It's not a good thing when you wake up pissed off. But that's how it is when you go to bed at 1:30 and are awakened by your alarm at 5:30. I'm tired and angry. I'm tirangry.
I don't know how much longer I have to be solely on this schedule, but I hope it ends soon. Or, I have to go to bed earlier. Or, no one has to set me off today.
That latter thing won't happen, I'm afraid. There is this co-worker who still bangs on the fucking keys like she's taking out her frustrations on it, and that is annoying. Meanwhile, I don't know if it's me or not, but maybe my supervisor snapped at me. That's the way my heart feels, even though my mind is thinking, "No big deal, let it go." Right now I'm not in a mood to let anything go, so hopefully I don't melt down today.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
OK, so I'm getting into work. It sucks to wake up in the morning, but the work day flies by. It feels like it's less than eight hours.
However, one of the things that really sucks is that I can't eat at my desk. That won't be a problem once my folks leave; I just won't eat at work. (That might help with my waistline, too.) But right now, since my parents lovingly make lunch for me, I have to either snarf it down during morning break (which I've done with the bananas) or eat it after work. Since somebody brought in leftovers ("Hawaiian sliders," two types of pasta and Caesar salad) for work today, I ate the bao and the banana my folks gave me just now, here at the library, where I'm blog posting this. And it's a pain in the ass. I usually am not hungry for dinner, but now I'm really not hungry.
However, one of the things that really sucks is that I can't eat at my desk. That won't be a problem once my folks leave; I just won't eat at work. (That might help with my waistline, too.) But right now, since my parents lovingly make lunch for me, I have to either snarf it down during morning break (which I've done with the bananas) or eat it after work. Since somebody brought in leftovers ("Hawaiian sliders," two types of pasta and Caesar salad) for work today, I ate the bao and the banana my folks gave me just now, here at the library, where I'm blog posting this. And it's a pain in the ass. I usually am not hungry for dinner, but now I'm really not hungry.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Hottest Babe In The Hooters Calendar: July
Seeing that it is July, of course most of the babes (though not all) are wearing the colors and the designs of the American flag. And yet it gave me pause, knowing that crackpot Republicans have twisted our nation's colors for their own racist, hateful agendas. Alana, out of Ft. Lauderdale, is wearing a bikini and standing in front of an American flag. Feels more like Alex Jones than George Patton, but that's the times telling me that.
Maybe that's why I find the dozen women for the month to be, overall, underwhelming. For one thing, the model with the biggest picture, Dayton's Alyssa Wickman (wearing a white one-piece that has a small American flag stitched onto the left leg hole hem) has set her Instagram and Twitter private. How can jerk off to you if you won't let me see your pictures? And while Amanda out of Nashville has a nice smile and a killer body, I don't need her to hold a guitar as a prop.
The runner-up is Kayla, out of Newman, Ga., with her dark hair and dark eyes. But the winner is Christina, out of Metairie, La. She, like Kayla, is wearing an American two-piece, but I love that she's smiling. Women, you have to smile more! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Well, I like Christina's smile, that's what I want to say!)
Maybe that's why I find the dozen women for the month to be, overall, underwhelming. For one thing, the model with the biggest picture, Dayton's Alyssa Wickman (wearing a white one-piece that has a small American flag stitched onto the left leg hole hem) has set her Instagram and Twitter private. How can jerk off to you if you won't let me see your pictures? And while Amanda out of Nashville has a nice smile and a killer body, I don't need her to hold a guitar as a prop.
The runner-up is Kayla, out of Newman, Ga., with her dark hair and dark eyes. But the winner is Christina, out of Metairie, La. She, like Kayla, is wearing an American two-piece, but I love that she's smiling. Women, you have to smile more! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Well, I like Christina's smile, that's what I want to say!)
Monday, August 6, 2018
So I was at the Blue Sun Soda/Pop Festival Saturday afternoon. Got some street tacos from this food truck called Elevation 5280. Nothing mind-blowing, but it was good.
As I was throwing away my plate I saw another plate in the garbage can -- full plate of three tacos, just like mine, totally uneaten. Moments prior I saw a couple kids around that can, so I assume one of them throw these away. They were untouched, immaculately so. And all I could think about was the waste of food. Again, they weren't great, but were they so bad that you took one look and decided you weren't going to eat it? Also, these street tacos cost ten bucks. You may not like it, but you have to at least take a bite before deciding they were inedible. But no, not one. Ten bucks in the trash, just like that.
They were on top of this garbage can, completely untouched by anything else. So yes, for just a nanosecond I thought of ...
As I was throwing away my plate I saw another plate in the garbage can -- full plate of three tacos, just like mine, totally uneaten. Moments prior I saw a couple kids around that can, so I assume one of them throw these away. They were untouched, immaculately so. And all I could think about was the waste of food. Again, they weren't great, but were they so bad that you took one look and decided you weren't going to eat it? Also, these street tacos cost ten bucks. You may not like it, but you have to at least take a bite before deciding they were inedible. But no, not one. Ten bucks in the trash, just like that.
They were on top of this garbage can, completely untouched by anything else. So yes, for just a nanosecond I thought of ...
The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey
Goddamnit, did the fucking Jynx just lose three in a row?!?!?! Not talking about them, not talking about them, not talking about them. ...
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). A 4-2 screening week, all at home. Lost the series to Cleveland but made up for it by sweeping the pathetic Kansas City Royals (who cares, they won their World Series!) over the weekend. They remain nine games back of Cleveland in the A.L. Central, but at least they aren't on the short end of the widest gap among division opponents anymore; with Boston sweeping the Yankees this weekend, Boston has now opened up, as of press time, a 9 1/2-game lead on the Yanks in the A.L. East. So that's got to count for something, right?
Oh, and by Tuesday Brian Dozier and Lance Lynn were both traded, to the Dodgers and Yankees, respectively. Good for them. They'll probably dominate baseball after getting free of those Twinks uniforms.
I'ven't got much else to say because I wanted to talk about Minnesota United. Just want to note that this week they are on the road: Four vs. Cleveland starting tonight, then three in Detroit.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -2). I feel like I'm overreacting. But after watching these Loonies choke on a 1-0 lead by letting in two Goals by Seattle in stoppage time (!!!), I still am mad -- not in a pissed-off, throwing-shit-around-the-house type of way, but a dull apoplexy, something where, when that game-winning tally happened, I would look to my friend (who's not there because I usually don't go to sporting events with other people) and shake my head.
And yet although I want to concentrate on this loss, the team's second in a row, I think there is a hell of a lot more under the surface that needs to be brought out into the open instead ... and it all deals with Christian Ramirez, Loons Striker and the guy many fans who have followed MNUFC from its NASL days regard -- rightfully -- as their guy. Because it looks as though he might not be wearing the Loons jersey for much longer, and that's a huge fucking problem.
OK, so here's what happened, as best I can see. Angelo Rodriguez, the team's second (or is it third?) Designated Player, was all set to be part of the bench for United Saturday. Then, he was named to the starting lineup ... in place of Superman. And he looked ... OK. He didn't score (Darwin Quintero, Jr. did, again), but he had a couple shots, including a header from Quintero that just went wide.
In the 91st Minute, Francisco Calvo was called for a handball. Replays showed he was sticking his legs out while his body was falling to the ground at a perpendicular angle; the shot that was coming in on goal hit his left arm, which was kind off to the side but was reaching downward, as if Calvo was bracing for a fall. Upon Video Assistant Referee, a Penalty Kick was called for Seattle, and the Sounders converted it to the tie the game.
At this point the Sounders had exhausted all three of its subs. Adrian Heath, meanwhile, still had one. He did use that sub. No yanking Rodriguez for, say, Wyatt Omsberg, the rook who is still a pretty tall dude who could fight in the air for 50/50 balls. And definitely no Ramirez, who stayed lashed to the bench. So, five minutes later, a Hail Mary lofted ball into the Minnesota defensive half was ganked by two Loons, won by the only Sounder there, and flipped back to a marauding Will Bruin, who himself chipped it over Bobby Shuttleworth. And the Loons once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
That's not all. In the bewildering moroseness of the loss, I saw a few weird things. First of all, The Athletic's Jeff Reuter noticed (and reported on Twitter) that Ramirez was practicing triangle drills before the match with Miguel Ibarra and Brent Kallman, two of his teammates with MNUFC all the way back to the NASL days. For the past week or so, Reuter has been able to confirm that the front office is "listening to offers" for Ramirez for a few clubs. The Transfer Window, aka soccer's Trade Deadline, is Wednesday. So maybe it's reading too much into things, but Ramirez knowing that he might be on the trading block and then hearing that he won't start made him think he needed to stand by his mates one last time if he's traded.
The weirdest thing, however, was that Christian Ramirez's aunt, who lives in Colombia, tweeted about him after the loss. And he called out Head Coach Heath:
Holy shit, is this true?
OK, so here's my take. I understand that you need to play the DPs you sign. But I thought that Rodriguez would be a second-half sub. At the very least flip it around and put in Ramirez at the half. And at the very, very least use that fucking sub for Superman after Seattle takes the lead, for fuck's sake. He did none of that. Ramirez has had some struggles this year, but he remains a prime scorer for this club, and he has shown tremendous chemistry with Ibarra and Quintero. To let that go to waste, when you had one sub left to use, in a final home game before going on the road for the next six-to-seven weeks, in a match the entire team themselves said was the important match of the year -- well, I'm astonished.
(In the meantime Calvo again tried to answer reporters' questions about potential discord within the team by questioning the reporters' motives. He's been having a low-grade tiff with The Media all year. Calvo's not too fucking far off from telling journalists their questions are "fake news," if that's the road he wants to go down, and I think he does. That he is the Captain of this club and has been trotted out as a go-to spokesman from the team makes this a potential hornet's nest in team-media relations. Watch this space.)
I now have to wonder why Heath did not put in one of the squad's best scoring weapons at all in a pivotal match. Is it personal animosity? Is it possible that Heath, who had played Ramirez for matches before, was ordered to start Rodriguez (and, maybe, keep Ramirez on the bench) by Sporting Director Manny Lagos? Is there a trade brewing? Is Ramirez sad that he will be traded? Mad?
And the most important question in my mind right now: Will Christian Ramirez be traded? I know what the answer to that should be: Fuck no. Heath and Lagos may have their reservations about Superman's play, or they may think that the future for this team has to go through Quintero, Rodriguez and Romario Ibarra. They might not be wrong. But if they think that Ramirez is chopped liver, they're pretty fucking wrong. And moreover, and more important to that, the fanbase loves him. They still believe in him even if Heath and Lagos do not. They -- and shit, let's throw in Owner Bill McGuire too -- may think we're all happy that we have a team in Major League Soccer, but they have to understand that the true diehards that come to TCF Bank Stadium each match cares for Christina Ramirez. A lot.
So I do not intend this as a threat or a warning. I really don't. Trade Christian Ramirez at your own peril. Giving him up is a bad move -- possibly for on-the-pitch reasons but definitely for fan relations reasons. There was a beer thrown at the Sounders when they scored to win the game in the 96th Minute. I assure you that if Ramirez is traded away, there will be a hell of a lot more cups of beer thrown onto the pitch. And some of them might not be thrown at the other team.
Oh yeah, the games. So MNUFC had a chance to pull into sixth place in the Western Conference. That's why they said Saturday night's match was so important. Instead they remain out of the playoff picture and now they play five straight games on the road, beginning with Saturday's match vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovich and the Los Angeles Galaxy. I have no doubt that this crushing loss will send this entire team, and this franchise, into a tailspin by the time they get back. And I wonder why I renewed my season tickets with them. Harrumph.
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). A 4-2 screening week, all at home. Lost the series to Cleveland but made up for it by sweeping the pathetic Kansas City Royals (who cares, they won their World Series!) over the weekend. They remain nine games back of Cleveland in the A.L. Central, but at least they aren't on the short end of the widest gap among division opponents anymore; with Boston sweeping the Yankees this weekend, Boston has now opened up, as of press time, a 9 1/2-game lead on the Yanks in the A.L. East. So that's got to count for something, right?
Oh, and by Tuesday Brian Dozier and Lance Lynn were both traded, to the Dodgers and Yankees, respectively. Good for them. They'll probably dominate baseball after getting free of those Twinks uniforms.
I'ven't got much else to say because I wanted to talk about Minnesota United. Just want to note that this week they are on the road: Four vs. Cleveland starting tonight, then three in Detroit.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -2). I feel like I'm overreacting. But after watching these Loonies choke on a 1-0 lead by letting in two Goals by Seattle in stoppage time (!!!), I still am mad -- not in a pissed-off, throwing-shit-around-the-house type of way, but a dull apoplexy, something where, when that game-winning tally happened, I would look to my friend (who's not there because I usually don't go to sporting events with other people) and shake my head.
And yet although I want to concentrate on this loss, the team's second in a row, I think there is a hell of a lot more under the surface that needs to be brought out into the open instead ... and it all deals with Christian Ramirez, Loons Striker and the guy many fans who have followed MNUFC from its NASL days regard -- rightfully -- as their guy. Because it looks as though he might not be wearing the Loons jersey for much longer, and that's a huge fucking problem.
OK, so here's what happened, as best I can see. Angelo Rodriguez, the team's second (or is it third?) Designated Player, was all set to be part of the bench for United Saturday. Then, he was named to the starting lineup ... in place of Superman. And he looked ... OK. He didn't score (Darwin Quintero, Jr. did, again), but he had a couple shots, including a header from Quintero that just went wide.
In the 91st Minute, Francisco Calvo was called for a handball. Replays showed he was sticking his legs out while his body was falling to the ground at a perpendicular angle; the shot that was coming in on goal hit his left arm, which was kind off to the side but was reaching downward, as if Calvo was bracing for a fall. Upon Video Assistant Referee, a Penalty Kick was called for Seattle, and the Sounders converted it to the tie the game.
At this point the Sounders had exhausted all three of its subs. Adrian Heath, meanwhile, still had one. He did use that sub. No yanking Rodriguez for, say, Wyatt Omsberg, the rook who is still a pretty tall dude who could fight in the air for 50/50 balls. And definitely no Ramirez, who stayed lashed to the bench. So, five minutes later, a Hail Mary lofted ball into the Minnesota defensive half was ganked by two Loons, won by the only Sounder there, and flipped back to a marauding Will Bruin, who himself chipped it over Bobby Shuttleworth. And the Loons once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
That's not all. In the bewildering moroseness of the loss, I saw a few weird things. First of all, The Athletic's Jeff Reuter noticed (and reported on Twitter) that Ramirez was practicing triangle drills before the match with Miguel Ibarra and Brent Kallman, two of his teammates with MNUFC all the way back to the NASL days. For the past week or so, Reuter has been able to confirm that the front office is "listening to offers" for Ramirez for a few clubs. The Transfer Window, aka soccer's Trade Deadline, is Wednesday. So maybe it's reading too much into things, but Ramirez knowing that he might be on the trading block and then hearing that he won't start made him think he needed to stand by his mates one last time if he's traded.
The weirdest thing, however, was that Christian Ramirez's aunt, who lives in Colombia, tweeted about him after the loss. And he called out Head Coach Heath:
Adrian Heath has never loved Christian Ramirez. He has not respected and valued him as the star player and scorer who helped MNFC jump from NASL to MLS. He has not recognized his serious, responsible work and his permanent effort to move the team forward with his many notes.— Luz Marina Tamayo G. (@gilrest) August 5, 2018
Holy shit, is this true?
OK, so here's my take. I understand that you need to play the DPs you sign. But I thought that Rodriguez would be a second-half sub. At the very least flip it around and put in Ramirez at the half. And at the very, very least use that fucking sub for Superman after Seattle takes the lead, for fuck's sake. He did none of that. Ramirez has had some struggles this year, but he remains a prime scorer for this club, and he has shown tremendous chemistry with Ibarra and Quintero. To let that go to waste, when you had one sub left to use, in a final home game before going on the road for the next six-to-seven weeks, in a match the entire team themselves said was the important match of the year -- well, I'm astonished.
(In the meantime Calvo again tried to answer reporters' questions about potential discord within the team by questioning the reporters' motives. He's been having a low-grade tiff with The Media all year. Calvo's not too fucking far off from telling journalists their questions are "fake news," if that's the road he wants to go down, and I think he does. That he is the Captain of this club and has been trotted out as a go-to spokesman from the team makes this a potential hornet's nest in team-media relations. Watch this space.)
I now have to wonder why Heath did not put in one of the squad's best scoring weapons at all in a pivotal match. Is it personal animosity? Is it possible that Heath, who had played Ramirez for matches before, was ordered to start Rodriguez (and, maybe, keep Ramirez on the bench) by Sporting Director Manny Lagos? Is there a trade brewing? Is Ramirez sad that he will be traded? Mad?
And the most important question in my mind right now: Will Christian Ramirez be traded? I know what the answer to that should be: Fuck no. Heath and Lagos may have their reservations about Superman's play, or they may think that the future for this team has to go through Quintero, Rodriguez and Romario Ibarra. They might not be wrong. But if they think that Ramirez is chopped liver, they're pretty fucking wrong. And moreover, and more important to that, the fanbase loves him. They still believe in him even if Heath and Lagos do not. They -- and shit, let's throw in Owner Bill McGuire too -- may think we're all happy that we have a team in Major League Soccer, but they have to understand that the true diehards that come to TCF Bank Stadium each match cares for Christina Ramirez. A lot.
So I do not intend this as a threat or a warning. I really don't. Trade Christian Ramirez at your own peril. Giving him up is a bad move -- possibly for on-the-pitch reasons but definitely for fan relations reasons. There was a beer thrown at the Sounders when they scored to win the game in the 96th Minute. I assure you that if Ramirez is traded away, there will be a hell of a lot more cups of beer thrown onto the pitch. And some of them might not be thrown at the other team.
Oh yeah, the games. So MNUFC had a chance to pull into sixth place in the Western Conference. That's why they said Saturday night's match was so important. Instead they remain out of the playoff picture and now they play five straight games on the road, beginning with Saturday's match vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovich and the Los Angeles Galaxy. I have no doubt that this crushing loss will send this entire team, and this franchise, into a tailspin by the time they get back. And I wonder why I renewed my season tickets with them. Harrumph.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
RIP, 3M Championship
After blog posting this at Diamonds Coffeeshop I'm going back up Central (well, a detour off Central; there is an Open Streets festival going on and it's snarling up traffic) all the way to Blaine to catch the final round of the 3M Championship at TPC Twin Cities. And it'll be the last time I'll do that, because this is the last-ever 3M Championship.
Starting as the Burnet Senior Classic in 1993, becoming the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic in '98, and moving from Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine (where 3M became title sponsor) in 2001, it was the only regular golf tournament held locally from any national tour. Sure, it was the Senior Tour (or the PGA Champions Tour, or PGA Tour Champions, what they call themselves now), but it was still a kick to see all these golfers I remember watching on the TV in far-flung places in the U.S. and the world coming to freakin' Coon Rapids to play for all us Minnesotans. It got even better as the tournament aged, because golfers on the regular PGA Tour aged into the Seniors Tour, and that allowed me to finally see these guys in the flesh.
But the biggest masterstroke this tourney, now run by longtime golf maven Hollis Cavner, did came in 2002. After a couple of early unsteady years, the 3M had been humming along. One of its greatest revenue streams was charging admission. I remember thinking at the time that I would have wanted to see this tournament live, but I would not pay to watch people hit golf balls in the searing heat for the whole day.
Then 9/11 happened. I have no idea if the accompanying fear and panic was a factor for Cavner. A dip in the economy, albeit shallow and temporary, happened immediately after that; maybe that was a factor. Or maybe he thought he could get more crowds to come and had thought that even before 9/11. Whatever the case, for the 2002 tournament, admission fees were waved. Everybody can now come in for free. And that's what convinced me to come watch a golf tournament in-person for the first time ... and, unless I'm wrong, I've been coming to the Sunday final day for every tournament since.
I am convinced that a lot of people who were interested in watching golf (and who, like me, thought that golf tournaments always occurred Somewhere Far From Here) wanted to see the 3M Championship but didn't want to pay. Making this tournament free for all gave so many casual fans like me a taste of what being a spectator for this sport is all about. And that led a lot of people to say that, in fact, they would pay to spend a day in the searing heat watching other people hit golf balls. In tournaments such as the Ryder Cup, which happened at Hazeltine two years ago. And I paid to get in -- $200, in fact, and I don't regret it.
So, thank you, Hollis Cavner, for doing this. And yet I also disappointed in him -- partly for his actions but mostly for his words earlier this summer, when initial reports were confirmed and that the regular PGA Tour was going to come here for the first time in decades for a regular tour for at least the next seven years. What will be called the 3M Open will take place around the 4th of July; in fact, next year's inaugural begins on Independence Day. It will also take place at the TPC Twin Cities.
And the 3M Open will replace the 3M Championship. That's why I need to go up there as soon as I finish with this -- this is the last-ever tournament, and with storms in the forecast, I don't know how long I'll be there. I wanted to be out there for a long time once I learned this will be the death of the tourney, but a combination of getting up late at night to take a vicious shit (a result of eating a huge plate of nachos at the abortion of a United match and then eating a pizza at Surly) and sleeping in late pushed my schedule all the way back to, well, 12:59 p.m., when I am typing up this particular sentence.
I don't know the business at all. But theoretically, you could find another title sponsor for the Senior event and continued to play it at the same golf course in a month's time. There are some Senior golfers who don't want to see it go, particularly Rocco Mediate. That obviously doesn't sway Cavner. He has moved this slot to another tournament he will run, on this same date, to a course in South Dakota. But he has said that he wants to fry bigger fish. Which is all well and good, but that doesn't mean you have to kill off the baby that made all of this possible.
Or maybe it does, how the fuck should I know? All I know is that through 26 years, the 3M Championship has become a regular staple -- and a sure money-maker -- for all parties involved, but now, in the interest of "More," it'll be killed off.
Prices for admission for the 3M Open, by the way, are between $25 and $65 daily. I might actually pay it. That's a by-product of learning to love watching golf live, all thanks to this humble yet dignified tournament. But free's a hell of a lot better.
I'll miss you, 3M Championship. Better get over there now.
Starting as the Burnet Senior Classic in 1993, becoming the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic in '98, and moving from Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine (where 3M became title sponsor) in 2001, it was the only regular golf tournament held locally from any national tour. Sure, it was the Senior Tour (or the PGA Champions Tour, or PGA Tour Champions, what they call themselves now), but it was still a kick to see all these golfers I remember watching on the TV in far-flung places in the U.S. and the world coming to freakin' Coon Rapids to play for all us Minnesotans. It got even better as the tournament aged, because golfers on the regular PGA Tour aged into the Seniors Tour, and that allowed me to finally see these guys in the flesh.
But the biggest masterstroke this tourney, now run by longtime golf maven Hollis Cavner, did came in 2002. After a couple of early unsteady years, the 3M had been humming along. One of its greatest revenue streams was charging admission. I remember thinking at the time that I would have wanted to see this tournament live, but I would not pay to watch people hit golf balls in the searing heat for the whole day.
Then 9/11 happened. I have no idea if the accompanying fear and panic was a factor for Cavner. A dip in the economy, albeit shallow and temporary, happened immediately after that; maybe that was a factor. Or maybe he thought he could get more crowds to come and had thought that even before 9/11. Whatever the case, for the 2002 tournament, admission fees were waved. Everybody can now come in for free. And that's what convinced me to come watch a golf tournament in-person for the first time ... and, unless I'm wrong, I've been coming to the Sunday final day for every tournament since.
I am convinced that a lot of people who were interested in watching golf (and who, like me, thought that golf tournaments always occurred Somewhere Far From Here) wanted to see the 3M Championship but didn't want to pay. Making this tournament free for all gave so many casual fans like me a taste of what being a spectator for this sport is all about. And that led a lot of people to say that, in fact, they would pay to spend a day in the searing heat watching other people hit golf balls. In tournaments such as the Ryder Cup, which happened at Hazeltine two years ago. And I paid to get in -- $200, in fact, and I don't regret it.
So, thank you, Hollis Cavner, for doing this. And yet I also disappointed in him -- partly for his actions but mostly for his words earlier this summer, when initial reports were confirmed and that the regular PGA Tour was going to come here for the first time in decades for a regular tour for at least the next seven years. What will be called the 3M Open will take place around the 4th of July; in fact, next year's inaugural begins on Independence Day. It will also take place at the TPC Twin Cities.
And the 3M Open will replace the 3M Championship. That's why I need to go up there as soon as I finish with this -- this is the last-ever tournament, and with storms in the forecast, I don't know how long I'll be there. I wanted to be out there for a long time once I learned this will be the death of the tourney, but a combination of getting up late at night to take a vicious shit (a result of eating a huge plate of nachos at the abortion of a United match and then eating a pizza at Surly) and sleeping in late pushed my schedule all the way back to, well, 12:59 p.m., when I am typing up this particular sentence.
I don't know the business at all. But theoretically, you could find another title sponsor for the Senior event and continued to play it at the same golf course in a month's time. There are some Senior golfers who don't want to see it go, particularly Rocco Mediate. That obviously doesn't sway Cavner. He has moved this slot to another tournament he will run, on this same date, to a course in South Dakota. But he has said that he wants to fry bigger fish. Which is all well and good, but that doesn't mean you have to kill off the baby that made all of this possible.
Or maybe it does, how the fuck should I know? All I know is that through 26 years, the 3M Championship has become a regular staple -- and a sure money-maker -- for all parties involved, but now, in the interest of "More," it'll be killed off.
Prices for admission for the 3M Open, by the way, are between $25 and $65 daily. I might actually pay it. That's a by-product of learning to love watching golf live, all thanks to this humble yet dignified tournament. But free's a hell of a lot better.
I'll miss you, 3M Championship. Better get over there now.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
First Week Thoughts
It's a lot of information, but I think I'm coping.
So far I like the people I work with and for. There's one person who bangs on the keys. Also, I just realized today that the supervisor I will need to answer to is on vacation right now. (I met him Monday, but he had the rest of the week off.) Will the good feeling I have fade with the change coming next week? It's possible.
The worst thing about this week, as I've said before, is starting my shift at 6:30. Oh, and by the way, I realized Wednesday that this job is shift work. Oh, also, I can't eat at my desk. That puts a crimp on a lot of things.
Nevertheless, these guys are trying to help me get comfortable as much as possible. For example, I asked whether I could left the desk to make it a standing one, and my supervisor got a facilities person from another building to get me a frame. I'm not using it now because I wanted to sit at the desk to its right. And no one is caring that I'm not using something I requested.
So my weekend has already started. I get Mondays off, which will be weird. When I come back Tuesday, I'll see what else changes. Fingers crossed.
So far I like the people I work with and for. There's one person who bangs on the keys. Also, I just realized today that the supervisor I will need to answer to is on vacation right now. (I met him Monday, but he had the rest of the week off.) Will the good feeling I have fade with the change coming next week? It's possible.
The worst thing about this week, as I've said before, is starting my shift at 6:30. Oh, and by the way, I realized Wednesday that this job is shift work. Oh, also, I can't eat at my desk. That puts a crimp on a lot of things.
Nevertheless, these guys are trying to help me get comfortable as much as possible. For example, I asked whether I could left the desk to make it a standing one, and my supervisor got a facilities person from another building to get me a frame. I'm not using it now because I wanted to sit at the desk to its right. And no one is caring that I'm not using something I requested.
So my weekend has already started. I get Mondays off, which will be weird. When I come back Tuesday, I'll see what else changes. Fingers crossed.
Friday, August 3, 2018
Side Cramps
For the past ... oh, I don't know, week? I've had a cramp on my side, right around where my kidneys are. It's kind of a dull stab, if that makes any sense, and sometimes it tickles, like it does right now. I've had it day and night, and I notice it a lot.
I don't know if this has anything to do with eating so much lately, or if this is a sign of something getting worse. But if it is getting worse, well, you heard it here first.
I don't know if this has anything to do with eating so much lately, or if this is a sign of something getting worse. But if it is getting worse, well, you heard it here first.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Have I Talked About My Broken Finger Yet?
Yeah, I think it's broken and I haven't done anything for it yet.
It's my left middle finger. But here's the thing. I first broke it (and I know it had to have happened then, even though I forget exactly when) when I was cracking my knuckles. I crack them at all angles -- back, forward, and to the side. When I got to my left ring finger -- not the middle, but the ring -- I didn't crack the knuckle. Instead, I yanked the finger out of the socket with the rest of my hand. Or at least I think I did.
It hurt like a mother, but I don't think I dislocated my ring finger, and it didn't hurt that much, so I forgot it. However, the next time I cracked my left middle finger knuckle, it hurt. Not excruciating pain, but I felt something that I don't feel in my other nine knuckles. Furthermore -- and this is even weirder -- it feels as though my left middle knuckle needs cracking all the time. I can be an obsessive knuckle-cracker, but I have never felt as though the knuckle needs it; I crack knuckles because I need it. But ever since I pulled my left ring finger, I can get some noisy cracks from my left middle knuckle easily, almost too easily.
And lately it's been hard to wrap my fingers into a fist; there is a tension in my left middle finger that wants to pull it straight. Also, and not for nothing, when I squeeze the sides of my left middle knuckle together, I feel pain. This may have coincided with me yanking that ring finger out a second time -- yeah, I'm careless. So I guess I need to get that checked out before something really bad happens to it. And maybe then I can figure out how I injured my left middle finger after bending out of shape my left ring finger.
It's my left middle finger. But here's the thing. I first broke it (and I know it had to have happened then, even though I forget exactly when) when I was cracking my knuckles. I crack them at all angles -- back, forward, and to the side. When I got to my left ring finger -- not the middle, but the ring -- I didn't crack the knuckle. Instead, I yanked the finger out of the socket with the rest of my hand. Or at least I think I did.
It hurt like a mother, but I don't think I dislocated my ring finger, and it didn't hurt that much, so I forgot it. However, the next time I cracked my left middle finger knuckle, it hurt. Not excruciating pain, but I felt something that I don't feel in my other nine knuckles. Furthermore -- and this is even weirder -- it feels as though my left middle knuckle needs cracking all the time. I can be an obsessive knuckle-cracker, but I have never felt as though the knuckle needs it; I crack knuckles because I need it. But ever since I pulled my left ring finger, I can get some noisy cracks from my left middle knuckle easily, almost too easily.
And lately it's been hard to wrap my fingers into a fist; there is a tension in my left middle finger that wants to pull it straight. Also, and not for nothing, when I squeeze the sides of my left middle knuckle together, I feel pain. This may have coincided with me yanking that ring finger out a second time -- yeah, I'm careless. So I guess I need to get that checked out before something really bad happens to it. And maybe then I can figure out how I injured my left middle finger after bending out of shape my left ring finger.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Waking Up At 5:30 Is Butt
Have to do it in order to get to work at 6:30 for training. Have no idea why I have to wake up so early, but that's my schedule at least for the rest of this week.
They say that overtime is plentiful at my job. If that's the case, then I will be OK with waking up at 5:30 in order to get to work at 6:30. And, yes, I'll wake up this early for training. Still, this is difficult on me and my body. Eesh.
They say that overtime is plentiful at my job. If that's the case, then I will be OK with waking up at 5:30 in order to get to work at 6:30. And, yes, I'll wake up this early for training. Still, this is difficult on me and my body. Eesh.
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