home from work and wrap myself in my bed until I have to get up in the morning.  I'm just so darn busy in the evening this week when I don't want to deal with this exhausting weather.  But I must, even if I'm dead tired when the alarm wakes me.

The Final Phase Of Training Begins, And Now, Maybe, I Should Go

My schedule is getting modified again.  Well, it's always getting switched around because people are taking days off.  But this month I am seeing one of the people who have the same schedule as me being trained in The Fourth Department for the first half of the next three weeks.  In some of the past several weeks I have worked The Fourth Department Tuesdays and Wednesdays then been in The Main Department Thursdays and Fridays, and some weeks have been vice versa.  But Mondays I have always been in The Fourth Department because I am the only one fully trained back there who works Mondays.  For at least the next three Mondays, I won't be there, because she will be training back there.

It always takes a while, but I am sure that this is the final phase of training for her.  However long it takes, by the times this round of training is done, I think she will be fully signed off on working The Fourth Department on her own.  That means that there will now be two people who work Mondays who can work back there.  Makes sense to have a back-up, sure.  But I'm still thinking about how my co-worker got the axe out of the blue from The Third Department.  The workload there now falls one person, and one person cannot do the job by her- or himself.  But the company apparently doesn't care.  And so that leads me to believe that they don't think they really need two people who can do the job in The Fourth Department on Mondays.

Maybe I'm being paranoid.  But I have thought that once my colleague is fully up to speed back there, I need to look out for myself because now, if the company truly wants to be cutthroat, there is no reason for me to be working there (meaning the entire company) any longer.  And really, why wouldn't they fire me?  I have snatched overtime here and there, even though I can honestly say it's because of work.  And yet, they can see I scour the Internet from time to time.  I don't think I have the greatest attitude.  Plus I've been around long enough that I'm making more money than some other people, so cutting me would be cost-effective.

---

Starting Thursday there is a new attendance policy that tightens up the leeway you get for being late.  I can see myself running so afoul of this policy that, according to the policy, I could get fired for tardiness.

There are multiple signs, my co-worker getting fully trained being the latest/last of them, that I should move on.  There are a lot of advantages to this job.  For example, when I have been looking for other work, I still have yet to find a full-time job where data entry is a key component.  This may be the only company in the state that has that.  But as much as I want to ignore it, there are a bunch of red flags that should compel me to move on.

And maybe I should.  And maybe I will.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: -3).  They've seemed to have had a lot of these kinds of screening Weeks, where they go 4-2 on the basis of winning both of their series.  This time it was against the team with the best record in the majors, The Philadelphia Phillies (albeit at home), and a not-awful Detroit Tigers squad in Motown.  Unfortunately, Cleveland (who somehow still has the best record in The American League) has matched the Twins' last 10, therefore Minnesota remains 4 1/2 Games behind the Guardians.  They are keeping ahead of Kansas City for ALWC2, but a Wild Card Series at The Bronx vs. The Yankees remains in sight.  Also, the Trade Deadline comes tomorrow/Tuesday at 5, and true to form, they're not going to go big in order to land the Starter everyone thinks they'll need to really contend (sigh)

They have a three-Game set in Queens against a vastly-improved Mets club starting tonight/Monday night, then host a Chicago White Sox outfit that may have sold everything that's not tied down by the time that series starts Friday.

#-2: United FC (Last Week: -2).  Yeah, it isn't league play, but I guess I'll cover it.  Startup journalism sites covering the Loons have also debated whether or not they will cover these Leagues Cup Matches, but for other reasons.  See, The Leagues Cup is a tournament devised by Major League Soccer in conjunction with Liga MX, the Mexican pro soccer league.  Since this is their baby, they are making their players play and devote more attention to that tournament to the detriment of the Lamar Hunt U. S. Open Cup, the century-plus-old tourney which encompasses every organized professional and semi-professional soccer club in a March Madness-style knockout format.  MLS has responded by allowing their teams to disrespect the Open Cup, even allowing (asking?) teams to only field their reserve players for Games in that tournament.  MNUFC was one of those teams, and in the spring those call-ups lost at Allianz Field to some lower-division team.  This money grab and slap in the face of history and tradition is not sitting well with pretty much every Supporters Group for every team in MLS.  They are boycotting these Leagues Cup Matches.  But when it comes up to pop-up sites in The Twin Cities, they are reasoning that they are first and foremost a source of journalism that covers all things Minnesota United, and so they are going to cover the Leagues Cup.

Now, whether the team shows up is also a good question.  To be fair, they held the Sounders to a stalemate for about 85 Minutes on Friday, but they allowed two Goals and got shut out, and so they have still never beaten Seattle in Seattle.  So, because groupings in the Leagues Cup are comprised of only three teams, the Looooooooons face a do-or-die contest at Midway against Liga MX Side Necaxa, which might be the youngest team in this competition.  And young might mean "spry" and "having nothing to lose."  And MNUFC, too often looking stodgy and unimaginative, might see their stay in this Astroturfed tourney end after Tuesday night.

Assholes Everywhere

Man, it must be the weather or something, because I am running into assholes today.

Got my car washed just now.  The guy who's getting his before me seems to be persnickety, exacting prick.  He was really riding the workers, telling them where to go and what to do.  At a couple points he actually took one of the tools they use, the air gun, and went to his car to blow some stuff out of it.  If I were working there and I saw that, I would absolutely lose it.  He then got into it with one of the co-workers; he first demanded that one of his floor mats gets washed instead of cleaned, to which the worker made him pay another two dollars.  Then, triggered by something I didn't see, this worker let this guy have it.  I think he said something to the equivalent of, "If you hate how we wash your car, don't come here ever again."  And then on the way out he was telling another guy to wipe down the inside of a couple doors again.  And it's not as if this a-hole had a Maserati or '60s muscle car or something.  He has an SUV.  With a baby seat in the back.  How precious is your car?

And right now I am at ... a coffeeshop I should be going to more often.  Maybe not on this day, however, because some creep just jogged down here, sat at a table kitty-corner from mine, and is playing these short videos with the sound up and with no headphones.  I hate people like that.  I'm trying to be loud and obnoxious -- coughing without covering my mouth, for example.  Haven't gotten this asshole to scram yet.

I am running into assholes today, but I am not the asshole.

Yeah, so many little regrets over yesterday ... first, I got to the party about 45 minutes late because I stayed for the "Race Of The Century," which turned into a coronation for Ariarne Titmus, who beat Summer McIntosh, both of whom left Katie Ledecky in the dust.  And I knew that probably would be the case because that is what many people were predicting would happen, and I should have listened to them, but I didn't, so that was why I was late to the party ... even though I was blog posting and looking up the lowest gas prices in town during the race.

Should've taken more pictures at the party, too, and better ones than the ones I took.  In particular I should've asked that all the new students get their picture taken together.  Then again, I didn't want to kill the vibe of the party and I didn't want to make the new students nervous.  The party is for them, after all.  Did they know I was taking pictures, and that I would be posting them on social media?  Should've asked that beforehand.  Maybe I would have had more authority and more initiative to take pictures if I had shown up earlier.  But since I wasn't the host, maybe it wasn't within my rights to show up first thing.  Also, would I have stepped over my perceived bounds if I just declared, "I am the picture taker!  Stand over there and smile, and I will post these on Instagram!"  And so I didn't.

So I'm going to a party now.  It starts at 2, and I think I should be there first thing, but I'm waiting for this "Race Of The Century," the women's 400-meter freestyle Final between Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh and Erika Fairweather.  Also, honestly, I'm not in a socializing mood.  I am daunted by needing to talk for three hours.  But if I don't, I think I'm not doing my job.

Hey, is that guy going to be there?  He might.  He might be there to apologize.  Or, he might be there to beat me up.

Well, the race is on, and after that, I have to go.

New Shoes (Again)

My parents shop for me from time to time, even though they not only don't know what I like style-wise, they probably don't know my size.  They haven't bought me pants in a long while, so maybe they've concluded that that might not be a good idea anymore.  But from time to time my folks have bought me new indoor shoes.  There isn't a particular type; they've gone from slippers to thongs to shoe-looking things and back again.  I kind of thought that Father wanted to buy me new indoor footwear because he was tired of hearing my footsteps when I walked around the top floor late at night.  But then he bought me these hard-soled thongs which I currently use.  He had to have known they were loud when he/they bought them for me.

Well, maybe he got tired of all the tap-tap-tapping he heard, because this week, after I came home, I saw not one but two new pairs of slippers.  As I usually do with all the new footwear they buy me, I didn't immediately adopt them.  I like my thongs, they have been doing the job for me for some time, and I saw no reason to change.  But then, out of the blue, one day Father asked me, "So, do you like your new slippers?" and because I want to please Father, I just said, "Sure!"  And then, out of guilt, I slipped them on.  And they're too big.  One pair is egregiously big, the other is only slightly big, but both are too big.

I don't know why they keep buying me wrong-sized clothing, but I'll just use them anyway.

My Boss Can't Set My Schedule Next Week Because My Parents Might Not Be Able To Pick Airplane Seats

I'll let the cat out of the bag: My parents are going on safari starting on Thursday.  That obviously entails taking them to the airport, which I will do in the morning and for which I have already asked my boss if I could come in late.

Unfortunately there is another thing that my parents, or at least My Mother, wants me to do for them: Pick out seats.  I'm guessing that the same process applies to all airlines -- you check in before your flight online and, assuming you didn't pre-pay for a seat (and I always think that's a ripoff), that is when you select your seat.  I usually don't care all that much.  Besides, in my estimation (and this is usually through Southwest, even though I just saw that the airline is doing away with open seating, which is a stupid idea), when you check in, half of the seats are already taken by people who decided to pay to cut in line and pick their seats.  But my parents care.  Don't know if this is a new way of thinking, but at least their second flight (they technically fly from here to Canada and then to two stops in Africa) is long enough whereby they want to pick their seats to prevent getting crappy ones.  They're old, you see.

Now, I just assumed they've picked seats at online check-in before.  But for some reason -- my guess is Mother is panicking, which scares me because this is no damn reason to get anxious -- they either don't know how to do it or don't trust themselves to be able to do it.  And so they want me to do it.  This particular airline (and maybe it's because it's an international flight) allows you to check in 48 hours in advance.  Assuming I correctly accounted for the time zone difference, my parents can check in as early as a quarter to 10 on Wednesday.  I would be at least a couple hours into my shift at work.  But they still want me to help them open their computer, type out the airline's URL, punch in their confirmation number, and pick the seats for them.  Forget how people younger than boomers should be able to figure this out; this might -- might -- be a ten-minute ordeal.  But I might have to orient my entire day around this, and them.

Oh, and on top of this?  They might not even be able to pick seats.  They obviously booked their safari through a tour company, so it's possible that the tour has parcelled out seats already.  Do I know for sure?  Nope.  Mother is complaining that Father should be in contact with the tour company about whether seats are assigned.  But I have no idea if he has even talked to them, let alone whether the tour company has pre-selected seats for them.  If they have, I assume my folks can take care of the check-in process (and it's possible the tour company will check them in for them), and that means I won't have to stay home to help them.  But if the tour company is leaving tourists to do it themselves, that means I have to do this shit.  And since it's at least a couple hours into my normal workday, it's possible I might have to take the whole goddamn day off.  Just to help my parents pick fucking seats.

I raised this issue with my boss, and maybe I shouldn't have.  My original line of thought was to ask to come in a couple hours late both Wednesday and Thursday.  Then, after not getting a clear signal one way or the other as to the check-in/seat-selecting process for Wednesday, I had to convey that to my boss.  He then said it might be easier if I am scheduled a couple hours later than usual both dates.  That's when I had to remind him that Wednesday's still up in the air.  And I didn't receive word from him before I left for the day yesterday/Thursday.

He fills out next week's schedule by Friday because Friday's my last workday and I need to know where I am working for Monday.  But I don't know what's going on with this bullshit with picking friggin' seats online, so my Wednesday's unclear, and so I take it that my whole week is unclear.  If my boss is frustrated that he can't schedule me yet, I can't blame him.  This is absolutely ridiculous.  I cannot see how something as trivial as picking seats is hanging up my work schedule.  But dammit, it is.

I wanted to exercise last/Wednesday night.  But I got stopped by Mother asking me dumb questions about their real estate stuff.  And then I went outside and helped Father, who was trying to fix the trunk door of their minivan.  By the time I got done, a quarter after 7 became a quarter after 8, and by the time I got to the community center and changed, I would have had, at best, an hour of working out before it closed.  Wasn't worth it, so I threw the bottle of juice I had back into the fridge and my gym bag back to my room.

I want to help out my parents.  And in particular it was good to have some one-on-one time with Father.  But ... couldn't it wait for another day when I didn't want to exercise?  And can Mother not melt down over another dumb real estate question I don't understand?

Product Review: Sawyer Products 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent

I bought this for the same reason I buy many things for which I want only "the best": It was recommended by The Wirecutter.  You may have heard that DEET is the active ingredient you want to look for when buying bug spray, but this site says that another chemical, picaridin, is better; it's just as effective at warding off biting insects but isn't as messy or smelly.  Or at least I've been told; I haven't used any DEET in a long time, but if I recall correctly, using DEET wasn't a huge hindrance.

That being said, the Sawyer is, I think, really effective.  I cannot remember any time I've been bitten while having this product on me.  My big drawback is the bottle it comes in.  It is extremely leaky.  When I got the package through Amazon, it already had repellent leaking out of the top of the cap.  And it was completely screwed on.  Also, you get two caps for each of the two bottles they send you, one that fits over the other.  That would ensure that it doesn't leak through the top and all over the place, but if the bottle were better, you wouldn't need two caps, would you?

And beyond that, it doesn't matter how much you try and stop the leaking through the top, because the bottle(s) have been leaking through the bottom ever since I took them out of the packaging.  Just the other day I moved the bottle of Sawyer I'm using and it left a mark of repellent on the counter.  I pressed down on the bottle like it was a stamp and it left this soft but noticeable ring of bug spray every time.  I don't know if it's a bad bottle or if the picaridin or the bug spray formula is so corrosive it can leak through plastic, but that is far from ideal.  And I haven't even used the second bottle yet.

It's good, and yet, use at your own risk.

"We Praise You For Your Sacrifice," My Ass

As I keep both thinking and emotionally processing the "decision" by Biden to quit, I think I can better articulate why I am not happy about this move at all.  But the overarching visceral reaction I still can't stand is all these people saying, "We thank President Biden for stepping aside for the good of the country.  What a sacrifice!"  Stop kissing his ass.  He wanted to be President again.  And he was the much better option.  And, I still think he would've won.  I understand that the polls Democrats trust show that he was losing ground in swing states, but I still cannot believe that America would side with a stupid, cruel fascist just because the other guy looks old.  (And here is where I have to say that even though I think The Media has been complicit in bringing down Biden, their reports of a coup from Democratic leaders were, indeed, true.)

It looks as though this change -- and by the way, even though all the delegates who voted for Biden are now backing Kamala Harris, this doesn't feel "democratic," even though I will never side with Republicans who stole the 2016 election by asking Russia to interfere with it when they accuse Democrats of doing the same thing -- has triggered an avalanche of enthusiasm, as well as money.  Well, I hope that pays off in votes in November, because all that is right now just enthusiasm and money.  I didn't see this energy when Biden was running, even though the economy is great, policies have been enacted that help the little guy, and Trump is still an unintelligible, intolerant little bitch.

And that's what galls me.  I think a lot of the electorate are ungrateful.  And they are shallow, too.  The donor class may have been blindsided by this almost-instant shift from Biden to Harris, but it looks as though one bad debate was enough for Biden to lose any trust that he could beat Trump a second time.  People, we are trying to fight Project 2025 and the end of democracy.  Does it really fucking matter who our candidate is?  And if so, why couldn't it be the one who helped save America from Trump and the Republicans four years ago?  Instead, what people are now really saying is, "Thank you for your time, Joe, and for all that you've done.  Now, get the fuck out."

A lot of people are not appreciative of what Joe Biden has done for this country.  And I am still not entirely convinced that changing nominees this late in the process will help Democrats win control of the White House, let alone Congress.  I'm hoping, don't get me wrong.  But there is no guarantee that switching things up is going to make a dent in these polls Democratic operatives relied on to tell President Biden to leave.  And yes, I am still quite bitter about this ouster ... so I don't know how or even if I am going to vote.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -3).  Finished up the first half of their regular season by defeating The Atlanta Dream at home, 86-79, on Wednesday.  That puts them in a tie with Seattle for third place in the Women's National Basketball Association (1 1/2 Games behind Connecticut for second, 4 behind New York for first).  Napheesa Collier and Team USA dueled with Kayla McBride and Team WNBA in Phoenix for the WNBA All-Star Game, won by Team WNBA, and now the same johnny-come-latelies who defend the honor of Caitlin Clark for her role in civilizing the W are calling for the head of Cheryl Reeve, who is coaching Team USA in the Olympics for the next month.  Hey, women's basketball worldwide is still in its infancy.  The USWNT is the most dominating team in international sport.  They're winning their ninth-straight (?) gold medal in Paris.  The reserves probably can coast to a silver medal.  They didn't go all out in this exhibition because she didn't want any of her players to get hurt.  That's all.

No shade to the Lynx, but it'll be fun not needing to put an entry in about them for till mid-August.

#-2: United FC (Last Week: -2).  I was at Wednesday's Match, where they were up 2-1 on D. C. United but then coughed up two Goals in two Minutes (the 90th and 91st) to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.  This was eerily reminiscent of Game in the Loooooooooons' second season, their final one at then-TCF Bank Stadium.  Late in the contest and clinging to a one-Goal lead, they allowed The Seattle Sounders to score the Game-tying and then Game-winning tallies, the latter of which was also in stoppage time.  I think I said then that that was the first time I ever regretted having season tickets to watch this club.  Wednesday was the second.  And DCU is not good at all.

They sure as hell needed some luck, and they got it Saturday when Jeong Sang-bin's Cross got deflected by a San Jose Defender's foot and into the Goal.  Bongokuhle Hlongwane headed in a Cross in the Second Half, and they had a relatively easy time in beating the Earthquakes, another bad team, 2-0, to hold onto the last spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.

But league play is put on the back burner for now because it's the silly season for Major League Soccer.  The MLS All-Star Game is in Columbus Wednesday, and Robin Lod will represent MNUFC there.  Then the proprietary Leagues Cup begins group play, and it's a quick(-ish) turnaround for the squad as they visit tormentors Seattle Friday.

#-3: Twins (Last Week: -1).  Begin the second half of the season on a sour note, losing both Games of a rare Saturday-Sunday series at Target Field vs. The Bastard Seattle Pilots.  Not that it matters, but Saturday's 8-4 Loss came in twelve Innings (after both teams plated two Runs in the 11th), and yesterday/Sunday afternoon they lost 8-7.

They remain five Games behind a scuffling Cleveland outfit (they're 3-7 in their last ten), but they are in a statistical tie with Kansas City for second place in the A. L. Central.  And now that the All-Star break is behind them, the Games are going to get more serious, and this Week is going to be a tough one -- three at home versus high-flying Philadelphia starting tonight/Monday night, then a weekend three-Game series at Detroit beginning on Friday.

Addendum To: We're About To Shiv A Good Man

I really, really thought this shit was going to blow over after this weekend.  Stupid me.

When you are told repeatedly that you're not going to win, you're being bullied into leaving.  That's what happened here.  And once again, Democrats fucking did it to themselves.  Two forces "on our side" forced him to quit: Pissant chickenshits who saw one bad debate and thought he was going to be a blabbering Alzheimer's patient in a month; and rich "Democrats" who saw that debate as an opportunity to oust a guy who finally was trying to make things better for the common people.

The former say look at the polls.  Polls are bullshit, especially four months from Election Day.  Also, there are some polls that say Biden was ahead.  There was no consensus, but enough people saw what they wanted to see and made this move.  As for the latter, their undue influence is another toxic manifestation of Citizens United.  We Democrats tried to dance with the devil, and the devil fucked Biden and the 14 million people who voted for him in the primary with this undemocratic end run.

We have stabbed in the back a man who led one of the most progressive agendas intended to make life fairer for all of us.  And now, we are in unprecedented territory.  Who's going to be the nominee now?  Is it Kamala Harris, really?  Because I thought it was Joe Biden, but some people have just swooped in and said, "Uh, I don't think so."  And I can't white put my finger on it, but the money people who forced out Biden might now want to elevate a Black woman into the President's chair, either.  How is she going to get the money Biden already raised?  How are you going to convince 14 million people who voted for someone else to vote for her?  Do you really think they're all just going to march in lockstep, giddily saying, "Sure, Kamala's the one!" when they were screwed out of their vote?

There is no plan.  There is no fucking plan.  And yet the donor class and everybody else who said, "He's too old!" are going to find a way to make this alright for the rest of us to fall in line for.  They're going to come up with brand-new ideas with big cushy buzzwords that we should be dazzled with because Glint! it's so fresh and exciting!  And then Republicans are going to come in and sue the fucking beejeezus out of us because we invited them into fucking with our nomination process because we had the batshit idea of doing something new to it ourselves.

We turn on ourselves so goddamn much over nothing, all the fucking time.  Joe Biden had strengths that we have voluntarily pissed away.  And now, we are going to be ruled by a dictatorship that will finish the job of ending democracy in this country.

I can't with this party.  I really fucking can't anymore.

It's been months since I've had to work a Sunday.  I really should go to bed now in order to wake up.  But I'm not.  Give me, oh, 15 more minutes, please.

And now that my car is fully operational and, more than that, I don't have to worry about it, I can hunt for stink.  Because I am working tomorrow/Sunday, I need to take a day off.  That is Tuesday.  I am trying to line up an appointment with ****e, but she has yet to respond.  If I can't reach her, I either will get double-teamed by ******e and her new friend, or I will go all the way out east and maybe get an HJ from *****y.  Either way, I'm getting my fuck on.  I hope.

So, Just The Heat Shield

The source of the buzzing sound when I accelerate?  The heat shield covering the bottom side of my car's catalytic converter started to rust, and that apparently widened holes to the point where the shield was able to rattle from time to time.  He ripped it out, said it's better this way.  It's only there, he says, to prevent the converter from, say, lighting a pile of leaves on fire.  Knowing me, I'll park under a pile of leaves and set that and thus my car on fire.

So that's the thing that caused me so much anxiety and anguish the past couple months: A heat shield.  It had nothing to do with the performance of my car, so I theoretically could have driven my car with it still on, rattling as it would.

Everything else appears to be fine: After six months and about 5,000 miles I wanted the oil changed; after three years I really needed the brake fluid changed; and the tires were rotated after they were put on in April.  The mechanic took the initiative of cleaning the rear brakes, which tacked on some money, but I trust that it will help with the performance of the car, so I'll accept that, even if it costs me $300 total.

Don't have to worry about the car again, at least for a while.  Yeah, this is good.

We're About To Shiv A Good Man

I've been mostly down for the past day or so.  I've been able to tutt-tutt away story after story about how Biden is going to drop out.  But now that a story has put a timeline on that decision -- Axios says he will drop out this weekend (I won't link to it because I will not promote bad news) -- somehow a lot of people now believe it to be the case.  Including me, I'm afraid.

I still think it's a bad idea.  He has been a very successful President.  The economy is booming and crime is down.  Most importantly, he ain't Trump.  And yet for all that good news, he looked bad one night and everybody (and all of them allies) have leaked news pieces about how senior leadership wants Biden to quit.  I don't know why that story was the one where I thought, "My God, he's actually going to do it," but my mood has changed since I saw that headline.

It continues to amaze me how many liberal writers and talking heads whose opinions I had trusted have basically gone over to The Dark Side and are openly demanding Biden step down.  Just yesterday at work, Thom Hartmann, who I think is a very cerebral guy, was not only confident Biden was quitting but spoke about this impending move with such confidence and glee.  And then he had the audacity, the balls, to say, "It's best for Joe Biden.  I don't think anyone wants to see his legacy tarnished like that."  What, the Dow Jones at a record high, the country's reputation restored around the world, jobs aplenty and the most progressive agenda this country has seen since The New Deal -- that legacy?  He had one bad night, and he has looked sharp and even feisty ever since.  And no, a bout with COVID doesn't change a damn thing.  The concern trolling by Hartmann was so startling in its juvenalia.  I don't think I can listen to this guy until Biden actually quits or after the election is over.

I am still holding out hope that these stories, sourced by anonymous people, is bullshit.  Some people I'm trusting on Twitter/X believe that to be so, and the steady drumbeat of Biden-hating has not persuaded him to quit, thank Buddha.  And yet I still marvel at the near universality of news sources and people in the entertainment industry (and I can't believe that either) who, in my humble opinion, have turned on Biden.  I wonder why, and the only thing I can think of is evidenced by the surprising fact that the progressive wing of the Democratic party is backing Biden to the hilt.  He came in as the moderate, but his legislative victories have helped millions of people that are middle- and low-income.  Somehow, this centrist has become a leftist.  And it looks like the moneyed class, the donor class that somehow pays Democrats, don't like it.  And they're the ones pulling the strings, telling Democratic leadership Biden goes or no other Democrat gets money, or telling their reporters to run hit pieces on Biden and the "worries" over his old age.

I keep falling back on a mantra -- Biden is still with it, Biden has been enormously successful, Biden kicked Trump's ass once and he can do it again, etc.  Also, we don't vote just for a man but for an administration.  There is no need to rush this; let's get Biden elected and then go from there -- if we have to.  Furthermore, there are so many obstacles the party has to overcome in order to switch candidates midstream like this, some aspects of which are unprecedented.  I believe there are two or three swing states that won't even allow a different candidate on the ballot besides Biden at this point in time.  And this will provide so many entry points for Republicans to gum up the works and inject themselves into our side of the selection process, and that would be a fuck-up that we brought on ourselves.

And there is one final point.  I believe that this coup attempt (and let's face it, that's what this is) is being spearheaded by rich donors who would thrive regardless of who is president.  The fact not enough people are heeding is that there was a chance to get Biden out of the race.  It was primary season.  I have to apologize to Dean Phillips, one of my state's representatives.  He may have been lonely leaning against the back of a rented pick-up truck waiting for someone to take his donuts earlier this year, but he was the one complaining about how Biden was old when he was supposed to challenge Biden.  Yeah, we all ridiculed and mocked him.  But it turns out he was the one who obeyed the process.  Everyone now thinks we can just name a new nominee when 12 million votes for Joe Biden have been cast.  No one can be certain that all 12 million will just be happy voting for some other person.  And no Democrat should take for granted that they would vote for the replacement just because fascism lies on the other side.  It's a fucking heavy thing to take away your vote then say, "I know what's good for you."  I think many Black voters voted for Biden in the primary.  If they all just get cancelled, this will be another case where minority voting interests are haphazardly punted to the side because some White dude wants something.  I can totally see them getting so pissed off that they won't vote for the replacement.  Why the fuck would they?  They had their opinions and they were summarily rejected.

---

I went to exercise in the evening.  There were no sports on besides the NBA Summer League.  (Aside: The WNBA should have all their teams playing Games during the All-Star break.  Now, the league did have Games Tuesday night [the night of the All-Star Game] and Wednesday, but there should be Games all four Days there isn't any regular MLB action.  And yes, I'm aware that the WNBA's Olympic break is coming up and that may be a reason why Games weren't held Monday and yesterday/Thursday.)  I dipped into political coverage gingerly, partly because The Republican National Convention was on and partly because I didn't want to get more depressed by seeing more anti-Biden news.  But I saw some better news instead.  The co-Chair of the Biden campaign went on MSNBC and insisted, again, he is not quitting.  Also, there are some other polls that show Biden remaining tied and sometimes even leading Trump, thereby blunting other polls that show Biden behind.  I still cannot and will not believe Biden can't beat Trump, and that all the zeitgeist saying Biden can't be Trump is fed by oligarchs and The Media (who, I have to tell you, has been extremely disappointing.  I used to use #IStandWithTheMedia when I tweet.  I can't fucking do that anymore).  By the way, people continue to creak open the door of possibility of him stepping down, but only if it is "his decision."  Well, a lot of people are trying to convince him to make the decision to leave, and fuckin' A, that's just fucking coercion, so IMHO, that ain't exactly "his decision."

Add to all that Trump's acceptance speech last night.  He was talking about Hannibal Lecter?  He hugged and kissed the fireman's hat and coat of the guy who died in the assassination attempt on his life like he was saying, "Thanks for taking that bullet for me."  (And you know that is what that motherfucker was thinking.)  And Biden has to quit???  Fuck that.  Seriously, fuck that.  Hey, if Biden says he's still in after the weekend is over, that Axios piece was bullshit, and I won't trust The Media ever again.  The key to the election really isn't "Vote blue no matter who."  It's "Ridin' with Biden" because that is who people who cared enough to vote when they were supposed to vote voted for.  And goddammit, cut out this divisive backstabbing!!!

Addendum To: Detente ... Or De-Taunt?

Well, went on Facebook to see he liked me thanking him.  Guess we're trying to clear the air?  (shrug)

Detente ... Or De-Taunt?

OK, so that guy I know who went psycho on me when I said that the violence Trump incites came back to bite him in that shooting Saturday?  Well, out of an abundance of caution, I went beyond muting to defriending him.  Couldn't take the risk.  However, we are members of a Facebook page, and I haven't and probably won't throw him out of there, even though I can since I'm an administrator.  It's my concession.

I had posted something on that page, something about tickets to a Game.  Yesterday/Tuesday, he posted on it.  Tagged me, too.  And I thanked him, and I tagged him.

Look, I don't want to go around making enemies.  But I said what I said, and I stand by what I said.  I do not condone political violence on anyone.  But someone who spews violence as an answer cannot be surprised when it's done to them.

With that said, I didn't like how I acted when we got into this argument.  However, I didn't like how he was acting, either.  And once he got accusatory -- and he did -- he got real threatening, and real crazy.  That's why I closed myself off to him.  If we ever, ever have a relationship of any kind, we cannot talk about politics, at all.  And I think he needs counseling.  Hey, it's working for me.

So I ... want to welcome his comment as an olive branch.  Does he mean it that way, though?  I can't think how it would be, like, some twisted way of letting my guard down so that, uh, we meet in real life to bury the hatchet and instead he tricks me and beats the shit out of me.  Don't want to think that, but I'm paranoid.  It's possible.  And hey, I'm running into this guy at some point this year, either at the Game, or at a concert, or hell, at a fast food restaurant tonight.  Yeah, I'm kind of scared of this guy.  But I don't want to live my life being scared of this guy, either, especially if he's willing to put what happened on social media behind us.  So, who knows?

I Want To Just Lie In My Bed All Day

Have to admit that my anxiety is getting the better of me now.  It's the car, and then this thing with this guy I know after we mixed it up about Trump.  But work is getting very precarious right now.

Yesterday/Monday morning the first thing everybody in the back room was talking about was our new attendance policy.  It's tightening up.  I don't really know how it's going to affect me, but the cushion for being late is just about gone, especially if something comes up and you don't call in well, well ahead of time.  One of my co-workers just had a baby, and she has had to call in "sick" because her son was.  Under these new rules, she figures that if she does that a few more times, she's fired.

I may adjust like I always do.  But things are different, much different, than when I started there.  The other three people in the back yesterday morning have been at this company longer than I have, and they were reminiscing about how fun it once was to come to work.  It's not fun anymore to work there.  If it's not the rules and policies getting more draconian, it's (at least for me) the lack of work that makes me wonder how long am I going to be there.  One of my other co-workers has noticed the drying up of work and the shrinking workforce going along with it.  And by the way, there were only four of us back there.  There were days not too long ago when there were seven, eight people back there, and we all had work to do.  And I think we got through all the work we had, just the four of us, yesterday.

I started to really, really look for other jobs tonight.  It may have been this new attendance policy or the talk amongst us about the company's future, but I very, very scared that they are going to leave the area -- or, at the very least, my boss will use my Internet surfing to fire me, maybe as soon as tomorrow.  Happened to my other co-worker, bless his soul.  Right now, with the way work is (or actually is not), I think the company will get along just fine without me.

And with the lack of work comes the lack of money.  I've seen my bills and I've seen my checking account; dammit, it's as low as it's ever been.  And with a potentially huge car repair bill coming up -- I am trying to bring it this week and not next -- I am getting tired of spending money.  It's no fun seeing my funds dry up because I'm eating out.  So that's another reason I just want to stay not just home but in my bed.  Won't spend money lying in bed.  Don't have to worry about my job or losing my job.  Don't have to worry about the car making funny noises while I drive it.  Don't have to worry about this dude potentially coming to my house to kill me, or getting me cancelled by my current employer (my goodness, he could do that, couldn't he?).  Nope, it's just me, having shelter and safety and sleep ... and maybe not worrying about my parents one day dying.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1).  Took two-of three at the White Sox, but lost two-of-three in San Francisco, breaking their streak winning series at six (and all of the two-Games-to-one).  While they have a middling last ten Games record (6-4), they have gained ground on Cleveland (4-6 in their last ten), so they are only 4 1/2 Games behind them for the lead in the Division.

This is the All-Star Break, aka The Deadest Period In The American Sports Calendar.  Congratulations to Carlos Correa, named to The American League team but won't play due to injury, and Willi Castro, named as a replacement and will probably play in Tuesday's ASG.  And this is interesting: The Twins come back from break playing a two-Game series versus The Bastard Seattle Pilots at home Saturday and Sunday.  Thought that everyone could get back on-schedule on Friday.  Besides, these two-fers have traditionally been played on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Eh.

#-2: United FC (Last Week: -3).  Well, shit, at least they got a Point down in Houston Saturday night.  Unfortunately, the Loons couldn't hold a lead given by Robin Lod in the 70th Minute as they allowed the Dynamo's Sebastian Ferreira to tie it up a dozen Minutes later.  See, that's why I don't think the returns of Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi from The Canadian Men's National Soccer Team at The Copa America can arrest this freefall: The Defense is a goddamn mess.  The Transfer Window only can fix that.

The only glimmer of hope is that MNUFC actually improved a spot.  Right now, they're in ninth place in the West, so they would be lined up to play the 8/9 Play-In Game at ... Houston.  Meanwhile, the First Half of league play wraps up with two at home: District Of Columbia Wednesday, San Jose Saturday.

#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -2).  I could've worked yesterday/Sunday afternoon's tilt at Target Center vs. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, but instead I wanted to relax and go to the Black Hart to see both the Euro and Copa America Finals, and I don't regret it, even if the latter Match was delayed about 83 Minutes because people without tickets were gate-crashing.

It was sold out, obviously.  I'm sure that the tarps covering the ends of the upper bowl, which were in place throughout the regular season for the Timberwolves, were taken out.  Heard that the Lynx made a million dollars yesterday; good for them.  And, I heard it was pretty much a pro-Clark, if not pro-Fever, crowd.  Why not; the last two Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournaments were held at Target Center, and I swear it was 90% Iowa Hawkeye fans for both Finals.

Oh, and Clark is very, very successful at Target Center.  She and the Hawkeyes won both tournaments (I was there as a paying customer last Year and I worked the tourney this Year).  I don't know if she's ever lost there.  And she didn't yesterday as she and the Fever overcame a Fourth Quarter-deficit to defeat the Lynx, 81-74.  With less than 11 Seconds to go and with the Fever shooting Free Throws, Clark slapped her hands a little too hard for my taste.  Some say she was clapping at the direction of Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve, who is also the Head Coach for The United States Women's Olympic Basketball Team, of which Clark was not invited to join even though her fanbase thinks she's entitled to it.  And by the way, I finally see how toxic her fanbase might be, if Twitter/X after the Lynx Loss is any indication.

Meanwhile, the Lynx have their second two-Game losing streak this Month and have lost four-of-six.  Worse yet, now that The Bastard Utah Starzz/San Antonio Silver Stars is now fully healthy, they are a half-Game ahead of Minnesota for Fourth Place in the Dub.  Napheesa Collier can't come back soon enough, but who knows when she's coming back?

Host Atlanta Wednesday, then there's the WNBA All-Star Game Saturday where Phee, Reeve and the USWNT face off against Kayla McBride and the WNBA All-Stars.  Then, the entire league is shut down for the Olympics until mid-August.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Friends?

So I know a guy.  He's not a friend, but we talk.  I know he's on the other side when it comes to politics.  The scary thing is that he's fanatical, even rabid, about being a Republican.  So when he was demanding Biden denounce Trump getting fired upon, I knew, given his rabidity, that if I comment on it, he will comment back, and probably harshly.

Did I want to go back and forth with him about this?  Eventually, and maybe against my better judgement, I did.  And man, as off the rails as he has been about other political posts, he was acting ... well, crazy this time.  And he made it personal, which is the difference this time, and is what makes this argument scarier.  He was accusing me of not denouncing the shooting, which I did, even though I pointed out the fact that Trump and Republicans are the ones who glorified violence.  But he didn't like the way I denounced the shooting, and he kept demanding that I denounce it in a way that he liked.  I'm not going for that bullshit, so not only did I peace out on him, I had to mute him.

This is an escalation, no doubt.  I don't know if he comes back from this.  I think we have had heated discussions like this before, but not like this, and so I don't know if taking a weekend or a week or even longer is going to simmer things down.  The problem is that I am going to see this guy again.  There's that football Game our alma mater's playing up here in October.  Moreover, he's a big music fan, and there are a couple of concerts I have already bought tickets for.  I'm going to run into him.  Before, we've been civil.  Now, after what he said to me?  I don't know if he can control his temper, and I don't know if it's smart for me to give him the chance.

---

Social media is stupid.  After the incident, there were at least five posts from Facebook friends denouncing it.  None of them seem to be aware, or don't seem to care, that the guy who got shot was the one who spearheaded January 6.

Most if not all of them don't profess to be part of a party, but I have seen signs from all of them that they really are MAGAts.  They are all, also, hot as fuck, and I continue to wonder why so many gorgeous women are part of the Republican party.

Did I hold my tongue when I saw this virtue signals?  I couldn't for my acquaintance, so I didn't for these people I don't know in real life.  So for all the posts I came across demanding we all denounce the shooting, I reacted with a laugh emoji.  I don't think any of them have de-friended me, and I wonder why they haven't.  I mean, if someone did that to me, it's an immediate block.  I'm smart enough to know and to do that.

Politics, man.  It exposes people.

Thoughts About The Shooting

• I know I should wait until all the facts are in, but I will say this: LOL.  This is Trump, and Republicans, reaping what they sow.  They have endorsed violence for decades now.  They have actually been violent, on January 6, 2021.  And now that violence has been committed on them, they're ... well, let's see what they're going to do, but some MAGAt on CNN has popped off about how it's the Democrats' fault.  Fuck this guy.
• That leads me to the thing I am scared of now: That Republicans are going to use this incident as an excuse to commit violence on Democrats, or anyone they decide are their enemy.  Heard stories from reporters at the rally in Pennsylvania that MAGAts turned on the reporters at the scene, though I don't know how violent it got.  Never, ever underestimate how much Republicans think of themselves as victims.  It's the reason they do this shit.
• Saying all this ... yes, I am going to put my conspiracy theory hat on.  Why did the Secret Service not secure the rooftop that was only 200 yards away?  And why didn't security instantly hustle Trump off the dais?  If you are trying to squirrel away someone who just got shot, you don't let him stand on the podium and pump his fist in the air.  There are some very close shots of him with part of his ear getting taken off, and I'm going to say it: The lighting is perfect.  This was a very photogenic assassination attempt, to be frank.
• Thoughts and prayers ... to the audience member who was murdered.  Assuming he was paid to look like a Trump stooge.
• It's the guns.  It's always the fucking guns.  Take them out of Americans' hands.  Now.
• Oh, and both sides don't do it.  Republicans advocate for violence.  Democrats do not.  Don't both-sides this.  And don't fucking virtue-signal this either, demanding Democrats to denounce the violence against your orange king.  He's the one who started this bullshit.  He's the one who laughed when Paul Pelosi was attacked.  He's the one who spearheaded January 6.  Fuck Trump.

Buying Tickets For The Game

So I had been organizing a group of us alumni to watch the football team they come up here in October.  I finally got the link through which we can buy tickets yesterday/Friday, and after getting emotionally wiped out helping Mother with some Internet stuff, I sent out the link to everyone who wanted to get tickets around 11:30 p.m.

I have two things to be anxious for.  One, I thought I had 100 tickets pledged, but there was enough waffling whereby I didn't go for that discount and instead went for one that had a slightly larger group rate.  If I went for that triple-digit group rate and somehow fewer than 100 tickets were sold, I would have needed to buy enough tickets to get to 100.  And since this is a college football Game, they can get expensive.  On the other hand, I am scared that once I give the link out -- not just to everyone who said they want to buy tickets, but to, well, everyone -- I will zoom past 100 tickets, and so I just made everyone pay more for tickets than they should have.

Two, a lot of the group want to sit together, and I was told that many of the seats in the stadium were sold to the point where finding large blocks of seats for us was well nigh impossible.  But I still tried my best, somehow, to help people who want to sit together to sit together, even though I don't know if it's working.  People have already bought tickets, of course.  I can bring up a spreadsheet of which people bought and where, and it looks as though they're sitting anywhere they want.  I say this because someone from the group is watching solo, but it would make sense that I, who is also going solo, would sit with him.  So forgoing large groups, I am trying to reach him to somehow coordinate buying seats alongside him.  I texted him for the first time ever just now.  I'm friendly with him, though I can't say that we're close friends.  I hope that we can talk and find seats together that we are both happy with.

The Hottest Babe In The Hooters Calendar: June 2024

Hmmm ... maybe I would've liked this month more if it were hanging on my wall, but this month greatly underwhelms me.  I don't want to call it The Worst Month In Hooters History, but I can't imagine a worse month.

No offense to the ladies here, but of the dozen, I can only point out three for appreciation.

In third place is Riley, out of Sarasota, Fla.  Long brunette hair cascading down to the lower end of her breasts.  Wearing a purple two-piece bikini.  Not a fan of her pulling on the tops of her bikini top; the way she's posed, they serve more as a distraction than an enticement.  But she is captured wading just off shore of a lake, and it's a picturesque backdrop.

And now I have a dilemma.  The top two are The Main Girl, Miya, also hailing from Sarasota, Fla., and Anna, my hometown girl at The Mall Of America.  Anna's sporting a light-ish blue two-piece with ... uh, extra straps lining around her stomach (her bikini is hard to describe).  But Miya is rotating her ass to us, and even though it's mostly a side profile, we can clearly see she's wearing a thong.  She isn't exposing 50% or even 75% of her ass -- it's, like, 98%.  The fabric that covers her asshole and twat could be thinner, but it's damn thin enough.

So, which one for the top spot?  I know I have a rule that any waitress who exposes her nice ass in the calendar is my #1 ... but dammit, I can't, I have to stick with the local Hooters girl, Anna, even though I don't think I've ever seen her at the restaurant besides the night last year where she and the other four women who work at Hooters MOA were signing calendars.  Damn, I have no idea if she even works there still.  But I gotta stay loyal.

Congratulations, then go out to Anna.  Don't worry, y'all, I have already masturbated to this month, as uninspiring as it is.

Just sent four e-mails to four separate groups of alumni.  I am coordinating a group sale of tickets to our alma mater's football Game against the Golden Gophers here in October.  I may have gone above and beyond -- and possibly completely unnecessary -- by listing out, by section and by row, the number of seats available to be bought.  Some of the groups in my group sale want to sit together, and so I spent ... oh, somewhat less than an hour looking through sections and seeing how many seats are still open.  Have no idea if these guys are going to even use the information.  The e-mails are so long that I can't ensure they're going to read them.

I didn't think I would do these e-mails (four of them in total) until I decided it was the right thing to do in the evening at the community center, where I worked out for the first time in a month.  I was ready to eat healthy and give my stomach a break tonight.  But I needed something to keep me going through all the looking and listing and e-mailing, so I broke ate several Chips Ahoy! cookies which I washed down with the coffee left over from work.  Yes, I think I undid my exercise.  Oh, well.

Car Might Be Getting Worse

The buzzing under my hood when I accelerate got a little more noticeable and a little more frequent as I drove home last/Wednesday night from Brit's where I watched Colombia defeat Uruguay in the Copa America Semifinal.  And I'm telling you, I am freaked out as fuck over it.  This came when I heard that buzzing noise when I made a quick right on my way to Speedway to get coffee before work in the morning.  However, that was after a couple days where I didn't hear it at all.

I want to make it twelve more days, but I'm in such a panic right now, right this very minute, that I don't know if the car, or I, can make it.  I might make an appointment next week.  Depends on if the rattling comes back when I drive to work in the morning.

Man, I need to drive.  The ability to go where I want, when I want is something I cherish.  But ever since the car I drove for the first time, a red Jeep, overheated the first time, I have paradoxically been scared to drive.  That anxiety, that fear, that hasn't ever gone away.  So either I am overreacting to this ... or I should be more concerned about this problem than I am.

Anxiety Over Work, Car, Energy, Weather Again

The next two days at work may be insufferable.  Don't know why because I think today/Wednesday will be alright (and I know that I have said this, I've jinxed myself, and some bullshit is going to just ruin my fucking day).  And I should be happy because I'm not going home.  Instead, I might dink around after work to work on my receipts, then I plan on going to Brit's to catch the Uruguay-Colombia Copa America Semifinal.

Should be happy, right?  No, it's never that easy for me.  For one thing, I wanted to stay up to watch the Argentina-Canada Copa America semi last/Tuesday night, but I got so tired that I slept through pretty much all of the First Half (and, for the record, the Game-winning Goal, and that sucks).  Will I feel that run down when I try to stay on a stool at Brit's for two hours?

Moreover, I'm in the lab tomorrow/Thursday, probably cutting open packages and reaching into leaky bottles of piss.  I'm already in a bad mood just thinking about it, and I'm not sure if staying out the previous night is going to give me the right energy level or put me in the right frame of mind to do that shit.  And who knows if any motherfuckers in there are going to talk about me cutting myself again.  I might do some cutting of my own if I hear that, if you know what I mean.

And topping all that is my car.  I drove slow yesterday/Tuesday, so I didn't hear any rattling.  (It helps, I think, that I only drove to and from work.)  But a pop-up video I saw when I checked the AccuWeather Twitter feed scared the hell out of me.  It's been so hot in southern California that there have been many cars that have been abandoned on the side of the road.  (I wish I could find that video, but I can't.)  Immediately I'm scared of why those cars died -- no coolant, running the air conditioning, low oil -- and I'm relating to how those problems could happen to my car as I plan on driving around this weekend, especially Sunday, when I plan to go to two different places for both continental soccer Finals that day: The Black Hart for the Euros, Brit's for the Copa America.  The part of California where all those cars were abandoned may have been mountainous, but no matter; I'm scared that my car won't make it this weekend.

I still have plans to bring my car in in two weeks.  Hope the car makes it.  Hope I make it.  Hope I don't cut anyone in the lab.  And I hope I can stay awake all day tomorrow.

When Am I Gonna Leave Again?

So at work yesterday/Monday I had to deal with a client who says she doesn't need to give a piece of information I need in order to help her with what she wants.  She is being incessant, pesky, even exasperated.  And here I am thinking I'm taking crazy pills not moving forward with this unless and until she gives me what I need.

Or think I need.  Neither my supervisor or boss was working yesterday/Monday, so I forwarded the e-mail containing this snippy retort to them.  I was hoping they would take time out of their days off to help me, but it's understandable they didn't.  More likely, they'll come in to work (I think they'll come in to work before me), see the e-mail, and take care of it.  And dammit, if I did something wrong -- and, in particular, if I shouldn't have held things up -- I will definitely hear about it.

When I took this job I didn't know customer service was going to be something I needed to do.  Then, when blindsided that, yes, I will need to talk to people I don't know, I felt boxed in.  Ultimately, I decided to stay on because hey, I need the pay and the benefits.  Then, I figured this is OK because I'm dealing with a pool of people who know what I need in order for me to help them, not a bunch of strangers who are going to rip my head off because they don't know me.

That familiarity is reaching its end point, I feel.  There are people to whom I need to contact that I still have not spoken to ever.  And as few and far between the run-ins are, they still accumulate, and this issue is yet another one.  It is getting exhausting to deal with, and this is yet another reason for me to get off my butt and look for another line of work.

By the way, I took a quick peek into LinkedIn.  Some intriguing ones, and I think a few of them are full-time, but some of the companies I have never heard of.  Can any fly-by-night companies just come on to LinkedIn and offer jobs that may not be real?

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: -2).  The good news is that that had a 4-2 Week, taking two-of-three from both Detroit and Houston, both series at home.  (Christian Vazquez was the hero for yesterday's/Sunday afternoon's 3-2 Win, driving in all three Runs including the Game-ending Home Run in the bottom of the Ninth Inning.)  The bad news is that, even though they have a better Last 10 than Cleveland, they remain six Games back of the Guardians for the lead in the A. L. Central.  The, uh, neutral news is that they still have ALWC2 (pronounced "Al Wick two") and are three Games ahead of the Last Team Out, Kansas City.  Congratulations, by the way, to Carlos Correa, who was named an All-Star.  I am getting more and more able to forget that he was with the Asterisks.  A quick thought and prayer to Royce Lewis, who is back on the Injured List for another non-contact injury.  The last thing we need is Byron Buxton v.2.0.

This is the last screening Week before the All-Star Break, and it's a light schedule: A two-fer at the White Sox Tuesday and Wednesday, then three in San Francisco for the weekend.

#-2: Lynx (Last Week: -1).  Watch this space, unfortunately.  On Tuesday, talisman Napheesa Collier came out of the Game at The New York Liberty.  Turns out, she injured her foot, and as far as we know, we don't know when she's coming back, nor if she can still play for The United States Olympic Women's Basketball Team.  They lost to the Libs by nine, then came home to lose to Connecticut Independence Night by five.  They, however, regrouped to defeat Washington at Target Center by seven Saturday evening.  It stands to reason that without Collier, they would lose to the other two best clubs in the W, but beat a squad that's improving but is still finding itself, even though I can take some moral victories from them losing to the Liberty and the Sun by single digits.

With the Lynx two Games behind both New York and Connecticut, I don't think they'll be getting home-court advantage into the Second Round of the WNBA Playoffs, let alone throughout.  They just have to weather Collier's absence (although foot injuries are sometimes hard to figure out a timeline as to when they are healed enough) this Week as they travel to Los Angeles and Seattle, then host Caitlin Clark and The Indiana Fever Sunday afternoon.

#-3: United FC (Last Week: -4).  Goddammit, why do I spend money on this team?

On Wednesday the Goooooons got off to a fucking shit start; I don't know if third-string Goalkeeper Alex Smir or Centerback Michael Boxall was at fault, but two Vancouver attackers pressed them high, one of them was not paying attention, and a backpass was pounced on for the first Goal of the Match only four Minutes in.  Then came a header from a cross and a lobbing golazo from just outside the box, and both Goals went into the net without much trouble.  The Whitecaps won for the first time at Allianz Field, 3-1.

Last/Sunday night they were at the Galaxy.  I decided, by the way, to go out to The Taste Of Minnesota in the hopes of seeing my stripper girlfriend there, who drove to the Twin Cities from the west-central part of the state.  I stopped by a speakeasy before going home, but I was able to catch the start of the Match just as I started my car up.  Went home, poisoned my brain and my confidence by doomscrolling through Twitter, then remembered that Match was on.  Went to set up the AppleTV, then checked the score on my Yahoo! Sports app, then saw that the Galaxy scored first.  Unplugged the AppleTV and looked at some porn and, after I, ahem, finished, I checked the score again.  Hey, Teemu Pukki is back, and he tied it up!  So I set up the AppleTV again and this time I actually turned my TV on ... just to see, in the 88th Minute, the Galaxy score the Game-winning Goal.  Unplugged the AppleTV and caught the back half of a rerun of Austin City Limits.

These fuckers have now lost six in a row and are winless in their last seven.  And an XI that was once leading MLS in Points Per Game is now in tenth place in the West, out of a playoff spot.  This is so bad that getting Tani Oluwaseyi and Dayne St. Clair back from The Canadian Men's National Soccer Team (they'll lose Tuesday night to Argentina, I can guarantee it) won't fix this team's problems.  This is so awful that I don't know if an aggressive Transfer Window will stop this freefall.  Fucking Christ!

At Houston Saturday.

Statis/Paralysis/Lazy Sunday

See, when I wonder if I should be doing more with my life, it's days like this.  I could clean my room because I have the time, but I don't want to.  I could look into finding other work -- and after going off on that asshole at work, maybe I should -- but I don't want to, at least not right now.  I could go out an exercise, but I don't know when we'll be having dinner.  And tonight I might go downtown to The Taste Of Minnesota because one of my stripper girlfriends will be there, but ... you know, my car and ... well, I don't know if I want to ruin my groove of doing nothing.

Some people think this should be a great day because I have nothing I have to do.  I don't know.

Men And Women (And Non-Binaries), All P***ing Together

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Doin' The Quad (A Second Time)!!!!

I am at what may be my new Third Space, waiting between the Euros and Copa America Matches (specifically the Colombia-Panama Quarterfinal) to start.  Got here just before 11 a.m. to see England defeat Switzerland on Penalty Kicks, then The Netherlands come back to defeat Turkey (or Turkiye), and I will stay until 10 p.m. (or later if there are PKs) for the big one between Uruguay and Brazil.

My biggest question I'm facing is what else to eat besides the cheese curds I had for the second Match.  I have already had a Bloody Mary and a Kona (because the Kona is on special while tournament Games are on), and I'll probably get myself a Michelob Ultra after I blog post this (because the Michelob Ultra is also on special).  I was going to get a pizza for the last Match, but maybe not.  May something else, such as chicken strips, or maybe something cheaper (and potentially less caloric), like fries.  I need to pace myself after learning I can't just eat and drink everything after I #DoinTheQuad for World Cup Games November 27, 2022.

Still freaked out by the car, but it didn't have the momentary buzzing noise when I accelerate when I drove down here.  Hope to Buddha it doesn't on my way back, and I probably will need to stop for gas, too.  Anxiety aside, this is how I want to spend this day.  And once it's all over and I'm on my deathbed, a day like this will probably be in my ... oh, happiest 100 days of my life.  Maybe top 50.

Addendum To: Politics Ruins Everything

I don't know if I've talked about this before, but this freakout over Biden's poor debate performance has been followed up with near-universal calls for him to leave the race ... by newspapers and journalists.  It has been so overwhelming that -- and I hate to sound conspiratorial, but I truly believe this -- it feels like a coordinated effort.  I have not been so disappointed, so frustrated, with so many writers I read and follow on social media that once I saw them (in my opinion) turn traitor and call for Biden's head, I had to unfollow them.

It is nuts how journalists have the knives out for him.  First of all, and more importantly, Trump's the asshole who's facing him.  Do they remember what the country was like with him installed as president -- the rudeness, the superficiality, the laziness (Biden's sleepy?  This motherfucker wouldn't roll out of bed until noon, there would be workdays where he wouldn't do shit, and he golfed every goddamn weekend.), the blatant self-interest, and how he allowed every Republican huckster and corrupt apparatus destroy the government to fill their own pockets?  I remember that at least one writer thought Biden won in 2020 -- fair and square, I might add -- because people just wanted a return to normal.  Well, this is what normal looks like: A booming economy, record low unemployment, low crime, a refurbished reputation abroad, canceled student loan debt, and days where we wouldn't even fucking hear from him because he wouldn't be a dumbass.  That's what we want -- right?

I also remember that back in 2016, nearly every newspaper endorsed Hillary Clinton over Trump.  Little good that did, although no one knew at the time how much Trump asked Russia to help him cheat to win the presidency.  And now, eight years after they unanimously repudiated his nomination, they are, in effect, endorsing it by going after Biden.  Not only is Trump the same cromulent son-of-a-bitch he was back in 2016, he has a track record of being an incompetent asshole.  But Biden's the one who has to step down?

These writers have spent the past week spewing these fucking worthless thinkpieces about who could replace him, and how it would work four months before Election Day.  I'm no political scientist, but I know there is so much bullshit Democrats would have to do between now and then that it would be impossible to get a new person to replace Biden as the nominee.  Why even try?  And how in the hell would these reporters think that shit would work, huh?

I have been trying to #IStandWithTheMedia.  But that loyalty has cracked since The New York Times has showed its whole ass in trying to tear down Biden because Trump as president sells more copies.  And now that everybody has seemingly gone after a good man who had one bad debate and are trying to stoke the fires of getting him dumped before the Democratic National Convention, with no consideration that changing horses midstream like this probably hasn't been done in at least half a century, and ... I'm done.  I'm fucking done.  Journalists should know that if Trump gets the presidency again, their industry -- their asses -- may literally be on the line.  And they're helping him anyway.  They're helping him now.  Fuck them all.  It's a broken industry.  I hate that I studied it in college, but I'm glad I'm not in it now because I would probably be seduced by what is making these writers stomp on their own brains and dignity in helping deliver this country into fascism.

---

I talked about going on this local news source website and commenting on people who seemingly want Biden gone.  I actually thought about deleting it because I didn't want to contribute to a toxic environment on a website I like and pay for.  But I re-read the comments to which I was responding, and I stand by my statement, so I'm leaving it up.

My comment was directed at two people.  One of them, and he's known as a pretty jovial guy in the comment section, says he understands the danger Trump represents.  He's not voting for him.  Now, he didn't say he'll vote for Biden.  But I'll take that bit of good news.  I liked his comment.  I also apologized for not being a good person while I argue over politics.  I don't want to be angry, and I definitely don't want to be mean.  But this race is too important for me to remain silent and pleasant.

He Was On His Bullshit, So I Acted A Fool

So I went into the lab today, my weekly "once more unto the breach."  More piss to touch, goddammit.  But who was I replacing at the table?  The asshole who thought it was funny to remind me not to cut myself.  And fuckin' A, he said it again.

I know most other people would take that shot good-naturedly.  I am not most other people.  I know that there is an undercurrent of ridicule coming from that insult.  I have thought about what I would say to that prick if he thought it'd be funny to replay the hits, so to speak.  And once he reminded me not to cut myself, I got triggered, and I let him have it.

"You're still on that, huh?"

"No, I'm just reminding you not to cut yours--"

"Wow, I don't need a reminder from you, OK?"  Honestly, I don't know if I said this.  But I said something, and I hope that it was witty.  And I hope I got the idea across to him that I didn't think what he said was funny.  Maybe I don't care, because I just want him to shut his fucking mouth about it.  I think he left me alone.  He'd better fucking drop this shit from now on.

There's another lab worker who was still at the table, and by the way, she is an asshole the one who reminded this asshole that I cut my finger.  And she didn't really shut up about it, and I had to deal with her shit because she was sitting next to me.  I need to find a way to piss her off to the point where she leaves me alone, too, and if I have to act a fool, I'll do it.

Loud fireworks in the neighborhood tonight.  Probably louder than I've ever heard it while sitting in my bedroom.  Hate it.  Wonder if it's the new neighbors that moved in right next door.

Anyway, Happy 4th of July, or whatever's left of it.  Here's Soundgarden:

Politics Ruins Everything

I just finished publishing a comment on a comment section of a local online media site responding to people who are bitching about Biden being too old and looking like shit at the debate.  I doubt it was witty and it probably will be taken as bitchy.  I thought about not commenting also, but I had commented on this topic once before, and frankly, I am tired of everybody focusing on Biden when we have an existential threat coming from Republicans.

And I comment well knowing that comment sections on the Internet are sewers, the fucking swill of modern existence.  I can excuse it by saying to myself that I have something substantive to say, but the combative and insulting tone of my comment is symptomatic of the toxicity on any online forum, Twitter being the foremost example (which is still standing and probably will continue to stand, probably to humanity's detriment).  And you know what?  I don't care.  I feel deeply enough that I have to hit back at all these people I thought were cool but have turned out to be perfectionist, ageist ninnies.

I also comment knowing that another local news website, MinnPost, decided to eliminate their comment feature because it was getting too yelly.  It doesn't let anyone have their say, but it makes for a more civil environment.  And I still stand by my comment knowing I am making the environment on this other website less civil.  I could be part of the problem, too.

Yesterday/Wednesday Was A Low-Key Not-Good Day

Despite having a relatively slow and easy day at work, it was a bad day.  Why?  Allow me to list them:

• Well, the world.  I just don't understand how a fucking demented, racist and convicted felon who has vowed to do the bidding of conservative oligarchs to implement what basically is fascism to America isn't thrown into the fucking ocean instead of being nominated for President, and, more weirdly, everybody looks at one debate, doesn't look at what Joe Biden has done, and is demanding he drop out by insinuating that everybody close to him wants him to drop out.  (Seriously, the journalism surrounding this ... for lack of a better word, "plan" is so coordinated that it seems fishy.  Really, it feels like some trick a Republican would make up.  And it sure as shit ain't journalism.)  Everywhere, no one cares the fire is spreading, and no one wants to speak about it.
• Got yelled at by a customer.  I was doing my job, making sure a test gets run, and she goes, "You are delaying testing."  Asshole, I am doing my job.  Also, you are not the one who gets to tell me how I'm doing my job.  I would rather not shunt dealing with prick customers to someone else, but I think I only do it for, like, two companies.  I think I can add a third.  I really think I need to so long as I am at this job, because I was close to saying something I should not have said.
• During the day I called the ticket rep to whom I'm coordinating this mass purchase of tickets for my alma mater's football Game here.  I still don't know what to expect, but I got some clarity, and it's bad news, too: Most of the seats some of us want to sit in are already gone.  In fact, we might have to sit in the upper deck, and I don't know if they want to sit up there.  Also, we are going to pay a hefty convenience fee.  Oh, and we don't know when we can buy them.  All those factors are really harshing my mellow.
• Saw the Loons lose.  They lost handily and awfully, to Vancouver, 3-1, and it wasn't that close.  The Whitecaps scored their first Goal when they pounced on a piss-poor slow backpass to the Goalkeeper, who is the third-string one called up from their MNUFC2 reserve team.  Add a header where the guy out-jumped our guy by a full head, then add a completely unmarked guy getting a golazo from just outside the box, and these fuckheads have now lost five in a row.  And I'm giving these guys money as a season-ticketholder!
• Ate a lot.  I ate a whole lot the day before -- a roll Mother made for me to eat at work, then dinner, then a Cheez-It Crunchwrap from Taco Bell (although I don't think I got the Cheez-It), then I ate peanuts to keep me awake for the Colombia-Brazil Copa America Match, then I ate the banana Father made for me to eat at work.  Yesterday/Wednesday I had another roll.  On the way to Allianz Field some kids were selling cookies, so I bought one.  I ate this smashburger and mac 'n' cheese at the United FC Match.  Because they lost, I went to Kwik Trip to drink a Wild Cherry Pepsi.  Then I ate a banana Father packed for me.  I was wearing a medium USWNT jersey, and I could feel it wrap around my fat stomach, and I think I getting fat around my sides, too.  God, I need to exercise again.
• Finally, my car's acting up again.  The short rattling noises when I accelerate are back.  I haven't heard them for a while, but I have been accelerating slowly when I can.  If this is something getting worse no matter how much I baby my car, I will have to bring it in sooner than I want.

But hey, it's a midweek holiday!

I've probably blog posted about this before, but I'll say it again here: When a woman shows off her ass when she's wearing a bikini at the beach, that's nudity.  That ass shouldn't be hanging out unless you're at a nude beach.  So if you're wearing a thong or a wicked weasel or whatever you call it and I can see your ass ... well, that means I can get naked and whip my hard dick out.  Maybe tap it on that nice ass of yours like I'm drumming.

Oh, and if heaven forbid it's someone underage???  God, teenage girls don't wear thongs, do they?  Man, if I see one, I'll have to leave the beach, immediately.  I can't be put on a fuckin' list.

The Source Of My Heart Pain? Maybe It's This Fucking Country!

I remember seeing that motherfucking cheater Trump win 2016 -- and he did cheat to win in 2016; everything that happened during his presidency should be wiped away -- and, after thinking I'd be celebrating at a bar, going home and, hoping against hope, I took out this bottle of shoju a fellow alum gave me when I visited his sushi bar and kept in the kitchen.  I should have drank it in good times, but I sometimes reach for the bottle in bad times, and that, goddammit, was a bad time.

And yesterday/Monday was almost as bad.  Even though Dobbs is awful, and Chevron now means there are no federal regulations whatsoever, this case (and I don't want they're calling it) that gives presidents absolute immunity to all official acts done while holding office, seems like the coup de grace of the balance of power, the idea of checks and balances in our tri-headed government, and of democracy in America.  I believe Elie Mystal of The Nation when he says this allows the President of the United States to do fuck-all while he's in office and he cannot be prosecuted.  Of course, since this decision fell along party lines, 6-3 for Republicans, I think it's safe to say that if Joe Biden were to do something seemingly illegal -- like, oh, shoot someone on 5th Ave. -- and argue is "official," some Republican might challenge that, and I'm not sure if the Supreme Court would follow its precedent and say that Pres. Biden can.

This is all for Trump.  This is all for Trump getting away with the insurrection he wanted on January 6, not to mention all the other fucking crimes he committed when he was installed.  And Mystal is right, unfortunately; Trump won.  The Supreme Court let him get away with it.  The Supreme Court (at least the Republican justices) think he and other Republican Presidents (and not Democratic ones) are above the law.

---

You know, I have had a hard-beating heart pretty much since I was a teenager, but I haven't been feeling all that well since, oh, the fall of 2016.  And I've been down pretty much since I read the Mystal piece, but my mood darkened once I heard on The Stephanie Miller Show that the Supremes have installed Presidents (Republican ones, not Democratic ones) kings.  There has been a pall over my mood, but it's a familiar one, one that has cast over me for about eight years now.  And I guess it'll be around for quite a long time.

I fret about my car, about my job, about money, about my parents.  But maybe a lot of the source of my health problems is the world around me, and in particular the country that governs me.  Because what's going on with the fascists taking over the United States is some fucking bullshit.

I know I should exercise more.  But goddamn, I need a drink.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -1).  This Commissioner's Cup in-season tournament is ... I don't know what to make of it.  The NBA thought it was such a good idea that the copied it for their own In-Season Tournament (you can't make me believe otherwise), so it can't be a bad idea.  And while the prize money for the winning NBA team (which, by the way, was The Team That Was Stolen From Us v.1.0) probably doesn't mean much for NBA players, each player on the winning WNBA team gets $30,000 apiece, and considering the relatively low salaries they get paid, money in the bank for them is something I admire.

So shoutout to the Lynx for going to Nassau County, the home away from home for The New York Liberty (who had to host the Final there because their main home, The Barclays Center, was being set up for the NBA Draft), and beating the Libs 94-89 Tuesday to win the Commissioner's Cup for the first time ever.  Cecilia Zandalasini, who was in the WNBA but came back from playing overseas a couple Years, was the X-Factor for the Lynx as she scored 15 Points in only a dozen Minutes of playing time.

So I guess I should have expected some sort of comedown after lifting a trophy and drinking champagne.  But I really didn't think they would go to Dallas on Thursday and lose to the Wings, 94-88, helping Dallas snap an 11-Game losing streak.  Oi.  They got back on the upside yesterday/Sunday afternoon in Chicago, outscoring the Sky in the Fourth Quarter, 18-5, to defeat Angel Reese and the Sky, 70-62.  They remain tied with Connecticut for second-best record in the W, both of whom are only 1 1/2 Games behind league-leading ... New York.

This Week: At New York -- this time in league play, this time in Brooklyn -- tomorrow/Tuesday night, then home to said Sun Thursday and improving but still WNBA bottom-dwellers Washington Saturday.

#-2: Twins (Last Week: -2).  Finished the screening Week 4-2, taking both series, at Arizona and at Seattle.  Adding the Athletics' series right before last Week, the Twins finished their road trip 6-3, winning two-of-three in all three series.  (Oddly enough, they lose the first Game in each series before taking the last two contests.)  They are still in second place in the Division, six Games behind a good Cleveland club.  Let's hope they continue to mash the ball all around Target Field (they're the hottest Offense in MLB right now) as they host Detroit for three beginning on Tuesday and Houston for a trio starting on Friday.

#-3 (tie): Timberwolves and Wild (Last Week, respectively: Re-Entry! and Re-Entry!).  It seems like both clubs have received widespread commendation for their drafts.

The Timberwolves' miracle run was abruptly and inexplicably stopped by Dallas because they didn't have enough guys to generate Offense.  But how do you find someone who can if your team is in the second apron and so you don't have the flexibility to make moves?  Well, you find cheap help through the Draft.  But, you say, don't the Timberwolves have, like, no picks for the rest of time?  Not really, even though that surprised the hell out of me.  They traded their 2031 First Rounder to, and will swap 2030 First Round picks with, San Antonio (even though the one going from the Woles with the Spurs is Top One-protected) in exchange for the man the Spurs took with the eighth pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft: Kentucky Guard Rob Dillingham, a young guy who can create his own shot out of nowhere.  President Of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly knows the team's window is open now and not later, so he went all-in and pretty much sacrificed the franchise's draft picks for the next half-decade to bring in the heir apparent to Mike Conley and, possibly, Anthony Edwards's backcourt mate for the next half-decade.  I don't remember him with the Wildcats, but if people say he's an excellent fit, I'll believe them.

As for the Wild, they traded up one spot, from thirteenth to twelth, with The Philadelphia Flyers and tossed in their Third Rounder.  I hate moves like that to move up just one spot; it reminds me of The Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft, who traded up one spot, from third to second, and gave away four picks total to San Francisco, just so they could select Mitch Trubisky.  But it looks like this is different because they grabbed someone more than a few writers thought could go in the top five: Zeev Buium, a Defenseman out of the University of Denver.  (He's familiar with The Xcel Energy Center; back in April, he and his Pioneers beat Boston College to win this Year's men's hockey championship there.)  Scouts rave about his D and his smarts, so it appears as though he and Brock Faber will be the squad's top Defensemen pairing for, well, the next half-decade, just like Ant and Dillingham!  I just wonder why Buium slid so far.  Is it his height?  Oh, well, Aaron Rodgers was Mr. Freefall, and look where he's going to end up.  (I mean the Hall Of Fame, not Alex Jones's soon-to-be-destroyed show.)

#-4: United FC (Last Week: -3).  This team really pisses me off right now.  They had a 2-0 lead at Portland on Saturday and then they fucking choked it away, losing 3-2, capping the collapse by allowing the Timbers' Jonathan Rodriguez to score in the 92nd Minute.  D. J. Taylor let the door open for Portland by committing a dumbass foul in the box in the First Half Stoppage Time for a Penalty Kick the Timbers promptly turned in.  Motherfucking God.

This is now four Losses in a row for the Loons, and they have slipped down to seventh place in The Western Conference standings.  This inexplicable slide cannot be written off to players on international duty or injury, although Kervin Arriaga has been transferred to some squad in Serbia.  There are serious weaknesses on Defense and the Strikers aren't striking like they're supposed to.  And Tani Oluwaseyi and Dayne St. Clair ain't walking through those doors, at least for now, because Canada has made it into the Knockout Round of the Copa America, so they're going to be away for MNUFC's Match Wednesday at home versus Vancouver and, even if they lose to Venezuela Friday, they might not be back in time for their Sunday night showdown at the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The summer Transfer Window can't come soon enough.  Eric Ramsay, who only used two Substitutions vs. Portland, needs more players beyond the ones that are coming back from continental tournaments.  (I still think Christian Ramirez would make be a hand-in-glove fit for this team.)  Any reinforcements to save a sinking ship that is the SS MNUFC.